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Pendraken News & Info! => General Pendraken => Old Newsletters => Topic started by: Leon on 11 July 2015, 11:26:48 PM

Title: July 2015 Newsletter!
Post by: Leon on 11 July 2015, 11:26:48 PM
(http://www.pendraken.co.uk/ImageBin/PenNewsletter.jpg)

Welcome to the Pendraken Miniatures newsletter!

Hopefully this missive finds you all sunning yourselves in the garden, or rather being put to work on those garden-related chores you've been cleverly evading for the past year...!  Either way, we hope you're having an enjoyable summer so far!


Latest Releases!

The main news this month is that the release schedule has kicked up a gear and we've been busily moulding all sorts of new goodies.  This has been helped by the addition of a new piece of kit, but more on that later.

New additions to the website over the past few months include:

> Napoleonic British (http://bit.ly/1NXcGyO) - The first half of our new Napoleonic British range is now available, covering the 1812-1815 period.  This initial batch covers most of the foot, cavalry and command codes, with the artillery and personalities following on soon.  We had hoped for this to be a quick follow-up, but there was a slight problem with the artillery carriages which has meant a re-model, so we'll need to send them off for a fresh master mould.  We're hoping this shouldn't delay things too far and we'll have everything ready for early in August.

(http://www.pendraken.co.uk/ProductImages/NBR6.jpg)


> WWII (http://bit.ly/1K1aplf) - This release is mainly new Fallschirmjager additions, but we've also got the Goliath teams and some new British Commando poses as well!

> Barbarians (http://bit.ly/1UPft2e) - On the Warband side of things, we've got the next new race online, with the Barbarians now taking to the field.  These are going to be quickly followed up with the new Undead as well, so keep an eye out for those in the coming fortnight.

> Monsters (http://bit.ly/1L6GMRg) - And to help bulk out your armies, we've also got some more Monsters available to back up your troops!

(http://www.pendraken.co.uk/ProductImages/FAN-MON6.jpg)


> Escenografia (http://bit.ly/1K1arto) - And last but certainly not least, we've got some new painted buildings from Escenografia Epsilon, and very nice they are too!

(http://www.pendraken.co.uk/ProductImages/EPS-EF03.jpg)


In The Pipeline!

As fast as we release things, more new sculpts are arriving here at Pendraken HQ!  This past month has been very WWII oriented, with a load of new WWII French (http://bit.ly/1NXcU9a) landing safely, along with some new vehicles (http://bit.ly/1HUdhCS) from two of our modellers.  The latter will be getting master moulded along with the British Napoleonic guns, so those should be available some time in August.

(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/379/19514675971_5fbea2046d_z.jpg)


Just a quick note on the Napoleonics front, as we've got so many Prussian and French masters here at Pendraken awaiting master moulding, we've temporarily paused the sculpting while we take stock of things.  Once we've got the Prussians into a master mould and we've double checked where we are with the French, we'll work up a new sculpting schedule and get cracking again.


Shows!

We're in the middle of our summer break from the shows at the moment, but we'll be back on the road again at the start of August as we head up to the Claymore (http://seswc.co.uk/2014/10/claymore-2015/) show in Scotland.  As always, it'll be great to see you there and if there's anything at all you'd like us to bring along please make sure to let us know before Sat 25th July.


Minibits Corner!

It's not only Pendraken that's been busy knocking out the new goodies, we've been hard at work on the Minibits side of things as well!

> 5mm Dice and Frames (http://bit.ly/1JX1x38) - We'd been asked about them for several years and we've finally managed to track down a source for these tiny dice.  They're available by themselves or with our hugely popular dice frames as well.

> Crossover Miniatures (http://bit.ly/1HUdxSA) - Slightly delayed at our end, these new Crossover releases are from the Kickstarter they ran at the end of 2014 and include some excellent Superheroes, bad guys and new teams!

(http://www.minibits.net/ProductImages/NinjaWeaponCowl.jpg)


> Wargame-Model-Mods (http://bit.ly/1MnzFTb) - Tom has been hard at work on new designs for his range of MDF buildings, and we've got our stock of them now.

