Crunch Waffle Greens

[Frustrated Father]

Crunch Waffle Miniatures - new line of miniatures coming out. Some good, some bad, some down right awful IMO. Our very own Cindy has some furry critters in the line that look interesting.

http://crunch-waflle.sslpowered.com/greens%204%20show/index.htm

[EricJ]

I bet you can guess my favorite! That's right, Gael's Water sorceress. The photos of the casts of Cindy's critters don't do them justice, you really can't see what's going on in those photos

[Frustrated Father]

Show us some greens Cindy!

As for the rest of them, mixed bag for me really. Some of Gaels stuff I like. Cindy's look interesting and I think I would probably like them to. The other fellow though ... ::shiver::

[supervike]

Crunch Waffle? That seems a bit odd. Actually, I think all the sculpts are very solid. Can't say I get overly excited about most of them. I agree Cindy's little furry creatures are very cool though.

[vincegamer]

Yup, Gael's is my fave too, though I like the native american stuff.
Can't stand the Van Horn sculpt - wrecks a nice concept art.

[cdukino]

Here are some pictures of the greens. Not always their pretty side but I was in a hurry to send them off to the one who commisioned them. They are small critters (goblin sized)... the gw high elf archer is on the pic for size reference... the bottom row of critters and the elf are from the same picture... the top row was inserted later.

The concept of the figures (though I tweeked it a bit (also redid the poses quite a bit with the first 2 compared to the concept) for it was else impossible to make/cast) is not mine. The concept I got to work with is on the page as well. To bad the pose I liked the most was the single one that wasn't used (the scribbling in the sand one).


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/cdukino/Waggamephgroup.jpg

[Spacemunkie]

I like those Cindy!

The problem with much of the rest of the stuff is that it's so damn generic. It's stuff that has been done to death. Gael's sculpts are ok, and I kind of like the indians, but Tom Meier is making much nicer ones :)

http://www.thunderboltmountain.com/images/french_indian/Iroquois1.jpg

I don't see the point unless the sculpts are either stunning or bring something new to what's already available.

The Bobby Jackson sculpts are arse too :argh:

[Jubilee]

I'm definately picking up Cindy's furry guys next week at Gencon, and anything else that looks interesting in person (I'm pretty keen on the water sorceress myself..).

Even though Tom's native's are awesome, it'll be years before they see production in any numbers, and Gael's are nice enough to fit with 'em, I'd wager.. :) (Personally, I have no use for quasi-historical natives).

There's a couple that I don't like (Beatrice, for example), but most of it is interesting. That zebracentaur intrigues me especially :)

/ali

[artshiraz]

Curious, because Beatrice is one of the minis I'd like to paint. She and Kestensia and the waggameaphs :goodbad:

[EricJ]

I really like how those greens turned out cindy :)

As for the water sorceress...looking at it, I'm actually a little less impressed with the face :(

[Celtic Lilly]

I'm sorry, I just don't like ANY of them except for the little creature things Mrs. Cindy did. Those are just CUTE!

[cdukino]

I'm sorry, I just don't like ANY of them except for the little creature things Mrs. Cindy did. Those are just CUTE!

Now you are just saying that because I'm on this forum (please please don't tell me if you did... lie ;) )I love compliments... just not good at taking them and responding to them)

[Frustrated Father]

To be honest, they are the only things that interest me as well I have to admit - the rest of them really just don't do it for me, even the Gael sculpts. The furry little creatures are unique though, thus the reason why they capture my attention.

[Spacemunkie]

Yeah, they are cool. Very Froudian.

Which is a very good thing :)

[Brimshack]

Man, it's a tough room here. Well heck, I've been meaning to come say hi one way or the other. I am glad you guys like Cindy's minis. She definitely deserves the praise you've all given her. Thanks for taking the time to look us over.

Dan Wall
Crunch-Waffle Enterprises, Inc.

[Frustrated Father]

Welcome to the Wyrd Dan.

Heh, yeah, can be a tough room at times, but I think you will do quite well with the lineup that you have, there are some solid pieces, just for me, I think the only thing that really catches my attention are the critters as they are very much unique. I'll give some critique though on the others in hopes that it doesn't sound like we're tossin' things to the wind here against the miniatures.

Orc with Double Bladed Axe: A solid miniature - except for the face/lips. For some reason he seems more like a lamprey on legs than an orc, but most likely it is just a different style of orc than I'm used to, thus the 'so-so' on it.

Evil Mage with Quarterstaff: Like it quite a bit, but I think the base shouldn't have had a skull tossed on it just for the sake of being 'evil'. I think this would go a bit further if it was more along the lines of 'mage' vs. 'evil mage' as the paint job can really determine his persuasion.

