The results are in! Thank you everybody who voted, we had 897 votes which I think is a record for us so far. Here we go…..!
Congratulations to Anne Bonny and Olga of Kiev!
I’m sure they would have been delighted!
A quick lowdown, enough to keep you satiated until the full posts:
Olga of Kiev: She is fooling nobody with this “butter won’t melt” pious nun role, for she was a fan of setting everything and everyone on FIRE. Including pigeons. There will be at least one pigeon on the model!
Anne Bonny: A feisty Irish pirate of the Carribean doing all the usual piratey things! There must be pirate fever from the Salute 51 mini of Stormin’ Annie, so it’ll be excellent for Alan to sculpt a pirate that everybody can have access to.
The next stage will be figuring out how these miniatures will look. Please do post (Facebook group, comments here, or any other of the social media or email) any information or wishes you have for any of them – ie if there’s a certain way you’d like to see them as a mini or some common misconception you need to scream.
I’ve raided the Bad Squiddo Library for any information already to hand, which has resulted in this little stack which will make a nice starting point. There are many brilliant documentaries of them both on Youtube, so I am already working my way through those. I’m hoping to have a day at the library in the week so I can get started on these sooner rather than later, in hope we can be ready to “relaunch” to project by Salute.
Big Changes?
There will be big changes coming to The Community Minis Project when it is relaunched – though nothing to fear! It will be to make everything easier, and so I can explain how the process works in a few sentences, rather than a short essay where everyone is still confused by the end.
Nominations for Mini #13!
They’re up already! 13 is the last of the pre-funded miniatures, so if we get her in the sculpting and art batch with these, it means 14 will be ready for the fresh start. No time like the present!
You can nominate your person here. Voting will start Wednesday at 7pm UK time so make sure you get yours in the list. You can nominate previous “also rans”, in fact – I encourage it!
Wave 2 Minis
There will be an update soon on Wave 2 minis as well and when they’ll start landing on your doorstep, so stay tuned!
Wave 1 is out and anyone can buy, there’s a few of the collector cards left too (Eleanor of Aquitaine, Ching Shih, Harriet Tubman, Black Agnes, Zenobia, Julie D’Aubigny)
Wave 2 is sculpted, master casts with painters and production casts being cast. It was originally listed at December release but that was optimism and many things happened! Marty is currently working away on the artwork too, hence Ada there. Wave 2 is Ada Lovelace, Joan of Arc, Mary Fields and Audrey Hepburn. I’m saying March/April for those. You can pre order them here.
Wave 3 voting should be this week!
Thanks all for supporting this. Once Wave 3 is done we’ll be caught up and ready to really advertise and make a big song and dance about it, but I’ve kept it on a bit of a downlow to make sure all the early supporters were sorted first.
—
I’ve been out of office as a mates mum has gone into hospital and I’ve been helping there as another pair of hands (more to it but not my place to detail!) But hoping to get that Wave 3 poll up at least.
These two are now ready, with Audrey Hepburn and Jeanne d’Arc currently on the sculpting bench (Audrey blog to come tomorrow!).
I met with Alan on Thursday at Leeds Armoury and he brought them along to pass over in person, a real treat! Firstly, here they are with the gang! The Gang makes me so happy, imagine the adventures they could have together!
“Stagecoach” Mary Fields
I’ve knocked up these little collages, and will try to for future minis! There’s very little change between sketch and sculpt. We made sure to get the right shotgun, whereas my scribble was generic, and changed Mary’s head angle slightly, but otherwise, we were right in sync. Even the tactical mound! I remain in awe of Mary and her achievements.
Ada Lovelace
I cannot WAIT to see this dress painted up in glorious purple fabric! Alan was really happy with my solution to drape the punch cards down the arm, so I am feeling like a nice smug minis designer now. Again, this needed barely any change, the cards going over the arm look better, and it’s altogether a beautiful mini and clearly recognisable as Ada.
Pre Order
You can pre order these now, the first 100 will get those lovely art cards
A sizeable chunk has already been allocated so don’t delay to ensure the lovely card! The art will be by Martin Whitmore and he’s got the task on his lap ready for the new year, then off to the printers next door to get them made up. Yay!
