Good Afternoon Everyone!
I have opened a pre-order for the Hatamoto-chi! The kit will be true to the TRO artwork. The price will be $160 for pre-orders. After the pre-order closes it will retail at $180. As always e-mail me to order. Also, the marketplace has been updated with the newest kits.
New Kit Pre-order for 2026!
To accompany the Thunderbolt I am launching a pre-order for a 3025 Shadowhawk! Like the Thunderbolt, this will be based on the classic, unseen artwork but a bit more detailed and slightly updated but nothing major.
Price will be $150 plus shipping. I need, as always, around 15 to make this kit feasible.
If you are interested please leave a message in the comments or email me.
It looks like the Thunderbolt is going to be a go. If you are interested, please let me know in the comments and spread the word! I am shooting for a $150-170 price point. 15 orders will get us the $150 price.
NEW ORDER POLICY
The greatest hurdle has always been figuring out what mech the community wants. Some mechs will have high demand and low sales...others low initial demand but higher sales.
Going forward I will offer up a design with a two part pre-order. The pre-order would go out and require a non-refundable 10% deposit. If there are enough pre-orders then the kit would go into the "build" phase. Once the build is complete the remaining 90% would be due to cover the molding/casting like I do it now. I think this would really help me cut down on the time I spend building mechs that don't sell.
Of course, if I am for some reason I am unable to produce the kit, then ALL deposits would be refunded.
If you are interested, please e-mail me at this address.
The Wolfhound is the latest of my stash I'm selling off. Here is the link...
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BDKDq3ZjK/
Hey all. Just an FYI that I'm still here. I am trying to get a pre-order going for the Mackie. Also, if I still have good molds I can still cast kits on demand.
If you're interested in the Mackie please email me.
I am selling off some of my personal stash. The Loki just sold. Now I am selling off my last unassembled Bushwhacker kit. The minimum bid is $150. If you are interested please place a bid on the Battlemech Models Clients FB page or message me here.
All the Stormcrow orders have been filled and just need to be shipped. Whew! Lots of casting.
On the FB page we are debating the next kit. Right now the Panther is in the lead.
Feel free to check out my Patreon page. As little as a $1 can help keep the lights on.
https://www.patreon.com/BattlemechModels
I am about to retire the Sagittaire and the Fafnir from the shop. The molds are getting old, they take a lot of resin and I have only sold 1 of these in the last 4 years.
Okay...time to try out the new business model.
Kit Proposal: The Classic Stormcrow
The kit will be based on the classic 3050 Artwork seen below...minus the silly little arms. The kit will come with vents for the area over the cockpit as well as missiles as an option. I also plan on trying to cast the cockpit in clear resin...no guarantees there. Casting in clear is more difficult than regular resin.
If you want to fund this kit I will send out invoices that will require a non-refundable deposit. This will get the construction going. Once the kit is ready to be molded/cast the remaining balance will be due.
Despite the hugely increased cost of material, I am going to try to keep the price-point reasonable...$150 plus shipping. To do this I am going to need a minimum of 15 invoices/down payments (kickstarts?).
If you are interested please message me. Full terms and details will be laid out in the invoice.
I am leaning heavily towards changing my business model. The greatest hurdle has always been figuring out what mech the community wants. Some mechs will have high demand and low sales...others low initial demand but higher sales.
The change I am considering is this. I will offer up a kit with a two part pre-order. The pre-order would go out and require a non-refundable 10% deposit. If there are enough pre-orders then the kit would go into the "build" phase. Once the build is complete the remaining 90% would be due to cover the molding/casting like I do it now. I think this would really help me cut down on the time I spend building mechs that don't sell. Of course, if I am unable to produce the kit, the 10% would be refunded. To do this I would have to provide you with a more clear design than my usual, "trust me" approach.
Thoughts?
It is my hope that we can make 2024 better than 2023 turned out to be. Invoices for SRM pre-order will go out late this week.
Happy New Year!
I am amazed how time flies and how bad I am at updating this site. Unfortunately, this page doesn't get a lot of traffic anymore. Having spoken with several others I know who have business websites it seems people cruise social media sites more than they do websites. In fact, I saw a post on Facebook recently where someone was amazed that a model FB site had a huge website with tons of resources. I have been a subscriber to that website since the early 2000s. Sadly, I have fallen into that trap too...briefly looking at social media sites rather than websites.
The Highlander is available for sale. It is a bit larger than 1/60 as it was originally designed as a client commission and he wanted a big Highlander for his office. The cost is $235 plus shipping but it is a big kit...about 11" tall (about 28cm).
Not a lot has changed since the last update. I am doing Highlanders in batches of 5. Once I get the current 5 orders done I'll move on to the next 5.
I've been asked what my next mech is and honestly, I don't know. After the Highlander I can say most heavy and assault mechs are off the table. They are just too expensive to produce and there isn't a lot of "meat on the bone" for me.
The economy is playing into it as well. As much as the media loves to tell us everything is getting better, I don't see it. Gas is still up, my grocery bill is about 30% higher, utilities are up, etc. In talking with customers overseas I know they are dealing with the same issues.
That being said, it makes it hard to get folks to commit to a $150 model let alone a $225 model.
