Bossk_Hogg wrote: What they clearly need to do is extend the order window through next weekend when I get paid!
does this work for you?
Update #69 Jun 2 2014
One Week Deadline Extension!
In our finite wisdom, we've decided to give you all another week to purchase any Darklands: First Edition and Existing Miniatures from our website... simply because we've tons to show you this coming Friday to further appeal to your wallets!
Thus:
•The Darklands: First Edition category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June for backers of this project only (it will remain open for backers of Darklands: First Edition)
•The Existing Miniatures category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June regardless
In other words, even with this extension you'd better get your skates on if you want anything from those categories!
Bossk_Hogg wrote: What they clearly need to do is extend the order window through next weekend when I get paid!
does this work for you?
Update #69 Jun 2 2014
One Week Deadline Extension!
In our finite wisdom, we've decided to give you all another week to purchase any Darklands: First Edition and Existing Miniatures from our website... simply because we've tons to show you this coming Friday to further appeal to your wallets!
Thus:
•The Darklands: First Edition category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June for backers of this project only (it will remain open for backers of Darklands: First Edition)
•The Existing Miniatures category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June regardless
In other words, even with this extension you'd better get your skates on if you want anything from those categories!
◅Previous update
Whoop whoop!
Maybe I'm on a roll. What they clearly need to do is email me the wining lottery numbers so I can get "You're Their Decendents" for all my gaming group.
After a week's break, Mierceday is here once more - and what a Mierceday we have for you...
This week we have:
•sculpt work in progress updates from Olivier Bouchet, Stéphane Camosseto, Allan Carrasco, Roberto Chaudon, Benoît Cosse, Thomas David, Christian Hardy, Yannick Hennebo, Patrick Masson, Juan Navarro Pérez and Stéphane Simon;
• what miniatures we believe will be sent in Wave 1;
•updated lists of sculptors and sculpts;
• curent QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
• what you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's begin...
Eadric, Forthegn of Mierce
To say that we are happy with Stéphane Camosseto is an understatement. Let's put it this way: Eadric has far, far exceeded our expectations, and we will be keeping Stéphane busy for some time to come, now...
Eadric should now be a Wave 1 shipment...
Timoth, Smith of Langwith
After much waitage, Thomas David has come up trumps with the lovely (if slightly balding) Timoth, sculpted from the artwork by Des Hanley!
It's still early days with Timoth, and so we don't think he'll be finished in time for Wave 1. It's likely he'll be a Wave 2 shipment.
Aldhelm, Sceop of Mierce
Aldhelm is now complete... and what a lovely fella he's turned out to be! Don't be fooled though: he's not actually in outer space.
Aldhelm should be shipped in Wave 1.
Ffion Ferddig, Bard of Gwynedd
Ffion Ferddig's Finished!
Ffion is definitely a Wave 1 shipment, as we now have her in our big fingers, and whilst Juan will begin work on Caedoc next week he'll definitely be Wave 2.
Mag ap Mag, Prifdynwocor of Powys
Roberto's finished Mag ap Mag, too... and he's bloomin' brilliant!
It looks very much like Mag ap Mag will be a Wave 1 shipment now!
Agathae, Signifer
Yannick Hennebo has taken Agathae on for us and she's turning out nicely already. He's quick, is Yannick!
Agathae will be a Wave 2 shipment.
Velchior, Magus Infernum
With Aldhelm finished, Christian Hardy has turned his attention to his remaining sculpt, Velchior!
It's early days for Velchior so we think he'll be a Wave 2 shipment.
Finnan, Exile of the Uí Néill
Whoohoo! Fresh from a holiday, Benoît Cosse has finished our first Érainn miniature, Finnan - and what a cracking job he's done. We love him, very characterful indeed...
Yes - that head fits perfectly on a 30mm base...
Finnan will of course be a Wave 1 shipment now...
Gaarwäg, Mammax Tain
The frankly awesome Gaarwäg, sculpted by the equally awesome Patrick Masson, is now in our hands - and we can honestly say he's one of the best miniatures we've ever produced. Just look at him...
...and look at the size of him, too! He'll definitely need that 80mm base...
Gaarwäg will make it into Wave 1, which we're very happy about...!
Xontór, Gorgon of Khthon
Xontór is getting there and is looking meaner and moodier than ever. Stéphane Simon, we salute you!
It looks very much like Xontór won't make it into Wave 1, unfortunately; there's still plenty to do. Even so, he'll definitely be a Wave 2 beggar!
Thelliatiss, Gorgórix
Olivier Bouchet has done a fantastic job on turning Beth Hughes' artwork to life - Thelliatiss is looking brilliant!
This does of course mean that Thelliatiss will be a Wave 1 shipment!
Knútr of Víkin, Skipari of Hrafnen on Horse
As always with Allan, words simply fail us. So here's some images instead...
Knútr on Horse will now definitely make it into Wave 1!
Darklands: First Edition Fulfilment
There's plenty going on at the moment as we gear up for sending Wave 1. We now have a good idea of what will and what won't make it into your Wave 1 shipments, and whilst we have planned for delays, there are always some circumstances that ensure delays are unavoidable.
However, this update is THE definitive update on what will make it into Wave 1 - so pay attention everyone!
As we've said before, we're going to start shipping Wave 1 in the last week of June. Bear in mind, then, that shipments will continue into July and probably August, and as always we will prioritise orders in date order - i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early!
What Ships When?
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. Note that this list (Wave 2 onwards, anyway) could change, but we'll keep it updated every Friday.
Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 0: complete for this project.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 1 (beginning end of June): Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Erebius - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg- Scecchus - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
• SHIPMENT WAVE 2 (beginning August): Eadric on horse - Timoth - Hrōr - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius - Mananaan on horse - Baagath's Herd - Praach - Xontór - Thoth - Hanokh - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord - Crom on horse - Seza
• SHIPMENT WAVE 3 (beginning October): Cnebba - Gesith Unit - Trytheorn - Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior - Max Schüte's German Berserker
A quick update regarding Thoth, Hanokh and the Dawn of Khthon. We've yet to get them printed (they're with the printers now) and so we cannot guarantee they will be here in time to be moulded and then cast; so it's better that we push them back to Wave 2.
Have I ordered the right Waves?
Fairly obviously (and to remind you all that we won't split orders unless you've purchased more than one shipment wave) if you've only purchased one Shipment Wave item, your items will only be sent in one shipment when everything is ready. In a nutshell:
•If you have purchased Waves 1, 2 and 3, whatever is available will be shipped in each wave, with wave 3 waiting until everything's finally ready.
•If you have purchased Waves 1 and 2, whatever is available in Wave 1 will be shipped in June, with everything else waiting until everything's finally ready.
•If you've only purchased Wave 1, your orders will be shipped when everything's finally ready.
There's still time for you to change this by ordering more shipment waves of course - feel free to do so, but as soon as Wave 1 is complete, that shipment item will be removed from the webstore. so you'd best be quick!
Please be patient!
We would ask you all to be patient with both ourselves and our artists; sculptors live in the real world and real world problems often impinge upon their time, so please bear in mind that they are working as fast as they possibly can on our miniatures and giving us their full attention. We do not want to rush sculptors for the simple reason that rushed work is often poor work!
Sculpts and Sculptors
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition! 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.
• Olivier Bouchet: Olivier Bouchet has completed Thelliatiss, and that concludes his work for us on this project!
• Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane has finished Eadric on foot and he will sculpt Eadric on horse after that. He has also now taken on Hrōr, so that he matches the Werwulfas unlocked as part of Darklands: First Edition II.
• Allan Carrasco: Knútr on Horse is complete, and then it's Cnebba later on in the year.
• Roberto Chaudon: Mag ap Mag is finished and he's on with Mälmord and finally Djiuzu, in that order.
• Benoît Cosse: Finnan is complete, and Baagath's Herd is next followed by Praach.
• Thomas David: work on Timoth has begun!
• Jacques-Alexandre Gillois:Equitus Durio on foot and Equitus Durio on horse will be sculpted over the summer.
• Christian Hardy: Christian has completed Aldhelm and Velchior is underway.
• Yannick Hennebo: Agathae is underway, and Yannick has also agreed to sculpt Mananaan on horse for us as Pedro cannot sculpt this now.
• Patrick Masson:Gaarwäg is now complete, and that concludes Patrick's work for us on this project!
• Hector Moran: he has begun digitally sculpting Con I Modius, Legionary Contubernium with Gellius being the first example.
• Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane has begun work on Seza and we should have images soon.
• Juan Navarro Pérez: Ffion Ferddig is complete and she will be followed by Caedoc, Urien on horse and Carys. Juan has also agreed to sculpt Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior, Trytheorn, although he's not sure when that will occur.
• Stéphane Simon: Xontór is half-way through and after him he'll have Crom on horse, the Holumenn Unit and the Gesíth Unit to do. He's getting there!
• Unknown: the remaining two descendants, which are Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior (due to be drawn by Stefan Kopinski) and Maximilian Schüte's Germanic Berserker (due to be drawn by Danny Cruz). Briefs have been passed to both artists so we should have artwork soon.
Sculpts are certainly progressing now!
Completed Sculpts
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.
• ALBAINN: Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on horse - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
•ANGELCYNN: Eadric on foot - Eadric on horse - Timoth - Aldhelm - Hrōr - Leofwen on foot - Gesith Unit - Cnebba - Broga
•BRYTHONIAID: Urien on foot - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag
•BYZANTII: Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Erebius - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius
•FOMORAIC: Mananaan on foot - Mananaan on horse - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg - Baagath's Herd - Praach
• INFERNII: Scecchus
•KHTHONES: Xontór - Thelliatiss - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Thoth - Hanokh - Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
•NORSE: Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord
•YSIANS: Crom on foot - Crom on horse - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Seza
• SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
•DESCENDANTS: Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Trytheorn - Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior - Max Schüte's German Berserker
Let us know if we've missed anything!
The Darklands First Edition Rules
Now, before we get onto the next project, a word on the Darklands: First Edition hardback rulebook.
We've decided to put back the printing of the rulebook to November.
There's a number of good reasons for doing this, but the main reason is simply so that we can include extra stuff - and so increase the value of what you're getting!
This extra stuff will include whatever we need for the miniatures produced by Darklands: First Edition II (such as muster summaries, or perhaps new rules to cover the abilities of new creatures where required), more background material, more colour artwork... whatever we can fit in really.
Please note, the printing delay will NOT affect the delivery of:
•miniatures slated for delivery in Wave 1
•miniatures tied to the book itself (such as Uhtred or Finnan)
However, please note that the rules won't be ready for June as a PDF download. We are now looking at the end of July for this.
We'll also ship the rulebook to you when it's available without tying it to a Wave - it's only fair to do so!
Now, we're aware a lot of you guys and gals out there were very keen to get your hands on the book when - let's face it - we said we'd deliver it; but we hope you understand that we simply want to make that book better for you.
The Darklands Concept Art Book
Similarly, we're going to delay the printing of the Darklands Concept Art book.
The main reason for this is very simple - we want to add as much art as we can to it, so we're going to include all the art seen in Darklands: First Edition II. Again, we understand that you guys would want the book in June; but we just want to give you more for the same amount of money!
QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters
There's a few other bits and pieces yet to be done of course, so here's how progress is looking on those fronts...
There's now a new version of the QuickStarter Rules - v10.6 - and this is now the FINAL version before printing. We took the opportunity of the delay to get a few formatting changes (including the addition of page numbers) in as well as tidy up a couple of rules that needed attention.
You can download them here: DARKLANDS QUICKSTARTER RULES v10.6
We would recommend - especially if you are familiar with those previous versions of the QuickStarter Rules - to have a good read through, and also please check out the Mierce Miniatures forum, in particular the "Darklands Rules Discussion" section and the "Observations from a first read" thread...
Printing the QuickStarter Rules
We have excellent news: the QuickStarter Rules are about ready for print and will be shipped off to our printers soon. We hope to have them by the end of April!
The new, updated Muster Rules are now available for download.
You can download them here: DARKLANDS MUSTER RULES v2.3
They include the most recent, updated rules regarding hosts, units and warriors as listed in the QuickStarter Rulebook. The Muster Rules will not be printed, please remember; they will, however, always be available for download and will always be living rules.
At some point I'll get around to putting links up on our website...!
A Kindred Muster, what we call an army list, gives you the blocks to build a host of a particualr kindred for Darklands. It includes all of the different unit types available to you as a general wishing to create an army, in the shape of warrior profiles.
The kindred musters given below include all of the warriors unlocked by our projects so you can check exactly what you're getting for your money in game terms.
Bear in mind, however, that any new profiles are only partially playtested (if at all) - expect changes and feel free to give us feedback on the Mierce forums. Check them out for some awesome new warriors, however!
• ALBAINN MUSTER v1.6
•ANGELCYNN MUSTER v1.11
•BRYTHONIAID MUSTER v1.7
•BYZANTII MUSTER v1.2
•FOMORAIC MUSTER v1.9
•INFERNII MUSTER v1.1
•KHTHONES MUSTER v1.5
•NORSE MUSTER v1.6
•VRAS MUSTER v1.5
•YSIAN MUSTER v1.8
•SELL-SWORD MUSTER v1.4
Muster Links in bold include warriors from this project.
No doubt there'll be a few errors or typos - feel free to tell us about them!
Upon each profile is a handy pronunciation guide (based on the Wikipedia Pronunciation Respelling Key) under the warrior's title and, at the bottom of each profile, a suggestion on which miniature from our range to use as that warrior on the battlefield.
Well, it looks like this project's fulfilment has taken off a lot earlier than the last one. We have more sculpts to show you - again!
As well as that, we have the usual news on fulfilment and, most importantly of all...
YOU ONLY HAVE THREE DAYS TO PURCHASE EXISTING MINIATURES AT 20% OFF AND ITEMS FROM OUR PREVIOUS PROJECT
(unless you backed that previous project, in which case it's categories will stay open for you).
On with the shewe...
Skyclad Ciniod
As well as completing Finnan, Benoît Cosse has completed work on nekkid Ciniod... rudey bits have been censored for your viewing pleasure!
[Added note for those that are worried Benoit's photography is never great, I'm confident these will look better when cast and shot by Rob]
I think we can safely say that Skyclad Ciniod will be a Wave 4 shipment...!
Skyclad Itaina
He's also done Skyclad Itaina...
Again, I think we can safely say that Skyclad Ciniod will be a Wave 4 shipment...!
Cæna, Slēanbera
Well, well, well. With Broga done, Valentin Zak found himself with a few spare weeks, so what does he do? He only sculpts Cæna from Danny Cruz' drawing - and what a mean muther he has turned out to be...
Cæna will be a Wave 4 dude!
Lleu Gryf, Teulu Bannerman
Olivier Nkweti has been beavering away on the first unit for this project, and that's the Loyal Guard of the Brythoniaid, drawn by Dan Warren of course. They're already looking fantastic, as Lleu and Gerallt attest to!
It looks like Lleu Gryf and the rest of the Loyal Guard will easily make it into Wave 4...
Gerallt ap Iorwerth, Teulu Herald
Here's the next one too, the herald - Olivier's really speeding up!
Again, the Loyal Guard should easily be a Wave 4 shipment...
Marked Galagaak
Benoît Cosse has also found the time to get the two alternate monstrars out of the way, and we think both are going to look stunning once we get the time to cast them and glue them together! For now though, here's Marked Galagaak's changed bits...
Please remember that we're not selling these bits separately as Marked Galagaak is project exclusive - i.e., you can't get him anywhere other than having backed this project...
Marked Galagaak will definitely be a Wave 4 shipment.
