Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Often while browsing CMON I see nude female miniatures that people paint. It doesn't offend me at all, I just don't get it. For example I saw two today, the first was a female commissar wearing only a trench coat and pants and boots. Breasts exposed as well as her whole upper torso all the way down nearly to her crotch. Why in the world would a female commissar be naked? What is the value of that model? I would think people in this hobby would rather see a really well sculpted legitimate female commissar in full uniform appropriate for gameplay. The second example I saw was a diorama basically depicting the rape of an Eldar female captured by some guardsmen. One had her breastplate in his hands and she was topless on the ground while another guardsmen had his pants unbuttoned and others were watching in amusement. It was really well painted and put together, but what is the motivation to depict a rape scene when it could have just been the same scene minus the rape and nudity? I think in MOST cases it cheapens the time and effort put into creating it, What do you think?

Thare1774 wrote:Often while browsing CMON I see nude female miniatures that people paint. It doesn't offend me at all, I just don't get it. For example I saw two today, the first was a female commissar wearing only a trench coat and pants and boots. Breasts exposed as well as her whole upper torso all the way down nearly to her crotch. Why in the world would a female commissar be naked? What is the value of that model? I would think people in this hobby would rather see a really well sculpted legitimate female commissar in full uniform appropriate for gameplay. The second example I saw was a diorama basically depicting the rape of an Eldar female captured by some guardsmen. One had her breastplate in his hands and she was topless on the ground while another guardsmen had his pants unbuttoned and others were watching in amusement. It was really well painted and put together, but what is the motivation to depict a rape scene when it could have just been the same scene minus the rape and nudity? I think in MOST cases it cheapens the time and effort put into creating it, What do you think?

Not really a fan of all of the nudity in the modeling community, but I have seen the diorama depicting the whole Eldar thing, it was meant to depict a crueler, more dark, harsh war-time environment (the kind of cruelties that inevitability occur in war). In that particular diorama it's meant to be offensive and a bit gross. As far as the rest of the nudity, sex sells, nuff said.

It's very sad, I think.

People with no lives, and who aren't getting any...

Those of us with Gamer wives, on the other hand...

Ascalam wrote:People with no lives, and who aren't getting any...

Those of us with Gamer wives, on the other hand...

Man, I wish I had a gamer-wife, well gamer-girlfriend, well girlfriend, well friend.... and loneliness has come full circle.

It's not just those without gamer wives.

It's those without ANY female companionship at all.
The socially insular and maladroit.

While I did get what he was trying to portray, i still don't see why it would be chosen as a theme for a diorama over a million other creative options. Sex does sell, but with minis I get excited over intricately detailed uniforms, armor, and other small things that the sculptor dreams up. There's plenty of nude pictures and videos on the web that I don't think its necessary to bring it into wargaming. Fine art is a totally different monster and nudity is usually done tastefully or for truly artistic reasons. But when looking at as nude commissar I don't get the feeling it was done for artistic reasons, its kitsch.

Lots of people like admiring the nude human form. Whether for its "higher" aesthetic beauty or for simple titillation.

A lot of these nude minis are done purely to cash in on the latter factor, and are junk.

There are plenty of nude figures out there, however, which are nice little works of art and make sense in their context. Whether nude Celtic berserkers, or the old Juan Diaz metal Daemonettes, or some Frazetta or Boris Vallejo-inspired barbarian warriors, savage maidens, or Greek gods and goddesses.

The Eldar diorama was the subject of a great deal of debate and discussion. Most people appreciated the great skill and technique used. Many people thought it was inappropriate within the context of the game. Many others thought it made a trenchant observation about the nature of war and about the less-pleasant sides of it that we gloss over. Some thought the execution was clumsy, and the female figure's figure overemphasized, unpleasantly blurring the line between artistic commentary and dumb titillation.

What's comfortable, appropriate, and enjoyable for one person may be ugly, nasty, sad, boring, tame, passe, or trivial to another. We all have different tastes.

@Mannahnin- I totally agree that there are nude/semi nude minis that are done well and make sense. I'm speaking of the ones that are done for purely sexual reasons. I as m not a prude and none of it offends me, I just don't see value in it a lot of the time.

Thare1774 wrote:@Mannahnin- I totally agree that there are nude/semi nude minis that are done well and make sense. I'm speaking of the ones that are done for purely sexual reasons. I as m not a prude and none of it offends me, I just don't see value in it a lot of the time.

There's no real value besides the people willing to spend money on it, it's like miniature, expensive, metal smut that beyond sitting on a shelf doesn't offer anything to anyone.