Maybe I'll get lucky and a commission will come in.
Keep on building, folks!
Hi All,
I've been dealing with the death of a close family member. Jess and I are just a mess at the moment...just kind of existing in a fog.
All but a couple of the Vindicators are done and ready to ship. There are a couple international orders to take care of but that is it. Huzzah and thanks for supporting this mech!
Next, the regulars have talked me into molding the Highlander I am custom building for a client. Now, it is going to take a lot of rubber to mold and resin to cast. This is a big mech...about the same size as the Armorcast Atlas. There are so many folks interested that I am doing a randomization for small batch pre-orders. Once I compile a list of those that are a 100% Yes I will enter all the names in a spreadsheet and then randomize the names and just work through the list in small batches.
If you are interested in the Highlander, please let me know by e-mailing me here.
The title says it all. Supplies have been ordered and molding shall get underway.
I'm thinking of doing a Pre-order for my next mech...the Vindicator. This was another collaboration with Albert Benton
The price would be around $140 plus shipping. I know that's a lot for a medium mech but resin and rubber prices are still through the roof...despite what we are being told about inflation/prices coming down.
For those that pre-order there will be a pre-order bonus included. My current plan is to try to get laser etched wallet sized "Warranty Cards" made for you. Some of you got similar cards with your Marauders.
So, who's in? E-mail me here...
Well, things are progressing slower than we had hoped.
I am finally coming off the morphine but I still hurt and am tired all the damn time. My surgeon is now shooting for "back to normal" in the May time frame. It just boils down to the fact that the area where we had to do work is the core of the body. There is very little I can do that doesn't involve my abs. Add to that this is the 5th time in 10 years this part of the body has been chopped on...it's just not cooperating as we had hoped.
Our AC died. Jess has spent the last two weeks living out of a hotel an hour away as her grandmother has been in the ICU. Jess and her mother are the only folks who can act as her advocate. 2023 isn't starting well on the home front.
On the Battletech front things are pretty good! I have all the parts for the Vindicator printed. There is just some clean-up to do. I don't want to open a pre-order until this is 100% ready to go into molds and I'll have to have assistance working with the rubber. I am working on an Archer commission build, a Locust commission build and also working on a Highlander scratch build for a client.
Here is some randomness for you...I completely miss-scaled a Hatomoto-chi a long time ago and have been working on it on and off for a while. It will probably end up on eBay as I just don't make as much as I probably could in the auction I list here and on Facebook. It's about 14" making it around 1/48 scale. It's big!
Onward and upward!
Hi All.
In September I mentioned that operations would be limited due to health issues. There are several regulars who visit this site and not my Facebook page so here is a rather long winded update.
All year I have been dealing with increasing abdominal pain and fatigue amongst other things. The abdominal pain prevented me from working in the shop for more than a couple hours at a time. Anyone who understands anatomy knows that the "core" of the body is involved in pretty much any and all movement. Almost every activity in my ship requires bending, twisting, leaning over, etc.
I finally visited a doctor in August and he found several problems all related to the cancer surgery in 2012. When the cancer doc did the surgery he really did not take into account the nervous system...he just chopped out the the tumor and the margins and whatever nerves were in the way just got chopped out.
So, I had a procedure to help me swallow...yeah, I was having trouble swallowing food and drink.
In late October the surgeon who had tried to fix the shit hernia repair situation back in 2016 went in to fix yet another hernia that had popped up. When he went in he found things in my abdomen were much, much worse than the MRI had shown. After he got in there he found that the muscles in my abdomen looked like "swiss cheese." The hour-long surgery turned into an almost 5 hour procedure. The surgeon had to take apart the muscle layers, fix all the rips, insert more mesh in between those layers and then rebuild my abdominal wall with even more mesh. I spent almost 6 weeks in bed. My activity was limited to shuffling around the house, using the toilet, showering and taking my oxycodone and morphine.
I just had a follow-up with the surgeon this week and he was quite irate that I was doing simple things like sweeping the hard-wood floors. He said that if everything goes perfectly I might be at 75-80% healed by the beginning of 2023. Once he feels I am healed enough I will have to go through physical therapy to tone/retrain my core muscles.
My plan is to start taking on limited casting jobs with the understanding that it will probably take a couple weeks to get the kit cast.
I am, unfortunately, without any income since September. The only income I have is what I have coming from Patreon (9 very loyal supporters). Even with health insurance, the amount out-of-pocket has been outrageous and has pretty much drained out emergency fund.
So, I'm trying to get back on my feet. I have upgraded from being in bed to being in a recliner. Ugh. If there are any kits you want to order feel free to hit the marketplace. If you wan to join my Patreon you can click HERE.
Thanks for your support and patience.
For those that have not moved over to the new Facebook Clients page (see link in previous post) you are missing out on a lot. I have auctioned off several of my older, out of production mechs to help with medical costs and whatnot. There has been a Bushwhacker, a Deimos and now a Dervish up for sale.
I regularly get e-mails asking about re-popping some of these old designs...well, now is your chance so don't miss out.
As I said, right now I have a Dervish up for auction (not eBay, the FB page). The current bid is $150. Message me if you want to throw a bid into the ring.
