Update on Life

Wow I'm tired.  I haven't updated my blog in almost a month and for that I'm sorry.  I promised to show you a painted example of the heavy armor.  Trouble with that is I actually have to paint them.  I honestly haven't found the time.  I have them assembled and primed but I have gotten no farther.  It's the story of my entire miniatures collection.  It grows but I can never seem to complete an army.

So what has taken my time?

Well a gaming table actually.

My gaming group got together shortly after my last blog post and while drinking a lot we decided it would be quite nice to build a gaming table. 

I can’t stress how much alcohol was involved in this decision because it has proven quite the undertaking.  We aren’t the most graceful or skilled carpenters on the planet. In fact I’d have to say our skill level with “Craft (furniture)” is roughly -4 ranks averaged between us. 

However with several pints of Guinness anything is possible.

So I was tasked, possibly as a cruel joke, with coming up with a perfect gaming table design.

So that I did.

After our RPG session we drank and discussed options and the materials we could use.  We hashed out our basic needs and what level of complexity we were talking about.  Some of my gamer colleagues and I even field tripped to local home supply stores to see potential materials for the build.

Afterwards, armed with all this critical intelligence I sat down with another beer and google sketchup to plan.   I put the design together in google sketchup so that people can take a look at it in 3d. 

At its core the table design we came up with is modular so we can reformat it to fit our needs.  Made up of 3 separate segments, the two outside segments are self-supporting and hold up the central segment.

The first section is a relatively small table sized at 32”x48” followed by a center projection section also at 32”x48”, and the last section with a size of 48”x48”.  When combined, this will make a single table 4’ by 9’4” table suitable to fit our large 10 person gaming group.  In the center of this large table is an LCD projector rear mounted to display dynamic content on the tabletop itself.  The entire surface of the table is covered in plexiglass mounted on piano hinges so maps and gaming aids can be put under them and wet or dry erase markers used directly on the table top.  In all, great for RPG gaming. 

Or we can remove the projection section to make a 4’ by 6’8” table.  This size is perfectly sized for table top wargaming, having a standard 4’ b6 6’ surface with 4 inches on either side for models in reserve or removed from game. 

Or we can separate the 4’ by 4’ table giving us a single square table.  This is perfect for traditional 4 player board games or smaller skirmished based table top games.

The 2’8” by 4’ table also works for smaller board and card games with 2 to 4 players.  Or it can be tucked out of the way for entertaining.

The frame of the table is sturdy design using 2x2 and 2x4 lumber to distribute the weight.

Along the outer edge of the table are mounted K-Rails, a snap fit rail system traditionally used in garages. Here we use it for mounting shelving to expand the surface as needed. The K-Rail system acts as both the lip of the table top and lets us mount temporary table space around the outside of the table as well as mount cup holders, dice towers, and other amenities wherever we sit.

Kobalt makes K-rail shelves, baskets, and so on that, with minor modification, can serve the needs of any gaming group without trouble.  Our basic design mounts a 12” by 18” piece of 3/4^th inch particle board onto two flat K-rail brackets with a piano hinge at the back to mount plexiglass.  This simple structure adds a single seating place with enough room for the player to roll dice and store their character sheet under plexiglass and use markers to track health and so on.  Other designs can be made and the player or group could customize these shelves to whatever they need or simply go without them entirely.

The structure is supported by its two end sections.  Each one is mounted on a set of 4” by 4” legs mounted on locking casters.  The legs are 30” long with 2” casters, once flush mounted with the top the table stands roughly 32” high.  This is a tiny bit higher than a normal table for sitting but slightly low for a standing counter top. We found this was a good medium for both standing and seated gaming.  The casters make the table easy to move around.  The large size and sturdy nature of the legs allow the table to support the center section of the table for the projector.  This insert is pinned on with aluminum pipe.  Though it may support a side seat it is mostly intended to simply mount the projector.  Minor modifications could make this table free standing or mount other equipment like an LCD TV or monitor.

So that’s the design.  Lets see some pictures.

Needed Supplies

1/2" Masonite                         x1  32"x48" + x1   48"x48"  +  x2 2" strips 48" and x2 2" strips 28" long

1/8" Plexi                                x2  32"x48" +  x2 24"x48"                                    Note: the largest plexi we found was 32” x 48” if you can find bigger it might be a cheaper build.  This is the most expensive part, doesn’t count any plexi for K-rail place settings.  Roughly 250 bucks here, literally costs as much as the entire table (minus projector).

