Grand Mother is here!

Haha, sod's law really...I had just settled down to start work on the Man-Hunter when what would drop through the post box? Non other than the awesome Grand Mother figure.

The new box is a fraction the size of previous releases but does come stamped with the figure artwork, which is a nice touch. I am very much in favour of the large deck protector plastic cover, as for me it keeps the stock card art safe from being crushed and adds even more of a collectible feel to the product. I am happy to see that once again I have gotten a low number (nerd I know!).

I like this additional art piece, more art is always welcome in my mind so no complaints there! The red ribbon is a sensible addition as the components sit very snuggly in the smaller box design and would require you to squeeze your fingers if no ribbon were present. 

Almost all the figures I have worked on this year have been of a larger scale, I found myself surprised by the actual figure size especially after I compared it to the Man-Hunter and White Lion. Grand Mother is a delicate looking (and sized) figure with much the same dimensions (except for birthing chamber) as the White Speaker model. So care should be taken when dealing with this figure, as some of the components are very thin and will not take pressure well.

The wings are some of the nicest I have seen, with each wing being heavily detailed, I have lots of ideas running through my head about how to make the detail 'pop' once I start painting. 

The change of packaging looks to be a good thing, previously KD Games provided quite large boxes to accommodate the card stock, and lots of bubble wrap. I would suppose that the smaller box design is intended as a more cost efficient way of protecting the components but without sacrificing the boutique image that is associated with the company, the design is very unique in my mind. There have been many Fantasy styled angelic creatures before and I am pleased to see a figure, while very recognisable is also very unique compared to others on the market. Coupled with a dark lore Grand Mother is a excellent deviation from the standard heroic Angel image. I am very pleased with this figure and am looking forward to starting it next week, I would start it now, but I started the Man-Hunter so intend to finish him first.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Site News: New Gorm photos!

Right, I was really  unhappy with the state of affairs of my miniature photos. SO after a really tall cup of coffee (its 2:44am here) and a crash course in how to use my digital camera and GIMP, I have re-taken the Gorm photos. I think these are a lot better than the ones I posted last week, you can definitely see the different colours I have put into the figure.

Check out new Pictures HERE

A few important things I have learnt from this re-shoot (Thanks for the guidance Mr Poots!):

1. Always keep your Raws! (original pictures), you never know when they might be needed!
2. GIMP is your friend! (Editing software)
3. The iPhone is not a suitable camera replacement!
4. Photobucket is not a suitable substitute for decent editing software!

I will be remembering these points for all of my up coming photo shoots, so more eye candy and less eye bleeding from 14th legion.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Make sure you check out the great range of Kingdom Death figures. I promise you, you will not be disappointed! CLICK

Kingdom Death: Grand Mother

Hot off the heals of 2010's Wet Nurse release, KD Games starts 2011 with another stunner of a figure: "Grand Mother"

"Few chosen victims survive the treatment of raw god metal that prepares a womb to withstand and nurture the ghastly cocktail that gives rise to the monsters of the Holy Lands. The truly holy mothers are beatified as Grand Mothers, transformed into creatures embodying the maternal life-giving ideal of the Entity. These special few give birth to the Entity's most precious children, the massive winged Blessed Ones. The Grand Mother's womb is braced heavy ornate gut plates. Within, a hostile furnace of creation churns. She has a mouthed cord growing from her belly that devours male organs of her mates to better the chances of divine conception.

The Grand Mother is a rare, horrifying foe, possessing a master the Other and protected by the watchful eye of the Entity itself."

The box set comes as follows:

This First Run Collectors edition is limited to 200 and comes in the special packaging shown, it includes:

1 x Resin Grand Mother Miniature

1 x Mini Character Card & Hand Stamped Packaging

• 1 x Kingdom Death 25mm Base
• 
  
• Hand Numbered Authenticity Slip
• 
  
• 6" x 4" Print of the Original Concept Artwork on heavy card stock sheathed in a Hard Plastic Protector.

This release looks set to be limited to 200 pieces with 100 available at the site store and the rest distributed among KD Game's partners, It is worth noting that the art released with this figure is now in a plastic protector, which I think is an amazing move on KD's part. I hope this is a sign of things to come, as I anticipate the arrival of this gorgeous sculpt.

