Greetings all!
My name is Andrew May, for the last couple of years I have been working as a freelance miniatures sculptor, creating wargaming figures for several well know companies plus private collectors. In addition I run my own miniatures business "Meridian Miniatures".
I have decided to create a catch all thread on this forum rather than start a new one each time.
I was going to comment on that earlier - I know we can throw out any sort of physics in scifi / fantasy, but just aesthetically, it kind of looks like a gun and sword glued together! So I would personally revisit the weapon - the rest of the sculpt looks really good, especially if that other hand is meant to be holding a banner / flag that is touching the ground or the like
Lol, it is definitely my intention for these minis to follow an over the top aesthetic! As for the weapon, if you like the figure otherwise then I'd imagine any handy modeller could cut the chainsaw part away or do a simple weapon swap.
Just a quick extra shot to show that the figures (the heavily armoured "champions") will come in separate parts, this being the body of course. The heads and arms will be separate and more or less interchangeable between figures.
Malika2 wrote: Something seems slightly off about the figure's anatomy. However, since we are dealing with hero scaled stuff, you can get away with it.
Very curious to see what the other Terramortis stuff from your previous teasers will look like.
Those bits have already gone off for pre production....
As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
Zywus wrote: As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
These figures will be launched via KS but I will offer heads separately afterwards.
No. No! Bad brain! You will not see these models and immediately begin planning a pre-Unity Terra techno-barbarian warband campaign using modified FW Strike Forces rules, not when you have a 2-feet-tall stack of unbuilt AdMech stuff on your desk.
Zywus wrote: As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
These figures will be launched via KS but I will offer heads separately afterwards.
Will there be variant helmet designs? I am not a big fan of the WW1 styled helmet looks kind off out of place.
barnacle111 wrote:Great looking minis, any scale shots of the ig style troops. Are they closer to gw sizing or forgeworld?
The completed figures are in preproduction right now so no comp photos, will sort some for the Kickstarter. If I were to compare them to an existing product then I would say that they are quite bulky, like Games Workshop or Anvil industry's miniatures but of course will vary slightly as these are for a different game and sculpted by myself.
Yodhrin wrote:No. No! Bad brain! You will not see these models and immediately begin planning a pre-Unity Terra techno-barbarian warband campaign using modified FW Strike Forces rules, not when you have a 2-feet-tall stack of unbuilt AdMech stuff on your desk.
any more piccies?
The pictures are being taken as I complete figures, I'm very busy with freelance sculpting as well as my other ranges but will update as regularly as possible. There may be more photos that you've not seen on FB, it's hard to heep track of!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meridian-Miniatures/278329682295664
Zywus wrote: As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
These figures will be launched via KS but I will offer heads separately afterwards.
Will there be variant helmet designs? I am not a big fan of the WW1 styled helmet looks kind off out of place.
There are other heads in the works alternatively you might find suitable alternatives from any number of "bits" companies. Was there a specific look that you were after?
barnacle111 wrote:Great looking minis, any scale shots of the ig style troops. Are they closer to gw sizing or forgeworld?
The completed figures are in preproduction right now so no comp photos, will sort some for the Kickstarter. If I were to compare them to an existing product then I would say that they are quite bulky, like Games Workshop or Anvil industry's miniatures but of course will vary slightly as these are for a different game and sculpted by myself.
Yodhrin wrote:No. No! Bad brain! You will not see these models and immediately begin planning a pre-Unity Terra techno-barbarian warband campaign using modified FW Strike Forces rules, not when you have a 2-feet-tall stack of unbuilt AdMech stuff on your desk.
any more piccies?
The pictures are being taken as I complete figures, I'm very busy with freelance sculpting as well as my other ranges but will update as regularly as possible. There may be more photos that you've not seen on FB, it's hard to heep track of!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meridian-Miniatures/278329682295664
Zywus wrote: As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
These figures will be launched via KS but I will offer heads separately afterwards.
