2023 - How did we do?!

[GrahamC]

All very interesting but sometimes the release of a new range can be the driver to success, especially in this scale where competition is limited. I'd be more willing to try a new period in 10mm than any other scale. If it hadn't been for the expansion of the AWI range with more to come I'd be looking at the Crimean War at the very least

[Leon]

I appreciate, in fact suggested, that Pendraken aim a bit lower, but realise that like a shark, Pendraken has to keep moving or it will die*. Obviously this imparts a certain pressure to constantly expand and grow.

My question is how long can this go on?

I think you are probably right insofar as there is what appears to be a scattered focus.

Leon knows his business best, but I haven't detected a coherent strategy, to be brutally frank, except to try and please all the people all the time.  Pendraken is excellent at doing that but it is a scatter-gun approach, I'd say, and may not be a very good business plan.

It looks like Leon has a full 2024 program anyway and he knows much better than I about what will be profitable. Perhaps a way forward is more non-kickstarters or commissioned ranges which at least take away some of the development risks. 

I completely get the scattered focus and it's understandable how it would appear that way.  It's not a planned business strategy, more a long-term symptom that we've been battling for a while with so much needing to be done.  Sometimes it feels like the Pendraken train is running at full pelt and we're just trying to hang on!

I think it's mainly as there are so many different reasons that instigate each of the projects:

Old Ranges
These are old style sculpts that need to be replaced as they don't match up with our current standards.  So the new Ancients, the 1860's Italians, revamped WWII vehicles, etc.  We've managed to do almost all of the pre-20th C. ones now but they have taken sculpting time away from new ranges.

Random Opportunities
When something happens that we hadn't planned for and we have to seize the opportunity, so things like buying the Commander rules, the TB Line ranges becoming available, or the Castle Arts Japanese buildings.  We could have let the opportunity pass by but they were sensible additions to our ranges.  The trouble is that they require more time and investment to maximise your return, again taking you away from other things.

Customer Requests
We're all familiar with the Requests lists, which were originally started to give us a clear indication of what people wanted over a decade ago.  We've tried to keep ticking things off there but it's not been as quick a process as I'd hoped.


And then you've got more general things like market trends, sculptor availability, budget, etc.  Or ranges like the Russo-Japanese where a generous customer wants to commission everything and the resulting sculpts need to be fitted into the mould queue somewhere.

Some projects fit into multiple categories, where the acquisition and subsequent launch of Cold War Commander 2 meant that we needed to expand the available figure ranges and triggered more customer requests along with a bit of a surge in modern gaming.

So while there is an underlying plan in my head, it's often hard to keep those ducks in a row for a prolonged period of time.  I'm hoping this year will be better due to us having some big jobs like the website photos done, and hopefully some extra staff coming in to delegate some tasks to!

Thge Great Wargaming Survey 2022 would agree with the analysis though; WWII, Naps and Ancients. The SF and fantasy contingent is strong.

Our sales would definitely agree with that survey, WWII has always been the biggest seller and then it's Naps and ACW these days.  The Fantasy always ticks over nicely too.

The Sci-Fi revamp is the one area that could completely change our business in the long-term.  If that wargames survey had included GW/40K then every other bar would have diminished to virtually nothing compared to the overwhelming volume of the GW machine.  With both GW and Mantic launching smaller-scale Sci-Fi this year (8mm/12mm respectively) we could be positioned very well to pick up some of their market.  And considering that Pendraken is less than 0.1% of GW's turnover, if we can carve off just a sliver of their customers it could be massive for us.

[fsn]

The Sci-Fi revamp is the one area that could completely change our business in the long-term.  If that wargames survey had included GW/40K then every other bar would have diminished to virtually nothing compared to the overwhelming volume of the GW machine. 

It did. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th places were taken by Sf or fantasy. Warhammer came in at 4th place.

I would suggest that the Great Wargamnes Survey being mainly readers of a mostly historical wargmes magazine, will tend to downplay the signiicance of 40K. If you look at YouTube and search for "wargame" most of what turns up is Warhammer.

