Update #86: More Images

In this Update:

• How to choose between metal and resin Heroines?
• What's in the First Wave again, and when is it coming?
• Irina Vega, Orbital Strike Commander (KST), now painted
• New Sculpts
• 3D Prints for the Second Wave
• News from our Facebook and Instagram feeds
• And one new concept for the Sisters of Eternal Mercy

After a pretty much text-only update a few days ago, we've now prepared one with many images. We wanted to show you the latest sculpts we finished recently, together with a bunch of other images, just before we release the Pledge Manager so that you'll be able to make your choice based on as many sculpts and photos as possible.

BTW, the Pledge Manager is not included in this Update on purpose. There will be a lot of info on how to use the Pledge Manager, and we want to make sure that it does not get lost amidst all the pretty images :) Also, I've been waiting for the guys to be done with this round of sculpts so that when the Pledge Manager goes live, we are all available to answer your questions. Once they've done all the renders that you see in this Update, they still have several hours left of work on each sculpt (and a few other essential chores as well), so expect the Pledge Manager to be up sometime next week.

Nevertheless, here's some info that you'll want to read before making your selection on the Pledge Manager.

How to choose between metal and resin Heroines?

In the TGG Kickstarter, we have 3 different types of material: white metal, hand-poured resin, and spin-cast resin.

You all know about white metal, a standard in the industry.
We work with what is probably the best foundry on the market, praised by many as being not only the best in terms of quality, but also one of the most reliable supplier in the industry. You can expect very little flash, great details, and consistency of quality over time.

Hand-poured resin is the traditional material preferred by high-level painters, collectors, and very demanding hobbyists. Hand-poured resin is a very slow and delicate process in which every step is completely hand-made. Moulds have a very short lifespan and in most cases, after 30 casts, a replacement mould has to be made, again from scratch. That's the reason why it is very hard to produce large quantities of hand-poured resin models. In the TGG Kickstarter, hand-poured resin Heroines were only available for pledgers of the limited quantity Connoisseur Box or Add-on which has been completely sold out already.

Spin-cast resin is a process that combines the machinery used for metal casting with a special resin material. These two elements allow for the rapid manufacturing of very large quantities of resin miniatures with great results and great quality.

So, back to the question: how to choose between metal and resin?

THE CRISPNESS OF DETAILS

But before we get into the pros and cons of metal vs resin, you'll want to read what follows regarding the crispness of details.

Resin-lover will often say that miniatures that are cast in resin have a higher level of detail than metal. This can be somewhat true because it is easier to get a very crisp and clean cast in resin, but it requires more skill and experience to achieve the same results in metal. Also, if you compare a metal cast and a resin cast side-by-side, the resin always cast 'looks' better, but this is due to the optical properties of the two materials. On metal, light gets reflected and distorted and, most times, there is also some level of oxidation on the surface of the metal that creates tiny spots and stains.

All of this taken together make the details of the metal casts less readable and sometimes a bit blurry to the eye.

On the contrary, resin has a very even finish and the light is slightly absorbed by the material, given it a smooth aspect, a clean look. Because of that, details appearsharper.

In other words, to the naked eye, a metal miniature with no base coat will always 'appear' less detailed than a resin one.

However, if you work with a great metal caster like the one we are blessed to work with, the level of details of our metal casts is actually as crisp as a resin cast.

We tested it to make sure: we took the same mini, one in resin and one in metal. Once both minis were primed, there was no difference between them. Aside from their weight, they were indistinguishable. Hard to believe, but true.

So, in the end, based on our experience and tests, we sincerely believe that the level of detail is not really a factor in determining if you should get a Toughest Girls of the Galaxy Heroine in metal or resin. Of course everyone has his preference and this is probably what should guide you. However, if you are not yet sure what to get, here is some more pertinent information to help you choose what suits you best.

SO, BACK TO THE QUESTION: HOW TO CHOOSE BETWEEN METAL AND RESIN?

First, an important reminder: please remember that only the Heroines are available in metal or spin-cast resin (both materials are at the same price). Troops, Supports, Vehicles and Freebies are only available in spin-cast resin. So we have written the following Pros and Cons with that in mind.

Spin-cast Resin Pros:

• Lightweight
• Very easy to glue (the glue creates a strong bond between the parts)Easy to convert
• Better-looking when unpainted

Spin-Cast Resin Cons:

Requires more preparation: they need to be washed in warm soapy water then rinsed before gluing and painting, they have more gates and vents that need to be removed, occasional random tiny bubbles need to be taken care of (most of the time, a small drop of paint or superglue will suffice to fill them, although very rarely, green stuff will be required), occasionally, some parts may be slightly bent and contrary to metal, they need to be warmed up in hot water before being repositioned

Lightweight: as much as lightweight may be good for transport, the minis can be more easily knocked over on the gaming table.

