Introducing - 'MATES RATES' my new promotion, coming soon

2020 has been a nightmare of a year for a lot of us, and surviving this year as a self-employed person has been an interesting endeavour to say the least..

However.. thanks to you good folks who have bought items from my store, or from me directly, and all those who have commissioned models for painting or scenery/terrain, I have managed to get through without closing shop.

For that support I am forever grateful, and I'd like to start giving a little something back in return.

So... welcome to my new promotion - MATES RATES!

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, 'Mates Rates' here in the UK means to give a substantial discount on prices because the buyer is a close friend or family member.

My promo will aim to give you the best price possible on an item as the price will be extremely close to the trade price I buy the item for!

Now.. such a deal has to come with a few caveats...

1. You must first earn 'BUDDY POINTS'. These points are easy and free to earn, and the main way to get them will be to either make a normal full price purchase from me, or commission painting/scenery/terrain.

You will earn 1pt for every full £10 you spend. Only normal full price items will count. No Buddy Points will be earned on items already discounted, or items you haggle the price down on (this includes eBay offers.)

2. The price doesn't include postage. Sorry.. you'll still have to pay postage as normal.

3. You may have to wait a week or two for the items. As the price will be very close to trade price, I would have to order the items in specifically as I don't tend to hold much stock. I usually put an order in with most of my suppliers every couple of weeks or so.


How to earn Buddy Points

Every time you make a full price purchase from me, either directly, or though my eBay store, you will earn 1 Buddy Point for every £10.
Every painting commission and every scenery/terrain commission will also earn on the same ratio - 1pt for every £10.

For instance, if you purchased a Perry Miniatures Foot Knights box set at the rrp of £20, you would earn 2 Buddy Points.
If you commissioned painting worth £120, you would earn 12 Buddy Points.

How to spend Buddy Points

I am in the middle of putting together a new price list, and on this list, all the items I stock as new will have both a regular price and a 'Mates Rates' price.

You will be able to cash-in Buddy Points you have earned to make a purchase at the Mates Rates price.

For example, the Perry Miniatures Foot Knights box will have two prices which look like this

Perry Miniatures: Foot Knights, £20
Perry Miniatures: Foot Knights, MATES RATES £14

You will have needed to earn 14 Buddy Points - and cash them all in - before you could purchase the Foot Knights for £14.


Hopefully that's not too complex!

It will take me a little while before it goes live, so please check back soon!

The BIG Selling-up SALE - Part 2

 Howdy folks,

Well.. its been a week since I first announced my intention to sell-up. Thank you for the interest so far.

It's been a week, because honestly, I started.. and I continued.. and continued.. and gave up about 95% of the way through! As I write this at my desk I have just noticed that under the desk there is a Conquest of Gaul box set (£70 rrp), a Terminator Box set (and I know I have missed at least two other Terminator sets behind me, under a different table...), among a few other boxes.

In short, I have so much stock to pass on that I have given up cataloguing it all when the RRP passed the £12,000 mark!!

And that number didn't include all the odds and sodds miniatures. For instance, if I opened a box and the models were not in a jiffy bag, but rolling around loose, I just ignored them and counted the models in the bags instead.

So... we are at £12,000 retail.

Here is how I worked stuff out.

If the models/packs had an obvious rrp, that was the total counted. This was easy to check on the manufacturers website and comes on all my invoices from the suppliers I use.

2nd hand stuff was a bit more of an ordeal.
For much of that I had my own eBay store to fall back on, and where I didn't get around to selling the price was found using the average of the recent sales on eBay. ONLY counting UK sales, and only completed sales (no listing prices).

I cant seem to figure out how to set the spreadsheet to 'share' or download it to hand out, so I have used 'screenshot' and included it all below.

If you are serious in buying please do contact me to discuss offers.

Please Note - this would be impossible to post. We are talking stock for a small shop here. You will need a large car or a van to collect all this.

FOR SALE - All my stock!!

 

Hi folks,

In short.. I am looking to sell-up all my eBay stock, my trade show stock, and all my models, books, boxsets, painted figures, complete armies, games, loose minis, everything!

