Friends who have the book already said there's only 11 pages of fluff in the rulebook, which is a bit disappointing. Was hoping for a bit more to sink my teeth into. I suppose that will all be in Savage Hordes, but does anybody have any idea of when that is slated for release?
I asked Rob in MM2 comments about the fluff in the next book and he says it should be substantial. As for the main book--he warned people a long time ago there wouldn't be any in the core book. Though that's not information a lot of people who weren't around for First Edition2 knew about.
Pretty sweet I got my rulebook today. Just flipping through it and looks awesome AND has that new book smell. After seeing the size and quality of the rulebook I'm going to snag on the savage hordes book this KS . Excellent quality from Mierce as usual.
I think he underestimated the time necessary to unlock 'everything' in MM and really wanted Banbreca (the Undead Giant Skeleton) released - and it looks like a lot of other people did too!
If Mighty Monsters had run for one more week...
Anyway, I'm glad this one is here now, so I can get Gamera Schyrós now too!
It really does seem like this one was run because they didn't put the first one on for long enough. I would be suspicious if no money rolled in but the fact they unlocked like 4 things in the first two days indicates that people still wanted to participate they just didn't get in on time.
Also with the prices of these models, I would hope money wouldn't be an issue! They do look great though.
They started the pledge levels in the first mighty monster KS where one had to pick from five mini's that were below a certain RRP rather than giving a lump sum for the pledge so people can pick whatever they want. Its like that now and they clanged it mid-campaign in the earlier KS but its always confusing when pledge levels are locked in and the rules in them have changed.
Rob was pretty open in the KS comments about the fact that they had commissioned a sculptor for the Ettinwiht so had to run this extender to unlock him. I'm sure if the previous KS hadn't finished at 6am and/or had run for slightly longer they would have got there anyway.
Considering there seems to be no rush to throw up other stretch goals on this KS or push for pledges I hardly think it seems like desperation for funds.
And Rob being relatively silent/not posting stretch goals means that, unlike most Mierce campaigns, the comments section is starting to become a really dumb place, filled with LULZ and other nonsense...and that's not usually the case!
Yeah he did push at back at our request so people didn't get spanked twice in one pay period. Correct on the comments though, I thought I was the only one with no tolerance for it haha
Honestly if the unit comes out looking anything like that art they should sell tons of these! Provided they aren't so massive they can't at least fill in for a small Giant in other systems (I can't imagine they'd be too big for that) even if they're quite a bit bigger than normal "ogre" size.
While true I have actually had trouble finding good alternative ogres that I like the look of. GW's Ironguts are about the best there is for armored, tough-looking ogres. Mantic's have a nice look, although slightly distorted proportions. I was looking for a few for some time and ended up getting some old Tre Manor bugbear sculpts and planning to do a headswap... well sculpted, armored ogres really aren't as common as I had thought!
But on a 60mm base these guys are going to be beasts . Still, pretty stoked to see how they turn out!
Ironguts are definitely the best of the armored Ogre types, I agree. I'm a big fan of the original restic Mantic Ogres, the new metals not so much. They seem to have lost that bestial sense that the originals had. They looked way less human than the new ones.
Man, these guys always produce some amazing miniatures, I'm thinking that giant beetle will be wicked. It's a bit sad, because I'd be tempted to buy some if it wasn't for their absurd business model and insane amount of kickstarter exclusives.
Yeah I don't think there's been any either. That said I'm in a similar boat, no one in my gaming group would ever buy into a game that required backing a KS and waiting 6-12 months. They buy their stuff in stores or not at all, KS doesn't really exist for them, which is why I haven't jumped in either. I need people to play with after all!
judgedoug wrote: Anyone gotten anything recently? I bought a shipping item on Apr 19 and some of my stuff went into Packing a few weeks ago, but nothing's shipped yet.
Yeah, got my metal Jutes and Erainn the other week and had another order sent out late last week.
I got Jute Wihtgar, Holumann crew, and Gabrax a couple of weeks ago (all in metal). So stuff is getting sent out. The process is extraordinarily arcane though. Personally I am more likely to wait for the next January sale or similar, than either back a KS or do a KS type order after the campaign has ended.
I got my Erainne and Anglecynn starters and book the other day. The models are nice but small... not 30mm to the eye by a wide margin**. I like the size and scale personally, but they are much smaller than most companies, more in line with smaller Redbox Games models. I had a few mold slip issues, mostly on the resin bog beasts, but all in all really nice casts. The book... well, it smells nice, and is about 200% longer than it needs to be. They need an editor and technical writer really, really badly.
I intend to do a fuller review here in the next week or so. I will post a link here when I do.
** I haven't busted out the calipers yet, so I might be a bit off. They are very different from other models listed as 28-30 mm at least.
Mymearan wrote: Yeah I don't think there's been any either. That said I'm in a similar boat, no one in my gaming group would ever buy into a game that required backing a KS and waiting 6-12 months. They buy their stuff in stores or not at all, KS doesn't really exist for them, which is why I haven't jumped in either. I need people to play with after all!
You could just go to the Mierce website and buy their current range, and main rulebook. Then get the new KS stuff as and when it comes out (or even wait for regular release)
There's tons of stuff available already, really some incredible minis (someone helpefully pointed out earlier in the thread that they are available from Element Games (UK) for a discount, too.
I completely appreciate that Kickstarter isn't for everyone, the reality in this case though is that it has allowed Mierce to develop what is probably the largest catalogue of boutique resin fantasy miniatures in the world in a very short time.
I think the move to metal and, to a much lesser extent, the development of their rules system is part of a move towards a more traditional model, but it will always be alongside crowd funding.
Wehrkind wrote: I got my Erainne and Anglecynn starters and book the other day. The models are nice but small... not 30mm to the eye by a wide margin**. I like the size and scale personally, but they are much smaller than most companies, more in line with smaller Redbox Games models. I had a few mold slip issues, mostly on the resin bog beasts, but all in all really nice casts. The book... well, it smells nice, and is about 200% longer than it needs to be. They need an editor and technical writer really, really badly.
I intend to do a fuller review here in the next week or so. I will post a link here when I do.
** I haven't busted out the calipers yet, so I might be a bit off. They are very different from other models listed as 28-30 mm at least.
Edited for clarity.
No you're quite right, I bought Cynemon to use as a Priest of Ulric and he's teeny-weeny - my own fault for assuming/judging by eye of course, but aye the humans don't seem to match many other companies in scale. Which is fine for Mierce of course, but for me it rather curtailed my planned purchases.
Wehrkind wrote: I got my Erainne and Anglecynn starters and book the other day. The models are nice but small... not 30mm to the eye by a wide margin**. I like the size and scale personally, but they are much smaller than most companies, more in line with smaller Redbox Games models. I had a few mold slip issues, mostly on the resin bog beasts, but all in all really nice casts. The book... well, it smells nice, and is about 200% longer than it needs to be. They need an editor and technical writer really, really badly.
I intend to do a fuller review here in the next week or so. I will post a link here when I do.
** I haven't busted out the calipers yet, so I might be a bit off. They are very different from other models listed as 28-30 mm at least.
Edited for clarity.
No you're quite right, I bought Cynemon to use as a Priest of Ulric and he's teeny-weeny - my own fault for assuming/judging by eye of course, but aye the humans don't seem to match many other companies in scale. Which is fine for Mierce of course, but for me it rather curtailed my planned purchases.
It really depends on the figure/kindred. Cynemon is a bit short even for an Angelcyn (which seem the smallest), but yeah, they won't fit in well with GW's ham handed monstrosities. Some kindred are significantly bigger than others - the Ysian, Norse and Formoraic are bigger people. IMO, RBG is still a slighter scale. I think Mierce's fit in well with Rackham and some of the less "heroic" 28mm.
I got my warriors of Baalor a while ago, was missing a model I added to the order, had a replacement order created for that, added some more stuff (including another full unit of Gabrax), and got that package yesterday. So yeah, stuff is getting shipped but things do get stuck 'packing' with Mierce for quite a while at times.
Add potential restocking delays for metals to that and I'd generally give it several weeks for a package to actually ship out, going by past experience.
The Warriors of Baalor unit matches my infinity fusiliers (male versions, that is) perfectly to scale.
Characters (and every last, single Gabrax for that matter!) are another matter - those tower over the regular human infantry by quite a bit.
I'd say those Gabrax match and exceed GW scale and bulk easily, but as Bossk_Hogg says, they are the exception to the rule.
Most of my human Darklands figures have all been Ysian Axe-Drunes, so that certainly hasn't helped me measuring scale. Carrowek is a big guy in just about any game system.
I've got 3 big guys sitting in packing that hopefully make their trek across the Atlantic soon, as I'd like to get rolling on my Krokodar unit, and their big pal Aggrakk.
I can't think of any outside of the drinking buddies.
Pretty much all the heroes had exclusives (most of them significantly more appealing than the normal version in my opinion). I don't have a huge issue with Kickstarter (the campaigns vary wildly in terms of quality- I'm looking at you Prodos.....), I do have a huge issue with running Kickstarter after Kickstarter after Kickstarter when you haven't fulfilled three other ones. Their online store is always barren of product, and if I did want to jump in on let's say the current Kickstarter I would only be able to buy what that current Kickstarter is selling, not a core host to get a start to an army. So therefore I could buy a bunch of minis I'd have to wait two to three years to use, and even then probably not have access to the ones I need to play the game.
I'm not trying to say that this model doesn't work for some of you, and it's great that it does, I'm just explaining why their business model is not something that works for me. Which is a bummer, because they make some very nice miniatures.
I'm sorry dude, but that's almost all objectively untrue.
There are plenty of items available on the web store (and they have their own production facility, so can cast to order if needed,) the pledged funds are credited to your account on the store, so they can be used to buy anything they already sell, Rob is historically very good at opening up older pledge managers or one's you may have missed on request, and while older projects are still yet to fully complete, there are regular updates for every single one, and essentially every update will show meaningful progress on at least something.
As for KS exclusive heroes? I'm still pretty sure you're wrong on that one, but without trawling back through I'm not going to disagree, Except to reiterate you can access them if you ask.
Azreal13 wrote: I'm sorry dude, but that's almost all objectively untrue.
There are plenty of items available on the web store (and they have their own production facility, so can cast to order if needed,) the pledged funds are credited to your account on the store, so they can be used to buy anything they already sell, Rob is historically very good at opening up older pledge managers or one's you may have missed on request, and while older projects are still yet to fully complete, there are regular updates for every single one, and essentially every update will show meaningful progress on at least something.
As for KS exclusive heroes? I'm still pretty sure you're wrong on that one, but without trawling back through I'm not going to disagree, Except to reiterate you can access them if you ask.
I wouldn't say there are plenty of items on the web store, but perhaps there are from your perspective. If I say, wanted to buy some Jutes.....the only option I have is a token set. The Erainn have a total of....three models. I don't consider that well stocked. I did not know that your Kickstarter funds are pledged to the store, so I will give you that - though if nothing I'm interested is in stock, it is kind of a moot point. I'm sure Rob is good at opening older pledge managers, which is cool, but at that point why not just make the back-catalog available during every Kickstarter? I'm not saying that Mierce isn't good about making progress on their projects or fulfilling them (in fact everyone I've talked to who has backed their Kickstarters in the past has gotten most, if not all of their items), I just don't like the fact that since they roll from project to project while others are in process, items from previous Kickstarters take significantly longer to produce.
I don't remember the specific Kickstarter project, but one of them had three (or four maybe) waves of exclusive heroes that were specific and exclusive to that project. It is good to know you can still access them, though that does seem a little odd given how they were branded as exclusive to that particular Kickstarter.
The Jutes have not been released yet. The Erainn are new.
Being a Kickstarter backer unlocks a portion of the store that has all the Kickstarter goodies at discount.
Remember, they run a Kickstarter to a) pay for artist and b) pay for sculptors. The sculptors they have to book months in advance, so other companies don't. (in fact many other companies are pissed off at Mierce because they are booking the world's best sculptors for up to a year, almost exclusively). 90% of the wait on a Mierce KS is waiting for the sculptor. The other 10% is making masters, casting and prepping the models to ship.
That's because the Jutes and Erainn are two of the newest kindreds, and consequently haven't made it to retail yet.
What you're actually referring to is the range, rather than the stock, i.e. the number of items on sale, not the number of each item that can be purchased. The game is still very much a WIP in some regards, so some ranges are a lot less fleshed out, compare to say the Fomoraic or the Anglecynn or Ys, where there are many, many more models on sale, all, or most, in stock. If you wanted to buy a Jutes or Erainn starter then you could get access to one of the projects that offered them, some bundles are strictly KS backer only, but I'm pretty sure you could get the resin or metal versions of either faction if you wanted.
The whole back catalogue is opened up to backers in each pledge manager, normally at an increased discount, but the way the site is structured the various models still in KS projects are ring fenced, so access needs to be opened individually.
I'm not sure how you think previous models take longer to produce? Every new model is allocated a wave, each wave is given an estimated release date and then, rulebook and the odd model notwithstanding, they generally get sent out to backers around that time. To my knowledge nothing has ever been bumped to make way for something else.
KS specific heroes have pretty much been minor resculpts of existing models, excluding a couple from the early projects that I can recall, and will remain available until the pledge manager of that particular project closes, after which they won't be available any more. So they are exclusive, it's just thanks to Rob having the sense to let people who want to buy his stuff have access, the window is a little larger if you are compelled to ask.
If you're not keen on buying from Mierce, fair enough, but it appears most of your reservations are unfounded, hope this helps clear some up!
New Kindreds had the exclusive KS alt models. Jutes, Erainn, and atalantes are the new kindred. The other kindred are well stocked via their website to start a beginner host. Darklands is still growing and uses KS to do so, like it or not. Inch by inch month by month its getting there. One thing that's certain though is Mierce is top notch on customer support and KS support.
