New Chuhuac Tank in November 2015

Hey all,

Here is a sneak peak at an upcoming release. Due out in November, the Chuhuac will get some heavy firepower - RAP27 Vasseth Strike Tank.

The model will be sold for 6.00 GBP and will come with all the weapon options shown, allowing you to make any of the other variants.

I've included a picture of the cast model (resin body with metal bits) along with pics of the original print next to the Sirrus APC and the original render.

Yan'drassi Released

It is with great excitement that I am happy to announce the release of our Yan'drassi miniatures. 

This range was created through a successful Kickstarter project that not only achieved its goal but managed to squeeze out a couple of extras along the way, and if that wasn't cool enough, it shipped really quick. While most of the credit for making this happen goes to the backers on Kickstarter, I have to give equal credit to the sculptor, Sean Bullough, and Gavin Syme and crew at 15mm.co.uk for their  excellent artistic and technical work - both fast and proficient.

So who are these awesome aliens?

The Yan'drassi are collective of worlds all governed by the enigmatic and seldom (if ever) seen Yan. Each client race does its part to support the greater good of the Yan'drassi. Some do this through industrial, economic, or agricultural means while others have nothing but their own citizens to offer. These worlds with nothing of great value other then their people are those that make up the fighting arm of the Yan'drassi. The most commonly encountered species within the military orders are the Neeks, Tavshar, and Horgosi.

Neeks

Neeks are a diminutive planet-bound species of humanoids who were saved from catastrophic overpopulation by the Yan'drassi. They send countless numbers of their people into the stars to fight for the Yan'drassi. Being very simple creatures, they are the lowest rung of the military order providing ample cannon fodder. 

Tavshar

Tavshar are a warrior race who, while possessed of interstellar travel and their own collection of conquered worlds, recognized a greater opportunity for proving themselves in combat by joining the Yan'drassi military order. They are artful, martial, and precise providing the military orders with a core of elite soldiers and leaders for less capable troops like the Neeks.

Horgosi

Horgosi hail from a rugged world where they exist in a pre-stellar herd culture. Horgosi males prove themselves through duels and physical feats. Joining the Yan'drassi military order saved them from being used as labor and provided them with new ways to prove themselves. They are mostly used as assault troops.

Leaders

The Yan'drassi mlitary order also includes several sorts of leaders. Often these are just senior Tavshar weilding plasma staffs that function both as ranged weapons and energized melee weapons. They also work to give a nice zap to unruly Neeks. Horgosi will not be led by regular Tavshar leaders and usually follow their own. The exception to this would be the Tavshar Primes which are elite veterans of considerable skill, power, and repute. The Horgosi also have their own Primes.

 

 

Support

The Yan'drassi military order has many weapons at its disposal for the support of its troops. This release reveal two of these in the form of the Tavshar Gun Skimmer and the Horgosi Berserker. The gun skimmer allows a single Tavshar to fly about the battlefield bringing the firepower of two plasma guns and a pair of splinter guns to the enemy. Operated in squadron, they are lethal light air support. If needed, their riders can dismount to fight in close combat with plasma pistols.

The Berserker is a dishonored Horgosi made pariah to his people by murdering an opponent in a duel. While brutal to other forms of life, the Horgoi respect their own kind and nowhere else is this displayed more than in their duels for honor and supremacy. Those Horgosi who break this sacred taboo have their horn removed as a show of disgrace and live a marginalized existence on the fringes of their society. The Yan'drassi have turned these outcasts into weapons.

Giving them powered harnesses and with integral force field generators, kinetic force gauntlets and built-in splinter guns, they are charges at the enemy, rending anything unfortunate to get in their way to scraps. If killed, the  Berserker's harness overloads and detonates in a powerful ball of plasma energy.

All of these figures are available as separate packs and in unit packs at our store on the 15mm.co.uk webiste. For more information on the packs and offers go - HERE

Reports Filter in of Ikwen Landing

We're hearing tale of folks in the UK and Europe as well as America getting their Ikwen in. Exciting news as the first wave of rebels report to the front.