2 part epoxy                                        1 tube                          Used to glue plexi to hinges.

2” Flush Seat Wooden Screws   x100                                    Used to mount the K-rails

2x2                                    53'6"                            ~7 boards Cuts are below.

2x4                                    39'2"                            ~5 boards Cuts are below.

3/4" Aluminum pipe               3'                                 holds table sections together

3/4" U-bracket                                    x16                  holds up the pipe that holds table sections together

3” Flush Seat Wooden Deck Screws   x100                                    Used to build the frame.

4x4                                          20’                       ~2 boards Note: alternatively you can use folding table leg kits but each section will need to be self supporting.

Casters –locking                     x8                                    screw on casters best.

Cotter pins                              x8                                    Ace has them individually, need to get ones that will fit the pipe bought to hold tables together.

 Glass Mounting Kit                x1                                    not sure on this, you need to mount a mirror at a 45 degree angle for the projector to get a focal length of 5 feet not sure on the fittings needed for that, I assume, duct-tape

K-Rail Track                                    26'7”                                    ~8 six foot rails

L-brackets                               x32                                    used to mount the legs. Note: not needed if you use folding leg kits

LCD projector                        x1                                    standard long throw projector that has rear mounting settings.

Mirror                                     x1                                      Minimum 12"x12" preferably larger                                    16” or 18” square would be best

Piano Hinge                            x6  12"                          Sold individually   

White Craft Paper                                    32"x48"                                    this is the projection surface, you can use craft paper, tracing paper, or any other semitransparent surface with an opacity of around 70%.  You can buy drafting paper that has this opacity and ½” grid lines.

Wire Cart +casters no top      x1                    used to mount the projector, could be a board with casters honestly, just needs to be flat and can mount a projector and mirror.

Wood Cuts

2x2 - x6 48" - x6 29" - x4 45"

2x4 - x4 32" - x6 41" - x2 48"

4x4 - x8 30”

masonite - x1 32"x48" - x1 48"x48" - x2 32"x2"  - x2 44"x2"

K-rail - x4 48" - x4 32"

Shelves

K-rail flat mount brackets - 2 per seat/expansion shelf

MDF - 18" x 12" per seat/expansion shelf     x1 8'by4' MDF board cut down into segments

Wargaming's Future (3/19/2013)

I haven’t spent a huge amount of time on my blog over the past several months.  Mostly my time has been dedicated to completing some commissions.  But I’ve been slipping into designing some cool bits now and then when the inspiration strikes.  On the one hand I’m proud of the commission work I’m doing but I feel I’m doing a bit of disservice to my readers and all those who order my items.  I know I’ve got a small stack of requests in my in box and a couple of errors on printed items that I need to get to.  I promise you that I’ll get around to them ASAP now that my free time is becoming mine again.

I semi-officially finished my largest commission last Tuesday.  I only await the final approval on the models to know that I’m definitively done.  I’d love to share with you the fruits of those projects but due to confidentiality agreements I can’t. Suffice it to say it was a huge challenge and I’m quite proud to have done it.  Now that I can get back to my own projects I’ve jumped on my star marines again.

When I started making my female space marines I jokingly referred to them as “Star Marines”.  This was as much a tongue in cheek reference to GW’s product as it was an example of my insecurity over the idea of barrowing on the Games Workshop mythos.  I am a huge fan of Warhammer 40k and the models of Games Workshop but the older their world gets the less I feel at home in it.

I could chalk this up to my age but I don’t really believe that’s the case. I still watch power rangers and read comic books so age isn’t the issue. The issue is Games Workshop is reinventing itself.  It’s been doing it for years and on the one hand being the Madonna of its industry is what makes it great.    On the other hand reinvention always leaves someone out in the cold. And that someone in this case is me.

I’m willing to bet that it’s a lot of other people too.  I’m not afraid of change but change, reinvention, can’t be for its own sake.  To often we take for granted that change will be good or bad and generally fail to acknowledge that the scary part of change isn’t its good or bad points but the lack of control we have over it. Games Workshop has changed Warhammer 40k a lot over the years and while we can say over and over that it’s changes aren’t all bad we must admit that some of them are.

