Carrowek, in particular, looks really awesome, as do Canan. Those two are probably my favorites of this early release. 10 releases a month is really nice. Oohh, and I can't barely wait for Stephané Simon to show his snake-warriors! The WIP (as seen above) is giving me a real treat. :p
There's a Darklands painting competition organised in conjunction with the Wamp guys. Wamp is painting forum primarily and hosts regular painting competitions.
Update #43 · Jun 16, 2013 · 5 comments
We have two completed master miniatures to show off to you all!
Cearl
Firstly, Benoît Cosse's superb Werwulf Thegn, Cearl, is finished! He'll be available to ship with the Angelcynn sets of course.
Benoît will be sculpting Chaagmuth on foot next!
Mneriiss
The first of the remaining Gorgonar warriors to sculpt has been completed by Stéphane Simon - Mneriiss, Harbinger of Khthon! He'll be the unit's herald (musician), which is why he's got such a big rattle... note the crossed bones; there'll be two of those in the cast.
Next for Stéphane Simon is - well, the next Gorgonar warrior! Updates as and when.
Finally...
If any of you guys wish to order the Srónax, Brute, Norse, Angelcynn or Khthones starter sets, you can still do so - everyone still has access to the Kickstarter category - BUT... the Srónax, Brute and Norse sets will likely be removed at the end of June... so get your skates on people!
I'm afraid I won't be able to do it justice painting it though. I'm very impatient when it comes to details and multiple coats of paint.
If I want in on those starter packs, especially at Kickstarter prices, I'm assuming I need to drop Mierce an email, but where? On the kickstarter page or their actual store?
I'll see if I can talk family into pitching in for a Khthones set.
Denilsta wrote: TBH I cannot see MM selling them to you at KS prices unless you have actually participated in the KS when it was actually running.
Why not? they did for me.
How?
I emailed them and asked nicely.
Result?
I have ordered 9 minis I particularly liked with no relation to factions, starter sets, and with no rules, dice etc I don't need/want.
Denilsta wrote: TBH I cannot see MM selling them to you at KS prices unless you have actually participated in the KS when it was actually running.
Why not? they did for me.
How?
I emailed them and asked nicely.
Result?
I have ordered 9 minis I particularly liked with no relation to factions, starter sets, and with no rules, dice etc I don't need/want.
lol nice! They seem willing to do dang near anything to get on people's good side to overcome the Maelstrom stigma.
The starters ended up being a pretty good deal though even if you werent interested in the game itself. I snagged 6 of them (already had most of the minotaurs and didnt overly care for the rhino men). I figure if the rules are good, its just gravy. My stuff is still in the "processing" stage, so when I get it I'll post picutres. The figures I did get earlier are really amazing quality.
Taarnak wrote: I really, really, REALLY wish I had been able to get in on this KS...
Oh well.
Awesome figures. Werewolf is my favorite.
~Eric
As has been said above, if you ask, they will probably let you in. The majority of their line is still available in the pledge manager.
Just recieved my Tarvax starter last week, the minis are incredible. I'm trying to resist adding to my order with some of the Angelcynn stuff. They don't take PayPal, which is a pain.
Yeah, my friend got in late for Beowa, I believe (he's doing a bear-themed army). So far, I've been pleasantly surprised by how they've followed through. Hopefully, it continues!
Anything that has been released through their web shop is no longer available at kickstarter prices unfortunately. However, if you're quick you may be able to get in on some of the still being processed levels
Got my Dyndraig starter this week. Amazing - the best miniatures I have ever bought at a really consistent quality. So happy I went with this kickstarter!
It's WIP time, and the next Gorgonar, Ufhiloss! Stéphane Simon's already well into this guy and I suspect he'll be sorted by late July...
Last Chance for Fomoraic and Ysians
As we've done with the Tarvax, Brythoniaid and Ax-Drune sets, we'll be shutting off access to the Srónax and the Brutes next week - and that means the remaining Fomoraic and Ysian miniatures, too!
That of course means that if you haven't got everything you wanted for the Fomoraic and Ysians (as well as their Vras allies) this weekend is your last chance to get them at Kickstarter prices, as we'll be shutting off access on Monday - so you'd better get your skates on people!
It also means the Srónax and the Brutes will start shipping properly next week, and then it's Trolls time... finally!
QuickStarter Rules
There's not much to say here, apart from - thanks for being patient, and they'll be ready soon, mid-July I would think. We're tweaking, the rules are about there, even though I'm still having a devil of a job leaving things out!
"Ready" means "ready for download", however... the printed version will follow later, as always!
On a personal front, 4 of my ad-hoc minis have been shipped!
WOOT!
My first 4 minis arrived, and they are universally brilliant...
OK, Torku has long hair...because it's female...umm...what next, long eyelashes?
And the boobs hit the bin as soon as I unpacked her parts...
BUT the minis are extremely well cast, in a very nice resin, excellent dry fit, awesome texture and detailing.
I won't bother taking photos, the ones on the kickstarter pages are 1,000 times better than I could ever achieve.
I received:
Torku (no nice photos f her)
and
Very happy, can't wait for the Hydra and dragon figure to be shown as WIP...
Mierce are going to almost single handedly flesh out my "as few GW models as possible" Daemons army. I've already got several ear marked as Daemon Princes or Heralds, I just wish I could figure out a way to put wings on that dragon ogre guy, he would make an epic Khorne DP.
I have received more of my starter sets, the quality is so good I have just ordered the Angelcynn starter set and Leofwen (woman riding the stag) + have my eye on more. I must have spent nearly £1500 on this KS, all from ebay sale of GW stuff and I have not had a poorly cast miniature yet. I personally cannot wait for MM's next KS!
All right, a few WIP shots of upcoming miniatures have landed this week, so here's a big update for you all.
Penda the Bloody-Handed on Horse
It's what we've been waiting for since Penda on foot! Jacques-Alexandre Gillois' superb Penda on horse at an early stage, but no less evocative for all that...
Chaagmuth the Jaw-Taker on Foot
A very early stage of sculpting everyone's favourite Gabrax warlord from Benoît Cosse! Loving the underbite...
Ygandr, Hydra of Khthon
Roberto's next piece for us is Ygandr and he's shaping up to be awesome. This, again, is a very early WIP shot, of just one of his five heads...
As you can see, just one head would give Galhwch Lladd Llaw a run for his money!
That's all for now folks... we hope that's whetted your appetite!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, and for those wondering what Ygandr is, here's the concept art:
Denilsta wrote: I have received more of my starter sets, the quality is so good I have just ordered the Angelcynn starter set and Leofwen (woman riding the stag) + have my eye on more. I must have spent nearly £1500 on this KS, all from ebay sale of GW stuff and I have not had a poorly cast miniature yet. I personally cannot wait for MM's next KS!
WOW!! Glad to hear it.
I was 1000% stupid in doing the "all at once postage" and regretting it ever since.
Might need to add this amazing Hydra though... WOW!! Just WOW!!
Denilsta wrote: I have received more of my starter sets, the quality is so good I have just ordered the Angelcynn starter set and Leofwen (woman riding the stag) + have my eye on more. I must have spent nearly £1500 on this KS, all from ebay sale of GW stuff and I have not had a poorly cast miniature yet. I personally cannot wait for MM's next KS!
WOW!! Glad to hear it.
I was 1000% stupid in doing the "all at once postage" and regretting it ever since.
Might need to add this amazing Hydra though... WOW!! Just WOW!!
I must admit, most of my money went on the 'big guys'. The concept art on the hydra, dragon, Ice golem etc....was just to good to pass by.
Increase your pledge by £40 to get Vaak, a mighty Fomoraic construct of ice and rock to batter their enemies with. As if Uuthüll wasn't enough!
I like the art, but at £40 I couldn't quite bring myself to get it (if I'd had the money I'd have gone for the Blood-Maw instead, soooo cool), gonna be big though
Alpharius wrote: I'm still looking for the heir to the Fantasy Skirmish Throne, you know, ever since Confrontation died a painful, pre-painted plastic death.
These miniatures are spectacular - I'm hoping there's some good rules to go along with them!
I'm not a game mechanics nerd (not intended as a pejorative), and only watched the game play video they posted, but it seemed a little old fashioned, and intended for games larger than skirmish sized.
I'm also looking for something in that 8-20 models per side range but I don't think this is it.
Going back in for some Angelcynn I think though. Or maybe Trolls....crap.
Are they splitting up pledges as they are ready? I realised that I still have mounted Penda with the wolf helm in my order queue after receiving my Fomoric stuff but I'm pretty sure I didnt pay for the split.
I was emailing Maelstrom back in the Banebeasts days, suggesting that a dragon might be a hood idea...when I saw that sketch, it was an instant purchase, same with the hydra.
Yes, I have to say Vaak was an auto buy for me. Especially since it turned out Roberto was planned to do the sculpt! Still waiting to see what the werewulfas unit turns out like. I reckon that one will be pledged for when they've done the concept!
They've still got loads to sculpt, but with the sculptors they've got lined up, I'm really looking forward to see what they produce. And then it's kickstarter 2 if everything goes to plan!
zedmeister wrote: Yes, I have to say Vaak was an auto buy for me. Especially since it turned out Roberto was planned to do the sculpt! Still waiting to see what the werewulfas unit turns out like. I reckon that one will be pledged for when they've done the concept!
They've still got loads to sculpt, but with the sculptors they've got lined up, I'm really looking forward to see what they produce. And then it's kickstarter 2 if everything goes to plan!
Is there a second KS planned at the moment.
I think I might tip more into this to be honest, the big models are just insane!
The hope/plan a second KS some time towards the end of the year (but I guess that will depend on getting this one finished off, the resins are on time, the rules are a bit delayed but due soonish)
this is what they've said about the tentative plans for KS2 recently
Regarding the next Kickstarter - guys, I'm afraid it's very unlikely at this stage that we'll cover all of the other kindreds. There will DEFINITELY be stuff for the kindreds from this Kickstarter, plus one or two others that we haven't touched yet - but that's all. We're kind of aiming towards fleshing out half a dozen kindreds so that people have hosts to get their teeth into rather than bitting and bobbing with each, you know? We also have to leave some things alone for further Kickstarters down the line...! At the risk of making you all explode with anger / excitement, this is what we're looking at right now for the next Kickstarter: Darklands main rules! Albainn - Fortriu Angelcynn - Mierce Byzantii - Legio II Var Brythoniaid - Gwynedd Fomoraic - Baalor Khthones - Gorgones Norse - Skilfings Ysians - Ker-Ys There *may* be bits and pieces for kindreds other than those, but I can't guarantee anything at this stage. Bear in mind that artists are busy also
(the full rulebook with background etc may be in there, but that will presumably depend on the reaction to the QS rules from this KS, and on the team having time to write up the background etc as it's being done in house)
Increase your pledge by £40 to get Vaak, a mighty Fomoraic construct of ice and rock to batter their enemies with. As if Uuthüll wasn't enough!
I like the art, but at £40 I couldn't quite bring myself to get it (if I'd had the money I'd have gone for the Blood-Maw instead, soooo cool), gonna be big though
Wow, I really like that one. The way they've fulfilled on this has definitely swung my opinion of them a bit. Very, very nice art... will be tempting to me once it's done.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: The hope/plan a second KS some time towards the end of the year (but I guess that will depend on getting this one finished off, the resins are on time, the rules are a bit delayed but due soonish)...
Thanks Orlando, that makes sense. That Golem and Hydra are looking mighty fine as well... decisions!!!
Another update. When I saw this, I was speechless. JAG has really nailed this:
Jacques-Alexandre Gillois has done it again. Penda on foot is absolutely superb, but Penda on horse... wow.
There are very few words that can do this sculpt justice, so we'll just show the pictures instead!
Penda on Horse
Of course, this does mean that Penda in all forms will ship with the Angelcynn sets; Penda on horse with wolf helm will be done shortly, JAG just has to do a couple of things to sort it.
yxalitis wrote: Hey..chysperis, fídron of khthon is shown as a completed white-resin completed build in this photo:
And yet isn't available yet, and has had no progress shots...is that a clever piece of photographic trickery, or am I missing something?
He has been produced if I remember right, there was a picture in one of the updates. In reference to Penda on his horse, just when I thought I had finished my spending they produce a model like this...
orderd Hruddin and couple others. will then get a 2nd set of wings once Hruddin is on the site normally and convert him to have 4 wings (2 sets)...to use as Pazuzu (D&D Demon lord)
Makaleth wrote: It could be a 3d scuplt, but you're right, there is something odd with that one.
Lucky for me I am not tempted but that model... no idea why, I like it. Might be the price (but I imagine it's huge!)
I liked the model, but there's so much awesome stuff competing in that price bracket. Mjagnir is massive and insanely detailed. The dragon is likely going to be stupid big and am,azing as well. A big snake didnt quite cut it.
yxalitis wrote: Hey..chysperis, fídron of khthon is shown as a completed white-resin completed build in this photo:
And yet isn't available yet, and has had no progress shots...is that a clever piece of photographic trickery, or am I missing something?
He has been produced if I remember right, there was a picture in one of the updates. In reference to Penda on his horse, just when I thought I had finished my spending they produce a model like this...
Nope the update you refer to is when the 35,000 GBP stretch goal was announced and that image first posted.
