Things are rumbling along!

So, the launch of the Kickstarter for my book ARMIES & LEGIONS & HORDES went off with a bang! It funded in three hours, and has continued to go great guns over the last five days. Everyone seems to have been enjoying the stretch goals, so that's a good thing. I'm sure it feels a little weird though, as it's just the Book that is available, no Add-Ons or crazy "all-in" pledge levels, but I want to keep it simple.

So, the front half of the book stays the same (as described in my last post), but the back half is growing. From eight projects being featured, you have all helped my add another SIX projects (plus more cool photography, and a proper interactive digital version), with another project (the Blood Pact) less than 40 backers away at the time of posting.

The book started at approximately 100 pages. Now it has grown to approximately 140 pages. As more and more people come along and back the project, everyone is going to see the benefit!

And here's the link to the campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1560579763/armies-and-legions-and-hordes/description

Thanks for your support. Take a closer look at the stretch goals funded here:

Cheers
Dave

I am writing a BOOK!

That's right, fellow blog fans! I've decided to write a book about painting wargaming collections. It will be going to Kickstarter this Friday, March 16, at 3pm EDT (which is 7pm GMT, 12pm PST, and 6am on the next day for those of you on the east coast of Australia).

What is going to be in the ARMIES & LEGIONS & HORDES book? 

I'm glad you asked. I'm going to be writing down a lot of my thoughts and philosophies on the army building and painting process in the hope that it will be helpful for everyone who has occasionally struggled with finishing an army project. I'm going to take an in-depth look at Inspiration, Goals, Expectations, Planning, and Motivations - with the goal of helping the reader to be able to map out a path to success for their own projects. This book will also be "game system agnostic", the principles described can be applied to any wargaming project, regardless of genre or period.

I'm also going to be putting together some photo-heavy features of armies and projects I have completed over the years along with a few completely new projects. The list looks something like this:

• Sci-fi Mass Battle – 40K Genswick 33^rd Rifles

• Sci-fi Skirmish – Dark Age collection and terrain

• Sci-fi Big Project – 40K Warlord Titan
• Fantasy Mass Battle – Warhammer Nuln Empire army

• Fantasy Skirmish – Fabled Realms collection and terrain

• Historical Mass Battle – Napoleonic British collection

• Historical Skirmish – WW2 American collection and terrain

• Post-apocalyptic Skirmish – This Is Not A Test collection and terrain

What is the Kickstarter for?

I would really love to see this as a printed book. I'm running this campaign to help fund the creation of a 120+ page hardback book, so that's really the focus. I want to keep the campaign very simple and focused on "The Book". There are six reward levels - one is the obligatory $5 pledge for thanks, and the other five are for a PDF version of the book or a printed version of the book, or some combination thereof.

Stretch Goals are focused on adding some of the other armies that I have created over the years.

What prompted you to write this book?

As a part of the services I offer through Dave Taylor Miniatures, I was laying out a rulebook for a friend (Disposable Heroes II for Sinister Laboratories). I had also taken the photos and was editing the book as I went. The key thing I remember was thinking "I'm really enjoying this. Seeing all the elements come together. This is something I really like doing."

So, with the skills to take photos and design and layout books, I just needed a subject to write about. They say "write about what you know" and with over 10,000 miniatures painted since 1991, the topic seemed pretty obvious. This book isn't a "How to paint..." book. There are plenty of those on the market from great painters. This is a new kind of book that focuses not on the techniques, but the psychology and planning behind big projects.

What's next?

I'm sure I've forgotten something, so when I think of it I'll post again, but really all I'd like to do know is ask you to pledge your support when the campaign goes live, and share the hell out of it with all of your wargaming friends. If we can make this a great success, I'm going to be able to explore lots of other cool ideas with other talented folks and bring their dreams to life too!

Check the campaign for ARMIES & LEGIONS & HORDES out on Kickstarter from Friday, March 16th!

Small Business Saturday

Here in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. I've always viewed it as a great time to come together as family and friends, sit down over a great meal, and have no further expectations or actions associated with it.

In short, it's my favorite holiday of the year. Simple, warm, and full of friends.

The day after (or, more increasingly, the day of) Thanksgiving is the most commercial of the year - Black Friday. This is the day of the "big box stores" who deeply discount a handful of items (typically televisions) in order draw in the shopping crowds. In recent years there have been efforts to remind people of the small businesses out there that serve their communities in various ways. Businesses that rely on the custom of families and friends to stay open. Small Business Saturday.

Well, this year I thought Small Business Saturday would be the ideal time this for this small business to start planning out work for the following year. So, I urge anyone who needs some work in the tabletop wargaming and miniatures world to contact me to book some of my time. I'm taking bookings from March 2018 onwards, so if there's something that needs doing, let's talk about it.

