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These new Reaper's whole head is a major design failure; it's surprising because most GW designs are spot-on and exciting.
The body is fine, but i guess most kits will have the bare heads to compensate for this uglyness.
It's cool to have plastic eldars, but it was also the moment to redesign questionable stuff, made during an era where CAD wasn't widespread and everything was done by hand, like this.
Well hopefully the Avatar and Maugan Ra will be more impressive.
Better heads found in 10 seconds on google for example' sake:
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/01/18 10:34:35
Finding some of the criticism of this new kit quite weird – they're basically just a plastic version of the current DR models but people seem to be reacting to design elements of those as though they're new to the plastics?
Also, I'm glad they look nothing like that one above. Taste is subjective and all but "ditch the established Eldar aesthetic of 30-odd years in favour of some overly-busy generic sci-fi crap" doesn't seem like a reasonable expectation to me.
Nazrak wrote: Finding some of the criticism of this new kit quite weird – they're basically just a plastic version of the current DR models but people seem to be reacting to design elements of those as though they're new to the plastics?
Also, I'm glad they look nothing like that one above. Taste is subjective and all but "ditch the established Eldar aesthetic of 30-odd years in favour of some overly-busy generic sci-fi crap" doesn't seem like a reasonable expectation to me.
What about the middle ground between 20-years old design and busy 3D printed sci-fi?
The whole point isn't [u]that the picture 2 post above is the end all be all of modern SCI FI design, but GW sure as hell didn't take any design risks, and change is definitely a good thing.
Not sure when the most recent crop of Aspect Warrior sculpts came out (I had a hobby hiatus from about 20o5 to 2015) but they certainly aren't 20 years old. While I agree there's maybe some space to refine the designs – see my earlier comments about the goofy pumpkin faces, for example – I personally wouldn't want to see any sort of radical departure from the established Eldar aesthetic, as I think they nailed it so well with the initial Aspect Warrior designs.
Other than the Reapers and Dire Avengers, (and the very limited poses of the ancient Warp Spiders) which are letting the side down a bit, I think the Aspect Warrior designs are as good as they've ever been, and am happy to see them just transition from horrible Finecast to plastic.
Nazrak wrote: Not sure when the most recent crop of Aspect Warrior sculpts came out (I had a hobby hiatus from about 20o5 to 2015) but they certainly aren't 20 years old. While I agree there's maybe some space to refine the designs – see my earlier comments about the goofy pumpkin faces, for example – I personally wouldn't want to see any sort of radical departure from the established Eldar aesthetic, as I think they nailed it so well with the initial Aspect Warrior designs.
Other than the Reapers and Dire Avengers, (and the very limited poses of the ancient Warp Spiders) which are letting the side down a bit, I think the Aspect Warrior designs are as good as they've ever been, and am happy to see them just transition from horrible Finecast to plastic.
You are right, they are not 20 years old.
Just 18 (Avengers, Reapers, Scorpions, Dragons were released in 2004). Hawks and Shining Spears are 24. Spiders are 29.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/18 11:36:05
Just 18 (Avengers, Reapers, Scorpions, Dragons were released in 2004). Hawks and Shining Spears are 24. Spiders are 29.
Are you sure about this? I'm pretty certain when I left GW in 2005 the Dire Avengers were still a metal conversion kit for the Guardians sprue, and we were still on the previous iteration of Reapers/Banshees/Scorpions/Fire Dragons (I was painting an Eldar army at the time) but, as you point out, it was a pretty long time ago so maybe my old man memory has failed me!
Automatically Appended Next Post: I didn't actually realise the Swooping Hawks didn't get a replacement at the same time as the other most recent Aspects, so I've certainly learned something!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/18 11:44:04
They were released in November of 2006, so just over 15 years old at this point.
They needed to be replaced, and made into plastic. The designs are great though, and don't need many updates to be modern again. I feel Jes Goodwin's design of the Eldar is pretty much perfect, and I'm happy they're just the models over to plastic with minor updates (crisp details, more dynamic poses). Eldar really don't need a redesign.
Radium wrote: They were released in November of 2006, so just over 15 years old at this point.
They needed to be replaced, and made into plastic. The designs are great though, and don't need many updates to be modern again. I feel Jes Goodwin's design of the Eldar is pretty much perfect, and I'm happy they're just the models over to plastic with minor updates (crisp details, more dynamic poses). Eldar really don't need a redesign.
