Mierce Miniatures Darklands Ongoing News and Rumors Thread! Darklands Rulebook ships on April 18!

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**skullking**

zedmeister wrote:
RiTides wrote:
Wow, Dan Cockersell is out of this world- he sculpted the painted Scecchus model above, and now Erebius on Behema. Very excited that that looks to be a wave 4 shipment!

Is the Scecchus model part of the Craven Fiends of Dis unit, being finished by Roberto Chaudon? That unique head is my favorite of Mierce's concepts, although it seems to be on a variety of creatures- are they all descended from same ancestor, or similar?

They're fiends, Scecchus is not part of the unit, but will be a Warchief. So, the command structure could be:

Krull -> Scecchus -> Fiend unit of 5 fiends

What about Malacant? It says he's a Monstrous commander as well, though he's listed as a 'Servile Champion of Dis', whereas Scecchus is a 'Servile Fiend of Dis'. Although, I would guess his Wings and Cloven feet being so similar to Big Brother Krull would rank him a bit higher than Scecchus.

Would be cool to get some female Fiends or other residents of Dis. Krull needs to fight along side his wife/sister/mother (BigMommaK). Penda can't be the only dude dragging his wife into battle.

**zedmeister**

skullking wrote:
zedmeister wrote:
RiTides wrote:
Wow, Dan Cockersell is out of this world- he sculpted the painted Scecchus model above, and now Erebius on Behema. Very excited that that looks to be a wave 4 shipment!

Is the Scecchus model part of the Craven Fiends of Dis unit, being finished by Roberto Chaudon? That unique head is my favorite of Mierce's concepts, although it seems to be on a variety of creatures- are they all descended from same ancestor, or similar?

They're fiends, Scecchus is not part of the unit, but will be a Warchief. So, the command structure could be:

Krull -> Scecchus -> Fiend unit of 5 fiends

What about Malacant? It says he's a Monstrous commander as well, though he's listed as a 'Servile Champion of Dis', whereas Scecchus is a 'Servile Fiend of Dis'. Although, I would guess his Wings and Cloven feet being so similar to Big Brother Krull would rank him a bit higher than Scecchus.

Would be cool to get some female Fiends or other residents of Dis. Krull needs to fight along side his wife/sister/mother (BigMommaK). Penda can't be the only dude dragging his wife into battle.

Malacant is a Warchief where as Krull is a Warlord. Warlords are, in effect, the general of the entire force, where as the Warchief leads a contingent of that force and the Warchief is subservient to the general. In game terms, Malacant and Scecchus are both warchiefs.

**highlord tamburlaine**

Khthon's been pretty equal opportunity so far with letting the ladies get their fight on. Not many armies, factions, or kindreds out there have boob snakes after all.

I'm still trying to figure out what color Mag Ap Mag should be. He's got hair, scales, softer skin under that, what looks like a wattle of a bird... I'm at a loss as to where to take him color- wise! Some kind of pinkish red maybe for the skin, with the scales in a darker color? Lighten up the loose skin under his neck?

But then he's got hair and horns too! Evolution certainly had a field day with this one!

And if he's distantly related (somehow) to the other Brythoniaid dragon types, should his skin fall in line in their color spectrum as well?

These thoughts have been eating at me for quite some time!

**zedmeister**

You could always use the woccor as a guide:

Dragons seem to be red, wyerns are green (which the Dyngwyfern will probably follow) and Woccors seem to pale flesh/green with bits of purple

**highlord tamburlaine**

An off flesh with bits of purple could be interesting. There's still the hair though. I'm thinking of using some greys and browns maybe.

When I'm home from work the plan is to finish off the two Brutes I'm working on as well as Ssibyros, and then I'm going to commit paint one way or the other to my Woccorman.

