Bombshell Babes, Kickstarter complete, Webstore now open for business

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**BrookM**

With four days to go I doubt we'll see a lot of the higher end items getting unlocked sadly.

**Buzzsaw**

BrookM wrote:
With four days to go I doubt we'll see a lot of the higher end items getting unlocked sadly.

I'm cautiously hopeful myself. It does seem that there are always a lot of people hanging on till the final days to see what's in the drive before they really jump in (paradoxical as it is).

**BrookM**

Don't get me wrong, I am hopeful myself, having jumped in for a BLAST level deal, I'd love to get my hands on rocket bike or dare I say, Linna and Girron, but I fear we won't see it happen.

**RiTides**

The Betty sculpt took me from interested to not... Too many unknowns with so few of these sculpted :/. Why don't these companies get at least a few models sculpted upfront...

**drazz**

He's a freelance sculptor. He only has income when he has sculpts to do. And, he had a few for the Bones kickstarter.

He's definitely a talented sculptor, as we have seen in a number of places. I understand the idea of wanting to see a few, but he's about to go without a paying job for months. And pay for the molds. And lay out the money for the material, and shipping, and everything else.

To me, this is exactly the kind of entrepreneur that needs a Kickstarter. This is going to create a new business, and I'm happy to put my money in that start.

**Buzzsaw**

RiTides wrote:
The Betty sculpt took me from interested to not... Too many unknowns with so few of these sculpted :/. Why don't these companies get at least a few models sculpted upfront...

You raise a very legitimate point: more-so then many kickstarters, this is a real start-up, without a finished product to show. I spoke to Patrick about this, and my impression is that he is doing all he can to get some WIPs out, and listen to what people are saying about them (he mentioned a potential change to Betty, for example).

The problem is, of course, he doesn't have the money yet, so he has to work on his commissions at the same time (several times he's pointed out that he's had to do rush jobs for Reaper and Dark Sword, including, no doubt, things like the well received Cloud Giantess and female paladin shown elsewhere).

It's a catch-22: to really attract backers he needs product to show them, but he needs backing to have the support to do the sculpts. Showing very early WIPs similarly can be both good (if they are great), but also bad, because they are in-progress. Showing something too early can be deadly (recall from just this weekend the chorus of "that's what?!" when the picture of the WIP of Wildcard from Dreadball was shown).

For myself, I can understand that and I hold out cautious optimism. This is a project I'm supporting both because I really hope that the end results will be to my liking (and his current works seem to support the aforementioned optimism), but also because it's a project I really want to succeed.

One of the problems with kickstarters seem to be the raised expectations that come from several companies with existing product lines basically coming to the Kickstarter and gathering funds to make a transition, or to make a product that was already going to be made better. That's fine, but it's raising the bar in a way that makes it even harder for the really little guy to get in on the action.

All that said, none of this is going to make someone like a miniature that they simply don't like.

**Sculptdude**

RiTides wrote:
The Betty sculpt took me from interested to not... Too many unknowns with so few of these sculpted :/. Why don't these companies get at least a few models sculpted upfront...

First off - I'm not a "few of these companies" I'm one guy trying to start up a boutique line of my own like Red Box, Hasslefree and Freebooter.

Second - As mentioned before, I have started revisions on the Betty sculpt and will have more pics of her posted when she's done. If I weren't in the middle of finishing some big things for Privateer Press, Dark Sword and Reaper's own Kickstarter in September, I would be further along with the Babes sculpts and would have posted more work sooner.

Third - I can understand reluctance to backing anything sight unseen. I prefer to have as much info about the project I'm backing as possible. However, I gladly backed the Red Box project with only a handful of finished things to show and post after post of concept art because I know Tre and I know his work. I'm certain he will deliver quality minis just like the other ones he put out. I have also backed Tom's Effigy Havoc project for the same reasons. I know him, and I know his work. I expect he will put out something cool.

