Hagglethorn Hollow on Kickstarter

Greetings Delvers! I am very excited about this! It may have been something you are following already but I thought I should mention a project begun here in New Zealand that has just launched on Kickstarter. Hagglethorn Hollow is the lovingly designed, sculpted by hand, terrain set by Johnny Fraser-Allen.

In the video above (shot by Steve Unwin), Adam Savage talks with Johnny about the full project but for the moment, the Labyrinth and Buildings that are on offer. All of it is modular, and can be mixed and matched in an incredibly organic way.

Hagglethorn Hollow Full-Pledge

Because Johnny also works for Weta, it has a real film-set model level of detail. I can't wait to have Hagglethorn Hollow on my gaming table! He talks more about his background here in an interview with Beasts of War:

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Blessings,

Darcy Perry
#starhatminiatures

Dungeons of Doom V: Law Vs Chaos + Kickstarter LIVE

It's alive! Dungeons of Doom V: Law Vs Chaos is the latest Kickstarter from Star Hat Miniatures is now LIVE on Kickstarter! I am really excited about sharing these new miniatures with you!

This is my 5th Kickstarter and it's really exciting to have a couple of fantastic sculptors on board. Here are the giants from Anton Ducrot (Flytrap Factory):

Anton's Giants: Milton, Cecil with boar, and Kongeegenan!

Gary Hunt (Gary Hunt Miniatures and Weta) has also gifted his pet Black Dragon to the Law Vs Chaos campaign:

Gary's Black Dragon, Borranix!

Here are the new miniatures I have sculpted (so far) for Dungeons of Doom V: Law Vs Chaos:

If you see anything you like, or just want to say hello, you're welcome. It only takes NZ$1 (about 50 UK pence or 66 US cents) to become a backer that can comment and be part of the journey.

Casting and shipping are from New Zealand (Regal Enterprises and Star Hat Miniatures), Ohio in the United States (Effin Cool Miniatures) and Gloucestershire (Macrocosm) in the United Kingdom.

This Kickstarter ends on the 31st August 2018.


Blessings,

Darcy Perry

Dungeons of Doom III + Legendary Heroes Feluria & Yako

Delvers Lost in the Dungeons of Doom III. They're back! More delvers lost in the Dungeons of Doom! This time they're hunting The Dragon!

Feluria & Yako
By Luke Butcher

Feluria and Yako were not always the inseparable duo you see today. They both seem to have the same care-free, whimsical attitude about the world.

Yako had always been a prankster, travelling from his favorite fields to create mischief in the nearby sleepy villages. When he judged the time was right, Yako would pull pranks and make it seem like an unsuspecting villager had been the one to pull them.

One day he went too far. Yako made the mistake of digging out a bit of dirt near the town apothecary. This caused a section of the wall to fall out, crashing into the village center, where the well which provided water for the entire village was.
Shelves full of many different concoctions fell into the well, from which erupted an angry water elemental!  Polluted by the potions, the once benevolent elemental water elemental demanded the one responsible to come forward and face judgement or it would destroy the whole village. 

A frightened apprentice stumbled from the rubble, drenched in the perfume of various salves and ointments, while terrified villagers stood rooted in terror. Just as the water elemental was about to pass judgement Yako leaped in between the two; facing down the elemental and conveying he was the one responsible.
The sentence for polluting a water spirit was death and Yako knew this. He was fine with people taking the fall for petty pranks but letting someone die from his tom-foolery was out of the question. As Yako stood there ready to accept his fate, a fairy appeared and petitioned to be his guardian! 

Feluria had been tailing Yako for a very long time, albeit unseen from afar as his occasional companion. Upon birth intelligent beings such as Yako are assigned a watcher fae (as they can be destructive if uncared for). 

Being a watcher was common enough. A fae becoming a guardian was by far a more rare occurrence. They had to feel a true sense of empathy for a creature; which could be difficult considering how often their view of the mortal world shifted. Yako took after Feluria's own heart; a spirit of nobility and liberty that knows no bounds.

Whether moved by Yako's gesture or Feluria's plea it remains unknown. The elemental allowed Yako to live but only as long as they were bound as mistress and familiar. Ever since that fateful day Feluria and Yako have been inseparable, though sometimes only by force of the magical bond set upon them.

