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 Red Viper wrote:

Shieldwolf's miniatures are great. Better than anything GW/Mantic are making right now imo. Just like Mantic snuck into my brain/wallet by offering alternate GW minis, maybe Shieldwolf should focus on offering alternate KoW minis.

They're nice models, but in terms of "better than anything made by GW or Mantic"... No, they're really not. I like the orcs and have a ton of them, but they just have the one kit. Mantic's newest fantasy plastics (just delivered recently to KoW2 backers) are actually pretty bloody decent, and GW kits blow both of them away by far. I know that Angelos feels that his resin figures are better then Mierce and AoW and even there we've politely agreed to disagree. He's hardly able to be objective, after all. The Mammoth is pretty special, though even I don't see the value in +50% for the howdah.

I think a 15-day campaign is a mistake. While it minimises "the slump" that appears to terrify them, it also cuts out people who get paid monthly in a big way, and is also pretty inconvenient for those of us who are paid fortnightly. I'd certainly be backing with a far lower amount (and no, I'm not willing to save up my money in advance. Not for miniatures or a kickstarter.)

Of course, giving up on a 2016 delivery means I'm out completely pending changes to local import/tax laws. My kickstarting is coming to a close - as I've said before - with very few exceptions. This was one of them.

I really liked the project, but the stretch goals left me thinking "hmm, I barely really need 40 shieldmaidens, I may have to find someone to sell the spare 40 to" rather than "AWESOME more shieldmaidens."

 Azazelx wrote:

 Red Viper wrote:

Shieldwolf's miniatures are great. Better than anything GW/Mantic are making right now imo. Just like Mantic snuck into my brain/wallet by offering alternate GW minis, maybe Shieldwolf should focus on offering alternate KoW minis.

They're nice models, but in terms of "better than anything made by GW or Mantic"... No, they're really not. I like the orcs and have a ton of them, but they just have the one kit. Mantic's newest fantasy plastics (just delivered recently to KoW2 backers) are actually pretty bloody decent, and GW kits blow both of them away by far. I know that Angelos feels that his resin figures are better then Mierce and AoW and even there we've politely agreed to disagree. He's hardly able to be objective, after all. The Mammoth is pretty special, though even I don't see the value in +50% for the howdah.

I think a 15-day campaign is a mistake. While it minimises "the slump" that appears to terrify them, it also cuts out people who get paid monthly in a big way, and is also pretty inconvenient for those of us who are paid fortnightly. I'd certainly be backing with a far lower amount (and no, I'm not willing to save up my money in advance. Not for miniatures or a kickstarter.)

Of course, giving up on a 2016 delivery means I'm out completely pending changes to local import/tax laws. My kickstarting is coming to a close - as I've said before - with very few exceptions. This was one of them.

Ah, yes - a fifteen day 'No, We Don't Want Your Money' Kickstarter....

I was holding off for the orcs, so I was part of the problem, but 15 day Kickstarters just seem to be a case of treating asymptom, while leaving the disease to run its course.

The Auld Grump - an 8 day Kickstarter was why I couldn't put money toward the Heroines in Sensible Shoes Kickstarter.

The polar bears woud've been 15$ a pop. If they come close to JAG's "Kraan on bear" for Mierce...droool.

Canceling this campaign, sigh.

Wonder if it really comes down to needing xxx money by xxx date and not having enough time to do a 30 day campaign? yes I've run out of tinfoil for hats.

After the Kickstarter cancellation I made an order direct with Shieldwolf miniatures for some of their models so that I could see their quality and decide how much I would order when they eventually relaunch the kickstarter.

The Mountain Orcs Infantry kit is really well made - right up there with Games Workshop in terms of quality of kit. However, the issue I have is the separate lower jaw. This is a good idea in theory but in practice they are an absolute pain to attach and due to the limited contact points with the upper part of the orc skull they really don't look like they will stand up to much handling before breaking off.

The Mountain Orc Boar Chariot is a beautiful design. However, the join between the chariot base and sides look very flimsy and looks like it will need a lot of further support/pinning for it to stay together for any length of time.

The Heavy Skeleton Infantry and Death Deceivers were really disappointing. They are made out of some kind of white resin that is really rubbery and flexible. They are just so flimsy and breakable. Was expecting much better from these models.

Overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag and has most probably limited the amount of money I will put into the relaunched Kickstarter quite significantly. I had pledged for 2 of the largest army sets and the shieldmaidens vs orcs starter set before the cancellation. Now I may give it a miss altogether or at least only go for one of the cheapest options. At the very least I will need to see a sprue breakdown for the 1st plastic box of shieldmaidens before pledging a significant amount.

It is true that the skeletons and death deceivers are poor sculpts compared to the orcs and the sculpts made after the first Kickstarter. However these are some of their first and oldest sculpts, released during the first days of Shieldwolf's creation. And to be fair their price is quite cheap (both are less than one pound per figure ).
I really encourage you to give it a second try and get some of their newest sculpts such as the Orc chieftains or the Lions. While their aesthetic is absolutely a matter of personal taste the production quality is really top level.
Apart from any issues some may have regarding the cancellation of the last Kickstarter, the majority of people, who have bought Shieldwolf's minis express quite positive opinions of the quality of their products. These guys really know how to make miniatures and are dedicated to provide a good product.

