Friday, December 20, 2013

TGN is back with another heaping helping of awesome! : Leviathan Mortis build diary (part 2 of 2)

Polar Bear over at TGN/CMON just posted up his build diary with loads of pics, build notes and a great video showing the movement range of the Mortis as well as a little bit of Christmas cheer, in the form of lights! He had some very kind things to say about the kit and some very informative notes on his build.  

You can find the build diary and video HERE

 

“DreamForge-Games is still a growing company, and if they keep making kits like this, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future. Putting together a Leviathan Crusader earlier this year left me with a feeling of being on top of the world. I felt like a spaceship was going to land and tell me I was The Last Starfighter. But I knew another challenge would come calling: The Leviathan Mortis. The yin to the Crusader’s yang… or is it hang to the Crusader’s yin? … Anyway, I knew it was coming and I was ready. But an extra challenge was thrown at me along the way. Would I survive? Would my sanity remain… intact isn’t the right word since I’m not totally here to begin with, but… now I’m rambling. Read-on and check out the assembly photos as I put my new Leviathan Mortis (named Monday, as he is the sworn enemy of Friday, the name of my Crusader) together.
 
Lots more to read and see, well worth the visit. 
 

If you have not seen it yet, you can find the video HERE

Thank you Polar Bear-TGN and CMON for the very kind review!

It may be worth mentioning that DFG is not affiliated with TGN or CMON but I am a huge fan of theirs and Polar Bear does loves the walkers ;)









 
 


Eisenkern Assault Troopers

As China works away on stage 3 Kickstarter completion, I will try and get teaser shots out for the items that will be delivered for the Kickstarter backers and eventually into retail.

First on the list if the Eisenkern Assault Troopers. This will be a five man box set and like our Stormtroopers, they are of multipart, posable miniatures. In the next sneak peek I will go over the box contents and give some insight as to the customization and options that will be provided with this set.
 


 
Assault Troopers are fully encased in power armor and armed with an energy blade to make quick work of heavily armored targets or lighter fortifications.  Their ranged weapon is either the MP72, a stockless assault rifle that fires explosive 20mm rounds or the M402 eight shot 40mm grenade launcher for those stubborn targets. Each trooper wears the fluted armor of an assault trooper and a heraldic tabard bearing his households colors.



Assault Trooper are indoctrinated from the Valkir, those soldiers who show exceptional courage, drive and aggression while serving with the Valkir may be offered a place within one of the Ritterorden “knightly order” Modeled after the 14th century knightly households, the Ritterorden act as a semi-autonomous military. Although closely tied to the parent faction each Ritterorden has its own traditions, uniforms and chain of command that are unique to that household. Regardless of which household a trooper serves under, Assault troopers value aggression above all ells , charging in where angels fear to tread is just another day at work for these soldiers.
 
(some shots from the rear)
 
This is not the final box art but in order to render that image I need to handle each model and assign textures in preparation for the final render. Having completed these test renders it seemed like a good time to give you a look at what painted models may look like. The tabards and heraldry displayed in these images are those worn by the Teutonic Ritter, serving directly under the Emperor as his honor guard.


If you remember the test print, this is the model that was used to make that print. CAD work for minis can be a funny thing, the mini looks pretty packed with detail but when you look at a blown up render... not so much ;) It takes a bit of practice to understand detail size and what works, hopefully I got this one right. Another aspect that gets tricky is the models bulk, when you look at the print it looks trimmer, more lean than the render, first couple of tests prints with the Stormtrooper came back looking way too thin, even though the CAD model looked spot on.

The test print looked good so now it is up to WGF China to work their magic.

 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Unboxing Video Series of the Leviathan Mortis, courtesy of Tabletop Gaming News & Cool Mini or Not

I had a very unexpected and happy surprise when I was on one of my frequent trips to Tabletop Gaming News.

They are doing a video series on the Leviathan Mortis, starting with an overview and moving into more detail as they assemble the kit. Here is the first video in the series.



I knew Polar Bear was waiting for the Mortis, which he named Monday, to fight against his Crusader. he named Friday. What I did not know is that he would be doing a video diary... Thank you guys! XXXOOO

Can't wait to see the next vids!

You can see more videos on the Leviathan Crusader here and here

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Assault Trooper test print

Here are some shots of an Assault Trooper, warts and all. I did not spend much time cleaning up the print because it was not going to be used as a master, just to test fit components such as the shoulders, tasset and tabard; so there are some very rough spots on the outside of the shoulders, the sword blade edge and a few other places where the build lattice was attached.

The Heavy troopers are scaled to be a good match with the Stormtroopers. About 1mm taller than the Stormtroopers (some shrink can be seen in the print), and a bit more bulk overall. Keep in mind when comparing to other mini lines, the Stormtroopers will be on the tall side, so although these may look a little small, they are large enough to look like steal the milk money from many of the other popular mini companies lines and small enough to look like Eisenkern Stormtrooper sized person could actually fit into the suit. 
  
WGF China informed me that they are making progress with the Heavy Troopers so it seemed appropriate to post this. Enjoy!