Zero Dark Miniatures Update

A quick summary for new patrons:

Back last Autumn, I decided to have a go at commissioning miniatures inspired by the characters in the Operation Nemesis operation manual for Horizon Wars: Zero Dark.  Thanks to some time spent consulting over the Summer, I had some leeway in my budget and I found a digital artist to begin sculpting.  The project is currently some months behind the original schedule, but that's OK, because it's technically under budget, too.

The plan was for four minis, with extras depending on popularity, and I was going to run a Kickstarter to produce them.

So, to the update:

1. The first two designs are finished and are with the printer.  I should have them in my hands next week, God willing.  They are Abdalla and Kurtz, the two humans on the front cover of Operation Nemesis.

2. Infinite Dark has drained my budget surplus (or it will have done, by the time I finish commissioning the artwork).  I currently have the wherewithal to have the resin masters and the moulds for the white metal production models made.  What I don't have the money for is to purchase the metal and run the spins to actually manufacture the minis.

3. This is actually a good thing in some ways, because I had reservations about running a Kickstarter as what would have amounted to purely a pre-order campaign.  I tend to think that's not what KS should be for.  Now, I actually need to raise the money to manufacture the minis.

Oh, and here's a quick preview of Anya Abdalla, bad-ass leader of Bal Anub, with her parts breakdown:

It's fair to say that I'm extremely pleased with this design, which I feel captures the "milpunk" aesthetic of Horizon Wars: Zero Dark perfectly.  I should have the accompanying exploded diagram of Kurtz in due course.

Oh, and a quick thing about Patreon specials:

The resin master castings of the minis will be exclusively available to patrons as long as the moulds last.  A bit like the notebooks, the top tier of patrons will receive a free mini; mid-tier patrons will be able to but one at cost; everyone else will be able to buy one.  And the resins will never be made publicly available for sale.

As for the STLs... All I'm going to say is "not yet".