Metal Miniatures Master Mould Making

Master Mould Making

As followers of this blog will know, my Kickstarter funded at the end of August. About three weeks after funding, the backers money finally made it to my bank account. I must admit by that time I was somewhat anxious! The sculpts are with Ian and Alan Farley at Regal Enterprises and they have sent me photos of the master mould making process.

Star Hat Miniatures is now on the verge of producing over two thousand miniatures for gamers all over the world. When I started sculpting back in May, this wasn't even something I had considered! Here are photos of the figures being pressed in plasticine and the silicon moulds being made for drop casting the metal masters. 

 After the latex was set, Ian then poured the second half of the moulds.

A few miniatures required minor alterations, so Ian from Regal Enterprises sent them back to me and I got to work. I sculpted a new scabbard for the Ninja and the other two have a slight change in weapon position. Thanks again to Ian for his expert advice and for adjusting the Wizard's sword.

Basically all the changes were to avoid 'undercuts', which are severe recesses or awkward angles on a sculpt. The previous scabbard created a gap behind the Ninja's head that was an issue for making the mould. I sculpted a new one and placed it lower down his back. The Amazon's sword was previously over her shoulder at a different angle which also meant a gap behind the head. I could have snapped her blade off but I wanted to keep this miniature as a single-piece cast, so now the blade is flat against the back of her head. The Wizard's sword is now at a better angle for mould making also.

The only multi-part miniature is the Kobald on a flying carpet, for reasons that may be more obvious if you check out the previous blog post. He would have looked far less dynamic if I made him a single-piece cast.

These miniatures then traveled back to Regal Enterprises to make master moulds and be drop cast. After casting, the metal masters are sent back for me to look over. I'm really excited about this (they are due any day now).

After I give the all clear, the production moulds will be made and then spun. Spin casting is new to me. If it's new to you, Larry (not related to my project or Regal Enterprises) has posted a groovy video on YouTube:

Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! has been an amazing project and I can't wait to send these miniatures out to the people who helped make it all happen.

God bless and enjoy your week!

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Kickstarter Success

More Dungeon Delvers! 

The first part of the journey is over. All the sculpts are now with Ian and Alan Farley at Regal Enterprises in Greytown. 98 people backed pledges on the Kickstarter, Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! which achieved over 250% of the funding goal over the month of August.

The final 8 were Legendary Heroes, Stretch Goals and Kickstarter Exclusives. That makes a total of 17 miniatures, which is as surprising to me as the success of the Kickstarter!

Because of this success, Star Hat Miniatures has become a small business. With pledges to fulfill, I move from amateur sculptor to production manager. I also am continuing to grow. Not just as an artist but as a human being. That's if the two are any different! I love that Kickstarter calls you a creator. I thank my creator for the ability to be creative.

One of the popular pledges was Legendary Hero: your own character sculpted and added to the party. This was a generous pledge because this miniature is also shared with the other backers. Here is an example, Salis Shishervish, a Kobald Cleric/Mage from a backer's Hackmaster campaign. Salis ended up being a 3-part sculpt - the only multi-part miniature of the set. I sculpted Salis from a written description provided by Cally. In all my years of gaming, I have never seen a Kobold on a flying carpet! Now there is one!

God bless you and enjoy your week!

Kickstarter + Star Hat Miniatures Heroic Scale Metal Figurines for RPGs

Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom!

It's Alive! Here's an adventuring party ready for your next dungeon crawl! Heroic scale fantasy miniatures, sculpted by hand and cast in metal, for your roleplaying and tabletop games. I have enjoyed making these miniatures and I would love to share them with you!

Each miniature will be unlocked as the campaign continues. You can decide which one is released next by visiting Star Hat Miniatures on Facebook and casting your vote. The funding goal will pay for the moulding and casting of at least 9 new miniatures.

SO, please share this with your friends!

God bless you and have a great week!

May The Fourth Be With You!

Yes, it's Monday night, game night. Celebrating 4th May this week with a game of Star Wars X-Wing. Dave brought his fantastic miniature collection and Lewis supplied the fabulous terrain.

Greg and I were the X-Wing fighter pilots, while Dave had Chewbacca piloting the Millenium Falcon (while Han was fixing the turret?), in a mad dash to collect the stranded BB-8 Droid.

Lewis and Blair were on the Dark-side, with a bunch of Tie-fighters, also after the droid. The table and ideas based loosely on scenes from The Force Awakens. I also had the movie soundtrack playing as mood music. A great game that saw a victory for the Empire. The Millenium Falcon sustaining too many hits before the X-Wings could provide support. A great game! May the fourth be with you!

That's not right! Hand me the hydrospanner!

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Half-Elf Ranger + Martin Longbow

Martin Longbow. 

Ok. Seven miniatures in a month? Considering sculpting is a new hobby for me and I already have a full life, I am surprised I found the time! The unexpected joy that comes from creating a new character from wire and putty has brought delight, albeit at odd hours of the day.

Now thay I have seven miniatures, I will send them off to have them cast in metal. The latest figurine is another character from the glory days of gaming. Alex Packwood had a few memorable characters but two that stand out were Claris the Cleric and Martin Longbow. The former was a D&D (Redbox) character, whereas Martin Longbow an AD&D character.

The main difference between the games being that Race became independent of Class. New classes were also added. One of those classes was the Ranger. Invented by one of the player's in Gary Gygax's Greyhawk campaign, the Ranger was based upon Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. Of course Aragorn was the original half-elf, so what better race to choose? In the 1st edition of AD&D playing a half-elf gave offered added benefits. In latter editions your character is better off as either a human or an elf.

Game mechanics aside, Martin borrowed his name from a character in Magician, a popular book by Raymond E. Feist. His best work in my opinion. As an aside the world of Midkemia was from Raymond's own houseruled D&D campaign, which had an invasion by Tekumel (from M. A. R. Barker's Empire of the Petal Throne.) In his novel Magician, Tekumel became Kelewan.

On one of our more memorable gaming nights, Martin broke his Longbow when Alex rolled a 1 during combat. Rolling a 1 on the 20 sided die was a critical failure and in our house rules for bows, that meant a broken bow. Alex picked up another bow and tried to shoot again the following round. He rolled another 1. And again. And again. After his fifth consecutive 1, Alex stood up, strode to the sliding doors, opened them and threw his cursed die into the night!

With this miniature I added a few new strings to my bow. I utilised more wire tham usual; to shape and support the arms and bow. The original studs were too bulky, so I employed a ball pump needle for the task. I also found a better tool for cloaks. It has a small convex end, like the back of a tiny spoon, that makes for cleaner sculpting of folding cloth.

God bless and enjoy your week!