Panzer I A: 21% off if pre-ordering now!

Once successfully completed the second injection test, the 1:72nd scale Panzer I A of Minairons Miniatures has been finally approved for production, so that we shall have it available before the end of October.

Our Panzer I A plastic sprue consists of only 10 pieces, 2 of which are alternative turrets --standard as well as "modificado" 20mm Breda gun. Model is available in a 3-sprue box which also includes a decals sheet with national markings for up to 4 early German), Kuomintang Chinese and Nationalist Spanish tanks.

This set is to retail at EUR 18.95 normally, but we offer you to pre-order it now for only EUR 15.00. That is, over 21% off!

Development of our website is experiencing a 1-2 weeks delay, so it cannot be used for pre-ordering yet. However, you can formally pre-order using eBay: just locate it through this link or, alternately, search it by its item no., #271085292713. Of course, this launching promotion is also valid for attendants to Alpha ARES convention (Barcelona, Nov. 10-11), so this offer is valid until Sunday 11^th November 2012 inclusive.

Do not miss the chance --it's a 21% off!

Meet you in Barcelona!

Minairons Miniatures is glad to confirm attendance to the upcoming Barcelona games convention yearly organized by the local club Alpha-ARES under its own name. Such event has become with time not just one of the milestones in every Spanish aficionado's calendar, but the most significant wargaming show in Catalonia too.

This is why, as a Catalan company, we at Minairons Miniatures had long dreamt of this convention as our formal birth date, beyond any cold reasonings about opportunity and so –and finally such will be the case indeed!

This year, the "Alpha-ARES 2012 : Jornades d'estratègia, simulació i miniatures" convention will be held on 10^th – 11^th November, at the Cotxeres de Sants civic centre & conventions hall as usual. As told, we are glad to publicly confirm our attendance there –with a pretty small stand, such as admittedly corresponding to a newly born firm... There you'll be able not only to meet us and chat about future plans, but also to purchase our very first 1/72^nd scale Panzer I Ausf. A boxes, as well as to have a taste on our upcoming first 15mm AFVs –or even to acquire them too, good Hermes willing!

Don't miss our banner!

Bilbao AFV design, ready!

The designing process of our first resin model is already finished --quite satisfactorily, as you can see by the renders below:

It's time now for mould making and some test shots, as well as some artwork, before this nice model is formally released. It not only enjoys a rotating turret, as you can see, but also its turret hatch can be opened. Model measures 54mm long and 20mm wide exactly --that is, a pure 1/100^th scale!

Confidentially, I'm still a bit concerned about an eventual fragility of its machine gun. Such eventuality must be tested during our first mould shots. If such happens, I'm thinking about supplying it with a replacement metal machine gun.

No partnership

Sadly, our conversations with Falcata Miniaturas haven't resulted in the durable partnership agreement we'd have desired, due to a latest hour disagreement. However, neither of both firms has desisted from an eventual, looser kind of co-operation deal in a future. In spite of this rather unexpected setback, we at Minairons Miniatures still keep our own production schedules at full, as well as Falcata Miniatures also does --so that exciting news for you customers are expectable from both firms, in the short term.

As an evidence of such commitment, I'm pleased to confirm to you all that a new range of resin vehicles, 3D-designed by ours own, has just been started. This resin range is aimed at complimenting our regular plastic ranges, following a style consistent to these and using their very same scales. Thanks to such, we shall be able to produce rare or short-run AFVs as desired --by our own, with no subjection to third parties.

Our first model in this new range will be the charismatic Bilbao armoured car --to be released in 1/100^th scale first. We're already designing it!

Also, we have just opened a new section in this blog, under the quite explicit name of "provisory catalogue" (click for a glance). This is intended to permanently show our current releasing expectations --as well as serving as some prequel to the future wishlist & working progression page we shall install in our final website, www.minairons.eu.

As for the mentioned website, work on it has taken speed lately, so that I can reasonably expect now to have it working just in time for our first release --that is, around mid-October.

Partnership announcement

I am happy to publicly announce that, after several weeks of intense, stimulating discussion, Minairons miniatures has just concluded a durable partnership agreement with Falcata miniaturas, a well-known Spanish-based manufacturer of white metal miniatures.

By the terms of such agreement, from now on Falcata will manufacture Spanish Civil War metal figures and resin vehicles in exclusive for Minairons, in those same scale ranges we are going to produce in plastic.

Not necessary, in my view, to detail the easily imaginable benefits achieved by both firms through such an agreement (you know: production costs, regular income, etc). Inversely, I would like to point you out the advantages it will report to the gaming community as a whole.

First of all, you'll experience a faster catalog growth rate than expected if production had been restricted to just plastic. Thus, Minairons miniatures will be able to surprise you (pleasantly, I guess) with new releases nearly every month. Either plastic or resin vehicles, or metal figures, even accessories and scenics!

Secondly, we shall be able to take on virtually any SCW vehicle or figure, with almost no exceptions. So far, we couldn't even dream of seeing certain items in plastic --due to production costs and amounts. But now we'll become able to manufacture these in resin instead. Such is the case of the archetypal "tiznaos" improvised armour, or that of short-run tanks such as Euzkadi, Trubia, Barbastro or IGC Sadurní d'Anoia... Not to say about softskin vehicles!

Finally, a new range of metal figures will be added to those existing so far. We honestly believe it positive to the gaming community as a whole --other manufacturers included! Because both the 15mm and 20mm already existing ranges have either experienced little evolution lately, or lacked enough representation, with too few brands in concurrence.

Fans of 28mm category might still feel a little disappointed after noticing our rather limited mention to them in this announcement. I beg you to understand, however, that these are also good news for them, because it makes a huge step forward in the consolidation of our humble firm. Such consolidation will allow us to feel ourselves strong enough to extend to 28mm too in a near future, as our intention still is.

Some eye candy

Rubén Torregrosa, who is the talented painter behind Heresy Brush painting service, has dropped on Wargames Spain forum some pictures of the three 1/72 Panzer I A prototypes he was commissioned for painting. These can be watched on the following thread:

http://www.wargames-spain.com/foros/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19773.

Don't miss the opportunity to glance at his masterly work!

He performed an excellent work with them not only at painting, but at taking a complete set of pictures of the models too --either alone, by couples and all together; on a sky blue background as well as on some scenic artwork. Here you are another one such scenographic examples, displayed as a box-art test:

Some of the several pictures he took will be used for box-art, others are to be used for promotion purposes --either by Heresy Brush or ourselves, and even some else will be shown inside already commissioned painting tutorial articles of wargaming magazines.

Panzer I A decals sample

Some users have asked us whether our boxed sets will include a decals sheet for the models. The answer is "yes, they will". Each boxed set will have a small waterslide decals sheet with markings for each one of the tank versions. As for our 20mm Panzer I A, markings are to be those below:

...OK, I'm anything but good at pictures taking! This is the sheet concept design:

As you can see, the idea behind is to provide the user with a basic national markings sheet, suitable for building all the models in box as of the desired Nation --and still having a few left, for you'll have not less than 4 markings sets of the selected Army for the 3 models in box!

Feeding Republican prayers

Here you are a very first preview of the next AFV we're currently planning:

True that it's still a crude draft. Just for keeping you thrilled! ;)