FIGHT ON BRAVE IKWEN! Make your ancestors proud!

The Ikwen Uprising is Upon Us

Ikwen Coming March 4th, 2015

Over a generation ago, the planet Kwiell was set upon by aliens bent on exploiting the natural resources of the planet. The planet's native population, the Ikwen, found themselves suddenly enslaved and their society rocked as they were enslaved, put to work and in many cases hunted and killed. The Ikwen have spent decades in frustrated servitude to these invading overlords, hedging on their beliefs and their close-knit kinship ties to get them through. It was only when the invaders sought to remove their spiritual identities that they found the courage to rise up and go to war.

The conflict began as acts of sabotage, ambushes and in some cases organized resistance but as time went on it grew into a very real, very active militia war. Weapons were procured through theft or the trade of the very resources they had been robbed of. Groups of soldiers took to the wilderness, the highlands and steppes where they enlisted the locals there into their fight. Ancient desert fortresses and settlements were once more turned into homes for fighters and their families. Ancient warrior traditions and less-spoken of factions found a renewed place in the world.

The Ikwen are one side of an asymmetric war against a higher tech, invading enemy. They fight in a less organized, militia style, utilizing acquired weapons, not of their of own manufacture.

While we see them as very much freedom-fighting indigenous life forms, use them as alien invaders, allies, mercenaries or even lower tech indigenous forces for more organized warfare.

On 4th March 2015 we will be releasing the next packs in the Loud Ninja Games range at 15mm.co.uk . These will be the Ikwen as described in the words of their imagineer Eli Arndt. Sculpted by Roderick Campbell there will be three packs and a platoon pack with saving.

Here are pictures of the codes for you to look at:

RAP016 Ikwen Militia with Assault Rifles (6 in pack)

RAP018 Ikwen Militia with Light Machine Gun (6 in pack – 3 poses)

RAP017 Ikwen Militia with Rocket Launchers (6 in pack – 3 poses)

RAP016P Ikwen Militia Platoon (24) with saving!

We will be putting up more information real soon in a background posting before the release. These are lovely 15mm sci-fi miniatures with an original idea behind them and we love them.

We hope you do too.

-Eli and Gavin

Upcoming Releases and New Ranges

Hey all,

Guess what time it is?

It's time for Loud Ninja Games to get rolling
.
Due to release Monday, February 2, 2015, are RAP13, 14, and 15 will see the start of two new ranges Alien Encounters #1 (RAP13) and my wild and crazy Wasteland (RAP14 & 15).

RAP13 Alien Encounters #1

RAP14 Wasteland Mutants

RAP15 Super Mutants

Alien Encounters will be a sort of grab bag of science fiction one-offs and small encounter groups geared toward collecting and role-playing but certainly not outside the realm of use for more traditional wargaming.

The Wasteland range will be just about everything I can imagine to fill a blasted, mutated, violent future. Mutants, savages, renegade, monsters, even some heroes.

Look for these in the Loud Ninja Games store at 15mm.co.uk come Monday, February 2, 2015.

Loud Ninja Games at Salute 2014

Hey all you UK conventioneers!

We here at Loud Ninja Games are happy to announce that, while we will not be at the convention ourselves, our partners at 15mm.co.uk are going to be carrying us to Salute 2014 (http://www.salute.co.uk/salute/salute-2014/). Come see us at their stand, TF07.

So, if you haven't got your claws on any 15mm or 28mm Chuhuac, come on by and let Gavin Syme and his mates help you put some dinosaur goodness onto your sci-fi gaming tables.

Thanks,

-Eli

Space Raptors Spring on the Scene Soon!

We are happy to announce that the Chuhuac will soon be available for sale. It's been a long haul but that amazing time is upon us. Our partners at 15mm.co.uk will be opening the Loud Ninja Games page on their site, Monday March 10th 2014!