Thanks for the clarifications Azrael and JudgeDoug. I feel a bit more inclined to back Mierce projects knowing I can add past KS projects items through current KS projects, instead of having to wait until essential items go to retail.
As far as past projects being delayed by current ones, i mean that by adding more work to a sculptor's workload it is going to take longer to get things out, especially if things are worked on for a newer project while past sculpts are not finished. That could be because certain sculptors are further ahead of others, but it at least appears that things have been delayed.
You really have to ask for access to prior KS items. There also cutoff points where something will be removed from the KS section of their site until it hits retail. Typically its the hosts or combo deals that go and the individual mini's stay until they ship.
Sabotage! wrote: Thanks for the clarifications Azrael and JudgeDoug. I feel a bit more inclined to back Mierce projects knowing I can add past KS projects items through current KS projects, instead of having to wait until essential items go to retail.
This should probably be noted somewhere publicly one day... right now it's like the secret handshake you find out from talking to members
But it's awesome, and I've certainly made use of it!
I think Rob has said before that kickstarter can be funny about selling previously available stuff directly through them.
Above all if there's anything that you think you should or would like to be able to buy that you can't just contact Mierce and I'm sure they will help you out. They have some of the most involved and accommodating customer service I've ever encountered which is no mean feat considering some of the emails they must get.
Yeah i managed to get access to the older stuff before i backed a kickstarter.(well a finished one)
Wouldn't hurt to email them asking for access and just having a look at whats available still.(well it might hurt the wallet.)
Today's update is, quite literally, MASSIVE - we have loads to show you, and it's apparent that New Kindreds is getting near to completion... finally. It's been a long haul, this one, but we're getting there!
This week we have: •sculpt work in progress updates from Roberto Chaudon, Didier Fancagne, Yannick Fusier, Yannick Hennebo, Ernst Veingart and Jin Wei; •an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project; •...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let us begin!
This week we have miniatures from lots of kindreds to show - the Atalantes, from Jin Wei; the Érainn, from Didier Fancagne; the Fomoraic, from Yannick Fusier; the Jutes, from Yannick Hennebo; and finally the Norse, from Ernst Veingart!
Jin Wei's stunning work on the Atalantes warlord and warchiefs left us drooling for the Ilios Guard... and Jin has exceeded even those, in our view!
The unit's champion is Andreas...
He looks utterly fantastic.
The first warrior is Nachor...
We love the spears!
Simon is looking great too...
...especially in his fighting stance!
The female warrior is Amethea, and she looks amazing...
That means there's just Kuma to do, and the unit is complete. Stunning stuff!
To say that we've been waiting for these is an understatement. Roberto Chaudon has done it again - just have a look at the three warriors he's just about sculpted from Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit...
The Dromedus banner bearer, or Quartus, is Abakr...
We absolutely love that banner. Superb stuff!
A Dromedus warrior, is Gabbaja...
...don't stroke him, he'll spit in your eye!
Another Dromedus warrior is Sama... don't worry about the pila, either; the one there is just to show you, they'll all have the same pila as Djiuzu.
Roberto reckons he'll have these guys done in June, so we're thinking a Wave 13 shipment is a definite possibility - although Abakr will have to be turned into a warrior, too, and to do that we need to cast him for Roberto. So we'll see...
We love the Fen Beasts of course, and we couldn't wait for Didier Fancagne to turn his hand to the Oak Beast, Cúlaítar...
He's a big lad, as you can see...
We're thinking he'll be a Wave 13 shipment, this fella...
The Walvax. Yannick Fusier. Gaanh. Even thought it's just a... blob of shapes... Gaanh excites us beyond words...
We're thinking Wave 13 for this guy - we'll see...
Yannick Hennebo's been busy with other companies but we've lured him back to finish off some conversions. Here's the first of many - it's Ætulla, hooded, which will be the release version.
He should be a Wave 13 shipment...
It's been a while in coming, but Stígr is finally complete - and he's a cracker... you even get a free rock!
He will be a Wave 13 shipment.
Wave 8, 9 and 10 shipments are ongoing, and Wave 11 has begun
Wave 8 and 9 shipments are ongoing and will be for some time, and shipments for Wave 10 are well underway, with some items from Wave 11 going too.
We will try to get everything out as soon as we can, but there's a lot to ship - and as always we prioritise orders in date sequence; i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early.
What we're saying, basically, is - please be patient! We are doing everything as fast as we can without compromising on quality.
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. • SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (complete): Existing miniatures • SHIPMENT WAVE 7 (beginning June 2015): Bareheaded Quintus Crito - Cormac of the Red Hand - Nuala - Masked Nuala - Araigh - Men of Clochar (Pádraig - Dara - Ronan - Brian - Colm) - Mórannach - Axes of Carn Maen (Drano - Dinorg) - Thacaldān • SHIPMENT WAVE 8 (August 2015): Gudhlagg - Bareheaded Quintus Crito - Rudraige the Fat - Caitrín - Mildryth • SHIPMENT WAVE 9 (October 2015): Bowman Urien - Warrior Ffion - Warriors of Dyngonwy (Aestoc - Efan) - Frenzied Srók • SHIPMENT WAVE 10 (February 2016): Armoured Cearl - Eoric's Pack, Werwulf Unit (Siweard) - Armoured Mag ap Mag - Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit (Gryf - Iorwerth) - Con I Modius, Legionarius Contubernium (Tiberia - Serena - Geraldus) - Helmed Rudraige - Men of Clochar (Tadhg - Ruairí) - Greathorn Ckaarakk - The Eye Ascendant (Lalaan - Gaarnul) - Baagath's Herd (Ablaa - Waachu) - Bellowing Tarvax (Taaruk) - Eormanræd - Helmed Eormanræd - Bareheaded Ætulla - Wihtwald - Helmed Wihtwald - Heldred - Hooded Heldred - The Dead of Black Barrow, Wihtgār Unit (Sigheard - Ricbert - Ælgar - Cynemund - Oswine - Bertræd - Ælfric) - The Malign of Alum Tomb, Drēaguth Unit (Aglæca - Cynobog - Wictred - Cwalu - Mordwæl) - Gol Gul - Slaughterers (Kinakk) - Hrafnen Crew (Sveinn - Ivarr) - Torleik • SHIPMENT WAVE 11 (April 2016): Bloody Bagseg - Spears of Dun Durn (Nectaich - Fidain) - Oghu Keepers (Dungab - Beglo) - Leaping Creoda - Beasts of Síleann Fen, Fen Beast Unit (Cru Creach - Ardann - Tanaíann - Ollmhór - Gearreag) - Aggrakk - Taai-ac - Bareheaded Knútr - Great Axe Thórrir - Jörmungand Two Axe - Egil Dead Hand - Ravenhelm Víthar • SHIPMENT WAVE 12 (June 2016): Kyros - Helmed Kyros - Nikandros - Thera - Helmed Thera - Hektor - Helmed Hektor - The Burning Ones, Mesokolossos Unit (Praxis - Xan - Bion - Horos - Kreios) - Kretos - Gungonn's Brood, Dynwocor Unit (Gungonn- Achod - Roch - Igag - Dudd - Cob) - Armoured Djiuzu - Cqaa - Egil Dead Hand - Danilo Cruz on Horse • SHIPMENT WAVE 13 (August 2016): Ilios Guard, Oplites Unit (Andreas - Nachor - Kuma - Simon - Amethea) - Bronn ap Banbronn - Nervor - Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit (Muyaa - Abakr - Gabbaja - Kammal - Sama - Bakr) - Iqqud - Cúlaítar - Gaanh - Ætulla - Stígr
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics are in progress and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt. Items not in bold or in italics may still make it into that wave, but may not.
As there's still plenty you can purchase from Darklands: New Kindreds, not least of which are the various hosts, we though it would be a good idea to outline exactly how long you've got to purchase everything. • Wave 12 Miniatures: June 27th 2016 • New Kindred Hosts: until they ship • Individual Miniatures: until they ship!
Keep watching this list as it may well change - and if you have any issues with the above timings, please let us know and we may well be able to push the deadline back a little for you.
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition II! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.
We've split the lists into completely new sculpts and alterations to make life easier for us all!
New Sculpts: • ROBERTO CHAUDON: The Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit is underway with three nearing completion, and then there's Iqqud - all for the Byzantii! • FANCAGNE DIDIER: Didier has begun work on Cúlaítar for the Érainn... • YANNICK FUSIER: Yannick has started Gaanh of the Fomoraic! • YANNICK HENNEBO: Yannick has Sáthach on Horse (Sell-Swords) and Nervor (Byzantii) to do. • BOB PLOCIENNIK: Bob is digitally sculpting Bronn ap Bannbronn... • ERNST VEINGART: Ernst has completed sculpting Stígr of the Norse, and that concludes his work for us on this project. • JIN WEI: Jin has almost completed the Ilios Guard, Oplites of Ilios Unit, with four warriors done... • Unknown: none.
Not many new sculpts left to do now.
Alterations: • STÉPHANE CAMOSSETO: Stéphane will sort out Shieldwall Eadric and any alterations to the Werwulfas, Trolls and Srónax (the latter two because Allan is so busy). • ROBERTO CHAUDON: he's just completed Armoured Djiuzu, and then it's Dragonshield Angedern, Cleaver Mälmord and Armoured Hrókr. There's also alterations to units for him - to the Dyndraig, Dynwocor, Dromedus and Fiend units. • FANCAGNE DIDIER: any alterations to his own work, so Grisly Araigh; and then Dairdubh. • YANNICK HENNEBO: He's just got Warrior Tundaar to do now... from this project, anyway! • MARTIN LAVAT: We'll give him Talos Delta, Mutated Cormorágg, Claw-Seza, Hammer-Druc, Armoured Scecchus, Hammer-Brugg and the Oghur, Brute and Abhorrent units. • LUC PINGANAUD: We've given Luc a few more alternates - he'll do the Gesithas and the Gorgonar alternates, as well as Armoured Dúngal, Skullcap Domnech,Helmed Ophios, Archer Sthena, Magma Svrill, Sickle-Annik, Ax-Jowan, Spike-Gondard, Cynuise of Old, Unmasked Velchior, Warrior Aldhelm, Dagger-Kernuor, Warrior Wulfhere, Wulf Skull Cynemon, Warrior Hywel Hir, Warrior Kjartan and the Sword-Melusine alterations.
There's a fair few alterations yet to be done.
We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.
As above, we'll do these in "new sculpts" and "alternate sculpts" lists...
New Sculpts: •ALBAINN: Gudhlagg •ANGLECYNN: n/a •ATALANTES: Kyros - Thera - Hektor - Nikandros - Titos - Ilios Guard, Oplites Unit (Andreas - Nachor - Kuma - Simon - Amethea) - The Burning Ones, Mesokolossos Unit (Praxis - Xan - Bion - Horos - Kreios) - Dynatos - Kretos •BRYTHONIAID: Gungonn's Brood, Dynwocor Unit (Gungonn - Achod - Roch - Igag - Dudd) - Bronn ap Banbronn •BYZANTII: Nervor - Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit (Muyya - Abakr - Gabbaja - Kammal - Sama - Bakr) - Iqqud •ÉRAINN: Rudraige the Fat - Cormac of the Red Hand - Nuala - Caitrín - Araigh - Men of Clochar, Tuanagh Unit (Pádraig - Dara - Ronan - Brian - Colm) - Beasts of Síleann Fen, Fen Beast Unit (Cru Creach - Ardann - Tanaíannn - Ollmhór - Gearreag)- Mórannach - Cúlaítar •FOMORAIC: Gaanh - Taai-ac - Cqaa •INFERNII: n/a • JUTES: Eormanræd - Mildryth - Bareheaded Ætulla - Wihtwald - Heldred - The Dead of Black Barrow, Wihtgār Unit (Sigheard - Ricbert - Ælgar - Cynemund - Oswine) - The Malign of Alum Tomb, Drēaguth Unit (Aglæca - Cynobog - Wictred - Cwalu - Mordwæl) - Thacaldān - Gol Gul • KHTHONES: Aggrakk • NORSE: Egil Dead Hand - Torleik - Stígr •YSIANS: n/a •SELL-SWORDS: Danilo Cruz on Horse - Sáthach on Horse
Alterations: •ALBAINN: Armoured Dúngal - Skullcap Domnech - Bloody Bagseg - Spears of Dun Durn (Nectaich - Fidain) - Oghu Guardians - Oghu Keepers (Dungab - Beglo) - Mutated Cormorágg •ANGLECYNN: Shieldwall Eadric - Warrior Wulfhere - Wulf Skull Cynemon - Warrior Aldhelm - Armoured Cearl - Wolfborn - Veterans of Mierce (Beor - Kenric) - Eoric's Pack (Siweard) - Leaping Creoda •ATALANTES: Helmed Kyros - Helmed Thera - Helmed Hektor - Titos Sigma - Talos Delta •BRYTHONIAID: Bowman Urien - Warrior Ffion - Warrior Hywel Hir - Dragonshield Angedern - Armoured Mag ap Mag - Loyal Guard (Gryf - Iorwerth) - Warriors of Dyngonwy (Aestoc - Efan) - Dyndreigiau of Gwaelod (Gannwg) - Gungonn's Brood, Dynwocor Unit (Cob) •BYZANTII: Bareheaded Quintus Crito - Unmasked Velchior - Armoured Djiuzu - Con I Modius (Tiberia - Serena - Geraldus) - Vul IX Muyya •ÉRAINN: Helmed Rudraige - Cormac on Gabrax - Masked Nuala - Grisly Araigh - Men of Clochar, Tuanagh Unit (Tadhg - Ruairí) - Dairdubh •FOMORAIC: Helmed Daarkan - Warrior Tundaar - Armoured Brunchaath - Warrior Daachuch - Greathorn Ckaarakk - Spike Qaano - The Eye Ascendant (Lalaan - Gaarnul) - Baagath's Herd (Ablaa - Waachu) - Bellowing Tarvax (Taaruk) - Roaring Srónax (Aaqko) •INFERNII: Armoured Scecchus - Craven Fiends of Dis (Ubal) •JUTES: Helmed Eormanræd - Ætulla - Helmed Wihtwald - Hooded Heldred - Cynuise of Old - The Dead of Black Barrow (Bertræd - Ælfric) •KHTHONES: Helmed Ophios - Archer Sthena - Magma Svrill - Frenzied Srók - Slaughterers (Kinakk) - Warriors of Khthon - Dawn of Khthon •NORSE: Bareheaded Knútr - Warrior Kjartan - Ravenhelm Víthar - Great Axe Thórrir - Jörmungand Two Axe - Hrafnen Crew (Sveinn - Ivarr) - Trolls of Norrheim - Cleaver Mälmord - Armoured Hrókr •YSIANS: Sickle-Annik - Ax-Jowan - Dagger-Kernuor - Spike-Gondard - Hammer-Brugg - Claw-Seza - Axes of Carn Maen (Drano - Dinorg) - Swords of Ys - Abhorrents of Ys - Hammer-Druc
Let us know if we've missed anything, of course...