I'm hoping we get to see what those Dyngwyferns look like during the next campaign. The Brythoniaid wyvern is quite an awesome model. Quite big too. I'm guess since they have the "Dyn" at the beginning of their name that means their Wyvern men- I'm wondering if that would be like a Dyndraig with wings?

I don't think Rob's spoiled that one yet.

Maybe we can summon him up and have him chime in...

**yxalitis**

For Mag Ap Mag I'll be going for a dirty yellow.
Dunno why, just cos.

**Jehan-reznor**

That War Drune, sheer awesomeness, And Belech needs a plectrum in his right hand

**zedmeister**

KS1 farewell update

The QuickStarter Rules are Shipping Now!

We have some fantastic news for you all: the awesome Darklands QuickStarter Rules, now printed in A5 format, are shipping now!

There's some other news too...
news that the QuickStarter Rules are shipping now
downloads for the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Here we go!

QuickStarter Rules

Huzzah! The Darklands QuickStarter Rules have arrived at Mierce Towers!

It's been a long, long wait but they're finally here. Here's a few images of the printed rulebook:

Look at the thickness!

Inside front cover

Inside the book

Shipping of the QuickStarter Rulebook

We're shipping the QuickStarter Rulebook right now, either:
in date order (i.e., the earliest orders will ship first) and taking the opportunity to ship them with your Wave 2 or Monstrous Mounts Existing Miniatures at the same time, should you have any of those
if there are only QuickStarter Rulebooks left in your order, shipping them all now regardless of date order.

What this means is that if you've Wave 2 stuff or existing miniatures shipping too, please be patient - we'll get it all out pretty quickly we think, and you'll have those QuickStarter rules very soon. In the meantime, you can download the full QuickStarter Rules below, of course!

If you want to get your hands on an awesome copy of the printed QuickStarter Rules, just pop on to the Mierce Miniatures website and order one.

The rulebook is officially released on September the 6th!

Fulfilment

With the shipping of the QuickStarter Rules starting, 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!

**Baragash**

Can't post the update for FE1 from work, but even though the Érainn didn't in principle appeal to me, I have to admit the concept art has definitely opened up the possibility that they might.....and I thought this was going to be a cheap KS (relative to the last 3)*

*Infantry starter sets aren't going to help that either as I've got a few kindreds that would benefit from that

**Slinky**

I keep telling myself I will just be in for a couple of models this time, but Mierce are very good at squeezing cash out of me...

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

Well my big stack of copies of the A5 QS rule book have arrived, and since I don't need all of them I have 5 copies to give away if anybody here is interested

(they are the same as the pdf you can download for free, but some of you like me may prefer hard copies)

If you want one of them all I'll ask for is the postage PM me if you're interested

**RiTides**

Really, it should be "quickstart", right? Silly, I know, but I think that every single time

**zedmeister**

Next update

Sculpts, Wave 2 has begun and Darklands: New Kindreds...

These seven days keep disappearing. Here's another Mierceday!

This week we have sculpts, Wave 2 fulfilment news and KS3... so that's:
news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds
news that Wave 2 items will be removed from the webstore very soon;
sculpt work in progress updates from Hector Moran and Stéphane Simon;
news that Wave 2 fulfilment has begun;
a list of what miniatures will hopefully be sent in Wave 3;
updated lists of sculptors and sculpts;
downloadable versions of the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Here we go...

This week we have images of Severa for the Con I Modius contubernium from Hector Moran, and there's more work to show on Gunnar Half-Shield, the herald of the Hrafnen Crew, from Stéphane Simon!

Severa

Hector Moran is really pushing the boat out on on Con I Modius, for his digital sculpts - from the artwork by Steve Pierce - are getting near to completion! He's even begun to add the pila to each of the warriors...

Hector's now got the awesome Severa, the second female Legionary, "in pose"...

With all five nearing completion, Con I Modius should definitely make it into Wave 3.

Gunnar Half-Shield

Stéphane Simon is cracking on with the Norse Holumenn known as Hrafnen Crew, from the artwork by Danny Cruz. These guys are going to be awesome!

