Adder Ant wrote:
fantastic miniatures as we are used from mierce and i can say so as i have bought seevral this same weekend

anyone knows if is michael anderson the same sculptor of gw fame?

 RiTides wrote:
How was the casting quality for you guys? Mine had a lot of flash and some warping... not unheard of for resin by any means, but the forgeworld casts I've received were actually better than Mierce's... I was a bit surprised by this. Not sure if it's just because the models I got were so finely featured (the three agriosavra type models).

 RiTides wrote:
How was the casting quality for you guys? Mine had a lot of flash and some warping... not unheard of for resin by any means, but the forgeworld casts I've received were actually better than Mierce's... I was a bit surprised by this. Not sure if it's just because the models I got were so finely featured (the three agriosavra type models).

 Slinky wrote:
It does respond very well to hot water, I've found.

Update #81

Aug 1 2014
Sculpts, Painteds, Ancestors and Wave 1 closes on Monday!
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6 likes

Mierceday is here, and that means Miercestuff!

This week we have sculpts, painteds, ancestors, fulfilment news and some other stuff... so that's:

sculpt work in progress updates from Roberto Chaudon and Stéphane Simon;
images of painted miniatures from Sébastien Picque and Martin Grandbarbe;
the lovely Ancestor Maximus, whom Max Schüte is a descendant of;
news of Wave 1 fulfilment, and that Wave 1 items will be removed from the webstore on Monday;
a list of what miniatures are currently being sent in Wave 1, a final list of what miniatures will be sent in Wave 2 and what will hopefully be sent in Wave 3;
updated lists of sculptors and sculpts;
current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
what else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Here we go...

There's not much in the way of sculpt works in progress, but what we do have is excellent - the final cuts of Praach from Roberto Chaudon and the progress of Crom on Horse from Stéphane Simon!

Pr-a-a-ch is now complete and cut by the quite hairy Roberto Chaudon! As always with Roberto's work, there's a lot of components...



We will have Praach in our hands shortly, which means he'll be a Wave 2 fella!

The less hairy Stéphane Simon has shown us that Crom of Carn Wrach on Horse is going to look fantastic...




Crom on Horse is now a Wave 3 shipment of course.

Even though the miniatures from Darklands: a World of War have not all been painted yet, we've decided to get miniatures from this project painted - simply because we are determined to release miniatures with painted images of them in the not-too-distant future (we're looking at you, September). They just look so much better!

Thus, both Sébastien Picque and Martin Grandbarbe are hard at work, painting miniatures from Wave 1, and with predictably superb results... this week we have work from Séb and Martin!

The somewhat hairy Martin Grandbarbe has exercised his superb painting skill on Erebius, our Demiurion of the Byzantii, and he's provided a paintjob with excellent blending from demon to human and back again.






Erebius is on a 40mm base, and looks very nice indeed!

Ágriosávra is the very first of the Sávres to be painted and so it is important to get him right. We think Sébastien Picque, who isn't very hairy, has done just that - and with his colour scheme based on the Komodo Dragon (sans dust and sand, which tends to make them look beige) he looks suitably non-human!






Ágriosávra is on a 40mm base.

The next painted images from Sébastien Picque will be either Idruaada or Scecchus...

Martin is an expert at painting our Ysians now, of course, and he's applied all that skill to Crom on Foot who is just superb. A fitting general for your Ysians!






Next up for Martin Grandbarbe is Dúngal on Foot and Ffion Ferddig!

This week we have another of Darklands: First Edition's ancestors... Maximus of the Kerusker!

Max Schüte hails from Germany and is, like our other descendants, a prolific supporter of Mierce Miniatures and our Kickstarter projects, and he's joined John Longshore, Tomas Johansson and Rick Boer in becoming a descendant of a Darklands character.

From the very start, Max was very clear in what he wanted - a Germanic berserker of the Kerus, a barbarian tribe of Germany that is well-known to have been a thorn in the Romans' side for many years until the fall of the Roman Empire in the west. In Darklands, of course, the Byzantii are re-conquering the western empire, and this ensures they clash again with their old enemies the Kerusker. Here's a bit of background to Max's ancestor...