Crossbowman Firing from Roof: This one seems just a bit unfinished for me. It's smooth and well done, just seems like it needs just a bit more to make it really interesting. Perhaps maybe if the gargoyle piece was done in a very angular artistic look vs. going for an old time gothic. That's just my personal preference, but I do like the idea of a story being 'sculpted' into the miniature. I can see some interesting things for this one in the right hands.

Elven Water Wizard: I REALLY like this concept, but I think perhaps it needs a bit more dynamic to it. She looks very stiff to me but seems like she needs some clothing sort of flowing away from her to give her a sense of movement. I think this is likely going to be one of your best sellers, whether people love the little Cindy Critters or not. This one has a lot of potential and I personally plan on getting one, but I might just send it to a friend to add a bit of GS'ing to to give it a bit more of a look that I'm looking for. Nice start, just falls a bit short for me.

Female Zebra Centaur: I just can't get into this one. I understand the whole african look, and appreciate it with how you've done the rings around the neck, but, well, I just don't care for it. Solid though, and those folks into Centuars are going to go gah-gah over this.

Indians: Really rather good. Just I'm not interested in Indians in the slightest thus my 'meh' approach earlier. I think these are going to be well accepted too and I like the action on the second one.

Nubian Wrestler: Surprised that is Gaels to tell the truth, falls very, very short for me. Again ... 'meh.

Hawaian Dude: Man, I'm starting to look like a racist - I don't like this one either, but that's just personal preference.

Oriental Fellow: Okay, so I redeem myself somewhat here - this one is rather well done, but again, not my style. I can see some folks doing some fantastic things with these though if the right freehand or transfers are applied.

Female Torturer: Whoooboooy ... I can't be nice about this one Dan. The concept artwork was great, and I think personally it should have been given to Gael to work on vs. Van Horne. Simply put, I think he butchered the concept and I care not for this one one bit.

Wagawhatevertheyare: These are just plain NEAT. Its completely different from anything else and they are rather cute I have to say. These are going to appeal to the softer side of people and for those that like the cute and cuddlies. Would have loved to see the one drawing in the dirt myself, even if it was a multi-piece miniature as that has just so much fun to it.

So, there, hopefully that is a bit better for you in the critque department so that it doesn't seem we're quite as harsh on you.

:D

I don't see where I can buy these online, so, any chance I can get something direct Dan or would one of you folks that are going to GenCon this weekend care to pick me up some? Allison - you're going right? I'm interested in the Water Wizard and the little Furry Thing-a-ma-jigs! Water Wizard is getting some GS before paint though.

-
Nathan

[Ritual]

I think there's some pretty nice stuff there. I'm a big fan of Gael's sculpts and I like the evil mage, the water mage, the indian and of course Cindy's little furballs! :D I mean, how could you not? They're small, they're furry... they're CUTE!

[Klute]

I will join the ranks of the furry critter fans too.
Nice work Cindy. I find these very original. Details are sharp and they are small and cute.
Im pretty much so so on the rest though which is pretty much the consensus around here.
Some are just plain ugly to me and some are nicely done but uninspiring.
I will definitely be getting the furry critters (tm).

@Brimshank
What really puts me off I think is the amount of figures with lack of quality, whether its sculpt or concept. All seeming to be from different ranges.
I think something more cohesive would be more attractive ( to me anyway ).

BTW
Best of luck.

[Brimshack]

Fair enough, I'm not going to argue the strengths and weaknesses of any of the specific minis. What you do or don't like is your business, and I'm not going to change any minds by arguing the matter. The overall approach of the line and the concepts themselves are my doing, and I don't mind putting together a bit of an explanation.

The idea here has been to try and stretch the bounds of fantasy gaming beyond the normal range of Euopean and Asian influences. I wanted to do that, not for high reasons, but because I honestly think there are some perfectly gameable concepts in these cultures. We're putting together an rpg supplement that covers some of the alternative cultural material prepresented here, and back in May I made a conscious choice to produce the mini line ahead of the supplement. My hope is between the supplements and the minis to eventually expand the range of rpg materials to cover things like Suicide Warriors, Contraries, Herbal Healers, Maori Warriors, etc. I am not trying to produce a cohesive set of minis that fit into the same setting, so much as trying to flesh out the possibilities that I haven't seen explored much in other lines. There are some things in this line that are not available in any others, at least not to my knowledge, but whether or not anyone will find the concepts interesting depends on the individual I suppose.

