Can you really pick a miniature of the year?

In this month’s White Dwarf (January) there was an article about looking back at 2016 and reviewing what was released. And going through it they really did release some amazing stuff like a reintroduction of Warhammer Quest to the rise of the genestealer cult.

But the thing I’m wanting to talk about is at the end of the article, they have a part where you can vote for the miniature of the year where they have one model from each month they were released from (pg48).

Now the problem I see with this is
I don’t have any of these models and I imagine most people won’t either, maybe have 2 or 3 of them. When you have a miniature, you experience the whole thing, the making, gluing, cleaning, painting and you get invested in the miniature.

 

I mention this because when I was looking at some of the models I thought to myself yea it looks great but what’s it like to paint or put together? I got a terrorgheist/zombie dragon kit a few years back and I loved the look of it. It’s a zombie dragon! But when I was putting it together I had a nightmare and struggled to paint it. I had a terrible time with that model and it would never get my vote for miniature of the year. But that was only my experience with it. I know what that model is like to make, glue and paint.

This kit drove me crazy

Another way of looking at it is does the mini represent what it’s supposed to well enough? Let’s use the new Magnus the red as an example. He is the demon primarch of the thousand sons. That’s a pretty big deal! Correct me if I’m wrong because 40K isn’t my strongpoint but primarch models have only been coming out in recent years from forge world for Warhammer 30K. So does it get an extra point because it’s the first for 40K or its importance? The model itself does a great job of representing a primarch. The scale, its armour, wings and other details all look great. The model represents it well.



But does it lose points because of its paint job? That’s down to personal reference and not experiencing the model itself but certain paint jobs could diminish how much you like a model. Magnus skin is a redish pink colour and I’m not to fond of that so I would like to see it another skin tone.

Maybe it’s just me overthinking it a bit too much so let’s look it from an aesthetic standpoint. Does it look good/nice? All The models look great. Some of the models they have picked for some month wouldn’t have been my choice. July has Drycha Hamadreth which could have been Alarielle, October had the Goliath Rockgrinder which really should have been a model from the Gene stealer cult minis that came out that month, November had Geigor Fell-hand which is nice but I’d prefer the orc Blitzer from the new blood bowl set instead but all of these are down to personal reference. All the models look fantastic, but if I had to choose a model their list from just looking at the pictures I would go with Aprils Megaboss.

The guy is a beast! 40K space Ork lords always looked fantastic. They looked every bit the part. Being huge, muscular, intimidating and armed with the biggest weapon is what every warboss should look like and the megaboss fits the bill. His thick armour, shoulder pad skull and jaw plate make him look like the biggest orruk around.

So, answering my own question I suppose you can pick a miniature of the year. Most likely from an aesthetic view point and not experiencing the models ourselves. If I had to pick a miniature of the year from the stuff I have experience myself, it would be the Skaven Deathrunner from the Warhammer quest box. Closely followed by the orc Blitzer from the blood bowl box. That’s my choice for Miniature Of The Year 2016.

Everyone’s choice is going to be different so I’m curious to what yours is? Make sure to let me know here or on my twitter @spungemurphy or my Facebook page SpungeHammer.