The text reads;
and a mighty new departure for the Khthones - Chysperis, Fídron of Khthon, who stands a massive 162mm to the tip of his tail. He's absolutely HUGE and is the embodiment of Khthon for pretty much all of the Khthones; as such, he's treated reverentially by them and not only because he's blimmin' massive (we'll add him to the scale shots to show you)! Chysperis will ship with the Khthones Starter Set in September 2013.
yxalitis wrote: Hey..chysperis, fídron of khthon is shown as a completed white-resin completed build in this photo:
And yet isn't available yet, and has had no progress shots...is that a clever piece of photographic trickery, or am I missing something?
He has been produced if I remember right, there was a picture in one of the updates. In reference to Penda on his horse, just when I thought I had finished my spending they produce a model like this...
Nope the update you refer to is when the 35,000 GBP stretch goal was announced and that image first posted.
The text reads;
and a mighty new departure for the Khthones - Chysperis, Fídron of Khthon, who stands a massive 162mm to the tip of his tail. He's absolutely HUGE and is the embodiment of Khthon for pretty much all of the Khthones; as such, he's treated reverentially by them and not only because he's blimmin' massive (we'll add him to the scale shots to show you)! Chysperis will ship with the Khthones Starter Set in September 2013.
That was in January.
I knew I seen a different pic from the one in January...I'm just glad I was not imagining big snakes!
Well the Helsvakt Cav and just about every other item int he KS has pretty much become a Limited Edition. The only way they will become available for purchase is if I remold them for metal or if I have left overs. I probably WILL end up making all new pieces and see about having them cast in actual plastic as there is no way in hell I could afford to market them in metal or resin.
gohkm wrote: The detail on the scales of the snake are crazy. But ... I don't quite like this one. There's something missing, no X factor, for me.
I'll have to get Penda and Carrowek when funds permit. Those are magnificent.
I sort of know what your saying. I think it is the mouth area to be honest, It is just so different from the other snakemen/Gorgons. However I still really like it and with a decent paint job it will be stunning.
I believe that's a Roberto sculpt. I'd also hazard a guess that he's not being cast and dispatched until the rest of the Khthones are. That way they can do the entire Kindred at once
From the Kickstarter when we announced Chysperis as an optional add-on.
£35,000 Stretch Goal
a mighty new departure for the Khthones - Chysperis, Fídron of Khthon, who stands a massive 162mm to the tip of his tail. He's absolutely HUGE and is the embodiment of Khthon for pretty much all of the Khthones; as such, he's treated reverentially by them and not only because he's blimmin' massive (we'll add him to the scale shots to show you)! Chysperis will ship with the Khthones Starter Set in September 2013.
Chysperis is sculpted, but hasn't been moulded up yet, mainly because as he isn't due for dispatch to KS backers until Sept, we have been moulding up the plethora of other stuff that is shipping before then.
He'll come, and in time we'll post some bare resin pics of him, but at the mo there's plenty of more pressing matters to attend to. I'm making many production moulds for the Trolls at the mo - lots of big, nasty, nutters coming your way soon! :0D
Just seems odd we have a fully completed model lovingly photographed, but no updates on the KS, no release date, nada.
Without actually knowing, here are my thoughts. Chysperis was sculpted and finished before the KS started, that is why it isn't mentioned in the other thread (as it only lists "new/not yet exsiting" sculpts). Mierce has stated that they will release about 10-or-so figures each month until all their KS funded miniatures are available to the public. But they will not make as of yet shipped out sculpts available until all backers have got theirs. So even though Chysperis is finished and ready to go, Mierce is sitting on it to release at a later date (I am also sure Mierce has got more ready to go figures that they could release, but by releasing them piecemeal it will keep the interest there compared to releasing all figures at once). I am thinking we will hear more about it in a couple of months. But I am just guessing here, so I actually don't know.
Just seems odd we have a fully completed model lovingly photographed, but no updates on the KS, no release date, nada.
Without actually knowing, here are my thoughts. Chysperis was sculpted and finished before the KS started, that is why it isn't mentioned in the other thread (as it only lists "new/not yet exsiting" sculpts). Mierce has stated that they will release about 10-or-so figures each month until all their KS funded miniatures are available to the public. But they will not make as of yet shipped out sculpts available until all backers have got theirs. So even though Chysperis is finished and ready to go, Mierce is sitting on it to release at a later date (I am also sure Mierce has got more ready to go figures that they could release, but by releasing them piecemeal it will keep the interest there compared to releasing all figures at once). I am thinking we will hear more about it in a couple of months. But I am just guessing here, so I actually don't know.
HUUUGEE update. General release news and kickstarter news!
First off, the kickstarter update:
It seems we do an update every Friday these days, which is no bad thing - and as it's Friday, here's our latest update, which contains a few WIPs and a word on the Penda Exclusive...!
Chaagmuth on Foot
It's good news from Benoît Cosse, for Chaagmuth on Foot is almost done and should be with us later this month! He's shaping up to be a corker!
Ssibyros, Gorgonarchon
Stéphane NGuyen's finished the hard part of Ssibyros - the scales, the scales!!! - and is now working on the upper body and the accoutrements. We're confident he'll be done in time!
Ufhilloss, Gorgonar Warrior
Stéphane Simon's pretty much finished the body of Ufhilloss, with the arms and accoutrements next to be sculpted - so he'll be done soon.
[/img]
Ygandr
We've saved the Hydra until last, just to tease you all a bit more. Whilst he's at quite an early stage, he's starting to take shape and we're very confident he'll be finished in mid August and thus winging his way to you with your Gorgonares sets. He's big - the circle you see is for a 120mm base - so you'll certainly get value for money!
Whilst we're only showing two heads here, each head will be different.
Penda on Horse with Wolf Helm
A few people have asked us about the Penda on Horse with Wolf Helm, because at first glance he may not seem much different to the other Penda on Horse. Well, he is, and here's why.
Firstly - and this might be where some of you may want to join in and purchase him - he's STRICTLY limited edition; whilst many of you have bought him, only 250 of him will EVER be made. We'll let you all know if he's running low.
Thus, if you haven't got him, you'd better get him now!
Secondly, each Penda on horse with wolf helm will be sent to you all in a blister pack with a numbered silver sticker and a small, numbered certificate inside, and signed by some of us too (certainly Rob and Tim).
Thirdly, with each Penda on horse will be a special base insert, created and cast by us lot in resin, that will depict the terrain of Mierce. We'll show you a piccie of this when it's done.
Fourthly, we'll include with this blister pack a small amount of fine earth in a ziplock bag to decorate your base, taken from Heathfield itself (now known as Hatfield), a stone's throw from us here at Mierce Towers, where Penda (along with Cadwallon of Gwynedd) defeated King Edwin of Northumbria in 633 AD. Note that it is believed that Penda himself killed King Edwin. So you'll have a little bit of history with your miniature!
Note also that Penda's wolf helm head is "sculpted on" - i.e., it's not available separately. Neither Penda on horse nor Penda on foot's head is separate and they will never be available separately (although we reserve the right to put Penda's bare head on the foot miniature, of course, as another exclusive perhaps).
Phew! So there you have it. Exclusive he certainly is!
Also spotted now on general release from the Mierce Store:
Unless you've been on the moon since January, you'll know that our fantastic Darklands: A World of War Kickstarter project is very successful in that there are now many happy backers that have received much of their pledges and we've also produced many new miniatures to tempt dark age fantasy fans into reaching for their wallets - in fact, when all the new miniatures are eventually released, we'll have doubled the size of the Darklands range!
The first eleven of those new miniatures were released last month, of course, but there's still plenty to get out there to the masses and thus it's time to release eleven more - including the first Norse and Angelcynn miniatures for a good long while and more Brythoniaid, Fomoraic and Ysians for your Darklands hosts! These particular releases will be officially available on the 3rd of August, but feel free to pre-order to your heart's content.
Beowa, Once-Thegn of Beornica
Beowa, Once-Thegn of Beornica [BAY-oh-wa, once-thane of BAY-or-ni-ka) is everyone's favourite bear-man in human form, a Sell-Sword who will work for most other kindreds; for he was kicked out of his homeland by the Christians, who are thus the object of his vengeful thoughts. They'd better lock all their doors and batten down their hatches! With a concept superbly drawn by Des Hanley and an equally superb sculpt by Benoît Cosse, Beowa is a perfect example of an idea taken by artists and transformed into an amazing miniature.
Beowa, Once-Thegn of Beornica in Bear Form A superb concept by Des Hanley was sculpted by Stéphane Simon, who stepped in faithfully when Benoît Cosse was indisposed, but the result is just as good as Benoît's work of course! Beowa can transform into bear form at will, but can also do so involuntarily if he gets angry enough. So, our advice would be not to get him angry...
Glaun, Tarwdraig of Cynfelyn
He's a big, bulky bull-dragon type with a bad temper and some really spiky bits - here's Glaun, Tarwdraig of Cynfelyn, with concept drawn by Stefan Kopinski and sculpt by Roberto Chaudon! Now, the pronunciation of our miniatures' names can be problematic sometimes, for we do tend to use old, obscure names from the dark ages, but the Brythoniaid releases can be especially difficult for the non-Welsh speaker to say. Whilst we'll provide pronunciation guides when the various warrior profiles are available, let's have a go at Glaun here and now, eh? Okay. Here we go. Glaun should be pronounced 'Gleyen' in one syllable, with 'eye' as in, er, 'eye'; Tarwdraig is 'Ta-ROO-drayg' and Cynfelyn is 'Kun-VE-lun'. Got that? Hope so...
(One more thing before the next release, if you're Welsh: in Glaun's name, Cynfelyn isn't soft-mutated to Gynfelyn as 'Tarwdraig of Cynfelyn' is actually an English sentence using two Welsh words and one English word ('of'). Hopefully that wasn't too patronising, either, and yes, this author is Saesneg.)
Geraint Nerthol, Teyrn of Cedweli
More Welsh for you to pronounce! Let's talk about the miniature first. Geraint Nerthol (which means 'Mighty Geraint') is the first human for the Brythoniaid kindred, and he's a minor king from the south who lends his blade and his warriors to Gwynedd for their fight. With a superb concept by Stefan Kopinski and a great sculpt by Benoît Cosse, Geraint will happily lead your Dyndraig into battle!
Oh yes, pronunciation. Geraint Nerthol (GE-reyent NER-thol), Teyrn (Tairn as in cairn) of Cedweli (Ked-WEL-ly as in welly).
Rocqaan, Srónax Warrior Here at Mierce Towers we love our rhino-men, so it's great to release some more, finally! Here's Rocqaan (ROCK-an), Rocky to his mates, sculpted by the ever-amazing Allan Carrasco and from a concept drawn by Georges Clarenko.
Luqkaan, Srónax Warrior ...and that's the unit: Luqkaan (LOOK-an) makes a grand total of five Srónax to be available, and thus enough for a full-size Srónax unit (funnily enough). Lucky, as he is known, looks particularly thick but we're quite sure he can lift heavy things, including that bloody great club.
Unnolg, Troll Warrior Now this guy is an absolute beauty. Again scupted by Allan Carrasco (that's three of his sculpts released this month), Unnolg is the first of three Troll Warriors we have in store for you all - and which will thus make a unit of five with Vörtun and Gjöll. With concepts by Stefan Kopinski, these guys are going to look superb on the battlefield - and they really hit hard, too...
Mawdred of Carn Dhu, An-Kern-Drune The Ysians are fleshed out - at least in terms of miniatures - more than most of the other kindreds, and we're adding four more this month and there's more next month too. Joining Carrowek and his mates is Mawdred of Carn Dhu, basically a battle standard-bearer, sculpted brilliantly by Stéphane Simon from a crazy piece of art by Danny Cruz. Mawdred is very, very cool!
Talan of Carn Maen, Ax-Drune The fourth member of the Ax-Drune unit, sculpted by Juan Navarro Pérez from a concept by Danny Cruz, Talan of Carn Maen is a cracking miniature with a broken-backed axe and a bad temper to boot. Don't meet him in a dark alley, folks!
Kenan of Carn Dinas, Bow-Drune There's four Bow-Drunes to make up the unit and Kenan - concept by Danny Cruz and sculpt by James van Schaik - is a cracking miniature. All of the bow-drunes have lots of accoutrements and accessories to catch your eye, and we especially love the horn-bows!
Judoc of Carn Lann, Goad-Drune Judoc is the second of three Goad-Drunes, important little beggars that help Ysian generals control those nasty beasts of theirs!
We're in Scale!
The size of our miniatures is always a talking point so we thought we'd better sort out a scale chart to show just how big (or small) they are, compared against Meloda - a 30mm human-sized miniature - and Krull, who is... well, big!
As we stated above, all of the eleven miniatures unveiled here will be officially released on the 3rd of August 2013.
Early next month we'll be unveiling September's releases, which will include mucho Norse and Angelcynn as well as some Brythoniaid, Fomoraic and Ysians (as usual). Watch this space!
Not a huge fan of Beowa, unfortunately... and that was one I was looking forward to! Some of the others look really good... the "Hydra" WIP looks extremely fascinating, in particular.
