Welcome to my new studio!
There are still some finishing touches and decorations to be done, but I can finally say I’m back to a semblance of normalcy.
Those who have been following the updates I’ve shared on Kickstarter and my social media will know that 2024 has been a particularly turbulent year for me and my creation.
In May, my friend and longtime adventure companion, Franck, gave me the worst professional news I could have imagined: his company, GRX Créations, was shutting down.
I confess that something inside me broke in May, and despite the months that have passed, I’m still struggling to process this professional loss.
Like any bombshell, that news came at the worst possible time, with a Kickstarter campaign to complete and an imminent move to organize!
In April, everything was planned out: during the summer, I would dedicate myself entirely to painting and gathering material for my Hobby Compendium. Then, in September, I’d move from Turin to Bordighera—a return to my roots. Finally, in October, I was supposed to start shipping the rewards from The Orcs of Inneath campaign.
Instead, by early May, I found myself needing to restart production from scratch, find a new resin supplier, and face the prospect of spending the entire summer printing prototypes of my entire range of miniatures to eventually (who knows when!) have restocks of my kits.
In September, with my entire life packed into boxes ready for the move, I received another piece of lovely news: the renovation work on my new home was delayed by at least two months.
Only now, after six months where it felt like the world was moving on without waiting for me, can I say that I’ve regained control of my daily life.
I won’t bore you with more details about my private life, which I’m sure aren’t of much interest to you, but I wanted to share an update on the situation and explain why, in recent months, things at Durgin Paint Forge might have seemed “on hold.”
OUT OF STOCK
As you may have noticed, many kits are out of stock. Unfortunately, this situation will likely persist for a while. In June, I found a new resin supplier, Madness Casting Studio, but the current priority is producing the kits needed to complete The Orcs of Inneath campaign.
Only after fulfilling my commitment to the backers in the best way possible will I focus on reorganizing my entire product inventory.
DIGITAL TRANSITION?
You may have noticed the return of many digital kits in the store and my dedication to Patreon with the Ranks & Files range. While these have been essential for maintaining some level of sales during the months when stock shortages and my inability to manage physical orders during the two months of moving prevailed, digital kits remain an accessory product to my main range, Peoples of Inneath.
I fully intend to continue producing physical kits, which will remain my primary focus!
2025
Realistically, I expect this situation to last until mid-2025. As I mentioned, my absolute priority right now is completing The Orcs of Inneath campaign and subsequently reorganizing DPF’s entire production pipeline (from restocking current kits to producing new kits in progress). I feel frustrated and discouraged because I’ve had to postpone projects I’ve been working on for months, and it feels like I’m back to square one after over 10 years of hard-earned experience.
Nevertheless, I plan to use this transitional period to experiment with alternative ideas and work with an eye toward the future.
Alongside Ranks & Files, I’m already working on the next range for Inneath, as some of you may have guessed by looking at the new Iron Crow Iron Warrior:
This new iteration of Kazhuk Izril’s most armored dwarf won’t stand alone, of course. It will be accompanied by fresh concepts like the Raven Lord, of which I have an advanced WIP you haven’t seen yet:
As you may have noticed, I’m attempting a soft redesign of the Imperial Ravens to find the right balance between aesthetics, paintability, and durability. Over the years, I’ve received feedback on these models being too difficult to paint, with some elements (legs and tails) being overly fragile.
Valerio and I are working on finding the right balance for the redesign. We’ve slightly adjusted the proportions of the animal by enlarging the head a bit and removing some of the finer feather textures that made the sculpture hard to read when printed at 32mm scale.
We’ve made the tail sturdier and worked on the poses to ensure there are no fragile elements.
There’s still some work to do to make it perfect. For example, I plan to increase the level of detail on the wings and refine the feather texture further, but I believe this direction is the best for this scale.
BACK TO NORMAL
For now, I won’t make any bold declarations, but let’s just say that after some truly tough months, I’ve regained a bit of normalcy. The new studio is almost ready, and I finally have a place to ship and paint again—I’d say I’m more than satisfied!
I hope you’ll continue to follow my projects. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough for you, and I wish I could do more!
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and hope you spend these holidays with your dearest loved
Matteo