Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures Kickstarter Ends Soon!

Ugh. Ninja Division. I'll go with pawns or proxy minis from better companies.

That’s an incredibly cruel comment to make. A company who’s had issues with fulfilment chooses to support a new game system, spend their space bucks to do so, and take all the risk. Your helpful comment is to crap on them? Contribute positively to the hobby, or find another hobby.

I dunno. I think that, considering Ninja Division has failed to deliver on four Kickstarter campaigns so for, some skepticism at this point is only natural.

I do contribute positively to hobby. I support a long list of companies that have earned my trust (Paizo being one of my favorites). Soda Pop / Ninja Division used to be trustworthy as well, but they lost it. They did it themselves. If Reaper or WizKids had come out with Starfinder minis I'd buy box fulls of them to go with my boxes of metal, plastic and prepainted Pathfinder minis.

This has nothing to do with gamers not supporting the hobby. It's all about trust. I heavily support companies that maintain that trust and warn others against the ones that squander it. It's deceitful and unscrupulous companies that hurt this hobby.

That’s an incredibly cruel comment to make. A company who’s had issues with fulfilment chooses to support a new game system, spend their space bucks to do so, and take all the risk. Your helpful comment is to crap on them? Contribute positively to the hobby, or find another hobby.

How is funding something through a Kickstarter spending their space bucks, more like they're spending your space bucks to give a product on whatever time table they end up wanting to fulfill (this isn't Ninja Division specifically this is Kickstarter generally).

It doesn't take them more to produce the minis then they are asking in the Kickstarter, you are the one taking all the risk in a Kickstarter, not the company you're funding. Its a shady business model which should not be allowed for companies over a certain size.

Now if they were doing what Paizo does and creating a product for a game without anything more than preorders then you'd have a point, but no, there's no risk to Ninja Division from a Kickstarter unless they're incredibly stupid.

After hearing about the other Kickstarters (and finding out Soda Pop was behind Tentacle Bento), I was nervous too. But Paizo seems pretty confident that they will deliver, even including ND minis in the Humble Bundle. Kickstarters are one thing, but I imagine there are pretty serious repercussions to not delivering on a Bundle.

I don't know, maybe Soda Pop is reckless with their own projects in a way that they can't be with a licensed product?

It still feels on a gut level like a risk, but one where the odds are in my favor.

I initially decided not to back based on historical issues.

Then some Paizo employees voiced support for and confidence in Ninja Division. That was enough for me to give them another chance. I want Starfinder to do well and that includes the third party companies and their products.

I’ll confess I’m nervous, but I think it’s worth giving people a second go - granted I haven’t been involved in any previous kickstarters they’ve run.

Michael Kenway wrote:

"Today, we have a preview of some of the miniatures that will be unlocked shortly."

That´s a very interesting post.
The Kickstarter is currently at over $278K and stretch goals are presented incling up to $300K.
None of those are for the "Swarm Thresher Lord" or "Swarm Corrovox/Soldier".

Don´t get me wrong, i think these will get made, as the Kickstarter will definetly go past $300K imo, but it´s interesting that we are getting a stretch goal preview from Paizo before these stretch goals are even presented on the kickstarter page.

We´ll probably get them very soon there too, as they are sure to motivate more people to support the project.

Still, interesting.

Yeh, I am currently sitting at a Campaign pledge, but that Swarm Thresher Lord may kick me over to All In, as I am expecting it to be big.

Yeh, I am currently sitting at a Campaign pledge, but that Swarm Thresher Lord may kick me over to All In, as I am expecting it to be big.

It won't be as big as the "Blood Brother", which is huge, but certainly looks to translate into a "big" mini for large size. ;-)

I havn't got the Alien Archive yet, but "the Swarm" (a dead-ringer for the Tyrannids from Warhammer 40K) are gonna make a great enemy for PCs.

I consider buying a few huge or larger painted 40K minis from ebay for their heavy hitters.

