It has been a long time since community member @deaddave first set out on his journey to create his own miniature. Now, four years after he first set out, the miniature is finally finished and making its way to Salute.

DeadDave's back to let us know about this final stage in Making Your Own Epic Miniature and the various trials and setbacks he faced getting here.

The Epic Conclusion!

Soooo...what has happened since April 2015?

Well, fast forward to April 2016 and due to unforeseen circumstances, a year passed where the sculptor was unable to get back on the miniature due to other work commitments. At that point, I started to look for another sculptor, and I found someone who would take on the task to finish the sculpt in-between his contracted work. Great...or so I thought. Skip forward to May 2017... still no sculpt, as the sculptor hadn't had a break in any of his contracted work to other miniatures companies.

Once again, I found myself searching for another sculptor. On the off chance, I messaged the original sculptor who said he was totally free and could start work immediately. By Spring 2018 the digital sculpt was finally finished, so one more step forward to getting my miniature in my hands!

Next step was to find a company that could print my digital sculpt. After thoroughly researching different companies I settled on a small business called Hysterical Games. They were extremely helpful and within a few weeks, I had the 3D master print and decided to get them to do my initial run of ten casts.

I was so over the moon with the way the casts had come out that I ordered another ninety casts. Unfortunately, the company ceased trading in the latter half of 2018, so I was only ever able to get another eighty casts. In total, I had ninety casts in my possession, and I decided that's all there ever will be as I am intending on keeping this a limited run.

I have to say, having your own miniature made isn't a walk in the park. I encountered years worth of delays, but it has been an eye opening experience into miniature production. I'm over the moon with the finished product, but would I do it again? Hell no, as the delays were extremely disheartening at times, plus the cost of getting my miniature made from initial concept to final product has been considerable.

It's now March 2019 and the eighty-nine casts are all packaged (I kept one for myself). I will be attending Salute this year for the first time as a trader and the miniature will be available on the Art Of War Shirts stand.

So if you want to purchase an extremely limited edition miniature that will NEVER be reproduced, come and see me.

@deaddave

What do you think of Dave's model? Do you like the idea of making a mini yourself?