"28mm historical & fantasy ancient Chinese Kickstarter" Topic

March 10, 2015 Update

We are essentially two weeks away from our Kickstarter (Monday, March 23) and we are trying to get a few things polished so we can show them off to you. Today I would like to present to you a few different things. Firstly, we have some work in progress shots of our cavalry. They are not done yet but we thought you might like to see the progress. Secondly, we have a few new concept art pieces showing off another look of the Chinese dragon and introducing some of the army support choices that will be in our Stretch Goals. Lastly, I received in the mail our metal master castings of our infantry and general on foot. I was excited to show everyone how they looked so I threw some ink on them and took a few pictures. The pieces have not been cleaned, polished or altered in any way other than adding the black wash. I hope you like what you see and join us for the Kickstarter. We should have a few more updates for you later this week or early next week leading into the Kickstarter. I posted the pictures and more information on our website at watchfulistudio.wordpress.com and be sure to Like us on Facebook.

The Warring States range will include the core elements of an ancient Chinese army including infantry equipped with a wide range of weaponry, light and heavy chariots, various types of cavalry and the officers to lead them. Building on top of the core range will be two more launches including a fantasy element and support troops such as animated Terracotta warriors, dragons, undead warriors, exorcists, war engines, siege bows, shield-bearers, and war drums to name a few.

For more information check out

watchfulistudio.wordpress.com

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Product Briefing

Range: Warring States / Qin Dynasty (475 – 206 B.C.)
Wave 1: Core Product allowing players to build the mainstay of Chinese armies
1. General including various head and arm options
2. Infantry including unarmored, light, and heavy infantry with head and weapon options
3. Chariots including light, heavy and officer's chariots
4. Cavalry including light, heavy and nomadic cavalry
Historical Origin: China
Scale: 28mm
Casting Material: Metal (Plastic depending on Kickstarter results)
Manufactured in the USA

Range: Warring States / Qin Dynasty (475 – 206 B.C.)
Wave 2: Fantasy Product Range as a possible supplement opened up in the Stretch Goals portion of the Kickstarter
1. Fu Dogs
2. Terracotta Soldiers
3. Fangshi Exorcist
4. Undead
5. Hu-Hsien
6. Fangshi Necromancer
7. Dragon
8. Phoenix
Historical Origin: China
Scale: 28mm
Casting Material: Metal
Manufactured in the USA

No force would not be complete without the myriad of war machines and support options that make fielding armies unique. Adding a variety of support choices can turn your standard army into a potent offensive force or a immovable solid stone wall. The army support options maintain a more historical feel to the army and may be included in both historical and fantasy games.

Range: Warring States / Qin Dynasty (475 – 206 B.C.)
Wave 3: Army Support Product Range as a possible supplement opened up in the Stretch Goals portion of the Kickstarter
1. Shieldbearers
2. Alternate poses for archers and crossbowmen
3. Repeating crossbowmen
4. Giant crossbows
5. Siege bows
6. Catapults
7. Additional heroes
Origin: China Scale: 28mm
Casting Material: Metal

Watchful I Studio was created as a gaming company back in May of 2014 and will be producing all types of miniatures, card games, board games, and other gaming accessories for both the historical and fantasy markets. Their first product range will be 28mm historical and fantasy miniatures focusing on the Chinese Warring States and Qin Dynasty period. The company will be embarking on their initial Kickstarter launching Monday, March 23rd at 12pm EST

Good looking figures!

Agreed. Nice work.

Extremely nice looking figures – given the horrible exchange rate these days, plus international shipping and import costs, I'm not sure I'd be on board (unless the project reached the "plastic" stage) but I certainly hope it does well. My only criticism would be my dislike of slotta bases, but the sculpts look first rate, and having master castings rather than just 3D renderings does a lot to inspire confidence.

PS – I'd suggest editing your TMP name to "Watchful I Studio" – the potential for capital "I" / small "l" confusion makes you harder to search for, and the lack of a space means it'll get read as a small "l"….

The "Fu Dogs" and "Terracotta Soldiers" look great! It will be interesting to see the models for those!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. The positive support and constructive criticism we have received really makes launching our first product range more enjoyable. We are trying to do the right things and build confidence by allowing you to see our progress and you are responding.

We are heavily considering reduced rates on shipping for the Kickstarter because we really want people to own our toys and remove as many barriers as possible to get them. Perhaps down the line we will make some arrangements for a European distributor and/or manufacturer but for now we are willing to absorb some of the shipping costs to encourage anyone who wants to buy our miniatures to jump in with both feet.

We originally sculpted the miniatures free of tabs on the bottom of their feet but the miniatures cast better when you have them so we added the tabs. I will personally removed the tabs and glue them directly to the base so I would encourage you to do the same.

Thanks again guys.

Thinking about it, if this ends up being metal only have you thought about tweaking the design to include a metal base?

That'd definitely be my preference, although obviously if it made it to plastic it's less of an issue. Probably not a deal breaker though. The horses will definitely need bases though – Wargames Factory's WSS amply demonstrated how badly not having them works.

Hello everyone. The Kickstarter is now Live!!!! Enjoy and thanks for your comments and suggestions.

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The first two miniatures painted for my new product range. Kickstarter is live if you want in on the action. :)

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April 8, 2015 Update

We have two weeks left in our Kickstarter and our goal has been reached!!!! We have been working diligently on making sure the production process runs smoothly so everyone can get their toys in a timely manner. This process has allowed us to reevaluate our budget for manufacturing and we were able to save some money. We wanted passed along these savings to the Kickstarter backers in the guise of lowering our Stretch Goal amounts.

Over the past two weeks we have posted pictures of painted miniatures, shown off work in progress of our Terracotta soldiers and hit 600 Likes on our Facebook unlocking some freebies for some of our backers. We hope you take some time and check out the Kickstarter and get in on the action before the fundraiser ends.

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For more information check out

watchfulistudio.wordpress.com

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Be sure to Like us on Facebook to keep up with this project and any future projects we have in the works.

Hello everyone.

We have 3 days left on our Kickstarter and we unlocked our first Stretch Goal opening up the Repeating Crossbow, Shieldbearers, and alternate poses for the Archers and Crossbowmen. We are getting close to unlocking the next Stretch Goal which is going to be the Undead – reanimated corpses of fallen warriors and civilians who died building the Great Wall.

Over the past few days we also opened up some new Add-on items for purchase. The Drunken Master and Swordmaster below and we also had a backer purchase the highest pledge enabling him to have a miniature sculpted based on his design. Well, with the concept art approved we decided to offer that hero as an Add-on. You can check out all the action on the Kickstarter and jump in while the water is warm. :)

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We have 3 more hours until the end of the Kickstarter. We are getting very close to unlocking the undead and with your help we can get there. Thanks

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