New Mighty Stardrakes Come To Lead The Stormcast Eternals
March 19, 2016 by brennon
If you thought that Games Workshop might have dropped their 'bigger is better' mentality then you'd be shocked to see this new release for Age of Sigmar. The Stardrakes are now flying and stomping forth to lead the other Dracoth riders into battle...
"Legends are told all across the mortal realms of the Great Drake, Dracothion. An immense creature, ruler of the night sky, his form has been picked out in stars across the firmament for countless generations, inspiring awe and wonder in all who gaze at the heavens.
His offspring, the Stardrakes, descended from the constellations above - huge, reptilian creatures with vast wings and serpentine necks, noble of aspect and filled with celestial magic.
Ridden into battle by the strongest and most powerful warriors of the Stormcast Eternals Extremis Chamber, these fearsome creatures of Order can tear apart even the most berserk champion of Chaos in mere seconds."
I kind of like the overall look of the Stardrake when it comes to its body but the wings are what don't work for me. There's something about the positioning of them, especially here in this image, where they just look wrong and as if that's the reason why the Stardrake is yelling in pain.
Even other images of the Stardrake in different painting styles show the weird angle of the wings. I guess they are meant to show it about to take flight? I think that you could probably drop the wings as a whole and run with the Stardrake being wingless.
Of course there are also a pair of riders...
You can run with the Lord-Celestant wielding a tempestos hammer or stormbound blade and sigmarite shield or a Drakesworn Templar with a tempest axe, arc hammer, or stormlance and skybolt bow.
Will you be picking this kit up?
"His offspring, the Stardrakes, descended from the constellations above - huge, reptilian creatures with vast wings and serpentine necks, noble of aspect and filled with celestial magic..."
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120 euros? No thanks. This is more of whats wrong with GW, the dinobot armour, the pose, the lack of creativity.
Me Grimlock no bozo. Me king!
Also note they actually want you to buy THREE and have been advertising as such.
So much for a “cheaper skirmisher game” with an easier £ entry level… they just hike the price on everything!
Have a +1 to kill the -1 one someone gave you. Seems like someone likes price hikes.
Oh wait… Kirby, get off BoW please 😛
Thanks, it’s important to police any negative GW talk for some lol
Compliance for the Sheep God! 😛
Its the type of stuff that takes away a +1 i may have given GW recently , will be interesting to see where it ends up on the scale :p
LOL. Dinobot armor. Well said sir … well said …
Pose of this thing is not very good but I must admit that actually like this one’s more western style far more than I liked any WHF dragons. Including one from 6th edition that’s my previous favorite from GW dragons. Still I am not going to get this.
:0
not a fan, maybe its the paint job, but it looks more like a toy than a gaming piece to me
On the whole I quite like it but the front right leg just doesn’t like right.
Like Mecha I prefer this bulkier style dragon to the old style WHF dragons.
I think a grittier less cartoony paint style would work wonders with this kit.
Like = look 🙂 Stupid gorilla hands.
Underneath all that ridiculous armor, the weird front leg pose, and the strange wings, is a very nicely sculpted dragon. It’s just a shame that it’s design is focused around one army, with a very rigid pose, and very few options.
I think GW missed an opportunity here, to produce a universal dragon kit, with multiple options, That could be tailored to fit any army.
I could be wrong, but I believe the more choices you give, the more you inspire peoples imagination and creativity.
I really don’t disagree at all. This entire new range seems like almost every model has a case of the “too much/not knowing when to stop” it is as if they are purposefully going for beyond over the top, to the point of just being off putting. Can’t figure it out. Underneath many of these models would be a really cool mini. Not really worth buying these for conversions either as A) they are just crazy expensive and B) GW is designing minis more and more to not be converted.
I must admit that this kit looks an awful lot better when you can see the full 360 degree rotation (and it isn’t the first time this has happened with GW models – for some reason they often seem to take static shots from unflattering angles, and it is only when you can see the model from all angles, and preferably in person, that you realise just how few favours that still image did it).
While the front leg still looks a bit stiff, the wings make far more sense as being folded back out of the way while the dragon fights on foot, and the proportion and length of the neck relative to the body and limbs makes the dragon look like its possesses a powerful, Monitor Lizard/Komodo Dragon type physique rather than simply being a bit stocky, and like mecha82 and wesadie1969, I also rather like this approach for depicting Dragons.
The fact that there is so little variation in pose is just one of those facts of wargaming life – the nature of highly complex and expensive to produce models of creatures like dragons is such that a true variety of pose is rarely forthcoming from one kit. Luckily, there are several other types of dragon model available on the market (conveniently, Forgeworld has a rather nice range), so converting a wider variety of dragon riding Stormcast shouldn’t be too challenging for people who really want to field things like the Drakesworn Temple battalion.
Either that, or go down the path I am considering, and convert up a unit using the exact same rules but with different fluff to justify the abilities. I think a powerful Archangel unit would be a better fit with my approach to a Stormcast army than a Dragon rider, so that is what I plan to go with.
