The Toy Soldier Factory is based in County Cork, Ireland. This blog has all the latest information on hobby events we attend in Ireland and the UK and latest news on the hobby. We manufacture rubber moulds that allow you to cast in metal all sorts of miniatures, including Chess Sets, Historical and Fantasy Wargaming figures in 25mm, 28mm, 40mm and 54mm scale.
With a history of growing up in Scandinavia and sharing the nordic tradition of casting in white metal, Lars Edman helps Dr Eva Orsmond cast little witches from Prince August moulds (Halloween Decorations) at the recent Bank of Ireland Enterprise Exhibition in Macroom, County Cork.
There are also other Halloween decorations available too, including a Spooky Ghost, Scary Black Cat and a Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin. Each mould can be reused hundreds of times and the figures have little loops to hang them from ribbons or chains if desired.
The Toy Soldier Factory is now the oldest factory in the area, allowing customers to cast their own Halloween figures when they visit (via seasonal workshops).
Mithril Miniatures has released two more long awaited Fellowship miniatures this week. The first one was 'Ohtar with the shards of Narsil' (MS626), the winning idea from August / September 2015. Ohtar was Isildur's squire, who carried the shards of Narsil, the broken sword that cut the One Ring off Sauron's finger, to the house of Elrond. Eventually the shards were reforged and renamed as Anduril and given to Aragorn to aid him in the War of the Ring.
The second figure was Gollum (MS631), who needs no introduction to any fan of Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit books. Here he is following the Fellowship as they leave Lorien by river, on small boats. He improvised and used an old log to float after them, forever keeping his huge eyes fixed on his ultimate goal, to reclaim the One Ring.
Both these figures are limited to only 100 and are primed with grey undercoat. These are 32mm scale metal figures sculpted by Chris Tubb. Originally they were to be made using the new 3D printing process but delays meant they were remade using the traditional methods instead.
Prince August has a wonderful new craft kit that is perfect for a gift to children 6 or over. Cast, with your Mum or Dad, little fairies and then give them a home in your home. Inspire a child's compassion and imagination as well as their artistic creativity this season. This kit contains a surprising large amount of contents, including casting equipment, 11 acrylic paint tubs, a primer tub, 2 different paint brushes, a Fairy mould that casts two different fairies, a wooden engraved detail fairy door and a pack of self adhesive decorations.
Adult supervision is required for casting with small children but that is part of the fun, getting some quality time with your kids. The metal used is pewter so it is safe to handle.
There are options to add more metal and fairy door packs too, to extend the fun to friends as well.
Mithril Miniatures has restored the long cherished tradition of manufacturing a special Christmas figure annually. 2015 did not have one, but 2016 does. The tradition also calls that the figure be a leader or king and this year it is the Dunlendings High-chief we honour.
Dunlendings were driven into the hills by the Rohirrim and this seeded deep animosity between the two peoples. During the War of the Ring, Saruman profited from that anger and used them to bolster his armies as well as have raiding parties harrass Rohan villages.
A high-chief to such hardy folk needs to be both strong in leadership and skill in battle. They would never tolerate a weak man in such a role.
Mithril Miniatures produced 100 of these 32mm scale metal figures. 25 are primed in Mithril's grey undercoat and 75 are antique finished, which involves dipping the metal figure into a mix of black gloss and thinner and allowing it to soak into all the details, then wipe off the surfaces, resulting in better contrast.
Prince August has previously released Prussian, Austrian, Hungarian Regiments in the Austrian army and finally Russian army moulds. Overdue but finally released, the French army is a welcome addition to this expanding 40mm scale range that focuses on the mid-eighteenth century international war that swept the known world.
These French moulds can cast fusiliers and grenadiers with and without turnbacks on their coats, as well as drummers, NCOs, standard bearers and officers.
As expected these moulds have interchangeable parts so there is more flexibility than first meets the eye.
As a bonus Prince August is offering all four moulds in a bundle with 10% discount on R.R.P.
The previous release (Russians) are also now available as an 100+ Army Pack deal, which includes 20 bars of metal so you can cast up to 100 soldiers for as little as 1.21 Euro (ex. tax) per soldier.
Pretty amazing value.
Mithril Miniatures is planning to produce a lot more miniatures in 2017. We had run into technical snags with the changeover to 3D printing that slowed us down in 2016, but we are overcoming these challenges one by one.
However we need room, so we ran a poll on 100 miniatures we currently still manufacture and asked which we should keep and which should be retired. We selected from that list those most popular to retire from ongoing manufacture and have marked them down by up to 60% off.
Once they clear they will never be available on our website again so if you are a collector of LOTR miniatures you might wish to grab these excellent bargains before they are gone for good.
Also since Black Friday is fast approaching we have marked down all our miniatures in the following ranges or categories by 50%. All of these are limited and when sold out will not be produced anymore.