Received the following - My Ysian starter (Carrowek of Carn Dhu on foot, Kernuor, Ulric the Defiler, Mawdred of Carn Dhu, Urbad - ogre sized stone carrier, Ax-Drune Unit - 5 models inc champ, musician, standard bearer and 2 warriors, Bow-Drune Unit - 1 champion, 4 bow drunes, Darklands Dice Set, Darklands Order and Action Tokens Set) , Drune Goaders, Aradae Mawr, Carrowek of Carn Dhu, Beowa, Griminn and Hrudinn. They are all awesome. Really really good to have these in my hands to see their level of detail. Wonderfully done.
Only one problem and that's the Drune Bowmen's arrows are all broken. But they're so thin I thought this would happen, so no great problem there. I might use some pins to make my own.
Overall, really really impressed! Griminn and Aradae Mawr absolutely rule. Actually, all of them do! Fantastic work Mierce!
We have rather a large update for you today! We've a few WIPs to show you, all of which are Khthones, and there's news of a weekend unlock as well as how shipments are progressing and those QuickStarter rules. There's also news of Darklands' second Kickstarter project, which will begin in September!
Work in Progress
Ufhilloss, Gorgonar Warrior
The fourth Gorgonar warrior is now finished, and he really is superb! Sculpted by Stéphane Simon, who is hard at work on the last Gorgonar of the unit, Ufhilloss is quite different from the concept - mainly because of the limitations of sculpting something from a 2D drawing - but he's still awesome. We think you'll agree!
Iimithi, Gorgonar Warrior
Speaking of the next Gorgonar warrior, Iimithi, here's a WIP of him...
Ssibyros, Gorgonarchon
There's not a great deal to show you as Stéphane NGuyen has been busy on other things, but Ssibyros is starting to take shape as he's now working on the upper body!
Darklands: a World of War Progress
The last month or so has been a little slow, we admit, for which we can only apologise; this is mainly due to a few large trade orders, staff holidays thanks to it being summer and staff illness (which always hurts tiny companies), but we are still getting there. We hope to finally get the bugbear of the Brutes out of the way by the end of this week, with the Srónax by the end of next week, at which point we can turn our full attention to the Trolls, some of which have already gone out where it makes sense. The Trolls should all go out of the door by the end of August, and the Angelcynn should also be in production and shipping at that time. We do anticipate the Angelcynn to be completely sent by mid-September and the Gorgonares sent immediately afterwards. With the Gorgonares, it's likely they'll be sent just before the next Kickstarter, and during it, we're afraid.
Again, we can only apologise for these delays; the guys are putting extra hours in every day to try and speed things up, and we will get there, we promise!
QuickStarter Rules
We are happy to say, these are almost complete. We've finally decided what to leave out; you must understand, we realised early on that we had to test the game in as full a form as possible before stripping it back, and this is what's been taking time.
Thus, it's very likely that the rules will be finalised by Friday, off to the graphic designer at the same time, then off to the printers in August. As soon as we have a copy to show you via PDF, we'll do so - along with profiles of course.
All we can do, again, is apologise for the delay in getting the rules out, but we are quite confident you'll enjoy them... especially how the magic works!
Kickstarter II
The next Darklands Kickstarter will definitely begin at some point in September. We're not exactly sure of the date, but it will be earlier in September rather than later. This Kickstarter will of course begin while the Gorgonares are still being sent from this one, and there'll be quite a few items not sculpted or sent until after the Kickstarter II is finished. We apologise for this overlap, but we're just bursting to get more things out to you and progress the kindreds, especially those that haven't been seen much yet, not least get the full rules out there!
It has to be said, too, that the quicker we start this next Kickstarter, the quicker we can book sculptors in 2014...
Now, mid-September is only six weeks away! Thus, we think now's the time to get you all excited and stuff, and so... we're going to reveal a few things, including a concept!
Format
The Darklands Kickstarter II format will be completely different to this one. For a start, the main focus - at least initially - will be the hardback rulebook for Darklands.
We're not going to tell you how it compares right now, but here's a few bullet points for you:
- Kickstarter II will begin in mid-September and end in mid-October (so around 30 days)
- Items from it will be produced and shipped throughout 2014
- The Angelcynn, Brythoniaid, Fomoraic, Khthones, Norse and Ysian kindreds will feature in full
- Two new kindreds will feature - the Albainn and the Byzantii (including some Infernii)
- Almost all of the miniatures produced during this Kickstarter will not have been seen before; for example, if we get enough money to produce a Krokodar unit, Megálávra and Vókkinak would feature
- The possibility of other kindreds getting the odd miniature does exist, but depends on how much is garnered (we do stress, it's only a possibility)
- NONE of the items currently available (i.e., released) will feature - so get them now!
- We will produce a concept art book, stretch goals permitting
- We will be using new artists for many concepts
- We will produce kindred dice, stretch goals permitting
- Everything from warlords to units to monstrous beasts will feature, stretch goals permitting
- There will be exclusives and freebies
- It will definitely be less confusing than this one!
Sneaker Peeker Teaser Trailer Trash Can
Just to get your juices flowing, here's a concept art teaser for Mananaan, a Baalor warlord...
Mananaan looks the business! Definitely going to be in for Kickstarter 2 as well!
Its too soon, my wallet has not recovered from the current KS. However Mierce have completely delivered in this KS, the customer service, communication, and shear quality of the miniatures means I will probabily drop another £1600+ on yhe next one they do as well.
The next Darklands Kickstarter will definitely begin at some point in September. We're not exactly sure of the date, but it will be earlier in September rather than later. This Kickstarter will of course begin while the Gorgonares are still being sent from this one, and there'll be quite a few items not sculpted or sent until after the Kickstarter II is finished. We apologise for this overlap, but we're just bursting to get more things out to you and progress the kindreds, especially those that haven't been seen much yet, not least get the full rules out there!
It has to be said, too, that the quicker we start this next Kickstarter, the quicker we can book sculptors in 2014...
Now, mid-September is only six weeks away! Thus, we think now's the time to get you all excited and stuff, and so... we're going to reveal a few things, including a concept!
I've yet to see it be a good idea for a second campaign to be made while the first has yet to deliver... except perhaps with Zombicide 2.
How much will still be undelivered in 6 week's time?
The next Darklands Kickstarter will definitely begin at some point in September. We're not exactly sure of the date, but it will be earlier in September rather than later. This Kickstarter will of course begin while the Gorgonares are still being sent from this one, and there'll be quite a few items not sculpted or sent until after the Kickstarter II is finished. We apologise for this overlap, but we're just bursting to get more things out to you and progress the kindreds, especially those that haven't been seen much yet, not least get the full rules out there!
It has to be said, too, that the quicker we start this next Kickstarter, the quicker we can book sculptors in 2014...
Now, mid-September is only six weeks away! Thus, we think now's the time to get you all excited and stuff, and so... we're going to reveal a few things, including a concept!
I've yet to see it be a good idea for a second campaign to be made while the first has yet to deliver... except perhaps with Zombicide 2.
How much will still be undelivered in 6 week's time?
Very little. I think I have gotten (counting 2 packages en route) over 90% of what I pledged for, which was quite a lot.
What kind of bargain was the first KS? A lot of the pictures I've seen in this thread have gotten be interested in their work so I'll definitely check their KS out when it launches, but it's nice to go in with an idea of what to expect.
Lansirill wrote: What kind of bargain was the first KS? A lot of the pictures I've seen in this thread have gotten be interested in their work so I'll definitely check their KS out when it launches, but it's nice to go in with an idea of what to expect.
Most items were about 30% off. Some a bit more, others a bit less.
Some startersets were pretty sweet since you got a couple of extra miniatures "for free".
The next Darklands Kickstarter will definitely begin at some point in September. We're not exactly sure of the date, but it will be earlier in September rather than later. This Kickstarter will of course begin while the Gorgonares are still being sent from this one, and there'll be quite a few items not sculpted or sent until after the Kickstarter II is finished. We apologise for this overlap, but we're just bursting to get more things out to you and progress the kindreds, especially those that haven't been seen much yet, not least get the full rules out there!
It has to be said, too, that the quicker we start this next Kickstarter, the quicker we can book sculptors in 2014...
Now, mid-September is only six weeks away! Thus, we think now's the time to get you all excited and stuff, and so... we're going to reveal a few things, including a concept!
I've yet to see it be a good idea for a second campaign to be made while the first has yet to deliver... except perhaps with Zombicide 2.
How much will still be undelivered in 6 week's time?
The snake men are slated to ship in September, so they should be out while the second is still running. That leaves some of the last stretch goals, the big monsters. We've seen the raven giant, the hydra is taking shape, but there's a few more to go, notable the big dragon. Those were supposed to go out in November/December. So, maybe about 10-15% of the total sculpts? They have a good point about needing to book sculptors for 2014 before they get comitted to other projects. No offense to the banebeast sculptors, but the stuff we've seen frm this kickstarter is amazing, so if that's what it takes to keep the same level of quality, I'm ok with them running the second while a few pieces of my orders are outstanding. It would be one thing if I were due pieces that were running late, but they've been on target, give or take a month or so.
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Lansirill wrote: What kind of bargain was the first KS? A lot of the pictures I've seen in this thread have gotten be interested in their work so I'll definitely check their KS out when it launches, but it's nice to go in with an idea of what to expect.
Individual figures were approximately 30-35% off. Starters were like 60 - 70% off at the end with all the bonus figures.
Great to see the possibility of a concept art book, usually the only reason I ever buy a collector's edition of anything (and usually the game sucks but the book delivers, though in this case Mierce delivers quality miniatures as well so it's win all round).
The Darklands KS is the ONLY Kickstarter i have backed thus far (and i have backed a few) where i am 100% happy with what has been delivered and it has arrived within the scheduled time period. The models are fantastic and i am totally happy throwing more money into their coffers.
That said i am not sure if ill be backing the second kickstarter as i am about to bankrupt myself taking advantage of their reopened kickstarter section. Cheap(er)resin sexiness FTW!!
Alph, they said in the most recent update that they hope to have a PDF of the QuickStart rules ready in about 2 weeks. If you didn't back, let me know and I'll put them on drop box when they send me to us.
yxalitis wrote: I'm interested in buying some of the last-announced stretch goal minis, particularly: Jowan of Carn Dhu, Hound-Master with three Drune-Hounds Druc, Meat-Hulk
BUT:
Has anyone seen any concept art for the last two?
As far as I can tell, they are the only minis to have no artwork, progress shots, or any indication at all what they will look like.
Thanks!
Jowan of Car Dhu concept to be sculpted by Stephane Simon
Druc, Meat Hulk concept (don't know who's scheduled for this one), meant to be a similar size to the blood maw mini
no new playtest videos, but yesterdays update had this is
"QuickStarter Rules
We are happy to say, these are almost complete. We've finally decided what to leave out; you must understand, we realised early on that we had to test the game in as full a form as possible before stripping it back, and this is what's been taking time.
Thus, it's very likely that the rules will be finalised by Friday, off to the graphic designer at the same time, then off to the printers in August. As soon as we have a copy to show you via PDF, we'll do so - along with profiles of course."
so I guess backers should be able to see this soon
(and it's good to know they built a 'full' ruleset before cutting it back to the quickstart version, rather than putting together a simple rule set and 'complexifying' it later as that never seems to work well)
I know a lot of people were not so sure about Mierce after Maelstrom fell apart, but they really did come through for this kickstarter. And some of the models I got are easily the best I have ever had. I think the second kickstarter should also be damn good.
Still to put together my Krull miniature. Phew, that's going to be a challenge!
Fenriswulf wrote: I know a lot of people were not so sure about Mierce after Maelstrom fell apart, but they really did come through for this kickstarter. And some of the models I got are easily the best I have ever had. I think the second kickstarter should also be damn good.
Still to put together my Krull miniature. Phew, that's going to be a challenge!
Fenriswulf wrote: I know a lot of people were not so sure about Mierce after Maelstrom fell apart, but they really did come through for this kickstarter. And some of the models I got are easily the best I have ever had. I think the second kickstarter should also be damn good.
Still to put together my Krull miniature. Phew, that's going to be a challenge!
Assembling him is pretty straight forward.
PAINTING him is an whole other matter!
this... 100 TIMES THIS!!!
The Chimera is even worse... on both counts... so many pokey bits.
Another 100% A+ for Mierce. I haven't gotten a single figure from them where I'm disappointed... they all range from "excellent" to "unbelievably insanely fantastic."
Another 100% A+ for Mierce. I haven't gotten a single figure from them where I'm disappointed... they all range from "excellent" to "unbelievably insanely fantastic."
yxalitis wrote: I'm interested in buying some of the last-announced stretch goal minis, particularly:
Jowan of Carn Dhu, Hound-Master with three Drune-Hounds
Druc, Meat-Hulk
BUT:
Has anyone seen any concept art for the last two?
As far as I can tell, they are the only minis to have no artwork, progress shots, or any indication at all what they will look like.
Thanks!
Druc, Meat Hulk concept (don't know who's scheduled for this one), meant to be a similar size to the blood maw mini
Ordered!
The clincher, that hidden reply deep in the comments "He'll be about Blood-Maw sized"
I've received about half of my order so far. And my god! Everything looks amazing. Mierce has really done a great job on these figures. Don't care that there's even a game for them, I just love the figures, and I'm sure will buy more in the next kickstarter.
And another update! Roberto's moving fast with finishing the Hydra
Ygandr and a Tease
A nice little update for you all today, showing more WIPs of Ygandr and also a little concept art tease...