Mr Grass Snake
We cannot confirm nor deny that this little fella will be part of our forthcoming Khthones range...
He certainly likes his big brother, Chysperis, though...
Again, please remember that we're not selling these bits separately as Kill-Head Flint-Fang is project exclusive - i.e., you can't get him anywhere other than having backed this project...
Again, he'll definitely be a Wave 4 shipment!
Darklands: First Edition II Fulfilment
All of the original Wave 0 orders are now complete!
This does, of course, mean that if you would like any more existing miniatures, you'll have to purchase the Wave 0 shipment item again - but if you've got Wave 1 orders going out for items from our previous project, we will of course ship existing items with that Wave 1 shipment.
After Wave 0 is complete, there's a bit of a wait until Wave 4 occurs, but there's plenty of items going out in Waves 1, 2 and 3 later on this year.
KICKSTARTER CATEGORIES CLOSING ON MONDAY
On that note, as there's only three days to go, it's worth reminding you that:
•The Darklands: First Edition category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June for backers of this project only (it will remain open for backers of Darklands: First Edition)
•The Existing Miniatures category will close at midnight (GMT) on the 9th of June regardless
In other words, get your skates on if you want anything from those categories!
Sculpts and Sculptors
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.
• Olivier Bouchet: along with the alterations to Gromi, Olivier will also be sculpting the Oghu Guardians, Oghur Unit and the Abhorrents of Ys, Abhorrent Unit.
• Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane has taken on Eoric's Pack, Werwulf Unit as well as Armoured Hrōr for us.
• Allan Carrasco: Allan will be sculpting Ravener Birna and Thórrir.
• Roberto Chaudon: Thanks to Roberto being so awesome, we've loaded him up with the Craven Fiends of Dis, Fiend Unit, the Corpse Takers, Hrafnmann Unit, Enslaved Ágriosávra, Khallas, Parawn and Hrókr.
• Benoît Cosse: we've given Benoît the remainder of the Slaughterers, Krokodar Unit, Brunchaath on Gooracx, Srók, and lots of alternates! Kill-Head Flint-Fang, Marked Galagaak, Skyclad Itaina and Skyclad Ciniod are now complete, leaving him with Young Magágg and Umaer Drast.
• Yannick Fusier: thanks to his awesome work on Bagseg, we've given Yannick the Oghu Keepers, Oghurithne Unit - and he's already begun work on them!
• Yannick Hennebo:Sáthach is now complete of course and he will sculpt the alternate Feral Agathae now, also.
• Patrick Masson: Patrick will be sculpting Uhtred on Horse, to match his foot version.
• Hector Moran: excitingly, Hector will be digitally sculpting In III Judas, Demilegionary Incaendium and Quintus Crito.
• Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane will sculpt Akkaz and Tykho!
• Olivier Nkweti: Olivier has begun work on digitally sculpting the Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit and he will also be digitally sculpting The Eye Ascendant, Warriors of Baalor Unit, the Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit, and the Spears of Dun Durn, Gairlom Unit. Four units for Olivier, but such is his work rate and professionalism, we think that's no trouble for him.
• Juan Navarro Pérez: Juan will be sculpting the alternates Tonsured Caedoc and Forwyn Carys from this project.
• Stéphane Simon: the Shadows of Carn Bran, Shadow-Drune Unit and Ax-Crom - as well as Yrag, Bil and Ekk's Heap - are the sum of Stéphane's work for this project.
• Andrew Speirs: one of our regular backers and a good friend, Andrew will be converting the Trolls to become Armoured Trolls, and work has already begun on them.
• Ernst Veingart: the sculptor of Mjagnir, Ernst has begun sculpting a "miniature" that will dwarf Mjagnir the Jötunn - Gomagg, the Albainn Giant!
• Valentin Zak: Valentin has now sculpted Cæna, and that concludes his work for us on this project!
• Unknown: we don't yet have sculptors confirmed for Sweordsman Timoth, Rēoc's Pack, Geraint on Ceffyldraig and Max Schüte's second Descendant, but we hope to confirm them soon.
Tons of sculpts!
Completed Sculpts
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.
• ALBAINN: Oghu Guardians - Skyclad Ciniod - Oghu Keepers (Brugbad - Dungabad - Lobeg - Bogad - Rubeg) - Skyclad Itaina - Spears of Dun Durn - Umaer Drast - Gromi (Gromi - Gromi with two cleavers - Armoured Gromi with two cleavers) - Young Magágg - Gomagg
•ANGELCYNN: Armoured Hrōr - Eoric's Pack - Sweordsman Timoth - Cæna - Rēoc's Pack
•BRYTHONIAID: Geraint on Ceffyldraig - Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit (Cynog - Lleu Gryf - Gerallt - Dafydd - Emyr) - Tonsured Caedoc - Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit - Forwyn Carys - Parawn
•BYZANTII: Quintus Crito - In III Judas - Feral Agathae - Tykho
•FOMORAIC: Brunchaath on Gooracx - The Eye Ascendant - Helmed Naraa - Marked Galagaak
• INFERNII: Craven Fiends of Dis
•KHTHONES: Srók - Slaughterers - Enslaved Ágriosávra - Khallas
•NORSE: Thórrir - Corpse Takers - Ravener Birna - Armoured Trolls - Hrókr
• VRAS: Kill-Head Flint-Fang
•YSIANS: Abhorrents of Ys - Ax-Crom - Flesh-Scavengers (Gondard - Ekk - Yrag - Bil - Flesh-Pile) - Shadows of Carn Bran - Akkaz
•SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred on Horse, Sáthach
•DESCENDANTS: Max Schüte's second Descendant
Is Mag ap Mag eventually going to be part of a unit? He looks great, but if they're going to release him with some pals I might just wait to grab him then.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: Is Mag ap Mag eventually going to be part of a unit? He looks great, but if they're going to release him with some pals I might just wait to grab him then.
I think he's a commander that matches a unit that was previewed in KS2.5, the name of which escapes me right now?
Yeah, Mag ap Mag is a Prifdynwocor (warchief) where as the Dynwoccor are a unit.
Though, if that does change, then there'll likely be an option to just get the new sculpts when they appear, as happened with a couple of the units in 2.5
Regarding the Hror 'issue' (his scale changed down, and he ended up being 30GBP for a 40mm model):
Creator Mierce Miniatures about 17 hours ago
@Alpharius - I don't think we'll go down the refunds route, that sets an odd precedent; so you'll get "extras" if you purchased original Hror. When we get Hror sculpted we'll see, I've a few ideas. Don't press me on it though, because I honestly don't know what yet myself.
Alpharius wrote: Regarding the Hror 'issue' (his scale changed down, and he ended up being 30GBP for a 40mm model):
Creator Mierce Miniatures about 17 hours ago
@Alpharius - I don't think we'll go down the refunds route, that sets an odd precedent; so you'll get "extras" if you purchased original Hror. When we get Hror sculpted we'll see, I've a few ideas. Don't press me on it though, because I honestly don't know what yet myself.
I was wondering what was going to happen with the Hror for £30 issue, but I have always been impressed by Mierce's customer service so I trust they will not fail to please.
Wow, and here I thought I was the only one who was crazy keen on the reptiles.
I need to add one or two figures to my order, but I'm not sure what, and I'm not even sure if my computer here will let me...
Probably a toss up between elephant man, hairy chicken, snake boobs, or snake gladiator. Or possibly some combination thereof.
Today certainly sucks- While I was on the train I had an epiphany of how to put my Ssybrios together, who's been sitting on my desk for far too long- too bad I can't get back to work on him for at least another month.
Alpharius wrote: Regarding the Hror 'issue' (his scale changed down, and he ended up being 30GBP for a 40mm model):
Creator Mierce Miniatures about 17 hours ago
@Alpharius - I don't think we'll go down the refunds route, that sets an odd precedent; so you'll get "extras" if you purchased original Hror. When we get Hror sculpted we'll see, I've a few ideas. Don't press me on it though, because I honestly don't know what yet myself.
Alpharius wrote: Regarding the Hror 'issue' (his scale changed down, and he ended up being 30GBP for a 40mm model):
Creator Mierce Miniatures about 17 hours ago
@Alpharius - I don't think we'll go down the refunds route, that sets an odd precedent; so you'll get "extras" if you purchased original Hror. When we get Hror sculpted we'll see, I've a few ideas. Don't press me on it though, because I honestly don't know what yet myself.
Which is Hror?
Joy boozer is right, he was in the monstrous commander group (60mm+ bases) which were all £30 each apart from the Elephant man...In the end they decided to make him large I infantry instead on a 40mm base (but still at £30).
I wonder if that would also count for those of us who got Hror as part of a host.
I picked up my first batch of models from my old folks the other week. Utterly gorgeous. Malacaant is magnificent, but Mazikilias is my favourite by a mile. Leofwen is so delicate I'm scared to take her out of the package.
Also got my first wound from working with resin. Knife to the palm of a hand, bled everywhere, was worried I'd need stitches. By heck, it's great to be back in wargames!
I certainly hope so, as that's how I'm getting "Hror", and that is why I bought that particular host - to get the "Monstrous Commander" Hror and an army to go with him.
Still, Rob said it will taken care of, and I've certainly no reason to believe it won't be.
I mus have missed that then. I only remembered Hror from the Monstrous Commanders of the First edition campaign, and how that Angelycnn kindred logo looked like he had a little buckler of some sort on his arm.
YOU [darklands first edition II backers] ONLY HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT (GMT) TO PURCHASE EXISTING MINIATURES AT 20% OFF AND ITEMS FROM OUR PREVIOUS PROJECT
(unless you backed that previous project, in which case it's categories will stay open for you).
KICKSTARTER CATEGORIES CLOSING TONIGHT
Here's what's going:
•The Darklands: First Edition category will close at midnight (GMT) tonight, the 9th of June for backers of this project only (it will remain open for backers of Darklands: First Edition)
•The Existing Miniatures category will close at midnight (GMT) tonight, the 9th of June regardless
I'm happy to help whomever. It's no big deal at all.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh oh. And I forgot. We are officially demoing Darklands in the WarStore booth at GenCon.... So if anyone knows of anyone that may be willing to paint a warband or some individual models up to a table top standard (or slightly higher) for inexpensive to be used and displayed at Gencon (and we can also hand out business cards for you) please let me know.
Yea, it is just funny. I am getting some Darklands stuff from Alph, who is apparently getting them from you... I am beginning to think that everyone is eventually getting their stuff mailed to you by way of subcontractors like Alph
Back to normality again - another week gone, another update!
After last week's brutal mega bumper update fun, this week we only have a few bits to show you, but good bits all the same...
This week we have:
•sculpt work in progress updates from Roberto Chaudon and Yannick Hennebo;
•a list of what miniatures will be sent in Wave 1;
•updated lists of sculptors and sculpts;
• curent QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
• what you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's begin...
Agathae, Signifer
Yannick Hennebo is rapidly becoming our go-to guy for females... just look at Agathae, sculpted from the art by Steve Pierce!
Agathae should be a Wave 2 shipment of course.
Mälmord, Bergrisar
Wow. Fresh from completing Mag ap Mag, Roberto Chaudon has clearly been inspired by Christophe Madura's artwork because he's almost finished Mälmord!
As you can see by this next image, Mälmord's a big 'un... he'll fit on a 60mm base though!
Clearly, Mälmord should make it into Wave 2.
Darklands: First Edition Fulfilment
There's plenty going on at the moment as we gear up for sending Wave 1. We now know what will make it into your Wave 1 shipments and have actually begun splitting orders to get them ready for packing.
As we've said before, we're going to start shipping Wave 1 in the last week of June, i.e., the week beginning the 23rd. Bear in mind, then, that shipments will continue into July and probably August, and as always we will prioritise orders in date order - i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early!
What Ships When?
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. Note that this list (Wave 2 onwards, anyway) could change, but we'll keep it updated every Friday.
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.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 0: complete for this project.
• SHIPMENT WAVE 1 (beginning end of June): Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Erebius - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg- Scecchus - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
• SHIPMENT WAVE 2 (beginning August): Eadric on horse - Timoth - Hrōr - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius - Mananaan on horse - Baagath's Herd - Praach - Xontór - Thoth - Hanokh - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord - Crom on horse - Seza
• SHIPMENT WAVE 3 (beginning October): Cnebba - Gesith Unit - Trytheorn - Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior - Max Schüte's German Berserker
Thoth and Hanokh have now been printed and we're happy with the result, so we're getting the Dawn of Khthon printed next. Even so, they'll still be Wave 2 shipments now.
Have I ordered the right Waves?
Fairly obviously (and to remind you all that we won't split orders unless you've purchased more than one shipment wave) if you've only purchased one Shipment Wave item, your items will only be sent in one shipment when everything is ready. In a nutshell:
•If you have purchased Waves 1, 2 and 3, whatever is available will be shipped in each wave, with wave 3 waiting until everything's finally ready.
•If you have purchased Waves 1 and 2, whatever is available in Wave 1 will be shipped in June, with everything else waiting until everything's finally ready.
•If you've only purchased Wave 1, your orders will be shipped when everything in your orders is ready.
There's still time for you to change this by ordering more shipment waves of course - feel free to do so, but as soon as Wave 1 is complete, that shipment item will be removed from the webstore. so you'd best be quick!
Please be patient!
We would ask you all to be patient with both ourselves and our artists; sculptors live in the real world and real world problems often impinge upon their time, so please bear in mind that they are working as fast as they possibly can on our miniatures and giving us their full attention. We do not want to rush sculptors for the simple reason that rushed work is often poor work!
Sculpts and Sculptors
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition! 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.
• Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane will sculpt Eadric on horse next. He has also now taken on Hrōr, so that he matches the Werwulfas unlocked as part of Darklands: First Edition II.
• Allan Carrasco: There's just Cnebba for Allan, later on in the year.
• Roberto Chaudon: Mälmord is in progress and after him will be Djiuzu.
• Benoît Cosse: Baagath's Herd is next followed by Praach.
• Thomas David: Timoth is underway!
• Jacques-Alexandre Gillois: Equitus Durio on foot and Equitus Durio on horse will be sculpted over the summer.
• Christian Hardy: Velchior is underway.
• Yannick Hennebo: Agathae is in progress, and Yannick has also agreed to sculpt Mananaan on horse for us as Pedro cannot sculpt this now.
• Hector Moran: he has begun digitally sculpting Con I Modius, Legionary Contubernium with Gellius being the first example.
• Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane has begun work on Seza and we should have images soon.
• Juan Navarro Pérez: Next up for Juan is Caedoc and then it's Urien on horse and Carys. Juan has also agreed to sculpt Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior, Trytheorn, although he's not sure when that will occur.
• Stéphane Simon: Xontór is half-way through and after him he'll have Crom on horse, the Holumenn Unit and the Gesíth Unit to do. He's getting there!
• Unknown: the remaining two descendants, which are Rikkard, Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior (due to be drawn by Stefan Kopinski) and Maximus, Maximilian Schüte's Germanic Berserker (due to be drawn by Danny Cruz). Briefs have been passed to both artists so we should have artwork soon.
Sculpts are certainly progressing now!
Completed Sculpts
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.
• ALBAINN: Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on horse - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
•ANGELCYNN: Eadric on foot - Eadric on horse - Timoth - Aldhelm - Hrōr - Leofwen on foot - Gesith Unit - Cnebba - Broga
•BRYTHONIAID: Urien on foot - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag
•BYZANTII: Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Erebius - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius
•FOMORAIC: Mananaan on foot - Mananaan on horse - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg - Baagath's Herd - Praach
• INFERNII: Scecchus
•KHTHONES: Xontór - Thelliatiss - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Thoth - Hanokh - Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
•NORSE: Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord
•YSIANS: Crom on foot - Crom on horse - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Seza
• SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
•DESCENDANTS: Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Trytheorn - Rikkard - Maximus
Let us know if we've missed anything!