I don’t think I will be alone either; a Lord Celestant on Stardrake and carrying a Stormbound Blade would be rather a nice fit rules wise for a certain Archangel Tyrael I hear Brennon wants to include in his army…
Hands down..this really looks very Playmobil.
Where is the GoT grittiness I was hoping for? Oh well, maybe it really is the Space Marine paint job..
Although not a fan at all of the Dracothian Guard, the more I look at this the more I like it. The photo doesn’t do it justice in my opinion. Having panned around the 360 a few times and seen it from all angles both the wings and the stiff gait of the front legs strangely work for me; I can see a lot more dynamism in it lunging forward over the stonework, wings folded back. Personally I prefer that to the classic wings outstretched which I find a very unoriginal pose nowadays. I think it’s nice to see something a little bit different for a change.
Like a few others have also referenced really digging the more filled out physical presence in the body, it gives it a very heavy feel to it. Less of a sleek flyer and more of a winged-tank that arrives from the air but smashing into the enemy lines on foot like a sledgehammer using it’s weight, jaws and powerful musculature. In those respects the heavy front armour and pose absolutely work for me.
Viewed from the side and above it paints a very different story then that image above would imply. At least to me anyway. As a painter I’m sorely tempted just for the fun of it.
So much wrong with this…
It’s all just getting a little silly really isn’t it.
GW really are all over the place, one month they’re in our good books with releases like Calth and the Death Watch. Then as soon as we’re lulled into a false sense of security they come along and offload this pile of expensive drek on us. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was trying to love what they were doing I really was.
If as has been suggested 2016 is going to be a year of heavy AoS releases it looks like I might save some money (Until they drop Calth 2 on us in December no doubt!)
Silly was the other week. We need a word for beyond silly now 😉
Agree on everything said
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKG-kbKeIo
This is an absolute joke. It literally looks like a toy and gets WORSE when you do a 3D look at it.
It’s a bloody dino-rider I swear.
But this isn’t the first time GW have brought out really dodgy models and we’ve all just accepted then. 40K has a whole bunch of dodgy flying bricks that are awful models but we’ve just got to get on with things.
The armour and wings, and some of the heads, are absurd. Had they made a standard dragon and got rid of the stormcast iconography bollocks then it would be a solid model.
I dont think a year of Heavy AoS releases would be a bad thing, I mean the Chaos models, aside from a few gammy characters and the not-spawn-of-khorne are pretty good, as are most of the dwarves that have come out. I like the Stormcasts too. I am looking forward to moer factions released to be honest.
There are only two things that bother me about this model :
(1) how does that armor attach to the dragon ?
(2) How the heck does the seat for the rider stay attach to such a mighty beast ?
Did they glue that on ?
Drill hole in its spine and bolt it on ?
Or is it ‘magic’ ?
I know it is ‘fantasy’ but make at least look like stuff attaches to other stuff in a somewhat believable fashion.
Double sided sticky tape, Blue Peter style!
Sticky back plastic!
So once he’s on … he never gets off ?
In the detailed pictures there are tiny straps visible for the armour.
However considering the size of this beast and the amount of force that’s going to hit you’ve got one heck of a weak spot.
The model overall isn’t bad I suppose. But there are a few things that don’t make sense, and its specifically with the wings… The armor attached to the wing elbow would now allow it to spread its wings open. Also, they have odd anatomy each separation in the wing is suppose to be a finger – like a bat. Each one has a claw on the tip to signify that, along with knuckles. But the thing quite literally has 14 fingers per wing. I find that pretty odd. Other than that the dragon itself is solid. I will have to go with what Ben said last weekender with this not fitting the idea behind the army again. It certainly doesn’t look like any kind of celestial “storm” dragon to me. The price is killing it as well.
@mage the problem is with a year of AoS releases is if they are as bad and as expensive as this monstrosity people are just going to get turned off.
I don’t understand the positioning of the GW AoS line anymore so help me out here, please. I thought one of the big complaints about WHFB was that the armies were too big, and thus, too expensive for younger players to get into the hobby.
It seems to me that the last several releases have gone exactly counter to that philosophy. Few expensive, mighty miniatures that don’t suit getting people into the GW hobby.
Is this an attempt to provide a playable game with a smaller product line and make money on it based on higher per unit prices for corporate survival (not a bad strategy) or do they have a different strategy to get people into the hobby.
I’m not ranting, I just don’t see it. Help me Obi-Brennon, you’re… well, not my *only* hope….
Quoting myself from the forum –
“It seems to simultaneously trying to be a low entry point skirmish game, a mass battle game, a line for collector’s who are happy paying a premium for a product they like, to appeal to 40K players, to appeal to fantasy gamers (if not WFB players). That’s not trying to square a circle, it’s trying to dodecahedron a circle. I’m sure GW think that what they’re doing is trying to make a product line which is all things to everyone, but the risk is you wind up being nothing to anyone, or at least not enough people.”