The cards were the last part to get sorted, and I am so glad I took a bit longer with them, same as Julie D’Aubigny’s face. I went with Print Co. in the end, my office neighbours! They kindly gave me a tour of all their facilities, and I was very excited by their mega corner punch. I even touched all the different types of paper like a connoisseur until I decided on what I deemed perfection. You’ll notice they are so nice and soft! On collecting, they will make a lovely deck.
REMEMBER the really cool Collector Cards are only included in the first 100 orders. There are still [at the time of writing] some left!
THANK YOU to everybody who has supported this project, primarily through all the slow bits when I’ve been juggling a bunch of other things. Now we have some momentum, I’m hoping it can really ramp up now, and the space between voting the figure and it being in your hands will be smaller.
I’m putting the following rambles in an FAQ form, enjoy!
Which minis have shipped?
The first six. Julie D’Aubigny, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Ching Shih, Black Agnes, Zenobia and Harriet Tubman. All shipped!
What about the next four?
Ada Lovelace, Audrey Hepburn, Joan D’Arc and Mary Fields are considered Wave 2. They were first aimed to be shipped in December, but it’s now looking like late January/February due to sculptor and caster timelines. As well as me, I still need to design the next three – but we have Alan Marsh booked in for December so I will have to have the designs ready by then! Eep!
Why has my Wave One pre-order not shipped?
It’s probably because you have Wave Two minis in it. If you’ve changed your mind and want the first wave before the second, pop me an email and we can sort it, you will need to pay a second load of shipping though (unless you pop a new order in and ask for them to be added into that)
I ordered from both waves at once, I’m happy to wait until Wave Two is shipped, but I am worried about the collector cards for my Wave One, will I still get them?
You will! You have a box in the office with your order number and I have picked your minis and cards.
How do I know when ordering if there are collector cards left?
I’ll make a note in the product description, so far we have cards left for all.
Nooo I missed the cards
It’s ok! The minis are still lovely and the full colour packaging with John Morris and Andrew Taylor’s painting on are also lovely. The cards are an extra bonus to help get the minis out there sooner.
Can I get these from retailers?
Yes! It’ll be a bit longer than other usual releases, and they won’t have the cards, but they will have the Community Minis. It’s taken a while to figure out the best way to do this as I want to support the retailers but not make it EVEN MORE confusing, so them having the “standard” version works best, as the cards won’t be all over the world like a Willy Wonka quest. So the first 100 sold DIRECT will be the only way to get the cards.
When are we voting for minis 11, 12 and 13?
Maybe over Christmas! The designs for 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be ready then, so we can use the Christmas break to think about the next bunch. I’m gonna change the voting AGAIN as well. I haven’t 100% decided yet but one aspect I am considering is limiting each person to ONE nomination.
Can I give you money for future minis?
I can’t stop you, but I am advising against it until the new year, as I want to be caught up so we can “relaunch” the project more streamlined and less confusing… I hope. If you have a subscription and are happy to keep it going, that’s super cool, but it’s also ok if you want to pause it. I hope this makes sense, it may feel counterintuitive but I want it to get back to being vote, then pay, rather than pay, then vote. It makes sense to me! I want us to vote for only one or two minis at a time too. TLDR: Wait and all will be clear!
I want some of these minis but haven’t contributed to any voting or pre-payment or anything, can I…. have some?
You can! They are for everyone! You can buy them through the shop as you would any other mini. I am hoping with the “relaunch” it will be less confusing. This has been very much a project of figuring it out as we go along, hence why I am extra chuffed you’ve been so supportive.
Hi friends! Apologies for the late update, I feel I’ve updated everybody everywhere apart from here – the one place I definitely have to. This issue has held up more progress than it should have, because of my funnily wired brain, but we’re back on track now. Also, I decided (well, my brain decided) I couldn’t progress with the next figures til this had been typed out.
What’s the delay? The first wave of minis are supposed to be in people’s hands already, right? WE HAD A SMALL HICCUP. Just a lil one. Kinda. I turned it into a teaching opportunity, of course!
