Ikwen Weapons Concepts

Developing the Ikwen weapons has been a bit of a trick. 

The Ikwen range is designed to represent one side of a conflict against an undetermined foe, making them ideal opposition force for any range of miniatures as they are not designed to fight any specific force. This is not special, in itself, but what makes their weapon design tough as a militia force is that they have no pre-made world from which they would have sourced their irregular arsenal. When considering how to arm them, the decision was made to give the Ikwen weapons that were analogous to the weapons seen in terrestrial militia forces, but not human weapons. A balance between form and function had to be reached and with the help of artist Todd Ulrich, I think we did just that.

Todd took my notes and together we came up with what you see above. With the exception of the blades (Huli) the other weapons are very much cousins to weapons we know. Assault rifles, submachineguns, shotguns, and the rest of the cast are here. All familiar, but looking like they were made in a factory far away. This will allow them to fight any force of miniatures enemies and not have to worry about having weapons that are too human or too alien.

In a lot of ways the weapons were picked based on how they would look in the hands of miniatures. I can see Ikwen swinging around their Huli or lugging around the suitcase-like reloads of their rocket launchers while they scurry around, snapping off shots with their rugged assault weapons, all in a desperate play to fight whoever players pit them against.

More Ikwen Concept Art

While I had planned to hold off on showing more Ikwen concept art, I decided what the heck. So, in the spirit of holiday cheer and good fun, here are some more pictures of LNG's upcoming new alien species range due out in 2014.

Enjoy More Ikwen...

A note on weapons: With the exception of the blades, the weapons in the concept art are not the final weapons that will be used in the sculpts. These were placeholders used in the concepts. The final weapons will look to have a more alien origin.

The Future of LNG

I realize, with the Chuhuac Kickstarter yet to be fulfilled and the range's retail release still pending, that it may seem odd to discuss the future of Loud Ninja Games, but there is a future and I would like to talk about that. 

Despite the stumbles and slumps in getting things going, the mindset here has always been for us to turn Loud Ninja Games into another place you can find new and interesting miniatures in an ever-expanding product line. To this end, we have been working to develop future ranges and expansions on the Chuhuac. I have also given thought to the best way for me to present our products to the public and to make sure they are available across the widest area possible. 

So, let's take a look at some of what is in store. 

RETAIL FUTURE 

Before there was a Loud Ninja Games, I had established a working and friendly relation with Gavin Syme ate 15mm.co.uk.. In many ways Gavin has been a major influence in my growth as a sculptor and my development into a miniatures entrepreneur. When it came to considering how I wanted to go about selling my line of figures to the gaming public, he was the obvious person to turn to. The end result is an agreement between Loud Ninja Games and 15mm.co.uk in which Gavin and crew will become the retail source for my line in 2014. 

Why did I go this route?

It comes down to simple resources and customer service. 15mm.co.uk is an established company with myriad ranges across a number of subjects and scales. They have in-house mold-making, casting, packaging and retail facilities. Add to this my trust and existing working relationship as well as their knack for serving worldwide customers with quick and fair shipping and it really wasn't much of a decision.

Why not do it myself?

As much as I'd like to, I really cannot and would rather not have to mire myself and my family down trying to manage inventory, sales, packaging and shipping. 15mm.co.uk will be able to keep stock on the shelves, shipping going smooth and a clean and well-managed retail site. I'll still maintain creative control as well as marketing and promotional interests and in return I'll collect a percentage of the sales. Loud ninja Games is still a brand and I'm still in control of that brand, but I've got a big brother (so to speak) in the industry that can help me make it work.

FUTURE OF THE CHUHUAC
The Chuhuac are a range of minis I have wanted to make forever. I have a host of ideas for them, most of which came to fruition in the Kickstarter. Still, there are more troop types and vehicles I would like to add to this range.

Now, allow me to be a bit tentative here, if I may. Just because I would like to make something, doesn't mean the opportunity will present itself or that it would be a good idea. I'll have to see where the market goes with these dino dudes before making any final decisions. Of all the designs I am sure would be well-received, a flying vehicle like a dropship or gunship and a light tank are at the top of the list. After this, new troop types may be in the future and even more vehicles, but that really comes down to how things shape up for the Chuhuac.

Here are a couple of WIP images of what we are planning for our vehicles...

The light attack vehicle in its most basic shape.

And, the gunship/dropship in some very early WIP renders.

FUTURE RANGES
My vision for the LNG brand has never been about a one-shot with the Chuhuac and then let it ride. I've had host of new species ready in my notebooks for ages and all of them are at least runners up for inclusion in this line as miniatures. The exact order in which they will be released, really depends on how things shape up for the company. Smaller, easier to release ranges and one-offs are always doable while larger, more involved ranges will absolutely have to bide their time or wait for a windfall. I can, however, show you the NEXT release, already in early development.

Meet the Ikwen...

I don't want to say too much about these odd alien humanoids, but these images show off some of their more interesting features. Please, don't pay too much attention to the weapons as they are really just placeholders for the final weapons. More on them as they develop, but they will be released in 2014, hopefully in the first half of the year.

So, there you have it. LNG is definitely thinking forward and the new year will bring new shiny toys from us to you.