But I fully expect not everyone will know my work nor anything about me. They don't know that I work through ELEVEN iterations of a model for some of my high profile clients to make it as close to the art as I can get. As a boutique line, and being my own art director there is a lot of leeway I can have as far as making the models as cool as they can be. It's asking a lot for someone to put up money, sight unseen, for products that are not made yet. But that's what crowdfunding is all about. I'm just grateful for the 800+ backers we do have in order to get this started up.

But since it came up again, there are some more progress pics that will be posted in the next update. Bear in mind, they are not finished but it should at least give an idea of where they're going.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Buzzsaw wrote:
All that said, none of this is going to make someone like a miniature that they simply don't like.

Oh yeah, and that. ^

**RiTides**

Progress pics would be great. Just thought it was worth giving honest feedback. The cloud giantess is what had me interested, but as it's larger I felt it wouldn't be directly comparable.

I prefer the "little guy" kickstarters, as shown by my backing history. But, I like to see a prototype, or 3D render, or a green- not just concept art.

I think it's a legitimate suggestion to finish one sculpt, on your own time or over a long period, etc, before launching a campaign... I made it as a general comment because I wasn't wanting to single you out (you're far from the only one!). Sorry if it came off rude. I really didn't mean it that way, but tone in text is tricky.

But I am very reluctant to back concept art without at least a finished model from the range or two. Useful for future reference, perhaps! And again seeing a few greens would be great.

Also thanks to Buzzsaw for the thorough reply.

**Buzzsaw**

The much anticipated WIP update arrives!

Three Days and Some Hours Left!
Update #22

Despite popular opinion I am actually sculpting on the Babes! I removed the larger head for Betty and will work up a replacement. I will also be beefing up her legs a bit for molding.

Nowada has been blocked out with the basic understructure and anatomy. Next she will be getting an initial layer of drapery and armor. I will also begin the weapon next.

Vivian has a glass bead in place of the helmet until that is built in ZBrush and printed. As work progresses on her I will post renders of the helmet. She has a rudimentary layer for the diving suit. More layers will be built up to fill out the bulk of the armored plating. I thickened her waist a bit to facilitate casting. Were it the proportions in the art it would be prone to snapping when pulled from the mold.

____________________________________
TARGET ACQUIRED

$85,000 ACHIEVED - THANK YOU!!! Chooser of the Slain Geirahöd the Valkyrie will swoop to the battlefield as an additional Babes choice at any level that has a Babes choice as a reward. Along with that, when the goal is reached, we will add a Fantasy Weapon Sprue to every BOMB KIT for FREE!
TARGET SCANNING

$95,000+ Professor Karrick & Thulle will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10. Along with that, when the goal is reached, we will add a Sidekick iSlug to every BOMB KIT for FREE!

____________________________________
NEWS

Due to popular request, we found the fourth mold for Relic Tallah! She will be added to the Additional Support section for an added pledge of +$5 soon. When we reach the goal for Matt Dixon's Cave Girl at $125,000 one Relic 4 Tallah will be included in the BOMB KIT for absolutely FREE!

This is it! The final week! I know you are as ready to wrap this thing up as we are here at the Bomb Factory! There are still lots of cool things to unlock and add to your rewards. Over the next couple of days we will be adding a couple of new pledge levels and revealing some more Additional Support items. If all goes to plan, there will be daily updates through the remaining period of the project.

~Patrick
The Sculptdude

Excellent good... alas for poor Betty though, she had to go and... lose her head.

Too puny? Probably too puny...

**RiTides**

Well now you had to go and win me back over

. I love it when projects like this listen to feedback... That's why I love small Kickstarters!

Sculpt looks like it will be great with a new/smaller head, and slightly thicker legs for the molding process.

**Dentry**

Betty's head wasn't really an issue for me but her temporary decapitation only serves to raise my confidence for the final sculpts coming out of Bombshell Miniatures.

