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weeble1000 wrote:

And that's just my point isn't it. In spite of a lack of a 'groundswell' of support, CHS did get help, and at the very least the community paid attention to the case, discussed it, and has kept it in the spotlight. Bob Naismith testified, for example, and I can't believe a major US firm got involved on a lark. How did they even know about it? You have experts from Chicago, New York, and England.

The question is, what more could have been done had there been a 'groundswell' of support? What benefits could there be going forward if, instead of being derisive, instead of turning a blind eye, the people in the industry communicated about that which they all have a collective interest in, even though it may not be readily apparent? This industry, even taking all table-top wargaming together, is not very big. I think that even with just a bit of communication, third party accessory companies could be very powerful in the industry. Collectively, between contacts across the world, strong relationships with a vast array of miniature sculptors and artists, savvy, nibble, and creative business managers, a ton of goodwill in the community, and a collectively very significant customer base, these companies taken together would have a lot of "juice."

Take it you don't check out Frothers or Resin Addicts? There are a number of sculptors that post and discuss their works over there. Word of warning, frothers requires some fairly thick skin and find Resin Addicts a nicer area for shop talk. Though one of the problems with these shops becoming one "collective" is the international aspect and what is alright in one country isn't ok in another. And also some of them do truly come off as horrible people.

Not sure if we need another manufacturer of shoulder pads, dreadnought arms and Whirlwind rocket launchers, as there are so many of them.
Not sure if producing those shoulder pads that CHS stopped to make because of a verdict is a niche.
Otherwise, a bits manufacturer with new good quality sculpts could find a market.

 paulson games wrote:
I think there's always room for people breaking into the model market (and 3rd party bitz). They key is finding a niche that you have a flair for and doing a style of work that your sculpting talents capture best.

I did the pauldrons a while back, so I may as well sell those, but lately I've been sketching out a lot for Elven races like the Eldar. There's not too much out there for them.

I've also been sculpting a lot of shields as well, for Fantasy or Historic armies.

I've also done some decorative bases, linked below, but again that is an area that is pretty much flooded right now but since I already have them made I may as well sell them too.

http://mechanicalhorizon.deviantart.com/gallery/35462767

 paulson games wrote:
Another suggestion is don't plan on quitting your day job.

Good advice, but I really don't have a day job right now. I am doing some freelance work, but that is sporadic. This bits range I want to start is partly to take up that slack when it comes to money. I'll probably get a part-time job eventually but for now I want to get this off the ground.

 Kroothawk wrote:
Not sure if we need another manufacturer of shoulder pads, dreadnought arms and Whirlwind rocket launchers, as there are so many of them.

I have no plans for Dreadnought arms or another Whirlwind launcher, there are a lot of those out there. The only reason I'm going to sell the pauldrons is because I already have those made and they are ready to go.

 Kroothawk wrote:
Not sure if producing those shoulder pads that CHS stopped to make because of a verdict is a niche.

I'm not going to make and sell shoulder pads CHS stopped selling. I want to see what shoulder pads they can't sell anymore and match them up to any of the ones I've already made to see if they are similar. Since CHS isn't allowed to sell those shoulder pads now then I wouldn't be able to sell them either if the pads I made are similar.

Here's a pic of the armored pauldrons, sorry for the blurriness (my camera sucks). They are universal, left or right, except for the two sets in the middle row to the left. Those two are left or right specific.

The one on the top row, 3rd from the right, I guess you could use that as a Chaplain shoulder pad but I'm not really pleased with the skulls. I might re-sculpt them.

The second one from the right in the second row is a curved armor plate that goes over top of any existing shoulder pads that are already on your models.

There's also a pic of a tank trap I made and sold on Ebay.

I thought I'd post some pics of some more bits. A range of helmet crests based of Roman and Greek helms, some more shoulder pads and some random tabards (large and small).

I'm getting close to being able to sell these, a friend of mine is making some banners for me to advertise and I need to buy a better vacuum pump. After that I need to make the master molds, then make production molds, get pictures of the bits for advertising.

I was thinking about doing this through kickstarter as well, but I don't know if these lend themselves to a full on Kickstarter campaign. Maybe Ebay would be better but the fees concern me.

Maybe the Beastmen (sci-fi and fantasy versions) I'm working on would be better suited for a Kickstarter campaign, although I do need some funds to buy better equipment that what I have right now.

I have some more stuff sculpted already but I don't want to put pics of everything up right now, just in case I do a Kickstarter I'd like to have some surprises.