@Mannahnin

Completely agree with what you have said. I have +200 Juan Diaz Daemonettes (including 60 mounted ones). They are really beautiful when painted up(only 60% are painted now) and in mass. My sweety loves the artistic aspects of the hobby and I'm slowly getting her into it.

Like you have said we all have different tastes. I consider the Diaz Daemonettes Artwork and have never seen anyone, male or female be offended by what I place down on the table to game at my Local GW store.

Adam, that may be because those types of models are supposed to have cleavage, a nude commissar girl... That seems a bit OTT, as the model it is based off of is both male and clothed.

Now, I'm not saying go around sticking penises on your Slaanesh Soul Grinder, I'm saying if it's tasteful, and doesn't make a fanboy want to whip it out, go for it.

Chowderhead wrote:Adam, that may be because those types of models are supposed to have cleavage, a nude commissar girl... That seems a bit OTT, as the model it is based off of is both male and clothed.

Now, I'm not saying go around sticking penises on your Slaanesh Soul Grinder, I'm saying if it's tasteful, and doesn't make a fanboy want to whip it out, go for it.

There IS actually a scantily clad female commissar distributed by GW at a Games-day event from a while back, I considered adding it to my army before considering it a joke.

I just don't get why nearly every female commissar sculpt looks like something you'd see at a nerdy bachelor party.

Squidmanlolz wrote:

Chowderhead wrote:Adam, that may be because those types of models are supposed to have cleavage, a nude commissar girl... That seems a bit OTT, as the model it is based off of is both male and clothed.

Now, I'm not saying go around sticking penises on your Slaanesh Soul Grinder, I'm saying if it's tasteful, and doesn't make a fanboy want to whip it out, go for it.

There IS actually a scantily clad female commissar distributed by GW at a Games-day event from a while back, I considered adding it to my army before considering it a joke.

Yes, this may have been made by GW, but I still don't like inappropriate nudity,

Now, something like this: [NSFW]



I find appropriate. It's for the Savlar Chem Dogs, a penal legion army. It's also the best freehanding I've seen in a good while.

Thare1774 wrote:I just don't get why nearly every female commissar sculpt looks like something you'd see at a nerdy bachelor party.

Because anyone willing to buy it wants to have her at their bachelor party, there simply isn't a marriage in their future.
I thinks there's a mathematical equation to show how sex appeal affects sales:


The makers of the products know (or at least think that they know) their target demographic.

That savlar chem-dogs flag is among the coolest things I've seen since I started up in the hobby!

Chowderhead wrote:
Now, something like this: [NSFW]

Spoiler:

I find appropriate. It's for the Savlar Chem Dogs, a penal legion army. It's also the best freehanding I've seen in a good while.

That's one thing. Savlar Chem Dogs are scummy, ruddy, dirty bastards, and their flag reflects that. It's also reminiscent of a pin-up painted on the side of a tank or plane, and that's fine. It makes sense from a fluff standpoint, and looks good. That particular one is also, as you said, extremely well done.

The fascination with painting models of naked women and the like just seems to be geeks being geeks. I don't really get the fascination; same with folks like Dr. Thunder and his infamous female Marine army. It's one of those things that oversteps a boundary and goes from a sane idea (I'll include a few women in my IG army!) and turns into something ridiculous (I'm going to make an all-female IG army, and they'll all be in bikinis and wearing ballgags!) and not many people stay anywhere near the line, unfortunately.

Brother SRM wrote:(I'm going to make an all-female IG army, and they'll all be in bikinis and wearing ballgags!)

I smell a new Guard-offshoot codex coming on!

@Chowderhead- that GW model pictured is just a terrible looking model, even looking past the boobs. But that chem dogs banner is ridiculously awesome!

Its all about context.

Daemonettes and Celtic Berserkers SHOULD be nude.

No Commissar or High Elf Mage would forget to put a shirt on. Its ridiculous.

Personally, I find it stranger that people still assume those who appreciate nude, female miniatures lack sexual companionship.

This is the internet, there are far more unusual things.

I agree with dogma. What I dont get is why people who are past puberty are even asking the question.

People do stuff because it appeals to them

everyone has their kinks. If you dont know yours or if you think you dont have any...im afraid to say you just dont know yourself very well.

As I keep saying, the only thing sillier than 28mm scale boobies are people throwing fits about 28mm scale boobies.

For the record, I don't have any nude girl models, but I did sculpt junk on my Slaaneshy chaos spawn.

chromedog wrote:It's not just those without gamer wives.

It's those without ANY female companionship at all.
The socially insular and maladroit.

Hey, I'm socially insular and...*goes to dictionary.com*...maladroit, too, and I don't really like gratuitous nudity, either.