Grand Mother is a limited release and at time of writing 80 are left in-store. Don't miss out, grab yours HERE

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion 

Kingdom Death: The Wet Nurse NSFW

Finally some miniature loveliness from Kingdom Death games! The 'Wet Nurse' is the second large monster miniature to be released by this company (the first being the Gorm) and this creature looks just as monstrous. looking like some creepy Anime tentacle demon, the Wet Nurse has naked pregnant females attached by umbilical cords, the perfect demon birthing nightmare. The model while amazingly designed and sculpted is definitely for mature modellers and NOT SAFE FOR WORK, you have been warned...

NSFW Pictures

This is a limited run currently listed at 75 remaining and as per standard comes with lots of lovely accessories: Art card, extra 'Fear stricken nude woman' and a hand numbered limited edition ribbon. KD Games may of kept us waiting for a few months for their next figure, but the wait was definitely worth it! Pre-orders are up now with a release date of the 22nd of November.

KD Games continue to be my guilty pleasure, I am a big fan of both horror, Anime and exquisitely sculpted figures (not just wargaming ones!), I own every KD figure but alas they are all boxed, unbuilt and unpainted..I am hoping one day I will view my own painting skills as competent enough for these figures. Until then, Wet Nurse is ordered and I eagerly (greedily?) await their next offering. 

Check out the Wet Nurse at: Kingdom Death Games 

Thanks for reading,
DiStudios
The 14th Legion

Kingdom Death: Forsaker Un-boxing

Back in August I previewed Kingdom Death's latest offering for their Fantasy range. It was not long after that I got my figures (great service as always KD Gang), but with all the Warmachine games going on, I forgot to open up the boxes and have a look! As always the packaging is a classy affair keeping in-line with the boutique figure seller tag the company has associated with itself since the beginning... 

The initial Forsaker release comes as a two model range. Continuing in the 'pin-up' theme we have the Forsaker 'pin-up', essentially a female version of KD's dark Paladin following the same formula of less armour equals more protection. 

The Forsaker pin-up is a great follow up to the very successful Twilight Knight 'pin-up' with detail and quality on par as I have come to expect from KD Games, there are no doubts in my mind that this figure will provide an excellent challenger for miniature painters. The Forsaker pin-up is not a limited figure and comes with a 30mm display base and postcard sized art card, which means general availability always.

The Forsaker Knight is a stunning piece, a dark and brooding sculpt which reminds me a lot of the Berserk Knight from a Manga of the same name (not a bad thing as I am also a fan of that!). The Forsaker comes with a nasty looking cleaver/sword with such intricate levels of detail and the armour is imposing but at the same time very detailed for a figure of this size.  This figure comes with a choice of two different heads, a 30mm display base (Warmachine style) or the KD rein square display base.

The Forsaker Knight is a Limited 1st run, which usually means once out of stock the figure will only be available in limited quantities (usually conventions) once the initial run is finished.

Once again KD Games have produced two stunning figures that are exceptional in quality and style that stand out above the rest. It has been two months since any news of a another release and I can only hope that this is a break after the convention season or perhaps plans for a large release. I have passed up quite a few miniature ranges to make sure I have the full Kingdom Death range and Forsaker miniature release is more than enough to keep my wallet locked for their next release.

To check out the amazing full range of Kingdom Death Miniatures, visit their site here: http://kingdomdeath.com

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

**To keep up to date with KD Game releases, join the 14th Legion by becoming a Follower (see right column)**

Kingdom Death: Upcoming Previews

Kingdom Death never ceases to amaze me when it comes to jaw dropping miniatures. This month's early August newsletter previews the companies first duo release; The Forsaker and Forsaker pinup, and what a magnificent pair they are.

Once again stunning artwork, fuels the dark and brooding mythos of Kingdom Death, the art alone is enough to conjure up images of dark dungeons and lurking evil.

Awesome is the words that come to mind when looking at this this digi-sculpt, it reminds me a lot of the Loki figure from the Medieval Spawn figure range, I love the details on the sword. Once again the figure is of such detail that I am intimidated as a painter to tackle it.

As a follow up to the Twilight Knight, I think this is a nice addition to the pin-up range. It will be interesting to see if Kingdom Death will be consistent and send out art prints with initial orders.

The figures have not yet appeared for pre-order but I am hoping to jump in early with a order and secure myself a print like with the gorgeous Twilight Knight pinup. For those of you lucky enough to be going to GenCon, the Forsakers should be available at from the CMON booth (Coolminiornot) who will be distributing on Kindgom Death's behalf.

