Multipart kits vs Single Cast

[Nos]

I've maintianed 2 things pretty consistently about models in the hobby in my years in and out of wargaming:

A) I hate making them

B) GW Makes the best ones without exception

Primarily I'm a painter now, I don't have much time for gaming and would much rather use it for paitining when time is limited, so very much coming at it from that perspective. Obviously if you like playing warhammer games you're tied into the models to a fairly non-Negotiable degree.

But I have been amazed by the quality of some boardgame miniatures I bought recently, just for the purpose of painting. They were designed by Adrian Smith and Mike McVey, who were absolutley key figures in the Warhammer aesthetic mid-late 90s. The details are crisp to the point that they make a lot of my GW stuff feel like Duplo.

More to the point, I got about 60 of them at about £2 per model, and an entire board game on top of it all. And I don't have to stick them together. The more I've looked into similar items, the more I've realised that there are an increasing number of companies able to offer sculpts which either rival GW models in quality for slightly less price, or are slightly inferior but available by the absolute job load for an equivalent amount . 

Basically, they are my first real engagement with the possibilities of modern technology and miniature production outside of GW (not even going to touch on 3d printing) , and it's radically altered me perspective on the vale of and approach to GW models. 

I get why some people like models as kits, it's not for me but I get it. But I guess aside from the modelling possibilities (which, compared to about ten years ago, are dramaticlly reduced witout consierable modelling skills, even stuff like simple head swaps etc are far more complex) I had always thought it was the only way to create quality. I now realise this isn't true at all.

But also, I can't help but feel, especially given the monopose nature of a lot of modern GW stuff, that it would make the hobby even more accessible to at least have some single casts. 

Do you think this could be the case in the near future? It's not new, of course. This was exactly where the hobby started, single sculpts, and a lot of the designers of those classic figures are still designing things as whole, single piece master casts. When i was just getting into GW, multi part sculpts were the new hotness but very much the exception. In some ways the current situation feels pretty counter-intuitive with GW, increasingly you have multi part kits which for most people end up being built into one or two monopose variations. The selling point with the multi kits was customisation and variation. 

I'm aware typing this that multiple other wargame producers have followed suit with the multi part kits too and that it's not just as GW thing. 

It's just quite interesting to me, I'd always assumed that the new Computer design process was synonymous with weird kit assembly requirements, but apparently not. 

Just thought it would be an interesting conversation. For me as a painter who basically approaches model making with a combination of fear and disgust, to the point that I now pay a friend to do it for me when able, the dawn of/return to excellent single piece sculpts is very exciting, what do others think?

Edited September 22, 2021 by Nos

[EntMan]

When I look at 40k miniatures for possible conversation to AoS proxies I've noticed single piece resin models seem more common over in the grimdark future. I'm new enough back to the hobby after a long enough time away that I don't know if these are old hangers on or a new trend.

I like multi piece models where there are options to pose them in different ways or different weapon options etc and they obviously make conversion easier ( I like to kitbash and wish my painting skill did my bashed kits justice).

But for models which don't really have the freedom to pose differently etc I'd say single piece is best? What's the point in having an arm to stick on if there's only one position it can go. I guess the easy build and push fits are the worst offenders here.

Edited September 22, 2021 by EntMan

[EntMan]

I'd add that I often find it easier and less fiddly to paint detail on torsoes and sometimes faces (helmets please, anything to avoid having to do eyes!) before sticking the arms on.

[Pyrescribe]

I just (2 months ago but who's counting) assembled 40 marauders with some simple head swaps to make the models bearable to look at. Despite the range of poses and arm options, they all ended up looking the same anyway (like ******). Assembling them was a lot of fun, though. I did a lot of small conversions here and there, and the experience of assembly without having to consult an instruction manual was therapeutic. 

As for removal of loadout options in the gear, I don't think it's that big of an issue. It certainly makes the game easier to balance, not that balance is something GW cares to actually achieve (it would hurt sales). I'm just learning to accept what comes my way, and to go with the flow. I think in practice models do have a shelf life and it's unreasonable to expect that a release or modeling option from decades ago ought to still be playable in the current format.

[micahaphone]

I do enjoy choosing my model's pose, changing things up, customizing the base, etc. That and sometimes it's much easier to paint if you assemble the main body, paint that, paint then glue on the backpack/arms/weapons so they don't get in your way when you're painting.

