Miniatures of Old – A discussion on what miniatures speak to you from the days of yore

[Trokair]

I am not sure if this is within the scope of this Club, so do let me know if it is or isn’t.

 

While the lore and fluff of the world of Wrhammer 40,000 (and Warhammer to an extend as well, but defiantly the former more so than the latter) was an important part that drew me into the hobby I think a lot of it also lies at the feat of the artwork at the time and the miniatures. The artwork is probably a separate discussion topic in and of itself, so for the moment I would like to focus on the miniatures

 

Now some miniatures were goofy, not that great or downright weird, others however were then, and often still are, magnificent, charming or just speak to you. Yes modern miniatures might have better details, or are more dynamic, easier to build, or all sorts of improvements, but what are some of the old ones that are still dear to you?

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Trokair

[Mazer Rackham]

Anything Sternguard or Veteran SM by Juan Diaz.

 

Also Epic Eldar Phantom Titan (the first, smooth one), not the 1998 one that looked it was built from scaffolding and eggboxes.

[Trokair]

2 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Also Epic Eldar Phantom Titan (the first, smooth one), not the 1998 one that looked it was built from scaffolding and eggboxes.

This one?

[Mazer Rackham]

That's the handsome fellow :)

 

When the Eldar dreadnoughts and War Walkers finally followed the same lines with Wraithguard and Wraithlords, it was a grand day indeed.

[Trokair]

For myself there are these little critters.

 

(picture source Lexicanum)

 

I have collected 5 of each over the years and at some point I will paint them. In fact looking back they are what started my interest in Eldar Wraith constructs in general.

 

However in terms of Elder my favourite is this Warlock, he may not have been the first model I ever owned (I think I had some 2^nd ed plastic marines and other odds and ends at that point) but he was the first own I bought for myself with my own (pocket)money. Unfortunately I think I never took a picture of him with the paintjob my much younger self achieved, and in a moment of stupidity some years ago I stuck him in a stripping jar on the logic I could paint him better now. He has remained unpainted since.

 

(picture source Lexicanum)

[Brother Tyler]

I was first drawn to the game by the Space Elves Eldar Aeldari Asuryani. My favorite of those old miniatures was the one named Avele Swifteye in the image below (Elres Fireflash comes in a close second place):

 

 

And then when Games Workshop fleshed the Craftworlds out, I was blown away by the Warlocks, especially this guy:

 

 

And I loved the original War Walkers, especially the bareheaded pilot:

 

 

Disclaimer: None of the models shown are mine. I have multiple copies of each, but they are either unpainted metal or only primed. One day...

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

I started Warhammer 40K around 2000 in the early-ish days of 3rd edition so I don't have nostalgia for anything as old as what's been posted so far, but I still have a very warm place in my heart for the old Imperial Guard Praetorian Guard models -- my first army which I VERY foolishly sold in order to fund another set of models near and dear to my heart, old metal sisters of battle.

 

 

http://www.solegends.com/citle2000/armyboxes/04praetorian/praetorianBox-02.jpg

 

Also those old preacher models hold a special place in my heart as an important piece of that Sisters of Battle army. At least one of them is still in production: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Grey-Knights-Preacher-with-Chainsword

[Evil Eye]

I must confess I actually started the hobby in 2009, in the middle of 5th, but as of late I've gained a real appreciation for the older stuff. It helps my first 40K book was actually the 3E Tyranid Codex (long story)- I still have a real soft spot for the sculpts from that era. Even the rather cuddly looking Carnifex!

Speaking of Tyranids, the 2E sculpts were mostly fantastic. The Hive Tyrant especially, but I'll be real I actually love the 2E Lictor.

Though where it REALLY shines is this amazingly atmospheric conversion by Chris Blair.

Good to see all the love for Eldar in this thread, those sculpts are quite lovely and it's telling how good the design language is for them that a lot of models from 2nd edition are still in the catalogue. The Vyper, IIRC, is the oldest kit GW still makes!

 

I think the oldest mini in my collection is this- Slyth Ironlung(?) by Jes Goodwin from 1986 (I think). I got him for relatively cheap on a whim, and I am astounded at how good the sculpt on this fellow is. Seriously, considering this is a lead single-piece model from the 80s when they had to sculpt with Miliput (IIRC Greenstuff hadn't been invented yet) he looks astounding- the details on the chest and mask especially put a lot of modern sculpts to shame!

[Lysimachus]

Great topic!

 

For me it's this guy:

 

 

It was the first Space Marine I painted, I think. Looked dated even then, but I loved the style.

 

Now we have the plastic MkVI I'd love to rebuild him, maybe with the power sword that came in with the MkIV Tacticals?

