To clarify a few points and answer questions:

‘Valiant’ is Valiant Enterprises Ltd. of Madison WI, they are, as far as I know doing molds and casting for Testors.

Testors did eventually do a demo with the 1/48 figures I made but it was the year after I had to rush to get them done. That first invoice by the way was paid in 30 days.

A headache yes but only in degree, that is to say I went in expecting it to be difficult. With the exception of most of the work I did for Hasbro who had a sculptor in charge of the design department (imagine that!) with enough clout and moral fortitude to go to bat against and so limit executive silliness, work for large companies with tiers of organization is always a problem.

I am out of pocket, so to speak, for a rather substantial amount of work, partly because I was trying to get the project going and took it on myself to make studies and samples which may turn out to have been a waste of time. I’m not upset about it just a bit disappointed. The only part that bothers me is to read of all the dissatisfaction people have had with the ‘Ruby Ford’ because of it being sold as a finished piece rather than a model kit.

The French and Indian war figures will be $5 each but the supply will be very irregular as I’m just going to throw them in master molds to fill up space so they’ll be available in fits and starts 20-30 at a time.

Here’s a picture of the half finished Ser Loras in 1/32 (54mm), the famous forget-me-not cloak is not complete and so not pictured and also one of the non-combatant Night Watch guys in 1/48 (35mm), he’s not meant to be any particular character.

This entry was posted by Tom Meier on Wednesday, January 10. 2007 at 10:59. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own blog.

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  1. Rob W. says:
    #1 2007-01-10 16:13 (Reply)

    Tom,

    The fur texture on the coat is nice, and the armor as well - very detailed. I really liked the bird (falcon ?) as well. Something like a falcon might be a nice extra for an elf noble lady or male on an extra sprue like the commoners have. Actually, the male commoner is probably in the right pose to hold a falcon in his outstretched hand (no glove, I know...).

    Great work as always, sorry to hear about your disapointment.

    Rob

  2. Timothy Holly says:
    #2 2007-01-11 01:08 (Reply)

    I have stayed up painting many hours listening to the game of Thrones unabridged audio.

    Lately been painting my new Wood Elves, listening to GRRM audio books & drinking french press :-) perfect combo.

    It is fortunate for all us that G.R.R Martin & the best sculptor in America Tom Meier are working on such a unique and superior product.

    These models will idealize the look and character for generations to come. Trademarked, cant see it getting any better than these beautiful greens.

    Lets not forget the John Snow sneek peek. Nice.....

    Wanted to paint the Ruby Ford but, was concerned to see the it was described as a finished product.

    I still would like to buy one.

    Do you know what type of finish it has, and if the details would not be obscured by the exsisting layers? If I could prime over without trying solvents that would be perfect.

    Many thanks for putting my pics up in the gallery.

    Tim Holly

  3. Richard Ansell says:
    #3 2007-01-11 04:10 (Reply)

    I hope you give us some warning in the newsletter when you cast up any FI Wars figures as I don't want to miss them ;-)

  4. Tom says:
    #4 2007-01-11 06:32 (Reply)

    I made RTV molds of the three FIW figures but I'm having problems with my metal, it's coming out with a 'frosted' surface. It's not a loss of detail, in fact for production figures it would be a better surface as it would grip the paint better but for master castings it's not good enough. I'll definitely announce in the newsletter when I've got some. It will be the next time I make a regular vulcanized master mold, probably a couple weeks.

  5. Elio M. García, Jr. says:
    #5 2007-01-11 11:07 (Reply)

    Thanks so much for these last two posts, Tom. It helps illuminate a lot that was quite mysterious to the fans who have been eagerly awaiting the miniatures. The images, too, are very welcome! The detail on Loras Tyrell's breastplate is just stunning.

    Timothy,

    I believe you can buy the Ruby Ford figures as a kit rather than completed. See here. You might try calling their customer service to confirm that before ordering, however.

    I'd really love to see the result after someone builds and paints it.

  6. Wendy says:
    #6 2007-01-11 13:54 (Reply)

    I do hope you hold onto those master mold rejects, unless you can recycle the metal... Some of us wouldn't mind buying them, since supplies of them may be a bit scarce. :-)

  7. Dennis Chang says:
    #7 2007-01-11 19:21 (Reply)

    My understanding is that people are more disappointed with the fact that the Ruby Ford in completed form appears unable to make it to its destination without breaking because Testors is incapable of designing a method to ship it safely.

    That and the fact that it's been 8-9 months for some people who have paid in advance to get their product unbroken. The unanswered phone calls and emails and general poor professionalism of Testors also doesn't help.

    This is an unfortunate example of a great piece of work (in this case your own) being undermined by atrocious distribution and customer service.

    I'm not sure if ANY complaints or disappointment has anything to do with the fact that it comes as a prepaint vs a kit. I had thought it came as both?

    Dennis

  8. Tom says:
    #7.1 2007-01-12 08:28 (Reply)

    It breaks because it was not designed to be stuck together and shipped, I'll make a blog entry on the reasons when I have some time.

  9. emrys says:
    #8 2007-01-13 10:30 (Reply)

    I like tne night watch figure very much...

    I hope this line will finally come into production !!!


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