Maximus of the Kerusker, whilst now being that thorn in the side of the Byzantii, was raised amongst them: the high-born son of a Kerusker noble, Maximus was given to the Byzantii as a child by his father to become a hostage, the better to ensure the allegiance of his particular Kerus tribe, many of whom fight as foederati amongst the Byzantii. However, Maximus was always a little wild and whilst he initially enjoyed his life amongst the civilised, becoming a warrior of some renown, he eventually came to hate his masters as he realised how depraved they actually were - and escaped to Kerusland, where he found depravity and devil worship. Claiming the demon axe Skōhsla from his father and, with its power, slaying him, he escaped the Kerusker and wandered, becoming a berserker for hire amongst the many hosts that could use his skills...

Artwork by Danny Cruz

Max was very happy to have Danny Cruz draw up his ancestor and we think Danny has done a superb job, as always!



Maximus, as you can see, is a classic Germanic berserker, wearing the bear shirt and looking very wild indeed with those skull trophies. However, there are elements of his Byzantii upbringing, such as the segmentata armour on his shoulders, but that demon-axe looks very nasty indeed.

Sculptor as yet unidentified

Whilst we haven't yet organised a sculptor, we can unveil that he'll be around 30-32mm in height (Max Schüte himself is a big guy, well over six foot tall!) and will stand on a 30mm base.

How can I purchase Maximus?

Maximus will be available to purchase from our webstore later on today, in the Darklands: First Edition category, at the special Kickstarter price of £10.00.

Who were the Kerusker?

The Kerus, as we call them, were a Germanic tribe well-known in Roman times as the Cheruscii and whilst they disappeared from history under that name before 650 AD - they were said to have been absorbed by the Allemanni and the Franks - there is no reason why a small tribe of the German forests would still call themselves the Kerus.

We have awesome news: initial Wave 1 shipments are complete!

There are still a few Wave 1 orders to go, brought about by those backers adding more shipment wave items, so we think that Wave 1 shipping will be totally complete by the end of next week.

After that, we can start casting Wave 2 items, and should be able to get the first Wave 2 shipments out of the door in August (probably the end of August, mind).

Where's My Wave 1 Stuff?

As always, please don't be upset if your orders have not yet been shipped, even if your order is currently in "packing" - please be patient while the boys get your miniatures cast and sent.

Now, if you believe you have an old Wave 1 order that hasn't yet been shipped and are wondering why, many orders only have one shipment wave item and thus will only be shipped when everything in those orders is ready. You can mitigate against this by purchasing a Wave 2 or Wave 3 shipment item, of course - so the power's in your hands!

Due to popular demand we've decided to give you all a chance to get your hands on the miniatures you didn't order from Wave 1!

Grab some Wave 1 items now!

The following items are back on the website:

ALBAINN: Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
ANGELCYNN: Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga
BRYTHONIAID: Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau
BYZANTII: Erebius
FOMORAIC: Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg
INFERNII: Scecchus
KHTHONES: Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
NORSE: Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand
YSIANS: Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg
SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz

You will only see these items in the webstore if you have backed this project, of course.

Wave 1 Shipping

If you've already received your Wave 1 stuff and fancy grabbing a few more bits before they're released at full price, then feel free to do so - but you have two shipment choices: you can either purchase another Wave 1 shipment item or wait until your next shipment (Wave 2 or 3) comes around.

You've got until August the 4th now!

We've put back the cut-off point until Monday night now, so remember, these Wave 1 items are only making an appearance until Monday, August the 4th at midnight (GMT).

You won't be able to purchase these Wave 1 items again until they are released to the general public, and depending on the miniature involved, that could be for a long while yet...! Plus, they'll be at full price of course.

What are you waiting for? Grab those Wave 1 items now!

We've now decided on what miniatures will be shipped in Wave 2, so here's an up to date list of what we think will be shipped when.