The Darklands First Edition Rules
Now, before we get onto the next project, a word on the Darklands: First Edition hardback rulebook.
We've decided to put back the printing of the rulebook to November.
There's a number of good reasons for doing this, but the main reason is simply so that we can include extra stuff - and so increase the value of what you're getting!
This extra stuff will include whatever we need for the miniatures produced by Darklands: First Edition II (such as muster summaries, or perhaps new rules to cover the abilities of new creatures where required), more background material, more colour artwork... whatever we can fit in really.
Please note, the printing delay will NOT affect the delivery of:
•miniatures slated for delivery in Wave 1
•miniatures tied to the book itself (such as Uhtred or Finnan)
However, please note that the rules won't be ready for June as a PDF download. We are now looking at the end of July for this.
We'll also ship the rulebook to you when it's available without tying it to a Wave - it's only fair to do so!
Now, we're aware a lot of you guys and gals out there were very keen to get your hands on the book when - let's face it - we said we'd deliver it; but we hope you understand that we simply want to make that book better for you.
The Darklands Concept Art Book
Similarly, we're going to delay the printing of the Darklands Concept Art book.
The main reason for this is very simple - we want to add as much art as we can to it, so we're going to include all the art seen in Darklands: First Edition II. Again, we understand that you guys would want the book in June; but we just want to give you more for the same amount of money!
QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters
There's a few other bits and pieces yet to be done of course, so here's how progress is looking on those fronts...
There's now a new version of the QuickStarter Rules - v10.6 - and this is now the FINAL version before printing. We took the opportunity of the delay to get a few formatting changes (including the addition of page numbers) in as well as tidy up a couple of rules that needed attention.
You can download them here: DARKLANDS QUICKSTARTER RULES v10.6
We would recommend - especially if you are familiar with those previous versions of the QuickStarter Rules - to have a good read through, and also please check out the Mierce Miniatures forum, in particular the "Darklands Rules Discussion" section and the "Observations from a first read" thread...
Printing the QuickStarter Rules
We have excellent news: the QuickStarter Rules are about ready for print and will be shipped off to our printers soon. Unfortunately, converting an Open Office document into a print-ready CMYK colour version is proving problematic, and does involve reworking the whole book into a different program; but we hope to have them by the end of July now.
A word to the wise: don't use Open Office or Microsoft Word if you want the results printed by a professional printer...
The new, updated Muster Rules are now available for download.
You can download them here: DARKLANDS MUSTER RULES v2.3
They include the most recent, updated rules regarding hosts, units and warriors as listed in the QuickStarter Rulebook. The Muster Rules will not be printed, please remember; they will, however, always be available for download and will always be living rules.
At some point I'll get around to putting links up on our website...!
A Kindred Muster, what we call an army list, gives you the blocks to build a host of a particualr kindred for Darklands. It includes all of the different unit types available to you as a general wishing to create an army, in the shape of warrior profiles.
The kindred musters given below include all of the warriors unlocked by our projects so you can check exactly what you're getting for your money in game terms.
Bear in mind, however, that any new profiles are only partially playtested (if at all) - expect changes and feel free to give us feedback on the Mierce forums. Check them out for some awesome new warriors, however!
• ALBAINN MUSTER v1.6
•ANGELCYNN MUSTER v1.11
•BRYTHONIAID MUSTER v1.7
•BYZANTII MUSTER v1.2
•FOMORAIC MUSTER v1.9
•INFERNII MUSTER v1.1
•KHTHONES MUSTER v1.5
•NORSE MUSTER v1.6
•VRAS MUSTER v1.5
•YSIAN MUSTER v1.8
•SELL-SWORD MUSTER v1.4
Muster Links in bold include warriors from this project.
No doubt there'll be a few errors or typos - feel free to tell us about them!
Upon each profile is a handy pronunciation guide (based on the Wikipedia Pronunciation Respelling Key) under the warrior's title and, at the bottom of each profile, a suggestion on which miniature from our range to use as that warrior on the battlefield.
That's it for this week people... until next week!
KS2.5
Update #72 Jun 13 2014
Not Much, But Good
There's not much to show you today, after last week's stunning collection of superb miniatures... it had to happen one Friday!
Emyr, Teulu Warrior
More Teulu stuff from Olivier Nkweti, and this time a warrior, Emyr!
Again, he'll definitely be a Wave 4 shipment!
Darklands: First Edition II Fulfilment
Wave 1 (for items from Darklands: First Edition) will begin shipping on the week beginning the 23rd of June, so watch out for that; there's a bit of a wait until Wave 4 occurs, but there's plenty of items going out in Waves 1, 2 and 3 later on this year.
Sculpts and Sculptors
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.
• Olivier Bouchet: along with the alterations to Gromi, Olivier will also be sculpting the Oghu Guardians, Oghur Unit and the Abhorrents of Ys, Abhorrent Unit.
• Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane has taken on Eoric's Pack, Werwulf Unit as well as Armoured Hrōr for us.
• Allan Carrasco: Allan will be sculpting Ravener Birna and Thórrir.
• Roberto Chaudon: Thanks to Roberto being so awesome, we've loaded him up with the Craven Fiends of Dis, Fiend Unit, the Corpse Takers, Hrafnmann Unit, Enslaved Ágriosávra, Khallas, Parawn and Hrókr.
• Benoît Cosse: we've given Benoît the remainder of the Slaughterers, Krokodar Unit, Brunchaath on Gooracx, Srók, and lots of alternates! Kill-Head Flint-Fang, Marked Galagaak, Skyclad Itaina and Skyclad Ciniod are now complete, leaving him with Young Magágg and Umaer Drast.
• Yannick Fusier: thanks to his awesome work on Bagseg, we've given Yannick the Oghu Keepers, Oghurithne Unit - and he's already begun work on them!
• Yannick Hennebo:Sáthach is now complete of course and he will sculpt the alternate Feral Agathae now, also.
• Patrick Masson: Patrick will be sculpting Uhtred on Horse, to match his foot version.
• Hector Moran: excitingly, Hector will be digitally sculpting In III Judas, Demilegionary Incaendium and Quintus Crito.
• Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane will sculpt Akkaz and Tykho!
• Olivier Nkweti: Olivier has begun work on digitally sculpting the Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit and he will also be digitally sculpting The Eye Ascendant, Warriors of Baalor Unit, the Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit, and the Spears of Dun Durn, Gairlom Unit. Four units for Olivier, but such is his work rate and professionalism, we think that's no trouble for him.
• Juan Navarro Pérez: Juan will be sculpting the alternates Tonsured Caedoc and Forwyn Carys from this project.
• Stéphane Simon: the Shadows of Carn Bran, Shadow-Drune Unit and Ax-Crom - as well as Yrag, Bil and Ekk's Heap - are the sum of Stéphane's work for this project.
• Andrew Speirs: one of our regular backers and a good friend, Andrew will be converting the Trolls to become Armoured Trolls, and work has already begun on them.
• Ernst Veingart: the sculptor of Mjagnir, Ernst has begun sculpting a "miniature" that will dwarf Mjagnir the Jötunn - Gomagg, the Albainn Giant!
• Valentin Zak: Valentin has now sculpted Cæna, and that concludes his work for us on this project!
• Unknown: we don't yet have sculptors confirmed for Sweordsman Timoth, Rēoc's Pack, Geraint on Ceffyldraig and Max Schüte's second Descendant, but we hope to confirm them soon.
Tons of sculpts!
Completed Sculpts
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.
• ALBAINN: Oghu Guardians - Skyclad Ciniod - Oghu Keepers (Brugbad - Dungabad - Lobeg - Bogad - Rubeg) - Skyclad Itaina - Spears of Dun Durn - Umaer Drast - Gromi (Gromi - Gromi with two cleavers - Armoured Gromi with two cleavers) - Young Magágg - Gomagg
•ANGELCYNN: Armoured Hrōr - Eoric's Pack - Sweordsman Timoth - Cæna - Rēoc's Pack
•BRYTHONIAID: Geraint on Ceffyldraig - Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit (Cynog - Lleu Gryf - Gerallt - Dafydd - Emyr) - Tonsured Caedoc - Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit - Forwyn Carys - Parawn
•BYZANTII: Quintus Crito - In III Judas - Feral Agathae - Tykho
•FOMORAIC: Brunchaath on Gooracx - The Eye Ascendant - Helmed Naraa - Marked Galagaak
• INFERNII: Craven Fiends of Dis
•KHTHONES: Srók - Slaughterers - Enslaved Ágriosávra - Khallas
•NORSE: Thórrir - Corpse Takers - Ravener Birna - Armoured Trolls - Hrókr
• VRAS: Kill-Head Flint-Fang
•YSIANS: Abhorrents of Ys - Ax-Crom - Flesh-Scavengers (Gondard - Ekk - Yrag - Bil - Flesh-Pile) - Shadows of Carn Bran - Akkaz
•SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred on Horse, Sáthach
•DESCENDANTS: Max Schüte's second Descendant
I am so glad I have both Agathae and Malmord on order, they both look amazing.
Yxalitis, can't so a side by side for you but Malacant is on a 100mm base compared to Secchus' s 60mm base. Malacant pretty much fills it and his wings bulk him out as well.
This update was so amazing that it froze my tablet this morning- it's still stuck on this same screen showing the fulfillment waves
That is a huge model. Not necessarily something I'd be interested in, though. Chaudon is sculpting scarily fast, although I almost want him to slow down a bit at this point! He is very talented but since he's so far ahead of everyone else I think he could take a little more time on these latest few sculpts to really give them that extra pop.
Jun 20 2014
Sculpts, and Wave 1 will be sent - and closed - soon!
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Only a few sculpts again, this week, but we do have major fulfilment news: Wave 1 is about to be sent, and that means all Wave 1 miniatures will soon disappear from the website!
This week we have:
a note about Wave 1 items being removed;
sculpt work in progress updates from Roberto Chaudon, Thomas David, Yannick Hennebo and Stéphane Simon;
a list of what miniatures will be sent in Wave 1;
updated lists of sculptors and sculpts;
current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
what you can expect from us over the next few months.
Let's begin...
Wave 1 Items will be Removed Soon!
With Wave 1 very close to being shipped, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 1 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category very shortly.
In a nutshell:
Wave 1 items (see below for a full list of those) will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 30th of June
In other words, get your skates on if you want any more Wave 1 items; you won't be able to purchase them again until they are released to the general public, and depending on the miniature involved, that could be for a long while yet...! Plus, they'll be at full price of course.
Timoth, Smith of Langwith
Thomas David is close to finishing Tim-Jong-Il, and he is looking excellent! Tim hasn't got a very big nail, but he's got a massive hammer to knock it in with - so meeting Timoth on a dark night isn't advisable.
Timoth should make it into Wave 2 now of course.
Agathae, Signifer
Yannick Hennebo is becoming a firm favourite of ours now. Agathae looks fantastic, especially as she's complete! You'd certainly like to meet her on a dark night...
We did extend the length of Agathae's signum though:
\
Agathae should be a Wave 2 shipment of course.
Xontór, Gorgon of Khthon
Stéphane Simon's been working on Xontór's detailing and our lovely big Gorgon is getting there. We can't wait to see him finished, but we don't really want to meet him on any kind of night, let alone a dark one.
Xontór will be a Wave 2 shipment we believe.
Mälmord, Felltroll
Roberto Chaudon has now completed work on Mälmord, and what a result! He's looking very nasty indeed, although you wouldn't like to meet this guy on a dark night, or even a light night, or even in the day time, we think. In short, don't meet him, ever.
Again, as you can see by this next image, Mälmord's a big 'un... he'll fit on a 60mm base though!
Mälmord should make it into Wave 2.
Darklands: First Edition Fulfilment
We have excellent news - the first Wave 1 orders will be shipped today!
Please don't be upset if your orders have not yet been sent, even if your order is currently in "packing"; there's still a few Wave 1 miniatures yet to be moulded, so please be patient while the boys get your miniatures sorted.
Bear in mind, too, that shipments will continue into July and probably August, and as always we will prioritise orders in date order - i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early.
What Ships When?
Here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when. Note that this list (Wave 2 onwards, anyway) could change, but we'll keep it updated every Friday.
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.
SHIPMENT WAVE 0: complete for this project.
SHIPMENT WAVE 1 (beginning end of June): Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Erebius - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg- Scecchus - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
SHIPMENT WAVE 2 (beginning August): Eadric on horse - Timoth - Hrōr - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius - Mananaan on horse - Baagath's Herd - Praach - Xontór - Thoth - Hanokh - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord - Crom on horse - Seza
SHIPMENT WAVE 3 (beginning October): Cnebba - Gesith Unit - Trytheorn - Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior - Max Schüte's German Berserker
Thoth and Hanokh have now been printed and we're happy with the result, so we're getting the Dawn of Khthon printed next. Even so, they'll still be Wave 2 shipments now.
Have I ordered the right Waves?
Fairly obviously (and to remind you all that we won't split orders unless you've purchased more than one shipment wave) if you've only purchased one Shipment Wave item, your items will only be sent in one shipment when everything is ready. In a nutshell:
If you have purchased Waves 1, 2 and 3, whatever is available will be shipped in each wave, with wave 3 waiting until everything's finally ready.
If you have purchased Waves 1 and 2, whatever is available in Wave 1 will be shipped in June, with everything else waiting until everything's finally ready.
If you've only purchased Wave 1, your orders will be shipped when everything in your orders is ready.
There's still time for you to change this by ordering more shipment waves of course - feel free to do so, but as soon as Wave 1 is complete, that shipment item will be removed from the webstore. so you'd best be quick!
Please be patient!
We would ask you all to be patient with both ourselves and our artists; sculptors live in the real world and real world problems often impinge upon their time, so please bear in mind that they are working as fast as they possibly can on our miniatures and giving us their full attention. We do not want to rush sculptors for the simple reason that rushed work is often poor work!
Sculpts and Sculptors
Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition! 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.
Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane will sculpt Eadric on horse next. He has also now taken on Hrōr, so that he matches the Werwulfas unlocked as part of Darklands: First Edition II.
Allan Carrasco: There's just Cnebba for Allan, later on in the year.
Roberto Chaudon: Mälmord is now finished and after him will be Djiuzu!
Benoît Cosse: Baagath's Herd is next followed by Praach.
Thomas David: Timoth is almost there!
Jacques-Alexandre Gillois: Equitus Durio on foot and Equitus Durio on horse will be sculpted over the summer.
Christian Hardy: Velchior is underway.
Yannick Hennebo: Agathae is complete, and Yannick has also agreed to sculpt Mananaan on horse for us as Pedro cannot sculpt this now.
Hector Moran: he has begun digitally sculpting Con I Modius, Legionary Contubernium with Gellius being the first example.
Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane has begun work on Seza and we should have images soon.
Juan Navarro Pérez: Next up for Juan is Caedoc and then it's Urien on horse and Carys. Juan has also agreed to sculpt Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior, Trytheorn, although he's not sure when that will occur.
Stéphane Simon: Xontór is half-way through and after him he'll have Crom on horse, the Holumenn Unit and the Gesíth Unit to do. He's getting there!
Unknown: the remaining two descendants, which are Rikkard, Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior (due to be drawn by Stefan Kopinski) and Maximus, Maximilian Schüte's Germanic Berserker (due to be drawn by Danny Cruz). Briefs have been passed to both artists so we should have artwork soon.
