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Three sheets of single-folded brown paper in the top of my box followed by a small gulf of empty space, and a bunch of sprues and resin models that had been in the bouncy castle of international transit for a couple of weeks. Maybe you got all of my packing?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/06 08:38:37
@ Shieldwolf - Yes I did misunderstand, I had no idea that the topic had shifted to the FG campaign. I also second the motion that you try to have clarity in all things (scale, costs, sprue layouts etc.) as the clearer things are the more likely everyone is to be satisfied. A few extra questions for you if I may;
Judging by how similar the layouts are for the Orcs and the SM is this a standard pattern for you? Can we expect the same for every HIPS kit you produce?
When will the items from this kickstarter go out for general release? As I would like to pick up a few bears and yaks when available.
Do you have any firm notions of when the FG kickstarter will occur?
have you been able to source a OZ/NZ stockist?
Cheers in advance.
@Micky and Azazelx I had no packing of any description in my shipment, perhaps it all went to Micky?
Azazelx wrote: Three sheets of single-folded brown paper in the top of my box followed by a small gulf of empty space, and a bunch of sprues and resin models that had been in the bouncy castle of international transit for a couple of weeks. Maybe you got all of my packing?
I have to agree with this, my mammoths were very well packed but my second parcel was lacking in protective packaging which was dissapointing.
I had a couple of broken parts on the resin girls ( sword and staff ) but easily fixed with glue so no real big issue for me, but I would have preferred some better care with the packing considering the contents.
I will still back the goblin project as there was some nice looking sculpts in that, but I think the bodies need more variation as with the sheildmaidens they seem very static and limited in poses.
Also as with the sheildmaidens if you go extravagant with motion (hair blowing) don't forget this has to work with the rest of the body movement, I don't see how the heads work with the bodies when they don't reflect the same movement, to be honest I am looking for alternative heads for my sheildmaidens as I ain't a fan of the ones included at all.
I understand as a company it is hard to get it right but there was so much that was done wrong with this KS that it has left a sour taste, scale which has been a big issue for some, weapon choices, packing and response to feedback to name the major ones.
These really need to be addressed before you go forward with the next KS, to be honest I won't be backing any further female models as they just don't work for me in scale or look, but I am still interested in the goblin KS as long as it is clear and finalised before the KS finishes.
Try Statuesque's new Narrow Female heads perhaps? Someone also posted that Sisters of Silence heads and other parts fit well. I found that the 2-handed sword SoS poses don't work at all, and people have said GW Dark Eldar parts work, so presumably Dark Eldar/Eldar/Dark Elf and possibly even Wood/High Elf/Harlequin parts and heads?
My decision as to whether to back future projects is largely going to depend on how well SW resolve my miscast bears issue, though I'm certainly hoping they also work on the other problems raised here (too many banners/horns, misleading info on scale, giant-sized weapons on heroes, etc.).
I think that some of you guys are unfairly dogpiling on Shieldwolf here. In every interaction I have seen here they have remained open to taking constructive criticism, and polite. The same can't be said for many of you.
From my perspective they were massively responsive to customer feedback, doing basically a 180 on the design of the Shieldmaidens after a lot of community feedback. They went from sky clad ladies to heavily armored Lagertha types.
In fact, aside from some bare kneecaps and a single bare mid-section, as I looked at my miniatures I was struck by how heavily armored they are. Layers of leather chain and plate cover them from knee to neck. They are wearing the most clothes and armor of any barbarians I own (and I have many).
I don't know how much more "responsiveness" you guys expect, and if that is even reasonable.
The kit isn't perfect, but I think it is important for some of you critics out there to remember that the kit is already produced, and there is a pretty limited amount that Shieldwolf can do about it at this point. They have paid for the molds, etc. and it is only fair to expect them to make the most of the situation.
This makes it sound like the kit is a bad one, and it isn't! In fact, while I don't own any of the post Basilean Mantic efforts in plastic, I think this is clearly the best hard plastic fantasy kit to come out of a Kickstarter. They delivered a HIPS kit of heavily armored fantasy ladies with minimal delay. I think that is pretty darn impressive.
Are there things I would change about the kit? Absolutely. They are a tad tall. I would have taken some spears gladly, some of the heads aren't great, the weapons are a bit all over the place. But the point is that compared to the efforts of many others, Shieldwolf has performed admirably, put out a good kit, and there is now an all female fantasy kit in HIPS on the market thanks to our funding.
