From: Ground Zero Games <jon@g...>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:26:58 +0000
Subject: GZG OFFICIAL: Last pre-SALUTE update....
UPDATE - THURSDAY 10th APRIL 2014 - SALUTE final preparations - casting without a break (or a brake...): Well, it's been an "interesting" couple of weeks of final preparations for SALUTE (Saturday 12th, at ExCel). Things were going fairly well up until the casting machine started to play up last weekend - since then I've been nursing it along with increasing problems while I tried to get the remaining show stock made. The ironic thing is that I have an effectively "new" (fully reconditioned) machine here waiting to be put into service - it was my old used spare machine that I had completely rebuilt by SEBA only a few months ago - but the upheaval of having to clear the workshop in order to get the old one out and the new one in, which will take me a couple of days at least, means that I can't do that until after the show. So, for the last few days I've been running the old one (very carefully, without a brake!) to try to get as much stuff as humanly possible done in time for Saturday. The bad news is that with all that going on, there are a number of new items that I had hoped to have at SALUTE that simply won't be available until after the show - and though I have done as much stock as I could of all our most popular stuff, there will still be some gaps and some codes where stocks are very limited. A number of MAILORDERS have also had to wait a while due to the hassles, but please rest assured that all those placed recently will be dispatched as quickly as possible after I'm back from the show - any that have been significantly delayed can expect a little freebie or two included as compensation for the delayed dispatch. The GOOD news is that I had already managed to get quite a few new releases ready BEFORE the troubles started, so there will be quite a bit of new stuff for you to see and buy - including a MAJOR expansion to the 15mm NSL (including some pre-packed starter army sets), and some surprises in the 15mm CRUSTIES range! What we will NOT have at the show: any of our 25mm figures except the GC range (as usual at shows), the 6mm range (sorry, time and the casting problems have just beaten me on this!) and the 2mm GMM range. Things we WILL have: almost all of our range of SG 15mm infantry and V15 vehicles, and the major ranges of FT Starships (including all the recent releases that haven't been seen at a show before). NEW RELEASES for SALUTE: 15mm NSL (Neu Swabian League) HEAVY WEAPONS TEAMS (autocannon, mortars and grenade launchers), COMMAND PACK and FANBIKES (vectored-fan VTOL hoverbikes). We will have a small number of pre-packed army starters for the NSL including all the new items! 15mm CDF (Colonial Defence Force) troops in caps, plus a COMMAND PACK in helmets. 15mm CRUSTIES: Crusty scouts mounted on "riding bugs", Crusty "scuttler" attack bugs plus "handler". There may be a couple of extra surprise items, depending on how work goes today...... Other notes for SALUTE: All PREORDERS already placed for the show are cast up and packed, ready for their buyers to collect. I will have a number of volunteer helpers at the show tradestand, but even then things are usually VERY busy and I can't promise to have much time to talk to people - it's great to meet folks and put faces to mailorder names, so please say "hi", but if you want to chat for an hour then SALUTE isn't really the best place to do that! Please remember that we are still CASH ONLY at shows - I do plan to reinstate the taking of card payments at shows later this year, but SALUTE isn't the best place for trying out a new system that my helpers are not used to - so for this year it's still just good old folding stuff please! HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF YOU AT THE SHOW! All the best,