The categories are:
UPDATE Jan 1st 2017: These three figures have been redone using traditional methods and thus will not have the 'MZ' prefix but default to the 'MS' only.
The first figure is a toy peddler from the town of Dale, before Smaug redecorated it with flame. We have named it MS625 Erebor Dwarven Merchant with toys.
The next figure, November 2015 winning idea, is the Easterling Champion MS627. Easterlings are allied to Mordor but fight in the old fashioned but honorable style of Champion vs Champion.
The final figure for September is King Dain Ironfoot MS628, a warrior without peer that aided Thorin Oakenshield during the Battle of the Five Armies.
There are 100 of each of these in production at present. Each are primed and MS627 does require a little assembly (shield and arm). They are all 32mm scale metal miniatures.
Mithril Miniatures has released five new 32mm scale metal miniatures based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is the third part themed around the siege of Helm's Deep. All five figures are primed and will require a little assembly. Duplicate discounts exist, up to 30% off, when purchasing these figures.
In his attempt to seize Helm’s deep,
the strategically vital stronghold which lay at Rohan’s western
end, Saruman launched all of his strength. His forces were far superior
numerically to those of his foes, but the Rohirrim had the protection of
the great fortress of the Hornburg, and the mighty Deeping
wall which ran north-east from the fortress, and which protected the Aglarond
caves, in which the peoples of the Westfold had taken shelter.
Many assaults were launched upon the
wall by the forces of Saruman: forces which included Half-orcs, Dunlendings and
Uruks. Finally when all else had failed, the forces of Isengard sent a
party of Orcs into a small blocked culvert with a terrible new substance that the wizard had created. There was
a great explosion of light and heat and a great breach was made in the
wall enabling the hosts of Isengard to pour through and forcing the
defenders back to the Hornburg. The “Devilry of Saruman” as Aragorn described
it, had done its work.
The walls of Helm's Deep had stood the test of time and the heat of battle, at least until the wicked inventiveness of Saruman was pitted against it. Orcs sacrifice themselves to blow open a pathway to the inner keep, allowing them to storm the once impregnable fortress that protects the most vulnerable of Rohan's population.
This new release from Mithril Miniatures will have five new figures and they will be numbered M541 to M545. They were designed using the traditional method of clay sculpting. They will be primed 32mm scale metal miniatures.
Currently they are pending approval by Middle-earth Enterprises.
Mithril Miniatures is providing a coupon code that will automatically discount a huge array of their miniatures by 50% until noon on Tuesday May 17th 2016 (GMT+1).
Just add the coupon code MITHRILHALFPRICE into your account when you login and all the relevant products will show a strikethrough price and a new price underneath it, with the percentage saved in brackets. Pretty straight forward.
This deal even affects bundle offers for the LR series with box sets of 10 miniatures now selling for just 4.25 Euro per pewter figure. Outstanding value to be sure.
If you love Lord of the Rings and enjoy collecting miniatures then don't miss out on this great deal.
A NEW ERA FOR LORD OF THE RINGS™ MITHRIL MINIATURES.
Finally Mithril Miniatures™ has moved from the traditional clay sculpting style to using a 3D modelling package when developing their miniatures. Chris Tubb has worked very hard to learn how to use Zbrush and even harder to make sure that his style is consistent with his earlier work. The offical press release is below: Mithril is pleased to announce an important new era in its Middle-earth range. Many months of development, combining our traditional sculpting techniques with the newest 3D technology has enabled us to produce a series of Mithril figures which retain the well-loved Mithril “look” while producing greatly enhanced detail and accuracy in each miniature. These digitally enhanced figures will come into production very shortly and will have the designation Mz; and of course they will still be in white metal and at the same price. We will also be announcing news of a new Mithril diorama series shortly. Here are seven of the upcoming releases, all approved of by Middle-earth Enterprises for production since the 21st of April 2016. These are currently digital images, and will be released between May and July as 32mm scale metal miniatures.
Mithril Miniatures broke with their tradition a little today with their latest two releases of 32mm scale Lord of the Rings metal miniatures. These two great ideas were not winning ideas but were inspired by comments made during the voting process. Chris Tubb decided to make them and so left a space in the numbering of releases to allow them to have a place later on when he had time to sculpt them.
Rumil, brother of Haldir, was a guardian of the forest around Lothlorien and silently protected Galadriel's realm from all dangers during the war of the Ring. An Elven archer can kill you before you even know you are in danger. This figure was numbered Ms594.
Chris Tubb explains his reasons behind this unique sculpt of a Female Orc archer (Ms595):
The second piece was inspired by Luthien4tinuvielle’s entry Ishi-ul the female Orc shaman, which was the winner in February 2014. Her comment “not a single female Orc in the whole Mithril range” set me to thinking what else could be made to redress this lack. I have a penchant for bowmen (as you can see from Rumil above) so I decided on a female Orc archer. So now we have two female Orcs in the range!