Sculpts are certainly progressing now!
Completed Sculpts
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.
ALBAINN: Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on horse - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
ANGELCYNN: Eadric on foot - Eadric on horse - Timoth - Aldhelm - Hrōr - Leofwen on foot - Gesith Unit - Cnebba - Broga
BRYTHONIAID: Urien on foot - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag
BYZANTII: Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Erebius - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius
FOMORAIC: Mananaan on foot - Mananaan on horse - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg - Baagath's Herd - Praach
INFERNII: Scecchus
KHTHONES: Xontór - Thelliatiss - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Thoth - Hanokh - Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
NORSE: Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord
YSIANS: Crom on foot - Crom on horse - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Seza
SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
DESCENDANTS: Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Trytheorn - Rikkard - Maximus
Let us know if we've missed anything!
The Darklands First Edition Rules
Now, before we get onto the next project, a word on the Darklands: First Edition hardback rulebook.
We've decided to put back the printing of the rulebook to November.
There's a number of good reasons for doing this, but the main reason is simply so that we can include extra stuff - and so increase the value of what you're getting!
This extra stuff will include whatever we need for the miniatures produced by Darklands: First Edition II (such as muster summaries, or perhaps new rules to cover the abilities of new creatures where required), more background material, more colour artwork... whatever we can fit in really.
Please note, the printing delay will NOT affect the delivery of:
miniatures slated for delivery in Wave 1
miniatures tied to the book itself (such as Uhtred or Finnan)
However, please note that the rules won't be ready for June as a PDF download. We are now looking at the end of July for this.
We'll also ship the rulebook to you when it's available without tying it to a Wave - it's only fair to do so!
Now, we're aware a lot of you guys and gals out there were very keen to get your hands on the book when - let's face it - we said we'd deliver it; but we hope you understand that we simply want to make that book better for you.
The Darklands Concept Art Book
Similarly, we're going to delay the printing of the Darklands Concept Art book.
The main reason for this is very simple - we want to add as much art as we can to it, so we're going to include all the art seen in Darklands: First Edition II. Again, we understand that you guys would want the book in June; but we just want to give you more for the same amount of money!
KS2.5 Update:
Update #73
Jun 20 2014
More good stuff, but not a lot of it
Comment
4 likes
Again, there's not much to show you today, but it's good stuff all the same... and there's a reminder, too, for those of you who don't know about Wave 1 being shipped!
Gromi, Armoured Oghurigg with Cleavers
Olivier Bouchet's been busy altering Gromi, as you can see! There's still a bit to do on the weapons but he's about there.
Gromi should definitely be a Wave 4 sculpt.
Dafydd, Teulu Warrior
Another Teulu Warrior from Olivier Nkweti, and it's Dafydd...
Again, them Teulu will definitely be a Wave 4 shipment!
Wave 1 Items will be Removed Soon!
With Wave 1 (from our Darklands: First Edition project) very close to being shipped, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 1 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category very shortly.
In a nutshell:
Wave 1 items (see below for a full list of those) will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 30th of June
In other words, get your skates on if you want any more Wave 1 items; you won't be able to purchase them again until they are released to the general public, and depending on the miniature involved, that could be for a long while yet...! Plus, they'll be at full price of course.
(Obviously this only applies to those of you that backed KS2 - your access to KS2 was revoked a couple of weeks ago if you did not).
Darklands: First Edition II Fulfilment
Wave 1 (for items from Darklands: First Edition) will begin shipping today; there's a bit of a wait until Wave 4 occurs, but there's plenty of items going out in Waves 1, 2 and 3 later on this year.
Sculpts and Sculptors
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.
Olivier Bouchet: along with the alterations to Gromi, Olivier will also be sculpting the Oghu Guardians, Oghur Unit and the Abhorrents of Ys, Abhorrent Unit.
Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane has taken on Eoric's Pack, Werwulf Unit as well as Armoured Hrōr for us.
Allan Carrasco: Allan will be sculpting Ravener Birna and Thórrir.
Roberto Chaudon: Thanks to Roberto being so awesome, we've loaded him up with the Craven Fiends of Dis, Fiend Unit, the Corpse Takers, Hrafnmann Unit, Enslaved Ágriosávra, Khallas, Parawn and Hrókr.
Benoît Cosse: we've given Benoît the remainder of the Slaughterers, Krokodar Unit, Brunchaath on Gooracx, Srók, and lots of alternates! Kill-Head Flint-Fang, Marked Galagaak, Skyclad Itaina and Skyclad Ciniod are now complete, leaving him with Young Magágg and Umaer Drast.
Yannick Fusier: thanks to his awesome work on Bagseg, we've given Yannick the Oghu Keepers, Oghurithne Unit - and he's already begun work on them!
Yannick Hennebo:Sáthach is now complete of course and he will sculpt the alternate Feral Agathae now, also.
Patrick Masson: Patrick will be sculpting Uhtred on Horse, to match his foot version.
Hector Moran: excitingly, Hector will be digitally sculpting In III Judas, Demilegionary Incaendium and Quintus Crito.
Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane will sculpt Akkaz and Tykho!
Olivier Nkweti: Olivier has begun work on digitally sculpting the Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit and he will also be digitally sculpting The Eye Ascendant, Warriors of Baalor Unit, the Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit, and the Spears of Dun Durn, Gairlom Unit. Four units for Olivier, but such is his work rate and professionalism, we think that's no trouble for him.
Juan Navarro Pérez: Juan will be sculpting the alternates Tonsured Caedoc and Forwyn Carys from this project.
Stéphane Simon: the Shadows of Carn Bran, Shadow-Drune Unit and Ax-Crom - as well as Yrag, Bil and Ekk's Heap - are the sum of Stéphane's work for this project.
Andrew Speirs: one of our regular backers and a good friend, Andrew will be converting the Trolls to become Armoured Trolls, and work has already begun on them.
Ernst Veingart: the sculptor of Mjagnir, Ernst has begun sculpting a "miniature" that will dwarf Mjagnir the Jötunn - Gomagg, the Albainn Giant!
Valentin Zak: Valentin has now sculpted Cæna, and that concludes his work for us on this project!
Unknown: we don't yet have sculptors confirmed for Sweordsman Timoth, Rēoc's Pack, Geraint on Ceffyldraig and Max Schüte's second Descendant, but we hope to confirm them soon.
Tons of sculpts!
Completed Sculpts
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.
ALBAINN: Oghu Guardians - Skyclad Ciniod - Oghu Keepers (Brugbad - Dungabad - Lobeg - Bogad - Rubeg) - Skyclad Itaina - Spears of Dun Durn - Umaer Drast - Gromi (Gromi - Gromi with two cleavers - Armoured Gromi with two cleavers) - Young Magágg - Gomagg
ANGELCYNN: Armoured Hrōr - Eoric's Pack - Sweordsman Timoth - Cæna - Rēoc's Pack
BRYTHONIAID: Geraint on Ceffyldraig - Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit (Cynog - Lleu Gryf - Gerallt - Dafydd - Emyr) - Tonsured Caedoc - Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit - Forwyn Carys - Parawn
BYZANTII: Quintus Crito - In III Judas - Feral Agathae - Tykho
FOMORAIC: Brunchaath on Gooracx - The Eye Ascendant - Helmed Naraa - Marked Galagaak
INFERNII: Craven Fiends of Dis
KHTHONES: Srók - Slaughterers - Enslaved Ágriosávra - Khallas
NORSE: Thórrir - Corpse Takers - Ravener Birna - Armoured Trolls - Hrókr
VRAS: Kill-Head Flint-Fang
YSIANS: Abhorrents of Ys - Ax-Crom - Flesh-Scavengers (Gondard - Ekk - Yrag - Bil - Flesh-Pile) - Shadows of Carn Bran - Akkaz
SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred on Horse, Sáthach
DESCENDANTS: Max Schüte's second Descendant
That sculpt by Thomas David is really nice. I don't really enjoy the concept. It's a bit static and dull. But by god, the technique used for the sculpting is beyond this world.
Xontor, by Stephane Simon, looks really good, too. The head looks a bit too large though, doesn't it? I am still getting it regardless. These demi-snakemen are, in my opinion, much more appealing that are "all" snake.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Question is, do I want to do him up in blues to hang out with all my dire trolls, or go with the elephant grey I was originally envisioning him in?
Have the Mierce guys send one to my house and I'll get those pics done right quick.
My original thought was doing the trollskin in shades of grey (Fifty perhaps?) and doing those rock formations that seem to grow all over them in a mix of blacks and grays.
Otherwise it's trollblood blue and reddish rocks.
My other thought was in a mustardy orange/ yellow color like an old spawn figure I used to have. Boy do I miss those old Spawn figures you could actually mess around with!
Sorry for the confusion. I was debating about doing the Mierce trolls in a similar fashion to the Privateer dire trolls, since I've got plenty of the Privateer stuff already.
I refuse to sully a Mierce topic up with another company's material, so I'll spoiler it just in case, but I was thinking of doing the Mountain Troll in a similar scheme.
Spoiler:
Has anyone painted the Mierce trolls in anything other than shades of green? I don't think I've come across any yet.
highlord tamburlaine wrote: Sorry for the confusion. I was debating about doing the Mierce trolls in a similar fashion to the Privateer dire trolls, since I've got plenty of the Privateer stuff already.
I refuse to sully a Mierce topic up with another company's material, so I'll spoiler it just in case, but I was thinking of doing the Mountain Troll in a similar scheme.
Spoiler:
Has anyone painted the Mierce trolls in anything other than shades of green? I don't think I've come across any yet.
I've done Gamla Bror in turquoise, but I guess that still has an element of green!
This has been in every Mierce Kickstarter from day 1...
"Carrowek of Carn Dhu at roughly three times his actual size"
I only just noticed it...
You know the size of the image is totally dependent on the size and resolution of the screen viewing it.
He is about 4cm tall on my phone, and nearly 28cm on my 27" monitor at home...!
You read that right - in four days' time, on Monday, 30th of June at midnight (GMT), you won't be able to purchase any Wave 1 items until they're released, and they'll be more expensive, too!
More on that below; our usual Friday update will contain a couple of work in progress images, although there's not a great deal. Fear not, however - you've been spoilt lately, and we've no doubt our sculptors will get into gear for Wave 2 very soon!
WAVE 1 ITEMS WILL BE REMOVED ON MONDAY
With Wave 1 now being shipped, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 1 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category in four days' time.
In a nutshell: Wave 1 items will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 30th of June
The following items will be removed from the website: ALBAINN - Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg ANGELCYNN - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga BRYTHONIAID - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau BYZANTII - Erebius FOMORAIC - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg INFERNII - Scecchus KHTHONES - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio NORSE - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand YSIANS - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg SELL-SWORDS - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
In other words, get your skates on if you want any more Wave 1 items; you won't be able to purchase them again until they are released to the general public, and depending on the miniature involved, that could be for a long while yet...!
Plus, they'll be at full price of course.
What are you waiting for? Grab those Wave 1 items now!
Chuwaa, Gabrax Hornblower
Benoît Cosse's been beavering away on the Gabrax for Baagath's Herd, with Chuwaa and Ungaa the first to get the treatment. As always, Benoît's images are very poor, but we hope you get the right impression from these sculpts!
Chuwaa and the rest of Baagath's Herd should make it into Wave 2.
Ungaa, Gabrax Warrior
Again, here's Benoît's images, for what they are worth...! We've added a video too.
Again, Ungaa and the rest of Baagath's Herd should make it into Wave 2.
Mälmord, Felltroll
Roberto's now completed work on Mälmord, and here's his components... there's quite a few!
Mälmord will definitely make it into Wave 2.
Seza, Death-Abhorrent
Wahey! Stéphane NGuyen's now completed Seza, everybody's favourite three-legged female monstrosity, and whilst his images aren't amazing - look at the overall composition first, then at the final component images - you can see that she's looking awesome.
We did get him to change the torso after these images, as it wasn't quite right. Here's the result...
Seza is a complicated sculpt and we think Stéphane's done a great job!
She will definitely be a Wave 2 shipment.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ks 2.5 update
Gromi, Loyal Guard and Wave 1
Once again, there's not a great deal to show you today... but what we have for you is here.
Importantly, there's a reminder, too, for those of you who don't know about Wave 1 being shipped!
Gromi, Oghurigg
Gromi is now finished, thanks to Olivier Bouchet's sterling work!
Gromi will definitely be a Wave 4 sculpt.
Cynog of Gaer yn Arfon , Penteulu
The Loyal Guard unit champion - Cynog of Gaer yn Arfon (today's Caernarfon) - is now complete, and that concludes Olivier Nkweti's work on the Teulu! Olivier has really shown his skill on these guys; they look fantastic, and we can't wait to get them printed and in resin.
Cynog will of course be a Wave 4 shipment, along with the rest of the Loyal Guard...
Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit
So, here's the Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit in all its glory!
Again, them Teulu right there will definitely be a Wave 4 shipment!
Agreed. You can't knock em out of the park every time, but something seems off. I think its their head shape3 compared to the previous ones. Still there's time to refine them.
I like that Sezna has three legs. Didnt realize that originally and the creature looked like it would have a hard time moving on two. She probably should have been nude/covered in chitin or something though, because how does she dress herself?
I see a lot of Brythoniaid and Troll crotches in that photo!
Definitely looking forward to putting Angedern (who seems to be up at the top of the photo) together. Top priority for me. He looks like he'll be quite big!
Is that the dragon down in the bottom of Looky Likey's photo?
No, biggest one I got on Friday was the bloodmaw, which is awesome. I do have the big dragon, just need to sit and paint it like everything else from mierce
still need to green stuff the joints but hopefully these show how good the sculpts are since the WIP photos were not that grea(about 40mm for the howler up to 52mm for the leader with the other two in between)
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and no visible genitalia (surprisingly),
so if your kids want some mierce monsters they're child friendly
Firstly, I am not prude, German heritage so random acts of personal nudity are an aspect of my upbringing, I have been a nude model, gone to nudist beaches, you get the idea.
But I don't find the genitalia on Mierce models contributes anything to the design.
Note that I am not referring to the ball sacks on the quadrupeds, which is anatomically accurate, and usually quite unobtrusive.
No, it's examples like the enormous, wrinkled, veined penis for Druc, the too-human penis on Uuthüll, the gaping open vagina on Torku.
Why do I object?
1. No mammals have external penises, except primates, and all primates have tiny penises compared to humans. So by sticking a oh-so very human penis on the minis, Mierce are basically saying "This is a human" which I (personally) disagree with.
2.The extent to which genitalia on the minis has increased in prominence and size suggest it a deliberate design philosophy. But to what end? Is it to suggest that sticking a willy on everything makes you somehow more adult? If so I would argue the opposite. It strikes me as "Cor, check out the veins on that wang!"
3. It often makes little sense. Torku's vagina and breasts suggests skin, tissue, etc, yet she is a "bone aberrant" Can she breed? With what? Does she suckle young? Druc's massive weeny would be an obvious handicap in battle, as well as bumping along the ground constantly as he waddles along on those short, stumpy legs. Uuthüll has a penis, and yet is a sea creature....you know that you only need a penis of you're a terrestrial creature...right? Because the sperm of aquatic animals already has a fluid to swim in...it's called water.
Just my 2c, I'm content to cut off the extraneous members, and putty over gaping snoos, and at least they are mostly optional extras now.
I posted this to elicit some discussion, not to have a go at Mierce, or to suggest my opinion should count for anything.
Last Chance - Wave 1 Items will be removed tonight!
From tonight, Monday the 30th of June at midnight (GMT), you won't be able to purchase any Wave 1 items until they're released, and they'll be more expensive, too!