[fsn]

All very interesting but sometimes the release of a new range can be the driver to success, especially in this scale where competition is limited. I'd be more willing to try a new period in 10mm than any other scale. If it hadn't been for the expansion of the AWI range with more to come I'd be looking at the Crimean War at the very least

Funny, isn't it? This is observation not criticism, but some ranges are really extensive, reflecting the enthusism of the commissioner, but maybe not the sales potential. There are 43 lines in the League of Ausburg , which I had great glee suggesting additions such as "Grenadier wondering if he locked the front door", "Hussar hoping that dangerous itch is just too much starch in his underpants", "pikeman opining that his recruiting sergeant may have had several fathers", "Matchlockmen gathered to contemplate the articles in the latest issue of a gentleman's periodical."

We are seeing it now, with a spurt of AWI releases. All very nice sculpts &c, but C18 is the 13th most popular period in the survey. You'd also need to consider that WSS, 7YW &c, &c are also in that category.  Having said that, you have to cut bait to catch fish, and the pretty new sculpts (and they are glorious) are likely to attract new customers.

I'll cite the Russo-Japanese War. It's always been an odd period for me, something between the ACW and WWI. I got slightly more interested (in the naval side) by Drachinifel's story of the 2nd Pacific squadron. Then Milday curled a manicured finger and *boom* there is the Russo-Japanese range, and I'm going to buy in. 

Pendraken is less a Roman road, planned and going in nice straight lines from point A to point B, and more a sheeps' path, meandering where it will, taking the path chosen by the flock. The all-wise Dark Shepherd can try and influence his flock with new ranges, rule sets, OOBs, paint guides etc, but ultimately they will go where they will, and the shepherd just has to try and stay ahead of them.

Or get a sheep dog. Sheep dogs are cool.       


Bottom line. I find Pendraken to be frustrating when new goodies are trailed then seem to take a long time to appear (Ancient Indians, Amazons, Japanese Castles) but in the grand scheme of things I haven't run out of things to get excited about, and as a company they are listening, friendly, approachable, honourable and open. I nailed my colours to their mast 11 years ago and it's still there.

They keep asking me to take it down, but they don't mean it.     

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

That's a very cute doggy Nobby

[DecemDave]

Which non-kickstarters do you think could be offered?

For me "biblical" , "Fall of Rome", "Age of Charlemagne/Offa" and the "Reconquista" are big missing areas.  I have no clue if enough people would support any of them (hence why a non kickstarter might work) but they would also provide lots more proxy options and variety to existing ranges.  Plus the campaigns of the Prophet (pbuh) and his successors need way more poses than the current Dark Age Arab range and scattered proxies.
Having recently fallen for the AWI and still not finished my Peninsular Naps, I dont need any of the above in 2024 or even 25, although I suspect there will be items in the TB line that I absolutely must have. 

[Corso]

I'm still pretty new to 10mm so have plenty on my one day list, but I agree the fall of Roam would be a great range to complete particularly if it includes the protagonists that fought over Britain. I've taken to converting existing figures for now

[FierceKitty]

All over Britain, if they were roaming while falling!       

[Ben Waterhouse]

Is the Italian Wars going to be the next Big Thing?...

[Orcs]

Is the Italian Wars going to be the next Big Thing?...

I love the colors of the italian wars, but did it in 15mm with the Mikes Models/ Essex ranges many years ago. I probably have 1000 figures with another 500 or so to paint, so will not be painting them again.

the biggest problem has been a good set of rules, as they are not "Pike and Shot", despite may rules written for 30YW or ECW, saysing they also include the period of the Italian Wars.

 I recently bought Furioso from Alternative Armies, and while they needed a number of tweaks , and army lists written they seem to play well.

[fsn]

Is the Italian Wars going to be the next Big Thing?...

No.

[Orcs]

I would also consider moving to 10mm if a suitable number of Chariot era figures were produced, as I currently only have one army in 15mm. A lot of the figures can be very generic, but a lot of poses are needed to make the unit look right.

[John Cook]

Lies, damn lies and statistics, eh?

Indeed so. The figure sizes considered in the survey did not include 10mm, or 6mm for that matter.  It is as if 10mm wargamers are invisible.
 

[Orcs]

Indeed so. The figure sizes considered in the survey did not include 10mm, or 6mm for that matter.  It is as if 10mm wargamers are invisible.
 

Who said that 

Sorry I will get my coat.

