Just occurred to me: I like Oldhammer box style better than newer ones, for reasons beyond nostalgia.

First things first: I remember seeing oldhammer boxes in stores when I was little, so perhaps some of this is nostalgia. Beyond that I think the newer, darker tones, more complicated backgrounds, and more hard edged font takes away from what the box exists to do: help sell the model inside.

Oldhammer boxes are minimalist in a very pleasing way that leaves the focus on the model kit. You have the franchise logo, the name of the kit, maybe an indicator of slide decals and the photo itself. The photo’s simplicity of basic green grass and whitish-blue background doesn’t compete for attention or throw coloring off but still gives you a frame of reference (kind of like “banana for scale”). The monochrome body of the box catches your eye on the shelf, without being distracting. The brighter colors also have a more lighthearted charm than all the darker, more serious new stuff.

I wonder if GW has ever considered going back to old-style art for newer models.