Before I go into those details further, the shorter version is:
They will be coming very shortly, there were delays caused by changing a part of the sculpt of Julie D’Aubigny and finding a suitable company to print and cut the cards, which are both done, yay! HOPEFULLY, most will ship by the end of this month.
What happened?
It was entirely my own oversight! When designing a miniature, there is much more at play than what simply looks good. The miniature must be able to be cast many, many, times without fault; there is a fair bit of engineering that goes into making sure that works.
First, let’s look at the Version One. A stunning miniature, you will agree, and top paint job, John! This angle shows very well how one “one plane” this mini is. You could trace a straight line from the tip of her sword, up her arm, up her face, right up the bridge of her nose, middle of her forehead, and back down the other side.
In terms of casting, this is a doddle. Figures get more difficult the more “planes” there are. Imagine she stuck her left hand out to point at us from the screen, that would complicate matters. Also, she would be alive.
The issue is… what even is this line? A metal mould is made of two parts of rubber or silicone in big round discs. When the mini is being moulded, the sculpt is squished between the two under the golden combo of heat and pressure to make the cavity, which we later fill with metal to create the cast.
The point at which these two discs push against each other in the moulding process is often called the “mould line”. These can vary from extreme to a mere feather, we like to pride ourselves on being the feather variety! Although sometimes they can be more prominent depending on the figure design.
The sum up of all the above is basically that the mould line was going down the middle of the face. But this project will hopefully teach you a bit about the background of how minis are made and the tribulations we may run into on the way!
While our mould lines are barely visible, nobody likes it down the middle of the face. It’s such an important part. I should have spotted this before she went to casting, but stuff happens!
Julie D’Aubigny MK2, sculpted by Alan Marsh
Of course, I waited until she had been painted, and a huge chunk of her had been production cast already before I decided she had to change. Had this been earlier, we would still be on track – doh!
Was she good enough or not in her current state? I couldn’t decide. The line was minimal, but it was on the face, which is a mega pet peeve of mine in my own hobby adventures, and it wasn’t the usual done thing for Bad Squiddo. But I knew I was fighting against time, as this project is so far behind.
I felt absolutely sick when I approached the caster asking for the sculpt back, as I knew there was potentially a big extra cost of resculpting and money lost on the castings (we can get a bit back by throwing her clones into Mount Doom, though) as well as contacting Alan, the sculptor. It was none of their fault, but I was worried they wouldn’t be happy with my choice. BUT I AM A SILLY. I have worked with these people for years, and they’re lovely, DUH! They were ace, phew!
The best bit was that Julie was almost intact. When a sculpt has been moulded, they’re often broken and sometimes pretty much just crushed to dust! I didn’t want to convert a cast. I’d built it up in my head as this major thing. So I was ELATED to see her pretty much as she was before the moulding. Sculptor Alan Marsh is a dream and converted her easily before shipping her back to the casters.
So how did he fix her?
Decapitation! I believe he chopped the head off to turn it more forward-facing, but it looks like it’s been pretty much resculpted, I am sure the framework stayed the same though. So, the head was chopped off at the neck, rotated, and plopped back on. Then, the resculpting of the face and hair and anything else that was knocked off in the process, as well as a general MOT as she had “seen some things”. Alan noticed part of the hilt was missing, which I totally hadn’t spotted, so multiple eyes are good! That was sculpted back on, of course.
Now, if you trace that same line up the sword and arm, it now goes over her shoulder and up the side of her face, where the hair is. A cheeky little hair of a mouldline in her curly hair is fine; you can scuff it off with a blade, and it’s gone, much better than performing facial surgery.
HOORAY!
This has now been master cast, approved BY MEEE, and is now in the production stages. Poor John Morris has to paint her again, exactly the same as last time, please, John!
The Pretty Cards
The Pretty Cards will be ready once MK2 Julie is painted! Also, I need to finish designing them, I hope to update this blog very soon with those drafts. I was using Julie as a bit of an excuse as I could have been designing the rest, but it has been very busy around Bad Squiddo, and the time has just flown by.