**Buzzsaw**

RiTides wrote:
Well now you had to go and win me back over . I love it when projects like this listen to feedback... That's why I love small Kickstarters!

Sculpt looks like it will be great with a new/smaller head, and slightly thicker legs for the molding process.

I'm really excited to see the revisions for Betty, and really hopeful that we'll get through to Shalunka at least (damn I want to see that top-hatted werewolf...). One of the best things I've found for fortifying my resolve is checking out the Reaper Catalog (5 pages of sculpts!): Patrick has so many wonderful sculpts in there (but dangerous, as the inclination to start buying kicks up...).

Spoiler:

Past performance no guarantee of future results, etc., etc...

The question the prospect of a revised Betty brings up, of course, is... how do you paint transparent glass?

**Wehrkind**

Grrr.... goddamnit... I need more money to give you :(

RiTides, quickly, order those damned parts from me! Then give the monies to this man!

**Kroothawk**

Kroothawk wrote:This sculpt looks odd: A head the size of her upper body and super thin legs. Hope the other miniatures translate better from concept to miniature.

Update #22 wrote:Despite popular opinion I am actually sculpting on the Babes! I removed the larger head for Betty and will work up a replacement. I will also be beefing up her legs a bit for molding.

Good to hear that my feedback was deemed justified and reacted to. Restores my confidence in this kickstarter.

**Azazelx**

Indeed. It's heartening to see. As I said to Tre' in the Red Box KS thread, I'd rather the quality was up to scratch even it it means a couple of delays.

**Buzzsaw**

Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping... into the future!

68 Hours to Go!
Update #23 · Oct. 02, 2012 · comment

Today has been the highest pledge day since September 16th! I have to hand it to the Bombardiers, you guys really got out there and beat the bushes to drum up the pledges. I also want to welcome and offer a sincere thanks to all of our new backers who are starting to jump on board as we count down the final hours of the Kickstarter project.

TARGET SCANNING

Our Next Goal - Less than $4000 to go!
$95,000+ Professor Karrick & Thulle will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10. Along with that, when the goal is reached, we will add a Sidekick iSlug to every BOMB KIT for FREE!

___________________________________________
PROJECT UPDATE

We have restacked the graphics on the main project page. Hopefully the new Rewards Levels image will make pledging a little easier to understand.

Two new backer levels are added:
$170 PLASMA which includes the BOMB KIT + 15 additional Babes choices (18 Babes total)
$200 NEUTRON which includes the BOMB KIT + 15 additional Babes choices (18 Babes total) + Your choice of any 3 unlocked Reinforcements Sets.

If you pledge $230 and select NEUTRON you will be able to get one of everything offered, if we unlock all the Babes and Reinforcements shown. That would be 18 total Babes and six Reinforcements Sets. This actually saves $10 from the total of the previous NAPALM Level + 6 Reinforcements which totaled $240.

NEW HYDROGEN LEVELS

We increased the number of HYDROGEN Levels to include three new sculpts. If you pledge at the HYDROGEN Level you can get one of the offered sculpts for Meagan, Sally, Sword Maiden, Nowada, Vivian or Tetsu Ko.

If you want to upgrade your HYDROGEN Level with PLASMA to get a sculpt plus 18 Babes plus 3 Reinforcements Sets of your choice, pledge at the $725 amount and select the HYDROGEN sculpt of your choice. After the project closes you can indicate the PLASMA upgrade during the survey.

How about that for an awesome Bombshell Blast?!?

RELIC 4

We have added the fourth Relic - Tallah the Swordmistress to the Additional Support section. You can get as many items as you like from this section for the additional pledge amounts indicated.

___________________________________________
NEWS

Most of today has consisted of sculpting and updating the Main Page Graphics™. The itinerary for the next two weeks will be thus.

Tomorrow will be more sculpting with hopefully more pics of the Babes in progress. I still have several outstanding pieces to finish for Neomics, Laughing Monk, Reaper, DGS Games and Antimatter as well as a couple of others. Fortunately the Privateer piece goes out in the mail in the morning.

