Delayed Low Life Miniatures

[Pole]

GAZILLIONS of years in the future...

 

Every possible calamity, cataclysm, apocalypse, and cosmic hangnail has befallen our beloved Mutha Oith during a bygone era known as The Time of The Flush. Now, After the Wipe, the ancient Hoomanrace is extinct and the wobbly orb is wrecked. Oith's current denizens evolved from the lowliest of the low: the resilient roach, the indomitable worm, the everlasting snack cake - the dregs that survived.

It is a time of grand adventure, bold exploration, mighty hocus-pokings, and the occasional hint of whimsical madness; a time of immense struggle, monstrous monstrosities, and remarkable happenstance where even the lowliest worm can become a Keistermeister by his own mop.

Now, by popular demand and the screaming insistence of literally gazillions of clamoring fans, Mutha Oith Creations is proud to announce, in partnership with the formidable Eastern Front Studios, an entire line of (wait for it)...

LOW LIFE MINIATURES!

 

The initial set will include these NINE figures, all done in heroic 30mm scale and ridiculously perfect for all your Low Life adventures or anywhere else dark whimsy is appreciated. The minis will be cast either in high-quality resin or white pewter, depending on the level of funding received.

 

 

I know everyone is a bit tapped out on Kickstarters at this point, but if you haven't seen this one, it is worth taking a look. Its a refreshing bit of creativity! Go on over to their Kickstarter page and check it out!

Edited September 19, 2016 by Darsc Zacal
Tag updated

[Heisler]

I'll look, but I think some of these companies need to start looking at what is out there now and perhaps what has just ended. There are only so many dollars around and some of them might fail not because the idea but because all the funds are just tapped out.

[Marsya]

I already pledged on this one, I love Andy Hopp's artwork and he is a great guy that is super nice, so I when I saw it I had to help him out.

[soulchief]

None of these other miniature kickstarters interest me anymore after Reaper.. I went for $55 in the Zombie Studio miniatures on indiegogo, because that's ~90 for $55. Reaper spoiled me with so many mini's, and I haven't even held a mini in my life yet.

[Pole]

Not all Kickstarters you run across are going to the same level of a deal that you got with Reaper's Kickstarter. I imagine we all wish they would though!

 

I like this Kickstarter because the mini's are unlike anything you will get elsewhere. Jason Wiebe has done some amazing work for Reaper in the past and I feel confident he will do the concept for all of the mini's justice. The new Croach green that was posted today is great! The art style is very unique and Andy seems to be very inventive and open to suggestion for direction to take is work.

 

The Low Life Miniatures Kickstarter is actually a pretty good deal. For $50 you are getting 16 minis. At $75 you get a total of 28 minis, and at $100 you get the addition of all of the larger monstrosities! Plus his stretch goals and achievements have been adding more value to the pot daily. The only way for the mini count to go is up! In the end it is really about supporting the company/product. The minis are just an added bonus!

[Hellcow]

I'll look, but I think some of these companies need to start looking at what is out there now and perhaps what has just ended. There are only so many dollars around and some of them might fail not because the idea but because all the funds are just tapped out.

 

Couldn't agree more. I've backed 3 kickstarters in the last month (including $270+ for Reapers!) and am just too strapped for disposable cash right now to even consider anymore - especially with the dreaded 'C'mas looming already in my mind's eye (hell I've already bought an XMas present!).

[Heisler]

I guess it comes down to this. I have enough money to support one or the other, and this is neat but Bombshell appeals to me more. Kickstarter after Kickstarter aimed more or less at this miniature market in one way or another is not a good strategy. 15 minutes worth of research and I would have said, maybe I should wait a month. I'm hoping the CMoN isn't going to come right out with another kickstarter because I would have to say no to that as well.

[Bruunwald]

Humph. I wasn't going to say anything, but if people are going to start being rude about it, I'm going to put my two pennies in. Reaper shouldn't have to use Kickstarter, and I'm not sure I appreciate that they did. They are a successful company that should be managing funds from sales of an existing line in order to pay for more of that line.

 

I contributed to Red Box. I contributed to the new Gamers flick. Those companies are small, independent, and need money to help produce their creative thingies. They are what Kickstarter was intended-for. Their projects were in the spirit of the venture. So is the Low-Life Miniatures thing. I have seen the game on my wholesaler's list. It is tiny and underfunded.

 

It's not that I was not tempted by all the goodies offered by Reaper in the Kickstarter thing. I was. But I resisted because frankly, they are above and beyond needing the help Kickstarter provides. It felt like abuse of a good thing to me.

 

Now, people here are saying that "there's only enough money to go around." Well, you should have saved it for a more needy company and a more worthy cause. Instead, you gave it to a successful, established company because they threw treasures at you. I suppose this answers the question I have been mulling, about whether to start my own Kickstarter. I am a small terrain company. I work my butt off. I drive hundreds and hundreds of miles each month to shill my stuff at conventions. It's good stuff, but in a weak economy I am still losing money. I am a deserving artist. But who cares, it ain't Reaper, right? So why bother?

