masterminis.net - where we learn to be a better painter!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

More GW business decisions - Nightcap Edition

Nightcap Edition


And just when you thought it could not get any worse.... GW never fails to deliver!

After the excitement of today over our beloved Legal Department of Games Workshops and their nerdtracking lazor-bombs, we finally know why GW took down Faeit 212.


It was all a scheme, an elaborately cunning plan to cover up the fact that GW is removing 'items from their Specialist Range'. That is Necromunda, Battle Fleet Gothic and so on. 

"It's not like anyone plays games like Battle Fleet Gothic and Necromunda anyway." the GW UK Fulchester "store" wrote on their FB page.* 

Items from the affected ranges have begun to be removed and will not replaced. Reason for this decision by Headquarters is that GW's range of products are too complex and difficult to manage. 


Guys, GRAB THOSE RULEBOOKS and put them in a box labled: Retiremend Fund. 


I will now quote the FB user Col Foot to summarize my opinion: 
"Because SG's didn't contain enough space marines, GW will replace the whole range, including all the WFB range with more space marines. And the paints. They need to be space marines too. And all the staff. Space marines.

In other GW news, advance orders of the new space marines start on Saturday. Be ready to order you new space marines and get your first look in the new look magazine: WHITE SPACE MARINE.

And dont forget that tickets to the Space marine day in the NEC go on sale, got to have your space marine painted and ready to enter in SPACE MARINE ON PARADE for your chance to win a golden space marine.

Spehss Mehreens!!!!"
I like Space Marines, so I am all for it, Col. Foot! Ultramarines of course. No others... ^^

Seriously - the items in question are probably not the biggest seller in the store. Here in Germany they have been gone from the stores for years now. Thats part of the reason why there is no demand. They are not being sold. :D

I will now chuckle myself to bed. 

GW.... heheheh.... funny guys.

Signing out for today, 
Zaphod


Last post I had a post for GW's legal department. Here a song for the marketing guys!


Need a map? 

*The GW: Fulchester is a ficticious store - I urge you to join them if you like black humor ^^. The news are real though, Specialist Games are dead.

GW's legal department strikes again - R.I.P. Faeit 212

The big bad wolf goes on a rampage - again

Update: Exclusiv Interview May 14th: Faeit back up end of may, interims site.

The madness continues.

Here's Games Woooorkshop!
One of the most pro-GW blogs that probably existed, Faeit 212, has been taken down by the legal inquisition of Games Workshop (see DMCA note here). I am shaking several body parts in disbelief. 

For those who do not know Faeit 212, it was the #1 source of information about new releases and rumors mostly for the different Games Workshop Universes in the bloggersphere. 

Just to put things in perspective. We have a little over 230,000 views. Faeit 212 was close to getting to 20,000,000 (thats 20 million) views. 

If our company had a site that would leak rumors and images about our upcoming products and got me 20,000,000 views FOR FRAKKING FREE, I would definitely hire that person as my marketing  advisor, not shut him down. Plus free product for life. 

Gary, if you read this, I feel very sorry for what happened to you. You seem like a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is. You have spent years building up a loyal base of engaged hobbyists with what I can only describe as one of the best blogs. EVAR.

I'd love to hear from you.

Interlectual Property - you're doing it wrong

First of all, I have to say that in my previous life as a CIO of a multi-billion-company I had to deal with copyright and IP issues as well. I am not a legal expert, but I know a little more than just the 'basics'. 

In my opinion, Games Workshop is one of the only Companies out there that at least try to appear to be running IP law by the book. Someone got the book 'IP for dummies' and read and implemented it in 24 hours. (Wikipedia IP)


Don't call me stoopid!

I will try to make it short: If a company claims their IP rights, they have to actively protect their IP. If they do not actively protect their IP, then they might lose the rights to the exclusive use of their works. What GW allows people to do with their IP, however, is completely up to them. They defined these rules easily accessible for everyone on their website.

