Law Vs Chaos + The Double Doors of Doom!

Greetings Delvers!

40 hours to go on the Law Vs Chaos Kickstarter campaign and more craziness has appeared!

Here is a heavy piece of (resin) terrain for your next dungeon crawl. There are times in a sculptor’s life when they do something completely different. I blame Murray. Functions as a temple entrance (Dagon or Cthulhu?), or the throne room of a benthic king, or the janitor’s closet at Star Hat University, or as an inter-planetary gate. Travis loves the versatility.

The Double Doors of Doom! 120mm tall, 165mm wide and 80mm deep!

The Double Doors of Doom!

“The Double Doors of Doom,” Nika whispered in hushed tones, “you open them.”
Nanook stared up at the ornate doors with an uneasy feeling, “It’s your turn.”
“What, again?”
“Yeah, I opened the chest in the last room,” he said.
Nika coughed abruptly, “chests don’t count.”
“I think we’re being watched,” he said quietly, “and not in a good way…”
“Is there ever a good way?”
“It’s moving!”

Star Hat Miniatures Online Store

starhatminiatures.com

It's official! Star Hat Miniatures now has an Online Store!

There is a lot of celebrating going on here in Hobbiton. Please have a look and let your friends know.

Also, there is a new Kickstarter just around the corner...

Quack!

Star Hat Miniatures + Flying Kickstarter!

Here are the final turns in the winding road of my Kickstarter: Delvers Lost in The Dungeons of Doom! In my last post, the metal masters were about to be drop cast in preparation for making production moulds.

Ian and Alan Farley at Regal Enterprises sent me photos of the spin casting (aka centrifugal rubber mold casting) process.

You may notice that they are doubled up. By having a two of each miniature, the amount of spins required is halved. The fourth disc also has a few new miniatures. More Delvers? Yes, I let the cat out of the bag with photos of three miniatures that will be part of the next Kickstarter campaign. I am getting a small number of Ailgavart, Saetog and Vok Wightkicker cast in preparation but they won't be included in this Kickstarter.

Halfway through October, well ahead of our December delivery deadline, the production moulds were spinning.

In the words of my good friend Lewis, "It wouldn't be a Kickstarter without some unexpected twists and turns." I received this email from Regal Enterprises about the remaining miniatures:

HI Darcy, I am going to do some casting with the last mould tonight. The barbarian woman is going to cause trouble as she has broken in the mould at her ankles . Hopefully I can get some out that will be OK. Will try to send a picture of her tomorrow. If it’s not Ok might have thicken the ankles on the master , make a new silicon mould etc. Cheers , Ian

On the bright side, Ian is a master mouldmaker and caster, so expect this issue to be resolved quickly. This is the Amazon we are talking about and I know she's a survivor! 

The improved Amazon arrived soon after, ready for packing

Here are some photos from our boxing day. That Saturday we packed 42 boxes, which which were joined by 56 other boxes after the final shipment from Regal Miniatures arrived early the following week. Thanks to Blair and Dave for that second boxing session!

Dave and Lewis ponder mail merge.

Dave, Grant and Lewis boxing.

Pizza break.

A box of treasures.

Row by row.

Calum oversees the production line.

As you can see, everything was well in hand! It took a week to work out shipping details with NZ Post. After some fine tuning and some help from my good friend Dennis, the boxes were ready to fly!

Dennis applies air mail and customs stickers.

Little boxes, little boxes!

Star Hat Miniatures has now sent over 2000 miniatures to gamers all over the world. Last Friday the International boxes left for the airport. I can honestly say that this has been a life changing and at times challenging experience! I still have a few weeks painting to fulfill the Dungeon Master pledges. Bear with me, they will be worth the wait! I will post photos of the painted miniatures on here of course!

If you backed this Kickstarter, please let me know when you receive your Delvers and feel free to comment on here. Your feedback will shape my next Kickstarter campaign. Thank you all for your continuing support and encouragement. The original group of nine miniatures grew into a whopping total of seventeen! I couldn't have done this without your help.

This only just occurred to me but this was a May to December affair! I began sculpting in May and the final painted pledges will be in the hands of backers in December!

A special thanks to Lewis who introduced me to Jason Fairclough's Wasteman game and to Jason, whose miniatures inspired me to try my own hand at sculpting.

God bless and enjoy your games!

Kickstarter Project + Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures

Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom! 

Rom has produced some great banner art for my Kickstarter project. Ella filmed my video today and will begin editing this week.