Unfortunately many hopeful Wave 2 items have had to be put back to Wave 3, for many different reasons; we do apologise for this, but sculptors do live in the real world and they do have real life issues that impinge upon their time. Even so, we think they've done awesome so far!

We'll keep this list updated every Friday.

SHIPMENT WAVE 0: complete for this project.
SHIPMENT WAVE 1 (beginning end of June): Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on pony - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg - Eadric on foot - Aldhelm - Leofwen on foot - Broga - Urien on foot - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag - Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Erebius - Mananaan on foot - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg- Scecchus - Thelliatiss- Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio - Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Crom on foot - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
SHIPMENT WAVE 2 (beginning August): Timoth - Caedoc - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Baagath's Herd (Baagath - Blaart - Chuwaa - Ungaa - Rapraag) - Praach - Xontór - Thoth - Hanokh - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Mälmord - Seza
SHIPMENT WAVE 3 (beginning October): Eadric on horse - Cnebba - Gesith Unit - Hrōr - Urien on horse - Carys - Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Con I Modius (Modius - Gellius - Tiberius - Livia - Severa) - Mananaan on horse - Hrafnen Crew - Crom on horse - Trytheorn - Rikkard - Maximus

Items in bold will DEFINITELY be sent in that wave as we have the sculpt; items in italics are in progress and should make it into that wave, but we don't yet have the sculpt.

Have I ordered the right Waves?

Fairly obviously (and to remind you all that we won't split orders unless you've purchased more than one shipment wave) if you've only purchased one Shipment Wave item, your items will only be sent in one shipment when everything is ready. In a nutshell:

If you have purchased Waves 1, 2 and 3, whatever is available will be shipped in each wave, with wave 3 waiting until everything's finally ready.
If you have purchased Waves 1 and 2, whatever is available in Wave 1 will be shipped in June, with everything else waiting until it's all finally ready.
If you've only purchased Wave 1, your orders will be shipped when everything in your orders is ready.

There's still time for you to change this by ordering more shipment waves of course - feel free to do so, but as soon as Wave 1 is complete, that shipment item will be removed from the webstore. so you'd best be quick!

Please be patient!

We would ask you all to be patient with both ourselves and our artists; sculptors live in the real world and real world problems often impinge upon their time, so please bear in mind that they are working as fast as they possibly can on our miniatures and giving us their full attention. We do not want to rush sculptors for the simple reason that rushed work is often poor work!

Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.

Michael Anderson: Michael, a new sculptor for us, will sculpt Rick Boer's Descendant, Rikkard, later on in the year.
Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane will sculpt Eadric on horse next. He has also now taken on Hrōr, so that he matches the Werwulfas unlocked as part of Darklands: First Edition II.
Allan Carrasco: There's just Cnebba for Allan, later on in the year.
Roberto Chaudon: Praach is complete, and that concludes Roberto's work for us on this project!
Benoît Cosse: Baagath's Herd is complete, and that concludes Benoît's work for us on this project!
Jacques-Alexandre Gillois: Equitus Durio on foot and Equitus Durio on horse will be sculpted over the summer.
Yannick Hennebo: Yannick has now completed Agathae and agreed to sculpt Mananaan on horse for us, and he's next, as Pedro cannot sculpt this now.
Hector Moran: he has begun digitally sculpting Con I Modius, Legionary Contubernium with Gellius being the first example.
Juan Navarro Pérez: Juan is sculpting Urien on horse and Carys next. Juan has also agreed to sculpt Tomas Johansson's Geat Warrior, Trytheorn, although he's not sure when that will occur.
Stéphane Simon: Work is progressing on Crom on horse and after him its the Holumenn Unit and the Gesíth Unit.
Unknown: Maximus, Maximilian Schüte's Germanic Berserker (due to be drawn by Danny Cruz).

Not too many sculpts to go now!

We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.

