New Miniatures Line!

[Ran]

GRRM has just revealed that a new line of miniatures figures are going to be produced by Dark Sword Miniatures. Best of all, Tom Meier will be the primary sculptor, and he's already well-ahead on the work -- they've got plenty of pictures of Jon Snow, Melisandre, the Hound, and a Night's Watch figure or two.

These will be 28mm figures (suitable for wargaming), and will be unpainted (I stress this because I know it's one of the things people will want to know). Some assembly is probably also going to be required (at the least, maybe for fixing them on to their bases), but I'm no expert.

They promise to show us Jaime, Cersei, Loras, and more Night's Watch troops down the road. Very exciting.

Oh, and for those going to GenCon, Dark Sword Miniatures will have a both there. Make sure to drop by, admire Meier's work, and ask as many questions as you can think of!

[Happy Ent]

Smashing. Best imaginable news. To get an idea of why Tom Meier is the best miniatures sculptor ever note the detail and character on the Hound's face, for example. It's a better face than most people are able to draw. (Take a ruler and see how little 28mm is.)

Distribution should be much more painless with these.

[Regina]

Distribution should be much more painless with these.

I hope you're right! *crosses fingers*

Those pictures are enough for even me to get my hopes up. And anyone who ever had to read my rants in the Ruby Ford threads will realize that's no small feat.

(Small disclaimer: For those who were spared my rants, they were all related to shipping and customer service issues, btw. The actual design was absolutely beautiful.)

[Ser Daemon Sand]

I was so glad when I saw Dark Sword is doing ASOIAF now... nothing against testors, but its just not their market...

Cant wait to start buying... (anyone know if the miniatures Tom Meier did before, still working for testors, will be available? Some of them were awesome)

I hope you're right! *crosses fingers*

Those pictures are enough for even me to get my hopes up. And anyone who ever had to read my rants in the Ruby Ford threads will realize that's no small feat.

(Small disclaimer: For those who were spared my rants, they were all related to shipping and customer service issues, btw. The actual design was absolutely beautiful.)

[Lady Blackfish]

Ran (or anyone else), I'm very unknowledgeable when it comes to these things ... what is the difference between these and the Valyrian Resin sculptures? Just the different sizes and whether or not they're painted?

[Ser Daemon Sand]

The metal ones will be smaller (28mm scale), will be entire figures (not just busts) and come unpainted/unassembled. They will be actual gaming figures.

Ran (or anyone else), I'm very unknowledgeable when it comes to these things ... what is the difference between these and the Valyrian Resin sculptures? Just the different sizes and whether or not they're painted?

[Ran]

Also cost, of course. They'll certainly be cheaper, though I'm not sure how much cheaper. Looking at their online store, I'm thinking maybe they plan to sell figures in premium boxed sets (as well as individually), and in that case they may be in the $30 range for a boxed set of 5-6 figures. This is, I'll note, speculation, based solely at looking at what their current product range is like.

I'm putting in a mail to Jeff at Dark Sword to ask some of these questions, and see what more we can dig out.

[Happy Ent]

... what is the difference between these and the Valyrian Resin sculptures? Just the different sizes and whether or not they're painted?

Well... that's a lot of difference. They basically appeal to different audience. I've painted pewter miniatures all my life, and would never consider buying a painted resin sculpture—what do I do with it? How do get the paint of so that I can get to work? Can I play with it?

Likewise, somebody who collects resin sculptures wouldn't know what to do with a pewter model. It has to be cleaned up and based and painted. (If you like the figures, you can get people in your neighbourhood to paint them for you. For money, but not much. Go down to the nearest Games Workshop store and ask the employees to hook you up. Some of these teenage nerds are really good, and if you just want to look at the finished model—i.e., if painting isn't the essential part of the hobby for you—that's the way to go.)

As to the difference in materials, pewter miniatures are much, much smaller, and hold a lot more detail than resin. Resin figures are a lot bigger, and you couldn't cast these in metal because of price and weight. On the other hand, there are companies who produce relatively cheap 28mms in resin, but the details are poor.

[Lady Blackfish]

Thanks guys I figured there had to be some relevance to the differences, that's basically what I was going for. I'm not a very good geek myself

[Happy Ent]

I see that GRRM in his Livejournal invites suggestions for new miniatures. I wonder why people are keen to have, say, Arya. That's a pretty boring figure to sculpt and to paint—let alone small! The same, to some extend, is true of Tyrion (though I'd want to see it anyway, just to see TM's take on arm length, head size, etc. And I'd like to see him mounted, because I still can't picture that.)

The miniature I would like to see is a mounted Lord Tywin at the Green Fork. Static position, in full armour, complete with lions on his shoulders, sunburst roundels, and a cape that covers the hindquarters of his barded warhorse. Helm off, so you can see his head. In fact, I've made two serious attempts at converting this figure myself, mainly out of existing Games Workshop knights. But it's just too difficult. This model would be a complete joy to paint: golden armour, and crimson details. Would look smashing.

