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Webstore is now open, any outstanding pledges should get in contact with Patrick about fulfillment (apparently some slipped through the cracks).





Bombshell Babes is a kickstarter project intended to help launch Sculptdude Patrick Keith's Bombshell Miniatures line of boutique female miniatures.

I wondered what this was when Andy linked this on his FB page. Interesting concept. I wonder how much wailing and gnashing of teeth it will cause?

“Cry cheesecake and let slip the trolls of war!”

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I wondered what this was when Andy linked this on his FB page. Interesting concept. I wonder how much wailing and gnashing of teeth it will cause?

“Cry cheesecake and let slip the trolls of war!”

Hehe! I really do hope it comes out well, I'm a sucker for a classy dame. It'll be interesting to see if the eclectic mix of genres is a help or hindrance. It's really for the fans of female minis in general, rather then particular game systems.

The Sally concept art looks fantastic. Retro-sci-fi but with a modern feel. Excellent stuff and not total cheese.

Liking Sally, Betty, and Maelee..

Patrick is a great sculptor. he did a couple of my figs and I hope to have him do more in the future. My cash is tight right now, but I'll be jumping in on this one

Looks promising so far, but not a fan of the mixed genres that they've chosen for the Kickstarter. I realize that is what they're going for with this range, but out of all the models they've shown so far only 2 actually interest me. If they add a few more Sci-fi models in the future i probably will back this campaign.

I really like the Maelee concept art, but i think the pinup girl with the over-sized wrench model has been done way too many times already.

Also does anyone know what scale these models are going to be? couldn't find that info on the actual KS page.

Mr Gutsy wrote:
Looks promising so far, but not a fan of the mixed genres that they've chosen for the Kickstarter. I realize that is what they're going for with this range, but out of all the models they've shown so far only 2 actually interest me. If they add a few more Sci-fi models in the future i probably will back this campaign.

I really like the Maelee concept art, but i think the pinup girl with the over-sized wrench model has been done way too many times already.

Also does anyone know what scale these models are going to be? couldn't find that info on the actual KS page.

There is quite a bit of info buried in that block of text labeled "the babes", including this bit;

the figures so they will be compatible with other models from the most popular manufacturers within the 30mm range

I would say this is a rather coy way of stating that the figures will be designed to fit in with the "near 30mm," ranges, like GW's heroic scale 28s. It's only a guess though, I'll relay any info once some actual figures start making the rounds.

I'm going to break down that paragraph into bullets for easier consumption in the OP.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Update #2 posted, and the first of the stretch goal minis revealed, Atomic Punks!



Please note, the minimum pledge level is Bomb Kit ($75) to get these minis.

Models and concepts look good so far. And I personally love metal. But, how about a link in the OP?

drazz wrote:
Models and concepts look good so far. And I personally love metal. But, how about a link in the OP?

Doh!

Fixed and updated the banner from the company, to the KS banner (with a link to the KS).

Holy crap, in it for Sally! I do love me Raygun Gothic style minis.

Great looking concepts, but very expensive for what you actually get. I guess that's where the term "Boutique" comes into play.

I have high hopes for this one and can't wait to see where it will go.

Oh, nice, it doesn't end until my credit card limit resets. I might get to pledge!

 scipio.au wrote:
Great looking concepts, but very expensive for what you actually get. I guess that's where the term "Boutique" comes into play.

Really? At around $10 per metal mini, I hardly think that's expensive. That's pretty standard, or even low, for many of the companies out there.

And, no, I don't think this is Bones/Sedition Wars status where the KS will end with more models than you can carry. But, I do think in the end that the minis will be extraordinary and at a very competitive price.

I agree drazz - I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

Like Brook, I think that Retro Ray Gun model looks ace!

Gah, must resist! No more tempting kickstarters, please...

I will be interested if they do a model I can use as an Everblight warcaster.

drazz wrote:

 scipio.au wrote:
Great looking concepts, but very expensive for what you actually get. I guess that's where the term "Boutique" comes into play.

Really? At around $10 per metal mini, I hardly think that's expensive. That's pretty standard, or even low, for many of the companies out there.

And, no, I don't think this is Bones/Sedition Wars status where the KS will end with more models than you can carry. But, I do think in the end that the minis will be extraordinary and at a very competitive price.

