And here they are the last weeks before a Kickstarter campaign or, as I love to name them, the weeks of doubts!
I don't know if it's me, but I realized that as soon as I approach a certain deadline, my brain is attacked by doubts and insecurities just like Helm's Deep by Uruk-hai warriors.
Slowly, all the previous certainties turn into smoky and impalpable anxieties as I'm aware that very soon the campaign shall start and, with it, all that crazy and uncontrollable ride made by enthusiasm and pure terror.
Luckily, all the bad thoughts and doubts vanished once I received the first 3d prints of this new range: look, look at how fabulous they are!
You know, the worst part of being a small manufacturer is that I have to work with a small budget, and that means principally that I'm not able to invest too many funds to produce in advance all the products scheduled for a Kickstarter campaign: this can make a huge difference in the overall look of a project because, as you can easily imagine, one thing is to show a couple of samples of 3d prints, another to show a whole range of new products, maybe amazingly painted by the most talented painters out there!
I confess that it's a bit frustrating, but despite I still have to work and grow up to achieve my goals, I can't complain about what I'm able to show, this time, to my backers!
I decided to invest a bit more than planned to immediately 3dprint the three big guys of this range: the Guardian, the Forest Troll and the Green Knight!
These three kits should keep high the DPF banner and, hopefully, give all the backers out there a good reason to invest some doubloons on this project!
Talking about the model itself, as I've already told you many times, it's always a big shock to see a new character finally in my hands!
I think that this new range is the best we've ever designed, and believe me: my Dwarf heart suffers, while pronouncing (well, writing!) these words.
These are possibly the most detailed miniatures we ever produced, and the new 3d printing service that I've found has really done an amazing job, good news not only in optics present (maybe, depending on how the campaign will go, there could be some extra budget to invest in another big kit), but also future: big scales kits are not a dream anymore!
Time is running out, as you may imagine, and I've almost finished cleaning the first 3d prints (here you see only those kits I've been able to assemble without glue, there are also the Archer B and the Warrior A that are waiting their turn to shine, but unfortunately I can't show them assembled, so be patient!): despite I've spent hours of pure terror, trying not to ruin the prints while cleaning them, I had also a first chance to study these first sculpts in details, and I really can't wait to have some resin copies and paint them!
The Elves will be a delight to paint, I'm still deciding an official colour scheme (especially for what concerns the skin tone!), and I really hope to see many Forest Trolls painted, in the future, because I designed this kit with an eye to the pro painters out there, but I know I won't be disappointed.
I'm still deeply thinking about 3d printing: it's clear that not all our miniatures are ideal to be printed with domestic 3d printers, and I don't want people to be disappointed by their results with our .stl files. We design our characters without compromises, trying to achieve the best result we can: for this reason, we make our 3dprints from external services that work with high-end 3d printers.
Moreover, our miniatures are somehow extreme, with thin parts and many bits even for a single character!
All this to explain why I don't think I'll give you the chance to print all our characters, but only a selection of those that I think are the safest for domestic 3d printing.
A glorious selection, of course.
So here is the current situation: the best part (the design part) is over, now it's time for the worst part (marketing).
I'm a bit scared, but I can't wait to start!