TGG2 Update #68 – Production News, Photos and more...

In our previous Update, we were pretty excited to give you a schedule of the TGG2 fulfilment. The foundry had overcome many technical obstacles, and since all the work is now in their hands, we were pretty confident that they would deliver on time. But that was not to be. Here's an email exchange with a TGG2 backer this week-end:

 

Here's the production status now:

Augusta Fantasy, Augusta Sci-Fi and the All-Stars Daughters of the Orphanage (Command Group and Troops), have now begun shipping.

In 3 to 4 weeks, all the Rewards Selection that do NOT include Monsters&Machines, Yscarloth, the Centaurs and the Mounted Knights will have been shipped. 

This means that while virtually all TGG2 backers have already received a portion of their Rewards Selection, within the next 3-4 weeks, more than half of our backers will have received their entire Rewards Selection.

So, as you can see, there are delays. You may recall that one of the key things we had asked the foundry last year was to solve the release agent problem that was occasionally making some casts difficult to clean and paint. They tried several different approaches, and finally found a release agent that was the perfect solution. Many tests were made to confirm this, and with all the indicators to green, we all agreed on the process.

But once the moulds started getting into heavy rotation to produce the hundreds and thousands of casts needed to complete TGG2 fulfilment, the foundry progressively came to realise that this new agent was ageing the moulds much faster than usual.

This means that they have to redo the moulds much more frequently. This is adding to their workload and is at the same time reducing their planned output. So we are getting longer productions times than what we were quoted.

So we decided to bite the bullet on this and to continue the production so that all fulfilment gets done. But we are already looking into that problem and we are confident that we will soon find a solution just like we have in the past with the many challenges we've faced so far. At this time, we just don't want to stop the production and make you wait more while we are resolving this.

To minimise the impact of this situation for you, we have put in place a totally new logistics system. Normally, we should have received from the foundry in bulk the quantities we are ordered from the start, and we would have systematically run through all of your Rewards Selections, prepared them, and shipped them.

But instead, we are receiving the various models in small batches.

So while your Rewards Selection may appear to be fully 'In Stock', that is not necessarily the case. In fact, if it has not yet shipped, it is because we don't have enough of each model to send it to you all yet. Items have been going from 'In Stock' to 'Backordered' all the time: quantities change up and down nearly every day, as new stock comes in and new Rewards Selection go out. So I have updated the stock spreadsheet and replaced the 'In Stock' and 'Backordered' categories by 'In Production' to more accurately reflect what is going on.

However, we have access to an algorithm that allows us to maximise the distribution of available stock. Each time something come in, we instantly know where it can be allocated to maximise the number of backers whose complete Rewards can be shipped.

So every Rewards Selection is handled individually, instead of in bulk. Without going into a whole bunch of boring details, it has meant a lot more work, having to make 3 incompatible software talk together to set up the working algorithm. Yet in the end, it is very efficient. And as noted above, if the foundry can continue at its current rate, in 3 to 4 weeks, all the Rewards Selection that do not include Monsters&Machines + Yscarloth, the Centaurs and the Mounted Knights will have been shipped.

Those are in the pipeline. I know that you all would like something more specific in terms of schedule. This is very legitimate. Yet with the unexpected delays at the foundry, I am uncomfortable giving you production dates that may not be firm. What I can tell you is that everybody is working their tail off to make sure production happens as quickly as possible while maintaining our quality standards. I will give you more firm info as soon as I have it.

We understand how frustrating this may be for you, our backers. It's incredibly frustrating for us too. As you know, our work at the studio has been finished since last Fall on TGG2, aside for a few simple print preparations. 

But What Do People Think ?

Despite this setback, if you are still waiting for your rewards, it is important that you know that the overwhelming majority of the feedback we receive on the minis is extremely positive.
So, as Kristoffer wrote in his email above, we hope that you'll agree that “When waiting for something good, one is never waiting in vain!”. All the delay we experience are always because we absolutely refuse to cut corners and we'll do and re-do things several times so that you get the best possible products.

Here are a few of the messages we received, and for which we thank their authors wholeheartedly!

“Hey everybody,
Just wanted to drop you all a quick note. Recieved the last of my kickstarter order and everything looks great. I am really happy with how everything turned out. Oh, and the new way you guys are spinning the moulds... Brilliant. Detail is preserved better, less bubbling, and the 'sprue' border protects the model. Really dreading/looking forward to starting painting these models, there is just so much detail I hope I can do them justice. Just airing them out and starting to prep things soon. Again, excellent job with this model line.
Regards”– J. Christensen, March 22 2017 (via email)

“I have no problems with the delay, I am as always, looking forward to seeing what arrives, the miniatures are fantastic so far, both from the original tgg1 and the items that I have so far received from tgg2, and I know these will live up to my expectations.” – M. Russel, Feb. 4 2017 (via email)

“Sol-Sarya, St Lady of the Birds
What a great mini! And I got it for free for being a returning babker for TGG2 Kickstarter! The quality of the sclupt is mind-blowing. Thank you UNKNOWN Raging Hero sculptor.” – D. Gutsucker , March 19 2017 (via Instagram)

“J'ai récemment reçu la deuxième vague de figurines et vous remercie pour la qualité du matériel. Elles rendent vraiment justice aux concepts dessinés pendant la campagne. Félicitations pour le travail abattu, de la conception à la livraison.” – J. Haesslein, March 22 2017 (via email)

What Else Is Going On?

