Gunfighter's Ball Wild West Miniatures Game

Backerkit is live!
over 6 years ago – Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 09:59:55 PM

Hi everyone,

Check your email for a message from Backerkit asking you to complete your post-campaign survey. This will give us the production data we need to make sure we're on schedule with create minis and ordering supplies, so be sure to respond right away. That said, you will have till March to make changes.

You can use Backerkit to designate which add-ons you want your extra pledge money used for, and you can also pre-order additional add-ons, which will be processed by their secure ordering system. If you know anybody who missed the Kickstarter, they can pre-order items through Backerkit (although they aren't eligible for all the deals KS backers got during the campaign). 

Additional notes the Backerkit staff have for you:

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://gunfighters-ball-wild-west-miniatures-game.backerkit.com

 If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://gunfighters-ball-wild-west-miniatures-game.backerkit.com/admin/support#project-faq     

There you have it. We've come a long way since November 20th!

Adios,

Forrest

Progress Report
over 6 years ago – Wed, Jan 10, 2018 at 07:36:43 PM

This week brings more progress on production. I just got off the phone with the poker chip wholesaler who will be supplying me with 30,000 clay composite poker chips.I imagine sitting among them in a big pile like Scrooge MacDuck, but I think I'd better keep them pristine till they ship out to you!

Speaking of shipping, my overseas customers will be happy at the final rates you'll see in backerkit for shipping. I think I've finally cracked the code with regard to freight forwarding. 

And speaking of backerkit, I'm taking a call in 15 minutes with my account rep who will be walking me through some of the last steps in getting it up and running. I'll send an update out when it finally goes live.

Ivor Janci, whose CV goes back to TSR and Tonka, has been photographing the figures and scenes for the book. We've done the first of two sessions. When I saw his equipment, I began to understand why I couldn't do it myself!

The final artwork for the mat has been created by Scott Johnson, who has done a magnificent job. We'll be proofing the color to see if any adjustments in color balance need to be made--color management systems and all that stuff. When the final goes off to the manufacturer, I'll send a news blast out with a pic.

That's it for today. The next thing you will hear from me will probably be word that the Backerkit is up and running, sometime in the next day or two.

Adios!

Forrest

Happy New Year! Overseas backer numbers needed.
over 6 years ago – Tue, Jan 02, 2018 at 02:44:03 PM

Back in the saddle today! Spent the last week painting samples and preparing for the photo shoot later this week.

I am entering information into the Backerkit.com site and I'll need a very definite list of overseas backers so I can enter shipping information. Please contact me ASAP if you are from Europe so I can get a complete head count. This number will have an impact on the final cost of overseas freight.

Thanks, and please feel free to contact me with questions as we move into the next phase!

Adios,

Forrest

Back to Work!
over 6 years ago – Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 08:17:58 AM

A little progress report before the new year.

 We're collecting all the photos we'll need for the cards and the book. Here's a sample of the type of thing we're going for. These particular samples were painted by Darren Jones who has long been one of our favorite painters. 

Tuesday is the photo shoot for all the images of miniatures, including the character cards. Soon after that we'll be able to send the completed manuscript materials off for design.

The mat is in it's last revision, so that should be going off for production in the week or two.

Finally, I will have my head down editing and creating cards.

I will keep you posted as things develop. Thanks for making this possible, everyone!

Adios,

Forrest

Now the Work Begins!
over 6 years ago – Sun, Dec 24, 2017 at 07:44:30 PM

As we wait for Santa, I thought I'd show you what awaits me after Christmas. 

Plus cards to design, a finished mat to send off for printing (doing one last minor edit), and figure prototypes to print and master! A professional photographer comes to the shop on Friday to take all the shots for the book and the character cards, ensuring good clear photos with the right lighting color balance, and artistic staging.

On the production side, the guys in the shop have already cast and bagged over 100 metal parts kits for the Alamo Saloon, plus nearly all of the Drifter figures and dozens of the Icons faction packs. The piles and piles of windows and doors for the other buildings are very impressive. Next week I'll get some photos of it. Roy and Jeff, the brains behind production, have been doing this long enough that they've created a system for casting, QC, and packing. This is proving to be extremely valuable.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and we'll regroup after the ribbons and bows are all picked up and we head back home over the river and through the woods.

I'll keep you posted!

Many thanks for making 2017 a year to remember at Knuckleduster!

Forrest