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The Forge

Created by The Waifu Forge

Backerkit storefront of the "WaifuForge" a new group dedicated to creating Anime-themed Figures and Miniatures.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Big update: Shipping, Horizon's Variation Model Preview/sneak peek, and more!
about 2 years ago – Sat, Mar 05, 2022 at 06:32:10 AM

Hello Everyone!

Thank you all for your patience regarding the shipping troubles this project has had. 

In today's update, we'd like to announce the hopeful closing/completion of this project as all backer rewards should be arriving within the next week or so. 

Based on reports we did get a few "returned to sender" packages. Why this happened we are unsure, it could be the postal service gave up mailing them, invalid addresses or given how long this project lasted, it is also possible that the backer moved.(But did not include a forwarding service). 

Replacements for lost/damaged packages have also been reported to be in the mail.

If anyone hasn't received their packages in the next week and half to two weeks. Reach out immediately. 

--Lamia

For those wondering about the Lamia orders they've placed on the original WaifuForge website, those will be mailed out soon as well.  We were recently given access to that data and have taken steps to making sure those are fulfilled as well.  These Lamia's will be using our new "Horizons" Lamia, which has undergone the same treatment as the others. The Original will not be produced or ever hit the market. 

--Original Models

The original WaifuForge Models are now officially off the market. The STL's have been revoked through the backerkit and we have redistributed our "Horizons" STL's in replacement. The original miniatures will also never be reprinted or sold commercially following this projects completion. We are only using the originals to finish backer pledges due to them being the original promised product. 

All produced miniatures moving forward will be strictly our "Horizon" versions. 

--The "Horizon" difference

We've recently been asked by some backers to show them in physical form what the "Horizon" difference is. And below you will see the new scaling's, design changes, and sizing of the models

The Horizon Difference

Using a unified base size, all of these beautiful designs stand proud and distinct from each other. These are fresh from Balmung's workshop(Who is handling the final steps of fulfillment to make good with his agreement with WaifuForge). Once this project is done though, we will be taking over full production ourselves. 

We've maintained the quality of the original models, optimized them, and even improved on them to make them more tabletop friendly and universally useable. 

Let us know what you think! 

---rebranding

Our next step moving forward with the acquisition of "Waifu Forge" we are planning to finish rebranding everything that needs to be rebranded.  Which includes the introduction of a brand new logo! 

Prototype/in-development Logo

In order to match with our "Novel Horizons" branding, above you will see our new prototype logo.  From here, we will finalize it before creating variations for various media platforms. We will also begin restructuring/renaming the various "WaifuForge" domains and accounts such as this one. Which will be renamed to "Figure Horizons"(Just so no one is caught off guard). 

--Next Project 

We are going to release a new project shortly for "Figure Horizons". Which will expand upon the original "Waifu Forge" idea. Although, we are taking a different approach in that we are going to be creating a human faction to mirror the "monster" faction that currently exists. 

Also, in order to prevent overcomplication of further kickstarters, we are going to be unifying our miniatures into "sets" . 

For example, this current line will be called the "Anime Waifu: Monster Set 1". This set will arrive to customers in a custom box, using foam padding on the inside cut to the shape of the miniatures. The set will include 4 "wolf", 2 "Red Dragon", 2 "Lamia", 2 "Centaur" and 2 "Harpy".  

We are also doing this to ensure all miniatures arrive safety to their destinations while also including a fun visual piece and place to store them when not in use. 

Figure Horizon's next kickstarter project will have this set available plus the new "Anime Waifu: Human Set 1". 

Human Set 1 will include 12 miniatures that are proportioned out in the same manner as the Monster Set 1. 

Below you will find some previews for the Human Set .

A recycled concept from the acquisition, we liked this design quite a lot and felt it would be a waste not to use it. (2 planned to be in set).  We might end up removing her wings and making her a Paladin versus a Valkyrie, to maintain a solid "human" foundation to the set.