There are two main reasons why...

1. Business is booming! Honestly since lockdown online sales have been heaving! My sales have been close to 2k a month, which sounds great (and it is - thankyou everyone who has purchased from me!), but for me the sales were meant to be an additional income alongside my painting work.  Handling such an increase in sales is taking too much of my time and really eating into my painting.

Its clear my eBay store and additional private sales are close to becoming a full time job, and I don't have the time. I really want to return to focussing on my painting work and getting my commissions completed in a timely manner.


2. I live in a 2-bed terrace and with boxes of stock all over the place it is becoming difficult to move around!

These last two winters I have suffered from health issues, due in no small part to my being unable to keep on top of cleaning and maintaining my home. Before the weather turns again this year I need to make a concerted effort to clear up and clear out, and that means getting rid of a lot of boxes of minis!


What's up for sale?

Sadly my inventory skills have been lacking a lot and a good majority of what I buy in just goes straight to the 'will sort out later' pile. A very rough idea of size would be around the £2000 mark. That is to say, I don't have the amount of stock you would find in a bricks and mortar store, but I have way more than would fit on a 'bring and buy' table. You can see a good idea of what I have on my eBay store. That however doesn't include the hundreds of loose minis and armies I have.

While I compile a real list of what is included, please take this post as an announcement and intention of sale. If you are interested please message me or keep checking here and my Facebook page.


The Romantic Notion

As you can see from this very page (if you check out my 'About MiC' page), I started with my own shop in my early 20's. I built that business up from almost nothing and appreciated every customer and every piece of help and advice I got. To return the karma, if you are in a similar boat as I was back then (a young'un looking to start out), or you are looking to start a business,  I will give you a better price AND include a lot of my postage and packing materials, give you my contact/supplier details, and any advice or assistance you may need selling online/eBay.


The Non-Romantic Sale

If you are a dealer, or just looking to make some money you probably wont need my help or contacts. I'll still give you a good price, but please no low-ball offers. I've been selling since the late 90's and had this store for the last 3 years. I want rid of it all, but I'm not about to take £400 for what I can put on eBay and get 5 times that.


Warts and All

Please be aware..
This is warts and all sale.. you will be getting loads of good stuff and all my boxes of random 50p plastic elves.
You will need a vehicle to move all this. Postage would be nigh impossible due to the amount!

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW!

 Marching In Colour - EZ Painting Starter Pack: Dark Ages

Hi, thanks for taking the time to check out this pack I have put together aimed at getting started with painting Dark Age miniatures. This is what I would consider a good foundation to begin with.
It consists of a selection of colours which I have used a great deal in my work, as well as the brushes you need, and the glue to start assembling your plastic miniatures.

This guide is a step-by-step list of instructions. I use only the items in the pack and I give advice on a couple of basic techniques - dry-brushing, and ink work.

Lets begin by having a look what is in the pack -

 

In the pack you get 13 Vallejo paints, which includes 1x Black and 1x White (for undercoating and mixing colours), 1x Brown Ink (for the wash), and 1x Varnish for finishing and protecting your models. The other colours we will discuss as we go along.

You also get a pack of 4 brushes. This is one of my favourite little sets. It contains 4 very useful sizes, is very economical on cost and durable enough to make them value for money.

You also get 1x Humbrol Poly Cement. This is my personal 'go-to' brand for quality and is excellent glue for assembling plastic miniatures.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED - The Celts! These are volunteers solely for demonstrating the paint pack. Though I do stock multiple plastic sets with miniatures starting from as little as 50p each!

You can also add to the pack with additional Vallejo paints for £2.55 each.


Lets start the tutorial with having a look at the Poly Cement.

 Poly Cement actually burns/melts the plastic very slightly to produce a very secure fix. Coat both edges of the model, leave it a few seconds, then push together tightly.
Once it grips it will set tight within a few minutes.

Once the models are set, use the Size4 Brush, and undercoat the models in either Black or White. For this tutorial we are going with Black.

Any models which have a lot of armour are best dry-brushed with the Oily Steel paint, using the large brush, now before we start with the real painting.