So get your skates on!
WAVE 1 ITEMS WILL BE REMOVED TONIGHT!
With Wave 1 now being shipped, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 1 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category today.
In a nutshell:
•Wave 1 items will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 30th of June - TONIGHT!
The following items will be removed from the website:
• ALBAINN - Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
• ANGELCYNN - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga
• BRYTHONIAID - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau
• BYZANTII - Erebius
• FOMORAIC - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg
• INFERNII - Scecchus
• KHTHONES - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
• NORSE - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand
• YSIANS - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg
• SELL-SWORDS - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
In other words, you'd better be quick if you want any more Wave 1 items; you won't be able to purchase them again until they are released to the general public, and depending on the miniature involved, that could be for a long while yet...!
Plus, they'll be at full price of course.
What are you waiting for? Grab those Wave 1 items now!
Alpharius wrote: These are different wolves from the ones that you're getting via the Piggyback Pledge with me though - but you probably already knew that!
I added some (a lot!) of the miniatures from the 'about to disappear from the List' to an order yesterday... argh!
3. It often makes little sense. Torku's vagina and breasts suggests skin, tissue, etc, yet she is a "bone aberrant" Can she breed? With what? Does she suckle young?
Everything about Torku suggests she's for breeding, and probably the source of some of those abominations like the brutes and Sezna . The ysians are the most sexualized faction by far. In another faction she's be weird. I'm going to use her for an encounter with a demonic fertility goddess cult. She's clearly not all bone at any rate. The chitin just covers her back and face.
I'm so glad I backed the last KS and had access to purchase the older models from wave 0 and wave 1. Though, I'm cheap and have to wait till wave 4 to get them. ugh. Those warewolfs look awesome! I'll be interested to see how you make out after you green stuff the joints, Orlando.
3. It often makes little sense. Torku's vagina and breasts suggests skin, tissue, etc, yet she is a "bone aberrant" Can she breed? With what? Does she suckle young?
Everything about Torku suggests she's for breeding, and probably the source of some of those abominations like the brutes and Sezna . The ysians are the most sexualized faction by far. In another faction she's be weird. I'm going to use her for an encounter with a demonic fertility goddess cult. She's clearly not all bone at any rate. The chitin just covers her back and face.
Yea, that is one thing to keep in mind with older mythologies: all the insane critters were offspring of someone or another. There wasn't "a wizard did it" so much, but rather "some god did it with some other god/giant/demon/animal, and this came out 9 months later." Everything could have babies, no matter how strange or unique. Infact, being unique probably made it MORE likely some god was going to get his freak on with you.
Yeah, I've had the shipping charges added back to my account... multiple times. I think they paid for my werepiggy.
I had originally paid for wave one (the mandatory shipping stuff), but those pesky hydras decided to take their time getting printed...
I made sure to get separate shipping for waves 4 and 5. That's a big wait between November and February, and I don't want to wait!
Crocs for Thanksgiving, Dragons for Valentine's!
Alpharius wrote: I *think* they mentioned crediting that charge back to you, if you'd already paid for shipping minis in a wave?
Best to email them directly - and then let us know what you find out!
I emailed them with the same question yesterday morning and this was Mierce's reply;
Hi Neil
You can't mate - just pay for it, and I'll refund any extra postage. It's just the way the website works, it was never designed to be a pledge management system of course; and I just don't have the time to change it I'm afraid! It will happen one day though. Honest...
I have no issue with this. ...there's always more I want!
Alpharius wrote: I have no issue with this. ...there's always more I want!
It is obviously a "marketing ploy" though, because it will often be refunded into the store credit. And who wants to leave that money just sitting there? So you'll eventually make another order, and so on. I don't care that much, however, as there is always more I want, too.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ooh New surprise KS
Project Update #91: A Darklands Mini Kickstarter Project STARTS TODAY at 6pm!Posted by Mierce Miniatures ♥ Like
We have a BIG surprise for you - we're launching a mini Kickstarter project TODAY, at6pm!
DARKLANDS MINI KICKSTARTER PROJECT
We're not going to unveil much about this project in this announcement, to keep that surprise, but what we can tell you is that we'll be running it from 6pm (GMT) today, the 1st of July until 6pm Monday, the 14th of July - so that's two weeks' worth of Mierce awesomeness!
What's the goal?
We have set a initial goal of £5,000 for this project and we do hope to achieve that fairly early. To that end, one of the rewards will be an early bird, and there'll only be 125 of them available - so you'd better be quick and grab one; and you get £10 off the main reward for doing so.
There's only one reward (two if you count the early bird version), too; and that's set at £50 (so£40 for the early bird).
Broadly, we are hoping to produce one extremely fantastic miniature - that is being sculpted right now by the awesome Daniel Cockersell - and add a few more to the Darklands range.
Why now, not later?
It's very simple, really - if we wait until September to produce these miniatures (which is the date scheduled for our next big project), you'll be waiting until well into 2015 before we can use Dan Cockersell's skills. He's a very busy man, he had a window of opportunity for us and we took it - the downside being that his awesomeness comes at a high price, and we don't want to dip into funds reserved for other project miniatures.
As well as that, it's an opportunity to produce some more fantastic centrepiece miniatures, too - depending on you guys of course! - and is a bit of an experiment; if this project is nice and successful, we may well run a couple of mini-projects like it in 2015.
We shall see...!
Spread the word!
There's only a few hours to go before the project begins... eeek!
Tell your friends, acquaintances and relatives - we need their support as much as yours!
To whet your appetite, here's a concept of a miniature that may appear during the course of the next project... if there's enough interest ;o)
Alpharius wrote: I have no issue with this. ...there's always more I want!
It is obviously a "marketing ploy" though, because it will often be refunded into the store credit. And who wants to leave that money just sitting there? So you'll eventually make another order, and so on. I don't care that much, however, as there is always more I want, too.
I have to take issue with this Grefven, because that's simply not the case. It's the way it is simply because I do not have the time to alter the basket (which is a damn complicated thing).
I'm surprised at you - you should know us better than that!
Another kickstarter? It's not that I don't appreciate the deals offered, the opportunity for Mierce to produce larger quantities of high quality product than would normally be possible, and the arguably impeccable delivery and communication record. I just think that at some point surely we'll just have retail releases, right? I mean... I don't want Mierce to be Mantic, but with resin.
Zond wrote: Another kickstarter? It's not that I don't appreciate the deals offered, the opportunity for Mierce to produce larger quantities of high quality product than would normally be possible, and the arguably impeccable delivery and communication record. I just think that at some point surely we'll just have retail releases, right? I mean... I don't want Mierce to be Mantic, but with resin.
"It's very simple, really - if we wait until September to produce these miniatures (which is the date scheduled for our next big project), you'll be waiting until well into 2015 before we can use Dan Cockersell's skills. He's a very busy man, he had a window of opportunity for us and we took it - the downside being that his awesomeness comes at a high price, and we don't want to dip into funds reserved for other project miniatures. "
Yeah, I can read. Will this become standard practice? It's hard not to be a bit cynical about this. It already is standard practice to just jump to kickstarter for everything, this being 4th kickstarter, with September's now being the 5th? Might be nice for the rulebook to come out and the game to settle somewhat.
A Darklands Mini Kickstarter Project STARTS TODAY at 6pm!
2 comments
4 likes
We have a BIG surprise for you - we're launching a mini Kickstarter project TODAY, at 6pm!
DARKLANDS MINI KICKSTARTER PROJECT
We're not going to unveil much about this project in this announcement, to keep that surprise, but what we can tell you is that we'll be running it from 6pm (GMT) today, the 1st of July until 6pm Monday, the 14th of July - so that's two weeks' worth of Mierce awesomeness!
What's the goal?
We have set a initial goal of £5,000 for this project and we do hope to achieve that fairly early. To that end, one of the rewards will be an early bird, and there'll only be 125 of them available - so you'd better be quick and grab one; and you get £10 off the main reward for doing so.
There's only one reward (two if you count the early bird version), too; and that's set at £50 (so £40 for the early bird).
What's it all about?
You'll have to wait until 6pm!
All right, here's a few details. This little project is designed to fund some very cool miniatures indeed, some of which were seen by backers during our last Kickstarter project (Darklands: First Edition II), although they did not become stretch goals; and some miniatures that nobody has seen until now...
Broadly, we are hoping to produce one extremely fantastic miniature - that is being sculpted right now by the awesome Daniel Cockersell - and add a few more to the Darklands range.
Why now, not later?
It's very simple, really - if we wait until September to produce these miniatures (which is the date scheduled for our next big project), you'll be waiting until well into 2015 before we can use Dan Cockersell's skills. He's a very busy man, he had a window of opportunity for us and we took it - the downside being that his awesomeness comes at a high price, and we don't want to dip into funds reserved for other project miniatures.
As well as that, it's an opportunity to produce some more fantastic centrepiece miniatures, too - depending on you guys of course! - and is a bit of an experiment; if this project is nice and successful, we may well run a couple of mini-projects like it in 2015.
We shall see...!
Spread the word!
There's only a few hours to go before the project begins... eeek!
Tell your friends, acquaintances and relatives - we need their support as much as yours!
To whet your appetite, here's a concept of a miniature that may appear during the course of the next project... if there's enough interest ;o)
Zond,
Yes, it is. We are a Kickstarter-based company now, it's as simple as that.
The simple fact is, Kickstarter is where it's at for projects like ours; if we just put miniatures up on our website, we'd sell about one percent of what we are funded for on our projects. Kickstarter enables us to interact with our customers in a way that nothing else can, and people love the community.
I'm sorry you feel cynical about it, but it's the only way we can make new miniatures and keep people's interest.
This project, by the way, is only a little one to fund one miniature by Dan. If it funds more than that, great - if it doesn't, great! We've still funded a fantastic miniature.
As for the rules, again, it's very simple - the QuickStarter Rules are already out there, you can play Darklands already. The full rules are being worked on and will be available soon, but - as I say to everyone who asks about it - I do pretty much everything for Mierce apart from mould and cast, and it all takes time; my time is basically limited, and as I have a big family I can't do much at home either.
I would suggest you look at some other companies and how late their projects are before you get too cynical about Mierce and Kickstarters, to be honest!
We keep everybody informed all the time about the state of what we're doing - it's not like we're trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes.
Anyway, hope to see lots of Dakka Darklanders at 6pm!
If folk look you'll see the early birds fund the project (£40 x 125 backers) which seems fair enough, once this happens other backers are aren't 'needed' (although they are wanted)
Mierce Miniatures wrote: Zond,
Yes, it is. We are a Kickstarter-based company now, it's as simple as that.
The simple fact is, Kickstarter is where it's at for projects like ours; if we just put miniatures up on our website, we'd sell about one percent of what we are funded for on our projects. Kickstarter enables us to interact with our customers in a way that nothing else can, and people love the community.
Not only that, but it allows you a great avenue for risk mitigation.
That's a big reason why I have no problem with Kickstarter's in general.
Further that with the fact that Mierce, if you're looking at the big picture, has been one of the few KSes I've backed that have had accurate timeline quotes and delivered on time. They've run their KS projects incredibly responsibly, IMO.
As a reminder (or refresher to anyone that doesnt know) Dan sculpted a few of the FW Greater Demons and sculpted the Mierce Risen Kraken Uuthull.
cincydooley wrote: Honestly, I'm fine if it is standard practice for them.
If the window is there, I'd rather they get the funds so they can bring more great sculptors on board.
So much this. Lock them in before their schedules are filled! I cant see how they would be able to retain so many talented in house sculptors, so I'd rather them commission from the best. And compared to other artists who have fallen behind in their works, the ones Mierce uses often beat the expected deadline!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Mierce Miniatures wrote: Zond,
Yes, it is. We are a Kickstarter-based company now, it's as simple as that.
The simple fact is, Kickstarter is where it's at for projects like ours; if we just put miniatures up on our website, we'd sell about one percent of what we are funded for on our projects. Kickstarter enables us to interact with our customers in a way that nothing else can, and people love the community.
Have you guys looked into getting into more NA distributors? I know you'd get less of a percent of sales as opposed to direct, but hopefully it would expand the market.
.....Well this IS the way that the business seems to be going.
I have to wonder if people would reward a business for NOT using kickstarter being that so many people are getting so tired of it.
Automatically Appended Next Post: .....Well this IS the way that the business seems to be going.
I have to wonder if people would reward a business for NOT using kickstarter being that so many people are getting so tired of it. Cause that is the onyl way this will ever change.
wierd........
Not meanign this as a dig at Mierce just saying in general.
I have to wonder if people would reward a business for NOT using kickstarter being that so many people are getting so tired of it. Cause that is the onyl way this will ever change.
.
I know I'm only one guy with one opinion, Tre, but I'm fine with Kickstarters in general. There are going to be instances like Zach Braff's "Wish I Was Here" that will cause some people to bristle , but in our niche little hobby, I think any and all of the anger and cynicism is misplaced.
I think we'd perhaps more deservedly see some if Games Workshop decided to kickstart a project, but I won't lie: if they opted to release all of their "pet projects" and/or specialty games like that, I don't know if I'd be that upset about it.
But with most of these projects, we're talking about very small companies, with very few employees. CoolMiniOrNot, who many see as one of the "larger" players in this industry, has like, 14 employees. And about a quarter of those are warehouse staff.
In all honesty, I think a lot of of the "tired of it" is simply a synonym for "I don't have money for it right now;" I could be way off base here, but that's the impression I get.
I have to wonder if people would reward a business for NOT using kickstarter being that so many people are getting so tired of it. Cause that is the onyl way this will ever change.
.
I know I'm only one guy with one opinion, Tre, but I'm fine with Kickstarters in general. There are going to be instances like Zach Braff's "Wish I Was Here" that will cause some people to bristle , but in our niche little hobby, I think any and all of the anger and cynicism is misplaced.
I think we'd perhaps more deservedly see some if Games Workshop decided to kickstart a project, but I won't lie: if they opted to release all of their "pet projects" and/or specialty games like that, I don't know if I'd be that upset about it.
But with most of these projects, we're talking about very small companies, with very few employees. CoolMiniOrNot, who many see as one of the "larger" players in this industry, has like, 14 employees. And about a quarter of those are warehouse staff.
In all honesty, I think a lot of of the "tired of it" is simply a synonym for "I don't have money for it right now;" I could be way off base here, but that's the impression I get.
I Agree, and because of KS the "larger players" like CoolMiniOrNot can stay small so that they have more control on their product. I'm new to the Mini hobby and it's due to KS and the exposure of all the mini companies that run there campaigns on the site. KS is good for the hobby. Companies like Mierce are also the reason why I'm constantly broke.
I think the only thing people are getting tired of are projects over running by months (or a year in the case of Drake) or substandard final products (Drake again, SW etc...).
I have to wonder if people would reward a business for NOT using kickstarter being that so many people are getting so tired of it. Cause that is the onyl way this will ever change.
.
I know I'm only one guy with one opinion, Tre, but I'm fine with Kickstarters in general. There are going to be instances like Zach Braff's "Wish I Was Here" that will cause some people to bristle , but in our niche little hobby, I think any and all of the anger and cynicism is misplaced.
I think we'd perhaps more deservedly see some if Games Workshop decided to kickstart a project, but I won't lie: if they opted to release all of their "pet projects" and/or specialty games like that, I don't know if I'd be that upset about it.
But with most of these projects, we're talking about very small companies, with very few employees. CoolMiniOrNot, who many see as one of the "larger" players in this industry, has like, 14 employees. And about a quarter of those are warehouse staff.