Ygandr
As promised, here's more WIPs of Ygandr, Hydra of Khthon. Sculpted by Roberto Chaudon of course, who believes it will be finished next week - which is nice!
Those two circles in the last image represent the 120mm base - so as you can see, he's going to be absolutely huge.
If you haven't already ordered him, we humbly suggest you do so!
Kickstarter II Tease
So here's another concept art tease for you all, thanks to some bribery by Mr Lawson. However, as you've already had a full concept this week, you'll only get a bit of a one...
I'll let you all work out who carries the shield...!
Until next time, tara!
My current guess is that shield is a Scutum - a Roman shield. This is one of the first concepts for the upcoming Byzantii faction - Dark Age romans with a daemonic edge.
Just caved and ordered a pair of Carrowek on-foot, and I have a horrible suspicion that this new KS is going to consume what's left of my hobby budget for the year - I'm a sucker for alt-history Romans, even moreso if they chose the faction name for a reason and have a Byzantine twist.
Yodhrin wrote: Just caved and ordered a pair of Carrowek on-foot, and I have a horrible suspicion that this new KS is going to consume what's left of my hobby budget for the year - I'm a sucker for alt-history Romans, even moreso if they chose the faction name for a reason and have a Byzantine twist.
Well, you can be certain they'll be Roman's of some sort. The current rumours I have on them include:
- Human legionaries
- Demilegionaries – half Roman and half daemon
- War Engines and War Machines - not sure what though
Yodhrin wrote: Just caved and ordered a pair of Carrowek on-foot, and I have a horrible suspicion that this new KS is going to consume what's left of my hobby budget for the year - I'm a sucker for alt-history Romans, even moreso if they chose the faction name for a reason and have a Byzantine twist.
Well, you can be certain they'll be Roman's of some sort. The current rumours I have on them include:
- Human legionaries
- Demilegionaries – half Roman and half daemon
- War Engines and War Machines - not sure what though
I fear these are going to cost me a fair amount in KS2
Today we have work in progress images of Ygandr, Hydra of Khthon and Iimithi, Gorgonar Warrior. Both are almost complete and we're very excited to be getting our hands on them!
Addtionally, we have a little snippet about the Kickstarter category on our website, the rules and the Trolls.
Enjoy!
Ygandr, Hydra of Khthon
Ygandr is nearing completion, as you can see. We genuinely believe this "miniature" is bloody fantastic, Roberto Chaudon's finest work for us so far, perhaps;
Next up for Roberto is the dragon, Angrislaug...
Iimithi
Not only, but also: Stéphane Simon is still beavering away on the last Gorgonar warrior from the unit, Iimithi, and as you can see, he's nearing completion too!
Stéphane will be sculpting Jowan of Carn Dhu and his three Drune-Hounds next, although that won't be until at least September...
QuickStarter Rules
...are almost complete. A few snags have been hit thanks to various things, but they're being proof-read shortly and will go to the graphic designer next week. As always, apologies for the delay but I refuse to rush them!
The Hydra at only £40 is a must buy, it is stunning and huge. If this does not double in price at retail I will be amazed....so glad mines already ordered!
How can we order these things? For example, on the Mierce Miniatures website, when I do a search for "Druc", I cannot pre-order it - the website simply throws up an error message saying that it is a "restricted item".
gohkm wrote: How can we order these things? For example, on the Mierce Miniatures website, when I do a search for "Druc", I cannot pre-order it - the website simply throws up an error message saying that it is a "restricted item".
No, you cannot buy or pre order any KS mini until it goes on sale at full price and official release date, unless you're a KS backer, which when logged in gives you access to the pre release models and the KS prices.
I got in touch with them because I was so enthused with some of their sculpts, merely to ask if there was a mailing list I could subscribe to so I knew when they were officially on sale. Very obligingly the chap said to send my account details once I'd registered on the site, and he would upgrade me so I could access the KS section as if I had pledged.
I've subsequently dropped almost £100 on stuff, and plan to spend more, so it looks like it was a good idea on his part!
I would suggest you get in touch and ask if they could do similar. We're a lot further out from the KS now, and they don't really have any obligation to do so, but its bad business to say no to money when its offered, and it can't hurt to ask!
On a separate note, anyone got any ideas how I could include the hydra in a daemons army to justify the purchase?!
Horse are hard, never realised until I started on Carrowek on Drune Horse, and I've gone for black. Coming on ok, but makes me appreciate the skill in this paint job.
Edit: except he appears to have forgotten its eye!
Last Chance for Trolls... and more WIPs!
Update #51 · Aug 9, 2013 · 7 comments
Yes, you read that right - the Troll Starter Sets are going to start shipping properly next week (which means the Brutes and Srónax are finally sent this week or early next).
This means that we're locking the Norse section of the Kickstarter category on our website on Monday, so if you want / need / fancy any Troll stuff you've only got until then to order them - so you'd best get your skates on!
Angelcynn and Gorgonares will still be available until they begin to ship, of course. That'll be September for both I'm afraid.
Painted Penda!
Let's start with some eye-sweets! As shown on the comments section, here's a few shots of Penda the Bloody-Handed both on foot and mounted. He's been superbly painted by Sébastien Picque, as you can see!
We do sincerely hope that you guys are inspired by Séb's paint job and not depressed by it - remember, whilst most of us can only marvel at Séb's talent, our miniatures are designed to be painted. So have a go yourself and damn the consequences!
Ygandr, Hydra of Khthon
Here's the final version of Ygandr for you all. We think Roberto Chaudon has created an amazing miniature from Stefan Kopinski's concept, and we hope you all agree too! He's now safely in our possession and thus we'll soon have an assembled Ygandr to drool over here at Mierce Towers.
Hedroc of Carn Maen
Stéphane Simon's already begun work on the next Ysian miniature for us, and that's Hedroc of Carn Maen! This is a very, very early WIP of course, but it shows that he's under way.
The QuickStarter Rules are Almost Here!!
Yes indeed... I'm just fine-tuning and proof-reading the QuickStarter rules, and this means that you will all be able to download a PDF version next week! (I say "version" because no doubt the graphic designer will go to town somewhat for the printed rules).
PLEASE bear with me though - if real life intrudes next week, as it sometimes does, there may be some delays. Chief among my frustrations could be formatting the profiles and muster rules, but by hook or by crook you'll have the rules, if not all the profiles, by Monday the 19th.
I'm so excited for you all to see the rules - we're all really happy with them here and we hope you like them too!
Mierce Towers?
Anyway - nice to see that the rules are almost ready!
Those miniatures are so damn cool. Also I am very stoked that Hedroc is being done by Stephane. Everything I have received from Mierce done by him, and even the miniatures I bought from him directly have been absolutely superb. I think he is also going to do Jowan as well, which will be fantastic.
I think all I am waiting on is Jowan, Hedroc and Angrislaug (the Dragon), and I am done, but with what I have received thus far I couldn't be happier.
Just added the Mierce infantry starter and Troll starter while they had opened everything back up again.
I managed to restrain myself to the best "deals" and not get any individual models, although the dragon is still available...
Edit: I'm assuming that the mounted "Penda with wolf helm" that was limited to the KS will be wearing the same helm the foot version is wearing?
plastictrees wrote: Edit: I'm assuming that the mounted "Penda with wolf helm" that was limited to the KS will be wearing the same helm the foot version is wearing?
plastictrees wrote: It's the original, physical sculpt. I don't think Mierce has produced any sculpts from CG renders but I could be wrong.
And good for them. I've yet to see a digital sculpt that, once printed and cast up, can equal the detail and character of something hand-sculpted with the skill of someone like Stephane.
well... just take a look art some of the kingdom of death miniatures. a large portion of them are pc sculptures and the real miniatures are bloody gorgeous.
RoninXiC wrote: well... just take a look art some of the kingdom of death miniatures. a large portion of them are pc sculptures and the real miniatures are bloody gorgeous.
I really love the kingdom death sculpts, but they are highly stylized. When shooting for realism, or what passes for 28mm realism, given that you need to shift some proportions to make it look good on a table, digital renders tend to lag behind traditional sculpting. It works well for some things (vehicles in particular), but things like cloth, scales, muscles, etc tend to have weaker details. The sculptor KNOWS how it will look on the table and how it has to go together. The model's physics are taken more into consideration.
RoninXiC wrote: well... just take a look art some of the kingdom of death miniatures. a large portion of them are pc sculptures and the real miniatures are bloody gorgeous.
I really love the kingdom death sculpts, but they are highly stylized. When shooting for realism, or what passes for 28mm realism, given that you need to shift some proportions to make it look good on a table, digital renders tend to lag behind traditional sculpting. It works well for some things (vehicles in particular), but things like cloth, scales, muscles, etc tend to have weaker details. The sculptor KNOWS how it will look on the table and how it has to go together. The model's physics are taken more into consideration.
You are talking entirely of the limitations of the SCULPTOR and not the medium. If the sculptor has a good eye for what will look good in 28mm (or whatever tabletop scale they are working at), and the skills/practice necessary, then the figures they output will look just as good as hand sculpted ones. Whether organic, inorganic, or some combination thereof.
The Resistance Fighters were all modeled via computer and printed out. Just as good as his hand sculpted figures. And at least as good as any other hand sculpted figures out there (and better than allot of them).
Having said that, it seems easier for most sculptors to do inorganic surfaces on a computer, but organic surfaces are certainly just as doable. It just takes practice.
Saying that renders cannot match sclupts is like saying Avatar (the movie) looks bad.
They used nothing but 3d renders and give or take a few years and the 3d printing will be able to match the renders 100%
RoninXiC wrote: Saying that renders cannot match sclupts is like saying Avatar (the movie) looks bad.
They used nothing but 3d renders and give or take a few years and the 3d printing will be able to match the renders 100%
I also get annoyed with practical effects purists who always crap on CGI (Avatar does look awesome, no doubt), so suppose I should be more open.
The examples Taarnak offered are nice enough, but nothing particularly amazing IMO. I havent been blown away by anything I've seen rendered. Or at least known it was rendered. Who knows, maybe I have and just not known it was. /shrug. Anyone got any mind blowing rendered figs?
That hydra is astounding! My only criticisim is that, the lower front portion of the main body and the tail does seem to be less detailed... I'm not sure how that should be painted:
Hard to see where the scales end and the flexible fleshy part begins / there's no clear dividing line. This is in contrast to the back portion of the main body, which mostly looks great:
At the same time, I'm realizing that most hydra pics I've seen have the body blurred or whatnot, as it really is hard to make all those large head stalks fit onto something that makes sense and looks like it could move. I just wish I could more clearly see what he was going for with the body where it is no longer scaled, and the latter portions of the two separate tail pieces in front where they make a similar transition. At a glance, it just looks like he stopped sculpting scales, but I know that's not the case.
I want to see it in-person but will be very tempted to get it! Almost asked someone to add it onto their pledge for me , since it seems they re-opened things... but going to wait and see what it looks like painted / with a scale shot / etc, or maybe even in-person, since it's a decent chunk of change.
RiTides wrote: That hydra is astounding! My only criticisim is that, the lower front portion of the main body and the tail does seem to be less detailed... I'm not sure how that should be painted:
Hard to see where the scales end and the flexible fleshy part begins / there's no clear dividing line. This is in contrast to the back portion of the main body, which mostly looks great:
At the same time, I'm realizing that most hydra pics I've seen have the body blurred or whatnot, as it really is hard to make all those large head stalks fit onto something that makes sense and looks like it could move. I just wish I could more clearly see what he was going for with the body where it is no longer scaled, and the latter portions of the two separate tail pieces in front where they make a similar transition. At a glance, it just looks like he stopped sculpting scales, but I know that's not the case.
I want to see it in-person but will be very tempted to get it! Almost asked someone to add it onto their pledge for me , since it seems they re-opened things... but going to wait and see what it looks like painted / with a scale shot / etc, or maybe even in-person, since it's a decent chunk of change.
By the time someone has a painted version, the option to buy for KS price will have long since expired.
As to your criticisms of the model, well, what can I say?
The point at which flesh becomes scale is up to the painter, I will be doing a gradual blend fro whatever colour I choose for the scales to whatever colour I choose for the flesh, so there will be no distinct line, and will look better as a result.
Like the tail on my (poorly photographed) Chimaera which goes from ruddy brown to jet black at the tip:
I know it'll cost more later, that's why I'm torn, after all . And the base is growing on me the more I look at it.
Like I said, I really love the model, just wasn't sure how I'd deal with that section when painting. I don't think a chimera is a direct comparison, because you're transitioning from fur to scales! (i.e. it's even harder to handle). This would be easier, hopefully- a transition from a similar colored underside/flesh to scales.
We got the PDF first draft of the quickstart rules
(we've been asked not to post this version so I won't, BUT once the last couple of sections are finalised we will be able to pass them on to any who are interested)
Got my second delivery from the KS, Troll starter + assorted other bits and pieces
all looking very good at first glance so a big thanks to Mierce
And Mierce have posted in the KS comments that a bunch of new releases for the general public to pre-order (release 7th Sept) should go live on the Mierce website (http://www.mierce-miniatures.com/)today
silent25 wrote: WTF is up with Torku? Does he have boob trophies hanging from it's neck? I think Mierce is taking ideas from Kingdom Death. The wrong ideas........