I dunno. I think that, considering Ninja Division has failed to deliver on four Kickstarter campaigns so for, some skepticism at this point is only natural.

Curiosity, which four?

This is the second campaign of theirs I've backed, and I backed it based on A) I REALLLY want some Starfinder minis, and B) the fact that Ninja Division was so prompt on their fulfillment of the Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King campaign I backed (everything I pledged for came and under estimated date (by about a week)). They were infact a lot quicker on the fulfillment end of things than several of the other Kickstarters I have backed (knock on wood, I have only gotten burned ONCE, the Goblins card game).

According to information compiled on this link here, some of their previous unfulfilled projects include Super Dungeon Explore: Legends, Rail Raiders Infinite, Way of the Fighter: Super, and Relic Knights: Darkspace Calamity.

The kickstarter has reached $300K.

But Ninja Division has now switched from one stretch goal every $5K to one stretch goal every $10K - why?

Also the five presented SGs are all optional: no freebies, no additional creatures in encounter packs

And still no Shirren fleet...

At this steep price increase, i wonder if we´ll see these minis being made...

It’s common once KS’s reach a certain amount and speed they tend to increase the amount needed for each later goal, so they don’t overexert themselves or over promise (which I’m hoping they’re trying to avoid) or end up with the KS being a financial loss with the company due to how much they’re offering for the price (I believe this happened with Ultimate Psionics KS but I could be misremembering).

According to information compiled on this link here, some of their previous unfulfilled projects include Super Dungeon Explore: Legends, Rail Raiders Infinite, Way of the Fighter: Super, and Relic Knights: Darkspace Calamity.

Thank you. I was unaware of this.

The kickstarter has reached $300K.

But Ninja Division has now switched from one stretch goal every $5K to one stretch goal every $10K - why?

Also the five presented SGs are all optional: no freebies, no additional creatures in encounter packs

And still no Shirren fleet...

At this steep price increase, i wonder if we´ll see these minis being made...

Reaper did this with all their Bones campaigns. As the numbers got higher the amount between stretch goals increased. I assume it is to take into account the increase in backers and the increased number of figures to be made/shipped per stretch goal that goes with them.

The lack of freebies is probably to make the All-In pledge look better, since every freebie made it even less of a deal compared to Campaign or Adventure. But that reason can't feel great to anyone not "all-in". Reaper never stopped adding to core sets as the campaigns went on, even if they started to focus on optional pieces more. Bones 4 even went so far as to add on some freebies to an expansion after the campaign closed.

Seem like the smarter play would have been to set the All-In price lower to make it a better bargain than the lower pledge amounts from the start (or at least low enough that the break even point hit earlier in the campaign). Right now it looks like it will a toss up right until the end. Hard not to go back and try to see if "everything" is really what I want or if I would be content really focusing on the mini that I definitely want/will use.

If I had ND's reputation, I don't know that I'd be playing silly games with price points/pledges (Their audience is gamers, we min/max, we'll notice stuff like this). If someone wants to give them more money upfront, ND should be giving them bigger and bigger discounts. Even if they end up being loss leaders. Because anyone making high pledges isn't just giving ND money, they are giving them the capital they need to make the future retail line and, more importantly, they are giving ND an opportunity to repair their reputation.

Seem like the smarter play would have been to set the All-In price lower to make it a better bargain than the lower pledge amounts from the start (or at least low enough that the break even point hit earlier in the campaign). Right now it looks like it will a toss up right until the end. Hard not to go back and try to see if "everything" is really what I want or if I would be content really focusing on the mini that I definitely want/will use.

Its an interesting point, you can buyin at adventure(to unlock Seelah) and end up going all in later, so you can see what gets unlocked and decide its value, but the stretch goals only unlock based on the funding during the campaign not after, so you wouldn't unlock more stretch goals by upping your amount in the manager.

On the other hand, if you don't care about the KS exclusive Seelah the Paladin you can actually just pledge at $1 and go all the way up to All In during the manager.