Which brings me to 6^th edition 40k.  I started playing 40k back in 2^nd edition and back then the land scape or “meta” if you want to believe in that, was a lot like it is now.  There were a lot of people spoiling to play cool new things that could be done with the game books.  But back then Games Workshop accomplished the same thing with a lot less money and a lot less man power.  People were inspired less by Games Workshop’s fluff background and more by their own imaginations.  And people took absurd ideas and ran with them for hours upon hours of conversion and gameplay fun.

Today with the freshness of 6^th edition, the newly revised whitedwarf, and the quicker pace of releasing Games Workshop has captured that anything can happen vibe of Rogue Trader.  But in doing so what have they spent.  In terms of money? In terms of manpower? In terms of long term viability of the products they produce?  I’m not really qualified to speak on the time, effort, and money Games Workshop has spent to revitalize 40k.  What I can say is I’m not sure its sustainable.

Games Workshop has started trying new things and that’s good in the long run.  But they haven’t been terribly good at what they have tried.  6^th edition 40k is still a terribly hard to explain game for very little reason.  Contrary the to popular belief the rules for playing toy soldiers are very easy to articulate.  Any 8 year old can explain them, I shoot you, you die.  We all love rolling dice, we all love watching enemy and even allied soldiers get removed as casualties.  Games Workshop keep’s making that complicated.  Arguably this is done to making teams balanced but everyone can attest that, while the most balanced it’s been in years, 40k is not balanced so all that extra writing and layers of rules technicalities is a waste.  Beyond that every rule in the big book pretty much has an exception in one or more army books anyway making it less a rules guide than a bunch of things you have to remember to ignore but only when X is on the field anyway.

I have a 7 year old nephew.  A 7 year old nephew that is part of my table top roleplaying group.  We play a lot of different games but his favorite is Star War D6.  A game played with fists full of D6s and lots of brash fun gunslingers shooting at each other.  I tried teaching him Warhammer 40k. a game that is arguably very similar to the WEG Star Wars experience.  He lost interest after 15 minutes.

Perhaps 7 years old is the wrong age to learn mass combat games.  Maybe I’m not a good gaming instructor.  Or maybe there are just too many rules and to many exceptions for a child to track. I don’t really know.  The trouble is that most of the gamers I know are table top gamers because they started young.  I started at around 7 or 8 myself with RPGs and moved to wargames at 10 or 11.  My Nephew actually totally grasps the concept of characters, line of sight, hit points, armor saves, and all of that.  He just doesn’t care about look out sirs, overwatch, snap fire, anything that is a USR, or why some models get feels no pain and others don’t.

At the end of the day Games Workshop’s new more engaging business model just doesn’t make for a healthy game.  As a current gamer it’s nice that things are more balanced. It’s great that we are getting new kits faster.  It’s nice that unasked questions are being faq’d sooner.  It’s even nice that I can spend my money on a poorly designed digital product instead of an over designed print product.  But when it comes down to it balance, speed of releases, faqs, and even digital or print products aren’t the barriers to entry on the game.

At a time when the entire world has seen economic distress the biggest issue is now and always will be price and service.  Games Workshop’s constantly up sloping prices coupled with relatively poor customer service and the constant feeling that whatever I buy will be devalued in the game by 6 to 10 weeks out make it hard for a current gamer to justify the price tag.  At the same time while other games have maintained a reasonably price tag for their core products and an extremely low price tag for their starter sets, Games Workshop continues the trend of uniform prices across the board. This means new gamers can’t buy into the game to get hooked without a friend that’s already in the hobby and spent the money.

As a gamer I’m an advocate for gaming. I love gaming and believe everyone who plays is in some way better for playing.  But I can buy a DnD starter set for 20 bucks, all the core books for 60, and a bunch of plastic DnD miniatures for a buck a piece. For Warhammer 40k I spend 65 bucks for the core book, another 60 for my army book and then 100 plus for a bare bones starter army that isn’t even always complete to play and is rarely what you actually want.  I’m not sure I can advocate that as easily as I can other aspects of the hobby.