Example of how far it went: Not allowing your distributors to use product fotos you took is not a clever move. 

In my opinion, its stupid.

Throwing the dice

Like so often, Games Workshop's action seem rather random. There are thousands of blogs and forums out there. Cherry-picking just one will not protect their IP. Why it took 20,000,000 views for GW to decide to finally take Faeit 212 down is just bizzare. "OK, 19 million views is acceptable, but 20 million - NEVAR!"

Of course, it sends the message to many bloggers out there. Like a warning shot. "See what can happen to you, when we don't like you much."

Good timing


As a company, the first thing to do when I am under criticism for price increases, bad quality (Finecast) or service cuts (Games Day Tickets), where they actually have to take down their Facebook Page because of a flaming, disgruntled customers there are two possible options you could pursue: 

1. work with the community to increase your corporate image
2. work against them, just to make a point. 

GW, sorry to break it to you, but not being able to post angry comments on your facebook page does not mean there are no angry customers. Just sayin', true story bro. 

Shareholders et al.
I wished I was a majority shareholder of GW. I would raise some serious questions. Of course, in the last few years, GW has increased their profits - but if you read the report, you know how: They raised their margin by selling directly to the customer (webstore) and in the process taking down more and more small hobby stores (e.g., miniwargaming.com). Overall sales did not increase. 

That is a short term strategy. Sorry, Shareholders, spoiler alert. But wait, is there any good reason to treat your customers badly? Any at all? Yes there is!

The only good reason to raise short term profits is if you want to sell your company. Hasbro? Mattel? Wizards of the Coast anyone? Would be consistent with the latest shift in the shareholder structure. Remember, you read it here first.

Do your frakking homework first!

Dear GW, how about instead of shutting down blogs and fans alike because auf 'leaked' material, you try to stop material from leaking? Get the responsible person in China where you have your books printed - they leaked it first! Treat your staff right so they have an active interest in protecting their own company instead of sending out internal memos. 

If it wasn't this sad it would be kinda funny... Like a not-how-to step-by-step tut.

Geeez, this makes me mad. 



Bring it on!


Now, dear legal department of GW. I will let you in on a secret. In order to defend your IP you have to take down any infringement that you know of. Not just the one's you don't like. 

I am sure you know a few more hundred blogs and forums that infringe upon your precious IP. Get jiggy with it! 

Would be interested to see where people would get their information from in the future. From the stores? No, they are utterly clueless and get their information from customers and blogs. 

White Dwarf? Don't make me laugh. The only reason to get your hands on a WD is to leak early pictures (or like in my case, have a complete collection, starting at #1).

Come on, GW, SHOOT THE PEOPLE THAT LOVE YOU!

Galactic Self-Preservation Act of 2013


So just in case our blog gets taken down as well, you might want to hop over and register to paintingbuddha blog below. I don't intend to use it as we are planning our own website right now, but at least you would be able to get information as soon as 'This blog was deleted' is all you see: paintingbuddha blog.

What do I care?

I stated it on this blog often - I love Games Workshop & Forge World. Maybe I just love the memory of what Games Workshop used to be and just have not realized yet that we both have moved on. 

Letting go is hard and I am not ready. Yet. 

I need 640 million pound. 

If someone has 640 million pound for me, I would like to buy Games Workshop. So if you know a multi-billionaire, please link him to this blog. 

COMMENT BELOW
What do you think of GW's latest coup?
Tell Gary from Faeit 212 "Thank you!"



And here a little something for GW's Legal Department:

CHILL DUDES!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Two 'different' indiegogo campaigns

Three posts on one day? That is unheard of :D


We all have seen the big miniature companies like Reaper or all the different Coolminiornot rake in millions with their kickstarters. Sometimes this saddens me, as the spirit of Kickstarter & Co. should not be to sell product but to help small new companies 'start up' their business. 

So today I have two very small fundraising campaigns for you - check 'em out!

