Mutter wrote: But can you come up with a size comparison (sketches would be fine)?
Base size is one thing, but doesn't really tell us that much about actual size.
Just trying to gauge for what I can use them ...
Actual size? Yes, certainly possible, let me get back to you on that. Today!
So are the big beastie and the bigger beastie now "unlocked"/add-ons like the arachnos, since there are several pledge levels built around them now? I thought they were stretch goals?
Azazelx wrote: So are the big beastie and the bigger beastie now "unlocked"/add-ons like the arachnos, since there are several pledge levels built around them now? I thought they were stretch goals?
Nope, if you check the upper left corner there's a red lock on some of the pledge levels. We trust that when the campaign funds a minimum of the Forest version will have been unlocked, not by chance has it been placed as the 1st SG. Hopefully the larger Mountain version will also be reached, although we are speaking with backers if they wish it replaced by the shield+hand-weapon SG.
Working with the backers does produce at times better results I guess. :-)
@Mutter
We are still discussing it with the sculptor how the additional part which legthens the mini when added would work (the "stinger"), I'll get back to you when we have concrete numbers.
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: @Mutter
We are still discussing it with the sculptor how the additional part which legthens the mini when added would work (the "stinger"), I'll get back to you when we have concrete numbers.
Just coming up to $20k, that is just $5k away from funding now, and still 6 days to go.
Those Forest Brutgoth looks fantastic, fingers crossed here that as the first stretch goal at just $30k it gets unlocked. (Hoping the Mountain version also gets unlocked of course.)
In the meantime back to painting the Death Deceivers and Heavy Skeleton Infantry that arrived the other day.
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: @CBRFigs
Small intervention if you allow me! :-D
The Forest Brutgoth unlocks at $27,5K, the $30K is adding bows to the sprues.
Just saw the update, but admittedly I haven't been following the campaign closely, so I'm not sure what just happened?
Anyway, there's a real danger in setting core pledge levels around stretch goals that aren't or may not be unlocked. Because (obviously) people will pull out.
Azazelx wrote: Just saw the update, but admittedly I haven't been following the campaign closely, so I'm not sure what just happened?
Anyway, there's a real danger in setting core pledge levels around stretch goals that aren't or may not be unlocked. Because (obviously) people will pull out.
A new lesson learned apparently. People never pulled out in our case, but we did find out they were reluctant in pledging due to the structure of it all.
Nothing happened here, Angelos has simply decided that he is going to fork the money needed to cover the small beast's funding. Five days to go, let's see how far this goes!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Mutter wrote: But can you come up with a size comparison (sketches would be fine)?
Base size is one thing, but doesn't really tell us that much about actual size.
Just trying to gauge for what I can use them ...
It has been decided that the Spider-ladies are going to be commissioned to Olivier Nkwetti (the same sculptor who did the Brutgoth). We will take advantage of the 3D sculpting technology to view how it fits in space (thus making sure it serves the purpose before proceeding in printing them). Junctions will also be worked a lot on to make sure they are a perfect fit.
That is amazing on the sculptor for the arachnomaidens! He really nailed the Brutgoth
As a huge fan of that sculpt, I think it's awesome that you unlocked it, and now we've got an even shorter path to unlocking the bows which should really make the plastic kit versatile!
@RiTides
We are convinced Olivier will do justice to the Arachnid ladies. Too cool a concept to miss! :-D
As for the bows, there's an idea tampering in our heads in the last hours, we had thought of earlier but pounding always a bit harder now; Replace 1-2 spears with 1-2 bows, thus making like 10 available per box by limiting a bit the spear choices. This means people pledging for multiple boxes would have enough to kit out at least some of theirs with bows, regardless if the bos SG gets unlocked.
Which we very much hope it does, as it indeed increases the value of the box without us having to jiggle around to make this more versatile... :-)
Shieldwolf has covered the costs of the forest Brutgoth so that is now unlocked and the bows stretch goal has moved forward and is the first one after funding,
Forest Goblin Chieftain A has been added to the add-on list,
Apparently a conversation has evolved (and people find it positive) to break the "go-full-spears" version to a "spears+bows" in the (remote) case the project does fund but the planned SG-1 (full spears + full bows in each box) doesn't unlock.
I take it the rest of the backers would be OK with that change?
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: @RiTides
As for the bows, there's an idea tampering in our heads in the last hours, we had thought of earlier but pounding always a bit harder now; Replace 1-2 spears with 1-2 bows, thus making like 10 available per box by limiting a bit the spear choices. This means people pledging for multiple boxes would have enough to kit out at least some of theirs with bows, regardless if the bos SG gets unlocked.
Which we very much hope it does, as it indeed increases the value of the box without us having to jiggle around to make this more versatile... :-)
This is a great idea! I would even go further and add HW options as well as bows (so something like 10 spears / 10 HW / 5 bows).
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: @RiTides
As for the bows, there's an idea tampering in our heads in the last hours, we had thought of earlier but pounding always a bit harder now; Replace 1-2 spears with 1-2 bows, thus making like 10 available per box by limiting a bit the spear choices. This means people pledging for multiple boxes would have enough to kit out at least some of theirs with bows, regardless if the bos SG gets unlocked.
Which we very much hope it does, as it indeed increases the value of the box without us having to jiggle around to make this more versatile... :-)
This is a great idea! I would even go further and add HW options as well as bows (so something like 10 spears / 10 HW / 5 bows).
That would probably end up decimating the options too much, ending with noone being pleased.
This is what we are looking at
Each box will contain a total of 5 sprues. Each sprue will include 5 spears,4 shields,3 bows, along with some left/right bare arms.
Each box still allows a full 25 kitted speared forest goblins, it's that we get a little less variety and no left-over spears that way on the sprues.
We are also opening add-ons from our existing miniature range (working on them as we speak). It's our last card to play, after which with the last hour surge it should at the very least fund, I mean it's less than 4K to go! :-D
Each box will contain a total of 5 sprues. Each sprue will include 5 spears,4 shields,3 bows, along with some left/right bare arms.
Each box still allows a full 25 kitted speared forest goblins, it's that we get a little less variety and no left-over spears that way on the sprues.
We are also opening add-ons from our existing miniature range (working on them as we speak). It's our last card to play, after which with the last hour surge it should at the very least fund, I mean it's less than 4K to go! :-D
I think that's a much better way to organize the sprues. Now no-one needs to feel worried they'll get stuck with loads of goblins without means to vary them much.
Really hope you fund this. The world needs more HIPS goblins
60 hours left on the clock... we'll see how it ends, we wouldn't have liked to depend on the last 48-hour emails reminder but that's how it will apparently go like.
Also, the decision not to add anything from the webstore or the future Shieldmaiden goodies is a firm one; there's more than enough to make this fund on its own, we shouldn't have to always stretch so more than the average to make it.
@Mutter
Length: 80mm minimum/ 90mm maximum [65-70mm + 15-20mm sting]
Width: Body at largest point: 40-45mm
with 2nd hand weapons: 40-45mm
with 2-handed weapon: 55-70mm
Height: 55-60mm to top of the head.
Before any printing is done, we will be showing the renders to the backers.
The spider ladies aren't going to save the day as we don't have any illusions that this is obviously not a runaway train, but it's a good crash test whether people like them or not. Should this project not fund, it's going to be very interesting to see whether our original plan (give the option to have them in HIPS instead of resin and triple the quantity received from the backer) holds any water.
So, personally, I think the 2-week format is hurting this one a little (4 weeks just gives people more time to budget). But I suspect the biggest factor is the ready availability of GW goblins and night goblins in the secondary market. It's not unusual for me to see them cost like £20 to £25 for 100, or something, for assembled/unpainted or assembled/part-painted. And, of course, you have the nostalgia factor -- people love those old-school minis, especially the night goblins. Now, though I like the Shieldwolf ones, I don't like them quite enough to want to be paying three or four times that. In contrast, the Shieldmaidens offered me an army I couldn't get elsewhere at all.
We will reflect to why this project didn't reach higher once finished. In the meantime, we have entered the last 2 days, we'll see what happens.
A very warm "thank you" to all current backers regardless of final result, your support has been awesome! :-)
My guess for why the project's not doing so great? A lot of potential backers are like me, are waiting on their stuff from the Shieldmaidens, and consider Kickstarters way too much of a gamble to back another project from the same company while waiting on an earlier one. You would probably get much better reception if you had tried this once the Shieldmaidens were delivered.
TheWaspinator wrote: My guess for why the project's not doing so great? A lot of potential backers are like me, are waiting on their stuff from the Shieldmaidens, and consider Kickstarters way too much of a gamble to back another project from the same company while waiting on an earlier one. You would probably get much better reception if you had tried this once the Shieldmaidens were delivered.
I understand you reservations concerning KS in general, however SWM have actually done exactly what they said they would, plus their completion date was December which they have said there would be a slight delay but have been up front about it.
Also they have been updating constantly with renders and prints process, so I don't see where your doubt is coming from concerning these guys.
If they had been behind with no updates and a lack of communication I could understand, however this ain't the case so it's seems quite odd to even highlight this.
I understand it's your choice to not to want to back this for your own reasons, but I do think the way you have worded it gives the impression that SWM are some how failing on there commitments which ain't the case.
Plus I would also like to highlight the fact they did post out the mammoths and KS eclusive mammoth heads, which they didn't have to but did so as a good will gesture.
Well, they ARE failing their commitments by missing their original deadline. That alone is enough to make me uneasy, especially since we can not know for certain how late it will be until they actually deliver.
TheWaspinator wrote: Well, they ARE failing their commitments by missing their original deadline. That alone is enough to make me uneasy, especially since we can not know for certain how late it will be until they actually deliver.
Yes, I confirm the deadline will not be met so under that aspect we are indeed failing our commitment. I would like to note that noone is "attacking" you (I'm sorry, I don't know what the exact word is) as you are only voicing a concern of others as well, more than fair.
It was my decision to risk the deadline. Mine alone, I take the entire fall for that. I was either going to knowingly deliver a faulty product or risk delaying, with a little luck we would have met the deadline. We weren't lucky and we are going to indeed delay. It's not how it should have worked, but that's how things went.
If I could turn back time would have I done the same? You bet. Did this also cost me additional money in having stuff reprinted and effort in trying to find an even higher detailed 3D printer to commission (mind you the first didn't come cheap either)? Yes, I can certainly live with that. The final result will be worth it and the delay is a 2-3 month on a 9+ month precommunicated estimated delivery date.
Associating a crowdfunding project with less than superb product is not the modus operandi of this company. And as long as I'm in charge, nor will it ever be.
Your support on the Shieldmaiden project is already more than I could ask for since it allowed a unique kit to be created (along with other miniatures in resin). I also thank you for allowing me to address the delivery issue on it as many people won't have read the last update.
TheWaspinator wrote: Well, they ARE failing their commitments by missing their original deadline. That alone is enough to make me uneasy, especially since we can not know for certain how late it will be until they actually deliver.
I would rather the 'Maidens were late rather than get a product that doesnt live up to the standard of what was promised during the KS
This is Shieldwolfs 3rd KS and their first was delivered without any real problems, it was 3 or 4 weeks late but a large majority of KS mini projects run late, its only a small percentage, the very small KS less than 50 backers that seem to fulfil on time, i dont know one big company that has run a mini KS and fulfilled on time and lots of companies run KS while waiting to fulfil the previous ones!
TheWaspinator wrote: Well, they ARE failing their commitments by missing their original deadline. That alone is enough to make me uneasy, especially since we can not know for certain how late it will be until they actually deliver.
I don't think it will be by much of a margin and I believe it was due to a quality issue and the want to deliver the best for the pledger, plus how many KS have you backed a slight delay is expected we ain't talking years unlike some KS I pledged for believe me that is sole destroying.
Like I said its your choice but I think your being overly unfair with your reason for it, like I said the delivery date hasn't even passed for the SMKS and they warned of the slight delay as soon as they knew of it, hell they could have kept it hush and threw excuses after the event but no they were up front and honest about it which I can respect them for.
Waspinator's points are valid and reasonable, and he's not having a go at SW. He's just being cautious with his money, which is fine and reasonable. And this isn't an attack, but at this point in the game it's reasonable to think that straight-talking and honest KS producers will have a bit of leeway baked into their estimates. Those bs levels of time blowouts are one reason I no longer back most KS. I appreciate SW being honest, upfront and frank about the delays well in advance. I'm backing, but I won't take issue with others not wanting to back another KS from anyone until their previous one is delivered on. In full.
Though I still take issue with the "yourcountry-friendly shipping" logos being used incorrectly, even though it's sort of explained in the FAQ.
I am not able to back it, mainly because I happened to get a large dentists bill just as it started, but I have a few issues with the project anyway, that may have prevented me from backing it anyway.
Firstly, the big difference between this one and the shieldmaidens kickstarter is that the shieldmaidens were clearly an *army*. They had basic infantry, characters, a big monster and some monstrous cavalry.
This one... if I pledged, I'd be getting characters from an entirely different army (common goblins), a big monster (though that wasn't guaranteed at the start), and some infantry. I think that it would have helped majorly if there were some actual forest goblin characters, and a few more details given about the plans for the KS.
Flexibility is one thing, but when you're running a 14 day campaign, the flip side of the major changes is seemingly bad preparation.I don't know how long it was advertised before launch, but 2 weeks where there's only one single render to get people excited, with further renders not appearing until the last couple of days makes me think the KS was a bit rushed, maybe?
It would have been good to see the individual renders that appeared in the last couple of days, along with the renders of them arranged as a unit, multiple angles, etc.
Anyway, I wish Shieldwolf the best of luck. If love them to be able to make forest goblins a viable army. I will say though, don't be afraid of resin, shieldwolf. Sure, everyone would probably like plastic units of whatever, but if the choice is waiting years for plastics that may never appear, or getting them to market sooner in a different medium, I'd choose resin any day.
IF this doesn't fund (and there's still a good chance that it does fund, don't get me wrong) I think there's still a good chance a reboot would make it if the campaign is better designed.
I don't think there's any problem with the product but rather the presentation. Having so much flip-flopping on so basic a feature as what the sprues contain creates a lot of uncertainty.
If the sprue-layout is more finalized, the pictures show more varied goblin designs and the number of initially available pledges that's dependent on stretchgoals being reached is lessened. I think it can do better than what we have now.
3d printing a few physical models as examples would work wonders as well I believe. You have the renders, so I assume it could pretty easily be done.
I do think more renders would have helped, and also that the huge challenge here is plastic production - that's also the reason for the (very slight!) delay on the Shieldmaidens, and kind of comes with the territory with HIPS. I think it's awesome that Shieldwolf goes for it and is looking to have plastic kits made, but I'm also really excited for their resin offerings here - in fact it's what I'm pledging for (Brutgoth and Arachnomaidens) since I love the idea of the gobbos but I already have 120 here queued up for paint one day
I hope this takes the last step and funds and then some, I'd actually be pretty shocked if it didn't - projects that get this far almost always finish over the top on the final day! Good luck guys
[...] Firstly, the big difference between this one and the shieldmaidens kickstarter is that the shieldmaidens were clearly an *army*. They had basic infantry, characters, a big monster and some monstrous cavalry.
This one... if I pledged, I'd be getting characters from an entirely different army (common goblins), a big monster (though that wasn't guaranteed at the start), and some infantry. I think that it would have helped majorly if there were some actual forest goblin characters, and a few more details given about the plans for the KS.
Funny how we are so interested in keeping great communication yet during a live project we fail; this too would have been a complete army. We commenced with basic infantry that unlike the shieldmaidens would have various weapon options. After which we would go wtih cavalry in HIPS. Should that have funded, we would have used the momentum to either go with converting the Spiderladies into plastic and tripling the amount (3 resin or 9 in plastic) or shoot for plastic chariots, by using the same mounts of the cavalry to keep SGs tighter. After which, another last infantry set, then the project ended, no more SGs planned.
