Wargames miniatures have been available in plastic longer than many folks in the hobby have been alive. Someone must have mastered the art of the plastic model kit by now, right?
Plastic kits are a godsend for wargaming hobbyists because they allow us to get loads of light weight minis for cheap (unless they are GW minis). Plastic is easily cut, shaved, sanded and glued. It does not hold quite the same level of detail as metal, but it is increasingly close these days. Furthermore, the method of making plastic minis (injection molding) vs that of metal minis (spin casting) encourages filling up sprue space with extra options and bits for the kit.
GW’s plastic kits are a great example of this last point. Look at these First Born Space Marine Sprues. You have all the pieces you need to make ten tactical marines, but so much more! There are enough bolters for every marine and more special weapons than your squad is allowed to take. There are six right handed weapon options for the squad leader alone. There are pouches, knives, extra shoulder pads, a meltabomb, extra hands, a cornucopia of customization. Lastly, the parts are all numbered to allow for easy assembly instructions.
So what’s not to like in a kit like this? Well, there is a lot of assembly. For any one marine you have the following parts:
- Legs
- Torso
- Head
- Right arm
- Right shoulder pad
- Weapon
- Left arm
- Left shoulder pad
- Backpack
That’s nine separate pieces of a single model before you add any extra bits for customization. The new plastic beakies even split the studded shoulder pad in half, requiring it to be assembled separately. Let’s take a look at some things that can be done to mitigate this level of segmentation.
This is an upcoming plastic set of Chaos Cultists… I mean, The Damned by Wargames Atlantic. These are their Not Ogryns (Brutes) and the infantry in the set are segmented this same way. The legs and torso are one piece, as are the right arms and weapons. This limits how much posing you can do, but drastically reduces the number of pieces you need to put together for a single model. Also they don’t have shoulder pads.
Another quality of life improvement is hands being modeled onto weapons. The Space Marines had this, but only for the trigger hand, which makes the left look awkward. These WA minis have a stump on the end of the left arm that aligns with the left hand modeled to the weapon. The Space Marine arms are just as static, though they are a bit easier to modify. And they are still a vast improvement over the bad, old days of weapons being entirely separate from hands.
These Wargames Factory Saxons are a great example of what not to do with a plastic kit. Though the torsos and legs come in one piece, the weapons are separate from the hands, making them incredibly fiddly to assemble and upping the number of components needed for a finished model. Furthermore, the need to have the hands open enough for the weapons to fit makes the final product look more like they are being cupped rather than gripped. The necks on the heads are also way too big for the hollow between the shoulders.
Lastly, I want to look at some ideas that seem good on paper but I think ultimately hurt a plastic kit. First on my list is having the head in one piece with the torso and legs. It makes the head mini look more organic overall, but that’s one key feature of the model that can no longer be varied to break up the unit. Another problem idea is “keying” or making unique slots and tabs for specific parts. The Star Wars: Legion Stormtroopers have arms that are keyed to specific torsos. Coupled with the first idea, the Legion Stormtroopers are effectively monopose minis that you have to assemble.
Which leads me to my final, yet biggest problem idea: monopose minis that require assembly. Just like the ideas above, this does not seem like a huge problem on the face of it. Look how much mileage GW got out of the original, plastic Genestealers and so many of its starter boxes. But the more complex the assembly is, the less rewarding it is to get a model that will look identical to so many others.
The new Leviathan terminators look freaking amazing, but everyone is going to have the same five poses and the same captain. Admittedly this is less of a problem in a game like 40k where there are multiple factions to break up the monotony, but is significantly more pronounced in 30k, where Space Marines are the only faction and you have to buy a special character or risk having an identical praetor as your opponent. And usually these monopose minis are much harder to customize because they are effectively one piece, even though they require assembly. They tend to look great, but therein lies the trap.
So who is making the best plastic miniatures on the market? Well, the good news is that there have never been more good options out there. Check out Perry Miniatures for historical options. They are phenomenal minis that check all the boxes. If traditional fantasy is your thing, the Frostgrave and Oathmark offerings are excellent, and for more fantastical fantasy I hear great things about Conquest. And of course, GW makes a phenomenal plastic kit, of which I own far too many.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