That sir is my greatest fear with GW. Trying to be all things to all men. It just ends up being middle of the road, flailing arms as people pass them by.
@trtdilliisn I am hoping that they are learning and that stuff like the move to retail only kits for hobby stores, start collecting sets, and some of the board games are a sign they are moving on track in a better directions.
Wow! Any article about a GW release seems to cause such a divide of opinion.
I personally am not sure about the looks of this model but I do like the fact that its not a generic looking Dragon / Drake. Its something a bit different.
I have given everyone who has been given a thumbs down for expressing a “personal opinion” a thumbs up.
I have to be honest I’m not a fan of this model, but then again I’m not a fan of the sigmarites full stop. I think GWs direction on this range was make it different at all costs.
I liked the old WFB 6th edition and was sad to see it go to 7th and so on. I didn’t like the end times as I knew that was the writing on the wall for the old world. But I will say that I do play AoS and enjoy it, but I also play the old 6th ed as well. I tried the 9th age rules which you can download on the Internet and didn’t like it at all. I found them a mix of the old 8th and kings of war.
The front legs look a bit weird.
I want to like this, and aside from price, the odd leg and wing pose, and the armour, it is actually pretty cool.
The head is cool. The wings are okay. But the armour needs to come off.
Said the courtesan to the paladin
It could be worse – a common fan theory posits that their biological modifications from the genseed render Space Marines into impotent space eunuchs who would sadly have no business to discuss with said courtesan under any circumstances.
Come to think of it, that does go a long way to explaining why so many Astartes seem to be so very angry all the time…
The AoS game fluff currently remains entirely silent on whether the Stormcast are…. similarly afflicted or not.
nope.
This is what the Stormcasts needed to start looking more like an army for me all that’s left is some warmachines and we’re in business, definitely gonna get atleast one for now.
170 dollars for a single model! Did they fall of and bang there head? I thought the other big models where pricy, hate to say they proved me wrong by setting the bar even higher.
Don’t worry, the next big model will set a new bar, then the model after that… 😉
I really don’t like that armour. Or the spot-the-difference choice of alternate rider.
This is an awesome looking model almost as awesome looking as Archaon, but the problem with you bastards is you can’t help being a bunch of assholes who have nothing better to do with your lives except bitch about everything. If you people can’t say something positive then maybe it would be best for the rest of us if you haters just fuck off!
Yeah cause thats how we want a community to work.. ? Its not a sect over here :p
We are allowed to disagree. You might disagree with that, but then that only breaks your rules on not liking people who disagree 😉
That may be the most vulgar, hateful post I’ve read on this site. Congrats @loki20 .
Archaon was an exceptionally beautiful piece of art that didn’t look like a childish dino-rider toy – it was a throwback to old Warhammer artwork and themes.
Am I the only one who sees the irony in this comment?
Listen loki29, as someone who actually likes the Stormcast and the AoS setting, could you do one thing or me?
Stop helping, OK?
Seriously, ranting tirades punctuated by profanity and insults is the sort of support people who actually like the game could really do without. You are making us look bad.
if you can’t make an argument in support of AoS and GW without having some kind of internet meltdown, then maybe it is you who should consider going offline, cooling off, collecting your thoughts, and returning only when you are capable of composing a post not shot through with impotent vitriol.
Time to back away from this thread I think.
Don’t want to sound like a negative nancy but how can the dragon articulate its neck with the armour on the underside?
I like it but that neck armour kinda feels off to me.
That’s a very negative comment about this GW miniature, please save that talk for Mantic. You mean to say this miniature is brilliant and 100% realistic. GW know what they’re doing with dragon neck amour and we find you lack of faith disturbing. It isn’t a colourful childish toy, it’s a grim, dark and gritty piece of fantasy art.
My sides. Stop it.
Oh dear
This used to be a nice website. Now the comments are mostly the same negative drivel that most of the web is made up off.
Tbf a lot of sub par stuff has been released recently. This is still a nice website.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9cQgQIMlwWw
It´s still a good looking model. I mean the details are really nice and clean. It´s just that its too much of a toydinosaur for me. But then again AoS is not aimed towards me but the new younger generation. My 8 year old think this one is awsome an want one badly. If i understand AoS correct the range is aimed towards brining the youth into the hobby, not us ol 7th ed Warhammer people. And the more people getting into the hobby the better I think.
I like it. Kinda looks like its making a run or charge before it takes off. As for the barding why not? Horses wore armour when knights went into battle. The Stomcast are basically elite knights of Sigmar.
I have a question.
How many of us have seen or studied a real life dragon to know its range or limits of movement? I just find trying to apply real world principles to fantasy creatures mind boggling.
If i made a dragon i would base it off of real world principles in some practical areas such as anatomy, makes for the best fantasy imo … then by all means fluff in fantastic stuff but dont overdo it. Its as far from mind boggling as it can get imo.
Saw this in person in a GW unpainted and it looks very awkward with the front leg even in person
No will not be picking it up. Many great comments so nothing more to say…