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I have to admit that it is really refreshing to see an update that says their projections indicate this may possibly, but not definitely, be late, rather than an update 2 months after the estimation throwing blame and sob stories.

Keep up the good work!

Awesome. The new models look cool. Although I wish the Kadder Nova had a slightly more dynamic pose.

There are three leg options for the Kaddar Nova, two of which are leaning and a touch more dynamic, but it does need a bit of extra hobby work to look fully dynamic and for our photos we are just doing stock assemblies so went with a standing and leading pose on that first model. It was the hardest model after the Angel to get sculpted, with the backpack being a really complex beast in plastic and while we could have made a few more dynamic parts, it would have meant a 5 month delay to the whole project for changes to that one model for a whole bunch of annoying production related reasons.

Has the shadow walker sprue onoy one head? It looks like there are enough parts to build 2 figures minus a head.

Had a quick look at the pm, looks like I'll be adding on a second box game, since I kind of wanted to double up on a lot of stuff anyway and $60 is dirt cheap.

Thanks edlowe, yes the shadow walker sprue only has one head, but effectively builds two models save for that. It was a complication of production, and we are covering it in each box set, so instead of just throwing in one sprue with no spare parts, we can put in two sprues with two full extra bodies at no extra cost to you basically. We are quite happy for people to try and cast their own spare heads if needed as well and encourage more adventurous conversions on top of that.

 legoburner wrote:
Thanks edlowe, yes the shadow walker sprue only has one head, but effectively builds two models save for that. It was a complication of production, and we are covering it in each box set, so instead of just throwing in one sprue with no spare parts, we can put in two sprues with two full extra bodies at no extra cost to you basically. We are quite happy for people to try and cast their own spare heads if needed as well and encourage more adventurous conversions on top of that.

Cheers for the reply legoburner, shame you couldn't get two heads on there but I'm hoping the spare head on the kaddar nova and kharist troopers won't look out of place.

I see $90 for the box set, not $60.

I can get around the shadow walker only having one head pretty easily, as I plan to modify the figures anyway. It's not a big deal for me personally, but I think being just short of making two full figures will definitely hurt the Shadow Walker kit in retail sales. I'm not sure what made including only one head on the sprue necessary, but anyone who buys or contemplates buying that figure will have the same complaint: why can't I make two? Where's the other head? In the future, for the sake of the game, I'd recommend not repeating this approach. On the positive side, the one head that is featured - so far as I can make it out - looks quite good. And since the missing one probably would have been some barefaced alternate lacking the cool helmet, I figure I'm not really missing out on anything. (I'm into cool helmets. Boring human faces, not so much.)

While it's hard to judge with the assembled photos being so small right now, I'm liking the look of all three of the new figures. That's something of a relief, since those three were the bulk of the "gamble" I took during the kickstarter that the final figures would turn out well based only on concept art. Of the first round of ME figures, I think only the Epirian soldiers haven't impressed me so far. That may sound like a put down, but honestly, that sort of hit ratio on a new release is very rare for me. It bodes very well for future releases, which I fully intend to support.

I would like to see less of the flip / reverse method used to vary limb poses in the future, though. The Shadow Walker leg poses, for example, are just mirror images of each other. This isn't a Maelstrom's Edge specific thing - GW did a lot of mirror-imaging on their Genestealer poses in the latest Space Hulk release, to name one example. But while it's hardly unheard of in the industry now that models are often computer generated, it's still not nearly as good or as visually convincing as providing multiple completely original limb poses in my book. I'm happy to slam GW for doing it, but if it isn't cost prohibitive, I'd rather you guys did away with it as well.

I also confess that i had hoped to see some sort of option on the shadow walker sprue to build the vortex that they dive through to teleport. That would be going above and beyond, I know, so it's not a big deal. If anyone finds a suitable model to stand in for that, though - particularly a colored, translucent one - let me know. Just a little vanity project.

Finally, you MEdge-designing-making guys had mentioned that the terrain sprues are particularly well-suited to modifying Deadzone scenery. I know from your KS updates that you have loads of free time, so is there any chance you could get some pictures up of Deadzone / MEdge terrain hybrids? It might help drive some additional sales.

