Hi there,

Firstly I would like to say thank you for producing such a wonderful and varied set of miniatures over the past few years. I was also wondering whether you could give us any idea of what 2015 will bring.

I am particularly interested in the wererat range and wondered what sculpts you have designed.

yours appreciatively,

God is my copilot

I was actually going to do a little year in review sort of post with indications of what is to come next year, might as well do it in this thread!

First, for information on the wererats, I think you will find this post to your liking:
viewtopic.php?f=137&t=28758

As far as new things in 2015, I have a ton of stuff that has been sculpted this year that needs to get made. I have the Wildlands army, the Ogre army, and 90% of the Demon army completely sculpted and ready to go. The only thing I am waiting on for the demons are some 3-headed cerberus hounds that should be mailed to me next week.

I also have some random stuff done...6 new troll sculpts for a forthcoming goblinoid range (bugbears, true scale goblins), and 4 wood elf releases totally sculpted. An Egyptian fantasy/Undead army is also being sculpted and will likely be finished by next April (Anubis warriors already done).

So when is all this stuff coming out? It really depends. I had wanted to open with the Wood Elf releases next year, but based on the sales of the expansions to the other armies, I would rather wait until I have a bit more in the warchest so to speak. I am thinking I will release the demons first, since they have some cross-genre compatibility with Epic, and that tends to sell the most. If I send them for moldmaking in January, I will probably have them up and painted on the site March 1st.

The releases after that all depend on how well business goes, since each release must essentially help fund subsequent moldmaking. I am looking to push things out as quickly as is financially feasible.

The order will likely be:
Demons -> Ogres -> Wood elf mini-release -> Wildlands ->Egyptian Fantasy/Undead -> Wererats

Can I actually sustain that release schedule? Maybe not, but anything not made this year will be pushed to early next year.

Aside from the 6mm fantasy stuff, I would like to at least get the following sculpted/strted next year:
1.Another 6mm scifi army release, probably bulky Bulrathi-esque aliens with heavily armored tanks and biped combat walkers

2. Multipart modular 6mm supertanks. I think there is a real need for these, so I may fast track it, or at least commission some art illustrating what I want to do. Basically, have available skeletal vehicle frames of varying size, with inserts for different modules. Like, a command deck insert, "main gun" insert, and cruise missile launcher insert for the middle slots, then other inserts for the side slots, like secondary batteries, AA slots, etc.

3. 6mm Sci-Fantasy line - I at least want to get the art squared away for some factions next year, if not also get the first test figures done.

So, yeah, it is going to be a busy year behind the scenes, and hopefully also from a release perspective.

_________________
For all your Dark Realm, 6mm scifi and 6mm fantasy needs: http://www.microworldgames.com/

Demons, oh yes.
Wood Elves, yesss.
Wererats, awesome.

I have noticed that you have allowed me enough time to order and paint one army before it is time to order and paint the next. Hope that these awesome ranges get more than enough funding to keep up your excellent work on these figures.

Must resist the urge to get back into Epic Armageddon and raise an Army of the Lost and the Damned Nurgle cult.

_________________
Lord Kulhaq

The Nightmare of your nightmares

"During your enslavement to me you will learn that there are worse things than dying."
"The world is ours, you only have to be strong enough to take what you want."

Thank you for your round up for next year. I look forward to all of the new releases listed. The were rat concepts are superb and I plan to purchase shed loads to fight against the lizardmen I have already. Also I think the latest fluff from GW will be pushing ratmen to the fore again!!!!!

the modular super tanks sound interesting.
Great release schedule all round.

any rules ??????



U.D.

Define rules.

+1 for the modular super tanks!
I needs me some land battleships for my GZG not-VOTOMS.

Oops, rules for a sci-fi or tanks ?

I've tossed around contested rolls, similar to the game risk.

U.D.

I'm not really a rules company, I keep it simple and stick to the minis

For scifi, I really like the Strike Legion series of rules, they enable you to design to almost any background.

Dirtside is also pretty cool, and I believe can be downloaded online for free.

I also own Future War Commander which seems interesting, though can handle less models than Strike Legion can.

_________________
For all your Dark Realm, 6mm scifi and 6mm fantasy needs: http://www.microworldgames.com/

I'm designing Wartorn independently but with steves okay and mini line in mind. It is designed to use only microworld miniatures, you can find proxies if you want but everything in the army lists will come from his line. This is why I was asking "define rules", because I wasn't sure if you where referring to wartorn or not.

Blind-

Steve sounds a very busy release schedule.
Planning on purchasing my birthday present soon if I can decide what I want.


In the past you have mentioned vanilla elves, crusaders of light, are there any plans; have they been dropped altogether or just pushed back?

Definitely not dropped. I will probably have the actual sculpting of the Crusaders done this year, for release next year.

The Elves are tricky though, I was trying to secure the Dread Elf sculptor to work on them, but his schedule doesn't really allow it, hence they keep getting delayed.

_________________
For all your Dark Realm, 6mm scifi and 6mm fantasy needs: http://www.microworldgames.com/

I'm curious on a couple things if you don't mind sharing despot. If you'd rather send me a pm or not at all I understand. I'm curious on what you pay for a green for one of your miniatures, also what's it cost to get a white metal cast made upto production and how much does a standard army run you.

I'm not asking as I want to compete, I can already do limited casting in resin on my own but that's mostly just for myself to fiddle with. I know youve been asked about crowd funding and you really don't have the time to run an indieagogo or something a long those lines, but have you considered seeing if there was interest from your regulars in pre purchasing stuff to help your release schedule move faster? I am one that would be interested in this, especially if it helps release your fantastic lines faster.

Blind-

My sculpting costs vary wildly depending on the sculptor, and the range of prices I have been quoted is pretty surprising. The average cost for a basic 6mm sculpt is $40, from what I have seen. I have been quoted as high as $80...now maybe that $80 sculpt is better than the $40, but will it sell that much more? Is it worth more than having extra poses?

I don't really have an average army release anymore I guess...I keep breaking my own rules and releasing more varied troop types. A better decision would be to limit to 5 codes on release, but if I am going to spend the money, why not go all the way?

I may do pre-order drives to speed up production next year, depending upon need. But here is a question for you, let's say I get something like the Wildlands army mastered. I paint up the master casts, put them up on the store and offer the pre-order. What happens when I get pre-order sales equivalent to say 10% of the moldmaking costs? Now I am in the interesting position of knowing that no one wants these miniatures, where it is actually more feasible financially to simply not produce them, even though I have already paid for the sculpting! In a nutshell, that is why I do not like to do preorders, and why IO shy away from crowdfunders. I like to be disappointed only after I can't cut my losses

_________________
For all your Dark Realm, 6mm scifi and 6mm fantasy needs: http://www.microworldgames.com/