ALBAINN: Dúngal on foot - Dúngal on horse - Ciniod - Itaina - Domnech - Bagseg
ANGELCYNN: Eadric on foot - Eadric on horse - Timoth - Aldhelm - Hrōr - Leofwen on foot - Gesith Unit - Cnebba - Broga
BRYTHONIAID: Urien on foot - Urien on horse - Carys - Caedoc - Ffion Ferddig - Angedern - Mag ap Mag
BYZANTII: Equitus Durio on foot - Equitus Durio on horse - Erebius - Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu - Con I Modius (Modius - Gellius - Tiberius - Livia - Severa)
FOMORAIC: Mananaan on foot - Mananaan on horse - Idruaada - Daarkan - Naraa - Gaarwäg - Baagath's Herd (Baagath - Blaart - Chuwaa - Ungaa - Rapraag) - Praach
INFERNII: Scecchus
KHTHONES: Xontór - Thelliatiss - Dawn of Khthon (Myrinna - Syntyss - Thillia - Phyllidii - Elthissi) - Thoth - Hanokh - Ágriosávra- Eikovra - Myrkranio
NORSE: Knútr on foot - Knútr on horse - Birna - Víthar - Rollo Iron Head - Jörmungand - Hrafnen Crew - Mälmord
YSIANS: Crom on foot - Crom on horse - Annik - Zethag - Gondard (Gondard - Ekk) - Brugg - Seza
SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred Uhtredson - Finnan - Danilo Cruz
DESCENDANTS: Ieuan Longshore and Taranau - Trytheorn - Rikkard - Maximus

Let us know if we've missed anything!

Update #80

Aug 1 2014
Ogres and Trolls again
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2 likes

Once again it's Mierceday, and update time! This week we have:

sculpt work in progress updates from Olivier Bouchet and Andrew Speirs;
a list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
what you can expect from us over the next few months.

Let's begin!

This week we have more work on the Oghu Guardians from Olivier Bouchet and more work on the Armoured Trolls from Andrew Speirs...

The behaired Olivier Bouchet is working hard on the Oghu Guardians from the art by Thomas Mahon...

Grubog, the Oghur Rhud, is now complete!





Grubog will be on a 60mm base and is a big 'un.

Skrugadd is the next Oghur to be sculpted and Olivier's doing a grand job already!





Olivier's speed should ensure that the Oghu Guardians will be a Wave 4 shipment.

Andy Speirs is continuing his work on the Armoured Trolls, with Vörtun, Gjöll and Unnolg nearing completion...

Armoured Vörtun is complete, and he looks brutal!




rmoured Vörtun will be a Wave 4 shipment of course.

Armoured Unnolg is coming along, as you can see!



We do think that Andy will get these guys done in time for Wave 4...

There's a bit of a wait until Wave 4 begins, but there's plenty of items going out in Waves 1, 2 and 3 (for items from Darklands: First Edition) right now and later on this year.

Wave 1 shipments are almost complete and we'll be continuing to ship Wave 1 orders for a week or so, and then it's on to Wave 2. If you backed Darklands: First Edition, please don't be upset if your orders have not yet been shipped, even if your order is currently in "packing" - please be patient while the boys get your miniatures cast and sent.

Bear in mind, too, that shipments will continue further through July and probably into August, and as always we will prioritise orders in date order - i.e., if you ordered early, you'll get your stuff sent early.

Here's the big list of who's sculpting what and when for Darklands: First Edition II! Please bear in mind that this list may change over time, so don't take it as set in stone until the first work in progress shots appear.

