What's New for 2015!

With Christmas almost upon us, it's time to unveil what you could be getting your hands on in January... for we have eight more releases from Darklands: First Edition a few days into the new year, one for each kindred!

This is the fourth set of releases from that project and we have some absolute crackers this month. First up, for the Albainn, we have Itaina, an Umaer of Dun Durn for the Albainn; for the Angelcynn, Aldhelm, a Sceop or storyteller; for the Brythoniaid, the mighty Angedern, a Prifdyndraig; for the Byzantii, our first Dromedus or camel-man, Djiuzu; for the Fomoraic, the awesome Gaarwäg, our first Mammax or mammoth-man; for the Khthones we have Myrkranio, a sorcerer of the Sávrar; for the Norse, the runesmith Víthar, an Erilaz; and finally for the Ysians, Gondard of Karaez the Flesh-Drune and his Nithing, Ekk, have arrived.

Unfortunately, just like the previous releases this year, thanks to us being busier than busy bees we've just not had the time to get the release art and descriptions done; but you can still see some good images of each miniature on the website of course.

Itaina, Umaer of Dun Durn



There's another release for the Albainn this month in the excellent form of Itaina, an Umaer of Dun Durn armed with a sword and crossbow. Sculpted by Olivier Nkweti from the artwork by Sam Lamont, and painted by Martin Grandbarbe.

Aldhelm, Sceop of Mierce



Aldhelm is a sceop, a storyteller, who acts as a host herald for the Miercna and is a great way to inspire your warriors both before and during a battle. Painted by Martin Grandbarbe and sculpted by a newcomer to our range, Christian Hardy, from the artwork by Des Hanley.

Angedern, Prifdyndraig of Gwaelod



With the Dyndraig available for a while now, it was about time we brought you a Dyndraig warchief - so here he is... Angedern, a mighty Prifdyndraig of Gwaelod! Sculpted by Roberto Chaudon from the artwork by Dan Warren, and painted by Sébastien Picque.

Djiuzu, Dromedus Secundus



Here's something new - a camel-man, a Dromedus, for the Byzantii! Djiuzu is a warchief, too, a Dromedus Secundus, and will be a great addition to your Byzantii host once the Dromedii are sculpted. Djiuzu was sculpted by Roberto Chaudon from the artwork by Christophe Madura, and painted by Sébastien Picque.

Gaarwäg, Mammax Tain



Gaarwäg is a monster... quite literally, as he stands on an 80mm base and is around the same tall! He's a Mammax, a mammoth-man, and is thus huge both in terms of miniature and in terms of Darklands the game. This superb Fomoraic creature was sculpted by another newcomer to our range - the fantastic Patrick Masson - from the artwork by Christophe Madura, and he was painted by Sébastien Picque.

Myrkranio, Bone Warrior



Another Sávrar or lizard-man is here for the Khthones, and this time a Sávrargos, a sorcerer, in the shape of Myrkranio. Sculpted by Roberto Chaudon from the artwork by Christophe Madura and painted brilliantly by Sébastien Picque.

Víthar, Erilaz of Hrafnen



Another masterpiece by Allan Carrasco, Víthar is a superb sculpt for the Norse. Víthar is a sorcerer, an Erilaz, and will certainly help to keep your Norse going strong on the battlefield as well as look fantastic. Sculpted from the artwork by Danny Cruz and painted by Martin Grandbarbe.

Gondard of Karaez, Flesh-Drune



Gondard is a Flesh-Drune, a shaper of flesh, a warrior that can create other warriors from the bits and pieces strewn around the battlefield. Sculpted by Stéphane Simon from artwork by Danny Cruz, and painted by Martin Grandbarbe, Gondard works hand-in-hand with his Nithing, Ekk.

Ekk, Nithing



Again sculpted by Stéphane Simon from artwork by Danny Cruz, and painted by Martin Grandbarbe, Ekk the Nithing fetches the bits and pieces of flesh and hoof and horn so that his master, Gondard, can create all sorts of weird and wonderful things for the Ysian general.

All of the releases above will be officially released on the 3rd of January 2015, but you can pre-order them now from this very website to your heart's content!

Watch out for more releases next month, too!

It's the first Friday update for Darklands: New Kindreds for a little while, but it's a cracker nonetheless!