Once you have dry-brushed the Oily Steel, the next phase is to start the painting. As all the models have some level of flesh, we will start with the Flat Flesh. If your models are mainly hands and faces, use the Size 1 brush, if its a lot of flesh (like the bare chested Celts in our example), the Size4 brush may be best.

Once all the flesh is painted (you may need two coats as we are using a black undercoat), its time to move on to the clothing. You'll notice in the photo below that two paints - Flat Earth, and Leather Brown - are set slightly aside. Use the Flat Earth for wooden weapons and some hair, and use the Leather, for well... leather. Size 1 or 4 Brush depending on how large the are is. The bigger the brush, the larger area it paints in one stroke, the faster you will complete.

When it come to belts and small detail, use the 00 sized brush.

By this point we should have something like the models below. There are 3 basic cloth colours in this set, but we also have a White and a Black. By mixing paint we can get lighter and darker shades.

When mixing paint, use the Size 4 brush. Its big enough for the process, but not so large it swallows all the paint. To mix, try using a small dab of water and always start with a little amount of white paint and add more as you wish. This allows you to better control the degree of shade.

Bonus Tip: If you have any white left on your palette, don't clean the brush you are using to mix, dip another little bit of water and run the brush through the white. You'll get an even lighter shade for further highlighting.

The Refractive Green when painted as a base colour and when you add a bit of white to the mix.

 As you can see you can get very different colours.

Once the basic work has been done, it is now time for the master action - the Ink work!

This Brown Ink is very versatile and very effective. Do not use it straight from the bottle - mix it with water first. A good mix to start with is 50/50 ink to water. More Ink will give a darker wash, less ink will give a very light wash. Avoid using too much water though, and ensure you have fully agitated the ink first!

The results of a 50/50 water-ink wash.

You can now add details to the fabric, paint the weapons and armour with the Oily Steel, and do any jewellery in Gold

Use the 00 brush for fine detail. When painting metal jewellery it helps to re-paint them black first.

This set contains the basics you need for painting Dark Age models, and it also includes a bottle of Matt Varnish for sealing and protecting your models. Apply liberally with the Size8 brush.

The finished Celt volunteers using the sequence above and the paints and brushes for this set.
I cheated a little by adding flock to the bases. I also sell flocks and grasses and have a large variety in stock. Please contact me or see my eBay store.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this tutorial helpful. Any feedback is always appreciated.

Health Update

Hi folks,

Just a quick post here rather than spam everyone's inbox again!

A week or so back, for the best part of a month I was suffering from near constant migraines. At the worst I would lose the best part of a day and be unable to do anything productive, and for the rest of the time it was near solid 24/7 headaches of varying degrees.

Two Doctors and one Opticians visit later and I think (with the help of some solid medication) I am on top of the triggers and have been rather successful at avoiding them and keeping the migraines at bay. I would say I'm about 90% fit. I've got a blood test lined up to rule out anything really serious, and hopefully that will go smoothly and I can start getting things back on track with the business.

One of the triggers is unfortunately PC monitors so I cant spend long looking at a screen now. This means I am well behind with admin and emails. I'll be prioritising them though, so I will get back to people asap.

As Marching In Colour is my full-time job and only source of income, the coffers have taken a massive hit this last month with almost no money coming in. Financial matters aside, my biggest source of worry has been letting people down. Some folks have been waiting a time on models now and I can only apologise.

The good news is though, now I know its not painting causing my headaches I can start getting the hours back in and peoples models sorted again in good time.

It's been a tough month I will confess. At times I worried that I might have a serious illness, and at times I thought I may have to close shop and pack in the business. I've done nothing but paint for about 3 years full time now, the idea of looking for a real job was almost as scary as thinking I was dying!

Thanks for bearing with me.
Chris

Hospital - eek!

Howdy all,

Just a quick post to keep everybody up to date.

I had a chest-infection which I thought I could soldier through. Unfortunately that turned out to be the wrong decision, I got worse, and ended up with a trip to the hospital!

