The Eye of the Cyclops is a system agnostic RPG sourcebook for tabletop games, and these miniatures are for use with it - as well as an assortment of other figures from the game setting, a Lost World called Azor.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
A Youtube video of the Shrine! Also, Rose City Comic Con in Portland this weekend!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Sep 04, 2018 at 05:41:59 PM
Hey everybody!
Things are still progressing here - most of the resin casting is complete, the cultists are being sculpted, I'm plugging away at the writing. Things are going well!
I'm trying something new - I've posted a video to YouTube, so you can get a good look at the Shrine of the Cyclops! In the video, I take a few minutes with an Exacto Knife to clean up some of the artefacts left by the mold-making process. It's a quick and easy process.
... I think the music might be a bit too loud in some points, but, it's my first YouTube video, so I'm not going to stress over it too much.
If anyone has any requests of what they'd like to see next, let me know! I plan to do short videos showing off all of the Eye of the Cyclops miniatures in the near future, maybe a few painting videos, after that, I suppose I'll find out what people want to see (assuming that they want to see any more stuff at all!).
And now, in the 'shameless self-promotion' department --
Besides Forge of Ice, my other main project is writing a webcomic called 'The Clockwork Queen of Oz'. My collaborator (Brianna Reagan) and I have been working on it for a few years now, and we've finally got the second chapter of the comic in print.
The printer's proof of Chapter 2!
You can read the whole comic for free at www.theclockworkqueen.com - a little girl named Amelia is in a terrible shipwreck, and she washes ashore in a strange and dangerous land called Oz.
I have booth CC-05 in the Artist's Alley at the Rose City Comic Con in Portland this coming weekend (Sept 7-9th).
This may be relevant to backers of this Kickstarter because I will be bringing a few miniatures along. I'm at the con as a writer, so by convention rules I'm very limited in the non-paper products that I can bring, but, if you happen to be in the Portland area and are going to the convention, feel free to stop in and check out the painted figures (I'll have them behind the table) or talk Cyclops stuff with me!
Old School gamers will likely be familiar with Metamorphosis Alpha.
Last fall I had a short story published in the second Metamorphosis Alpha compilation - I'll have hard copies of that at the booth, too. Metamorphosis Alpha was THE original Sci-Fi RPG setting, a spiritual precursor to Gamma World, and it was a real treat to have one of my stories included in the book.
If you want to read it in e-book format, here's the Amazon link - it's currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
I'll post another update after I get back from Portland!
Cheers!
-Alex in Alaska
Do you want to make a late pledge? Send me an email or message!
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Aug 21, 2018 at 02:25:47 PM
Just a little note here to address a question I've gotten a couple of times regarding late pledges. If you missed the Kickstarter and would like to pledge to it now to take advantage of the freebies and Kickstarter prices (several of the KS items will be more expensive after the campaign ends), I can still take your pledges.
Just email (or message) me and we'll set it up. Please contact me sooner rather than later - I would prefer to have late pledges managed as early as possible.
I'm happy to take late pledges up until the time I launch the Backerkit page.
Speaking of Backerkit, everything is still on track - sculpts are being worked on, the text of the booklet is coming along nicely, illustrations are being finished. I don't have much to show off, but, things are moving!
I've also asked Dave Cauley to sculpt a couple of little extra bits like this cult weapons and armor pile - it's not quite finished, but once it's done I'll add it to the add-ons page in Backerkit.
Cult gear stash by Dave Cauley, nearly finished.
I'm still not sure exactly what date I'll be launching the Backerkit page - I'm going to wait until all the sculpts are finished (we're waiting on the stretch goal minis at this point - the two bow-armed cult guards, the two spear-armed cult guards, and the treasure pile), so I can have photos of the finished models in the checkout page. At the moment I'm thinking it'll likely be early or mid-september, allowing me to have the casting done by the end of September or early October, then I can have everything shipped out before the end of October.
I think we're on track; I will continue to post updates as things progress.
I realize that posting about late pledges to people who've already pledged may not be necessary, but, I've had a couple of inquiries, so, I thought it couldn't hurt to make a public post on the topic.
Cheers!
-Alex in Alaska
Monolith Conan Board Game figure compatibility.
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Aug 10, 2018 at 04:12:15 PM
Awhile back Monolith Edition ran a Kickstarter for a Conan Boardgame.
As you may have intuited from the aesthetic of my range of miniatures, I'm a fan of the works of Robert E Howard.
I bought myself a copy of that Monolith Conan game, and it looks pretty cool!
I can't speak to the rules, as sadly I've never played it, but, as far as miniatures go, my figures are perfectly compatible with the miniatures that come in that boxed set.
An assortment of Forge of Ice and Monolith Conan figures.
If you're familiar with the Conan figures, this photo should give you a good idea of how closely my minis match up with the human figures in that line, as well as the range of sizes of some of my non-human miniatures compared to theirs.
I hope this information is useful!
