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Hi Dakka's,

I just wanted to talk about a new mini GW will be releasing. Its called the "Regimental Mascot".

First Id like to say I'm not complaining about the mini or wanting it stopped from being released. Also, I'm not a fan of animals but when I see this mini it reminds me of the "dancing bears". If you're not familiar with that term then it might sound rather funny. Its not.

The dancing bears are in regard to the bears you see in various countries forced to dance for your entertainment. People don't realise the torture these creatures go through. The bear mother is killed and babys taken. They're then put under buckets for 3 days to "calm them down" or something similarly stupid. The ones that live then have their teeth pulled out and are forced to dance. They never get any 'real' food and are locked away in cages.

If GM released the mini a little different I guess I wouldn't have such a bad feeling towards it. As it is, the bear looks sad (yes, I find it does lol) and has that big chain around its neck. The standing pose seems to magnify this for me as well. The eye patch is suppose to give character I guess but for me, makes the whole thing worse. Even the handler looks like troublesome.

Maybe Im just being paranoid. I know Ill never buy it or like it. I just hope people understand what it seems to portray to myself and maybe others. I have no issues with the other GW minis either.

Pic is below. Make up your own mind. I don't want a troll fight, just what you think? Will you buy it? Do you agree with me? Maybe I'm as mad as a Troll Slayer?

I see what you're getting at, and I understand completely, but we have to remember this is just a game of 28mm high models.

While I don't like the mini very much either, and I think bears are awesome, and definitely don't agree with how they're treated in this regard... it IS only a mini... and talk like this is how the Daemonettes with boobies got discontinued :(

Seriously, it's just a miniature. Are you going to complain next about the sexual trafficking that the Dark Eldar take part in?

Vladsimpaler wrote:
Seriously, it's just a miniature. Are you going to complain next about the sexual trafficking that the Dark Eldar take part in?

Oh the noes! The Skorne are torturing baby Titans!

It is just some pewter and paint man chill, its not like GW chained some bears up and made them dance to get a good picture to use for the sculpt.

anticitizen013 wrote:While I don't like the mini very much either, and I think bears are awesome, and definitely don't agree with how they're treated in this regard... it IS only a mini... and talk like this is how the Daemonettes with boobies got discontinued :(

+1 damn straight!

Platuan4th wrote:

Vladsimpaler wrote:
Seriously, it's just a miniature. Are you going to complain next about the sexual trafficking that the Dark Eldar take part in?

Oh the noes! The Skorne are torturing baby Titans!

Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about that. At least they're not removing the Titan's teeth and making them dance. Then that'd be going too far.

I kind of agree with the OP. I don't care a lot about it, but I think that it's a pretty grim mini. Also given that GW could have created a new, cool fantasy creature or brought back an old favorite for this, it's kind of a wasted opportunity.

Polonius wrote:I kind of agree with the OP. I don't care a lot about it, but I think that it's a pretty grim mini. Also given that GW could have created a new, cool fantasy creature or brought back an old favorite for this, it's kind of a wasted opportunity.

I agree with OP as well. however everyone i have a solution.

This gives us all the chance to do some conversions!

You know like... snip that guy's head off and leave it next to the bears feet.

Cause , and effect!

I just think they missed the mark with the mini. I think it's supposed to be amusing, but I don't feel what they're trying to get at.

Most bears would maul that poor sucker standing next to them like that, too . And to top it off, it has a drum!?

It's a fantasy setting... maybe it's not actually a bear, but a soldier from the regiment on punishment duty. Get the regimental wizard to turn him into a bear for a month. Blam, instant mascot.



While the whole 'dancing bear' thing can be pretty grim in the real world, the mini is more or less in keeping with the setting, and aside from the eyepatch doesn't appear to be too badly treated. Even still has his claws.

LunaHound wrote:I agree with OP as well. however everyone i have a solution.

This gives us all the chance to do some conversions!

You know like... snip that guy's head off and leave it next to the bears feet.

Cause , and effect!

Luna wins yet another thread.
I don't play fantasy, but I wanna buy that mini just to make said conversion.

Must......not.....get.....on.....soapbox.....


errrrg........

F it.

Seriously? You are talking about a game where the fluff of the entire universe is bloody gorey war on a galactic scale... but you're "affected" by the poor bear.

Sounds like a PETA member complaining about the treatment of animals while eating a big mac.

I'm pretty tired of PETAspeak. In my profession, I see children, the mentally handicapped, and the eldarly abused, neglected, and generally thrown away, but all I hear about is the poor animals.....

Forget the animals. They are secondary to people. Can we please focus on humanity before we move on to the animals?

But people only pay attention to things right in front of them, once someone else has made a big deal about it, and since you will NEVER see the abuse of humanity, you won't jump on THAT bandwagon.

Impress me. Prove me wrong. Volunteer at a nursing home.

Taking it too seriously I think. Real life is one thing, a mini is a mini. I'm not about to go treat a bear like kak just because I don't mind this after all...

Better question is, if this is disturbing, why aren't all the guys with swords and guns hacking each other apart and blowing villages up a cause for concern?