Some of the current line is probably a little too hard to work into a standard D&D campaign. Still others like the Herbal Healer could easily play a role in a standard D&D campaign, as could the Nuban Wrestler. The Hawaiian Warrior and the Maori warrior could easily walk off the boat in any seascape, with or without special rules to make them unique. Some of these can be used in specialized campaign settings such as Nyambe or Northern Crown, and some can be added to skirmish games (old west settings, for example). In due time there will be specific game rule options for each of them.

I think the notion of a guy fighting with his foot tethered to the ground is absolutely fascinating, not the least of reasons being that people actually used to do this. Others may be interested, but the concept has potential. The mini is just the beginning of an attempt to explore that.

[cdukino]

I think that the critters are origional too. But that is not my doing but Dan's as he was the one who proposed those concepts to me (and managed to rather easily persuade me into sculpting them even IF I had that very same day decided to do a sculpting commision stop)

As of the other figures:
Not all figures catch my eye equally, some don't at all but that's most of the time personal preference, not so much critisism on the figure itself.
I really like the evil mage, looks like fun to paint up. I love mages. The female watermage looks like fun to. The pose might be a little stiff for riding a wave but I would have taken off the waterbase and done something else with her most likely so that wouldn't have been a problem due to that.. All in all due to simplicity looks like a figure I would really enjoy painting.
I am a centaur lover and the zebracentaur is no exception. I haven't found one like this anywhere yet so I think this is origional. I particularly love the fact there is not a ton of coverup stuff between transision of the body of the woman and the zebra. Again definatly a fig I would like to paint.
I like indians and africans so there are some figures there that catch my eye too. Mainly the Southern Plains indian.
As for Female Torturer with Utility Belt ... I have to agree with the others it didn't turn out as what it could have. For me it's mainly the pose and the face. I think it would have been stronger is she had been standing upright, superior looking than slumped. She needs her air of arogance and hight to impress her victims... she's a torturer afterall. It's all about fear and being imposing.

So all in all I don't think it's a bad range of figures at all. It is a touch crowd nowadays for frankly... we get spoiled to death with all the figures we can get. So there is a ton of competition and people are gonna compair. You have to bring in something eyecatching and new to get real attention. I don't think this range is generic in subectmatter. Some a bit more than others. But that's like it with most new minicomapnies.

[Klute]

I like the idea of rule supplements to go with the figures. I think that will be popular and help sales.

[Frustrated Father]

http://crunch-waflle.sslpowered.com/greens%20batch%202/images/01%20diremole.jpg


http://crunch-waflle.sslpowered.com/greens%20batch%202/images/05%20healer.jpg

http://crunch-waflle.sslpowered.com/greens%20batch%202/images/09%20maori.jpg

Star Mole: I actually like this, minus the thing around its nose. Probably is something like this running around the world (not an animal lover) but I think I would have liked it without the nose adornments. Will make for an interesting figure in a scene.

Herbal Healer: Not my thing, again, but not a bad miniature. I think maybe the neck is a tad too skinny, but there are people like that, so no real worries.

Maori Warrior: Now if the muscles that were in the concept art had followed onto the miniature itself, I think this one would have been a bit better off. Love the tongue sticking out of his head though - haven't figured out why those Maori warriors did that, but it certainly got ones attention!

:D

[green stuff]

Star Mole: I actually like this, minus the thing around its nose.
How in the world are they going to cast that thing? It's a funny mini, but not the easiest thing to cast IMHO.

[Spacemunkie]

No, no and no.

[Klute]

Just for Nathan

http://www.berkshireschool.org/mountain/wildlife/images/star-nosedmole.jpg

[Brimshack]

Ugly little creature isn't it. Hadda be made into a monster. The nose is a separate piece. Hopefully, the rest should fit okay into a mole ...mold.

[green stuff]

@Brimshack : thanks for the answer :). I figured something must be seperate, but wasn't sure with the pic.

[Celtic Lilly]

OMG, that has to be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. I think I would have pee'd my pants if I had run into something like that in a garden.

EeeeEEeeK!

[Brimshack]

But wait till you see him from his good side:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/dknywbg/mole.jpg

[EricJ]

I don't think you need to worry too much about comments from our peanut gallery, I've seen a lot of Rackham, etc...get harsher critism than this here :)

[Brimshack]

Thanks EricJ,

I actually appreciate the feedback, even if I do find myself gritting my teeth a bit. Better to know what people think than wonder about the possibilities...

[Frustrated Father]

God that is ugly - the real thing that is.

No worries Dan, I am the same way, believe me, but at the same time, honesty is valued here so I think I would rather know if something is going to take off or flop due to a particular sculptor or direction that is being taken so that it could be directed a bit better.

