The 2012 Awards!

Today, as a final post for 2012, I wanted to give my own brief awards for the best models of 2012. The Best Kits (Plastic and FineCast) awarded to larger boxes of units, monsters or vehicles; and The Best Models (Plastic and FineCast) for single characters. Each was examined and rated based on how the model looks, what can be done with it, the quality of the sculpt etc...

Best Plastic Kit:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Escape From Goblin Town

How could it not be? The sculpts are utterly beautiful, every single one of the dwarves looks exactly like the corresponding actor. The pieces go together flawlessly and almost utterly without mould lines. It also contained Radagast the Brown, who almost won "Best Plastic Model" too. Oh, and loads of scenery too! The Ork Bommer kit came in a very close second, simply for the sheer amount of stuff you can do with it!

Best Plastic Model:

This was a really close fight. I personally think the "Escape From Goblin Town" version of Radagast the Brown is one of the nicest plastic models ever released in terms of the sculpt. The flow of the model, the realism of the kit with the actor... But then there's Librarian Turmiel from Dark Vengence- again, oozing with detail and character with some seriously epic equipment. In the end however, the winner was...

The Wight King! 

All the way back in January, this model jumped out at me as one of the best single plastics Games Workshop had ever produced - the tiny details, from the keys to his scabbard, and the detailing on the shield. The sculpt is so incredibly layered, it's dynamic, simple to build and an utter joy to paint!

Best FineCast Kit:

The Watcher In The Water!

Again, from all the way back in February! This year's seen some really amazing FineCast releases, from Festus and Valkia up to the Great Beast of Gorgoroth. Above them all, however, I had to put The Watcher In The Water. This truly monstrous kit would have been a nigh impossibility to build in metal, with the tentacles and thin legs - it would have weighed a tonne and pulled itself apart under its own weight without considerable pinning and Green Stuff-ing. As it goes, we got treated to a beautifully detailed kit, in a pose that would never have before been possible. Sadly, it got vastly overlooked. Still, it wins hands down for me.

Best FineCast Model:

This was another tricky one to decide, personally, as I love FineCast single characters as something to build and paint. This award could very easily have gone to Valkia the Bloody, purely on my personal attachment to her. It could have gone to Fimbul, as a shockingly accurate likeness to the film. Certainly, Festus would have been most deserving as a truly disgusting model with some very cool detailing... but it had to come down to...

The Blue Scribes!

Similar to the Watcher, I don't believe this model could have existed in metal. The detail on it is so exquisite it's almost excruciating. Quills, parchment, spilled ink pots, the individual leaves in each book... the sculpt is mesmerising and showcases exactly what Citadel FineCast was designed to do.