Here is a listing of the codes we will be putting up on Monday:

RAP001 Chuhuac Troopers (6)

RAP002 Chuhuac Leaders and Support Weapons (6)

RAP003 Chuhuac Command Section (4)

RAP004 Chuhuac Herdmaster (1)

RAP005 Chuhuac Spec Ops (6)

RAP006 Chuhuac Assault Troopers (6)

RAP007 Chuhuac Battlesuits (2)

RAP008 Sirrus APC (1)

RAP009 Chuhuac Grav Bikes (3)

RAP010 28mm Chuhuac Alphas (3)

RAP011 28mm Chuhuac Troopers (3)

There are also bigger packs that offer savings and ready made platoons and wings:

RAP007P Chuhuac Battlesuit Section (6)

RAP008P Sirrus APC Platoon (3)

RAP009P Chuhuac Grav Bike Wing (9)

RAP001P Chuhuac Platoon (28)

RAP004P Chulhuac Herd (75)

Wow! That's eleven codes and five unit pack offers right out the gate!

We're super excited to finally have made it to this point. Thanks to each and every one of the Kickstarter backers, friends, family and our partners at 15mm.co.uk for all the support and faith in Loud Ninja Games and the Chuhuac. This is just the beginning!

Sincerely,

Eli & The LNG Crew

They Didn't Eat The Mailman

51kg of Space Raptory Goodness

These hurtled across the pond. Sent on Monday, they are on my doorstep by Wednesday the same week. I haven't even opened them at the time of this update. I find myself gripped by a mix of excitement and apprehension.

As the "young people" like to say, "Stuff just got real" :)

More soon,

-Eli

Progress Report

A recent update from my pals over at 15mm.co.uk informs me that the production run for the Chuhuac "Space Raptors" Kickstarter is as approximately 70% of total production. Even cooler, some of the smaller production runs are completely done. This means it won't be long before I am buried in metal space raptors and going mad trying to get them out in the post.

Soon....very soon...

-Eli

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

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.

Final Master Fixes Shipped

In the long process of pre-production, I have finally finished the last of the work left for me to do myself.

This week, I finished the last of the fixes needed on the metal masters so that they can be shipped off to the casters in the UK and be put into production molds. We've still got the final mold arrangements and the final collation of the packs to sort out, but that's it. 

The next weeks following the caster's receipt of the masters will see the production run of the miniatures to satisfy the Kickstarter. Once this is finished, I will begin arrangements for regular retail sales of Loud Ninja Games' Chuhuac range.

At this time, the all-resin APC kits are being produced and I hope to have all 200 of them in the coming weeks.

Hopefully, it's smooth sailing from here.

-Eli

Video Shout Out!

Newest Chuhuac Greens

The last of the greens have been received from the sculptor. These include the battlesuits, the attack bikes and the 28mm versions of the basic squad. Also included is the newly sculpted aerial drone bioform. The new sculpt is more in line with my original concept of a small observation drone.

The battlesuits are multi-part models with the tail separate from the body and an assortment of back-mounted weapons and arms. The pictures below only show one arm and back weapon attached but you will be able to build them with two arms and various combinations of weapons. Their are two variations on the main body pose.

Missile Pod

Particle Accelerator Cannon

Heavy Repeating Plasma Gun

The new bioform sculpt is much smaller than the original and represents the sort of biotech enhanced organism the Chuhuac utilize as observation drones. This model replaces the original, larger model in the command packs with the original sculpt to be released later as a companion to the 28mm troopers.

Aerial Recon Bioform

The attack bikes are designed as a simple two-part kit. The bikes with riders' bodies will have separate heads available to glue to them. This will allow you some variation on the bike by positioning the head how you like.

Attack Bike

The 28mm Chuhuac are designed for players who like larger scale figures. The figures will represent a typical six-raptor squad including an Alpha Leader, three troopers, a SAW gunner, and a plasma gunner.

28mm Trooper

28mm Plasma Gunner

28mm Trooper

28mm Trooper

28mm Alpha