Dave Taylor Miniatures provides a wide array of services:

Marketing and Promotions 
From planning to execution, I've worked with quite a few companies to build there presence in the marketplace, and target those customers who are most likely to be interested in their offering. Marketing and promotional planning offer an opportunity for me to flex my knowledge of the industry, the community, and the avenues to bring them both together.

Design and Layout
Over the last four years I've worked on various rulebook layout projects including: This Is Not A Test for World's End Publishing, Disposable Heroes II for Sinister Laboratories, Exiles for Mindworm Games, and Heroic for Winged Hussar Publishing. I have also put together a lot of articles and adverts for Wargames Illustrated and other magazines and online sources to help promote various games and miniatures ranges.

Photography
I've really enjoyed doing photography for rulebooks and other promotional needs, so I am always ready to do some more. My miniatures photography is featured in This Is Not A Test for World's End Publishing, Disposable Heroes II for Sinister Laboratories, and numerous Wargames Illustrated event coverage articles.

Hobby Content and Painting Commissions
I have built terrain and painted miniatures for both companies and private collectors. Where appropriate, I have also turned those projects into hobby content for websites. The prime examples of this are the work I have done for Ninja Division's Relic Knights, and the painting guides I created for Bolt Action from Warlord Games.

And a lot more...
In addition to all these things, I have also co-ordinated events, run retail booths at conventions, initiated licensing conversations, developed Kickstarter plans and supporting graphics, and created exciting touchstone items to excite communities.

When it comes down to it, my small business is all about helping other companies bring new product to market, or helping them sell more of their existing product. If you think your business could use my help, I'm happy to chat about the possibilities! Contact me here (in the comments below), via my Facebook page, or via email - tanithtaylor@gmail.com

Let's make 2018 a great year!

Decisions have been made!

Thanks very much for all your excellent suggestions. I'm ready to get started on a few new projects and filming some more "discussion" style videos, so that it's a bit easier to understand how I think about/plan out my projects. If you have any questions about these new projects, please click on the link below and start asking away.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LPR6SKV

Cheers
Dave

PS. I hope this works ; )

So, what's next? What should I work on?

It has been quite a while since I completed the Warlord Titan build. I've not recorded a video since, so maybe it is time to get back on the horse. What do you fine readers want to see?

Cheers
Dave

Happy New Year! and what has Dave Taylor Miniatures been up to?

Happy 2016, everyone!

It occurred to me, as I was thinking back over the last two years of what I'd call a successful start to a business, that I hadn't really given you all a rundown of what Dave Taylor Miniatures (my business) had been doing over that time to "keep the lights on" as it were.

Well, I figured it would be a good idea to give you a quick overview of what I've been able to do in my mission to help various companies bring new product to market, as well as selling more of their existing products. In alphabetical order, here's a list of the companies I've worked with and the things I've done for them:

Brigade Games - Sculpting, Painting, Photography
Broken Toad - Marketing and Promotional Planning
Cool Mini or Not - Marketing and Promotional Planning (more on this soon)
Dragon Forge Design - Sculpting, Painting, Photography
Geek Nation Tours - Writing, Painting, Photography
Grindhouse Games - Graphic Design, Painting, Photography
Infamy Miniatures - Graphic Design, Terrain building (more on this soon)
Ironheart Artisans - Photography
Mindworm Games - Marketing and Promotional Planning
Ninja Division - Hobby Content, Painting, Photography, Terrain Building
Riot Games - Graphic Design
Secret Weapon Miniatures - Sculpting, Community Management
Turbo Tape Games - Painting, Photography
Victoria Miniatures - Graphic Design, Product Consulting
Wargames Illustrated - Graphic Design, Painting, Terrain Building, Photography, Event Coverage, Writing
Warlord Games - Hobby Content, Painting, Photography
Winged Hussar Publishing - Graphic Design
World's End Publishing - Graphic Design, Photography, Promotional Consulting

I've also done a few non-miniatures related jobs, and worked on commissions for 14 other customers.

I'm really excited to see what the next two years might bring for Dave Taylor Miniatures. I'm really lucky to be able to work with so many wonderful people on such cool projects. Thank you all for your support!

Hope your outlook for 2016 is just as exciting : )

Cheers
Dave

A new video - Mechabrick Upgraded (not Titan-related, but cool mechs instead)

I hadn't planned to do this video, but the "plastic building-brick" robots that I received from a friend recently were too cool not to show off in this fashion.

I'll let you watch and check them out, but you can find out more about the Indiegogo campaign HERE, and check out the Mechabrick website HERE.

All very cool indeed!

Geek Nation Tours - Battlefields of Waterloo 2015 tour!

Well, if I haven't told you about it before, I can tell you about it now....

