Jehan-reznor wrote:
That War Drune, sheer awesomeness, And Belech needs a plectrum in his right hand

decker_cky wrote:
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.

yxalitis wrote:

 Jehan-reznor wrote:
That War Drune, sheer awesomeness, And Belech needs a plectrum in his right hand

He has a built-in natural picks in the form of great big claws.

Update #86
Aug 25 2014
Wave 2 Items Removed Tonight!

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 tonight, 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.

Here's a few images to make you realise what you're missing...


Timoth, Smith of Langwith Timoth, Smith of Langwith


Caedoc, Abad of Becelert Caedoc, Abad of Becelert




Velchior, Magus Infernum Velchior, Magus Infernum


Djiuzu, Dromedus Secundus Djiuzu, Dromedus Secundus


Baagath's Herd, Gabrax Unit Baagath's Herd, Gabrax Unit


Praach, Braying Gabrox Praach, Braying Gabrox


Xontór, Gorgon of Khthon Xontór, Gorgon of Khthon


Thoth, Anax of Ýdron Thoth, Anax of Ýdron


Hanokh, Kentarch of Ýdron Hanokh, Kentarch of Ýdron


Dawn of Khthon, Gorgórar Unit Dawn of Khthon, Gorgórar Unit


Malmörd, Fell Troll Malmörd, Fell Troll


Seza, Death-Abhorrent Seza, Death-Abhorrent

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

If you don't purchase any of the Wave 2 items above 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 - before it's too late!

 Malkaven wrote:
Every time I see this thread pop up to the top I race in here expecting breaking KS3 news. Oh well, maybe tomorrow...

Belech, Vaak and the QuickStarter Rules

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... both being rather tricky!

Belech

The awesome Belech, sculpted by Roberto Chaudon, is a scion of Baalor himself and thus is very much a Fomor - a true Fomor or Fíorfomor - and is basically a sea creature. Thus, his paintjob was always going to be rather eccentric and we eventually settled upon this one, simply because it fits the icy nature of Baalor's realm as well as many lobsters and other sea creatures on our earth.









Séb's performed wonders with this guy, and we hope he provides inspiration for you all to paint your Belech similarly! Remember, lobsters only turn red when they're cooked...

Vaak

Sculpted by Roberto Chaudon again (we do seem to give him the difficult ones!), from the artwork by Stef Kopinski, Vaak is a Moraine Beast, a constructed creature of ice and rock born of the glaciers Baalor brings to Eriu and, of course, dark sorcery.









Painted by Sébastien Picque to quite a difficult brief, Vaak has turned out superbly and hopefully it will provide inspiration to those of you who are struggling with this guy. He's a difficult miniature to paint, but certainly not impossible!

Update #87

Aug 29 2014
New sculpts and more news of Darklands: New Kindreds...
2 comments
8 likes

Crikey. Another seven days have passed, and here we are again... with loads of cool stuff to show you!

This week we have some new sculpts, Wave 2 fulfilment news and KS3... so that's:

news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds
sculpt work in progress updates from Stéphane Camosseto, Hector Moran and Stéphane Simon;
news of Wave 2 fulfilment;
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 the first images of Hrōr and Eadric's horse sculpts from Stéphane Camosseto, Tiberius for the Con I Modius contubernium from Hector Moran, and there's the completed Gunnar Half-Shield, the herald of the Hrafnen Crew, from Stéphane Simon!

The lovely Stéphane Camosseto has begun work on two Angelcynn miniatures, the first for a while, with Eadric's horse getting the treatment first. There's still a way to go, but he's looking good!
[img]
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/002/505/088/4e65c36925bbbe08513ebcfd491d61d5_large.jpg?1409307998[/img]


Eadric on Horse should make it into Wave 3, huzzah!

Hrōr is going to be spectacular. When he's got his weapons and armour, we think Hrōr is going to be Stéphane's best work yet...







With Hrōr looking pretty close to completion, he's a safe bet to make it into Wave 3!

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...

The last of the Legionaries to get "in pose", Tiberius is looking good...



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

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 now completed the Holumann herald known as 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!

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

We estimate we're around 10% through the orders containing Wave 2 items so far. We're combining Wave 2 items with QuickStarter rules as well as any existing miniatures from Darklands: Monstrous Mounts.



We have more specific news about our next Kickstarter project, 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). So, read the following carefully...

The definite start date of this project (barring an ape apocalypse) will be Monday the 15th of September (so only around two weeks away!) 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 containing 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 will the rewards be?

The rewards will be based around those starter sets, and you'll be able to purchase them separately or combined - including an option for "all the starter sets" for those with larger wallets...!

There will also be a reward for those who just want a couple of miniatures from the project, and there will also be a reward for an A5 version of the full rulebook that only contains rules.

The Infantry Starter Sets will be priced at £80, which will save you over 40% from the predicted RRP of everything that's inside them. You'll get a general, infantry unit and small monstrous beast, as well as dice and tokens.