Don't mean that to sound as a talk down, believe me, I've been going through it myself lately as well and I think I need caps on my teeth now.

:D

[EricJ]

yeah, people will give you their honest opinion here it seems, however, the real trick is to get one of these damn fine painters to do up a studio job for ya, and then you've got something!

:)

[cdukino]

yeah, people will give you their honest opinion here it seems, however, the real trick is to get one of these damn fine painters to do up a studio job for ya, and then you've got something!

:)

Sneeky and whistling shoves an Esther cast over to Erics desk... keeps on whistling and looking all innocent ;) :bump:

[Brimshack]

That would indeed be a coup, Eric. Got anyone in particular in mind?

:)


(Careful Cindy, it's a sure bet I can outrun and catch anyone wearing wooden shoes. ...cheeky, isn't she?)

[cdukino]

Hi, for those who wish to vote for the little critters... I placed the Waggamaephs on cmon in my gallery.

Greens on cmon (http://www.coolminiornot.com/105480)

[EricJ]

ok, I have to ask, where did the name come from!?

As for painting, at first I though I'd offer to paint cindy's, but then I remember how much I hate painting fur, and am not really that good at it even!!! :(

[Brimshack]

LOL, you are now officially a paint-tease.

Crunch-Waffle was the name of the Waggamaeph I was playing under my own house rules when I decided to create the company. He seemed like a plausible mascot.

[Patrick]

I saw the ad for these in Dragon before finding the thread here. I really like Cindy's critters and will likely be getting those and a couple of the Gael things.

I'm not really sure what happened with Gene's Beatrice. It seems to look so different from the concept art. Was that art directed or did he have interpretive leeway?

Anyway! Looking forward to seeing what other stuff is coming up.

[Jubilee]

I picked up some Waggamaephs, the water sorceress, and a couple of other releases that interested me last weekend. I'm looking forward to finishing unpacking & doing laundry so I can paint some of them! Once I fish them out of my bag and get a closer look at 'em, I'll report on the casting quality (although casual inspection revealed no casting flaws).

/ali

[Celtic Lilly]

How much were they going for if I may ask?

[Jubilee]

Uhm.. I think the single figures were 3.50, and with the waggamaephs & centaur at 4.00? Not certain exactly, and I'm not sure if I got a receipt. I'll check for one.

/ali

[Jubilee]

Well, I finally got a chance to take the crunch-waffle minis I picked up out of their packages and take a close look.

The casting is clean and the mold lines are small. I have two that are multipart - the water mage, whose staff w/ hand is a separate piece, and the zebra centaur, whose torso is a separate piece. Both fit together nicely and the centaur will need only very minor putty work to smooth out the transition between the human & zebra bits - although the glue to attach the pieces might be enough to fill in the line. The hand fits on the water sorceress well, after cleaning the mold line past the area on the body. :)

Overall they look very nice in person and will not take that much work to clean up.

/ali

[TheMasses]

@Jubilee – I’m glad you like the miniatures. We can’t wait to see your take on the minis. I’m sorry I didn’t get to speak to you longer at the show (I’m the fat one), I wanted to say congrats on winning the painting contest. :cheer2:
(I only got an honorable mention) :dontknow:


I wanted to let everyone know about the pricing, we were running a show special at the convention. The normal prices are $4.39 and $6.99 for the 3 pack of Waggamaephs and the Zebra Centaur. But you can check it out at the store if you would like. *hint hint*


Store (http://crunch-waflle.netfirms.com/store/nfoscomm/catalog/index.php)


BTW we have also posted a WIP page showing some work Jason Wiebe is doing for us. We are thinking of calling him the Old Magi of the Sea.


WIP (http://crunch-waffle.com/wip.htm)

Go check it out.

[Jubilee]

I caught a terrible cold last Saturday at the Con and still haven't quite gotten over it - so I haven't hardly painted anything since I got back =(. I want to paint the Waggamaephs as soon as I get some commission work done. :)

That was very nice work on the Sophie - especially the freehand! Honorable mention is still a worthy prize - you got a ribbon =) Did you also do the display models at the booth? Why aren't there pics of those on the website? They're nice!

/ali

[TheMasses]

Sorry to hear about the cold, I do hope you get well soon.

Actually getting honorable mention is much better than I thought I’d do. I painted the Water Wizard and the Waggas, the orc and zebra were painted by a friend of ours. As far as posting I have the pictures in the store but I am still figuring out how I want to do our gallery at the main site.

[Leopardpixie]

I have the centar, picked it up @ socal gencon.... The minis look good :) Love the native american one they are beautiful.