In all honesty, I think a lot of of the "tired of it" is simply a synonym for "I don't have money for it right now;" I could be way off base here, but that's the impression I get.
^This.
TBHIMO even GW should consider using KS for "niche" products that some customers want but they don't produce because of either uncertain or low predicted demand eg Genestealer Hybrids or FW special characters.
My beef with early birds for "established" companies is that to me the function of an early bird in KS is to create up-front momentum, but "established" companies already have a natural upfront momentum from having a loyal existing fan base so what happens is that some existing fans that are ready to jump aboard ASAP get left out for arbitrary reasons like being born/living in the wrong part of the world or simply not being available at that time. (There are also practical issues like camping that more complex projects like DBX suffer from, but I've written enough ).
I think never underestimate the power of free advertising which is effectively what KS does
even if the only people mierce connect with is the people on their KS mailing list (and actually it's a lot more as a whole load of us post stuff on forums like this)
that's still several hundred people (with money in their pocket at least some of the time or they wouldn't have become backers) who get shown all your new shiney minis as they grow from concept sketch to final production piece
and each time a mini is shown is a chance to sell them one
I like and buy minis from a whole range of companies, but I'm most likely to buy them when I see them, and I can't check every company every week, but the mierce stuff comes to me
you get a similar but probably weaker effect from posting on loads of forums/sites /social media outlets or from having a newsletter,
but basically the more people that see the new stuff (as long as it's good) the more it will sell, and at the moment I suspect KS is the top of the mini advertising game (maybe a few big sites like dakka may be close), and most importantly is certainly the major site for showing your stuff to people NOT normally interested in them
and while a lot of the new folk will back one project and that's that, some will become hooked and as you hooked them you'll probably end up selling a significant amount of your other stuff to them as your all they know in the field to begin with
I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
Dan Cockersell at £40/£50. Oh yeah, I will really be there when it starts. Looking at what he has been doing in the past, I am sure it is nothing short of spectacular.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
Project Update #2: £10,000 - Ciniod, Umaer of Dun Durn on Aurogg
With us now funded, and Erebius on his Behema a reality, here's your next stretch goal - and it's something none of you have seen before...
Ciniod has featured in both of our previous Kickstarters - on foot, of course - but now you can grab him on a mighty Aurogg, a titanic beast of the mountains of Alba that is related to the domesticated cattle of the lowlands.
Increase your pledge by £50 to purchase Ciniod on his Aurogg! Remember, that early bird can only be applied once, but you can use your early bird for Ciniod on Aurogg rather than a different monstrous mount.
Ciniod on Aurogg will ship in February 2015, Wave 5.
The next stretch goal will be unveiled at £15,000...
Welp, this is something I was hoping they'd make, and here it is. Damn... So glad I got an early bird!
Damn those are going fast! I'm glad I set my alarm lol!
So is Tre doing the Erebius portion of the sculpt? I hope so, the unmounted one looks awesome. Also, anyone know if his on foot version is also on a 40mm base like the other demilegionares?
Bossk_Hogg wrote: Damn those are going fast! I'm glad I set my alarm lol!
So is Tre doing the Erebius portion of the sculpt? I hope so, the unmounted one looks awesome. Also, anyone know if his on foot version is also on a 40mm base like the other demilegionares?
The foot version is on 40mm, yes, I have one .
MM said it was "unlikely" that Tre would do the mounted version previously, so not sure.
I think it looks better than the Thundertusk, even with the silly long tusks on the side which would stop it from foraging Still looks awesome and has an Oghur riding it which is what I am definitely after!
Well I can speak from first hand knowledge that Sculptor's time IS being bought up very very quickly. There has never EVER been a better time to be a freelance sculptor. So yeh if Mierce say they need to buy a sculptor's time now, they are absolutely telling the truth!
tre manor wrote: Well I can speak from first hand knowledge that Sculptor's time IS being bought up very very quickly. There has never EVER been a better time to be a freelance sculptor. So yeh if Mierce say they need to buy a sculptor's time now, they are absolutely telling the truth!
Either that....or this is sly indirect salesmanship by Mr. Manor.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
You are only making my point stronger. These are no longer "small" companies, IIRC Mierce made more than 300,000 pounds In the last 2 years from KS alone! It obviously depends on what you mean by "small companies" I guess...
How much do they keep after costs (including owners paying themselves)? Mierce is only a very small handful of people. It's a tiny company that's had an opportunity to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of miniatures because of Kickstarter. Heck, we know that KS1 actually cost Mierce money in the end with increasing costs.
There are some other factions that I am hoping for. I'll only be in for a single mount this time 'round, so will have to pick carefully depending on how far this goes.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
You are only making my point stronger. These are no longer "small" companies, IIRC Mierce made more than 300,000 pounds In the last 2 years from KS alone! It obviously depends on what you mean by "small companies" I guess...
What do you mean by "made" more than 300,000. When I look at my paycheck I look at the net. 300,000 wasn't MM's net from the KS's.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
You are only making my point stronger. These are no longer "small" companies, IIRC Mierce made more than 300,000 pounds In the last 2 years from KS alone! It obviously depends on what you mean by "small companies" I guess...
They grossed 300k, that's QUITE different from making 300k. Also, 300k over two years IS an incredibly small company. I'd be stunned if they have 25 full time employees.
Worth noting that Mierce probably made quite a bit more than the KS totals in post-KS sales. That's why the most recent one gave a bonus for more money spent in the KS.
But yeah - high price manufacturing plus employee wages plus sculptor fees (plus almost 10% off the top from KS fees) means there's probably not a lot of money to roll back into the company.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
You are only making my point stronger. These are no longer "small" companies, IIRC Mierce made more than 300,000 pounds In the last 2 years from KS alone! It obviously depends on what you mean by "small companies" I guess...
Have you any idea how fething easy it is to turnover (not 'make') 300k in two years? And what small potatoes that is in the grand scheme of things?
The tricky part is taking that 300k, and making it cover wages, fees, utilities, rent, tax, logistics, raw materials etc etc etc.
Kickstarter solves the largest problem facing any small business, and that's cash flow. By having the money in hand up front, it solves a multitude of problems. If I have £1000000 worth of orders on my desk, but I don't have the £50 in my bank account to pay the bill to stop the electric being disconnected tomorrow, I'm fethed as a business. I can't tell you how often I had to personally pay a bill out of my own pocket and then have the company reimburse me when payments had come in and there were funds available again, and my business was making a net profit most months, just because you've made the money on paper, it doesn't mean you've got it where it counts.
Factor in the continuing reluctance of banks to finance anything short of a near financial certainty, and we have a lot to thank Kickstarter for the current diversity in the hobby.
Fenriswulf wrote: I think it looks better than the Thundertusk, even with the silly long tusks on the side which would stop it from foraging Still looks awesome and has an Oghur riding it which is what I am definitely after!
Actually it was perfectly suited to it's enviroment until Scotlands native giant sweet corn population was wiped out.
I'm not sure that Mierce has more than 3 full time employees actually.
Looking forward to a slightly less intense Mierce Kickstarter, at least from my perspective.
So we've seen Hedroc on a puppy, guy on a dragon and Lizard on a lizard. Were any of those unlocked in the last KS. It's all a blur of dollar signs, swords and genitals to me.
So we've seen Hedroc on a puppy, guy on a dragon and Lizard on a lizard. Were any of those unlocked in the last KS. It's all a blur of dollar signs, swords and genitals to me.
The guy on land drake got funded, the other two did not. The only one I didnt care for was Herdroc's mount, specifically its head/muzzle.
I'd love if Ysian's was some kind of aberrant with its "rider" growing out of it, like Kuato from Total Recall. The kthones should clearly also be on a plane.
Booooooooo, no warning at all, and I might've pledged for an early bird! Ah well... probably for the best really, considering all the Mierce models I already have coming in this first wave 0 batch through cincydooley
RiTides wrote: Booooooooo, no warning at all, and I might've pledged for an early bird! Ah well... probably for the best really, considering all the Mierce models I already have coming in this first wave 0 batch through cincydooley
And now you've got one more Miercehead in your address book, one who only has to pay for UK shipping (in the first instance at least!)
RiTides wrote: Booooooooo, no warning at all, and I might've pledged for an early bird! Ah well... probably for the best really, considering all the Mierce models I already have coming in this first wave 0 batch through cincydooley
Well, you say you're not fussed now. But when those WiPs will start rolling in and you'll be onto the PM batphone to Cincy!
Fenriswulf wrote: I think it looks better than the Thundertusk, even with the silly long tusks on the side which would stop it from foraging Still looks awesome and has an Oghur riding it which is what I am definitely after!
Actually it was perfectly suited to it's enviroment until Scotlands native giant sweet corn population was wiped out.
I'm not sure that Mierce has more than 3 full time employees actually.
Looking forward to a slightly less intense Mierce Kickstarter, at least from my perspective.
So we've seen Hedroc on a puppy, guy on a dragon and Lizard on a lizard. Were any of those unlocked in the last KS. It's all a blur of dollar signs, swords and genitals to me.
Zond wrote: I praised Mierce's use of kickstarter, and I'm not tired of the platform being used by any company, although the fulfillment and quality of some, and again not Mierce leave a lot to be desired.
If Mierce say this is the only way to secure a sculptor's services I'll believe them this time. If this becomes a norm I'll resume cynicism mode. The normal kickstarters I have no problem with,they're well spaced out and it's easy to grab what you want, even if I dislike early birds, time dependant rewards and discount levels as opposed to pledge levels. :-P
It would be nice to see a trickle of releases rather than endless kickstarters, say like Corvus Belli and Infinity, however it's never that simple and it's apples and oranges as I'm sure someone more knowledgeable can explain. I just note that Mierce seem to have a hugely reduced retail presence.
I'm interested to see how these microstarters go, as it could be potentially more appealing to grab £50 every so often rather than a few hundred at large intervals.
+1
I said the same thing some days ago (before learning of this Mierce KS which I have no doubt it will also fund). I really can't see a reason for KS from these companies other than (obviously) make more money with minimum risk. Mierce does well in doing so and will not stop imo (as long as people keep buying that), but it's bad for the customers in general, I mean you literally have to pre-pay something someone will eventually have to make if he ever wants to grow.
A KS is understandable when someone wants to get established, but if you already got hundreds of thousands of pounds in pre-sales, you should be brave enough to do something on your own and not depend on the others any longer. I mean I really can't remember anything in the past years that this (and many other similar) companies did without a KS!
As for the "this is the only way to secure sculptors", lol, give me a break, hand them $$$ in advance and you secure the Eiffel tower need be. But why bother doing that when people will do that for you? No actual risk... sounds good!
It isn't a question of whose pocket the money comes from - if there wasn't Kickstarters for these small companies, then the small companies would remain tiny, and wouldn't release even 1/4 as much as they're able to. Even Mantic, which is a decent size, gets to compress 3-4 years of releases into a single year because of Kickstarter.
Consumers deal with risk and delay, and are compensated with price and selection that otherwise wouldn't be available.
You are only making my point stronger. These are no longer "small" companies, IIRC Mierce made more than 300,000 pounds In the last 2 years from KS alone! It obviously depends on what you mean by "small companies" I guess...
They grossed 300k, that's QUITE different from making 300k. Also, 300k over two years IS an incredibly small company. I'd be stunned if they have 25 full time employees.
Yes, they have grossed, you are correct. My mistake. But what you are not mentioning is all the sculpts remaining in Mierce property to sell in the following years (after having cleared their free-lancers and painters, only the production cost remains e.g.something like 20 pounds when the mini is for sale at 70 or 90. After taxes that's a pretty figure, don't you agree?)
As for the first KS costing them money, after the Maelstrom adventure it doesn't really come as a surprise. And IIRC, it was only the 1st KS, all the rest didn't follow that model...
And for the 25 full time employees... I highly doubt that.
Anyway, I'm derailing the topic, I'll stop now. Good luck on this KS Mierce, no bad feelings.
azreal13 wrote: I'm not sure the many years of repeat sales are worth quite as much as you think...
The repeat sales of old sculpts are something Mierce is working hard to develop by making the game the product. If they can get the game to catch on, then the game will sell the excellent, though pricey miniatures.
azreal13 wrote: I'm not sure the many years of repeat sales are worth quite as much as you think...
The repeat sales of old sculpts are something Mierce is working hard to develop by making the game the product. If they can get the game to catch on, then the game will sell the excellent, though pricey miniatures.
I was really looking forward to getting into this but when I saw the cost of 2 starters (for demoing) and expanding one into a full army was going to set me back I decided against it.
That's one of my many concerns with being a "kickstarter company". If you miss the kickstarter deals the buy in cost can be quite steep. However this was all discussed last time with a hand wave of a GW price comparison so it's not an issue for the majority of customers.
RiTides wrote: Booooooooo, no warning at all, and I might've pledged for an early bird! Ah well... probably for the best really, considering all the Mierce models I already have coming in this first wave 0 batch through cincydooley
Well, you say you're not fussed now. But when those WiPs will start rolling in and you'll be onto the PM batphone to Cincy!
Lol, too true
azreal13 wrote: And now you've got one more Miercehead in your address book, one who only has to pay for UK shipping (in the first instance at least!)
You're quite right! I was just a little bummed about this one, because unlike the last one I actually could have afforded and may have wanted to buy in... but I'm pretty diligent about getting an early bird offering for campaigns I'm interested in, and if this had been advertised even a day in advance I could have made sure to nab one. Still, congrats to those who did, some nice looking monsters on offer here
azreal13 wrote: I'm not sure the many years of repeat sales are worth quite as much as you think...
The repeat sales of old sculpts are something Mierce is working hard to develop by making the game the product. If they can get the game to catch on, then the game will sell the excellent, though pricey miniatures.
I was really looking forward to getting into this but when I saw the cost of 2 starters (for demoing) and expanding one into a full army was going to set me back I decided against it.
I've taken the stance that the models are, almost unilaterally, gorgeous, and while I've been somewhat of a magpie, I have kept one eye on collecting models which will allow me to play. If the game sucks, or the whole company disappears at some point in the future, the minis I own will still be gorgeous.
But I am approaching things from the perspective of someone who games to have something to do with what he paints, if you're a gamer first, I can see how the appeal might not be quite the same.
I actually think it's for the best as there are still several things outstanding for me at the moment, and I can always order them later... particularly since these are wave 5 items (and wave 0 is just now shipping, so there's quite a few waves to go till that one).
He was just emphasizing how digital sculptors are in demand, and that companies like Mierce are only going after the very best traditional sculptors (such as yourself ).
I don't know that I agree with it necessarily; just clarifying. Seems like there's a huge boom for sculptors of all stripes at the moment!
Speaking out of own experience, I will totally support Mierce and Tre when they state that it's damn hard to commission sculptors at thist ime. There appears to be such high demand that even if you would pay the entire gig in full in advance and wait the 8-12 months before it being started that still wouldn't be enough to secure a spot in the sculptor's work schedule as they now can pick and chose from the many projects and yours just have to fit into what they have in mind. So if your project don't meet their criterias they politely turn you down and evaluate the next offer. Obviously, it might be seen as a "bad" thing for individuals that try to get something started, but honestly, these sculptors deserve this attention in my opinion!
So yeah, Mierce would have to jump at this opportunity. I am sure there eventually will appear many new digital sculptors as the demand continues to increase, which will then put everything down to normal. But that ain't right now.
£15,000 - Brontull, Daunted Behema of Dis We've had excellent pledging over the past couple of days - thank you everyone!
We're close to £17,500, so to get us closer it's time for an update, and a new stretch goal... Brontull, a mighty Behema of Dis!