Spoiler:
The great beast could not be made available from the start, there are costs to cover and considering we are already backing the project ourselves we put it as a stretch goal instead. The fact that Angelos believes in his project and is willing to fork the money on his own to make this work was not in the initial layout. I would also like to note that unlike the Mammoth & Dragons from our Shieldmaiden project, this was a new mini, so it wasn't just about production costs but also concept artwork, sculpting and printing.
You are definitely right though that should this project not fund, there's certainly some reflection to be done in our HQ.
Flexibility is one thing, but when you're running a 14 day campaign, the flip side of the major changes is seemingly bad preparation.I don't know how long it was advertised before launch, but 2 weeks where there's only one single render to get people excited, with further renders not appearing until the last couple of days makes me think the KS was a bit rushed, maybe?
It would have been good to see the individual renders that appeared in the last couple of days, along with the renders of them arranged as a unit, multiple angles, etc.
No argument there, apart that there was not a single render, there were already four unique sculpts shown.
Anyway, I wish Shieldwolf the best of luck. I'd love them to be able to make forest goblins a viable army. I will say though, don't be afraid of resin, shieldwolf. Sure, everyone would probably like plastic units of whatever, but if the choice is waiting years for plastics that may never appear, or getting them to market sooner in a different medium, I'd choose resin any day.
Thank you. Resin for regiments doesn't work for our plans. Plastic gives us more time for other things to work on and our vision & schedule has sooo many more things that we want to do. Besides, our supporters have seen our plastics and prefer these, and TBH so do we.
Once again, regardless of how this ends, we appreciate the support and interaction from all of you, it means a lot to us. Whether this funds or not the experience is bound to make us better.
If I had money, I'd be in for 2-4 boxes of goblins for sure. I am genuinely confused why this KS didn't do better. Maybe, with WHFB being gone, there simply isn't a demand for resculpts of existing units. Heaven knows 9th age isn't drawing in new players, and anyone already playing greenskins in Warhammer already has heaps of GW ones.
I am afraid that I just don't have a use for lots of forest goblins. I had RiTides in for a set of the spider ladies for me, but I just don't care for gobbers outside the occasional giggle project.
Yeah we've got a combined pledge in for the resin addons (I'm all about that Brutgoth!). Still about $3500 to go, seems doable on the final day here! Ends at 2pm EST:
Talk about stumbling just before the finish line, too bad you guys and hope you can get these made some other way! They look cool even though they're not for me.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: I wonder if a Brutgoth and spider lady resin- only campaign at a lower funding cost might be a possibility?
There was certainly a lot of interest in those items. Almost more so than the actual goblins at times.
Something to consider?
Nope. :-)
While the suggestion is highly appreciated, we don't need a crowdfunding project for these items alone, they were placed to boost funding for what we consider the main dish, our plastics. You might even see these hit retail regardless, but they are obviously expected to have a much higher price than the one we had during the KS.
Thank you. Resin for regiments doesn't work for our plans. Plastic gives us more time for other things to work on and our vision & schedule has sooo many more things that we want to do. Besides, our supporters have seen our plastics and prefer these, and TBH so do we.
Once again, regardless of how this ends, we appreciate the support and interaction from all of you, it means a lot to us. Whether this funds or not the experience is bound to make us better.
Yeah, I understand your reticence to do resin for regiments- but I think that when you've only been able to fund plastic kits for basic infantry so far, your ambition might be greater than your ability to deliver? I can't word that without sounding snarky, sorry. It's not intended to be so.
My only desires for the next campaign would be clearer direction from the get-go; you were still taking suggestions on cavalry halfway through the last campaign. If you have the funding/time, get at least the chieftain and/or shaman sculpted, so that people have some idea of how the concepts will look in actual miniature form.
So far we know that if we put our money into this army, we'll get infantry, a couple of characters and a brutgoth. Maybe at least tell us what the range will expand to include? We know that the shield maidens range has/will have characters, infantry, bear riders, mammoths, spider ladies, war maidens, etc... I don't (not sure about others) really want to invest in an army that will stay at basic infantry and a monster for the next few years. Finally, other companies sometimes allow access to a preview version of their KS pages, so that people can have a look at them before the official launch- this is generally a good thing, I think. Lets people budget better, spot anything that's confusing before launch, so that you're not madly fixing things up in the middle of the campaign.
You don't sound snarky @MattW, on hte contrary we try our best listening to what people have to say. Basic plastic infantry kits is a way to start. We have the Mountain Orc kit, we have the Shieldmaiden Infantry/Rangers, we missed today the Forest Goblins plastics for less than $1,7K.
I'm not saying it's going to be easy but if it was easy, then everyone would have been doing it. At the end of the day, it's all about keeping our heads down and pursuing our goals with the same passion. We trust that once the Shieldmaiden plastics reach people's hands we can only be looked at with an even better perspective :-)
All your suggestions make perfect sense, we will try our best to improve. The Shieldmaiden Army is due to expand. A lot actually, as we have lots and lots planned for them! And yes, a preview page (at least for the Shieldmaiden backers) will probably be made available. As I said, there's lots to do still! :-D
I'm very disappointed this campaign fell just short. I'd backed for 4 boxes plus the unit filler. Happy to hear that the project isn't totally dead and hopefully be re-launched next year. I've been waiting 20 years for this kit, I can wait another couple.
If I could throw my 2c in as advice for the future:
Not sure how possible this is, given this is a 'true' kickstarter vs. a glorified pre-order, but I think there were too few details around what was planned to be on the sprue - I understand there were stretch goals to add additional components, but I think a more detailed explanation of the base sprue layout would have been beneficial. Multi-option kits from the start seems to be the way to go given the positive response to the change with a couple of days to go.
It would be great to have a more rounded out army offered as add-ons from the start or through the campaign, such as resin warmachines, special units or characters - eg. chariots, trolls, wolf riders, totems, resin command upgrades. I loved the unit filler concept.
I'd go with showing more work on the goblins from Day 1. More renders and perhaps even some sprue mockups?
Offering Command parts - banner arm, leader head, musician arm(s) - included in every box in resin - GW used to do the same with metal as they were slowly improving their plastics and potentually as a sprue (along with hand weapons and more bows, etc) if funding goes high enough.
I second that motion. Also having more stretch goals clearly laid out, pledges that don't need to be unlocked and not having things cut and changed half way through the campaign.
Whilst I love the fact that SW clearly takes on feedback from the customers, a lot of things that were mentioned on this campaign should have been resolved before the Kickstarter launched and clearly communicated (pics and writing).
I found it quite jarring that the command options were a (distant) stretch goal, it took ages to work out whether shields were included (not to mention moulded on or not) and the fact that the Gobbo characters did not really match the aesthetic of the proposed box and didn't have a banner included (which I was expecting instead of the unit filler thing).
Furthermore on the SM starter there was a pledge for OrcsvSM, this one included Gobbos and orcs which are seen as being pretty aligned so I wonder if a Gobbo vs SM pledge would have been advisable?
This Kickstarter also really suffered from bad timing, it seems to have been a busy month for mini related kickstarters and I wonder if it had been a month earlier or later it would have struggled as badly.
Still, hope you either relaunch it or fund yourselves as I really liked the concept and would buy/pledge again and eagerly await the Maidens.
ingtaer, those are all great points. The Shieldmaidens obviously did well with a reboot, so hopefully the same happens here! However, I think being clear about at least what is planned for the sprue as the base stretch goal would really, really help so hopefully you guys can go and do that in the interim.
The other main things would be having more renders if at all possible (maybe even a few posed ones) and having a clearer way to get more people involved / pledging (such as a resin add-ons pledge... you added Arachnomaidens but had no clear way to get Shieldmaidens backers into the campaign and pledging for them, unless they wanted goblins too).
Yeah, someone mentioned that there are 2 or 3 other goblin KS running right now, and one of those is a Kev Adams one. Mantic's latest escapades are also something that, while less shiny now, still attracts a lot of backers.
GW's new surge of worthwhile releases and Start Collecting boxes, etc are probably affecting Mini KS pledge dollars to some extent. I know I'd rather save my bucks for Prospero than Space Dungeon Saga, and money for Orruks today could well be affecting money for forest goblins next September.
Everything you've written down has been screenshot, printed and placed in the Forest Goblin envelope we have.
The project @wilb2064 is anything but dead, we said we will relaunch it and that's exactly what we intend to do. First we must put more work into it though + fix the mistakes that were pointed out though... :-)
Edit:
@ingtaer @Azazelx @RiTides
All very good points.
Shieldwolf Miniatures Newsletter, October 4th 2016
A number of very interesting things have been happening behind the scenes and it is time to reveal some of them; a number of plans have been formulated and will be put into motion in 2017, as it will take a while to implement and have them completely ready for launch. But, let’s take it one thing at a time.
In the Shieldwolf Team everyone is in great health and spirit. The recent Forest Goblin campaign might not have funded (even for a measly $1,7K!), but the support was great regardless and we are confident ever more people will support future endeavors of the company. The release of the Shieldmaiden plastic dual kit early 2017, the quality and possibilities of which can be matched by only one company worldwide will help to ensure this.
In the meanwhile the company as you might already know decided to take a lead role concerning the support of T9A game and community, something soon many other companies followed. For the time being Shieldwolf Miniatures stands alone in the sponsoring of T9A by supporting all major tournaments worldwide, having mailed to more than 40 tournaments in 17 countries around the world. We love this hobby and we mean to show it!
Another initiative the company took was to communicate on June 25th its intention to collaborate with other manufacturers in the creation of a starter set that would be fully compatible for T9A. Shieldwolf Miniatures was the first to announce that it will release such a boxed set (and we are certain that once again more will eventually do the same), but we find a potential collaboration with other companies would lead to an even greater product that would help T9A community in both exposure and miniature support.
The first among the companies that responded to our call was a Spanish one named Avatars of War. We therefore responded back and engaged with the person running it, being hopeful it would lead to a great starter set with products combined from the two companies. Unfortunately we quickly found out a collaboration was going to be quite problematic from the start while on the same time it resulted impossible to create any type of concrete communicative bridge with said company. Despite our efforts and patience, we were left with no choice but inform him on the 26th of September that we are dismissing any collaboration. We wish him luck on the agenda he wants to follow.
On the other hand, a more positive note for T9A as we are currently involved with 3 more companies that want part of this combined starter set, one from Poland, one from France and one from Spain again. Communication and substantial ideas have already been droppped on the table and we are looking forward to seeing how it all works out. All companies implicated have naturally their schedules full at the moment, so any actual doings will take place in 2017.
Another matter that has been communicated to us is the future and availability of the Krumvaal Light Infantry regiment. The reason the regiment has been unavailable is because we are looking forward to resculpting and retooling said regiment in hard plastic (HIPS), maintaining however the same unique fantasy concept we first introduced for our nordic barbarian race.
We are confident we will be able to create a much better product at the same MSRP, so we are working harder than ever to provide it.
To close this October newsletter, we are very happy to announce two new retailers who are now carrying our range. The first is CCGWinkel and is located in Holland (http://www.ccgwinkel.nl) and the other one Figures For sale is which has taken over the distribution for the United Kingdom (http://figuresforsale.co.uk/).
We appreciate their trust and hope the expanding retailer web will facilitate even more our supporters.
According to our schedule everything from this project will become available via retail 7 days after the last parcel to our KS backers ships. Same goes for our distributors who may choose to put some stuff up for pre-order (but that's up to them), they will be supplied for the same release date and not before.
Illumini wrote: Any hint of an approximate month / quarter?
The bears will be plastic?
End of Q1 according to current estimates.
Bears are resin (all 4 of them), we would really like to have enough support to start getting more than troops in HIPS but we haven't gained enough traction yet. With a little luck the dual kit of Aracnomaidens/Aracnowraths might make it, otherwise it's resin for them too.
We'll see how it goes! :-)
Illumini wrote: Any hint of an approximate month / quarter?
The bears will be plastic?
End of Q1 according to current estimates.
Bears are resin (all 4 of them), we would really like to have enough support to start getting more than troops in HIPS but we haven't gained enough traction yet. With a little luck the dual kit of Aracnomaidens/Aracnowraths might make it, otherwise it's resin for them too.
We'll see how it goes! :-)
All resin production concerning the Shieldmaiden KS has ended and we have finished with QC (well, 98-99%, I think our boars and Shieldlord_B are the only ones left last time I checked) and we are completing the packaging, after which we will look into replenishing our current stock for the webstore and our retailers.
Preview of the plastics are expected late next month. We are also missing their boxes (the ones in which we can package the plastic sprues), also because we are changing manufacturer to make the box a bit thicker compared to the previous one of our Orcs (3mm will get pumped up to 5mm).
This will however NOT delay the final delivery to the backers, worst case scenario they will not have the retail intended confection. Their packaging will still ensure they reach you in great shape.
Anyway, here's the last picture we shot of the polar bears, which due to the elevated difficulty we encountered in their packaging (we opted in casting them as single and not multiple parts) might end up becoming webstore exclusives to keep their price in reason.
Spoiler:
Also, dear backers of the Shieldmaiden campaign, we will be updating this month to start collecting shipping so kindly don't miss out on this. The faster you respond to this once the January's update is up, the more time we have to process your pledges and start sending out the stuff.
Thanks for the update, those are some sweet looking bears!
Have you thought of allowing multiple waves of shipping to allow for people who have other stuff than plastic maidens (similar to what you did with the mammoth) and want that stuff quicker?
Wave-1 was shipped 1st week of September this year, it included both Mammoth versions and the howdah (P&P was full covered by us).
Wave-2 is due in the next 90 days so there's no reason to break it in waves.
Everything ships so the project succesfully fulfills completely. Our goal now is not to exceed 100 days of delay. We are on day n.12 as we speak.
Aye, that is understood. I pledged for the mix of Orc and Maidens and was wondering if you would consider the option of allowing two lots of shipping (at backers expense) as I understand all the Orc stuff is currently in production whilst, as you say there is still three months delay on the Maidens.
Guess I just need to curb my impatience, after all its not like I would get the Orcs painted before the Maidens would arrive anyway (or a decade after for that matter...).
So I am paying for shipping now and I have to wait 3 months before my stuff is ready to send ?
Sorry this sounds off to me, I have understood most of your reasoning but I don't understand why I am paying for the shipping now and waiting for the items.
I don't mind paying at the beginning of the month if it is going to be shipped at the end but 3 months in advance seems wrong.
I don't think asking for the shipping up to three months in advance is unreasonable. They have to pay for the packing materials up front, and this allows them to take care of the administrative stuff now rather than when there are packages waiting to be shipped.
Gallahad wrote: I don't think asking for the shipping up to three months in advance is unreasonable. They have to pay for the packing materials up front, and this allows them to take care of the administrative stuff now rather than when there are packages waiting to be shipped.
Not only that but there are all the transfers that have to happen with the money just for them to even be able to use it in the first place. Add in how long it takes some people to actually pay their shipping too.. To me this is possibly the most intimidating part of putting together a crowdfunded endeavor.
EDIT: Ha, speaking of.. We're moving on March 1st Shieldwolf.. Military housing has not assigned our new address yet but it should be "soon".. Will I be able to update and pay at that time (assuming it's not longer than a week or so?)
@lone dirty dog
Most other crowdfunding campaigns usually collect shipping right after the project ends (from what we have seen at least) which can be like a year earlier, we are only charging it a little (something like 3 months as you say) prior to sending out the rewards. It is something we had stated during the project being live, although I admit we had never made it clear on what "little" could stand for :-)
@Gallahad @MLaw
There's indeed a lot of logistics involved and all this is not difficult to deal with if you have done the legwork but it does take time to process regardless. Our intention is to have everything ready and set, so the moment we receive the plastics from England we lose no time and instead go straight ahead to pack, seal & store. Everything in resin will be ready and waiting, the army is waiting for the core to arrive in the battlefield :-)
After all this is done, we contact the shipping company and off they go!