Thursday is our weekly visit to the Reaper Factory where I will be meeting with some of the other Bomb Squad participants and dropping off at least a sculpt or two. Friday will be spent monitoring the final hours of the Kick project followed by a celebratory gathering at a local pub for some well deserved suds and darts! Saturday the Sculptdude turns 45! So, I'm taking that day off.

Wednesday will be the beginning of Reaper Artist Conference, a week-long conclave of painters and sculptors sharing all the latest tips and tricks we've put together from the previous year. I will be taking all the Babes along with me and while working on some additional Reaper things, will also be posting the first of the Regular Friday Updates™ from the con.

So, I know many of you are probably thinking, "Whew! All this will be finished up Friday." And for many it will be. But it is actually the start of Bombshell Miniatures, because all the work to bring you the best Babes we can really begins!

~Patrick
The Sculptdude

**Mathieu Raymond**

Those are some huge swords. She must have crazy biceps.

**Azazelx**

Anyone know for sure what's happening with the familiars? I had thought they were included with the higher level pledges, but the Bomb Kit only seems to include about half of them?

So if you want them all you have to pledge an additional $10 for five, so you end up with extras of a few?

I'd just hope that Patrick (and the other sculptors) will continue to be open and communicative to feedback from backers when figures are, well, not up to scratch (like Betty). Tre' from RBG clearly is, and has in the past couple of days changed the face of one of his wolves based on feedback.

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

scipio.au wrote:
Anyone know for sure what's happening with the familiars? I had thought they were included with the higher level pledges, but the Bomb Kit only seems to include about half of them?

So if you want them all you have to pledge an additional $10 for five, so you end up with extras of a few?

Some of the familiars were added to Bomb Kit (free) when their respective babe was unlocked,

but others can only be obtained by selecting the respective babe (and you'll get multiples of them if you get multiples of that babe)

The reason for this is that these familiars were included in the concept art for the figure so pledgers would assume that they came with them.

(also note that the ONLY way to get the familiars with the Matt Dixon babes is to buy the babe, Bombshell is unable to sell these as part of the familiars pack due to the licening arrangement for the art)

Automatically Appended Next Post:
ADDENDUM

Patrick has said that individual familiars will be for sale when the Bombshell website is up and running, so if you are after multiples of a single one (flying monkey army?) it may be worth waiting for that

**Buzzsaw**

Aaaand, the professor, the monster and the slug are in! Please note that everyone at Bomb kit level will get a lovely new-model iSlug, perfect for working out, long trips or experiencing existential horror.

At $95,330 working towards $100,000 and Delzira, Demon Princess;

Will post the official update when available.

**Buzzsaw**

One small step for a kickstarter, one giant leap towards a werewolf in a furry hat...

Less than 48 Hours to Go
Update #24 · Oct. 03, 2012 · comment

Welcome new and existing backers! The final 48 is going to be a wild ride. There are several cool items still waiting to be unlocked. We here at the Bomb Factory hope that we will get to make them for you.
TARGETS ACQUIRED

$95,000 ACHIEVED - THANK YOU!!! Professor Karrick & Thulle are available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10. Along with that, we will include a Sidekick iSlug to every BOMB KIT for FREE!

$100,000 ACHIEVED - THANK YOU!!! Delzira the Demon Princess as now available as an additional Babes choice at any level that has a Babes choice as a reward.
ADDITIONAL GOALS

$110,000+ Luta & Shunkaha will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$120,000+ HS38 Rocket Bike will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$125,000+ Cave Girl will be available as an additional Babes choice at any level that has a Babes choice as a reward.

$135,000+ Atomic Punks will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$145,000+ Fire Brigade will be available as Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$155,000+ Linna & Girron will be available as Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$160,000+ ? ? ?

________________________________
REWARDS

Rewards levels are broken down to include several choice options.