New Printers
The other delay was figuring out how these cards would work. I want them A7 with rounded corners. But when you order from printing companies, they charge SO MUCH just for rounded corners, especially on low number runs (just 100 of each design), it was going to be a problem.
I’m on fire with these stock images today.
Investing in my own corner cutter even seemed an option – a heavy-duty one. I browsed through quite a few of those. They didn’t seem too great, though, really, the manual ones. Then it went into thousands of pounds, so I was back at the drawing board. That was until… I found a company! They seem really nice and helpful, and I met them in person and told them all about the project. I won’t name them yet in case it doesn’t work out (hehe, yes, I have made that mistake before), but it seems highly promising, and I’ll be going through some print designs with them next week. So, the delay was really useful in that sense, as I may well have found a new printing company for Bad Squiddo Games as a whole, not just this project. Yay!
Another accidental victory is that I really prefer the stance of the MK2 Julie, what do you think? I think she has more of a stronger “golden angle”. It shows how such a small change can create such a noticeable difference.
So there we go; silence doesn’t mean abandonment. I have just been pulled from project to project lately, and this week have a rotten cold (boo), but many wheels are turning. Hooray!
Superb artwork from Martin Whitmore confirmed! Marty is the man behind most of our artwork, so it seemed right for him to be involved in this. What is extra lovely is how the people involved in this project are passionate about the subject matter, so it’s more than just a job to them. It’s a solid team.
Artist Martin Whitmore
These fresh drawings are refined versions of my own preliminary rough sketches that take into account the sculpt and the changes we made during that phase. As well as being just “better,” they also have a consistent style that ties them together well. Marty’s quirky and fun style fits well in a project that could be at risk of seeming too heavy sometimes with the subject matter (When one of the women DOESN’T die horribly at the end, I always cheer – wahey!). We’re keeping to pencil line art for the obvious reason of cost, which would drive the price way up, but also, it adds to the sketchbook feel of it being this community project. Later on, if I fancy it, Marty will colour and ink them for me (in exchange for coin, of course!), so there’s lots of potential for future projects there.
Originally, I was planning to do this part myself as my own art project, but I wisely decided that the pressure of having to add a GOOD drawing to each figure, as well as doing all the managing, research, writing and graphics AND running Bad Squiddo Games full time… might be a bit much. And Marty is way better than me, so there. My sketches do their job of informing you all and the sculptor where things go, but the improved ones look much nicer for display and admiration.
Top row artwork by Annie Norman, bottom row by Martin Whitmore. It’s an easy way of seeing how the pose or details of some changed through the sculpting process for each.
Collectable Cards
In line with wanting these to be a bit special, collectable cards seem a good call; we all like collecting things right; it’s why we’re in this hobby! I’ve decided to limit these to the first 100. It’s an impetus for people to pick them up when they’re first available, which really helps us out. It also means you get something a bit special – as well as a cracking mini!
Design idea for the collectable cards, images by Martin Whitmore, text and design by Annie Norman
An example of our minis’ packaging
If they’re A7 size, they will fit in the blister packaging nicely and neatly, although they will need the corners rounding. This is an unusually expensive addition when ordering from a print supplier, so I’ve been looking at a few semi-industrial corner punchers, with the excuse that I can use it for many different tasks and projects. All the round edges, all of the times.
What do you think of this mock-up? I’ve had that parchment background in my mind for a while for the feel like they’re the lost scrolls or something. While most of what we produce is rather colourful, I appreciate the simplicity here that will tie them all together. I’d like to hear your feedback back though. The Limited Edition number will be written by hand on each one. Is there a pen you recommend for that – I guess just a fine marker pen?
What about the painted image of the mini? There will be that too! The Community Minis will also have their own full-colour packaging in line with the rest of the Bad Squiddo Games range. So you’ll get that AND the special card (if you’re in the first 100)
That’s right, you heard it – they’re available – woohoo! It feels so good to be making some solid progress now, it’ll be even more exciting once they’re in your hands. Here are the minis below, and YOU CAN GET THEM HERE. Well, you can pre-order them, they’re nearly ready though (more info below).