(http://www.minibits.net/ProductImages/WMM-MIL13.jpg)


Website Photos!

We've been ploughing ahead with more painted images this past month or so, with pictures now on the website for the Ottoman Turks. (http://bit.ly/1RqBpSg)  Painted by Szymon D, these look absolutely fantastic and we've seen a nice jump in Ottoman sales since these appeared on the site.

(http://www.pendraken.co.uk/ProductImages/OT1.JPG)

Next up will be the whole ACW range, painted by Forum member Ace of Spades and also the Vietnam Australians and vehicles, which are away with Matt of Munslow.


New Moulding Machine!

As mentioned briefly up top, we've gone and got ourselves a second moulding press (http://bit.ly/1O2rJry), allowing us to double our output on the moulding side of things.  We'd been wanting this for quite some time and it's great to finally have it here.  We'll be working hard over the coming months to clear the backlog in the sculpt drawers and get everything out there onto your tables.


Forum Stuff!

We've made a couple of quick tweaks to the Forum this week, splitting the New Releases (http://bit.ly/1GeNG06) and the New Figure Previews (http://bit.ly/1IShru7) into separate boards.  With the amount of new releases so far this year, the preview threads were getting bumped off the front page, so it seemed like a good idea to split them into two separate areas instead.

For the first time as well, we'll be publishing this newsletter on the Forum itself, rather than it being purely an email message to all of you.  This means that non-members can keep up with the latest news/info and you'll also be able to directly post any questions or comments in response to the newsletter.

And finally on the Forum front, congratulations to mad lemmey for being the first member to hit the 10,000 post mark!  Unlike Leon, his posts are generally informative and useful, rather than being one word or a 'Cool' smiley face...!


And Finally!

With the sun almost shining on Pendraken HQ, some of the guys are taking the opportunity to grab a couple of days holiday here and there, so there may be some delays on your orders over the next fortnight.  We don't envisage it being more than an extra day or two here and there, but if you've got any questions about where you are in the queue, just pop us a message and we'll update you.

For those interested, Leon's off to Kielder for a few days (so won't have any internet connection at all!), the casting lads are away to Georgia and Cyprus, and Dave's heading down south for his bi-annual wargame!
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 12 July 2015, 07:31:21 AM
Have a great break all. ;)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Techno on 12 July 2015, 07:43:09 AM
Wot Will said..
(I still don't understand what these 'days off' and holidays are though..... They sound as though they're good fun.)
Cheers - Phil  ;)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Redstef on 12 July 2015, 08:50:24 AM
That all looks spiffing and have fun on your hols. ...........err there seems to be an error  though...the LoA  dragoons, ...Please. ..Please. .Please
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Womble67 on 13 July 2015, 10:25:30 AM
yep I also hope you all have very good holidays.

Take care

Andy
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: FierceKitty on 13 July 2015, 10:40:47 AM
Wot abart the A****s, then? ;)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 14 July 2015, 07:19:51 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 13 July 2015, 10:40:47 AM
Wot abart the A****s, then? ;)

The **** does not disguise your swearing.

IanS

WHERES MY ORDER  :D
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Matt J on 15 July 2015, 06:44:42 PM
QuoteVietnam Australians and vehicles, which are away with Matt of Munslow.

nearly there, bit of basing, some details and the Huey to finish

(http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g340/MattofMunslow/vietnam%20wip_zpskfdh6c0f.png)

:)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: fred. on 15 July 2015, 07:16:48 PM
Very nice Matt
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 15 July 2015, 07:32:36 PM
Brilliant Matt!
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: paulr on 15 July 2015, 08:04:29 PM
 :-bd =D> :-bd =D>

And very timely, yesterday marked 50 years since NZ went to war in Vietnam. 161 Battery supporting the Australians.
There was a commemoration at one of our army bases and members of the original deployment got to fire a salute.
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Techno on 15 July 2015, 08:25:18 PM
Those ARE rather spiffy !  :-bd
Great job, Matt.

Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 16 July 2015, 07:30:39 AM
Silly question - but why is the PBR on the putty ???

