Im 38 years old, a keen video gamer and tabletop gamer. I have been interested in tabletop miniatures since the late 80's, from the 1st edition Warhammer Fantasy, Rouge Trader, Blood Bowl and Space Marine(1st edition Epic) ranges.
For one reason or another wargaming was put on the back burner in the late 90's and its only been the last 4 or 5 years that I slowly got back into the hobby. Amongst others I enjoy collecting and playing Wild West Exodus, Kings of War, Warhammer 30K & 40K, and I am debating whether or not to start an Age of Sigmar army. Admittedly I have only just started to learn the rules for them!
Thats enough about me, let me talk about a Kickstarter I backed last year called "Shieldwolf: War is Coming".
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1273312680/shieldwolf-war-is-coming/description
The campaign ran in February 2015 for 28 days, the aim of the campaign was to fund a series of fantasy races for their upcoming game "War Is Coming". The Shieldwolf team are from Athens in Greece and there are three team members who seem fairly easy going and always willing to answer any question that us backers may of had.
During the Kickstarter I pledged for a Great War Mammooth with Howdah, a Shieldmaiden Queen on Two-Headed Dragon, an Ice Maiden Druid, a Shieldmaiden Lord with a Crossbow and the Necromancer Maiden, all the miniatures are heroic 28mm scale and they were delivered in November 2015, one month earlier than the campaigns December 2015 estimated delivery date.
*Mammooth is spelt like this for IP purposes
The sculpts and casts are excellent and the detail is outstanding on all that I received.
On the Two-Headed Dragon sculpted by Oliver Nkwetti, the teeth and spines are nicely shaped and very pointed, the Dragons two heads have plenty of detail on them especially the one with the open mouth were you can see all its teeth and pointed tongue, the wings have a real leathery look to them just as you would imagine that they would in real life(That is if dragons existed). The bark of the tree which the Two-Headed Dragon is perched on is extremely detailed and at the base of the tree you can find enemy helmets and broken spears scattered around it. The Dragon rider also sclupted by Oliver Nkwetti, it is quite nice sculpt, she has long flowing hair, a big double headed battle axe and a shield with what looks like it may be a Daemon skull on it.
The Two-Headed Dragon.
The Two-Headed Dragon rider.
The Mammooth sculpted by Paolo Fabiani is huge and the detail on it is exceptional especially the fur so much depth to it, there are restraining chains running over the body, at the end of the Mammooths trunk there are bands of metal spikes which look like they could do a lot of damage. The detail on the howdah is also top tier. The wooden structure has a real look to it with all the "graining" running through it. But its the included howdah accessories that top it of, they include a wooden barrel, an open weapon chest, a set of steps, a pair of flag poles with flags, an axe, a spear bundle and various shields, they are also very detailed too. There is also wooden detail on the back of the leg armour that the Mammooth wears!
The Mammooth.
The leg armour.
The howdah.
The detail on the Shieldmaiden heroes is also outstanding, you can make out each and every finger on their hands with ease, the same goes for the facial expressions. The detail does not stop there, on the Icemaiden Druid she has braids in her hair, fur edging on all her clothes, in her left hand is a very detailed fireball and atop of her staff are some jaw bones and a skull from previously slain foes. The Necromancer Maiden is scantily clad, her skirt is all ragged and has long flowing hair that is detailed and has depth to it, in her right hand is flaming skull that looks like its just being launched at an un-suspecting enemy. The Shieldmaiden Lord with crossbow comes in two main pieces, the body and the head which is attached to a cloak with a shield on, she is wearing some sort of headgear underneath her flowing hair which you can easily make out as well as all the fur edging on her clothes. All three of those heroes were sculpted by Patrick Keith and are some of the best females I have seen
Shieldmaiden Lord with crossbow.
Shieldmaiden Druid.
Shieldmaiden Necromancer.
There is virtually no mold lines or flash on the hero miniatures, the same goes for most of the Dragon and Mammooth. However on the Mammooth there is a faint-to-mild mold line on the underside of the trunk, the same applies to the Dragons neck and tail. Five minutes of light scrapping or sanding can easily sort that out.
Mammooth trunk.
Two-Headed Dragons neck.
Two-Headed Dragons tail.
I have been blown away with the miniatures they have passed all my expectations by a mile and more. The communication from the Shieldwolf team during and after the campaign have been exceptional, I can not fault it at all. A few other project creators could learn a thing or two from the Shieldwolf team about communication and customer relations!
It was a shame that the campaign had a massive loss of funds three quarters of the way through. When stretch goals for certain races look like that they would not be reached backers pulled out or reduced their funds, which is their right if they wish too, but it had a massive negative effect on the campaign as unlocked stretch goals became locked again. The Shieldwolf team battled on through and delivered early with an awesome product, I will certainly back their next Kickstarter project
BRING ON THE 'MAIDENS!!!!!
Founding member of "The Darksider's Tavern - KS Addicts Anonymous"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/445120362343181/
