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| From Left to Right: Ruin, plastic Juggernaut, Grolar, and old metal Kodiak |
The plastic Prime warjack kit was a big change when it came out. Literally - for whatever reason (most likely due to the cheaper medium, or possibly the need to size up to maintain detail fidelity) the Prime plastic models were much larger than their metal precedents. You can still see the size difference with the metal Kodiak which was basically a reworked Juggernaut of the era.
Ruin is another step up the sizing chart (I didn't organize this picture quite right in hindsight). I was impressed at the size of the model when it came out, it being a very noticeable improvement over the original Kodiak in size and overall design (looking at them side by side nearly gives me whiplash). I figured it was a good indicator of what to expect from the eventual Grolar/Kodiak kit.
I was mostly right. The Grolar/Kodiak kit shares the same overall design and form factor introduced with Ruin's model, but once again (probably, again, due to being in plastic) the Grolar/Kodiak kit is another step up the size chart. It makes the Grolar/Kodiak kit easily the largest non-Behemoth, non-colossal warjack in Khador's model line.
I didn't think about it at the time, but now I'm interested in seeing how the Grolar/Kodiak kit matches up against the Behemoth in terms of relative size. Makes me more interested in seeing the eventual Behemoth resculpt, assuming that all of the Apotheosis character heavies are getting redone (which seems like a safe bet now that the Thunderhead and the Avatar of Menoth are on the release list).
The funniest/saddest comparison is matching up the Grolar/Kodiak with the old metal Kodiak. You could *almost* fit the Kodiak inside of the Grolar's model (almost). It is a remarkable improvement for a model that is supposed to be a big, burly, bear-inspired brawler. Shame about the Kodiak's rules, but hopefully they eventually embiggen those too.
With the enlargening of the character jacks in plastic, I really hope they get Behemoth right. He should tower over everything on a 50mm base. Here is hoping its sooner, rather than later.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I'm most interested in is how they possibly alter the general form of the model. The original Behemoth model was pretty rad at the time, but as warjack designs have evolved it now looks sort of cartoony (most of the old ones did, so it fit in with the crowd back in the day).
DeleteThe remixed versions of the Thunderhead and Avatar have that sort of design update, so I'm very interested in seeing what they do with the Behemoth and Deathjack.
I am probably the only Khador player not drawn to the Grolar. I completely understand the utility…there is just something about the model that rubs me the wrong way. There is something simple and appealing about the Kodiak…I like it even if it is not an optimal value.
ReplyDeleteI'm a long time fan of the Kodiak. It was one of my favorite warjacks in Mk. 1 and I still liked using it a lot in early MK. 2. Pathfinder is extremely valuable on a heavy, free running is great, and Vent Steam came in handy more often than not. It's P+S was a little sad (though better than Mk. 1) but it had a lot of utility going for it (especially with it's chain attack).
DeleteMy biggest issue with the Kodiak is that I feel like the game has shifted away from utility heavies (at least insomuch as how WM uses them) due to the necessity of having to deal with colossals. You can't control those with the tools the Kodiak has (sealed when they errata'd arm locks), and it damn sure isn't going to kill one of them (or do much damage in general without something like Butcher1 backing it up) so I ended up moving away from them.
Its a damn shame because I do like the warjack in general, and it looks fantastic on this new body. Hopefully others will find more use for it, and Mk2.5/3 will give me a reason to buy a second kit. :)