Nudity itself doesn't offend me, nor should it really offend anyone. Simple nudity is not "pornographic" or something to be ashamed of (unless you look like me, lol), and it pisses me off when people suggest as much. That said there is a line that exists between beautiful and tasteless, but most of the time it's pretty easy to tell when someone's crossed it. It all depends on context, bare breasts or genitals may be perfectly acceptable in some cases, but for miniatures, especially ones that are meant to represent characters on the field of battle, a topless female commissar is inappropriate, because there's no reason for her to be naked in this scenario. On the other hand, something resembling a daemon (though in most cases daemons aren't really depicted with genitals...since they don't really need them and they're not natural beings anyway) could probably get away with it, hence why few people are offended by daemonettes: it makes sense for them to be partially or even fully nude on the battlefield, they serve an evil god of hedonism and debauchery, and make a hobby out of seducing weak-willed mortals, or cutting them down with relative ease while dancing gracefully for the pleasure of their dark master. What the feth is a commissar doing with her tits out? "Inspiring" the men to fight on, is that the idea? Commissars "inspire" by executing people who disobey orders. It's stupid, unjustified, pointless nudity done for the sake of it.

And then there's people who sculpt erect dicks or open vaginas on soul grinders for lulz. It needs no explanation.

Bakerofish wrote:everyone has their kinks. If you dont know yours or if you think you dont have any...im afraid to say you just dont know yourself very well.

Or you're a liar.

Mannahnin wrote:Lots of people like admiring the nude human form. Whether for its "higher" aesthetic beauty or for simple titillation.

I prefer both.

I think you have to take WH40K quite serious to be offended by nude figures, which in itself is quite worrying really.

To be offended by a bare breast, or an exposed thigh, and yet not blink an eye at a Ravaging Green Ork, or an emaciated Dark Eldar running into battle bare foot is just hillarious.

I'm married and have obviously enjoyed the company of a women, as my 5 month old son will bear witness, and I love seeing well sculpted female forms in both Statue form or large scale miniature form (I collect 54mm and up, and also collect Sideshow Premium Format Statues). I think the female form is great, and everytime I get a chubby looking at a female Marvel comic character, I get the pleasure of knowing everything in the plumbing department is working A-OK, and that my mental chip is still firing on optimum!

All of that said, I was not offended by the Eldar rape scene, quite the opposite, I found it absolutely fascinating. It was a side of WH40K that is not explored because it will offend the kiddies (like severed heads, and the destruction of entire planets is somehow more acceptible?!?).

Regarding the part naked Commissar, well, ok, there I draw the line. Not because it depicts a naked woman, no, that part I like....it's more because it depicts an idiot! Any woman going into combat without torso protection, I don't care how good a warrior you are, is either going to end up dead or taking part in the Eldar rape scene....as the Eldar!

As people have said, sex sells and pervs buy. It's that simple and unfortunate. And to the Eldar rape scene thing - I just think that's over the top. I don't really care for the whole "depicting the true harshness of war" argument. I think that's a politically correct excuse for what is really just an offensive display that someone got a kick out of making. There are plenty of ways to depict the harshness of war without bringing the abuse of females into the picture.

It is sometimes a bit over the top and out of place. Id have no problem with naked or semi naked dark elf witches or some other models where nudity would actually fit.

Actually a squad of dark elf witches, naked apart from tattoos over their bodies drawn in blood would be pretty cool

snake wrote:As people have said, sex sells and pervs buy. It's that simple and unfortunate. And to the Eldar rape scene thing - I just think that's over the top. I don't really care for the whole "depicting the true harshness of war" argument. I think that's a politically correct excuse for what is really just an offensive display that someone got a kick out of making. There are plenty of ways to depict the harshness of war without bringing the abuse of females into the picture.

Would you have problems if it was deamonets of slaanesh raping imperial gaurdesman than cutting their heads off?

runmymouth wrote:

snake wrote:As people have said, sex sells and pervs buy. It's that simple and unfortunate. And to the Eldar rape scene thing - I just think that's over the top. I don't really care for the whole "depicting the true harshness of war" argument. I think that's a politically correct excuse for what is really just an offensive display that someone got a kick out of making. There are plenty of ways to depict the harshness of war without bringing the abuse of females into the picture.

Would you have problems if it was deamonets of slaanesh raping imperial gaurdesman than cutting their heads off?

Yes, wouldn't you? Aside from acts of sexual abuse being outside the spectrum of wargaming, I think there is an issue with someone wanting to glorify acts of sexual abuse via miniature modeling.

I agree I am just saying that one fits fluff wise the other is just a pulling abstraction from typical soldier behavior in wars. I don't know why anyone would make a dirama of it but then I want to strangle the person who let a dog starve to death in the name of art.....