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Remember this? In the last Update, we said that if there were over 300 shares on Facebook, the Dark Elf and the Void Elf Sorceresses would be unlocked. Well, you did it, with 378 shares!! And so, the 2 Sorceresses are now UNLOCKED!
And we've got even better news for you. We recently began working with a new sculptor whose style was perfectly fitting for that particular model. And so, much ahead of schedule, the Fantasy version Sorceress is now sculpted. You may have noticed that we altered the shape of her cape. That is simply because the shape on the concept was not working well in 3D.
For those who have been wondering about when and how you will tell us which Rewards you want, remember that you will get access to the Pledge Manager when we are ready to ship a first batch of minis.
The Pledge Manager is a web-based tool that will allow you to select precisely which miniatures you want.
Want to know more? No problem! Simply hop over to our Update #4 for all the details on the Pledge Manager and how Shipping will work.
And you have some fun with working out the minis you want with the Pledge CALCULATOR(https://bit.ly/TGG2PCal). It is NOT the Pledge MANAGER, but it is a nifty little tool that will help you compute your pledge. It was created by Ivo Ilic, one of our backers. If you see errors on it, don't hesitate to contact us at RagingHeroesTeam@gmail.com.
You may have seen earlier versions of some of the sculpts below during the Kickstarter. But they were all work-in-progress at the time. If you look closely, you'll be able to spot the many differences.
While a sculpt may look finished when shown under one angle, in the end, we're going for real world 3D objects and so, a good part of the sculpting process is spent adjusting the 2D concept to 3D volumes.
Zailith is a very good example of this. The base sculpt was created in just a few hours. It then took several days to really bring her to life, create a pose that would not only match the concept's front view but also give her real attitude and motion as a 3D piece, and make sure to finish all the details and then, of course, cut it and prepare it for print.
→ Zailith, Blood Vestal Secultrix (Dark Elves – Fantasy/SciFi – Freebie/Heroine)
Say WHAT? Santa Dolores Goes Bi? (No, it's not what you think...)
After many tests and much deliberation, we finally decided not to make two different versions of Santa Dolores and instead, make one version for both Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Every time we gave her technological gear or any other sort of mechanical implant, she would really lose something. So unless we and you come up with a new brilliant thought for a separate SciFi version, Santa Dolores will remain as is and will fit both armies. We do think that her ghostly/possessed appearance will perfectly work in most any types of settings.
→ Santa Dolores, The Lady of Sorrow, Psychic Seer (Sisters – Fantasy/SciFi – Heroine)
→ Minions Galore!
Truly, TGG2 may just be the Kickstarter that keeps on giving :)
Indeed, after an additional bonus unlock with the DE and VE Sorceresses, you are now getting an additional Minion for free!
That's because when we started sculpting the Minions, there was a slight mix-up with the concepts, and an additional one was sent to the sculptor. And so, we ended with 7 Minions, instead of the 6 originally planned... Well, we were not going to simply ignore the extra one, now, were we? So there will be now be a box containing 7 Minions instead of the original 6.
So, meet Otto, Nope, Kwapek, Beedle, Krudle, Babush, and Kapok. Please, do tell us which one is your favourite and how you plan to use them in the Comments below!
And here is a strong suggestion of how the Minions might act:
Yep, that's the Minions for you...
→ Sister Trematta, Field Resurectrix (Sisters – Fantasy – Heroine)
→ Lady Darkryss (Dark Elves – Fantasy – Heroine)
→ Lady Darkryss (Void Elves – SciFi – Heroine)
→ Onyx, Master Assassin (Dark Elves – Fantasy/SciFi – Freebie/Heroine)
→ Kraash (Dark Elves – Fantasy – Heroine)
→ Kraash (Void Elves – SciFi – Heroine)
→ Silkeeriss Hunter Pack Leader (Dark Elves – Fantasy – Heroine)
→ Shaliah, Death Dancer Soloist (Lust Elves – Fantasy/SciFi – Freebie/Heroine)
→ Silkeeriss Hunter Pack Leader (Void Elves – SciFi – Heroine)
→Vanvyssah, Lust Elves General (Lust Elves – Fantasy/SciFi – Freebie/Heroine)
In our previous update, we shared with you a list of the sculpts that were to be dealt with in the second batch. However, for the sake of practicality, you need to know that such lists are always somewhat fluid.
This proved to be the case this month: as we added new sculptors to the team (and, unfortunately, had to remove some as well), we played up to their strengths to maximise productivity. This means that while several models have progressed but are still in the Near Completion queue, new sculpts are now In Progress or Near Completion, and one got Completed ahead of time.
Keep reading to see what's going on in each sculpting category.
The Standard Bearer of the Daughters of the Orphanage is one of the very first idea/concept stemming from the early days of Raging Heroes. It's really great to see it come to life. As you'll see later on in this Update, the Cook is not far behind and the rest of the Daughters should soon follow.