There are definitely things they could have done better, but every indication is that they are working on doing them better the next time around. I just don't understand the hostile tone and games of internet "gotcha" some of you feel justified in pursuing. They aren't Palladium or Prodos Games. Surely a little benefit of the doubt is justified?
Gallahad wrote: I think that some of you guys are unfairly dogpiling on Shieldwolf here. In every interaction I have seen here they have remained open to taking constructive criticism, and polite. The same can't be said for many of you.
From my perspective they were massively responsive to customer feedback, doing basically a 180 on the design of the Shieldmaidens after a lot of community feedback. They went from sky clad ladies to heavily armored Lagertha types.
In fact, aside from some bare kneecaps and a single bare mid-section, as I looked at my miniatures I was struck by how heavily armored they are. Layers of leather chain and plate cover them from knee to neck. They are wearing the most clothes and armor of any barbarians I own (and I have many).
I don't know how much more "responsiveness" you guys expect, and if that is even reasonable.
The kit isn't perfect, but I think it is important for some of you critics out there to remember that the kit is already produced, and there is a pretty limited amount that Shieldwolf can do about it at this point. They have paid for the molds, etc. and it is only fair to expect them to make the most of the situation.
This makes it sound like the kit is a bad one, and it isn't! In fact, while I don't own any of the post Basilean Mantic efforts in plastic, I think this is clearly the best hard plastic fantasy kit to come out of a Kickstarter. They delivered a HIPS kit of heavily armored fantasy ladies with minimal delay. I think that is pretty darn impressive.
Are there things I would change about the kit? Absolutely. They are a tad tall. I would have taken some spears gladly, some of the heads aren't great, the weapons are a bit all over the place. But the point is that compared to the efforts of many others, Shieldwolf has performed admirably, put out a good kit, and there is now an all female fantasy kit in HIPS on the market thanks to our funding.
There are definitely things they could have done better, but every indication is that they are working on doing them better the next time around. I just don't understand the hostile tone and games of internet "gotcha" some of you feel justified in pursuing. They aren't Palladium or Prodos Games. Surely a little benefit of the doubt is justified?
I don't think anyone here is going out to be nasty to Shieldwolf but just give constructive criticism (although some of the posts have been a little abrasive). I think everyone here wishes them the best and is aiming to help them get even better and in order to do so they need to hear of such criticism. There have been issues with this kickstarter for many people and by taking this onboard Shieldwolf improves as a company and makes more money. The fact they are willing to hear people out shows that they themselves recognise this fact and do not adopt the Ostrich position which doesn't help them improve and evolve as a business, if we as customers were to simply tell them the things that they have done well they would learn little.
Personally I have stated that I am planning on continuing my support in the form of buying more product as well as backing a future Kickstarter but I will not support their next for various reasons, if I was to be assured that my problems with it were addressed I would back it, if they are happy to keep the elements that I perceive to be problems then I will not. If these are conscious decisions for them then of course they will keep them and I wont spend my money on things I don't want.
Furthermore our comments here also serve to inform other customers here of what they are getting, if they are after 28mm Barbarian style female warriors then they will know that these models have scale issues. If however they seek fantastic, ball jointed HIPS warriors and scale is not an issue then they will know that what they are getting is a damn good product and I haven't heard anyone dispute that. I also believe that the Mountain Orc models are even better than the SM and are probably the best fantasy HIPS models I have seen outside of GW, which has made me even more determined to back the FG Kickstarter and go in big for it. This I would not do if I thought SW was producing crap.
Gallahad wrote: I think that some of you guys are unfairly dogpiling on Shieldwolf here. In every interaction I have seen here they have remained open to taking constructive criticism, and polite. The same can't be said for many of you.
From my perspective they were massively responsive to customer feedback, doing basically a 180 on the design of the Shieldmaidens after a lot of community feedback. They went from sky clad ladies to heavily armored Lagertha types.
In fact, aside from some bare kneecaps and a single bare mid-section, as I looked at my miniatures I was struck by how heavily armored they are. Layers of leather chain and plate cover them from knee to neck. They are wearing the most clothes and armor of any barbarians I own (and I have many).
I don't know how much more "responsiveness" you guys expect, and if that is even reasonable.
