The Unbearable Lightness of Dwarves!

Welcome back to the blog, my friends!

Yes, I know—it’s been a while since I updated the site. These past few months have been absolutely packed: never-ending to-do lists, unstoppable projects that had to be completed at all costs (I'm looking at you, Orcs!), shiny new projects to start and fuss over, and—drumroll please— I even joined a gym after years of glorious physical inertia.

Which, at the venerable age of 36, basically means living with constant muscle soreness and the creeping realisation that I’m no longer the roaring youngster I once was.

But fear not! I’m not here to bore you with existential dread and the slow march of time. I come bearing good news—the kind that will make you want to raise your mug and toast in my honour (well, almost).

Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum… habemus novos nanos!

(Okay, maybe the papal reference was a bit too much, but I’m riding a wave of excitement here)

Over the past months, I’ve asked myself a simple question: why, as a hobbyist obsessed with Dwarves—someone lucky enough to earn a living sculpting miniatures, and doubly lucky to have a community of refined taste that clearly favors Dwarves over any other fantasy race—why have I made so few of them?!

It’s a mystery for the ages.

All those years wasted on Elves, Orcs, and beardless Humans, when the answer was right there, staring up at me with a stern gaze from the display cabinet in my studio.

Dwarves. Small, stubborn, loyal Dwarves. Maybe it’s because the last few years have shaken a lot of my certainties (like a tunnel-boring machine through the Alps), but I’ve never felt the need to dive into a world of thick beards and majestic Chianti-colored noses more than I do now.

So! With that spirit in mind, I’m proud to present my latest project—or rather, the first step in a brand-new chapter: the ragtag party of Thugni Olafsson… the Offcuts!

They won’t be hitting store shelves just yet (we’re aiming for an October/November release), but in the meantime, I’d love to walk you through this crew—six Dwarves (and a Golem!)—slowly and joyfully, so we can savor every second before you get to paint them (well, you, I’m already painting mine!).

Let’s start with the name: Offcuts.

I wanted something iconic. A name that captured the spirit of this quirky, mismatched bunch of heroes. Something like “The Beatles.” Or “Metallica.” (Yes, I dream big.)

"Offcuts" is a term used in tailoring and metalworking (our kind of field, right?) to refer to leftover scraps. And that, my friends, is exactly the vibe. Bingo!

As you’ll see (and read, if you have the patience to follow all the posts I’ll be sharing on this saga), Thugni’s company is anything but uniform. There’s Borik, a wild-eyed disciple of Vidarr; Bardin, a sentinel from the Iron Crows; Ori, a grizzled veteran in full armor; Kragmir, an old druid who speaks to crows (and rumor has it, they sometimes talk back); the dashing noble Thugni himself, and his daughter Olga. Oh, and let’s not forget Gollis, the baby Golem!

Each of them is woven into a narrative thread you’ll soon discover—and hopefully enjoy. The days of “Sentinel A/Sentinel C” are over. I’ve decided to truly honour the fantastic work of my two sculptors (yes, there are two now!) and push the narrative element further, giving each character not just a stunning sculpt, but a story to call their own.

If you’re already subscribed to my Patreon, then you’re ahead of the game (actually, you’re in the game): the digital files for these new kits are already up there, and available on my MyMiniFactory store as well. But if you don’t have a 3D printer—or simply prefer the classic charm of traditional resin casts—rest assured, I’m working on that too!

After mourning the (commercial!) loss of GRX, I finally had the clarity to plan the next steps. And I’ve made a pretty big decision that’ll change how I run things from now on: I’m taking an indefinite break from crowdfunding. My experience with the “Orcs of Inneath” campaign (still ongoing, by the way) left quite a mark.

From now on, I’ll handle all future releases in-house. Since I don’t have vast resources (and the last KS campaign drained what little I had left), I won’t be able to produce huge stockpiles of miniatures in advance. But honestly? I’m ready to ditch the whole “long-winded preorder” cycle and bring more stability and reliability to future projects.

We’re gonna have fun with this.

If you're curious about the technical side of this small but ambitious project, I’ve created a dedicated landing page where you can sign up to stay in the loop with every update on this dwarf-fueled journey (please be kind—I’m not a designer, I just play one on the internet).

If, instead, you prefer to let the mystery unfold piece by piece… I’ll see you in the next post, where I’ll answer the first burning question:

Just who are these Offcuts, anyway?

Stay hungry, stay Nano.