 

Makes a sane person want to kick a small dog across a room.

[zoroaster100]

I don't think Kickstarter is meant to be a charitable program. It is a business funding model. It seems clear that Kickstarter was a great fit for Reaper's Bones, as shown by its success. I don't see how that can be considered abuse. I don't even think it will hurt these other smaller/newer miniature companies. In fact, it is probably helping them. While some might not pledge to them because they've spent a lot right now on the Reaper Kickstarter, on the other hand the success and buzz of the Reaper Kickstarter is probably going to get a lot of people into the hobby, and familiar with Kickstarter, that otherwise would never have even considered pledging to a miniature Kickstarter project (like me). I had never painted a miniature in my life, and thus not even a potential customer for people and companies selling unpainted miniatures, until Reaper's Kickstarter. I'm not going to rush out to join every Kickstarter, but at least now I would bother to read about them and weigh whether they interest me.

[JackMann]

Kickstarter can be both. It's a program for getting a project off the ground. There's no limit on what that project is. It be a business project, like Reaper or Low Life, with backers getting the product early at better prices. It can also be something like putting on a play somewhere, or building something for a community, without any rewards for backers. The only rule is that it has to have a specific endgoal in mind.

 

In the case of Reaper, they couldn't fund the project on their own. Not in any reasonable timeframe. They would have had difficulty in getting a loan for the thirty figures they wanted to fund. While they're large in the minis business, that's still a pretty small pond. They're hardly a major corporation. And even if they were, if it was a project they weren't willing to fund on their own, there's still nothing wrong with them taking it to Kickstarter. All Kickstarter is is a way for people to say "We want this, and are willing to pay for it." Whether it's a "charitable" project, or one where they're offered a material reward, anything's fair game. Like any other place in the marketplace, people can put their dollars where they like.

 

Also, I'd like to point out that the Low Life Kickstarter is 687% funded with eleven days to go. That ain't too bad. It may not be as high up as Reaper got to, but it shows that there are still plenty of people willing to toss money at this. For a niche product like Low Life minis, that's not too bad at all.

[Heisler]

Humph. I wasn't going to say anything, but if people are going to start being rude about it, I'm going to put my two pennies in. Reaper shouldn't have to use Kickstarter, and I'm not sure I appreciate that they did. They are a successful company that should be managing funds from sales of an existing line in order to pay for more of that line.

 

I contributed to Red Box. I contributed to the new Gamers flick. Those companies are small, independent, and need money to help produce their creative thingies. They are what Kickstarter was intended-for. Their projects were in the spirit of the venture. So is the Low-Life Miniatures thing. I have seen the game on my wholesaler's list. It is tiny and underfunded.

 

It's not that I was not tempted by all the goodies offered by Reaper in the Kickstarter thing. I was. But I resisted because frankly, they are above and beyond needing the help Kickstarter provides. It felt like abuse of a good thing to me.

 

Now, people here are saying that "there's only enough money to go around." Well, you should have saved it for a more needy company and a more worthy cause. Instead, you gave it to a successful, established company because they threw treasures at you. I suppose this answers the question I have been mulling, about whether to start my own Kickstarter. I am a small terrain company. I work my butt off. I drive hundreds and hundreds of miles each month to shill my stuff at conventions. It's good stuff, but in a weak economy I am still losing money. I am a deserving artist. But who cares, it ain't Reaper, right? So why bother?

 

Makes a sane person want to kick a small dog across a room.

 

I'm not quite sure where any of that is coming from and I certainly didn't mean to be rude or offensive. At some point no matter who is starting a Kickstarter project I'm going to run out of money to support. Yes, I like to get cool stuff but I can throw money one way or the other. At this point it could have been between Reaper and Bombshell and I would have had to make the same choice. Its not like there is a list out there of upcoming kickstarters that I can check.

 

The final choice doesn't have anything to do with the company that has a KS going it has to do with what I like. I like the Bombshell Babes, and the Low Life doesn't do much for me. Both are essentially startups and obviously Low Life is funded and its going to be just fine.

 

I appreciate that you work hard at making and selling your terrain, I respect that. You could start a KS and if it interested me and caught me at the right time I would fund that. What I can't do is help fund two projects at the same time. I have funded at least one pretty minor little KS project; Run Out the Guns, he just wanted to produce the cannons for the ships he makes. He only needed $7K and we barely made it on the last day, but you would have thought from his reaction that vaults of Fort Knox had opened up for him. It was awesome! I throw in as much as I could and I'm looking forward to getting a bunch of 32# Carronades and a couple of ships out of it and I helped a small company get better. I just can only help so many small companies.

 

I think that Reaper did exactly the right thing by using Kickstarter, they are able to expand a plastic line by 200 miniatures in the space of six months instead of six years and get a start on bringing that production to the US how can any of that be wrong? Not to mention the sheer number of people that have been brought back into the miniature fold, those could well be the people that are now funding Bombshell and Low Life. I think Reaper's KS did nothing but good for this industry. Hopefully that will wash back to you as people start looking for terrain to go with their miniatures.