The Vesk Free Captain has been unlocked at $330K.

Next stop: Tyrannids, ahem the Swarm. ;-)

It now seems to look like Ninja Division doesn´t offer any new stretch goals beyond the $350K Swarm Tresher Lord (they are at $340K right now - Swarm Corrovox Encounter Pack is unlocked).

Personally i was impressed with the first two weeks of this Kickstarter, as lots of new stretch goals were presented early enough (sometimes multiple times a day) to generate interest for a lot of backers.

The last few days have been underwhelming though, as only two or three stretch goals at a time got presented closely before the last SG given was reached.

Now we get two daily update in a row WITHOUT presenting any new SGs.

There are still enough full body images of creatures (and an entire Shirren fleet) from the Starfinder Core Rulebook and Alien Archive not yet adapted into miniature form.

Why are they not motivating people with offering more of these as Stretch Goals?

The more Stretch Goals are still possible to be reached, the more motivation is there to back a Kickstarter.

This Kickstarter could easily go to half a million dollars (or beyond), if done rightly.
The way it´s handled right now (with no new Stretch Goals added), it looks to end far before that sum.

I think they're probably offering all the figures they can afford to make with the amount of money they're getting. They could even be pushing it a little. After all, this isn't a million dollar plus KS.

If they manage to get out of the abyss of negativity they threw themselves into, and survive all of the refunds they're being hit with, I suspect they'll attempt a second Starfinder KS after this one fulfills. Not to mention they still have Super Dungeon Explore, Way of the Fighter, Relic Knights, and a Starfinder prepaint line to work on, all at the same time... in addition to this project.

I think they're probably offering all the figures they can afford to make with the amount of money they're getting. They could even be pushing it a little. After all, this isn't a million dollar plus KS.

If they manage to get out of the abyss of negativity they threw themselves into, and survive all of the refunds they're being hit with, I suspect they'll attempt a second Starfinder KS after this one fulfills. Not to mention they still have Super Dungeon Explore, Way of the Fighter, Relic Knights, and a Starfinder prepaint line to work on, all at the same time... in addition to this project.

You are offering some logical points.

Still, it feels bad to have more than 24 hours remaining and not any more Stretch Goals being offered.

They could still offer the next ones at a higher price than $360K - maybe a large "Dragonkin" mini (many people seem to want to play one) at $375K and the "Shirren Fleet" pack at $400K?

Also they plan on delivering the sculpts in three waves all through 2018.

I would expect this first Starfinder Kickstarter (of hopefully many more successful ones to come) to cover the entire CRB & AA and the next one (in 2019) to cover subsequent books like the other AP volumes & the Pact Worlds hardcover, maybe even AA 2. ;-)

Let's see a $375K Huge mini Stretch Goal, like a Dragon starship or Swarm Hive-Mind to really finish the campaign strong.

You are offering some logical points.

Still, it feels bad to have more than 24 hours remaining and not any more Stretch Goals being offered.

They could still offer the next ones at a higher price than $360K - maybe a large "Dragonkin" mini (many people seem to want to play one) at $375K and the "Shirren Fleet" pack at $400K?

Also they plan on delivering the sculpts in three waves all through 2018.

I would expect this first Starfinder Kickstarter (of hopefully many more successful ones to come) to cover the entire CRB & AA and the next one (in 2019) to cover subsequent books like the other AP volumes & the Pact Worlds hardcover, maybe even AA 2. ;-)

Ah, I see your point. It is a little unusual that they don't have a big finale figure yet, but they still have time to toss out a last day stretch goal. Ninja Division may be approaching this with caution. Waiting to see how big the initial 48 hour push is before deciding how to cap off the kickstarter. The dollars have to be there.