We have more Darklands: Savage Hordes miniatures to show you this week, and they're utterly amazingly fantastic, even if we do say so ourselves...
This week we have: •sculpt work in progress updates from Michael Anderson; •an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project; •a list of what ships, when; •...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Here we go...
The Fomoraic and the Vras get some treatment from Michael Anderson and Benoît Cosse respectively this week.
Michael Anderson's Gul-Gabrax are a) brilliant and b) brilliant. The only thing missing was the banner bearer and herald - but they are missing no longer...
The banner bearer is Raagar, a Skull-Bearer...
"Raa!" said Raagar.
The herald is Sraangar, a Hornblower...
"Toot!" said Sraangar.
These guys are now complete, so they should be a Wave 12 shipment - in resin, at any rate...
Benoît Cosse is on fire at the moment - not literally, that would be dangerous - but whatever we giving him seems to turn out amazing (which bodes well for his next work for us, the Sávrar). Just have a look at No-Claw's Burrow, this Englander's favourite new Mierce Miniatures!
As always, apologies for Benoît's images...
A close-up of Quick-Kill, the alternate warrior of Quick-Blade...
That leaves just the alternate herald warrior, Fat-Tail, which can only be done when we've moulded and cast the drummer, Fat-Skin. So we're hoping these guys will make it into Wave 13!
There's not much to say here, except - there's a while to go before the first miniatures are shipped from this project, so keep watching the updates to see what will make it into that first Wave.
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. • SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (complete): Existing miniatures • SHIPMENT WAVE 12 (June 2016): Hunters of Cait, Oghurithne Hunter Unit (Ungad - Agala - Wrad) - Bholg of Acaill, Fir Bholg Hurler Unit (Dougal - Feargal - Feargus) - Goatskull Aanchuth - Darkstone - Gaalgar's Herd, Gul-Gabrax Unit (Gaalgar - Raagar - Sraangar - Culgaar - Gongaar - Aalgar - Sraagar) - The Betrayers of Ceafor Barrow (Alfweald - Ealdred - Cenred - Wasere - Oscetyl) - The Sinners of Chessell Barrow (Ænna - Eglāf - Ceneric - Wassa - Octha) • SHIPMENT WAVE 13 (August 2016): Crossbows of Dun Durn, Elbharu Unit (Galan - Wurgesta - Cimoith - Unen - Calorc) - No-Claw's Burrow, Spear-Vras Unit (No-Claw, Quick-Blade, Fat-Skin, Sharp-Fang, Scar-Belly, Quick-Kill, Fat-Tail)
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics are in progress and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt. Items not in bold or in italics may still make it into that wave, but may not.
You can still purchase everything from this project until the following deadlines: • Wave 12: June 27th, 2016 • Individual Miniatures: until they ship!
Keep watching this list as it may well change - and if you have any issues with the above timings, please let us know and we may well be able to push the deadline back a little for you.
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: Savage Hordes! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.
New Sculpts: • MICHAEL ANDERSON: Michael has completed sculpting Gaalgar's Herd, and we're also giving him Chaaruch the Despoiler.... • STÉPHANE CAMOSSETO: Stéphane should be sculpting the Freemen of Scīrbrōc, Bowmen of Scīrbrōc and Sigewulf's Pack. • BENOÎT COSSE: The lovely Benoît has almost finished sculpting No-Claw's Burrow with just Fat-Tail left to do. Next for him are Gukkok's Blades, Gukk's Javelins and the Firekin! • MARTIN LAVAT: We'll give Martin Archer Birna and Guliant's Web, as well as the Hrafnar of Stafangr, the Hrafnen Bowmen and the Storm of Khthon. • YANNICK HENNEBO: Yannick has tons to do of course - he has Alix of Carn Bran, Archer Mildryth, Garric, Slinger Caitrín and the Auxilia Ballistarius on his plate. • EDGAR SKOMOROWSKI: Edgar has just the Gāsts, The Hateful of Mordain Grave, left! • VALENTIN ZAK: Valentin has started sculpting the Crossbows of Dun Durn, as the Bholg of Acaill, Fir Bholg Hurler Unit is now complete.
Not many sculpts or alterations for this project - or at least, on top of those needed to get the units sorted from previous projects.
We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.
New Sculpts: •ALBAINN: Crossbows of Dun Durn, Elbharu Unit (Galan - Wurgesta - Cimoith - Unen - Calorc) - Hunters of Cait, Oghurithne Hunter Unit (Ungad - Agala - Wrad) • ANGLECYNN: Freemen of Scīrbrōc, Ceorl Unit - Bowmen of Scīrbrōc, Ceorl Bowman Unit - Sigewulf's Pack, Werwulf Hunter Unit •BYZANTII: Tor I Italus, Auxilia Ballistarius Tormentum •ÉRAINN: Slinger Caitrín - Men of Ármhach, Maiobhanagh Unit - Bholg of Arcaill, Fir Bholg Hurler Unit (Dougal - Feargal - Feargus) • FOMORAIC: Chaaruch the Despoiler, Gul-Gabrax Tain - Goatskull Aanchuth - Darkstone - Gaalgar's Herd, Gul-Gabrax Unit (Gaalgar - Raagar - Sraangar - Culgaar - Gongaar - Aalgar - Sraagar) •JUTES: Archer Mildryth - Garric - The Sinners of Chessell Barrow, Wihtboga Unit (Ænna - Eglāf - Ceneric - Wassa - Octha) - The Betrayers of Ceafor Barrow, Wihtax Unit (Alfweald - Ealdred - Cenred - Wasere - Oscetyl) - The Hateful of Mordain Grave - Guliant's Web •KHTHONES: Akontar Eikovra, Sun Warrior - Gukkok's Blades, Sávrar Unit - Gukk's Javelins, Sávrakontar Unit - Storm of Khthon, Gorgóraxo Unit - Firekin, Szalamandra Unit •NORSE: Archer Birna - Hrafnen Bowmen, Holumann Bowman Unit - Hrafnar of Stafangr, Hrafnar Unit •VRAS: No-Claw's Burrow, Spear-Vras Unit (No-Claw, Quick-Blade, Fat-Skin, Sharp-Fang, Scar-Belly, Quick-Kill, Fat-Tail) •YSIANS: Alix of Carn Bran
Let us know if we've missed anything, of course...
Here's another update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II, and it's bloody brilliant, even if we do say that ourselves. The reason will become evident the further down you scroll!
This week we have: •sculpt work in progress updates from Allan Carrasco and Dan Cockersell; •an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project; •a list of what ships, when; •...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Here we go...
We have something for the Byzantii, thanks to Allan Carrasco, and something for the Fomoraic, thanks to Dan Cockersell. Two names we love to mention!
In honour of CountCrushmore... ONUMO!
Onumo will definitely be a Wave 15 shipment...
How do you upstage Onumo? Well, with a mammoth, clearly... it's the mighty Maatmäg, a superb Mammox for the Fomoraic!
It's not often we're lost for words... but this picture made Mierce Towers go quiet for a few minutes, except for the thump when the assigned caster hit the floor...
Dan reckons he'll get Maatmäg done by the end of June, but we want him to take his time - so it's more than likely he'll be a Wave 13 or 14 shipment...
Wave 0 has shipped
Wave 0 - the existing miniatures from this project - has now shipped, unless you did not purchase an "Existing Items shipment item" of course.
There's not much else to say here, except - there's a while to go before the first miniatures are shipped from this project, so keep watching the updates to see what will make it into that first Wave.
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. • SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (underway): Existing miniatures • SHIPMENT WAVE 15 (February 2017): Ogmops - Sunspear Kyros - Toxotes Thera - Onumo - Flail Onumo - Maatmäg
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics are in progress and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt. Items not in bold or in italics may still make it into that wave, but may not.
You can still purchase everything from this project until the following deadlines: • Individual Miniatures: until they ship!
Keep watching this list as it may well change - and if you have any issues with the above timings, please let us know and we may well be able to push the deadline back a little for you.
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: Savage Hordes! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.
New Sculpts: • ALLAN CARRASCO: He's completed Onumo and after that it's Flail Onumo! • ROBERTO CHAUDON: We're going to give Roberto the Cocneidr Unit, the Cogwyfern Unit and Galon Garreg... • DAN COCKERSELL: Dan is about half-way along with the fantastic mammoth, Maatmäg... • BENOÎT COSSE: He'll have Scab-Face and Warrior Eikovra to sculpt! • DIDIER FANCAGNE: We're giving him Daghda Lúg. • YANNICK FUSIER: Yannick has completed sculpting Ogmops, and then it's the Coughing Walvax and the Barking Walvax units... oh, and Golgog Goat-Eater. • JASON HENDRIX: A newcomer to our range, Jason will sculpt the Corruptors of Kraozon and Thurgis. • YANNICK HENNEBO: We've tried not to give Yannick too much and failed. He's currently slated for Grima, Maari, Saairen Maari, the Saethwr, the Helwr, the Auxilia and Auxilia Sagittarii, Gaius Galerius in both forms, the Auxilia Bestiarius unit, the Reiver unit and the Reiver Hunter unit, Kaarstan and Hunter Kaarstan, Vulcanus and Malus. Oh, and Armoured Æthelglyth, Helmed Mildryth, Helmed Garric, Sairen Rose, Sagitta Quintus, Nerys and Rowena. Sigh... expect some of those to move... • MARTIN LAVAT: We're giving Martin the Rogue-Drunes, Bow-Annik, the Hound-Aberrants, Sickle-Hedroc and Hunter Carys. We'll probably get him to do Medusel, Klóstiss and Archer Naraa as well. • DUNCAN LOUCA: He'll be digitally sculpting the Pyrokolossos Unit and the Toxokolossos Unit! • EDGAR SKOMOROWSKI: Edgar will digitally sculpt Auga. • STÉPHANE SIMON: We'll give Stéphane Kerazek. • JIN WEI: Jin has sculpted Toxotes Thera and then he will sculpt the Toxotes, the Iliotoxotes and Baltazar. • VALENTIN ZAK: Valentin will be sculpting Crístóir and Gnith!
Not many sculpts or alterations for this project - or at least, on top of those needed to get the units sorted from previous projects.
We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.
New Sculpts: •ALBAINN: Gnith - Ogmops - Golgog Goat-Eater • ANGLECYNN: Armoured Æthelglyth - Rowena - Thurgis •ATALANTES: Sunspear Kyros - Toxotes Thera - Baltazar - Ilios Watch, Toxotes Unit - Ilios Vigil, Iliotoxotes Unit - The Piercing Ones, Toxokolossos Unit - The Searing Ones, Pyrokolossos Unit •BRYTHONIAID: Bowman Urien - Hunter Carys - Nerys - Galon Garreg - Archers of Dyngonwy, Saethwr Unit - Scouts of Dyngonwy, Helwr Unit - Cocneidrau of Cwm Du, Cocneidr Unit - Cogwyferniau of Ceredigion , Cogwyfern Unit •BYZANTII: Gaius Galerius - Sagitta Gaius - Sagitta Quintus - Malus of Antioch - Vulcanus - Aux III Janus, Auxiliarius Contubernium - Aux Sag V Brictius, Auxilia Sagittarius Contubernium - Tri IV Acteon, Auxilia Bestiarius Tribum - In IV Herod, Ignilegionarius Incaendium - Onumo, Hippoxus of Axumae - Flail Onumo, Hippoxus of Axumae •ÉRAINN: Crístóir - Helmed Caitrín • FOMORAIC: Kaarstan - Hunter Kaarstan - Archer Naraa - Maari - Saairen Maari - Raabert's Warband, Reiver Unit - Baart's Warband, Reiver Hunter Unit - Coughing Walvax, Walvax Unit - Barking Walvax, Walvax Netter Unit - Maatmäg, Gigantic Mammox •JUTES: Grīma of Dwimorholt - Auga - Helmed Mildryth - Helmed Garric •KHTHONES: Warrior Eikovra - Medusel - Klóstiss •NORSE: N/A •VRAS: Scab-Face •YSIANS: Sickle-Hedroc - Bow-Annik - Sairen Rose - Kerazek - Rogues of Carn Bran, Rogue-Drune Unit - Corruptors of Kraozon, Brute Corruptor Unit - Aberrants of Ys, Hound-Aberrant Unit
Let us know if we've missed anything, of course...