The kit isn't perfect, but I think it is important for some of you critics out there to remember that the kit is already produced, and there is a pretty limited amount that Shieldwolf can do about it at this point. They have paid for the molds, etc. and it is only fair to expect them to make the most of the situation.
This makes it sound like the kit is a bad one, and it isn't! In fact, while I don't own any of the post Basilean Mantic efforts in plastic, I think this is clearly the best hard plastic fantasy kit to come out of a Kickstarter. They delivered a HIPS kit of heavily armored fantasy ladies with minimal delay. I think that is pretty darn impressive.
Are there things I would change about the kit? Absolutely. They are a tad tall. I would have taken some spears gladly, some of the heads aren't great, the weapons are a bit all over the place. But the point is that compared to the efforts of many others, Shieldwolf has performed admirably, put out a good kit, and there is now an all female fantasy kit in HIPS on the market thanks to our funding.
There are definitely things they could have done better, but every indication is that they are working on doing them better the next time around. I just don't understand the hostile tone and games of internet "gotcha" some of you feel justified in pursuing. They aren't Palladium or Prodos Games. Surely a little benefit of the doubt is justified?
To be honest I think you are being rather hostile to the backers that have posted concerns or issues they have received with the models, yes mistakes was made but no one is trying to destroy them if anything we are trying to make sure they improve for the future.
I have even stated that the mammoths were amazing sculpts and cast of high quality, also that the resin miniatures were better than I had hoped for.
The actual shieldmaidens were dissapointing I ain't going to lie and say yes they are great when they wasn't what I was expecting to receive, so I highlighted the problems and stated that they were not for me which is th truth.
The scale is an issue for my needs and the lack of spears as well, I ain't a fan of the head design as I don't think the over exaggerated movement works with the bodies.
I actually like the overall design of the bodies armour and styling and haven't actually heard anyone state any different, but if you have hair blowing sideways on the model and clothing hanging straight down it looks wrong, hey maybe that's just me but it throws the model off IMHO.
So really I don't see what your issue is to be honest, fine you love the kit and think it's great lucky you but it wasn't exactly what was promised from the start and some confusion due to communication avenues got lost to some backers hence the can do better feedback.
ingtaer wrote: A few extra questions for you if I may;
Judging by how similar the layouts are for the Orcs and the SM is this a standard pattern for you? Can we expect the same for every HIPS kit you produce?
If I have understood correctly you are reffering to the fact we include different sprues with parts of them multiplied. We also make sure to have full sprues tooled. If that's what you mean by pattern, yes, you can expect the same. If that's not what you meant, kindly rephrase. :-)
ingtaer wrote: When will the items from this kickstarter go out for general release? As I would like to pick up a few bears and yaks when available.
They should be going out this week since everything is ready, we are only missing the 360s which should be supplied by Wednesday.
They will not be availbe this week however. The reasons are that the preorders of the plastics will only finish mailing tomorrow morning (we should have already been done with that but we are not, very thankful for that!) plus we want/need more time for the Shieldmaiden KS. A couple of weeks or even a whole month of delaying new product can't tilt the scale for our logistics. They should therefore be up end of this month or worse case scenario (which I doubt) first week of June.
ingtaer wrote: Do you have any firm notions of when the FG kickstarter will occur?
That should have been August 2017 with the Warmaidens/Dragonbreds launching May 2017 (this month). Now the program has tilted at launching the Warmaidens in the Summer (no precise date yet before clearing with the Shieldmaiden KS) and pushes the FG KS reboot late this year.
ingtaer wrote: have you been able to source a OZ/NZ stockist?
We have looked for some in both countries and are occasionally making ourselves remembered, same goes for US/Canada distributors; all of whom are very wary or indecisive. European distributors seem much more easier to do bussiness with, despite terms being very friendly for everyone alike regardless of distance (i.e. free shipping). Hopefully in the years to come that will change. :-)
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/08 10:23:32
I haven't had a whole lot of time, but this is what I've got so far. Fireforge knight arms fit beautifully with the Shieldmaidens. Even the chain mail texture matches. The helmeted heads, however, are a bit too heroic for the svelte warrioresses. I used an Eccentric Minis knight head on one of the miniatures and it looks much better. The third mini in the pic uses WGF samurai arms and a Survivor head. For a better for, I should have cut half of a Shieldmaiden's neck off and used that on the Survivor. Next time.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The next set of minis use Mantic Succubi and Naiad parts, respectively. The human one uses Survivor arms and a survivor head.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/10 20:33:11
In my post, I meant WGF survivors. For KDM, I'll probably end up using just the hands (with weapons) on SW arms and the heads, as well as any greebly extras I can spare. KDM arms are enough of a chore as it is.