I'd also like to see a more comprehensive mini selection, but that's probably impractical. Pathfinder has been a huge force in the RPG world with minis coming out for years and we still don't have figures for a lot of monsters and character races. My daughter plays a Firbolg cleric and she has to use a proxy mini. She doesn't mind at all. Perhaps it makes her character feel more unique or special. ^_^

Reaper did this with all their Bones campaigns. As the numbers got higher the amount between stretch goals increased. I assume it is to take into account the increase in backers and the increased number of figures to be made/shipped per stretch goal that goes with them.

I've seen several kickstarters screw this up.

Early on you have say a hundred backers, so offering something for free every $5k means you're "earning" $50 per backer you can use to produce those freebies. By the time you have 1000 backers, every $5k means you're only earning $5 per backer - if you keep promising freebies, they'd better be dirt cheap to produce or you need to increasingly space out the stretch goal milestones to make sure your revenue is rising with your costs. You're also having to produce lots and lots of those early freebies the larger your backer pool gets.

The open-ended nature of a kickstarter means you can end up grossly miscalculating your production costs, if you're not careful.

$350K have been reached!

Somebody on KS asked:

"We just got the last stretch goal - any comment at to if that is it and I can stop paying attention, or is there more to come?"

Ninja Division wrote:

"We have a surprise for you guys, update incoming."

The Epic Obozaya at $400k looks cool, but I was really hoping for a Dragonkin and a Shirren Fleet to show up.

Ninja Division wrote:

"Greetings Starfinders!

With the Swarm Corrovox encounter pack and Swarm Thresher Lord creature stretch goals being unlocked, all of the stretch goals we had initially planned for this campaign are now reached, and with 24 hours to spare! "

"We are on a firm schedule regarding production and delivery of Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures to your doorsteps, so there is not much room for expanding the list. However, we do value your support! So we are offering one more SG to you! And what a SG this is! Unlocked at $400k, this epic version of the vesk soldier, Obozaya, is represented in full gear, ready to tackle anything and anyone from the Starfinder universe! And what's more, this one is reserved for Kickstarter backers only!"

$400K final Stretch Goal

Personally, i found this full body image the least desireable one from the Starfinder Core Rulebook, because it´s so static.

But i guess it´s better than nothing.

People seem to agree that closing the Stretch Goals off at $350K was a bad idea.
They also agree upon the "Iconic Obozaya" at $400K being a mini that´s underwhelming.

None the less, it looks as if the Kickstarter will reach the $400K, as it is now at $390K and has still 11 hours left to go.

Most people would have liked a "Dragonkin" or "Shirren Fleet" final Stretch Goal and i agree with them.

So i really hope we´ll get a release date for the PAINTED minis packs soon and that they are still coming in 2017.

Otherwise i may not be buying them, i already have bought roughly 50 painted starships on (hex) bases ranging from "Battlefleet Gothic" over "Full Thrust" to "Star Trek" models and not only do they cost only a fraction of the ND ones, they are also lovingly handpainted for the most part.

I already got a fleet of Bioships for a campaign against the Swarm, even if ND will make some one day, they´ll be coming out in 2019 earliest.

I agree, the last day or so has been underwhelming. Another epic version of a mini they were already doing? Zzz zzz. It really took the wind out of my sails.

Whelp, now that it is funded and I can't be accused of trying to keep people from hitting stretch goals I've decided to cancel my pledge. It was a tough call, and I've waffled, but it came down to a few things.

Personal:
Starfinder hasn't really taken off with my home game and I've only done one SFS scenario. I'm not sure I'd get much use out of the figures.
Money is tight coming on the heels of Bones 4 and just before Maze is shipped.
I'm afraid resin won't stand up to actual play/transport. Maybe put them in the cases/tubes dice come in?
I'm still holding out hope for a plastic line in the future.

Ninja Division:
Despite assurances from Paizo, I can't really trust a company with so many unhappy customers. Even if they deliver on this, it would be at the expense of people that have waited years for their other pledges to be fulfilled. I would be uncomfortable doing that to other gamers.
The slot system resulted in weird inconsistencies and bad incentives. The back half of the campaign had no freebies in order to appeal to the All-In crowd and they still didn't have enough planned stretch gials to make All-In as good per figure as adventure or campaign. I found this distasteful.
They set the campaign to end before the Iconics shipped to stores. I didn't go to Gencon so I have no idea what the actually look like in person.