They are indeed, but part of the creature rather than trophies,
It's a very, very messed up female 'thing' created by the Ysian fleshsmiths (looking at it from behind it's very NSFW and clearly female)
that said if you don't want the breasts that part of the kit does not need to be added, there's more bone/rib detail as there is on the back on the chest (and you'll need a dab of putty for the rear)
when I put mine together today I immediately thought of
silent25 wrote: WTF is up with Torku? Does he have boob trophies hanging from it's neck? I think Mierce is taking ideas from Kingdom Death. The wrong ideas........
My least fave of the minis I ordered.
This is a "bone aberant" but had flesh everywhere, the vagina was just stupid, i sanded and filled mine with green stuff, not a prude by any means, it simply didn't fit the theme of the mini. Same with the hair, I have removed that to leave a pure bony skull...as befitting a bone creature.
Compared to the AMAZING Aradae Mawr, Griminn, etc, this one is just "OK"
Automatically Appended Next Post: I just oft a 404 on the Mierce web page, and laughed at the error message:
404 Error.
Page could not be found.
(It's quite possible Blood-Maw ate it.)
I got Griminn and Hrudinn a few weeks back as counts as LoC and Tz DP.
Awesome minis, I needed a big LoC, as Krull is my BT, Kromlech's Rotten Butcher as a GUO and the FWKoS are all waay too big for the standard model to work in my collection (despite being my fav GWGD model)
Fits the bill nicely, pleased now the plebs are able to get him too!
azreal13 wrote: I got Griminn and Hrudinn a few weeks back as counts as LoC and Tz DP.
Awesome minis, I needed a big LoC, as Krull is my BT, Kromlech's Rotten Butcher as a GUO and the FWKoS are all waay too big for the standard model to work in my collection (despite being my fav GWGD model)
Fits the bill nicely, pleased now the plebs are able to get him too!
Wow, for a non-gaming mini painter, your post is so full of esoteric acronyms it makes no sense at all!
Stéphane Simon's cracking on with his latest masterpiece - Hedroc of Carn Maen, Battle-Drune with a blimmin' nasty chain weapon! He'll be done shortly of course - certainly in September - and he'll be shipped as and when.
Angrislaug, Draiggoch of Eryri
...and finally, what you've all been waiting for!
Roberto Chaudon's work on our dragon for the Brythoniaid is already becoming a masterpiece, even if it's still amazingly early in its creation. We don't know how Roberto does it, but he always makes those eyes mean and moody!
Enough words: here's some images...
Finally, check out how large he's shaping up to be. That's a 120mm round base and that's our Typhaggahw... (wings graphically mocked up of course).
...and Finally
Tim's been restraining me for a few weeks now but I think it's about time another snippet was shown of our next Kickstarter. After all, it can only generate excitement... can't it?
Argh...I'm assuming that's norse infantry? Their next KS is going to ruin me.
I wish they'd stop unlocking the KS, costs me $200 every damn time...
Anyone looked over the rules yet? I wasn't blown away by the early gameplay video, the mechanics seemed old fashioned in a way that I can't fully articulate.
and as promised Mierce have said it's OK to post a link to the quickstarter rules for the Darklands game
now these are quickstarter rules so are missing some of the more complex stuff (eg psychology, scouting, more comples terrain rule, weather, scenarios etc)
these are a WIP and may change as the KS backers (and anybody else who wants to tests them out)
if you fancy contributing to fine tuning the rule set this is what they've asked (NOTE Mierce are NOT going to do any major changes at this point)
"Ideally, if you're up for it, I'd like to know:
1) How you think it reads .
2) Whether it's easily understandable (this goes especially to non-native English speakers).
3) Whether there's any glaring omissions or errors.
4) Whether there's anything you'd like to see (bearing in mind these are QuickStarter rules and thus... well, basic).
5) Where you think an example or a graphic would help - although, again, page count will be limited to 72 or 76 pages, and there's not much room left!
Additionally, by all means proof-read. If I've spelled something incorrectly, or the grammar doesn't work, or you just don't understand a particular paragraph, let me know."
Anyone looked over the rules yet? I wasn't blown away by the early gameplay video, the mechanics seemed old fashioned in a way that I can't fully articulate.
I've done a bit of looking over the rules and I think they show promise
They've not gone for a stunningly simple system as seems quite fashionable nowadays
but the rules will have been written as a more complex set to start off with
which easily beats a simple rule set with a few years of 'more and more new rules for more and more new units'
but I really need to try rough out a simple game or two as I suck at learning rules by just reading them
azreal13 wrote: I got Griminn and Hrudinn a few weeks back as counts as LoC and Tz DP.
Awesome minis, I needed a big LoC, as Krull is my BT, Kromlech's Rotten Butcher as a GUO and the FWKoS are all waay too big for the standard model to work in my collection (despite being my fav GWGD model)
Fits the bill nicely, pleased now the plebs are able to get him too!
Wow, for a non-gaming mini painter, your post is so full of esoteric acronyms it makes no sense at all!
Just hover over anything in yellow and all becomes clear!
Loving the looks of the dragon, and I was always a sucker for a dragon, but he suffers from hydra syndrome, in that even on at a Kickstarter price on a limited budget I really need a use for it, and I just don't have one. I may crumble, but with the SM release around the corner, I prob won't have the funds...
I'm loving all this stuff. Too bad I'm in the middle of transitioning permanently back to Oz, so I won't be picking any of this stuff up any time soon.
Man I can't wait to get Angrislaug, he is going to be a beast!
Once again, this was probably the best sculpted kickstarter I have gone out on. The next one is likely to ruin me.
Also note: Grimmin and Hrudinn, though they look similar in size in the photo's above are completely different size wise. Grimmin is on about a 50mm base, and Hrudinn is bigger than a giant. Possibly as big as a Forgeworld Bloodthirster, I am not sure. He is huge.
Fenriswulf wrote: Man I can't wait to get Angrislaug, he is going to be a beast!
Once again, this was probably the best sculpted kickstarter I have gone out on. The next one is likely to ruin me.
Also note: Grimmin and Hrudinn, though they look similar in size in the photo's above are completely different size wise. Grimmin is on about a 50mm base, and Hrudinn is bigger than a giant. Possibly as big as a Forgeworld Bloodthirster, I am not sure. He is huge.
This piccie should help (cheers to AndyP) - yes that is a 30mm model at the front:
Some of this stuff is just too big - and it will limit its 'counts as' ability.
But then, kudos for them for just making awesome looking miniatures for... their own game!
silent25 wrote: WTF is up with Torku? Does he have boob trophies hanging from it's neck? I think Mierce is taking ideas from Kingdom Death. The wrong ideas........
Its one of the pieces I'm most looking forward to. I'm planning on using it as a demonic servant of Lamashtu, the corrupted fertility goddess in my Pathfinder game.
The dragon is just going to be stupid awesome. So glad I picked that up. Just need to swing the hydra as well.
I forgot how big the guy on the left was. Wonder if he'll still be fine as a Dragon Ogre Shaggoth, or perhaps as Kolec.
The rest of the stuff I got has all been excellent. I have so many big miniatures I am not wholly sure what to do with them all. Oh wait, Warriors of Chaos army, that's right.
silent25 wrote: WTF is up with Torku? Does he have boob trophies hanging from it's neck? I think Mierce is taking ideas from Kingdom Death. The wrong ideas........
My least fave of the minis I ordered.
This is a "bone aberant" but had flesh everywhere, the vagina was just stupid, i sanded and filled mine with green stuff, not a prude by any means, it simply didn't fit the theme of the mini. Same with the hair, I have removed that to leave a pure bony skull...as befitting a bone creature.
Compared to the AMAZING Aradae Mawr, Griminn, etc, this one is just "OK"
Bummer, I kind of liked the zoomed out pic of it!
Any chance of a pic of your modified version? Doesn't sound too hard and I might try my hand at it if the model would work for a conversion I have in mind...
silent25 wrote: WTF is up with Torku? Does he have boob trophies hanging from it's neck? I think Mierce is taking ideas from Kingdom Death. The wrong ideas........
My least fave of the minis I ordered.
This is a "bone aberant" but had flesh everywhere, the vagina was just stupid, i sanded and filled mine with green stuff, not a prude by any means, it simply didn't fit the theme of the mini. Same with the hair, I have removed that to leave a pure bony skull...as befitting a bone creature.
Compared to the AMAZING Aradae Mawr, Griminn, etc, this one is just "OK"
Bummer, I kind of liked the zoomed out pic of it!
Any chance of a pic of your modified version? Doesn't sound too hard and I might try my hand at it if the model would work for a conversion I have in mind...
Also, what size base is it on?
Torku fills a 100mm base
removing the vagina would be a trivial modelling job (I'll PM you a picture of what she looks like from behind as she comes out of the mould so you can make up your own mind)
Anyone who has seen the mini's posted here really should get in on the next kickstarter. People had reservations at the beginning, but I have none now. They are hands down some of the best miniatures I have ever bought. Easily the best kickstarter I have backed in terms of quality. Really really excellent stuff all the way round.
Going to have to sort my own Krull out soon. Such an awesome beast.
Fenriswulf wrote: Anyone who has seen the mini's posted here really should get in on the next kickstarter. People had reservations at the beginning, but I have none now. They are hands down some of the best miniatures I have ever bought. Easily the best kickstarter I have backed in terms of quality. Really really excellent stuff all the way round.
Going to have to sort my own Krull out soon. Such an awesome beast.
Agreed, and I still have the BIG beasties to come.
so I must have missed out, is there a NEW Kickstarter? or are thiese still models from the last one or is there a new kickstarter?
The one complaint I have is that on their website, it is very difficult to decifer how big or small the models are scalewise.
They used to have an outline with measurements but Ive bought several models from them and have been suprised at the actual size (smaller or bigger than expected) everytime.
buckero0 wrote: so I must have missed out, is there a NEW Kickstarter? or are thiese still models from the last one or is there a new kickstarter?
The one complaint I have is that on their website, it is very difficult to decifer how big or small the models are scalewise.
They used to have an outline with measurements but Ive bought several models from them and have been suprised at the actual size (smaller or bigger than expected) everytime.
Alpharius wrote: Some of this stuff is just too big - and it will limit its 'counts as' ability.
But then, kudos for them for just making awesome looking miniatures for... their own game!
there is no such things as miniatures being too big. remember; it's all scale. I'd love a to scale or near to scale D&D Tiamat for example, even if it was like 4 ft tall
I hope i can get an extra set of wings for the bird man. Want to convert him to Pazuzu (D&D) but paz has 4 wings (2 sets of 2)...so not sure how much work i'll need to do to the back to get them to fit, or if i can bend the wings (being resin). May need to cut em and resculpt a curve into them....
Also, for the hydra, is it just me, or does it appear to have a non even/non continuous join from the heads to the necks? like; not a gradual drop in scales... Will need to resculpt that area i think to make it look better...
Alpharius wrote: Some of this stuff is just too big - and it will limit its 'counts as' ability.
But then, kudos for them for just making awesome looking miniatures for... their own game!
there is no such things as miniatures being too big. remember; it's all scale. I'd love a to scale or near to scale D&D Tiamat for example, even if it was like 4 ft tall
I disagree- I owned Shaaroc, and it's not even in the top 5 tallest silhouettes in that pic (it's one of the ones in the group third from the left, with a raised axe). I felt the model was just too big... and it was hard to get a sense of scale when ordering it. They really need to get a standard 28mm model or the like in all of their pics, as Forgeworld sometimes does with the running man.
Alpharius wrote: Some of this stuff is just too big - and it will limit its 'counts as' ability.
But then, kudos for them for just making awesome looking miniatures for... their own game!
there is no such things as miniatures being too big. remember; it's all scale. I'd love a to scale or near to scale D&D Tiamat for example, even if it was like 4 ft tall
Actually, there is such a thing. Remember, it is all relative!
Alpharius wrote: Some of this stuff is just too big - and it will limit its 'counts as' ability.
But then, kudos for them for just making awesome looking miniatures for... their own game!
there is no such things as miniatures being too big. remember; it's all scale. I'd love a to scale or near to scale D&D Tiamat for example, even if it was like 4 ft tall
I hope i can get an extra set of wings for the bird man. Want to convert him to Pazuzu (D&D) but paz has 4 wings (2 sets of 2)...so not sure how much work i'll need to do to the back to get them to fit, or if i can bend the wings (being resin). May need to cut em and resculpt a curve into them....
Also, for the hydra, is it just me, or does it appear to have a non even/non continuous join from the heads to the necks? like; not a gradual drop in scales... Will need to resculpt that area i think to make it look better...
Sanjay
They have a bits service, if you search for Hrudinn (assuming you mean him by bird man) you should find a list of components as well as the kit itself.
I have the kit itself, and as yet unassembled, so if you want pics of the components to see how they fit, PM me.
some were concepted during the KS and are still being sculpted
I'm waiting for the finished sculpts of all of them before I decide which one I'm using as the basis of a conversion I'm planning.
I also preordered Leofwen the other day too, purely on the concept art, hot girl on a giant stag, with their track record, what could possibly go wrong?!
Does feel we are overdue for some WIP shots of whatever is ongoing ATM.
i have decided on an army concept to use the khthones with plastic gamezone dark elves. dark elves ordered, just gotta wait for next paycheck for the khthones
Firstly, Hedroc of Carn Maen is now sculpted, finished by Stéphane Simon this week! However, it will be a few weeks before he'll be cast up and sent out because Tim is on holiday. So bear with us ;o)
Brynhild Gunnblindi
A lovely surprise for us the other day was Juan Navarro Pérez' work on Brynhild Gunnblindi! She is going to look amazing, we think, but don't just take our word for it... have a look below.
