Happy Hogswatch!

 

My compliments of the season to you all!  Thank you for stopping by, apologies for my absence of late and here's hoping you get some gaming goodness under the Christmas tree!

Crowdfunding - Why do it?

 Further my previous introductory post on Kickstarter, I thought it was worth setting out why you might consider crowdfunding a project given the financial risk and potential disappointment you could be exposed to.

(1) Without you it might not ever happen - although this is an ever reducing proportion of the projects being launched in the gaming space, there are still some less mainstream topics which would probably not be produced without both the finance and the secured level of interest crowdfunding provides.  Traditional wargame figure manufacture and boardgame production is an expensive exercise to commission and often involves minimum runs in order to cover its production costs.  

(2) It may never come to retail - some projects simply don't make commercial sense and so funding a production run via crowdfunding may be the only way to make it happen.  Some other projects are simply so expensive to produce that with retail markups (especially for boardgames) would simply result in a retail price that was eye watering and unlikely to sell.  But beware of FOMO (the fear of missing out) - just because something isn't going to come to retail doesn't mean it will be a great product indeed it might indicate the opposite. You need to take a cold hard look and make sure it's worth the money and you are not just backing because you might miss out!

(3) You might save some money - crowdfunding projects often offer products at a lower price that you may pay eventually at retail; however, you do need to factor in shipping costs (which are usually only estimated initially) and any VAT or customs duties you may be hit with later.  These days with the increasing costs of shipping and changes in VAT requirements etc. this has become an ever decreasing reason for backing.

(4) You might get it earlier - backers can receive their products before they reach retail but this is not always the case.  Check what commitments, if any, the project is making before relying on this to be the case.

(5) Exclusive extras - crowdfunded projects often include stretch goals should the funding levels reach particular milestones, they also may include "early bird" offers to help boost initial pledges.  Whilst both of these may help add value in the case of (3) above they are not necessarily "exclusive" to backers (ie you may be able to buy them later in retail for an additional cost).  Where items are stated to be "exclusive" it is usually necessary to read the wording very carefully to see whether it provides more flexibility for resale later than first appears.  In any event, the key question is what do these exclusive items add to the product - in particular with boardgames - are they worth it (ie if they were necessary why aren't they in the core offering - why make them "exclusive").

(6) Being part of a community - with some crowdfunding campaigns a community builds up of the backers (with some platforms restricting comments etc to backers only) and this can be fun but your mileage may vary (and like any community on the internet things are not always ideal with people's behaviours.  You may also get the chance to influence some aspect of the product (although the more you can influence the less mature it is likely to be and thus more risky!)

Have I missed any?

In any case, it should be apparent now that few of these are entirely compelling reasons and you need balance these with the risks (ie that you end up getting nothing!).

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Commanders

And last, but not least, for the Imperial forces - some command stands:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF, painted by Roger and based by me.

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Artillery

Some limbered artillery for my Imperial forces (I have rather a lot more unlimbered batteries but thought these were more interesting!)

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger and based by me.

Mexican Adventure: Empress Lancers

Some more mounted troops in the form of the lovely Empress Lancers:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Cavalry

Some more mounted support for the Imperial forces:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Contra-Guerilla Cavalry

And now some mounted Contra-Guerillas:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), based by me and with a flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Contra-Guerilla Infantry

And now two units of Contra-Guerilla infantry for the Imperials:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with a flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Consecrated Company

And now for something slightly different - a unit in the uniform of the Consecrated Company - more for interest and the fact that Freikorps produce the figures!

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Infantry 3

And a final unit of Mexican Imperial Infantry:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Infantry 2

Here are another couple of units of Mexican Imperial Infantry:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Imperial Infantry 1

And now some Imperial Mexican Infantry join the fray:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), based by me and with their flags from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: The Egyptians

Our final foreign contingent is the Egyptian Battalion:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with a flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Austrian Cavalry 2

The second mounted unit in the Austrian Legion is the Uhlans:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Austrian Cavalry 1

Our first mounted support for the Austrian Legion is the Hussars:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with their flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Austrian Infantry

Our next international contingent is from Austria - first the Austrian Legion Infantry:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with flags from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Belgian Cavalry

And now some mounted support for the Belgian Legion:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger and based by me.

Mexican Adventure: Belgian Infantry

And now the first of the international contingents - the Belgian Legion infantry:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), based by me and with the flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: French Hussars

Some further cavalry support for the French - this time some Hussars:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with a flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: French Zouaves

Some more French infantry for my Mexican Adventure project - this time some Zouaves:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with the flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: Chasseur d'Afrique

 And now for some mounted support for the French - some Chasseur d'Afrique:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger and based by me.

Mexican Adventure: French Line Infantry

Adding to my French intervention forces in Mexico are some line infantry:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), painted by Roger, based by me and with a flag from Warflag.

Mexican Adventure: The French Foreign Legion

After an incredibly long gestation period (probably 20 years now) my Mexican Adventure project is nearly table ready.  The second French intervention in Mexico is a fascinating period of history filled with colourful characters and troops.  Here is my first finished unit for the French - the Foreign Legion:

The figures are from the Freikorps range (available from QRF), based by me and with flags from Warflag.

Mahdist War: The Mahdi

 No Mahdist War project would be complete without the man himself - the Mahdi!

These are figures from Perry Miniatures, painted by Roger and based by me.

Mahdist War: Osman Digna

The Beja forces needed a leader - so here he is:

Yet another figure from Perry Miniatures, painted by Roger and based by me.

Mahdist War: Mahdist Commanders

My Mahdist forces were lacking some obvious commanders to lead them into battle, so here are the three I have now added:

The figures are from Perry Miniatures, painted by Roger and based by me. 

Mahdist War: Imperial Commanders

 My Egyptian and Sudanese troops needed some commanders to lead them into battle.  So here are the three mounted officers I had added to my collection:

The figures are from Perry Miniatures, painted by Roger and based by me.

Mahdist War: Egyptian Cavalry

 I thought my Egyptian and Sudanese infantry needed some mounted support:

The figures are from Perry Miniatures, painted by Roger and based by me.

Plan Zachód - Polish 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade

 As one of the iconic units in the defence of Poland in 1939 the "Black Brigade" was an essential addition to my Poland 1939 project.  Here is a sample from the platoon I have nearly completed for Chain of Command - they are a mix of Warlord Games' Bolt Action range and Gorgon Studios figures:

 Once again, these were painted by my friend Roger and just based by me.