For avid Starfinder fans that love very detailed minis, this will probably turn out to be a great bargain. It's just not for me.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Furdinand

They just posted a scale shot of the Bloodbrother. That thing is bad elf! If this was made by a company that I trusted I'd be all over it.

https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/018/800/097/12d78bc32707bbc65419f9fe4d4e27 96_original.jpg?w=639&fit=max&v=1508287039&auto=format&q=92 &s=e5120dd961cead9d5d654095a5cd2f1b

Huge Blood brother & medium Iseph, Iconic Android Operative

The kickstarter also passed $450K and will likely pass $500K when the pledge manager opens and many people upgrade to all-in or buy additional basic or campaign packages.

The Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures Kickstarter is over!

457.539 $

Something which a "Robert Silvester" wrote on the Starfinder Kickstarter page:

"NOTE TO CANADIAN BACKERS:

SPM/ND promised shipping from a depot in Canada for their Rail Raiders Infinite campaign, so as to avoid/minimize shipping and customs charges.

Today, with the project a year overdue, they suddenly announced that this will not happen...

SPM (Soda Pop Miniatures): "I have confirmed that Canadian pledge rewards will be distributed from our fulfillment center in the United States. I understand that we stated differently on the campaign page, and I have no insight into this difficult decision. I apologize for any fees or taxes our Canadian backers may need to pay to receive their packages."

DO NOT TRUST THEIR ASSURANCES ABOUT ANYTHING BEING 'REGION FRIENDLY'."

For their Starfinder Kickstarter they wrote this:

"To help minimize your shipping and customs costs, we will ship rewards to multiple international shipping hubs at our cost (US, EU, CN, and AU). These hubs ship all rewards to backers in their region. Depending on your region, this will help reduce or eliminate any additional import duties you will be required to pay.

United States of America: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $26.5 / All-in Pledge $35
Argentina: Adventure $52.5 / Campaign $70 / All-in Pledge $112.5
Australia: Adventure $17 / Campaign $21 / All-in Pledge $27
Austria: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Belgium: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Brazil: Adventure $52.5 / Campaign $70 / All-in Pledge $112.5
Canada: Adventure $14.5 / Campaign $22 / All-in Pledge $44
Switzerland:Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Chile: Adventure $52.5 / Campaign $70 / All-in Pledge $112.5
China: Adventure $15 / Campaign $19 / All-in Pledge $25
Costa Rica: Adventure $52.5 / Campaign $70 / All-in Pledge $112.5
Czech Republic: Adventure $20.5 / Campaign $24.5 / All-in Pledge $28.5
Germany: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Denmark: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $21 / All-in Pledge $24.5
Spain: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Finland: Adventure $27.5 / Campaign $32.5 / All-in Pledge $32.5
France: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
United Kingdom: Adventure $14 / Campaign $16.5 / All-in Pledge $18.5
Hong Kong, SAR China: Adventure $14 / Campaign $17 / All-in Pledge $22
Hungary: Adventure $20.5 / Campaign $24.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Indonesia: Adventure $30.5 / Campaign $41.5 / All-in Pledge $75.5
Ireland: Adventure $15 / Campaign $17.5 / All-in Pledge $19.5
Iceland: Adventure $33.5 / Campaign $39.5 / All-in Pledge $39.5
Israel: Adventure $27.5 / Campaign $56 / All-in Pledge $87
Italy: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Japan: Adventure $24 / Campaign $31 / All-in Pledge $50
Korea (South): Adventure $20 / Campaign $26 / All-in Pledge $40
Lithuania: Adventure $20.5 / Campaign $23 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Luxembourg: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Latvia: Adventure $33.5 / Campaign $39.5 / All-in Pledge $39.5
Mexico: Adventure $48.5 / Campaign $63 / All-in Pledge $93
Malta: Adventure $22.5 / Campaign $51 / All-in Pledge $82
Netherlands: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Norway: Adventure $28.5 / Campaign $34.5 / All-in Pledge $34.5
New Zealand: Adventure $20.5 / Campaign $30.5 / All-in Pledge $61
Peru: Adventure $52.5 / Campaign $70 / All-in Pledge $112.5
Philippines: Adventure $22.5 / Campaign $29.5 / All-in Pledge $51
Poland: Adventure $18.5 / Campaign $22.5 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Portugal: Adventure $20.5 / Campaign $23 / All-in Pledge $26.5
Romania: Adventure $33.5 / Campaign $39.5 / All-in Pledge $39.5
Russian Federation: Adventure $33.5 / Campaign $39.5 / All-in Pledge $39.5
Singapore: Adventure $19 / Campaign $25 / All-in Pledge $40
Slovakia: Adventure $31.5 / Campaign $37.5 / All-in Pledge $37.5
Sweden: Adventure $28.5 / Campaign $34.5 / All-in Pledge $34.5
Thailand: Adventure $23 / Campaign $34 / All-in Pledge $66
Taiwan, Republic of China: Adventure $15 / Campaign $20 / All-in Pledge $34
Ukraine: Adventure $28.5 / Campaign $34.5 / All-in Pledge $34.5
Rest of World: Adventure $36.5 / Campaign $67 / All-in Pledge $110