My conclusion is that Fireforge Knights provide the best alternate arms.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/10 22:13:55
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I haven't had a whole lot of time, but this is what I've got so far. Fireforge knight arms fit beautifully with the Shieldmaidens. Even the chain mail texture matches. The helmeted heads, however, are a bit too heroic for the svelte warrioresses.
The Helmets look fine, unless I am mistaken a Greathelm was indeed a helmet worn over a helmet. So it would have to look a bit heroic.
The torsos all look great, and while there are only a few leg poses, I don't hate any of them. The details are fine like historical minis, and easy to discern. The optional cloaks and hooded heads are friggin' genius and make the kit a must-have for me all by themselves. Now I won't have to cut so many arms off of Pistolier jackets to give my characters capes. The bodies and optional cloaks give a solid basis for many, many covers ions to come.
The arms look great, proportional and interesting. Compare to most historical or Mantic minis and you see why I care. Many of the weapons are fun and well designed. Love the Conan sword, crossbows, slayer axe, hand and a half sword, and falchion. Love love love the shields. I will use them all.
Many of the faces are well sculpted. Love the Beckinsale and 80's Storm heads the most.
The scale. I thought I remembered them saying the Shieldmaidens would be tall during the campaign, when we were discussing the Delf silhouette and how tall the post-IOB elves are. I got what I was expecting and wanting. Personally, I always prefer taller miniatures. Dreamforge good, Antares bad.
I was also glad that the minis were feminine without being cheesecake. The 'boob plate' looked designed for comfortable support rather than titillation, and the bare midriff minis while sillier, were far from stupid.
What was meh:
The She-Ra and 90's Storm heads. The hair is too two-dimensional and doesn't look so much windswept as styled with Crisco.
The limited number of weapons and arms. I remember that Shieldwolf was planning for fewer torsos and gave us an extra two torsos for every eight, so it's kind of backhanded to complain about having to use every single arm including the banner and horn per every ten maidens, but yeah, it's an issue. That's why there is a need to find compatible arms from other kits, and why I hope SW provides ample compatible arm options in their next kit.
The details are much more in line with historical kits than fantasy kits with exaggerated edges and textures. This makes it difficult to use parts from other manufacturers like GW and Mantic without those parts looking off. Not a deal breaker, just a challenge.
What needs to improve:
The Melannia faces. Why? Even if some of the maidens need to take selfies over their crushed enemies, they should have more dignified expressions than a valley girl feebly attempting to look seductive. Hard to drive your enemies before you when they can't take you seriously. Guess I'll put those heads on the midriff baring bodies...
The hair is really goofy on a couple of the heads. Please give some more toned down options in the next hit.
No more Cloud swords, please. Poots can get away with that because we all expect that from him. We expect better from you.
The scale? Seems like a lot of customers have an issue with the height of the minis. I don't know if you can pull a Dreamforge and put them on thinner bases than the competition or if the next kit needs to have more diverse heights, but I'd hate to see Shieldwolf lose customers over the issue.
The bases. Jeez, those are unwieldy. Are they storming an Aaron Brothers' discount frame shop? Would it be affordable to get Renedra's thinner green bases in bulk when they make your next plastics? The bases are especially a problem with the mountain orcs, who don't fit on them at all.
All in all, I really enjoy the Shieldmaidens. I traded for more from someone who didn't like his, but I will also likely buy more from Shieldwolf when I pledge for the next plastic warrioress kit, if they are compatible. They are some of the best non-GW fantasy plastics on the market.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I haven't had a whole lot of time, but this is what I've got so far. Fireforge knight arms fit beautifully with the Shieldmaidens. Even the chain mail texture matches. The helmeted heads, however, are a bit too heroic for the svelte warrioresses.
The Helmets look fine, unless I am mistaken a Greathelm was indeed a helmet worn over a helmet. So it would have to look a bit heroic.
So, GW wasn't so far off with their SM Centurions? "Yo dawg, I heard you like armor..."
