The first Leviathan Mortis has been listed on eBay

Casting took considerably longer than planned, two days of fussing with new molds and adjusting vent and sprue size. I suppose it’s to be expected but it sure is frustrating.

Because of the current production rate, I have concluded that I need to move this out of house sooner than later and will be working toward that end.

Until then I had to choose a way to sell, that would allow the greatest number of people a shot at purchasing a kit... I settled on the auction format. I know it’s not ideal and bidding may go over the suggested retail but the market supply and demand will set the price and if there is extra profit, it will go straight to the contract caster to get that end rolling.

I refuse to take pre-orders because I will not sell something that is not in a box and ready to ship.... Been there, done that, and won’t do it again. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and I would prefer not to anger my customers with unreasonable wait times.

I apologize and hope you understand my decision. If the auction format drives the price too high, I would ask for your patients while I work out the production issues. How long will it take? Likely several (2-3) months for the contract caster to start production.

Have a safe and happy New Year, and happy bidding….

Item number: 230568665580 click here to be taken to listing

Casting has started!

I will have two and possibly three Leviathan Mortis available by the 31st.

When they are packed and ready to go I will make an announcement here. I may list one of them on eBay in auction format, to allow those who may have missed the chance at the first run to purchase a kit if they feel they cannot wait until the production rate is up.

The first few models will be a Limited Release Edition, and will include the Crusader Head and a right hand Vulkan Cannon in addition to the normal Mortis head, Scythe and Claw.

The limited Edition Mortis will only be available for a short time, likely five kits. After that the Vulkan and Crusader head will be available separately.

Total Package Value: $400.00  ($350.00 Mortis/ $45.00 Vulkan/ $5.00 Crusader head)
Limited Edition Price: $375.00

Production will be rather spotty; I need to cast up two for Pat over at Senji Studios, a Mortis and when the molds are done, a Crusader, to take care of a trade for the wonderful buildings he made. Possibly two more for other obligations, and then start work on the Crusader molds for it's release.

I'm still in talks with a couple of production shops for contract casting and I will need to make production molds.... In short, there is much still to be done and casting needs to be juggled between tasks.

Updated Website

While I was waiting for the re-printed part, I took the time to hack and slash through the website. It is still not completely done, the Game page needs a lot of work and I threw together the pics for the Vulcan Cannon page.

All in all, it loads faster and is far kinder to maneuver through. You still cannot buy anything; I have the PayPal buttons set so it will not complete the transaction without stock on hand.

No rest for the wicked... I start benching the re-print tomorrow and molds to follow.

Stay tuned! I will update the Blog with a final release date when I have it... Just keep in mind there may only be a couple of kits available on the day of release.

Leviathan Mortis Instructions

Instructions for the first release are complete. That was about as much fun as a root canal, but at least its done.... Enjoy!

Just click on the images below

Waiting on Prints

My go-to guy for prints, Moddler, is out of the office for the next couple of days and slammed with work. I will likely have the re-printed part on Friday. I will need to bench the part and make a new family mold. Unfortunately, this will slightly delay the first release. It will take approximately 10 days to get everything done once I have the item in my grubby little hands.

Rest assured, workers in my high tech production facility will be flogged daily until this problem has been resolved.

Leviathan Mortis First Build

It has been quite the journey getting here, but it is very satisfying to hold the final model.

Please accept my apologies about the website, I know it's broken... I just have not had time to get to it. It's on the to-do list. I keep the blog up to date so this is where you can find all updates until I can sort out the website.

As expected, it has been many long days to prep the molds for production. I had really hoped to show a nicely painted model on Pat's wonderful diorama but time will not allow that right now, I’ll have to come back to it when the Crusader is ready for the build. I wanted to make sure my customers could see a real world model and not just a CAD render, so primer will have to do for now.

 Although I prefer to take my time on a build, I assembled this kit in just a few hours, skimping on much of the pre prep work and clean up so I could get cracking on the instructions. I did find one part that will need to be re-printed and new molds made so there may be a slight delay on the December 15^th release date. This is still my goal and I am working hard to stick with it.

I will take what I have learned from this build and make notes in the instructions, there are a few components that need to be assembled in a specific order or you will be cussing up a storm. I will also include notes on how to build a resin kit and what tools and glues work best. I dislike pinning resin models and was happy to find that the only part that needs the reinforcement was the spine. As you can glue the spine in place and then drill from the bottom of the pelvis and from the top of the chest right into the spine area it was a fast and easy pinning job.  For a 136 part model, I am happy to say it was a fairly simple build.

Still sooo much still to do; Complete the instructions, new molds and prep of the re-printed component, web site (I doubt I will get this done before the 15^th, so expect the first few sales to be on Ebay) and all the other items I am sure I have overlooked.

Ultimately I need the casting contracted out, sooooo...

**If you are a contract caster or garage kit producer of resin models and looking for long term work, contact me at mark@dreamforge-games.com for details.**

Quick recap:

Release date... shooting for the 15th, depends on the re printed part turn around time. This will likely be on Ebay as I doubt I will have time to fix the broken website before then.

