Hey guys - just a quick thanks to all those that came to our stall at Salute at the weekend - It was great to see you all and we had ag reat time!
If you would like to win a Krull we did an interview with Beasts of War at Salute - http://www.beastsofwar.com/bane-legions/win-kurll Watch the vid and make a comment on who you think will win and you could win a krull!
Who will win BaneLegions Tim or Beast of War Warren?
Hydra? Will be a while - it's on the way but we have loads of stuff to release this year! Expect late this year/early next - we're really working that far ahead at the mo!
Thanks for the update.
Sad thing it will arrive so late that it will miss the opportunity to become a hit for GW Dark Elf players - as the next (upcoming) revision of the Codex will definitely nerf the (now overpowered) hydra :(
Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:I mean, those are really perky for a corpse.
Halfway to a sig right there MDS
@ Maelstrom Crew -- Unrelated to BaneThings, but wanted to give ya'll a shout out for picking up Titan Forge's stuff. Was about to order some Flesh Reapers from their site, when I thought I'd check MG on a lark ... and of course I find my reapers ready and waiting, at a delicious price no less
Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:I'd have no issue with it, if the obviously 'should be' decaying breasts where drooping, and her head was hanging down.
Seems really weird out of position for no apparent reason. I mean, those are really perky for a corpse.
I've been off the forum for a few days, but MDS spells it out quite well. Well, the perfectly deboned arms would be about 7 feet long if you unwrapped them, so I have an issue with that as well.
I for one wish they would make the Egyptian Pantheon of gods. More or less like the Ushabti. But alive, not undead. Also some more deamons. On a side note, all the skulls dangling from the belts of the giants/monsters, are they vailable for purchase?
Grimstonefire wrote:Do they have a main email address?
You might want to post the idea in the Maelstrom thread ... wait Then again, remember the other time you suggested a Chaos Dwarf monster to a company? GW lawyers can be quick.
No plans for anyrhing Egyptian or lava-bull related.
Though I do bear some good news - first of all Daniel Cockersell's latest masterpieces arrived today and we'll be unveiling and releasing it as soon as possible!
Second of all First Monday of the month (well it's Tuesday, sorry!) = BaneLords day and a little suprise, we're releasing Blunt-Claw and Aanchuth a month early alongside our regular releases. So they're up for pre-order now!
Maelstrom Games wrote: Though I do bear some good news - first of all Daniel Cockersell's latest masterpieces arrived today and we'll be unveiling and releasing it as soon as possible!
Must find a way to use some of these beasts! I would really love to see some Egyptian themed creatures although it would be fairly simple to add bits onto some of the existing line.
I notice a lot of what appear to be air bubbles on the croc, is this because it is a test cast or would every one look that way?
Swara wrote:Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but I looks like the war store is going to be carrying banelegions here soon, which is good news for us US guys.
Maelstrom already ship for free internationally. The only issues would be if you're worried about paying for items in not-US-dollars, and the fact that Maelstrom for some reason can sometimes take weeks to ship things that are listed as "in stock" as opposed to the 48 hours their emails and website says.
Swara wrote:Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but I looks like the war store is going to be carrying banelegions here soon, which is good news for us US guys.
Maelstrom already ship for free internationally. The only issues would be if you're worried about paying for items in not-US-dollars, and the fact that Maelstrom for some reason can sometimes take weeks to ship things that are listed as "in stock" as opposed to the 48 hours their emails and website says.
I've gotten spoiled with ordering something and getting it less than a week later. The war store has always done right by me, so I'm glad I can start ordering from them.
Swara wrote:Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but I looks like the war store is going to be carrying banelegions here soon, which is good news for us US guys.
Maelstrom already ship for free internationally. The only issues would be if you're worried about paying for items in not-US-dollars, and the fact that Maelstrom for some reason can sometimes take weeks to ship things that are listed as "in stock" as opposed to the 48 hours their emails and website says.
They aren't air bubbles - they are tiny pits/indentations/weathering on the scales that are present on the sculpt. Similar to the scales on the Rackham dragon actually (I have that mini in my collection )
They aren't air bubbles - they are tiny pits/indentations/weathering on the scales that are present on the sculpt. Similar to the scales on the Rackham dragon actually (I have that mini in my collection )
Ah, perfect! I ha a feeling it would be something like that as I don't think I have seen a single imprefection on your models so far.
Heh, I have the Rackham dragon also, great sculpt!
Nice. Nice interview as well. Some highlights on the upcoming game's 'sides' for the work blocked
Banelegions wrote:
It should be noted here that each “race” has a number of “factions”, all of which will appear in the wargame, but upon first release only one “faction” from each “race” will be playable. (I'm inserting them in quotation marks because they won't be called such in the game, but it's inevitable that that's what people will call them). For example, the Anglian peoples also included the Northumbrians and the East Angles, but they are reserved for future productions, along with the Saxons, the Franks, the Dál Riatans, the Frisians... I could go on.
Anglians (Mercia) - residing in central Angle-land, the Mercians are led by their pagan king Penda the Bloody-Handed, who still believes in the old gods where other Anglians and Saxons believe in the new God, brought to them by the missionaries of Ilkolmkill. The power of Woden runs through the Mercians, and you can expect lots of wolves, bears and boars along with the Wild Hunt and the shape-shifters.
Brythons (Gwynedd) - from the north of Wales, the Kingdom of Gwynedd is ruled by Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, the famous “Red Dragon” who boasted that he would kill every Saxon man, woman and child. Uneasy allies of the Mercians, especially since Cadwallon's death, Cadwaladr must protect his people from the marauding Northumbrians as well as the Fomorians and the Norse and his cousins the Ysians.
Albainn (Fortriu) - these guys are, essentially, the Picts, although they will only be known as such by the Byzantii. The north of what we call Scotland is their home and they revere the Oghu stones that power the earth and the sky, so much so that they carry them to battle. These guys are wild and savage, woad warriors that constantly defend their lands against pretty much everybody else.
Érainn (Uí Neíll) - the Irish, at least those Irish that oppose the advance of the Fomorians directly in a bloody conflict that could lead to their extermination or subjugation. Distracted by the sea devils, the Uí Neíll are also under attack from the Norse, the Brythons and the Atalantes, and many amongst them are shunning the cross and returning to the old ways of Eriu, the ways of the Fianna and the Earth Goddess.
Fomorians (Baalor) - the Fomorians are a declining, decaying race of sea creatures that subjugate humans and beasts alike to keep their flesh alive. Led by Baalor, the Eye in the Ice, from his island fortress at Toraigh in the northwest of Eriu, the Fomorians use fog and ice and snow as harbingers of their advance and delight in turning earth-bound men and beasts against their kin. Their aim is simple: to destroy the world above the water.
Norse (Scylfings) - you will know them as the Vikings of Scandinavia, and whilst it may seem a stretch to bring their raids forward a hundred and fifty years it actually isn't, for the Vikings did not suddenly explode upon the coast of northwest Europe; they were known of for hundreds of years beforehand. Composed of savage, wild warriors and the Jötnar (the Giants) who find themselves in an uneasy alliance, they are beginning to harass and raid the coasts of northwest Europe in their longships.
Ysians (Ker-Ys) - the Ysians are a degenerate, decadent race of Celts occupying what was known by the Romans as Armorica and Dumnonia - Brittany and Cornwall. In our setting, the city of Ker-Ys was built by the Cornish as they fled from the advance of the Saxons, but it has quickly become - under the Queen of Ker-Ys, Euryalia and her Drunes - a despicable place that worships the Horned God Kernunnos and creates all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures to extend their holdings in Frankia and beyond.
