Tinker Bits III: Scourge of the Skies
almost 6 years ago
– Thu, May 10, 2018 at 12:52:55 AM
Hello everyone!
We're working on a better way to get the word out to everyone (and reduce duplicate emails/spam), but for now, it's worth noting here that the next generation of Tinker Metal Meeples are live in our new project:
Tinker Bits III: Scourge of the Skies!
We're making Rocketeers, Sky Pirates, Airskiffs and Dragons this time, so there's a lot going on, but we're hoping to get them out to as many people as we can.
Thank you again for backing this project, and if you're interested, we'd love to see you on the new project! Also, if you have a moment, please spread the word; the more the merrier!
Thank you,
Tesh
P.S. If anyone has any lingering questions about this project, please send me direct messages and we'll clear things up. It's been a while, and we're sorry (real life has been in the way), but we're happy to help if you have any questions.
Meeple Mangling Results
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Sep 08, 2017 at 01:38:53 AM
Hello everyone!
I've been hitting the books lately, keeping more than busy, but it's finally time to show off the results of the "meeple mangling" that I promised last time. This post over on my blog is a bit more verbose...
Meeples, Mayhem and Mangling
but the TL;DR version is that these turned out pretty much how I'd expect from plated zinc alloy figures. The plating didn't stay perfect, dings and dents showed up, but it isn't bad, and overall, it gave them character, I think.
I didn't really have a good way to simulate handling by human hands over months and/or years, but I suspect you'll see the same thing that we usually see with coins of the same sort of metals; some patina developing, some natural "antiquing", and overall, some good maturation and seasoning of the overall look. That may be overly optimistic, but it's also one of the reasons why I love making metal designs; they have a more appealing aging process than plastics or woods.
I'm still working on making the Scourge of the Skies meeple project happen, but it's probably going to have to be after the Salt Lake Comic Con, September 22-23. We'll have a vendor table there, selling some of our Tinker goodies and some goods from the Daft Concepts guys, hopefully with a couple of the guys who run their laser cutting tables.
Thank you all!
Tesh
Meeple Mangling, For Science!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 09:43:16 PM
Hello everyone!
Pursuant to a comment from a couple of days ago, I'm doing a bit of an experiment on some of our leftover meeples. I wrote about it over on my blog here:
Meeple Mangling, For Science!
...I'm taking 5 bags and 5 batches of meeples, then beating them up a bit. We'll see how they handle the experience.
I'll post photos of the results in a week or so, pending availability in my schedule.
Thank you, everyone!
Tesh
P.S. We're still planning the Scourge of the Skies Metal Meeple project, I just don't know when it will launch. I'll keep you all updated. There are a lot of things I'm juggling at the moment.
Mad Science Shipping Finish Line, What Next?
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Aug 02, 2017 at 01:22:16 AM
Hello everyone!
The last batch of packages will go to the post office tomorrow (or later today, I guess, as it's almost 2 in the morning). The ones going to the EU are moving via a third party shipper to alleviate the VAT and on-delivery charges, and those all went out in a box via DHL to the third party (GamesQuest) on Monday. I'm not sure on the timeline for those, but they are on their way.
If last time is any indication, Customs will have their rather mean-spirited way with them, meaning a bit of a delay, but the crew at GamesQuest does fast, great work once they get their hands on the packages.
So... that's another project, finished and filed! Thank you, everyone, for backing our project and for spreading the word! It has been a pleasure working on these for all of you, and we look forward to making other designs.
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Speaking of the future, though, it's a bit up in the air at the moment. I'm dealing with extraneous concerns, including maybe going back to college for a second bachelor's degree so I can get a Real Job again. This "make cool gaming stuff" has been a most excellent hobby, but it's not as lucrative as, say, delivering pizzas. My decade doing 2D and 3D art, design and animation in the video game industry was nice, but it didn't last, and after falling out of the industry thanks to downsizing four years ago, job leads have dried up.
Since the new semester starts soon, and some of the paperwork deadlines are... today... I have my hands full. I am still planning on at least the "Scourge of the Skies" Tinker Bits III project, with Sky Pirates, Rocketeers, Airskiffs and Dragons, but I simply don't have the time to do much with it in the next few weeks.
This also means that once we do fire it up, we can't guarantee Christmas delivery. This irks me considerably, but that's just the reality of this particular and peculiar business model.
I have another project that I've been trying to get off the ground since last year as well, making plastic "Fudge" or "Fate" dice, using our custom graphics and custom colors, but the factory is... inefficient. We can't promise that one this year, either, much to my dismay and further irking.
I would also still like to make Pantheon Wars: The Fall of Ra into a Real Game, but in the meantime, the "print and play" version is still on my blog over here for anyone who might like to try out a spatial control tile-placement game:
Pantheon Wars: The Fall of Ra
I'd love to hear any feedback you have on that game, if you do dig into it.
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There is no lack of ideas for things I'd like to make. Creativity is the easy part. Designing products is great fun, and getting them all out to appreciative customers is very satisfying. It's just not really something that scales well enough at the moment to actually pay the bills, so I need to explore other options.
Whatever comes, though, please keep your eyes open, and let others know when we do wind up poking our head into the stream again. We are very grateful for your support and interest, and wish you all the best!
As always, if you have any questions about these little folk or anything else we've produced, please let us know. Shipping concerns are best addressed via private message, but more general questions are always welcome here or over on Facebook or Twitter, if you poke around in those seedy establishments.
https://www.facebook.com/ProjectKhopesh/
https://twitter.com/ProjectKhopesh
Thank you all again!
Tesh and the Project Khopesh family