Will there be variant helmet designs? I am not a big fan of the WW1 styled helmet looks kind off out of place.
There are other heads in the works alternatively you might find suitable alternatives from any number of "bits" companies. Was there a specific look that you were after?
The grilled helmet in this one looks too much like the grilled masks/helmets from a major company that releases armored future miniatures.
They seem to be a cross between roman and goth influences, so maybe modernistic versions of those?
barnacle111 wrote:Great looking minis, any scale shots of the ig style troops. Are they closer to gw sizing or forgeworld?
The completed figures are in preproduction right now so no comp photos, will sort some for the Kickstarter. If I were to compare them to an existing product then I would say that they are quite bulky, like Games Workshop or Anvil industry's miniatures but of course will vary slightly as these are for a different game and sculpted by myself.
Yodhrin wrote:No. No! Bad brain! You will not see these models and immediately begin planning a pre-Unity Terra techno-barbarian warband campaign using modified FW Strike Forces rules, not when you have a 2-feet-tall stack of unbuilt AdMech stuff on your desk.
any more piccies?
The pictures are being taken as I complete figures, I'm very busy with freelance sculpting as well as my other ranges but will update as regularly as possible. There may be more photos that you've not seen on FB, it's hard to heep track of!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meridian-Miniatures/278329682295664
Zywus wrote: As do I.
Really like the chain-assesories-aestetic and the heads look better than more or less anything I've seen outside some (unfortunally very expensive) Forgeworld offerings.
Will there be extra heads offered as a separate product?
These figures will be launched via KS but I will offer heads separately afterwards.
Will there be variant helmet designs? I am not a big fan of the WW1 styled helmet looks kind off out of place.
There are other heads in the works alternatively you might find suitable alternatives from any number of "bits" companies. Was there a specific look that you were after?
The grilled helmet in this one looks too much like the grilled masks/helmets from a major company that releases armored future miniatures.
They seem to be a cross between roman and goth influences, so maybe modernistic versions of those?
That helmet was inspired by a roman Hastati helm, I see what you're saying with the ww1 influence. There's a visored variant and more in the works, will keep you updated.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And now for a different beast altogether! It's been a while since I ran my last KS campaign for the Tooth & Sword chibi miniatures but I've just put the final miniature up for sale on my online store.
I had been dreding painting it but it was actually a great deal of fun, painting chibi style miniatures is a real different task to more usual figures!
I'm happy to announce that I have released my first non Kickstarter funded figures.....Chibi zombie miniatures! They are intended for my Tooth and Sword range but I'm sure many a dungeon master will enjoy throwing them down graveyard alleys and the corridors ancient cartoon tombs!
These figures are cast in high quality resin and stand at roughly 30mm tall. the figures have been sculpted and painted by me (andrew may), please spread the word and by all means purchase them here: http://meridianminiatures.com/tooth-and-sword/chibi-zombies
The largest figure is the Aequatherium, it stands at 90mm at the tallest point and is a multi part resin casting. I was so pleased with the level of detail that I put in the sculpt that I was scared to paint it but I'm pleased with how it's turned out in the end.
These figures were all sculpted for my steampunk miniatures range but would fit in many sci fi, fantasy, Cthulhu or other genre tabletop games.
Also,I'm pleased to say that I have decided to reduce my prices for postage after some envelope wrangling! I've decided to offer FREE POSTAGE on orders above £50!
I am pleased to announce the long awaited follow up to the first Meridian Miniatures Kickstarter "Steampunk Army". This campaign has bee set up to fund the production of a range of 28mm "Steampunk Militia" to complement the military figures with their civilian counterparts in the "Steam & Aether" table top setting.
As you can see below the, initial miniatures are already sculpted with the pre production painted masters shown. In each of my previous campaigns I have tried to avoid leaving to much ambiguity between the miniatures promised and the actual product you will recieve, where possible I try to avoid relying on renders and "concept art". Occasionally I will illustrate an idea using either but feel I have built up the reputation for delivering on promises by this stage that you won't be dissapointed.
