IN THE SPOTLIGHT - HERO FORGE CUSTOM MINIATURES

ok i caught light of this only the other day over at ye olde inn as part of a discussion on kickstarters for gaming aids and the likes.

now with the current advancements in 3d printing it is now becoming more and more available through the use of your pc to create/sculpt your own minis.
this in particular caught my eye as it allows literally anybody to click through a selection of models/adjust parameters etc to create your own figures.
go give it a try
HERO FORGE

this give you an intuitive computer game style character creation tool that allows various items to equip your figures. how to pose them and so on. there is a great deal of choice in there and i think for people that like to play D&D or heroquest or anything similar where they play as a singular character, this is a great tool. its not as cheap as it would cost to say purchase a singular figure from somewhere like GW, but based on what you are getting. it is a damn sight cheaper than commissioning someone to sculpt you a figure

a 30mm mini will cost you $25+$PP

this for me in the UK takes the price upto 26 quid. which doesnt make it an option really for me. i cant justify spending that money on 1 figure. especially when i can sculpt myself.

but the tool itself what it offers and the cost versus paying for commision work heavily outweighs in its favour and makes this a very good option for people wanting to create their own heroes for the gaming table.

i decided to put it to the test and attempt to make a few builds

so i decided to take a shot at the base HQ heroes..barbarian didnt turn out too bad. one thing the poses do lack are 2 handed weapon poses. but considering the amount of options available. they have to give options that work with all the choices you make. still it wouldnt hurt to have a extra menu of poses

 dwarfs arent great and follow the D&D physique for dwarfs. whereas i prefer the bulkier barrel shaped dwarfs with huge noses.

 elves look pretty good and with different ear options as well you can decide how pointy their ears are

 there are a lot of options for wizards too with fireball effects and such shooting from their hands.
would be nice to have more weapons to choose from. but im sure they add new things all of the time

halflings look great. but again some halfling feet would be a nice option

all in all. its a great tool for those that arent skilled in the arts of sculpting. and can really help you define your hero. whilst its not perfect and the price for 1 figure may be viewed as steep. i imagine a year down the line this will be even better. if they do add further options.

and possibly newer models (dwarf being first i noticed needing its only model type)

this could really be a new wave for miniature companies. yes its a specialised service. but yes its also crazy cool way to bring your heroes to life.

so go check it out. id love to see peoples creations somewhere down the line and wish these guys the best of luck

IN THE SPOTLIGHT - FROSTGRAVE

i stumbled upon a few of the minis for this game over the last few weeks. and have really liked the look of them. got a nice old school feel to them. (im guessing the aid of mark copplestone helped there)
NORTH STAR MILITARY FIGURES
this game i dont believe is out yet but from searching on their facebook page i believe this is going to be available around june/july
i know very little of the game. but my understanding is its got kind of a mordheim vibe about it.
with small scale skirmishes with bands of wizards and mercenaries at their aid.

"Long ago, the great city of Felstad sat at the centre of a magical empire. Its towering spires, labyrinthine catacombs and immense libraries were the wonder of the age, and potions, scrolls and mystical items of all descriptions poured from its workshops. Then, one cataclysmic night, a mistake was made. In some lofty tower or dark chamber, a foolish wizard unleashed a magic too powerful to control. A storm rose up, an epic blizzard that swallowed the city whole, burying it deep and leaving the empire as nothing more than a vast, frozen wasteland. The empire shattered, and the magic of the world faded. As the centuries came and went, Felstad passed from history to legend and on into myth. Only a few wizards, clinging to the last remnants of magical knowledge, still believed that the lost city had ever actually existed. But their faith was rewarded. After a thousand years, the fell winter has passed. The snows have receded, and Felstad has been uncovered. Its buildings lie in ruins, overrun by undead creatures and magical constructs, the legacy of the empire's experiments. It is an evil, dangerous place. To the few hardy souls who inhabit the nearby villages, the city has acquired a new name, 'Frostgrave', and it is shunned by all right-thinking people. For those who seek power and riches, however, it is an unparalleled opportunity, a deadly maze concealing secrets of knowledge long forgotten... This new fiction anthology collects ten stories of wizards and adventures as they venture into the ruins of the Frozen City."