All of the infantry starter sets will be unveiled right at the beginning of the project, although stretch goals will have to be made to get everything. If (when?) the project reaches £60,000, all of the infantry starter sets will be produced.

The Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets will be priced at £100, again saving you over 40% from the predicted RRP of everything that's inside them. You'll get a monstrous commander, a monstrous infantry unit and a large monstrous beast, as well as dice and tokens.

None of the monstrous infantry starter sets will be unveiled at the beginning of the project - you'll have to wait until we hit £60,000 for those!

What about the other Kindreds?

We haven't forgotten the existing kindreds - oh no! There'll be Infantry and Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets for each of the other kindreds, priced exactly the same as the above.

In the existing kindreds' Infantry Starter Sets, you'll get an alternate general, an infantry unit with alternate warriors and a small monstrous beast that may be alternate, and it may not - along with dice and tokens. Again, these will be shown immediately the project begins and will be produced when the project gets to £60,000.

Similarly, the existing kindreds' Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets will include an alternate monstrous commander, a monstrous infantry unit with alternate warriors and a large monstrous beast that may be alternate, and it may not - along with dice and tokens. Again, these won't be shown until we hit £60,000.

All of the alternates will be able to be purchased separately, to ensure those of you with plenty of our existing kindreds' miniatures don't have to shell out too much for them.

Aren't there any new miniatures for the existing Kindreds?

Oh yes - there definitely will be, as long as we get past the infantry and monstrous infantry starter sets; and we may well chuck in a couple here and there before that occurs...!

Trust us - the alternates will make you all very happy indeed, and there will certainly be a couple of freebies... 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; Kretos, an Ogros of Bronze - a mighty construct of the Atalantes that stands a little shorter than Talos, but much wider - by the lovely Dan Warren!

Update #84

Aug 29 2014
Sculpts, and more of Darklands: New Kindreds!
Comment
7 likes

As sure as Friday is Friday, another Friday comes along every Friday, which is great because Friday is Mierceday...

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 yet another Oghur of the Oghu Guardians from Olivier Bouchet, another Warrior of Baalor from Olivier Nkweti and a completed Fiend from the Craven Fiends of Dis by Roberto Chaudon.

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...

The standard-bearer or Nhund of the Oghu Guardians is Pabogg, and he's yet another cracking sculpt by Olivier Bouchet...



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

It's time to show you another digitally-sculpted Warrior of Baalor from Olivier Nkweti, who is really showing us who's boss with these guys...

Paara is a cracking (and nasty-looking) Warrior of Baalor, sculpted from the artwork by Steve Pierce of course.



With Lungaarn and Ulaan complete, and this guy about there, the Warriors of Baalor should make it into their shipment wave...

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 and complete...

Update #18

Aug 29 2014
More Work on Erebius
Comment
4 likes

This here is the second update for Darklands: Monstrous Mounts, and it's a cracker because we can show you more of Erebius on Behema!

This week we have:

news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds;
sculpt work in progress updates from Dan Cockersell;
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!

We've a cracking set of work in progress images for you this week from the mighty Dan Cockersell - who, as always, is providing us with an unbelievably awesome sculpt in the shape of Erebius on Behema!

Erebius on Behema is being sculpted by Dan Cockersell from the artwork by Stefan Kopinski, and what a sculpt it is. Dan is now working on the Behema, and it's looking superb.





Whilst Erebius' Behema is yet to be completed, we do think that he'll be able to get it all done in time for Wave 4...

 skullking wrote:
Wow! Hell of an update! Looking forward to the 15th as well.

Ogros of bronze!! Damn, that's cool! Well, that's my interest piqued for the Atlantes. I have yet to see some Erain stuff to make me really excited, but I'm confident I'll be impressed.

Which of the two new kindreds are you all leaning towards?

Also interested to see what these 'alternate' units for the existing kindreds will be. If they start revamping Gaarwaag & the Tarvax on me I don't know how ill control myself?

Mierce Miniatures wrote:
@Rick - all existing / being sculpted infantry units will have alternates at £60,000... no need to sell, either; just add the bolt-on parts... hang fire on selling until you see what's happening.

Mierce Miniatures wrote:

40 minutes ago

Nothing like that Andy - just alternates so that you can turn standard-bearers and musicians into warriors.

Different weapons are a definite possibility, but not in this project.

 Alpharius wrote:

 skullking wrote:
Wow! Hell of an update! Looking forward to the 15th as well.

Ogros of bronze!! Damn, that's cool! Well, that's my interest piqued for the Atlantes. I have yet to see some Erain stuff to make me really excited, but I'm confident I'll be impressed.

Which of the two new kindreds are you all leaning towards?

Also interested to see what these 'alternate' units for the existing kindreds will be. If they start revamping Gaarwaag & the Tarvax on me I don't know how ill control myself?

So...

Mierce Miniatures wrote:
@Rick - all existing / being sculpted infantry units will have alternates at £60,000... no need to sell, either; just add the bolt-on parts... hang fire on selling until you see what's happening.

Mierce Miniatures wrote:

40 minutes ago

Nothing like that Andy - just alternates so that you can turn standard-bearers and musicians into warriors.