Byzantii (Legio II Var) - the immortal Emperor Constantine III of Byzantia (the eastern Roman Empire) covets the power and glory of his western ancestors and will stop at nothing to recover the lands and the strength the barbarians took from them. He believes that the Romanii were eclipsed because of their new found faith in the one God, and has allied himself with an even more powerful pantheon opposed to Him. Thus, the legionaries and demi-daemons and auxilia are marching north and west with nothing but conquest on their mind.
Atalantes (Ilioses) - The Atalantes reside on Atalantia, a land slowly crumbling into the sea around the northern Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean. The Atalantes are an ancient race of sea-farers and raiders with a long history of trade and war but they, like their lands, are crumbling and devolving and may soon return to where they originated; those still with their wits about them employ forbidden magic from the stars and unearthly weapons to keep their culture alive, but many believe their race is doomed - at least, upon Gæa.
Khthones (Gorgones) - The Khthones were once the slaves of the Atalantes (indeed, some still are) and they have taken their opportunity to revolt against their cruel masters in a fight for survival that can only end in destruction. A myriad of anthropomorphs created by the Atalantes from the abundant reptiles of Atalantia, the Khthones include the Gorgonars (man-snakes) led by the Gorgon known as Ophius, the Krokodars (man-crocodiles) and the Sávrars (man-lizards), among others.
I'm a little late, but is it ever too late to complain?
I also don't like the new sword maiden releases - mostly the nakedness, oversized bust and the silly poses. I do own a lot of naked models, including the Wytchling from BaneLegions, but I'd never buy this, sadly.
Just like to say I was lucky enough to be show an actual glimpse of Daniel Cockersell sculpt of the Vore by Rob at Maelstrom Games... and it is absolutely fracking awesome looking thing. It exceeds the concept art by some margin I might add!
Also there's a chance to win one of the things over on my Blog:
No I'm afraid not. The reason I am able to offer the Vore miniature as a prize is because Rob Lane was kind enough to offer it as a prize. Rob asked me not to release pictures of the miniature before BaneLegions go public with it, and I'm going to honour my promise to him. I'm really sorry I can't share the picture I've seen, but I hope you can understand why I'm not willing to show it. I gave my word.
RiTides wrote:Argh, don't tell us if you can't show the pic it's like teasing!
The Vore art does indeed look sweet... quite tempting if the model looks anything like it. Not sure what I'd do with it, but it's cool!!
Yeah sorry bout that
I just wanted to let people who liked the concept artwork that the finished product, at the very least, lives up to the original idea. You won't be disappointed when you see it. You won't have to wait too long to see it either as it's due to be announced on the BaneLegions website any day soon I believe. Not sure exactly when... BUT it is soon. It's a big bugger too from what I can gather!!!
bobilero,
The answer to your question is "yes" although "soon" is possibly a stretch too far. Sometime in 2012 for Tarvax, probably 2013 for Trolls.
SirAngry (and anybody else after a pic of the Vore),
BNB-027 - Blood-maw, Vore - will be unveiled on the 1st of June... a week on Friday. So not long to wait, really. If you think the Vore's awesome, just wait until you see Dan's next miniature for us. It will blow your minds. Hopefully...
Bizarrely (because the Vore is AWESOME), more exciting for me personally is Galhwch Lladd Llaw, Pendyndraig of Gwaelod, revealed on the 4th of June. Our first Dyndraig. If you know Welsh, you'll know what that means.
Even more bizarrely, that's my birthday ;o)
Wait until you see Ben Komets' work on Mjagnir, too!
There's some simply awesome miniatures and concepts coming. I am intending to do some previews - including showing concept art - and a general progress update at some point in June, so stay tuned...
Sometimes we produce a miniature that is so incredible there are no words to do it justice. Suffice to say, Blood-Maw – drawn by Christophe Madura and sculpted by Dan Cockersell, his third masterwork for us after The Terror of Fortriu and Krull – is one of those miniatures. Enjoy…
WOW!! Amazing monster!
I think the teeths looks a bit too straight , maybe some curvature will help creating the illusion it can close its mouth...
But anyway , BRUTAL miniature again by Dan and you guys.
That is absolutely horrific (in a complimentary way) and straight from a nightmare! Just putting a well painted model of that on the table will probably unnerve some opponents before the game begins!
SilverMK2 wrote:I think the only negative thing is that it doesn't seem to be very dynamically posed. Other than that it looks pretty great.
Yeah, agreed... but it's a very nice model. I am kind of still on the fence now that I see it in the flesh, particularly for the price... but it would be really cool to see one of these painted up.
I'd post the close up pics of the surface of the skin if I knew how to, If some enterprising sort can pinch them from my Blog like they did with the concept sketches I'd be really grateful.
Nice close-ups of the skin on your blog, SirAngry! You can always link to an image if you have the url of it, simply by adding these tags: (img)http://www.theurloftheimage.com(/img) using square brackets instead of parantheses. Just fyi
RiTides wrote:Nice close-ups of the skin on your blog, SirAngry! You can always link to an image if you have the url of it, simply by adding these tags: (img)http://www.theurloftheimage.com(/img) using square brackets instead of parantheses. Just fyi
Cheers for the idiot proof guide to posting pics up here.
Just thought I'd let you know there now a chance to win one of these (Blood Maw Vore) on my Blog:
My Vore has been sitting on my painting desk for a few days and staring at me. I think I might finally have worked out what the hell it is I want to do with him painting wise, so who knows I might be posting some WIP pics up on here sometime soon.
One of my cats has genuinely taken to worshiping it!!! He's started cleaning it with his tongue, which just seems to make the miniature even more gross than I thought it was.
Oh wow. Glad to see you've got a painted Æthelglyth at last. Did you have to commission a new paintjob, or did it eventually turn up? Also, Svrill is stunning with the blue paintjob and loving the Wyvern!
Breast lady.. well, the figure actually looks less cartoonish than the concept picture, but it's not doing it for me. I think the concept picture should also have notation such as "gigantic, cartoonish breasts" and "carefully shaved girl-parts" along with "sandalled feet", since they're clearly the focus points of the figure.
CURNOW wrote:that breast warrior is aweful ....banelegions are normaly great thats...just poor...
LOL, "breast warrior", that's great.
The sad thing is, people are going to think it's bad because of the nudity. But it's just all-over bad. The concept art is bad (if they have to tell us the cloth is fine because we can't tell from looking at the picture, then how is someone going to sculpt it? How do you make a cloth blindfold "fine"?), and the execution on the finished model is terrible. She doesn't look like she has hair. She looks like she has rolls of play-doh coming off of her head.
It's embarrassingly amateurish compared to Banelegions usual standards of quality. I kind of hope that it's just a project they gave to some noob sculptor to cut his teeth on with no more instruction than, "uh, make boobies".
Dragon guy is pretty cool though. I feel like his name needs an IPA transcription though...
perhaps banging one's keyboard with one's head repeatedly is not a good way to choose a mini's name - not if one would like people to be able to remember what the hell kind of name that awesome mini they saw earlier had, again
The best BaneBeast - and paint job - this far.
Excellent, will probably buy it although I have no idea on how to use it in my armies...
Perhaps as some sort of captured, blind, giant cave troll for my Dark Elves?
