Tomb Kings of Khemri Unboxing || Warhammer The Old World

Today we unbox the Tomb Kings of Khemri starting box for the returning Warhammer Fantasy Old World game system/setting. This box contains 93 total miniatures, including
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BoLS received this product for free from the publisher. However, BoLS has no financial relationship with the publisher, and the opinions presented here about the product belong solely to the presenter. BoLS was not otherwise financially compensated for this review, and was not required to give a positive review. BoLS believes in providing honest and unbiased reviews, and will always disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

[@MrRussell2020]

The older the better is the general rule. This box contains one of the most time-honored and celebrated sculpts in the history of wargaming, and the copyright feature on the sprues adds to that elegance. All the new lines, all the copycatting of this line, and this box still has some of the best sculpts. It has stood the test of time, and so much of this line was becoming unobtainable on the second-hand markets...and the guy in this vid makes analogies to drinking age? Hey how about vintage on wines my man. It's about specific years, what was going on this or that year in wargaming...I LOVE that GW kept the copyright on the sprues and it gives a sense of the historical weight / significance of the set. Intelligent collectors totally appreciate what it represents, while the general mass enthusiasts apparently think "Newer" is better. The older models have More value. Collectors understand. Sceneboys , hipsters, and other wargaming tourists can kindly just exit the building if you don't get the significance of the copyright issues at play here. Also there is the copyright issue just on face at play, and it serves as a legal barrier to people using the parts for other commercial use without GW permission. Intelligent gamers will support the re-release of the older models even if engineered into plastic. And the sceneboys will self-identify with their complaints about "old models".

[@MrRussell2020]

The issues to legitimately complain about are price, plastic v resin v metal, lines not being re-issued as of yet ex ratmen, new lines being silly and cartoonish / made for Gen Z plebes, and how the average consumer of this box is never going to make, paint, or play with any of this hardware (but such is good for the second-hand market). Also fair game - complaints about how the price point makes the whole game a conspicuous consumption event for aristocratic monied classes and closes the door to people who actually have to work for a living. GW could do a much better job of making the game available to high schoolers college students and working stiffs by making smaller introductory boxed sets that had a basic set of figures in this and other lines that could go for appr 20 bucks...that'd be hella nice. And totally achievable with the use of the plastic materials...but they don't because they want to pander to a spoiled rotten group of elitists and they don't want to undermine their sales of these megboxes or their other boxes going from 60 to 100 bucks. Corporate interests have taken over the company...they sold out a long time ago, but somehow they keep upping the ante with artificial business model driven narratives and inflationary marketing ploys etc. The alternate versions of these are decent sculpts and more than sufficient to fulfill the artistic and gaming goals of the activity, and their price points prove just how exploitative are the business models of GW at present.

[@Malisteen]

Are the new cavalry bases /actually/ 25mm x 50mm, or are they like the old warhammer cavalry bases - actually closer to 23.5mm wide - noticeably narrower than the 25mm square bases?

[@Malisteen]

I didn't preorder this box b/c of all the ancient minis. If they had done new basic skeletons instead of the bone dragon, or even if they had included some of the better - if still showing their age - 8e plastics, like the tomb guard and necroknights... As it is, though I was happy enough to order some of that stuff separately, and thankfully I got enough of the old vamp counts skeletons before they were updated to cover most of my army's needs. The new soulblight skittles look even better, but they're far too distinctly dressed and armored to fit into a tomb kings army, where the old vamp count skittles with spears are generic enough to fit in just fine so long as you give them some tomb kings shields. The same skeletons replace the chariot crew well enough. No good options for skeletal horsemen, though, at least not if you want to be gw store legal. Plenty of superior third party options if you game at indie stores & events.

[@SwitchTalkChannel]

Buys old kit to talk about how much better new kit is, but buys old kit.
But, really, I also find myself in this weird situation. For me, the new models are too 'busy'. Yes, they are better in most ways, but they are also too overly-done and breakable (very fine/small parts). There's just too much going on with most new models, and the entire art direction, etc. feels more generic despite the fact they are more unique (in general) and less uniform (across the sets). The new Orcs are a good example. They seem more 'realistic' and fun and unique, but they feel generic to me, like you could find them anywhere, from any fandom/company. They are too fine and busy and don't really have a personality. The lore, the simple names like Lizardmen and Tomb Kings, and the simple sculpts. The old Orcs & Goblins were clearly simple/basic, but they had a real Warhammer personality to them. I like them more despite their issues. You just can't beat oldhammer; hence, we're back, baby!
I cannot explain it, so I'll try to compare it to cinema. Most old movies (pre-1990s) are simpler, slower-paced, featuring not as 'flashy' editing, and far fewer, complex moving pieces as seen in modern CGI films. The 1990s is a mixed bag. Old films are not as 'busy'. Although modern films are better in many ways, and have far better CGI compared to the 1990s and prior, there's just something so simple and charming and 'pure' about older movies, both in terms of film-making and storytelling. Now, this isn't always true -- and some films from the 1970s-1990s are worse than those from the 2000s-2010s. But you get my point.