Goatboy’s Old Hammer 40K – The Best Giant Kits of Yore
Let’s look back at some of the iconic big kits of Warhammer 40K from the Land Raider to the Stompa and everything else in between!
Who remembers back in the day when the Land Raider was the biggest kit you could get in 40K? Who remembers when the first giant vehicles started to show up in the game – usually brought about by Forgeworld but then by GW themselves? What about the trembling days of the first stomps of an Imperial Knight on the Battlefield. Let’s look back at some the iconic big kits.
The Land Raider (May 2000) – Once it was HUGE!
I remember when you could buy a Land Raider for 50 bucks. I think that is probably why I have a few very old ones in my collection. I do remember when that kit came out and everyone and their mom trying to shove a mean old Land Raider down your throats with a transport full of mean ole Jerks. There were many times I would take a fist full of Black Templar bros into my face or some beautifully painted Sons of Horus from my good friend Jay. The Land Raider has brought about so many fun memories as well as nightmares as the first bit of terrain it decided to drive over immobilized this giant hunk of metal and I had to hope some poor sap got in the way of its lascannons.
Who remembers the whole debate on where to put the Lascannon Sponsons? Do you put it in the front to allow you more shooting or in the back where it looks cooler? If you had it in the back would they just shoot your guys that jumped out the doors? Also who in the right mind would even paint the inside? I remember a few players that had the inside done and the sliding doors set up to all you to truly see within the tank itself.
In fun news I have a new commission that has me painting 2 golden Land Raiders for a client of mine. It is wild to think just before doing this one I had to paint an Emperor’s Children one for another client. 3 Land Raiders in a month has to be a record for me! What is this, the year 2000?
The Stompa (March 2009) – Still a Big Boy!
Next up I have fond memories of when GW released the first Stompa rolled into Apocalypse. This was the year this boxed set was 90 dollars and I originally got a box in a painting service trade from a friend. It was such a huge thing that it sat in my closet for a while. That same year I even won 2 more from some local events to put my total box count to 3. I gave one away, tore apart another to get its chainsword for a Chaos Knight, and finally have parts of one still sitting in my closet. It was such a wild big kit.
I did paint 2 for two different commissions. It is such a wild vehicle to look at and it kinda makes we wish we saw more goofy things like this. The idea of building a basic bucket with guns was always such a wild thing to think about. It wasn’t a crazy complicated kit that still looks amazing when one is done up nice and pretty.
Imperial Knight (2014) – Not Just EPIC Any More!
I do remember when the first Imperial Knights came out for 6th Edition back in 2014. I had to have some and have in my time paint up at least 25 of them right now. This was one of those models I was decent enough at building and painting. I could easily clip and build it up fast enough that it made me some decent side money in this expensive hobby of mine. Heck I even built 3 Chaos Knight ones that I sold and rebuilt the army again when I got the urge to make some evil looking jerks.
There was an amazing game at one of the first ATC where my Chaos knight made a 12 inch charge into a T’au Riptide and proceeded to punt it into oblivion. It was one of those games where the match up was supposed to be bad to give us 3 good games but somehow Goatboy wasn’t going to lose it. There has been so many Knight games that just had goofy rules from the old Stomp rules to the fact it was one of the first vehicles with “wounds” for the game.
The Baneblade (2007) – Heavy Metal Indeed!
You know what vehicle I never built and painted – the Astra Militarum Bane blade. It was a kit I always thought was pretty neat but never had it ordered to complete. I think I had one from an event winning for a while and eventually I gave it away. I always like the idea of this giant tank and while it was a big piece of plastic it wasn’t very “tall” so it could easily be transported. Plus it was an excellent piece to practice your magnet abilities on.
Lord of Skulls (2013) – Kinda From EPIC
The final giant model I loved is the Lord of Skulls. I remember when this Tonka Truck for Khorne first are out in the Escalation Expansion. It was such a weird kit (inspired by the old EPIC Lord of Battle (below) and I never bought one until I got a wild hair to take 3 to LVO in 8th edition. I had to scramble to find 1 more and took a rather idiotic list to the event. It felt like the most Goatboy thing and I even screwed up and forgot my guns had longer range in the only game I lost that weekend.
The best part is I have even painted two more for a client. Every single one I built has somehow stabbed me in some way so each one has tasted true blood for the Blood God. These little memories are some of the best things about this game as we create narratives, destroy plastic toys, and hope the dice gods are on our side.
What is your favorite big plastic model? What insane thing have you spent too much time and money on? How big is collection of giant jerks of the Warhammer Plastic universe?