Aethelglyth looks good. The new Sword-Melusine, unfortunately, does not. All three of the Sword-Melusines, all sculpted by the same sculptor, suffer from the same flaws.
perhaps banging one's keyboard with one's head repeatedly is not a good way to choose a mini's name - not if one would like people to be able to remember what the hell kind of name that awesome mini they saw earlier had, again
Well Lady Breastington gave my wife and I five minutes of laughter, so...that's...good.
I'm not sure why standards seem to sleep in the Bane line when boobs are involved. Really need to send that guy to hair sculpting school.
perhaps banging one's keyboard with one's head repeatedly is not a good way to choose a mini's name - not if one would like people to be able to remember what the hell kind of name that awesome mini they saw earlier had, again
This made me laugh
You're not the only one, RiTides - though Welsh spelling often does look like that has happened. I give you Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Anglesey as an example...
Bonus points if we end up with a BaneLord called that.
The Beastman Shaman looks even nicer painted than he did in the raw resin.
CURNOW wrote:that breast warrior is aweful ....banelegions are normaly great thats...just poor...
LOL, "breast warrior", that's great.
The sad thing is, people are going to think it's bad because of the nudity. But it's just all-over bad. The concept art is bad (if they have to tell us the cloth is fine because we can't tell from looking at the picture, then how is someone going to sculpt it? How do you make a cloth blindfold "fine"?), and the execution on the finished model is terrible. She doesn't look like she has hair. She looks like she has rolls of play-doh coming off of her head.
It's embarrassingly amateurish compared to Banelegions usual standards of quality. I kind of hope that it's just a project they gave to some noob sculptor to cut his teeth on with no more instruction than, "uh, make boobies".
Dragon guy is pretty cool though. I feel like his name needs an IPA transcription though...
It's better than the first one though. it would be a passable figure if the breasts weren't so cartoonishly oversized. Still not for me, not because of the barenaked boobies, but because it comes across as gratuitous and overly unrealistic. And I say this as someone who is far from a prude and last completed female figure actually had exposed nipples. I also think that exposed vulva is pretty much completely unneccesary. Maybe on some Slaaneshi (or "Not-Slaaneshi"-type) figures.
It's hard to judge the hair. My immediate reaction when I saw it was the same as yours, but without seeing it in 1:1 scale I'll hold off on slagging of the hair. Some of these models are bloody tiny, after all (and I'm not likely to ever see this one "in the hand".)
You're not the only one, RiTides - though Welsh spelling often does look like that has happened. I give you Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Anglesey as an example...
Bonus points if we end up with a BaneLord called that.
The Beastman Shaman looks even nicer painted than he did in the raw resin.
Hey! I went there on holiday once
Whatever that giant toothy beast is, I want it! Not only a stunning miniature but a superb paintjob also, the skin tones and detail to the teeth us unparalleled.
perhaps banging one's keyboard with one's head repeatedly is not a good way to choose a mini's name - not if one would like people to be able to remember what the hell kind of name that awesome mini they saw earlier had, again
This made me laugh
You're not the only one, RiTides - though Welsh spelling often does look like that has happened. I give you Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Anglesey as an example...
Bonus points if we end up with a BaneLord called that.
The Beastman Shaman looks even nicer painted than he did in the raw resin.
..and for those amongst us who think he's joking there... AAARGH!
scipio.au wrote:It's better than the first one though. it would be a passable figure if the breasts weren't so cartoonishly oversized.
No, I think without fixing that atrocious hair the mini will never work. Maybe I'm just an old softy, but if you're trying to make a female character with sex-appeal, you have to do a passing job on the hair. I'm not attracted to women with octopus tentacles on their heads.
scipio.au wrote:It's better than the first one though. it would be a passable figure if the breasts weren't so cartoonishly oversized.
No, I think without fixing that atrocious hair the mini will never work. Maybe I'm just an old softy, but if you're trying to make a female character with sex-appeal, you have to do a passing job on the hair. I'm not attracted to women with octopus tentacles on their heads.
And if the sculptor just can't sculpt hair, it's not like there aren't other options. Shaved heads, for one. Or you could take the blindfolded swordmaiden idea and run with it, and make them gorgons that deliberately refrain from using their petrifying gaze.
scipio.au wrote:
It's hard to judge the hair. My immediate reaction when I saw it was the same as yours, but without seeing it in 1:1 scale I'll hold off on slagging of the hair. Some of these models are bloody tiny, after all (and I'm not likely to ever see this one "in the hand".)
So I've compiled a huge post of info about the banelegions range around what is known so far and the direction it is heading. I'll ask Kroothawk to see if he is willing to update the first post with at least some of this information so that the thread is a little clearer.
The current working title of the game spotted on a post here on Dakka is DarkLands and is indicated to be a skirmish game of some sort. Current estimates given for some kind of a more detailed announcement will be sometime in 2013. The background of the game will be set within an alternate Dark Ages around northwest Europe, beginning in the year 650.
Some snippets of the game and releases (collapsed for your pleasure):
Spoiler:
From Rob Lane of Maelstrom's interview on Frontline Gamer spliced with some additional information gleamed from some his posts on Dakka:
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: It should be noted here that each “race” has a number of “factions”, all of which will appear in the wargame, but upon first release only one “faction” from each “race” will be playable. (I'm inserting them in quotation marks because they won't be called such in the game, but it's inevitable that that's what people will call them). For example, the Anglian peoples also included the Northumbrians and the East Angles, but they are reserved for future productions, along with the Saxons, the Franks, the Dál Riatans, the Frisians... I could go on.
Dakka Post wrote: I can tell you now: there will be no Orcs; there will be no Elves; there will be no Dwarfs. They have been done to death and we are, frankly, fed up of seeing such things. Our setting is man and beast. fethed up man and beast, but man and beast nonetheless. That's not to say that Orcs, Elves and Dwarfs won't feature as separate miniatures in BaneLegions, of course - because they already do.
...
One more thing: our game will be dark fantasy. It won't be for the faint-hearted. We may even self-impose an 18 rating on it. It will be a game for adults and will depict many horrifying things. There will be no black and white: it will be all shades of grey...!
...
Yes, our wargame will include all sorts of troop types - not just monsters and characters. Watch this space!
...
And yes, the DarkLands range/game is dark fantasy and will feature adult imagery - It won't be a pleasant place to live.
A breakdown of the currently known factions and peoples, their releases and concepts: --------------- Anglians (Mercia)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Anglians (Mercia) - residing in central Angle-land, the Mercians are led by their pagan king Penda the Bloody-Handed, who still believes in the old gods where other Anglians and Saxons believe in the new God, brought to them by the missionaries of Ilkolmkill. The power of Woden runs through the Mercians, and you can expect lots of wolves, bears and boars along with the Wild Hunt and the shape-shifters.
Dakka Post wrote: Beowulf at this time is already a legend within the Seaxons. In reality the Mercians were originally Angles (Anglaland, England), but using Angles, Jutes and Saxons could get a little confusing so I'm just going to call them Seaxons.
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Brythons (Gwynedd) - from the north of Wales, the Kingdom of Gwynedd is ruled by Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon, the famous “Red Dragon” who boasted that he would kill every Saxon man, woman and child. Uneasy allies of the Mercians, especially since Cadwallon's death, Cadwaladr must protect his people from the marauding Northumbrians as well as the Fomorians and the Norse and his cousins the Ysians.
Dakka Post wrote: The Brythons are the Romano-British left in Wales/West Wales after the Romans left. Here be Dragons... and Artos... but not as he is depicted in high fantasy.