We will be using our own website to deal with all this (and the intention is to do the same with any eventual future crowdfunding projects).
The advantages of that is
-it is 100% handled by our own people, so no third parties are involved
-it is a platform we have been using for years and are (obviously) very familiar with
-it allows us to send an automatic message to inform each and everyone of you separately through our system that your data has been collected (this will be explained on the update)
-we will be able to cross-check that way the addresses you wrote down during the pledge manager with the ones you will be asked to fill out in our webstore website.
@MLaw
We are going to allow the shipping payments to go till early February before shutting it down (also because some people get their next paycheck early next month and we don't wish to burden January more than what it is already, despite us having informed from the previous month of December. But life is life and we can totally understand that).
If you let us know your address change within February, it should all be OK. For anyone changing address after that, I'm afraid they are better off telling us and have their parcels put on hold, instead of taking a world tour only to return to snowy Athens a month later with an "undelivered" status and being asked to pay shipping a second time.
@MLaw
We are going to allow the shipping payments to go till early February before shutting it down (also because some people get their next paycheck early next month and we don't wish to burden January more than what it is already, despite us having informed from the previous month of December. But life is life and we can totally understand that).
If you let us know your address change within February, it should all be OK. For anyone changing address after that, I'm afraid they are better off telling us and have their parcels put on hold, instead of taking a world tour only to return to snowy Athens a month later with an "undelivered" status and being asked to pay shipping a second time.
That's good. It would be ....unreasonable for an already-late kickstarter to expect people to hold over Christmas-period money to pay for shipping of their kickstarter that won't send for a further three months. February sounds nice and reasonable.
Will people's resin-postage for their stuff that has already shipped be added to their final postage costs, as indicated earlier?
@Azazelx
It would be unreasonable indeed.
Yes, people who had the Mammoth included in their pledges (and have already received it) will be instructed adequately so they can cover that expense.
Thanks SW for the clarification. With the impending move we have a lot on our mind but I will try to remember to dip in as soon as we get our address... and hopefully they don't change it on us at the last minute..
MLaw wrote: 2 questions..
1. Will Wolf Wardens be fantasy? It looks like yes (and would make sense) but there's a fine line between knights and space knights.
Answer: Yes, the Wolf Wardens will be fantasy although the conversion (or perhaps even official production) to an eventual sci-fi set is, err... no comment! :-)
@CBRFigs
If they don't show up till the 12th of March, they will be made available again late April probably. In that case while the normal version will be the same, the howdah version however will get a small bump in price as it will now include the crew; which means that the plastics must have been made available for retail as that's what the crew will be made of.
@Hulksmash
Yes and no, "soon" is a relative term. The realistic target with what we have now in hand is that the project will average around 100 days of delay from the initial estimated date when the KS was launched (delivery was estimated for December 2016). Please allow 1-2 more days for (much) more detailed information. :-)
Is there gonna be a sci-fi version?..cause honestly I'd but those put a stabilizer pack on them and there good to go for some awesome assault troops from that concept alone.
Shieldmaiden Kickstarter update went out including some video of one of the sprues. (Around 5 min mark of first video as I recall). Sprues are looking really really good!
From what they said likely timeline of when they get the sprues delivered is late March with packing and shipping to go from there.
they've specifically not put up photos as they don't want poor quality shots floating around the net (did they get grief over their orc sprues?), but they're arranging for professional shots to be taken
rayphoton wrote: The sheildmaidens will be for general sale on the website eventually right?
That's correct, we first ship to everyone that has paid their shipping dues (deadline ends March 6th) and then we move on to retail sales. Pre-orders might be up early April by both our webstore and other distributors but that depends on how well we keep on schedule.
they've specifically not put up photos as they don't want poor quality shots floating around the net (did they get grief over their orc sprues?), but they're arranging for professional shots to be taken
from what I can see they look good though
That was their plan but within 10 mins they were screen grabbed!
rayphoton wrote: The sheildmaidens will be for general sale on the website eventually right?
That's correct, we first ship to everyone that has paid their shipping dues (deadline ends March 6th) and then we move on to retail sales. Pre-orders might be up early April by both our webstore and other distributors but that depends on how well we keep on schedule.
I don't recall getting any shipping charges. How do I check to see if I owe any?
They've got instructions up in a Kickstarter update, and it's a bit complicated and a hassle for sure, but they have apologized for that. I hope they'll start messaging people individually who haven't paid yet, as not everyone subscribes to updates, and even those who do tend to check them a lot less after a campaign ends.
Anyone who doesn't know by now probably has to be reached via a direct message or email rather than updates. I only knew I needed to pay because a friend messaged me!
@RiTides
Addmitingly there are some things we still have to work on :-D
We are trying our best though :-)
Voting continues, it closes down on March 6th.
As an additional thank you to our Kickstarter backers, they are the ones who will decide which of them pitches after the Warmaidens, but we are pleased to hear from non-backers as well what their thoughts are.
Thank you.
Honestly Angelos, I'd back either (or both) of them - as long as you don't use the "[nation]-friendly shipping" logo incorrectly again - but I think it's also important that you're aware that these are already a thing,
Spoiler:
have been/are being delivered to their backers and not far from retail. I know yours are in plastic as opposed to horrid Trollcast resin, and that you'll proudly proclaim that yours are much better, but I still feel that they might be better as a stretch rather than the main course, since people can pretty much order the RH ones very. very shortly, and they'll be in the backs of people's minds.
You know by well now that KS campaigns don't occur in a vacuum, and availability of other product can have a big impact on potential product. It's one reason I didn't bother with Mantic's Space Saga - I can buy Gangs of Commorragh instead and have it delivered inside 2 weeks.
Azazelx wrote: [...] but I think it's also important that you're aware that these are already a thing,
Spoiler:
have been/are being delivered to their backers and not far from retail. I know yours are in plastic as opposed to horrid Trollcast resin, and that you'll proudly proclaim that yours are much better, but I still feel that they might be better as a stretch rather than the main course, since people can pretty much order the RH ones very. very shortly, and they'll be in the backs of people's minds.
You know by well now that KS campaigns don't occur in a vacuum, and availability of other product can have a big impact on potential product. It's one reason I didn't bother with Mantic's Space Saga - I can buy Gangs of Commorragh instead and have it delivered inside 2 weeks.
All council is very welcome, especially when it is well intentioned and holds water (I think that's the expression used) :-D
Yes, we are aware of them. Actually at first glance one range can complent the other just fine :-)
I am not going to comment on the trollcast resin, it's none of my bussiness. I am not going to proclaim that ours are "aesthetic wise" better either, that's up to each and everyone to judge on their own, although I strongly believe we have designed them not to be inferior to anyone else; then again, that's my opinion and YMMV. If I didn't believe that I wouldn't be bothering with it.
I am going to say that the range we are creating is way more affordable, I don't know how much these went on KS but if a competitor/colleague can beat the 25$ per 20 models we are going to offer for their kit, koodos to him. We still have to do a good job on them though as we haven't yet finished our work and we don't have the luxury of the sci-fi crowd behind us, so I think I will focus mostly on them getting funded, it's growing apparent in the poll that the Wolf Wardens are going to be the ones we pitch with after the Warmaidens so the Sisters of Talliareum are apparently going to be the next stretch goal and not the main target. We can also dream on the 3rd faction we have worked on (unique in its kind), as we have revealed only two out of the three factions we are aiming for.
One step at a time, we learned our lesson from the KS-2, let's focus on delivering in April to all of you first :-)
I would highly prefer my miniatures not be in as exaggerated poses as the raging heroes models. Especially for troop models. Heroes with those poses are acceptable but it just looks weird for troops.
Also, hard plastic is always better
Otoh, I really need to see better pics of the shieldmaiden sprue to decide
@Sining
As I said, YMMV, to each their own.
A couple of bloggers/forums are going to be reviewing the kit mid March, so that's like give or take in 2 weeks from today :-)
Yeah, looks like I'll look into this shipping stuff as well, I did the PM and can't remember anything else.
For the vote, as I said on KS, I'd take either. Depending on the quality of the wolf heads and fur in plastic and whether or not you could turn the Sisters into Sisters of Sigmar or Sororitas my preference would shift, but both are more enticing than the demon ladies.
All council is very welcome, especially when it is well intentioned and holds water (I think that's the expression used) :-D
Yes, we are aware of them. Actually at first glance one range can complent the other just fine :-)
....
I am going to say that the range we are creating is way more affordable, I don't know how much these went on KS but if a competitor/colleague can beat the 25$ per 20 models we are going to offer for their kit, koodos to him. We still have to do a good job on them though as we haven't yet finished our work and we don't have the luxury of the sci-fi crowd behind us, so I think I will focus mostly on them getting funded, it's growing apparent in the poll that the Wolf Wardens are going to be the ones we pitch with after the Warmaidens so the Sisters of Talliareum are apparently going to be the next stretch goal and not the main target. We can also dream on the 3rd faction we have worked on (unique in its kind), as we have revealed only two out of the three factions we are aiming for.
One step at a time, we learned our lesson from the KS-2, let's focus on delivering in April to all of you first :-)
I'm sure both ranges would compliment one another, and as I've said - I'd happily back either of yours. But neither of those points is my actual point.
My point is simply that with a similar product in terms of overall aesthetic - female warriors being the niche that they currently are - already out there very soon, and being delivered to their backers, something close to something that already exists is likely to run into more issues in achieving funding than another concept that's further away from the existing product.
I would back either, if you did the Sisters as a kickstarter, I would seriously consider creating an add-on sprue filled with compatible Sci-Fi bits. Personally I would buy them to use them for Sisters of Battle in 40k, as Fantasy is dead in my area.
I think Azazelx is right that the Women Warriors niche is being tapped by multiple other companies. Especially since we are talking about the kit that comes after yet another all female kit (warmaidens). I would personally be more interested in other concepts after two consecutive warrior women KS campaigns.
All so Barzam doesn't have to paint eyes and faces.
A big factor for me is the medium that the models are presented in. Plastic is going to make me take things a lot more seriously than yet another resin run, especially for games where I will need more than a dozen models.
I think the wolf women are a bit more unique looking than the typical paladin- like ladies. Wolf motif doesn't necessarily mean they need to go full on Space Wolves though!
I think there is a niche still to fill with actual affordable plastic female medieval models. I'll be backing at least for the Wolf Sisters because they'll blend so well with the Shield Maidens. That's assuming the Shield Maidens come out good when they come in which I think they will.
Right am I being thick here or is the pledge manager impossible to find, the link I used on my messages is dead and I can't find another and frankly at this point I'm frustrated with the whole thing as why is the process so complicated for something so simple?
if your talking about the PM itself it's gone as the company that made and ran it for shieldwolf closed down and was covered here (Shieldwolf did get the info from it so were able to deal with stuff and asked people who wanted to add extra or hadn't filled it in at all after this to contact them directly)
Barzam wrote: Please, go with helmet options regardless. Fantasy, sci-fi, Sisters, Wolves, whatever, please have some helmet options.
This was voiced over the previous project, we hear you. We have planned for both versions and for all kits this time.
The difference is that some (like the Warmaidens) get the "helmets" (daemonic masks) by default but given both options (i.e. the non-masked heads will be made available as well as was originally planned and announced from the start anyway) while other kits will have to get their alternative options unlocked.
We have received your messages (mainly on FaceBook, we appreciate the feedback!) and have taken them under serious consideration. The option for a sci-fi upgrade to be in resin has been rejected.
An update for the Shieldmaiden reboot project is coming up by Thursday (local time) tops.
Still not a fan of the gut-window minis, but everything else looks exciting. Very happy with my purchase! The weapons and shields look like they'll go nicely with other chaos minis and Mantic Abyssals.
Oh, and that Sigmarine with the Valkir helmet? Stolen.
Yup, looks great doesn't it. Started looking at the pics excited to see the maidens, didn't expect to be most excited about the idea of making some sigmarines by the end lol Maidens do look flipping great though. Slightly annoyed that our first proper look at them is from some random blog and not via an update to backers however...
These look a lot less chesecake than in the artwork, which is good. Only the bare midriff one is quite dubious. They are going to tower over all 28mm historical men, tho. They look in line with AoS models.
Wish they'd posed 'em with some Frostgrave soldiers.
Regardless of whether we get the wolf women or the librarians, I hope Shieldwolf someday revisit the Shiedlmaidens' male counterparts, which if I remember correctly were big burly macho men types in horned helmets and furs.
Seeing as how we don't have any "generic" modern day chaos warriors, I thought those guys would fill that role perfectly.
I don't even know what I need 80 (or is it 100?!) of those gals for, but I hope I get them soon.
Given their size they should work well as a band of warmaidens with Archaon on horse-Dorghar as a heavy hitter white knight (like those in the Siegfrid GN) . We neved did get the swan masks some very cool and thoughtful people wanted during the campaign ( ), but I have enough experience with mould making now to replicate selfmade ones.
Oh, and if they fit the the GW stags they might make for very cool female barbarian riders
Yeah, the "gut window" when combined with things like the cloak is not good to me... I am sure some combinations will look fine, but the kit ended up being all over the place design-wise, imo.
I figure a thin layer of GS over the midriffs for "hardened leather" will do me fine.
Though ISTR there will be enough non-bare-midriff torsos in each box to make the full 20 warmaidens anyway. You will only need to dip into bare midriff territory if you want to try to kitbash more than 20 per box, I think.
Ian Sturrock wrote: I figure a thin layer of GS over the midriffs for "hardened leather" will do me fine.
Though ISTR there will be enough non-bare-midriff torsos in each box to make the full 20 warmaidens anyway. You will only need to dip into bare midriff territory if you want to try to kitbash more than 20 per box, I think.
the german site that the pics are from confirms this as well
via google translate:
"A nice bonus, however, are the four extramodels. They allow, for example, a complete 20-man squad without belly-free armor, which was an important point in the commentary on kickstarter for some readers."
this part is also relevant to what you can build:
"you will probably notice that the 20-box contains bits for 24 models (6 in each group of squads and 4 in each command frame). However, only 20 pure close-range or distance fighters can be built (in the case of mixed squads, however, 24 warriors are possible without problems). Also cloaks are only included for 20 models (also if you do not want to wear a cloak, you can easily build 24 models). The 20 are therefore a minimum specification for buyers who want to build pure local or remote combat groups."
Wehrkind wrote: Hmmmm looking at the bits on the sprue, I wonder how well they will work with Kingdom Death Lion Armor... Damnit, they need to get here faster!
Yeah I was eyeing some of my spare armour kit pieces as ways of adding customisation and decoration, especially as a way of creating distinctions between different warbands
Boob plate and gut window look ace. Just what I have been waiting for.
Not crazy about how rigid the various limbs are though. Combined with the hair, they are very lifeless. I suppose that is fine for rank and file.
They are enormous though :( I can probably use them in RPGs and Mordheim but if I put these in Frostgrave with my official FG models, it'll be like they're fighting alongside half-giants. Hmm.. as a point of fact.. makes me wonder how hard female half-orcs would be to convert ...
Just about everything is taller than Frostgrave plastics though. That's my one big minus mark for them.
I've got a finished one in front of me, and he goes up to the waist of the Stormcast I'm currently painting.
Even Fyreslayer dwarfs... dwarf them.
I want to see how they stack up next to all the Bloodbound stuff. I think they'll make a good female counterpart to them (and I like using my Bloodbound for Frostgrave as it is, so if they're close in size, win- win!)
How do Frostgrave compare to Perry minis? For that matter, what do the Shieldwolf minis look like next to Kingdom Death survivors or Mantic Men at Arms?
I figure that I will use them as an army of Valkyrie-like superhumans in large-scale fantasy wargames (which means KoW, right now), but they aren't really going to work as regular humans in a way that's really compatible with anything else I own, other than maybe if I ever used solely some of the taller Bones minis with them.
