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In this Update: - All the Sculpting is Done!!!!!!!
- So, What are We Doing Now?
- Shipping Update
- Updating/Upgrading the Sculpts
- Photos of New 3D Prints
- New Renders
- Halloween Captions
- Next KS
- December Deal for KS backers
Yes, that's it ! Everything's finished, with all the alternate parts, additional accessories and so on!
You can see the last batch of sculpts below.
We deplore the fact that it took so much longer than first expected to reach this point, and we thank you again from the bottom of our heart for your patience and support.
To be honest, we could have gone down the easy path. We could have been less picky. We could have given you the first version of the troops that we sculpted and printed nearly 12 months ago. It would have been sooooo much easier. And it would certainly have cost us way less money, less effort, less grief and less aggravation.
But we strongly believe that you deserve the best that we can do. Your overwhelming support and your faith in our vision not only made the TGG Kickstarter a huge success, it created for us a moral contract where you deserve the best work that we can achieve.
Some of you understandably lamented the delays. Believe it, so did our accountant and our banker. A twelve-month delay takes a heavy toll on a small company such as ours. It means 12 months more in staffing costs. 12 months more without any new releases on the market, in an industry that is driven by new releases. 12 months where we pushed back all our other projects. And yet, despite all these downsides, we still feel that putting quality first was the right choice for you our backers, and for the miniatures as well. And so we stood, and continue to stand firm in our commitment to you to put all our resources into striving for excellence, whatever the cost.
With the sculpting out of the way, the delays and uncertainties generated by the creative process are over. What's left to be done is the manufacturing of the remaining sculpts. We are blessed with very reliable foundries, which means that the manufacturing road will be smooth, with few unexpected bumps and delays. And on our end, we will do everything we can to support the foundries in producing the casts as efficiently as possible.
We are also turning our attention to the Digital Artbook
In a previous Update, we asked you if we should wait until the minis are painted before producing the Artbook, and your answer was a firm yes. We may not have every single one of them, but we'll feature as many as we can without delaying the project too much. Meanwhile, we've been ferociously debating the Artbook's content, and we have have many new drawings and illustrations, and sa lot of very cool imagery depicting the TGG universe in a way that is rarely seen in a wargaming book! We are quite thrilled about it all.
And what about a printed edition?
You already know that backers who chose the Connoisseur Box/add-on will be receiving a signed and numbered full-colour, printed version of the TGG digital Artbook. But you have also asked us to make the printed Artbook available for purchase as well, and so we are looking into this. We'll keep you posted as we know more, but don't hesitate to let us know via the comments below or in a private message if you'd be interested in this.
We are fine-tuning the colour scheme for all three armies, and Ringil is continuing to paint new TGG Heroines. We will share the colour scheme in an upcoming Update, as soon as we are happy with it.
We're also now reviewing our sculpting workflow for the Troops to continue to make it more efficient. We have several processes that we are currently testing, and guess what we are testing them on? You got it, on none other than the Dark Elves' and the Sisters' troops planned for our upcoming Kickstarter...
And our other sculptors have also begun work on the new Heroines for that upcoming Kickstarter as well...
To make sure all of our minis are continually in stock, we've just implemented a new automated inventory tracking system. We'll continue to tweak that over the coming weeks.
On the other hand, we still face challenges with the shipping management systemwe are using, even if it is the least bad of the lot. We need to manually split the Rewards Selections for everybody who is getting more than one shipment (Personal Wave Shipping or Drop Ships to shops), and bugs occasionally creep up as systems get regular so-called upgrades... Nevertheless, as it's all done in the name of getting the TGG out to you faster, it's well worth it!
We've just doubled the size of our packing/shipping room to accommodate the upcoming TGG models.
And so, throughout this grinding production of the TGG Kickstarter, we have, and continue to learn a lot. We have already much improved the overall production pipelines, the staffing of the team, the forecasting of how long things take, and we are putting all of this to good use.
And so, once more, THANK YOU! Thank you for this opportunity, thank you for your trust, thank you for your enthusiasm. We could not ask for better backers!