Overall, I continue to be impressed by the results of your work, and remain glad that I pledged.

Sorry Vermonter , the pm says I can add another boxset on for $66, it seems to be counting the $24 in credit towards this?

Great update with some excellent new sprue shots. All those extra parts will be great, thank you!

 Vermonter wrote:

I can get around the shadow walker only having one head pretty easily, as I plan to modify the figures anyway. It's not a big deal for me personally, but I think being just short of making two full figures will definitely hurt the Shadow Walker kit in retail sales. I'm not sure what made including only one head on the sprue necessary, but anyone who buys or contemplates buying that figure will have the same complaint: why can't I make two?

The same reason you can't make two models from pretty much any other single model kit?

It's a single model kit with two body options, not a dual model kit missing a head. The second body is a bonus.

Thanks everyone, the additional box(es) are part of the 'upgrade your pledge' tie-in, which allows existing backers to spend the difference between their pledge and the next pledge level to get another box for as little as possible

 Vermonter wrote:

I can get around the shadow walker only having one head pretty easily, as I plan to modify the figures anyway. It's not a big deal for me personally, but I think being just short of making two full figures will definitely hurt the Shadow Walker kit in retail sales.

We'll still be selling the same number of models as we otherwise would, they will just come with a large pile of parts.

 Vermonter wrote:

I'm not sure what made including only one head on the sprue necessary, but anyone who buys or contemplates buying that figure will have the same complaint: why can't I make two? Where's the other head? In the future, for the sake of the game, I'd recommend not repeating this approach. On the positive side, the one head that is featured - so far as I can make it out - looks quite good. And since the missing one probably would have been some barefaced alternate lacking the cool helmet, I figure I'm not really missing out on anything. (I'm into cool helmets. Boring human faces, not so much.)

The head is definitely my favourite head in the entire range, by far. Having one on the sprue was the culmination of a bunch of different factors but once all the parts are clipped out of a box set and are in a pile, it should be no big annoyance, just a little grumble at what could have been. We are doubling up the sprues so that people get loads of extra bits at least.

 Vermonter wrote:

While it's hard to judge with the assembled photos being so small right now, I'm liking the look of all three of the new figures. That's something of a relief, since those three were the bulk of the "gamble" I took during the kickstarter that the final figures would turn out well based only on concept art. Of the first round of ME figures, I think only the Epirian soldiers haven't impressed me so far. That may sound like a put down, but honestly, that sort of hit ratio on a new release is very rare for me. It bodes very well for future releases, which I fully intend to support.

 Vermonter wrote:

I would like to see less of the flip / reverse method used to vary limb poses in the future, though. The Shadow Walker leg poses, for example, are just mirror images of each other. This isn't a Maelstrom's Edge specific thing - GW did a lot of mirror-imaging on their Genestealer poses in the latest Space Hulk release, to name one example. But while it's hardly unheard of in the industry now that models are often computer generated, it's still not nearly as good or as visually convincing as providing multiple completely original limb poses in my book. I'm happy to slam GW for doing it, but if it isn't cost prohibitive, I'd rather you guys did away with it as well.

It is not something we especially like - it basically comes down to a matter of time. You'll note a 5 month window between us having the models 'almost done' and to the stage now where they can be shown (on sprue at least). There were some pretty significant complications with these models and as such, we had quite a lot of trouble trying to get any changes completed without sinking an extra 6-12 months in to the process. The mirrored legs, while not ideal, still give a good variance of posing and as you say are used in a very large number of GW's releases these days. Often they cheat a little bit and will mirror, then change one tiny part to make it mirrored+ too. We definitely want full, original sculpts each time. The arms are not mirrored at all though, so there is a nice combination of poses that can come about from having two directions of flow, coupled with two poses of the arms.

 Vermonter wrote:

I also confess that i had hoped to see some sort of option on the shadow walker sprue to build the vortex that they dive through to teleport. That would be going above and beyond, I know, so it's not a big deal. If anyone finds a suitable model to stand in for that, though - particularly a colored, translucent one - let me know. Just a little vanity project.

We played around with options like that but could not get anything that looked even close to good enough yet.