Yea, not really loving the size. I was hoping they would be rather more sensibly scaled, even if they are supposed to be big robust barbarians. The scale shot on the KS page makes them look rather shorter than these builds do. Here's hoping when I have 100 or them or so on hand they are a bit closer to 28 than 32 or 35!
FG minis are a good fit for older GW Warhammer minis (Empire/Bretonnia), and are pretty much perfect to go with the Fireforge historicals. They are definitely chunkier than Perry historicals though, and a little taller too. They work alongside Blood Rage minis -- height is similar, it's just that the BR ones look a bit more athletic. You can sprinkle the occasional Bones human in among your FG dudes and it just looks like a tall human. It *looks* like these will be similar to Bones fantasy humans in scale, which is fine if all your barbarian badass warrior-women are 6'2".
I think between the different heads, the cloaks, and the weapon options, it should be possible to make 80 different minis, easily, from four boxes (or 96 with some kitbashing). I'm pretty sure that would apply even if one had no bare midriffs in there, but it would reduce variation a touch.
Really looking forward to getting my hands on these in a month or so.
Errr... you are forgeting the additional free sprue you guys unlocked with the 500 backers total :-)
Nope, actually counting on it. If what we saw is how it's in the final sprues, the cloaks and the regular backs should allow us to use all the bodies in each box with minimal conversion.
So based on the line up picture with the maiden and the Space marine. It looks like the shield maidens are the same size as reaper and Raging heroes. I took a pick with some existing minis (Raging heroes, reaper, space marine, Stormcast with Kingdom death head, and frostgrave barbarian. The Frost grave guy I think will be more like a dwarf compared with any of them.
Thanks for the great pics Smokestack, they do a great job conveying what I wanted to say: the Frostgrave plastics are disappointingly small and really only scale with 25mm historical minis. I am very happy that Shieldmaiden went with a scale that fits with the vast majority of fantasy miniatures instead of napoleonics.
Yeah, they are pretty out of scale with the old Warhammer Fantasy line, but with the new scale creep of Age of Sigmar, I think they will look right.
MLaw wrote: Yeah.. ugh.. I have to figure out what to do with a fethload of oversized barbarian ladies now. Interest in this has dropped off basically altogether.
Paint them with a semi fantasy skin colour and say they are of a breed of semi giants
MLaw wrote: Yeah.. ugh.. I have to figure out what to do with a fethload of oversized barbarian ladies now. Interest in this has dropped off basically altogether.
MLaw wrote: Yeah.. ugh.. I have to figure out what to do with a fethload of oversized barbarian ladies now. Interest in this has dropped off basically altogether.
overtyrant wrote: Anyone know where the alt head on the stormcast is from? Makes it look awesome!!
It is one of the head types from the Valkyr Heavy Troopers box from Dreamforge. Luckily that box comes with two (or is it three?) different head options and enough for the whole squad, so you should be able to find someone with a set to spare.
Well they did provide a scale comparison during the Kickstarter, is this incorrect? If so I would be asking for a refund, but if she is actually the same size as the GW Cauldron of Blood Witch Elf (which it looks like they might be? IIRC newer Elves are quite tall) I don't think you'd have much of a leg to stand on.
They're a bit unnecessarily tall for my taste (though the proportions are great), but as said: no taller that what's clearly shown in the comparasion picture.
They will scale well enough with WHFB figures as long as they're not mixed together in the same unit. I'd say it's no bigger difference between that lumpy 6th ed starterset spearman and one of the shieldmaidens, than one of those spearmen and say, a metal greatsword from the same era from the same company. The comparasion with GW models is jarring, not so much for the size difference but because the maidens are more or less scaled like an actual human.
The more serious size difference is with the maidens and historical figures, but if used in a fantasy setting I see no problem with there existing a particularly tall group/tribe of humans producing these warrior women.
Mymearan wrote: Well they did provide a scale comparison during the Kickstarter, is this incorrect? If so I would be asking for a refund, but if she is actually the same size as the GW Cauldron of Blood Witch Elf (which it looks like they might be? IIRC newer Elves are quite tall) I don't think you'd have much of a leg to stand on.
I know a mate of mine has this model in his dark elves army might pop around and have a look once they turn up then, be interesting to see how close it is to this preview.
I'm actually less concerned, seeing the size comparisons. They're like half a head taller than WFB humans, which is fine from my perspective to represent a tall tribe of Viking-ish shieldmaidens.
“There were once women in Denmark who dressed themselves to look like men and spent almost every minute cultivating soldiers’ skills. …They courted military celebrity so earnestly that you would have guessed they had unsexed themselves. Those especially who had forceful personalities or were tall and elegant embarked on this way of life. As if they were forgetful of their true selves they put toughness before allure, aimed at conflicts instead of kisses, tasted blood, not lips, sought the clash of arms rather than the arm’s embrace, fitted to weapons hands which should have been weaving, desired not the couch but the kill…” -- Saxo Grammaticus, describing the original shieldmaidens of Scandinavia
Mymearan wrote: Well they did provide a scale comparison during the Kickstarter, is this incorrect? If so I would be asking for a refund, but if she is actually the same size as the GW Cauldron of Blood Witch Elf (which it looks like they might be? IIRC newer Elves are quite tall) I don't think you'd have much of a leg to stand on.
Spoiler:
Based on the picture in page 65, the scale comparison is accurate
Mymearan wrote: Well they did provide a scale comparison during the Kickstarter, is this incorrect? If so I would be asking for a refund, but if she is actually the same size as the GW Cauldron of Blood Witch Elf (which it looks like they might be? IIRC newer Elves are quite tall) I don't think you'd have much of a leg to stand on.
Spoiler:
Based on the picture in page 65, the scale comparison is accurate
The Witch Elves released at the end of 8th were huge compared to the previous metal models. They look to have been designed with 32mm rounds in mind. I would not blame Shieldwolf for this. They based the size off of the latest female models GW released. They just happen to be models suffering from scale creep.
Yes to be honest looking at the newer female elves they are taller than older ones, plus the shadowed cauldron of blood elf is taller by the looks of things compared too the older metal version.
I guess I will just have to try and sell mine as they will look odd against the older models I was hoping to use them with.
lone dirty dog wrote: Yes to be honest looking at the newer female elves they are taller than older ones, plus the shadowed cauldron of blood elf is taller by the looks of things compared too the older metal version.
I guess I will just have to try and sell mine as they will look odd against the older models I was hoping to use them with.
The size (in terms of height and proportions) seems perfect to me, they'll fit really well on the sorts of battlefields I might use them on.
The range of weapons is good, although it would have been nice to see some 2H options or some off-hand options besides the shields - mostly for the sake of the rangers, who I think would look good with a dagger or handaxe. Having said that, at least it seems like all the left arms feature a fist holding a handle so theres potential for minor conversion there - which is nice.
The only trouble is that I was going to use these in place of 20mm square infantry and clearly they're not gonna fit in that small. All good - we can adapt.
I am actually glad they are this way. They're actually proportionally correct, or at least a lot more correct than the majority of human scaled miniatures you see on the market with massive hands, missing stomachs, stumpy legs and huge heads.
Now I need Mantic to make a Northern Barbarian force so I can shoe-horn these into a game system
Fenriswulf wrote: Now I need Mantic to make a Northern Barbarian force so I can shoe-horn these into a game system
Agree. I would personally have prefered them being a bit smaller,(but retaining the same proportions), so they'd scaled better with historical 28mm's. But if they're not mixed together in the same unit, the maidens will hardly look more off than having say units unit of GW men-at arms /statetroops and Fireforge or Perry infantry in the same army,
Fenriswulf wrote: Now I need Mantic to make a Northern Barbarian force so I can shoe-horn these into a game system
They'd work well as Varangur wouldn't they? Until the Northern alliance list is released, which should be a dead ringer for use with these models.
I think they would make excellent Varangur, it's what I had planned for them! Only issue is fitting on bases as a large part of the list is on 20mm, but multibasing can really help with that.
Micky wrote: The size (in terms of height and proportions) seems perfect to me, they'll fit really well on the sorts of battlefields I might use them on.
The range of weapons is good, although it would have been nice to see some 2H options or some off-hand options besides the shields - mostly for the sake of the rangers, who I think would look good with a dagger or handaxe. Having said that, at least it seems like all the left arms feature a fist holding a handle so theres potential for minor conversion there - which is nice.
The only trouble is that I was going to use these in place of 20mm square infantry and clearly they're not gonna fit in that small. All good - we can adapt.
Judging from the pictures, I think that a 20mm square base would be an option.
RiTides wrote: I think they would make excellent Varangur, it's what I had planned for them! Only issue is fitting on bases as a large part of the list is on 20mm, but multibasing can really help with that.
Yep, they'd proxy well in both aspects. And truly, multibasing is always going to be your friend. You can have fewer models on the multi-base, but still have it as representative of the unit. I love a system where it's easy to just break it down into the correct multi-base size for the units you're looking to represent. I usually go by a 3/5 ratio for them so I have enough space so they don't look crowded, but doesn't look like I skimped on the miniatures either.
And yeah, a Northern Alliance ruleset would be great to have.
Micky wrote: The size (in terms of height and proportions) seems perfect to me, they'll fit really well on the sorts of battlefields I might use them on.
We use the same scale as the one the largest company of our sector is lately using, our supporters think it's the best size to use for their existing armies.
The range of weapons is good, although it would have been nice to see some 2H options or some off-hand options besides the shields - mostly for the sake of the rangers, who I think would look good with a dagger or handaxe. Having said that, at least it seems like all the left arms feature a fist holding a handle so theres potential for minor conversion there - which is nice.
Well, we have to stick with our fluff, each unit has to keep their own characteristics.
-The Shieldmaidens bear chainmail and are the slightly disciplined part of the army, they have shields to better stand their ground.
-The Warmaidens bear no armor but use instead dual weaponry to spread more death.
-The Dragonbreds bear plate armor, are the most disciplned part and mainly use two-handed weaponry as they are the heavy hitters (although we have designed SGs to supply them with 2nd hand also).
So, the 2nd hand weapons were the ones destined for the Warmaidens which have been designed to be interchangable with the Shieldmaiden kit. Unfortunately they weren't unlocked during the project so you can't use them to switch/convert (you wouldn't have needed to buy any as we were offering 2 boxes of them for free to all gold level pledges). So I guess if you want dual weaponry for the Shieldmaidens you'll either have to wait for the Warmaidens and use stuff from their sprues or have to do some conversions
The only trouble is that I was going to use these in place of 20mm square infantry and clearly they're not gonna fit in that small. All good - we can adapt.
Incorrect. They do fit on 20mm square bases but they are more problematic to rank compared to our 25mm ones.
Hi everyone, a small heads up!
The delay of the Shieldmaiden KS totaled the 100 days in the end (which was our worst ase scenario due to the various unforeseen bumps we encountered during fulfillment), but we are happy to announce that shipping the rewards has commenced and the first parcels left our HQ today. Most parcels will ship early next week and the final batch will not exceed April 20th.
My shipment arrived a few days ago. Quality looks ace.
Lots of extra heads as well and I really like the look of them, Even if some of the ladies perhaps sport a bit too ostentatious hair-do's I can see people getting a sprue or two just for the heads.
Here's some mock-ups I've done to check if they're suitable to feminize some other models:
The GW bodies are a bit too large (though workable, at least the state troops one) but it's a perfect match for the Fireforge and Mantic model. Great resource to sprinkle out here and there for anyone who wants to pot a little femenine spice in their units. I could see them being popular in the inquisimunda, INQ28mm etc. communites as well.
Okay, so my stuff arrived this morning - wow, that was fast!
But I'm REALLY confused by what I got/should have gotten. I forgot which army I wanted, but the assortment of stuff I got doesn't seem to make much sense.
Is there any way to check what I should have gotten? It seems I might have too much of some? (Possibly too little of something else, like I said, I have no clue ...)
as the company that did the PM for this campaign shut down so none of the info is available online, and they didn't give a list when you completed it just the total
(I know as I had to check what i'd ordered with shieldwolf when I was paying the P&P as I couldn't find any of the info in my emails)
I'll see - the system I wanted them for is dead anyway, so not sure I can be bothered.
For smaller skirmish stuff I have enough either way, so not sure it's worth the energy to persue this.
Got my parcel through this morning. Very nice indeed overall!
The resin bears are particularly excellent.
As expected the weapons on the hero characters are GW-style oversized silliness but there are plenty of more sensible options on the plastic sprues, so I will be doing some easy converting there.
Mutter wrote: Okay, so my stuff arrived this morning - wow, that was fast!
But I'm REALLY confused by what I got/should have gotten. I forgot which army I wanted, but the assortment of stuff I got doesn't seem to make much sense.
Is there any way to check what I should have gotten? It seems I might have too much of some? (Possibly too little of something else, like I said, I have no clue ...)
Got mine a couple hours ago... and to be honest, I'm on the same boat. I'm not sure how many sprues of shieldmaidens should I have gotten, nor how many characters (I got seven).
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Hi everyone, a small heads up!
The delay of the Shieldmaiden KS totaled the 100 days in the end (which was our worst ase scenario due to the various unforeseen bumps we encountered during fulfillment), but we are happy to announce that shipping the rewards has commenced and the first parcels left our HQ today. Most parcels will ship early next week and the final batch will not exceed April 20th.
We thank you once again for your support.
I'm sure your backers appreciate the hard work and the honesty unlike with companies like Palladium and Prodos. I can't wait to see what folks do with the figs.
The shieldmaiden kit itself has two sprue types (one has a banner, the other doesn't) and each pair will make 10 shield maidens or rangers depending on how you assemble them
and finally everybody should get a free shield maiden sprue as we hit the 500 backer stretch goal (not sure if this was a random one of the two types since we ended up with two different ones, or one of each)
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Hi everyone, a small heads up!
The delay of the Shieldmaiden KS totaled the 100 days in the end (which was our worst ase scenario due to the various unforeseen bumps we encountered during fulfillment), but we are happy to announce that shipping the rewards has commenced and the first parcels left our HQ today. Most parcels will ship early next week and the final batch will not exceed April 20th.
We thank you once again for your support.
I'm sure your backers appreciate the hard work and the honesty unlike with companies like Palladium and Prodos. I can't wait to see what folks do with the figs.
Absolutely. Communication has been in general top notch, particularly regarding production timelines, and where were we exactly on the process.
As to the actual minis, they are top notch (and a boatload of them). My only two gripes about the minis (other than what originally commented about the design decisions, which don't merit repetition here) are these:
- There are a very small amount of close combat weapons, and particularly of the more "sensible" variations of those. There's only CC weapons on one of the sprues, a grand total of 8 for every two sprues (which pack 10 bodies, mind), and out of those, one is a FFVII-type megasword, another is some sort of flail with a weird hook at the end of the handle, and another seems to be Conan's sword. The rest are two axes that seem to fit the minis pretty well, and two swords with a design that seems... to be for another minis (I would expect something more like the sword from the standard bearer, for example, for this "totally not fantasy vikings" minis). You know, more like this:
...less like this:
...would have been my expectation. I expected to see some weird weapons (Conan's sword and the flail were already in the renders, after all). It's just that... well, I also expected "normal" ones, you know.
- Not a single spear in the sprues. Not. A. Single. One. Like these:
I was expecting at least one of these, because, again, in the renders.
I suppose I'll be needing to look up some stuff for conversions, but the general impressios are very positive on the whole.
Lack of spears is a real downer. It's relatively easy to switch weapons with spare spears from other kits, but there's not a lot of close combat arms to begin with so that's a problem.
It's especially weird considering the valkyrie-esque aestetic of these fantasy-viking-ladies. Spears being the iconic valkyrie weapon in art and lore.
