Vulture MK IV Pre-Order

Alright....talked to the caster.   The pre-order price is $140 and that includes free shipping in the lower 48 states.  International orders expect about an additional $25 for shipping.  To make this happen I need 15 paid pre-orders. The PayPal pre-order button/cart set up is a pain in the ass, so just e-mail me for an invoice.  When you e-mail, please let me know where this is being shipped to.

Vulture MK IV

Here are some pics of the Vulture MK IV.  Anyone interested in a kit?  Each kit would come with multiple main weapon barrels and 2 "ammo cans."  This way the builder can make options with either 2 PPCs or 2 ACs or a mix.  Also, there are ball and socket joints at the hips and ankles to make this easy to pose. 

Another Marketplace Update

FYI: The Bushwacker is sold out! I do have 4 more Dervish kits available fresh from the caster...if interested, e-mail me!

Also, I am about done with the Vulture MK IV build and am considering offering this one as a kit.  If I do, there would have to be 15 pre-orders to produce it. 

Marketplace Update

FYI...the Dervish is sold out.

Vulture MK IV Update

Finally...after screwing with this build for months, I had a break through.  The shoulders/torso missile launchers were giving me fits but I think I have got it. Also, got one arm gun almost done.  Legs are in progress but they are not primed yet so no pics of those.

Mad Cat MK II

Good evening.  Figured I would drop some pics of the Mad Cat MK II  I am working on.  This one is for me.  I decided to go with a generic air craft gray and some weather.   Also, I am having an "artist" work on a BMC Unit logo.  I am meshing the old FASA logo with the defunct Fasa Studios logo. Should look cool if the can pull it off.  If not, I may hit up one of you.

Marketplace Update

FYI: The Dervish is now available in the Marketplace.

Dervish Pre-Orders

All the paid pre-orders have shipped...with exception of two international orders.  Those will go out this weekend. 

In the original pre-order, I had offered up a Cougar kit if we hit 15 paid orders. We only hit 12 but since the caster gave them to me at cost, I figured, "What the heck" and did a drawing for 2 Cougar kits.  Those were sent out with the orders...one to Perry and the other to BM.  Thank you all for your continued support. 

Currently I am working on the Vulture MK IV which is driving me nuts.  I am just not happy with the SRM launchers and keep redoing them.  I have spent two weeks playing with just that one part of the kit. There is also the Masakari. I am making it more "casting" friendly as well as correcting some things that manifested as issues on the Daishi kit. Additionally, I am going to include two different style barrels.  On top of that, I have a Vulture commission to build and a Dervish to build for Sam so he can pitch his "Combined Arms" idea.  Busy, busy, busy.

Dervish...'nuf said

Here are some shots of the first of the Dervish kits.  They should start shipping in the next week or so.  As for the drawing for a Cougar, we did not hit the 15 mark.  That being said, the caster still got me a couple "B-" grade casts out of the old molds. Being the generous soul that I am, TWO of you (randomly drawn, of course) will have Cougar kits in with your Dervish pre-orders.  You can post here if you wish...to let others know the free kit drawing was not Bovine Scatology.

One for the road?

So, I have been fine tuning the Masakari with an eye towards casting it.  The main thing I am playing with is the 4 PPC barrels.  I think they need to be more burly.  Should we try to get one more kit in this year?

For those that pre-ordered the Dervish, it should be ready about month end.

Comment away!

Madcat MK II

Several of you have said you are interested in the Madcat MK II.  The caster says the molds are still in good shape.  Rather than me order a bunch and end up with some sitting in the closet, I am going to do this like a pre-order.  If you want one, I can invoice you. Once paid orders are collected, I will send them to the caster bearing in mind he does not like randomly casting one or two at a time.  So, for another order I need at least 5 pre-pays.  If you want one, e-mail me your name, PayPal e-mail, and country to be shipped to and I will invoice you.

Just heard from the caster.  The molds are officially dead. Sorry for those of you whose invoices got cancelled.  We really thought we could get more pulls but its just not happening.  For the two that paid, I am filling your orders out of my personal stash. 

Awesome? You be the judge.

I finally got my hands on one of Thor's 3D printed mechs.  While it is great to have access to some of these new MWO mechs, I have to say that these mechs are NOT for the inexperienced modeler. Heck, I am a little intimidated by the amount of work that is going to go into making these things shelf worthy.  The detail is awesome...that's for sure.  The big drawbacks for me are:

1.  Lots of pieces and no instructions. You can fiddle and get it, but the build is not straight forward.

2.  The printing process itself leaves lots of lines as it builds the different layers.  You can use acetone or Mr. Surfacer on it, but again...lots of time consuming work.

3.  My biggest concern is that the pieces are "splitting" in various areas. There are several spots on the torso and legs where the layers are coming apart.  You can see it in the pics.

These are just my thoughts.  I have heard from others in our community they have all had different experiences. Pics are below.

On another note...