 Vermonter wrote:

Finally, you MEdge-designing-making guys had mentioned that the terrain sprues are particularly well-suited to modifying Deadzone scenery. I know from your KS updates that you have loads of free time, so is there any chance you could get some pictures up of Deadzone / MEdge terrain hybrids? It might help drive some additional sales.

It is physically painful having so many models and things to play with, but being forced to stare at them (and the sprues) and do the boring business side instead! I cannot wait until we get to early next year and I can finally get a bit of time to start painting and playing in depth. Most of the range loves being airbrushed, and it is great fun honing the airbrushing skills as a result.

 Vermonter wrote:

Overall, I continue to be impressed by the results of your work, and remain glad that I pledged.

Thanks!

 insaniak wrote:

 Vermonter wrote:

I can get around the shadow walker only having one head pretty easily, as I plan to modify the figures anyway. It's not a big deal for me personally, but I think being just short of making two full figures will definitely hurt the Shadow Walker kit in retail sales. I'm not sure what made including only one head on the sprue necessary, but anyone who buys or contemplates buying that figure will have the same complaint: why can't I make two?

The same reason you can't make two models from pretty much any other single model kit?

It's a single model kit with two body options, not a dual model kit missing a head. The second body is a bonus.

The Scarecrow comes with a spare heads. Am I the only one getting some seriously Spock's Brain caliber ideas related to that?

Sorry for coming back again so quickly with another question, but it does impact my spending, so if it's not a problem . . .

I fully intend to mess around with modifying and mixing ME parts with other ranges to make hybrid figures. While "heroic" vs. "truescale" proportions impact compatibility a lot, one area where that isn't always true is heads.

Looking at comparison shots with other ranges that legoburner has supplied, it looks like MEdge heads are on the small side relative to GW and Dreamforge, much like Mantic's enforcer heads are.



If it's not possible to get a photo, could you perhaps comment on whether you think head swapping in either direction between MEdge troopers (I'm particularly interested in Karists) and Dreamforge stormtroopers, Mantic Enforcers, or even GW troopers / marines would work well?

I gather that MEdge is following "heroic" scale in principle, but the trooper head size really seems more on the truescale end of things to me, hence my question. Thanks!

Those MEdge heads don't look true scale to me. They look more in line with certain Reaper figures. I want to see how WGF WW2 heads, which are slightly bigger than true scale, but smaller than DFG heads, look on them, as well as the Proxie trooper visor heads, which I have tons of spares for.

It varies from model to model somewhat. Our heads are a little bit larger than mantic enforcer heads - I've put an enforcer head on an Epirian body and they are close enough to work though. Roughly DKoK scale is what we regard as the best heroic scale and is roughly in line with Maelstrom's Edge models, so that is a decent guideline. Dreamforge heads are quite big in comparison to Medge, but I dont have any unhelmeted heads of theirs to compare. I'm afraid I dont have any GW models to hand over the next few days to compare to the big ranges there either.

 legoburner wrote:
It varies from model to model somewhat. Our heads are a little bit larger than mantic enforcer heads - I've put an enforcer head on an Epirian body and they are close enough to work though. Roughly DKoK scale is what we regard as the best heroic scale and is roughly in line with Maelstrom's Edge models, so that is a decent guideline. Dreamforge heads are quite big in comparison to Medge, but I dont have any unhelmeted heads of theirs to compare. I'm afraid I dont have any GW models to hand over the next few days to compare to the big ranges there either.

That's actually very helpful, as I have plenty of enforcer heads and can use them as a rough estimate. If the MEdge heads are a little larger than those, but smaller than dreamforge / GW (which in the photo I posted, at least, look to be pretty much the same size), that's good news for my purposes. Thanks!

Just wanna say to the Spiral Arm team- your Pledge Manager is excellent. Just filled it out- no muss no fuss. The delay was worth it IMO. Look forward to seeing my plastic crack soon

The New minis look great! I especially look forward to the Kaddar Nova, something just seems... right.

Just one question, with the pledge manager, will add-ons be shipped earlier than the kickstarter pledges? It seems implied, but it also seems a little illogical. Also, if so, is there an extra shipping fee?

Thanks!

Thanks

The terrain and books will be shipped first of all as they are ready to go right now and just need us to polish off our logistics setup to get done.