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Albainn (Fortriu)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Albainn (Fortriu) - these guys are, essentially, the Picts, although they will only be known as such by the Byzantii. The north of what we call Scotland is their home and they revere the Oghu stones that power the earth and the sky, so much so that they carry them to battle. These guys are wild and savage, woad warriors that constantly defend their lands against pretty much everybody else.
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Érainn (Uí Neíll)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Érainn (Uí Neíll) - the Irish, at least those Irish that oppose the advance of the Fomorians directly in a bloody conflict that could lead to their extermination or subjugation. Distracted by the sea devils, the Uí Neíll are also under attack from the Norse, the Brythons and the Atalantes, and many amongst them are shunning the cross and returning to the old ways of Eriu, the ways of the Fianna and the Earth Goddess.
Releases: None seen or known as yet
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Fomorians (Baalor)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Fomorians (Baalor) - the Fomorians are a declining, decaying race of sea creatures that subjugate humans and beasts alike to keep their flesh alive. Led by Baalor, the Eye in the Ice, from his island fortress at Toraigh in the northwest of Eriu, the Fomorians use fog and ice and snow as harbingers of their advance and delight in turning earth-bound men and beasts against their kin. Their aim is simple: to destroy the world above the water.
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Norse (Scylfings) - you will know them as the Vikings of Scandinavia, and whilst it may seem a stretch to bring their raids forward a hundred and fifty years it actually isn't, for the Vikings did not suddenly explode upon the coast of northwest Europe; they were known of for hundreds of years beforehand. Composed of savage, wild warriors and the Jötnar (the Giants) who find themselves in an uneasy alliance, they are beginning to harass and raid the coasts of northwest Europe in their longships.
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Ysians (Ker-Ys)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Ysians (Ker-Ys) - the Ysians are a degenerate, decadent race of Celts occupying what was known by the Romans as Armorica and Dumnonia - Brittany and Cornwall. In our setting, the city of Ker-Ys was built by the Cornish as they fled from the advance of the Saxons, but it has quickly become - under the Queen of Ker-Ys, Euryalia and her Drunes - a despicable place that worships the Horned God Kernunnos and creates all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures to extend their holdings in Frankia and beyond.
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Vras Not much is known about the Vras other than they are ratmen of some description. Clues point to them being allies (in the loosest sense) of the Ysians
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Byzantii (Legio II Var) - the immortal Emperor Constantine III of Byzantia (the eastern Roman Empire) covets the power and glory of his western ancestors and will stop at nothing to recover the lands and the strength the barbarians took from them. He believes that the Romanii were eclipsed because of their new found faith in the one God, and has allied himself with an even more powerful pantheon opposed to Him. Thus, the legionaries and demi-daemons and auxilia are marching north and west with nothing but conquest on their mind.
Dakka Post wrote: The Romans will definitely be a part of things, but won't be called Romans. In 550 they re-conquered Italy from their eastern empire and in our setting's time they are hell-bent on recovering their lost empire of the west.
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Atalantes (Ilioses)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Atalantes (Ilioses) - The Atalantes reside on Atalantia, a land slowly crumbling into the sea around the northern Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean. The Atalantes are an ancient race of sea-farers and raiders with a long history of trade and war but they, like their lands, are crumbling and devolving and may soon return to where they originated; those still with their wits about them employ forbidden magic from the stars and unearthly weapons to keep their culture alive, but many believe their race is doomed - at least, upon Gæa.
Dakka Post wrote: The Khthones and the Atalantians have a symbiotic relationship. They both reside on Atalantia - Atlantis, which is slowly crumbling into the sea around the northern Bay of Biscay, well into the Atlantic. The Atalantians are men; the Khthones were their slaves. The Ilioses are "sun people" - there are other factions within the Atalantians, such as Astéres, Fengáres... if you know your Greek you'll work those two out too. (There's another clue there also). I won't say too much about these two as yet - I've got to leave some stuff nebulous!
Unreleased Concepts: None seen or known as yet --------------- Khthones (Gorgones)
Frontline Gamer Interview wrote: Khthones (Gorgones) - The Khthones were once the slaves of the Atalantes (indeed, some still are) and they have taken their opportunity to revolt against their cruel masters in a fight for survival that can only end in destruction. A myriad of anthropomorphs created by the Atalantes from the abundant reptiles of Atalantia, the Khthones include the Gorgonars (man-snakes) led by the Gorgon known as Ophius, the Krokodars (man-crocodiles) and the Sávrars (man-lizards), among others.
And finally, the releases that don't seem to fit into the above list either because I'm unsure of which faction they belong to or Maelstrom have confirmed they won't feature in the game:
Blimey Zed. Serious detective work! I think we need to reward you in some way. Drop me a line at contact@banelegions.maelstromgames.co.uk, and we'll work summat out.
Darklands is indeed the name of the game.
Magágg will be Albainn; that's the only thing you haven't worked out. There are a couple of things that have changed (Regemagna is Khthones now, and not with that name), but it's pretty much as you describe.
Next month, Gynroch ap Roch, Wocor of Powys and two Sword-Melusines, a musician and a standard.
In July I'll be unveiling a lot of things... including a ton of concepts. Watch this space.
Maelstrom Games wrote:Blimey Zed. Serious detective work! I think we need to reward you in some way. Drop me a line at contact@banelegions.maelstromgames.co.uk, and we'll work summat out.
Darklands is indeed the name of the game.
Magágg will be Albainn; that's the only thing you haven't worked out. There are a couple of things that have changed (Regemagna is Khthones now, and not with that name), but it's pretty much as you describe.
Next month, Gynroch ap Roch, Wocor of Powys and two Sword-Melusines, a musician and a standard.
In July I'll be unveiling a lot of things... including a ton of concepts. Watch this space.
Rob
Thanks man, I'll drop a line shortly - all I did was assemble some disparate information together! I wanted to get the first post changed so that it's easier to see what the range is all about.
I've updated my post with some of the information above as well
NSFW warning Yes, another two of everyone's favourite Melusines. It would appear these are the last currently planned Melusines.
However, these latest two are improvements on the first two. The third, Kernsa, I thought was better but still lacking. Yes, they are still naked warriors, but these last two have decent proportions and the hair seems to have more detail. I especially like the standard, but it looks a little delicate (i.e. breakable)
I assume all 5 Melusines form a unit of champions rather than the first of the shieldwall line troops otherwise Banelegions could be a little pricey to field a few beasts, lords and a couple of shieldwalls.
Maelstrom wrote:
ESYLD, SWORD-MELUSINE SHREIKER Amongst the Sword-Melusines there are those whose keening songs are even more irresistible than most, almost amusingly so, for to see the dumb expressions on their victim’s faces as they are enchanted is virtually as dangerous as experiencing it. Esyld’s songs are perhaps the most irresistible of all, but it is not her song that makes her so dangerous; it is the shrieking power that can be heard (some would say endured) in her voice, a howling wail that can burst minds and shatter consciousness. In battle it is unleashed at the very height of the clash, directed at the strongest enemies arrayed against Euryalia’s army, and is so powerful men simply drop to their knees, horses bolt with or without their riders and beasts rage at the sky, unable to comprehend what is happening and unable to control their limbs effectively. Truly it can be said of Esyld that, even without her sword-training and martial skill, both of which are the equal of her sisters, she is a killer.