That's it for this week, Miercenaries!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Creator Mierce Miniatures about 1 hour ago
A quick word on the Mammox - his RRP is £150 at the moment, but that's likely to be more. So if you want him, get one now because he will be way more than £150 - possibly £175.
Automatically Appended Next Post: My highlights are the Dromedus (Camel men) with Roberto on excellent form again
and the glorious Onumo the hippo man from Alan
but everything is really impressive this week, even more so than normal
Those sculpts are breathtaking..truly ! And so characterful.
I have a load of Dark Ages terrain on the go for SAGA at the moment, but am really looking forward to mixing some of this lot in with it (and perhaps a few more fantastical pieces as well). Think it will go really well.
Plasticraft use to sell some darkage\norse huts but it was back before they added any detail to their structures. You have to add the textures yourself to the foam but you can find them on several online stores for only a few bucks. I bought some from either FRP or Miniature Market to eventually build.
It's not cheap, but the quality is excellent. They do a range of historical periods, this stuff is from the dark age one which I think fits the aesthetic flavour of Darklands.
You get some really cool internal detailing on a lot of them as well
The 4Ground stuff is awesome. Easy to put together, reasonably priced.
I don't think as good as a table of Grand Manner, but then would probably cost half as much. So, it is what it is!
My only problem with MDF at anything larger than 15mm scale is that you lose some of the abstraction, and the buildings can look a little plain. Sometimes you want this (so MDF is ideal for pre-fab futuristic Infinity buildings etc.) but you want something a bit more organic/man made for historical periods.
One thing you can do is conversion work on MDF to make it look a bit more realistic. There's a really good article in the current Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/pw/wss/ws-s-online/) (issue 84) which shows how to convert a very cheap Timeline Miniatures MDF Saxon Church into something that looks like it could be a £60-70 resin kit.
Pacific wrote: The 4Ground stuff is awesome. Easy to put together, reasonably priced.
I don't think as good as a table of Grand Manner, but then would probably cost half as much. So, it is what it is!
My only problem with MDF at anything larger than 15mm scale is that you lose some of the abstraction, and the buildings can look a little plain. Sometimes you want this (so MDF is ideal for pre-fab futuristic Infinity buildings etc.) but you want something a bit more organic/man made for historical periods.
One thing you can do is conversion work on MDF to make it look a bit more realistic. There's a really good article in the current Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/pw/wss/ws-s-online/) (issue 84) which shows how to convert a very cheap Timeline Miniatures MDF Saxon Church into something that looks like it could be a £60-70 resin kit.
Honestly, I'm really, *really* not a fan of MDF terrain for precisely those reasons - but the 4Grounds saxon/medieval stuff is unbelievably nice IMO. It's not just the price, those hovels/dwellings/cottages aren't just great for the price, they'll hold their own on pretty much any appropriately-themed table IMO (I don't even play at my place **at all** and I still couldn't resist getting a bunch!). The teddy-bear-thatched-roof is just such a stroke of genius (not at all their creation, I know, but still the execution here is perfect and it takes no effort at all) and their prepaint-white has just about the perfect wattle-and-daub construction look at this scale, IMO.
Anyway, let's get on with the pictures
Spoiler:
I just plunked a few buildings and models on my desk and took some phone-cam pics since it's just about scale; better pictures of the buildings are available online and the paintjobs won't be all that stellar even when finished - which none of these are Let me know if you'd like better quality pictures! This shows the scale is fine, but I'll break out the good photography setup if needed Also keep in mind: Gabrax are _big_. They're both a little taller and a *lot* bulkier than most Mierce infantry aside from some heroes here and there. IMO the buildings look big enough next to the Gabrax - imagine what a bunch of Brythoniaid/Angelcynn infantry would look like in that village; they'd be right at home.
Nb. That's a hovel and a dwelling; I haven't gotten around to the cottage just yet. It's on the list but I really shouldn't be buying too much scenery, so I've resisted so far Also the dwelling (the larger one) has had PVA applied to the roof; it's all hard and probably more realistic-looking now. I still kind of like the way the hovel feels all fluffy, though - and it does give it a rather more three-dimensional look than MDF sometimes tends to.
Have any of you lost mail from Mierce? I had a krokodar host, ice elemental and other stuff despatched on 20 Apr last month and only received the rulebook :(
First gameplay tutorial video is up: positioning hosts (the QR code in the rulebook should work for that too)
The position of hosts is a game in of itself, and very much like poker! Can you bluff your opponent into thinking your positioning one way while secretly positioning another way...
We're about half-way through this project, and whilst we've achieved what we aimed for - to get those stretch goals not fulfilled in Darklands: Mighty Monsters fulfilled here - there's still time to enter the realms of further possibility, fellow Miercenaries!
So the question we put to you, our loyal and valued backers, is this - what would you like to see as the £25,000 stretch goal?
In order to find out, we ask you to vote on the comments section on this update for the £25,000 stretch goal, choosing from the following list:
ALBAINN:
Murcunn, Oghureach Uhmaer
ALBAINN: Stalkers of Cait, Oghurithne Stalker Unit - 3x Oghurithne armed with slings
ALBAINN: Oghu Wardens, Oghureach Unit - 3x Oghureach
ANGLECYNN: Sweorcan's Pack, Wulfas Unit - 5x Wulfas
ATALANTES: The Scalding Ones, Ancient Mesokolossos Unit - 5x Ancient Mesokolossi with Xiphos and Aspis (sword and shield)
ATALANTES: The Swift Ones, Kórikolossos Unit - 5x Kórikolossi (female Mesokolossi, 50mm bases) with spear and shield (artwork coming soon
BRYTHONIAID: Casineg, Prifcawrdraig of Dugadw
BRYTHONIAID: Cawrdreigiau of Dugadw, Cawrdraig Unit - 3x Cawrdraig
Note, however, that we only ask you to vote for what you would increase your pledge for (and not simply swap something out to get it); If you wouldn't increase your pledge for anything on the above list, please don't vote!
Wehrkind wrote: Man... I really wish they would do regular centaurs. Those ogre centaurs look so good, but I have exactly zero idea of what I would do with them :(
If you've got the rulebook, page 23: Seaxsens - Rob has confirmed that they will be some sort of Centaurs...
Have any of you lost mail from Mierce? I had a krokodar host, ice elemental and other stuff despatched on 20 Apr last month and only received the rulebook :(
Shoot their customer service team an email. I had a similar order that was supposed to be split. Some stuff was marked as shipped that wasnt ready yet, and they sorted it out by the next day!
New releases from Mierce for those who don't want to play with KS including
Beb on Pig-Bog (40mm base), everybody needs Pig-Bog
thacaldān, mound beetle (80mm base)
krekkek, bull sávrakh (100mm base)
It's a little late this month, but here's another wave of new releases for both BaneLegions (six in total) and Darklands (eight in total), and from lots of different Kickstarter projects - and, of course, the mighty Darklands: First Edition Rule Book, a huge tome of 364 pages that gives you everything you need to play Darklands... bar the miniatures, of course!
There's four new miniatures for the BaneLords, all Orcs and all sculpted or converted by Tim Prow - Grimbash, Buggrom, Shazham and Queefus - and two new miniatures for the BaneBeasts, Lamashti the Pleasure Demon and Khan-Wrath the War Demon. For Darklands we've the very first Jute release - the fantastic Mound Beetle, Thacaldān - as well as Gudhlagg for the Albainn, Geraint Nerthol on Ceffyldraig for the Brythoniaid, Araigh for the Érainn, Krekkek for the Khthones, Hrókr for the Norse and Beb on Pig-Bog for the Ysians. Lots of big and nasty things to hurt your enemies with!
And, separately from the Kickstater, New Releases!
More Mighty Monsters! It's a little late this month, but here's another wave of new releases for both BaneLegions (six in total) and Darklands (eight in total), and from lots of different Kickstarter projects - and, of course, the mighty Darklands: First Edition Rule Book, a huge tome of 364 pages that gives you everything you need to play Darklands... bar the miniatures, of course!
There's four new miniatures for the BaneLords, all Orcs and all sculpted or converted by Tim Prow - Grimbash, Buggrom, Shazham and Queefus - and two new miniatures for the BaneBeasts, Lamashti the Pleasure Demon and Khan-Wrath the War Demon. For Darklands we've the very first Jute release - the fantastic Mound Beetle, Thacaldān - as well as Gudhlagg for the Albainn, Geraint Nerthol on Ceffyldraig for the Brythoniaid, Araigh for the Érainn, Krekkek for the Khthones, Hrókr for the Norse and Beb on Pig-Bog for the Ysians. Lots of big and nasty things to hurt your enemies with!
Sadly, we've not been able to get them painted in time for release (except for Thacaldān, who looks wonderful), but the miniatures themselves are fantastic as always - and just like the previous releases, thanks to us being busier than busy bees we've just not had the time to get the release art and descriptions done; but you can still see some good images of each miniature on the website of course.
The 364 page Darklands: First Edition hardback Rule Book contains the fantastic Darklands: First Edition rules, which comprise an introduction to tabletop wargaming and a background to the lands of darkness themselves as well as the sections on hosts, units and warriors, setting up the battlefield, the all-important battle hour sequence and the various actions and reactions your units can perform during a game. In short, you can't play a game of Darklands without it!
Sculpted by Olivier Bouchet from the artwork by Phil Moss, Gudhlagg (standing on a 60mm base) is a mighty Oghur Warchief, a commander of Oghur and a powerful warrior in his own right!
Originally sculpted by Benoît Cosse, Geraint Nerthol can now ride to battle upon a mighty Ceffyldraig - a horse-dragon - able to breathe fire and murderise his enemies with his big teeth and claws... and all courtesy of Roberto Chaudon's sculpting work, from the artwork by Dan Warren!
The second ever release for the Érainn - well, that's not a sell-sword - Araigh is an ancient Fen Beast, a creature awoken by Danu to defend Eriu from the invaders and raiders. Sculpted by a newcomer to our range, Didier Fancagne, from the artwork by Sam Lamont!
Thacaldān has the honour of being our very first release for the Jutes, the kindred of Cant and Wiht and undead nasties! Thacaldān is a superb miniature sculpted by Aragorn Marks from the artwork by Danny Cruz.
Sculpted by Roberto Chaudon from the artwork by Christophe Madura, Krekkek is a lizard monster of gigantic proporitions for the Khthones. Standing malevolently upon a 100mm base, Krekkek will bring strength and power to your Sávrar host!
Sculpted by the amazing Roberto Chaudon from the artwork by the equally amazing Dan Warren, Hrókr is a Gunnhrafn, a War-Raven of power and strength and speed - a brilliant addition to your Norse host!
Mounted upon a terrifying and feral Pig-Bog, Beb is a Nithing that serves his master, Gondard, faithfully and dutifully. Riding such a beast may have its own dangers, but it gets flesh-parts to his master quicker than scampering around the battlefield!
Converted by Yannick Hennebo from the original miniature by Allan Carrasco, and from the artwork by Dan Warren, the BaneBeast known as Lamashti is a Pleasure Demon of depravity and filled with hate for anything that denies her obvious attractions!
The huge and powerful War Demon known as Khan-Wrath is, of course, based upon the mighty Krull. Gaining a helm and an extra axe, Khan-Wrath is more than capable of destroying his opponents upon the battlefield!
Sculpted by Tim Prow from the artwork by Neil Hodgson, Grimbash is the first of four Orc bosses released on foot this month. Watch out for Grimbash on Wyvern next month!
Again sculpted by Tim Prow from the artwork by Neil Hodgson, Buggrom is the second of four Orc bosses released on foot this month. Watch out for Buggrom on Wyvern next month!
Sculpted by Tim Prow from the artwork by Neil Hodgson, Shazham is the first shaman of the four Orc bosses released on foot this month. Watch out for Shazham on Wyvern next month!
Again sculpted by Tim Prow from the artwork by Neil Hodgson, Queefus is the second shaman and the final of four Orc bosses released on foot this month. Watch out for Queefus on Wyvern next month!
All of the releases above were officially released on the 7th of May 2016, and so you can order them right now.
Watch out for the June releases, which should be unveiled soon!
If they were based on bull bodies instead of horses, I'd be much more tempted... not really sold on the art here though (and Mierce has been very good about matching the art!).
They blew everything else away in voting, though, so clearly quite a few folks love them!
They only won because I was unavailable to vote in the Brythoniaid draigs, stuck having to MC a volunteer breakfast that just now finished up (2.5 hours after school started).
I've been trying to figure out where I could possibly put these guys to use (outside of Darklands). Possibly as bull centaurs in a Chaos Dwarf army? Maybe something similar in Kings of War?
...well, I know they've got me actually considering adding yet ANOTHER Darklands Kindred - the Albainn!
I'm going to have to dive into the muster rules and see if I can make a playable force made up of Oghu Guardians, Spears of Dun Durn and...maybe a giant?
That's funny, because when First Edition I started Albainn were my least favourite kindred, but somewhere around NK the idea of Ogres and Giants just became too cool and their now possibly my 2nd best collection
Gomagg! I ordered him finally on the first mighty monsters campaign. I'm not sure if they are shipping the first KS until the second part ends but I can't wait till he arrives.
Personnally it's the Jutes and non-snake Khthones, although I'm getting érainn to have something different to demo with (Jutes / Erainn starter hosts, I know a bunch of people who wouldn't be thrilled to play reptile-men (the fools) )
Regarding the orcs, they wanted a more traditional and "old school" look for their orcs.. but yeah, I agree, they are among the weaker ones.. But it's hard to compete with the regular skills that they employ
Having dropped by this thread for the first time in a while, why are the kinky cornish faction (Ysians?) so under represented in the monster department?
Shieldwall Aadolf is an alternate of the original Aadolf Ograx Reiver commander and is armed with cleaver and shield, the better to join in the fun with Kaanrod's Mob.