Thanks for clearing that up and reassuring me my memory's not completely shot.
I'd pretty much agree with this, quibbles over the Reaper faceplates aside. Bit of a shame we're presumably stuck with the quite dated plastic Avengers, mind.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/18 11:57:08
When they plasticised the lesser daemons they went back to the original concepts, I was hoping they would do that here. The current range of metal/resin aspects are reasonably close to that already, so a crisp plastic version of those is generally fine - it was really just the reaper coneheads that had gotten lost and I hoped would come back.
Ah well - at least nothing has been 're-imagined' in some disastrous way.
soviet13 wrote: When they plasticised the lesser daemons they went back to the original concepts, I was hoping they would do that here. The current range of metal/resin aspects are reasonably close to that already, so a crisp plastic version of those is generally fine - it was really just the reaper coneheads that had gotten lost and I hoped would come back.
Ah well - at least nothing has been 're-imagined' in some disastrous way.
Yeah, the OG Reaper helmets were the only good ones imo.
One thing I do admire about modern GW is they're not afraid to make bold design decisions - more so with AoS maybe but it would be easy for them to be quite boring and milquetoast in their updates and they don't do that. These kind of marmite sculpts are at least interesting and the helmetless heads are a thoughtful addition for those who don't like it.
The new Dark Reapers are based off of Jes Goodwin's sketches of updated Aspect Warriors, which appear in the various Eldar sketchbooks that have been released over the years. He was going for a more stylized look to the skull helmets rather than being a literal faithful recreation of a skull. The one difference I can see in the actual sculpt vs Dark Reaper sketch is they have stretched the skull helmet vertically to fit in with the other tall Eldar helmets, compared to the more normal looking skull proportions of Jes's sketches.
The sketch of the Dark Reaper (Jes did it in 2004) can be seen here:
The good thing about multipart plastics is that converting or simply head swaps are quite easy to do. I think thats the fun of GW kits.
Yes head is far from great but easy fix. The rest of the model looks very crisp.
Someone said old nids are bad designs... nopes! they were quite alien and good for that time while today the "new" design is samey boring and doesn't fit the bill at all.
Iracundus wrote: The new Dark Reapers are based off of Jes Goodwin's sketches of updated Aspect Warriors, which appear in the various Eldar sketchbooks that have been released over the years. He was going for a more stylized look to the skull helmets rather than being a literal faithful recreation of a skull. The one difference I can see in the actual sculpt vs Dark Reaper sketch is they have stretched the skull helmet vertically to fit in with the other tall Eldar helmets, compared to the more normal looking skull proportions of Jes's sketches.
The sketch of the Dark Reaper (Jes did it in 2004) can be seen here:
Iracundus wrote: The new Dark Reapers are based off of Jes Goodwin's sketches of updated Aspect Warriors, which appear in the various Eldar sketchbooks that have been released over the years. He was going for a more stylized look to the skull helmets rather than being a literal faithful recreation of a skull. The one difference I can see in the actual sculpt vs Dark Reaper sketch is they have stretched the skull helmet vertically to fit in with the other tall Eldar helmets, compared to the more normal looking skull proportions of Jes's sketches.
The sketch of the Dark Reaper (Jes did it in 2004) can be seen here:
So baffled by people unhappy with the Dark Reaper heads. That's what Dark Reapers look like. With one terrible exception in 3rd edition, this has always been their look. Basic skull-ish face and helmet vanes.
Spoiler added for large images.
Spoiler:
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2022/01/18 13:36:27
A more subdued paintjob might help it out a little, the clean and crisp look just highlights the cartoonish nature of the helmet. i appreciate the nod to the original artwork, but you could also look at it and say "does this look right in 2022?"
There's no accounting for taste. As others have said, they took the original designs, which I found cool, and brought it to life in plastic. Another home run IMO.
Scottywan82 wrote: So baffled by people unhappy with the Dark Reaper heads. That's what Dark Reapers look like. With one terrible exception in 3rd edition, this has always been their look. Basic skull-ish face and helmet vanes.
Spoiler added for large images.
Spoiler:
This is what dark reaper artwork looked like in 2006' 4th EdEldar Codex, when the now-former models released:
as you can see your "latest edition artwork", which is definitely how the miniature team designed the new models, looks NOTHING like 1) jes Good wind design 2) artworkd from the era.
