Can attest that metal gets worse as the miniature gets bigger. I had the old metal Thunderhawk. Gives me nightmares just thinking about it. The kit was so heavy it was known to break glass shelves due to its weight. Mine embedded itself in a games table that had been constructed with high density foam after being left on it overnight. For smaller things, metal can indeed be cool, as you said.
I'm sure I'm biased by past experience, but I miss the chonky metal robots and beasts (sockjack FTW!) from Warmachine, too. The Guildball metal models were simply fantastic. Neither of those lines produce any metal models, anymore—in fact, both are (mostly) 3-D printed. I hope CB doesn't also abandon metal. Obviously, there are tradeoffs involved with each medium. Metal feels satisfyingly substantial IMHO. I have a small number of CB's Siocast and Unicool models. The Unicool Agamemnon is a lovely model, but it feels like it could blow off the table with a stiff breeze. As Xagroth said, metal is a differentiator. I do believe it speaks to quality. Also, FWIW, it harkens back to the roots of this hobby ... little painted Napoleonic tin soldiers. Metal toy soldiers—it just feels right. Wow! There is point at which model size all but precludes the use of metal. Maggy is large and heavy, but I do love her. I guess Megalodron would probably be too large for a metal model. It goes without saying that these are just my opinions. I'm sure the generations who've grown up with only GW plastics have no love for the nostalgia of metal miniatures. To each, his own.
So, essentially, we agree that S8 is about the practical limit for metal miniatures...? I have a Gen.2 Maghariba, too. She's cute, but I wouldn't mind having her in, say, Unicool plastic.
Back in the day, Maggie was noted as being the absolute limit size-to-weight-wise CB was capable of designing in metal, the last Avatar model also has a hollow core. For me, the acceptable spread would be as follows: 1) Do not mix materials 2) Unicool acceptable for S1, for S3 & S4 remotes (not Guardians or foxhole troops, remotes like tsyklon, rebots, baggage-bots, etc...) and TAGs (S6, S7 & S8). Extra parts get more viable too so we can get a kit instead of a mono-loadout for the TAGs. 3) Everything else in metal. I do not like Siocast in any shape or form, it reminds me too much of my old Warzone Resurrection models in casted resin (some of which degraded into dust by themselves after a few years in key points...), and won't be buying anything with such material (much less suggesting anyone to).
