Hello once again backers for our bi-weekly project update post! We'll cover our usual Dragon's Hoard Remastered production status, a picture of some of the models coming your way, and we're also going to continue our "How They're Made" series. Let's get to it...

We're currently 75% done with production as of today. That means we're starting to get into the home stretch as we begin to transition from production into assembly/packaging mode over the coming weeks and then finally into fulfillment mode once everything is ready to go.

Some of you noticed that we started processing payments for add-ons, shipping and late pledges. Up until this point we hadn't collected any of the funds for that stuff, so we got the ball rolling on that so that anyone who had payment methods with issues would have plenty of time to get them fixed. Also, if you need to update your shipping address please don't forget to do so!

The pledge manager will be closing at the end of the day tomorrow, June 6th. So this is your final notice to get those late pledges and add-ons completed. If you need assistance with your pledge please email us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to assist you.

Now for some fun stuff! Below we've got a picture of the assembled Red Dragon and Otyugh Glutton that come included with every All-In Pledge. We're excited to get them into your hands!

Continuing on our journey of how we make a miniature from start to finish, in this update we're going to cover the mastering, building of the production mold, and vulcanizing steps of the process. Last update we covered the concept and sculpting steps which you can check out here if you missed it.

Once we have our sculpt finalized, we then move on to making masters of the miniatures. We'll make masters in one of two ways depending on the model: 3D print or metal. 3D prints will generally withstand the pressures of vulcanization if the model or part is relatively simple and flat. If they are more complex, we like to instead use a metal alloy for our masters. This way we can ensure the master won't break during vulcanization, which can cause a failed cavity in the mold, thus making that cavity unusable and the mold one cavity less efficient for production.

To make a metal master we'll actually start with a 3D print. We'll clean it up and make sure it looks flawless without any surface irregularities due to 3D print supports not being removed cleanly, etc. We'll then take a batch of prepared 3D prints for various models we're working on and put one of each of them into a master mold. We then bake that in a vulcanizing press and once that's done we can start spin-casting metal masters. Once we spin up enough metal masters to fill a production mold of a particular model we'll then send those metals back to the cleaning station where we will remove mold lines and any other casting artifacts using things like a Dremel and various filing/cutting/trimming tools.

Once we've got all of our masters ready to go for a particular model, we'll then move on to creating the mold for them. First we insert a sheet of silicone into a large metal frame that is specifically designed to house the silicone sheets used in the SioForm machines. We'll then arrange the masters on the silicone sheet. Sometimes we arrange them in a fractal pattern and sometimes we use a radial setup. Both layouts have production pros and cons depending on the size and shape of the model to maximize the efficiency of the mold.

At this point we'll start to build out the mold by carving out silicone so the masters will lay as flat and securely as possible in the mold. We'll pack in extra silicone to support limbs/weapons and even utilize other silicones around a model where a more flexible or harder shore hardness silicone would be more effective. We'll also insert lock nuts throughout the mold which help the two halves of the mold stay aligned to reduce any potential mold slippage/shift. Once we've got the bottom half of our mold done we then apply a fine layer of talc powder and then put into place the top piece of silicone (the talc allows the two halves of the mold to separate once vulcanized, otherwise they would just melt together into a single silicone slab). We'll do a few more adjustments to balance out and level the silicone to minimize any shifting or parts during vulcanization and then place the top of the mold frame on and seal it up to be vulcanized.

The vulcanizing step is pretty straight forward. It's essentially like putting the mold frame in an oven and baking it at a high temperature while also being squeezed in a press. Depending on the combined vertical thickness of the silicone sheets used in the mold, vulcanization can take from about an hour and a half for the thinnest molds up to around three hours for a big ol' chunky mold. Once it's done baking, we take the frame out of the vulcanizer, let it cool down, then unscrew and pop open the frame and extract the mold!

That's where we're going to leave off on the "How They're Made" section today. In our next update will cover the final steps of preparing the newly vulcanized mold, calibrating it for the SioForm machine and then production.

Last order of business, is another shout out for our upcoming Dragon's Cache Kickstarter project. If you haven't signed up to be notified when it launches, please head over to the pre-launch page and click the button for us! Also, we'd love if you could help us get the word out to your friends who may be minis enjoyers and anywhere you discuss minis online. Organic word of mouth is the best kind of exposure we can get and we heartily thank everyone who helps spread the word!

With that, we're going to wrap up this update and put a bow on it. See you all in a few weeks with an update that may be a few days late depending on if we get it sent out before or after we attend Origins on June 20-23rd (booth #332). We'll see you there if you'll be in attendance and if not we'll be chatting down in the comments. Thanks again everyone!