I disagree about their communication, at least sometimes - there is a lot, but I feel it is often inaccurate. I know it is not due to bad intentions, but it's clear the person communicating usually is not the one making decisions, and this results in misinterpreted feedback and confusing interactions at times.
The spears are an example - it was probably communicated at some point that there wouldn't be spears after all, but obviously not everyone knew that, including myself - but there are many others that made me realize that giving feedback wasn't really accomplishing anything.
I don't mean this overly negatively, but if there's one thing Shieldwolf could do to improve for next time, I think it would be to actually communicate less, but with more accurate information when they do. Just my opinion, of course!
RiTides wrote:That is impressive, thanks for the pics!
But now you've sill got 119 or whatever to go
Heh, don't I know it ^_^. By the way, with the sprues on hand I can confirm that you won't need no conversion whatsoever to use all the bodies. Just some capes, if anything.
I've just assembled a mini with some of the most "outlandish" stuff (bare midriff, blown hair, Conan's sword):
It does look pretty great, TBH.
...it is kind of gigantic, though ^^
These are some great looking pics and the miniature looks beautifully crafted. I like the end result. Very dynamic!
Thanks! I was worried that I couldn't twist the torso, but with the head and arms positioning you can approximate some stuff.
Oh, a heads up: I cut part of the head's neck for this mini, as it looks a tad too long.
That might just be me being accostumed to GW and their "no neck" minis, of course
RiTides wrote: I disagree about their communication, at least sometimes - there is a lot, but I feel it is often inaccurate. I know it is not due to bad intentions, but it's clear the person communicating usually is not the one making decisions, and this results in misinterpreted feedback and confusing interactions at times.
The spears are an example - it was probably communicated at some point that there wouldn't be spears after all, but obviously not everyone knew that, including myself - but there are many others that made me realize that giving feedback wasn't really accomplishing anything.
I don't mean this overly negatively, but if there's one thing Shieldwolf could do to improve for next time, I think it would be to actually communicate less, but with more accurate information when they do. Just my opinion, of course!
Thinking about this, I must agree with RTides, here. I ended up giving up on feedback because it became clear that they had their vision and they were not willing to diverge a lot from it. Or a little, really. So...
Would have been nice of them to put those up on the KS page.
So, I ordered a Starter Army II of Shieldmaidens (4 boxes, 4 resin characters plus the unlocks).
What I've got is seven resin characters (I think that's correct), 9 copies of the main sprue and 11 of the command sprue. Anyone knows if that's what I should have gotten? I sincerely have no idea whatsoever... I just can't see how that would be divided for four boxes
you got 3 additional resin characters as unlocks so that's right
you also got a free shieldmaiden sprue as the campaign had more than 500 backers (not sure if this was one or both of the sprues as the goal was set when there was only 1 type on offer)
Army 2 came with 80 shield maidens (8 main and 8 command sprues)
so you've got slightly more shieldmaiden sprues than you should have which seems to be the case for a fair few folk (I have a vague memory of them saying the packages might contain a bonus ?)
Yes mine turned up and I have to say I was pissed to find no spear arms, I mean they were previewed from the start and was the only reason I wanted them.
That was my hole thing the mammoth with Howdah and a spear attacking female warband, I mean what use are swords on an attack mammoth ?
Well I have to say this has left a bitter taste and has put me off future backing of any more KS, now the hassle of selling or trying to find conversion parts to use them.
I will say I like the resin miniatures though they turned out better than I hoped, not a fan of the sorcerer as I don't find she fit the theme compared to the rest.
overtyrant wrote: Anyone have an idea of what to use these ladies as in AoS? I'm thinking marauders but not sure what to proxie the bears and dragon as.
Right now, the ones I'll be doing will be for Conan, either boardgame or RPG.
lone dirty dog wrote: Yes mine turned up and I have to say I was pissed to find no spear arms, I mean they were previewed from the start and was the only reason I wanted them.
That was my hole thing the mammoth with Howdah and a spear attacking female warband, I mean what use are swords on an attack mammoth ?
Not defending the decision to not include spears, but at least it should be pretty easy to cut off the hands of the close combat arms (some even come with loose hands already) and replace them with spear holding hands cut from other kits.
A box of infantry from Perry, Fireforge, Gripping beast etc, gives you plenty of spare spears if you use other options, so it's reasonably easy to find someone who'll part with their spares if you have no use for such a box yourself.
lone dirty dog wrote: Yes mine turned up and I have to say I was pissed to find no spear arms, I mean they were previewed from the start and was the only reason I wanted them.
That was my hole thing the mammoth with Howdah and a spear attacking female warband, I mean what use are swords on an attack mammoth ?
Not defending the decision to not include spears, but at least it should be pretty easy to cut off the hands of the close combat arms (some even come with loose hands already) and replace them with spear holding hands cut from other kits.
A box of infantry from Perry, Fireforge, Gripping beast etc, gives you plenty of spare spears if you use other options, so it's reasonably easy to find someone who'll part with their spares if you have no use for such a box yourself.
You can also buy packs of 24 spears from Fireforge with the choice of getting them in lengths of 4cm, 5cm and 6cm. I'm strongly considering ordering a batch once my KS package arrives today and I can judge the scale of the minis in person.
I'm also hopeful that they fit in well with CMoN's Zombicide BP because that should mean that they'll fit in with the Massive Darkness troglodyte box set which I was hoping to pair with my KS pledge to make a quick KoW army.
Should be plenty of Warhammer bits out there to pillage, especially from Empire and Chaos armies.
I know I'll be dipping in to the Wrathmonger/ Skullreaper bits as always.
I may try some of the spears I have from some Gripping Beast kits, but those spears might be a little on the short side for these ladies. Javelins maybe?
BobtheInquisitor wrote: And people thought I was crazy to buy 40 sprues' worth of Mantic Men at Arms weapons.
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day. Unless you're FutureBob and you knew this was going to happen and came back in time to capitalize on it without warning the rest of the community so as not to disrupt the timeline too much.
Sucks about the spears.. but if I'm honest, I hate plastic spears and would likely have drilled out the handles and put in brass rod. Mine are supposed to turn up today.. hopefully I did not miss that delivery while I was at the pool.
Cool, thank you for the pictures Smokestack! They look like they scale pretty well with the gw khorne guys.
DHL said my shipment was supposed to get here today, but it is 8 pm and it hasn't shown up. When I check their tracking website the last listed event is listed as getting held up by customs, so I suspect that I won't be seeing them for a couple days yet at the earliest.
Gallahad wrote: Cool, thank you for the pictures Smokestack! They look like they scale pretty well with the gw khorne guys.
DHL said my shipment was supposed to get here today, but it is 8 pm and it hasn't shown up. When I check their tracking website the last listed event is listed as getting held up by customs, so I suspect that I won't be seeing them for a couple days yet at the earliest.
I can't say I'm especially happy with DHL. They said my stuff was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but they never did. My package cleared customs in the morning, then just sat in Los Angeles all day. They only just updated that the package was at the local sorting center this morning.
Azazelx wrote: Also, we never did get proper "nice" shots of the sprues in the end, did we?
There's pics of the sprues on the pre-order page.
Thank you for the pics. No excuses for SW not putting them in an update for backers, though.
Anyone else still waiting on Shipping Numbers? I'm concerned that I haven't heard a thing and they've all taken off for the rest of the month...
Considering how many people are hearing something but it's turning out to be inaccurate I don't know that I'd be worried just yet. My notification came via text number to the number i provided via.. uh.. actually I am not sure how they got my cell number but that's how I got it..
Yep, my notice with tracking came via text. Be aware, they're apparently going to send a second notice once your package goes out for delivery, too. I just got a second text notifying me.
Azazelx wrote: Also, we never did get proper "nice" shots of the sprues in the end, did we?
There's pics of the sprues on the pre-order page.
Thank you for the pics. No excuses for SW not putting them in an update for backers, though.
Anyone else still waiting on Shipping Numbers? I'm concerned that I haven't heard a thing and they've all taken off for the rest of the month...
Considering how many people are hearing something but it's turning out to be inaccurate I don't know that I'd be worried just yet. My notification came via text number to the number i provided via.. uh.. actually I am not sure how they got my cell number but that's how I got it..
Usually when I have a FedEx or DHL package coming, I get an email from them. It's not like a couple of hundred packages from one company in Greece (or wherever) is going to overload their logistics operation. It'd barely be a blip on their radar.
So mine arrived. No issues with DHL. Delivery was to Australia.
The heroes are really nice. I think they did a great job with them.
The plastics are meh. Too large, not enough variety of weapons, long necks and static poses. I don't feel they lived up to the promise of the initial renders.
The wolves are just terrible. The heads are enormous and don't fit the bodies without a load of green stuff work. They also have really derpy smiling faces and don't look in the least intimidating.
Wolves are going in the bin and I'm already making arrangements for the plastics and heroes to be resold.
Also, for some reason I was expecting the models to be boxed rather than a pile of sprues. I'm sure that was discussed at some point.
That was at least disclosed in the comments as i asked about boxes and was told by Angelos that we wasnt getting them, as the art work wouldnt be completed for a while and he didnt want to hold up the KS fulfilment any longer as it was already a few months late, but i cant remember if it was in any update.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
this is a link to the pledge levels with what you should have got (dakka doesn't want to display it)
The shieldmaiden kit itself has two sprue types (one has a banner, the other doesn't) and each pair will make 10 shield maidens or rangers depending on how you assemble them
and finally everybody should get a free shield maiden sprue as we hit the 500 backer stretch goal (not sure if this was a random one of the two types since we ended up with two different ones, or one of each)
Good info but you might want to update it with the correct sprue ratio of 3 command sprues and 2 troop sprues per box of 20, check their website
I think the free sprue was supposed to be a command one as i also asked in the comments but it does seem to be a bit random, myself and another mate got a troop sprue and another 2 i know got a command sprue.
Im a bit miffed by some of the shipping mistakes, like the missing dragon riders or other minis, seems quite widespread, i dont know if they took on any new help for fulfilment!
On a note of shipping mistakes. Stretch goals were supposed to be 1 per gold level. Multiple gold levels got the stretch goals twice or whatever number of gold levels you got.
I had 2 gold levels but only got one set of stretch goals. I doubt I am gonna ask as I don't really need the duplicates...
Azazelx wrote:
Also, for some reason I was expecting the models to be boxed rather than a pile of sprues. I'm sure that was discussed at some point.
That was at least disclosed in the comments as i asked about boxes and was told by Angelos that we wasnt getting them, as the art work wouldnt be completed for a while and he didnt want to hold up the KS fulfilment any longer as it was already a few months late, but i cant remember if it was in any update.
Tom aka "Original Timmy" Superbacker about 16 hours ago
@All, Rendera had the 'Madians and Orc boxsets for sale at Salute yesterday and when i walked by their stand again at end of the day it looked liked they sold nearly all of them, so thats a good sign for the future of the 'Maidens, im not sure if they did but they should have put a leaflet for the upcoming KS!
Honestly, that's the sort of thing that needs to be told to backers via a Kickstatrer update. Saying something in the comments to a limited audience simply isn't good enough, especially for a company that appears to pride itself on quality communication. Likewise with the sprue pics. The spears issue is even worse, with so many in the renders, along with left-handed weapons. Also interesting that they only just went out yet there were boxed sets (with boxes) available at Salute only days later. Doesn't seem like it would have exactly held up the KS fulfilment all that much. Sounds like pinching a few pennies to me. Disappointed on several levels there.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
this is a link to the pledge levels with what you should have got (dakka doesn't want to display it)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139394575@N08/24344847864/in/dateposted-public/ backers at gold level also got 3 additional minis as free stretch goals you can see them at 35, 40 and 50K on this link (again dakka won't show it)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139394575@N08/25076923280/in/dateposted-public/ The shieldmaiden kit itself has two sprue types (one has a banner, the other doesn't) and each pair will make 10 shield maidens or rangers depending on how you assemble them
and finally everybody should get a free shield maiden sprue as we hit the 500 backer stretch goal (not sure if this was a random one of the two types since we ended up with two different ones, or one of each)
Good info but you might want to update it with the correct sprue ratio of 3 command sprues and 2 troop sprues per box of 20, check their website I think the free sprue was supposed to be a command one as i also asked in the comments but it does seem to be a bit random, myself and another mate got a troop sprue and another 2 i know got a command sprue.
Im a bit miffed by some of the shipping mistakes, like the missing dragon riders or other minis, seems quite widespread, i dont know if they took on any new help for fulfilment!
Smokestack wrote: On a note of shipping mistakes. Stretch goals were supposed to be 1 per gold level. Multiple gold levels got the stretch goals twice or whatever number of gold levels you got.
I had 2 gold levels but only got one set of stretch goals. I doubt I am gonna ask as I don't really need the duplicates...
Nothing gives me as much pleasure as knowing that I'll be needing to go through a painful inventory management for a kickstarter. Sprue counting working out how many I should have for each pledge and making sure I receive the proper amount of stretch goal models in the correct multiples. Not that I need to worry about any of that though, as I have no tracking number and I've got a feeling that my pledge might well be one that slipped between the cracks, but of course there's no way to find out anything there for at least another week since they're all on holiday.
Orcs are great -- I believe they've been around for a while though, so no great news there.
I made one Shieldmaiden and I like her a lot too. Bit disappointed with hand/arm/weapon options. On multipart sprues this is usually where you get plenty of options, and that's just not the case here. I'd have quite liked some bows along with the crossbows, for example, and definitely more axes, and obviously some spears... Plus we just have way, way too many banners and horns.
The bears have lovely detail and an impressive size (bigger and, I think, better than the Mierce dude's polar bear). However, the icicle spikes on their forepaws are not really optional, as was claimed by SW. Yes, you could leave them out, but you would be left with four large holes on each bear! I may leave them out anyway, and just use GS to make some extra armour sections to cover the holes, but I really shouldn't have to.
More importantly, for me, two of the three bears in my pack are essentially miscasts. Their molds must have been severely misaligned, by a millimeter or two in each case, so that to get rid of the mold lines I would also have to do a significant amount of fur resculpting. I've emailed Shieldwolf, last Wednesday, but haven't heard anything back from them yet. Ideally I would like replacements or a refund, as I don't think those two bears are fit for purpose.
I think whenever and whichever group of figures they come back to Kickstarter with in the future, the first stretch goal really should be to fund some sort of weapon/ accessory sprue.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: I think whenever and whichever group of figures they come back to Kickstarter with in the future, the first stretch goal really should be to fund some sort of weapon/ accessory sprue.
Aye that would be good as well as spears, more axes and swords are needed imo, in hindsight perhaps going duel kit wasnt the best idea,, like someone else here mentioned, why need 3 banners,horns and champion bits for a 20 "man" box, i was always miffed by that choice!
Hopefully they come back from vacation and are ready to hit the customer service issues.. I mean.. they are planning on another Kickstarter.. so how delivery and QA issues are handled on this is definitely going to be influencing people's decisions to back any future outings.. at least for me.
Did they ask us what kind of bases we wanted? Was there a choice? I got squares, but I could have sworn there was an option for rounds as I certainly would have taken them.
Overall I'm pleased with what I got, as they seem to scale well with the current Sigmar stuff.
My only hope is next time around we see dedicated sprues as opposed to dual kits. While having both choices of troop types is cool, I think it limits the variety of both.
The new wolf armored ladies should hopefully have lots of weapon options, and maybe a few more non wavy hair head choices!
Wait, no spears I didn't even open my parcel yet, I have to admit. Pretty weird to leave out spears after all the talk of not being abe to change issue X because it was in the art or render and they couldn't do that to backers who wanted what was shown
Ah well, now I have four sets of them, anyway, if someone wants half of that...that was always the plan, though.
Smokestack over on the Reaper forum has converted some as spear carriers with Wargames Factory Samurai Arms and Wargames factory amazon spears which look good
I really like the way those arms match. Good conversions. Sadly, using WGF amazons, while fine, just isn't a patch on what you can achieve with an RB01 sprue and one Action Comics #1 per mini.