I'm currently enjoying the awesomeness that is the Geek Nation Tours - Battlefields of Waterloo tour (celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the battle today, actually). We've done soooooo much in the last three days that I'm struggling to keep up. We've visited many important campaign sites, including Ligny, Quatre Bras, Genappe, Le Caillou, La Haye Sainte, the Allied line, Papelotte, and Plancenoit. We've also visited a few other sites not connected directly to the campaign, such as the Cantillon Brewery, the Lion's Mound, the Panorama, and the brand new Waterloo 2015 museum.

Additionally, I presented two painting classes on Tuesday, thanks to support from Warlord Games and The Army Painter!

So, it has been a lot of fun, with a few more days to go. I just hope I can keep up with it all!

Cheers
Dave

PS. I'll be putting together a full report on the tour for Wargames Illustrated once I return stateside : )

AdeptiCon is just around the corner!

And for the first time ever, I'll be running two hobby seminars at the show : )

Getting everything together for the seminars has been... interesting. It has certainly been a lot more work than I first originally imagined, but I'm now ready to go. I'd like to thank Warlord Games for providing the Algoryn models (from their game Beyond the Gates of Antares) for the classes (below you can see 50 of the suckers waiting for priming).

As part of the seminars, all students will receive a bottle of my "Super Secret Metallic Wash". Here you can see my daughters mixing it all carefully on a recent snow day. My thanks here go to Robert Kingery for his supply of dropper bottles for the wash : )

Here are the examples I painted up for the presentation and handout. We'll be looking at Dark Iron, Polished Steel, Brassy Brass, and Shining Gold.

Once my presentation and handout were complete, I took a few moments to get some more metallics on my Mechanicum Vorax models. I just love the evil bug feel of these guys!

Perhaps I'll see you at the show : )

Cheers
Dave

Very Thankful!

Gather your friends and family close to celebrate.

As the US prepares for Thanksgiving (the annual holiday of family and gratitude that has been perverted by numerous capitalist ventures over recent years), I'd like to take this opportunity and thank all of the companies and individuals who have helped me make Dave Taylor Miniatures a viable capitalist venture of its very own (although not one that'll be sending its employee to work on Turkey Day).

I would like to thank - in no particular order - the following miniatures businesses (or groups) for their patronage, and urge you to check them out over the coming year:

• Secret Weapon Miniatures
• Infamy Miniatures
• Brigade Games
• AdeptiCon
• Dragon Forge Design
• Grindhouse Games
• Victoria Miniatures
• Wargames Illustrated
• Ninja Division
• Ironheart Artisans
• World's End Publishing
• Broken Toad
• Geek Nation Tours
• Mindworm Games

Additionally, I'd like to thank the following commission patrons for their support:

• Anthony Snukis - Tanith
• Brien Dulaney - Infinity and Napoleonics
• Chet Chislom - Conversions
• Dave Pauwels - Assembly
• Hank Edley - Imperial Knights
• Jake Schneider - FOW Tanks (WIP)
• Jason Duffee - FOW Americans
• Phil Bronson - FOW Germans
• Teras Cassidey - Conversions
• Dean Clarke - Napoleonics (WIP)

To all those celebrating, Happy Turkey Day!
To those who are not, Happy Thursday!

Cheers
Dave

When your mechanic calls you and says...

..."Dave, we have to talk."

Yesterday, was "one of those days" where I got to hear the list of ailments facing my car, and the price for repairs. Of course, repairing the car is still going to be a better deal in the long run than buying a new car (or a new used car), but it's certainly a chunk of change I don't have sitting in the coffers.

To that end I'll be selling off some of my armies. I have quite a few, some of them from from the mid-late '90s, others from the early 2000s, and I might even be tempted to let go of some more recent collections, should the offers be right.

Anyway, if you are interested in picking up something for yourself (think of it as an early Christmas present), just shoot me an email (tanithtaylor at gmail dot com) letting me know which of my projects you're interested in and I'll sort out some photos for you : )

On the short list for sale are:

Warhammer
UPDATE: SOLD • Bretonnians - 3,000 points, painted in 2007/8 (current models)
• Beastmen - 1,000 points, painted in late '90s (models from that period)
• Chaos Warriors - 1,000 points, painted in late '90s (models from the period)
• Chaos Warriors (Nurgle) - 1,500 points, painted in 2003/4 (models from that period)

40K
UPDATE: SOLD • Tanith 1st - 1,500 points, all infantry, a LOT of conversions, painted in 1999
• Cadian army - Loads of Infantry and dozens of vehicles, probably 4,000 plus points, painted in 2003

Flames of War
UPDATE: SOLD • Early/Mid War Germans - a collection that can be used to create any army from the Blitzkrieg book from roughly 1,800 to 2,400 points, painted in 2011
• Mid War Soviets - an older collection that can probably be used to field around 1,500 points of an Infantry Company, painted in 2004.

