Monthly Archives: August 2012
Congrats to Reaper Miniatures!
I enjoy collecting, painting and playing with miniatures, usually 28-32mm (approx 1 inch high for six feet in real life) scale. Several years ago, I wrote some miniature rules/guidelines for Werewolf: The Apocalypse and in more recent history, I worked at Games Workshop, makers of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K. There’s something magical about using acrylic paint to infuse a piece of plastic or pewter with personality. It’s especially cool when you can paint over said miniature if you make a mistake.
So, having said that, Reaper Miniatures in Denton, TX has been around for a while. They make high-quality fantasy and sci-fi miniatures and I even know someone who has painted for them, Anne Foerster. Here’s a link to her gallery at Reaper.
Now, the pewter miniature industry isn’t all that large. I used to work for a pharmaceutical copy that made generics. I can tell you now that there is more money in a generic aspirin than in the entire worldwide miniature market combined. So, when I found out that Reaper was trying to make miniatures out of a new cheap material for something that they called their “Bones” line, I thought that was cool. When I heard that they started a Kickstarter project, I thought that was interesting as well. I’ve thought of trying to raise money for myself while writing a book on Kickstarter or even launching a roleplaying game or supplement there. I made a pledge on Reaper’s Bones project, as I like supporting miniatures companies and they offered a few nice gifts in return.
Well, here’s the amazing thing. They raised over THREE MILLION DOLLARS.
Wow.
They started with a target of $30,000 and became the third highest kickstarter ever! Now, I have friends throughout the miniature industry, notably at Battlefront, Games Workshop, Warlord Games and Wargames Factory, but today I have to applaud Reaper for doing something amazing. What a fantastic achievement! I’m sure there is a ton of celebrating still going on in Texas, and I say congrats as well. This sort of thing is great for building the awareness of the entire hobby.
Thank you, Reaper, and if you guys ever want to sculpt a few of the Crimson Hawks or Krueger, please send me an email.
Goodbye Neil Armstrong
My daughter, who loves space, cried when I broke the news to her that Neil Armstrong had died. She has been reading a biography of him and holds him in high regard among the pantheon of stellar explorers (including a number of astronomers as well as astronauts).
Unlike most of our celebrities, the first man to set foot on another body in the cosmos shunned the spotlight. He described himself as a “white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer.” I suspect that he was one heck of a pilot too. Okay, I know that he had to be one heck of a pilot.
He had a respect for space exploration, an awareness that his achievement wasn’t about himself but about an entire team and the work of those who had gone before, and more importantly, about all of humanity. He never tried to overshadow the achievement or make it about himself.
However, I’ll never forget the “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
As I remember Neil Armstrong, I find myself wishing that we were spending more resources on space exploration. I think that’s what Neil would have wanted. To paraphrase him about his time on the moon, there was important work to do.
We still have work to do. Thanks, Neil.
Souls of the Everwood available in print!
Hi everyone,
I know it’s been a while. What happened to August?
Souls of the Everwood is now available in print on Amazon. Here’s the link. I really would love to see a review, so if anyone out there would like to do a review on Smashwords or Amazon, let me know. I might even be able to find a free copy. 🙂
In other news, I have a new day job starting in September. I’ve spent the last seven years with the same company, so it’s a pretty big deal to me. I think it’s a good time to make a change, but I’m going to miss everyone at my current job.
Additionally, a friend of mine, Wayland Smith, has also had his book about terrorists attacking the nation’s capital reach print. Congrats, Wayland! It’s a little out of genre for me, but I’m rather proud of him. His link is here.
Okay, back to work on Charming. I’m going to speak to my co-author about posting an excerpt soon.
All the best,
Harry
Harry Heckel 