Stéphane's almost finished the next Holumann, the hornblower, Gunnar Half-Shield...

With Stéphane Simon getting his speed mojo back, we think it's a safe bet that the Hrafnen Crew will make it into Wave 3!

Fulfilment

We have awesome news: Wave 2 shipments have now begun!

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!

With Wave 2 items now shipping, it is time to remind you all that ALL Wave 2 items will be removed from the Kickstarter category on August the 25th.

In a nutshell:
Wave 2 items will be removed from the Mierce Miniatures website at midnight (GMT) on the 25th of August!

The following items will be removed from the website:
ANGELCYNN: Timoth
BRYTHONIAID: Caedoc
BYZANTII: Agathae - Velchior - Djiuzu
FOMORAIC: Baagath's Herd - Praach
KHTHONES: Xontór - Thoth - Hanokh - Dawn of Khthon
NORSE: Mälmord
YSIANS: Seza

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

After August 25th, you'll have to wait until they're released!

If you don't purchase any Wave 2 items you'd like by August the 25th, you won't be able to purchase them 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 2 items now!

Kickstarter 3

What about a Sneak Peek?

Absolutely... here's something to whet your appetite, Cormac of the Red Hand, a Curadh (pronounced "CUH-reye") or Champion of the Érainn,by the lovely Sam Lamont!

Cormac's miniature will be stood on a rock, so it can fit on a 30mm base, or (as a limited edition project exclusive) on a Gabrax, for those who like that kind of thing ;o)

That's it for this week people... until next week, keep it Darklands!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
And the last one for today:

More Sculpts and Darklands: New Kindreds...

It's Friday. Here's an update!

This week we have:
news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds
sculpt work in progress updates from Olivier Bouchet and Roberto Chaudon;
a list of sculptors and sculpts for this project;
downloadable versions of the current QuickStarter Rules, Muster Rules and Kindred Musters;
anything else you can expect from us over the next few months.

Let's begin!

This update we have an Oghur of the Oghu Guardians from Olivier Bouchet and another awesome Fiend from the Craven Fiends of Dis by Roberto Chaudon.

Undagg

From the artwork by Thomas Mahon, Olivier Bouchet is working very hard indeed on the Oghu Guardians, and Undagg joins both Grubog and Skrugadd as far as the completeness stakes go...

Another superb Oghur from Olivier Bouchet, Undagg really does look the business! Olivier is absolutely nailing these guys. Undagg is now complete!

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

Kolkhus

Following Dan Cockersell's work on the Infernii was always going to be a tough ask for anybody, but the superbly talented Roberto Chaudon has taken Dan's baton and done us all proud. Here's another sculpt for the Craven Fiends of Dis, from the artwork by Stefan Kopinski!

A lowly warrior of Dis, Kolkhus is Roberto's next Fiend and he's looking awesome. He's not complete yet, but he's definitely getting there...

With Roberto's speed, the Craven Fiends of Dis should easily make it into Wave 4!

**Denilsta**

I am absolutely loving the Fiends of Dis, simply stunning. I am also very pleased with the way the Oghu Guardians are turning out, when I went for the "get them all" option in the KS they were the only concept art I did not like....The translation to miniatures have completely changed my mind about them.

**grefven**

The oghur are probably the ones I don't like at all, neither the concept nor the sculpts. Don't get me wrong, the sculpts are alright, but not close to the other standard Mierce usually offers. The difference between the Craven Fiends and the Oghur are miles apart.

**RiTides**

That's my take too, grefven.

**Bossk_Hogg**

grefven wrote:
The oghur are probably the ones I don't like at all, neither the concept nor the sculpts. Don't get me wrong, the sculpts are alright, but not close to the other standard Mierce usually offers. The difference between the Craven Fiends and the Oghur are miles apart.