[MonkeySloth]

But who cares, it ain't Reaper, right? So why bother?

 

There are plenty of people who think that way, especially those that don't have much of an income, but there are many, many more that don't think that was as evident that both Bombshell and Low Life have reached their funding goal as well as another 4 I can think of that have ended, or close to ending, since Reaper's closed. We won't even go into stone haven miniature's dwarfs but I never thought anyone would raise more then them and they're just two guys from down the road from where I live.

 

Is Kickstarter a guaranteed success for miniature companies? No, I've seen several get no funding this summer but it's definitely a good year for them.

[smokingwreckage]

and a more worthy cause

 

Cancer patients are a worthy cause. This is a purchase. I'll put my money where it will get me, personally, the best value.

 

On one hand, contributing to someone's artistic endeavour is an idea that really brings me a lot of joy. In the future, I plan to contribute... no, BUY (as in purchases for my enjoyment) a lot this way. Helping an artist along makes me feel good. Tre Manor is not going to starve to death without me. I am buying enjoyment, not saving his life.

 

On the other hand a company I like comes along and says "Hey, kick in for the moulds, we'll pay you back with a boatload of miniatures that we'd otherwise be five years getting to". The minis are pretty, cheap, suitable to game or play with my kids, and don't ask for prep time I don't have.

 

I guess my short version is: I bought into Bones because of my kids. Why do you hate children?

 

My next point is that these KS's (zombiecide, Alabaster, Bones) are getting a heap of press and pulling in a significant number of new customers, or returning customers who'd not bought a mini since they made it to the legal age to buy booze. Minis are more in the eye of the general consumer than they have been in years. There has been a significant increase in the customers and money coming into this hobby, and everyone benefits.

 

Last up, Reaper's excellent practice of crediting their artists has put Tre Manor's name and sculpts (and others) on the monitors of a bare minimum of something like 17,000 KS-using miniature lovers. They've backed his KS and plenty of others, providing extra traffic from highly likely customers. This is an example of a bigger company really being enthusiastically engaged with both the industry and its artists, and trying to fan the flames of enthusiasm for same, instead of disdainfully cordoning itself off as "The Reaper Hobby".

[smokingwreckage]

It's good stuff, but in a weak economy I am still losing money. I am a deserving artist.

 

I didn't read this. I sympathise. Without going into details, I really... really... do sympathise. I'll just say "family farm" and let you fill in the rest, okay?

 

Two points from my business experience: one: bigger players don't cannibalise your sales, they show you the way. Watch and learn. Remember that as a sole trader you actually don't need to succeed on anywhere near their scale; you have what's called economies of size.

 

Two: try KS. What's to lose? It's way less intensive and expensive than cons. You've seen what, three or so million dollars go sloshing into minis in general. That's not the market getting tapped out, it's proof there's a market! Look how much chatter there is about dropping even more when the Pledge Manager comes out!

[Pole]

Hey guys I really didn't mean to start a debate on the merit of Kickstarter here. I was just pointing out another small mini company in need of some help. Andy Hopp is a talented individual and paired with Jason Wiebe he seems to be doing some great things. I was drawn to the project in a search for some unique mini's and I am happy I found it. I just wanted to spread the love a little.

 

That said, I am backing Bombshells too. I like the minis they have, and they fill another niche that I needed to scratch with my collection. I get bored painting the same thing over and over again. I have the disposable income to support both Kickstarters, but then again I don't have the same commitments and responsibilities that many of you have, kids, a house payment, ect... I know many people are just flat tapped out. Frankly I think I have just about burned myself out on KS for the time being and after these two are complete I will be taking a break for quite some time. Hell I found myself feeding the trolls the other day, and that is not something I normally do...

 

Kickstarter is a venue for raising revenue. Whether or not you agree with Reaper using KS is semantics. I guarantee that KS was not complaining when they got their cut. In any market you survive in the long term by reaching the new generation. KS is a tool for reaching the children and adults of the digital age. In that respect we have seen more new faces buy into this industry in the last few months than (and I am estimating here) we have seen enter the hobby in the last few years. That is a success for not only Reaper, but everyone in the industry. Those new faces will finish with their Bones, their Babes, or their Low Lifes and look to other places and companies to expand their horizons. That is a win.

 

Now I also have never sees the amount of bickering on these forums that I have seen recently. Reaper drew me in two years ago because of the sense of community, and that is what has kept me and many other people here. I hate to see that ruined. Everyone just needs to chill and enjoy the hobby again.

 

 

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Back on topic a bit. If you are looking for something unique and different, check out this Kickstarter, or don't, it's your choice.

 

If Low Life gets to 28,000 by noon we will be getting a new unlock Uuulos and a surprise! I will keep posting updates here as things go along.

 

Have fun with it guys and if you start feeling like I have the last few days, know when its time to back off...