I know I'm a month late, but I seem to read Linux Format quicker than I read White Dwarf, so I'm just catching up now!
Last month saw the release of the Empire General box. Although it's a little pricey at £12 for one foot and one mounted hero, it's about in-keeping with Games Workshop's current pricing strategy. On the plus side, the model itself does look promising.
I'll see if I can get a scan of the parts of the Empire General from WD (which should be okay under copyright as 'fair use') but for now there's a Macromedia Flash 'General Builder' page you can look at.
The variety of parts should be great for modelling alternatives, and I think GW could do well with more, but perhaps a little cheaper for just plastic models might be good.