Olivier Bouchet: Olivier has begun work on the Oghu Guardians, Oghur Unit and the Abhorrents of Ys, Abhorrent Unit will be next.
Stéphane Camosseto: Stéphane has taken on Eoric's Pack, Werwulf Unit as well as Armoured Hrōr for us.
Allan Carrasco: Allan will be sculpting Ravener Birna and Thórrir.
Roberto Chaudon: Thanks to Roberto being so awesome, we've loaded him up with the Craven Fiends of Dis, Fiend Unit, the Corpse Takers, Hrafnmann Unit, Enslaved Ágriosávra, Khallas, Parawn, Hrókr and Geraint Nerthol on Ceffyldraig. We've also taken Srók from Benoît Cosse to give to Roberto, too!
Thomas David: Thomas has confirmed that he will sculpt the alternate Sweordsman Timoth.
Benoît Cosse: we've given Benoît the remainder of the Slaughterers, Krokodar Unit, Brunchaath on Gooracx and the Young Magágg and Umaer Drast alternates.
Yannick Fusier: thanks to his awesome work on Bagseg, we've given Yannick the Oghu Keepers, Oghurithne Unit - and he's already begun work on them!
Christian Hardy: We have now given Rēoc's Pack to Christian!
Yannick Hennebo: the alternate Feral Agathae is now complete, and that concludes Yannick's work for us on this project.
Patrick Masson: Patrick will be sculpting Uhtred on Horse, to match his foot version.
Hector Moran: excitingly, Hector will be digitally sculpting In III Judas, Demilegionary Incaendium and Quintus Crito.
Stéphane NGuyen: Stéphane will sculpt Akkaz and Tykho!
Olivier Nkweti: Olivier has begun work on the The Eye Ascendant, Warriors of Baalor Unit, and after those he will be digitally sculpting the Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit, and the Spears of Dun Durn, Gairlom Unit. In total, four units for Olivier, but such is his work rate and professionalism, we think that's no trouble for him.
Juan Navarro Pérez: Juan will be sculpting the alternates Tonsured Caedoc and Forwyn Carys from this project.
Stéphane Simon: the Shadows of Carn Bran, Shadow-Drune Unit and Ax-Crom - as well as Yrag, Bil and Ekk's Heap - are the sum of Stéphane's work for this project.
Andy Speirs: one of our regular backers and a good friend, Andy will be converting the Trolls to become Armoured Trolls, and work has already begun on them.
Ernst Veingart: the sculptor of Mjagnir, Ernst has begun sculpting a "miniature" that will dwarf Mjagnir the Jötunn - Gomagg, the Albainn Giant!
Unknown: we don't yet have a sculptor confirmed for Max Schüte's second Descendant, but we hope to confirm him (and have artwork for it) soon.

Tons of sculpts!

We thought this would be a good idea, as things are cracking on - a list of completed sculpts, in kindred order! Completed sculpts are in bold; in progress sculpts are in italics.

ALBAINN: Oghu Guardians (Grubog - Pabogg - Drudd - Skrugadd - Undagg) - Skyclad Ciniod - Oghu Keepers (Brugbad - Dungabad - Lobeg - Bogad - Rubeg) - Skyclad Itaina - Spears of Dun Durn - Umaer Drast - Gromi (Gromi - Gromi with two cleavers - Armoured Gromi with two cleavers) - Young Magágg - Gomagg
ANGELCYNN: Armoured Hrōr - Eoric's Pack - Sweordsman Timoth - Cæna - Rēoc's Pack
BRYTHONIAID: Geraint on Ceffyldraig - Loyal Guard, Teulu Unit (Cynog - Lleu Gryf - Gerallt - Dafydd - Emyr) - Tonsured Caedoc - Warriors of Dyngonwy, Rhyfelwyr Unit - Forwyn Carys - Parawn
BYZANTII: Quintus Crito - In III Judas - Feral Agathae - Tykho
FOMORAIC: Brunchaath on Gooracx - The Eye Ascendant (Aanan - Ulaan - Lungaarn - Coraat - Paraa) - Helmed Naraa - Marked Galagaak
INFERNII: Craven Fiends of Dis
KHTHONES: Srók - Slaughterers - Enslaved Ágriosávra - Khallas
NORSE: Thórrir - Corpse Takers - Ravener Birna - Trolls of Töheim, Armoured Troll Unit (Vörtun, Gjöll, Unnolg, Gurrir, Nisurl) - Hrókr
VRAS: Kill-Head Flint-Fang
YSIANS: Abhorrents of Ys - Ax-Crom - Flesh-Scavengers (Gondard - Ekk - Yrag - Bil - Flesh-Pile) - Shadows of Carn Bran - Akkaz
SELL-SWORDS: Uhtred on Horse, Sáthach
DESCENDANTS: Max Schüte's second Descendant

Let us know if we've missed anything!

