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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 912
Location: Spain
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 Posted: 22-Mar-2004 10:00 Post subject: Unseen casting project |
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I'm pretty sure that the Rifleman arms are exactly alike, there's no left and right arms, but I would like not to strip both arms of the mini to check it, can anybody confirm this?
I need this info to cast copies of Rifleman arms, I think there would be a big market for it.
Now that I mention, it, what other minis or limbs are sought after? Besides casting a complete Marauder set, I'm going to cast spare arms and autocannons for it.
In short... when I find the time to start making molds, what minis and accessories would you like to order?
PS: I still need a Shadowhawk laser and autocannon
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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 10:14 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Panther's are a bit hard to come across these days. The Marauder is obviously the biggie, as the prices have become so inflated for them; I'm certain anything unseen will find a market. Only the classic medium trio and Wasps, Stingers, and Locusts are available in any numbers anymore.
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Havoc~Ronin
Federated Suns
Major
Joined: 13-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 427
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 11:56 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Rifleman arms - I checked my mini and the arms are identical.
Minis - anything 3025 and those showing up in the 3050 TRO, like the Axeman, Wolftrap, etc.. will always be popular. A Trebuchet sold for $35 USD last week. Hell, I will order a bunch from you.
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"Ours is not to question why, ours is just to do...."
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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 912
Location: Spain
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 14:34 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Hey Ronin, can you confirm me if the 3050 (golden blister) minis of the Hermes II and Trebuchet are larger that the original castings from 3025?
I would like very much to get the more recent castings, since they were bigger, I think, and more in scale. But so far no luck.
So you want a Trebuchet? Hmm, wich casting? I traded away my old mini because I like the plastic ones a lot, but it can be done. If you provide the mini, I'll cast as many as you want! 
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Raven!
Clan Snow Raven
Galaxy Commander
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1326
Location: United States
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 15:23 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Hell, if you're willing i wouldn't mind increasing my collection of 3025 material. Unseens are always nice. But I can't order for a few weeks. Have to put a huge downpayment on a class.
Raven!
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Havoc~Ronin
Federated Suns
Major
Joined: 13-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 427
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 15:51 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Are you referring to Ronin or myself?  If you are asking me to confirm these mechs, let me know and I will see what I can find.
I could provide you a list of what I want when you are ready to begin production.
I think there is definitely a demand for minis.
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"Ours is not to question why, ours is just to do...."
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Seraph
Blighted Sun Battalion
2nd Company
"Seraph's Slaughter"
Major
Joined: 11-Mar-2004 00:00
Posts: 1744
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 21:40 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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We provide the mini and you cast more mechs? How much would that be without S/H?
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If ignorance is bliss, then why are you so miserable?
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Gunslinger Patch
Royal Black Watch Regiment
Major
Joined: 04-Mar-2002 00:00
Posts: 1611
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 22:04 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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I recently saw some parts on the Ironwind site, but there were no pictures. Stuff like Shadow Hawk gun, rifleman arms. Does anyone know if these parts are for the unseen or for the reseen?
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"Those who beat their guns into plows will plow for those with guns..." -Thomas Jefferson
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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 22:06 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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You know what design we've overlooked...the Thunderbolt. 65 tons of pure heavy metal hell on two legs...and hard to find to boot. Unfortunately, the only one I have is plastic, so I don't think it will make a good mold 
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Seraph
Blighted Sun Battalion
2nd Company
"Seraph's Slaughter"
Major
Joined: 11-Mar-2004 00:00
Posts: 1744
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 22:14 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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I have one metal and one plastic Thunderbolt. So if you want some maybe I could send him the better of the two for casting.
What would the castings be made of? I prefer metal over plastic myself.
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Gunslinger Patch
Royal Black Watch Regiment
Major
Joined: 04-Mar-2002 00:00
Posts: 1611
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| Posted: 22-Mar-2004 22:14 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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To have a lead Thunderbolt pretty much requires pinning the arms, its the only way you can be sure they'll stay on. I have two nice looking plastic painted ones, and 2 lead ones that are still not glued together and I've had one of them since the late 80s.
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"Those who beat their guns into plows will plow for those with guns..." -Thomas Jefferson
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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 912
Location: Spain
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| Posted: 23-Mar-2004 02:56 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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The Thunderbolt is in the list, thanks to the invaluable contribution from Nightmare 
The spare parts from Iron Wind are probably for the reseen versions.
I've almost every 'Mech from TRO 3025, but I'm still waiting for a shipment of minis from eBay, so I can't make Goliath castings... yet.