TECASS, SWORD-MELUSINE GIGH-BEARER The essence of the Melusines and their Queen is readily discerned when Tecass brandishes her Gigh and plants it in the earth before her, marking the field for Euryalia. It displays in obvious terms both the warped temper of the Ysians and the ugly truth of their desires, for not only is it a symbol of the lust that the Melusines personify and inevitably fulfil for themselves it is also a direct insult to perhaps Euryalia’s most implacable enemy: nature herself. In the north and the west, where the Earth Goddess is most revered, the Sighle na gCíoch is both a warning and a promise, for Danu knows that lust and desire have their place, just as the crone and the maiden have their place: but Euryalia’s appetites have no limits, and so the Melusines display – through Tecass and others like her – their wicked temptations and their beguiling nature without the balance Danu brings upon the Gigh for all to see and desire.
The sad thing is, the hair could work with the right paintjob, but those ridiculous, balloon-like boobs just ruin what would otherwise be fairly cool and characterful sculpts.
Almost tempted to buy one just to resculpt her chest to see what happens...
TECASS, SWORD-MELUSINE GIGH-BEARER The essence of the Melusines and their Queen is readily discerned when Tecass brandishes her Gigh and plants it in the earth before her, marking the field for Euryalia. It displays in obvious terms both the warped temper of the Ysians and the ugly truth of their desires, for not only is it a symbol of the lust that the Melusines personify and inevitably fulfil for themselves it is also a direct insult to perhaps Euryalia’s most implacable enemy: nature herself. In the north and the west, where the Earth Goddess is most revered, the Sighle na gCíoch is both a warning and a promise, for Danu knows that lust and desire have their place, just as the crone and the maiden have their place: but Euryalia’s appetites have no limits, and so the Melusines display – through Tecass and others like her – their wicked temptations and their beguiling nature without the balance Danu brings upon the Gigh for all to see and desire.
I just don't get what Maelstrom was trying to do with this particular line of figures. I mean, this is the same company that argued about, unless I am remembering wrong, putting the gentleman's sausage on the beast men in the interest of verisimilitude, but they have no problem with enormous, stripper-club boobs on their warrior women?
Regarding Tecass, am I crazy, or does she have less the posture of a proud warrior woman carrying aloft a battle standard and more... well, she looks like she's using that thing as a stripper pole. Although it does explain the arm sleeves...
insaniak wrote:The sad thing is, the hair could work with the right paintjob, but those ridiculous, balloon-like boobs just ruin what would otherwise be fairly cool and characterful sculpts.
Almost tempted to buy one just to resculpt her chest to see what happens...
I agree completely. I've loved just about every release up to date from Banelegions, but these just seem so far out of their usual line. Not that I care about nudity, having a fairly large Slaanesh army full of it, but I can't help thinking that sculpting these with more natural breasts would make them many better and would of found a place with Slaanesh : (.
Buzzsaw wrote:
I just don't get what Maelstrom was trying to do with this particular line of figures. I mean, this is the same company that argued about, unless I am remembering wrong, putting the gentleman's sausage on the beast men in the interest of verisimilitude, but they have no problem with enormous, stripper-club boobs on their warrior women?
Yes, that's the one. On the other hand, who is to say that the ancient Celts of Banelegions' timeline didn't create silicone or saline implants a milennium or so ahead of our time's discovery? Not to mention the full Brazilian?
Less sarcastically, I'm sure these things sell quite well. And admittedly I don't hate the Shrieker model. Not sure if I could be arsed sculpting a chaninmail (or small plate) bikini for her dirgibles or cold girl-parts, though.
Well, if I had access to magic powers, I would direct some of it towards larger breasts.
Not necessarily my own, mind you.
But still, they are a little excessive, as I am pretty sure that the scale implies each is the size of a basketball on a real woman.
Also, I can understand the "full Brazilian" issue. I prefer hardwood myself, but yet, not thematically fitting as much. Maybe if they had shaved heads too...
I personally think the most shocking things about the Sword Melusines is their price not their breast size, seriously £50 for five models! When the range expands to whole units and armies this will make even the biggest pervert seriously think twice about big units of these, compare GW's Witch Elves 5 for £20.50 or even Raging Heroes Blood Vestals which are 5 for £16.60. If the quality of the sword Melusines was some of forgeworlds standards I might accept it. I do own six bane beast and have no complaints for their value for money.
For £10 more you can have the Bane Beasts giant or blood-maw, which seems so much better value for money looking at the amount of resin used. I am aware of the mold costs will probably be bigger for five different character but still....
RSJake wrote:I can't dissagree more. I think they look fine, the breast are on the large side, but I like that.
And I like the standard bearer too!
Agreed, I feel like it's more of a preference thing with these three sculpts. Bigger != better, however that's really just IMO - the boobs themselves are fine, they just don't do it for me. Similar deal with the level of shaving
That said, still digging the standard for nefarious but no doubt unrealized future WoC purposes.
Wehrkind wrote:Well, if I had access to magic powers, I would direct some of it towards larger breasts.
RSJake wrote:I can't dissagree more. I think they look fine, the breast are on the large side, but I like that.
The problem isn't the size so much as the fact that they just don't look like actual breasts. On figures that are otherwise anatomically quite nice, they're just two big bags of air pinned to their chests.
Well, they are not as big on the models as they were on the concept art. But I am holding my ground, I like them!
But Denilsta brought up a point. They are spendy. I may have to make my own. I had ideas for something similar to these, or the Raging Heroes Blood Vestals, but with large curving horns coming from the heads, and they would carry axes too. But my projects are so backed up, I may not get to them any time soon. So, I was looking for pre-made models. I still like these models, but the price is out of my league.
I'm looking forward to future BaneX releases now that they've, at least temporarily, wrapped up their Blind Stripper phase (All of which, by complete coincendence, were sculpted by a blind stripper. What are the odds?).
Actually you should only point out, when a new Maelstrom product DOESN'T contain boobs or dicks, because that's a minority now. Haven't found a model I liked and bought, since they specialized in Fetish models, but as they continue with it, it seems they find other customers.
This conversation reveals everything that is wrong with these Melusines: Guys are arguing about whether or not they look right based on what they are are sexually attracted to, not by what works on a model.
Quite simply they don't look right. I don't care if you think great big pendulous breasts are the sexiest things ever- these aren't sword maidens. They're silly, silly sex objects. And most of them are badly sculpted at that.
Denilsta wrote:I personally think the most shocking things about the Sword Melusines is their price not their breast size, seriously £50 for five models! When the range expands to whole units and armies this will make even the biggest pervert seriously think twice about big units of these, compare GW's Witch Elves 5 for £20.50 or even Raging Heroes Blood Vestals which are 5 for £16.60.
Yeah, even for the models I do like (like that Dark Elf standard bearer), it's not much good without a foundation of affordable rank and file. £50 for 5 is about ten times too expensive for that.
Actually you should only point out, when a new Maelstrom product DOESN'T contain boobs or dicks, because that's a minority now. Haven't found a model I liked and bought, since they specialized in Fetish models, but as they continue with it, it seems they find other customers.
I picked up a few of their models recently. All very nice, and all lacking in genitals. I have to admit I don't have an issue with them when they make sense, such as a flaccid penis on an animalistic brute like a troll/ogre/giant. I do have a bit of an issue with exposed vaginas on miniatures, though, as you basically never see a female equivalent to the animalistic brute, and then in most cases it'd be as furry as all hell in that area. Exposed vaginas on figures always seem to be on figures with lithe, sexy, young, human torsos. It's more in the prurient interest than that of verisimilitude.