My thoughts as well. The concept is good, they just seem to have less detail and texture. for lack of a better word, they're "smoother" than most Mierce figures who have veins, scars, etc.

**Looky Likey**

Sale here, it was an easy call deciding that I was going to collect Dis

**Zond**

I didn't like the Oghur concept and I somewhat like the models. I never knew why until you guys pointed out how smooth they are. It's almost into uncanny valley territory. I'm sort of torn about the Scots now. It's not that the Oghur are bad, just other models are better.

**Alpharius**

I agree that the Oghur models look way better than I thought they would based on the concept art.

I also agree that they remain something I will resist picking up.

But...this is probably more down to the fact that I cannot pick up yet another Kindred just before the two new Kindreds that I will most likely NOT be able to resist get released in September!

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

A bit of advise for those that picked up Malmord the Fell Troll,

when it comes to assembly there is a really tiny claw on the sprue of claws/skulls for his belt & necklace.

This, as it turns out is the dew claw from one of his legs, and it's a real pain to fit it once the figure is assembled, so remember to glue it onto the leg before you stick the leg onto the body

**Sirio**

The Craven Fiends are very nice models, I think they are both original and well sculpted. Very curious to see them in the flesh!

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

Right here are some (hopefully more tempting) photos of the Gabrax

(I got a duplicate arm/weapon sprue for one of the others which is why warrior 5 is not assembled)

**plastictrees**

Still not quite what I was anticipating somehow. Can't quite put my finger on why though.

What do you think of them in person?

**Alpharius**

I'm with you there - there's something still NQR with them...something seems 'off' still.

**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

I like them (although perhaps not quite as much as the existing Gabrax which are a touch more delicate),

The warrior is a pain to put together though as it's really tricky to get the separate arm to fix to the hand on the polearm while fixing the other hand onto the other arm at the same time. The other three are simple enough though

**grefven**

I think they look very good. I don't quite understand how they can look so bland when Cosse takes the pictures, and so good when some amateur (no offence mate) snaps off a few pictures with his iphone. It baffles me. I especially like the one looking to the side (right in the second picture), and will have to get it with my next order!

**Alpharius**

grefven wrote:
I think they look very good. I don't quite understand how they can look so bland when Cosse takes the pictures, and so good when some amateur (no offence mate) snaps off a few pictures with his iphone. It baffles me. I especially like the one looking to the side (right in the second picture), and will have to get it with my next order!

Easy!

Benoît Cosse is a professional sculptor, and not a professional photographer!

All kidding aside, he really does need to figure out how to take some better pictures of his work as he's doing himself an injustice!

**JWBS**

I still don't like the Gabrax. The Oghur, however, look amazing to me, very good.

**decker_cky**

Yeah....I really think some of the details in how the heads are shaped and how the horns flow just didn't work with the design on these. I don't much love how the shoulders/necks come together either.

I think following the designs of other mierce gabrax horns would have been the easiest improvement - curling backwards, generally fairly straight, looks better, rather than curling towards the middle or forwards.

The chewing on the horn model is an amusing but odd concept, and if you're going to do something like that, it has to be absolutely knocked out of the ballpark, which I don't think they did. A more standard horn blower would have been much nicer.

Most of the problems I have link back to the concept art, but I also think Benoit Cosse didn't elevate them from the concept, which is always nice, but was certainly necessary in this case.

The Mierce gabrax characters are by and large amazing. I'm always going to compare gabrax to beastmen miniatures from GW, which aren't a homerun by any means, but are very good. In general, where there's a comparable model, Mierce models are way nicer than the competition. Here, there was definitely room for that, but the concept and execution were both a bit below Mierce's standards.

------------------

The Oghur's I don't absolutely love, but they're very nice and are IMO better than the concept art. I think they mostly fall victim to not being what people were really hoping for (which was the oghurithne, after seeing the wonderful Bagseg), and being next in line in terms of 'slightly bigger' ogres.