Mithril has a bulk discount available for a limited time on both new releases.
Casting metal is always a tricky business, you need weight to get a gravity cast to work yet people don't like lead in their metal alloys for safety reasons. Pewter is too light by itself to easily cast, especially in some flatter moulds, so some people avoid it, despite the fact that it is lead free.
So after much research Prince August has found a perfect solution, a metal that flows wonderfully into the mould, produces strong shiny results easily, fills all the details effortlessly and is safe to handle, and yet is still very affordable.
We call it SUPER metal, because that is the only word that fits on the metal bar that describes how good it is.
So for a limited time you can try it out yourself. Get 10 ingots of this revolutionary alloy for just 22 Euro (excluding V.A.T.) and tell us how you feel about it.
Mithril Miniatures released two more MS Fellowship club miniatures in March 2016. These are 32mm scale metal figures that are pre-primed for painting. Some assembly will be required, mostly arms and shields, so some superglue is useful.
Earnur was the last King of Gondor, at least until Aragorn reclaimed the throne, and he was a strong leader and managed to drive back the Witch-king's armies from the north. This was the winning idea from November 2014.
Eomund, Marshal of the Mark, was responsible for protecting the eastern areas of Rohan from the raiding parties of Orcs and other vile threats. He fulfilled his duties until the day he died, by an ambush by Orcs. This figure was the winning idea from March 2015.
The Toy Soldier Factory Visitor Center hosts many workshops and birthday parties for visitors but their website has been the same for 10 years. Not any longer, now the new site is available and it promises to be far more interactive and flexible. Fully mobile friendly, it will display correctly on any platform and it allows visitors to have their own accounts and post comments on any blog posts. We plan on expanding this to include registered users submitting photos too.
Overall the look is fresh, clean and quick, with crisp images and easier navigation, plus a search function. Why not visit it today and give it a whirl.
2016 is a leap year, so this Monday (29th) Prince August and Mithril Miniatures have a sale that cuts by 50% most of their products. The exceptions are paints, tools, some accessories and the Edman Collection items.
No coupon or special conditions apply other than the sale starts at 23.59 on Feb 28th UTC and ends 24 hours later.
This is an excellent opportunity to grab some amazing bargains and you should mark it down on your calendar because it will be another FOUR YEARS before it occurs again.
Note: Free Shipping is not available during this sale. F.Y.I.
Mithril Miniatures has released two more miniatures from its list of Gold Status Fellowship winning ideas in February 2016. Merien, a princess of Dol Amroth, which is a Gondorian fortress, was originally the winner way back in May 2014, but was misplaced for a time, hence the late release date. This figure is 32mm in scale and is primed with the classic primer that allows you to start painting it immediately on acquiring it.
King Bladorthin, an ancient king that ruled the lands near the Lonely Mountain before Smaug came to roost there. His armour is influenced by the Iron Hills Dwarves and the Easterlings. Not much is known about his rule unfortunately but that does not stop this being an excellent figure to collect.
Some assembly is required but the figure is primed.
Both of these releases are extremely limited in quantity, only 150 of each are cast.
Prince August is offering a 3 for 2 offer on all their Roman Wars series of moulds and miniatures, at least until noon on Feb 9th 2016 UTC.
This means you can buy three moulds from that series (or three cast figure packs) and get the cheapest one absolutely FREE. If you buy multiples of three you get multiples of the discount too so if you have not tried this beautiful range of 28mm scale fully round figures, showing 1st Century Legionaries and Officers and their Ancient Briton foes then now is the time to start.
This range provides hobby casting moulds for all the stock troops and cast figures for leaders as well as cast figure packs for the stock troops as well. Easy to cast, requires minimal assembly (glue can be used to attach arms or shields).
Prince August has a fantastic collection of Warzone games, miniatures and accessories, possibly the best on the internet. Now for the first February weekend, they have set up a tiered discount on all their Warzone merchandise. This discount is applied in four tiers, based on quantity of items purchased, not order total.
So literally the more Warzone products you buy, the more you end up saving.
The starting quantity is at least five products, and the starting discount for that amount is 10%, however the discounts leap up all the way to 33% quite quickly.
If you have not played Warzone before, then this is an excellent opportunity to get a taste of a classic tabletop game that is easy to learn and has high quality metal figures galore to choose from.
To learn more about this short but excellent sale go to the Warzone page here.
Sale ends at noon on Feb 9th 2016.
Mithril Miniatures released in January 2016 last January's winning idea, submitted by 'orc', a Fellowship member.
Rhudaur was the perfect land for mercenaries as law and order had broken down there, governorship was non existent and there was a steady diet of conflict between other states like Arthedain and Cardolan against the evils of the Witch-king. Only the bravest or most fortunate survived in such chaos as loyalties shifted like the tides.
This 32mm scale metal miniature is primed and will require a little assembly.