The funding from this Kickstarter will pay for the moulds and casting of at least 8 new miniatures. Legendary Hero pledge backers will unlock more miniatures from 5k onwards. Reaching 10k funding will unleash The Dragon!

Delvers Lost in the Dungeon of Doom III https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darcyperry/dungeons-of-doom-iii-dragon-slayers-star-hat-minia

What are you waiting for? Let the adventure begin! We're going on a Dragon hunt!

Star Hat Miniatures + Flying Kickstarter!

Here are the final turns in the winding road of my Kickstarter: Delvers Lost in The Dungeons of Doom! In my last post, the metal masters were about to be drop cast in preparation for making production moulds.

Ian and Alan Farley at Regal Enterprises sent me photos of the spin casting (aka centrifugal rubber mold casting) process.

You may notice that they are doubled up. By having a two of each miniature, the amount of spins required is halved. The fourth disc also has a few new miniatures. More Delvers? Yes, I let the cat out of the bag with photos of three miniatures that will be part of the next Kickstarter campaign. I am getting a small number of Ailgavart, Saetog and Vok Wightkicker cast in preparation but they won't be included in this Kickstarter.

Halfway through October, well ahead of our December delivery deadline, the production moulds were spinning.

In the words of my good friend Lewis, "It wouldn't be a Kickstarter without some unexpected twists and turns." I received this email from Regal Enterprises about the remaining miniatures:

HI Darcy, I am going to do some casting with the last mould tonight. The barbarian woman is going to cause trouble as she has broken in the mould at her ankles . Hopefully I can get some out that will be OK. Will try to send a picture of her tomorrow. If it’s not Ok might have thicken the ankles on the master , make a new silicon mould etc. Cheers , Ian

On the bright side, Ian is a master mouldmaker and caster, so expect this issue to be resolved quickly. This is the Amazon we are talking about and I know she's a survivor! 

The improved Amazon arrived soon after, ready for packing

Here are some photos from our boxing day. That Saturday we packed 42 boxes, which which were joined by 56 other boxes after the final shipment from Regal Miniatures arrived early the following week. Thanks to Blair and Dave for that second boxing session!

Dave and Lewis ponder mail merge.

Dave, Grant and Lewis boxing.

Pizza break.

A box of treasures.

Row by row.

Calum oversees the production line.

As you can see, everything was well in hand! It took a week to work out shipping details with NZ Post. After some fine tuning and some help from my good friend Dennis, the boxes were ready to fly!

Dennis applies air mail and customs stickers.

Little boxes, little boxes!

Star Hat Miniatures has now sent over 2000 miniatures to gamers all over the world. Last Friday the International boxes left for the airport. I can honestly say that this has been a life changing and at times challenging experience! I still have a few weeks painting to fulfill the Dungeon Master pledges. Bear with me, they will be worth the wait! I will post photos of the painted miniatures on here of course!

If you backed this Kickstarter, please let me know when you receive your Delvers and feel free to comment on here. Your feedback will shape my next Kickstarter campaign. Thank you all for your continuing support and encouragement. The original group of nine miniatures grew into a whopping total of seventeen! I couldn't have done this without your help.

This only just occurred to me but this was a May to December affair! I began sculpting in May and the final painted pledges will be in the hands of backers in December!

A special thanks to Lewis who introduced me to Jason Fairclough's Wasteman game and to Jason, whose miniatures inspired me to try my own hand at sculpting.

God bless and enjoy your games!

Sculpting Fantasy Miniatures + Axterix Dwarf Lord

Axterix the Dwarf Lord.

I have sculpted another new miniature this week. My third this month. This is a new chapter in my life of gaming, which up until this month has included painting amd converting miniatures but not making my own.

Axterix started out as a dwarf and soon grew in stature to a rather large 'heroic scale' Dwarf Lord. Compared with my first two miniatures, this one has the largest girth. As I continue to develop my crafting skills a style is emerging.

Painting Table Saturday has turned into Putty Table Saturday. I am now planning on getting my miniatures cast in metal. A couple more will make a party of five for Yeoman. Perhaps a Wizard or Amazon will be next?

Like a bird on a wire.

The nod to Asterix of Gaul may be subtle but I guess it is more of a salute to the fantasy worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer and Fighting Fantasy.

God bless you and enjoy your week.