Maybe that’s the point though, Games Workshop is trying to change the dynamic of the hobby.  It seems clear they don’t want it accessible to just anyone.  Constant price rises, pushes to remove services from 3^rd party retailers, and even the semi-mainstream effort put into forge world are attempts at elitism within the hobby.  Games Workshop’s goal is to push people towards their in house distribution.  As an example, they just contractually killed bits service through 3^rd party retailers which means they will likely start unveiling a bunch of shitty fine cast bit kits that are direct order only.  Every kit will be priced at 19.99 or similar and have just enough kinda useful and kinda useless bits on the kit to make you feel like it might be a good price but the quality and service will still be lacking and spending 20 bucks for the one power fist will still leave someone feeling a bit let down.

See Games Workshop is ok with someone leaving the hobby so long as you aren’t ordering from them directly.  Their greatest profit margin is in house where their supply chain takes care of everything rather than paying an outsider.  Their highest degree of control is in house where they do all the training and control all the advertising. No risk of their employees telling you about a competing product or their magazine advertising WarmaHordes.  In the end their goal is pretty transparent.  If they can’t get you into one of their stores and keep you, they don’t want you as a customer.

If you want to understand their elitism look no farther than their “digital products”.  Their “digital products” are nothing more than the iBooks News Stand products.  I get game informer the exact same way, only for 14 bucks a year. Same basic content. Useful index, searchable functionality, fancy revolving 3d images (game characters are cool that way), occasional videos, forced landscape viewing (even though portrait is traditional print lay out and easier to bloody read), and of course outrageously large 300mb downloads.  Only difference is that Games Workshop feels their product is worth more because they made it.  Same goes with their print game books.  We can talk about all the fancy color print pages and stuff we want but I have personally felt for years that the army book prices are trending towards the point they aren’t in my price range. I can pick up a hard cover 200 page DnD supplement for 39.95 but I have to pay 60 for a warhammer one? And then by the models? And the core book? Oh and you’ve made stupid objective markers and psychic power cards too, great. 

I’ve come to realize that I’m not Games Workshop’s market for 40k anymore.  Neither is my Nephew.  It’s not about age.  I don’t feel entitled to anything because I’ve played for so long.  No its more about the very real truth that they don’t care if I patronize them or not.  They aren’t worried about losing me as a customer because they haven’t had me invested in their business model for a couple of years now.

Why is this all important? Well I’ve just realized something very clearly. For a long time side companies like Chapterhouse have been combating Games Workshop’s elitist mentality by keeping bits and specialized models cheap.  But they don’t have to. Games Workshop isn’t killing itself by getting rid of bits or raising prices or driving off customers. It’s giving life to its competition.  I’m not going to start a kickstarter.  But I will predict that someone soon will. Within a few months of Chapterhouse and Games Workshop settling Chapterhouse will start its own game.  Mantic has already started its Warpath game and will kickstart that.  Beyond the Gates of Antares was pulled from kickstarter and arguably was going to be a shitty game, but it will be back.  Within a year Anvil industries will at least talk about making a game as will Wargames Factory within 18 months.  The point is, I can’t look at Games Workshop’s business tactics as “bad for the hobby” anymore. They are good for it, just not good for Games Workshop’s place in it.

That's my deep thought for the day.  Later this week i'll be talking about Star Marines and what that means for my future projects, and hopefully a little about the design of my Heavy Armor troopers.

Update... 9-6-12

Ok, so as I said yesterday I've been given more infringement notice from Games Workshop. The good news is that Shapeways was able to alter my shop title without trouble. I won't have to delete the shop and reupload everything. I will still be removing the female marine parts tomorrow night. I don't think they infringe GW's property rights but have no resources to fight a legal battle here.

What will this mean? Well my shop's url is identical since it was just "www.shapeways.com/shops/dynath" anyway. I think the search function might hiccup a bit but mostly it will work the same. The shop name is not an issue as long as I don't have to delete everything. Removing the female marines is mostly a non-issue as well. While it will mean my melee weapons and a couple of vehicles are all that will be in my gallery i'll be able to recover.
Games Workshop's issue is the use of design elements that corispond to the 40k armor mark details which I can't deny. While I thought believe the design details were covered under patent law which would make their use public domain I don't have the money for a lawyer to back me up on that. At the same time, I built one set of female marines. I can build another. And this time I'll do it better. Don't get me wrong. I love the designs I made but I wasn't satisfied. And this gives me encouragement to try again and make something more unique.