The casting of the TGG minis is in full-swing.
We're tracking close to our estimate from our previous Update: we were shooting for 4-5 weeks after Update 94, which would have meant shipping around this week. We've fallen a bit behind, but not by much... The following boxes:
- KST Heavy Troops + KST Heavy Command Group
- JB Regular Troops + JB Regular Command Group
- IE Heavy Troops + IE Heavy Command Group
are going to start shipping on December 2nd, right after the American Thanksgiving week-end.
As for the remaining troops:
- IE Regular Troops + IE Regular Command Group
- KST Regular Troops + KST Regular Command Group
we said they would require an additional 3-5 weeks, and this estimate is still good, so we are currently looking at shipping those in late December. Additional metal Heroines will become ready at about the same time.
As for the Snipers (Jailbirds, KST and Iron Empire), we're happy to say that the casts are currently in transit and will arrive in the office this week.
Testing the casts of the Jailbirds' bike.
What about our plans for Wave 3 Shipping?
With the sculpting done, the remaining models are sequentially being sent out to 3D printing. Once they get back and are approved, they will join the queue for production and casting. This will happen only once all the Troops are done, and we expect 8-12 weeks of production time. We will do everything we can to speed things up as much as possible. At the same time, you can rest assured that quality will always comes first and that we will not compromise it, even if that means changing our plans. Should that happen, you will be the first informed.
Meanwhile, if you have any specific questions or concerns regarding your Rewards Selection, do connect with Harry on the Live Chat (www.tggks.com) or send a private KS message or an email to RagingHeroesTeam@gmail.com. We look forward to being in contact with you!
In this update, among other images, you can see photos of the 3D prints of Arushka, Keela Krupps, and Kiki Bulldozer, as well as renders of Baba Yaga. What all these sculpts are in common is that initially, for various reasons, they were not up to our standards.
It's always a tricky decision to change something that has already been presented to you, whether in the form of a concept or a 3D sculpt. We've said it before, but by now, you know that we will not release a miniature if it does not meet our exacting standards. Looking at the images of the minis below, I think you'll agree that the later versions are much improved.
Reviewing and upgrading the sculpts actually happens on every single mini that we create. This explains why we rarely show work-in-progress. Sometimes, the changes are subtle, and as they happen in 3D, rather than on a 2D concept, they are not necessarily obvious. And yet, such reworks can have outstanding results. For example, thanks to this, Drakkan (IE), went from a pretty standard model to one of our top best-sellers.
The majority of our backers always prefer the final updated versions. And yet, we know that there will always be a handful who will prefer the original version, and who wish they had selected another mini in the Pledge Manager. We are sincerely sorry when that happens, and if you contact us, we will be happy to swap such a model for another one more to your liking.
Aleksandr Kurganov (KST)
Here is the 3D print of the only TGG male character (well, if you exclude little Alex (see below), Harry, Charlie, and perhaps Jinx). However, there is a good chance that as the TGG universe expands, you'll see more male characters come to life.
Arushka (KST)
We are so very happy with this new version of Arushka. The 3D print looks absolutely gorgeous, and the 4 Yagas will make a stunning sight on the battlefield.
Ilsa Wolfenstein (IE)
In mid-October, we appealed to our German-speaking backers on our Facebook pages, because we needed an urgent translation of “I will not be triumphed over”, a quote attributed to Cleopatra by Titus Livius (Livy) in his history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita.
After much learned discussions and a lively debate, “Niemand triumphiert über mich” appeared to be the general consensus.
The first one to suggest it was David Godwin (and his German friend).
Many other suggestions and comments followed. Here's a sample:
Daniel Scheuß wrote: "'Niemand triumphiert über mich!' is not 100% exactly translated but in its meaning it is correct and in the way that it sounds it is more historical or epic."
Simon Vau wrote: "The thing with that is, the original quote stresses the 'I'. I will not be triumphed over (cause I am so badass). 'Niemand triumphiert über mich!' keeps the meaning, that it's the individual who will not be overcome. 'Niemand möge über mich triumphieren!' sounds more like a prayer, like asking for someone else to help from being triumphed over. But both lack the beautiful, short pithiness of the original."
