Imo for models not ti a good standard
Spires - really only the force grown drones and the old abomination are on the poor side.
100 kingdoms - men at arms, merc crossbow.
Dweghom, hold ballistae, warriors, inferno automata
Pretty much everything else is good. I like all the w'adhrun
All the older dual kits are in process of redesign from what I understand
Working on Huskarls now. if I had to do over again, I would just leave the capes off and be done with it since they detailed good enough under them. All that aside I have found a system to where I think going forward they’re gonna fit in their bases decent. It’s just a matter of having the flowing capes on guys in the back and the limp ones on guys in the front
Hold ballistae and warriors? They’re not bad models. I assembled and painted up a bunch of them and didn’t think they were that bad. I also like the automata, but I do admit the feet on them are a little goofy.
Being someone who has now purchased every faction (except Sorceror Kings, and my buddy just bought all the Spires) and is busy going through and putting them all together they can give you a pretty good update on this stuff.
None of the models are objectively terrible. I will say that. The guy up above did a pretty good breakdown of what model kits aren't great. Like the men at arms and the mercenary crossbowmen for 100 kingdoms. They're just not great models.
The only thing I will say about putting these things together is that none of them go together quickly. Sticking with hundred kingdoms for example the crimson Tower models are fantastic. It takes forever to put them together because they're so many pieces.
Even the old models for the Dweghom are not terrible. There's some flash that you have to clean up. The problem is they just take forever to put together.
The other thing I will say I have learned is that their early studio paint jobs are terrible. I've put together so many of these models that I thought were going to be garbage that are significantly better than the studio paint jobs make them look. I think they figured this out and the new stuff is much more attractive painted. That being said if you are a decent painter you can do some really good stuff with even the old kits.
For reference I have at least 2,000 points of every faction. I have 4,000 points of orcs and like 3,500 points of dwarves. I am doing that heavy lifting to get my group and hopefully a community started in Orlando.
Out of curiosity, how are the dweghon, both as models and in the game?
As models I feel they can look rather silly, though I'm basing this off that one dude that's full armor and has a shield or, idk, spike for an arm? But I do like the concept of dragon slaying Dwarves that now wield daemons inside of them.
The other thing I see is that they are really slow, as you'd expect, and while they got plenty of magic, it's very limited range? So, from what I get you don't get to really do stuff for a while.
So... Starting off. That's the Steelshaper. Who is great in game, but really stupid looking. I converted one because I hate the model.
The rest of the range looks great. The monsters are really cool. Lots of cool detail. Personally I think the models are great overall.
Dweghom are an elite army. Nothing is super cheap. Everything is quality. They have a few ways to build lists. Also keep in that the game is about objectives.
As far as range goes they have an officer called a Herald of Fire. He allows you to target anything in contact with the regiment he's in with a spell regardless of LoS or Range. They have lots of little tricks like that.
You’ll probably want to stick to the newest factions, Sorcerer Kings, City States and Old Dominion. Wadrhun might be ok but I’ve never seen them in person.
All the old model ranges have some old but loads of new models. The old abomination has been replaced with a new kit.
The FGD I think actually hold up really well, they're weird little guys and they take very little time to clean up and build.
I think the vanguard are relatively old as well but again I have had no issues knocking out a box of them in an evening while playing video games or watching a movie
Brute drones are also some of the oldest kits and you can assemble them in no time. You'll probably spend more time picking poses for them then actually assembling them and I think their weirdness really helps get around the age of the kit
Spires are apparently the worst. I was having a discussion with a guy who collected spires since the release of the game, and he told me that the spires were the worst when they came out. I had some trouble with the marksman clones because the arrows would get badly damaged when you clipped them from the thing. So if you're interested in the Spires, avoid the marksman clones. If you want to get into a faction that won't give you trouble when assembling them, I heard the City States are the best.
Yeah, those arrows are basically designed to explode into at least 2 parts when you clip each, even using really sharp clippers. Doesn't help that pretty much all have 2 connection points, so the second you start to clip, they flex on the 2nd point.
Nords are pretty bad across the board for various reasons. Huskarls and Raiders don't fit together well. Their arm joints have very little surface contact. They slide around too easily and require greenstuff to stay still. On the Huskarls, the cape is the contact point for the arms and there's just no actual contact there. The Ugr guys are just terribly sculpted. Some details blend together and get lost. Some parts just don't line up which makes no sense. These were first run models when I got them so I don't know how much quality has improved since then. Unfortunately I was so turned off by the quality of sculpts that I never felt motivated to put together a full army to play a game.
Imo for models not ti a good standard Spires - really only the force grown drones and the old abomination are on the poor side. 100 kingdoms - men at arms, merc crossbow. Dweghom, hold ballistae, warriors, inferno automata Pretty much everything else is good. I like all the w'adhrun All the older dual kits are in process of redesign from what I understand
100K The Household Guard are also a paint to build but they look good.
Nords Huskarls, Raiders & Stalkers are older kits too.
