casting/shipping update.
about 1 month ago
– Mon, Apr 08, 2024 at 07:34:58 AM
Hello Backers
This is John from Effincool Miniatures. I wanted to take a minute to update you on the delays in progress.
This is going to be a pretty long read so I would like to just say that I am full attention to getting the rest of these figures molded and cast, so I should be able to ship near the beginning of May.
With that covered, I would like to give you a bit of explanation about why things are delayed like they are.
Effincool Miniatures is/was a business owned by me and my partner Ed. 2 years ago Ed and I agreed to purchase a SiOCast Machine for $70,000. This purchase meant that we would need to take on a lot of contract casting work to pay for it in addition the to work that we already had on our plate.
We took on 5 fairly large contract casting projects, including a Kickstarter of our own. In addition to those, we also took this project for Dark Maenad, who has been a long standing client of ours.
Shortly before the launch of Dark Maenad:Empires of the Old World, Ed quit Effincool Miniatures with nearly no notice and moved away to Arizona leaving all of those contracts for me to wrap up.
When he left I was not that worried beacause I assumed that I would be able to get some people into the shop to help pick up the slack that was not being held by Ed. I was incorrect in that assumption and essentially here we are a year later and it is just me in here working day after day.
This is not a big project at all, but it has been squeezed in with several huge projects, one of which is for 130 different miniatures and a total casting run of nearly 150,000 pieces.
There has just not been enough consistent blocks of time to lock down and work on this project due to all of the contractual obligations for these other projects. Please also bear in mind that my Kickstarter for Effincool that is almost a year overdue. To say that Ed really screwed things up is an understatement, but it is not the only factor.
At the end of January I began looking for a solution so that I can get this project as well as my own Kickstarter back to the forefront of projects that I am working on.
To that end, I was able to find another company to take over the casting of this other projects, but it was not just as simple as handing them the files over. The pivot from my company to theirs has taken almost 2 months along with all of the other loose ends that I am trying to wrap up.
The good news, is that as of today, I have nothing else on my schedule to work on and will be able to concentrate on getting the rest of these models cast and ready to go.
As of today I am roughly half way done with the molding for all of the new figures and I am hoping to have the rest of them done before the end of the week! I have more rubber on order as well as more plastic and metal, so I should be in good shape once all of the materials arrive.
Finally I will be taking over doing the updates at this point as well, since everything is kind of out of Raymond’s hands. If you have issues, please do not hesitate to email me at [email protected].
I will try to make another update at the beginning of next week with some pictures of metal castings and hopefully plastic as well.
Thank you for your continued patience on this project and sorry again for the delays.
John
The New Year Update
4 months ago
– Thu, Jan 11, 2024 at 09:19:13 AM
Hi Backers,
I know that some of you have been wanting an update for a while but I had no news for you, but now I do, so here we go. We have reached the head of the line at Effincool and John hopes to have the metal miniatures done and out the door by the end of January. Plastic will be a little behind that, hopefully the middle to the end of February. Please note these dates are not set in stone, but it's the plan as of now.
There have been a number of requests for male miniatures and I have always said someday. I think the time is now. We are looking at designing a skirmish game set in an alternate timeline 16th century Paris and involving a power struggle amongst the twelve cults that make up the Nameless Thirteen. The cults will be opposed by the Knights Templar who were not eliminated in the early 14th century in this timeline. The Templars will be mostly male figures. Knights, men at arms, and inquisitors.
Initially I hope to develop two cults to accompany the rulebook and the Templars on release. At the moment I am hoping to base these two cults off the figures of the Jester and the Nun.
Also, yes I know I announced my retirement from the miniature business, I tend to do that from time to to time.
Finally the previously released figures are all available in metal and in plastic on Etsy if you need anything. As soon as the kickstarter is fulfilled the new sets will be joining them. Here is the link if you are interested. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkMaenadGames?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
The Spookily Overdue Update
7 months ago
– Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 03:12:02 PM
Greetings Loyal Backers.
I apologize for the long overdue update. I haven't really had much to report. The STL portion of the kickstarter is behind us and the physical reward portion has been on hold while we awaited our turn for casting at Effincool. However, that is all about to change. The casting is at hand and there is not that much of it. Many of the miniatures from past kickstarters are on hand and those that aren't have molds standing by. The twenty one new figures need to be printed, cast as masters and molded and we will be ready to ship. We are anticipating shipping some months ahead of our March fulfillment date. I will have a better idea in a few weeks. I will be back shortly, hopefully with pictures of the molds and masters. In the mean time, enjoy your Halloween and the beginning of the Holiday season.
One additional note. I am planning an Etsy store that will link to Effincool where we will sell metal and plastic copies of the miniatures. First up should be the Desert Girls, or as they are now known. The Nythalasian Light Infantry.
All the best,
Raymond
STLs again and the last 39
9 months ago
– Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 07:55:26 AM
Hi Guys,
We continue to send out STL's. Please remember that if you have any questions or concerns to contact John directly at [email protected] This is the fastest way to get a response.
We have 39 people who have not filled out your backerkit. Please complete your survey as quickly as possible so we can get an accurate item count. The Pledge Manager will be closing in fourteen days. If you have lost your link to the pledge manger you can find it here. https://dark-maenad-empires-of-the-old-world.backerkit.com/
The future of Dark Maenad. I have decided I need to increase my income and that means focusing on more mundane business opportunities. Our miniatures will continue to be available through Effincool but this is our last kickstarter. The discount prices for miniatures will probably not be offered again. If you want to pick anything up for a bargain price, now is your chance.
Thanks,
Raymond
STL Update
9 months ago
– Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 08:55:40 AM
Hi Guys, I am back from vacation and trying to recover from a 25 hour day on Wednesday and the jet lag that came with it. I've been trying to field emails while away but I know some slipped through the cracks and I apologize for that.
All of you should have received the files by now, but we know from your messages that many of you have not and some of you have not gotten everything you backed for. To correct this, John decided to send out all the files again. He sent out a letter explaining this, but again, not everyone got it so I am including the letter below. Also, to give you a faster response time, please direct all emails about the STL files to the following email. This will connect you directly to John at Effincool, without me needing to forward the message to him.
[email protected]
Thanks,
Raymond
Hello Backers
This is John here
There have been a few errors pointed out with the STL distribution.
1.There are 6 of the older models that still have holes in the STLS. I will be
correcting those and re-uploading them. In the meantime these errors should be
fixable within your slicer if you cannot wait to print them.
2.The war elephant was missing in the links I sent. That will also be corrected and
new links will be sent out as soon as the other errors are corrects.
3. The infantry models were also missing in the New stuff only pledge. This will
also be corrected with a new set of links that I will email to everyone in that
group.
4. The new models were uploaded but STLS of the supported versions were missed. This
will also be corrected and re-uploaded.
If you have other errors or problems with the STL distribution for this campaign,
please contact me by responding to this email!
Once these corrections are done I will be re-sending new links. Sorry for all of the
screw ups
John
Effincool Miniatures
