Article by Seanzor, with additional writing by Pat Nevan

Another year carved away from our fragile existence. Another year of beautiful (and not so) models to buy en masse and shove into our closet for a rainy day. While we could probably dig super deep on the entirety of the Games Workshop range for these awards, today we’ll be keeping it to Age of Sigmar and the adjacent ranges (Warcry, Underworlds). 

Why bother when GW does its own awards? Well there’s a couple of good reasons for doing this:

• To give Age of Sigmar minis a fair shake, when they often get outvoted by the 40K blob
• To give some oxygen to the excellent full-unit kits that the Citadel team produces, which generally get overlooked in favour of single-mini Heroes in the official voting

So for that reason we’ll be issuing our own awards in the following categories today:

Unit of the Year: Final selection by Seanzor, from the nominations put forward by our Patrons.

Single Model of the Year: Final selection by Seanzor, from the nominations put forward by our Patrons.

‘Eavy Metal Paintjob of the Year: Chosen by our resident artist Seanzor, based on his own appreciation of the craft.

Worst Sculpt of the Year: Chosen by our man Pat, based on his own appreciation of shit-canning stuff.

This is the first part of our retrospective on 2023 – we’ll also be looking at gaming and content awards in separate entries to the series – so without further ado…

Unit of the Year

Honourable Mentions

Freeguild Command Corps

Freeguild Command Corps were a highly requested favourite: with lots of interesting models and a varied theme, they are definitely very cool models but the variation from model to model also serves as a bit of a detriment to their overall appeal. Solid honours for them but no lollies.

Aggradon Lancers

One that I think many had forgotten about, but were a crowd favourite at release is the Aggradon Lancers. A new breed of stout Seraphon cavalry that haven’t seen a ton of table time competitively but are amazing kits nonetheless. Some solid dinosaur energy and packed with cool details, but still missing something to push them over the edge of ‘best’.

Winner: Best Unit of 2023

Skabbik’s Plaguepack

Holy Guacamole. This unit checks so many boxes that it’s hard to not look at them and just think ‘nailed it’. If this is a signal of what the future of Skaven holds as a faction, then I think the future for Skaven is looking mighty bright. The poison smoke effects, the crystals, the bilious sores, even the kinked and coiled tail silhouettes. This is a wonderful kit and just dreamy to think of what a whole army will look like once upgraded to this aesthetic.

Single Model of the Year

Honourable Mentions

Belthanos, the First Thorn of Kurnoth

Like most of the Sylvaneth range, aesthetically this model is just so cool. Dripping with theme and details that make it resonate with the faction but let it stand on its own unique legs.

Freeguild Cavalier Marshal

This guy is absolutely dripping in details that tell the story of these human forces on long campaigns. Decked out with supplies, carrying a bedroll, banner whipping in the wind…this grizzled war vet has seen some stuff and as he steps down from the ruined masonry is surely stepping into another conflict that will leave him wishing he could finally go home, if home even exists anywhere but battle.

Trugg Trugg Trugg

Awaken the king of troggs and smash into the mortal realms. Another model that’s absolutely jam packed with details and fulfilling every good Trogg player’s desires to hold onto some shiny things and smash face. Very cool model and how great is the gribbly guy on his shoulder? Epic.

Tuskboss on Maw-Grunta

Big Pig Big Pig Big Pig. This model was probably the most hyped on all of social media from the moment it was teased to the moment it was released. Everyone was excited to see it come to fruition because it’s just a beautiful meme of a model. Hopefully the rules get a shot in the gut to pull it onto more tables but it is a great model that fits right into the Ironjawz aesthetic.

Winner: Best Single Model of 2023

Tahlia Vedra, Lioness of the Parch

If you can’t quite pick out why this model wins, I’ll try to lay it out there. Manticores are awesome and this one has been sculpted in such a dynamic and impressive pose that even if you didn’t like Manticores before, you like them now. Tahlia as a standalone leader is epic and with different weapon options you even get to customise your named hero to your aesthetic choices. Then add in all these new Cities of Sigmar shields, icons, banners and reliquaries to create one full package of awesome.