Every time I see that huge helmet on her, it makes me think of the queen riding out to Conan in Conan the Destroyer.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/11 17:04:28
BobtheInquisitor wrote: At least they aren't upside down... Seriously, does anyone have a free image host they would recommend? Photobucket has become a real crapbucket.
Dakka does have White Knights and is also rather infamous for it's Black Knights. A new edition brings out the passionate and not all of them are good at expressing themselves in written form. There have been plenty of hysterical responses from both sides so far. So we descend into pointless bickering with neither side listening to each other. So posting here becomes more masturbation than conversation.
ERJAK wrote: Forcing a 40k player to keep playing 7th is basically a hate crime.
Highlord, they are upside down when I post to Dakka. Photobucket works, but slowly and sometimes freezes up my iPad or laptop.
The apprentice's open hand is from the banner top. The staff was the banner with a cut down Cloud sword on top. The apprentice has the flail hand with the hook moved to the top and some parts from another banner arm as the rest of the staff.
A good day to all wargamers! Many things have taken place ever since our last newsletter –and some of which you’ll be very interested in learning about!
The major news is that Shieldwolf Miniatures has decided to enter the sci-fi army wargaming scene. With the revelation of the Shieldmaiden Army opening the way to foretell the abilities and potential of Shieldwolf Miniatures, we aim to make a grand entrance in sci-fi to service our supporters who ever since we showed up have questioned whether the company would ever enter the sci-fi market.
For this reason, besides our co-funding of fantasy, all other funds reserved for the production and copyright fees of “Heroquest(TM)” will be committed in the development of sci-fi armies instead. The Shieldmaiden project with your support allowed us to create not only a highly affordable but also the only complete great quality Female Barbarian fantasy army worldwide.
With the augmented knowledge we received from this project and with your pledged support and constant encouragement, Shieldwolf Miniatures aims even higher, raising the bar like never before!
Our next project features a complete Female Paladin fantasy army, a Female Paladin space army and a Shieldmaiden Space army! All done in hard plastic and polyurethane resin, with the quality you have come to expect from us; KS-3 will be offering *huge* affordability to honor the backers who place their faith in us once again and we are very excited to pick up the glove and attempt to make these armies into a reality.
The initial planning had us combining the initial funding sprue with enough parts out of which one could choose to either build a sci-fi or fantasy army. This idea will not be implemented however as the person that Angelos has brought aboard has suggested we do different sprues instead for each genre.
As you probably know, we gave the backers of this project here the decision of what comes first as a token of additional appreciation for their support; we cherish your opinions even if they are not always implemented. So, our supporters decided that Wolf Wardens come first at funding level.
We are even considering to tilt our Warmaidens (who we are looking very forward to since it will allow us not only to create a very unique faction but also prove the super dynamic posing we can offer with our know-how) in favor of the Paladin faction as we mean to supply not only our supporters with a wider range but also commence supporting the Kingdom of Talliareum (human race).
The date of the KS-3 (we are calling it like that to abbreviate) was May 30th, but recent developments have resulted in that KS-3 launch date will be postponed, so we are currently looking at a late summer campaign. It will all depend on how quickly KS-2.5 wraps up, we predict end of June but real life happens and we never make promises we won’t keep.
We are all very eager to launch this new crowd funding project and create more unique high quality affordable armies, but we will not allow backers from our previous project not to be dealt with first! Considering you might have been in their place -even if you happen to be among those who already have your rewards in front of you- we think you will agree with us.
On another note, we must also make reference to the commissioned work we undertake for various companies worldwide. Having produced literally tenths of thousands of miniatures for manufacturers of three continents in more than ten countries, we have reached the point where our production slots are currently all filled out. This forces us to take necessary action so we will not be taking any further commissions for the entire 2017. We appreciate the interest and faith you’ve shown but Shieldwolf Miniatures aims to maintain the same high standards of quality in both product and service and recognize the limits of the company. For further information and reservation of our production slots for 2018 please proceed in contacting us via the usual channel.
The Sister does look like she is holding the gun wrong?
I AM A MARINE PLAYER
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Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos
"I will admit that some Primachs like Russ or Horus could have a chance against an unarmed 12 year old novice but, a full Battle Sister??!! One to one? In close combat? Perhaps three Primarchs fighting together... but just one Primarch?" da001