Retail $350.00 (Kit will come with the Crusader head as well as the Mortis head)
Optional Vulkan Cannon $45.00

For now, enjoy the pics!

Here is a shot for scale, using a 30-32mm MERCS Mini.

Here is a shot for fun ;)

Leviathan VR5 Mortis (Totenköpfe - Deaths Head)

For those of you who have not seen it, I felt I should post a description of the first Leviathan release. For those that have.... Here is some new eye candy.

Grandfather of all Leviathans; the VR5 design is over 200 years old and has seen many improvements and variants. It and its variations are widely considered some of the finest designs ever produced. A balance of size, speed, armor and armament all come together to make a very formidable vehicle.

The decision to design the cockpit after the Totenköpfe was primarily nostalgic and a matter of national pride. The frame of the first Leviathan was designated VR5 in honor of the 5^th Regiment commanded by Colonel von Ruesch, the first Hussar commander to use the deaths head symbol. The Prussian army Hussar first adopted this symbol in 1744.

The Mortis in its purest form is outfitted with two close combat weapons, and no additional armor, this allows for the fastest possible movement and a vicious close combat capability. The massive oil stacks provide the option of overcharging the reactor for enhanced speed or combat. Two KwK 200 20cm auto cannons mounted in the torso ensure its survivability in a ranged engagement.

Here is a pic. to help add a little scale referance...

Leviathan Mortis release date

I have a (tentative) release date of December 15th. If all goes well and there are no major hiccups.

There is still ALLOT of work to be done. Molds checked for vent and sprue issues, Instructions, Box art, Web store and shopping cart integration, ect. Perhaps a more realistic date would be January but I like to push myself.

I may releases the first one or two on Ebay if I don’t have time to work out the cart and website issues.

Pricing as it stands now:

Leviathan Mortis: With Scythe and right hand Claw $350.00

Optional weapons: Right hand Vulkan $45.00

 

The Leviathan Mortis is a all resin model kit, roughly 9.5" tall

I will be working a lot of late nights to try to get this out the door by the 15^th, so please be patient with me if the date is bumped.

Please understand that they will initially be produced in house so the number of kits available will be limited due to having only one set of production molds and production equipment.

I will update the blog with pictures of the final casts and assembled model as soon as they are completed.

I am the great and powerful OZ!

Many people ask why is this so expensive. The short answer is that nothing about making resin models is quick or cheap. The long answer requires a more in depth look at the costs involved. Unlike many manufacturers, I do not feel it is constructive to dance around this question. An honest question deserves an honest answer.

So let us pull back the wizards curtain and see what hides behind...

Pricing my models is a subject that often causes me a great deal of discomfort. Every kit, every release begs the question what is a fair price? What do I need to charge to keep the doors open and continue making things I, and hopefully others enjoy. While understanding not every model will be a spectacular hit, what is a reasonable number of models you should expect to sell to amortize your upfront costs?

Now we look at the ugly numbers. I already own the equipment so I will not count that in the total but I show them here for general reference. Also, keep in mind this rough overview is for a rather large and complicated model with over 32 molds and 136 parts. Although the costs are not accurate to the penny, they are honest reflections of the true costs. There are numerous other costs that will not reflected in this break down, such as overhead, web development, problems with molds, etc. These costs likely reflect another 3% to 5% reduction in true profit.

Initial equipment investment: (This cost is not reflected in the totals below)

Compressor, Pressure pots, Vacuum pump, Vacuum chamber, assorted tools, mixing containers, etc

Rough estimate- $1800.00

Initial materials investment:

Model print cost, Initial molds (RTV Silicone cost), Mold boxes, clay and other tools, Resin for mold master.

Rough estimate- $3850.00

Cost for each model produced:

Assuming a conservative25 pulls per mold, before mold needs replacing. Estimate for resin, rubber and packaging.

Rough estimate-$89.00

Cost for casting service:

Assuming the molds are made and supplied by me.

Rough Estimate-$75.00?? (This number is still unresolved)

Shipping costs back to me from caster-$4.00

Credit card transaction fees:

3% to 6.5% (average 4.75% of $350.00 retail) $16.62

TOTAL  PER KIT COST TO PRODUCE AND SELL A SINGLE MODEL- $185.00

RETAIL PRICE PER KIT- $350.00

Taxes on profit:

 $65.00 (Uncle Sam and California demand their share of my hard work)

 TOTAL NET PROFIT- $100.00

DreamForge-Games company profit- $50.00 per kit

Costs of initial investment, $3850.00. (First true profit after 77 kits have been sold)

My profit per kit- $50.00 per kit

Target of $15.00 an hour for my time. CAD Modeling, Benching, Mold Making. Four hundred and sixty hours invested, and an additional ninety hours for the three mold change outs needed to meet the 77 total kits sold to square up the initial model/materials costs.