Brontull is our first "alternate" monstrous beast, i.e., he's based on Erebius' Behema, a beast that is ridden; and so it's relatively cheap to produce - and this means we can pass those savings on to you. Thus, you can purchase Brontull at 30% off his likely RRP, which is fantastic - and never to be repeated!
We've also added another reward level for those who simply want to purchase Brontull on his own - the "MONSTROUS BEAST" reward.
Of course, if you've purchased a monstrous mount, you can simply increase your pledge by £35 to purchase Brontull. He will ship in February 2015 - Wave 5.
Now let's get to £15,000 and then unlock Ágriosávra on his Sávrakh at £17,500!
You're in the right branch of the mammal tree though!
But yeah, not inspired by him, if I stay in, and if it's unlocked, I will likely go for the giant Komodo, even though I don't play Khthones (but if the Skink-esque sculpts keep hitting it it of the park like they have, that could change..)
Hrmmm... Wonder if I should go for just the Oso, so I can better change it to how I want, rather than the other one which has a rider which is smaller than I need.
I'm actually pretty thrilled about the monstrous beasts! Cheaper already, and at a pretty great discount, it was enough to entice me to pledge for a Brontull . The first time Mierce has gotten me in during the campaign, rather than after the fact as their base pledge levels are usually too high for me to stomach before seeing the sculpts.
But, I like Brontull's WIP, and I can swing 35 pounds... although the 10 pounds shipping later on is going to hurt. Still, a small campaign like this is actually something I prefer these days, since it is achievable and easily managed
Edit: I noticed the WIP image isn't in this thread, so the (huge) pic is spoilered below. The actual sculpt is towards the bottom of the image:
Agreed, it's looking awesome! That pic is really huge and just sizes down to whatever screen you're looking at it on, so check it out on a big screen (or click on the below image url to view it in your browser) to get the full effect!
Yeah, Erebius is my favorite so far by a large margin. I like how the howdah is reminiscent of a chariot. When I saw they did the KS to lock in Cockersell, and given he had done Malancant and seccus, I was hoping this was their first pick (given the head similarities).
Really liking Erebius as well, I remember the concept art from a while ago and wanted to order him at the time. Now I've seen the WIP pictures I'm quite keen to get a couple of him as I can see how I can swap out the rider quite quickly so I can swap in a Khorne Herald to counts as Blood Throne.
New WIPs, Fulfilment, a new Descendant and Darklands: Monstrous Mounts!
Our usual Friday update is a cracking one - we have new WIPs, a new Descendant to show off to you, news on fulfilment and BIG news about our mini Kickstarter project, Darklands: Monstrous Mounts!
Timoth, Smith of Langwith
Thomas David's work on this version of Timoth is now complete, and he looks brilliant!
Timoth will now be a Wave 2 shipment, of course, and we're happy to announce that Thomas has agreed to sculpt the alternate version of Timoth for Darklands: First Edition II, Sweordsman Timoth.
Velchior, Magus Infernum
Christian Hardy's work on Velchior, our Byzantii demonologist, is now complete - and we think he's done a great job translating Beth Hughes' artwork into a sculpt. He looks great!
Velchior will definitely be a Wave 2 shipment.
In other news about Velchior, he's agreed to sculpt Rēoc's Pack - the three Frēawulfas - from Darklands: First Edition II. We think he'll do a great job on those!
Djiuzu, Dromedus Secundus
Well. What can one say about Roberto Chaudon, other than "he's bloody brilliant!"? Fresh from sculpting Mälmord to within an inch of its life, he's now completed Djiuzu (everybody's favourite camel-man, drawn by Christophe Madura) in record time. Amazing!
Djiuzu will definitely be a Wave 2 shipment now.
In other news about Roberto Chaudon, he's going to take Praach off Benoît Cosse (as Benoît is so busy at the moment) and that will be next for him. We're sure he'll do an amazing job!
Gellius, Legionary
Hector Moran, after a bit of a lay-off, has resumed work on the Legionaries for the Byzantii and they are looking fantastic. Livia is underway (and we should have images of her soon) but Gellius is done and looks great.
We do hope that the Legionaries will still make it into Wave 2. We're a step closer, with Gellius completed!
Xontór, Gorgon of Khthon
Stéphane Simon's really cracking on with Xontór; with trident and net about done, all that's left is the opposite weapons and he's ready!
With this update, we do think that Xontór will make it into Wave 2.
Rikkard, Rick Boer's Frisian Warrior Descendant
Rick Boer, one of (if not the) most prolific supporter of Mierce Miniatures and now a good friend, decided to join John Longshore, Tomas Johansson and Max Schüte and become a Descendant - and we think Rikkard, his ancestor, is going to be utterly fantastic. Not only will Rikkard's art get you all very excited, it also means we get our first look at the Frisians as a kindred and a new sculptor to our range, which we're very excited by!
A bit of background to Rick Boer's ancestor. Rikkard is a low-born sell-sword, a mercenary, who has dragged himself from the gutter to become one of the richest and most feared mercenaries in the lands of darkness. He's a merchant - the Frisians were renowned traders and, as such, Rikkard has plenty of exotic equipment from his travels, and plenty of money to chuck around. Just like Rick ;o)
Artwork by Stefan Kopinski
Let's show you the artwork first. Immediately we asked him, Rick decided he'd like Stefan Kopinski to draw up the concept art for Rikkard and, as always, Stefan delivered a stunning piece of art that probably ensured Rick fell off his chair when he saw it.
Now, Rick also wanted a helmed version, and this is the result...
Here's a rear shot, showing the shield and spear...
As you can see, with two axes, a spear and a short seax, Rikkard is armed to the teeth - and please note, also, that you'll get both helmed and unhelmed version with your copy (should you purchase him).
How can I purchase Rikkard?
Rikkard will be available to purchase from our webstore later on today, in the Darklands: First Edition category, at the special Kickstarter price of £10.00.
Due to be sculpted by Michael Anderson
As well as being our first Frisian, Rikkard will also prove to be the first sculpt from a new sculptor to our range - and that is Michael Anderson of Games Workshop fame. Michael left GW earlier in the year and Tim has been very quick to procure his services; and whilst he's very busy at the moment on a different project, he can squeeze Rikkard in sometime before the end of the year. Then, hopefully, we get to put some balls and chains on him and get more sculpts from him in the future!
Here's a few examples of what Michael can do:
We're anticipating Wave 4 for Rikkard delivery, depending on how it fits around Michael's other commitments.
Who were the Frisians?
The Frisians resided in Friesland on the north-west coast of modern day Belgium, Netherlands and Germany, and their descendants still have their own identity and culture, much of which survives intact. The Frisian language is still the closest other language to English and, in fact, it is said that West Frisian can be understood by English speakers almost as if it were a dialect, and vice versa of course (although pretty much everyone in the Netherlands speaks English like a native).
Thus, as may be thought, the Frisians in 650AD are very similar to the Angles, Saxons and Jutes of that time, and many Frisians migrated to the British Isles during the Dark Ages along with those other invaders, just in scattered groups settling in various parts of the country. That being the case, and the Angles of Darklands being shape-changers, so are the Frisians. The Saxons and Jutes are shape-changers, also; although most Saxons (along with the Northumbraland Angles) have found the One God and denounce it, in 650AD.
So what do the Frisians change into? Well, Rikkard himself is not a shape-changer (although he may decide otherwise, later!), but many Frisians are. You may have seen, among Rikkard's equipment, the iconography of the Ox - and that is what the Frisians change into, for oxen and of course cattle are very much a part of Frisian history. Thus, the Frisians become Weroxan, the singular being Weroxa. However, the Frisian shape-changers, unlike the other shape-changers of Mierce, Beornica and Eoforas, often do not choose when to change - they simply change when threatened.
The Frisians will eventually become a kindred in their own right at some point over the course of the next few years, but for now, we have just Rikkard - and that's down to Rick Boer!
Trytheorn, Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior Descendant
We also have something regarding Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior Descendant, Trytheorn; Tomas requested a helmed version of Trytheorn, and Danny Cruz has of course delivered the goods.
Like Rikkard, we'll be ensuring that you have a choice of helmed or unhelmed Trytheorn should you purchase him - i.e., you'll get both heads in your pack.
Trytheorn is already available on the Mierce Miniatures website, in the Darklands: First Edition category under Norse; and he will be sculpted by Juan Navarro Pérez.
Maximus, Max Schüte's Kerus Berserker Descendant
We don't yet have full artwork for Max Schüte's Descendant, Maximus, who is a Kerusker berserker who was given to the Byzantii as a child (hence his name) and now leads a tribe of the Kerus; but we do have a sketch from Danny Cruz, and we think it's worthwhile showing you that!
Hopefully we'll be able to show you Max's full artwork next Friday, but Danny is busy with work on KS3 art for us so that could be the week after.
Automatically Appended Next Post: KS2.5 update...
G-g-g-g-go-magg!
We have a cracking BIG update for you, today!
Gomagg, Giant
Ernst Veingart is really producing the goods from Sam Lamont's artwork... it won't be long before Gomagg is done!
We think that Gomagg won't take much longer to complete - so we do hope that he will be a Wave 4 shipment!
Thraxas Of Turai wrote: That giant is stunning already, will be great to see it finished. Any idea how tall it is and how much it cost on the pledge manager?
I believe they said he's bigger than Krull at around 160mm (about 6.5 inches), and on the Pledge Manager he's clocking in at $130
RiTides wrote: I'm actually pretty thrilled about the monstrous beasts! Cheaper already, and at a pretty great discount, it was enough to entice me to pledge for a Brontull . The first time Mierce has gotten me in during the campaign, rather than after the fact as their base pledge levels are usually too high for me to stomach before seeing the sculpts.
But, I like Brontull's WIP, and I can swing 35 pounds... although the 10 pounds shipping later on is going to hurt. Still, a small campaign like this is actually something I prefer these days, since it is achievable and easily managed
Edit: I noticed the WIP image isn't in this thread, so the (huge) pic is spoilered below. The actual sculpt is towards the bottom of the image:
Spoiler:
Looks like it's really only worthwhile going in if you're going big, since it's the only way to offset the shipping cost.
If something is £35 plus £10 shipping is a total of £45. On the other hand, £50 at retail (minus 5%?) that's £47.50, plus free shipping if you buy a couple of things. So a saving of £2.50
Or for some of the others - £50 + £10 shipping = £60 - versus £60 (minus 5% at retail = £57 and free shipping if you buy a second item... So a saving of... -£3
Looks like it's really only worthwhile going in if you're going big, since it's the only way to offset the shipping cost.
If something is £35 plus £10 shipping is a total of £45. On the other hand, £50 at retail (minus 5%?) that's £47.50, plus free shipping if you buy a couple of things. So a saving of £2.50
Or for some of the others - £50 + £10 shipping = £60 - versus £60 (minus 5% at retail = £57 and free shipping if you buy a second item... So a saving of... -£3
Only for people in the UK, the rest of us have to buy £80 worth to get free shipping.
HOW MUCH IS SHIPPING?
Shipping is totally free, if:
- You're in the UK, and as long as your order totals £30 or more.
- You're anywhere except the UK, and your order totals £80 or more.
If your order does not qualify for free shipping, post charges per package are:
UK - £3.00 for second class; £4.00 for first class.
International - £8.00 for first class airmail.
International Signed For, Recorded and Special Delivery are at additional cost.
Yep, that's where "buy a second model" to get to £80 comes into play. Not so hard if you're already paying £50 or £60. Also, not paying 6 months in advance has got to be worth something if you're looking at it in terms of money and time, as opposed to "making it happen".
£120
QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS BEASTS -- Get the first four monstrous beasts, worth £200 ($340), for just £120 ($205) - saving you £80 ($135), which is effectively giving you a monstrous beast and a half for free! Note that shipping will be paid for post-project, DO NOT add shipping to your pledge
£180
QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS MOUNTS -- Get the first four monstrous mounts, worth £240 ($410), for just £180 ($310) - saving you £60 ($100), which is effectively giving you a monstrous mount for free! Note that shipping will be paid for post-project, DO NOT add shipping to your pledge
That's fine with me. At most I'd want to swap in the Brythonaid one, but I can add that on. Just gives me incentives for more factions, looking at you Atlantes and Byzantii.
Azazelx wrote: Yep, that's where "buy a second model" to get to £80 comes into play. Not so hard if you're already paying £50 or £60. Also, not paying 6 months in advance has got to be worth something if you're looking at it in terms of money and time, as opposed to "making it happen".
Except you often find the projected price is incorrect!
I paid £40 for Angrislaug, based on an estimate post-KS price of £60 He is actually £95!!
Belech cost me £20, now £33 Ygandr cost me £40, now £76 Chysperis cost me £40, now £66.50 Aradae mawr cost me £24, now £47.50 Chysperis: Cost: £40 Now: £66.50 Pétroyos: Cost: £24 Now: £33
However Druc was £40 on a projected price of £60, but is actually only £47.50
all up £268 for £465 worth of minis.
So from my personal KS experience, the cost benefits of ordering early are significant.
My replacement Waelwulf fane-bearer showed up this morning along with a few other bits so here are a couple of shots of him after assembly and green-stuff work
(It may look like there is a lot of greenstuff on there, but most of it is there to blend joints in fur as I hate to see straight lines coming through in it)
Azazelx wrote: Yep, that's where "buy a second model" to get to £80 comes into play. Not so hard if you're already paying £50 or £60. Also, not paying 6 months in advance has got to be worth something if you're looking at it in terms of money and time, as opposed to "making it happen".
Except you often find the projected price is incorrect!
I paid £40 for Angrislaug, based on an estimate post-KS price of £60
He is actually £95!!
Belech cost me £20, now £33
Ygandr cost me £40, now £76
Chysperis cost me £40, now £66.50
Aradae mawr cost me £24, now £47.50
Chysperis: Cost: £40 Now: £66.50
Pétroyos: Cost: £24 Now: £33
However Druc was £40 on a projected price of £60, but is actually only £47.50
all up £268 for £465 worth of minis.
So from my personal KS experience, the cost benefits of ordering early are significant.
Yeah, but those are all KS 1 figures, which had widely varying prices. Since then, its normally 20% off, or 30% for a few figures. A shame they ditched the additional 10 pounds for every 100 you spent.
This one seems to have the smallest discount in comparison to the other ones. I'm in for erebius, but likely that's it. I'm surprised theres no option to get the mounted and unmounted versions together at a larger discount though. They recently offered Penda on horse and foot together for about 10% less than if you bought them separately.
Well they think it's going to be 20 or 30% off for the most recent stuff,
but that's before they are sculpted (and might end up larger than expected) and cast (may turn out to be tricky to cast, or require more frequent mold replacements) either of which would mean they'd need to be more expensive
so I'll bet that at least some of the stuff will turn out to have had a better discount than that (although I doubt we'll ever see it as good as Agrislaug again)
Decided to drop this one, love the minis as always, but a more limited budget means I've got to be stricter about what I spend these days, and with no Fomoraic, nor any likely to emerge, I can't justify the cash on a "love to own" mini when there are so many "love to own and can use in a game" minis still to be purchased.
That Komodo and Rider is getting got one day though, but will have to be at retail.
In regards to those savings and discounts, I wouldn't be surprised if Mälmord (the mountain troll) ends up being one that has a slightly higher retail price.
Rob commented about him possibly ending up on an 80mm base, as opposed to the 60mm most monstrous infantry have had so far.
He's already bigger than Galhwch Lladd Llaw, who's quite a formidably sized figure (and barely fits on his 60mm base).