Next week should see some WIPs of Angrislaug from Roberto Chaudon and Vókkinak, the Krokodar standard bearer from Benoît Cosse!
The Next Kickstarter
The next Kickstarter project from us here at Mierce Miniatures will begin on or around the 16th of September 2013.
It will focus on the full Darklands rules and, of course, will enable you to help our range grow. We will be hoping to create new miniatures for the Angelcynn, Brythoniaid, Fomoraic, Khthones, Norse and Ysians as well as fill out the Albainn and the Byzantii into ones that could compete with the rest!
We do sincerely hope you guys will take part! To that end, here's another snippet of what could be produced:
Mounted Axe Drunes. Welp, that's me into the kickstarter. I only have a few remaining mini's to get, but damn am I ever excited about what could be coming down the pipe.
So what's the likely contents of the next kickstarter, does anyone know? I guess since, only quick start rules were available in this one, then a full on, art and fluff filled book will be there somewhere? Anything else? Do you think there'll be new factions or just expansions on these ones? Maybe even have a few of the same starters and minis available? I'd be pretty happy if they just ran this one again with the nice big hardback book. Annoyed that I missed this one, the miniatures really are some of the nicest I've ever seen. So, any word on the content?
Brunhild looks amazing. Can't wait for KS #2. Hoping for some Eirann units.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
alanmckenzie wrote: So what's the likely contents of the next kickstarter, does anyone know? I guess since, only quick start rules were available in this one, then a full on, art and fluff filled book will be there somewhere? Anything else? Do you think there'll be new factions or just expansions on these ones? Maybe even have a few of the same starters and minis available? I'd be pretty happy if they just ran this one again with the nice big hardback book. Annoyed that I missed this one, the miniatures really are some of the nicest I've ever seen. So, any word on the content?
Alan
They just put out an update that said the next one Is for full rules, expanded units for existing lines, and hopefully fleshing out of the Albainn and Byzantii. I'm personally hoping they sneak some Atlantes or Eirainn in there too.
Word is none of the existing minis will appear in KS2
what is going to be in is more stuff to fill out the factions
(I'd thought the full rulebook would be there too but with it being so close to the QS release I'm not so certain, as it seems not enough time for backers to play enough to make any nessesary changes)
The full rulebook will be the main focus of this Kickstarter; you'd be looking at well into 2014 for its completion, so there's plenty of time to play.
Remember, I've stripped back the full rules for the QuickStarter, so a lot of it is already there.
The full rulebook will be the main focus of this Kickstarter; you'd be looking at well into 2014 for its completion, so there's plenty of time to play.
Remember, I've stripped back the full rules for the QuickStarter, so a lot of it is already there.
Hope you guys enjoy the next Kickstarter.
Cheers
Cool, But still with beginner friendly faction starters for those of us who have missed this first kickstarter?
I will buy the occasional mini because I really like the sculpts. I think the frankly ridiculously and unpronoucable names given to each miniature (which at one point seemed to be getting more and more unpronounceable) will keep me well away from wanting to play this game.
fullheadofhair wrote: I will buy the occasional mini because I really like the sculpts. I think the frankly ridiculously and unpronoucable names given to each miniature (which at one point seemed to be getting more and more unpronounceable) will keep me well away from wanting to play this game.
Have a look at the rules, the only named characters as a few generals and most of the other names have been done away with and you have more generic terms.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Sorry I meant the musters rather than the rules.
Aye, they're taking the Bryan Ansell approach and naming every mini. Most of the time, the minis won't be named like that in game. The names and flavour text add to the richness. Don't be put off playing the game because it uses pidgin welsh or pidgin Gaelic!
They stated that the next kickstarter will forgoe starter sets like the last one but have battle hosts of 500, 1000, and 2500 gold (points value). Although those will not be the main focus of the kickstarter.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that they won't be offering existing sculpts in KS II, they will all be new sculpts, with a focus on the as yet un-fleshed-out factions
They said that they might offer existing miniatures where they make sense; as part of a unit being fleshed out for instance. The example they gave was the alligator men I believe.
Horrified at how much I'm going to spend on this...
I'd think there's a good possibility that these will be expanded to a full unit of 5. Oh, and not forgetting that there's also the Hydrar and Líska - Hydra men and Basilisk men. Here's a concept for one of the Basilisk men:
grefven wrote: Awesome. A bit wierd to see a dragon with two legs and two arms, though. Usually they are only legs. It will take some getting used to, I guess.
GW's Dragons have had more arm like front limbs for many years, their whole range off 'S' shaped dragons have been like this. Imirik, Egrimm etc...
I absolutely love the detail on these miniatures(if you can call them that)
The names aside, some of these are just gloriously sculpted...that being said, something about them seems off to me, there are aesthetic choices that seem to differ from what one would expect to see, and not necessarily in a good way. The arms on the dragon for example, the proportions just seem off to me on what would have otherwise been the exact dragon mini I've been looking to buy and paint
I know this is slightly off topic, but by definition Dragons have two arms, two legs and two wings.
Ones without arms, only with two wings and two legs are Wyverns. That was something that really bugged me in the Harry Potter movies when they made the Dragons into Wyverns.
Ones with two arms and two legs but no wings are Drakes (Or Eastern Dragons)
Back on topic those dragons, along with that Hydra a few pages back are gorgeous, Mierce really do make the most gorgeous models, still holding out for a Giant Kitsune, a Giant Bird (Either Vulture or Phoenix) and some more Dinosaur kinda creatures (my Lizardmen really need a giant Sauropod creature). I'd also be partial to a giant turtle, though I don't know how you'd make that work.
But enough wishlisting, will definitely buy that dragon at some point after it's release, that Hydra too
Murdock129 wrote: I know this is slightly off topic, but by definition Dragons have two arms, two legs and two wings.
Ones without arms, only with two wings and two legs are Wyverns. That was something that really bugged me in the Harry Potter movies when they made the Dragons into Wyverns.
Ones with two arms and two legs but no wings are Drakes (Or Eastern Dragons)
Back on topic those dragons, along with that Hydra a few pages back are gorgeous, Mierce really do make the most gorgeous models, still holding out for a Giant Kitsune, a Giant Bird (Either Vulture or Phoenix) and some more Dinosaur kinda creatures (my Lizardmen really need a giant Sauropod creature). I'd also be partial to a giant turtle, though I don't know how you'd make that work.
But enough wishlisting, will definitely buy that dragon at some point after it's release, that Hydra too
Hmm, I agree that dragons should have 6 limbs, and Wyverns 4, but that's just my opinion and preference.
You simply cannot say "by definition" when referring to a mythological animal created in many cultures across the globe over thousands of years.
I''m sure the chinese would disgree on your "definition" of a dragon.
New update and Kickstarter 2 incoming on the 16th! Brace your wallets...
New WIPs, and the Kickstarter Unlock is ending...
We have a nice little update for you today - including more WIPs of Angrislaug and Brynhild as well as the first early WIPs of Vókkinak, the Krokodar roarer - and news of the next Kickstarter...
Darklands: a World of War Kickstarter Progress
We're on course to send all of the Troll starter sets by the 13th of September and at that point the Angelcynn Starter Sets will begin to ship properly. At that time, I will of course remove access to the Angelcynn that haven't been sculpted yet, so if you want any Angles, go get them now! Access to the Angelcynn will be cut off on the 16th of September.
We aim to have the Angelcynn complete by the end of September and the Gorgonares should begin shipping at that point.
We also have a couple of Works in Progress photographs to show you!
Angrislaug, Draiggoch of Eryri
Roberto Chaudon's continuing his superb work on our stunning dragon, Angrislaug, as you can see. Words cannot express how awesome this fella is going to be, so here's some images...
Here's a couple of scale shots, too...
He's going to be huge!!
Brynhild Gunnblindi, Gythja of Hrafnen
Just one more image from Juan Navarro Pérez this week, showing the little ghostly raven!
Vókkinak, Krokodar Roarer
Benoît Cosse has begun work on our Krokodar standard bearer and whilst it's a fairly early WIP shot - the legs and arms are a little small so will be changed - Vókkinak's already got that evil crocodile presence. He's going to be a stunner!
Darklands: First Edition
We can't let an update go by without mentioning the next Kickstarter, provisionally entitled "Darklands: First Edition". It's slated to start on the 16th of September, only ten days away - eeek!!
As mentioned previously, it will focus on the full Darklands rules and, of course, will enable you to help our range and wargame grow. We will be hoping to create new miniatures for the Angelcynn, Brythoniaid, Fomoraic, Khthones, Norse and Ysians as well as fill out the Albainn and the Byzantii into hosts that can compete with the rest!
The Darklands: First Edition project format will be completely different to this one, for many reasons, but chiefly because the main focus should be about the first edition Darklands rules and what you'll immediately need to create a host to play.
As such, there will be no starter sets and the rewards will be completely different, as will the stretch goals and freebies. So ensure you read the following carefully!
Darklands: First Edition reward
The hardback rulebook for Darklands will be available to purchase immediately the project begins, and there will be an "early bird" reward (giving those who purchase early a discount) for the rulebook only. The rulebook will simply depend upon reaching the minimum amount of money we require to fund the project successfully - likely to be £20,000.
Nobles rewards
Four rewards featuring completely new miniatures - all nobles, to command your hosts - will be available immediately the project begins, which will be:
GENERAL -- £30 - a mounted general (except Khthones) for each of the eight kindreds
COMMANDER -- £10 - a commander for each of the eight kindreds
SORCERER -- £10 - a sorcerer (or equivalent) for each of the eight kindreds
MONSTROUS COMMANDER -- £30 - a monstrous commander for each of the eight kindreds
Each of these rewards will ONLY be produced if a certain amount of money is pledged and are, effectively, stretch goals that are unveiled right from the start (and in the above order). We hope to reach their stretch goals fairly quickly, and to that end, we're introducing early bird specials for each of the above, with a couple of pounds off each, and a huge "own them all" reward too.
They are available immediately so that people can choose to purchase them separately from the rulebook.
Hosts rewards
Three rewards will enable backers to purchase entire hosts for each kindred - that will include new nobles from this Kickstarter as well as already available miniatures, packaged into a nice big box with tokens, dice and so forth - will be available immediately the project begins.
These rewards will be packaged to a certain size of host, both to keep things simple and to ensure retailers can get their hands on them, and thus their contents CANNOT be changed.
ENCOUNTER HOST -- £80 - 500 gold
SKIRMISH HOST -- £160 - 1,000 gold
BATTLE HOST -- £400 - 2,500 gold
Some Hosts will only be produced if the units within them are due to be produced; for example, an Albainn host would only be produced if Albainn units are produced. As such, the availability of hosts will be fairly dynamic during the Kickstarter.
Note that no stretch goals depend upon these hosts; they are simply there for those that want things easy! Again, they are available immediately so that people can choose to purchase them separately from the rulebook.
Other Stretch Goals
As mentioned above, Nobles and Hosts rewards are effectively stretch goals in their own right, although we certainly expect the Nobles rewards (and the smaller Hosts rewards) to hit their stretch goals quite quickly in the duration of the project.
Units, Beasts and other things will be available as stretch goals once we reach certain levels. Each kindred will have units and beasts, but they will be unveiled one at a time; producing units and beasts is expensive, and it makes more sense to have eight stretch goals for lesser amounts than one big stretch goal for a large amount.
Freebies
There will be freebies, but they will ONLY be available if a relevant reward has been purchased and, of course, if a stretch goal is reached.
To Re-Iterate...
Here's a quick re-cap on what's been said previously.
Darklands: First Edition will begin around the 16th of September and end 30 days later in mid-October
Items from it will be produced and shipped throughout 2014
The Angelcynn, Brythoniaid, Fomoraic, Khthones, Norse and Ysian kindreds will feature in full.
Two new kindreds will feature - the Albainn and the Byzantii (including some Infernii)
Almost all of the miniatures funded by this Kickstarter will not have been seen before (except for the host boxes); although, if we get enough money to produce a Krokodar unit, Megálávra and Vókkinak would feature
The possibility of other kindreds - Atalantes, Érainn etc. - getting the odd miniature does exist, but depends on how much is garnered (we do stress, it's only a possibility)
NONE of the items currently available (i.e., released) will feature - so get them now!
We will produce a concept art book, stretch goals permitting
We will produce a background book, stretch goals permitting
We will produce a limited run "Collector's Edition" book that will only be available during this Kickstarter that will be of very fine quality
We will be using new artists for many concepts
We will produce kindred dice, stretch goals permitting
Everything from warlords to units to monstrous beasts will feature, stretch goals permitting
There will be exclusives and freebies
It will definitely be less confusing than this one!
Sneak Tease
We do sincerely hope you guys take part in the next Kickstarter! To whet your appetite even further, here's another sneak concept peek...
Alpharius wrote: Have they finished delivering everything from KS1 yet?
I don't think so...
RiTides, how the hell am I supposed to set my watch if you keep missing stuff like this?!?