Witch - Spearwoman - Charmer(2 in set each)

If the concept continues to do well, we will begin releasing set's 2,3, etc. As well as Environment sets and alternate non-fantasy sets, for people looking to use more modern or sci-fi concepts in their tabletop games/DnD matches. 

Be sure to let us know what you think!

--Larger versions

Our STL's and miniatures are designed with their scale in mind. If they are printed larger, we cannot guarantee any aspect from them. With that in mind, we are willing to modify/design larger versions of popular miniatures for people looking to collect a scale figure. This scale figure will most likely come in the form of a 1/8th scale version, which is the scale we are most comfortable working with. 

--Conclusion 

We are hoping this marks the end of this project and while the best we can currently do is make sure everyone gets their orders.

We'd like to apologize to all backers who are unsatisfied with their products and to everyone who has waited so long to receive their goods. We'd like to assure everyone moving forward that projects by "Figure Horizons" will follow our very strict timeline of being fulfilled in 3 months MAX. As we have done with all our other projects in the past. 

If anyone has any comments, questions, or concerns, please let us know. 

Until next time! 

IMPORTANT: Project Health Survey + Frequent questions
about 2 years ago – Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 08:12:41 AM

Hello everyone, 

Due to the response we've received on our acquisition update, we've decided it is our top priority to look deeply into the true health of this project. 

While we were made aware of the issues beforehand, we are troubled by the frequency and distress from all the backers. In order to gather as much information as possible, please fill out the survey at the link below so we can begin looking further into this. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NH-WF-Health

For those unfamiliar, Surveymonkey is a site designed for quick, easy surveys and we primarily use it to gather reviews, customer feedback and other similar information. In this case, we are going to be using it to do a in-depth health check 

it's EXTREMELY important for everyone who can, to fill this out. Including backers who have received their pledges. We will be using this information in every aspect of our reparation process as well as our optimization, upgrade process for WaifuForge(Soon to be "Figure Horizons")

Frequent Questions

The most frequent question we've gotten is understandably from backers who haven't gotten their rewards.

-Missing Pledge

If your pledge tracking has been immobile for over a month, it is one of the "Stolen" packages from the December mail run. These were replaced mid-January. Currently, they are moving VERY slowly through the USPS hub due to staff shortages. Previously we stated they were stuck there, but have been informed that they are now moving out as a slow pace. 

-New sizing

All Miniatures are being modified to fit on a 1.5 or 1 inch diameter base as previously stated.  Heights are where we will have the most deviation as we will pose all miniatures to only occupy the width of their base. This can be seen in the centaur, which is now rearing back, so she stays within the bounds of her base(mostly). 

Some have asked more about display versions, if we make any sort of display, they will be in our 1/7 or 1/8 scale sizing as Garage Kits(The scaling we are most familiar with). We don't want to drown ourselves in various sizing's that we aren't familiar with. Which is why our "Scaling" is going to be guided by base size. 

-Website Orders

Website orders was something we were not given information on. We will look into this. Worse case, we will be fulfilling these orders using the optimized/modified version of whatever file/sculpt necessary. Produced in our workshop. 

We ask for a bit more patience in this matter, although we understand that many have been waiting long enough. (1 full year is unacceptable. We currently fulfill our projects in roughly 2-3 months with delays).

Conclusion

Thank you everyone for your understanding, your patience, and we look forward to producing great things with all of your support and help! And as previously mentioned please fill out the survey as it is of the upmost importance. 

Acquisition announcement - Under new management and rebrand! (Very long read)
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 05:03:41 AM

Thank you all for backing this project by the "WaifuForge"! 

We are making this announcement to let everyone know that we (Novel Horizons) have recently acquired the WaifuForge and are going to be planning a rebrand as well as a major overhaul of all functionalities as well as management.  

We've been waiting for fulfillment to be completed by the WaifuForge to finalize this acquisition and have finally confirmed that everything has been completed by them.  With tracking numbers being available on the backerkit. We've been informed about the USPS situation as well and waiting backers can rest assured that we are going to be keeping a close eye on that situation. 