It starts with $15 for one, and then goes to $25 for two, $30 for one, $55/75 for four. It does get closer to $10 each when you're paying in the $150 range, but that'd be assuming I like all of the figures enough to get them all (or 2-3x of each, possibly). I don't expect this to be like Reaper either (did anyone even suggest that?). Since I don't need to own every nice looking sculpt of a female miniature, I figure I'll just buy the same sculptors' work from Reaper, et al. when I want a specific figure or it's in the FLGS and it's an instant, impulse purchase, rather than pay twice the price (or more!) 6 months before receiving them. If you're keen to pay what's being asked for this kickstarter then fine, no problem, more power to you. I don't intend to have a big argument here, I'm just sharing my opinion in the same way as anyone else.

I'm not sure about it, either.

I especially feel it's kind of misleading that you can buy >3 minis, but the kickstarter only starts with 3 sculpts (in both cases, plus the exclusive) but six shown (as unlockable)... dunno if anyone else feels that way.

 spiralingcadaver wrote:
I'm not sure about it, either.

I especially feel it's kind of misleading that you can buy >3 minis, but the kickstarter only starts with 3 sculpts (in both cases, plus the exclusive) but six shown (as unlockable)... dunno if anyone else feels that way.

nope, I believe he'll actually, genuinely need some money to come rolling in to actually sculpt and tool a larger number of models.
...at least I have no proof to the contrary.

what bothers me though, is stating stuff like rosie the riveter as inspiration. Rosie was tasteful, exuded a sense of strength etc... this is all just the same old cheesecake to me. now that's fine with me (I just won't pay a dime for it, but if others like it, have fun!) but it would be an understatement to say that after reading the pitch, this all rather disappoints. Technical quality of the sculpts appears to be good, I'll give him that.

AHHH NO MORE KICKSTARTERS PLSS!!!! Well of quality at least as my wallet just can't handle it. Funny thing was I was looking at this sculptor several days ago for some work and I utterly love his stuff.

Thanks for the great post here! It seems pretty complete. i will try to answer a couple of concerns.

 spiralingcadaver wrote:
I'm not sure about it, either. I especially feel it's kind of misleading that you can buy >3 minis, but the kickstarter only starts with 3 sculpts (in both cases, plus the exclusive) but six shown (as unlockable)... dunno if anyone else feels that way.

I'm not sure how that's misleading. We tried to structure the levels so that if a backer wanted additional copes of the models, for friends, clubs or whatnot, they had more choices to get multiple models. If a backer feels they only want to pick one or two from the available selections, we have levels for that too.

Bolognesus wrote:

what bothers me though, is stating stuff like rosie the riveter as inspiration. Rosie was tasteful, exuded a sense of strength etc... this is all just the same old cheesecake to me. now that's fine with me (I just won't pay a dime for it, but if others like it, have fun!) but it would be an understatement to say that after reading the pitch, this all rather disappoints. Technical quality of the sculpts appears to be good, I'll give him that.

That reference was inspirational. Can you give me an example of a character that you would like to see produced? You won't even need to back the "Design Your own Babe" level to suggest it. We have a pending list of characters way beyond what has been posted so far, so I would like to know from the collective here what you guys would like to see produced.

This is good. I'd buy one of these but feel that it probably wouldn't do well in sales.

I think a lot of hobbyists often look for figures that are both attractive and sensible (within the context of lore). Many times that translates kinda poorly.

There's always room for sexy and I don't think anyone will disagree when I say we're not really lacking in that department where female minis are concerned. Not saying girls can't be sexy and 'serious business' but we tend to overstate one aspect over the other. I want both in equal measure.

Edit: Ultimately, I guess it depends on what the finished mini looks like.

Dentry wrote:
This is good. I'd buy one of these but feel that it probably wouldn't do well in sales.

I think a lot of hobbyists often look for figures that are both attractive and sensible (within the context of lore). Many times that translates kinda poorly.

There's always room for sexy and I don't think anyone will disagree when I say we're not really lacking in that department where female minis are concerned. Not saying girls can't be sexy and 'serious business' but we tend to overstate one aspect over the other. I want both in equal measure.

Edit: Ultimately, I guess it depends on what the finished mini looks like.

This actually makes a good point, albeit perhaps unintentionally: the most "realistic" female minis of soldiers... would be absolutely indistinguishable at scale from males.