Myconids

My buddy Edwin Smolinski asked me to share information about this cute little fundraiser with you.  And I ask you this - who does not like Mushrooms!


The artist Kamil "Smok" Milaniuk set his goal at only 1500$ of which 440$ are already pledged with 39 days to go. Have a look, my fungulicious friends!

Chibi Fantasy

Bluuuaaaaargh! Fuuuu fuuuuuu fuuuuu!
I am a big Chibi fan. When I lived in Japan, I tried to draw some Manga - and with the exception of Chibi characters failed miserably. When I try to draw a circle, it ends up looking like a triangle. I am not an artist, I just work here...

Chibi Fantasy is a collection of Chibi Ghosts, Wraiths, Bats and Jellies. I really love these little critters, I think they look awesome! 

The sculptor Ale Burano made these and with a goal of only 650$ I am certain that this project will be funded. Check out the campaign here.

OK, I think this will be the last post for today ^^

Happy nerding, whereever you are!


















You have reached the end of this post. 
There are often Giveaways hidden here for people like you. 

Oh! Look! 

--> Win a PERFECT finecast mini
--> Win a FREE WORKSHOP with UK 2012 Slayer Sword winner Karol Rudyk

GW News: Radagast on Sleigh



And hello again!


This just in: Radagast the Brown is now available for pre-order. Is it Christmas yet? No, but regardless of that, Radagast is comming with his Rabbit Sleigh!

The glorious marketing experts at GW of course disallow the embedding of their video (such a clever move, have a pint on me, guys!), so all you see is this puny little link.

Radagast and the sleigh actually look really good, we think. 

The rabbits.... Well... The rabbits... OK, you can tell that they are rabbits. Maybe spacing them a little would have been nice - they look very unhappy the way they are positioned... 

So you like it? 


Well, do you still like it after I tell you it will be a fine Finecast cast? Or when I tell you that this model will cost you 'only' 50$/40€? 

Personally, I find this a little too steep for a tiny miniature.

Anywho, you can buy it here...

With all the High Elf pics on the Games Workshop site you might actually miss this release completely as it is only a post in the White Dwarf Daily - which will be gone by tomorrow. 

Jingle rabbits, jingle rabbits, jingle all the waaaaay!

Share & Enjoy!


Games Day US & Germany Ticket Information


Haaaappyyyy Mooondaaaay, everyooone!

Just a really short update this morning

Games Day 2013 - Ticket Availability

We had reported about the limited availability on Tickets for the Games Day here in Germany and the US in the last two weeks. 

On April 20th, 10 days ago, US and Germany started their 'Ticket Attack' and many people - especially international painters - were afraid that they could not get tickets as everyone feared that due to the limited availability they would be gone in a flash. 

According to a GW internal source, last year Germany sold around 1000 tickets as soon as they went on sale. This year, after 10 days, they only sold around 530 tickets. 

Raising the ticket price to 50€ and taking away the free T-Shirt and the limited Games Day Miniature seem to have scared away many people from this event. For Germany that means that there are still around 1500 tickets left - and these should last quite a while, even with the Games Day info now being available in this months White Dwarf. (Of course, it still has the wrong information on dates an location for Germany)

The US still had around 350 tickets left (of 1000) - with the main deterrent here being the extremely high cost of air travel to Memphis (over 1000€) plus the obligatory Statson Cowboy Hat for 420$. 

So it seems you got some time to think about whether you would like to go or not. 

Step-by-Step Tutorial "Happy Monk"

This week we will start a step-by-step-tutorial with Ben Komets in which he paints the 'Happy Monk' (designed by Ben Komets und Ernst Veingart). We all love step-by-step-tutorials, but we are masterminis.net! You know....
Must... have... giveaways!


So at the end of the tutorial session we will GIVE AWAY Ben's painted miniature to one extremely lucky person ^^^

Now how does that change your outlook for your workweek? ^^
Post your comments below!


Happy monday ^^


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Two busy weeks: GW rumors & facts and other stuff to wrap up

Good evening!

