Well here we sit…
The final days of 2018 are upon us, and as in most years this cycle around the sun has been both soul crushingly awful, and beautiful as anything you’ve ever witnessed. While this year has seen a slowdown of releases from myself every item I’ve dropped has been well received and delivered on time which is…pretty nice. Let’s take a look back at 2018, and then I’ll talk about the coming year…
Void Patrol:
Launching an all new line can be scary, but VP Killed both of its drops this year. You guys showed up in force for my little space soldiers,but the road was long and full of potholes. Starting on a whole new scale brought challenges as did learning the best way to smooth these figures…which I’m still not at currently. The latest VP figures held up better than the initial ones did, but I have some new ideas that should push these figures from good to great in how their articulation holds up. This Homebrew toy making stuff isn’t easy, and I’m constantly learning new things and tricks to make the product better than ever!
TEWOJ:
Big big year for TEWOJ in 2018. We saw the release of Captain Kandross, Deep Space Algor, Friar Lovac,TWO books, and the release of the second full production figure in the Master Boshak/Tengkorak Bodyguard figure. Beyond the products there has been a ton of great art. I stated my intention at the beginning of the year to pivot TEWOJ into more media with toys than full toy line, and the selling out of the books was a GREAT step in that direction. I’ll be doubling back into a second printing of both books soon (they are always available in Ebook format from Amazon though…buy em!) so those wanting physical copies will be able to snag some. Speaking of the toys though this year has brought something interesting that has actually made my choice to be less toy centric with TEWOJ a good one in my opinion which I’ll be speaking on below.
Rampageo Industries:
2019 marks year six! of Ri. The indy toy scene has changed leaps and bounds since then. 5.5 especially, and belive me…I had a whole treatise about that particular chestnut all set to go in this post. However instead of airing all my grievances I decided to focus on the positive. I did however save my thoughts so it may end up around if I get pissed enough this year LOL. The takeaway from it all was that the format has grown tremendously with a few big companies being spurred on by the success of Zoloworld’s output entering the ring, and with the increase of small guys there is more options for your 5.5 dollar than ever before so the decrease of figures this year has been a blessing for both you and me.
My time has been split in many more directions these days so it’s been kind of tough last few years on a personal level, but one must always look forward. Most recently the focus has been on making decisions based on what is truly best for business, and not the things I think should be done just because that’s the way things are done. That being said I’m going into 2019 with laser focus so let’s talk about the coming year…
Void Patrol:
2019 will see the release of the new VP sculpts as well as other things like playsets and vehicles, and in fact I’ve started working on a small vehicle already so be ready for some great VP hotness coming your way in 2019 as well as more non toy content in comics and stories.
TEWOJ:
I’ll be returning to Jalldoon right in 19. First out the gate will be Battle For Jalldoon the all new Trading Card Game (TCG) will be dropping early in the year, and beyond being up for sale in DK Store will also likely be featured in some gaming stores. With all the testing I’ve done I’m pretty confident the game holds up, but you can’t beat battlefield experience there so I’ve already done the early stages of setting up game nights at local shops. Seeing if any tweaks need to be made along the way as rolling card changes are very simple to do. The more people playing the game the easier it’ll be to get it out there, and the goal is to offer a fun affordable way to play around in Jalldoon. You can read the rules RIGHT NOW! in the Games section of the site. Also I’ve brought Tim Wilsie in as a partner on this game. Tim has consistently blown me away with his work on TEWOJ so it’s only natural to employ his vast skill on a project like this and keep him personally invested in its future. Speaking of art there will be even more from Terry Thielen who is another favorite dude of mine. I’ve said it before,but T&T have done such stellar work on TEWOJ that the world has benefited greatly from their talent, and would not be half as cool as it is without them. As I said before there will also be second printings of the books as well as at some point new and different books. I’ve got a lot of printed page ideas simmering over here you guys believe that. On the action figure front I’ve got the evil Wizard Vellak coming out next, and I am really enamored with him. He plays with the old hidden face mage idea in a lot of fun ways, and is shaping up to not only being the first TEWOJ figure with an alternate hand accessory, but also the largest amount of different colored pieces in a 3D Printed figure yet!
At the end of the day I know my goals this year as all years is to deliver quality with every release, and while there will be changes this year I am committed to that ethos above all else. So to everyone from my most beloved to those scumbags I can’t stand,I sincerely hope that in 2019 we can collectively change things for the better. Let’s be better, and make a world we want to live in. I myself am usually a “the glass is full of piss” type of dude, but I think it’s time to realize the glass is actually full of delicious lemonade, and it’s time to drink up.
Dr. Rampageo signing off on 2018, and opening the shiny new gift of 2019. Happy New Year to all, and to all a good night.
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