Aug 1 2014
Quadruples and Existing Miniatures categories close on Monday!
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1 like

That's right - it's now the end of July, and thus the Quadruple rewards and the Existing Miniatures category will be closed on Monday the 4th of August at midnight (GMT)!

In a nutshell:

The QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS MOUNTS and the QUADRUPLE MONSTROUS BEASTS reward items will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 4th of August
The Existing Miniatures category will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 4th of August

In other words, get your skates on if you want any any more Quadruples or existing miniatures at a discount!

Will you ever offer such an awesome deal again?

Nope - so purchase your quadruples now!

How long do I get to purchase more Darklands: Monstrous Mounts items?

You have until these items begin to ship to purchase more Darklands: Monstrous Mounts stuff - thus, you have until February 2015 for most things from this project, and April 2015 for those that ship later!

When will you ship existing items?

Due to various pressures, not least of which Darklands: First Edition and staff holidays (it is August!), miniatures purchased from the Existing Items category will not ship until later on in August, and this is likely to continue into September.

 nerdfest09 wrote:
I want a Camel man now :-(

 RiTides wrote:
Painted Agriosavra, sweet! I do have mine out to take a pic of the parts this weekend, Bolognesus

The QuickStarter Rules are Printed... and news of KS3!

In this, the first update on Darklands: a World of War for a month, we have some excellent news and some superb paintjobs... plus news of our next Kickstarter project!

This week we have:
news of the printing of the QuickStarter Rules, and when they'll be shipped to you
images of painted miniatures from Sébastien Picque;
news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds (provisional name)
downloads for the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
what else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Brace yourselves...

Huzzah! The Darklands QuickStarter Rules have now been printed at A5 size and should arrive at Mierce Towers next week. It's been a long, long wait but they're finally coming! Huzzah again!

Have a look at what's coming to your mailbox very soon:









We should be able to send the QuickStarter rules at the back end of next week, but we'll keep you all informed of course. You can download the full QuickStarter Rules below, of course!

Painted Miniatures

We're slowly painting up all of the miniatures from Darklands: a World of War, and whilst we're prioritising painting the new releases to come from Darklands: First Edition we can still get a few done from here over time.

Thus, both Sébastien Picque and Martin Grandbarbe are hard at work, painting miniatures from this project, although we only have some from Séb to show this week...

Aalvór

We've always thought that Aalvór is a cracking little miniature, and Sébastien Picque seems to agree because he has taken Benoît Cosse's sculpt to another level. What a lovely Mallax!









Poor little piggy! Aalvór is on a 50mm base.

Maallolvór

Another cracking sculpt by Benoît Cosse, Maallolvór is Aalvór's big brother and a mighty sloth-beast who could probably disembowel you before you knew it. Painted superbly by Sébastien Picque, of course!









Maallolvór stands on a 100mm base.

Fulfilment

With the shipping of the QuickStarter Rules beginning in a few days' time, that pretty much concludes the Darklands: a World of War kickstarter project, which is officially an Awesome Thing - although it's also slightly sad, because it's been a fantastic experience for us and, we hope, for you guys.

We do hope that this project has, at the very least, met your expectations, if not blown you away with the quality of our miniatures, customer service and the rules themselves.

None of the awesome miniatures we have produced, nor the QuickStarter Rules, could have existed without you guys, all of you that backed this project in early 2013. So it has to be said - THANK YOU to each and every one of you, because without you, it's very doubtful Darklands and Mierce Miniatures would be where we are today.

That's why you're mentioned on the inside back cover of the Darklands QuickStarter Rulebook, so look out for that when you get your copy!

What happens with this project?

As long as Kickstarter lives this project will serve to inform everybody about what this project did and what was produced, of course, but even though - once the QuickStarter rules are shipped - there won't be anything to fulfil, we'll still update this project now and again with images of painted miniatures, or perhaps news about Mierce Miniatures and upcoming projects. So there'll still be a reason to visit!

