"Mierce Miniatures Kickstarter. Trustworthy?" Topic

Mierce Miniatures has announced a KS for their miniature line Darklands.

link

However I am wondering whether this will be a legit enterprise. After all they still have ties with those who were with Maelstrom

Still though they are nice miniatures

To be fair, didn't Mierce fulfill all the orders from Maelstrom's closure? (I remember reading this but I am not 100% sure it's true, as I wasn't affected by it)

Well they claim to be doing so, but they are still run by the same Rob Lane that was at the helm of Maelstrom when it started the dodgy behavior.

So I wouldn't trust them yet, but if you think the mini's is a good enough deal it's your call.

It's tempting. I have several of their figures and they are pretty much the nicest sculpts on the planet, if a bit pricey. Getting a healthy discount through the KS might make it worth it…

It's up to the individual to decide, I suppose. I know some people who lost out in the Maelstrom 'warehouse move' sale, so I wouldn't personally give my money to these same people. Fortunately my disposeable income is all tied up for now, so the temptation isn't there.

Leigh

There's a phrase concerning "barge poles" that springs to mind.

Given the apparent number of people who lost out when Maelstrom when down and that was with Maelstrom having a legal obligation to them, giving Rob Lane anything through Kickstarter where there aren't any sort of consumer protections just looks like foolishness.

Yes, the 2 biggest concerns to be are Rob Lane and the lack of protection on KS

Though depending on how big this is, it could be an interesting strain test on KS to see if they could handle a possible scam. I'm sure there have been other scams but I'm not sure how big they have gotten

Stretch Goals are up though for 15k. Free figure for each pack, though because of the weird names they used I had to scroll up and down to make sure I was looking at the right free fig.

I think it's a matter of this… while Rob Lane owned both Maelstrom and Mierce, it's a whole different crew actually running day to day operations at Mierce. They keep paying sculptors and they keep shipping product, and they have been pretty open to the community at large (and have seen confirmations from users on Dakka/etc that they have received, from Mierce, figures they ordered and never got from Maelstrom, so it does appear they are trying to make right that part of it). It's still obviously an iffy proposition. I've got a pledge in, I may withdraw it before the end, or take the gamble. Obviously fulfilling all KS obligations will go a long way in helping Mierce's reputation quite a bit.

Hmm new stretchgoal up but I do not think Mierce handled it correctly

It is a stretchgoal to sell add ons. So technically you cant get anything until that stretchgoal has been passed

Other KS have had similar stretches but revealed them AFTER the stretch has been passed so that you are guaranteed to get that add on. They should learn to not pre maturely put them up

Trouble, is, some of the models on this kickstarter aren't due for release until September. There's no guarantee that this model line will even be owned by Mierce Miniatures after all that time. Maybe another "completely separate legal entity" will have absolutely legally acquired the range by then.

Leigh

Hmm interesting proposition on how Mierce could win over the community from another forum, though I doubt it'll happen

Honestly, if Mierce and Lane really wanted forgiveness from the consumer end of the community, they'd contact all the people who were ripped off by Maelstrom's non-fulfillment of orders and offer Mierce Miniatures credit for the same amounts of money. It wouldn't do much for the supply chain end who got burned, but this is the only way I could see them having a mostly-successful mea culpa on a larger scale then their existing fans, apologists and those who don't care that the same people ripped a lot of our community off not 4 months ago. ("because, you know, it didn't happen to me!")

Sure, and I also made the point that if anyone has bought anything from CMON ever, they should have no problem supporting Mierce.

I've pledged. I can't see them not fullfilling orders. Nasty business with MG, but i'm sure they didn't mean it to happen like it did.

From the Kickstarter page (bottom of it):
One thing that may concern some people is that Mierce Miniatures is somehow tainted by association with the former owners of our miniatures range, Maelstrom Games. We can assure you that this should not be so. Mierce Miniatures is a completely separate legal entity"

I asked them: "How can you honestly say this when both companies are owned by the same person?"

Their reply: "Yes, of course we can say that honestly, because it is the truth. Mierce Miniatures should not be tainted by association with Maelstrom Games' downfall because it had no part in that downfall – quite the opposite, Mierce helped Maelstrom at the end by giving miniatures to them."

Notice that they did not address the ownership concerns.
You make your own decisions here folks…

@Doug: I don't buy from CMON cause I got burned badly by NewWave.

Mierce miniatures look awesome and Banelords resins are great too, but I spend my money rather on Godslayer because this company looks solid and they have great miniatures too.

link

Also they have an awesome rules system. I was blown away by the quality of the rulebook and background book, and for the price its unbeatable.

I got burned by New Wave too – and almost again as an "Outkast" for Dark Age Games (I didn't realize it was the same owner). I haven't purchased directly from CMON, unless you count the Sedition Wars KS, but that hasn't stopped me from getting a couple of their items (like Cang) through other avenues. Ironically, I got it from Maelstrom shortly before the mad warehouse deal. So I know for a long time Maelstrom was a reliable venture, but things blew up there at the end. In addition, Mierce has fulfilled all the Darklands items that I was owed (13 in total) from Maelstrom. I really don't have many concerns that I will get my product from this Kickstarter.

48 hours to go in this KS and there are some amazing deals and items that are going to be produced. A lot of the concept art is great, and they've always done a phenomenal job of turning the art into minis.