I won't be selling off my Mechanicum, Death Guard, Genswick Rifles, Blood Pact, or Vostroyans, but would entertain offers on most of my other stuff.

Cheers
Dave

A New Look for the Blog

I've been tinkering a bit with the blog recently, and thinking of a few new things I can do.

Welcome to the start of the new layout. I want the blog to look nice and clean, with the posts continuing as the primary focus, but with the added potential to do some other things. These other things will include a little bit of advertising, and the ability to better promote the miniature based activities of my friends "in the business". 

The first incarnation of this is new approach is exemplified by the Kickstarter project being run by long-term friend of the blog, Nick Baran. I invite you to click on the image at the top of the sidebars to the right and see what his very cool new miniatures boardgame - Broken Contract - is all about.

Stay tuned for more tweaks, and feel free to leave you thoughts and/or suggestions in the comments below.

Cheers
Dave

Back from GenCon, and some new Mechanicum

So, Wednesday of last week I packed up my miniature case and headed off to Indianapolis for the biggest gaming convention ever - GenCon 2014! Despite living in the US for the last 12 years, I've never been to GenCon before. To say it's impressive is to do it a disservice. You'll note that above right there's a large sign on the floor of the arrivals hall at the Indianapolis Airport welcoming all gamers to the town. A great touch that puts you in the mood.

Given my naiveté regarding GenCon, I waited until fairly late in the day to buy my ticket, and was required to pick it up from the Will Call booth. The photo above shows the first half of the Will Call line as I joined it on Thursday morning. Around 400 people were in front of me in the queue, but thanks to the (apparently improved) processing it took less than 25 minutes to get from this point to draping my lanyard around my neck.

It was then a wander around the hallways that lead me to the mezzanine overlooking the hallway outside the Exhibit Hall. On the left you can see dozens of people taking photos of the crowd, on the right you can see thousands of people out in the crowd, just before the doors opened.

Once inside, there were 370+ vendors all ready to sell their wares, it was amazing to see the wide variety of booths and booth sizes and products on sale. It was certainly gamer geek heaven.

The main gaming hall was just as big as the Exhibit Hall, with hundreds of games being played at any one time. Apparently the gaming halls hosted over 14,000 ticketed events over the four days of GenCon.

And here's a sneaky pic of my good friend Dave Pauwels having just received a demo of MLP, so that he could teach his daughter the game when he got home.

There was plenty of cosplay going on too, here are a couple of photos I took for my daughters : )

Food was to be had in abundance. Here's a look at the Ultimate Gamer Breakfast Burger (or some such title) that could be had at the bar in the JW Marriott hotel - a massive buttermilk biscuit, with two sausage patties, bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, sausage gravy, and jalepenos, sever with tater tots and a chipotle mayo. I stuck with a regular burger this day, but two friends across the table rose to the challenge and devoured one each.

And I was even lucky enough to collect a few Honorable Mention ribbons for my Death Guard Contemptor Dread and my Malifaux Relic Hunters.

Do yourself a favor. Go to GenCon at least once, and do it with friends. Have lots of fun!

Thank you to all my friends, old and new, who made it such a great first-time experience. Particular thanks go to my room-mates James, Josh, and Lionel for not snoring too much, as well as Joel (Mordian 7th) for organizing a meet and greet on Saturday : )

Anyway, back to the minis. After the Old Line Massacre event back at the beginning of June, my friend Marc Raley started to think of ideas to deal with my pesky Thallax (I ran a unit of nine at the event). He let me know that he'd bought three Rapier platforms, all with quad heavy bolters, just perfect for chewing through Thallax. My response was to order another nine from Forgeworld. They arrived with the Thanatar. Shortly after, I picked up another three in a trade and now have 21 of the automata. What could possibly go wrong?

This morning I finished converting three "special weapon" Thallax who are ready for primer. The top model carries a multi-melta, and the other two have my version of a phased-plasma fusil. I really can't wait to get these guys out on the tabletop : )

Oh, and I have a Castellax to build before I start on the paint job for them all.

As usual with my Mechanicum, the bases and cables are from Dragon Forge Design.

Cheers
Dave

Horus Heresy - Death Guard characters (and my 500th post!)

I managed to polish of a few more Death Guard over the holiday weekend. These three Apothecaries that will sit nicely among my big squads, or I can pick one of them to act as a Primaris Medicae (probably the one in the middle with the lovely servo skull).

And my Centurion (Praetor in larger games) is finished up too. I'm very happy with the result. I'll get to use him this week in a 1,000 point game : )

Additionally, I've just discovered that this post will be number 500! That's quite a lot of posts, even over the course of five and a half years. An average of 1.8 posts per week.

Anyway, expect a few more posts this week ; )

Cheers
Dave