It’s hard to believe we’re into June already and it’s time to reflect on the first five months of the year for Tommy’s War and to take a look at what is still to come.

At the moment I’m in a transition period, the releases for the start of the year are all out on the market and we’re approaching the quiet time of the year as modellers leave their benches for sunnier climates.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve got my feet-up, I’m working hard on some great releases for September, so without further ado, here’s what you’ll find coming-up for the rest of the year;

New releases

September is the month of the next releases, that’s to coincide with an exciting project which I’m not going to reveal at the moment (Yes, I am a tease). If I can coordinate everything to come together as planned then it’s going to be a great month and the aim is to bring everything together for Euro Miniature Expo on 22-23 September 2018.

However, I can confirm that TW32C03 (Trooper, Australian Light Horse, Beersheba 1917) is complete and we’ve created the moulds. The first casts should be with me in about a week and will go for box art.

I’m also working on two figures with Nino, the first will be TW32044 which is a soldier of the 8^th London Rifles at Passchendaele. This figure will be an alternative firing pose, requested by lots of customers, with the intention of accompanying the previous four figures, or stand-alone.

The second figure will be the Collectors Club Special for 2018, which I’m keeping under wraps until nearer the time.

I’m also pleased to confirm that I’ve agreed the purchase of 14 masters which Nino sculpted for a collector. Thirteen are German subjects with an Italian figure as well. I’m aiming to split the release so that 8 will come out in September and the balance at a later date.

So, with 10 figure releases and a new cavalry figure it’s going to be a really exciting time!

Existing catalogue figures

You’ll notice plenty of gaps on the webstore at the moment, I’m in the process of casting a large number of figures and I’m pleased to confirm that by September everything will be back in stock in significant numbers.

Fifteen figures are being cast at the moment and products that I know are most requested (such as the VAD Nurse) are being cast in even larger numbers. A second batch of masters is due to go to the caster shortly so we’ll have everything underway. Once we’ve got everything set-up restocks will be much quicker. While I can’t promise to ever eliminate ‘out of stock’s’ I can reduce the number of them and the amount of time to return that item to stock which is my aim long-term.

I’ll also have TW32C01 and TW32C02 back in September, these have had to go to Nino for minor repairs but I’m confident that at Euro I’ll have those and the new cavalry figure in stock.

The Collectors Club

I’m delighted and blown-away with the Collectors Club, when I set it up in 2016 I aimed to eventually reach 100 members. I hit that in year one and the 2017 club had even more members. However, the response in 2018 has been even better and I’m pleased to confirm that I have the most number of members since the club started and it will hit the 150 figure soon.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me through the club, it is very much appreciated.

Not that the club isn’t without its challenges, the software online continues to cause problems – but I’ve got to the bottom of that now (long story, I won’t explain here) but it means I need to go through every single account and adjust the dates – but that will be completed late-August in time for the new releases.

If the site hasn’t applied your discount at any point then get in touch, tell me which orders are affected and I’ll refund that amount to you.

My sincere apologies for the confusion on the site, but now I know the cause of the problem I hope to eliminate that in the future.

On the road

Thanks to everyone that came and said hello at the British Model Soldier Society Annual Show and the East Midlands Model Show, both were a success and it was great to see so many familiar faces and new ones!

I’m taking a break over the summer from shows but return for the Autumn with the three biggest shows of the year;

• Euro Miniature Expo (Folkestone UK) 22^nd and 23^rd September
• Scale Model Challenge (Veldhoven NL) 20^th and 21^st October
• Scale Model World (Telford UK) 10^th and 11^th November

Appearance at these shows is subject to change, so please always check this website the week before a show to see if there are any changes.

Please note that Euro Miniature Expo for 2019 changes dates and will be held on May 11^th and 12^th. This does not affect the 2018 show which remains as above.

If you’re in the UK then I would really urge you to come and support Euro Miniature Expo, as you’re aware the four guys that picked-up the show are working around the clock to give us a fantastic figure show here in Britain, but it needs all our help and even if you can only visit for one day then come along and see some fantastic work.

GDPR

You may be aware of some changes to legislation regarding data. In my view it’s positive news, although not the most interesting, in that it does offer us some protection in how our data is used.

The aspect that affects customers is the email bulletin that I send on an occasional basis. Over the course of the years that list of customers has grown, however the new rules mean that only customers that opt-in can be emailed, so I’m starting the list again from scratch. You will have received an email some weeks ago asking you to confirm you wish to still receive the email, you’ll receive a reminder soon. If you don’t agree to receive the email then you won’t receive one again. If you wish to receive Tommy’s War emails in the future you’ll have to confirm via the emails or sign-up by using the form on the home page.

If at any point you wish to stop receiving emails, then you will be able to opt-out at any point.

Tommy’s War and the future

I hope you’ll see that there is a lot going on at the moment, as well as working on the September releases there is a lot of other projects going on. I’m continually working to get stock back in place and the website (and in particular the membership plug-in) requires a lot more work. I’m upgrading my computer equipment at home (which will be a relief as my computer is on a go-slow) and I’m looking at storage for the ever-expanding levels of stock.

In the midst of all that though I’m still planning and working-up the releases for 2019 and I’ve got a plan and direction for the year ahead. I’ve got a lot of research to complete but that’s part of the fun, and I’m confident that it’s a release plan that will be very popular and take Tommy’s War to the next level.

In summary, it’s very busy, but I can only bring these figures out with your support, so I’d like to say thank you again and I’m looking forward to taking Tommy’s War forward and bringing you more great releases.