Oh, and...



MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

This week we have:

sculpt work in progress updates from Yannick Hennebo;
an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
UPDATED, downloadable versions of the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's begin!


The only sculpt we have this week is by Yannick Hennebo - but it's very cool indeed...


In order to sculpt Equitus Durio on foot for Darklands: First Edition, Yannick Hennebo has sculpted Bareheaded Equitus Durio first... and why not?









Bareheaded Equitus will certainly make it into Wave 7!


Wave 0 - for existing miniatures - has begun, and we'll be combining them with Wave 3 and Wave 4 shipment waves where appropriate. We do expect that Wave 0 shipments will continue into January and February, however - and as always, we respectfully ask that you remain patient. We're going as fast as we can!

Other than that, it's obviously a while until Wave 7 begins so there's not much to say here; just keep watching the updates and sometime in 2015 will give you a more precise list of what miniatures will make it into what wave.

We'll keep this list updated every Friday.

SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (beginning November 2014 and continuing into 2015, depending on how many orders there are): Existing miniatures.
SHIPMENT WAVE 7 (beginning June 2015): New Kindred Infantry Starter Hosts - New Kindred Monstrous Infantry Starter Hosts - Other Kindred Infantry Starter Hosts - Other Kindred Monstrous Infantry Starter Hosts (except those listed elsewhere) - Sáthach on Horse - Danilo Cruz on Horse - Stígr - Taai-ac - New Kindred Specials - New Kindred Sorcerers - Thacaldān
SHIPMENT WAVE 8 (August 2015): Gungonn's Brood - Bronn ap Banbronn - Cqaa - Aggrakk - Gaanh - Gudhlagg - Nikandros - Caitrín - Mildryth
SHIPMENT WAVE 9 (October 2015): Nervor - Vul IX Muyya - Iqqud - Egil Dead Hand - Torleik
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics are in progress and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt.


Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition II! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.

We've split the lists into completely new sculpts and alterations to make life easier for us all!

New Sculpts:

OLIVIER BOUCHET: Olivier will sculpt Gudhlagg, the Albainn Oghur Uhmaer.
ALLAN CARRASCO: Allan will be sculpting Mórannach for the Érainn and Torleik for the Norse.
ROBERTO CHAUDON: already loaded up, we've tried not to give too much to Roberto and failed miserably. He has Titos, Dynatos and The Burning Ones, Mesokolossus Unit for the Atalantes; Gungonn's Brood, Dynwocor Unit and Bronn ap Banbronn for the Brythoniaid; Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit and Iqqud for the Byzantii; and Egil Dead Hand for the Norse.
BENOÎT COSSE: we've given Benoît Taai-ac for the Fomoraic and Aggrakk for the Khthones.
FANCAGNE DIDIER: a newcomer to Darklands, Didier will be sculpting Araigh, the Beasts of Síleann Fen and Cúlaítar for the Érainn, and Cqaa for the Fomoraic.
YANNICK HENNEBO: Yannick will sculpt three Érainn miniatures, Nuala, Caitrín and Sáthach on Horse, for this project.
ARAGORN MARKS: Aragorn will sculpt Gol Gul, Wihtwald and Heldred as well as the The Dead of Black Barrow, Wihtgar Unit and The Malign of Alum Tomb, Drēaguth Unit. All for the Jutes!
PATRICK MASSON: Excitingly, Patrick will sculpt Gaanh of the Fomoraic!
HECTOR MORAN: Hector has been booked up with most of the Atalantes, including Kyros , Thera, Hektor , Nikandros, the Ilios Guard, Oplites Unit and Kretos; and he's also got Nervor for the Byzantii on his plate.
JUAN NAVARRO PÉREZ: he'll be sculpting Danilo Cruz on Horse for the Visigoths.
STÉPHANE SIMON: we've given Stéphane Eormanræd, Ætulla and Mildryth, all Jute sculpts.
ERNST VEINGART: Ernst will sculpt Stígr of the Norse for us!
VALENTIN ZAK: Valentin has taken on some Érainn - specifically Rudraige the Fat, Cormac of the Red Hand and the Men of Clochar, Tuanagh Unit - for us.
Unknown: none.
Alterations:

OLIVIER BOUCHET: Olivier has Hammer-Brugg to alter plus any alterations to the Oghur, Brute and Abhorrent units.
STÉPHANE CAMOSSETO: Stéphane will sort out Shieldwall Eadric and any alterations to the Werwulfas, Trolls and Srónax (the latter two because Allan is so busy).
ALLAN CARRASCO: Allan will produce Leaping Creoda, Spike Qaano, Jörmungand Two Axe, Great Axe Thórrir, Ravenhelm Víthar and Bareheaded Knútr.
ROBERTO CHAUDON: any alterations to his sculpts, including Titos Sigma, Dragonshield Angedern, Armoured Mag ap Mag, Armoured Djiuzu, Frenzied Srók , Cleaver Mälmord, Armoured Hrókr and Talos Delta . There's also alterations to units for him - to the Dyndraig, Dynwocor, Dromedus and Fiend units.
DAN COCKERSELL: just the one for Dan - Armoured Scecchus !
BENOÎT COSSE: we've given Benoît any alternates of his miniatures, so that's Armoured Cearl, Warrior Daachuch , Greathorn Ckaarakk and Armoured Brunchaath. He'll also alter the Gabrax, Krokodar and Tarvax units.
THOMAS DAVID: Thomas has just Archer Sthena to do!
FANCAGNE DIDIER: any alterations to his own work, so Grisly Araigh; and Dairdubh.
YANNICK FUSIER: Yannick will sort out Bloody Bagseg and make any alterations to the Oghu Keepers, Oghurithne Unit.
JACQUES-ALEXANDRE GILLOIS: The awesome JAG will produce Helmed Daarkan and Warrior Tundaar for us.
CHRISTIAN HARDY: Just the two alternates for Christian - Unmasked Velchior and Warrior Aldhelm!
YANNICK HENNEBO: He's begun work on Bareheaded Equitus and then there's just Masked Nuala for the alternates.
ARAGORN MARKS: Aragorn has Mutated Cormorágg to do and will also sort the Wihtgar alternates.
HECTOR MORAN: As well as Helmed Kyros, Helmed Thera and Helmed Hektor, Hector will digitally alter anything he's done, so that's Bareheaded Quintus and the three Legionary alterations. Oh, and the alterations to the Gorgórar unit.
STÉPHANE NGUYEN: Claw-Seza and Hammer-Druc are the sum of Stéphane's work for this project.
OLIVIER NKWETI: Olivier will produce Armoured Dúngal and Skullcap Domnech, along with alterations to the units he's already sculpted - the Teulu, Warriors of Baalor, Gairlom and Rhyfelwyr.
JUAN NAVARRO PÉREZ: Juan will sculpt Bowman Urien and Warrior Ffion for this project, and produce alterations for the Duguth and Ax-Drunes.
STÉPHANE SIMON: As he's sculpted so many miniatures for us, he's got a lot of alterations, too. He'll sort out Helmed Eormanræd, Bareheaded Ætulla, Helmed Ophios, Magma Svrill, Sickle-Annik , Ax-Jowan , Spike-Gondard and Cynuise of Old, plus any alterations to his units - the Holumenn and Gesithas plus the Gorgonar.
VALENTIN ZAK: Valentin will sort Helmed Rudraige, Cormac on Gabrax and the alternates for the Tuanaghta.
Unknown: We don't yet know who will produce Dagger-Kernuor, Warrior Wulfhere, Wulf Skull Cynemon, Warrior Hywel Hir, Warrior Kjartan and the Sword-Melusine alterations.
Tons of sculpts and alterations!

Let us know if we've missed anything, of course...

This week we have a Gabrax Tain on Gooracx and another Hrafnmann for you all to digest!



Benoît Cosse has been working hard on Brunchaath on Gooracx, and that trophy rack is looking niiice...







Here's another video, too!

[youtube]https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/assets/003/039/950/b16640da68756048ea3630131548786c_h264_high.jpg?2014[/youtube]


It shouldn't be too long before he's complete, so we reckon he'll definitely be a Wave 5 shipment!



Roberto Chaudon has of course now completed the Corpse Takers, but here's a few parts shots for you all. It'll be the last images from Roberto for a while, as he's off on holiday until well into January. He deserves a rest, we think!