Everything else will ship out at the same time as the kickstarter pledges, though in many cases in separate parcels due to optimal shipping weights.

Hi legoburner and company,

The add-on Maelstrom's Edge box clearly states that it does not include the extra kickstarter-only bonus sprue.

"As an add-on, this set does not include the kickstarter bonus sprue, but does include:"

The list below the same add-on clearly states that it does contain the extra kickstarter-only bonus Angel sprue.

"2x Karist Angels (2 Sprues, including the free kickstarter backer-only one)"



This doesn't impact me at all, but is bound to cause confusion and hard feelings for people who didn't back the KS and pick up a box expecting 2 Karist Angels. I'd change the list entry immediately to 1x Karist Angel to save yourselves a headache.

"It clearly states that the kickstarter bonus sprue isn't included."

"yeah, but I never read the top part. And the list part says that it is included."

" . . . crap. You're right."

I just finished my pledge manager last night. Glad to see the printed books in there. Should I have received some kind of confirmation email though after I finished paying?

Oops, thanks Vermonter, I'll double check if it slipped through in that one location. It is shown in the pledge upgrade add-on list, but should not be in the standalone add-on box contents list.

Barzam, there are no confirmation emails at this time - our mail provider is not great and drops a fair few at the moment, so we opted to leave out the mail confirmations altogether for the time being and rely on your profile page on maelstroms edge. There will be emails as and when we start despatching stuff.

Pledge manager is brilliant. Thank you all, as a consumer that's great.

You managed to get more money out of me again! To add to my 2 starter sets, I bought 4 more minnows, 3 karist troopers, 3 engineesr and 4 fireflies with a bit of cash and to use up the credit that was initially meant for terrain sprues, but I had a change of heart.

I ended up with 2 karist detachments that are relatively identical except for the amount of minnows and troopers within each. But most interesting was that I ended up with a pure robot detachment (except for the bot handlers) and a mix for the Epirians:

1 command scarecrow, 2 spider drone units, 1 standard scarecrow, 1 firefly unit and 1Hunter in one.

The other has 2 journeyman bot handlers, 3 engineers units, 1 scarecrow choice of two and 2 hunters.

Leaving a firefly unit a hunter spare for other load-outs. Bought the extra fireflies before I realised that the command scarecrow detachment can't have more than 1 of the vanguard unit type. Ah well, they look cool anyway.

Amazing how different the forces will look because of the setup (largely designed for my economics rather than content). Suggests it will make games with these forces interesting tactically due to such a difference in the way the Epirians can be fielded.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ooh, I have a quick query about heads too. I am really not good at painting faces (or anything really) and was playing with the idea of using helmeted heads for the engineers (bare minimum).

I was wondering about these from Pig Iron:

But with black visors and yellow stripes to indicate they are more safety helmets from work yards.

Any ideas if these would fit?

We've not got any pig iron heads to hand to test. If anyone in London wants to meet up some time in the next few weeks in an evening, we'd be very happy to show off some models and try some dry fits.

Sadly not in London, but very generous offer guys. Would be very interested to hear the outcome

yeah,
I have 20 pig iron heads ready and waiting for my contractors.
Mine are going to be painted green like the Doom guy.
The shoulder pads and fabric body armour will look great in Green, tan and olive.


Panic...

I'll echo everyone else on the pledge manager. Very nicely done. Can't wait till the stuff ships.

 Panic wrote:
yeah,
I have 20 pig iron heads ready and waiting for my contractors.
Mine are going to be painted green like the Doom guy.
The shoulder pads and fabric body armour will look great in Green, tan and olive.

Spoiler:

Panic...

Nice scheme! I've already got too many green models on my shelf and was actually tempted to go with a black/grey combo for mine with a highlight colour of yellow or red (undecided) for things like helmet etc. Thought it would help further tie them to their robotic compatriots.

yeah,
Black grey will give a ultra realistic hard scheme

ArbitorIan is going to paint the other half of our box bright pink. Which I can't wait to see!
He also paints armies amazing fast with his airbrush so his Karists will be battle ready in no time.
So as soon as my guys get here I've gotta get started!

Panic...