I'm a bit of a gawker when it comes to miniatures. I can get lost in a gallery of models for any game - thinking about paint schemes, how they'd look on the table, admiring details, thinking about cool ways to do the bases... sometimes I feel fortunate that my personal to-be-painted shelf is overflowing just because it removes my desire to actually buy some of the awesome things I see.
Between my personal collection and my gawking, I've found that there are some poses that appeal to me much more than others. While most probably have two classifications for poses, I think there are three different ways models are posed:
- In-the-moment
These are the models that look like their pose was captured right from the battlefield. Sometimes it will be incredibly dynamic, sometimes they'll just be standing still. But their pose is such that they could exist on the battlefield, and they look very natural during a game. - The photo shoot
This is actually the model that prompted tonight's post. I was looking at Wyrd's Black Friday sale, and they showed an alternate pose of a model that you get after you order so much. While the pose is neat, my immediate thought was "That would look stupid moving around the battlefield!" First of all, which way do you turn it so it's facing forward? Is she facing me, and just looking at my opponent? Or is she turning away from my opponent like "Haha, I shot 'em dead!"?
I really don't like these poses. I mean they work, and most models posed this way look great on display, but they just look super awkward when you're running around the battlefield without looking like you belong at any given moment. Take my example - yes, someone could look back and do this cliched move. But unlike the in-the-moment poses, it rarely looks natural to look that way all the time. There's no drama, no action... it just looks like she's posing for the camera and not fighting for her life. - The in-betweener
These poses pull from the previous two. They feel like they belong on the battlefield, and they are definitely doing something. At the same time, the poses are still unrealistic and are more like a still pose than an actual action shot. The line between these and "photo shoots" is quite fine, and the only real determiner is the extremely subjective opinion on how well it fits in on the table.
Like I said, I really don't like photo shoot poses. When they're seen independent of the game, there's no arguing that they can look stunning. But when surrounded by the other two categories, it becomes that they just don't work, and I would honestly rather not field them.
I like in-the-moment poses for my basic dudes. They usually aren't as interesting as the model I posted - in fact most of them tend to just be standing there:
I like in-the-moment poses for my basic dudes. They usually aren't as interesting as the model I posted - in fact most of them tend to just be standing there:
But there's nothing wrong with that! If everyone had a hyper-dramatic pose, none of them would stand out.
That's why I make the distinction of in-betweeners. I think unique models deserve a standout pose that marks them as unique. Sure we can do special bases or take extra time on the paint job, but sometimes I just want to be given a special model that is obviously unique right out of the box.
I wish most special models were given this sort of treatment. I can see the advantage of being able to customize them if they're a bit more basic, but at the same time there are a handful of people who do conversions compared to the rest of us who paint their standard poses.
Those are my musings for the night. What do you guys think about different model poses? Do you care how they look, or do you have some that you simply hate putting on the field?
See you tomorrow!
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