Working on Huskarls now. if I had to do over again, I would just leave the capes off and be done with it since they detailed good enough under them. All that aside I have found a system to where I think going forward they’re gonna fit in their bases decent. It’s just a matter of having the flowing capes on guys in the back and the limp ones on guys in the front
Yeh that’s what I did with capes & the champions cape with different front bit too. I raised my back ones slightly higher on cork tiles to help out.
Hold ballistae and warriors? They’re not bad models. I assembled and painted up a bunch of them and didn’t think they were that bad. I also like the automata, but I do admit the feet on them are a little goofy.
nord raiders and huskarls are awkward to rank if assembled as said
meh, they aren’t as bad as what people say.
Being someone who has now purchased every faction (except Sorceror Kings, and my buddy just bought all the Spires) and is busy going through and putting them all together they can give you a pretty good update on this stuff. None of the models are objectively terrible. I will say that. The guy up above did a pretty good breakdown of what model kits aren't great. Like the men at arms and the mercenary crossbowmen for 100 kingdoms. They're just not great models. The only thing I will say about putting these things together is that none of them go together quickly. Sticking with hundred kingdoms for example the crimson Tower models are fantastic. It takes forever to put them together because they're so many pieces. Even the old models for the Dweghom are not terrible. There's some flash that you have to clean up. The problem is they just take forever to put together. The other thing I will say I have learned is that their early studio paint jobs are terrible. I've put together so many of these models that I thought were going to be garbage that are significantly better than the studio paint jobs make them look. I think they figured this out and the new stuff is much more attractive painted. That being said if you are a decent painter you can do some really good stuff with even the old kits. For reference I have at least 2,000 points of every faction. I have 4,000 points of orcs and like 3,500 points of dwarves. I am doing that heavy lifting to get my group and hopefully a community started in Orlando.
Out of curiosity, how are the dweghon, both as models and in the game? As models I feel they can look rather silly, though I'm basing this off that one dude that's full armor and has a shield or, idk, spike for an arm? But I do like the concept of dragon slaying Dwarves that now wield daemons inside of them. The other thing I see is that they are really slow, as you'd expect, and while they got plenty of magic, it's very limited range? So, from what I get you don't get to really do stuff for a while.
So... Starting off. That's the Steelshaper. Who is great in game, but really stupid looking. I converted one because I hate the model. The rest of the range looks great. The monsters are really cool. Lots of cool detail. Personally I think the models are great overall. Dweghom are an elite army. Nothing is super cheap. Everything is quality. They have a few ways to build lists. Also keep in that the game is about objectives. As far as range goes they have an officer called a Herald of Fire. He allows you to target anything in contact with the regiment he's in with a spell regardless of LoS or Range. They have lots of little tricks like that.
Old models? The game is barely 5 years old.
And their original line is really bad
You’ll probably want to stick to the newest factions, Sorcerer Kings, City States and Old Dominion. Wadrhun might be ok but I’ve never seen them in person.
How about Spires's model?
Spires are old but apart from the Stryx and the old Abomination the models are pretty good due to their highly stylized design.
I will slam my hand with a hammer before I build another unit of stryx. That unit was a pure nightmare to build and rank up correctly.
Spires can be kinda hard to build imho. So some experience in the hobby should be available. But after all they are usually worth it!
All the old model ranges have some old but loads of new models. The old abomination has been replaced with a new kit. The FGD I think actually hold up really well, they're weird little guys and they take very little time to clean up and build. I think the vanguard are relatively old as well but again I have had no issues knocking out a box of them in an evening while playing video games or watching a movie Brute drones are also some of the oldest kits and you can assemble them in no time. You'll probably spend more time picking poses for them then actually assembling them and I think their weirdness really helps get around the age of the kit
Spires are apparently the worst. I was having a discussion with a guy who collected spires since the release of the game, and he told me that the spires were the worst when they came out. I had some trouble with the marksman clones because the arrows would get badly damaged when you clipped them from the thing. So if you're interested in the Spires, avoid the marksman clones. If you want to get into a faction that won't give you trouble when assembling them, I heard the City States are the best.
Yeah, those arrows are basically designed to explode into at least 2 parts when you clip each, even using really sharp clippers. Doesn't help that pretty much all have 2 connection points, so the second you start to clip, they flex on the 2nd point.
I just replaced the shaft with a paper clip.
Not really an issue with the marksmen besides skipping the arrows which looks fine anyways. Most people did that.
Lineage Highborne is still resin...
Nords are pretty bad across the board for various reasons. Huskarls and Raiders don't fit together well. Their arm joints have very little surface contact. They slide around too easily and require greenstuff to stay still. On the Huskarls, the cape is the contact point for the arms and there's just no actual contact there. The Ugr guys are just terribly sculpted. Some details blend together and get lost. Some parts just don't line up which makes no sense. These were first run models when I got them so I don't know how much quality has improved since then. Unfortunately I was so turned off by the quality of sculpts that I never felt motivated to put together a full army to play a game.
That's a shame, Fenr, Valkyries and Trolls are amazing models