Anyway, while the limited arms options are disheartening, the minis look good and should mix well with parts from many ranges. The cloaks will end up on a number of my conversions, and the shields are just too awesome not t use on some boring ol' historical dudes. Some of the arms and weapons would look good on KDM minis, or vice versa, so that will keep me interested. Sadly, my package came in a padded envelope and a few of the noses were smooshed. I suppose broken noses lend an air of authenticity to the warrior women (the minis, not the book by Maxine Hong), so I won't pursue replacements but will request another layer of padding on my next shipment. I plan to pledge for the next plastic kit Shieldwolf make.
Binabik15 wrote: Wait, no spears I didn't even open my parcel yet, I have to admit. Pretty weird to leave out spears after all the talk of not being abe to change issue X because it was in the art or render and they couldn't do that to backers who wanted what was shown
Exactly! They can't have it both ways...
Those spear conversions do look nice, thanks for the pic Orlando!
Those look excellent Zywus, I wish I hadn't given my DE stuff away now.
I haven't seen an unboxing here yet so thought I would take some pics and relate my thoughts, spoilered for many images.
Spoiler:
So, I pledged for the 'Boxed Set' early bird ($95US). The box arrived and here is a picture of the box;
Front and reverse of the pamphlet;
Some of the heroes came in blister packs and some loose in bags;
Holy flash, these are the models that came in bags;
Those in blisters look a lot better (except the banner);
The pledge level included 40 each of Maidens and Mountain Orcs in HIPS (pics shown for completeness);
Finally are some pics of size comparisons;
So that's the pretty pics done now on to my thoughts overall.
Spoiler:
How the campaign was run Overall I was pretty impressed with how ShieldWolf ran the campaign; their interaction with backers was good and their updates regular and informative, I was never in doubt as to what was going on. I have seen quite a few comments about the lack of spears on the SM sprues and whilst this didn't come as a surprise to me if someone was not reading the comments closely then I can imagine it being a shock (perhaps the decision to drop them completely should have been announced in an update).
Communication As said above; both during and after the campaign I felt that Shieldwolf's communication and engagement with backers was good furthermore when I dealt with the company on an individual basis their communication was timely, polite and informative.
Packaging This a major negative point for me, the box arrived with no protection at all. The sprues were not boxed, bound together or in any way padded and I am surprised that everything was not smashed to bits (there were only two broken pieces from twenty odd sprues).
The models The models, both resin and plastic, are of very good quality. There is a lot of flash on the kickstarter resin but this is acceptable. The resin itself is firm with out being brittle and holds detail very well. Whilst they are very well produced I do have several issues with the SM models, firstly the scale. They were described consistently as being 28mm and the resin models are, whilst the plastics are more like 32mm. I have seen SW comment that the plastics were intentionally designed to this size which then begs the question as to why the resins are not in the same scale. I find this very disappointing.
Secondly the lack of options in weaponry, there are only six non command hand weapons on each pair of sprues (10 models) and none of them are for off hand weapons.
Thirdly for the resin heroes and some of the Orcs options I find the weapons to be ridiculously massive and out of all proportion.
Conclusion Overall I am very happy with what I received and how Shieldwolf ran the campaign, the price was good and the quality exceeds what many other companies can produce. However as things stand I will not be backing their next campaign as I find Shieldwolf's lack of consistency with scaling to be a major issue. I very much fear that the Sci-fi models they produce will be totally out of scale with their (obvious) target. Whilst saying that though I will dive headfirst into the Goblin kickstarter and spent way more than I can afford as I really love all the Orc stuff that I received.
Binabik15 wrote: Wait, no spears I didn't even open my parcel yet, I have to admit. Pretty weird to leave out spears after all the talk of not being abe to change issue X because it was in the art or render and they couldn't do that to backers who wanted what was shown
Exactly! They can't have it both ways...
Those spear conversions do look nice, thanks for the pic Orlando!
Unfortunately, they do have it both ways. The lack of spears sucks. I'm hoping something from my bits box will fill the gap.
There is also the added problem of more than half of the command sprue being just exactly the same as the regular one... seriously people, if you pay for multiple sprue machining, try to use it better!
I had some DHL delivery issues (my package was delivered two streets away from my home) but as of saturday afternoon I have a ton of stuff, including 29 sprues and a big pile of resin bits. I also ordered a pack of 5cm Fireforge Spears which should get here in the next day or two, so will report on the scale when they show up.
I see a lot of comments so I will quickly address some of them and then return to answer any questions people might still have. :-)
MLaw wrote:Hopefully they come back from vacation and are ready to hit the customer service issues.. I mean.. they are planning on another Kickstarter.. so how delivery and QA issues are handled on this is definitely going to be influencing people's decisions to back any future outings.. at least for me.
Yes, we have received multiple messages, I haven't yet gone though all of them but I see many simply to say good things about us (we appreciate the time to write these as they mean a lot to us). We intend to go through and reply to each and everyone of them in the following days.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:No choice on bases as far as I know (i'd have gone for rounds if the option was there)
Indeed we only had square bases as an option. Choice between squares and rounds are going to be given in the following KS however as you've probably seen by now the company's decision to enter the Sci-fi area. It seems both variants but especially the Wolf Wardens sparked huge interest. More on this once we publish our next newsletter later this month.
Binabik15 wrote:Wait, no spears I didn't even open my parcel yet, I have to admit. Pretty weird to leave out spears after all the talk of not being abe to change issue X because it was in the art or render and they couldn't do that to backers who wanted what was shown Ah well, now I have four sets of them, anyway, if someone wants half of that...that was always the plan, though.
Yes, final weaponry had not been decided and we were commenting on the spears (we were talking about it in the comment section in the following months but even while the campaign was live as it is clearly mentioned in update #13, perhaps elsewhere but I haven't gone through all of them obviously). The idea was to "break" the banner in two providing one spear and then add another 1-2 spears, but not only was that not doable the way we had designed it but we put in effort and time which showed up nowhere so I'll take advantage of this comment to point it out (as often a lot of hard work going on behind the curtains doesn't show up). Adding a single spear was doable (if you notice that's why the "nude midriff" bodies you see where tooled vertically and not horizzontally like the rest) but it still would be insufficient as even people with 4(!) boxes would have not had enough to make up even a single regiment of 20 strong.
It was an error not changing the main render perhaps, then again some people might not have liked the substitution after the campaign ended? I don't know, food for the mind I guess, we appreciate the feedback as it can only help us do even better next time! :-)
Albertorius wrote:There is also the added problem of more than half of the command sprue being just exactly the same as the regular one... seriously people, if you pay for multiple sprue machining, try to use it better!
Well, we always had the choice to tool an additional "half sprue" but we opted for full sprues by duplicating part of the sprue in order to supply our backers with even more bits. It never crossed our minds that would be cause for complaints but we still regard the vast majority appreciate the additional bits we provided.
Once again, we thank everyone for their support, it allowed a very unique army to be created and it would have never happened without your help.
I hope to get some modeling done this week. I will try KDM arms, Mantic Succubi and Naiad arms, some Fireforge stuff, and maybe some Dreamforge arms, although they look a bit thick. WGF hoplites and Amazon arms are definitely too small, but the pictures earlier with the samurai arms look good, so I might try some later WGF arms, such as from the survivor kits.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I hope to get some modeling done this week. I will try KDM arms, Mantic Succubi and Naiad arms, some Fireforge stuff, and maybe some Dreamforge arms, although they look a bit thick. WGF hoplites and Amazon arms are definitely too small, but the pictures earlier with the samurai arms look good, so I might try some later WGF arms, such as from the survivor kits.
Oh man.. if the survivor arms fit, that would be epic. I got the old boxes with loads of the survivors.. so arms for days in that instance!
I've got some old school Dark Eldar arms and I think some High Elf arms somewhere I can try as well. I might dry fit some Anvil Industries and Mad Robot arms just to see.. if I still have any Victoria Miniatures arms I can try those too but I may have used them all.
Statuesque heads are seeming more and more appealing though.. The more I look at the ones from the sprue the less I like the sculpts.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I hope to get some modeling done this week. I will try KDM arms, Mantic Succubi and Naiad arms, some Fireforge stuff, and maybe some Dreamforge arms, although they look a bit thick. WGF hoplites and Amazon arms are definitely too small, but the pictures earlier with the samurai arms look good, so I might try some later WGF arms, such as from the survivor kits.
Well, my sister in law is coming out for a surprise visit, so maybe next week. Maybe I can just sneak some modeling in the bathroom if the fan is going loud enough...
Albertorius wrote:There is also the added problem of more than half of the command sprue being just exactly the same as the regular one... seriously people, if you pay for multiple sprue machining, try to use it better!
Well, we always had the choice to tool an additional "half sprue" but we opted for full sprues by duplicating part of the sprue in order to supply our backers with even more bits. It never crossed our minds that would be cause for complaints but we still regard the vast majority appreciate the additional bits we provided.
Once again, we thank everyone for their support, it allowed a very unique army to be created and it would have never happened without your help.
That's not a "complaint", it's feedback / constructive criticism! He wasn't suggesting you tool only a half sprue instead of a whole sprue - he was saying if you're paying the tooling cost for that whole second sprue, more value is gained (for both the company and the consumer) by not duplicating half of the original sprue.
This is what I've been talking about - people taking the time to give you detailed feedback like this are doing so to help, and honestly are better than I am in this regard as I gave up on getting through during the goblins campaign (which I still love, by the way!).
But the misunderstanding of saying "We could have just given you half of a sprue" rather than "This is why we chose not to have new armaments included on that duplicate half sprue" (including, notably, the many spears that would have fit) epitomizes my frustration in trying to communicate about your projects.
Keep up the good fight, those of you willing to persevere . But the final product would be so much better, and the process and expectations clearer, if you guys could take constructive feedback more seriously and not just gloss over it, and at worst misunderstand it and implement it incorrectly, as illustrated above.
I won't keep bringing this up - hopefully this post came across is as I really did intend it, one last try at showing what I'm trying to communicate to you guys, Not as a "hate" post. You guys are awesome, your product is awesome, if you could just adjust this you'd have the trifecta!
Keep up the good fight, those of you willing to persevere . But the final product would be so much better, and the process and expectations clearer, if you guys could take constructive feedback more seriously and not just gloss over it, and at worst misunderstand it and implement it incorrectly, as illustrated above.
EXACTLY.
Everyone commenting here wants to see you guys take your stuff from good to great, and from great to AMAZING.
I think a big bonus is that whichever female army (all of them?) you guys decide to fund next, it would be GREAT to see some cross compatibility with the current Shiledmaiden parts.
That would be a big win for everyone- more parts, more options, more everything!
Albertorius wrote:There is also the added problem of more than half of the command sprue being just exactly the same as the regular one... seriously people, if you pay for multiple sprue machining, try to use it better!
Well, we always had the choice to tool an additional "half sprue" but we opted for full sprues by duplicating part of the sprue in order to supply our backers with even more bits. It never crossed our minds that would be cause for complaints but we still regard the vast majority appreciate the additional bits we provided.
Once again, we thank everyone for their support, it allowed a very unique army to be created and it would have never happened without your help.
That's not a "complaint", it's feedback / constructive criticism! He wasn't suggesting you tool only a half sprue instead of a whole sprue - he was saying if you're paying the tooling cost for that whole second sprue, more value is gained (for both the company and the consumer) by not duplicating half of the original sprue.
This is what I've been talking about - people taking the time to give you detailed feedback like this are doing so to help, and honestly are better than I am in this regard as I gave up on getting through during the goblins campaign (which I still love, by the way!).
But the misunderstanding of saying "We could have just given you half of a sprue" rather than "This is why we chose not to have new armaments included on that duplicate half sprue" (including, notably, the many spears that would have fit) epitomizes my frustration in trying to communicate about your projects.
Keep up the good fight, those of you willing to persevere . But the final product would be so much better, and the process and expectations clearer, if you guys could take constructive feedback more seriously and not just gloss over it, and at worst misunderstand it and implement it incorrectly, as illustrated above.
I won't keep bringing this up - hopefully this post came across is as I really did intend it, one last try at showing what I'm trying to communicate to you guys, Not as a "hate" post. You guys are awesome, your product is awesome, if you could just adjust this you'd have the trifecta!
I was just chatting with another Dakkite about this.. to me their response was basically a middle finger. This is the only time I ever buy from these guys. I like some of the things in their store but just like Hasslefree.. they aren't so good on the feedback side and moreover take swipes at customers.. so.. they are a hard pass for me from here out.
@MLaw
Just like all criticism we are not going to leave this unresponded, we are open to criticism and we do take feedback. Taking in feedback is evidently not received/(perceived/whatever the correct word in English is) likewise just because we don't end up doing exactly what some people ask.
I am more than willing to openly debate this, we have always been respectful and if not I apologize but saying we are "giving the middle finger" to the very people who helped us fund this is the last thing we would ever do to anyone interacting with us, let alone to our supporters. Without you guys this wouldn't have happened.
You are more than free to do as you like and that doesn't diminusih the fact that we still will cherish the fact you supported us in the past, even if you decide not to do so any longer. Just for clearance sake on what @Albertorius said, let it be crystal clear that it would have been cheaper for us to tool a full sprue and then add a half sprue for the Ranger upgrade. We decided we would go the extra mile and cover the costs for full sprues. If that is cause for complaints, then we are sorry you have acknowledged it this way. The general impression is people are pleased at how we handled this and that's the luggage we will carry away with us. Pleasing everyone is never going to happen, we still try our best regardless.
We are taking this feedback and some of it will be implemented in the next project. We also take into consideration that some backers have still not received their pledges. While we are practically ready to launch our follow-up project end of this month, it will not happen as we care first to get everything sorted for you guys. Does this mess our plans? Yes it does, it actually tilts the entire 2017 layout, including the Forest Goblin KS relaunch! Do we care about clearing everything else up first though? Yes we do.
Also, some people asking for more weaponry on the sprues? OK, this kit has the same number of weapons as our Mountain Orcs, we have never received a complaint that the weaponry there was insufficient, it has been like 3 years in the market. Do we plan to take in this feedback and add more weapons in future sprues? Yes, since it is doable and we don't have any objections whatsoever on something like that we will do so next time.
We have already said so in our KS page, I'll write it here again though, the Warmaiden kit had all left arms weaponry made to fit the Shieldmaidens/Rangers, just like the Shieldmaiden kit has the right handed weaponry made to be crosscompatible with the Warmaidens. It's the Dragonbreds' weaponry which has nothing to do with either the Shieldmaidens nor the Warmaidens, theirs is completely different.
I am happy to take this in private if you like but I certainly have no issues to face anything openly and for anyone else to read. Hopefully written text comes across as intended and not sarcastic or anything else. As I said, this is not the type of people we are.
I'm very keen for that next KS, having the second and third kinds of infantry will really go a long way to helping this army cover all the possible bases of equipment and style.
Just don't have "<nation>-friendly shipping" on the campaign if you're not shipping to local distribution hubs. That particular thing (in KS) means backers have no additional import fees or taxes, not that you're simply happy to ship to those countries.
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Just for clearance sake on what @Albertorius said, let it be crystal clear that it would have been cheaper for us to tool a full sprue and then add a half sprue for the Ranger upgrade. We decided we would go the extra mile and cover the costs for full sprues. If that is cause for complaints, then we are sorry you have acknowledged it this way. The general impression is people are pleased at how we handled this and that's the luggage we will carry away with us. Pleasing everyone is never going to happen, we still try our best regardless.
I just wanted to note that you still missed the point of what Albertorious posted, which I tried to explain in my post.
The question was not "Should it be a half sprue?" but rather "Why not include different options if making a full sprue?"