RSJake wrote:I can't dissagree more. I think they look fine, the breast are on the large side, but I like that.
The problem isn't the size so much as the fact that they just don't look like actual breasts. On figures that are otherwise anatomically quite nice, they're just two big bags of air pinned to their chests.
Maelstrom Games wrote:July lords will be later - busy busy here!
Here's a little something to whet your appetites though.
I really, really, really like this thing, and totally have a use for it...but the GBP to USD conversion rate kills it. Id gladly pay 59.99 USD, even a bit more...but 59.99 GBP translates to over 90 USD...and I just cant do that. Maybe if I can find someone online with about a 20% discount.
Overall you guys do awesome stuff, keep up the great work. Always nice to see good minis, even if I cant afford them.
I like it, though that rear pose makes it look much worse-balanced on the rock than the concept art.
The miniatures world is spoiled for choice when it comes to grand, majestic dragons like what one might find on the cover of a D&D manual. What we don't have enough of are ugly, naturalistic dragons that are a sign of nature gone mad. So this one fits the bill.
I'm not sold on the wattle. I'd like it to be bigger and more prominent. But otherwise it's a fairly solid piece.
I quite like the dragon, it's a little bit different from the norm and I can visualize this in a dark murky swamp. However it seems to suffer from my biggest bugbear, 'models that will not rank up' syndrome. It may just be a poor photo but it looks like the wings sweep forward of the model at a low level, therefore making it awkward for any attacking unit to be in base contact with it. This makes it impractable as a substitute in a WFB game and again when Maelstrom bring out their fantasy gaming system. This is such a shame, if they had just stuck to the concept art this would not be an issue and I believe there would have been a more dynamic and marketable miniature.
Denilsta wrote:I quite like the dragon, it's a little bit different from the norm and I can visualize this in a dark murky swamp. However it seems to suffer from my biggest bugbear, 'models that will not rank up' syndrome. It may just be a poor photo but it looks like the wings sweep forward of the model at a low level, therefore making it awkward for any attacking unit to be in base contact with it. This makes it impractable as a substitute in a WFB game and again when Maelstrom bring out their fantasy gaming system. This is such a shame, if they had just stuck to the concept art this would not be an issue and I believe there would have been a more dynamic and markable miniature.
Yeah, looking at the scale shot, it looks like it'd be tricky getting into base to base contact:
This particular Zombie-ish Dragon isn't doing it for me. Concept sketch looked alright, though the big rock is kinda redundant. Pic still looks much nicer.
I agree with everyone else, posing is off to me. The artwork looks good but all the bits I liked about it didn't come out in the sculpt. The only thing that I really am not fond of are the wings, had they been place in a different way I might like them more.
JOHIRA wrote:This conversation reveals everything that is wrong with these Melusines: Guys are arguing about whether or not they look right based on what they are are sexually attracted to, not by what works on a model.
Quite simply they don't look right. I don't care if you think great big pendulous breasts are the sexiest things ever- these aren't sword maidens. They're silly, silly sex objects. And most of them are badly sculpted at that.
To be charitable, since Ys are the flesh-sculpting, freak-making faction, I think the intent might have actually been to make them look hyper-feminine to the point of being uncanny & unnatural (compare to the grotesque masculinity of the Brutes).
Of course, that doesn't really work so well because slightly less blatant variations on these models have been common as depictions of female fantasy warriors for ages, so even if they are meant to look uncanny, nobody's going to notice.
Elemental wrote:To be charitable, since Ys are the flesh-sculpting, freak-making faction, I think the intent might have actually been to make them look hyper-feminine to the point of being uncanny & unnatural (compare to the grotesque masculinity of the Brutes).
Of course, that doesn't really work so well because slightly less blatant variations on these models have been common as depictions of female fantasy warriors for ages, so even if they are meant to look uncanny, nobody's going to notice.
Interesting. That puts the Ysians in a new light. Expanding that theory: on one side you've got Ker-Ys with its exaggerated grotesque mockery of the female form, all lithe and seductive. On the other side, you've got Par-Ys (Mentioned as being the origins of the Brute Lugung) with its grotesque masculine exaggeration - hulking muscled brutes and stitched together vivicots. Then you've got the Vras...?
Jabberwocor (not a dragon, a dragon will come, the Jabberwocor is very different from a dragon)
Sculpted by Mikh
The nonsense beast that is the Wocor can take many forms, some of which are truly a living nightmare, but Gynroch ap Roch is as typical an example of such a creature as can be. An avian head tipped by savage beak-like jaws, scabrous leathery wings and a long, scaly neck and tail gives it the appearance of a wyrm – a weak, lean wyrm maybe, but a wyrm nonetheless – yet its chittering speech and vicious temperament mark it for what it surely is. As the men of Powys know to their cost, Wocors may seem comical at times, even whimsical, but Gynroch ap Roch’s wiry muscles belie a preternatural strength and one snap of its enormous beak can crack stone. Worse, to listen to the throat-noise and the un-words it speaks is lethal, for allowing a Wocor into the mind leads to insanity and hysteria, a slave to its every humour; and yet the Brythons - perhaps through the long exposure of man and Wocor to each other amongst the peaks of Brycheiniog - have garnered enough trust from the Wocors to persuade Gynroch ap Roch to lend his singular attributes to Cadwaladr's armies and thus the defence of Teyrnas Gwynedd from barbarians to the north, west and east.
JOHIRA wrote:This conversation reveals everything that is wrong with these Melusines: Guys are arguing about whether or not they look right based on what they are are sexually attracted to, not by what works on a model.
Quite simply they don't look right. I don't care if you think great big pendulous breasts are the sexiest things ever- these aren't sword maidens. They're silly, silly sex objects. And most of them are badly sculpted at that.
To be charitable, since Ys are the flesh-sculpting, freak-making faction, I think the intent might have actually been to make them look hyper-feminine to the point of being uncanny & unnatural (compare to the grotesque masculinity of the Brutes).
Of course, that doesn't really work so well because slightly less blatant variations on these models have been common as depictions of female fantasy warriors for ages, so even if they are meant to look uncanny, nobody's going to notice.
A fluff justification really isn't much of a defense, partly for the reasons you've stated.
And partly because the sword-bunnies just don't look like effective warriors- they look like pin-ups posing in vaguely medieval-looking gear. Take a look at all the exposed male genitalia on all the monsters Maelstrom has done so far. In not one of those models did they sacrifice the imposing, combat-worthy image of the model in order to make the nudity look sexually appealing. To do so with the sword Melusines is a serious problem for Maelstrom, as they've consistently tried to promote this game as a "mature" fantasy game. The Melusines as presently designed are just juvenile and undermine their entire premise. I applaud nudity in miniatures when done well, but slapping some great stonking tits on a chick with a sword isn't doing it well.
Hi guys
Firstly, Gynroch is most decidedly NOT a dragon. He's not meant to fly, even if he does indeed fly. He's meant to look wrong and un-natural.
Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
As always, our miniatures exist for a reason and you need to apply your brain to everything we do. If you don't understand that reason, then tough.
Regardless, watch out for a big, big announcement soon... we have big things to tell you all!
Maelstrom Games wrote:Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
You appear to have confused "I think it's a bad design, badly executed," with "Duh, wha? What dud dat mean?"