Warhammer 40k has a certain aesthetic and I think I captured that quite well with my female designs. However, was it really a good design? I’d argue no. the 40k design heavily adopts the art style of early 80s rock culture and though it has been polished and revised repeatedly it is still the rough equivalent of an early 80s iron man armor. Though superficial detail has been added to their designs in order to give sculpted joints the appearance of some flexibility the reality is that the armor is as impractical in appearance as it is dated in design. The 90s update to space marines did a lot to standardize the details but it didn’t really change anything on a fundamental level. They are still clunky and backwards designs that are laughable to imagine on the battle field.

I like the 40k armor designs but I must say it doesn’t look good on girls. The legs and arms are generic enough to be fine but the torsos are potatoes and impossible to really feminize without major aesthetic issues. You either end up with bullet trap cleavage or the appearance of an asexual life form. There is a fine line you can dance like I did but I don’t believe it’s worth it now. At least not in this medium.
All those who sculpt miniatures in green stuff with the skill to make a mold in your basement I envy you. Because Games Workshop can’t come into your home and stop you and it’s easy enough to share with your friends without having the motives in your heart questioned. For me, without green stuff or molding skills, Shapeways was a god send. But now I understand something about the creative process that I didn’t before.

You see I have the right and the ability to be creative. I can make something, poor my heart and soul into an art or craft and produce something fabulous. As a painter I can paint a canvas and no one will accuse me of violating IP (for the most part). I can hang it and sell it at auction without an issue and for the most part so long as I don’t claim it’s a Van Gogh no one will sue me. In drawing, in painting, in sculpture, in all art the act of loving something so much that you dedicate your life to creating something is invaluable and I thought protected. However intellectual property law isn’t about protecting that. IP law is about protecting the profits of someone else’s creation. No corporation creates anything. Not Games Workshop, not Microsoft, not Lockheed Martin, none of them. The don’t create they make. The people that work for them create. There ideas are then “protected” by IP laws and the company MAKES and SELLS them. I won’t say I created shoulder pads. But I did put enough love and care into shoulder pads to build something of value. Something more than just a thing that was made to be sold.

Every commission I receive asks me how much and I tell them the same thing, nothing. I build what you wanted because I love the hobby and I love designing something someone will use. So I add a dollar or two onto the cost of printing something to cover the actual money I spend testing products. I don’t even break even really, but I don’t care because I want to create something for others. I never felt I could sell the things I was making for a profit. I always thought micro transactions, selling thousands of shoulder pads and breaking even, was enough. And for me it is. For the corporation that is Games Workshop? I’ve railed before about their pricing scheme. I’ve told friends how horrible I feel their business practices are. I even said I hate their legal team threatening people. And with all that, is it enough? Is the money you make only to spend on protecting the money you make enough? I know a lot of people who would say no. However I’d venture none of the people who say that have the type of money Games Workshop’s CEO does, or the money Games Workshop’s investors do.

Games Workshop isn’t human. It’s not a person. It’s made up of people. It’s a transformers gestalt, made of mashing a thousand noddinghamtrons into a single savage beast. Moral arguments, social and ethical examinations don’t work on it. Like a hand gun shooting Devastator it has no effect. My artistic endeavors are like ants to Games Workshop. The security program that operates its minimal point defense system notice me but that’s all. And part of me is fine with that. I’d rather not have to join with a bunch of people to become Superion in order to keep making models.

The point is I don’t have any traction in this fight. I can argue till I’m blue in the face that I actually made something unique and different but no one will hear me. Instead I’ll get stepped on and that’s not right. But it’s how it is. IP laws are out of control and don’t do what they are meant to do. Tomorrow if I uploaded a totally unique model of a space warrior in mechanical armor and Games Workshop saw it and said I like that do a model like that. The truth is since Games Workshop can actually afford a bunch of lawyers and an epic design team they would win. Even if they produced a blog that explicitly stated they designed their products off mine they would still win in court. Entirely because I can’t afford to go to court and am generally honest enough to admit my faults.

So what does this mean? Well unlike Games Workshop I am not a corporation. I can’t fulfill myself with money. So I instead have to fulfill myself with those things I can. And for me that is my art, my 3d design amongst that. If I make a female marine model that doesn’t look like Games Workshop’s models it won’t sell terribly well. But I won’t be making it for that. I’ll be doing it in the hopes that someone will find it and like it and that will be enough. I hope…

Anyway if you have a request please email me and I'll try to respond. I ask you to be cautious about suggesting Intellectual Property of others. But i'm still willing to listen to your ideas. I'll probably be updating more than usual to day so bare with me. I have some blog posts i'd written that I want to actually put out there.