Artist rendering of my clueless friend.
The last couple of weeks were quite interesting from a hobbyist perspective. A good friend of mine just talked to me and - because he usually only reads blogs on the weekend - had no clue of any of the developments with regards to Games Days, new releases. the big Finecast discussion or Paintingbuddha updates or anything really that has been going on in the miniature scene lately. 

He recommended something like a weekly 'summary' post, maybe even something that could be made into a comprehensive Menu item since the history view and the navigation in Bloggers is kinda clumsy. 

I am just going to give it a try - maybe you let me know in the comments if something like this is helpful or whether the normal day-to-day posts are cool with you. I will give you three options for your commenting convenience: 

    0 - I don't need a summary!
    1 - A summary is cool, but don't make it a post, put it somewhere in the menus for reference
    2 - Yeah, give us a bi-weekly or monthly summary.

I personally tend towards 0-1 ;) But let me know what you think!

Paintingbuddha Updates: 


Games Day Rumors & facts: 




High Elves Release May

(as of today, HE are on sale! Limited HE Army book limited to 1000! )


Forge World

Big discussion: Finecast BANs (Giveaway)

That's almost all of it for the last two weeks (minus some not so important posts). 



GW Finecast bans - ouch!

Greetings, figuristas!
(Y.A.G. - yet another giveaway at the end of this post!)

Finecast summary 

A perfect example of a perfectly fine finecast cast.
(Source Games Workshop )
We all remember the big outcry and flood of ridicule Games Workshop had to endure when they released Finecast miniatures. The argument GW used at the time was something along these lines: "White metal has gotten too expensive, therefore we will now release Finecast models". It seemed only natural, following this logic, to increase prices at the same time... 

This is what the official GW site has to say about Finecast: 
"Our Citadel Finecast models are the latest step in hobby evolution, providing you with incredibly detailed, high-quality resin kits to bolster your army. Painting and modelling Citadel miniatures has never been as rewarding as this. Click on one of the game system logos below to see the full range of Citadel Finecast miniatures."
Looks good on paper, err, the monitor, doesn't it (you could print this page and check whether it also looks good on paper). 

I only bought a hand-full of finecast models so far. Two were absolutely perfect, the others  were... well, not so good. I went to return them in the store (which GW will gladly do for you, which is awesome) and with the store manager we checked the complete stock on hand for an acceptable model - and after opening 6 packages actually found one. I used to buy up to 20 limited (white metal) GD models when visiting the events (my retirment fund), now I usually only get two. 

Finecast - is it good or bad?

I have seen some excellent finecast miniatures. And I have seen stuff that I would be ashamed to sell and angry to have bought. 

Basically, results on finecasts were hit-or-miss. You may get lucky and get an awesome cast which is far superior to the whitemetal minis and the next time you get something that only fits a nurgle themed army. Total Wargamer wrote a nice side-by-side comparison of Finecast to White Metal back in 2011. Others, such as the excellent site Chest of Colors reported of less encouraging results. 

Many hobbyists came up with helpful tutorials on how to work with Finecast on platforms such as YouTube, Blogs and so on.

For some reason I was under the impression that Games Workshop had resolved their initial Finecast challenges.

Recent developments - Finecast bans

Recently, there are voices again complaining about the quality of Finecast products. 

Some of the top commission painters actually banned finecasts from their list of accepted commission models. Well-known commission painter Arsies wrote on his Facebook page, after refusing finecast commissions on his site
"Some people asked me in past weeks why i'm not accepting finecast works. Please allow me to paste here the last reply I gave to them:
I'm not accepting finecast works because this material is very difficult to work on. My prices are the same for almost all 30mm mianitures, but in finecast I need one extra day just to clean and repair the miniature, it's harder to work on and painting job doesn't reach same quality level as plastic or white metal (I don't know why) so as i don't want to charge an extra 25% for finecast miniatures to give customers a lower quality work - I just don't accept them."
And now, one of the biggest commission painting studios, Fantasygames followed suit with a flat-out-ban of all Finecast commission models: 
"Hello, after assembling Hellcanon I decieded today to BAN all commissions with GW FINECAST. I don't want to get anger when I have to prepare minis to paint. I returned to many of them. It cost me a lot of nerves and energy and final effect is always worse than with metal or plastic miniatures. So I don't want to charge more for lower quality miniatures. Please do not ask me about painting FINECAST miniatures. Ctan."
Ctan also shows you why: 