For those who don't know who we are, we are a company that specializes in making "Original English Light Novels". Which has been going well for us and we've been looking to expand to other aspects of "Anime" related goods. 

Why acquire WaifuForge? Why not make your own?

When we came across the "Waifu Forge" products, we found them to be pretty novel(ha) and an interesting idea that is right up our alley! Unfortunately, it seems that a lack of organization is what ultimately led to this project ending up the way it did.  But we don't think it's anything outside of the realm of what we can't salvage and improve upon.

As to why not just get into the space ourselves, we didn't want to come off as copycats and we liked their current releases. Due to the situation they were in, it made sense to simply acquire them and improve on it. Much less work for us overall.

What does this acquisition mean?

For backers of this project, the acquisition doesn't mean terribly much. Although, all IP's and works from WaifuForge are now property of Novel Horizons and we will be modifying them and upgrading them using our special brand of "Novel Horizon" magic. Which is something we are particularly well known for. What this "magic" is, is really just our obsession with developing perfect, high-quality products that look good and function excellently. 

From what we can tell and from what we saw from the models, while nice, some of them lack that final "spit and polish" and we've already begun the process of enhancing the released models/miniatures. Which we will showcase lower down in this update.

What are the changes that will happen?

The first major change will be to the name of "WaifuForge". It is an interesting, fun name, but ultimately doesn't line up with our current naming convention. Thus, it will be rebranded as "Figure Horizons", that way customers know exactly what the company/group does. 

Another important change is that, moving forward, we will not be selling STL files to go with miniature projects. This is more of a "IP" related security measure then anything else due to WaifuForge having reported some unsavory distribution of their mini's. 

Dimensions for miniatures moving forward will be in a 1 inch by 1 inch base to 1.5 by 1.5 inch base. Depending on the models. Heights will vary, but all models will fit within this circular space. There will NOT be two different sizes (Small and large). Unless we specially decide to release a large model for a particularly popular design.  Or, we may do special orders for larger prints. 


Are you properly equipped to take on Waifu Forge things? How are you better?

While Novel Horizons may be a company the specializes in printing books and related paper merchandise, we have been doing research and development in the 3D printing space for over 2 years now in the pursuit of making our own Anime Scale Figures for our series.

Our soon to hit market Scale Figure. The result of all our R&D
Physical prototype

Because of this, we are equipped with our own high-end fleet of 10.1 inch, 5k resolution Mono-screen 3D printers which will soon be bolstered by the new 10.1 inch 8k mono-screen printers releasing soon. 

We believe one of the main issues that made Waifu Forge falter is their inability to keep up with their demand. Which led to them outsourcing production and by extension, shipping. Which created unnecessary extra steps strife with complications, communication issues and worst of all, expenses. 

Moving forward, all production, shipping will be done by us AND products will not leave our workshop until they pass various measures of our intense quality assurance examinations. 

We use these tests for our Scale figures and we expect the miniatures to be able to meet those metrics as well before shipping. 

What about the original miniatures?

As previously mentioned, we have in-fact started improving upon the old figures. Below you will see our modifications! 

Now designed to fit in the same base size, these are now infinitely more table-top and DND friendly then their predecessors. 

Specific changes are: 

---Wolf: There were several issues in her mesh in regards to contact points, leading to poor printing taking place. These have been fixed. Some of her weaker structure points have also been strengthened. 

---Harpy: Her original pose, while interesting, made her incredibly annoying to 3D print due to how big her outstretched wings made her. They also made her difficult to use on a board. We've brought the wings in and put her on a tower to stabilize her due to her claws being ill-suited for the task. 

---Centaur: Completely reposed. Her original stance made her WAY too big to be used on a board. Now, she can take up the same space and be equally imposing. Her spear has been thicker, due to the original being extremely thin and fragile.  Several gaps in her mesh have also been fixed, supported and overall improved to make 3D printing easier. 