Further Games Workshop infringement claims.

My laptop crashed when I was writing this. My poor laptop has an issue where it just shuts down randomly, it needs a new motherboard and is out of warranty. So if this post seems a bit disjointed that’s why.

This afternoon I received a new infringement notice from Games Workshop. This time there infringement claim has specifically addressed specific items in my inventory. I'm thankful that they are actually addressing the reality of what I've uploaded for printing as opposed to the vague notion that they own everything under the sun.

Unfortunately they have specifically pointed out the "design" of armor marks again. Initially I had believed their previous statements in this regard covered the issue of the shoulder pad elements and Aquila trade mark. Sadly this time they specifically point to the female star marine parts in arms, legs, torsos, helms, and backpacks. I disagree on this. My understanding is that the models are covered under patent law and thus design elements aren't an issue but I can't afford to argue this point. If there was any question of whether I would have to redesign the female marines this answers it. It frustrates me because I'm reasonably sure that legally the female variants are different enough that even when sharing design elements they fall into fair use. However I can't deny that my intent with the models was to make them LOOK like their male counter parts that inspired them. As such denying they should be removed feels unethical to me.

No matter what I want that clear. I knew games workshop owns the rights to warhammer. However my intent was never to undermine them to the extent that they clearly believe I have. I was of the mind that Games Workshop was not producing certain products that I and others wanted. Either those products were not being produced at all or they had been produced and games workshop decided not to support them any longer and as a result abandoned them. Likewise I feel that Games Workshop's control over the likenesses, icons, and color schemes of space marine chapters is both legally and ethically dubious as many if not all of these designs should belong to their original creators not Games Workshop. I'm not sure why but these factors more than anything else have left my conscience clean on the matter. I didn't set out to deprive Games Workshop of funds. I set out to provide the gaming public with products games workshop doesn't. I don't want to get rich stealing sales from Games Workshop. I want to give back to the hobby I love in a way that Games Workshop just isn't doing. Ethically I don't see a problem with producing shoulder pads for customers who want them. Nor female marines. Nor out of print models. Nor guns. etc. Basically it encourages people to buy more actual products from Games Workshop. If I was out to steal sales I’d design a nearly identical product like Anvil Industry's steam knights designs. But of course I wanted to fill a hole in GW's product line that Games Workshop doesn't appreciate me filling. Sigh.  That’s all I can really say, just … SIGH…

Games Workshop has also made a claim regarding my “Space Undead Insects” while this design is intended to be a replacement for their scarab models it does not look like their scarab models.  It was intended to not look like their scarab models because their scarab designs are stupid.  I chose to instead make the insect like robot be insect like not… stupid.  Official scarabs are flat with no legs, no mandibles, not real bug like qualities.  My scarabs are more bug like with proper legs and mandibles.  The only thing remotely like an official scarab is the spinal column and single eye, and if they own that then robot skeletons the world over are infringing and I don’t believe that. I’m not going to push it until they take me to court though. I’ll simply listen to their feedback and change the fucking model.  If they think they own a cyclopean insect I’ll give it two eyes. If they think they own skeletal spinal columns on robots, I’ll make it fucking tubing.  They can’t own everything. Robot insects are real things that people at MIT are making right now. IP ends somewhere and if GW won’t define it for me I’ll test the waters until I find the edge myself.

Lastly and most troublingly is their statement of trademark on the term 40k.  Now, in fairness they can’t claim a registered trademark unless they’ve actually registered a trademark.  Copyrights are pretty much open ended but trademarks are documented.  While I would think I could argue the trademark based on the capitalization of the letter “K” denoting the difference between the proper trademark and the numeric abbreviation I don’t have the money or legal counsel to deal with this.  It’s easier to remove the “40k” moniker. Or it would be if I could change my shop name myself.  I’ve contacted Shapeways but I’m not sure I can adjust my shop name at all without deleting it and restarting a new one.  A process that deletes everything in my shop some of which I don’t have backups of yet.  Even this blog has GW’s “trademarked” “40k” moniker as part of its URL.  I’m sure I’ll get a notice about that too.  But I can change that.  Blogspot can let me change the URL with a single click.  Not a problem.  Shapeways could be an issue.  Hopefully I hear back quickly so I can fix this.