Those new models are not true to anything beside recent artwork.
The reapers are definitely a step down from what was previewed before and will not find their way into my collection. Still cautiously optimistic about Maugan Ra and the Avatar, though. Fingers crossed.
Viewing most of the Artworks i think the shape of eyes it's the biggest issue.
For me they don't look menacing or *angry* to represent the Aspect and plus the mouth design (the mouth look thiner in the edges instead of just being all lines the same size) throw the look off.
Most of the Artwork, even the old miniatures have the upper side of the eye curved up giving a more angry look. On the new models it's curved down and gives them an odd chill look wich just don't seems to fit.
For me, the issue is probably down primarily to the paintjob; the 'softer/more rounded' look of the features on the mask make it look too cartoonish and the reduction in the size of the Aspect symbol doesn't help. It's softened too many of the angles whereas the artwork it's based on has more of an edge and slightly more of a grille to the mouth so it actually looks like a piece of wargear rather than a Nightmare before Christmas costume.
Don't hate it; I'm sure different paintjobs can make it look a bit less derpy and I like enough of the rest of the models for it to be worth the update.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/18 14:29:22
The worst part, though, is I actually like the lego faces better than the real ones.
blood reaper wrote: I will respect human rights and trans people but I will never under any circumstances use the phrase 'folks' or 'ya'll'. I would rather be killed by firing squad.
the_scotsman wrote: Yeah, when i read the small novel that is the Death Guard unit options and think about resolving the attacks from a melee-oriented min size death guard squad, the thing that springs to mind is "Accessible!"
Argive wrote: GW seems to have a crystal ball and just pulls hairbrained ideas out of their backside for the most part.
You're not. If you're worried about your opponent using 'fake' rules, you're having fun the wrong way. This hobby isn't about rules. It's about buying Citadel miniatures.
Please report to your nearest GW store for attitude readjustment. Take your wallet.
Dysartes wrote: Alternatively, they could've picked the two Aspects with old v1.0 sculpts and prioritised them, while added new Phoenix Lords to the range at the same time - and the latter are closer to guaranteed new sales than resculpts are.
Now, thanks to Potato-cam we appear to have one of those two Aspects getting a resculpt, though the rumours in here indicate GW have dropped the ball by not giving them a PL...
Wait, did I just literally read...
You asking for them to release an entirely new special character just to cater to one of your two demands rather then bring an older existing special character from the early 90s up to standard?
So rather than have them release thematic batches of Aspect and Phoenix Lord, you literally were prepared to piss yourself and throw a fit and instead demand a COMPLETELY NEW CHARACTER just to meet your demands?
Scottywan82 wrote: So baffled by people unhappy with the Dark Reaper heads. That's what Dark Reapers look like. With one terrible exception in 3rd edition, this has always been their look. Basic skull-ish face and helmet vanes.
Spoiler added for large images.
This is what dark reaper artwork looked like in 2006' 4th EdEldar Codex, when the now-former models released:
as you can see your "latest edition artwork", which is definitely how the miniature team designed the new models, looks NOTHING like 1) jes Good wind design 2) artworkd from the era.
Those new models are not true to anything beside recent artwork.
This is from 3rd, not 4th. The new models look exactly like the artwork from the 4th ed codex (which is in the post you quoted), and the models released with that codex.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/18 14:57:18
Scottywan82 wrote: So baffled by people unhappy with the Dark Reaper heads. That's what Dark Reapers look like. With one terrible exception in 3rd edition, this has always been their look. Basic skull-ish face and helmet vanes.
Spoiler added for large images.
This is what dark reaper artwork looked like in 2006' 4th EdEldar Codex, when the now-former models released:
as you can see your "latest edition artwork", which is definitely how the miniature team designed the new models, looks NOTHING like 1) jes Good wind design 2) artworkd from the era.
Those new models are not true to anything beside recent artwork.
This is from 3rd, not 4th. The new models look exactly like the artwork from the 4th ed codex (which is in the post you quoted), and the models released with that codex.
The quoted art is from 6th edition onward.
I have the 4th Ed Codex with me, and the art is exactly the same as from the 3rd. Admittedly, the 4th ed sculpts are a potato-version of Jes Goodwin' sketch, and predate the commissioned 6th ed art, but still, it looks much nicer.
