Wednesday 3 August 2016

A Kickstarter arrives!

Now I had rather hoped that this morning's post was going to showcase another Zombicide Black Plague survivor, namely Gowan, ahead of Saturday's gathering.  Unfortunately here on the the Sunshine Coast we have had a couple of days of rain, the joys of the the Great British summer.  I am reliably informed that this weather is good for the garden, but not so for a chap wanting to varnish his toy soldiers!  That said my spirits have been lifted somewhat by the timely arrival of a Kickstarter. 

 Earlier in the year, May to be precise, Joakim Ström of 'the Miniatures Man' fame alerted to us the fact that a young German gentleman, called Rene, was fulifing a dream to became a sculptor by running a small Kickstarter to launch a range of fantasy miniatures.  It struck me that this is exactly what Kickstarter was created for and although not exactly to my immediate tastes I thought that I might be able to use the miniatures for my 'Witchfinder General' project and so signed up of the Undead Troops pledge.
The whole process has run very smoothly with Rene keeping us abreast of progress with updates the most recent, only last week, alerting us to the fact that all the pledges had now been sent out.  Imagine my surprise then when mine landed on the doormat on Monday!  The sculpts look great with plenty of detail to keep my brush happy and the casting is crisp with very little work required to prepare the pieces for painting.  My attention was immediately drawn towards the Headless Horseman, when I suddenly realised that the pieces don't have integrated bases.  This isn't a problem of course, but with the Horseman's mount rearing up, I was going to need to give its basing a little thought.
This was to become my 'wet play' project and with the bits box duly raided, I set about assembling the piece.  Having pinned the Horseman's hand to the body, I tried the same with the horse's hoof to a 50mm 'Warbases' MDF disc, but my concern was this wasn't going to be strong enough.  To ease my stability wobbles I used some 'Fenris Games' ruined rubble pieces I had lying around along with 'Games Workshop' branch from their Wylde Wood.  
The space at the front of the base was crying out for a couple of extra pieces and the 'Reaper Miniatures' raven perched on a skull seemed to fit the bill.  In fact the inclusion of this detail reminded me of the Horsemean's penchant for collecting heads and so a few more macabre reminders of his collection were added.  That is pretty much where I have got to at the moment, but I am thinking perhaps a pumpkin or two as a final nod to Washington Irving's 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
So well done to Rene, for running such a great Kickstarter and I hope that its success encourages the young man to continue with his passion for sculpting as clearly there is a talent there.  



53 comments:

  1. What a great miniature, the boy did good! So did you sir with your lovely basing I look forward to seeing it completed

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    1. Thank you Andy and the future looks promising for Rene if this work is anything to go by.

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  2. Like your good self I have no immediate use for them, but I am sure they would come in useful somewhere down the line.

    And I agree this is what Kickstarters should be all about and not big companies using kick starters as a form of pre ordering releases they already have planned.

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    1. Thank you Clint, it just seemed like a wonderful opportunity to help support an up and coming sculptor.

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  3. Great looking miniature. Never done a kick starter but I do agree it should be for start ups and not for established companies

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    1. It is a cracking good sculpt Martin and I'm looking forward to getting started soon.

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  4. Wonderful miniature and great basing. Love the raven on the skull.

    Frank
    http://adventuresinlead.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. Thank you Frank, hopefully I'll be able to do it justice with the brush.

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  5. Very nice model. I like the way you've reinforced the horse's ankles (fetlock?) and worked up the base. It's a notorious breaking point, for me at least.

    Looking forward to seeing the final, painted version.

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    1. Thank you Matt, I very tentatively drilled the hoof, but must of the support will now come from the ruins.

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  6. That is a very cool model Michael!

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    1. It was certainly my favourite of the group.

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  7. Very nice model Michael, though the lack of base would put me off a bit. Never done a kickstarter or backed one (I always think if you don't have faith in your product don't produce it!, but then if your a new company then I agree I can see the point in them).

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thank you Roger, the lack of base threw me at first, but it has been fun finding a solution that I had will add a little something to the piece.

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  8. Excellent stuff! Laffe took delivery of the whole order for our group last week, can't wait to pick up my minis.

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  9. Nice to see some projects that are closer to the original intention of Kickstarter! Seems that most really seem to be more like premarketing schemes for established companies than anything else.

    Cool looking sculpts, though I can imagine trying to base that horseman so that it can survive at least some handling must have required more than a bit of thought!

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    1. I couldn't agree more, great fun to part of something small like this and it would be great if the young man then goes on to fulfil his dream.

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    1. I have to say that I am very pleased with them.

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  11. Jolly nice, that. An excellent combination of a nice sculpt and basing.

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    1. Thank you A.J. just need to get some paint on it now.

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  12. Lovely little scenic piece. Looking forward to seeing it painted.

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  13. Nice job looking forward to seeing the paint jobđŸ˜€

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    1. Just waiting on a couple more scenic bits that I've ordered then on with the painting.

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  14. Looking forward to seeing him painted. :)

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  15. Seems I missed this Kickstarter, though with so many out there its totally understandable. Nice snag on those fine looking miniatures!

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    1. I would have completely missed it too if I had't come across mention of it on Joacim's blog. I'm sure there will be more to tempt you another time.

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  16. Great looking mini and the idea with the skull is class. Is there such a Thing as an Ichabod Crane (Ala J.Depp) model?

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    1. I know that there was a Sleepy Hollow set available somewhere, lie Moon perhaps? Certainly not are of J.Depp variant though, would make a great project.

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  17. A brilliant fix that will shine under your brushwork! I need to get some Fenris ruins.

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    1. Thank you Monty, I do like Fenris stuff, always comes in handy.

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  18. Nice one Michael, here in Ireland the weather has led to an indoor varnish movement!

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    1. Now I did wonder if I might get away with that, but decided that I wasn't that brave!

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  19. A clever bit of basing, that.

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    1. Thank you Mr. Finch, a couple more bits to go.

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  20. Nice work, looking forward to see it painted!

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  21. That's a great looking model and base you've built up there.

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    1. Thank you Roy, it rather grew on me once I started rummaging through the bits box.

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  22. Incredible work Sir Michael - I admit that the sight of a horse without a base would have put me off the project but I'm very impressed with what you've done with it!

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    1. Thank you Bill, I very nearly did the same, but I was desperate to have a go at painting this lovely sculpt that I kept going and jolly glad that I did.

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  23. Lovely minis.Looking forward to see them undergoing the lick of paint. :)

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  24. Who doesn't love a bit of 'Sleepy Hollow' action? A nice miniature, although the horse's fore legs appear a litre slim to my eye. And both Blue Moon and West Wind do miniatures inspired by this tale...

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  25. This looks very promising. I see potential for some freehand work in the horse's saddle area.

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  26. Wonderful work with this figure, my friend.
    I'm looking forward to seeing it painted.

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