Is anyone else finding new sculpts less inspiring?

[Antarius]

10 hours ago, MoriyaSchism said:

The removal of constraints didn't really liberate them in any way

I think there is generally something to be said for restraints being a boon to the creative process. If you can do anything it's easy to go with whatever idea pops into your head first. If you are bound by certain restrictions, either conceptually or physically/technologically (for lack of a better term), you have to do a lot of creative thinking to work out the best possible idea within those restraints.
I'm not sure that's necessarily at the root of the things I dislike about some newer models, but it might explain why some of them feel like exercises in "look what we can do now!" and are bogged down in a lot of superficial detail instead of being really focused on the most important key elements of the design. That being said, I think there are still lots of great sculpts, but as I mentioned earlier, I do find myself trimming off a lot of what I find to be superfluous details and "flashy stuff" from many newer sculpts.

[Antarius]

On 9/11/2026 at 11:43 PM, Zoatibix said:

There's an issue with some models pushing too far into looking amazing but then being quite fragile or annoying to transport if one uses public transport.

This is so true. I mean, models were always liable to get damaged under transportation but a lot of the newer sculpts, especially centerpiece-type models, seem to be designed (only) as display models. In a sense, it's great that they can make all these delicate features and details that were just impossible before, but it would be nice if some thought was given to actually being able to transport and play with these models without breaking them.

[Viridia]

7 hours ago, Antarius said:

This is so true. I mean, models were always liable to get damaged under transportation but a lot of the newer sculpts, especially centerpiece-type models, seem to be designed (only) as display models. In a sense, it's great that they can make all these delicate features and details that were just impossible before, but it would be nice if some thought was given to actually being able to transport and play with these models without breaking them.

 

It seems to be a problem with GW designs over the last ten years. It's like we've gone from the handsculpted, with the aim of trying to get characterful sculpts, to CAD, with "how impressive can we make this look?" I've got two examples: the chaos knights from AoS, absolutely fantastic designs, look great, but for the life of me I cannot see a reasonable way to fit them into your average foam case. I ordered some boxes from KR Multicase with extra depth and they're still not tall enough to accommodate the upright lances, which combined with the huge sprawling charging poses of their horses means I can't see a way to take them anywhere.

 

The other example is the Warlord titan for AT/LI. Lovely model, huge, great design and all that, but why are there so many pieces that exist to be put on top of others and totally obscure the below from sight? They included things like being able to place magnets in arms and shoulders so you can swap out weapons, but why do we have that relatively flexible design philosophy for the titans when your average modern 40k infantry squad has each figure often designed to work with a max of 2-3 different poses? (Looking at you, Arbites squad!)

[The Yncarne]

20 hours ago, MoriyaSchism said:

... I have suspected for a long time that the re-done Eldar Corsairs were supposed to be a Primaris-like reboot for the Eldar and Dark Eldar because of their similarity with the Visarch from The Gathering Storm. I can't prove it but I believe the idea was to slowly squat both Eldar factions in favour of the Ynnari while holding onto some legacy Dark Eldar and Craftworld kits until they gradually replace them all with Ynnari equivalents over the years like how it went down with Space Marines...

That's been my thinking since the first corsair kit arrived and we were done chatting about "end times 40K edition".  Makes me wonder how that line might have evolved.

[Zoatibix]

@Viridia have you thought of  using magnetised boxes instead of foam? That’s what I swapped too for my Drukhari when I got fed up with their spikes and blades getting snagged in the foam.

 

Such boxes are pretty straightforward to build yourself.

 

Although I know folks that have had to magnetise their Knights at the waist to get them in the boxes. 

[Lathe Biosas]

On 9/11/2026 at 5:43 PM, Zoatibix said:

There's an issue with some models pushing too far into looking amazing but then being quite fragile or annoying to transport if one uses public transport.

 

This is why my Dark Angels are quickly becoming all Deathwing... Terminators and a smattering of boring marines.

 

Busses and trains don't make for the smoothest of rides.

[kabaakaba]

New sculpts are too busy with details. Both 40k and AoS so loaded with them tat if you painting and highlights all of them miniature turned into Christmas tree. I even start shave some of them just to make sculpt cleaner and readable. 

And yeah old charismatic sculpts looks better compared to new "we put 9999 details on this 30mm miniature" 

[Dark Shepherd]

I think the generic marines have had a lot of duds but mainly cos of loadout

Eg bladeguard, eliminators are sick but IMO ten dudes all with a flamer, intercessors 2.0 are boring. And most primaris vehicles have been comically overloaded with weapons.

Then theres the desolators that combine both

 

And the Invader ATV which is pants, weapons grade pants

 

New wolves I loved though

[TheTrans]

Another interesting thing to factor in with all the new, sort of boiler plate details, is and this may sound lazy, but you have to paint them...

I'm currently working on 50 odd Tyrant's Legion Auxilia. They are based on scans of the old Vostroyans, I've replaced their heads, hands and guns, but not added much else. They have been a joy to paint, the have plenty of '2 foot' detail, and if you look up close the sculpts are effective enough to look good there also. But due to their relative simplicity compared to todays models they are readily batchable in large quantities, which makes army building easy.

If I was painting 50 new Cadians, filling in all that extra detail for 3-5 points per models, I'd go nuts pretty quick. 

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

It seems quite hit and miss, even within the faction. There is less creativity I feel than we see in AoS.

 

Space Marines are perhaps the worst but there is only so much you can do with them. Change to much and there not Space Marines anymore. 

 

The change to a less grimdark and marvel like aesthetic is a downgrade though. 

 

For me the biggest annoyance with 40k models is the overuse of Tactical Rocks and lack of consideration for the practicalities of gaming/transporting/storing.