They have not yet finished all their delivery from KS1. I am still waiting for part of it (which makes sense since I pledged for miniatures that are in progress like Angrislaug, etc.), but I've received figures that were available. I know that I will not get a full delivery before KS2 ends, because some miniatures are projected to be finished in December. But I'm fine with that.
Alpharius wrote: Have they finished delivering everything from KS1 yet?
I don't think so...
RiTides, how the hell am I supposed to set my watch if you keep missing stuff like this?!?
They have not yet finished all their delivery from KS1. I am still waiting for part of it (which makes sense since I pledged for miniatures that are in progress like Angrislaug, etc.), but I've received figures that were available. I know that I will not get a full delivery before KS2 ends, because some miniatures are projected to be finished in December. But I'm fine with that.
Yeah. They've been right on schedule with everything, with a ton of models coming early.
And then there's that Update, which may be one if the most thorough and professional I've ever seen in a KS.
Alpharius wrote: Have they finished delivering everything from KS1 yet?
I don't think so...
RiTides, how the hell am I supposed to set my watch if you keep missing stuff like this?!?
I give points for frequent communication and WIP pics... Mierce have been better than any other campaign I've seen for that.
So, no nerd rage here... this time!
The ones that really aggravate me are ones that have delivered nothing or hardly anything... Mierce, while not complete, blew away my expectations with their fulfillment (sculpt quality, timeliness, and communication).
I was, I believe, very rightfully wary of these guys when they launched the first campaign. I still might steer clear of them just due to how the owner treated his former customers. But, the team has really hit this out of the park thus far.
The main thing actually keeping me clear of them still is the scale of their sculpts- they're all so big! So, most of them are things I feel like I need to see scale shots of before considering (and even then, there was a scale shot of a model I purchased from them before they reorganized, and I still didn't realize how BIG it was!).
But I'm a big fan of many of their sculpts from this campaign.
One of the things they're looking to do for KS2 is expanding the range of man sized infantry. The only kindred that won't get men in their ranks are the Khthones.
Definitely looking forward to see the Dark Age roman remnants...
devilution wrote: Anyone here who could tell what 500/1000/2500 gold warhosts would get you?
Will the discount be as high as the first ks?
They have released rosters, so you can sort of guess at what each of those categories would get you. 500 gold would probably be a unit of 5 of the monstrous infantry (Minotaurs, Trolls etc.) plus a minor hero type, if that. 500 gold would be around where most of the KS1 initial pledges would set pre-stretch rewards.....ish.
The minis are top notch, but collecting an army is way too expensive.
Hardly. In the first KS I got a monstrous infantry starter that amounts to over 500 points, pr a great starter game size, for like $120.
Yeah, but they already said that minis in this kickstarter will be nowhere near as discounted as the first one. Plus more of your pledge will be going to the rulebook rather than miniatures.
I think this one's gonna be too expensive for me. Beautiful miniatures for sure, and no doubt the rulebook will be too (some of the artwork is incredible), but I really think it's going to be too much for me, personally, to get into. Shame, it'd probably have been different if I'd caught the first ks.
They've already stated that £80 will be 500 coins, and we know that that's effectively a starter set. Plus they have stated that there are pledge levels for just a single general. I'm not seeing the expense here.
Yeah, but they already said that minis in this kickstarter will be nowhere near as discounted as the first one
Well that's disappointing, if the discount is just gonna be 20% I'm probably gonna have to sit this one out. Feels a bit insulting actually, if they expect us to pay for their production upfront they can at least give us a decent discount.
plastictrees wrote: They've already stated that £80 will be 500 coins, and we know that that's effectively a starter set. Plus they have stated that there are pledge levels for just a single general. I'm not seeing the expense here.
£80 for a starter is pretty expensive in my opinion. It includes tokens and dice, does it include the rulebook? I may have missed it, but that update read like it wasn't included. So, if it doesn't, you have to add that too (£30? maybe). And when you consider that small skirmish games are fought at 1000gold, seems to me like quite an expensive game to get in to.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, slightly disappointing is that it looks like the rulebook won't include terribly much background/fluff since they're looking at releasing a separate book for it.
Phew, we found new reasons to be miserable feths, all that positive stuff was starting to drag this thread down.
If you don't want to back a KS that doesn't throw buckets of models at you, good for you. That doesn't mean one that has proven they can manage what they commit to and establish a sensible price point is "insulting" you.
plastictrees wrote: They've already stated that £80 will be 500 coins, and we know that that's effectively a starter set. Plus they have stated that there are pledge levels for just a single general. I'm not seeing the expense here.
£80 for a starter is pretty expensive in my opinion. It includes tokens and dice, does it include the rulebook? I may have missed it, but that update read like it wasn't included. So, if it doesn't, you have to add that too (£30? maybe). And when you consider that small skirmish games are fought at 1000gold, seems to me like quite an expensive game to get in to.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, slightly disappointing is that it looks like the rulebook won't include terribly much background/fluff since they're looking at releasing a separate book for it.
I understand az, lovely miniatures (as I said) If either of you care to read what I actually posted, I said that it looks like it might be too expensive for me to back. Being that "expensive" is fairly subjective, your, well made, points unfortunately can't really change my mind.
Trees? Get a grip of yourself pal. If people posting honest, coherent, polite comments is "insulting" to you, then good for you. No wonder you don't like the Internet.
But mate, you're making judgement calls based on limited information.
What if the £80 does include the rulebook?
What if the 20% discount just applies to additions to pledges, but the pledges themselves are much better value?
What if they read the general grumbling in this thread and revise the structure of the KS slightly?
Its the same disease that afflicts every single GW leak thread, don't throw your hands in the air and proclaim the end of the world until the facts are known for definite.
Perhaps I'm slightly less bothered because I have no intention of playing and just cherry pick the models I love to use as counts as (or just to have in one or two cases) so the prospect of 20% off awesome miniatures doesn't really strike me as all that bad a deal.
azreal13 wrote: But mate, you're making judgement calls based on limited information.
What if the £80 does include the rulebook?
What if the 20% discount just applies to additions to pledges, but the pledges themselves are much better value?
What if they read the general grumbling in this thread and revise the structure of the KS slightly?
Its the same disease that afflicts every single GW leak thread, don't throw your hands in the air and proclaim the end of the world until the facts are known for definite.
Perhaps I'm slightly less bothered because I have no intention of playing and just cherry pick the models I love to use as counts as (or just to have in one or two cases) so the prospect of 20% off awesome miniatures doesn't really strike me as all that bad a deal.
Come on man, I never threw my hands up and declared anything. And I didn't mean to make judgement calls, I only commented on how it was looking at the moment in terms of my own potential involvement. Everything else you say is absolutely correct though, nothing is definite and of course I'm going to look at it when it opens up.
I think I'll end up doing something similar to yourself, picking up a couple of models at a 20% discount, which as you say, is a pretty good deal. Again, some outstandingly nice miniatures. Suppose I was just lamenting a little bit out loud that getting into the whole game is likely going to be too expensive for me (personally). From the gameplay video and the QuickStart rules (and obviously alongside the models and artwork), I quite liked the look of it. Again though, "expensive" is subjective and these are only my thoughts. Wasn't attempting to shape anyone else's views or influence anyone, or bring the thread down or anything. Just lamenting out loud.
plastictrees wrote:Phew, we found new reasons to be miserable feths, all that positive stuff was starting to drag this thread down.
If you don't want to back a KS that doesn't throw buckets of models at you, good for you. That doesn't mean one that has proven they can manage what they commit to and establish a sensible price point is "insulting" you.
fething Internet.
Easily rustled are we? Kickstarter projects are a two way street, many people seem to forget that. Kickstarters are a great way to raise money, they only have to pay us back in models which we paid the moulds for! We customers are also always taking a risk when supporting a kickstarter and in return for that I expect a nice discount, better then what any internet retailer can give me.
azreal13 wrote:Its the same disease that afflicts every single GW leak thread, don't throw your hands in the air and proclaim the end of the world until the facts are known for definite.
Perhaps I'm slightly less bothered because I have no intention of playing and just cherry pick the models I love to use as counts as (or just to have in one or two cases) so the prospect of 20% off awesome miniatures doesn't really strike me as all that bad a deal.
No one is clamoring about the end of the world, just concerned about the price point, which is a legitimate concern.
I'd encourage you not to back it then ulgur. It looks like you're not going to be made happy by high quality models at reasonable prices and accurate delivery times.
There are plenty of other KS projects that don't give discounts, or give better discounts. Either way, you're certainly not entitled to it.
Sounds like its too expensive for you, or you're too cheap for it. Either way, doesn't look like its for you.
cincydooley wrote: I'd encourage you not to back it then ulgur. It looks like you're not going to be made happy by high quality models at reasonable prices and accurate delivery times.
There are plenty of other KS projects that don't give discounts, or give better discounts. Either way, you're certainly not entitled to it.
Sounds like its too expensive for you, or you're too cheap for it. Either way, doesn't look like its for you.
Yeah I know, I pointed that out in my initial post. It's a bit disappointing but I guess we will have to wait and see.
Though if they release the rumored lizardfolk models I don't think I will be able to hold back
azreal13 wrote: But mate, you're making judgement calls based on limited information.
What if the £80 does include the rulebook?
What if the 20% discount just applies to additions to pledges, but the pledges themselves are much better value?
What if they read the general grumbling in this thread and revise the structure of the KS slightly?
Its the same disease that afflicts every single GW leak thread, don't throw your hands in the air and proclaim the end of the world until the facts are known for definite.
Perhaps I'm slightly less bothered because I have no intention of playing and just cherry pick the models I love to use as counts as (or just to have in one or two cases) so the prospect of 20% off awesome miniatures doesn't really strike me as all that bad a deal.
Come on man, I never threw my hands up and declared anything. And I didn't mean to make judgement calls, I only commented on how it was looking at the moment in terms of my own potential involvement. Everything else you say is absolutely correct though, nothing is definite and of course I'm going to look at it when it opens up.
I think I'll end up doing something similar to yourself, picking up a couple of models at a 20% discount, which as you say, is a pretty good deal. Again, some outstandingly nice miniatures. Suppose I was just lamenting a little bit out loud that getting into the whole game is likely going to be too expensive for me (personally). From the gameplay video and the QuickStart rules (and obviously alongside the models and artwork), I quite liked the look of it. Again though, "expensive" is subjective and these are only my thoughts. Wasn't attempting to shape anyone else's views or influence anyone, or bring the thread down or anything. Just lamenting out loud.
No, fair enough, I perhaps overdramatised your reaction a bit, it isn't quite the Chicken Little nonsense that gets spouted in every single GW release thread since time immemorial.
I'd still hang fire for the final details before getting too despondent though. (Oh, and believe me, my definition of expensive is very much in line with yours, but it will depend somewhat on what they offer for the cash)
Yeah, of course I'll hang on and have a look. And who knows, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that I've been tempted into something that can't really afford.
decker_cky wrote: I'll definitely be pledging for Mierce's KS2 if they have some knock-off beastmen infantry and cavalry.
On to the Mierce forum they have a rumored future minis list, which features Gabrax Warriors (Gabrax are the " totally-not-Gors"). I'm hoping for some elite looking, great weapon wielding Gabrax to compete aagainst GWs dull bestigors.
ulgurstasta wrote: Easily rustled are we? Kickstarter projects are a two way street, many people seem to forget that. Kickstarters are a great way to raise money, they only have to pay us back in models which we paid the moulds for! We customers are also always taking a risk when supporting a kickstarter and in return for that I expect a nice discount, better then what any internet retailer can give me.
My soul is a crepe paper flower.
There may be some 'retailer protection' built in to a lower discount. The big discount in KS1 was pretty much mandatory for them to get anything going at all given the circumstances, but I'm sure they would now like to be in a position to encourage retailers to carry Darklands now that they are trying to transition from "awesome models" to "awesome models...and a game!"...the latter needs a community.
Or they just know that don't need to discount as much now that they have a bit of a track record. It's literally the only miniature Kickstarter I've backed that has delivered it's product on time (or at all...sigh).
I'm not even sure that the game is for me at all, but I'm still looking forward to this. I keep thinking about dropping my Wrath of Kings pledge for that reason but they keep pulling me back in!
decker_cky wrote: I'll definitely be pledging for Mierce's KS2 if they have some knock-off beastmen infantry and cavalry.
On to the Mierce forum they have a rumored future minis list, which features Gabrax Warriors (Gabrax are the " totally-not-Gors"). I'm hoping for some elite looking, great weapon wielding Gabrax to compete aagainst GWs dull bestigors.
Beastmen knock-offs have always been the Mierce bread and butter (first mini was a limited edition Banner bearer for ETC, some of their first monsters were a knock-off Cygor, Ghorgon and Jabberslythe, etc..). I don't doubt there will be some excellent miniatures to fit into a beastmen army during the next kickstarter.
I'd pick the model aesthetic you like better... so far, none of these types of rulesets seem to get much play. Hopefully that will change in the future...but right now it's the models that matter most imo.
devilution wrote: Can't afford both and I don't want to have 2 extra games
It will be Darklands or Wrath of Kings.
WoK gameplay seems really great, don't know much about darklands, the demo I saw from their first KS seemed to be pretty boring :/
It's a hard choice lol :p
Darklands has advantages that make me more interested in it.