I think the only ones I am missing are the Spider and the original Banshee (I made the mistake of buying the Iron Winds version  )
I've already made castings of the Blackjack (very nice quality, but still have to cast the arms), Panther, Vindicator and Warhammer, but I'm not entirely satisfied with the results and I think I'll make new molds, despite the expense
Trouble is that in a hurry I didn't remove all the paint, and the Warhammer and the Panther are pretty banged up, including bullet holes and scratches that show up in the casting. I'm trying to remove the remaining paint, and fill with putty the dents and smooth the surfaces. The castings are fine, but those flaws increase the cleanup work to prepare the mini for painting. Thus, I'm willing to cast free minis for somebody that can provide a mint (unpainted) Warhammer or Panther or Rfileman. I lose in profits everytime I offer one of these deals, but I gain in quality, I'll not offer for sale minis that are a blob of metal. If the panel lines can't be seen in the mini, it's not good enough for me.
Anyway, wait till I make the molds and cast some examples of my work that I can post here.
I still have to figure out how you are supposed to pay for all this, I can think of Paypal, but I would like to find a method so the buyer can withheld payment until receiving the minis. You all know me and know this is not a scam but I need something that offers buyer security so I can sell these minis to other people outside Mordels. Any suggestions?
Oh, by the way, there's a limited number of minis that can be cast from the mold before it breaks or becomes worn and the castings lose quality.
Given that this is a trial and error process, out of a batch of a dozen castings, maybe just 4 would be of a quality high enough to compare favourably with the original one, so don't expect me to churn out scores of minis. If there's a demand , I'll keep making new molds.
So to prevent cutthroat competition, minis will be sold in a first come, first served basis, likely I'll sell 2 minis max of the most popular models to prevent hogging up. There must be minis for everybody.
If you want more, or people got ahead of you, don't worry, I'll put you on a waiting list and I'll make another production run once I've secured enough orders to cover up for production costs.
So getting to the bottom line, expect each mini
to cost on average $10. Every time I want to make new molds, a can of resin costs about $40, and it's good for making 4 molds (including wastage, and failed attempts) so the mold alone costs $10, and that doesn't include the time and the coast of lead/tin alloy (it's cheap if you buy it by the tons, but in small quantities the prices do add up, I'm wondering if it not would be cheaper to ask at an armory for lead for bullets instead of using soldering alloy as I do now) so the price is reasonable. I could not lower the prices much more without removing the incentive for me to take all this trouble.
Now you can see why there aren't more people that cast their own minis. Starter kit of tools and resin costs about $200, and that's discounting the time and effort to find the know how and the materials, then another $200 blown up in experimenting by trial and error until you find the right technique. You only get a good return for your investment if you are into collecting tabletop miniature armies in wich individual mini quality isn't as important and economy of scale kicks in when you are doing scores of minis.
$10 is more or less same price you get for a new mini from Iron Wind. The catch is that you get unseen 'Mechs at a reasonable price, you can order more than one , and you save in shipping costs by combining shipping. Depending on production, I could offer discounts. For example, if somebody wants a lance of Trebuchets, I could sell them for $8 each.
I'd make more selling them on eBay, but I don't want to get into trouble with certain copyright issues, so I'm giving you people a unique chance. My main goal was to make copies for myself, if I can cover the costs of materials, do a service to the Battletech community and make a little profit on top of it, so much the better
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js
Federated Suns
Sergeant-Major
Joined: 25-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 125
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| Posted: 23-Mar-2004 04:16 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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| I'm not entirely sure as I haven't ordered any, but I believe the extra arms IWM is selling belong to the Unseen. I understand it's one of those loophole kind of things. Selling parts is OK, but not the whole.
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ralgith
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company
"Ralgith's Renegades"
Colonel
Joined: 18-Aug-2003 00:00
Posts: 2021
Location: United States
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| Posted: 23-Mar-2004 12:42 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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The parts should be for both unseen and reseen, should have seperate order numbers. At least they did when IWM first started. But now their site looks like shite, and no pics on spare parts sprues.
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Colonel Ralgith t'Mayasara
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company 'Ralgith's Renegades'
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ralgith
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company
"Ralgith's Renegades"
Colonel
Joined: 18-Aug-2003 00:00
Posts: 2021
Location: United States
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| Posted: 23-Mar-2004 12:44 Post subject: RE: Unseen casting project |
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Heres what I need:
Marauder arms/top guns
Longbow heads
Rifleman arms
Maybe more later, but not sure atm as I dont have my minis right in front of me.
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Colonel Ralgith t'Mayasara
Blighted Sun Battalion
1st Company 'Ralgith's Renegades'
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