TGG2 Update #67 – Casts Now Coming In

This is happening! The second wave of shipments for TGG2 is now starting!

Shipping plans

We are super excited to send you this update today as we are about to launch a massive shipping operation beginning this Monday!

We had hoped to start shipping about 2 weeks ago, but the foundry ran into a few unexpected quirks that they had to iron out. But this is now over and we are now being flooded with boxes and boxes of minis.

So this weekend we are preparing the very first parcels and start shipping on Monday.

If you visit the production status page, you'll see what minis have been produced.

However, keep in mind that the fulfilment is a massive task in itself, so we will spread the work over several weeks.

To be more specific:

• If your pledge reward contains what is shown as currently available, your parcel will be shipped this month. 
• If your pledge rewards contains the Mounted Knights Command Group and Troops (Sisters – Fantasy), Daughters of the Orphanage Command Group and Troops, Augusta Mother Superior (Fantasy and SF), Mahleezariah Lust Elf Matriach (F/SF), Shyveriah (Void Elf (SF)), the Centaurs Command Group and Troopers (Fantasy and SF), it will be shipped during March.
• If your pledge rewards contains the Monsters and Machines listed in previous updates, that is, the Altar of the Succubi, Asharah on Pegasus, the Avatar of Shah, the Draahk Chariot, the Draahk Chariot with Horses, the Spider Mother, the War Pulpit, Yscarloth the Harverster of Flesh (Fantasy and SF), we expect these to start shipping between March and April (as these moulds will be made during the second half of February and they then need to be cast and shipped).
• Please keep in mind that the metal version of the Heroines will be done last. I am unable to provide you with a ship date for those yet, but as soon as I can, I will let you know.
• Also, contrary to what was planned, the Dark Elves Male bits are already available, as we have decided to directly 3D print them and send you these 3D prints.

We plan to pack and ship between 1000 and 1500 parcels every month until the fulfilment is done.

So, how do the minis look?

Well, we keep on being amazed every time we receive a box from the foundry! The minis are stunning! Look at these sisters, they look just like the 3D renders, maybe even better:

We have had very little time to assemble some for ourselves, so you might have yours ready to do battle before we even have a unit of each ready at the studio, but just looking at the sprues.... oh god! Which ones look best ? The Knights of the Chalice, the Worm Riders and the Draahks and Sol-Sarya, and, arghh... no... I can't choose...

If you are not in the mould making business or something similar, it is hard to realise what the foundry has been pulling off, but it is truly insane. Just look at the Knights of the Chalice sprue below. Observe the density and complexity of its layout, and you'll be able to understand how crazy it is to set up such an intricate contraption, knowing that, at time of mould vulcanizing, these little parts will have to stay in place while being engulfed in liquid melted rubber under 20 to 40 tons of pressure!!! And this is just one single step of the process...

So if you appreciate their work, don't hesitate to send them a little love in the comments or on our Facebook page as they really deserve it and we've been driving them nuts these last few months.

A little help coming your way

Some of the minis are pretty intricate so for the most complex ones, we will prepare assembly guides. We'll keep you posted on this.

We've also created several videos to show you how to correctly cut your minis from their sprues without damaging them, and how to clean, glue and prime them. We made them for several Heroines and Troops so that you can get a good feel for the process on different minis. You'll find the first one at the end of this Update, on how to prepare the Sci-Fi Sisters Regular.

Also, painting has started just this week. This means that we will have beautiful images to show you in future Updates, and also inspiration for you if you need some when you start to paint your TGG minis.

The Pledge Manager is closing for good!

To be able to process the shipments, we need to close the Pledge Manager, so please note that if you still want a little something, it is now or never! Hurry up, it will close this Wednesday, February 8, 2017.

What's next ?

Well, the TGG2 project is slowly but surely coming to its conclusion. It has been a hell of a ride and you made it way bigger than we expected (maybe naively, we didn't think it would be possible to do as good as TGG1) and the whole team has produced a massive set of minis with a quality that we think is even perhaps one notch higher than TGG1.

So now that you will have your TGG2 armies, what will you do with them? Here's a suggestion:

Our first game is now very much under way!

In the past few months, we told you about our plans to release a game with a set of 54mm minis. The game designers originally wrote and tested our first game as a 54mm game as we wanted to cautiously enter the game business with a project to test our base concepts for what will be our 28mm TGG wargame.

But very quickly, we realized that we had something that was going way beyond our original plan. The core system is at the same time super simple and yet so versatile that we started adding more and more options to the game. Very quickly, it became obvious that we should go straight to 28mm as it allows for more complex scenarios, more intricate game boards and, more than anything, that you can use your TGG 28mm minis in this game. We are not yet sure exactly in which form the final game will be, because it keeps on growing. But what we know for sure is that:

• The game will come with a super cool modular board with 3D cardboard scenery.
• You'll be playing in film-like settings, not just a series of small rooms and corridors. Imagine sets such as the giant lab of Doctor Von X, the bridge of Ardanna's Destroyer Starship, etc.).
• Each of your TGG heroines will display her unique and flamboyant character through the gameplay.
• And so much more...

→ Testing the 28mm version of the game using some Battle Systems scenery before we are done with a prototype version of our own board.

And what about the Scenery Kickstarter ?

Ah, this project is at the same time so epic and so damn hard! The design involved in this is so complex that it makes our brains melt... Creating a fully modular environment that look like real architecture, and yet complies with the needs of gaming and the 28mm scale is a pain. 

If you missed the original info about this project, it is the project we gave to our creative team once the creative work on TGG2 was done.

The team first started working on modular buildings for KSTs and Sisters. Soon the project got SO big that we decided to just work on the Sisters' environment first.

The very epic concepts that we received from the concept artist are at the same time super exciting and frightening because of their epicness and scope. Honestly, they are so vast and big that we've so far refrained to show you anything before we could make sure that we would be able to re-interpret these building into something that will preserve their look while making them into something of a more reasonable size...

At this point, if we were to make a real world cathedral in 28mm scale, it would likely tower at about 2 meters high (6,5 ft) and it would be twice as long. Even if you have a very large game room, this might be a tad much...

So a lot of the work has been about finding tricks to bring these buildings down to a proper size, something that won't scare your spouse or your wallet shitless, yet that still look as towering and imposing as the true thing.

And we are finally getting there.

We don't have any completed pieces to show yet but it is now a matter of days before we can share some sneak peaks.
Well, ok... since you asked, here are two images:

First, some research on the gothic ornaments:



And here, a work-in-progress image of the front of our cathedral with Tania Tanker rolling up her sleeves before doing a little bit of masonry work.

So which will come first?

Well, we don't know yet as the game and the scenery projects have been moving at a very different pace. We will keep you posted on this, but it won't be long before we decide when and in what order things will happen. So, as usual, stay tuned for our next episode :)