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Precisely. Someone needs to photoshop a Mr. Potato-Head doll for Space Marines...

Well, I think I might need to change my answer. I'm not certain 'simple sculpts' is the panacea.

What I really want is a bit trickier to gauge: an appropriate amount of detail.

I want my grimdark warrior-monks to be bedecked with little scrolls and purity seals. I want my alien space-elves to have neat folded sashes clasped together with the runes of their aspect. I want my weird tree-spirits to be made of gnarled and twisted wood with little gribblies scurrying through their branches.

For me, the Dark Eldar are the pinnacle of this balance of design (except the Archon, don't like his 'about-to-be-mummified' pose). A staggering amount of detail in their models, but not too cluttered. No 'WTF' moments like the lit candles on the landspeeder (good lord is that actually a thing?!). True to their fluff, and packed with little details.

I suppose the panacea would be 'little details, not honking great big ones'. That would fix a lot of OTT models...

Winner of a thread here , i've seen similar in 'Dakka Discussions' over the years so it could be a cool one for the OP to research if they're interested in more opinions

As for the question, i wholeheartedly agree with the hating on sculpted fire/energy, i can say with 100% certainty that i have not bought or painted a model with these. Aside from some low key braziers at el on inquistion-y models. I just hate them, how does an average painter like myself even begin to make them look any good?! Besides hobbyists over the years have been achieving these style affects with melted plastic for years, now we've got to pay for them?

Also agree with bundles of cables that i think someone mentioned, i believe they insinuated they didn't like the concept of a body made of them either, with you there also. Super hard (well tedious) to paint as wel

With a few exceptions i am not a fan of 'unsustainable' poses, especially for miniatures that aren't Generals/Characters. overtly firing weapons (with modeled ejections etc), reloading, throwing grenades, 'ceremonial' stuff (Holding helmets, things like that), last stand style stuff with empty bolter etc, anything 'funny'. The exception to this is miniatures performing close combat attacks, for some reason this gets a pass from me. Otherwise tactically/stoically advancing/surveying or aiming weaponry only please, basically you can look on the board and see a fairly realistic snapshot.

With the exception of pilots sitting in cockpits (that's the ONLY exception, e.g my DE raider chassis are totally empty) i don't model crew, don't know why, probably related to above.

For weapons i don't like Flails of pretty much any variety, punch daggers, wrist weapons unless they are very small, Bat'leth style things, dual wielding (unless it's a real nice desperado/cowboy style model, inquisitor had a cool model like that, defo never an Astartes), any permutation of 'prosthesis weaponry' (The Forgeworld renegade sgt. is an example of a near perfect model ruined by a gross stump sword) and basically anything too gross and nurgly.

 Perkustin wrote:
Winner of a thread here , i've seen similar in 'Dakka Discussions' over the years so it could be a cool one for the OP to research if they're interested in more opinions

Thanks Perkustin. I personally find it engaging reading all these differering opinions on models. And on the other hand can see what there is a general consensus on. For one, it seems SFX on models is disliked by a vast majority.

I rather like models with an aesthetic amount of stylization. Completely realistic sculpts often end up on the thin, pale and awkward looking side for me, while 100% GW human bobbleheads and hulkfists just seem ridiculous. So I'm pretty much caught in the middle and rarely get what I like.