1. If you are going to paint the miniatures to any decent standard I think resin is the way to go.
2. You can field armies with unique models for all your units.
3. Darklands models are more usable in other gaming systems like RPGs.
4. Mierce seems really committed to the product and has Great customer service.
5.I think darklands will have more longevity then WoK.
If you want a mass combat game with inexpensive miniatures that you won't paint then WoK is probably for you. There is nothing wrong with that. I like my Zombicide too but I wouldn't waste my time painting them.
cincydooley wrote: So you're likening the Zombicide minis to the Wrath of Kings one? Well there's a stretch.
Yep. I haven't actually held the plastic WoK miniatures yet but I assume they are going to be comparable to Seditions wars and sedition wars side by side with zombicide there isn't much difference except seditions wars are multipart.
Mierce produce great figures, and I'm glad I got what I did from the kickstarter even if not all of it has arrived yet. However I don't think I'd pay retail for the models, or be tempted by a lower discount. As it stands I think there are better deals out there. I'm sure they'll do well though.
Squeaked in with a final order for the Sronax starter and a couple of related characters before they closed the older pledge items again.
Zond: Definitely are better deals to be had out there, in terms of models/$. I don't think there are any comparable offerings (kickstarted or not) in terms of breadth and quality of their range so I'm happy to pay more.
I also use avoidance techniques such as only looking at the price in pounds and never looking at my credit card bill breakdown...
For me the breadth is a hindrance. I just don't feel that all the models exist in the same world. The quality is certainly fantastic, certainly one of the best. I'd be happy to pay more if I liked the rules (which based on this kickstarter, I don't) or there was more about the world, which will come from the second kickstarter... at a higher price (so I've Catch 22'd myself there). I think also if I was a Warhammer player I'd go nuts as well.
Who knows, they might entice me yet, especially with more playable starter boxes/rules.
Fomoraic Sronax and Tarvax and big beasties for my RBG Helsvakt/Fomoraic army
Norse Trolls and Mjagnir and Wyvern as trolls and giant and wyvern for my KoW Orc army
Albainn Cormoragg and Urbad and the other ogre dude as giant and trolls for my KoW Goblin army
Khthones Gorgonares for my Gamezone dark elf army / cult of Set
best Kickstarter I've ever done, honestly. Tied with the KoW kickstarter.
cincydooley wrote: So you're likening the Zombicide minis to the Wrath of Kings one? Well there's a stretch.
Yep. I haven't actually held the plastic WoK miniatures yet but I assume they are going to be comparable to Seditions wars and sedition wars side by side with zombicide there isn't much difference except seditions wars are multipart.
Spoiler:
Yeah, maybe you should check em out. They're not even close.
Further, I disagree with you that the Sedition stuff is the same as the Zombicide stuff (I have and have painted models from both); the sedition wars models have a ton more detail.
But anyways. I'm torn as to whether or not I want to add anything today to my Mierce order! I like so much of it, but I'm trying not to get mor than one faction!
devilution wrote: Can't afford both and I don't want to have 2 extra games
It will be Darklands or Wrath of Kings.
WoK gameplay seems really great, don't know much about darklands, the demo I saw from their first KS seemed to be pretty boring :/
It's a hard choice lol :p
Darklands has advantages that make me more interested in it.
1. If you are going to paint the miniatures to any decent standard I think resin is the way to go.
2. You can field armies with unique models for all your units.
3. Darklands models are more usable in other gaming systems like RPGs.
4. Mierce seems really committed to the product and has Great customer service.
5.I think darklands will have more longevity then WoK.
If you want a mass combat game with inexpensive miniatures that you won't paint then WoK is probably for you. There is nothing wrong with that. I like my Zombicide too but I wouldn't waste my time painting them.
Thanks :-) You just made me a Darklands 2 backer :p
KoW, WHFB... at the end of the day the fantasy miniature market is filled with a lot of the same concepts. The only point I was trying to make was that Mierce kickstarters are doubly appealing if you plan to use the similar aesthetics in other games.
I think I'm going to back WoK and DL2. Both are dramatically different in size, scale and execution. Obviously if budgets are limited, it's a different story and you have to weigh the pros and cons. I still think DL has overly complex rules, and as they're not subject to change I'm probably going to be buying models for the joy of painting. As an aside, I only picked up (admittedly lots) of single figures from the kickstarter, so if anyone has any recommendations on what lovely starters to get from the kickstarter, chime in now.
No problem for me. If the artists need more time, they need more time. Simple.
This project may be my favorite KS that I've participated in from a professionalism and management standpoint. They've really hit it out of the park in how they've managed this project. The MERCS guys, and Poots are right up there as well, but Mierce has done a great job.
Hmm, so KS2 will start before fulfillment of kthones starters? I realise it's my fault for picking the starter that ships last by far but I really, really want to see something tangible from KS1 before backing the second one... especially after the news about much reduced discounts e.a.
I'd kind of like that (okay, I'd like to look at some actual customer pics of Kthones very much, actually!) but still having the *actual* models in hand would be vastly preferable. I'm pretty confident they're in it for the long haul by now but no way am I handing over more than €100ish at a time to a company with their history
EDIT come to think of it, so you actually have Kthones models in hand already?
Kickstarter II, more WIPs and the Angelcynn are locked soon...
Update #56 · Sep 13, 2013 · 2 comments
It's Friday, and that means update time!
We have important news of our next Kickstarter, some WIP images of Angrislaug and a short missive to simply suggest that - if you want the Angelcynn starter set and associated miniatures, get it now because it'll be locked next week!
Darklands: First Edition Start Delayed
Unfortunately - and for various reasons - we've had to delay the start of our next Kickstarter project (entitled "Darklands: First Edition") until the week beginning Monday the 23rd of September.
We do hope to begin the project at around 7pm GMT on Monday the 23rd, which ensures both North America and Australasia are awake as well as Europe, but be warned that this is provisional! A more exact date and time cannot really be given until towards the end of next week, so there'll be an update to let you know exactly when.
We do apologise for the delay, because we know you're all getting very excited about it, but it's simply unavoidable. It does mean you have a little longer to save up, however ;o)
There's a little more information about the new Kickstarter project at the bottom of this update.
Bye Bye Trolls, Hello Angles!
We've just about sent all the Troll starter sets now, with the remainder being shipped early next week; this means that the Angelcynn Starter Sets will begin to ship next week!
To that end, the Angelcynn miniatures that are currently available - i.e., that are being shipped next week - will be locked from Monday the 16th of September onwards, so if you want any more Angles, you'd better order them now...
The Angelcynn should be completely shipped in early October and the Gorgonares should begin shipping at that point.
Penda the Bloody-Handed on Horse with Wolf Helm
The exclusive, limited edition Penda with Wolf Helm will not be produced until later on this month simply because we have yet to go digging!
Please note, there will be absolutely no issues involved with shipping Penda with Wolf Helm within the European Union. For those of you who have ordered Penda with Wolf Helm that live outside the EU, we would like to state quite clearly that you choose to import Penda with Wolf Helm and his soil bag at your own risk. If your country does not wish you to import this soil (please check with your local customs offices), then please let us know and we will not ship Penda with wolf helm with the soil bag.
Works in Progress
As always, we bring you some WIP goodies. Once again, Roberto Chaudon is working wonders with his sculpting tools and Angrislaug is coming along very nicely indeed!
Here's a scale shot for you, too:
The miniature that Angrislaug's next to is Galhwch Lladd Llaw of course - and he's not small! The top of a human-sized miniature's head would get to about Galhwch's knee...
Vókkinak and Ssibyros are still in progress of course, we just haven't had a WIP for them for a little while. Both are scheduled to be finished at the end of September.
Darklands: First Edition
As we've mentioned previously, our next Kickstarter project - Darklands: First Edition - will focus on the full Darklands rules and, of course, will enable you to help our range and wargame grow. It's worth going into a little more detail now as a couple of things have changed since the last update.
"Darklands: First Edition" reward
The main reward of the project and the one we'd like everybody to go for is the "Darklands" reward, which will garner you the book and access to its stretch goals.
It will be available to purchase immediately the project begins and there will be a Darklands "early bird" reward (i.e., giving those who purchase the reward early a discount). The rulebook, and thus the project, will simply depend upon reaching the minimum amount of money we require to fund the project successfully - likely to be £20,000.
"I Just Want Some Cool Miniatures" reward
We will NOT now offer the nobles as separate rewards; these miniatures will simply be stretch goals that will be immediately available once the project begins. In the place of the Nobles reward, we're giving you the "I just want some cool miniatures" reward, costing £10, which will give you a commander of your choice and also enable you to cherry pick which miniatures (or other things) from the various stretch goals you really want. In short, it means you don't have to have the Darklands rulebook in order to get some cracking miniatures.
However, no stretch goals depend upon this reward and so if you want any "free" stretch goals or similar you'd have to go for the Darklands rulebook reward.
"Nobles" stretch goals
We now have five different nobles in five different stretch goals for you to choose from right from the start. These will be: ◾GENERAL -- £30 - a mounted (except for Khthones) general for each of the eight kindreds ◾COMMANDER -- £10 - a commander for each of the eight kindreds ◾FEMALE COMMANDER -- £10 - a female commander for each of the eight kindreds ◾SORCERER -- £10 - a sorcerer (or equivalent) for each of the eight kindreds ◾MONSTROUS COMMANDER -- £30 - a monstrous commander for each of the eight kindreds
Note that some kindreds' - mostly Khthones - miniatures will be a different price to the above, and these are noted on the stretch goal's descriptions.
Each of these stretch goals will ONLY be produced if a certain amount of money is pledged but are unveiled right from the start (and in the above order) so that they can be purchased immediately. We hope to reach the nobles stretch goals fairly quickly, and to that end, we're introducing early bird specials for each of the above (with a couple of pounds off each) and a huge "own them all" reward too. However, these early bird specials are tied in to the Darklands rulebook early bird reward - i.e., if you have purchased the Darklands early bird reward, you will be entitled to purchase the Nobles early bird discount.
So choose your reward wisely, and early!
"Hosts" rewards
The Hosts rewards remain the same as noted previously; these three rewards, of Encounter (500 gold), Skirmish (1,000 gold) and Battle (2,500 gold) sizes, will enable backers to purchase entire hosts for each kindred! These hosts will include new nobles from this Kickstarter as well as already available miniatures, packaged into a nice big box with tokens, dice and so forth and will be available immediately the project begins.
These hosts can be added to other rewards simply by increasing your pledge level, of course.
Note that some Hosts will only be produced if the units within them will be produced by this project; for example, an Albainn host would only be produced if Albainn units are produced. As such, the availability of hosts will be fairly dynamic during the Kickstarter.
Note that no stretch goals depend upon these hosts and so if you want any "free" stretch goals or similar you'd have to go for the Darklands rulebook reward.
Other Stretch Goals
We do expect to hit the Nobles stretch goals quite early in the duration of the project, and we will expand the miniatures available by unveiling units, beasts and other things as stretch goals once we reach certain levels. Each kindred will have units and beasts, but they will be unveiled one at a time; producing units and beasts is expensive, and it makes more sense to have eight stretch goals for lesser amounts than one big stretch goal for a large amount.
Freebies
There will be freebies, but they will ONLY be available if a relevant reward has been purchased and, of course, if a stretch goal is reached.
Shipping
One thing we didn't mention last week is shipping.
It's likely the miniatures from the Noble stretch goals will all be shipped all at the same time (as long as their sculptors deliver on time of course), at the same time as the Darklands rulebook, and then each stretch goal after that will be shipped as a "wave"; BUT shipping times do depend on how much money we get. If we get a lot of funds from this project, it's very likely that shipping dates will be shifted further back simply because of the time involved in casting the miniatures.
Thus, shipping times will be quite dynamic and we'll keep you all informed throughout.
Shipping Costs
Quite simply, we have been too generous with shipping charges for this Kickstarter and we have found that our budget for shipping was hit quite early. This was compounded by Royal Mail increasing shipping costs two months after the first Kickstarter ended! We've swallowed these extra costs, of course, but we are going to do things a little differently this time around.
Shipping costs will be very simple, however, and tied to stretch goals.
If you are outside the UK, shipping will cost £10 for whatever you are purchasing for the FIRST shipment only, likely to be the Darklands rulebook and the Nobles stretch goals.
Now, you can wait for all of your purchases to be produced before we ship them, of course; but if you don't wish to do that, I'm afraid we must ask you for the shipping costs for each shipment.
Further shipment of purchases will cost a flat rate of £3 (UK), £6 (EU), £10 (ROW) - and these are "lowest weight" prices - for each stretch goal "wave" afterward, unless you wish to combine shipment of waves. Thus, if you have purchased miniatures from a stretch goal produced after the nobles, it will cost £3 to ship any or all of the miniatures from that stretch goal within the UK separately from another wave.
It should be noted that shipping will be relatively fluid thanks to the time it takes for sculptors to, well, sculpt the miniatures; and thus we may be able to ship waves together, combine a stretch goal with the first shipment, and so on and so forth. As always, we will keep you informed as much as possible.
This will also be explained within the project ;o)
Sneaky Peaky
It wouldn't be an update without a sneak peek of what's on offer in the next Kickstarter... would it?
(It's worth mentioning here that Christophe Madura drew this for us back in 2012 - so don't worry, he's not been doing this instead of drawing Werwulfas).
Oohh, and I can't barely wait for Stephané Simon to show his snake-warriors! 
The 