Long story short, I have been given a double-whammy of steroids and antibiotics and seem to be responding well.

Priority at the moment will be sending out the backlog of Ebay (to avoid negative feedbacks!), then back on to the painting. I estimate I've maybe lost 1-2 weeks of decent painting so will be putting back estimated completion dates soon.

I'll email all those effected asap, this is just a general post to let everybody know the situation.

Thanks for your understanding.

Chris

Lower Scale (6mm to 15mm) Napoleonic Commissions

Howdy folks,

This post is just to let everyone know I will not be taking any NEW Commissions for small scale Napoleonic work until well after the New Year (probably around Feb/March 2019).

This is due to having two major bookings for a lot of work that have completely filled the schedule.

'No New Commissions' only means anybody enquiring from the time I make this post.

If you have already sent me models, your place in the queue is safe.
If we have already discussed sending models, and I have given you a slot, even if its just pencilled-in/speculative, then your place in the queue is also safe.

No new commissions only effects,

anybody enquiring  from now (December 15th)
small scale - that is 6mm, 10mm, 15mm AND Napoleonic

It DOES NOT effect
Larger scales - I am still taking commissions for 20/28/54mm Napoleonics
Smaller scale NONE Napoleonics - I am still taking commissions for 6/10/15 Ancients, DarkAge, Medieval, Fantasy/Sci-fi and so on.


Sorry for any inconvenience guys.

The good news though, is that we are going to see a LOT of gorgeous Napoleonic photos popping up over on my Facebook page, and I mean gorgeous, because not only are these two commissions very large, they are also for PREMIUM QUALITY painting!

For regular updates please check out my Facebook page here -
https://www.facebook.com/MarchingInColour/

thanks
Chris

October Update - Trade Show, Ebay, Painting Schedule, New 6mm Scenics, Photos!

Hi folks, new week so new update...

Schedule is looking OK. Wait times for new commissions are around 2-3 weeks at present. This will change into November though as I have a trade event to attend and will be meeting a couple of people there to pick up painting commissions. So if you are after painting - now is a good time to book!

Ebay - store will be restocked asap. I had a flurry of sales over the weekend (thanks so much guys!) so I'll restock when I get the chance. I'll also be adding a few new goodies... ;)

The Ebay store is here - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/marchingincolour

6mm Scenic Pieces - the first of the finished lots are done and are awaiting photos. They'll be added for sale and available for commission real soon. Prices will be around the £12 - 25 range.

Previews can be found over at the Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/MarchingInColour/

Photos - I have a ton of photos to take, edit, and upload. These are not so much a priority (over the painting and Ebay), but will be done and posted asap. As well as photos of the 6mm, we can expect - WW2 Vehicles, 15mm Arabs, 10mm Cold War, and a heck of a lot of 10mm Vikings and Picts!

And last but not in any way least, I can confirm (if you haven't read already), I will be attending with my little stall again at BATTLEGROUND 2018

I had a great time last year. I got to talk to a number of people who I have painted for but never met in person, so it was great to put names to faces. I'll also have waaaay more stuff to sell as this year I have the Ebay store (which I didn't have last year), so please come over a visit me at this most awesome of shows (I also believe its FREE ENTRY! so you've no excuse!) Details of the show on their page here - https://www.facebook.com/BattlegroundShow/

Thanks for reading. Chris

COLLECTION SALE

Hi, and thanks for checking out the page dealing with the Collection Sale.

This is a collection I am selling on behalf of a client of my painting service, who approached me and asked if I could assist..

For all items listed here I am acting as an agent and selling on a commission basis. The majority of the share goes to my client and I will endeavour to get him the best prices possible, while also being fair to the community at large.

All sales will be on a first-come-first-served basis. You can email me offers. Any and all emails will be dealt with in order they are received.

My email is - Project_Vehemence@yahoo.co.uk

At time of writing, only fellow hobbyists from my own pages, mailing lists, and forums and pages I regular know of this list. The items here are not yet listed on any sites such as Ebay. This is to encourage private sales, before items are presented to the masses!