The above figures show painted preproduction masters on resin bases, your reward will consist of metal castings supplied with round plastic bases, the option to upgrade to resin bases is given on the campaign page.
In the Steam & Aether setting I will be introducing rules for "benefactors", these miniatures represent rich patrons that fund expeditions into the apocalyptic ruins. This aristocrat figure is the first of them, en extremely highly detailed figure that will be cast in high quality resin providing a centerpiece to your force or a great project for the modelers and painters out there. This figure is a KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE figure. I will. at a later date remodel it as a simpler one piece casting for those that missed out but this figure will never be cast again after the rewards are sent out.
Thank you to any and all that come onboard to back this project, I appreciate all support offered. Meridian Miniatures is a "one man band", I do 90% of the sculpting, painting and promo by myself with much needed support form a small number of others. If you like what I do then please take 5 mins to share this campaign with your friends, be it on social media, blogs or forums and you will have my sincere gratitude.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Funded in an afternoon! Now the female militia are unlocked and everyone pledging for the whole set will get a set of two casualties for FREE!
Well, what a thing to wake up to, all goals smashed apart! I had be very conservative with how much interest this campaign would generate but again, all of my expectations have been exceeded, thank you all so much!
So first for the "whole set" pledgers, here's your first free miniatures WORK IN PROGRESS.
Now, for all of the pledgers here are the unlocked figures! All WORK IN PROGRESS.
As you can see I've decided to offer the whole set of 6 for £12 to all pledgers, saving you £3 on the retail value, no need to add any extra for the postage either.
I'll be back with more freebies and stretch goals later once I've done some freelance work and had a ponder!
We've raced through the stretch goals so to thank you I've wrangled some more freebies for you.
These flags were provided for me by Iain at http://flagsofwar.com/ everyone whose pledge included a command set will automatically get a set of printed flags including two options for free.
Also for all backers that have included at least one set of the 10 man squad I will send a pair of alternate heads for the avid converters out there. I originally had these cast when planning the figures for the campaign, it will be simple to add these to the production mould to give away for free with your rewards.
Lastly I have this brand new set of British steampunk infantry to offer once we break the £3000 total. I had prepared these for the campaign in advance to offer as a stretch goal but dropped them from the plan as I thought I would not raise enough to pay for the moulding of another entire squad of models but we've definitely exceeded my exceptions!
So please spread the word and I'll be able to offer this set as an add on alongside your existing rewards.
Sorry for the late update today, I've been traveling for a family wedding (so may be slow to update over the next few days).
I'm glad to report that we broke the £3000 goal today so it has become viable for me to offer the new 10 man British infantry squad.
This is a brand new set based on the figures that featured on my forst KS campaign. The set features brand new and improved CAD sculpted weapons and a tiny loading robot. The heads are fixed in place based on the most popular choice by for from the first campaign and continuing online sales, allowing me to reduce the cost to you and get the figures on the tabletop faster!
You can add this set for just £18, saving you £2 or retail (over £5 cheaper than the equivalent existing figures on the online store inc special weapons etc) no need to add extra postage either.
Just a quick update to show some pics I quickly fired off before travelling.
The new sets contain a new weapon for Steam & Aether, the Stuttermetric Capitulator!
The militia fighters come equipped to hail aetheric doom at their opponents, the gunner having a companion haul the reams of ammunition around the battlefield for him.
The British infantryman however has the benefit of a loading bot to serve him in the field. The robot comes with a couple of magazines of ammunition to pile on the loading platform. The robot itself is supplied in two pieces.
That's pretty much it for the week as I am attending a family wedding tomorrow so I'll wish you a great weekend, hopefully this very British rain will halt for a while!
Hi all, I'm back from my travels and have a new freebie for you.
These casualty figures were originally produced for my "Steampunk army" minatures Kickstarter, I had already decided to never release them on general sale (they occasionally get added as freebies to large orders etc but will never be availible on the online store). I already have a pile of them here in stock so it's no bother to add them as freebies for pledgers. So, anyone that adds the 10 man british infantry squad (pictured below) will also get the british infantry casualties free.