‘Eavy Metal Paintjob of the Year

Harbinger of Decay

“And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying,
‘Come and see.’ and I saw, and behold a white horse”
-Johnny Cash

If you haven’t stopped for a moment to admire this model and its paintjob, please do. This one definitely could’ve been in the running for model of the year as well, but this paintjob is just so enticing that I come back to look at it again and again. So many little cool things are happening on the model detail-wise, and the crowning achievement was seeing it all handled with an appropriate approach to separate those sections while also keeping the model consistent and congruent. Excellent work.

Worst Sculpt of the Year

by Pat Nevan

So apparently the job of picking out the worst sculpt of the year falls to yours truly. In the Craichouse offices Sean is the pro-hobbyist while I’m the guy who has wracked up the most rewatches of the Player-Haters Ball sketch from Chapelle. Can’t argue with that logic.

“Games Workshop what can I say about that miniature that hasn’t already been said about Afghanistan?”

Anyways we put the question of best and worst miniatures to the fine body of noble souls who make up the Craichouse. Among the nominations were Desolator Marines, pretty much any type of Space Marine and Lord Solar Leonitus. You might be wondering what they have to do with AOS but that’s what you get for asking non-specific questions.

I’m not up on 40k but is this guy meant to be a thundering douchebag?

Out of interest I had a look at the Lord Whatshisface and it’s a pretty fair call. Just the idea of him leading troops around on the ground on his robo horse waving a sword is like the Commissar tank meme. Add in the dubious quality of the model itself: replacing the tactical rock with a tactical heap of scrap metal, in case you need a reminder that it is a 40k model. (And you do.) The posing of the steed that proves horses are still a bitch to draw no matter how much practice you have had. And which way is the wind blowing? Plus the goofy ass face on the guy, he looks like a man starting a new job and watching his third hour of workplace safety induction videos. I can see why the Craicheads picked him.

Posted without further comment for fans of Astro Boy

Still, we are an AOS blog so we need an AOS model, and there was a groundswell of enthusiasm for the Grimhold Exile. Aka: That new Fyreslayers Guy Aka: Who?

Worst Sculpt of the Year: The Grimhold Exile

Yeah this one just doesn’t work. I have a fair amount of sympathy for the designers here. ”Make me a new Fyreslayer foot hero and make it interesting!” is a tough day at the office. Fyreslayers in general and their foot heroes in particular are more or less indistinguishable without a very practiced eye. Something their players have always used to their advantage. ”Which one was the Rune-fondler? Oh he’s over there? I thought he had a wound on him?” etc etc. 

They have obviously gone for something far more dynamic and memorable to stand out from the crowd and well, yeah. I mean it’s not a bad model of a stocky red-haired dwarf doing a slow-mo super hero leap off a rock, but it’s just not something you want to see them doing. The idea is kind of unsettling.

I doubt the world’s most depraved foot fetishist really wanted an up close view of Fyreslayer toes and I’m personally glad they are generally covered in basing gunk on most models. The pirouette looks odd for the body type and holding the second hammer under the head like it’s a spare comes off strange. Although I dread to think of how many poses they tried with it; dual wielding equal-sized weapons for such an active model is always going to be tough.

Also, there is nothing about this guy that suggests his back story. The Grimhold Exile is supposed to be last survivor of a destroyed lodge but this guy seems to look like any other youngish Fyreslayer. I’m not sure what you could have done – mussed up his beard or taken his jewelry to the pawn shop, but some sort of visual hint. That said I might be missing some aspect of Fyreslayer lore present here.

Still I class this one as a noble endeavor. Somebody took a stab at thinking outside the box for Fyreslayers models and gave us all a timely reminder of why we have a box in the first place. Maybe save the ballet posing for the Aelves in the future.

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