Thank you to John Morris and Andrew Taylor for painting these, John is just finishing the last two!
There are two ways to get these, both simple!
What is NOT simple is how I originally set up this project, so the next post will be some FAQs and updates on the project as a whole (all good, just making it easier), but this post will just focus on these six minis.
If you backed the “Ko-Fi”, read this:
Anyone who supported via Ko-Fi to pre fund these minis, firstly – thank you! We wouldn’t be here without you. You will need to check your email, the one you use for Paypal, and there will be an email from me, it might be in junk (silly email providers!). It will have all the information you need to get your minis, mostly a long thanks from me, and a coupon you can exchange via the website. Please do check, as it was [embarrassingly] quite a long time since we set this up, so you may have forgotten, I wouldn’t want anyone paying twice. In a nutshell, you put them in your basket on the website, then add the coupon underneath and it’ll minus your amount. Pretty much just like a Kickstarter Pledge Manager. Any questions or uncertainty please contact me.
If you didn’t back the “Ko-Fi” (or know what that means), read this:
Don’t worry – you too can have the miniatures! Also head to this part of the website and buy as you would anything else. Just note they’re pre orders so won’t ship immediately.
FAQS
Can I order with other things?
You sure can, anything you like! This makes sense especially if you are overseas and want to combine with other items to balance out shipping. As with all pre orders, anything else ordered with community minis will be held and shipped at the same time as them, same as our Kickstarters.
When do we get them?
September.. probably! If not, then October, but I am hopeful.
What are these question mark thingies?
Ah ha! These are minis 7, 8, 9 and 10. I’ve popped them there in case anyone who is certain they’ll have them before they’ve even seen a sketch can pre-order THE NEXT BATCH! They’re aiming to be ready in December.
Do I have a time limit on using my coupon or pre-ordering?
Not…really! Currently, it is absolutely whenever you like, I really wanted people to not be stuck having to get one mini shipped at a time, so it’s built around you popping them in other orders.
There MAY end up being something introduced down the line that would be limited, like perhaps the art cards or the price. For now, especially while we’re in the early stages, it is super chill. If you’re a couponer who was planning on using it much later on, could you reply to the email just to let me know you’ve received it, to alleviate my worry!
Of course I’d love it if you can do it now, as the more interest and minis in hands should boost excitement for the next ones. But no stress.
What happens after the pre-orders?
Once the pre orders are all shipped, the minis will stay in their Community Minis section of the website, as well as be put into relevant categories, and treated as any other mini in the range.
What are you waiting for?
I actually have a bunch of casts ready now! We just need the last two minis to be painted and shipped so I can photograph them, as I want them to come with the painted photo from the get go, as well as the art from the collectable art card that you will also get. That is due around the end of the month, and will be drawn by the excellent Martin Whitmore. Basically an updated sketch of the figure, that includes any changes from concept to sculpt, and will be consistent throughout. Just something to make it extra special.
IMPORTANT
The next blog update will have information on the future of the project, changes, and clarity. I am very aware it’s got very complicated, which is a product of it’s success (woohoo!) so I want to address a few bits and hopefully iron out some creases. I’m in this for the long haul!
There’s lots to show, I am *SO* Happy with these sculpts. They have actually been moulded already and some have already been painted, so stay tuned for upcoming updates to see that! Today though, we are talking sculpts! Let’s have a look at each of them, shall we. These have all been hand sculpted by the wonderfully talented Alan Marsh.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Hooray, she came out just as the sketch! It looks regal whilst also maintaining some simplicity. I can’t wait to see her with some paint on.
Septimia Zenobia
This has a special place in my heart, I think as she was the first we designed. I noticed that the staff in my sketch was not long enough as I had used a reference picture of a broken statue (doh!) so that’s the only part that needed changing pre-sculpt.
Agnes Randolph
We changed the arm position from the sketch to make it more dynamic, and it really has worked, by making the tippets dangle from the movement, Alan’s sculpting solved the concern of casting them hanging straight down. This looks way better too!