Heaven, I don't even know what this is supposed to be. Definitely NOT the result of increased "Quality Control." :D

And yesterday, atacams followed by banning all Finecast comissions. 
"Following on from a few other painters. we will no longer be accepting commissions of Finecast. For me, it was because today I have had to tell a customer the 3rd miniature they have sent me will cost the commission again to rectify the atrocious miscasts and bubbles in prep time. Sorry if this causes any inconvenience."
These are just a few examples out of many commission painters and showcase painters that just "don't do finecast no mo'".

GW's return policy works

Return policy -
a strong point with GW
One thing that works really well, though, is the curteous return policy for Finecast (or any other faulty product for that matter) that GW offers. They will gladly replace your item with a new one. My personal experience as a customer has always been very good - both in the store as well as on the phone with the mail order. 

The one thing that I don't get is that this must be frakking expensive for GW. I know of people who had to return their finecast models 5, 6 or even 7 times until they got a decent one. As a business person at heart, this makes me cringe and convulse uncontrollably. This just cannot be cost effective - and image-wise its a nightmare. 

Of course, some people pride themselves of abusing the system and claiming faulty products only to receive a 'second' mini for the price of one (you usually don't need to send back stuff you ordered from the mail-order). Again, such waste makes me weep bitter tears of Business 101 classes. 

I don't know what the Gamers among you have to say about this, but as a painter I feel that Finecast is just 'not there yet'. Especially when you consider that all these extra krispy kickstarters and indigogos deliver really well cast resin miniatures (that don't even melt in your mouth, not just not in your hand). 

My personal opinion on Finecast's future

For some reason I am usually pretty good with my predictions, so here it comes: Finecast will be replaced with an all-plastic range in the (hopefully not so far) future. The individual models sold as plastic are absolutely gorgeously perfect. And cheaper. Noone does them better than Games Workshop. Noone. 

I just hope that its sooner than later. 

I still buy Finecast and return it if need be until I get a good mini. And every time I do a little bit inside me dies. Its my poor business heart. Why do I feel bad for GW when this happens? 

Must be love :D


GIIIVEAWAYYYY ALERT!

So what do you think? What are your experiences with Finecast miniatures? Do you still buy them? Don't you? How were they?? 

I would be interested to get as many comments from Finecast buyers as possible to get a comprehensive 'state of the Galaxy'.

Comment below and you could win a great looking Finecast miniature as a giveaway prize! I promise that I will find one! :D

And if you like giveaways, don't forget you can win a Workshop with GD UK 2012 Slayer Sword Winner Karol Rudyk here.

Have a great weekend, guys (and gals)!

Friday, April 26, 2013

New Forgeworld stuff - Warhammer Forge

Good evening! 

Friday night - what's better than reading Forge World news :D

I am eagerly awaiting my Necron Tesseract which will be shipped on May 5th and Forgeworld already has announced new stuff... Can't keep up with our orders here, slow down! 

Realm of Battle

First item on the list is this very pretty 'Realm of Battle Earthworks'. If you can't, don't want or don't have the time to build your own gaming table, the alternative is only a quick 75GBP away... Good thing you need six of these for a full gaming table... phew, expensive. 

Orc Command


And the next item is something that would definitely have made it into my last order - this orc command is just awesome. That dragon-wing-banner is just so cool! 

The orc boss just looks as bad-ass as his axe. I am a collector of the Green Horde and I am sure that at some point these two fellows will find the way into my collection. Sculpted by our one and only Edgar Skomorowski.

