Warhammer 40K: Age of Sigmar Has Better Miniatures

Let’s talk about how GW has some truly amazing models and they aren’t from 40K.

Games Workshop is a company with a lot of experience making models. Over the decades they’ve put out a huge range of models for a variety of games and genres. On the whole, given both aesthetic and quality and quantity of their models, they are by far the greatest wargaming model manufacturer around. They make truly amazing stuff, and yet most of their best, and most innovated work isn’t for their flagship game, Warhammer 40,000. Let’s talk about that.

40K Has Good Models

Let me start by saying that 40K doesn’t have bad models. That is not my point at all. 40K has a ton of amazing models and is top of the line. Both old classic and newer models such as the Silent King are amazing. But at the same time, there is a bit of staleness in 40K. It’s a lot of the same, with models getting resculpted with slight differences. It’s good, but it’s rarely innovative.

Take something like the new Howling Banshee models. Are they good models? Absolutely, these models rock. Are they innovative or really exciting? Well, look at the old ones. 

And the answer is, not really. They are just kind of… more of the same. Better yes, but nothing shocking.

40K Has Too Much Tradition 

I think the main issue here is that 40K just has a lot of tradition. Everything is very set in stone. It’s hard to innovate in a game where you have so much history. That means that even when you release a huge new model line like the Primaris Marines, they still have to basically look like Marines. The same is true with redoing old models, like the Howling Banshees. They can be better, but they still have to look like Howling Banshees. Even when a line gets a big shake-up, such as Necrons, they are still very much stuck with being Necrons. It’s doesn’t mean there is no room to innovate, Chaos and Necrons have both had some amazing models that push their line like the Silent King, and the Sisters of Battles have The Triumph of Saint Katherine, but overall, you can still feel three decades of design constraints at work.

To me, this ends up with 40K’s models feeling good, amazing at times, but not exciting. Oh, it’s another Marine in some kinda armor. Cool. 40K seems a bit stuck in a rut. If you are only looking at 40K models, you might not even notice…

The Other GW Games Have So Much Innovation

All of GW’s other games, seem to be getting more innovative, and just flat out better models. Take the Lumineth Realm Lords. They are an amazing re-work of a classic faction. They’ve managed to keep some of the feelings of old High Elves, while giving them a totally new and unique look, that’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, a strange blend of East Asian, Classical Greek and Australian outback. It leads to amazing models like the one above. It’s exciting!

Or how about this bonkers Pleasure Cart thing!

Nor is it just Age of Sigmar, how about the new Warhammer Quest Models? Someone went and made a Cossack Vampire Ogre. Like man, THAT’S RAD! These models are amazing – and innovative – and just different.

Or how about Warcry? This stuff is bonkers and new and exciting!

So many Snakes! This one model is probably more interesting than a lot of Space Marines.

But OK, maybe it’s just all the Mortal Realm setting stuff is better. After all, they get to make up new stuff there. But even the side games in 40K just get better stuff.

How about Necromunda with it’s amazing punk gang vibes? 

It’s a game that feels and looks 100% 40K, but gives us stuff we’ve never seen before and that is super different, while also not being restricted to mono-post models.

I mean look at how just different and gross this is?

Or how about Blackstone Fortress with its weird and beautiful drones.

It managed to give us new takes on old things (that Ranger is the best Elder model to come out in years and blows away the Banshees) while also giving us models for things in the universe we’ve never seen before.

On the other side of things, Titanicus and Aeronautica might not really give us us new designs, but the detail and scale they are at are amazing, making these massively technically proficient.

So again, it’s not that I think 40K has bad models. Its models are good. But I also think in terms of technical ability, innovation and just pure coolness, pretty much all the other games GW makes are steadily pulling away from 40K. I don’t know why, but it seems like a lot of the innovation is going into these other games and not 40K. While 40K is good, it can be better, and I would love to see some of this excitement and limit-pushing put to work on new 40K stuff.

Let us know what you game you think has the best GW models, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.