well it was the mercenaries that really caught my eye
or should i say FROSTGRAVE SOLDIERS

facebook description

"What is the Frostgrave Soldiers box set all about?
This is a set of 20 plastic 28mm sized figures. Their role in the game is to accompany the Wizards into the frozen city, fight opponents and grab treasure. The player designs his own band of followers, and arms them as they wish. So our box set is designed to allow you to do that. In the box there are 4 'frames' of plastic. Each frame has:
5 bodies
10 heads
25 different arms/ weapons
2 shields
+ selection of bags & equipment.
This means you can make 100's of unique figures, no two wizards band should ever be the same."

these would make excellent henchmen by any means. and with the options available from the description hopefully a great array of henchmen can be made. maybe even a few heroes too. i would probably dip into my bits box too, and hopefully create even more variation. these will be much sought after..if not. they should be,
again i dont believe these are available YET.
but as soon as they are. i think ill be nabbing a box of these. some of the other characters for the game look excellent too

along with a barbarian in a very familiar pose :)

and many cool wizards to choose from.

looking great right? what you guys think? 

Dungeon furniture kickstarter - by zealot miniatures

every now and then i like to plug any of the cool stuff i see around, and this one goes without saying much really.
but you want some nice new dungeon furniture??
and dont wanna take the massively long winded route i do of trying to sculpt them all from scratch then check this KS out today!!!

Twisting Catacombs Kickstarter

having some mild association with zealot minis (where you can pick up my previously sculpted hero minis) id like to wish them the best of luck with this kickstarter. however luck im not sure is going to be needed, because this stuff really is awesome!!

i simply dont have enough page space to feature all of it. so if you like your dungeons to have that something extra. go check them out and throw a pledge their way :)

In The Spotlight - wargames bakery

every now and then i find the odd thing whilst scouring through blogs and various websites. here is something i found and right away just thought "genius idea!!"
now some people really go to town when basing their figs. me however im very much a fan of generic bases. maybe im just lazy, but i have a problem seeing items on bases and grasping the fact that 'that boulder is following him around'
so the long and short of it i like generic, but ill hold me hands up and be honest im also lazy on this front. quite simply i cant be arsed!
however someone has come up with a way to help those like myself to be able to create bases with ease!
web link

BASING PADS?? what the hell are they?
well basically it appears to be a 6 inch round base detailed as such based on various designs needed...stick some green stuff on your base press it into the basing pad antidy the edge. and you have neatly detailed bases.

Whist i appear to of missed out on their kickstarter. hopefully these will be available to purchase soon enough.

they have many many more too. i just chose a few that i liked. check them out. and when they are available...go buy 1..or 2 or 3 :)

Peace

In The Spotlight - avatars of war - Corrupters of the apocalypse

ok avatars of war...spotlights on what i think would be an excellent substitute if you want to really add some variation to your heroquest chaos warriors
web link

the sprue seems pretty nifty too, offering up plenty of variations. mainly looking like these are geared towards nurgle warriors but im sure a little imagination could flip things right over to create many different types.

price wise they seem like a really good option getting 24 minis in the pack, however we all know youll never need that many for heroquest. but at least youll have some cool new chaos warriors....and what you dont use. you can send me :)



Peace

In the spotlight! - Mierce miniatures

now from time to time I drift away onto other projects, get lost in the world of working too hard and balancing family life. and in those times I don't get chance to post much let alone be creating too much either. So in those times of limbo i've decided to do the odd post to show anything super cool i've found. so for my first spotlight post. ive decided to focus on Mierce miniatures. im a big fan of independent sculpt houses. the like of hasslefree miniatures as well as a cult fave of mine in heresy miniatures. I also love to support those too because quite frankly they create some great mini's. if you've never heard of Mierce miniatures, then they are a UK based company who specialise in fantasy ranges of figures.

check them out HERE

now what caught my eyes was this recent kickstarter of theirs

Gamla Bror, Vókkinak, Vaak!

of which one of the most amazing looking dragons i have ever seen really stole my attention.

AMAZING RIGHT?

unfortunately i'd missed the kickstarter date!! boooo!!

but check out a few of these.

some great stuff right? and great stuff comes at a price. now as much as i love these. and that dragon for me is a must have. they arent the cheapest. some of the standard human sized figures come in at arouns £9 to £11 which is about the same price range as games workshops single figures.

so if your happy paying that. then go support and stock up on some dungeon denizens! :)

but you cant deny these are of great quality.

peace!!!