---Red Dragon: Minor wing modification to fit within the space. The least changed of the four. 

I feel sorta meh since I bought the old ones. Do I get free replacements? What about STL backers?

In the name of good faith, STL backers will be given access to our new STL's so that the original pledge can remain valid. We want to foster good relations and this sort of development can be jarring, so this is our way to try and make everything more palpable so everyone stays as happy as possible.

For backers who have purchased the original miniatures, we unfortunately can't offer free replacements due to obvious financial reasons, but what we can try and do is get a discount code for backers so that they can purchase the new versions at a lower price point. We can't promise anything yet though. 

And the original Waifu Forge Team? 

As with all major developments, major changes are expected.

We've combed through the original team and have sadly had to remove certain members for not being able to meet our standards in workforce. Although some familiar faces will remain.  In regards to the 3D modeling team, while they were all talented, their ability to create 3D models suited for 3D printing was extremely limited. The ones willing to learn how to make 3D print ready models are staying, but those who didn't want to, have been relieved of their position. 

Now What? 

Very soon in the future we plan on launching a new kickstarter. With our new and improved direction, vision, and logistical ability, we are going to work toward making the original vision of the WaifuForge a reality. It's a fantastic idea and under our wing, we think it'll blow everyones mind! We've also been given information regarding the sorts of products backers of this project were interested in.

Although, right now, we believe we might make a "Human faction" counterpart to go with this "Monster faction" that we are currently working with. Give a bit of variation and fun! Definitely be sure to let us know what you think though!

Conclusion

This update has been REALLY long, but we wanted to make sure as much information was possible was communicated to the backers for this project.  We most likely missed a few things here and there, so be sure to reach out with questions or concerns that you may have.  We will do our best to accommodate everyone and we hope that we can still count on your support in the future as we prepare for a whole new era of anime miniatures! 

Fulfillment update
about 2 years ago – Mon, Feb 07, 2022 at 06:38:44 PM

Hello everyone, 

This will most likely be the final update for this project!

As of January 20th, we have officially mailed out all our rewards for backers!

Unfortunately, there have been some packages that haven't been delivered yet because the USPS center that they were sent to is having staff shortages. From what we were told there are hundreds of packages currently there waiting and it's a situation we have no control over at this point.

But, we would like to assure everyone that all the pledge rewards have in fact been mailed out. So, it should only be a matter of time before you receive your goods if you haven't already. 

We apologize for the inconvenience/delay and if you have any questions or concerns, let us know.

Thank you!

Project Fulfillment completion - January 15th
over 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 16, 2021 at 02:26:59 PM

Hello everyone! 

It's been some time since our October update, so we are back for what will hopefully be our second to last update or maybe even our last. 

Following continued bumps here and there, we finally see a clear date to finish completing orders. 

Up until now, there has been a steady supply of backer pledges being released, but the Centaur specifically presented some challenges in it's shipping-ability.  Although, we believe those to be fixed at this point in time.

With that in mind, we believe that all backer pledges will be mailed out by January 15th, which is about a month past our absolute deadline of before Christmas. Which is unfortunate, but we didn't predict encountering so many production level setbacks. (Specifically in creation, the 3D model-stability has since been fixed). 

We'd like to apologize to everyone who has yet to receive their orders for the delay.


Moving forward, due to the length of time production has taken, unfortunately, we don't believe we will be able to come back for another "wave" of miniatures. Financially, it isn't plausible due to the extended fulfillment time (Causing drastically higher then predicted operational costs).  

So, it's with heavy hearts that we make the prediction that after this project, Waifuforge may either close or relegate itself to working for-hire strictly under other companies. We just don't have the funds to invest to create enough assets for another kickstarter anymore.

At worst, we may sell off the current miniature designs/rights to another interested company.  Rather then leaving them unused. 


We'd like to thank everyone for their patience with this project and a big shout to you backers who supported us on this ambitious endeavor.

And if anyone has any questions, comments or concerns, please reach to let us know!