Increase your pledge by £23 to purchase Shieldwall Aadolf!
I can't tell if I've just become desensitized to the number of campaigns but I'm actually really happy with this "makeup" campaign... everything I wanted to see unlocked in the first has been . Right now just pledging for that beautiful boar, but can see myself uppinig for the turtle later on if funds permit. There's usually a pretty long window to add models on until they're sculpted and nearing production, right?
The Ograx goals since then have been cool, and seemingly popular. There are currently no Ograx sculpted for the range to compare to, though, right? My only concern is they might be a bit too large for my use - a lot of the monstrous infantry has been Really monstrous, although if they end up on the lower end of the range given for the unit (50 - 60mm to the top of the head) I could probably use them. 10mm makes a big difference at this size!
Yeah I'm OK with them being bigger (they obviously will be!) as if I pick some up, I'd just be using them in conjunction with other smaller models and not other ogres (all the ogres would be these). But they'd probably have to be able to fit on a smaller base size, at the least!
Anyway, looking forward to seeing the sculpting progress on every concept unlocked so far here . They all look brilliant!
this is why I didn't pledge to get the mallax, I like the artwork but the boss that's avalaible doesn't do it for me
I'll just wait to see the sculpts.
Eventually
But once again using the RiTides Kickstarter Campaign Analysis Metric, it looks as if people are so offended by him that they're dropping their pledges. It is either that, or people are so sick of Ogres that they're reducing their commitments because of them.
Mallax would probably really get that total moving!
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: Gaahn WIP since Rob is going to be busy at the UK games expo tomorrow (and over the weekend)
Thanks for posting this, Orlando! He's kind of cute
Alph, unfortunately I think you're beating a rather solo drum about the Mallax . Kind of hope they make it in at some point due to your obvious enthusiasm for them, but I'm really not a fan of the sculpt we've seen for them either (like Marley posted last page).
My problem with the current Mallax guy is he doesn't seem very sloth- like.
Apologies for my paintjob, but the picture in the background is of some prehistoric early ursid or something that my kid felt the sculpt was closer to than an actual ground sloth.
(I do like it though, and normally I'd vote for them, but it's far more fun watching Alpharius fight the good fight on his own.)
Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?
@Alph: One could use them to play Darklands, but have you read the rule book? I tried... I really did. It was ~60 pages before I knew what the turn sequence looked like, and then I gave up. I don't know if the game is good or not, but that game needs an editor so hard. I say that not as someone who needs every game to have 4 pages of rules max; RiTides can attest that my house is filled with rule books and the like. I REALLY like rule books! Darklands though, that is less a rule book and more a stream of consciousness novel written in Microsoft Project.
It really depends, there's a variety of extinct ground sloths, and an even wider variety of illustrations, then you factor in the artistic license for the human/bipedal influence.
I agree I'd have gone for a pointier muzzled, arguably more sloth-y vibe though. The Mallox is a much better take IMO.
Wehrkind wrote: Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?
Fomor don't need no stinking Weres, that's how one tells!
@Alph: One could use them to play Darklands, but have you read the rule book? I tried... I really did. It was ~60 pages before I knew what the turn sequence looked like, and then I gave up. I don't know if the game is good or not, but that game needs an editor so hard. I say that not as someone who needs every game to have 4 pages of rules max; RiTides can attest that my house is filled with rule books and the like. I REALLY like rule books! Darklands though, that is less a rule book and more a stream of consciousness novel written in Microsoft Project.
I'm finding it tough going too, just reading a couple of pages at a time. Going to keep going though, as a) I've got a bunch of models and I want to use them and b) I think there's an interesting game in there, it just feels like the glossary has been put at the front. I find most rulebooks have an element of giving you information before or after you need it though, it just seems a tad excessive in Darklands' case.
Alph, unfortunately I think you're beating a rather solo drum about the Mallax . Kind of hope they make it in at some point due to your obvious enthusiasm for them, but I'm really not a fan of the sculpt we've seen for them either (like Marley posted last page).
Ha!
Not at all - using the Patent Pending RiTides Kickstarter Campaign Backer Temperature Algorithm, the Mallax finished a solid second in the backer poll - so, clearly many people want them too.
I'm hoping that the latest Gaanh/Wallax dynamic takes place here - only in reverse.
The Mallax artwork looks great - I hope the unit matches it exactly.
The latest Wallax artwork CLEARLY influenced/took over the sculpt for Gaanh - and he now doesn't look like his artwork much at all. And that's OK, as he'll match his unit well, even if he's lost a lot of his 'individuality'.
And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?
Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.
And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?
Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.
For me it isn't the detail, but the horrendous organization that is the issue. Count how many times the phrase "models of type W, X, Y and Z do not get ___ tokens" in the early sections on... well the 20 pages talking how when a unit becomes some state it gets a token that says it is that state. No detail on what that state does, mind you. That info is somewhere else. We just need a few pages explaining that units in a state get a token stating that they are in that state. They could have cut 100 pages out of the 358 odd pages of rules very, very easily.
When you have 300+ pages of rules that are not intermixed with giant photos and fluff descriptions of units or the world, something is wrong. The book has 11 pages of world fluff, and some pages that are just pictures, but still over 330 pages of dense, poorly organized rules text.
That's not even getting into the fact that many of the rules seem redundant or otherwise extraneous. I will assume they are all valuable until I digest the rules and get games in, but honestly that isn't looking likely.
Wehrkind wrote: Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?
Fomor don't need no stinking Weres, that's how one tells!
Why not? They've stolen models from the Albainn, Ysians, and Brythonaid, are you getting picky now? It's why I like the Conand range aesthetically, they have a unifying theme ("sea monsters") while Balor feels too kitchen-sinky. Monster-men from the frozen north, goatmen for some reason, humans who want to kill all humans, sea monsters, constructs and renegades from half the other factions.
And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?
Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.
You can have precise rules without having the rulebook being quite so bone-dry and technical. See: Malifaux, Warmachine, Infinity. Even if I stop bouncing off the walls of text and get an idea of how the rules work, I can't for the life of me imagine selling this game to a novice once they actually ask for a demo. I don't seriously see myself playing this until a quickstart or light version of the rules come out.
As I've said previously, the "plan" (as arse end up as it may be) is to have 4 page (or maybe 8 page) Very Quick Start rules in each starter host, when they're released to the public; just to get you started.
There'll be a longer version in the double-starter-host, possibly even an A5 short version of the rule book.
The rule book itself is designed to be a technical manual, not an exercise in fluffy prose; it does state this on page 6. The QR codes are there to enable you to play videos that show you how to play (we're working on the videos now, it's not helped that the videographer's developed an illness). The first one should be up next week.
The reason it's ended up this way is because I can't do quick versions of full rules without the full rules being there; I'd just end up changing something, and negating the short version.
Darklands is a cracking game, at least I think it is, and I would put it up against any wargame out there for enjoyment and the feel of battle. If you want to play, you'll play. If you don't want to play, you won't.
Trust me though, once you play a battle for the first time, you'll enjoy it enough to go further.
There's no denying that the ruleset has huge potential, and something with the amount of stuff that the book is trying to cover is inevitably going to carry a fairly steep learning curve.
There's loads of little touches I like though, like being able to pick up and throw elements of terrain, or cold blooded models fighting better when the weather is warmer!
I'm continuing to plough on through, even if it isn't the lightest read!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ooh, and I keep meaning to mention the quality of the metals! I've started assembling my little host over the last week, no there's a game to be played, and they've been a joy (in the main - little arms, sausage fingers and superglue are not a marriage made in heaven!)
Every bit as well cast as the resins, and much more reassuringly solid in the "long and thin" department.
I think a 3-4way tie with less than half the winner's votes isn't really a slam dunk for the mallax, unfortunately... especially as new concepts often get a lot of traction. I do hope they unlock eventually, though!
I'd also love to see more thorough reviews on the rulebook from those of you who have read it in detail, when you get time
Mierce Miniatures wrote: As I've said previously, the "plan" (as arse end up as it may be) is to have 4 page (or maybe 8 page) Very Quick Start rules in each starter host, when they're released to the public; just to get you started.
There'll be a longer version in the double-starter-host, possibly even an A5 short version of the rule book.
Will the QS rules be available outside of starter hosts?
RiTides wrote: I think a 3-4way tie with less than half the winner's votes isn't really a slam dunk for the mallax, unfortunately...
No gak!
And since you seem to not be getting it, that's the joke!
Because, claiming that the 'majority' of people in the campaign 'clearly' wanted the Ograx when in reality only 10 out of 36 people who actually voted (out of the 152 backers at that time) wanted them...means that I can make ridiculous claims about the Mallax being the second most popular choice!
Sheesh!
Anyway...
...odd to see this campaign stalling now, especially with the release of mini-Cthulhu Uuroch, but maybe this is the calm before the final storm - we've got 4 days to go, hopefully this really takes off in the next couple of days.
Ok. On April 19 I paid for an additional shipping item to get everything shipped to me, and on April 20 they said
"Excellent, thanks mate! We've got the metals too so they'll ship next week at the latest."
but now it's June and nothing has arrived (and again, everything still says "packing" on the site).
But other people are reporting having received stuff, so...
I know that at least one of the deliveries of metals was short so it could be that they thought they had them to send but when they started parcelling them up they found they didn't have enough and are waiting for more stock
(but as Alpharius says a message via KS next week isn't going to hurt)
Yeah, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, I've been a customer since the first Kickstarter. This is the first time I've had an actual weird packing/shipping/etc occurrence.
I received something shipped in April, I think that was just their huge surge and yours might've gotten lost in the shuffle. They normally reply really quickly so well worth checking!
Just 33 hours left in the current campaign! Looks like this one will stay manageable, but that's probably a good thing since it's a back-to-back campaign. The total between the two is great
At least we've finally cleared £20K - that took a while!
Probably because the Ogres and Mini-Cthulhu Uuroch failed to excite/weren't as popular as initially perceived, but oh well, live and learn!
Comments section notes that new tokens will be previewed today, though I don't think that will necessarily light a fire under this one either, but, 'keeping it manageable' might be a good thing here, even though June 2017 IS a ways off!
I think it might just be hitting it's capacity regardless of what's previewed.
If you consider this and the last KS as one campaign it's the best showing since New Kindreds (I think?).
The number of kindreds now means even people collecting multiple lines are going to be left out a significant portion of the time.
I'm still waiting on my Norse warband from Metal Age. Not concerned thought. It'll probably show up around the same time as my Red Box KS vikings so it'll be good to see how they match up scale wise.
There is perhaps no worse thread than this one to post delivery updates in!
Mierce has a system in place, based on when you closed your order, what's in stock, and what else is going to ship for you, and how many shipping 'waves' you paid for.
If in doubt, email them directly - but keep in mind that they've also got a rather temperamental spam filter in place, so you might also have to contact them in different ways too - like directly through their site, or via the Kickstarter messaging and/or comments sections.
Everytime I see that "Slowed" token here or in the rule book, I keep thinking that the Dakka filter is hard at work, and that the warrior in question should be supervised when using scissors.
The Norse infantry are pretty small, if it's the Holumann set. My son picked up a pack. They're similar scale to historical minis, I'd say. Head and shoulders shorter than the Blood Rage Vikings, for example.
Like last time, today's update is HUGE - maybe even bigger than last time! We have loads to show you, and it's apparent that New Kindreds is getting near to completion... finally. It's been a long haul, this one, but we're getting there!
This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Roberto Chaudon, Didier Fancagne, Yannick Fusier, Andrew May, Luc Pinganaud and Jin Wei;
an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
..and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let us begin!
This week we have miniatures from lots of kindreds to show - the Atalantes, from Jin Wei; the Érainn, from Didier Fancagne; the Fomoraic, from Yannick Fusier; the Jutes, from Yannick Hennebo; and finally the Norse, from Ernst Veingart!
Luc Pinganaud has been hard at work doing some conversions, and the first today is Armoured Dúngal for the Albainn...
He should be a Wave 13 shipment.
Jin Wei's now completed the Ilios Guard with Kuma finished, and they look superb!
Kuma is the last remaining warrior of the unit, and looks great!
These guys should be a Wave 13 shipment.
The lovely Eadric gets a makeover thanks to Luc Pinganaud. Shieldwall Eadric and his flowing locks look great!
He will be a Wave 13 shipment.
It's been a while in coming but the Gesith alternates of the banner bearer and herald are done, thanks to Luc Pinganaud!
Hrodbert is the alternate of the banner bearer and he's a cracker.
He means business!
The alternate of the herald is Ælfrad...
These guys should be a Wave 13 shipment!
Roberto Chaudon's Vul IX Muyya, Dromedus Unit is looking absolutely wonderful and we can't wait to get our mitts on them!
The champion of the unit is Muyya, and he looks suitably determined.
He's about done, although there'll be a final pass on details...
Kammal is the final warrior of the unit, and he's about done.
Again, there are a few details we need to sort out, and then these guys are done. We do think they'll all be sorted for Wave 13, except Bakr, the alternate of the banner bearer.
Didier Fancagne has truthfully created a monster in Cúlaítar. Look at the size of him!
He's big...
He should be a Wave 13 shipment!
Yannick Fusier's work on Gaanh is nothing short of amazing. It certainly bodes well for the Walvax units funded by Savage Hordes II!
He should be a Wave 13 shipment, although there's still a few bits to do...
A newcomer to our range, Andrew May, has been hard at work on some alternates and Cleaver Mälmord is looking particularly spiffing!
He should be a Wave 13 shipment.
From the hands of Martin Lavat comes the lovely Armoured Hrókr, the alternate of Hrókr of course!
Again, we're looking at Wave 13 for this guy.
The alternate of Jowan is the lovely Ax-Jowan...
Wave 13! Yay!
The boobiful Sickle-Annik is here...
