Kits have started shipping from the caster!

Good news; I was just told that 12 models shipped from the caster today, I should have them in a couple of days.

They expect to be able to stay on the revised schedule within a day or two either way. The production manager stated, that although the first few kits took longer than expected, they now have things flowing much smoother and have a system that seems to be keepings things at a good clip.

In anticipation of the arrival and shipping to my customers I have uploaded the Leviathan Crusader instructions to the DFG website and fixed the links for the weapons instructions.

You can view the Crusader instruction by clicking the image below.

Once I recieve the kits I will be working as fast as I can to get them out the door...

Playing with poses

I am still deciding on how to approach the prints, do I pose and print the complete mini or print components and pose them afterwards with a combination of traditional sculpting and digital sculpting... So much to consider, perhaps the $$-cost will dictate my decision for me?

While I roll this around in my noggin, here is another test shot with assorted poses. Note the change to the rifle to bring it more in line with an MG42 profile. Back when these were designed in 2001, the whole “Weird War” and greatcoats thing was not so prevalent. I am torn about the design as it seems a bit “been their done that” but I still want to have a core troop set that is easily identifiable as a major, cultural faction, in this case sci-fi Germany. Perhaps I could go a bit nuttier with the heavier armor?

Here is an old sketch with the HALO pack attached.

 

What’s your thoughts?

On the bench

The 15mm scale Leviathan Crusader is off to the caster for quote and molds. Likely another week before I have a firm price and the mold work begins.

Next up... I am back to work on 28mm scale infantry. Here are a few test shots of the Eisenkern trooper.

Here is a sneak peek of another vehicle. The Puma II scout walker, still very much a WIP.





A bumpy ride: Pre-Orders delayed

Unfortunately, our contract caster is having some problems delivering the pre-orders on time. They had some scheduling issues and material issues that set all their clients orders out from promised delivery dates. We have nailed down the caster to production dates, with assurances that the QC will not suffer.

¼ of the pre-orders will ship within the window given at the time of the pre-orders.

¼ will be shipped 10 days late.

¼ will be shipped 20 days late.

¼ will be shipped 30 days late.

All customers have been contacted and offered a refund if they so choose.

We apologies for the delay and any inconvenience this may cause.
You may contact me with the email address on this blog, or come and join us on the forums to discuss any questions or concerns.

All the best,
Mark-

Khurasan releases the Mekanoids!

Here is a little something that snuck on by me while I was grinding away on the 15mm Crusader.

Jon over at Khurasan released the 15mm scale Mekanoids. I had the pleasure to design the Dictator and Hatchet gunship. You can see details of the release posted on TMP and purchase them here.

These kits have been a long time coming and I am very happy to see them in production.

On the bench

What’s next? The smaller 15mm scale Crusader.

5.5” (140mm) tall with FAR less parts, this model will satisfy a few aspects left wanting from its full-scale 28mm brother. This kit will be far simpler to build, no cutting, cussing, and a bit more survivable on the game table regardless of its smaller size.

I had to go slightly larger than a true 15mm conversion on this kit due to the part thickness and casting concerns. I did not want any part thinner than 2mm. The model is roughly .5” taller than it should be, but as there are no windows or hatches to denote scale, this should not be an issue. I will keep this fact in mind when designing future releases and make sure no part is thinner than 4mm on the full scale 28mm models.

The desire to make a model with fewer parts and a lower cost, required making the model a more fixed pose affair. Not wanting to have all the models look the same if you are fielding an armored lance or armored company, I decided to make a few customized parts to aid in changing the pose from one model to the next. To accomplish this I created three versions of the waist hydraulics, this will give the upper torso a twist. The upper body can face directly forward, to the left and to the right. To change up the leg pose I created a neutral posed leg set, a leg set with the left leg advancing and one with the right leg advancing. All total nine poses possible not counting how you decide to position your weapons. This should give you enough freedom to field an entire table, without the cookie cutter look.

Price? Nothing set in stone, yet… I need to get a quote from the caster but I hope to come in at the $45-$60 range. My hope is that with the smaller model and FAR fewer parts that the kit will not be such a rubber hog when it comes to the molds and resin.

ETA? It’s being printed now, then I need to spend about 2 weeks benching the model to get rid of the stepping on the surface. After that, it’s up to the caster and their time table to get this into production.

Here are a few part renders.

Body parts

Detail parts

Leg parts

Sword parts (left only)

Vulkan parts (left and right available)

Mauler parts (left and right available)

Waist hydraulics

Twist due to waist hydraulics

Leg poses

Neutral leg pose

One leg advancing (left and right available)

 

Orders are in to the caster.

He is completing another customers order and will begin production on Monday. I will have him send the pre-orders in batches of ten or so to get them out to you ASAP.

Any changes to any orders will need to be completed by Friday, May the 6^th 3:00 PST. After that any additions will have to be shipped separately from your main order. If you have a change to an existing order, you can contact me here. Please reference the name and PayPal email of your original order so that I can match up the changes.

A note on armor upgrades:
I received a price for the per-arm armor, and updated the website with this option. The caster has a minimum price, I have cut my margin on this item to try and keep it as affordable as possible.

All Crusaders are shipped with the armor shown in the pics, if you purchased extra weapons they will not have the additional armor.

There have been some questions about the armor upgrades and what fits what.. Each arm type has its own armor, Shooty weapons such as the Vulkan, close combat weapons such as the Scythe and Sword and finally the Claw. Each of these is designed to be either right or left.

I do not have armor for all the weapons, some are being printed right now..

Here is what is available as of today:

Left hand Mauler

Right or left Vulkan Cannon

Left hand Reaper Scythe

Left hand Executioners Blade 

Being printed today: (These will not be ready to ship before the current pre-orders have been completed. You can purchase them later and they glue right onto the assembled model.)

Right hand Mauler

Right hand Reaper Scythe

Right hand Executioners Blade

All the best,

Mark-