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What the Hell Is Going on with Infinity?

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Infinity Butt Pose

I admit, I’ve never really gotten into Infinity as a game. But I doubt there is a hobbyist out there that is not awed by some of the fantastic sci-fi miniature Corvus Belli managed to produce over the years (a slick Giraldez-paint-job usually doesn’t hurt either).

Yet for some reason, Corvus Belli seem to be drifting ever more into the cheesecake territory, or am I mistaken?

Once I thought this type of miniatures were the exceptions, but it appears it is increasingly becoming a big part of their business, partly driven by demand, I would assume (?).

Either way, some of the recent artwork clearly made me think of this….

Avengers Posing
Making fun of this kind of art has long been the specialty of the Hawkeye Initiative blog.

Hawkeye Initiative

Should someone point them towards Corvus Belli these days? Is the cutting-edge, up-and-coming sci-fi wargame still out there?

Z.

Zweischneid

Zweischneid

I am Zweischneid. Wargame Addict. Hopeless painter and founder of Pins of War. I hope you enjoyed this article. Don't forget to share your favourite miniature pictures and wargaming videos at www.pinsofwar.net.
Zweischneid

@pinsofwar

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  • Robey Jenkins

    I have been very much into Infinity for a couple of years and, whilst I adore the game and miniatures line, this is pretty much my only big issue with it. Why, in heaven’s name, would any female soldier, dressed in cutting-edge powered armour designed to make her a lethal killing machine then wear high heels? Why would an elite special forces operator accept body armour that stops just advice her exposed midriff? And for that matter, why is her issue T-shirt sic inches shorter than the one issued to the guys?

    I was lucky to be chatting on Skype with Mark Mondragon of Dreamforge Games, the other day, as we’re collaborating on the game for his miniatures, and I had to tel him how much I loved his designs for his female Eisenkern special forces. Their armour is exactly as form-fitting as the male version. They have sensible boots and no silly boob-plate armour, yet the designs ate distinctly different to accommodate the different needs of female soldiers and, I believe, when rendered in plastic at 28mm (currently they ate only in 3d mesh format) they will still be clearly identifiable as female without looking like a military fetishist’s wet dream.

    /rant

    • schnuersi .

      On the other hand there are quite a lot of people out there who don’t see the point in female troopers that more or less look like the male ones and are vocaling this opinion quite loud. As far as I know the original female trooper model from Dramforge caught a lot of flak because of this…
      from a realistic point of view its allmost impossible to tell male and female soldiers appart from any distance behond a few meters. Even more so if they wear body armor. The only real hint usually is that the females tend to be smaller. On the Dreamforge mini (wich I like) the differences are allready artificialially exagerated except for the face. (different headgear… of course that is realistic)

      Infinity on the other hand never wanted to be realistic. Its anime and manga inspired… you could even go so far and say its whole style is quintessential euro manga. Like with other companies in the hobby (cough… GW… cough) design and estetics trump realism in Infinity. Personally I think CB doesn’t over do it. Yes “combat high heels” and “armored g-strings” are stupid but it looks good on the mini. I also prefer the gentleman’s magazine inspired sexy posing over the more common convulsively “dynamic” ’80 action movie inspired posing. IMHO the latter often interferes with the usability of the mini and it looks at least as out of place and more stupid.

      Arguing with realism IMHO is pointless if its about a made up background. There are things in the fluff of Infinity wich are far more unrealistic and artificial. For example each and every alien race is bipedal and humanoid. Some are more lizard man like, some are more ape man like but technically they are all humans in disguise. Even the alien AI builds humanoid avatars to inhabit. The made up an unoptainum like super metal wich technically is just a deus ex machina to make the technological inferiour Ariadne faction competetive to the others etc Yet nobody argues against these things…
      sexy posing of female minis is a problem though… ^^… seriously?
      I also would like to add that not only the human females pose sexy… and not only females… the male minis are also usually handsome to gorgeous and they pose like male models. Archilles is a good example. This mini is so obviously Brad Pit in Troy inspired… or Van Zant… Mathew McConaughey in Reign of Fire… never heard anyone complaying about that.

      • Jon.89747999

        > I also would like to add that not only the human females pose sexy… and not only females… the male minis are also usually handsome to gorgeous and they pose like male models. Archilles is a good example. This mini is so obviously Brad Pit in Troy inspired… or Van Zant… Mathew McConaughey in Reign of Fire… never heard anyone complaying about that.

        See http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/

        • schnuersi .

          Personally I know more women who find the way male characters are depicted as Infinity minis more appealing than the softy, wimpy Batman out of the comic.
          Wich doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable BTW… it just looks shit and doesn’t fit with the Batman character at all… IMHO it just shows complet misunderstanding. Most women really aren’t into pink and cute… some girls are. Most change once they grow old. Than the majority is into “masculine and hairy”… to put it very simply and blunt.