NSFW warning
Spoiler:
Wave 13. Ahem.
He's bloody ugly, is Spike-Gondard...
...and will be a Wave 13 shipment!
We've been waiting for this for so long... and here he is. Hammer-Druc is bloody brilliant, thanks to Andrew May!
We've a couple of miniatures to show you - some alternate monsters, finally! - and an update on where we are with the metals.
Let's go!
The lovely Martin Lavat has been working hard on the alternate monsters for this project, and with superb results. Check these guys out!
The murder-bear known as Mihtlāf could have been a tricky conversion to pull off, but Martin has made it look blimmin' easy. He's not even cuddly, and most bears look cuddly!
Mihtlāf should be a Wave 13 shipment.
We've been looking forward to Sia for ages, if only so we can get a Centurion on it at some point! Martin Lavat has delivered again: Sia looks absolutely stunning...
Sia will be a Wave 13 shipment!
Maaru has, of course, been released for a long time, but we decided to take the opportunity for Martin Lavat to re-work Maaru's head to make him look a bit better. The result is wonderful, and we can't wait to get him!
What we'll do with Maaru is this: if you order him from now onwards, you'll get the "new face" Maaru as a Wave 13 shipment. Simple, really!
Eleven Infantry Hosts have shipped / are shipping!
Eleven infantry hosts from this project have been shipped (or are shipping) right now - the Albainn Gairlom, Anglecynn Duguth, Brythoniaid Teulu, Brythoniaid Rhyfelwr, Érainn Tuanagh, Fomoraic Gabrax, Fomoraic Warriors of Baalor, Jute Wihtgār, Norse Holumann, Ysian Ax-Drune and Ysian Bow-Drune Infantry Hosts - as well as the individual miniatures within them.
If your hosts from this project haven't been shipped by now, that means you either:
[*]don't have enough shipment items to justify separate shipments or you don't have any shipment items at all;[*]or you have some resin miniatures on order which need to be cast.
Note that if you have purchased similar infantry hosts from other projects, such as Savage Hordes or Savage Hordes II, we will only ship what we can (as many of them are different) and they are not guaranteed to have been shipped with your items from this project - and again, it depends on your shipment items.
What's Next?
We have the miniatures for the Byzantii Legionarius and the Anglecynn Gesith starter hosts, so we'll be sending those off to the metal casters shortly.
The Atalantes Oplites are all sculpted but are in various stages of printing, although we are hopeful we'll get those in our mitts and off to the metal casters ready in time for Wave 13. The Byzantii Demilegionarius are needing the alternate sculpt of Erebius and the full sculpt of Nervor, so we're not sure what will happen with those. We can only poke Yannick so much...!
We're hassling the sculptors as much as we possibly can! We'll get there!
We have more Darklands: Savage Hordes miniatures to show you this week, and they're utterly amazingly fantastic, even if we do say so ourselves...
This week we have:
sculpt work in progress updates from Edgar Skomorowski and Valentin Zak;
an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
a list of what ships, when;
...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Here we go...
The Albainn, Érainn and Jutes have some new things this week, courtesy of Valentin Zak and Edgar Skomorowski respectively!
The Crossbows of Dun Durn are now complete, thanks to Valentin Zak's superb ministrations.
We absolutely love Valentin's work on the infantry for the Albainn and Érainn, and we'll be giving him more humans to do in the future!
Galan is the champion of the unit...
...and looks a bit piratey!
The first warrior is Wurgesta...
...she looks far too clean for a Pict!
Straining to reload, is Cimoith...
...put your back into it man!
Another beautiful lady, is Unen...
...maybe you should add warts!
An old git, is Calorc... he's seen it all, and done it all.
Wave 13 is definitely the way for these fellas!
Fresh from the Crossbowmen, Valentin has begun work on the Érainn slingers, the Maiobhanagh. Repeat after me: "moy-AN-a"
The champion of the slingers is Eóghan....
He's an old git as well. You can't tell now, but you will...
The first warrior is Áine...
...she'll probably be beautiful as well!
Sínead is a warrior, too...
...a bit of a harridan, perhaps?
Conall looks like he means business!
Well, we think so.
"Bloody Nóra!" said Nóra.
These guys, we are hoping, will be a Wave 13 shipment...
It's not just the Valentin Zak show today... here's Edgar Skomorowski and his latest awesome work on the Jutes. Enter stage left, The Hateful of Mordain Grave...
The oldest king of all is Anlāf. As a Gāst, he naturally assumes command of his lesser kings...
He doesn't remember much about his previous life, but he remembers being very important...
The first warrior, and a minor king in his own right, is Grændal...
He is filled with hate, although he doesn't know why...
Wadæc is the last warrior of the unit, for few Gāsta remain...
These guys should be a Wave 13 shipment; there's a few bits we need to sort out, mostly to do with the "ghostly" parts, but they're almost there.
For clarity, all of the casts of these guys will be made in normal opaque resin, and we expect you to paint the "ghostly" parts in a light colour to reflect their inner glow.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Surprise...
Deathbringing
Another update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II! Brilliant!
Here we go...
We have something for the Jutes this week, thanks to Edgar Skomorowski...
Auga is a Drēaguth Deathbringer, an Invoker of the Wihts, and a very nasty piece of work indeed. Whilst they hate, they are not necessarily evil... although try telling that to yourself when he's swinging the lantern at you!
There's a couple of things still to sort, but he should be a Wave 15 shipment!
That bear from Metal Age looks awesome. The best sculpt I've seen in a long time. The lion underneath it looks really good too. I'm glad I've already got them on order.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: That bear head is awesome, but he needs pads on his paws. Something had been bugging me about his limbs and I finalliy realized that was it.
Now when you mention it, yes, the paws looks quite odd. It looks like the claws just come directly out of the arm.
It's not a bear, it's a murder-bear... it's different to a bear.
I mean, you're talking about the hands of a fifteen-foot tall bear with tiny legs being "wrong"... I get it, but don't think it's a mistake - he's meant to be as he is, because he's a conversion from the Mallox. Which is also not a sloth, it's a giant sloth monster.
Anyone have any advice for what to start with for this range? I backed the kickstarter and got access to the older kickstarter stuff too, but now i cant seem to decide where to start. There are just too many awesome models to choose from. I love the Jutes, Norse, ysians, dragonmen faction and the atlantians. Just have no idea where to start.
Definitively do with the Metal Age Starter Hosts where ever and whenever possible, especially if you're going to be gaming with them.
Having written that though, I'm not sure if there are many Metal Age Starters still available - but you should be able to pick some via 'later' Kickstarters.
Jutes are rather well supported for a 'newer' Kindred (Ha!), and the Ysians are definitely stocked up.
Norse have a nice selection of Trolls and flying bird men - always a good thing.
And the Brythoniaid have Dragons and Dragon-Men galore...
The GBP 60 infantry starters are very, very good deals. If it's Jutes you like, just get as many different GBP 60 infantry starters as your budget will allow and you'll be off to a great start. (there's quite a few of those still available for Jutes, more than any other kindred IIRC) (I think there's a monstrous GBP60 starter for them as well, bunch of the big wraithey things, looked like a good deal as well. Maybe skip the infantry starter that already has a bunch of those in it already if you get that!)
Now is a great time to start Jutes, there's lots and lots of variety for them in those starters and you'll be busy painting just those for quite a while.
Also, one piece of advice: for feth's sake, stick to one kindred, at least for a while. You'll just get overwhelmed if you don't
Bolognesus wrote: The GBP 60 infantry starters are very, very good deals.
If it's Jutes you like, just get as many different GBP 60 infantry starters as your budget will allow and you'll be off to a great start. (there's quite a few of those still available for Jutes, more than any other kindred IIRC)
(I think there's a monstrous GBP60 starter for them as well, bunch of the big wraithey things, looked like a good deal as well. Maybe skip the infantry starter that already has a bunch of those in it already if you get that!)
Now is a great time to start Jutes, there's lots and lots of variety for them in those starters and you'll be busy painting just those for quite a while.
Also, one piece of advice: for feth's sake, stick to one kindred, at least for a while. You'll just get overwhelmed if you don't
Good advice on the Jutes, and...sticking to one (or two?) Kindred.
I did not do that - and...I've spent a lot with Mierce!
Of course, WFB dying and 40K being a swirling maelstrom of confusion certainly freed up a lot of the hobby budget too!
Order before the Metal Host and Miniature Price Increase!
The imminent release of starter hosts to the general public, most of which bear similarity to those on this project, has prompted us to review the costs of metal production. This has led to an understanding that the £60 metal starter hosts are simply too cheap for release, especially when trade discounts are taken into account.
This means that we will have to increase the price of the remaining starter hosts on this project to reflect the costs of metal production ahead, and to ensure they match the starter hosts released shortly.
However, we'll give you a short time to purchase the hosts at the old prices so that you do at least have a chance to take advantage of them before they change. Thus, you have until midnight (GMT) on Monday the 20th of June before the price increases take effect.
What's Increasing in Price?
Simply put, all of the metal hosts and units will be increased in price. Most individual characters will not increase in price, although some may depending on their size.
Here is a full list of the hosts and units from this project that are increasing in price:
Note that there will be a 5% discount from the RRP for the above items, which will reflect the prices on our webstore; so anything at £79.99 RRP would be available at £75.99, and so on.
Order before the 21st of June at the old prices!
Once again, don't forget you have until midnight (GMT) on the 20th of June 2016 to order any of the above at the old prices - which is five days from now. Get your skates on!
so if you've got moneyback you've been thinking of spending on a host,
or you thought you might want one of these but hadn't made up your mind
make sure to buy before the deadline
Automatically Appended Next Post:
@The Captain - no, anything metal (in terms of hosts) will be going up in price. After much deliberation, and knowing the exact costs of metals, they have to go up in line with the existing infantry hosts.
cOuNtcrUshMOre about 3 hours ago
Good Morning!
@Rob:
Will the individual prices go up too (for example the Reiver Unit)?
@Count - yes, units are £39.99 for 10, bigger miniature infantry units are £49.99 (Gabrax and Ax-Drunes so far)
so folk also need to make their minds up on the metal infantry outside of the hosts too
I understand that they are apparently necessary, but still - ouch!
10 human sized infantry look to be going up by about £10?
They'll now cost £40 - or about $60, so $6 a figure, up from $45 for ten, or $4.50 a figure.
I imagine that buying things during the Kickstarter campaigns will still be a good way to go, but then that might hurt retail says and the overall growth of the game, maybe?
Disclaimer - I'm certainly no distribution/retail expert!
Yeah, I'm sure it is that + things costing more than originally thought = the new pricing.
I'm just concerned about what sort of effect this might have in getting this miniature range and game into more places. It is already right there on the edge (or maybe firmly in) 'boutique' territory!
Here's to Martin Lavat, who consistently proves that he's a bloody good sculptor.
The One-Headed Phoenix Demon - based upon the Darklands miniature Hrudinn, of course - is now looking great in its one-headed form!
Both versions of the Phoenix Demon will be Wave 13 shipments.
Shipping is Ongoing
Wave 8 is complete, and Wave 11 shipments are ongoing - we estimate we're around half-way through. These Demon Princes are tough! Wave 12 has begun, but it's early days yet.
We will try to get everything out as soon as we can, but there's a lot to ship - and as always we prioritise orders in date sequence; i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early.
What we're saying, basically, is - please be patient! We are doing everything as fast as we can without compromising on quality.
We'll keep this list updated every, er, update.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (complete): Existing miniatures.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 8 (August 2015): Stone Beast / Ettu - Ice Elemental / Skaadi
• SHIPMENT WAVE 11 (April 2016): Demon Prince of War - Demon Prince of Pleasure - Phoenix Demon Prince - Demon Prince of Plague
• SHIPMENT WAVE 12 (June 2016): Chimera
• SHIPMENT WAVE 13 (August 2016): Phoenix Demon - One-Headed Phoenix Demon - Giant - Chaos Giant - Orc Giant
Automatically Appended Next Post: We've been trying to get Jason Hendricks (of Hormachine and others fame) to work for us for a while now, and we've finally managed it... for he'll be doing the Corruptors!
First on Jason's workbench is Fuggug, the Kill-Corruptor - the champion of the unit.
There's a way to go, and it's early days for Fuggug; but of course we're hoping for a Wave 15 shipment...
Automatically Appended Next Post: Darklands: Savage Hordes
The lovely Caitrín is a versatile lady - not only is she a superb warrior in her own right, she's also a dab hand at slinging rocks at the enemy...
The lovely Mildryth is another versatile woman, for not only can she bash people with her stick, she can also shoot people with her bow and that.
Again, she'll be a Wave 13 shipment!
(Don't worry about her face here - bare resin female faces never look good in a photo, as they're very smooth compared to male faces. Especially when the photographer isn't too good)
• SHIPMENT WAVE 12 (June 2016): Hunters of Cait, Oghurithne Hunter Unit (Ungad - Agala - Wrad) - Bholg of Acaill, Fir Bholg Hurler Unit (Dougal - Feargal - Feargus) - Goatskull Aanchuth - Darkstone - Gaalgar's Herd, Gul-Gabrax Unit (Gaalgar - Raagar - Sraangar - Culgaar - Gongaar - Aalgar - Sraagar) - The Betrayers of Ceafor Barrow (Alfweald - Ealdred - Cenred - Wasere - Oscetyl) - The Sinners of Chessell Barrow (Ænna - Eglāf - Ceneric - Wassa - Octha)
• SHIPMENT WAVE 13 (August 2016): Crossbows of Dun Durn, Elbharu Unit (Galan - Wurgesta - Cimoith - Unen - Calorc) - Slinger Caitrín - Men of Ármhach, Maiobhanagh Unit (Eóghan - Áine - Sínead - Conall - Nóra) - Archer Mildryth - The Hateful of Mordain Grave, Gāst Unit (Anlāf - Grændal - Wadæc) - No-Claw's Burrow, Spear-Vras Unit (No-Claw, Quick-Blade, Fat-Skin, Sharp-Fang, Scar-Belly, Quick-Kill, Fat-Tail)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Darklands: New Kindreds
This week we have a miniature for the Fomoraic and a miniature for the Atalantes to show...
