Cpt. Crackpot
10-14-2015, 01:20 AM
Hello!
After 20 years of being away from the hobby I've recently returned thanks to a colleague of mine. I used to collect, paint and sometimes play WHFB and 40K back between 1993-1997. For WHFB I had an undead army and for 40K I had a chaos army (Tzeentch). Towards the end I also had a Skaven team for Bloodbowl. Coming back I decided to focus on 40K again. I started off with a box of Ork Boyz, seeing that they had evolved enormously. I remember the old Ork Boyz all cast in the same shape and pose holding an axe and a boltgun, squatting like they were taking a dump on the battlefield. The new boyz are lightyears cooler!
So while painting my boyz I was considering a larger project, but felt that an Ork army would come later. I was more drawn to Astra Militarum. For a living I work to increase diversity and representation within gaming and e-sports, so I was hoping the 40K universe had evolved since I last visited it. But no. The human part of the galaxy still seem to be made up of only white dudes. So if you're a white dude, as I am, it's easy to feel at home in the Imperial universe, and even in the hobby at large. We (white males) seem to be the only target group and are well represented in the miniatures and in the artwork. For those of us that are not white dudes, not so much. A bit strange, don't you think? I've always liked the Imperial Guard and decided to create an army that is more in line with my view of the vast and diverse human empire of the 41st millennium. The lore speaks of the men and women from the millions of worlds of the empire. So that's what I'm setting out to show in my army.
Now some may see me as a SJW, which I assure you I am. But if anyone from Games Workshop (GW) reads this there's also a few thoughts around the business side of the hobby included in my project. I have worked with product- and brand development myself. I guess GW want the hobby to grow so they can earn more money. Simply put, one classic strategy to do that is to expand your market. One way to expand your market is to work with representation in order to increase the size of your target- and customer group. If more people feel represented in your brand/s and product/s, more people will (hopefully) buy them. So this is me offering some inspiration toward that possible goal.
It took me some time to find miniatures for the bulk of my army. The Cadians from GW look amazing, but they're all male. Still, I wanted to find something similar. Something that looks very pragmatic, militaristic and bad ***. I found a few other female miniatures online, but most of them are sexualised pin-up miniatures. It's laughable, really. Not very credible on a battlefield with bikini tops, spandex or boob armor. Most modern armies include female soldiers that look just like all the male soldiers (see image below), so I don't see how they would look any less like soldiers in the 41st millennium. And yet, I still wanted to find miniatures where you could see that there are both men and women in the ranks.
I finally decided on the amazingly cool and highly detailed miniatures from http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com (VM). They're a bit more difficult to assemble and paint than miniatures from GW, so for me coming back to the hobby after 20 years that's a challenge. But hey, I like a good challenge. The main part of my infantry will be based on the Arcadian Guard-miniatures from VM, which include bot male and female soldiers all having the same gear. I've also found a few bits and pieces from other manufacturers that I will use, like alternative heads etc. I'm also going to use GW bits like flamers, plasma guns etc. I will get all my vehicles from GW as I want my army to look like it really is an army of the Imperial Guard. I'm also thinking up some fluff for my army and being from Sweden there will be a Scandinavian touch to it, both in the lore and visually in the army itself.
But enough text. Here's a real world image that inspired me and then a few images of the first five miniatures I've finished painting. I included an Ork and a Cadian so you can compare scale. I'm glad to get any feedback or answer any questions.
Enjoy your grim dark future...
Cpt. Crackpot :D
16005160061600716008
After 20 years of being away from the hobby I've recently returned thanks to a colleague of mine. I used to collect, paint and sometimes play WHFB and 40K back between 1993-1997. For WHFB I had an undead army and for 40K I had a chaos army (Tzeentch). Towards the end I also had a Skaven team for Bloodbowl. Coming back I decided to focus on 40K again. I started off with a box of Ork Boyz, seeing that they had evolved enormously. I remember the old Ork Boyz all cast in the same shape and pose holding an axe and a boltgun, squatting like they were taking a dump on the battlefield. The new boyz are lightyears cooler!
So while painting my boyz I was considering a larger project, but felt that an Ork army would come later. I was more drawn to Astra Militarum. For a living I work to increase diversity and representation within gaming and e-sports, so I was hoping the 40K universe had evolved since I last visited it. But no. The human part of the galaxy still seem to be made up of only white dudes. So if you're a white dude, as I am, it's easy to feel at home in the Imperial universe, and even in the hobby at large. We (white males) seem to be the only target group and are well represented in the miniatures and in the artwork. For those of us that are not white dudes, not so much. A bit strange, don't you think? I've always liked the Imperial Guard and decided to create an army that is more in line with my view of the vast and diverse human empire of the 41st millennium. The lore speaks of the men and women from the millions of worlds of the empire. So that's what I'm setting out to show in my army.
Now some may see me as a SJW, which I assure you I am. But if anyone from Games Workshop (GW) reads this there's also a few thoughts around the business side of the hobby included in my project. I have worked with product- and brand development myself. I guess GW want the hobby to grow so they can earn more money. Simply put, one classic strategy to do that is to expand your market. One way to expand your market is to work with representation in order to increase the size of your target- and customer group. If more people feel represented in your brand/s and product/s, more people will (hopefully) buy them. So this is me offering some inspiration toward that possible goal.
It took me some time to find miniatures for the bulk of my army. The Cadians from GW look amazing, but they're all male. Still, I wanted to find something similar. Something that looks very pragmatic, militaristic and bad ***. I found a few other female miniatures online, but most of them are sexualised pin-up miniatures. It's laughable, really. Not very credible on a battlefield with bikini tops, spandex or boob armor. Most modern armies include female soldiers that look just like all the male soldiers (see image below), so I don't see how they would look any less like soldiers in the 41st millennium. And yet, I still wanted to find miniatures where you could see that there are both men and women in the ranks.
I finally decided on the amazingly cool and highly detailed miniatures from http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com (VM). They're a bit more difficult to assemble and paint than miniatures from GW, so for me coming back to the hobby after 20 years that's a challenge. But hey, I like a good challenge. The main part of my infantry will be based on the Arcadian Guard-miniatures from VM, which include bot male and female soldiers all having the same gear. I've also found a few bits and pieces from other manufacturers that I will use, like alternative heads etc. I'm also going to use GW bits like flamers, plasma guns etc. I will get all my vehicles from GW as I want my army to look like it really is an army of the Imperial Guard. I'm also thinking up some fluff for my army and being from Sweden there will be a Scandinavian touch to it, both in the lore and visually in the army itself.
But enough text. Here's a real world image that inspired me and then a few images of the first five miniatures I've finished painting. I included an Ork and a Cadian so you can compare scale. I'm glad to get any feedback or answer any questions.
Enjoy your grim dark future...
Cpt. Crackpot :D
16005160061600716008