Total dollar cost of my time $8,250. (First true profit after 165 kits have been sold)

What do I make per hour, if we try to zero my hourly rate at the 77 kits sold, based on the initial investment costs of the model and materials. I net $6.99 an hour for my time…Hmmmm…

Add the taxes back into the total that we removed earlier and were up to a “respectable?” $9.44 per hour actual working wage. This begs the question, if you possessed the creativity and the skills set in CAD and mold/model production, would you work for $9.44 an hour with no health plan.  I am not crying poor me, this work is something I love doing or I would not be doing it.

I hope that this release is a smashing success and I sell hundreds…  This would improve the look of my financials greatly. I would much prefer to amortize my investment to the first 40 or 50 kits sold, and on smaller less expensive models, this is always my target.

For the immediate future, I will need to cast these in house while I search for a suitable service provider. This will increase my profit margin but will slow the development of new models and severely limit the number of kits available to my customers. With this in mind, moving production out of house is a very high priority. If the contract casters services are far greater than expected, I will need to increase the price to reflect the additional costs.

Things being what they are, I feel it is a fair price for my customers and a fair price for the product I deliver. I hope that you feel the same and I hope that I helped to dispel the age-old question “why is the price so damn high?!”

Leviathan Azazel sneak peek.

Azazel will be the last of five in the series of VR5 frame Leviathan.

Azazel and subtlety are two words seldom used together. There is nothing subtle about this Leviathan. It wields one of the largest projectile weapons mounted on any Leviathan and a whirling blade of destruction. This is the King Tiger of Leviathans

Just to recap, here are the five VR5 frame Leviathans in the series.

 I hope to start limited production of the Leviathan Mortis some time in December, with the crusader soon after and the remaining three in this series to follow ASAP.

Anti-Grav upgrade for the Siler Tank

Jon at Khurasan asked me to make him a plug in unit for the track area of the Siler tank. I wanted to design something that changed the silhouette of the Siler and made it immediately recognizable as a Grav Tank.

I went with an asymmetrical design that mounted larger grav units to the front and adjustable jets to the rear... I felt it gave the model a vroom, vroom, ready to race look.

Here you can see the component view and how they simply plug into the track slot.. You can also see the additional nose length added to further change the lines away from the tracked version.

Wishing you a Happy Samhain "End of Summer"

Samhain or (sa:win) is an old Gaelic festival to celebrate the end of summer, now known as Halloween.

As a child this was my favorite holiday, I just loved making a costume and heading out for my yearly sugar rush. Now I head out with my niece and nephews and enjoy their expressions.

Leviathan update:
We are close to production! I am working on the last of the weapon arms... After that I need to make masters of all the molds and then complete the instructions and box art. best guess of release date stands mid to late November.

Why has it taken so long? I think we will top out at 30 to 32 molds, using about seven to seven and a half gallons of mold rubber.

It has been a LOT of work and I'm looking forward to moving on to the next set of Leviathan in the series.

Thought I would share some AMAZING pumpkin carving!

Some nice pics of a painted Siler Tank

I just saw on Miniature Review that Jon over at Khurasan is releasing the heavy tank I worked on a few months back.

I have to say, I think it looks great painted up in desert tan.

I missed this one as well.... Here is a pic of a missile AFV I worked on just before the Siler tank.

SpaceJacker at Tinysoldier painted up the AFV.

It sure is nice to see Jon busy releasing these and I just love to see them painted. With my head buried so far into the Leviathan mold process, I'm lucky to catch any of these ;)

Here is something I had to keep Hush-Hush about.

When John at Moddler contacted me about working with JBR on a commercial gig, I was very excited about the opportunity and jumped at the chance. My Leviathan molds would need to take a back seat for a bit.


This was a CAD model that JBR and I worked on for a Land Rover commercial. Moddler printed the CAD model and sent it off to an ad agency in NY, Hornet Inc. to have the physical model painted and ultimately used in a stop motion commercial.

Here are a couple of links to the final product....

Land Rover :30sec
Behind the Scenes

This was my first bit of work as a small cog in a big commercial deal. Very exciting and very tight deadlines. I am amazed to see the end results.

 The Model needed to be 100% with all details of the real world vehicle captured, all the way down to working headlights. You cannot see it in this render but even the interior headlight bezels needed to be created.

Here are some shots of the modeling work in progress.

A couple of pics of just some of the printed components.

This represented many hours of work for John Ross and I and flawless execution of the final print from John at Moddler.

Its running right now in Italy and you should see a 40 second spot here in the USA soon....


It was a real pleasure working with John Bear Ross and John Vegher on this collaboration.

Senji Studios: A wonderful diorama for the Leviathan box art

The wonderful and talented Pat over at Senji Studios made a stunning vignette for the Leviathan box art based on a crude sketch I sent to him. Please pop over to his site to see his process and more photos.

I can only hope my painting skills on the Leviathans can do justice to his stunning work.

The Diorama and box art will display the first two Leviathan models. The Eisenkern Leviathan Mortis and the Commonwealth Leviathan Crusader locked in battle on an Eisenkern held planet. The architecture is of Eisenkern origin with a decidedly gothic feel. The buildings are slab construction, cast off world and shipped to a planet for a “colony in a box” method of quick assembly while retaining the architectural interest and distinct retro-gothic feel of the Eisenkern society.