I hope everyone had a great weekend, I'll be back tomorrow with another update.
Today's update is just a quick bit of Steam & Aether "flavour text" explaining the background to the models presented in the campaign for those of you familiar with my "house setting". The text was prepare with the assistance of the Talented Mark Latham.
Go here to read it:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2004599158/steampunk-militia-miniatures/posts/1308399
What is steam and Aether?
Steam & Aether is a rule set and game setting that I developed with the assistance of Mark Latham last year during and following my successful Staempunk army KS campaign. Rules are downloadable here: http://steamandaether.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/steam-aether-quick-play-rules.html Backstory starts here:http://steamandaether.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/in-aftermath-of-napoleonic-wars-peace.html
We're hovering just below the 300% funding mark so I thought I'd throw in one last freebie should we make it before Monday.
This figure is the British general from the first Steampunk Army campaign I ran, he'd make a fine addition to the Steampunk Millitia force, lending expert advice and marshaling the troops.
If we reach £3600 I will throw him in for free to all rewards of the "whole set" this figure has a retail value of £4.50 usually but we've reached such a high total that he's more than accounted for, so come on two or three more whole sets could tip the balance!
I will be otherwise engaged for most of the weekend and Monday too so my update on the end of the campaign may be a little late, don't be alarmed, I'll be right back too it next week, finishing the add on packs and shipping everything to the casters!
Hi all, thanks for your patience in waiting an extra day for the finish update. We had a great weekend jumping up several hundred pounds over the course of a few days. While the total is meager in comparison to some projects that you see on KS I'm very pleased to have done this all as a small "one man band" company, I'm so happy to be able to share my miniatures with so many people.
Then moving on to working on the add on stretch goal figures for you, I will post pictures as they are finished which should be by the end of the week.
The first masters went out today for moulding, I will send out the surveys in the next 24hrs to find out how many castings I will need of everything.
Hey all, I'm pleased to announce that the new Rat Warlock is now available for Tooth & Sword!
http://meridianminiatures.com/tooth-and-sword/rat-warlock Another fun one for me to paint but a tricky one to photograph for some reason.
Hope you all like him.
Cheers
Andrew
Will the other 'kickstarter customs' be released soon? I want to cobble together an order, but would like to do it all at once when all the different designs are released.
Will the other 'kickstarter customs' be released soon? I want to cobble together an order, but would like to do it all at once when all the different designs are released.
They are being cast right now and I'm just waiting for confirmation from the backers to go ahead.
Every campaign I have run has funded in under a week, any longer just draws it out. I'm interested in producing great minis, not trying to rake in stacks of cash in exchange for hastily dreamt up stretch goals.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Zywus wrote: Will there be EarlyBird levels?
(I guess I'd prefer it not to be but it there is I might join the F5-club)
Yes there will, I like to offer the incentive to save a little and get free postage especially to my foreign backers.
Every campaign I have run has funded in under a week, any longer just draws it out. I'm interested in producing great minis, not trying to rake in stacks of cash in exchange for hastily dreamt up stretch goals.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Zywus wrote: Will there be EarlyBird levels?
(I guess I'd prefer it not to be but it there is I might join the F5-club)
Yes there will, I like to offer the incentive to save a little and get free postage especially to my foreign backers.
Free postage would be nice. I would be among the foreign backers after all
Do you have a plan for which time on Monday the campaign will launch?
Greetings all!
My name is Andrew May, for the last couple of years I have been working as a freelance miniatures sculptor, creating wargaming figures for several well know companies plus private collectors. In addition I run my own miniatures business "Meridian Miniatures". I have found Kickstarter to be an excellent way of launching new miniature ranges to the general public without interfering with my busy schedule of freelance sculpting. So now I return with my latest project: Terramortis, heroic scaled gothic sci fi miniatures.