-Alex
Meet Jesse Switters, Illustrator! Also, Man-Apes & a big box of resin!
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Aug 08, 2018 at 09:21:00 PM
I've had a busy couple of weeks!
I had to leave Alaska suddenly for a family medical issue in Minnesota. Everything is fine, the recovery went better than expected, they just ended up needing a little assistance for a few days. I even managed to get some writing done - I don't think the trip will impact the timeline of this project at all.
The upside of visiting Minnesota (besides some impromptu family reunion BBQ-ing), is that I was able to get an evening free to meet up with Jesse Switters in person for the very first time!
The pizza was good, too!
Jesse is a young artist who has been doing concept art for me for a few years now - it was great to be able to sit down with him and talk about projects and ideas face to face.
Guard Captain concept art by Jesse Switters
The result of our meeting is that he's going to do five additional small illustrations for the game booklet. I really want this book to be as visually appealing as possible, and while I won't quite be able to put art on every page, I do think that this will improve the final product.
While we were eating, he sketched out this little concept idea of characters exploring the underground leading to the hidden temple of the Cyclops Cult.
One of the illustrations that Jesse has already finished for the booklet - Gob Daw sitting amongst a pile of sacrificial skulls.
So, that was a productive and fun meeting.
When I got home, I had some mail waiting for me - first up, Rob Wheeler of Pennyfew Painting had sent me some painted Man-Ape models!
Sculpted by Matt Gubser, painted by Pennyfew Painting
These are the second and third Man-Ape models I've had made - Matt Gubser sculpted one for me a few years ago, and I liked it so much that he sculpted two more!
Because they're leaning so far forward they're a little difficult to photograph, but Andrew Taylor's paintjob really brings this dynamic sculpt to life.
There are three different Man-Ape bodies, three different heads, and three different right arms (pointing, clenched fist, and holding a banded club). All interchangeable (although some require a little modelling skill to assemble). They wield a brutal Executioner's Sword - a weapon suited to a being with great strength but not much formal training (patterned after the historical Lobala Sword or Lobala Axe).
These are large metal models, the tallest one about 44mm to the top of his head.
An assortment of non-human Azoran models, for size comparison.
Ape-Men are a species of proto-humans that inhabit Azor. Burly, hairy, similar to homo erectus. Man-Apes are mules, the rare offspring resulting from a coupling between an Ape-Man and a human. Such pairings do occur from time to time, but children resulting from them are vanishingly rare. Always sterile, the Man-Apes never stop growing, some quirk of genetics causing them to grow bigger and stronger than either of their parents - and with a human’s intellect, too. They rarely live past 30, their hearts eventually giving out, but in their prime they are prized as mercenaries, soldiers, and bodyguards. Despite their awkward position in Azoran society, they can rise to high rank due to their sought-after abilities.
... yeah, I thought about how having both "Ape-Men" and "Man-Apes" in the setting might be a little confusing, but, I figure if thousands of Warhammer players can keep the difference between Orcs and Orks straight, then I can have both "Ape-Men" and "Man-Apes" in my setting!
There's no specific use for a Man-Ape in the Eye of the Cyclops booklet, they're just another denizen of Azor that I'm adding as a purchasable add-on in Backerkit. And, of course, if you want to add some additional punch to the Cult, one would make for a mighty ally or hireling - individually, they're stronger than a Cyclops, although they don't command the same supernatural dread that a Cyclops does.
And, lastly - I had a great big box waiting for me from Valiant Enterprises, the casters who are working on the resin pieces for the campaign.
I took a chance and had them start resin casting before the campaign began, so they had already made a fair bit of progress on the casting by the time the campaign ended.
This is the first shipment of several that Valiant will be sending me, and within the next few updates I'll post some pictures & probably a video of the pieces and how to prep them.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, I'm happy to discuss things or answer questions in the comments.
Cheers!
-Alex in Alaska
Atali-Pharos, bodyguard!
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Jul 28, 2018 at 04:12:27 PM
I'd like to introduce you to Atali-Pharos, Kandar Itaa's bodyguard.
Miniature sculpted by Patrick Keith
Tall, good-humored, skeptical, and utterly callous, Atali-Pharos wields her heavy double-handed labrys axe with ruthless efficiency, quickly dispatching any threat to the cult's leader.
This miniature is an unexpected addition to the campaign, but when I was presented with the opportunity to add one more Patrick Keith sculpt to the set, I couldn't resist. She should be useful as a champion or alternate captain model, too.
Once Backerkit is launched, she will be available as a purchasable add-on for $7 (her regular price will likely be $8).
(I'll also mention that I'm not 100% settled on the name "Atali-Pharos", so that might change by the time the book is printed.)
Regarding the launch of Backerkit, I'm going to wait until the extra cultist sculpts are completed - David Soderquist is working on those now, I'll post updates as things progress.
I think that's about it for now - as always, if anyone has any questions, I'll attempt to answer them as soon as possible.