[Gaz Taylor]

I like multi part kits as it allows you to be really creative and come up with cool conversions. But I have found that I need to slow things down as I think it’s very easy to fall into the mindset of getting the models assembled quickly to use (either for painting, gaming or both). I really enjoy taking my time but being married and having a small child makes it tough sometimes and I have to fight the urge to rush though a kit!

I like the GW mono poses and would like to see it more for Battleline roles but from a GW point of view it makes more sense to have a kit that can make many different ones (Witch Aelves for example). 

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

I would be in favour of more single-cast plastic models. I really don't get any joy out of just assembling a model if there is no room for customization or posing at all. I am not sure how much single-casts limit the possibility of different poses, though. Old single-cast models were definitely always a little flat: You could clearly tell that their poses had to be laid out along a single plane and they could not usually do stuff like hold their weapons out in front of them.

There is also the question of how comfortable we are with monopose models. Personally I prefer monopose for battleline, because the less time I have to spend assembling them, the better. I'm also OK with it for named heroes. The case where I most want customizability is with generic heroes and monsters that you might field multiple of. It's one thing I don't especially like about Sons of Behemat, for example: The basic stance of the giants is always really similar, which really stands out badly since they are all "centerpiece" models that invite close attention.

[yukishiro1]

I hate monopose battleline, unless it's a unit you're never going to take more of than the number of unique poses. I.e Namarti Thralls are ok because there's 10 poses (more like 13 IIRC with the weapon swaps) and you're never really going to take a unit bigger than that. I really hate having duplicate poses in a unit, it really bugs me. 

I think the best way to do battleline is something like you get in the dryad kit - all the arms, branches, heads etc are interchangeable, with the result that you can easily assemble literally hundreds of possible unique models, even though there's only 4 bodies - though it would have been even better if they had made 8 unique bodies instead of 4. 

[Gitzdee]

I like to build minis. Love building a 130 parts model to be honest. Would be sad if things became singlecast. I dont really mind for some leaders. Some of them are just a few parts anyway.

[Ggom]

I enjoy building when it’s possible to create alot of variation. Horus Heresy space marines benefit from this - there are so many interchangeable bits that you can make the models your own during assembly. It becomes a creative process. A well built custom marine can look far cooler and more dynamic than the booklet build.
 

I don’t enjoy assembling monopose models, or models where there is very little room for creativity. I find it boring. However, in many cases, it’s still possible to do conversions to try to tweak the standard pose. Witch elves come with 5 unique bodies. It’s pretty fun to try to adjust them while keeping the aesthetic similar (greenstuff skill helps.) My converted poses don’t look as good, but I enjoy them for the little bit of me I gave on to them in their making.

[yukishiro1]

I also dislike the new multipart, monopose kits that have a bajillion pieces all chopped at weird angles that you have to put together like a jigsaw puzzle. Those are the worst of all worlds - finnicky, and having all the little parts doesn't actually get you anywhere because you can't actually use them for conversions because everything is sliced up in such weird ways. I.e. those kits where the torso comes in five pieces that look like they were chopped apart by a maniac with a chainsaw, one of which inexplicably also contains half of a hand, three quarters of a codpiece, and five eights of a kneecap. 

[Boingrot Bouncer]

My last kits from GW (except for the ETB Dominion) has been LRL Wardens and Sentinels. Although you get 10 different poses in the unit it's hard to do anything much different then the instruction tell you to do (except perhaps for different faces that you don't see unless you have it 1 dm from your face and different runes on the shield). So for these kits they could just have made them in 3-4 pieces instead of the 10 or so that they had. Many other LRL kits feels the same, they are chopped up in to many small pieces that just feels like it's done to make you miserable (come on GW, one foot on a Warden as a separate piece???.

Compare that to Squigs and Squig Hoppers from Gitz where you can change their faces and legs to make a lot of different poses and you see why a multipart kit makes sense.

[zilberfrid]

I like building minis, to the point that I print bodies and arms seperately to mix and match with my plastic stuff.

Single piece models limit the detail in a direction, but I agree that this is less of a selling point if you don't have options anyway.

[Shearl]

I’m more into the hobby side of AoS rather than playing, so I value the customizability of a kit pretty highly. If a unit doesn’t have options and it’s something I’ll include multiples of almost always end up sawing them apart to add some variety.
 

I have found the new gutrippaz set to be a nice balance between multi part and monopose, as the bodies and legs are all unchangeable yet all the weapon arms, shields, and heads can fit on any of the torsos. Naturally some arms fit some torsos better based on poses, but you have a lot of options.