I seriously hate Games Workshop at the moment.  I feel simultaneously like I’m being threatened and patronized.  Like a puppy that has yipped to loudly I’m not sure if GW has come over to pet me soothingly or beat me with a stick.  I can’t see the harm my site name would have on the 40k brand but at the same time I know I could theoretically do some kind of damage to it vaguely somehow that I don't understand. I could make products they don’t want me to make and end up hurting their reputation if people think they made them. I can't see how anyone would mistake my products for theirs but whatever.  At the same time even knowing that Games Workshop could be harmed I feel that chance is minimal and can’t help but imagine that they know I may have to delete me shop in order to change its name and are just being obtuse as a result.

It’s easy to imagine the CEO of GW sitting in a Nottingham tower laughing like king john.  I doubt my particular situation has even been brought before him.  But the image is still there.  Perhaps I demonize Games Workshop because I’m not skilled enough or creative enough to create an equally powerful empire of miniatures.  But it saddens me none-the-less to be attacked for trying to support a hobby I love.  I’d not be surprised if this is all in my imagination.  That the GW corporation is just an emotionless machine, it responds to my particular issues as nothing more than a bump a car runs over in the road.  No malice, no particular disgruntlement, simply the bored curiosity of an office worker tired of his job.  Perhaps the thin veneer of politeness is simply my in ability to comprehend the depth of their sincerity.  Or perhaps it is the last vestiges of imperial condescension directed at an individual that is perceived as inferior. 

I don’t know.  But I wonder if deleting my shop would not be the best for all parties. I noticed a lot of shops I once visited are not updated anymore. A large group of people who design miniatures on Shapeways don’t sell them to the public.  Perhaps I was to brazen to actually SELL something I designed.  Obviously Games Workshop would argue that they designed these things and I stole them by copying them.  I suppose the question is then what’s the point in trying to support the hobby when the creator of the hobby claims ownership over everything within it including that which it doesn't actively create? 

EDIT: I added the footer from the Games Workshop legal teams emails. The statement of “confidential” is bullshit. Intellectual Property is a matter of PUBLIC record. If it wasn’t there would be no ability to enforce it. I have not signed a confidentiality agreement nor a nondisclosure agreement.  As such you can’t stop my legal right to talk about the claims placed before me.  I will say that the claims of Games Workshop as they apply to me can’t be construed as legal advice for the legal affairs of any individuals as the Claims are the views of Games Workshop and don’t constitute the actual law as interpreted by a Judge.  I will continue to post the emails I recieve from Games Workshop on this issue as a matter of public record and free speech.

 

 

My response to Games Workshop (8 - 20 -12)

Dear Mr, Nanson

Like yourself I appreciate diligence regarding this matter. I am a simple hobbiest and take the interests of Games Workshop in this matter with great seriousness.

I want to assure you I am already complying with the requests of Games Workshop. I have already removed a number of products and will continue to remove additional products going forward. Unfortunately there is no automated or batch removal function in Shapeways which means I have to manually edit each item to delete it from my account. This process takes time and I appriciate your patience.

I’m sorry that my request for clarification was interpreted as a request for legal advice. I honestly assumed that when Games Workshop was deciding I was infringing they would have made a list of specific infringements for me to correct. As I understand the legal process the individual with a claim of infringement is responsible for defining that claim. My only intention was to insure I addressed all of Games Workshop’s claims of infringement. I didn’t mean to be requesting your legal expertise, only the specifics of the infringement. Regardless I’m working to comply with your requests so I see no need to consult legal counsel at this time. And besides I have no doubt that Games Workshop’s claims have merit or its legal councils wouldn’t pursue them.

That having been said, I will endeavor to remove items based on the “shoulder pad”, “logos” (I assume this is directed at Chapter logos) and “Aquila” design that Games Workshop claims as their intellectual property. I’m saddened by the loss of these designs particularly because Games Workshop has not made comparable products based on the Intellectual Property they claim. I do however understand the need for licensing and intellectual property as a whole and will comply.