IanS  ;)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Leon on 20 July 2015, 02:13:44 AM
Quote from: ianrs54 on 16 July 2015, 07:30:39 AM
Silly question - but why is the PBR on the putty ???

'Cos water would run off the base...  =)   :D
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Matt J on 07 August 2015, 10:38:56 PM
QuoteSilly question - but why is the PBR on the putty

;)

(http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g340/MattofMunslow/4ed37e92-9ef4-4a0c-b8b8-32ad79e2f343_zpsvnjqfq9q.jpg)

(http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g340/MattofMunslow/7e42c154-6ac2-495f-9557-97535b9ff517_zpsvgvftpnc.jpg)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: barbarian on 07 August 2015, 11:19:12 PM
That's really cool.
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 07 August 2015, 11:39:56 PM
Oh wow!
Brilliant
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Leon on 08 August 2015, 02:04:01 AM
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 07 August 2015, 10:38:56 PM
(http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g340/MattofMunslow/4ed37e92-9ef4-4a0c-b8b8-32ad79e2f343_zpsvnjqfq9q.jpg)

That looks fantastic!   :o
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: paulr on 08 August 2015, 04:09:15 AM
 :-bd =D> :-bd =D> :-bd
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Techno on 08 August 2015, 05:44:06 AM
That really is excellent !  :-bd :-bd :-bd
A +, Matt !
Cheers - Phil
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: FierceKitty on 08 August 2015, 07:28:51 AM
Wot, no fish? ;)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: FierceKitty on 08 August 2015, 07:33:51 AM
(In other words, I'm a deep green from head to toes.)
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 08 August 2015, 09:57:52 AM
Quote from: FierceKitty on 08 August 2015, 07:28:51 AM
Wot, no fish? ;)

Or surfers ????
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Matt J on 08 August 2015, 10:41:04 AM
thanks guys 

and there are fish, they are in the reeds (no surfers though)  ;)

now the web pic is done I'm going to pimp this - extra crew, weapons, stowage etc.
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Heedless Horseman on 08 August 2015, 11:52:21 PM
Now, that PBR looks fantastic!   8) 
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: O Dinas Powys on 09 August 2015, 10:11:53 PM
Fantastic work, what did you use for the water?
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Matt J on 09 August 2015, 10:30:10 PM
Woodlands senics E-Z water, basically glue pellets from the looks of it. Just melt and pour and then used a soldering iron once set to add ripples etc.
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: O Dinas Powys on 09 August 2015, 10:36:35 PM
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 09 August 2015, 10:30:10 PM
Woodlands senics E-Z water, basically glue pellets from the looks of it. Just melt and pour and then used a soldering iron once set to add ripples etc.

Cool, it looks great.  I've seen it in the past, but never had quite had a project in mind to use it.

What did you use as a frame to hold it 'in' the base?  Masking tape, tin-foil or something else?

Cheers,

Meirion
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: Matt J on 13 August 2015, 02:19:13 PM
Apologies for the delay Meirion

Minibits Palm trees come in little plastic tubs the base of which are the same diameter as the base of the model. So I made the base - pva, sand paint and static grass put it in the bottom of the tub then poured the 'water' over then quickly stuck the boat on top. Break the container off then tidy up the water with the soldering iron.

It took 2 attempts (and 2 bases) before I got it right. Even then I ended up with a large air bubble under the prow which had to be filled. Not an easy job.

Matt
Title: Re: July Newsletter!
Post by: O Dinas Powys on 13 August 2015, 02:26:31 PM
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 13 August 2015, 02:19:13 PM
Apologies for the delay Meirion

Minibits Palm trees come in little plastic tubs the base of which are the same diameter as the base of the model. So I made the base - pva, sand paint and static grass put it in the bottom of the tub then poured the 'water' over then quickly stuck the boat on top. Break the container off then tidy up the water with the soldering iron.

It took 2 attempts (and 2 bases) before I got it right. Even then I ended up with a large air bubble under the prow which had to be filled. Not an easy job.

Matt

That's okay Matt, thanks for the info.

It gives a really clean edge which other options might not do   8)

Also good to know that cheap polypropylene can survive the heat :)

Cheers,

Meirion