That first image is especially telling: if you didn't tell me that was a woman, and I had to go off of... I don't even know, other then very, very subtle areas of nose and eyes, that picture could be a lot of teenage guys I see waiting at the recruiting center.

The simple fact is, sculpting female minis requires some exaggeration, and it's hard to get right. If you doubt that, take a gander at the reveal of Sedition Wars Jada Lily mini, where more then one poster said "she looks like a tranny".

To say nothing of the fact that unarmored women soldiers... kinda just look like women in fatigues (q.v. the Israeli fighting woman, also, wow, uniform regs in Israel aren't the strictest it would appear...).

If the final product is both awesome and implausible, well, that's what they invented the rule of cool for.

 Buzzsaw wrote:

Dentry wrote:
This is good. I'd buy one of these but feel that it probably wouldn't do well in sales.

I think a lot of hobbyists often look for figures that are both attractive and sensible (within the context of lore). Many times that translates kinda poorly.

There's always room for sexy and I don't think anyone will disagree when I say we're not really lacking in that department where female minis are concerned. Not saying girls can't be sexy and 'serious business' but we tend to overstate one aspect over the other. I want both in equal measure.

Edit: Ultimately, I guess it depends on what the finished mini looks like.

This actually makes a good point, albeit perhaps unintentionally: the most "realistic" female minis of soldiers... would be absolutely indistinguishable at scale from males.

That first image is especially telling: if you didn't tell me that was a woman, and I had to go off of... I don't even know, other then very, very subtle areas of nose and eyes, that picture could be a lot of teenage guys I see waiting at the recruiting center.

The simple fact is, sculpting female minis requires some exaggeration, and it's hard to get right. If you doubt that, take a gander at the reveal of Sedition Wars Jada Lily mini, where more then one poster said "she looks like a tranny".

To say nothing of the fact that unarmored women soldiers... kinda just look like women in fatigues (q.v. the Israeli fighting woman, also, wow, uniform regs in Israel aren't the strictest it would appear...).

If the final product is both awesome and implausible, well, that's what they invented the rule of cool for.

Thanks for the response. It's been a bit of a known issue with the scale of miniatures that, as you pointed out, certain aspects need to be prominent to distinguish them as female.

It just didn't make sense to suggest more of the same. Again, I'm not putting down the miniatures that are produced since many of them appeal to me as well, I was only making an observation. That's why I edited my previous post. I wanted to make a caveat that the final product is what matters most (read:rule of cool).

I'd like to see a relatively* realistic modern female warrior. Special forces type, lots of gear on hand. *Proportioned to be easily recognizable as a woman, but not vulgar.

I'd also love a '60's inspired secret agent. Something very British Avengers-style.

Looking good so far, but I agree that most of these are pretty cheesecake. I'd personally love to see some women in more reasonable medieval armor. Like, without giant boob cups molded into the armor. There's very little of that out there. Bonus points for spiked female spiked armor that doesn't look like bondage gear.

Looking at the Kickstarter again, I noticed that there's mention of creatures and vehicles being cast in resin - are accessory sprues also resin? - but the bombshells are explicitly stated to be metal. Does Bombshell Miniatures have any plans to produce their line of female figures in resin?

And, if I'm understanding it correctly, I can purchase Babes for $10 each at any level. So I'd be able to pledge $1 at the Rack Level and then add $$ to it purchase X number of Babes?

Dentry wrote:
Looking at the Kickstarter again, I noticed that there's mention of creatures and vehicles being cast in resin - are accessory sprues also resin? - but the bombshells are explicitly stated to be metal. Does Bombshell Miniatures have any plans to produce their line of female figures in resin?

And, if I'm understanding it correctly, I can purchase Babes for $10 each at any level. So I'd be able to pledge $1 at the Rack Level and then add $$ to it purchase X number of Babes?

As I read it, yes: that is, you can purchase minis from the "Bombshell Babes" category: to purchase the minis unlocked strictly as stretch goals (right now, that's just the Atomic Punks), you have to have pledged at the Bomb Kit level.

What is interesting, and throws off the figure calculation, is that the KS exclusive Maelee mini is valued at like $25, the implication thus far being that this mini will get some specific addons, or accessories or something.

I am really looking forward to seeing some greens (or whatever color such things are these days); the concept art thus far is quite nice, but as we all know, the rub is the translation from page to play-doh.