You can include as many Additional Support items as you want at ANY pledge level. Maelee is limited to three per backer.

You need to back at BOMB KIT level to add Reinforcements. BOMB KIT gives you 3 Babes + Maelee + Relics + extras including shirt. You may opt to trade only the shirt for two additional Babes choices indicated in the survey.

When you up your pledge you need to put in the total amount you want to pledge now. A survey will be sent after the project for you to select your rewards options.

International Backers choosing rewards with MORE than 3 Babes and a Postcard Set MUST include $12 additional shipping with their pledge, including Canada.

NEW FAQ

We have had several questions about the availability of pledge rewards in light of achieving the remaining stretch goals. I decided to post that concise info to give all our new backers the info about the final hours of the project.

"What if someone pledges NEUTRON and only 1 or 2 Reinforcements goals are achieved but they don't want to select duplicate rewards?"

It's all about choices. Choose to pledge a certain amount. Choose which rewards you feel are best for the amount you decide to donate.

If you don't want to be stuck with "empty slots" that you would need duplicates to fill, adjust your pledge or backer level by clicking the "Manage Your Pledge" button. You have up until 5pm CDT on Friday to determine if we reach all the goals to get what you want for your rewards. As many have already mentioned in the Comments Section, if you pledge higher now, we may in fact reach all those goals by then . . .

The NEUTRON Level is aimed at newer backers and those who want to be able to select a pledge level without having to calculate how many Babes and Reinforcements to add on. Basically it is likely to be simpler than the PLASMA Level if you want Reinforcements options is likely to be as close to a 'complete collection' option as we can make.

________________________________
NEWS

Many of you have asked if we will be offering rewards packages for additional support pledges even after the funding of our current Kickstarter project ends.

The short answer is YES!

On Saturday, after the Kickstarter funding period closes Friday night at 5pm CDT, we will set up a specific page to begin accepting additional pledge support through PayPal Donations.

THIS WILL NOT BE A KICKSTARTER PLEDGE MANAGER.

Unfortunately we do not have the resources to hire a dedicated code monkey to custom build a pledge management site like the big companies that funded millions for their projects.

However! We will make the various rewards items available for your continued pledge support throughout our fulfillment period using PayPal Donations. There will be a link at the top of the Bombshell page that will take you to the Continued Progress page where you will be able to add pledge funds and select additional rewards for your support. Look for this little graphic to appear at the top of the main Bombshell Minis site once that is all set up.

Again! Thanks for all your support. We appreciate your continued interest and dedication to making the Bombshell project a success beyond anything we expected or imagined.

~Patrick
The Sculptdude

**DarkTraveler777**

Are all of the figures going to be shipped in January 2013 or are they going to be staggered based upon when they were unlocked?

**Sculptdude**

We're planning to ship everything in one package. The goal is to have everything out by the end of January.
We will be making weekly updates all through the fulfillment period with progress pics, renders and info about the production process.

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

Now down to just over 29 hours

$3784 to unlock the Werewolf and the Babe

then a further $10,000 for the HS38 Rocket Bike and Biker Babe

Join us now, spending money you haven't got is fun at this time of year

**Alpharius**

I'd love to have the Rocket Bike goal reached!

**drazz**

Rocket bike is almost assured. I'm looking at the end goals already announced and the three new silhouettes that popped up after $160.

Is that a possibility?

**Azazelx**

Since they're only silhouettes at this stage and not concept art, I highly doubt it. I have to scratch my head at the "+$10 add-on" ones being $10k stretch goals while the "regular" babes are $5k goals. - given that we're not in a Reaper or Mantic (or even Mongoose) situaton where tons of extras are being added to a "sweet spot" pledge level, (we're paying at least wholesale for each item, after all).

As in, it's not going to cost $10k to get each of those pairs sculpted, and as they're sold seperately, I don't see why the stretch level is so high. I think it'll hit the werewolf, but getting to the bike is iffy at best, and Cave Girl is also in danger of not coming in.