Metal Pros:

• Requires very little preparation: no washing, very minimal cleaning of flash
• Heavyweight: won't be easily knocked off on the gaming table
• Un-gluing: You can easily take apart a miniature that you assembled previously to remodel it or replace some parts
• Paint can be stripped very easily, which is way much harder to do with resin

Metal Cons:

• Can be harder to glue and may occasionally need pinning from stronger bond between parts
• Harder to convert

What's in the First Wave again, and when is it coming?

I've been receiving several queries as to what's in the First Wave, so here's a reminder:

The Jailbirds: Blondie, Bernadette, Mimi the Radio, Yoko, Cruz, The 5 Lulus, the Freebie Lulu, Harry the Hippo
The Kurganova Shock Troops: Shashenka, Tarja, Irina Vega, Volga Potemkine, Charlie the war bulldog, Natasha
The Iron Empire: Drusilla (Kickstarter exclusive), Mortaria, Vera Krabbenhöft, Lady Hilda von Stroheim, Jinx

Also, in the last Update, we wrote:
“As for the foundries, they are also working very hard on the project. Unfortunately, they were somewhat slowed down a bit a few weeks ago at the time of the Salute, one of the biggest European miniature convention, where they had to deal with major re-orders and frantic manufacturers. That delayed the third part of our First Wave, which we had divided in 3 batches for the foundries. The first 2 batches are now cast. We'll be receiving the prototypes for the third batch this week. If we approve them, then they go off into production, and the First Wave will be ready to ship shortly after that.”

You'll be happy to know that we have now received and approved these prototypes. Metal casting will normally begin later next week, and spin-cast resin casting as well. So this means that we'll be able to begin to ship the First Wave as soon as we receive them, that is, in 2 or 3 weeks from now, at least for the metal ones.

Irina Vega, Orbital Strike Commander (KST), now painted

In a previous Update, we showed you painted versions of Tania Tanker and Mimi the Radio painted by James Wappel, who is doing the studio paintings for all the TGG. James was very busy these last couple of months with Adepticon and Reapercon and, on our side, we were so busy with other stuff that we didn't have much time to work with him on colour schemes and everything else. However, as soon as he got back from Reapercon, he got back in the saddle and here his is first KST girl, Irina Vega.

New Sculpts

Freedom fighters! Here are Raven (JB) and Svetlana (KST). We are currently working on Nertha, but she's not quite finished yet.

The 4 WereSheWolves: we know that many of you have been anxiously waiting for them. To tell you the truth, we started working on them quite a while back. Hope you like them!

Foxy Dynamite. Probably the darkest Jailbird Heroine. We really love her and the way her scenic base virtually turns her own little diorama.

Lady Sigrith, Great Embalmer of the Iron Empire. With the Iron Empire fluff increasing in popularity, we thought that Sigrith's alternate head and arm version should be more into the Aegyptian feel of the Iron Empire culture.

The Jet Girls: a last-minute addition to this Update, as the sculpts were just finished today.

Below are the Sniper Units for the Jailbirds, followed by the Iron Empire. Now, all 3 armies have their snipers sculpted.

Last but not least, here is are 2 Free Upgrade additions.
First, the alternate head and arm of Irina Vega. It occurred to us that we had probably forgotten to show you this as a render.
Second, the alternate heads and arms of the Jailbird Bikers. Since some of you really wanted the riders to actually hold on to the handlebars, we have been happy to oblige in these alternate versions.

By the way, remember that all versions of heads, weapons, arms, etc. are included, you don't have to choose one version over another.

3D Prints for the Second Wave

Here are a few 3D printed masters for the Second Wave. Indeed, as mentioned in our latest Updates, we're getting new 3D printed masters every week now.

News from our Facebook and Instagram feeds

You may have missed several images that we posted on our Facebook and Instagram, so here they are, together with a few sneak peeks from the last few days in the studio.

Bags of metal casts are piling up in the office!

Quality control of the Mortaria and Tarja metal casts:

This is pretty amazing: we just got news of the first Raging Heroes tattoo ever! Craig Parker (UK) has decided to go Hjailbirds all the way, and intends to have most JB heroines tattooed on his arm, together with Charlie. He' already working on Punky!

It was Easter just a few days ago, so with a little delay if you missed this post on Facebook, we wish you a Happy Easter.

Our very own Olga Kurganova has been making quite a splash lately in 2 large events:

First, our dear friend James Wappel just won a gold medal at Reapercon for his rendition of Olga. He was very excited about this because just a few days before, this same miniature had just made a killing during one of his game at Adepticon.

And we are very proud and excited to congratulate Aaron Lovejoy for winning Silver with Olga Kurganova at Crystal Brush Awards 2014 (category: Science Fiction Single) - CoolMiniOrNot.

Working on 3D-printed masters, a few weeks ago...

Rendering images for the WereSheWolves, while preparing this Update.

... And one new concept for the Sisters of Eternal Mercy

Our graphic artist is still continuing his work for our next project, and so here is another Sister of Eternal Mercy character: Mother Superior Augusta.