[Kickstarter] Going Native: From Out of the Mists - Native American Models

[zippyfusenet]

Are the Mayans multi-part or one-piece castings? Are weapons and shields attached or separate?

[Raza Decon]

The Holcan will be a multi part kit. The shields will be seperate bit.

[ErikB]

Now we're talking Mayans... 

He looks excellent. 

[zippyfusenet]

I gotta tell ya, Marc, I find your multi-part figures daunting. I have several packs of your Northwest Coast warriors, but I haven't assembled any yet. They come as legs, torso, two arms and a head, that's five pieces each, before you add a quiver of arrows or possibly convert a weapon hand. The design is great for custom-assembling a few figures, but if you're building an army of 100 or more, it's a lot of drilling, pinning, gluing, puttying, filing and sanding.

As a matter of fact, I've been working (for a couple of months and no end in sight) on assembling 4.5 bags of multi-part Old Glory Plains Indians. These are just two-piece figures, legs + upper body, oh, and a shield and maybe a weapon...but each one is a lot of work. When I finish one, it looks *nearly* as good as if I'd bought a single-piece casting in the first place. They don't all look exactly alike, though, some have their feet closer or farther apart, and one set of legs wears leggings. Sigh.

I'm going to favor single-piece castings from now on. That's just one customer's friendly feedback, take it how you like it.

[Raza Decon]

I understand, Zippyfusenet. The reason I make multi-part kits is a business one. This allows me to make changes and additions for little cost. Also this will help me to create plastic kits down the line. Now on to your points -

Did you like the Makah Whalers/Harpooners? They are one piece models.

Lets say I make one piece models of basic troopers, what would you want to see? How many poses for each weapon option would you need?

Shields will always be a separate bit, unless I buy a model I did not design.

By the way, what are you working on if you need so many models? An Army? Pictures?

[damianlz]

Hey raza.  I always thought a good mix was 1 body. 3 heads on a bulb joint and an arm with weapon in the same kind of joint. It allows for a LOT of flexibility for minimum parts ad can be easily expanded. But I'd love plastic aztecs

[ErikB]

One thing I really like about Anvil Industries is that the connector for the shoulders is triangular. This way arms can only fit in a certain position. This is very helpful if two arms are meant to hold on to one item like a rifle.

Conversely ball and socket joints are excellent if the two arms don't have to hold on to the same item. Lots of flexibility there.
These are just some ideas to make multi-part Minis easy and flexible at the same time. I can't wait to build some of yours. They look fantastic, at least the artwork does.

[zippyfusenet]

Marc, your Makah Whalers are excellent figures: good anatomy, plenty of accurate detail, well posed, and unique subjects. They're more adventurers than warriors, but I paint interesting subjects that aren't purely military, and these are verrry interesting. I take your point about multi-part castings allowing a more 3D figure. I think damianlz and ErikB have both offered useful suggestions to make their design just a bit simpler and easier to assemble.

In it's fullest, my project is proto-historical North America. I'm most interested in the High Mississippians and their neighbors, but no one sculpts Mississippians, so I collect whatever early subjects I can find: Iroquoians, Powhatans, Skraelings, pretty much any Indian warrior figure without metal weapons. I have a couple of hundred Eastern Woodland warriors painted up, mostly from the old Rafm Flint & Feather line, some Foundry 16th Century, and several hundred more in the bare metal. Like most of my projects, this one is open-ended; it will be finished only when I can't do any more.

Your Tlingit are somewhat off my main path, but they're such an interesting, unusual range that I couldn't resist. Your Meso-American figures also interest me, but I have a couple hundred unpainted Aztecs and Tlascallans on the shelf, and I must...not...buy...more...ungh.

My goal is to model large-scale tribal warfare, like the Cow Creek Massacre, or the battles presented in the Gears' "The First North Americans" novels. I'm also ambitious to stage the battle of Mabila, where the Great Sun Tascalusa tried to wipe out De Soto's Spanish. I have the Conquistadors painted up, and I'm working on buildings for Mabila.

I find that most rules for pre-contact North America are skirmish level, and I enjoy playing them, but I'm looking for something at a larger scale. I've tried your Warpaths rules and was interested, I plan to return to them once I've rebuilt my Plains forces (I just sold a load of my Plains Indian figures, who I pitted against the Woodland army, so now I've opened the Old Glory bags). The Tribal rules recently published by some New Zealanders look interesting, but I'll need to add some serious archery rules for North America.

Best regards and success to you.

[Raza Decon]

Zippyfusenet,

I am going to put more pledges up tomorrow. A couple of army pledges, a dragon pledge, and I am going to put up a pledge just for you - Mississippian Mound Builders. This will allow you to create the greens for one general, one hero, and one multi-part unit. Once the pledge is made it will be a slightly smaller army that I will offer on the army pledges, a general, a few heroes, and a snot load of troops.

I will likely get the mound builder pledge up tonight, but the others are going up tomorrow.

[LeadAsbestos]

I'm interested in the Maori Rangatira w/ Spear, but are there Maori warriors in the works? I can always use more troops for Tribal! Also, any chance of a scale shot w/ Eureka and/or Empress?

Thanks!

[zippyfusenet]

You have my attention, Marc. I need both an archer and a warclub-swinger for my rank-and-file Cahokians. Variable heads, shields and warclubs would be nice, but not too many pieces, please. Lenape-Tallega Wars, coming up!

[Raza Decon]

The dragon and mound builder pledges are up.

[zippyfusenet]

Um, that's a little rich for my blood, Marc, but thanks for the proposal. I'm sure they'll be great sculpts, if someone funds production.

[Raza Decon]

New Update # 8 - New Pledges and Creations

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2139148164/going-native-from-out-of-the-mists/posts/1901227

[Raza Decon]

Update #9 - White Buffalo Woman
 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2139148164/going-native-from-out-of-the-mists/posts/1903229