Our thanks go out to our wonderful community for helping out! As Fumiki Miku wrote: “I believe whatever you choose, it will be a breathtaking miniature... keep it up and love the community support... all you guys and gals are the greatest RH could ask for, 'cause without your support and passion, none of this could have happened!”.
Keela Krupps (IE)
We also updated the sculpt of Keela Krupps, to make her more dynamic than originally shown.
Kiki Bulldozer (JB) (with Little Alex and Andrea)
While the reworked sculpt proved controversial, we had only 2 backers who requested to remove her from their selection, but many more who actually asked to add her to their rewards. Nevertheless, before sending her to 3D print, we did improve her grip on her staff, softened her lips and fixed her chin. In case you're wondering, the man on her staff has been called Little Alex (named after our former intern), and her little poodle has been called Andrea (as Alex retaliated and named the dog after its sculptor).
Nertha (IE Freedom Fighter)
Read her story again in Update #55.
Lieutenant Parker (JB)
Raven (JB Freedom Fighter)
She is first described in Update #17.
W101 (IE)
Doesn't W101 look like she's overindulging on Halloween night?
Baba Yaga
Here is the completely revamped version of Baba Yaga, which is way more epic than the initial sculpt. When she passes you by, your warrior soul will recoil in terror in the presence of her centuries-old shamanic power.
The Jailbirds' Mecha
At last! Here it is! There was A LOT of work on this one. As promised, we are also doing our best to make it as posable as possible, as we prepare for the 3D print. It would be easy to make the Mecha very posable but it would then be pretty hard to assemble, so we are testing various alternatives to reach a good balance.
The KST and the IE Trikes
Hope you enjoy these trikes, we find them pretty cool ourselves :)
Artillery JB / KST / IE
Below are plenty of new alternate parts for the Artillery servants.
As you will see, the Artillery kits alone will give you loads of customisation opportunities.
But that's not all!
Because we planned these parts for compatibility, you'll be able to get insanely creative when you mix them up with the Troops parts, as well!!! And that also goes for the Mecha pilots' heads, the Bikers' upper bodies, and more... You can basically mix and match pretty much everything!
The KST Mecha
As promised, here are the two alternate heads for the Mecha KST's pilot, and we also added an unplanned extra arm, to add more posing flexibility. And as mentioned above, you can always use arms from our other kits to customise it more.
The Cyberzombies
You may recall that the Cyberzombies were a stretch goal for $700,000 for the Kickstarter, and we did not reach that. Nevertheless, due to popular request, we unlocked them anyway, although we did say that we would do them last. And so, here they are, the very last sculpts of the TGG KS.
We had a Halloween caption contest on our Facebook Page and on Asharah Raging's Facebook, with a set of our 3 TGG mascots (Harry, Charlie and Jinx) to reward the best entry. But the captions were so much fun that we could not choose only one... And so Scott Templeman (US/Japan), Peter Ilegems (Belgium), and Vincent Pascaud (France) each won a set of 3 mascots. Here are their captions:
You have asked us when the Dark Elves and Sisters of Eternal Mercy Kickstarter would take place. So far, we've said that we could not give a firm date... but that we were thinking of launching it by the end of this year. But as we are already in mid-November, we now feel it would be wiser to push it out after the Holiday season, and use that extra time to continue to fine-tune the concepts and the production workflow, locate new artists, etc... We should have more news on this in our next Updates, but we are now planning for a Kickstarter in the first quarter of 2015.
Meanwhile, here's a brand-new concept:
With the Holiday season drawing near, we are planning a special deal especially for you, our TGG backers. We'll share the details with you before the end of November...
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At Raging Heroes, every army we create starts with carefully chosen ingredients. For the Dark Elves, you've got: Refinement. Elegance. Extreme Evil. Gothic fashion. Japanese Rock bands. Scandinavian fairy tales illustrations from the 19th century. Find out more about your past and future favorites!
