More Hokún!

Shapeways "Frosted Extreme Detail"

DAD Hokún

A belated follow-up to my last post, wherein I was attempting to obtain some transparent miniatures via Shapeways. As it turned out, once they had analysed the files vs the material requested, Shapeways declined to do the job because the designs didn't meet the minimum parameters in a number of spots. Basically they were too fine a models - too fragile - to survive the cleaning part of the printing (which I gather involves a water jet.) So that is where it has been sitting for the last while.

Then a friend of mine from Down Under, with more knowledge of these things than myself, suggested trying the "Frosted Detail" options. So today I went back and looked at the materials analysis again and guess what? Using that material the designs pass muster and can be printed.

So I placed the order as shown above. I opted for the "Frosted Extreme Detail" which is the most expensive of the two. Note that the single arm sprue will do for both the foot and cavalry figures I have ordered: one arm sprue per two Hokún.

The arm sprue costs  $7.74, so $3.87 per figure. This gives a cost, excluding postage, of $10.95US for the foot Hokún, and $23.19US for the mounted Hokún. 

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CORRECTION (9/17/17): I didn't realize when I originally posted that the arm sprue has THREE sets of arms: a right arm with spear, a left arm with shield, a 2-handed sword, and left and right arm each with the same funky looking sword. So the actual cost per figure would be more like $2.58 for the arms. Giving a total COST of $7.08 + $2.58 = $9.66 for the foot figure, and $19.32 + $2.58 = $21.90 for the mounted figure.

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Not cheap. Evil Empire sort of prices. And this is *cost*...not accounting for Royalties, etc. 

Still it might be of interest to some. Depending upon how they turn out. I am now wondering if the body cavity will be hollow or not. If so, could one do a "ship-in-a-bottle" sort of thing to insert the innards? How cool would that be?!

Transparent Hokún?

Hokún, by David Allan Designs (DAD)

With David's permission I uploaded his Hokún designs to Shapeways and ordered sample prints in Transparent Acrylic. It wasn't cheap, but neither was it unreasonably expensive either. Especially considering the subject! This is, I suspect, the only way we are going to get reasonable representations of this crystalline alien race.

There was a slight hiccup, with the arm/weapon sprue getting a warning flag but I placed the order anyway. The next step is that a Shapeways technician will review the files before printing and - if they pass that screening - then they will be printed and shipped. For this trial run I have only ordered one of each. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated as to the progress and will post pictures of the results, if successful. :-)

Update:

Princess Vrísa Vishétru of Saá Allaqi

HA-1 Princess Vrísa Vishétru of Saá Allaqi

Painted by Nadya 'Hope River'

These pictures were sent by a customer who recently asked a professional painter to "work her magic" on our Princess Vrísa figure. The Princess is a player character from Professor Barker's own campaign and is based upon artwork drawn by the player herself: Kathy Marshall.

The painter is Nadya 'Hope River', from Russia. This is her "Display Quality" work and it shows. Note the "living blade"! I love the base also (did you spot the viper yet?) - perfect for display! Myself I am always torn between having something superb for the display cabinet and something I can push around on the table. Of course, for the latter, one doesn't need to pull out all the stops as Nadya has here. :-)

Nadya's blog can be found HERE.

The figure itself is sculpted by John Winter (of TinMan Miniatures fame) and can be found in the Heroes of the Age section of the Tékumel Club.

Another Pic of the Red D's...

Standard Bearer and Musician, showing bits.

Separate Heads

The Lady Deq Dimani

The Lady Deq Dimani, 

sculpted by John Winter

Coming Soon...

The Legion of the Lord of Red Devastation!

The Red D's

The Lady Deq Dimani

All sculpted by John Winter, 

of TinMan Miniatures

The basic trooper poses are 99% done for the Legion of the Lord of Red Devastation - or as I like to call them, the "Red D's".

I have sent this image off to the Tekumel Foundation for approval.

Also shown is the Lady Deq Dimani, nearing completion. She is a general in the Yan Koryani order of battle, leading two Gureks from her Island of Vridu.

Still to come: the Warrior-Priests of Vimuhla, who act as officers for the Red D's, and the legion's Kerdu: the General Karin Missum. 

The Spice Must Flow!

...or, more importantly, the mail must!

Last week Canada Post and the Union reached at least a temporary settlement (I believe 1 year) while management studies why it pays its female workers less than the males. (Rural deliveries are paid at a lower rate than urban, and are predominately female, so a bit of spin there but then I am generally opposed to Canada Post's management so there you go.) The bottom line is the mail is flowing again without any likely disruptions for hopefully the next year at least. Yay!