Please note that these are ESTIMATES ONLY and may change as we unlock more items, if you purchase additional rewards, or choose rewards spanning multiple shipping waves."

The last part basically negates anything written before.
It will be interesting to see what happens come may 2018.

update with four new sculpts

-Driftdead (AP#1)
-Ksarik (First Contact)
-Knight of Golarion (Starfinder CRB)
-Ysoki Gang Leader (AP#1)

The next update is due on wednesday 8th of november and from then on every two weeks.

While we had some updates in the meantime (91 of 110 sculpts are done), the latest update from Ninja Division Publishing is drawing a lot of ire.

The reason is, that they now offer a huge blue dragon (from the Alien Archive art) in their "late pledge manager", which is not included in the "all-in" pledge, but costs an additional $48.

This is the kind of behavior that Ninja Division Publishing aka Soda Pop Miniatures has gotten a lot of flak for in the past.

While the 7 iconic characters & starship now seem to be available as unpainted "Starfinder Masterclass Miniatures" (they havn´t reached Germany yet and i havn´t seen any videos or pictures of people that have any online), the painted versions of these are scheduled for march 2018 (along with six additional starships).

I´m really glad that Paizo has their great quality pawns available (which i bought and will continue to), because i wouldn´t being able to play Starfinder otherwise, even if i only play Pathfinder completely with miniatures.
But it´s disappointing for prepainted miniatures lovers, that it won´t be possible to do the same with Starfinder for the foreseeable future.

While we had some updates in the meantime (91 of 110 sculpts are done), the latest update from Ninja Division Publishing is drawing a lot of ire.

The reason is, that they now offer a huge blue dragon (from the Alien Archive art) in their "late pledge manager", which is not included in the "all-in" pledge, but costs an additional $48.

This is the kind of behavior that Ninja Division Publishing aka Soda Pop Miniatures has gotten a lot of flak for in the past.

That is very disappointing. I had no idea and have now completed my backer kit survey (or whatever the equivalent is called) so I’ll end up with an incomplete set.

I specifically asked them during the Kickstarter if the all-in pledge meant I’d get everything without having to keep tracking all the various announcements and they assured me that would be the case.

The most troubling thing is they don’t seem to get that stability and reliability is almost as important as sculpt quality. I’m happy enough with the unpainted iconics I’ve received, but now I know I’m missing out on at least one sculpt, I’m getting more and more likely to just stick to pawns and PF minis.

You should try contacting them to see if they can adjust it for you.

