July 31st 2007
Just a quick update on the latest re-molds for the 30mm Colonial figures:
1578 French Fusilier Marine, on guard
1580 Pathan Tribesman, firing
1581 Pathan Tribesman, on guard
More to come, including some long out of production figures…
Pictures coming soon!
July 30th 2007
Once more we descend into the depths of internet connectivity issues.
Being away from the more civilized parts of the world our only options for internet are dial-up and satellite. We all know that dial-up is slow along with various other little annoying problems. We use one of the satellite providers and have gotten used to the typical problems of lack of connectivity during storms (or really cloudy days)…
Hardware is the other common issue with satellite connections, and we have once again been bitten by the hardware bug!
So, to make this already longish story shorter: While we are sorting out hardware issues (as well as looking at other providers) we are in a state of limited (to no) internet access at home. We hope to get things cleared up quickly, but if things go like the last time we could be looking at a week, or more. In the meantime, I’ll be able to catch up (on email and other internet related ‘stuff’) during the day (between 8am and 3:30pm CST weekdays).
July 26th 2007
When I started my 30mm Colonial project I began the re-molding process for the Scruby 30mm Colonial line.
Last year we re-molded the French and Arab infantry:
1535 Legionnaire, on guard (Africa)
1536 Legionnaire, kneeling, firing (Africa)
1537 Legion Officer, with pistol (Africa)
1538 Legionnaire, standing, firing (Africa)
1518 Bedouin warrior, standing, firing musket
1519 Bedouin warrior, kneeling, firing musket
The project continues as my 30mm Colonial (Mafrica) project continues.
This month we add the following to the list of re-molded figures:
Misc. Cavalry
1531C Indian Lancer Cavalryman
1538C Sipahi Cavalryman, attacking
1579C Chasseur a Cheval Cavalry, attacking
1523C Arab Cavalry, with scimitar
The Nile River War of 1884 & 1896
1501 British Regular, on guard
1502 British Regular, standing, firing
1503 Highlander, on guard
1508 Highlander, firing
1507 Infantry Officer
1541 British Artilleryman
The following figure is now out of production:
1506 British Regular, kneeling, firing
In reality this figure has been unavailable for many years.
What was being shipped was actually X-23 – which is not compatible size-wise with the Scruby 30mm.
I do have a base pattern for the original figure and will be working to return the figure to production. However, it is not high on my list of priorities, so it might be several months before I take the time to sit down and re-master this figure.
More figures will be re-molded in the coming months, so be sure to check back for reports of further progress.
July 12th 2007
The saga of email problems continues…
It seems that several different ISPs are blocking our emails (email going out from our provider fits the SPAM profiles). That and we still are losing inbound emails.
So, in an effort to improve email communications, I’m trying out a new email address. You can now reach HistoriFigs via a new Gmail account:
Lets see if this helps with email communications.
Our HistoriFigs email accounts are still active and will remain active – However, I’ll be transitioning to a reply from the new email account.
July 12th 2007
Here we are 12 July and no News update yet…
Well, the big news here is that we have cleared the backlog of orders (ok, one or two that should have been done by now remain open, but will be closed by end of the week). I’ve a small logjam with custom work, but not too bad; I’m still close to being on schedule with the current batch of projects.
We’ve been toying with the idea of changing our “standard” turn-around time for orders for the summer months. After working in the shop on Sunday, where the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit most of the day, I think we will make an official posting quite soon. Two factors play into our decision to set a new “Standard” for order processing. The first is that since Alison does the bulk of everyday production work, her schedule is dependent on what Liam is doing. When school is out she has fewer hours for production work. The other factor is that it can get darn hot in the shop and it is not easy to keep the shop cool (or perhaps, just not cost effective). So, we are thinking of changing the order processing time for Scruby miniatures to a minimum of 2 weeks, with an expected 2 to 3 weeks for processing from May through September (I could see going to 3 to 4 weeks for the summer months). Anyhow, look for some changes in this area of the business…
Other than getting caught up there hasn’t been too much going on here at HistoriFigs HQ. Operation Hoof Mold is under way, and figures are and will be heading out to painters for painting. Most of the easy figures have been put into new molds – many of the remaining figures need some work – broken masters or missing patterns. So, it may be another few weeks before the next batch is ready for molding.
The hot days and nights have allowed me to go and hide in the basement…
The basement is where I have my painting desk – so I’ve finally been painting miniatures. I had started by painting N-Gauge Ancients, but got sidetracked with 30mm Colonial for my Mafrica project. So, on my desk right now are about 30 Fuzzy Wuzzy, 40 British, a dozen camels (with Fuzzy spearmen), 15 (old) mounted Arabs (notched horse and all) plus several misc. bits and pieces. The preceding is in the process of being painted and based. I still have a few hundred 30mm (Colonial) and 40mm (ACW) figures to base.
Speaking of 30mm colonial figures and war games; work has begun on a game for the upcoming RockCon. I’m working with Randy Frye to create a fast, fun game for the convention. The theme will be Arab vs. Legion. Most of the figures will be Scruby, Cox and Munro creations. We are still in the early stage of scenario and game design, but we are shooting for fast and fun for 6 to 8 players. So, if you happen to be attending RockCon this year, be sure to look for our game.
Next week, Alison will start setting up the photo studio, so we can start taking photographs of painted figures. After that I’ll need to figure out how to best present these on the web. Stay tuned for details.