          What is the conclusion?
          Maybe we should appeal to the UN to ban all forms of depicting females as miniatures so nobody feels offended… to make really sure we should let them ban all minis, comics, pictures… art as such… that will certainly help.

          If women are depicted realistic there is allmost no difference to male soldiers so there will be complaining “there is no difference” and “they look to masculine (…read ugly)”, if they are made cute they are of course to cute and derogative, if they are made beautiful they are too beautiful and because of that insult all women who are not, if they are sexy that is derogative…
          It is impossible to please all the people all the time. So as a company you have to focus on you core audience and customers. Wich in the case of Infintity are young (<30) males. Even if the minis would generally appeal to women they wouldn't by the products so why bother.

          As a male I often feel offended by the way males are depicted. A human male is not defined by being a allmost immovablem, sqare shaped and butt ugly lump of muscles, incapable of complex though, idears and emmotions… and he certainly isn't a piece of expendable cannonfooder. Yet I don't run around and try to make my personal opinion the problem of everyone else.

          • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

            “Yet I don’t run around and try to make my personal opinion the problem of everyone else.”
            —–

            Why not?

            What’s the point of an opinion you aren’t sharing. Might as well have no opinion at all, if you only keep it “private”

            (not to mention that you’ve just shared your opinion on things anyhow)

          • schnuersi .

            Sharing an opinion is never a problem.
            Taking ones opinion and trying to make other comply to it is.

            Just because I find block shaped, grotesque overexagerated minis of males ugly and these are often based on and transport questonable sterotypes doesn’t mean I believe everyone else should share my opinion.

            IMHO that is artistic freedom. I don’t like it its my personal problem… solution I don’t buy. But I don’t try to change or interfer with artistic freedom.

          • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

            If sharing an opinion is ok, what exactly are you objecting to here?

          • Vermonter

            Glad you brought this up, Zweischneid.

            There is a great feminist critique to be made about the negative consequences of women being sexually fetishized in tabletop games like Infinity, video games, comics, etc., but as I’m not sufficiently well-read to make it, I won’t attempt it. (I’d love to read it. I know there’s plenty of good stuff written about most forms of entertainment, but I’d be surprised and interested to find out that anyone’s done it for miniature gaming.)

            My argument is practical. Miniature figures, like all works of creative fiction, create a narrative world that asks for a certain level of suspension of disbelief. Miniature figures deploying incongruous, hackneyed sexual poses, male or female, call attention to themselves and yank me out of that battlefield narrative. Speaking for myself as a heterosexual male and consumer, I’m also insulted by the presumption that I would find the view of women that these figures present appealing, sexually or otherwise. There is a thriving market for erotica, and while it definitely has problematic elements, it’s hard (and pointless) to make the case that it shouldn’t exist in any form. But I don’t want broccoli in my ice cream; is it really that unreasonable to say that I don’t want erotica in my war games? Tolkien never told me what the state of Eowyn’s cleavage or panties was when she fought the Witch-King of Angmar, and I never thought to ask.

            I do believe in being as honest as possible about things, including the things we enjoy. Most of the comments made here – on both sides – are commendable for the self-awareness they display about this aspect of Infinity; a few argue for a false equivalence with the way male figures are portrayed, or attempt to naturalize the objectification of women as a “realistic” way of representing women’s bodies. Whether you love it or hate it, whether you find it misogynistic or harmless fantasy, let’s at least agree to be frank about it. The fact that women are sexually objectified in Infinity sculpts far more often and directly than men is inarguable. It’s like trying to deny the existence of global warming . . . you have to be willfully, ideologically blind to the evidence to even attempt it.

      • Mark Mondragon

        I will gladly take the hit from those that would prefer a more emphasized female trooper, this is simply the direction I have chosen to go with my products.

        I have a great fondness for Mr. Poots and KD, with all the over the top female forms and dark stylized, and not so stylized sexual innuendoes. I feel that verity is the spice of life and there are already quite a few manufacturers that have chosen to take a path other than the one I have chosen and that is great! More options for those who want them cannot be a bad thing.

  • http://pinsofwar.net/ Zweischneid

    Nobody denies that certain depictions of males can also be seen objectionable (in the opinions of some). It simply wasn’t the topic here. You’re welcome to write a guest article about the latter, if you think it is worth a discussion.

    The topic here was the (in my opinion) misogynous (and new, I thought) trend in the Infinity miniatures line.

    I never suggested anyone should see the “error of their ways”. I only suggested a popular site already poking fun at this kind of art should have a look at Infinity.