Andrew May is rapidly becoming a favourite of ours as he provides strong work all round. Here's the latest conversion from him, Talos Delta...
We gave Warrior Tundaar to Yannick Hennebo because we knew we needed that awesome, corrupted, sneering face on the artwork to be represented on the miniature as good as we could. Needless to say, Yannick never disappoints!
How do the hosts work in regards to metal and resin pricing? If I buy a metal hosts do I still get the resin monsters? Or do I need to buy the resin host to get everything pictured?
You'll get everything pictured, with items supplied in the most cost effective medium for Mierce in the metal hosts.
(For instance, the giant Boars for Fomor were originally intended to be metal, but required so much volume that resin was cheaper for Mierce to produce, so after test casts were made, they were supplied in resin instead.)
Basically, if you go metal all the infantry will be metal, anything bigger will depend on what suits best, but you'll get all the same units.
Darn it! Must have just missed him then, as I sent a message concerning a figure I thought should have shipped with the rest of my order (that will hopefully be waiting for me when I get home).
Joyboozer wrote: How do the hosts work in regards to metal and resin pricing? If I buy a metal hosts do I still get the resin monsters? Or do I need to buy the resin host to get everything pictured?
Yep, the metal hosts are just insane deals. In many cases, the cost of the resin figure is about the price of the host, meaning you get 11+ metal infantry for free. However best to order now before the July 4 price increase, and while the pound is low.
OK, so can anyone help on a rules question? It seems you need a bunch of the mainstay units to even play (2 being required even at skirmish level), but each faction (kindred, realm, whatevs) only seems to have basically 1 mainstay it (and jutes and formoraic have none listed in the most recent muster!). Doesn't that force everyone to run more or less the same lists in terms of infantry? If so, I wish there were more mainstay options. You can at least fulfill your mainstay obligations by running minimum unit sizes, right?
Edit: re-read the compel/influence rules, so that makes more sense now. Still would be nice if each had 2 basic mainstay choices, but I guess that will come in time.
There's some rule where your commanders affect the ubiquity of certain units, I think. That's not any sort of quotation from the rules, just something I seem to remember being discussed.
Azreal13 wrote: There's some rule where your commanders affect the ubiquity of certain units, I think. That's not any sort of quotation from the rules, just something I seem to remember being discussed.
Yes, that's definitely the case. (Maybe! )
So, I believe, some commanders can make monstrous infantry mainstay units.
The muster rules are...a bit shorter than the main rules:
now remember these don't necessarily contain complete minis, and what's there will have breakages, bubbles, mould slip etc, but if you convert you'll get plenty of bits
(and with luck you might get enough to repair a complete mini or more)
This is what my Jute bag had
an insect graveyard with enough bits to repair a couple of mound beetles with minor work (and sculpting or buying the main arms)
and I'm left with 2 more beetles in need of a lot more work, and spider abdomens and a couple of spider legs for conversions
in the valley of spooky cloaks there are many miscasts, mainly bubbles or the resin getting so thin it will break. I can repair one full mini, and with access to an undead bits box I would be able to get the rest back into battle (hmmm to ebay when my wallet recovers)
and some odd bits and pieces including some skeleton bodies etc
overall I'm happy with it, the 2 repairable mound beetles pay for the bag, I can make a couple of other giant beetles (not a lot else to do with beetle bodies) and maybe have a go at a spider, and if I've got (or can buy) some undead torsos I'll have loads of wraiths to play with
The lack of variety in 'big' stuff among the Jutes meant less variety, but also mean more chance of having enough bits to put together an (almost) complete mini, whereas with a kindred like the Fomoraic you'd probably have more variety but less chance of making anything complete
I just grabbed the brythoniaid bag, might be able to make a zombie dragon out of it if there are not enough bits for a whole model.
Was tempted by the albain as i do need an ogre for my mordheim warband, but gotta save money. >.>
First the big stuff, a bunch of creoda bodies in various states (all but one KS exclusive closed mouth versions), one forearm and a couple of bits from other ranges. Big wolf heads could be useful, but buying the missing bits will cost about the same as a the full mini, so conversion fodder only
Next a collection of mid sized (40/50mm based) stuff. This is where the money's made on this bag, I'll get a full unit of 5 or 6 of the smaller wolf men (not everybody's favourite sculpts but I quite like the oversized wolf features on the human bodies, it's something different), and probably one or 2 of the larger ones with a bit of sculpting or conversion (disguising my inability to do proper arm/leg anatomy with fur helps)
and that leaves a forest of basing stuff, shields (which are really good), swords etc
not really a great converters selection in this one, but solid value none the less
Orlando - your conversion skills are quite good, and I always look forward to seeing what you come up with after you get your hands on those miscast packs!
The large stuff includes a couple of Behema bodies with riding platforms bad mould slip on the rear, and one is 'sticky' indicating the resin never quite finished setting and may end up in the bin), plus a couple of krull wings (both the same side, and how many bets the one in my bits box will be the same too?), a paper thin Malacant shield and a few other oddments
and the smaller stuff is mainly torsos from the demilegionaries
(not sure if the hips are from them or something else)
since I have the unridden Behema I should be able to press mould the missing bits to get one the ridden one built so that pays for the bag (if the sticky one can be recovered i'll convert that one)
and all those torsos look very tempting matched up with the floating robes of the jute spooky ghosts (hope they fit) to make a unit of demonic wraiths which is potentially very cool. It's also a good thing as since they are larger than a standard human mini they'd be tricky to get legs to fit
Got a complete Rhyfelwyr warrior and Teulu warrior, that appear to be fine which pays for the bag, plus got a few more bodys and a another Rhyfelwyr weapon set but no arms.
Got 6 Carys one is just missing her feet so should be an easy fix rest are missing bows and feet.
Have a Fowyn Carys whose just missing a sword
Got a bunch of Ceffyldraig parts need a left leg, tail and bottom jaw to make one, only have the upper body of the rider with a miscast shield.
4 sets of Parawn wings which should come in handy as they are hive tyrant sized plus a right arm
Then have a random bloodhound, single armoured wing that i can't place and some furry mosterous infantry bodys.
We took a vote and it seemed as if the next KS would start in August, but...it looks like it will start in July anyway, as The Schedule must be obeyed!
(As long as the much anticipated - and demanded - Mallax unit shows up...)
RivenSkull wrote: Has anyone had any luck in requesting models that have been bought in resin to be switched to metal?
I asked to do just that - and the request was granted!
As I'll be gaming with all of these miniatures, but had purchased many before metal was an option, I was really glad for the metals to show up and now be a 'regular thing'.
I was even happier that I could get all of my previously purchased (but not yet shipped!) resin versions switched to metal.
I just broke down and bought 3 starter hosts before the price increase. Got a pretty decent exchange rate for my CC too. That pretty much expends my Mierce budget till Mighty Monsters gets closer to fulfilling.
Got the Jute starter with the Whites and then the 2 formoric river hunter starters.
RivenSkull wrote:Has anyone had any luck in requesting models that have been bought in resin to be switched to metal?
For the Jute players who have received their Drēaguth models in resin, how delicate are the fingers and swords?
Also, don't you live somewhat near me too?!?
Could I actually have a Darklands player in my area?!?
Monkeysloth wrote:I just broke down and bought 3 starter hosts before the price increase. Got a pretty decent exchange rate for my CC too. That pretty much expends my Mierce budget till Mighty Monsters gets closer to fulfilling.
Got the Jute starter with the Whites and then the 2 formoric river hunter starters.
RivenSkull wrote: Has anyone had any luck in requesting models that have been bought in resin to be switched to metal?
For the Jute players who have received their Drēaguth models in resin, how delicate are the fingers and swords?
They will switch them to metal, but unfortunately you get pushed to the back of the line in terms of receiving them. In other words, if you were the first person to order something in resin, you'd be the first to get them sent to you after they started producing them in resin. But by switching to metal, it's basically as though you ordered them in metal at that moment. So if a bunch of people have already ordered that model in metal already, you're behind all of them.
Also, you don't receive the difference in money when you switch. So since the metals are cheaper, you're paying whatever you did for the resins originally for them. Which in some cases, is pretty close to the same.
That being said, the durability of your figures goes up DRASTICALLY, while, in my opinion, the detail remains just as good.
I switched over my atlantean infantry, but that's it.
This week we've two lovely beasts to show you all, for the Brythoniaid and Fomoraic!
Let us begin!
It's the Brythoniaid and Fomoraic show this week, from Bob Płociennik and Yannick Fusier respectively!
The lovely Bob Płociennik has been hard at work on the Cocwocor known as Bronn ap Banbronn and has worked his magic yet again. We love this fella and his stubby vestigial wings!
A top down shot, just for fun... he's on an 80mm base, remember, so he's pretty big!
He should be a Wave 13 shipment, as long as we get him printed in time... so he could end up being Wave 14. We'll see.
Yannick Fusier is rapidly becoming our go-to sculptor for tricky monstrous infantry. Gaanh is an example of why!
Gaanh is now complete, and assuming he's in our mitts soon, will be a Wave 13 shipment.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Savage Hordes!
Ceorl We've some lovely Savage Hordes miniatures to show you this week, the first Mierceday in July!
Here we go...
The Anglecynn have something new this week, finally, with showings of workings from Stéphane Camosseto...
They've been a while in coming but Stéphane's work on the Ceorl - pronounced "churl" - has begun proper. First up are the Bowmen, who are certainly getting there...
Ceolric is the unit's champion...
...and he's got a helmet! Fancy.
The only lady of the unit, Ardith is a cracking shot...
...a dead eye dick, if you will.
The rather hairy Sweyn is a fast warrior...
...but probably drinks too much.
Mutch is a bit keener than the rest...
...to down pints, anyway.
Erwig doesn't have problems with his ears, but he can shoot with a bow.
Hopefully these guys won't end up being Wave 14 - but we suspect they will be.
Well, this is new - brand new models, not originally part of the Kickstarter!
New Miniatures, the Walvax and the Corruptors
Here we have another update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II on this fine day here at Mierce Towers. Lovely jubbly!
Here we go...
So what's these new miniatures, huh? Huh? Huh?
Well, we've got one completely new miniature for the Érainn (from Valentin Zak) and two completely new miniatures for the Fomoraic (from Juan Navarro Pérez) for you to purchase right here and now.
These have never been seen before and have not been funded by this project - but we're bringing them to you anyway!
As well as those, we have something awesome for the Fomoraic and something sticky for the Ysians this week, courtesy of Yannick Fusier and Jason Hendricks respectively...
Aidan is the Hand of the Uí Néill - i.e., a host banner bearer of the Érainn. He was never funded by any project, but we've decided to get him done while Valentin Zak is doing the Maiobhanagh. So we thought we'd better give you guys the option to get him purchased!
You can purchase Aidan using this link (you'll need to login, and you need access to the Darklands: Savage Hordes II category - just ask to be added if you don't):
Aidan is £8 in metal and £12 in resin on the project.
Artwork was produced for him, of course, and although that has been seen it's never really been seen anywhere outside the comments section, so here it is.
Here's the work in progress of his sculpt!
Aidan will be a Wave 15 shipment.
Here's the first of the two new Fomoraic characters. Sometimes sculptors offer us their own design of sculpt, and these are they - Juan Navarro Pérez simply got in touch, offered them to us and we took his hand off! Thus, there's no artwork - just stunning sculpts...
You can purchase Haraald using this link (you'll need to login, and you need access to the Darklands: Savage Hordes II category - just ask to be added if you don't):
Haraald is £6 in metal and £9 in resin on the project.
Haraald will be a Reiver Untain of the Fomoraic, from Far Thule. As he's from that area (Iceland, basically!) he's a little more... barbaric, we guess - especially as he's armed with a nasty club made from the bones of who-knows-what!
An earlier shot showing a little more detail (Juan's recent photos are a bit flash-heavy!)
He'll be a Wave 13 shipment as he'll be with us next week.
Whilst we like Haraald, Aastrid takes Juan's work to another level. We just love this girl and her proto-Inuit looks - she's from Thule, too.
You can purchase Aastrid using this link (you'll need to login, and you need access to the Darklands: Savage Hordes II category - just ask to be added if you don't):
Aastrid is £6 in metal and £9 in resin on the project.
A Reiver Tain, Aastrid is armed with spear and shield and is a superb addition to the ranks of the Fomoraic Reivers.
Again, Aastrid will be a Wave 13 shipment as she'll be with us next week.
The fantastic Walvax that is Gaanh (from Darklands: New Kindreds) bade well for the unit, for both are sculpted by Yannick Fusier. As you can see, it bade very well!
The unit's champion is Conaanh, and he's a right leery bugger.
The look on his face is priceless.
A Walvax Warrior, is Aanhor...
...he still needs his rope of course.
Dawaanh's rope is there and looks great!
These guys should certainly be a Wave 15 shipment, even though there's still a few bits to do!
The lovely Jason Hendricks has progressed his work upon the Corruptors, and we love the first of them!
The champion of the unit is Fuggug, the Kill-Corruptor...
There's a way to go, and it's early days for Fuggug; but of course we're hoping for a Wave 15 shipment...
Those Walvax are fething dope! Glad I got both hosts coming. Anyone know if Ganh is bigger? I worry he'd blend in a bit too much with them, as he doesnt have much going on in the way of additional ornaments to set him apart.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: Those Walvax are fething dope! Glad I got both hosts coming. Anyone know if Ganh is bigger? I worry he'd blend in a bit too much with them, as he doesnt have much going on in the way of additional ornaments to set him apart.