Payment can be made to me directly, via Bank Transfer, Paypal, Cheque or Postal Order, or if you are local to Stockton-on-Tees you can collect in person.

QUALITY OF ITEMS
Most items are excellent quality with all inserts and pages intact. Some older items may have minor cosmetic damage. Rather than list the quality of every item, I will instead update the list as enquiries come in. So if you are interested in any book, please let me know and I'll add to the description and post more photos as we progress.

PLEASE NOTE:
PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE POSTAGE OR PACKING

Parcels will be sent by 1st Class Registered Delivery (or Large Letter if smaller/light)

Cost for parcels as follows,
upto 1kg - £5.95
upto 2kg - £6.95
Over 2kg - to be discussed

PLEASE CHECK BACK ON THIS PAGE AS I WILL BE UPDATING DAILY AS I SORT THROUGH BOXES AND OFFERS.

With all that said, first up... a bunch of Games Workshop books, including many oop and rare Warhammer Historical titles!

ALL PRICES UK £ STERLING

Imperial  Armour Apocalypse (New, Sealed)    5.00
Warhammer 40k Rulebook     offers
Warhammer  Armies: High Eves   10.00
Warhammer Fantasy Battle Rulebook    offers
Warhammer Armies (softback) SOLD
Realm of Chaos, Slaves to Darkness  SOLD
Warhammer  Siege (hardback)    40.00
Warmaster Ancients    40.00
Warmast Ancient Armies   40.00
Warmast Medieval Armies   90.00
Warhammer Historical: The Great War 40.00
Warhammer Historical: TGW Over the top SOLD
Warhammer Historical: Gladiator SOLD
Warhammer Historical: ECW 30.00
Warhammer Historical:Legend of the High Seas SOLD
Warhammer Historical: The Old West 35.00
Warhammer Historical:TOW Frontier blood 45.00

Warhammer Historical: TOW The Alamo 30.00
Warhammer Historical: TOW Showdown 40.00
Warhammer Historical: Shieldwall 15.00
Warhammer Historical: Age of Arthur    45.00
Warhammer Historical: Siege and Conquest    30.00
Warhammer Historical: Ancient Battles    20.00

Marching In Colour - JUNE UPDATE - Photos, Plastic Sprues, and Epic 80's - Present SALES!

Howdy folks,

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read this latest update, and a big 'thank-you' to all those who continue to support my business - your patronage is noted, welcomed, and very much appreciated!

In this update -

1. Ebay - 'Power Seller' status achieved! And a dozen more plastic sprue sets added to buy in small groups of 4 or 8 models (or 3 cavalry).

2. Photos - my galleries now stretch to over 90 albums and over 2000 individual photos.

3. EPIC SALE - I'm acting as agent to help sell a collection of books, magazines, and rulebooks, dating from the 80's to present day.


1. EBAY

When I launched my shop I had one intention - to offer the best customer service possible, and I believe I have not only achieved that, but maintained it.

As many people know, Ebay can be classed as a 'buyers market', that is to say the buyer has the best choice, and sellers constantly discount their prices to a marginal fraction of the rrp. For example, outside of a Games Workshop store, when have you ever paid full rrp on GW product? A minimum of 10% discount is common.

As a small business this is a horrible practice. Our margins are already low, and many of us sell to maintain our homes, lifestyles, and pay bills. We run a regular business. To haggle and discount the small guy down to where his margins are pennies, for the work involved, is a poor place to be.

I took the stance early on, that although my prices may be 20p, or 30p, more than the cheapest seller, that I would endeavour to offer 100% on customer service. This means top-notch packaging, speedy dispatch, and help and advice where needed on tasks like assembly, or painting advice.

I am pleased to say that by Ebay standards and the feedback I have received, my business plan seems to be working so far.

With all that in mind, I have increased the amount of plastic sprues I carry to include Ancients, Dark Age, and Medieval miniatures. You can now purchase well over 20 different sets from top manufacturers like Perry Miniatures, Gripping Beast, and Warlord.

20 sets in addition to everything else my store stocks - boxsets, books, oop miniatures, assorted miniatures, scenery, and of course - pre-painted models and models painted to order.