If you want to be a successful company, it's best not to insult your potential customers simply because they criticize your product. If they truly don't get your product (which I don't believe is the case here), then it means you've failed to present it properly. If they don't like your product then your choices are to either take their criticism on board or trust that your creative vision is going to win out in the end. At no point does insulting your customers' intelligence just because they didn't think part of your line is the greatest enter into the effective advertising plan.
Maelstrom Games wrote:Hi guys
Firstly, Gynroch is most decidedly NOT a dragon. He's not meant to fly, even if he does indeed fly. He's meant to look wrong and un-natural.
Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
As always, our miniatures exist for a reason and you need to apply your brain to everything we do. If you don't understand that reason, then tough.
Regardless, watch out for a big, big announcement soon... we have big things to tell you all!
Cheers
Rob
I must say, this is a hilariously silly response. "[A]ll you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a..." fribbity-gibbety rigamarole. Why, it's all so simple!
The terrible hair that looks like extruded play-dough? Research!
Breasts like pasted-on volleyballs? Apply your brain!
Awkward pole-dancer poses? You don't understand!
At the risk of pointing out the obvious, if you want to sell torpedo-chested nude women miniatures, it's not exactly the mystery of the ages to realize no one went broke trading on big ta-tas. Beyond that, you've rather crudely ignored the fact that a lot of criticism isn't directed at the nudity, but the poor quality of the overall model.
The Melusines simply don't look well done. No amount of condescension is likely to alter that verdict, and if you want to hang your hat on people investigating the Sheela-na-Gig, it probably behooves you to be a bit more up-front about what lesson you want people to derive from the history. Unless your point was, the historical Sheela-na-Gig was badly sculpted, ergo this is a kind of... homage?
re: Sheela-na-Gig... huh? So their comically huge breasts are supposed to ward off evil?
re: "...if you don't understand...then tough." This sounds suspiciously like the old student excuse of 'It's supposed to look like that' (which invariably means 'It's not supposed to look like that, but it was the best I could come up with and now I'm getting defensive.'), a fairly arrogant attitude at best.
You've shown that you can do horrible monsters and still have them look amazing; that's the gist of the comments - not that the concepts are bad/unworthy, but the sculpts do not live up to the very high standards that YOU have set.
Hmmm, I see lots on over exagerated vulvas, nothing on big norks! I guess I don't get it!
Early christian exagerations of female lust? Nope, not seeing that either....
Modern exagerations of male gammer lust... now that I'm seeing! :-)
That asside, I like the figures, some times you have to exagerate the sculpt to make it work at scale, and in general I like them and compliment the sculpter on a good job.
Druidic wrote:Hmmm, I see lots on over exagerated vulvas, nothing on big norks! I guess I don't get it!
Early christian exagerations of female lust? Nope, not seeing that either....
Modern exagerations of male gammer lust... now that I'm seeing! :-)
That asside, I like the figures, some times you have to exagerate the sculpt to make it work at scale, and in general I like them and compliment the sculpter on a good job.
I think they're supposed to be a reverse of the Sheela Na Gigs (which are warnings against lust). On Tecass's description, the term Sighle na gCíoch is used to describe her standard which I think roughly translates as Sheela of the breasts! Fitting for how they look.
Maelstrom Games wrote: Regardless, watch out for a big, big announcement soon... we have big things to tell you all!
Looking forward to this. More concepts? Shieldwalls and troops? Game details?
Maelstrom Games wrote:Hi guys
Firstly, Gynroch is most decidedly NOT a dragon. He's not meant to fly, even if he does indeed fly. He's meant to look wrong and un-natural.
Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
As always, our miniatures exist for a reason and you need to apply your brain to everything we do. If you don't understand that reason, then tough.
Regardless, watch out for a big, big announcement soon... we have big things to tell you all!
Cheers
Rob
I've bought several of your products and I will continue to buy ones that I feel are awesome.. calling your customer stupid because they don't like some of your product and are telling you why is probably not the best way to go at it. Most of us are trying to help..
I think our friendly Maelstrom rep needs to decide if he wants to just post pics of the new releases, or if he wants to interact with the community here and then act appropriately. If it's the former, fine. If it's the latter, also fine, but perhaps without insulting the customer base and the haughty "you're all stupid" attitude. After all, being a representative of a company in a public forum means one's behavior reflects on that company.
Applying my brain, to, say, everything shown on the first page of this thread, what I get is "Hey, Warhammer Fantasy miniatures sell real well. We'll make some of them ourselves!"
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I buy lots of "not-Warhammer" style models myself. And I appreciate that (some) of the newer models are trying to do something a bit more unique in the fantasy space, but let's not have huge pretensions of grandeur across "everything we do", eh?
Maelstrom Games wrote:Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
As always, our miniatures exist for a reason and you need to apply your brain to everything we do. If you don't understand that reason, then tough.
Not liking the miniature and not understanding the concept behind them are not automatically the same thing.
Claiming that they're supposed to be over-sexualised caricatures works if they're intended to be statues, but it doesn't make them look any more like actual women. The problem with the boobs is not the size... it's simply that large boobs don't look like that unless they're made from silicon. That and the hair affect the perception of these models, and no amount of explaining the concept behind them will change that.
You may very well have thought that your concept was solid, and that these miniatures fit that concept perfectly. If so, then congratulations, your sculptor obviously delivered. But dismissing any criticism as people just being too stupid to understand what they're meant to be is an outstanding way of alienating potential customers.
Guess we have to accept that GW has a skull fetish and Maelstrom has a penis/vagina/fakeboob fetish.
Some people like romantic movies, some people like erotic movies, some people like porn. A similar rule applies to buyers of female miniatures.
Hmmm... I want to get back to talking about monsters.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
RiTides wrote:Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
I had been plannng on picking one up to convert into a Great Unclean One.
Having since been informed that I'm an idiot who doesn't understand boobs, I'm not so sure.
RiTides wrote:Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
I had been plannng on picking one up to convert into a Great Unclean One.
Having since been informed that I'm an idiot who doesn't understand boobs, I'm not so sure.
yeah, I have to say that this sort of thing does tempt me to order much more of my UK-based stuff from other sources instead.
RiTides wrote:Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
I had been plannng on picking one up to convert into a Great Unclean One.
Having since been informed that I'm an idiot who doesn't understand boobs, I'm not so sure.
RiTides wrote:Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
I had been plannng on picking one up to convert into a Great Unclean One.
Having since been informed that I'm an idiot who doesn't understand boobs, I'm not so sure.
No no no! We're not idiots, we're just ignorant. Remember, "all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is".
Of course, "If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you"...
I once thought they were poorly sculpted women with hair like rope and stonkin great knockers, but now I know the fault lies not in the teats, but in me...
Because, you know, boobs iz serious business. You illiterate peons.
Snark aside, it's really a shame that the line is so hit and miss: there doesn't appear to be a lot in-between, it's either great (like the Vore), or embarrassingly bad (like the Melusines). In fairness to the individual sculptors, it doesn't even look like it's down to them: the same guy (James van Shaik) did the Melusines, but he also did some pretty impressive models like the recent dragon-man. (I would say "the guy with a name like clearing your throat, but in this context, that sadly doesn't narrow the field at all.) So I'm inclined to blame the concept.
Edit: Ooops, I was a bit too fair!
Turns out the dragon guy above is not Van Shaik, it's Roberto Chaudon.
That said, Shaik still has produced some far better figures then the Melusines; his Avatar Victorias for Malifeux are, imo, head and shoulders better in almost every way then the Melusines (note for one the difference in hair).
Thus, I'm still blaming the concept. Although yeah, perusing Shaik's photos, the long hair on his females is very hit or miss.
