Ahhh! The Marauder Giant! For a long, long time this was THE Warhammer giant and was a popular choice for Golden Demon painters well into the 1990s. I can recall being obsessed with the model back in the day but I don't think I ever saw the miniature itself until I bought one last year. At the time, I was ever so pleased to have picked one up so cheaply and set about immediately cleaning it up and prepping the model for painting. As another who has handled one of these will know, it weighs a ton but is so beautifully designed that it fits together so smoothly and needs the minimum of gap filling with putty.
I never got the model finished though, and recently dismantled it for stripping once more. My reason? I am not sure, but I feel out of love with the model despite its many good qualities. I have searched my mind for the reasons why and I think its just a case of over exposure. The giant was so successful for so long that they are absolutely everywhere - just try a eBay search for Warhammer giant and you're sure to hit a least 10 in the first few minutes.
My feelings aside, its a beautiful sculpt and a great piece of engineering and any Oldhammerer really needs one in their collection. Though not as large as the earlier Citadel Giant, its still a big beast and its sheer size is a spectacular sight just glued together as bare metal. Have a look at the diagram to see all the different pieces in the image below if you are not familiar with its dimensions.
The Marauder Giant Slayers are also fun, though they are not a patch on the Renaissance styled dwarfs we have discussed previously. They have a fair bit of variation and the odd amusing feature, such as the peg leg on one of the character models, but I prefer the Citadel ones released as part of the dwarf range. They seem too cuddly to me and don't really represent the frenzied deathwish viewpoint that the background suggests. I own them all and have long considered painting them up as they a amusing little chaps, perhaps as part of a scenario using the giant also. Time will tell where that project will go!
Mention must be made of these line drawings for Dark Elf cavalry. They are part of GW's increasing move away from single cast models into the era of the multi-part kit, though in truth this had been on the rise for some time. We will have a more detailed look at these models in a later post as some beautifully painted examples were published later.
Until then I shall leave you with a question - are you a friend or foe of the Marauder Giant? Is it a model that excites you? Have you a painted example in your collection? Or are you like me, a bit over exposed?
Basically, do you love or loathe the model?
Do share!
Orlygg
I love the marauder giant. Picked one up earlier this year and aim to paint it in the next few months for my chaos army (which I will be starting in September).
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with it when it came out and have wanted one ever since. The model itself (at least the model I have) will take a little filling in the gaps and the size of it is daunting to paint, probably why it's taken me about six months to contemplate putting a brush to it.
I'm a fan of it. I must admit though that painting it will be daunting - I guess that is why it sits in pieces with my unpainted chaos troops.
ReplyDeleteI have wanted a marauder giant ever since my Dwarf Lord Oddgrum Yellow beard got unceremoniously stuffed down ones pants in my first game. Earlier this year, I finally nabbed one for my growing Orc's and Goblin;s and am very pleased with it.
ReplyDeleteI had one in my mid-90s Orc and Goblin army. He fitted in as well as anything else, which is to say not at all, and that was fine. I prefer him infinitely to the gormless-looking potbellied plastic one (similarly, I prefer my Ogres as hunched, atavistic mercenaries who eat everything, not fat cavemen with dodgy Mongol 'taches).
ReplyDeleteI picked one up for 2 quid at a toy fair about a year ago. I love it but haven't settled on a satisfactory way to convert it for RT/40K yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm very much a fan, though since discovering them I think I like some of the C28 Giants (that were before my time) just as much.
ReplyDeleteIn my own collection I have had to make do with the top knotted one that followed the Marauder bloke.
Like Von, I really don't like the one sold currently at all- a real step down in my opinion.
I picked it up when it was a new (or new-ish) thing, and then it sat dormant until about 10 years ago, when I slowly started painting it. It got shelved for various reasons with the rest of my paints and models for a few years, and I noticed it again in it's box recently. It'll be getting finished either this year or next, depending on the other stuff in the paint queue, but it'll be finished soon. As for over-exposed. Sure, there's a lot of them about, but you could say the same about the Goodwin C23 ogres, or the RoC-era chaos champions - and just like those, the Marauder Giant has never been bettered.
ReplyDeleteFact is, I'll only ever have one of this model, it's far better than all of the other modern options, and a lot more impressive than the older ones, and as the kids today say - YOLO. So it doesn't matter to me how many others also appreciate the model or to what degree it gets painted and shown off...
This is the figure I think of when I think Oldhammer Giant. Once the pain of losing out on an auction for a mint one wears off, I'll look again.
ReplyDeleteYep have one, picked mine up back in the day when they were still on the shelves. Wasn’t a big fan of the frilly shirt sleeves so I hacked them off and converted mine further by raising the club up into a striking position. It is a fun model to paint you can go crazy and paint it in a patchwork of patterns if you like. As for the Dark Elf cavalry on the instructions page, I think that they are some of the best fantasy horses in the game. I use the mounts along with the old Melnibonean/high elf riders as my elites. It is a great combo.
ReplyDelete