I've finished some final sculpting before sending the miniatures off to Regal Enterprises in Greytown for review prior to casting. Some things were a work in progress while the Dwarf coat of (chain)mail  was improved by tearing off the previous putty and beginning again with a better technique.

The whole process so far has been highly enjoyable. Creating a character with wire and putty has given me a deeper respect for miniature sculptors. Making miniatures is challenging but also rewarding. I have painted hundreds of miniatures in my life and now I've made my own for others to paint!

However, I need a successful Kickstarter campaign first. So, it's back to work.

My first sculpted miniature on a banner, ready for the Kickstarter page.

Completed work on the Staff of Lizardry.

Axe handle gets a grip.

Old mail.

New mail.

God bless you and have an awesome week!

Kickstarter + Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom!

Star Hat Miniatures! 

Among other things, I have been working on a Kickstarter project for my fantasy miniatures. It's early days and I haven't gone LIVE yet but that's probably going to happen in the next few weeks. What does it look like so far?

Well, I have sculpted nine miniatures (you can find them all on this blog) and some friends are helping me with taking photos (Mark), graphic design (Rom) and video production (Ella). All of these are important when it comes to sharing what the project is all about. I also have a couple of friends (Grant and Lewis) who will proof read and edit the description and rewards.

This is my first Kickstarter and the responsibility for it's completion rests firmly upon my shoulders. All the miniatures are sculpted and ready for production. However, there are costs that come from creating silicon moulds and casting in metal (and distribution). To make certain this process runs smoothly I will be employing the services of professionals. I have enjoyed making these miniatures and I would love to share them with hobby gamers around the world. Kickstarter will help get these miniatures into your hands and on your gaming table. YOU can make this possible! Can you tell that I have been writing for a Kickstarter?

At the moment I am working out Pledges and Funding Goals. I have thought about it and there are several ways I could do this. Favoured options include a single miniature or a group of miniatures for a set price with additional miniatures added to the group if certain funding goals are reached. I will most likely offer both. Perhaps even a painted miniatures option, since I have over 30 years experience with the brush and these miniatures will be a pleasure to paint.

Anyway, there's a photo shoot this afternoon and a video shoot tomorrow morning so I best get back to preparing for those.

God bless you and have an awesome week!

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Axterix Dwarf Lord

Axterix the Dwarf Lord.

I have sculpted another new miniature this week. My third this month. This is a new chapter in my life of gaming, which up until this month has included painting amd converting miniatures but not making my own.

Axterix started out as a dwarf and soon grew in stature to a rather large 'heroic scale' Dwarf Lord. Compared with my first two miniatures, this one has the largest girth. As I continue to develop my crafting skills a style is emerging.

Painting Table Saturday has turned into Putty Table Saturday. I am now planning on getting my miniatures cast in metal. A couple more will make a party of five for Yeoman. Perhaps a Wizard or Amazon will be next?

Like a bird on a wire.

The nod to Asterix of Gaul may be subtle but I guess it is more of a salute to the fantasy worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer and Fighting Fantasy.

God bless you and enjoy your week.

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Slaine Mac Roth

Slàine Mac Roth. 

After my first sculpt (Sir Theobald) I was challenged by my youngest brother Daniel. He asked for 'Sláine', from 2000AD, which proved to be a massive sculpt (and I'm not just talking about his axe).

Humble beginnings.

Shoulders.

Six pack abs.

Legs.

Fur cloak. 

Face.

Belt and boots.

I find anything flat or straight is difficult to sculpt using Tamiya putty. To help keep his axe and sword in place I added some metal rods. The axe blade still required a few attempts. I can understand why maces and clubs are a popular choice for fantasy miniature sculptors!

First axe attempt. 

Second axe attempt.  

Third time lucky? 

Room for another weapon?

The axe turned out to be larger than expected but this is Slàine after all and I think it balances the figure well. Brainbiter certainly looks ready for action. Or as the Highlander himself might say "Kiss my axe!"

I have learnt it's better to focus on one thing at a time and not mix too much putty at once. Often I would squash detail with my fat fingers while working, so letting the putty set between sculpting sessions was also a good idea.

As this is my second sculpt, I am thinking about getting some putty more suited to fine detail. I need to track down some Sculpey or BeeSputty. Meanwhile, I may return to the painting table.

Lewis reckons I should make a whole party of miniatures. Perhaps I will have a posse for Wasteman: Yeoman before Christmas?

God bless you and have a great week.