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Just for clearance sake on what @Albertorius said, let it be crystal clear that it would have been cheaper for us to tool a full sprue and then add a half sprue for the Ranger upgrade. We decided we would go the extra mile and cover the costs for full sprues. If that is cause for complaints, then we are sorry you have acknowledged it this way. The general impression is people are pleased at how we handled this and that's the luggage we will carry away with us. Pleasing everyone is never going to happen, we still try our best regardless.
I just wanted to note that you still missed the point of what Albertorius posted, which I tried to explain in my post.
The question was not "Should it be a half sprue?" but rather "Why not include different options if making a full sprue?"
Exactly. We know it would have been cheaper for you to order a half sprue tooling. We know math, and acknowledge that half a sprue has to be cheaper than a full one to tool.
It's just that, if you go the extra mile and splurge for an additional sprue, well... there are better options to fill it than just with more of what you've already paid for tooling, particularly when you're leaving stuff you've modelled out of it (and have a very limited amount of other things, like weapon arms).
Why? Well, because you have already tooled that parts in another sprue. One would think that, if you want to reward backers with additional bodies of the same variants that there already are in the regular sprue, adding an additional sprue or two for backers on each box would probably have been cheaper (once tooled, each "pop" is... well, cheap, way more than the tooling for a half sprue, I'm sure), and we would have gotten exactly the same stuff.
Dunno... it seems pretty easy to understand for me. Am I unsatisfied with what I got? No, I am not. What is there is nice enough. Do I think you've taken the best decisions you could have? No, I don't either. And that's what I'm saying. Being satisfied and thinking that you could have made better choices are not incompatible things.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Also, some people asking for more weaponry on the sprues? OK, this kit has the same number of weapons as our Mountain Orcs, we have never received a complaint that the weaponry there was insufficient, it has been like 3 years in the market. Do we plan to take in this feedback and add more weapons in future sprues? Yes, since it is doable and we don't have any objections whatsoever on something like that we will do so next time.
I'm not familiar with the Mountain Orcs sprue. Does that mean that the total amount of weapons in both are the same? Because as the Shieldmaidens is a "double unit" sprue, the fact is that there would be actually half as many weapons of any given type (rangers and Shieldmaidens) than in the Mountain Orcs' sprue, unless theirs is double duty too.
Azazelx wrote: Just don't have "<nation>-friendly shipping" on the campaign if you're not shipping to local distribution hubs. That particular thing (in KS) means backers have no additional import fees or taxes, not that you're simply happy to ship to those countries.
Well, there's actually a grey color here. It's not black as we had already included shipping in people's pledges, so backers wouldn't have to pay absolutely anything else. It is not white either though as taxes or import fees might have still applied and we had not taken that into consideration.
To avoid any further confusion in the future we will limit in signaling only EU friendly since all rewards get mailed from Athens.
[...]Dunno... it seems pretty easy to understand for me. Am I unsatisfied with what I got? No, I am not. What is there is nice enough. Do I think you've taken the best decisions you could have? No, I don't either. And that's what I'm saying. Being satisfied and thinking that you could have made better choices are not incompatible things.[...]
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: Also, some people asking for more weaponry on the sprues? OK, this kit has the same number of weapons as our Mountain Orcs, we have never received a complaint that the weaponry there was insufficient, it has been like 3 years in the market. Do we plan to take in this feedback and add more weapons in future sprues? Yes, since it is doable and we don't have any objections whatsoever on something like that we will do so next time.
I'm not familiar with the Mountain Orcs sprue. Does that mean that the total amount of weapons in both are the same? Because as the Shieldmaidens is a "double unit" sprue, the fact is that there would be actually half as many weapons of any given type (rangers and Shieldmaidens) than in the Mountain Orcs' sprue, unless theirs is double duty too.
The Mountain Orcs kit has a total of 6 different hand weapons (total 30 per box) and 2 different halberds (total 6 per box). The Shieldmaiden kit had 7 different hand weapons (total 21 per box) and 4 different crossbows (total 20 per box).
A big difference here is that the Orcs carry dual weaponry whilst the maidens are all right handed, therefore the maidens have more weaponry compared to our previous kit.
The above numbers also don't include the champion's/leader's weapon (found twice in the Orc kit and 3 times in the Shieldmaiden kit ) nor the shields for the females (5 different sculpts +1 Champion, for a total of 28 shields per kit).
That's why the additional weaponry for the maidens as it has been infact designed as a dual kit. I wonder if a couple more weapons squeezed e.g. in place of the leader's cloak would have been more welcome and would have helped avoid all this. If yes, then that was a bad call from our side.
I think it's hilarious that you assume that since a kit you sell hasn't received any complaints that it somehow means that you could assume the thing about other armies.
I don't own and never will (intentionally) own your mountain orcs.. so I have no clue what is on those sprues.
What I do know is that these ladies are gigantic. They didn't have spears. They have an abundance of standards (would've made loads more sense to do spears on sprue and standards as a one-off resin bit), the hand weapons that are there are separated in such a way as to be a giant pain in the ass, and the layout of the sprue reflects a lack of understanding of what your competition is able to do with similar amounts of space.
Your response is consistently an arrogant tone in which you clearly think extremely highly of yourselves. We get it. These are not the worst multipart plastics ever created. I'll grant you that. However, the fact that people are already trying to figure out what to use in place of what you provided should tell you something.
I will say this for you.. the hyper-inflated ego has made me respect Mantic a lot more than I previously did.. as I've interacted with various people from there a lot more.. as well as Zealot, Anvil, and even Mad Robot.. who I got in a literal argument with.. and none of them distance themselves from the opinions of their constituents in anything quite like the way you do. You do remind me a bit of CMoN though.. so you've got that going for you lol...
Azazelx wrote: Just don't have "<nation>-friendly shipping" on the campaign if you're not shipping to local distribution hubs. That particular thing (in KS) means backers have no additional import fees or taxes, not that you're simply happy to ship to those countries.
Well, there's actually a grey color here. It's not black as we had already included shipping in people's pledges, so backers wouldn't have to pay absolutely anything else. It is not white either though as taxes or import fees might have still applied and we had not taken that into consideration.
To avoid any further confusion in the future we will limit in signaling only EU friendly since all rewards get mailed from Athens.
Nope. "Shipping included" is wonderful, appreciated, and you've got every right to add that in large type on the campaign as a major plus. BUT. It's not the same thing as what "<nation> friendly shipping." means in KS-parlance. That you're willing to rectify it in the next campaign is good though, and means we don't need to argue that point further for the next and subsequent campaigns.
Your response is consistently an arrogant tone in which you clearly think extremely highly of yourselves. We get it. These are not the worst multipart plastics ever created. I'll grant you that. However, the fact that people are already trying to figure out what to use in place of what you provided should tell you something.
I will say this for you.. the hyper-inflated ego has made me respect Mantic a lot more than I previously did.. as I've interacted with various people from there a lot more.. as well as Zealot, Anvil, and even Mad Robot.. who I got in a literal argument with.. and none of them distance themselves from the opinions of their constituents in anything quite like the way you do. You do remind me a bit of CMoN though.. so you've got that going for you lol...
I think to be fair that you need to take into account the language barrier. Although Shieldwolf's forum reps come across as 100% fluent in English, their first language is still Greek. If you've ever spoken to someone who has migrated from another country with a different first language, you'll know that misunderstandings happen. I've spoken to Angelos on the phone and he's got a similar way of speaking to my wife's father (Greek) or even my own father (Italian) - and even in spoken form one side will still need to clarify. On top of that, add the tone of typed conversation and how easily that can be interpreted or misinterpreted. I mean, you come off here as really aggro and a bit of a sarcastic prick, but I'm sure that't not your intent (not being sarcastic) - and the fact that I had to type that last bit about not being sarcastic just shows my point again about my own post here...
Azazelx wrote: Just don't have "<nation>-friendly shipping" on the campaign if you're not shipping to local distribution hubs. That particular thing (in KS) means backers have no additional import fees or taxes, not that you're simply happy to ship to those countries.
Well, there's actually a grey color here. It's not black as we had already included shipping in people's pledges, so backers wouldn't have to pay absolutely anything else. It is not white either though as taxes or import fees might have still applied and we had not taken that into consideration.
To avoid any further confusion in the future we will limit in signaling only EU friendly since all rewards get mailed from Athens.
Nope. "Shipping included" is wonderful, appreciated, and you've got every right to add that in large type on the campaign as a major plus. BUT. It's not the same thing as what "<nation> friendly shipping." means in KS-parlance. That you're willing to rectify it in the next campaign is good though, and means we don't need to argue that point further for the next and subsequent campaigns.
Your response is consistently an arrogant tone in which you clearly think extremely highly of yourselves. We get it. These are not the worst multipart plastics ever created. I'll grant you that. However, the fact that people are already trying to figure out what to use in place of what you provided should tell you something.
I will say this for you.. the hyper-inflated ego has made me respect Mantic a lot more than I previously did.. as I've interacted with various people from there a lot more.. as well as Zealot, Anvil, and even Mad Robot.. who I got in a literal argument with.. and none of them distance themselves from the opinions of their constituents in anything quite like the way you do. You do remind me a bit of CMoN though.. so you've got that going for you lol...
I think to be fair that you need to take into account the language barrier. Although Shieldwolf's forum reps come across as 100% fluent in English, their first language is still Greek. If you've ever spoken to someone who has migrated from another country with a different first language, you'll know that misunderstandings happen. I've spoken to Angelos on the phone and he's got a similar way of speaking to my wife's father (Greek) or even my own father (Italian) - and even in spoken form one side will still need to clarify. On top of that, add the tone of typed conversation and how easily that can be interpreted or misinterpreted. I mean, you come off here as really aggro and a bit of a sarcastic prick, but I'm sure that't not your intent (not being sarcastic) - and the fact that I had to type that last bit about not being sarcastic just shows my point again about my own post here...
It would be easy to agree with that.. but these guys have jumped into OTHER PEOPLE"S kickstarter threads and started trash talking. So.. when people have something to say about theirs.. they deflect, ignore, soft pedal, etc.
Also.. I could see where one would think I'm always aggro and prickish.. but those tend to be the posts people notice of mine.. but that's not what 90% of my posts are. I'm genuinely pissed at Shieldwolf.. maybe that's not even accurate.. I think most of this is frustration and disapopintment but yea... pissed too because of the 'meh attitude.
On the language thing.. it's another easy cliche.. my wife learned English as a second language and most of my college professors were Greek and/or Turkish.. but again.. I have seen SW ripping into people because of bad decisions and for them to have such a flippant attitude about their own shortcomings.. it's a bit up
I'm from Spain, and over here we tend to also be overly blunt, so I see where you're coming from (I've also had the problem of coming off as overly aggressive when giving criticism).
I'm not that bothered about Angelos' tone, maybe a little frustrated sometimes, but it's all good :p. In the end of the day, the one with the company is him, and it's he who need to make the decisions. After that is onto us to check wether those decisions are ones we can cope with or not.
It would be easy to agree with that.. but these guys have jumped into OTHER PEOPLE"S kickstarter threads and started trash talking. So.. when people have something to say about theirs.. they deflect, ignore, soft pedal, etc.
Also.. I could see where one would think I'm always aggro and prickish.. but those tend to be the posts people notice of mine.. but that's not what 90% of my posts are. I'm genuinely pissed at Shieldwolf.. maybe that's not even accurate.. I think most of this is frustration and disapopintment but yea... pissed too because of the 'meh attitude.
On the language thing.. it's another easy cliche.. my wife learned English as a second language and most of my college professors were Greek and/or Turkish.. but again.. I have seen SW ripping into people because of bad decisions and for them to have such a flippant attitude about their own shortcomings.. it's a bit up
I can't think of where I've seen them doing that in other people's KS thread off the top of my head. Them, I doubt I've seen all of their posts, so I'll grant you there that I don't know and can't say. I also wasn't having a go. I'm pretty blunt on here as well, and I've been blunt and head-butted with Angelos in emails as well. Sometimes he doesn't seem to get my point, but I typically put that down to the language thing as he will say that he understands my point even when he disagrees at other times. I then need to tell him that he's still wrong, as I did above with the "<nation>-friendly shipping" thing above, but that's how it goes. I don't feel that he talks down to me, though. OTOH, I do see him get frustrated at times and have offered my advice and interpretation when appropriate.
Regarding your posts and the perception of/presence of aggro. I'm not sure if you've seen my own ones, particularly in the N&R and DD forums. Point being that sometimes being curt, direct or even calmly blunt has people thinking that you're being a witch, or even foaming at the keyboard, and I'm sure you've experienced the same reactions that I have in response at times.
Not sure what you mean by easy cliche? People from NESB aren't all trying to feth with everyone else, but misinterpretation and appearing overly blunt or worse can be an effect of it as you'd know given what you've said and I certainly know, having grown up around and amongst and alongside all manner of wogs. It doesn't happen in every sentence or conversation or anything, but it happens - and combine that with the way bluntness comes across in text and it can give an impression is my own point there.
I'm hoping to get my models tomorrow. They got delivered a week ago, but I haven't done a mail pick-up this week, so....
MLaw wrote: It would be easy to agree with that.. but these guys have jumped into OTHER PEOPLE"S kickstarter threads and started trash talking. So.. when people have something to say about theirs.. they deflect, ignore, soft pedal, etc.
I will address that as well. Yes, that has been true, partially at least. It was during the period when we were still trying to figure out how KS works, being something fairly unknown in Greece (it still is, most people have never heard of it). We have come to a final conclusion now of what the system actually is and the collateral manners it can be exploited with. It must be noted that we haven't interfered with anyone's else doings a very long time now -nor will we ever bother doing that ever again- so calling us out on that I find unfair. Just because in the past we called it out as we see it doesn't mean we are "bad" people nor has foul language ever been used by any Shieldwolf member. Dimitrios is the one who usually interacts in the forums but he has my complete trust and I am sure what he does is always out of good intent or blunt honesty.
Our point of view might vary on that, no argument there.
I wrote 'partialy' because it must be like 5-6 KS projects (give or take, I doubt there are more) we have commented on, over half were in benefit. I think I remember each and everyone of them. For those who haven't followed I will list them here, one by one.
In the case of one Kickstarter (Fallen Frontiers) we pointed out along with another manufacturer (artemisblack I recall) who also was saying that the creators didn't know what they were doing since they were talking tooling vehicles and other stuff in HIPS and their math was way off. We probably contributed in saving a large number of backers from a KS project disaster and dissapointment.
In the case of Mythos (it was the last one we ever bothered with and which totally sealed the way KS works) it was a ridiculous statement that "95% of the work has been done but we still need crowdfunding to bring this to fruition". Now that I look at it I should have simpy laughed away and not bother commenting for obvious reasons.
In the case of Black Plague from CMoN I was personally genuinely interested but pointed out how unfair charging everyone else P&P of 15-25-35-45$, while for Greece it was a ridiculous 70$ (I still remember the number!). You can check for yourself if you like, it's still on their page.
Another project we interfered in (Project Elite) is because a member of our Team here was a backer himself, and IIRC we were rather indifferent from the entire thing till someone brought up the economic status of the country and its companies -therefore I interfered as it was causing indirect harm to mine. It would be fair to say you would have interfered as well.
Last, Tre's and Grefven's Kickstarters we commented just to say positive things as they are what they are and we are fond of both of them.
That's all of them in like 3 years and some. Anyway, as I said we no longer interfere with anyone's else endevours in any negative way. Should you ever see us do the opposite kindly call us out on that,
I think I covered everything, if I missed something it was not intentional.
MLaw wrote: It would be easy to agree with that.. but these guys have jumped into OTHER PEOPLE"S kickstarter threads and started trash talking. So.. when people have something to say about theirs.. they deflect, ignore, soft pedal, etc.
