It has been some time since we announced that we were going to re-organize the Table Top Talk website – and since the initial announcement nothing more…

I think I’ve got the basic plan mostly solidified. So, without further delay, here is what I’m working on:

1) Table Top Talk (tabletoptalk.com) will transition from a message board system to more of a blog format.

This will be considered phase one. We will archive the discussions and post as zipped text files (in case anyone wants to read them). We will also post frequently read articles as web pages.

2) Wargamers Corner will merge with Table Top Talk. The articles will transition to the new site as web pages. This will be considered phase two.

3) Phase three will see HistoriFigs News folded into Table Top Talk (the current news page will forward to the Table Top Talk website).

All of these changes should bring us closer to my vision for Table Top Talk – more of a traditional war game publication, but presented in a modern electronic format.

At some point we will likely be looking for a few associate editors – editing a war game information site is not a small task, so I’m very sure that I will need some help (so if you think you might be interested in lending a hand, se sure to let me know).

Don’t forget, we will be attending Little Wars this weekend, so be sure to drop by and say howdy. We will have previews of the new Resistant Roosters late war Panzergrenadier figures (Company HQ, Mortar Platoon, MG Platoon) as well as previews of the new 40mm AWI figures. We will also be offering some specials for convention attendees, so you will find a few bargains too.

Did I forget to mention that we will be doing a random give away? Not sure exactly how this will work, but I’ll have a box-o-goodies to give away at the convention, so drop by and maybe you will be one of the lucky ones…

That should about do it for March news. Be sure to check-in next week for some new specials (I got a little carried away when casting so, we are over stocked an a few items, so we will be offering some fantastic deals).

Well, another month’s worth of 2008 is just about to become history. March has been a busy one for us – I know, hard to tell based on the lack of news postings…

Lots of production and custom work this month; I’ve been just busy enough that I’ve not had time to take and post proper photos. Alison has been busy in the shop, with the only big interruption being last week when Liam was on spring break.

The close of March (and Q1) brings with it a few changes. While we were able to negotiate a very good price for metal, other supplies have continued to demonstrate price increases. As such we will be raising a few prices in April.

Starting 1 April 2008, we have some new prices for mold making services. The price for our standard 9” organic rubber production molds will be $45 each (this is an increase from the $40 mark we have held for the past few years). Pattern figures will be billed at a rate of $50 per pound. These used to be included in the price of a Pattern mold. Pattern mold prices will remain unchanged.

We have a price increase for the Scruby N-Gauge WWII vehicles. The prices posted on the website were more than 3 years out of date. We have reviewed the pricing for all vehicle models and have posted the new prices (tanks $3.00, trucks & half-tracks $1.75 & jeeps/Kfz-1 $0.75 each).

The remainder of our prices will remain as currently posted on the website(s).

I don’t normally review sales until much closer to the end of the year, but I’ve been seeing an interesting trend this year, so I thought I would share it with you. Typically we have been seeing the bulk of our sales dollars coming from 15mm figures (ours and contract casting). Sales of 40mm and larger always have been a very small part of the picture. The first quarter of 2008 is interesting in that sales of 40mm and larger figures is accounting for a much larger percentage of sales (dollars and units). Sales of 15mm figures remain in the number 1 spot, but the larger scales have nearly pulled even. I’d be very happy to see this trend continue, as it would allow us to continue to invest (time and money) into the 40 and 54mm lines. The thing that makes this sales surge extra interesting is that we do not advertise the availability of the 54mm figures…

OK, well, enough of that – it is interesting to me, but perhaps you would rather hear more about other things, such as new Resistant Roosters releases. Well the expanded late war Panzergrenadier offerings are well under way. The first pattern mold was finished last weekend and the second should be completed by tomorrow afternoon. I am still planning for a (limited) release at Little Wars next weekend. On the 40mm front, now that I’ve cleared the decks of contract work I’ll be making a push with the 40mm AWI, so we will see these in April.

On the gaming front, I’ve been quite scattered. Working on projects from 18th century to Warhammer 40K – I have been working mostly on figures for use with Blitzkrieg Commander. Coming in second are my expansions of some classic Warhammer armies (Fantasy and 40K). I’ve also revived one of my Napoleonic projects. Lucky for me this one does not require any painting of figures (at least not right away). The project uses the Scruby N-Gauge figures and Mike Frank’s “Nap Division” rules. Right now, I’m working up a reference sheet to be used while players are learning the game. Mike’s rules are not complete (he kept most details in his head), so I’m needing to work with his rules sheets along with his had written notes on these sheets (I’ve not played the rules in 4 or more years). So, if all goes well I’ll be hosting a game in Portage in May or June.

Lastly, next weekend we will be attending Little Wars in Illinois, so if you plan to attend be sure to drop by our table and say howdy…

Today we have a short update concerning incoming and upcoming projects…

I’ll start with incoming, or expected packages. The lost package has been found (OK, it was only delayed in Customs, but at least it has been found) and the next new figures for the Resistant Roosters line are on there way back from the sculptor. If post times keep with expectations I should have the revised figures in hand early next week. Once in and reviewed I’ll be sure to post pictures and a release schedule.

Now we shall move on to new figures already in hand. Recently received are some new figures for the Bloodaxe Miniatures line. First are some repairs/modifications for some of the Moro figures (the alloy Lance uses for patterns is a bit more brittle than what we use for production – the result in this case were a few figures with broken weapons. Lance fixed up a few pieces and has sent them back; the result will be that releases for the Moro Rebellion range will resume in a couple of weeks.

In the same package as the Moro were some new figures for the WWI range. These new figures are used to represent Engineers. We choose to go with a set of generic engineers rather than unique figures for each nationality.

We continue with 15mm miniatures and add a set of Russians in Budenka cap suitable for use from 1918 (RCW) through 1941. These along with the WWI engineers, WWI Russians in fur cap and the Moro are all slated to be in production in time for Little Wars in early April.

Slated for later in the spring or early summer are early war (WWII) French. These are in hand, but are not going to be worked on until at least mid April. We will post pictures as these near the production phase.

Pictures of all upcoming Bloodaxe releases will be posted as they are worked on and nearing production ready status.

The other project we keep getting delayed on is our 40mm AWI project. I’m still sorting out what to do about warped bases – as soon as I have a plan figured out we will kick these into high gear and get the figures done and released.

The last thing on my list is that we have a number of Bloodaxe 25mm figures that I’ve been casting for personal projects – mostly 18th century types for the SYW period. Soon these will be listed on the Bloodaxe Miniatures website. We decided that since we have molds and figures in hand that we would offer castings for sale – the ranges will not be complete, but there maybe items of interest.

There are a few other projects nearing completion and we will be posting news concerning these later this week or early next – mostly additional WWII Company packs and assorted articles covering nit organization…