Sagittaire is LIVE!

Sagittaire pre-order is a go! The kit stands around 10" (about 25.5 cm) tall. This is just a quick tack-job so you can see it. There will be gun barrels for both arms (only pictured in one of the arms here). I am still debating on which toe set to use..the broad or narrow. There are also fins that come off each arm and additional vents for the left and right side of the torso (not pictured). The Madcat MK II is included for a sense of scale. Sorry about some of the blur in the pics...my old camera refuses to focus well without the flash on...even with the lights in the photo-cube. But it is a decade or so old and has seen a lot of use. You can PM for an invoice for $150 plus shipping. This is a big kit so overseas shipping is going to be expensive.

Sagittaire

Start saving your pennies.  The Sagittaire pre-order should be coming in the next couple weeks.

General Update

Hi all. Surgery was a couple weeks ago...and when I talked to the surgeon yesterday at a follow-up visit he said the hernias were really, really big and it was a pretty major procedure. Currently I am on Oxycodone, Valium and Neurontin. This means I am doing very little on the mech front as I feel it unwise to be messing with sharp objects at the moment.

For those that ordered a Daishi, the domestic orders will go out tomorrow. For those that ordered internationally it will be a little longer as I cannot drive right now which means I cannot get to the post office to mail the kits. 

Based on what is ready, I think the Sagittaire will be the next kit. It is 90% done and just needs a little detail work. I should have that to Jimi in the next couple weeks and then he will get me a quote.

The Mad Cat I am working on is just kind of sitting there. I want the arms to be different from the original Armorcast kit. I tried the MWO style arms and they don't look right. I have played around with modding the Armorcast arms but have not come up with anything I am happy with.

The Marauder is a great and horrible print. The detail is great but will take LOTS of work to make castable. Some parts have to be modded to make them cast-friendly and every inch of this thing will have to be sanded smooth. Don't expect to see this one until next year.

Daishi Revival: Sold out

Jimi Glancy Jr. has been going through his stash of molds and thinks we can get a few more decent casts of the Daishi. This will be a VERY limited run...when the molds are dead, so is the kit production. Anyone interested? I am thinking around $150? The first 5 pre-orders will be guaranteed a kit.  After that, it depends on how the molds last. This is another of those resin hogs...

Surprise! Next Kit Reveal

Pics will speak for me....pre-order coming soon. 

Another general update

Well, some good news on the Large Scale Battletech front...the Templar has been officially commissioned (official meaning a down payment has been made) and the buyer has agreed to let me kit it. Jumped into that last weekend. I cut more plastic in one day then I have in months, I do believe. Additionally, the Mad Cat I started and put away has been picked up as a commission. Apparently, one of you lads REALLY wanted to see that become a kit as well. I am thinking the MWO arms would look good on it....maybe. That or arms similar to the Vulture MK II.

On the Fafnir front, the caster is making GOOD progress. He has been sending me pics but I am hesitant to share them. Every caster has his/her own way of doing things and I have NEVER seen a caster use a process like this guy is using. Based on the pics and his explanations, I think this may actually be one of the most bubble-free kits to date. He said I should have a prototype in hand in a week or so. When I get it, pics will be posted.

General Update

The Fafnir.  It is at the caster and has been for about 3 weeks.  He still has not started it.  Sigh....

Atlas restock is supposed to be done this week...but it was supposed to be done last week.  Sigh...

I have to be honest, I am in a really bad place when it comes to making these models.  Sales have not been that great for the last year.  I have issue after issue with casters...granted, it is often stuff beyond their control but it still causes me stress.  People are quick to commit to buying but when I set up a pre-order it is usually only the same 15 or so people who actually order (and to you guys I am grateful beyond words).  Currently, I have about 15 Owens kits on the shelf, 10 Loki kits, 5 Mad Cat MK II kits, a couple Bushwackers and a couple of Hellspawns. I am advertising them as much as I dare as I do not want CGL to come down on me...and I am fighting the new MWO stuff.  People are printing those cheaper than I can do mine. Again, there is that core of you who appreciate the quality I turn out but there are way more people who would rather pay $100 for a poorly printed MWO (fill in the mech here) than $135 for one of my resin beasties. Oh, and before the hate comes my way...when I say poorly printed, I am simply referring to level of 3D printing tech right now...not the skill of they people doing it.

Then there are the people who commission mechs. We work out the details and pricing, send pics/revisions back and forth...then when it comes time to put down a deposit..POOF!  Gone.  Three times this year alone. That is just time wasted...

So...this weekend (when I was off half my meds) I packed up the Sagittaire, the Mad Cat, the Mauler, the Shadow Cat, and the Templar and put them in the closet.

I am working with my printer (AKA the Magician) to get an SLA print of the Centurion and that is going to be the last mech for the foreseeable future...mainly because I really want a Centurion. It is my "grail" kit. I think once I add some of my touches to the MWO design, it will be fantastic. Oh, and it will be in MY 1/60 scale...not PGI 1/60 scale.

I guess what it boils down to is that I feel what I am putting into it and what I am getting out of it are way out of balance.

Preemptive answers to the inevitable questions:

1.  No...not closing the doors or going out of business.  Just slowing down.
2.  No...the blog is not going anywhere.  I will still post updates as well as pics of mechs you guys send in.
3. No....there will not be a clearance sale.
4. No...the Facebook page is not going anywhere.

The gist....don't expect tons of updates or new kits until I get my mojo back.