EOTD Kickstarter, a few pics added

[Sarmor]

Oh well, if I'm understanding this correctly all the minis shown except Nadezhda Durova will be avlailable as regular sale items?

Tatu, the miniature from the first stretch goal, seems to be Kickstarter only too: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/832150598/empire-of-the-dead-requiem-0/posts/405955

[Snugger]

Hmmmmm I missed the early bird 100 as they were all gone by the time I got home from work 

Shame that it took so long for the 1st stretch goal to come out, 20,000 really!!  On a 5,000 goal!!

Eventhough pledging continues there's no peek at the next nor any indication at which new pledge amount will trigger it. 

Despite the fantastic looking figures I'm actually a little disappointed with this one.

First, just to get it out of the way, I am confident the EotD Kickstarter people will pick up the pace, and the stretch goals will get sorted out and all will be dandy.

But: I am completely baffled by the lack of a basic understanding of what makes a good Kickstarter that otherwise great companies have shown lately. EotD did manage two out of three (make the inital deal enticing even without stretch goals, and make the initial goal as low as possible). But they still have not posted any real stretch goals, and the one they did post seems REALLY suspicious (£5000 to fund 40+ models, £15000 to fund a single extra model?). Obviously the real funding requirement is a lot higher, but the majority of the Kickstarter backers don't care about that. They want their community and word-of-mouth efforts to give real rewards. And since the first stretch goal was posted just moments before it was reached, it feels a lot like it was set extra high just because they could.

Also, a Kickstarter is normally most active in the first week and the last week of its lifespan. By relying heavily on already claimed early-bird goals and non-existing stretch goals, they are probably moving into the slow middle-life of the Kickstarter prematurely.

[thebinmann]

Also, a Kickstarter is normally most active in the first week and the last week of its lifespan. By relying heavily on already claimed early-bird goals and non-existing stretch goals, they are probably moving into the slow middle-life of the Kickstarter prematurely.

Quite, they should have laid out more goals at the start....

[Mike D. Mc Brice]

The lack of stretch goals is a bit disappointing, I think they have been overwhelmed by the response to the KS and still need to sort them out. Or they weren't familiar with the concept of stretch goals at all

I assume we can't await the same amount of stretch goals from a project that features only metal castings as we're used to from some of the plastic/ resin products we have seen in the past.

[Anatoli]

I think West Wind were slightly overwhelmed by the explosion that hit them in terms of pledges and money. I too was pleasantly surprised to see such high interest in Empire of the Dead as it has been hard for me as a gamer to judge the interest and success of the game up to this point.

I imagine they will have a meeting on how to deal with this unexpected success and work out ideas for stretch goals and whatever additional stuff they may have been planning prior to the KS but which we all raced past in less than one day.

And considering that West Wind usually comes up with artwork and greens at a fast pace - but then always struggle to actually release their products I think the Kickstarter may indeed have as its main purpose to outsource the mould making and similar stuff to make everything go a bit faster than usual.

I admit this is the first time I have backed a Kickstarter, and I have only briefly watched other KS projects so I'm no expert and perhaps also why I'm more focused on the initial deal rather than the stretch goal nature which to me is more of a bonus.

[thebinmann]

The goals are up, a little dissappointed one or two weren't back dated but there you go...

[thebinmann]

The kickstarter will add 100 more of each to allow US buyers to get them

[Sterling Moose]

Good to know, thanks for the heads up.

[thebinmann]

They've come in at 101 and 76 pounds, a pound more....

[gamer Mac]

Sorry for bring thick but I don't get this.
You are paying your money for models that are already out and if your want any of the vehicles, you to have to add the money to your pledge to pay for them. Unless you send a fortune you are getting nothing new

[Sarmor]

Unless I missed something, none of these models were released yet, with the exception of the starter kits included in the cheaper pledges.

[Mike D. Mc Brice]

Many of them are not even sculpted yet, including the vehicles which will all be new releases.

[Elk101]

Lovely figures but this doesn't sit right; I can see the logic in setting a low goal to get funded in the hope that it's easily surpassed. However, for that target to be quadrupled before the first stretch goal kicks in?, not so much. They must have had some plan as to the stretch goals even if they were taken by surprise by the uptake.

[achab]

Sorry for bring thick but I don't get this.
You are paying your money for models that are already out and if your want any of the vehicles, you to have to add the money to your pledge to pay for them. Unless you send a fortune you are getting nothing new

You get a limited edition miniature. From £30, you're starting to get some unreleased minis (2 of them, + 1 limited edition). I would not call this a bad deal, considering the retail price for one set is £25 and with Kickstarter offer you don't have to pay anything for postage. Even a £5 pledge with a £20 add-on to get a previoulsly released figure set is a bargain.

[Major_Gilbear]

Sorry for bring thick but I don't get this.
You are paying your money for models that are already out and if your want any of the vehicles, you to have to add the money to your pledge to pay for them. Unless you send a fortune you are getting nothing new

Er, sort of... Yes.

At least, until you spend £74 or more, you are locked into buying mostly models from the existing range. However, it does offer a reasonable discount and free shipping compared to RRP once you spend £55+ on a pledge.

The vehicles are extra, but are also at a similar discount compared to buying them later from the store.

Whilst the gangs are pricey, you don't need loads and loads of figs, and the vehicles are pretty heavy chunks of lead too (and they are not exactly mandatory either).

And for a company like West Wind, getting almost eighty new models sculpted and into production  is a big task indeed (especially as they do everything in-house). The KS is set up to encourage people to buy into a couple of factions at once, so if you and somebody else go halves on a £75 or £100 pledge, it's really not a bad buy-in at all (and you can select from any of the EotD ranges too - existing or upcoming).

I guess it depends on what you want to buy/spend, but compared to Mongoose's Rogue Trooper KS, the buy-in for new stuff and extras is much lower.

Lovely figures but this doesn't sit right; I can see the logic in setting a low goal to get funded in the hope that it's easily surpassed. However, for that target to be quadrupled before the first stretch goal kicks in?, not so much. They must have had some plan as to the stretch goals even if they were taken by surprise by the uptake.

Hmm, I see what you mean, but I'm not so sure. Andy would've had to still do all the sculpting anyway, but at least this way he can outsource getting the production moulds made. If he's "paying himself" to do the sculpting anyway, £5k to get moulds done for 80 figures isn't really that unrealistic - it's not like he's making them out of plastic in China and also getting game components designed to go with them!