As you may have noticed, International Shipping costs have gone up again.  The USPS will now only ship mail to certain countries via Priority International and its not cheap.  In fact, I took a hit today when I shipped a Bushwacker to England and it cost $40.

Anyway, here are the promised pics...

Turn out the lights when you leave...

Ahh...a fine fall morning here is the south eastern United States. Birds chirping, breeze blowing, and storm clouds on the horizon.

Speaking of storm clouds...this has been a bad year for Battlemechs. Sales have been awful...only one pre-order was fully funded...the Jumpstarter flopped...and I have not been able to figure out exactly why...although I have my theories.

That being said, after a lot of thought and consideration I have decided to scale back production to minimal levels. In fact, after the Dervish run I plan on doing only two more mechs.  I am currently working the Vulture MK IV.  If that pre-order is fully funded, it will be produced in the spring of 2015. After that, I am going to finish the Nova that Dave chose in the Jumpstarter. Beyond that, I have no plans to produce more mechs. Once mechs in the store sell out, don't plan on seeing restocks any time soon.

The site will not go away.  I will post pics of what I am scratch building and regular builds.  If anyone submits pics, I will post them. I will still take one-off commissions but I guarantee that prices will start to reflect market rates since I won't be building them with an eye towards casting.

What is all boils down to is a cost/benefit analysis.  When the costs outweigh the benefits, its time to rethink things...and that is about where we are these days..."too much red ink in the ledger."

So, keep checking in...I am always working on something...just don't look for new kit announcements and don't be surprised when the Marketplace link goes away.

Dervish Pre-Order Part II

I had been planning to pay for the Dervish out of pocket as I only had 5 pre-orders paid for (normally need 15 to cover 2/3 or so of the production run costs). However, I have had health issues arise. Nothing serious, but the out of pocket costs are a bitch...and since we got dumped on a healthcare exchange (thanks Obamacare) we are paying more monthly for less coverage and greater out-of-pocket expense.

So, I am re-opening the Dervish pre-order...kind of.  In an effort to raise the funds to cover production I am going to sweeten the pot.  If we hit 15 paid pre-orders, then I will raffle off one of my out of production kits.  Here is how it will work...for each kit you pre-order, you will get one shot at the kit.  If you pre-order 2, you get 2 shots at the kit.

For the 5 that have already pre-paid, those purchases count towards the raffle and the 15 needed.  

What kit, you ask? Cougar!  Pre-Order your Dervish below!

Cost/Shipping Options

Domestic Shipping $110.00 USD International Shipping $135.00 USD

Various Updates

Good Sunday Morning, everyone.  I figured that while I sip on my morning coffee (and contemplate which cigar will come after breakfast) I could whack out a quick update.

For those handful that pre-paid, I am pressing the caster for a completion date on the Dervish.  He originally said in July when I sent it to him that he could start it the first of  September.  Well, as of this weekend, he has not started any of it yet. His last job ran over.

Sales have slumped seriously in the past 6 months.  I am blown away at how many kits I have on the shelf right now. As a result, I have even resorted to...gulp...eBay to move some.  BTW, they have really jacked up fees over the years.  Now you even have to pay them a percentage of your shipping costs. I about died after I sold a few kits and got an invoice for $100.

The next kit will be either the Nova, Vulture MK IV, or Masakari.

Speaking of the MK IV, that one is progressing well.  I have roughed out the upper torso and one gun.  I plan on making a master of the gun body and different tips as well as "ammo cans" so you can mix and match different arms.  You could make them both Autocannons or both PPCs or one of each.

Finally, I only had one suggestion for a BMC unit logo and no solid suggestions for a unit color scheme. I was thinking of doing something in an Air force gray (like Terence).  Then, the left leg would be left up to the individual to represent the unit they came from...because we are Mercs after all. Not an original idea...but lacking other input...

Vulture MK IV upper body

BMC Regiment Assemble!

First, a huge thanks to those that participated in my son's fundraiser.  He was thrilled to get the check that went in as a flat donation for his Fun Run!  You guys are great...I am humbled by the fantastic folks that surround me. 

Second...I have decided to come up with a formal paint scheme for FCY: BMC Regiment. I was inspired by Terrence Wong's build of the Vulture MK II.  His work can be seen over at MWO: Mercs.  I love the BMC & FCY decals he came up with...very military looking.  Ihave some thoughts of my own, but I wanted to open it up for ideas.  So, post your ideas, links to ideas, etc. in the comments area.  As there are so many possible units out there I have ditched the idea of offering decals for all the different houses and may just offer BMC Regiment decals & Logos.  Oh, that brings to mind that I am also kicking around ideas for a unit logo.  Feel free to submit them too!  Maybe I can come up with a special "thank you" if I adopt your idea. 

I also got a new photo cube.  I am tired of taking photos with just a flash and having detail washed out and god awful shadows. Here are my first few test shots. Since I am not using the flash I will have to play with lighting and get the tripod back out.