Julie D’Aubigny
La Maupin! We thickened the sword but not enough to look strange or clunky, and that small tab is to be chopped off when you’re prepping the mini, it protects it from bending when being packed and shipped.
Ching Shih
It was pointed out that her sword was in the left hand, so I’ve swapped it to the right hand which would have been more likely & the community confirmed the scabbard was hanging correctly, so only some minor adjustments. I love the hair!
Harriet Tubman
There was a discussion on where her left arm would be as held far back did seem a bit unnatural, so Alan adjusted to this which feels more like she’s walking ahead cautiously. It’s brilliant.
Squee, it’s happening! Stay tuned for pics of them painted, and information on how you can get some or all of these minis. Thank you for supporting this, it’s exciting to see it actually happening,
Thank you to everybody who voted! 790 votes in total, which is impressive for sure. Third and forth were shimmying back and forth a bit while the poll was open but first and second were pretty much winning from the get-go. I am surprised by some results, yet not by others.
Over a quarter (29%) voted for the first four, so winning by a good margin. Special mention to Jeanne Hatchet who was SO CLOSE.
So the winners are….. ADA LOVELACE, MARY FIELDS, AUDREY HEPBURN AND JEANNE D’ARC
The next stage will be figuring out how these miniatures will look. I’ll make threads one at a time for each, but feel free to post (Facebook group, comments here, or any other of the social media or email) any information or wishes you have for any of these four – ie if there’s a certain way you’d like to see them as a mini or some common misconception you need to scream.
You can’t please all the people all of the time.
Apologies if who you really wanted to see as a miniature wasn’t voted for, it is the nature of the beast. She isn’t gone forever though! You can nominate her in the next round, and the next round, and the next round….! They won’t automatically be added to future polls, but so long as you nominate them, they will be there.
This means you have more chances to convince everybody why your suggestion is excellent. You can keep posting about them, maybe sharing other information and pictures and things. The joy of the project is it’s a neat trick way we can all educate each other. What’s the worst that can happen – oh no we all know a bit more about interesting women from history oh no!
An embarrassing amendment
When I was catching up after the hiatus, I miscounted the totals and therefore how many we unlocked. It said we are currently unlocking number 14, but it is actually 12. So 11 are currently unlocked. I wasn’t going to say anything so as to not look silly/unprofessional but in fact, covering it up and funding those extra two myself would be THE silly/unprofessional way! The totals raised don’t cover the whole miniature in terms of sculpting, moulding and production, but it’s enough for us to subsidise the rest after each total – ie you do X amount and we do the rest. SO it’s not a “free” project for me, if that makes sense. So adding two more wouldn’t have been a good thing for the project – ie massively overstretching myself/Bad Squiddo!
So hopefully you can understand my humble apology, again for the teething of this as a project. It means there is currently just one more to unlock, but well on the way to the next after that.
Contrary to this though, I do have one extra miniature that will be free to anybody who added to the ko fi before a certain date. I need to sort the date, but pretty much up to now-ish. She will be available as an extra purchase for everyone after this too. More information soon!
Thank you for supporting this, and I appreciate it can be confusing as I keep sending you all across the internet, but we will get there. I’m super happy to be able to bring these next four to life, and have you all help me with the deep, dark research!
SPOILER: I actually already made a start on Ada Lovelace and Audrey Hepburn while the poll was still live, NERD!
As always, any questions, let me know, and this blog is the best way for a concise “what is happening.”
I know I know it sucks. But our group has the biggest captive audience of actual customers & a community, rather than it being open to random people across the web. The reason for not adding votes from elsewhere is to keep it transparent & less confusing.
For example, like Eurovision, someone could be clearly winning & then suddenly votes pile in from elsewhere & it doesn’t feel fair/clear. And it’s just messy. And I could cheat! (Hey er John from Hockley just tipped the votes to the one I want to make)
The reason for showing you the nominations before voting time was so you could get a chance to know them rather than voting on instinct for famous ones. But I might just slam them out next time!
Thanks for sticking around while it’s teething, it will smooth out!
One of the important things is to make sure you’re voting for you who you would like to see (and even buy!) as a miniature, rather than who you like the most.
Community Miniatures Project 