[Jolemai]

For me it's

• A lot of metal/oop stuff.
• Epic
• 2nd edition stuff and paint jobs

So basically stuff which came out when I was just getting into the hobby 

There's actually a surprising amount of detail to be found on the older metal models which makes them a joy to paint.

[Lost2Requiem]

Evening. 
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, so my first ever purchase (1989) holds a special place in my heart!

 

Traitor terminators in a blister pack. I didn’t know what they were at the time (I didn’t buy my copy of RT until a few weeks later) but that was me sold on the grimdark!

[Marcus de Scapulis]

In my honest opinion Warhammer 3rd and 4th editions were 40k's glory days. Currently there are too many new units coming out every single month making it really hard to keep up. And I think the addition of the Adeptus Custodii and Mechanicus armies are pointless, especially Custodii. Why would they leave the Emperor's Palace on Terra to go fight somewhere else? Also I think the New Primaris Space Marine models are no where near as good as the original space marine models, sometimes looking goofy and stupid. Take a look at this primaris attack buggy.

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Marcus de Scapulis

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Agree 3rd edition was best, and I cannot get onboard with a lot of the new miniatures (with the exception of all the new Adepta Sororitas/Ecclesiarchy stuff which is top notch). 

 

Getting back to old minis of yore that speak to us, I should have added this guy:

 

 

This is the model that the original Lord Inquisitor Soulis was based off (this is not him or my model though) albeit with weapon swaps. This model always brings back memories, although my favourite models are generally 3rd edition. I won't post them here though since most of my favourite 3rd ed. models will be appearing in my and @Marcus de Scapulis's thread The Phoeladar Apostasy WIP. 

[apologist]

On 3/16/2023 at 12:53 AM, Trokair said:

Now some miniatures were goofy, not that great or downright weird, others however were then, and often still are, magnificent, charming or just speak to you. Yes modern miniatures might have better details, or are more dynamic, easier to build, or all sorts of improvements, but what are some of the old ones that are still dear to you?

 

I think the variation implicit in hand-sculpted models gave them a lot of their charm. It's a big part of that nebulous, indefinable quality that makes their slight asymmetries resulting in miniatures that feel far more 'real' and valuable than the crisper, cleaner results of CAD sculpture (though those also have their place, and are often amazing).

 

You'd also get the distinctive signature of particular sculptors, like this Bob Olley techpriest:

 

Because the figures were complete miniature sculptures, they came straight out of the blister with a lot of character – larger noses or slight variations on proportion; convincing musculature and clothing; and perhaps more importantly, a sense of narrative. The best modern plastics emulate this, with the figure designed as a whole to fit into a particular posture, as in the Catachans below, which are a mix of 2nd ed Perry miniatures, later 3rd ed additions to the range (Brian Nelson?) and plastics.

 

 

I think this was partly lost even back when GW moved to plastic arms on metal models, which necessitated more generic poses that could accommodate them. These two continue to lead (ho ho) my Lamb's World army, and the Elysian arms are a better fit than the rather crude original plastics.

 

 

 

... anyway, I digress. My favourites? Almost all Perry twins Imperial Guard. The pseudo-historical nature of them just grabbed my imagination, and it's a treat to come back and paint them all these years later. Painting small, single-piece metal models has a completely different appeal to the highly-detailed multi-part plastics for me. I enjoy both, but there's something about painting metal that I find far more enthralling.

 

 

 

[Evil Eye]

Those old metal Guard are fantastic, and I totally agree with you that the hand-sculpted nature really adds to the charm. They're also far more fun to paint by virtue of not having a trillion tiny details or hard-to-reach crevices because the CAD sculptor just had to make the interior of the jacket fully sculpted and semi-visible.

 

It's funny, I have some scanned .stl files of the Steel Legion metals (a friend sent them to me, don't judge me!), and when you look at them in the 3D viewer you could be forgiven for thinking they'll come out as mushy messes, by virtue of the computer screen showing every tiny imperfection of those pewter castings of hand-sculpted masters. Then you print them and they look perfect. As someone who's dabbled in mini design myself, it's interesting how much less is more with detail; I've seen very technically accomplished sculpts with things like skulls on every knuckle of a Marine hand, but when you actually paint the model you lose a lot of that detail because it's just so damn small you can't see it. It's actually made me feel a lot more confident as I realize I don't have to get every detail perfect to have a miniature that will look fantastic when printed and painted.

 

Also a miniature I'm very fond of is this old Techmarine. For such a simple sculpt he's brimming with character, and in spite of being quite detailed he's easy and fun to paint. I cheated a bit as he has a modern Tactical Sergeant power fist but anyway. Need to finish him still!

[WAR]

Here are some of my favorite models from years past