cheek armor. I have the masters out and checked them. They are also textured and have casting marks, etc. I do not know yet if the molds are OK, but the masters have the sort of minor damage you get when you pull them out of the molds. Nothing serious - just a few lost letters and numbers in the casting marks.
I will probably be selling the ID line later this summer. I would like to keep it intact, but that will depend on conditions beyond my control. I do not want to keep up a continuous line for sale all the time.I simply have too many other things I want to do, other demands in my time. And, I do not want to lose the hobby. If the business of producing a continuing line of kits becomes a burden, I don't want to burn out and end up never modeling again.
In the end, it comes down to what can I do best to support the hobby and this site. For me, I think it is in researching and writing articles on historical subjects and modeling. If I am involved with the kind of business Iron Division was meant to be, I won't have time to do those things. I am going to meet with Garfield and Konrad at the IPMS Nationals in August, and I want to discuss what they see as the primary needs for Track48 and for the 1/48 scale modeling community. Let's face it: there are dozens of people casting up resin bits and doing a fine job. I think, instead of trying to re-invent that wheel, I'd be more useful supporting this site and the scale by writing articles, reviews, etc. and putting them here.
So, that is what I've decided for the kit business. I have a chance to get another vacuum system like the one I lost out on, and my bride wants me to get it for my own use. I will, from time to time, put out the odd kit, just like Ken Swenson: no schedule, and limited production, but hopefully of subjects that interest out there. If they sell, fine, but my income won't depend on that, so they can come out even if they are not big profit items. As I mentioned, I have some things I want to do, and they may be more interesting than more Sherman stuff. The thing is, I won't have the responsibility of casting kits when I really don't feel like it, or when the thing is delayed and there is pressure to get it out there, or when we want to go on a trip, and there are molds to make and orders to fill.
I will try to find a good home for the ID stuff. Everyone so far wants the Panthers, but I'd prefer to find a buyer who will keep up the Sherman bits, because they are that good. I know there may be only a dozen or so guys who use the ID bits in a regular basis, but the masters are done, many of the molds are still good, and this scale is growing. Well, you asked the time, and I've told you how to make a watch - typical.....
