Packing up, and stuff!

I’m behind my desired launch schedule and haven’t posted any updates lately. That doesn’t mean that I’m ignoring this project. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. I’ll try to not be too rambling but give you a little taste of the madness.

The stock from John McEwan’s company (Reviresco) came in. My initial offerings will include around 70 items from him. The photo above is just a teaser. There will be sci-fi, pulp fiction, and fantasy items plus some scatter terrain and kit-bashing pieces. We’ll be expanding the offering soon to include some WWI and WWII. If you have any favorite McEwan Miniatures or Reviresco figures that you would like to see us carry here, let us know. Our store will list a combination of items from John’s current stock, some old out of production items, and some very limited special production run items that John has cast for us. I’m very excited to be partnering with John to make these available here. I still have many photos to take, crop, and resize. Plus typing up the pack names and descriptions for the online shop database. That is the tedious part that I keep putting off.

The three photos below are the first of the stock (all properly bagged up) from the rights/stock/masters/molds that I purchased from Stan (as in Stan Johansen Miniatures). I am working with Mike at Iron Wind Metals to have the molds run and the first three photos are from the first shipment from him.

This first photo shows the 25mm Ssss: Snake-like aliens (with arms because 20′ snakes are not scary enough, they have to be able to carry weapons too). And of course they come with an anti-grav packs so they can move across difficult terran with ease. These come as 3 figures per squad in a pack. The squads may sound small but each Ssss is equivalent to around three humans in our rules. These are smaller packs than Stan offered to give folks a greater flexibly for building their armies the way that they like. There are three body poses: Stretched out, coiled ready to attack, and reared up. The poses will be randomly selected for each pack with the weapon selection specified per the squad type.

This next photo shows the 25mm Klackons: Giant crab-like aliens. Again, these are smaller packs than Stan offered. They come 2 per pack which may not sound like a lot but each Klackon is equivalent to around five humans. There are two body types: Standard, and with a heavy weapons mounting location & targeting scope over one eye. The body type and the weapon selection will be specified per the squad type. Only the Infantry Squad packs will have the standard body. The two Klackons in the Platoon HQ pack will have the advanced body so the eye scope can signify the rifle equipped Klackon is a sniper and can give the pistol armed leader a firing bonus also. For both the Klackons and the Ssss (and all future faction packs), the squad packs will line up with the tactical organizations listed in our rules.

This next photo shows the 15mm Star Armor collection. Some items have not shipped to us yet so there are limited quantities. We’ll get those added to the inventory as soon as they arrive. The two hover platforms and all the Blarads however, need a new mold to be made. I have the masters from Stan but once this existing stock that I received from him sells out, they will be out of stock on our site for a substantial time until new molds are made. If you are interested in any of them, it is best to get your order in sooner rather than later. I know, the store isn’t even open yet, but if you can’t wait, you can let me know what you are interested in via our Contact form. We could then work out the details via email.

I was hoping to show off some new photos of the next batch of Fictioneer minis but they are still in the mail slowly making their way across the country to me. I’ll post about them when they arrive. The Fictioneers all required new molds to be made. I am working with Joshua at Zombiesmith for these. He is sending me the 2nd batch of samples to review. Assuming that they look as goods as the first review batch, he will be around 75% of way through this part of the projects. It will be wonderful to know that the Fictioneers are back in molds again after all these decades. At least most of them. There are still a few poses that have been lost to time. If you have any that you would be willing to part with for this restoration effort, please let me know. It is mostly the Sitan Humanoids that are missing some poses.

Another thing that has been keeping me busy has been painting samples to show on the webstore and to use for playtesting rules sets. AARs will be coming soon for Fictioneers: Legacy (Scenario #2 – Attack on Outpost 983) and Gunship 2000 play test sessions. We also have been working on some super simple WWI & WWII rules (in our ‘spare time’). The goal for each of these rules sets is to serve as an easy gateway game to introduce new players to the hobby. Whether you are the new player that needs a little help IDing/organizing your minis into units, or you just want a fun beer & pretzels game to run for some friends, we hope you’ll give these a try. We realize that there are better games available… more detailed or realistic… many that are free also, and/or already have large followings at conventions. Ours will be offered as free pdf downloads, and are tailored to the minis we sell. We hope to also start having printed copies available with two opposing factions, dice, and accessories as a box set later this year.

Below is a WIP photo of some of the 1/72 scale WWII Infantry (Russian & German) along with an Italian S-37 Armored Car from Reviresco that we’ll be carrying. I only have finished the base coat colors and the black wash. I still need to go back and dry-brush the highlight colors, then finish the bases, and lastly seal them with clear dull-coat. I was in a rush to take the photos this morning and the light was not ideal so the color might look a bit off. These are just a few spares that I had available. I wanted to get some painted up to start playtesting with. There are additional poses such as Russians with hard helmets and also troopers in winter outfits, the ones that look like Ralphie in A Christmas Story (“I can’t put my arms down!”). I still have a lot to learn about the fighting on the Eastern Front before I place an order for the mold such as what is a good ratio for the Russian’s weapon mix: Rifles — Rifles w/Scopes — SMG — MG?