I've got the orcs and built with plastic glue/polystyrene cement have had no issues with the lower jaws coming loose

(although I can see there might be an issue if superglue/cyanoacrylate was used instead)

My orcs were all glued with the good old orange Testers tube and they've survived some very rough spills, falls, and playtime.

No broken jaws yet.

Ok. Good to hear about the jaws lasting well. Still fiddly as hell to attach though. They are truly excellent sculpts.

I am wondering about the shieldmaiden figures though as the concept art showed them with very thin waists. If they come on the sprue as separate legs and torso that might worry me as that joint would take a lot of the pressure when moving the models.

Well, they won't be any thinner than all the skeletons, which usually only have the spinal column, and I never had any problem with those.

Not at all worried.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1273312680/375078872?token=683d3e0f

I think posting the link to their draft of KS 2.5 is okay, they want feedback after all.

And it seems like they might go with my suggestion of adding the"exploded" shieldmaiden to the banner pic. After someone else agreed with me and Shieldwolf responding to him, not me, but hey, in my heart I'll always know that my idea influenced this campaign. Go me!

I like the pledges and stretch goals a lot but the layout is very messy, even ignoring the fact that the graphics are all placeholders. It's hard to get an overview of what's available without scrolling down the whoooole page. Needs a smaller list with smaller pics of all the options at the beginning, like Mierce always does.

It's definitely better.

Heh, stretch goals of plain hair and nonmidriff armor to make them less interesting, thanks sjw's. I hope there are futher stretch goals of shorter hair and bulkier armor until they are indestinguashable from men. For feths sake

I read that in the voice of the Thanks, Obama meme.

SJWs? Really? Warrior women in full armor, looking like they could actually go to war, would far more interesting to me than Frank Frazetta scenes airbrushed on the side of a van. Sadly, options for the former are greatly outnumbered by the latter. If someone made models like that, in plastic and at an affordable price point, I would gladly pick them up.

Options are so evil. Why do SJWs campaign tirelessly for more choices for me? Don't they know I already have trouble deciding my favourite toothpaste? Why must they insist that manufacturers flood the market with all different kinds of minis?

Options are nice. Boring options less so.

Well, I always find that if there is a range of options, some people will like some of them, and others will like others. Sometimes people call options that they don't personally like "boring", though I prefer to just assume this stuff is a matter of taste, rather than tell people that their preferences are dull. For example, I find golf a bit dull, but I wouldn't say that to a keen golfer, because I recognise that they might find Clark Ashton Smith dull, and though I could probably produce an argument that showed them to be wrong, it wouldn't really be productive to do so.

Personally I own several more cheesecakey female minis already, and I like them. So for me this really is about having more options. Right now I cannot buy well sculpted female warrior minis that look like they are ready for war. This KS could change that. But obviously spotting a gap in the market, and wishing it were filled, is the same as fighting for social justice, because... Wait.

ArtIsGreat wrote:
Options are nice. Boring options less so.

Mayhaps they are boring for you, but not for others? Or is this a "perish the thought that anyone has different likes and dislikes than me" situation?

I mean, for all you know, for other people is the bare midriffs the ones that are the boring option, and they would have a point, seeing as the minis market is kind of flooded with those.

The fact that they went for this semi-cheesecake design instead of committing to one way or the other is possibly a reason for why the original KS didn't perform as well as they hoped.

If something is to be called boring shouldn't it be the bare-midriff female barbarian design that we have seen a million times already rather than the "SJW-clothed and armored female" that's almost unknown in miniature form comparatively?

Fully clothed warrior women fill a niche, especially in modular plastic. It's great!


They can always do a titty kit later on, in a seperate campaign preferably. Otherwise the comment section would be a cesspool of bickering and flamewars between the cheesecake fans and the feminists, people who want more practical female wargear, (concern) trolls, etc., driving backers away. Warmaidens will go more into that direction, anyway.

Love the stretch goals! With the covered midriff option, I will be much more likely to back this time. That Starter Army II is an incredible price per model! Still hard to tell it's choosable for $100, but the layout on the page is better.

And again just love those stretch goals . Great job Shieldwolf!

ArtIsGreat wrote:
Heh, stretch goals of plain hair and nonmidriff armor to make them less interesting, thanks sjw's. I hope there are futher stretch goals of shorter hair and bulkier armor until they are indestinguashable from men. For feths sake

People liking different things than I like = SJWs.

Just curious, but what sort of clothes and armor would you expect a warrior woman to wear? Would you describe historical figures as "SJWs" because they didn't have bare midriffs? Jean D'arc, she was one of those SJWs, wasn't she?

 Zywus wrote:
The fact that they went for this semi-cheesecake design instead of committing to one of the other is possibly a reason for why the original KS didn't perform as well as they hoped.

Yeah, I'd much rather have seen the two extremes - half-naked Marauder-types and heavily armoured Warrior-types (like this?). And no wind-blown hair, so that you can turn a model's head without having it going everywhere.

Yep, either you go full cheesecake with super model bodies and stripper poses like Raging Heroes, or you make (semi-)believable warrior women. The middle ground isn't appealing enough to any group I think.

Let's not get off topic with the "SJW" tangent - please take that discussion to the OT section if you'd like to continue it.

Thanks all

 Mymearan wrote:
Yep, either you go full cheesecake with super model bodies and stripper poses like Raging Heroes...

I didn't mean cheesecake and stripper poses, I meant Gina Carano with a bastard sword.

The recent Oathsworn KS proves there is much demand for ladies in appropriate attire for combat. It would be a good route to take.