Also this bit doesn't exactly fill me with a burning desire to "pledge higher now" anyway, and it's obviously having the same effect on others...

If you don't want to be stuck with "empty slots" that you would need duplicates to fill, adjust your pledge or backer level by clicking the "Manage Your Pledge" button. You have up until 5pm CDT on Friday to determine if we reach all the goals to get what you want for your rewards. As many have already mentioned in the Comments Section, if you pledge higher now, we may in fact reach all those goals by then . . .

**drazz**

The reinforcement babes are two models and the second is on a 50mm base. And you're getting them at $10. That seems like an incredible deal.

Remember, this guy is an stablished sculptor, working for companies like Reaper, but he's trying to start his own line. He's going to pay out of pocket for molds, materials, website and everything. This company is not established and looking to expand, like Reaper or Mantic or SodaPop.

So, yeah, if it costs 5,000 to create molds and buy materials to make 2,000 minis, it makes sense that it will cost MORE than 10,000 to make a pair of them when one of the pair is of a significantly larger size.

I know I'm being defensive, but this is the kind of enterprise that needs to be encouraged on Kickstarter. Mantic and SodaPop and others are just creating pre-sales.

As the deal stands right now, $150 gets you 16 (or 18 with shirt trade-in) babes, 3 (maybe 4 if we get to 125k) more 25 mm girls, art cards for everything, 3 weapons sprues, 7 small sidekicks (more if you select the appropriate Babes), scenic bases for each, and 40mm marker. That's $8.33 per 25mm mini (with the shirt trade in) before you factor in the extras ($1 per base is common).

And $10 add ons? Where are you going to find a $10 50mm werewolf with a tophat?

**Dentry**

Wish this ended on Saturday instead of Friday. Feel as though that would generate more pledges from the last minute folk.

Delzira was the last babe on my list. May have to up my pledge for the fancy werewolf, though.

Hopefully, we see the large influx of pledges as we've seen in other KSers. Would be thrilled to have more babes to choose from.

**Buzzsaw**

It's the Final Countdooooooooooown!

The Final Day!
Update #25 · Oct. 04, 2012 · 7 comments

This is it. Less than twenty hours to go. It has been a long haul. We started in early August planning the project, designing the concepts and crunching the numbers. Now we only have a few hours to unlock the remaining pieces. I am confident we can get there.

For good measure, Tim sharpened up his drawing pencil and whipped out three massively cool Babes I would be thrilled to share with you. They will be revealed only if we get to the pending Mystery Goals shown in the Babes Choices section!

If we reach the goals these pieces will be available as regular Babes choices, otherwise the pieces will not be in production until late next year. There are some pretty cool things lurking in there.

_____________________________________________
TARGET ACQUIRED

$110,000 ACHIEVED - THANK YOU!!! Luta & Shunkaha are now available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10.

$120,000+ HS38 Rocket Bike will be available as a Reinforcements Add-On Set for your additional pledge of only $10. Along with that, when the goal is reached, we will add one Sidekick Flakk to every BOMB KIT for FREE!

__________________
NEWS

Spent most of the day at Reaper finishing the Hyrekia sculpt. I also finished up a couple of other things to clear my workbench and make room for all the Babes needing attention.

Tim was kind enough to provide me with the additional details regarding Vivian's diving suit. He worked out some pretty specific things to create the art and the extra views of the equipment are invaluable to help with the sculpting. She will be an awesome figure when finished. I'm really looking forward to working on her some more.

As we are gearing up here at the Bomb Factory to go into Babe production, I wanted to specifically thank all of you making this possible. It is a pretty amazing thing when close to a thousand backers can latch onto an idea and a concept to work together to make something really happen.

Everything is in place to make some truly fantastic models. You should all be very proud, because you are the ones who made it possible!

~Patrick
The Sculptdude