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Kinda NSFW, but all good nonetheless.

I luvs me some John Blanche.

Yeah, those models have been showing up on various painting and sculpting sites over the past 6 months, but hadn't remembered to post the links Anyway, the entire line is up on that site and the rumours are that only 100 of each mini will be cast. I highly doubt that and if that is true I'll be very very sad. Hopefully it'll be more along the lines of the Black Library runs so I can afford to buy all of them

I've been scouring the internet on and off the past six months ever since Jakob Nielsen first posted his paintjob on one of the early figures, then I believe Matt Parkes posted one. Many of the same illustrations can be seen on John Blanche's website (lvxmvndi.com) as well as examples of the finished peices of work on Tears of Envy and Jakob Nielsen's webpage. Google might turn up one or two other sites.

From what I've been able to gleam is that these are peices that John Blanche himself personally comissioned and through some arraingment set up with Tom Kirby & Games Workshop's sr. management is having them cast in resin using their facilities. The caveats being that Blanche assumes the risk, the figures aren't in any competing scale (hence the supposed 40mm scale?), and that they are sold only through GW. Warp Artifacts was supposed to be the retail outlet, but since they've been absorbed into Black Library, perhaps BL is going to release them. Regardless, BL has bupkis on release dates and the Warp Artifact page announcing the Femmes Militant is dead.

I for one am very, very excited about these. I am, of course, a total Blanche fanboy and if these are actually getting released, I'll be buying as many as I can get my paws on. Hello bankrupcy! Great googly moogly are these awesome.

Posted By nyarlathotep667 on 09/24/2006 8:47 PM

From what I've been able to gleam is that these are peices that John Blanche himself personally comissioned and through some arraingment set up with Tom Kirby & Games Workshop's sr. management is having them cast in resin using their facilities. The caveats being that Blanche assumes the risk, the figures aren't in any competing scale (hence the supposed 40mm scale?), and that they are sold only through GW. Warp Artifacts was supposed to be the retail outlet, but since they've been absorbed into Black Library, perhaps BL is going to release them. Regardless, BL has bupkis on release dates and the Warp Artifact page announcing the Femmes Militant is dead.

thanks for the background.  If that story is at all true it's the most bizzare way of doing business I've heard.  All the stuff about no competing scale would make sense if GW is not selling them and if Blanche is under contract with them.  But since GW is selling them... why not sell as many as they can? 

But anyway, they're nice but scale and price will probably keep me away.

No problemo! GW always has had a backasswards way of doing business. It's not like it's terribly difficult to do limited edition metal or resin castings, but the suits seem to be taking a real hard nosed stance of late. I haven't got a clue what the price will be though. That will be the ultimate deal breaker for me, despite how much I like 'em. That and if they turn out to be cast by Forgeworld (whose casting process leaves much to be desired).

40mm. Utterly worthless then.

Blanche undoubtedly has a clause in his contract to prevent him from competing with GW, hence the 40mm scale.

There's any number of companies who could cast the figures in metal.

"Utterly worthless then."

Unless you want to actually paint something really cool for a change.

I like about half of them, want to get all of them
but would really like to know how and $$$

It's really great to see Blanche's twisted imagery not get watered down or cleaned up. I hope they do get released and I hope I can afford them when they do. They make me happy in a bad way.

Absolutely GORGEOUS!! And look at the sculptors! Even Jes has done some.

Pythone is my favourite!

Posted By Parkingtigers on 09/24/2006 9:49 PM
40mm. Utterly worthless then.

Nothing wrong with 40mm IMHO. Less tiny little details for my coffee-wracked hands to muck up.

Did anyone else notice the link to Vivienne Westwood in the links section? Does Blanche design post-punk women's apparel for them or something?

Posted By supabeast on 09/25/2006 12:13 PM

Did anyone else notice the link to Vivienne Westwood in the links section? Does Blanche design post-punk women's apparel for them or something?

I was wondering the same thing. Similar linkage can be found at the Tears of Envy. Is it Blanch or Blanche fans? Regardless I like. It's nice to finally get a range of websites that have more of his stuff or stuff inspired by him and some of the other original RT-era artists, like Ian Miller (whose site I was already aware of). Lovely stuff.

each model is going to be limited to 100 and they're going to cost £20 - nice but not really worth it IMHO. I think they were to be released on 20th November (though i could be wrong).

They maybe 40mm but i reckon after a quick look at em they'd make some nice Chaos chars, or evne in some cases Undead for fantasy Nechriach... anyone?

I'll need to see them side-by-side with G-dubs 28mm and 54mm figures. I actually think they'll scale right for true 1/35 (54mm) figures, perhaps a little short (though, they are women), making it quite possible to use in Inquisitor.

54mm is closer to 1/32, and most inquisitor models scale poorly, being on the main, larger than they ought to be.  That being said, some of the female models might work, particularly those which are fat or squat in shape, as they can  be more easily explained as a human shape variation.

I have one of the precasts of the resin figures (ratspyke) and a friend of mine was sent the whole set and and early metal prototype for promotional painting purposes so i have seen the whole range.

They are larger than 40k figs though could be used as individual figures in say an Inquisitors retinue or as a character model as the proportions are actually much longer and finer rahter than bigger and bulkier - I would compare them more to tall rackham elves if that helps at all. A "unit" of these would look rather strange though and as such I wouldnt suggest that they are really a gaming unit kind of thing. Really these are a painter/collector release - and will certainly be priced as such.

The sculpts themselves are beautiful having been done by such industry notables as Werner Klocke and Steve Buddle amoung others. The casting on the one I have recieved was also notably excellent. FW can go back and forth between ubermolds and the rediculously bad. The ones i have seen are definitely the former.

I will definitely be picking the rest of these up as soon as they are made available.

 

Some of those are actually rather disturbing. It's a wonder why GW hasn't been contracting figures based on Blanche's art all along. There is a notable lack of grotesquely cyberneticly altered figures in GW's line, a mainstay of Blanche's art that appears in almost every codex. Servitors with all manner of uncomfortable adaptations are constantly doting on the heroes of the Far Future(TM).

I have to agree with misgula, Pythone is one of my favorites, too. She is a strange mix of regal countenance and gritty dystopia, qualities a few of the figures in that line have and that are missing from GW's own lines.