If it wasn't for the S&H cost, I would order them now, but now I need to wait until the next 250GBP order. And that seems a looooooong time away as I just ordered ^^


Check out the Forge World news here. 

Games Day UK Rumors - NEC M.I.A. - NIA!


Happy Friday Morning! 

Just a few more hours and it is 'the weekend' - and with spring in the air and the sun shining for all of us, I am sure we are looking forward to it. 

As you have seen yesterday, the dates for GD Italy and UK have finally been confirmed. 

New Rumors

Since GW has released its globally binding "Games Day Codex" and all of the other countries have limited (or rather cut down) ticket availability for 'better planning', the question is: Will this also apply to the UK?

NEC M.I.A. 


Less convenient for travellers, but great for exploring Birmingham.
As you can read in this Month's White Dwarf, the UK Games Day will not be at the NEC (conveniently located right next to the Airport with tons of hotels on the grounds) but at the NIA (national Indoor Arena; 14 miles from the Airport, close to Birmingham City). 

For those of us that come from abroad that probably means getting a hotel closer to the NIA - which I am looking forward to as we can hit the Birmingham City the night before the event. I am sure they have a pint or two for us :D

Limited Tickets?

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the NIA and Games Days: 
"The British games company Games Workshop used the arena to stage their Games Day and Golden Demon events until 2003, when they moved to the larger National Exhibition Centre."
Which means that now, they move to the smaller National Indoor Arena.  

Wait... SMALLER? Last year the NEC halls - including the soccer-field large Forgeworld Sales Extravaganza were crammed with people. 

Does this mean that tickets for the UK GD will also be limited? 

Maybe some of you that went to the NIA in the Golden Days of Golden Demons and could leave a comment below :) 

Where is Japan!?

And of course, we heard nothing about the Games Day Japan. Whether this now means that it has also fallen victim to the GD cuts or wheter it merely means it will be announced at a later date, remains to be seen. 

You probably already know (as we repeat it often), but if you don't feel ready to win a Golden Demon event, you might want a FREE 3-DAY-WORKSHOP with Karol Rudyk, the UK GD 2012 winner ;) 

Good Luck!

(And big hint: Subscribe and follow - next week we will have a very special GIVEAWAY.
Need. Moar. Giveaways!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Games Day Italy & UK - CONFIRMED DATES

Hey Golden Demon lovers!

Just a very quick and enthusiastic evening update. An important one! 

The illustrious Rafa "Volomir" García Marín in his capacity as 'Marín Especial' of the Galactic President's Special Task Force has just posted good news on his blog


What we knew: 

A picture from this Saturday's White Dwarf confirms the Date for the yet missing Games Days UK and Italy! 

As we already knew the US Games Day 2013 will take place on July 27th in Memphis, Tennessee (and we are sooooo GOING yeeeehaaaaaw!)

We also knew that the German Games Day will take place on August 11th in Cologne (and we already knew that the White Dwarf would have both date and location wrong :P)

What we didn't know

What we did NOT know yet were the dates for the Italian and UK Games Days, so here they are: 

- GD UK: September 29th, Birmingham NEC NIA.
- GD Italy: October 20th, Módena, Italy.

Update: Good News! The Euromilitaire 2013 in Folkstone will be September 21-22 this year, a week before GD UK and not on the same day as in 2012....

Update 2: New GD UK Rumors


ROOOOOOADTRIP! :D


What we are missing

Games Day Japan is not announced in the White Dwarf... DON'T TELL ME IT HAS BEEN CANCELLED! 

Are you ready to win a Golden Demon?

If you feel you are not quite good enough to win a Golden Demon, why not win a free workshop with someone who has already won the SLAYER SWORD? 

You might also want to subscribe as next week we will have a VERY SPECIAL giveaway...
Yay! More giveaways!