CHECK OUT MY EBAY STORE HERE  - https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/marchingincolour




2. PHOTOS

I had a bit of a PC-scare recently and thought my hard drive was about to go, so I decided to upload as many photos from my computer into my Facebook page as possible. I later also discovered that my email folders, in particular the 'SENT' folder, actually contained emails back as far as 2005!

This included all the photos from all the commissions I have completed in the last 13 years!

I've still got to go through roughly years  2014 - 2017 and upload them to the Facebook group, but I am pleased to say over on the page now, I have 90+ Albums, full with almost 2100 photos!

These largely cover every commission I have undertaken in the last few years. It is a bit staggering to think just how many models I have painted, how many tables my work has graced, and how many battles all the little troops I have painted for people have fought.

And its still going strong!
New Albums this week are set to include all the 10mm Rohan (400+ Infantry, 300 cavalry), a completed Perry Travel Battle Set, and later some WW2 Italians and Medievals.

For those wanting to see the collection, please visit my Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/MarchingInColour/ 


3 SALE!

I was recently contacted by a client and asked if I could help sell a large portion of his collection. Always pleased to help out I said 'Sure, no problem!' little did I know just how large this collection would turn out to be!

One very tired delivery driver later and three big boxes filled to the brim with books, rulebooks, and magazines arrived on my door step - 3 big boxes, 90kgs in weight!

I opened them up and it was like an Aladdin's Cave of treasures, enough to stock a small shop. This collection includes rule sets from the 80's printed in low-tech booklets, through to modern day sets available in most good hobby shops today.

The star of the collection though has to be the sheer amount of rare and oop books, and the condition which they are in - near mint condition many of them!

It has taken me a little longer than anticipated to start sorting these, but they will all be priced and up for sale asap.

Please note - I am acting as agent on a commission. By far the lions share goes to the owner. By purchasing any of these books, you not only help me to maintain my business, but you are helping out a fellow gamer liquidate part of his collection. In practice I expect to spend a good portion of my commission on some of these myself, as I have an eye on a few I wouldn't mind adding to my own collection!

For the list of what is available, which will be amended as items sell and updated as I sort through the boxes, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK HERE - http://marchingincolour.blogspot.com/2018/06/collection-sale.html

Plastic Possibilities - Now Stocking plastic mins, with a twist...!

Hi folks,

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read about my new dastardly plan... well, not so dastardly as I hope it will help plenty of folks out!

I am pleased to announce I will be stocking a whole range of plastic boxsets from leading manufacturers. For the first round these include - Perry, Gripping Beast, Warlord, and Fireforge, with the possibility to include Plastic Soldier Co. and Victrix further down the line. A selection of which can be seen in the photo below (but please read on, for the 'Master Plan'!)

The Plan

As well as selling per box, my idea is to open these packs up and sell models in small groups - 4, 6's, 8's etc similar to how many metal ranges are sold.


Why/how?

Two factors lead me to this decision.
Firstly the rise in smaller 'skirmish' type games, that use small groups such as 4 models, 6 models etc. While not expensive to buy small units like that in metal, its often not practical to buy those models in plastic. When you only require 8 models to make a unit, buying a 40 model box set is not really an option. So I thought, 'hey why not buy a box, then split it' so 5 people can buy the models they need in plastic.

The other reason I think this could be a good idea is my recent Ebay sales and inquires. I've been listing small lots of metal models in the same quantities (4/6/8's) and they have been proving very popular, selling almost as fast as I can sort them and list them. I've also been getting questions asking things like 'I'm after 4 great axes, do you have them?', or 'I like your listing for 4 spearmen, but I really need 8, do you have another 4?'

So, here we go!
Over the next few days I hope to open up and start listing the first few boxes from the selection of models below. After that, if people like the idea, I can invest in more boxes and extend the range.

In the end I hope to carry small lots of plastic miniatures from the Ancient period, through to the late Medieval.

thanks for reading
Chris 

The first selection of box sets! If there is anything you fancy, please do get in touch!

Nap Lot

Posting due to email being a bitch to send....