We did not want to delay the Update waiting for their renders, but this sculpts should be finished within the next few days:
And here are the sculpts that the team is working on at the moment...
It does not mean that all of these will be finished by the time the next Update (next month) rolls around, but they should see good progress.
Here's the list of sculpts currently moving forward:
Err... Speaking of the Sisters...
I guess it's clear... No one messes with the Sisters!
So, what happens once a sculpt is fully completed? Well, that's when we prepare it for 3D printing. This preparation includes making sure that there are no holes in the mesh, that all angles are sharp and well-defined, that details are large enough to look good in a 28mm mini, etc. Once it meets all of those requirements, it is ready to go to 3D printing.
The 3D printing service takes from one to two weeks to send back the prints. When we receive a print, we immediately review it. If it's not good, it goes back for fixing. If it's good, then we sit down to clean this master. Once that's done, we can then send it to the foundry to be placed in the casting queue. If it is a sculpt that will be produced in both metal and resin, then it first goes to the metal foundry before moving on to the resin one.
Unfortunately, we don't have 3D print photos for you for this Update, as it so happens that our 3D printer took his yearly vacations during the month of June. Therefore, we have a batch of sculpts awaiting 3D printing. They will be processed as soon as he's back.
After reviewing your comments, and our personal preference notwithstanding, we agree with you that Doralys would be more versatile without the tears and the fleur-de-lys, as these can indeed be added as paint work. We'll be sharing with you the render of her new version in an upcoming Update.
As mentioned earlier, our key activity this month was visiting our partner foundries, which meant travelling abroad.
We first went to the United States to visit our spin-cast resin foundry. We stayed there several days and got to know each other and learned more about each other's processes. We then moved on to the United Kingdom and visited our metal foundry.
Preserving the 3D-printed masters with a cold-cure silicon mouldWe cannot thank them enough for the warm welcome with which we were greeted. It was great to finally meet in the flesh the people who've all worked so hard to produce all the TGG1 miniatures, and it was quite special to see our creations be cast and be removed from the moulds before us.
Explaining why the Raging Heroes metal casts have virtually no flash 
Our visits were also a wonderful opportunity to discuss and evaluate many new ideas and opportunities for workflow improvement throughout the entire process.
We had never before allowed ourselves the time away from the studio to make this trip. In the end, it was incredibly worth it, and just a few days later, now that we are back, we are already seeing positive results.
We are already planning a follow-up trip later this year.
In our last Update, we said we'd answer your questions posted in the Update's comments section on sculpting Raging Heroes minis.
David Gerig asked this one: "During the sculpting process, how much thought is put into how the sculpt is going to be printed, as in, can it be printed, will it have to be printed in separate parts etc. And does this cause issues when you are trying to bring the design in your mind to life?"
This is a very good and complex question. The short answer would be Yes, we give much through to the manufacturing process (printing and casting) while we work on the sculpt.
Most of the time, we start by blocking out the pose and the main shapes of the miniature. It can look something like this:
This helps us see how we can translate the 2D images of the concept in 3D volumes. At this very first stage, we are already thinking about how many parts the mini will have, how and where it will be cut in several pieces, and how those pieces will need to lay inside the mould. This can go as far as trying to anticipate where bubbles might form on a resin cast.
Regarding the 3D printing, you should know that mostly anything, any shape, can be 3D printed. However, we have to make sure that parts like weapons, hair strands, antennas, etc. are thick enough to be castable and also, thick enough to ensure that they don't easily break when gaming.
You can see for example, on the very rough 3D sketch of Lady Melith above, that her “tail” has been laid flat against the inside of her skirt so that these 2 elements can be cast in a single part.
So, designs usually need to be altered in some way in order to meet real life constraints. However, when we work with new or less experienced sculptors, we will often let some problems slip at the beginning so that their work is not overly constrained, because we know right away how we will fix things that are not compatible with the manufacturing process. This is actually one of the main reason why some sculpts need to go through the Awaiting Completion category before they can be prepared for 3D printing.
If you have other questions on our creative and manufacturing processes, don't hesitate to Comment this Update.
And if you want to know more about what else is going on at Raging Heroes, we just posted anew update (#108) on the TGG1 Kickstarter, with new painted minis from the first Kickstarter. Several TGG1 minis are already available on our website, and we'll be releasing new ones throughout 2015.
And finally, remember that you can see all the TGG2 images on our Pinterest (bit.ly/TGG2-Pinterest), and that you can play around with your Rewards Selection with the PLEDGE CALCULATOR (https://bit.ly/TGG2PCal), a nifty little tool to help you compute your pledge, created by Ivo Ilic, one of our backers. It is NOT an official tool, but it does the job very nicely.
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At Raging Heroes, every army we create starts with carefully chosen ingredients. For the Dark Elves, you've got: Refinement. Elegance. Extreme Evil. Gothic fashion. Japanese Rock bands. Scandinavian fairy tales illustrations from the 19th century. Find out more about your past and future favorites!