Shown above are the initial miniatures, either as pre production resin castings or my original sculpted masters. These are my most ambitious figures to date, created over the last year, combining digital modeling with traditional hand sculpting. In each of my previous campaigns I have tried to avoid leaving to much ambiguity between the miniatures promised and the actual product you will recieve, where possible I try to avoid relying on renders and "concept art". Some "stretch goals" to aim for during this campaign will be illustrated using digital renders and I may throw in the odd sketch to show an idea or concept but feel I have built up the reputation for delivering on promises by this stage that you won't be disappointed.
Thank you to any and all that come on board to back this project, I appreciate all support offered. Meridian Miniatures is a "one man band", I do 90% of the sculpting, painting and promo by myself with much needed support form a small number of others. If you like what I do then please take 5 mins to share this campaign with your friends, be it on social media, blogs or forums and you will have my sincere gratitude.
I've had several requests for scale comparison pictures so I've snapped some pics alongside a few other popular figures for your reference.
These pictures are intended as scale reference only, no challenge intended to any copyright.
Thanks again to all backers, keep spreading the word.
Thanks to all of you that have given your support to me over the last few days and previously on Facebook and elsewhere online. Unfortunately this campaign has stalled sufficiently for me to decide to cancel.
Up to this date I have found Kickstarter to be an excellent way of launching new miniature ranges to the general public without interfering with my schedule of freelance sculpting but in my excited rush to bring these figures to the public found myself barely stopping to listen to feedback. I would rather have my supporters wait for the figures a little longer while I revise them and broaden their appeal than barely scrape to target and have them moulded and cast prematurely (as it turns out) in the range's development.
Across the various forums I have received some helpful constructive criticism, points being that the figures seem too "wide" and that the legs appear short in proportion to the bodies. This is due to a combination of factors. Firstly I tried to emulate the dynamic posing of some of my favourite figures, due to the foreshortening affect of photographing them from certain angles the legs of some figures ended up seeming shorter than they really are. This was exacerbated by my overladening the thighs and midriffs of some of the figures with too many belts and other accouterments, thus obscuring the true outline of the figure's limbs.
Designing a good figure is as much about designing a figure that will look good in a photograph as in the hand, I unfortunately made some poor design choices in that regard. One other design choice that didn't find favour with many were the weapon designs. I tried for something too "over the top" and so will be toning them down a touch too while providing more options for gamers and collectors.
So see here the figures awaiting surgery, for the avid fans don't be saddened, these figures will return in new and improved form. Some figures will be disassembled and cannibalised into new versions, some will receive just minor tweaks and some will be entirely resculpted from scratch.
I will try to get the first figure released within a month and have at least one release each month from then on but having learned my lesson I won't be rushing anything! I will be using a new blog to document the progress both in regards to the figures and also game design, background development plus general painting and modeling posts.
Please feel free to join in in the comments section, I will really enjoy listening to feedback and working with all of my supporters. Thank you all. Andrew
While I did back the KS for the 30£ earlybird I was considering cancelling my pledge and I believe you are correct in cancelling and retooling the models a bit. The more I looked at them the more I noticed the very issues you point out in the canceling message.
Making them feel less squat and making the weapons less silly will probably get more customers.
If you are able to, you might consider making just the heads available for purchase directly since they are of high quality and compatable with many existing models. It would give you some cash to hold you over until the next KS get going.
Hi everyone, just a quick post to say that the "Microshoggoth Adventurer" miniature for Tooth & Sword is now available from Meridian Miniatures.
Microshoggoth adventurer armed with magic blade and ancient sheild.
Free from the underearth, the Microshoggoth Adventurer forges his own path. Fuelled by magic atoms, aligned to wickedness. His tentacles grasp his cthonic ruin-sword, beware it's currupting blade.
All Tooth & Sword miniatures stand to approximately 30mm tall excluding ears and hats!
Pack contains one unpainted MicroShoggth Adventurer figure cast in high quality resin.
A little surprised to see the new direction, though! Have a good day at Salute.