[paulr]

Just back from my holidays so late to the discussion

Leon has indeed been hard on himself when judging failure, as others have suggested a Delayed category would be appropriate. Also the majority of the successes have been larger projects, particularly the website photos.

As Leon has mentioned most of the 'scattered' items last year were either commissions or opportunities that Pendraken could either grasp or let slip. While all are useful additions to the Pendraken ranges they have taken time away from the focus projects

In my view Pendraken should be very pleased with another successful year and I hope the new 1-2 projects a month approach works well

[fsn]

In my view Pendraken should be very pleased with another successful year

Hear ! Hear!




It's just that some of the projects I was looking forward to didn't get done.

[Leon]

It did. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th places were taken by Sf or fantasy. Warhammer came in at 4th place.

Apologies, I'd seen the 'excluding 40K' bit at the top and didn't notice it had a separate line.  You're right though, WSS is going to get a historical slant to any responses.  If we look at the overall wargames hobby, I'd expect it to be over 90% Fantasy/Sci-Fi gamers.  Not the most scientific method but if we take Warlord Games vs Warhammer 40K on Facebook, the latter has about 8 times more followers than Warlord does and that's only one GW game system.

We are seeing it now, with a spurt of AWI releases...
I'll cite the Russo-Japanese War.   

Both of those fall under the 'Customer Led' header where we've not chosen those projects, they've been commissioned by other people and we put them into production.  So it's great for expanding ranges without the expense and time involvement, but moulding/prepping does eat into other projects.

Bottom line. I find Pendraken to be frustrating when new goodies are trailed then seem to take a long time to appear (Ancient Indians, Amazons, Japanese Castles).

The missing Fantasy is purely a scheduling issue and my fault.  We've started both Ratmen and Amazons and I've got a selection on my worktable, but we had to pivot to Korea I think it was, just to get those ranges done and ready for the launch of CWC2. 

The Japanese castles is another topic entirely and I share your frustration at those not being available yet...

Plus the campaigns of the Prophet (pbuh) and his successors need way more poses than the current Dark Age Arab range and scattered proxies.

I'd like to revamp all of the Dark Age ranges as those are getting towards the Old Ranges category now.  The horses in particular were done on old dollies.

I would also consider moving to 10mm if a suitable number of Chariot era figures were produced, as I currently only have one army in 15mm. A lot of the figures can be very generic, but a lot of poses are needed to make the unit look right.

That's another area that we need to expand in.  We got started with Techno doing the new Romans, Gauls, Greeks, Persians, etc but again we got sidetracked with something before we could get the Macedonians and Indians done.

Leon has indeed been hard on himself when judging failure, as others have suggested a Delayed category would be appropriate.

We'll have one of those next year maybe!

[fsn]

Both of those fall under the 'Customer Led' header where we've not chosen those projects, they've been commissioned by other people and we put them into production.  So it's great for expanding ranges without the expense and time involvement, but moulding/prepping does eat into other projects.

Indeed. These are the sheep paths which eat into the Roman roads (even I'm not sure that makes sense.) 

The missing Fantasy is purely a scheduling issue and my fault...

The Japanese castles is another topic entirely and I share your frustration at those not being available yet...

You quote my frustration, but not the following paragraph in which I was much more complimentary.  Yes, I am looking forward to the Amazons and the Japanese Castles, but that's what I am interested in. Honestly, the AWI stuff is pretty, and although I won't be buying from that range someone else is obviously frothing with excitement. I realise that Pendraken doesn't exist just to please me, and I have no right nor desire to intefere with scheduling (OK, maybe a little desire). My frustration is unimportant, and silly, and selfish and solpsistic, and is akin to the 6 year old in the back of the car saying "are we there yet?" repeatedly.

You are very open with the trials and tribulations of the industry. You have limited resources and a constantly changing economic enviromnent. You're still standing as a going concern and with everything that has hit us in the last few years that's a solid achievement.

I hope to have many more years of complaining about things not being released quick enough. May you go from strength to strength. 

About the Amazons ...

[Raider4]

TB Line - FAIL!
This one was a fail due to not having the time to spend cleaning up these figures, so they'll be another project for later in the year.

What's still to come from the TB Line please?

[Raider4]

Is the Italian Wars going to be the next Big Thing?...

Ooooh, that would be nice.