Being an old fart gamer it immediately made me think of these:
GW seem to be on an even larger embiggening bender than we realised. With a new version of 40K Apocalypse just round the corner it's hardly surprising I suppose. Old fart that I am it's making me feel all weird again because these models are the stuff of dreams not reality, or at least that's how it all makes sense in my head. The very notion back in 1989 that you could get your hands on a 'real size' gargantuan of any kind would've been mind blowing.
I still find this massification rather awe inspiring. Admittedly the Khorne Blood Tractor or whatever it's actually called looks pretty ridiculous - I won't be getting one - I've got to say though that I sort of wish it was as utterly ridiculous as the old Epic models, with a Bloodthirster head, etc. (I guess not all dreams come true!).
I wonder if GW have something truly tempting up their sleeve for me...
This could be a 'jump the shark' moment for 40k, when people have a sudden moment of clarity and snap to their senses, forever turning back from this futile path. One can only hope anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think it's likely to be the first of many 'silly seasons' for 40k
DeleteNeedz moar skullz - sorry couldn't resist!
ReplyDeleteDoes the gun arm fire anything and is there a lever on the back for a realistic chopping action on the blade arm? Where does Battle Armour Skeletor sit?
Quite like the name Blood Tractor actually...
Hah! That's what it reminds me of, some bizarre toy inspired by an episode of He-man! Or possibly Thundercats. I am genuinely hoping this is a joke mock-up.
DeleteBut isn't there even just a little bit of your inner child that thinks... Yes! Massive Khorne thingy like in Epic!? ;-)
Delete"Khorne Blood Tractor" I like it :)
ReplyDeleteIdeal for farming heads and skulz for the blood god...
Unfortunatly you just KNOW it will appeal to their demographic, still people will move on when they are ready, inthe meantime they will continue to destroy all our childhood dreams and games.
ttfn
I used to live next door to a farmer who was so angry that he would've loved one of these. But that's another story.
DeleteIt will appeal, yes I can see that. Khorne are like 'vanilla chaos', unchallenging, easy to paint, no complicated magic to learn, lots of big hitty things.
I don't know about destroying childhood dreams though - this is no Phantom Menace! I actually think it echoes the crazy gang ethos of 80s GW, and I wonder if they might've built one of these if they could've at the time.
Davey, great post! I think the Khorne Blood Tractor looks ridiculous. But then I feel pretty much the same about the new Eldar Wraithknight. Super-sized figures blow normal scaled terrain out of the water and they shift the frame of the game (...which has been happening for several editions now). Of course, it's a personal preference, but I prefer my Chaos and Xenos up close, personal and able to fit into a dark narrow corridor of a space hulk. Super blog, BTW :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sidney. I agree, the Space Hulk level of gaming is my own ideal too. I was at the Forge World Open Day and they had a table that was only two Reaver Titans vs a bunch of Ork Stompas. I actually said to the guys running it, "isn't this the least fun game you can think of?" Bless them, they were diplomatic in their reply.
DeleteSomeone at GW is a BIG fan of Lawnmower Deth.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'd just like to say that there's a world of difference between buying an over-priced model-kit off of GW and kitbashing a titan out of broken Star Wars and Zoids toys. Fom the Imperial Dragon to the Giant, Citadel have always had some big things, but one offs and specials.
Wise words. A friend of mine with some high level scratch-building skills has a 40k scale Banelord titan that stomps about once a year. Truly awesome. Somehow GW flooding the market with this sort of stuff leaves a bad taste though. And that Blood Tractor is a horrifying low point.
DeleteMega-thingys should certainly be limited in gaming terms.
DeleteOf course Forge World have done titans for some time. Seeing them at the open day I was struck by how dull and uninspiring they are as models. It was impossible for me to see how modeling and painting one would be an enjoyable or worthwhile project.
Big monsters I do have a soft spot for though. But obviously they're not gargantuan, simply large. Also given close combat being the norm in fantasy they work better in normal games.
As for the scratch built v shop bought debate I am sympathetic towards the punky scratch builds. But... The right big kit would be very tempting for me.
The Khorne blood tractor does indeed look ridiculous. But I've found that with all of the larger Chaos Space Marine models. The Helldrake. The two Fiend models. They look like the kind of toys I would have killed for in the 80s when I was 10. Of course, someone will tell me in a minute that that's exactly what they are but don't they also miss the point of Chaos? All the fluff points to rusting, monstrous hulks, mutated and decayed by the influence of the warp, and yet what do we get? Perfectly shaped, cleanly painted models with clean lines and what looks like precision engineering.
ReplyDeleteTo my mind, that's not Chaos.
In designing models of this type GW are simply pandering to the younger end of their audience. They're forgetting that they also have a large audience of older gamers / collectors who want something more .... dare I say it .... realistic.
That model is just ....well.....silly.
All pertinent points I'd say. I especially agree with your point about clean paint jobs, which I can't stand. They seem to completely miss the narrative of the whole universe. I always find myself having to look 'beyond' the official paint jobs when trying to work out if a new GW is as bad as it first appears. There's often a way to get good results, despite the GW house painters best efforts!
ReplyDelete