Black Army Productions: Latest News (8/19/09) Stock is inbound!

[Doc Twilight]

Don't you 'young padawan', Master Jedi. I've got 6 years of revolutions around the sun on you.

And patience, sure, how long is that going to take?

Fair enough;)

To be honest, some extremely unexpected days did creep in. The figs in the first wave were -supposed- to be ready for sale by the beginning of August. But... we all know what happens when one assumes that time tables will be followed, promises made will be kept, yadda, yadda;)

Will have them out soon, though, and I'll announce it here first.

-Doc

[diehard]

Don't you 'young padawan', Master Jedi. I've got 6 years of revolutions around the sun on you.

And patience, sure, how long is that going to take?

Heh, "Boot to the Head." Good one.

[Doc Twilight]

Update - 8/15/2009

First master mold is finished, and the master castings are on their way!

I am pleased to report that the first master mold is now finished, with the initial casting spins on their way to my secret jungle hideout. The caster reported that the molding process went very well, that the master greens/greys survived almost unscathed, and that it shouldn't be a problem to get many more of these guys into production.

The following miniatures should be available soon:

* Fu'Xian
* Western Dame, with Pistol
* Local Dame, with Pistol
* Zang, Furry Nuisance
* Doc Twilight
* Gangster, with Tommy Gun
* Gangster, with Pistol
* Gangster, with Spear

The remaining figures, including Abel, the Walking Ghost, and Tesla, along with the rest of the first wave of the Shanghai range, will be available shortly, as well, but they still need to be molded. The Euzkadi is there, and I haven't heard on its status yet. It will likely be available around the same time.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled. It looks like this thing may become a reality, and sooner than expected! How soon is soon? My caster has many other clients, so it's partly dependent upon when he has a chance to do our casting. I am still thinking end of the month/first part of September. I will go out on a limb here and say that most of the figs will be for sale by the second week of September at the latest.

Because I can now hazard a guess as to the cost of casting, I can begin thinking about pricing, which is something many of you have asked about. Single part figs will, probably, be in the area of $3US each; multi part figs (ie: figs with various weapon and hand options, etc.) will likely run about $4US. Individual sprues - about $1. The Champions of History may run slightly higher (probably around $5 for most of them). I don't know yet about how much cavalry will cost, and don't want to over or underestimate and disappoint someone. Will they be sold singly or in sets? Actually that's a very good question, but at the moment, single looks to be the optimal arrangement. That may change in the future, especially as popularity of various figs emerge.

The Euzkadi will run, as I previously mentioned, at about twenty dollars each, but I will offer two for thirty five, initially. I don't have a price on the Ehrhardt yet - Tobi hasn't finished it (that isn't a critcism - he's been very kind to continue working on it, it's a real bear of a model), and the caster hasn't seen it. I can tell you that it will likely run more than the Euzkadi. (Beyond that, I'm afraid I don't have much concrete to tell you about it.)

Please keep in mind that my caster is very fast, but it is possible that we'll occasionally run out of a certain casting. This is primarily because these are multi-figure molds, and some figs may sell very quickly while others may not. Quantities will be refilled as quickly as possible, but I'll be sure to put a notice on the website when something is running low or out of stock.

Any questions, comments, etc... are always welcome:)

-Doc

[Doc Twilight]

Several emails to me lately asking for an update, most of them from here, so I thought I'd post it here, first. This is similar to some comments I made in the Solomon Kane thread, but for those of you who aren't aware...

As of several weeks ago, all of the master castings for the sixteen figures in the first release are done. I have metal masters for all of them, and every sculpt turned out beautifully. Very little flash. I have painted up a few items so far as samples (Doc, and the Chinese gangsters) and they painted up easily. When I have a chance, I'll post some pics here.

There has been a slight problem with casting the first two of Tobi's vehicles. Not enough structure inside the hulls for the new casting mechanism the caster is using. Not Tobi's fault - they would have worked with the older equipment just fine. So, that requires cracking open the hulls and filling them with resin. All of Tobi's future sculpts for us will be "filled" where necessary (and that's very nice of Tobi, he certainly didn't HAVE to do it.)

The Euzkadi is theoretically being molded/cast this week, after being filled.

I do have the master for the Ehrhardt. It's a real beauty. Several gun positions, open and closed hatch options, and the commander's hatch requested here by members of the LAF, including a gap in the turret for the placement of a command fig. Also, two different kinds of wheels. There will be four of each, so that you can mix and match as you choose. There are no separate axle pieces - the wheels simply glue to the sides of the hull.

That, however, doesn't answer the real question I keep getting, which is: when will these be available. This is because I stated here several times (and several times elsewhere) that the range would begin being available no later than the second week of September. Here we are in the second week of September, so what gives? Rather than pull a Mongoose, I'll actually tell you;)

Everything is essentially in the caster's hands. The master molds are done. The production molds should be done. The only things that shouldn't necessarily be ready immediately are the Euzkadi (for reasons discussed above) and the Ehrhardt (which is still in my possession). But that's where we are...

I am simply awaiting delivery of the initial spins. And it's been a very long, impatient process for me, believe me. Granted, real life intervenes, but a lot of people want these figures. Frankly, from a business perspective, I lose money on these models every day they aren't available for sale - particularly when certain "hot" personalities (The Witch Hunter for example) are wanted by gamers but are produced by other companies in our absence. (We still have the best Witch Hunter in my opinion.. but the trouble is that he isn't available yet.)

[fairoaks024]

all the best Doc,

like most others here i'm gagging for some of these, but know real life often gets in the way,

regards

jim

[Sinewgrab]

Me, I am not as fired up for the witch hunter as I am the Phantom analogue. I need him for a hero in my Pygmy army! I'll give him the arrows that make his "bow" ignore armor. That'll be a good analogue for a pistol!

Gimme!

[Doc Twilight]

Thanks much for the support Jim, Sinew, and everyone else!:)

I do have some brighter news.

Things are finally back on track, and the caster informs me that our production order will be spun next week on Monday and Tuesday. That means that we will have product in hand within the next two weeks, barring another something unforseen, a postal strike in the US (not likely), etc.

At the moment, the order is for between 48 and 50 models of each item, including the Euzkadi. It varies somewhat because of the construction of the mold in question. From a practical matter, because of local sales, samples, and the like, that will leave at least forty of everything. Not a bad number for an initial stocking. We'll order more, obviously, as time goes on, but it's a good number to start with.

The Lead Adventure Forum will be given advance notice when the store is up and running, so that this lot of hooligans will have the first shot at our stock.

My shipping situation is such that I am still investigating options, but I'll let you know as soon as I know what the final details are.

Will post here again when I have the stock in hand and am more confident of a shipping date!

-Doc

[Ray Rivers]

Hey Doc,

Hold 2 Euzkadi's for me, please!