Picture of the unfinished figure for reference, just because I like it:
Remember that this was only a quick KS with a low target price, if the Norse and Angelcynn are not reached then I'm sure they can run another mini KS later in the year.
Still, I trust Mierce knew what they wanted to get out of this, and structured it accordingly.
The presence of FOMOR and NORSE would have certainly generated more backers and higher pledge totals, but clearly Mierce is happy with this one so far, and so am I.
Still, I trust Mierce knew what they wanted to get out of this, and structured it accordingly.
The presence of FOMOR and NORSE would have certainly generated more backers and higher pledge totals, but clearly Mierce is happy with this one so far, and so am I.
You may think that, but really you have no way to know for sure, a handful of posts on Dakka do not relate to 100% confirmed backers.
Formoraic ranks are fairly well stocked already, but Norse could use some love.
azreal13 wrote: Decided to drop this one, love the minis as always, but a more limited budget means I've got to be stricter about what I spend these days, and with no Fomoraic, nor any likely to emerge, I can't justify the cash on a "love to own" mini when there are so many "love to own and can use in a game" minis still to be purchased.
That Komodo and Rider is getting got one day though, but will have to be at retail.
Surely Kekkek is a no brainer, as the mounted version is already funded, remodelling it without a rider much surely be cheap enough to just, you know, happen?
Why do we need it "unlocked"
The "problem" for me is that there's only one mounted character from my "tier 1" kindreds (the ones I'm really collecting), which is Erebius. Ciniod is in my "tier 2" (so I haven't pledged money for him, but I might depending on how money plays out between now and having to lock in the pledge manager choices) but the other two are of no interest to me at this point in time.
New Sculpts, QS Rules and Darklands: Monstrous Mounts!
It's a somewhat smaller update than last week, here on Darklands: First Edition, but it's still an excellent one because we can show you something new, something old and something, er, monstrous - because our current mini-project, Darklands: Monstrous Mounts, has only three days left to go!
Let's begin...
This week for Darklands: First Edition both Roberto Chaudon and Stéphane Simon show us work in progress images from two of their sculpts, one of which is complete, one of which is just started!
Djiuzu
Roberto Chaudon has now completed work on Djiuzu, our lovely camel-demon-man-thing for the Byzantii - and what work it is. It's now parted up, as you can see!
Djiuzu will definitely be a Wave 2 shipment - we have him in our grubby mitts already... and he's even better in the flesh!
Praach
With Benoît Cosse being very busy indeed, we decided to give Praach to the rather prolific Roberto Chaudon - and true to form, he's half-way done already!
Roberto (along with many of our other sculptors) is attending the World Model Expo in Stresa, Italy over the coming weekend, so it will be a little while before he's back on with Praach. Even so, we are very confident that Praach will be a Wave 2 shipment!
Xontór
Stéphane Simon's now completed work on Xontór and he looks absolutely brilliant! Look at that shield!
We now have Xontór in hand - which means he'll be a Wave 2 shipment, of course!
Crom on Horse
Stéphane Simon has now started work on Crom on Horse, and the horse is looking excellent so far!
With Stéphane back on his favourites, the Drunes, we think Crom on Horse won't take too long and so can confidently predict he'll be a Wave 2 shipment.
Printing of the QuickStarter Rules
We have excellent news: the QuickStarter Rules have now been passed to our printers and should arrive at Mierce Towers in two to three weeks!
We now have a low-res version of the Darklands QuickStarter Rules for you to download and peruse (and maybe even print) at your leisure. We must warn you, though - it's a very large file, over 280Mb! Something to download overnight, we think.
We hope to be shipping the printed Darklands QuickStarter Rules (to those that purchased them) by the end of July or in early August.
Don't forget, you can still purchase the Darklands QuickStarter Rules from our webstore!
We have excellent news for you all: the Darklands QuickStarter Rules have now been passed to our printers and should arrive at Mierce Towers in two to three weeks! We hope to be shipping them to those that purchased them by the end of July or in early August.
Downloadable Printed QuickStarter Rules
We now have a low-res version of the Darklands QuickStarter Rules for you to download and peruse (and maybe even print) at your leisure. We must warn you, though - it's a very large file, over 280Mb! Something to download overnight, we think.
We hope to be shipping the printed Darklands QuickStarter Rules (to those that purchased them) by the end of July or in early August.
Don't forget, you can still purchase the Darklands QuickStarter Rules from our webstore!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Update #77 Jul 11 2014
No WIPs, but... three days left on Darklands: Monstrous Mounts!
There's no work in progress images this week, unfortunately, but we do have news of the printing of the QuickStarter rules and our current mini-project, Darklands: Monstrous Mounts - as it has only three days left to go! Update #77 jul 11 2014
No WIPs, but... three days left on Darklands: Monstrous Mounts
There's no work in progress images this week, unfortunately, but we do have news of the printing of the QuickStarter rules and our current mini-project, Darklands: Monstrous Mounts - as it has only three days left to go!
The way they have stuck with weekly updates (and real ones at that) for their projects has really impressed me. I think they're better at it than any other company I've backed... and I've backed about 50! Watching the different companies' campaigns has been a real learning experience for me in what to do / not to do, but I think Mierce's communication ranks about the highest on the "to do" list.
RiTides wrote: The way they have stuck with weekly updates (and real ones at that) for their projects has really impressed me. I think they're better at it than any other company I've backed... and I've backed about 50! Watching the different companies' campaigns has been a real learning experience for me in what to do / not to do, but I think Mierce's communication ranks about the highest on the "to do" list.
Absolutely. Top notch communication, far better than any other KS I have backed.
Here's something nice and fun for you all... especially those of an Ysian persuasion! Should get that total moving, too.
Click for a larger image
Beb is a Nithing, trained by his Flesh-Drune master to find the bits and pieces of flesh, hoof and horn of dead warriors usually found on the battlefield and bring them back to him, so that he can in turn create horrific beasties (such as Brutes) from those bits. Most Nithings simply walk about on the battlefield, but Beb had the bright idea of using a Pig-Bog to transport him and those body parts back and forth across the bloody field... which can be quite scary, because the Pig-Bog is nothing if not unpredictable!
Here's a colour version of the artwork:
Coloured by Danny Cruz
Increase your pledge by £16 to purchase Beb on his Pig-Bog!
Beb on Pig-Bog will ship in February 2015, Wave 5.
If it runs true to form with the last couple we're probably heading for £25-26K
but
it might be more a there's been less time for folk to buy in (so you'd expect more last minute backers)
it might be less as there's a very limited range of things to get (apparently.. brand new backers may not notice the ability to get existing range stuff at 20% off)
but we probably won't get to the Norse beast & rider (much as I'd love us to)
Automatically Appended Next Post: New £16 pledge level added for those that only want the (awesome) Pig-bog ridden by Beb the nithing
so if you want to dip your toe in the Darklands world it's a good start
While I actually quite like the Pig-Bog, Im not 100% sure it fits the standard Darklands aesthetic. Its a little on the silly side for an otherwise gritty world. I may actually get one for Malifaux.
Bossk_Hogg wrote: While I actually quite like the Pig-Bog, Im not 100% sure it fits the standard Darklands aesthetic. Its a little on the silly side for an otherwise gritty world. I may actually get one for Malifaux.
I Agree, this is totally out of whack for Darklands.
RiTides wrote: The way they have stuck with weekly updates (and real ones at that) for their projects has really impressed me. I think they're better at it than any other company I've backed... and I've backed about 50! Watching the different companies' campaigns has been a real learning experience for me in what to do / not to do, but I think Mierce's communication ranks about the highest on the "to do" list.
Absolutely. Top notch communication, far better than any other KS I have backed.
It's the reason I get irritated when other KS's seem to be satisfied with one half-hearted "it's coming soon, no specifics (quit bugging us, peons)" update per month, after hectoring in the comments, when the project is already over six months late. And sadly, I could be referring to one of four different ones I've backed.
The difference that good communication produces should be self-evident just from looking at the comments, and threads like this. It's a small investment for a great return in enthusiasm and good publicity. But so many creators seem to regard it as an irritating chore.
Well now, this is an interesting update. Verging on KS1 prices here!
Six Hours to Go!
With this, the last day of our excellent little project Darklands: Monstrous Mounts, it's time to have a look at where we are now and where we're likely to be at the end... because there's just six hours to go!
We're currently at £21,000 - let's drive it higher!
Krekkek and Oso will DEFINITELY be produced
You read it here first - as long as we stay at around £20,000, Oso and Krekkek will DEFINITELY be produced. Oso, Aurogg
Krekkek, Bull Sávrakh
Add them to your pledges now, and drive that total higher!
Back-Cracker will be produced at £25,000
If we get to £25,000, we'll DEFINITELY produce Back-Cracker at that point, too! Back-Cracker is the monstrous beast version of Blunt-Claw's Goz-Horror, seen below for the first time:
Back-Cracker, Goz-Horror
So let's get up to £25,000 - you'll get more bang for your buck!
MONSTROUS BEAST & MONSTROUS MOUNT REWARDS
Whilst there's still time to get us up to £25,000 and thus that fourth Monstrous Beast or Monstrous Mount, if we don't unlock Blunt-Claw and his Goz-Horror there's no need to cancel your "QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS BEASTS" or "QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS MOUNTS" -- because you can now CHOOSE YOUR BEASTS and MOUNTS!
Alternate Monstrous Mounts
Don't want all four of the monstrous mounts from this project? Choose what you would like out of those four or from the list below! BRYTHONIAID: Geraint on Ceffyldraig Geraint Nerthol, Teyrn of Cedweli on Ceffyldraig
FOMORAIC: Kraan and Chaagmuth (as one choice)
The Monstrous Mounts listed here are taken from previous projects or are existing miniatures, and all will be available in the post-project category as £50 individually or £180 for four. Kraan and Chaagmuth count as one Monstrous Mount.
Alternate Monstrous Beasts
Don't want all four of the monstrous beasts from this project? Choose what you would like out of those four or from the list below! ALBAINN: Comorágg ATALANTES: Talos BRYTHONIAID: Glaun -Typhaggahw - Gynroch ap Roch BYZANTII: Ulmons FOMORAIC: Galagaak - Maallolvór - Kaairioc-cró - Shaaroc - Vaak KHTHONES: Chysperis - Khallas - Kadámastar - Mazikílías NORSE: Mjagnir - Blood-Maw YSIANS: Torku - Druc - Conjunct XIII - Ungefelic
The Monstrous Beasts listed here are taken from previous projects or are existing miniatures, and all will be available in the post-project category as £35 individually or £120 for four (even those that are £59.99 RRP)
Thus, you can still purchase some fantastic miniatures at a great discount regardless of what happens with Blunt-Claw!
Possible Stretch Goals
There's one thing we do on the comments section that always gets people excited. We show sneak peeks of concept art that could appear as stretch goals later on in the project! Even though there's only a few hours left, take a look at what you could be funding!
FOMORAIC
Idruaada, Warlock Lord on Cúgacx - a mighty sorcerer of Baalor on a huge wolverine-beast
Idruaada, Warlock Lord of Baalor on Cúgacx
NORSE
Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Fellhrafn - a warrior of the Norse on a Fellhrafn or Mountain Raven - NEW CONCEPT!!
Birna, Dottir of Hrafnen on Fellhrafn
YSIANS
Hedroc of Carn Maen, Battle-Drune on Hound Horse - a powerful warchief riding a mount with the ferocity of a hound and the speed and strength of a horse
Hedroc of Carn Maen, Battle-Drune on Hound-Horse
There's still an opportunity to push things higher!
Why Should I Pledge?
Even if you don't feel there's a miniature you want from this purchase, there's still a great incentive to pledge - and that's the post-project discounts!
Not only do you get to help fund some fantastic new centrepiece miniatures for the Darklands range, and up to 20% cheaper than they will be when eventually released, you also get more!
By backing Darklands: Monstrous Mounts, you also get access to the special post-project Kickstarter category on our website, where you manage your pledge, but which also enables you to purchase miniatures from our existing range at 20% off UK RRP until the end of July!
zedmeister wrote: Well now, this is an interesting update. Verging on KS1 prices here!
Alternate Monstrous Beasts
Don't want all four of the monstrous beasts from this project? Choose what you would like out of those four or from the list below!
ALBAINN: Comorágg
ATALANTES: Talos
BRYTHONIAID: Glaun -Typhaggahw - Gynroch ap Roch
BYZANTII: Ulmons
FOMORAIC: Galagaak - Maallolvór - Kaairioc-cró - Shaaroc - Vaak
KHTHONES: Chysperis - Khallas - Kadámastar - Mazikílías
NORSE: Mjagnir - Blood-Maw
YSIANS: Torku - Druc - Conjunct XIII - Ungefelic
The Monstrous Beasts listed here are taken from previous projects or are existing miniatures, and all will be available in the post-project category as £35 individually or £120 for four (even those that are £59.99 RRP).
Whoa. That's insane! You can get a Blood Maw for 35 pounds. I think I paid 40 through someone's KS1 pledge add-on, and even felt that was a steal!?
It's such a late reveal, and prices only good till the end of July, but wow! Tons of early birds open from people upgrading to the 4-pack, too.
I'm going to have to struggle really hard not to start ludicrously expensive Chaos, Beastmen, and Skaven armies filled with Darklands models when all these KS models are available to us non-KS plebs.
Today's the last day of Darklands: Monstrous Mounts, and thanks to that we've now smashed £25,000 into the past - which means Blunt-Claw on his Goz-Horror (along with Back-Cracker, the Goz-Horror as a monstrous beast) is now unlocked!
To celebrate that, here's the next stretch goal to aim for!
Birna has of course featured in a previous Kickstarter project on foot - in Darklands: First Edition - but now you can her riding a fantastic Fellhrafn or Mountain Raven. This bird is big, and armoured, and nasty!
Increase your pledge by £50 to purchase Birna on her Fellhrafn. Remember, that early bird can only be applied once, but you can use your early bird for Birna on Fellhrafn rather than a different monstrous mount. Additionally, you can choose Birna on Fellhrafn as part of your QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS MOUNTS reward, assuming we unlock her, of course.
Birna on Fellhrafn will ship in April 2015, Wave 6.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And another update - Norse are getting closer...
£30,000 - Vaenhildr, Fellhrafn
With £26,000 almost upon us, here's something else you can pledge for at £30,000... Vaenhildr, a Fellhrafn for the Norse!
Vaenhildr, of course, is taken from the Birna on Fellhrafn miniature, a monstrous beast that is ridden; and so it's relatively cheap to produce - and this means we can pass those savings on to you. Thus, you can purchase Vaenhildr at 30% off her likely RRP, which is fantastic - and never to be repeated!
We've also added another reward level for those who simply want to purchase Vaenhildr (or Back-Cracker, or Krekkek, or Brontull, or Oso) on her own - the "MONSTROUS BEAST" reward. Of course, if you've purchased a monstrous mount, you can simply increase your pledge by £35 to purchase Vaenhildr.
She will ship in April 2015 - Wave 6.
Now let's get to £30,000, unlock Birna on Fellhrafn and Vaenhildr and see the £35,000 stretch goal...!
The quad monstrous beasts deal is what tempts me. I already got 2 Blood Maws added onto to cincy's KS1 pledge, and they're amazing. I think I paid 40 pounds each at KS1 prices? Which I thought was crazy good. Here they're 35 pounds each. Unreal!
This is the deal I was waiting for, just wish I'd known it was coming to free up more funds. Just in for the Monstrous Mount EB at the moment, although that is pretty sweet as-is
The quad monstrous beast deal is amazing. So many goodies there I've been eyeing; Mjagnir, Kadamastar, Druc... and with the bundle deal they're £30 apiece!
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