Tall dudes

A question which almost nobody is asking but which I'm going to have a crack at answering anyway is: which giant is better? The metal 6th edition Orcs and Goblins giant or the 2006 multipart plastic kit?

As you can see, I've got both as part of my eternal Albion army project. If the Age of Rebuilding has achieved nothing else, it has made me a master of the Ebay watch list, and these two both come up at reasonable prices. I like them both, but let's compare them.

Size

Now, in a world where the Ghorgon exists, it might be futile to ask which of these is more fitting of the name 'giant'. But if we look past that, the 2006 kit has the clear advantage of height. That being said, the metal does have a more brawny physique. Overall I think that the tall gangly fellow encompasses the descrption of a Warhammer giant a bit better, but the metal giant does feel more like he'd eat you!

Character

I'm always a bit leery of talking about the 'character' of models, because there have been a few times when miserable old goats like me have used it to be critical of newer models which they can't articulate an actual fault with. Still, I think I'm going to go with the metal one for this. There's something about his brutish appearance which suggests the lumbering, towering thug he's meant to represent. Now, there's a very important caveat to this: the metal model was designed to represent an Orcs and Goblins giant. The plastic giant was designed to accommodate for Orcs and Goblins, Ogre Kingdoms, Chaos and generic Dogs of War giants. And in fairness, given that, it manages to have several pretty decent personalities crammed into the sprues. Which leads us to...

Usability

There's really no competition here. Sorry, fellow oldists, but the plastic giant wins absolutely hands down here. The old metal giant is a model where you need to come packing a pin vice and plenty of metal rod or very solid paperclips or he will fall apart. And he's heavy: you could use this bloke as a bludgeon. Whilst this makes him very satisfying in hand, painting him can be tedious and absolutely necessitates him being firmly pinned to the base - which makes it annoying that the contact points are small.  

Multipart plastic kits are almost always easier for the user, particularly for inexperienced hobbyists (who we want to have a good experience, remember). The plastic giant was one of the first kits which emphasized easy construction and customization. He has a number of heads, weapons and ancillary bits and pieces that can be swapped in and out without causing undue stress. As you can see from mine, converting him is easy (again, because of the material). Incidentally, if you're going to drop one of these models, I recommend it being the plastic one. 

Storage

If you want to carry the giant to a game somewhere other than home, or safely pack him away because you don't have a dedicated display area, the metal giant is your friend. His frame is compact enough that he can be nicely nestled into a foam carry case. You'll need to varnish him to keep his paintjob safe. I wouldn't recommend storing him in those ghastly GW channel foam cases, but that's just because I wouldn't recommend putting anything into them if you're fond of it. 

The plastic giant is hampered in this regard by those flailing arms. He's a funny shape. You can, if you're strategic about it, lay him down on his side in an appropriately cut piece of foam, but you'll be worried about it until you open the case again. 

Bitz

Anyone familiar with my work will know that I'm a pathological converter., and in this category the plastic giant wins. The metal giant does have a few nice bits like some tied up halflings, but as is the nature of old metal miniatures, there's not that much. The plastic giant has birds, a cow, a goat, and the infamous running Empire villager. Plus, all the alternate giant bits you don't use can be used to make other monsters or wotnot. 

So which do I prefer?

Well... that's difficult, and the reason being that my own experiences distort my feelings. The Orcs and Goblins metal giant is a product of the early sixth edition. This was the high days of Warhammer Fantasy in many ways. And I was attending a University (the same one I came back to work for many years later) during that time. Those were great years for me, and a certain fondness for the models of that era remains. When the plastic giant came out, I was actually working at Games Workshop as a store henchman. It's a job you can learn a lot from, but apart from that I really can't recommend it. They want too much for too little. That being said, we were given a special seminar about the giant because he was the first of those user-friendly multipart kits. I was already planning my exit from GW at that point in mid-2006, but it was one of those moments where I felt like we were on the edge of a wonderous new hobby world. So actually, the plastic giant is associated with wonder and hope for me too!

In the end, by a thin margin, I'm going to give it to the 2006 plastic giant. His versatility and ease of use really put him over the line. However, I'm really happy to have both in my collection!

A brave-hearted attempt to recreate the might of Albion

I'm one of those recalcitrant old codgers who believe that fantastical adventures should take place on square bases, with nary a Space Marine allegory in sight. One of the key advantages of this failure to believe that Sigmar is the Emperor's little brother is that I have something of a developmental sandbox. I know in the most literal sense that Games Workshop will not do any development for Warhammer Fantasy for a long time, if ever (recent behaviour has shown a more conciliatory attitude towards Warhammer fans, so perhaps in the fullness of time it will return as a specialist game, who knows). I'm lucky enough to be part of a small group of hobbyists who are eager to still develop the Warhammer Fantasy world. And something I always felt had more potential was the land of Albion.

We know a lot about the Gaels of Albion, from supplements such as Dark Shadows and older roleplay materials. We know that whilst obscure, the Gaels have an important effect on the world of Warhammer, having some nebulous connection to the Old Ones. There's a fair bit of artwork showing these wild looking tribesmen. But after all these years, we only ever got two giants, a druid, a Fenbeast and a Truthsayer (the Dark Emissary is more of a budget chaos sorcerer, what with being Bel'akor's minions). 

Queen Gwenlaen leads a Gael raiding party.

When looking for new models, the first thing I did was to research Picts. I was a little disappointed: Picts looked a lot more... well, civilised than I'd hoped. I quickly realised that I didn't want my Gaels to really look like Celts, but rather like Hollywood depictions of them: Braveheart, Centurion and King Arthur were the kind of things I was thinking about. I briefly considered using the 2002 Chaos Marauders, then quickly abandoned the idea. I think they can be made to look acceptable with some time and care, but they just don't look the part. 

In the end, I decided that if I was going to do it, I would do it properly. I had a very specific idea of what I wanted, and part-farming became the order of the day. 

The kilted legs came from Victoria Miniatures. The torsos are feral scout torsos from Spellcrow. The heads are the wilder looking heads from Empire Greatswords and Marauder horsemen. The arms took a bit of thought. For the shield arms, I used the arms of Ungors very specifically from the 2003 Beast Herd kit. Now, I have plenty of these, but I do intend to sort out a mould for them because they are a finite resource. Obviously, I removed the fur from them. The sword arms are the hand weapon arms of Marauder Horsemen. Their hand weapons have been removed and replaced with the sword hands from Empire Swordsmen. All of my Empire state troops are Halberdiers or Spearmen, so I had stacks of them about. 

To finish up, the shields are a mixture of Marauder and Marauder Horsemen shields, with the iconography filed away. The shield bosses are 'Small celtic Shields' from Scibor Miniatures. Be warned, there are two different packs of these and only one is right for this. 

Anyway, there we have it! The fierce people of Albion coming to Warhammer Fantasy battlefields - and it's pretty easy!