Some of the more interesting wildlings would be nice to see as well. Like Rattleshirt. Or Varamyr, fully kitted out with six familiars.

The ultimate boxed set would of course be the Knights of the Ashford Tourney. Dunk! The Laughing Storm! Kingsguard Knights! Brightflame! All perhaps modelled in full charge, so we can build a diorama of that first confrontation at Dunk's trial. Not going to happen, of course. (Too many mounted figures. Too much work.)

Other interesting models: The Mad King on the Iron Throne. Oberyn in his Dornish armour. The Maid of Tarth. Dunk and Egg, dressed as on the way to Lady Webber. Small Paul carrying Sam the Slayer.

But Arya? Not so exciting. Even Jon Snow is just a fighter in chainmail, and such miniatures have been done in abundance. (Though TM does them better than anybody else.) The same is true of Jaime. You could take any of a thousand existing model knights and say "That's Jaime".

[Ran]

It seems quite straightforward to me. People want to see Tom's depiction of favorite characters, based on his interpretation of the text and GRRM's input. Getting a random figure, however nicely made, doesn't have those same qualities -- at best, it's a model owner's personal image of the character.

So, however boring they might be for the model painter, I think Arya and Tyrion are shoe-ins for early figures, and rightly so if that's what the fans who are buying them want more than anything else.

Edited to add: I've posted a lengthy, fanboyish list of interesting secondary characters I'd like to see done at GRRM's livejournal. Heh.

[sio]

Though I'm not really into miniatures myself, I must admit that these do look enticing.

Jon is my favourite so far, though I did confuse him with Ned for a second.

[Ser Daemon Sand]

I have a few hundred white metal miniatures, from various periods and styles, but they are all tied to one game or another, and I dont usually buy them just to sit there... I love the idea of ASOIAF miniatures, but I admit that I would like a set of rules to go with them. I WILL buy these, dont get me wrong... I am just wishing here

Though I'm not really into miniatures myself, I must admit that these do look enticing.

Jon is my favourite so far, though I did confuse him with Ned for a second.

[Regina]

Also cost, of course. They'll certainly be cheaper, though I'm not sure how much cheaper.

I'm putting in a mail to Jeff at Dark Sword to ask some of these questions, and see what more we can dig out.

I'll be interested to hear what they say about prices. It'd be nice to know if I can get these without breaking the bank, lol.

[Mister Manticore]

Razzle-fazzing grabble-stupid minis. I hates them. Hates them so much.

Cuz they look so good. Only complaint I have is Jon Snow doesn't look *quite* young enough.

[Lady Blackfish]

On the press release on their website they said:

"With that being said, we will be doing quite a few of the main female characters right out of the gate. The Red Witch was our first..."

So I guess the next batch will be some wimmin'.

[Too Good To Be True]

They look like chocolate

Jon is really good, Mel is a little more harsh around the mouth than I imagine, but still amazing. Like the Hound's helm too!

[oar]

They all look amazing... I'd love to see how they picture the Others.

[KatieG]

I got to see Melisandre, Jon, the Raven Keeper and the Black Brother at Gen Con this weekend, and I have to say, they look great. I should also mention I am familiar with Dark Sword minis and they are a great company. Assuming the miniatures run the same cost as the rest of their line (which isn't necessarily a given) they should go for about $7 apiece. I suspect though that they will release the first 12 or so as a single box set, and then you will be able to purchase singles later. Talking to Jim at Gen Con he said they'd be out in a couple months. I certainly hope so, I can't wait to get my hot little hands on these!

For the guy asking about the other minis Tom Meier sculpted for Testor's... unfortunately, those are pretty much stuck in limbo Testor's has the right to the minis, but can't produce them since they lost the license. It makes me want to cry because the ones I saw were so pretty.

I do not know how hard assembly will be on these because I wasn't able to tell if any of the parts were separate. They had the minis at the booth already assembled. It's likely that some assembly will be required of things like arms, scabbards, etc. Probably moderately challenging for someone who has never done any mini work, but easy enough for those of us who have any modelling experience. For those of you not interested in painting them yourself, one thing you can do is just a black ink wash over the entire figure to bring out the details (and it kind of makes it look like pewter) and seal it.

I will say I am thinking about taking these guys as soon as they come out and painting them up for eBay. It will depend on how much free time I have when they actually come out...

[Ran]

Jim at Dark Swords has stated that the current plan is that they'll be released individually to begin with, and only later will they collect them in a boxed set.

Too bad Testors can't sell the rights to the miniatures Tom produced to the people who have the license. I'd particularly like to see the Loras Tyrell 54mm.