Maelstrom Games wrote:Hi guys
Firstly, Gynroch is most decidedly NOT a dragon. He's not meant to fly, even if he does indeed fly. He's meant to look wrong and un-natural.
Dragon, Jabberwock, giant mutant chicken....I'm sorry but this is still a badly positioned model with the wing situation. As others have mentioned, this is such a range of extremes. I purchased The Terror of Fortriu and it has to be one of the best models I have ever owned in 27 years, the strippers with the snake like hair I will never purchase (unless the missus leaves me and my access to porn vanishes as well ).
Maelstrom Games wrote:Hi guys
Firstly, Gynroch is most decidedly NOT a dragon. He's not meant to fly, even if he does indeed fly. He's meant to look wrong and un-natural.
Secondly, all you need to understand the Melusines is to research what a Sheela-na-Gig is, and what is missing (sorry - more accurately, what is there) on the Sheela-na-Gig on the Gigh-Bearer. If you don't get it after that, then there's no hope for you. Or again, more accurately, you've vindicated why sheela-na-gigs exist (which is more apparent every day that I see more reaction to them).
As always, our miniatures exist for a reason and you need to apply your brain to everything we do. If you don't understand that reason, then tough.
Regardless, watch out for a big, big announcement soon... we have big things to tell you all!
Cheers
Rob
Bloody hell thats one freaking foolish answer , and speaking of using brains you should try that when you present your company and range on a public forum packed with potential buyers.
As a buyer I couldn't care less about the lala land you created and that your bad concept makes sense on that lala land... for me it's a bad concept period.( and badly sculpted, please bring back the competent sculptors you used to have...)
kendoka wrote:Two new Melusians from BoobLegions, actually rather good.
...
Edit: I realised that links to these were posted previously. Sorry.
Still they are not as bad (IMHO) as the other Melusians.
True, I'd agree they are not as bad as the previous ones. In much the same way that a pile of dog crap is easier to clean off the carpet then a mound of cow crap.
Still bad though.
Seriously though, breast harness's, rope hair and the simplest conversion for a pole-dancer I have come across. This stuff is designed to sell to an audience, and I suspect it's not an audience that spent a great deal of time studying the architecture of the British isles.
Buzzsaw wrote:
Seriously though, breast harness's, rope hair and the simplest conversion for a pole-dancer I have come across. This stuff is designed to sell to an audience, and I suspect it's not an audience that spent a great deal of time studying the architecture of the British isles.
I was always giving the BreastLords the benefit of the doubt in relation to their hair - as in the pics of the figures are blown way up so the images we see are far bigger than the actual sculpts. Seeing the other pics of Van Shaik's figures, and the much better hair there does show me that he can do much better work. Looking again at the Sheilas, though - the concept sketch calls for "Extremely long, fine hair" - so he got part of it right, anyway.
Oh, and Rayvon. Perhaps your "thin skin" comment should have been directed elsewhere?
Here's one that handles its mythological connection well. The use of the elephant skull as a centrepiece, along with the metal eye, is reminiscent of the way that the skulls of elephants were mistaken for those of cyclopes.
The banner bearer is a very nice return to form. The beastrider is a little more cartoony, but should be nice painted up. Although the expression on the mount's face does oddly bring this to mind:
So the boar is the same model as the ridden version but without "helmet". I wish more companies would offer mounts separately, it's a great idea imo to get more/broader sales.
"Mierce Miniatures is now the official manufacturer of all BaneLegions and Templar's Forge products. Most BaneLegions miniatures have migrated to our forthcoming Wargame, Darklands"
grefven wrote: Did anyone read the latest issue of Portal?
In there it says:
"Mierce Miniatures is now the official manufacturer of all BaneLegions and Templar's Forge products. Most BaneLegions miniatures have migrated to our forthcoming Wargame, Darklands"
More likely moved it to another legal entity so when maelstrom folds it will be protected just like how there gaming/tournament business is now a separate entity.
Yep, and looks like all new minis are now in darklands packaging. I recently ordered and got tundaar and the sabretooth in the new packaging. Check out darklands.mierce-miniatures.com. Also, I suspect maelstrom maybe getting rebranded as mierce miniatures?
Looking forward to the next release. Hopefully we'll get some info on the game?
RiTides wrote: Hmmm... I want to get back to talking about monsters.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Fair points by everyone above, but I think the point's been made. We're all pretty universal on these last few models, but come on, the VORE!!!! Still trying to figure out what the heck I could use that thing for.
I've come to look at this now and then since July. I think this really is one of my favorite models of all time. I just wish I could justify $100 for it. It's really a fantastic piece.
The CF wrote: Soo... when is the Banelegions kickstarter coming?
Hopefully not for a good while. Actually, Id like to recommend to any manufacturer/company thats thinking of a kickstarter to wait until the new year. There have been several very popular kickstarters recently, and combined with the upcoming holidays people are likely to be a bit cash strapped for the rest of the year. Waiting until spring would probably be a prudent idea for any kickstarters with higher end aims.
Excitement time (as if sedition wars and forge worlds Horus heresy wasn't enough!).
Looks like mierce miniatures have finally been launched which include getting things set up for their upcoming darklands game. Check here: http://www.mierce-miniatures.com Hints about the game are appearing and there's some interesting news on the site...
Current banelegions releases have been recategorised in to warlords, war chiefs, infantry and beasts (with variations such as monstrous war chiefs - Norse trolls for example). Things are definite looking interesting with new and adjusted existing factions and tribes appearing underneath.
Also, some new releases spotted as well as some painty goodness:
New stuff:
ÓRORQAAN, GULTAIN OF THE SRÓNAX
GULGUTA, KILL-BRUTE
KERNUOR, SEER-DRUNE
Painty goodness:
Especially liking tundaar and the new ysian shaman
First, looks like there's a darklands kickstarter coming!
I admit, the attempt to defend the Banebreasts made me chuckle, especially when the interviewer just plain contradicted him about what the criticisms had been like.
That said, something I don't remember seeing anywhere is--how big is an "average" Darklands army expected to be, and how expensive? Given how costly the models are, I think being expected to shell out for 20+ infantry and multiple monsters is going to be onerous, never mind Warhammer scale.
I like the somewhat goofy minatour. The kill brute is interesting at first glace, but odd when you look at the details. What is up with the swiss cheese hip armor?
First, looks like there's a darklands kickstarter coming!
I admit, the attempt to defend the Banebreasts made me chuckle, especially when the interviewer just plain contradicted him about what the criticisms had been like.
That said, something I don't remember seeing anywhere is--how big is an "average" Darklands army expected to be, and how expensive? Given how costly the models are, I think being expected to shell out for 20+ infantry and multiple monsters is going to be onerous, never mind Warhammer scale.
The most amusing bit is the ultimate defense is "they sell boatloads". Which is a perfectly fine justification for a miniature's existence, so one does wonder why the elaborate and increasingly silly faux erudition on the matter?
As the owner of large Fomoraic things - and disillusioned with warhammer but still in love with fantasy critterdom - I am extremely interested in a Darklands kickstarter
God I love this stuff... I almost never buy fantasy stuff but if I did I would buy almost everything this company did, great quality, great concepts...
You might want to risk getting them now as they probably won't be around much longer, however as it's the final day of the "final sale"...the final, final, final...FINAL sale I'm not sure if you'll actually receive anything through? Depends on how many they need to get rid of
Pretty please
