Link: Campaign on Kickstarter
Link: Mierce Miniatures
Unofficial - Independent - Non-Commercial
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Mierce Miniatures - Darklands Kickstarter
Mierce Miniatures announced started a Kickstarter campaign to fund their new game Darklands:
Link: Campaign on Kickstarter
Link: Mierce Miniatures
Link: Campaign on Kickstarter
Link: Mierce Miniatures
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Mmmm, not really sure what to think about this one. Though certainly a fine model line with tons of gaming potential, there's also the link and issues related to their connection to Maelstrom Games.
ReplyDeleteThe post below sums up the issues quite well:
http://sining83.blogspot.nl/2013/01/mierce-miniatures-kickstarter.html
Things may all turn out to be legit, but it also pays off to be an informed wargamer!
Yes, I was kinda torn if I should post it or not, but I see it as a chance for Mierce to prove that they are running a proper business.
ReplyDeleteBut both the prices of the deals and the history of the company keep me from doing more than have an eye on how things will go.
Same here to be honest, there's enough talent in the company to make this a great success. I have a few of the older minis in my collection and both the design and casting quality are fantastic. There's also just as much potential in this Kickstarter for customer scamming and disappointment as well, which will affect future Kickstarters by small businesses.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tough call really, the Kickstarter funding might just be what the company needs to find a way to truly stand on its own. At the same time Rob Lane is still in the company as director, which in my opinion should count as a considerable warning light. Under different circumstances I'd be very tempted to pick up a group of these minis just for the hell of it.
Stuff happens in business, things can get nasty and the truth is usually grey rather than black-and-white, but in the end the Maelstrom Games business venture managed to rack up 400k debt while screwing over hundreds of unwitting customers. As such the claim on the Kickstarter page is a blatant lie:
"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, existing from March 2012, and purchased the BaneLegions range entirely legally from Maelstrom Games in May of 2012 (rebranding 90% of it as Darklands) - long before Maelstrom Games' troubles began. We are unaffected by any issues regarding Maelstrom Games whatsoever and this Kickstarter project will be fulfilled - as long as we reach our target, of course!"
As the best we've been able to find out indicates that the guy in charge of the previous sinking ship now (partially?) owns Mierce Miniatures. So different legal entity or not, the same 'leadership' that deemed it acceptable to scam customers (potentially even to raise the funds to save the BaneLegion franchise) is still around.
Messy business whichever way this may turn out!
Additionally Mierce Miniatures, though having been in business separately for months now and claiming to be financially healthy, still doesn't offer payment through Paypal. Paypal at least offers a basic protection compared to the Electron and Debit cards that MM does accept.
ReplyDeleteI'll just have to wait and see how this turns out and how the MM folks actually respond to the rather lengthy list of legitimate questions floating around on the Kickstarter discussion page! Lets hope this gets sorted out and we can all enjoy some awesome minis like this:
http://www.mierce-miniatures.com/store_mierceminiatures/images_product/mrm_dkl_fmr_blr_mbs_852_000_01_large.png
Actually I am more concerned about their timeline - delivering until end of April means they have pretty much 3 months to get everything produced, packed and sent.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if they run this campaign without any major issues I will accept Mierce Miniatures as an independent entity with a clean record, if not they will be done for good for the vast majority of the community.
I'm interested in seeing where this goes, but even more interested in learning about what really happened to Maelstrom. Facts, not conjecture, not spin by parties on either side. I was a customer of Maelstrom and was fortunate enough to not lose any money. The fact that Mierce Miniatures is a "completely separate legal entity" does not make me trust them any more, especially since the same guy is in charge of it and it has the same operating address (it's public record somewhere Hephesto's blog has a couple links).
ReplyDelete