With such a stunning range of figures, the question that comes to mind now is; so how about that game you are working on? Time will tell...

Thanks for reading,
DiStudios
The 14th Legion

Kingdom Death: Gorm Un-boxing

This weekend saw the arrival of Kingdom Death's Gorm, the companies first large monstrous creature model. I had the privilege of not only meeting Adam Poots but also seeing the master model of the Gorm back in April this year (Salute). The Gorm is a strange looking creature which can basically be summed up as a baby headed elephant, Angler fish. The Gorm arrived in a minimalistic card board box with the Kingdom Death font.

I put my order in almost as soon as the newsletter arrived and true to my order, I have the honour of owning number 1 of 100 of the limited casts (Thanks KD Team!). They have also included a little 'thank you for your purchase' card and a post card sized picture of the artwork. All these little additions; in this writers opinion go a long way to securing the fan base and the focus of this product really being for the fans.

The figure is very detailed, with a number of smaller components that make up the monstrous maw of this creature. What I find very disturbing is the head itself, those large eyes and baby features are truly the stuff of nightmares. 

The arms that fit around the mouth are very fragile, with some parts as thin as the White Speaker's bow. Great care will be needed not just in construction but also painting, it would be all to easy to break the appendages with a careless brush flick.

The only problem I can write about is the high standard of Kingdom Deaths miniatures quality. As a boutique figure seller, they have boutique prices and while the prices are fully justifiable for the quality, it can become a daunting task trying to pull out a paint job deserving of this figure range. To date I own all the current figures produced; and while I anticipate more from this great range, I have not actually painted any of them in fear of doing a bad job! From a gamers perspective, Kingdom Death have spoken of a dungeon board game to accompany the figures; while while not the focus of the company a gaming system for these fabulous figures will lift them up from eye candy to fully fledged wargaming figures. which in my mind will open up more sales (assuming that is the direction wanted). The Gorm makes for an excellent Daemonic creature/spawn for popular war gaming systems and would be perfect as a random boss event in any rpg.

So congratulations to Kingdom Death, in my opinion this model is a step forward for the company and I (as always) eagerly look to the companies next release.

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

14th Legion

Kingdom Death: Gorm Advance Order

 First production run of Gorm is now available to pre-order, the first run is limited to 150 casts with the batch to be divided between the aren't store and affiliates, and like the previously released Twilight Knight will come with a 6x4 Art print, signed/numbered certificate and alternate hands. The final model is shown below with a Space Marine for scale comparison.

As you can see Gorm is massive and can easily be used to represent any Spawn/Daemonic mount/beast option you can think of, my order is now placed and I am looking forward to taking up the paint challenge for this awesome looking figure. I think in the short term I will use Gorm as my second Daemon Prince HQ for private games, until the forth coming GW Daemon Prince arrives for sanctioned play.

Gorm First run collectors model is priced at $55.00 and is in the process of being cast, with potential shipping early June. Order your Gorm here: ORDER

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

14th Legion

Kingdom Death: White Lion & Gorm preview

I had a great opportunity to meet the Kingdom Death team at Salute 2010, I was amazed at the figures they brought to the show and eagerly purchased up most of the range on the day. I had seen Kingdom Death before but was unable to get hold of the figures due to limited production run, having met them face to face (really nice people!) I have become hooked. The art direction and sculpting style is just what I want/expect from a company labelling themselves as boutique figures.

The White lion is now available for to buy on their web store, I did have the opportunity to buy the Lion at Salute but had already gone way over my budget (Studio McVey was next door - total destruction of my bank account). The White lion is a superb model and a unique creature release, it can easily be proxied for a number of gaming systems (add some armour and you have a War online, White Lion). Needless to say I will be getting this figure to add to my complete (courtesy of the Box of Death) current collection.

Also featured in this months letter is the preview of the upcoming monster "Gorm". Again I was lucky enough to see this figure at Salute and it is another (grotesque) beauty. It is a very detailed sculpt indeed, just look at the feeder arms at the front of that scary looking mouth! I am really looking forward to this pre-order in the future.

Check out Kingdom Death here: CLICK I am sure you will like what you see.

Thanks for reading

DiStudios

14th Legion