Different weapons are a definite possibility, but not in this project.

More Oghur action, and Darklands: New Kindreds!
Comment
6 likes

It's Friday, or - if you know your history - the day of the goddess Frige. I'm sure all your imaginations are fired up by that...

Anyway, this week we have:

news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds
sculpt work in progress updates from Olivier Bouchet;
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!

There's not much this week - in fact, it's just a completed Oghur of the Oghu Guardians from Olivier Bouchet!

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

The standard-bearer or Nhund of the Oghu Guardians is Pabogg, and he's yet another cracking completed sculpt by Olivier Bouchet...




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

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 now complete and Wave 2 shipments are in progress right now. 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.



We have more specific news about our next Kickstarter project, 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). So, read the following carefully...

The definite start date of this project (barring an ape apocalypse) will be Monday the 15th of September (so only around two weeks away!), at 6pm, and it should end a month later on Monday the 13th of October at 6pm. 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!

How will the project work?

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 containing 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 will the rewards be?

The rewards will be based around those starter sets, and you'll be able to purchase them separately or combined - including an option for "all the starter sets" for those with larger wallets...!

There will also be a reward for those who just want a couple of miniatures from the project, and there will also be a reward for an A5 version of the full rulebook that only contains rules.

The Infantry Starter Sets will be priced at £80, which will save you over 40% from the predicted RRP of everything that's inside them. You'll get a general, infantry unit and small monstrous beast, as well as dice and tokens.

All of the infantry starter sets will be unveiled right at the beginning of the project, although stretch goals will have to be made to get everything. If (when?) the project reaches £60,000, all of the infantry starter sets will be produced.

The Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets will be priced at £100, again saving you over 40% from the predicted RRP of everything that's inside them. You'll get a monstrous commander, a monstrous infantry unit and a large monstrous beast, as well as dice and tokens.

None of the monstrous infantry starter sets will be unveiled at the beginning of the project - you'll have to wait until we hit £60,000 for those!

What about the other Kindreds?

We haven't forgotten the existing kindreds - oh no! There'll be Infantry and Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets for each of the other kindreds, priced exactly the same as the above.

In the existing kindreds' Infantry Starter Sets, you'll get an alternate general, an infantry unit with alternate warriors (based upon the banner bearer and herald) and a small monstrous beast that may be alternate, and it may not - along with dice and tokens. Again, these will be shown immediately the project begins and will be produced when the project gets to £60,000.

Similarly, the existing kindreds' Monstrous Infantry Starter Sets will include an alternate monstrous commander, a monstrous infantry unit with alternate warriors (based upon the banner bearer and herald) and a large monstrous beast that may be alternate, and it may not - along with dice and tokens. Again, these won't be shown until we hit £60,000.

All of the alternates will be able to be purchased separately, to ensure those of you with plenty of our existing kindreds' miniatures don't have to shell out too much for them.

Aren't there any new miniatures for the existing Kindreds?

Oh yes - there definitely will be, as long as we get past the infantry and monstrous infantry starter sets; and we may well chuck in a couple here and there before that occurs...!

Trust us - the alternates will make you all very happy indeed, and there will certainly be a couple of freebies... 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; Ollmhór, a Beast of Síleann Fen by Sam Lamont - a monstrous Fen Beast of the Érainn that stands on a 60mm base and that will be around 70mm to the eye - so pretty big!


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

Update #88 Sep 5 2014

Hrōr, Horses and the New Kindreds
Comment
7 likes

There's only a few bits to show you today, but they're excellent bits all the same... and, of course, we have another sneak peek of Darklands: New Kindreds, which is only ten days away!

This week we have:

news of our forthcoming Kickstarter project, Darklands: New Kindreds
sculpt work in progress updates from Stéphane Camosseto and Yannick Hennebo;
news of Wave 2 fulfilment;
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.

Let's go!

Following on from last week, we have images of the completed Hrōr and an almost-completed Eadric's horse from Stéphane Camosseto. As well as that, we have Mananaan's horse from Yannick Hennebo...

Stéphane Camosseto has almost completed work on Eadric's horse and after that, of course, is Eadric himself...


Eadric on Horse should make it into Wave 3, huzzah!

We were right - Hrōr is a spectacular sculpt and, in our humble opinion, Stéphane's best work yet. It all bodes well for Eoric's Pack, the unit of Werwulfas funded by Darklands: First Edition II and which Stéphane will begin sculpting soon!






With Hrōr now completed, he'll definitely make it into Wave 3!

Yannick Hennebo has begun work on Mananaan on Horse, with his horse being completed first... and it looks superb!



Yannick should be able to get Mananaan on the horse sorted pretty quickly, so we're confident he will make it into Wave 3.

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

We estimate we're around 20% through the orders containing Wave 2 items so far. We're combining Wave 2 items with QuickStarter rules as well as any existing miniatures from Darklands: Monstrous Mounts.

Where's My Wave 1 and Wave 2 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 3 shipment item, of course - so the power's in your hands!