Here' s Ormrinn's components...





That base is going to be amazing! Whether it will fit in a blister pack is another matter, however... hmmm. It may have to be cut a little more...



The lovely Agni's components are here.



She looks great!



There's Oddr's components, too...



His pose is fantastic!



Let's not forget Kolskári, who was completed a little while ago...



...and that's yer lot! Missing you already, Roberto...



Wave 4 shipments have begun!

Please bear in mind that Wave 4 shipments will continue from December into January and probably February 2015. We will try to get everything out as soon as we can, but there's a lot to ship - and as always we will prioritise orders in date order; i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early. Plus, there's Christmas to contend with!

What we're saying, basically, is - please be patient! We are doing everything as fast as we can.

Last Posting Days Before Christmas

As always at this time of year, shipping times become longer until we get into January and the backlog is worked through.

In terms of "last shipping dates", here's Royal Mail's document giving you dates in full:

Royal Mail Christmas Shipping Dates

In short, you're looking at last posting dates, for normal airmail anyway, of:
Asia / Far East / New Zealand - 3 December
Australia - 4 December
Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece - 8 December
Canada, Poland - 9 December
USA - 12 December
Europe - 13 December
UK - 18 December (second class).
UK - 19 December (first or recorded).

It often happens that packages are delivered after those dates but before Christmas, of course, so there's always hope.

All we ask of you guys, really, is that - again - you remain patient over the festive period, your package will arrive in January if not before!

UPS Shipping

There is a possibility of using UPS to ship your package, which can be 2-3 days, but be warned - this will be expensive and we must ask for that shipping cost before we ship your items. Simply ask for details (by sending an e-mail to kickstarter@mierce-miniatures.com) if you're really impatient for your stuff or need it for a present or something!



With Wave 4 items now shipping, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 4 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category on the 15th of December.

In a nutshell:

Wave 4 items will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 15th of December, which is only three days away!

The following items will be removed from the website:
ALBAINN: Oghu Guardians (Grubog - Pabogg - Drudd - Skrugadd - Undagg) - Skyclad Ciniod - Skyclad Itaina - Gromi (Gromi - Gromi with two cleavers - Armoured Gromi with two cleavers) - Gomagg
ANGELCYNN: Sweordsman Timoth - Cæna
BRYTHONIAID: Forwyn Carys
BYZANTII: Feral Agathae - Tykho
FOMORAIC: Helmed Naraa - Marked Galagaak
INFERNII: Craven Fiends of Dis (Kaius - Drubal - Bacchus - Kolkhus - Luco)
NORSE: Trolls of Töheim, Armoured Troll Unit (Vörtun, Gjöll, Unnolg, Gurrir, Nisurl)
VRAS: Kill-Head Flint-Fang
YSIANS: Akkaz
SELL-SWORDS: Sáthach - Uhtred on Horse

You will only see these items in the webstore if you have backed this project, of course.

After December 15th, you'll have to wait until they're released!

If you don't purchase any Wave 4 items you'd like by December the 15th, you won't be able to purchase them again until they are released to the general public, and - depending on the miniature involved - that could be for a long while yet! Plus, they'll be at full price of course.

What are you waiting for? Grab those Wave 4 items now!

It's Christmas Time

Good morning everyone!

Today is the last update before 2015, as of course - it's Christmas!

The boys have added a few more festive images since last week!

It's been a little while since the last update, but here's another to tide you over till next time! This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Aragorn Marks;
a list of what miniatures should be sent in Wave 5 and later Waves, and when Wave 5 will occur;
a list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
downloadable versions of the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
news of something special coming in January...
...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Let's begin!

Ciniod on Aurogg

Aragorn Marks's shed is getting a bit of hammer, as his beavering away has resulted in a fantastic addition to the Albainn range...

Oso has been completed for a while, of course, but Aragorn has now completed Ciniod on Aurogg... and whilst his photos are a little iffy, it's a cracking sculpt and no mistake!









Let us remind ourselves how big the Aurogg actually is, too...



Brilliant! This does of course mean that Ciniod on Aurogg will be a Wave 5 shipment!

It's Christmas Time

Good morning everyone!

Today is the last update before 2015, as of course - it's Christmas!