For me, I like it because it is so morose and horrible, it adds flavor to the cold, sociopathic war hammer world, and paints a picture of how miserable the average life is there.

My army is a bunch of bloodthirsty slaughterhell skullfiend daemons, but that bear in your army offends me!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If they cannot handle some serious scorn, they should think before sharing that opinion with others.

grizgrin wrote:Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If they cannot handle some serious scorn, they should think before sharing that opinion with others.

That's exactly the sort of attitude that stifles discussion. And is exactly why dakka has rules requiring posters to behave themselves in discussions.



Let's keep it on track, folks. You're welcome to disagree with the opinions of others, but at least try to respect the fact that not everyone will share the same opinion on a given topic, and keep it civil...

I don't think you need to be a PETA fanatic to have more empathy for a wild animal (incapable of guilt) in a grim setting than you do for humans. WFB isn't as grimdark as 40k, but there is still a pretty heavy feeling of "there are no innocents."

And I don't think anybody is saying the mini shouldn't be made or bought. I'm just saying that my empire army wouldn't use such a mascot, so i'm not buying the mini. It does make me want to convert up some regimental mascots to use as objectives...

insaniak wrote:
While the whole 'dancing bear' thing can be pretty grim in the real world, the mini is more or less in keeping with the setting, and aside from the eyepatch doesn't appear to be too badly treated. Even still has his claws.

I like to think the bear is, in fact, the regiment's secret weapon from the frozen wastes of Kislev, rescued and being groomed for vengeance against the evil Chaos bastards who killed his mother.

Also, notice: the handler has a calliope styled instrument.
I just wish he had a picnic basket.

yeah i agree with the OP the model is a bit disturbing and imo unnecessary (is there any unit that uses a bear like this btw?)

It's not meant as a playable mini. It's from a bunch of sets of collector's models they're releasing with the new Warhammer.

Two words.

Bear Cavalry.

Converters, find a way.

OoieGoie wrote:Also, Im not a fan of animals but when I see this mini it reminds me of the "dancing bears". If you're not familiar with that term then it might sound rather funny. Its not.

I have to say that that's honestly the first thing I thought when I saw this mini on the pre-order thing the other day.

Don't know what they were thinking. Might as well have modelled him on a small stool, or wearing a Fez.

I just wanted to throw some support toward the OP. It's not like they declared everyone who might use this mini to be evil or morally wrong. They also specifically noted they weren't complaining or wanted it stopped, they just wanted to note some background information people might not realize.

Personally, like the OP but additionally as a reasonably serious animal rights supporter, I find the mini a little concerning, but no more so than people playing Dark Eldar, or people who focus on playing Nazis in historical games, or wargaming in general. Obviously I'm not so concerned as to not play myself, but it's a legitimate topic of discussion---what exactly does it mean to play and encourage wargaming, glorify morally wrong actors, etc.?

What is the mini used for? It looks like an Empire fig but I don't recall it being in the army list. If it is I suppose we have to put it into the context of the setting. It isn't as if The Empire is some bastion of progressive thinking or that the Warhammer Universe is full of rainbows and sunshine. I am appalled at the fact that stuff like this still goes on and hope that someday we can stop this bizarre abuse but in the Warhammer setting it doesn't exactly seem out of place.

Of course I also understand that one shouldn't want to appear to be endorsing this behavior either.

Thortek wrote:It is just some pewter and paint man chill, its not like GW chained some bears up and made them dance to get a good picture to use for the sculpt.

You know that for a fact?

Ahtman wrote:What is the mini used for? It looks like an Empire fig but I don't recall it being in the army list.

I don't think it's in the list, to be honest.

But man, it'd be a great stand-in for a Banner and Musician in a Militia or State Troops Regiment.

tjkopena wrote:I just wanted to throw some support toward the OP. It's not like they declared everyone who might use this mini to be evil or morally wrong. They also specifically noted they weren't complaining or wanted it stopped, they just wanted to note some background information people might not realize.

Personally, like the OP but additionally as a reasonably serious animal rights supporter, I find the mini a little concerning, but no more so than people playing Dark Eldar, or people who focus on playing Nazis in historical games, or wargaming in general. Obviously I'm not so concerned as to not play myself, but it's a legitimate topic of discussion---what exactly does it mean to play and encourage wargaming, glorify morally wrong actors, etc.?

I think, at least with GW, that there's a certain "cartoon" style grimness over much of the setting. Berzerkers of Khorne are pretty awful guys, but in such an over the top, fantastical way that there's little connection between the violence inherent in their backstory and any form of reality. Compare their fluff to, say, a piece about a character who first starting killing with an uncle that sexually abused him and his siblings for years, which set him off on a quest to fill the psychological holes left by the abuse through random violence. The first is fun and ridiculous, the latter is just upsetting.

For all of it's grimness, the GW universe is still a place of escapist fantasy. Confronting very real, if minor, evils is a little unsettling, even in the backdrop of breathtaking evil.

I like the mini, [omg no way] though the dancing bear stuff is pretty harsh, I just sort of like this mini. Does this make me evil. Maybe its a fighting bear of some sort, that when music plays it goes crazy and starts kicking ass. That's how I look at it.