That's a good question!
I hope he is a bit bigger...
He was originally drawn up to look quite a bit different - more Man-Walrus vs. Walrus-Man, but he was changed up to look more like his lesser brethren.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: Those Walvax are fething dope! Glad I got both hosts coming. Anyone know if Ganh is bigger? I worry he'd blend in a bit too much with them, as he doesnt have much going on in the way of additional ornaments to set him apart.
That's a good question!
I hope he is a bit bigger...
He was originally drawn up to look quite a bit different - more Man-Walrus vs. Walrus-Man, but he was changed up to look more like his lesser brethren.
Which is OK, as they all look great!
Maybe I'll just do him albino and try and sculpt a bit more bling/trophies on him.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
RivenSkull wrote: Has anyone had any luck in requesting models that have been bought in resin to be switched to metal?
I'd asked that they swap my new kindreds jute small ionfantry to metal, and they did so. Havent received them yet, but I have a massive amount in the processing phase. You don't get a discount if you'd already paid, but I wanted the extra stability from metal, particularly on spears/banners, etc. Plus I didnt want some metal, and some resin, as I figures that could lead to accidents when you grab a resin piece expecting metal and it goes flying or something.
For the Jute players who have received their Drēaguth models in resin, how delicate are the fingers and swords?
I'm also curious. I kept mine resin since they have small points of contact, but may swap based on anyone else's feedback.
Yeah, that was the primary reason I wanted to change from resin to metal. I had the Wihtgar Command unit of 5 skeletons in resin, and all of the other 30 Jute skeletons I got in metal later. Part of it was wanting them all to match, the other war dealing with just how small the Mierce infantry models are and how delicate they can be in resin.
For the Drēaguth, aside from the fingers I'm pretty sure everything would have been fine in resin, but I had been mulling over seeing those casts and just how thin the fingers are. I really don't feel like having those break.
Honestly, having the piece of mind of not having to worry about the tiny resin parts snapping is worth the slight loss of funds value.
I like the barbarian girl. Gives off a bit of a savage/ caveman vibe.
Something is nagging me about the Cocwocor. The scales I think. Something looks odd. Can't place my finger on what though. The original artwork made him look a lot more plump I thought. Like a turkey on the dinner table. At least that's what it always reminded me of. The wocor seemed more birdlike than the draigs.
Got in before the price rise, and have been able to take advantage of the change in the pound vs the AUD. I am thinking that if the pound keeps sliding like it is, more people are likely to buy stuff from Mierce. Perhaps not in metal now, but resin would be a lot more interesting prospect for sure.
Fenriswulf wrote: Got in before the price rise, and have been able to take advantage of the change in the pound vs the AUD. I am thinking that if the pound keeps sliding like it is, more people are likely to buy stuff from Mierce. Perhaps not in metal now, but resin would be a lot more interesting prospect for sure.
Yeah, I think I ended up with 18 units and 22 hosts here. Prices were ultimately just too good to resist Dear god, I'm so going to be hiding packages from my wife lol.
The Pound Sterling has fallen to some of its lowest levels against various currencies in the past week or so - the pound has been at its lowest level against the US dollar for over thirty years! - so we thought we'd give all you guys outside the UK even more of a chance to take advantage of that with a whopping 25% off UK RRP voucher to use on purchases from our webstore, starting from now until midnight (GMT) on Monday the 18th of July 2016! Note that this voucher is also available to those of you in the UK, too.
What's on Offer?
You can get your hands on pretty much anything - so, Darklands miniatures, BaneLegions miniatures and Templar's Forge hobby products - apart from components and Kickstarter items. With over three hundred miniatures to choose from, you're spoilt for choice!
Sale Voucher Details
Your 25% off UK RRP discount voucher ends on Monday the 18th of July 2016 at midnight (GMT), and you really do have some superb miniatures to spend your hard-earned on!
Not only can you get your hands on some of our quite amazing back catalogue, such as Krull or The Terror of Fortriu or Angrislaug or tons of others, there's also our superb new releases, such as Khan-Wrath or the stupendous Mórannach (shown below)!
Mórannach, Beast of Cill Chonn Bog
The voucher will work on all the Darklands, BaneLegions and Templar's Forge items within our webstore, but: •not on any Components •not on any Kickstarter items
The voucher will work on pre-orders and, crucially, you'll still earn Moneyback - although tiered discounts are disabled when using a voucher.
Your voucher code is: LOW-POUND
To use this voucher simply register on the webstore, mierce-miniatures.com (if you haven't already), copy and paste the voucher code into the Voucher field in your basket when you have selected the items you want, press 'REDEEM', and the webstore will do the rest. You are not limited to one purchase and, indeed, we would ask you to recommend us to your friends with this voucher!
We've another couple of miniatures to show you this week and another update on where we are with the metals.
This week we have: •sculpt work in progress updates from Martin Lavat; •an updated list of sculptors and sculpts for this project; •a list of what ships, when; •...and anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's go!
The lovely Martin Lavat has been working hard on the alternate monsters for this project, and with superb results. Check these guys out!
An alternate of the Albainn monster, the Aurogg, Gunaal is a mighty Tarvocx - a bull-beast - of the Fomoraic!
Greathorn Gunaal is also here (check out the straight horns) and so we do hope that Gunaal will be a Wave 13 shipment.
A burrowing earth snake beast thing, Ischys is a Stóskoulon and a nasty beggar well able to turn up around your rear end. Or something.
Ischys should be a Wave 13 shipment, but we'll see - he's not done yet...
Eleven Infantry Hosts have shipped / are shipping!
Eleven infantry hosts from this project have been shipped (or are shipping) right now - the Albainn Gairlom, Anglecynn Duguth, Brythoniaid Teulu, Brythoniaid Rhyfelwr, Érainn Tuanagh, Fomoraic Gabrax, Fomoraic Warriors of Baalor, Jute Wihtgār, Norse Holumann, Ysian Ax-Drune and Ysian Bow-Drune Infantry Hosts - as well as the individual miniatures within them.
If your hosts from this project haven't been shipped by now, that means you either: •don't have enough shipment items to justify separate shipments or you don't have any shipment items at all; •or you have some resin miniatures on order which need to be cast.
Note that if you have purchased similar infantry hosts from other projects, such as Savage Hordes or Savage Hordes II, we will only ship what we can (as many of them are different) and they are not guaranteed to have been shipped with your items from this project - and again, it depends on your shipment items.
What's Next?
We have the miniatures for the Byzantii Legionarius and the Anglecynn Gesith starter hosts; the Legionarius host has already been shipped (although we haven't yet received the master samples); the Gesith have not shipped yet as we've had a couple of problems with Æthelglyth, but that's sorted now so that should be shipped next week.
The Atalantes Oplites are all sculpted but are in various stages of printing, although we are hopeful we'll get those in our mitts and off to the metal casters ready in time for Wave 14 now. The Byzantii Demilegionarius are needing the alternate sculpt of Erebius and the full sculpt of Nervor, so we're not sure what will happen with those. We can only poke Yannick so much...!
A short note on Sia (and the new Maaru): unfortunately they arrived broken from the sculptor, so we've had to send them back. They're not yet fixed, but we still hope to get them in time for Wave 13. Mihtlāf was not broken so he will ship in Wave 13.
We're hassling the sculptors as much as we possibly can! We'll get there!
We have a clearer picture of what's ahead now for the rest of the hosts, so here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. • SHIPMENT WAVE 0: (complete): Existing miniatures • SHIPMENT WAVE 9 (beginning October 2015): Ysian Ax-Drune • SHIPMENT WAVE 9.5: (beginning January 2016): Anglecynn Duguth, Brythoniaid Rhyfelwr • SHIPMENT WAVE 10 (beginning February 2016): Ysian Bow-Drune • SHIPMENT WAVE 11 (beginning April 2016): Albainn Gairlom, Brythoniaid Teulu, Érainn Tuanagh, Fomoraic Gabrax, Fomoraic Warriors of Baalor, Jute Wihtgār, Norse Holumann • SHIPMENT WAVE 13 (beginning August 2016): Mihtlāf - Byzantii Legionarius - Sia • SHIPMENT WAVE 14 (beginning October 2016): Anglecynn Gesith - Atalantes Oplites - Byzantii Demilegionarius - Gunaal - Ischys
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as they are in production with the metal casters.
Items in bold italics denote those that have been produced in sample form, and are just awaiting production versions after any corrections.
Items in italics are in mould-making progress (as we have all of the miniatures required for that host and have shipped them to the metal casters) and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the first samples.
Items not in bold or in italics may still make it into that wave, but may not.
Four hosts have already been removed, of course, and it won't be long until many others are removed too. • 23rd November 2015 (gone): Anglecynn Duguth, Brythoniaid Rhyfelwr, Ysian Ax-Drune, Ysian Bow-Drune • 25th January 2016 (gone): Albainn Gairlom, Brythoniaid Teulu, Byzantii Legionarius, Érainn Tuanagh, Fomoraic Gabrax, Fomoraic Warriors of Baalor, Jute Wihtgar, Norse Holumenn • August 2016: Anglecynn Gesith, Atalantes Oplites, Byzantii Demilegionarius • Individual Miniatures: until they ship!
Keep watching this list as it may well change - and if you have any issues with the above timings, please let us know and we may well be able to push the deadline back a little for you.
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: Metal Age! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.
We have organised a new sculptor to start work on the monster alterations, so you should see some progress here shortly.
We've split the lists into completely new sculpts and alterations to make life easier for us all!
Alterations: • MARTIN LAVAT: Martin has all the monster conversions on his plate, and has completed Sia, Mihtlāf and Gunaal (as well as Greathorn Gunaal). Ischys is underway, and that leaves him with Gogg, Giant Head Gogg, Scaeroc, Iskarnos, Egaendr and Conjunct X. • JUAN NAVARRO PÉREZ: Juan has kindly agreed to sculpt Sozzled Caedoc. • JIN WEI: Jin has completed work on the Bleary Hektor alteration, and that concludes his work for us on this project. • Unknown: we don't yet know who will convert the rest of the Drinking Companions.
Not many sculpts or alterations for this project - or at least, on top of those needed to get the units sorted from previous projects.
We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.
As above, we'll do these in "new sculpts" and "alternate sculpts" lists...
Ahem. We have some lovely stuff to show this week for the Érainn and the Fomoraic, two arch-enemies if ever there were any...
Here we go...
The Fomoraic get something from Michael Anderson's talented hands and the Érainn have something from Valentin Zak's equally talented hands. All hail the sculptors!
The Men and Women of Ármhach are looking lovely... but then they are being sculpted by Valentin Zak!
The champion, Eoghan, is progressing well...
...we like baldies!
The lovely Áine doesn't take any nonsense...
...a slingshot to the face tends to stop that.
Sínead looks pretty mean.
She even drinks pints!
Conall looks a bit shouty...
...but he wants to put something on his feet, he'll catch his death.
Ahhhh, Nóra. She's shouty, too!
We do hope that these guys make it into Wave 13... but we'll see. There's a way to go on them so they'll probably be Wave 14.
Michael Anderson's work on the Gul-Gabrax is nothing short of astonishing, so it was only fair that Chaaruch the Despoiler - the Gul-Gabrax Tain - was offered to him... and he accepted, thankfully!
We do hope he'll be done in time for Wave 13, but we'll see...
It's another update for Darklands: Savage Hordes II, hooray!
Here we go...
Have we ever mentioned that Dan Cockersell is awesome? No? Well, we have more proof (if any were needed) today. Oh, and so is Yannick Fusier!
The mighty Mammox that is Maatmäg is one of Dan Cockersell's most amazing miniatures, in our view. He's utterly stunning and an absolute masterpiece.
Don't take our word for it: just look.
...here's a comparison with a mammoth made by another company. Whilst Maatmäg is less bulky, he's certainly a little more realistic... and about the same size!
...don't forget this comparison, either:
Dan changed the Baalor symbol after the shots above:
Maatmäg will definitely be a Wave 15 shipment as he's about done, and for those of you that ordered Trampling Maatmäg, we'll get someone to do that scenic base just as soon as we get the first Mammox out of the mould!
The Coughing Walvax, Walvax Unit is now complete, sculpted beautifully by Yannick Fusier. We love these guys. Now it's time to get them and send them back, so that they can get some net action!
Whew, managed to slip in a last minute 25% off order into my budget last night, officially bringing my Khthones "collection of cool models" into a "I guess I'm now collecting a second army" in addition to my "gotta have 'em all Fomoraic" mantra.
So, I like that verdigris tutorial a lot, and will be cribbing liberally from it when I paint Talos.
That said, I think it's worth adding another step to get more patchy patination. Verdigrised objects often have much paler colours than turquoise, almost a white. You can get that effect by doing 'spot' washes of very dilute turquoise mixed with a bit of white. Loads of water, very little or no matt medium, a little bit of paint. I can't find the tutorial but here's an example of my painting using it:
And those Walrussmen. And the hippoman. God Allan Carrasco should be forced to do weird beastmen forever. I hope thr pound is low and another 25% off sale going on after they hit retail. Those dozens of KSs are both badly timed and confusing, former shady Maelstrom business aside
Wehrkind wrote: I've got Gaalgar's Herd and will be trying to fit them on 30mm bases.
Whoops apologies for my brief phone typing, Wehrkind is doing this conversion for me (along with some others!). You should totally post up pics in this thread Wehr
Bossk, it's because I'll be using them as Slaughterhousers for Hordes (with a headswap, also by Wehr!)
I have actually had trouble finding good alternative ogres that I like the look of. 
(I guess not?! 
)