Thanks,

-Eli

More Painted Examples of the Chuhuac

Hey folks,

Just a quick update to the blog to show off the latest crop of painted samples that were sent my way from my partners at 15mm.co.uk. Their resident pro-painter has done a splendid job on all of these and I think he followed my notes very well. 

Herdmaster - a company level command figure carrying a staff of office which sports the preserved toe claw of on of the unit's historical elites.

Commandos - this single pack contains six Chuhuac and includes a leader , SAW gunner, and a sniper poised and ready to lay down some hurt with his accelerator gun. The commandos where lighter armor and stealth packs that mask their biometrics as well as provide them with optical camouflage (yes, invisibility).

Chuhuac in HTH - These six minis have been posed in various crouching, slashing, biting and kicking poses and depict what a pack of these aliens would be like up close. Because they do not have weapons sculpted on them, it has been noted that they would work well as casualties, gunners, or even as possible vehicle crews. 

This picture shows how the Chuhuac scale up to one of the 15mm Ion Age miniatures. The Ion Age minis are in the larger category of 15mm figures and so you can see that the chuhuac are at a nice size to blend in with most range.

Chuhuac Battlesuits - These are a popular favorite. Each battlesuit comes with two SAW arms and two of each of three support weapons - Drone Missile Pod, Accelerator Cannon, and Heavy Plasma Gun (not shown). The chuhuac pilot is fully enclosed inside the armored body of the battlesuit and uses hi-tech sensors an micro-cams to interface with the outside. The Chuhuac use their battlesuits instead of support weapon teams, allowing them to keep their support weapons as mobile as their infantry. To the Chuhuac, speed and maneuvering is everything.

Grav Bikes - These miniatures are two-piece models with the rider's body sculpted on to the bike. There are three variant heads that can be glued on, allowing a bit of animation in the sculpts by adjusting the head positions. The pilots of these bikes steer with their tails which are in the rear section of the bike, leaving their hands free to control weapons and sensors. These bikes are used as scouts and for fast, local air support as each carries the equivalent of four (4) SAWs.

28mm Chuhuac Squad - Many folks had expressed a desire to see the Chuhuac in 28mm. While the main product line was conceived of as 15mm, I thought it would be nice to at least provide a 28mm squad. The 28mm squad is depicts a typical six-member pack of Chuhuac, including Alpha Leader, SAW, and a Plasma Gun.

These figures are a beautiful upscaling of the 15mm Chuhuac and are robust and sturdy models. All of the trooper heads are separate, allowing some minor variation by posing them. The Alpha's head is sculpted on depicts the greater amount of plumage the Chuhuac leaders display.

Here is a 28mm Chuhuac, posed next to a 28mm Ion Age miniature.

Chuhuac Preview Pics

Hey all!

This morning I received some preview puvs of the painted Chuhuac that will appear in the catalog at 15mm.co.uk. While these do not depict the entire range, they do show the potential for these critters.

-Eli 

Progress Report

Alright, so for those following along on the blog, I do apologize for the long time since the last post. There hasn't been a lot of interesting stuff to share with you all as we're really into the nitty-gritty of the slogging grunt work of bringing these miniatures to life.

Where are we at?

The current metal production of the Chuhuac stands at about 30% complete at last estimate (about a week ago). The casters report that they are finally getting the hang of the tricky casting and attention these minis demand and have managed to improve their success rate from 45% to 85%. This should speed things up a bit for the remainder of the production run and really makes them a bit more viable as a continuing retail product.

One of the major obstacles to the completion of the production run is that all those delays i ran into have dropped my production smack in the middle of one of the casting company's biggest releases ever, putting me to a secondary position behind their own product, a fact that I am okay with and understand. They have their own time tables and release schedule and while they are doing work for me, I am the one who is off schedule, not them. So, no sour grapes.

I have a set of minis being painted for the catalog shots right now and so should hopefully have some "living color" images to show you soon. I'm also waiting on a couple of sets of the production minis to look over myself. Call this a quality control as the last sets I saw were just the master bits. Though, to be honest, I have to admit I really have no worries about the quality. I just feel it's sort of the thing I should do as a responsible business guy.

We're getting there and the end is almost in site. Soon I'll be pulling my hair out trying to fill all those boxes!

Thank you for your continued support,

-Eli

APCs Have Arrived

Hello Raptor Fans,

The post man delivered these two lovely packages today. After a hair-raising delay, thanks to the USPS, the Sirrus APCs arrived about 9 days later than they should have with their 2-day Priority delivery. Each box weighs in at about ten pounds and was a densely packed.

The contents of the boxes were wondrous. Each box contained fours bags of 25 APCs each for a total of 100 APCs per box. This is what 200 APCs in the raw looks like. Each APC was individually packed in its own baggy with its six anti-personnel guns. Chris at Ravenstar Studios cast them up as a seamless single piece chassis fusing the separate bottom piece to the chassis with not a hint that they were separate.

The detailing on the APCs is crisp and the resin is nearly flawless with a wonderful finish that one expects in a quality gaming model. the pics below show the nifty details in all their splendor. Future note, that hexagonal roof details is likely going to be the anchor point for future weapons upgrades of the Sirrus. My hopes is to create some add-ons that will use the same sprue weapons as the battlesuits. I hope to offer them in two ways - full kits and mountings that will let you make use of un-used battlesuit weapons.