Modern miniatures and the uncanny valley
I’d like to revisit a topic I talked about a couple weeks ago. Modern Games Workshop models. This is a controversial topic because people are passionate about both old and new. It’s really great that people have found things they genuinely enjoy, and I do not meant to diminish anyone’s interest in anything. This is a longer article than I usual write, so if you want to skip right to the uncanny valley section, it starts in section 3. I’ve been trying to psychoanalyze myself as to what drives my personal preference in miniatures. Opinions and biases are 100% subjective. I am in no way saying something is right or wrong. I’m going to be talking about my own personal preference. I’m sure this won’t ingratiate me with anyone. To break it down, I’d say there are 3 factors driving my preference toward older miniatures. All of those are real…
Hand sculpted vs computer sculpted
Why do the new GW models look the way they do? Is Computer Aided Design (CAD) affecting the aesthetic? I don’t even have the words to describe how they look. They’re less-characterfull? They’re more generic? They’re overly uniform? They’re abnormally standardized? They’re too boardroom flowcharted? They’re too scale-accurate? They look like they the sculpting was outsourced and they’re designed to spec. Maybe they’re designed in-house, but the really look like they’re designed by a completely new staff. In some ways they’re great. In other ways, they do not look like a GW model. They don’t have a GW feel to them. Do I like them? Yes, I suppose. Do I own many of these? Not too many. Also, the Warhulk pictured to the right costs $55.00 USD. The days of finding an interesting GW blister pack for pocket money are long gone. I find that some of the magic, whimsey,…
White Dwarf 2024
I got my hands on the latest iteration of Grombrindal, the White Dwarf. White Dwarf 500 has rules for Cursed City, Age of Sigmar, Underworlds, and Warcry. I’m most interested in Cursed City and hope to try him out in the next week. Always Board Never Boring goes over his rules. He’s a Loremaster in Cursed City, which is interesting because his stats are very stalwart-ey and he has no spells. Oh but that axe! He’s going to do some damage. Admittedly, this is a splurge purchase and at nearly $40 US, it’s pretty steep for one single-little-itty-bitty piece of plastic. But, I’m a bit of a white dwarf collector, so I can stomach this one. Having game rules definitely helps too. I’ve been somewhat critical of the tiny pieces in some GW sets. Not so here! Look at these beautiful chunky pieces! This thing went together great, no fiddley…
One Man Army
Old Man Time has really started cranking the wheel hard because believe it or not, it’s been over a year ago that Warhammer Community published rules to use some truly mighty heroes in Cursed City. I printed up the cards and was ready to roll right away. I have absolutely no problem proxying minis that are a close facsimile to the originals. Take the Cryptguard ghouls for example. I’m not going to spend $50.00 US on 20 ghouls when I have perfectly good ghouls at home! However, I’m loathe to proxy character models. So I got all three. Well, I already had Gotrek Gurnisson, so getting Cursed City rules was an added bonus. I’m a big Gotrek & Felix fan -Me (2005) I really had a blast playing a couple games as Gotrek. I have to admit, I was a bit star struck. I even got everything painted up! I…
Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress
A frequent question I see online is: I’m interested in getting into a new game, should I go with Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress The Internet It’s a tough question. They’re both still currently available new, from Games Workshop or your friendly local game store. Cursed City costs a bit more, but dollar-wise it’s not a deal breaker. Also, your preference between fantasy (Cursed City), or sci-fi (Blackstone Fortress) may sway your decision. Both have: Blackstone Fortress was developed first, and came out in 2018. Cursed City came out in 2021 and is a bit more distilled than Blackstone Fortress. They both are a bit light on strategy, though some of the newer expansion heroes for Cursed City make it more interesting. Some of the things that were slimmed down for Cursed City make Blackstone Fortress a bit more intriguing to play. In Blackstone fortress, you’re frequently deciding when to…
White Dwarf 500 (2024)
Now this is something I can get behind! A new White Dwarf mini AND rules for Cursed City! Count me in! (sold separately, purchase necessary) He looks great, very majestic. His fellow White Dwarf breathern will welcome him into the fold!
Crypt Flayers & Decapitatior: Done!
Finished these mean looking guys last night. Always nice having the bases done! I’m ready to try at least the first Ghoul adventure from White Dwarf 497.
Cursed City Big Ghoul Update
Some speculative clarification on the big ghouls. It looks like you need these models to play: 2 Crypt Flayer, 1 Crypt Infernal Courtier 2 Crypt Horrors, 1 Crypt Haunter Courtier So in “Our Enemies Sally Forth”, use 2 Crypt Horrors, 1 Crypt Haunter Courtier This is an improvement, because that scenario had called for 3 Crypt Haunter Courtiers, which pushed the big ghoul model count over 6, which would have meant another kit was necessary to build everything necessary. However, we still need the card for the Crypt Haunter Courtier. The good news is that my 3D proxies are ready to go! However, if I knew I only needed two Crypt Horrors, I wouldn’t have printed three. I would have fired off a Crypt Haunter Courtier that I mocked up. I may still print it, or I’ll just paint one of the Crypt Horrors white and red to differentiate it…
The world of mini painting is incredible
Check out this AMAZING Slambo by Adam Wier at Between the Bolter and Me. So awesome. Those horns are freehand! No texture on them. Love it! Just a leathery old Chaos Warrior, down in the depths of a dungeon.