The boys have added a few more festive images since last week!

This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Didier Fancagne;
an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
downloadable versions of the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
news of something special coming in January...
...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Let's begin!

Araigh

We have just the one sculpt for you all this week, and it's by a total newcomer to our range, Didier Fancagne. It's no less awesome for all that!

It's relatively early days yet, but the general size and shape of Araigh can be seen here. He's looking lovely, and once the textures are sorted, he'll be a fantastic miniature!



Here's an early scale shot...



Hopefully Araigh will make it into Wave 7!

Something Mighty This Way Comes...

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, we have news of something fantastic happening in January, that is not Darklands...



We'll have more news on that next time!

Have a great Christmas and New Year holiday everyone!

 Alpharius wrote:
All kidding aside, it is a somewhat valid criticism, but then Mierce has already said that, for better or worse, they are a 'Kickstarter Company' for now, so it certainly shouldn't be surprising!

 RiTides wrote:
Could a company ever say differently? At some point, people are just going to have to vote with their wallets... they're clearly going to continue this cycle as long as it is making them money hand over fist, but I would absolutely never back a second campaign from a company while waiting on another to deliver. Too many things like the Drake the dragon miniatures fiasco result from that, with companies getting in too deep and having to commit too far out.

This is not just a campaign for existing sculpts, right? There is a Lot still left to be sculpted for their several campaigns with fulfillment-in-progress.

 RiTides wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
All kidding aside, it is a somewhat valid criticism, but then Mierce has already said that, for better or worse, they are a 'Kickstarter Company' for now, so it certainly shouldn't be surprising!

I agree, they've made it clear and it's not surprising.

However, I'm being totally serious here. Although I absolutely love their sculpts, given Mierce's business history, I find it hard to believe that the money from prior campaigns is totally kept in silos untouched, and not pooled for whatever the company needs/expenses are. There is a bit of a merry-go-round / chaining together of campaigns to keep the ship afloat, or at least that is the appearance from the outside. And obviously, no one wants to be without a chair when the music stops (i.e. the stream of continual new Kickstarter funding).

I know it's known to those of us who follow this, but I absolutely am wary about pledging for items projected really far out.

In other words, it is worrying how they are ramping up their "rate" of launching Kickstarters to continue funding the company:

1st campaign Feb 2013
2nd campaign Oct 2013 (8 month gap)
3rd campaign Apr 2014 (6 month gap)
4th campaign Jul 2014 (3 month gap)
5th campaign Oct 2014 (3 month gap)
Projected 6th campaign: Jan 2015 (3 month gap)

It doesn't really matter if they say this is normal, what matters is what their customers think... so far, they are supporting the cycle, but it just seems to be a dangerous place to be in since they really can't project how much they will raise in these campaigns, and have greatly increased their rate of launching them this year.

 Azreal13 wrote:
I'm not sure how much I can say, but I'm confident that Mighty Monsters won't hugely impact the production of any Darklands models currently in process, it's something that neatly dove tails with the ongoing models and shouldn't clash with them in any way.

Bossk_Hogg wrote:
The Banebeasts might be for some mashup sculpts, like Proteanc or the price of flies guys that were made mainly from Darklands parts. If so, that would probably be minimal impact, as they only need specific parts sculpted/tweaked rather than make entire new sculpts.

Bossk_Hogg wrote:
It seems a bit odd to go back to Banebeasts when Darklands is expanding so nicely. Maybe there's a couple of sculpts they are jonesing to do that just dont fit (Half elf weredwarves!!)

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
I suspect they will aim the banebeasts more directly at the counts as market, people with money to spend who've not thought of getting anything for darklands
so I expect to see some pretty direct 'use this as...',
plus as Bossk_Hogg says I would not be at all surprised to see a significant degree or re-use of existing stuff
(they've said they don't expect this to appeal to all of their Darklands customers),
we shall no doubt see

 Baragash wrote:
Regardless of their motivations behind it, it is normal, that's how companies work.

Mierce Miniatures wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Baragash wrote:
Regardless of their motivations behind it, it is normal, that's how companies work.

It's certainly how we work - we've said it before, and we'll say it again, we're a Kickstarter company.

Mierce Miniatures wrote:
Expect one every three months from here on in regardless of previous fulfilment