I have done that (I think I can do it myself, in fact).

For me it’s a matter of principle. If I’d known before the pledge manager went out then maybe I’d have been more understanding (as I do realise things change in a Kickstarter sometimes and I’d rather they run a successful one than fail trying to meet an impossible target).

However, I specifically asked about exactly this occurrence before the campaign was over and was assured it wasn’t going to be an issue. Then it becomes an issue and I find out after the fact from a nonbacker.

It really feels to me that during the campaign they told me what I wanted to hear to get me to keep my pledge rather than thinking about what the actual answer was. “We may have some add-ons not covered by the All-in pledge. If so we’ll let everyone know and flag them clearly in the pledge manager.” would have been a fine answer, imo.

Yeah, I can understand that. I'd feel the same way if I were you (I didn't back this personally).

The reason is, that they now offer a huge blue dragon (from the Alien Archive art) in their "late pledge manager", which is not included in the "all-in" pledge, but costs an additional $48.

It's stuff like this that made me hesitant to back this project.

If they don't plan to include the Blue in the All-In deal they shouldn't have it associated with the KS in any way.

And it takes a lot of nerve to offer what is basically a pre-order on a new project before they've finished the current one.

It's a shame that Wizkids declined to produce Starfinder miniatures, but from their perspective i can almost understand it.
They probably feared it would cut into their painted & unpainted Star Trek minis line or wouldn't sell enough copies.
Star Trek starships are a reasonably priced stand-in for Starfinder ships.
But judging from the half a million $ result of the Starfinder Kickstarter, the demand for Starfinder creatures is very high and Wizkids made the wrong call.
Personally i don't trust Ninja Division at all, as they continue to delay their products and have zero experience with painted minis.
Also they are a much too small company and have only used resin but not plastic in the past.

Just look at how the prepainted packs have been delayed from the initial september 2017 release date to a march 2018 date.
The price is also so high that it is too costly for most people.

But the worst thing is that there won't be pre-painted Starfinder creature minis available in 2018, because of the Kickstarter fullfillment.

The decision to partner with such an unreliable company may also affect Paizo, hopefully not too much.

94 of (now) 111 sculpts are done.

The 3 new ones are:
-Bone Trooper (Skeleton soldier)
-Kasatha Outlaw (4-armed gunslinger)
-Nuar (medium minotaur)

The "Pledge manager" will be open until january 25th.

After Ninja Division has knowledge of the exact numbers of the wanted miniatures, february should hopefully bring a release date for the pre-painted minis (ETA march).

There should be at least one more update before the PM closes, if not more.
I don't think all sculpts will be finished before the 25th, so some will have to be ordered "blind".

No new update today.

That probably means there will only be one more guaranteed update (maybe two) next wednesday the 17th, before the Pledge manager closes on the 25th.

So i guess we will have seen either 97 or 100 of the (111) sculpts by then.

My guess is that the alternate sculpt creature versions and the Shirren starships will be the last to get ready.

I'm curious as to what the most popular sculpts will be.

The new update only shows one sculpt, the Necrovite.

There are computer renders of not yet posed Aeon Guard, Swarm Corovox and Augmented Ysoki Activist.

95 of 111 sculpts are done.

Although there is no new update yet (i expect one tomorrow), the Status Tracker lists 100 of the 111 sculpts as completed.

It seems that things are progressing fast.

Now 102 sculpts of 111 are completed, 4 are in progress and only 5 havn´t been sculpted at all.

It also seems that i was right about the Shirren starships to be the last minis to get made (along with the electrovore and the alternate Ikeshti Brood Minder).

I´m curious to (tomorrows?) update and how the final sculpts look.

I also hope that we will see what sculpt/s is/are the most popular.

So it seems that neither has there been a new (final?) update, but people are also not able to conclude their pledge manager anymore, when it says they will be able to do so until the 25th of january...

109 of 111 sculpts are finished, the last two are in progress.

The pledge manager is closed.