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