How GW could tap into the female market

[Ze_Shoggoth]

Hey
So I thought a story may be related to this thread, back in 1995 I used to play in a GW which had a girl who used to come into play, she was nicknamed "ratgirl" for her Skaven army. She had also cool, rat headed Chaos and others... But really she was far more enthusiastic than anybody there, and only after some "guy" continuously hit on her month after month did she quit. She even told him to back off, but after he was employed there it kinda put her off. What I am trying to say is she inspired me to enjoy the hobby as much as I do, even if I never told her about it.

Regardless, I don't think more female models would help market it to more women even if they are less Striperesque. I feel that its quite a niche market and honestly I don't know what will help.

Maybe if people see more girls playing maybe?, though one thing Peterborough's manager would probably put more off than encourage. She certainly made me avoid GW stores for a long time.

[Necron2.0]

Make up brushes can be expensive, fair warning, but they tend to be built to last a bit more than hobby brushes in my experience. Ha, just remembered something. I once described painting to some (teenage, male) newbs at my games group like 'applying make-up to model' and the look of horror on their faces was beautiful.

I can see that, actually. The animal known as the "teenage male" is a mass of raw nerves awash in a sea of previously unexperienced testosterone. The worst thing for a boy of that age is to be seen as being "weak" - targets them for predation by others of the pack. Having anything to do with "girlie-girl" stuff is for some the ultimate sign of weakness. This is why your typical teenage male is almost by definition a douchebag.

Now me, my parents did me the disservice of starting me in school a full year ahead of schedule, which meant I was always smaller than my peers. Since I was already weaker than my rivals, I had to be sneakier to have any chances with the ladies. This is the main reason why my "letter" in highschool came from being in Drama (yes, I was a Thespian). I went into acting, because that's where the girls were. What does this have to do with anything? Well ...

Dunno why, painting make-up on the wench can be foreplay... but then you have to do it again before you actually go out...

Personal experience: yes it can be. Helping a "fellow Thespian" with her make-up, combined with the nerves and jitters of a performance, can lead to a lot of backstage fun.

[Build]

Model range:
GW can sculpt women now, they are also very good at not sexualising female sculpts. Revamping Sisters of Battle, some plastic female Imperial Guard, some more female Eldar and some more female sculpts like commissars, Inquisitors and so forth would be a big step forward.

Hmmm....debatable, still not sold on GW lady figs with one or two exceptions, not specifically the face, but the anatomy tends to be off quite badly (someone for a GD entry stripped all the armour off Lilith to convert her into a wood elf wardancer, while it looked good, it did reveal quite a few anatomical inaccuracies, especially around the hips and shoulders).

Speak of sisters of battle, I keep hearing people saying sisters will be back, but have yet seen little (if any) evidence, does anyone know of anything more concrete, rather than stuff passed on friend of a friend style?


I think a big one is the stores themselves, rather than a no shirt, no service option in GW stores I think it should be, if you come in smelling like you have yet to discover soap/shower gel, you need to go away and come back when you have.

Might sound a little nasty, but one store in Bristol (back in 2003) did ask one guy to leave because he hummed so bad there was no escaping from it and people visibly gagged whenever he walked in (not out of nastiness, but because he really DID SMELL THAT BAD).

The other one is to crack down on the creepers, my gym has banned one or two members in the past for upsetting/harassing women, I think the same should apply, ok so you might want to have a quick look, make it just that, a quick look. Following her around like a lost puppy is creepy and a sure fire way to make sure you put her off ever wanting to go back and probably spending the rest of your life singing in soprano.

[eldargal]

Well from a non-sexualised perspective they are pretty good. The new Sisters of Avelorn and Handmaiden models for example.

As for SoB, Jervis Johnson was asked about them at Enter the Citadel and said 'every army will be updated in time' and that none were being dropped. We also know Jes Goodwin was working on plastics in 2010/11.

[YorkNecromancer]

but the anatomy tends to be off quite badly

Because GW kits are normally a model of anatomical accuracy? Not sure I agree that they are! There's those GIANT Cadian heads, totally wonky Space Marine proportions, or the fact that no human being has ever had anything like the musculature of a Catachan Jungle Fighter (and I'm not talking size. I'm talking weirdness of shape.)



Seriously, WHAT is up with this guy's right shoulder muscles? His arm reaches to just below his knees, his hands are nearly as big as his head... And he's actually pretty good by Catachan standards!

Although while searching for images of wonky Catachans, I did find this official bit of Fantasy Flight Games' artwork for their 40K RPG "Only War":



and this



and this



Why is it FFG gets it so right and GW doesn't pay any attention? Why can't they make these as models?

Speak of sisters of battle, I keep hearing people saying sisters will be back, but have yet seen little (if any) evidence, does anyone know of anything more concrete, rather than stuff passed on friend of a friend style?

I recall the Games Day thread here had an interview with him where he'd said the issue was getting the robes right; they want the kits to be dynamic as well as offer multiple poses, but that's not an easy thing given the flowing robes. He did confirm that they will be released though.

[Build]

Because GW kits are normally a model of anatomical accuracy? Not sure I agree that they are! There's those GIANT Cadian heads, totally wonky Space Marine proportions, or the fact that no human being has ever had anything like the musculature of a Catachan Jungle Fighter (and I'm not talking size. I'm talking weirdness of shape.

I think the thing which annoys me is there is some AMAZING artwork, there really is! But it's not always done justice, but by that same vein I should be grateful, because I wouldn't be sculpting if they did minis that reflected it.

That Catachan looks pretty badass, she'd be fun to sculpt if I didn't have 20 odd Dragon blood minis to knock out.


Back on topic....

Surprised no-one commented on the smell factor (unless my eyes are failing me and it's already been mentioned, in which case I shall cease and desist).

[eldargal]

I bought Only War just for the art. I agree the models don't always do the concept art justice but I think on the whole GW are improving, even if some people don't like the concept (like the new CSM daemon machines). The new Sisters of Avelorn are some of my favourite female sculpts on the market even if I think GW overdo the bone structure on female elves.

I don't really frequent GW stores and whatnot to judge about stench really. My own group has stamped out that sort of thing largely by having a bunch of older, mature males who can have a quiet word word with any of he younger boys and nip it in the bud. Older men that come as guests are expected to be told to wash, if needed, by whomever is inviting them.

[Daemonette666]

And YES please someone release female guard....

I do not know whether I have mentioned this before to you or others, but Zealot miniatures make a nice female torso sprue for their Khadeshi (Tau wannbees). It comes with 3 armoured and 3 unarmoured torsos. They look like they would make a nice variants for Flak/Carapace armour, and for Catachan Guards. They are a little pricey though at £3.99 for 6 torsos.

Here is the Link:

[url]http://www.zealotminiatures.co.uk/#!__zealot-store/kadesh-female-bodies[/url].

Maybe a few female cultist miniatures can be added to the cultist line? They would probably look like Reavers/Rippers as you see in the Serenity Postqual movie.

[DrLove42]

Strong female characters show up everywhere except the models

Read Betrayer. Ships Captain of the World Eaters Flagship is an awesome woman. She punches and shoot a World Eater captain in full power armour in the face cos shes annoyed at him :P

[Psychosplodge]

Dunno why, painting make-up on the wench can be foreplay... but then you have to do it again before you actually go out...

Personal experience: yes it can be. Helping a "fellow Thespian" with her make-up, combined with the nerves and jitters of a performance, can lead to a lot of backstage fun.

^see

@York, that Mordian needs to get those bloody trousers ironed, look at the state of them...