Since the studio finished the TGG2 work quite a while back, we have been working on many other things. You already know about the upcoming Terrain Kickstarter project and the TGG game. There has been much development made on these 2 projects, including new art, new sculpts, and, of course, rules and extensive beta testing.

We'll have more on all of this in a special Update dedicated only to these projects in coming days, so stay tuned!

New 3D Print image

In the meantime, we have photos that you've never seen before of the 3D prints masters. Most of the Monsters & Machine are actually bigger than originally planned, so you are really getting a hell of a deal because their retail prices will be higher than planned, and in some cases, much higher...

Here are new photos of the Avatar of Shaah, which will be quite a sight on the tabletop:

Photos of the Spider Mother's parts, which is a totally massive piece as you can judge by these images:

By the way, the reason why we never show you fully assembled 3D prints is that the parts have to go to the foundry without any residues of glue, blue tack, or other adhesive substances.

New pictures of the War Pulpit, showing several assembled parts:

Several elements of the Dark Elves Draahk Chariot:

And finally, part of the huge Yscarloth:

 

General Release of the First TGG2 minis

What is crazy with the stock situation is that we have tons of stocks for most of the references that were produced last summer, such as the Freebies. And now that all of you who were eligible to Freebies have received them for quite some time, and we absolutely need to clear some space in our stock to accommodate new references that are being sent to us, we will start to release the Freebies to the general public.

We've written backgrounds for these characters and creates several videos for them. We want to give you, our TGG2 backers, an exclusive preview, so we'll be sending you a new Update featuring stories and videos in the next few days.

Packing and packing and packing, the office is full of boxes everywhere. Some days you cannot find a free spot where to stand.

A car expedition to the post office, fully packed with loads of TGG2 minis. We work with one of the biggest post office of the south of France, located directly at the Montpellier airport; they tell us that we are their biggest client for parcel shipping, which definitely means something.

Painting the TGG2 Minis

As you know, painting of the studio minis started a few weeks ago. It is a very delicate time as colour schemes need to be established and finding the exact look we are looking for is always a challenge, but we are pretty happy with what is coming up for the Sisters. Here are photos at various stages of completion.

New images of the painted Daughters of the Crucible. They are now just waiting for their bases to be done.

Newly painted Icariates ready to strike from the sky.

The Officer from the SF Sisters' Command Group

Archpapess Arthenya VI SF and her minions:

Here are Great Seraphim Erzebel's wings:

We are always quite excited to see how you, our backers, decide to paint the TGG2 minis. Today, we focus on Vizart Minis who has already painted a pretty big collection of TGG2 models. We really like what he has done and we thought it might also inspire you. You can find more of his work on his Facebook page.

The Minions:

Shaliah:

The Stingrays:

Xarsiss:

Zailith:

Sister Trematta and Zaraya:

Lady Melith:

 

New Videos

We are aiming to do more and more videos to help you get the best out of you Raging Heroes minis and to make you discover various aspect of the TGG universe. So this time, here is a video explaining  how to assemble and prepare the new version of our Manticore. If you recall, she was not unlocked in the Kickstarter, but we made her available to our backers at a discounted price.

Assembling Lady Kashala on Manticore:

 

Straightening bent resin parts:

Here is also a video about how to straighten bent resin parts. If you get extremely bent parts or if you want to make a conversion that requires re-positioning an important part of a mini, this video will answer your questions. Most of all, it will show you how simple it is to get the result you want.

A word of caution, though. The Raging Heroes team tend to behave like Vikings: they eat rocks, sleep on beds of nails and don't care about plunging their skin in boiling water. OUCH! Please, when you use hot water to bend resin, always be very careful and please

• DO make sure the container you are using is very stable
• DO place the container in a sink so that if hot water splashes, it won't splash on you
• DO use tweezers to fish out the parts from the hot water, DON'T plunge your fingers in the hot water 

 

Removing from sprue delicate kits - Preparing the Mantis Warriors:

Finally, if you want to know how to prepare a delicate kit, like the Mantis Warriors, and how to un-sprue fine and delicate parts, this video is for you:

 

Well, that is all for today. Please stay tuned for some the aforementioned Updates in the next few days.

And remember: if you have questions or concerns, please contact us directly for a fast resolution, either via Kickstarter or via email at RagingHeroesTeam@gmail.com.