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The far future is grim dark, but particularly for those heroes whose sculpts are trapped in the grim dark past.
Earlier this week, Games Workshop revealed a new miniature for Warboss Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub, a venerable character in the setting’s lore. Despite his infamy, his last incarnation had been a charming but decidedly dated sculpt from 1993. I suspect Nazdreg’s original sculpt is older than most of the game’s current player base.
We’ve actually seen a few prominent resculpts of venerable miniatures in recent months. Even Ciaphas Cain received a new sculpt this spring—his original sculpt was available only as a limited production run of 500 over two decades ago. And a good number of other notable heroes have been rescued from the depths of time, like most of the Aeldari Phoenix Lords, but still, there are quite a few iconic figures who are in desperate need of a facelift. So, here are my top five picks in ascending order.
Karandras, the Shadow Hunter
This one’s almost a gimme, so it’s a good place to start. Karandras made his original appearance back in the 2nd edition Codex: Eldar and received one of the coolest sculpts of the era. As of this time, he’s the only one of the original set of Phoenix Lords to not receive a recent resculpt. Even Lhykis, Phoenix Lord of the Warp Spiders, finally received a first sculpt last year.
The Striking Scorpion Aspect Warriors were resculpted a few years ago, but strangely, their Phoenix Lord is still missing. It seems like it’s probably just a matter of time before Karandras gets his much-deserved glow-up. It’s hard to imagine that particular gap will be left in the Aeldari range much longer, but it’s a strange omission at present.
Pedro Kantor, Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists
There are some rumors swirling that we might see Pedro Kantor cross the Rubicon Primaris this edition. I think there’s some credibility to this just based on the prominence of the Crimson Fists in Operation Imperator and the inclusion of waterslide transfers for the chapter in that box set. The Crimson Fists have been one of the most iconic factions in all of Warhammer since the days of Rogue Trader, and it’s well past time we got a sculpt for their Chaptermaster that matches the current Primaris range. Vote for Pedro!
Trazyn the Infinite
Trazyn the Infinite has become a fan favorite of the 40k community in recent years, and deservedly so. His popularity has soared on the strength of Robert Rath’s The Infinite and the Divine, one of the most engaging and blackly comedic 40k novels ever written. Unfortunately, his sole model is showing its age. While it’s not a bad sculpt by any means, Trazyn deserves a new sculpt in scale with the current Necron range and hopefully more befitting the inherent majesty of the Curator of the Prismatic Galleries.
Abaddon, First Captain of the Sons of Horus
Another sculpt that’s okay but showing its age, the Horus Heresy-era Abaddon gets major points for being half of a diorama depicting the infamous duel between Loken and Abaddon at the outset of the civil war. Long before he became the Despoiler, Abaddon was one of the major characters in the ensemble drama of the Horus Heresy, and many of his compatriots in the Sons of Horus have received recent sculpts.
This sculpt is definitely starting to look a little out of place compared to the recent resculpt of Cataphractii terminators or characters like Tybalt Mar. Again, this is a cool sculpt but not up to the current standards of the game, in which he should be a major face.
Asdrubael Vect, Overlord Archon of the Kabal of the Black Heart
This is the big one for me. Asdrubael Vect is essentially the leader of Commoragh and the Drukhari as a faction, and despite having had an awesome sculpt by the standards of the time of its release, he hasn’t even had official rules in many years!
The Drukhari have had a few model range refreshes but only in fits and starts. I would dearly love to see a new kit for him bringing his sinister Dias of Destruction back with all the glory of GW’s current plastic centerpiece kits. Bring him back and give the whole faction a facelift, already! But maybe Marneus Calgar needs another sculpt, instead…
Simon Berman has been a wargamer since 1993 and has worked in the tabletop games industry since 2008 as a staff writer for the first three editions of WARMACHINE and HORDES. These days he's the General President of the Brush Wielders Union, a worldwide organization of miniatures painters of all skill levels, a freelance games writer who has contributed to a number of roleplaying games like Eclipse Phase, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, and The Hammer and the Stake. He runs his own small-press publishing company, Strix Publishing, and paints more miniatures than he can keep track of. Simon lives with his wife in Tacoma, Washington along with a number of cats and a pack of savage wiener dogs.
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