Thursday 13 July 2017

Scale Creep is causing Havoc


Greetings Sinners!
As I mentioned in my last post, I need some Missile Launcher Havocs for a doubles tournament that I'm attending at the end of the month. I actually thought I still had some from 3rd Edition and was somewhat disappointed to discover only one of them had made it through the 17 years since I last used them; and even that one had taken a bit of a beating.....Still it had lasted much longer than the two Ex's that had been and gone :-)




You're probably wondering what in the name of Slaanesh would possess me to paint the rim of the base Goblin Green? Well back in the day, If you wanted to play in an event at Warhammer World you had to paint the rims this garish green!
Fortunately, GW realised that this was a bit OTT and allowed us to paint them whatever colour we wanted after a couple of years.
Despite it's beaten up nature, nostalgia got the better of me (nothing to do with working on a tight deadline) and I decided to keep him in the unit....I even found his original arm and shoulder pad.....17 years and I still know which bits box holds which model parts!


All well and dandy I thought. I had a rummage around and found 3 push fit Missile Launcher Marines......Slaanesh alone knows where they came from.....


I dug out my Chaos bits box (I can't be the only person that has a Chaos Marine bits box, a Daemon bits box, a Sisters of Battle bits box, a Elda.....anyway, you get the idea) and added a couple of bits to overcome the thin-blood look ;-)
It was after I had embellished them that I realised just how pronounced the scale creep has become......

It doesn't look that noticeable in this photo, but believe me there is a considerable difference in size. The size becomes more noticeable when 'shorty' is surrounded by more of his comrades.....


 .......it gets worse when I put them on 32mm bases, so much so that I'm now considering retiring 'Shorty' and ripping his Missile Launcher arm off and putting it on another model.
Logically, I know this is the best option. Shorty was painted 17 years ago using the old Citadel Imperial Purple which no longer exists, so he'll be slightly off shade compared to the others.....but a part of me is loathe to give up on him after all these years spent alone waiting for his time to come again.

So what do you think, should I bin him or keep him?

Until next time......may Our Lady grant you her number!

31 comments:

  1. Nice job with the legs i gave you Gaz;-) if it was me i would bin him he looks out of place and replace him with another marine with the sexy legs;-)

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  2. Keep him and make him taller with some imaginative basing, he deserves his place in the long war 😁

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    1. That was my thought as well, but unfortunately putting him on a slightly taller base to the others makes him look even shorter for some reason. You think like me, his Long War shouldn't come to an end just because he's short ;-)

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    2. He could always be the runt of the pack lol

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    3. I'm reminded of 'Little Horus' from the Horus Heresy novels.....perhaps I'll call him Little Nestor.....or maybe I'll stick to Shorty.

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    4. I like little Nestor ;-)

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  3. Keep shorty, he adds shortness , I mean character to the unit.

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  4. Keep him. The gifts of the Chaos Gods are highly variable. Perhaps he was shrunken in stature, but granted better sight or steadier hands, hence moving to a role in a Havoc Squad.

    Or find a few more old metal CSM on eBay so you have enough to do a whole Havoc Squad out of the old ones. I have a ton of both old and new ones scattered throughout my Alpha Legion, and I find they look just fine when they're mixed fairly evenly.

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    1. I like your thinking; the Warp works in mysterious ways and Our Lady values quality over quantity every time!

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  5. The weapon arm is worth keeping, though a new body would suit him really well. It's a pity the newer Havocs have Finecast components, they autocannon barrel might not last long in its straight shape.

    I'm really attached to my 1990s Alpha Legion (last year I painted a new Chaos Lord and Sorcerer and they tower over their minions :-/ ) which is seeing the tabletop again in the early days of 8th. I can't bring my self to repaint them, though, I'd rather start new kits from scratch if only for the ease of assembly and basecoating.

    Cheers.

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    1. That's how I feel about the old models as well. The newer model's with their scale creep (and much improved detailing) are literally head and shoulders better than the old kits. If he stays it will be for nostalgia reasons only.

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  6. Lord Adiatun Varunn14 July 2017 at 00:13

    Greetings Brother,
    may I suggest a difficult job of resculpture? The model deserves to continue the long war, basically is a veteran πŸ˜„ you could separate torso and legs, lengthen them (someone said hooves?) ... A great deal of work for the Long WarπŸ˜„

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    1. The model is all one piece, so while it would be possible to cut him up, it isn't possible to do it in the time scale I have (when I've finished these guys I have to paint up a Herald, build and paint the Masque and build a Daemonette Musician in just over a week.

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    2. Lord Adiatun Varunn14 July 2017 at 09:26

      Ouch, tight time schedule ... the suggestion I gave you was useless, sorry:-) still keep him, has the charm of the good old times!

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    3. No need to apologise my friend, I appreciate your suggestion. If they prove to be useful, I may very well return to him and increase his height!

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  7. Keep him! He deserves to fight again after surviving so long in the Bitz Box of Terror. It might look a bit odd, but us older players will appreciate the nostalgia during a match :(

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    1. Indeed, surviving the 'Bitz Box of Terror' for so long is a feat worthy remembrance. I think he will stay.....although I might see if I can find another thin-blood with a Missile Launcher just in case ;-)

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    2. Why not make him the squad champion

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    3. I'm thinking of using an old metal Chaos Marine as the Champion so that little Nestor doesn't feel too out of place now :-)

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    4. Personally i would make him into the squad champion put his missile launcher on another man and call them little Nestors dirty doven lol

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  8. Don't worry Brother, I still have my Noise Marines to re-arm, build and paint 4 Havocs and paint a Herald and we are supposed to be moving home next Friday! It might be a late list change for me at this rate. But one way or another I will be there even if I have to use my guitar playing Noise Marines that are older than most players :)

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    1. If you're struggling, let me know and we can re-jig our lists. You can always borrow anything that I have painted up.

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  9. Keep him. I'm one to never retire a model because it's old. Repaint him if you want, but the followers of Chaos do not put usable Marines to pasture, they let them die on the battlefield :)

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    1. He's definitely staying, if I retire models that are old, I'll have very little army left ;-)

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  10. I'm currently repainting my Noise Marines of 1997 vintage at the moment, but their oversized sonic backpack is a sure proof against the scale creep of today's figures. :-D

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    1. Lol.
      I was never a fan of the spiky backpack on those Noise Marines.
      I'm still in limbo at the moment, until the CSM dex is released I will stick with the models I have painted....apart from the Havocs that is ;-)

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  11. I think you should keep shorty.

    Old minis often look odd among the new guys and more than often (in my collection) they have old paint jobs that are...far from perfect!
    But they always bring back great memories of the battles of yore.

    I say if a warrior has served honorably he should stay as a veteran, maybe only taking part in the most crucial battles. But ripping the guy's arm appart and sending him to the bits box always felt wrong to me.

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    1. True enough, I think the last time I used him was 3rd edition, so it's only right that he returns as a true veteran ;-)

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