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..."
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
Supported by (Turn Off)
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
@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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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.