Darklands is a tabletop skirmish wargame in which you command the hosts of man and beast that your ancestors once did for glory, power or simple survival!

To play Darklands with our fantastic range of miniatures, you need rules of course - and whilst the full Darklands: First Edition rulebook is not yet available until later on in 2014, you can still play the game with our Darklands QuickStarter Rules, which you can download right here!

As well as the QuickStarter Rules, you'll also need the Muster Rules (which show you how to build a host) and the various Kindred Musters (which give you all the warrior profiles for every single miniature we have produced or will produce).



The time has come to talk to you about our next Kickstarter project, provisionally entitled "Darklands: New Kindreds", or KS3 as it is more popularly known amongst backers (which is a bit of a misnomer as it would be our fifth project, but that's by the by).

The provisional start date of this project will be Monday the 15th of September and it should end a month later on Monday the 13th of October. We reckon that's twenty-eight days, which is plenty of time to run a project of this size.

So what's Darklands: New Kindreds all about?

Well, as it says in the title, it's about bringing new kindreds to the world of Darklands!

This project has been mooted for a long while simply because Darklands has ten main kindreds, two of which - the Atalantes and Érainn - have not yet been explored, even though there's lots of interest in them.

You see, in Darklands: a World of War we decided to concentrate on six kindreds (Angelcynn, Brythoniaid, Fomoraic, Khthones, Norse and Ysians) and then added another two kindreds with the Darklands: First Edition project (the Albainn and Byzantii) - which leaves the Atalantes and Érainn rather by the wayside. Now's the time to redress that!

Who are the Atalantes?

The Atalantes are a decadent, somewhat depraved civilisation that live upon the crumbling islands of Atalantia in the Atlantic Ocean - what we now call Atlantis. Their society and their home is dying, but they cling to the ancient rocks even as they are assaulted by their former progeny and slaves, the Khthones - although many believe they should take to the seas and relocate to the Lands of Darkness to the east, which inevitably causes conflict with those that already live there.

In Darklands, the ancient Greeks were descended from the Atalantes, and so their look and feel will be very similar to those who know what a Hoplite looks like - but through their use of arcane technology, constructs of bronze (such as Talos) and ruthless slavery they will also have a very different feel.

Who are the Érainn?

The Érainn are, put very simply, the dark age Irish. Their society is mostly Christian but fairly barbaric, and as they are assaulted by the Fomoraic and the Norse and the Atalantes and many others, they are becoming more and more martial and turning to the old ways of Danu the Earth Goddess.

Thus, Irish warrior-bands like those of old now defend the north of Eriu against the threat of the sea devils and raiders from elsewhere, and Danu herself lends aid to her people through the beasts of the bog, peat and marsh - terrifying creatures with an implacable hatred of all that destroy the natural world. With those at their side, the Érainn might - just - be able to survive this age of darkness.

How will the project work?

We can't say too much about the project right now simply because not everything has been nailed down, but we can say that the main rewards will be based around Starter Sets, rather like Darklands: a World of War.

There will be at least two Starter Sets for each of the new kindreds - one that contains infantry, and one monstrous infantry - as well as options to include generals, commanders, sorcerers, monstrous beasts and much else besides. They'll also include dice and tokens as required, to get you started immediately.

What about the other Kindreds?

We haven't forgotten those!

There'll be Starter Sets for each of the other kindreds, and although we won't go into specifics right now we can tell you that there'll be new warriors and alternates for them all. So whilst the project is designed to fund the creation of new kindreds, if you like the others there'll be plenty for you to fund!

What about a Sneak Peek?

Absolutely... here's something to whet your appetite!



That's it for this week! We hope to bring you news of the QuickStarter Rules shipping next time, and more on the upcoming Darklands: New Kindreds project...

 Alpharius wrote:
KS3 (or 5) is looking awesome both in terms of miniatures/kindreds and its impact on my wallet!

Still, I'm looking forward to it - a lot!