Games Workshop High Elf Rumors - Part II

A quick Thursday Morning Coffee Read

High Elves: Annointed of Asuryan
Concerning Hobbits... High Elves

Yesterday a new, currently unknown High Elf, the 'Annointed of Asuryan' leaked. We reported last week about all of the other new May releases.

The release has been controversially discussed ever since. Some love the KFC (Kentucky Fried Chivalry), others hate it. The 'heart-gem' baring ladies with spears thicker than their faces have been unanimously condemned. 

I think that from a design perspective in general, the new High Elves fit well in to the last HE release. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing depends on your personal point of view. 

As far as the rules and availability, there are some rumors that I would think can be called 'fact' at this time. 

Pre-Order and Release

Following the trend in the latest release dates, we can assume that the new High Elves will be on pre-order starting this Saturday, April 27th. They should be shipping a week later, on May 5th then. 

I bet there will be another limited edition army book available and I predict 2000 of them. If it is as fancy as the limited Tau Codex (which was available for a looooooong time), I might get it, if not I will skip it. Shelling out 80€ every month for something that goes into a collection becomes a tad expensive.

The new army book is written by Matt Ward. If you would like to read about some of the rule rumors, check out this excellent round-up.

Teaser Video?

And last but not least, if you have not seen this totally lavish and expensive sneak-peak-preview-teaser video yet, you still might not want to. And thanks, GW, for being the only company in the world that forbids the embedding of release information videos in fan sites. *facepalm*

Update 6pm CET: More pictures and information, pics from the WD and additional photos of HE minis and Artwork on my buddy's blog right here. (Thanks Fabrizio!)

And don't forget: You can win a workshop in Berlin with GD Slayer Sword winner Karol Rudyk!


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Paintingbuddha DVD Set 'Season 1' - Update

Greetings my fun fellow figure fans!

Today I would like to give those of you who pre-ordered the Season 1 DVD Set a quick little update on our progress.
Since we announced the delay in the shipping of our first product we have received nothing but positive and encouraging feedback from the community. This is very motivating for all of us and you can rest assured that we put all efforts forward to get you the first DVD set as soon as possible.

We even cancelled our participation at the Crystal Brush in Chicago and the Herzog von Bayern in May in order to 'get it done'.

Finishing the DVD is our ONLY priority right now.

Our "Marín Especial" - Volomir

As you may have read, Rafael "Volomir" (CMON) García Marín has finished his filming with us last week.

Having him here in Berlin was a lot of fun - and his paintjob on the Season 1 Diorama is nothing short of mindblowing. On his three DVDs (out of a total of six!) you will learn how he uses a mixture of airbrush and classic multi-layering techniques to create incredibly smooth blendings - at an unprecedented pace.

Among the important German phrases he learnt while staying here were such classics as: "Frühstück draußen" and "NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN THOUSAND!"

Ah, yes - and of course "Ab heute kein Pferd mehr!" 
"Frühstück draußen."
   I had the small bowl of fruit. Please eat responsibly. :D       

Ben's Magical Blending Cap 9000

Today we finished re-filming Ben's diorama. The next two weeks will be editing, cutting, subtitleing and authoring work. Yum! Almost as good as Frühstück draußen. 

Like Rafa, Ben has an incredible feel for color. Wielding his multi-award-winning 'wet-blending-technique' he creates miniatures that just look alife. 

And he is fast. Very fast.

Rafa snatched two of the 42 collectible Buttons for Season 1
and stuck 'em to his backpack. Do I see Brad & Yanet there?
Don't we all want to be faster painters?

More light, more cameras, more monitors, more action

Since we decided to take all of our footage again, we added some extra equipment. 

7 daylight lamps - If you see shadows now, they are painted. 

Extra palette cam - we bought a third  camera so we can capture all the wet palette action for you - there will be no question, which color the artists are using or how they organize their palettes. 


Paintingbuddha presents: Tanning Salon 1.0 - it WORKS!
Ben wears his 'magical blending cap 9000'.
Stay tuned - subscribe - learn to be a better painter! :)

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