I will address that as well. Yes, that has been true, partially at least. It was during the period when we were still trying to figure out how KS works, being something fairly unknown in Greece (it still is, most people have never heard of it). We have come to a final conclusion now of what the system actually is and the collateral manners it can be exploited with. It must be noted that we haven't interfered with anyone's else doings a very long time now -nor will we ever bother doing that ever again- so calling us out on that I find unfair. Just because in the past we called it out as we see it doesn't mean we are "bad" people nor has foul language ever been used by any Shieldwolf member. Dimitrios is the one who usually interacts in the forums but he has my complete trust and I am sure what he does is always out of good intent or blunt honesty. Our point of view might vary on that, no argument there.
I wrote 'partialy' because it must be like 5-6 KS projects (give or take, I doubt there are more) we have commented on, over half were in benefit. I think I remember each and everyone of them. For those who haven't followed I will list them here, one by one. In the case of one Kickstarter (Fallen Frontiers) we pointed out along with another manufacturer (artemisblack I recall) who also was saying that the creators didn't know what they were doing since they were talking tooling vehicles and other stuff in HIPS and their math was way off. We probably contributed in saving a large number of backers from a KS project disaster and dissapointment. In the case of Mythos (it was the last one we ever bothered with and which totally sealed the way KS works) it was a ridiculous statement that "95% of the work has been done but we still need crowdfunding to bring this to fruition". Now that I look at it I should have simpy laughed away and not bother commenting for obvious reasons. In the case of Black Plague from CMoN I was personally genuinely interested but pointed out how unfair charging everyone else P&P of 15-25-35-45$, while for Greece it was a ridiculous 70$ (I still remember the number!). You can check for yourself if you like, it's still on their page. Another project we interfered in (Project Elite) is because a member of our Team here was a backer himself, and IIRC we were rather indifferent from the entire thing till someone brought up the economic status of the country and its companies -therefore I interfered as it was causing indirect harm to mine. It would be fair to say you would have interfered as well. Last, Tre's and Grefven's Kickstarters we commented just to say positive things as they are what they are and we are fond of both of them. That's all of them in like 3 years and some. Anyway, as I said we no longer interfere with anyone's else endevours in any negative way. Should you ever see us do the opposite kindly call us out on that, I think I covered everything, if I missed something it was not intentional.
This was 6 months ago from the Mythic Battles Pantheon KS.. You mentioned this one but you are also talking about your comments of this nature like you stopped doing this LOOOONG ago.. Let's not act like not doing something for 6 months magically means you've established a record of behaving otherwise.
Shieldwolf Miniatures wrote: The risks and challenges read "Due to the fact that the core box of Mythic Battles: Pantheon is 95% complete as we head into this campaign..."
So let me get this right, they are missing that last 5% in order to get their game into the market? Apologies but I highly doubt that,also seeing what the funding target was. Unless, that number is a lie and they are missing more than five percent (which I don't think is the case), but if that was the truth they are equally not excused.
I honestly don't understand it, the sculpts are ready and look great, the theme looks good, the game I don't know but I have no reason to doubt it is also good. So, if the product is ready to go into retail, why on Earth go into crowdfunding depriving from other projects (which genuinely lack the funds) the opportunity to see the light of day? I'm sorry if I sound snarky/crabby/choleric/insert whatever you like, that is not my intention and it is definitely nothing personal with this company (I absoluetly don't know any of the people who own Monolith or Mythic Games and would perhaps buy the game in retail if reasonably priced, it follows Greek mythology after all!) but the more we study how crowdfunding works the more things we find alarmingly altering its very essence.
If any of the mods find my post inappropriate please move or delete it.
Yeah, I had a few back and forths with SW in Private messages about their posting in other KS comments section. In the end I'm not touching these guys with a 10' pole. They want to blame everything on the fact that they are Greek, or other people are hiding the truth in their KS or didn't need to KS in the first place. I'm sorry backers didn't get what they were expecting, but not overly surprised.
@MLaw
As I said, different points of view. :-) It was half a year ago(!), to us that's is a long time. It was also our ever last comment on other people's threads for now we have a pretty good idea how crowdfunding actually works.
I appreciate your finding and pasting the comment though, it is in my opinion very politely stated. If you don't agree with that, we will simply agree to disagree.
@Theophony
Why would you think backers didn't receive what they expected?! Some backers as commented in our thread here at dakka yes, but many others however messaged us to congratulate us, I find therefore what you say unfair.
As for the 10" poll, I have to say it's way too harsh a statement, but that's up to you. Shieldwolf Miniatures never wrong did anyone and never has anybody ever lost a single dime due to our misdoings or received crap product. I challenge anyone who in the past years has dealt with us to say otherwise.
I believe in time you will recall this statement of yours. If you ever find yourself in Greece pay us a visit, you will be surprised at what people we actually are and what it actually looks like to live here these days. Frape' is on me. :-)
Shieldwolf delivered a genune HIPS kit via KS with only minor delays,
the minis are really good, some options are not what some wanted, but realistically unless there were a full set of swords, axes, flails and spears some people were going to be upset as despite these being barbarians for sheildwolf's eventual game lots of us plan to use them for other systems where mix and match weapons in a unit are less acceptable
not being more specific that the spears (and the 2 prong tridents that I was looking forward too) missed the cut in an update was a mistake, but I think the choice to drop them was the right one
and for shipping they used a decent courier who should have provided tracking numbers (even if some didn't get them)
so for a KS (or in fact any preorder of a product that was only in the concept art stage) its a major success
plus they're around on Dakka (and other forums) and actually talk to us even when there is criticism instead of vanishing
so if you back KS (and I quite understand why some will not do so) Shieldwolf's are projects you can do so with confidence
@SW, my comment about not getting what they wanted was in regards to spears mainly, sorry if that came across incorrectly. Me not touching you guys with a 10' pole is due to comments we exchanged in PMs. Your tone on other companies and what was mentioned about backers of the SM vs Orcs kickstarter has me on the Will not buy list. It's fine if others are happy with it and I wish you the best of luck.
@Theophony
Fair enough, the spear issue was admittingly not handled by us in the best of ways. I know you are sincere in your wishes and the offer for the frape' still stands :-)
Get with it people! I need some paint schemes to copy!
Anyone try doing more interesting skin tones instead of generic white people?
Hopefully picking mine up tonight. Of course, there's other barbarian-types in front of them in the queue. Some actual Vikings, some Dwarf Slayers, some old Citadel barbarians and some Russian Alternative Not-Chaos Dwarfs, but I'll slot a couple of them in afterwards. I'm probably going Norse themed to start with, though. I might try some mash-ups with Sisters of Silence, Statuesque Heads and Dark Eldar parts based on what I've seen others do after the first couple of "stock" ones, though.
I'll be honest I was not over joyed with my maidens for a couple of reasons, the scale is off for my needs but to be fair it is close to the silhouette they previewed, however next time maybe a ruler would be better or an actual miniature comparison.
The lack of spears was my real gripe, ok you say it was mentioned in the comments section but not everyone has the time to follow and read every comment left, something like that should have been added to the update section as it was a rather important change.
I also think it is strange that the resin and plastic miniatures scale up differently, that seems really odd to change your scale within a faction ?
However I will say I really like the resin miniatures and my mammoths are fantastic can't pick a fault with them.
For future KS please could you do the following to resolve these issues:
1 confirm all sprue layouts and changes in the UPDATE section not the comment section, this should include polls or voting required feedback.
2 Scale shot with ruler or actual alternative miniature for size comparison.
For future KS please could you do the following to resolve these issues:
1 confirm all sprue layouts and changes in the UPDATE section not the comment section, this should include polls or voting required feedback.
2 Scale shot with ruler or actual alternative miniature for size comparison.
On these:
1) Stuff like that needs to be reflected on the main campaign page as well. Stuff buried in Update #12 means feth all to someone who backs at the point of Update #24 or at the end of the campaign. It means things like updating the graphics on the main page when spears are removed, etc. I've said as much to Angelos, and I'm hopeful he'll take it on board. A little extra admin, but it would equal far less disappointment and a good bump in comms quality.
2) Should be much easier with the existing kit out. I believe they intend to scale them up with some others, and if the next girls are the same scale as these, there'll be plenty of SMKS backers able to put them next to Space Marines or anything else on request (as has already been done, when we found out.
So I've opened my box. Thoughts so far:
1) Packaging is non-existent. A few pieces of brown paper in the top of the box provides no padding at all for hundreds of dollars worth of plastic and resin as it bounces around while couriers handle the parcels with all the care in the world(!) Nothing appears broken, but I expect better packaging. When I get packaging this poor from a retailer, I tend not to buy from them again. Just saying...
2) I only got one set of my "Gold-level" stretch goal rewards, despite two sets of "Gold level" pledges and assurances that multiple pledge levels get multiple sets of stretch goals. Others have reported the same. A bit annoyed there, and unlike others, I'll be after the missing figures since they're actually nice and I personally have uses for them.
Shieldmaiden Hero with Great Maul x1
Army Banner Bearer x1
Shieldlord A x1
3) So many sprues and NFI how many I should have. I know I should have 8 boxes, but since we didn't get boxes, I've got to play a guessing game to work out how many sprues in what combo equals a box. Did we work that out earlier?
Automatically Appended Next Post:
24(!) Command Sprues and 17 Warrior Sprues. This seems off. Is it off?
You can straight away assemble 20 miniatures but can actually build 24 with some kitbashing according to Shieldwolf Miniatures as there are only 20 left arms included.
That seems to indicate that each "box" is 2 of the warrior sprue (6 bodies) and 3(!) of the command (4 bodies).
So that means I think I have the "correct" number of sprues including the extra sprue that was a 500-backer reward (which was a sprue for "everyone", so maybe not per pledge level as the stretch goals were supposed to be...) Which means the "Surprise twist" is... the bit of paper advertising the next KS? Unless it's the missing stretch goal models.
I am surprised that the spears issue is raising more ire amongst backers than the scale one. Personally I find how huge the plastics are to be very annoying, when the KS was on going it was stated to be for 28mm not 32mm models and the fact that the resins are all 28mm not 32mm shows this up quite clearly. How can you possibly get your own internal scaling wrong? Now I know someone will be thinking that there are different ways of using 28mm (to top of head or to eye line) I have never come across anyone ever that thought that 28mm was to the top of the shoulder which these ladies are.
Further to this is the silhouette used to highlight the model size, now I could recognise that it was a GW Dark Elf of some description and so I had a look at my DE models (all from plastic regiment boxes) and went, 'yep that's 28mm' I did not know that GW had made a few newer DE models that were totally out of whack and that Shied wolf used one of those as its model.
So the next project they are running is going to be for some massive, heavily armoured 32mm warmaidens and some totally not in anyway Sisters of Battle that are going to stand taller than Space Marines? There is now way I am giving money to that, I don't mind a bit of wonky scaling but from the same company, within the same line that is just poor.
Still bang on side for some goblins though as I care not how they scale up against each other or other lines!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Edit: Also whats this about shipping being included in pledges? No it wasn't. We had to pay for it when filling out the pledge manager, I think it was $18US for me.
Oh feth, you're right. I paid €22.62 alongside my add-ons. Which is pretty reasonable for the box I received, but it's certainly not "included". Maybe they mean "partly subsidised?" But then I recall talk about how cheap Greek shipping is when they decided to split the resin mammoths from the rest of the campaign, but then they used DHL in the end, but then they must have used DHL's most economical service, since my parcel sat in Athens for over a week before getting to my mailing address in about 4 days once it started moving... (unless DHL just ripped SW off for the service they paid for.) Yeah, I'm not sure what they meant by included?
As for spear vs scale. Both have been discussed here a fair bit, and I've also had a back and forth with SW on both of them via email, raising all of the same points that you have here - with the exception of the next set of Not-Sisters being taller than Space Marines. I hadn't thought of that. I talked about scaling them next to/with Sisters of Silence. How big are they compared to SM? I've got 4 sets of Fireforge spears and javelins on the way now, and someone else mentioned spare weapons from Mantic skellies, which I should have some of somewhere.
I've built my first SM today though. Combined with some Bloodreaver parts to make a female Bloodreaver/Gorechosen proxy model. There's a "skipped leg day" element to the final kitbash, but I'll see how it turns out once painted. Hopefully the cloak and bits will pull some attention away from it. Models are nice enough, though the arms are thinner than I'd like, and excepting Cloud's sword, I'm ok with the Fantasy-styled weapons. Slightly larger hands would have been better and more kitbash-friendly, as the whole heroic-height/truescale proportions thing they have going makes it hard to do any kind of weapon swaps, forcing you to glue both sides a la Micky above. Still, it's better than Lego hands on miniatures, and I do like the inclusion of ball-joints on both the arms and heads.
The other thing that stands out between the resin heroes and plastics (aside from height-stature) is the realistic-ish sized weapons on the plastics vs the lollerskates weapons on many of the resin heroes (which I'll be replacing with something a bit more in-between, myself). I'm guessing that the "new" standard Shieldwolf scale will now be that of the plastics and the resins will now be sculpted to match in future, perhaps with the current ones being retired and replaced sooner rather than later in order to have a more consistent line.
@Lone dirty dog
We will do both of these as it's reasonable and good advice. Actually not only have we already seeked a couple of models from other manufacturers to scale shot (which we didn't intend to do BTW prior to comments written on this forum) and on top of that we will be providing current backers a preview page pre-launch. It should help assure that everything is crystal clear to avoid future confusion.
@ingtaer
You have missunderstood I think; the free shipping was included in the Forest Goblin pledges and not the Shieldmaidens.
@Azazelx
Boxes were not included in order not to further delay delivery; Mays' update will have more information on this. We will be sending out later (i.e. later = end of this month probably) any missing items, since we have decided to delay for this purpose the launch of the Warmaidens/Dragonbreds (plan was to launch on May 30, not happening).
I hear you on the packaging but to our credit we supplied tracking codes free of charge as you weren't meant to receive any (that too was clearly stated on the project's main page). This was due to 2 whole weeks of battling it over, effort I was not required to go through since shipping charges were extremely close to the ones estimated and communicated initially but which we thought would additionally benefit the backers.
Scale shots can only benefit you and your business in terms of providing further clarity to backers. As we've both discussed, having the SM plastics makes it much easier assuming this is the scale all future SM models will now be. Just ensure that you call the next campaign's models 32mm instead of 28mm to further avoid confusion.
The clarification on the free shipping being on the FG makes sense. I think a bunch of us on the forum got confused there.
Angelos and I have spoken about the boxes before (not sure if it's Angelos or Dimitrios posting) - the reason I brought it up again today was in relation to "Wait.. how many sprues and in which combination should I have them?" as I assumed there would be more warrior sprues than command sprues, as is typical for HIPS plastic kits. Boxes would (I assume?) have provided that information. Even the box art on the web somewhere might have worked to work it out, but I couldn't find it. Luckily I was able to piece it together from a review and a KS backer, but that's not the ideal way to have to work out how many sprues in which combination we should have received.
Providing tracked shipping (especially if it was close to what was charged) benefits you as well as the backers. I don't know how many packages go "missing" as opposed to missing, but it helps to protect you from fraud and gives backers warm fuzzies, so they're more likely to feel good about their purchases/pledges.
Delaying the next project until you've rectified the current missing items/other issues also does you in good stead, especially since a good chunk of any future backers will be the current ones. It might mess up your ideal projected timeline, but the campaign already delivered late by several months, so you'll have adjusted at least once (and probably more) already, and keeping the existing backer base happy means more repeat customers and less anger and bitching at the start of the next campaign - so a worthwhile time investment that should reap financial rewards in that sense, even if the metric is not easily tracked. Of course, you know this as well as I do.
Other benefits from a short additional wait between campaigns can include more models painted by the existing backers around the web, and we all know how well painted models sell more models. Even GW who have leveraged this better than anyone else in the industry now features customers' models on their product pages - so more painted Shieldmaidens out there can only be a good thing for the next campaign.
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