I agree it is my responsibility to ensure my items don’t infringe intellectual property laws and I will do better to comply in the future. Up to and including seeking legal advice regarding my hobby if needs be. However, in spite of not having legal counsel I am aware of the current litigation between Games Workshop and Chapter House Studios. While I will comply with your wishes now I feel that I need to inform you that if the court decides you are not the Intellectual Property holder of any or all of these designs I will continue with my distribution of any public domain items at that time, which would be my right if that is found to be the case.

I will do my best to have the offending items offline within the time allotted. I will also attempt better judgment regarding what items and requests to fulfill in the course of my hobby so that I don’t violate games workshops Intellectual Property again.

Sincerely
Dynath Kajira

Games Workshop Legal Notice (9-5-12)

Hi Dynath

Thank you for your continued cooperation in this matter and for removing several designs from your store. I appreciate you making the changes.

There are some remaining infringements in the store which I must ask you to remove as soon as possible.

There are some models which bear the Aquila registered trademark e.g. http://www.shapeways.com/model/325301/m7b1-star-marine-armor-torso-x5.htmlamong others.

There are a number of helmets, legs, arms, backpacks etc which combine to create your ‘Star Marines’. These parts, and their combined complete models, copy a significant part of Games Workshop’s Space Marine design. This includes various ‘marks’ of Space Marine armour and variants such as the ‘Techmarine’ and ‘Apothecary’.

There is also a set of Necron scarabs available.

Finally, I must inform you that ‘40K’ is a registered trademark belonging to Games Workshop Limited. Please remove it from your store name ‘Dynath40k’.

Please remove any remaining infringing auctions in the next 14 days and drop me an email when you have completed the removals.

I look forward to your notice.

We reserve all rights.

Kind regards

Tom

Tom Nanson
IP Assistant
Group Legal Department
Games Workshop Group PLC
tom.nanson@gwplc.com


My response to Games Workshop (9-5-12)

Dear Mr. Nanson,

Thank you for again taking the time to address this issue Mr. Nanson. Firstly let me say I am grateful that this time specific infringements have been identified so that they may be addressed, as opposed to broad statements of infringement.

Thank you for calling the Aquilla to mind, I had uploaded the models over a year ago and as a result it had slipped my mind they had an Aquilla on the chest of several models. I would ask if it was viable to remove the Aquilla and list the revised torsos but your next infringement claim lists quite literally all parts of a figure so there is no point. My understanding is that the design of your parts falls under patent law which dictates that the individual expression of a specific item is protected not its design elements. As such using elements of a similar nature such as cabling or plating of a similar design on a different expression, IE the difference between male and female designs, would be publicly viable. The printing of backpacks, shoulder pads, and armor designs by other companies such as Scibor, MaxMini, etc. I thought bore this out. Regardless as I have neither the legal resources to argue my point nor the inclination to challenge the makers of 40k regarding their patents of their miniatures I’m forced to comply.

The robotic insects on my list are significantly different from the legless, mandibleless scarab design produced by games workshop. While I don’t desire to fight I’m not convinced you own the trademark on“insects”. I would be happy to discuss the specifics of this “infringement”but as a whole the design is significantly different than your established designs to the point that if the name wasn’t “space undead insects” most viewers would not consider them analogous to the GW Scarab product.

Lastly the trademark “40k” I was actually unaware of this trademark. I had avoided the full “40,000” and “Warhammer” but didn’t realize the abbreviation was trademarked. I’m at a loss as to how to edit my store name however. I will have to contact customer support at Shapeways to adjust this. If they can’t do that I suppose the only thing I can do is delete my store entirely and start a new one.

I thank you for calling these infringement claims to my attention. I’ll work on removing the “star marine” product line and altering my shop name, however would like specific clarification regarding what aspect of a robotic insect you have copyrighten, trademarked, etc.

Sincerely

Dynath Kajira

Footer for Games Workshops Email Included for completeness (9-5-12)

Information in this email and any attachments is confidential, subject to copyright and must not be

used or disclosed except for the purpose it has been sent, unless required by law.

Games Workshop Limited, registered in England and Wales, under company number 1467092, and

registered at Games Workshop, Willow Road, Lenton, Nottingham NG7 2WS.

Unless stated otherwise by an authorised individual, nothing contained in this email is intended to create binding legal rights or obligations between you and Games Workshop in anyway, including but not limited to, in relation to settlement of any claims made by Games Workshop. This email is in no way meant to be taken as legal advice. If you are unsure of your rights or the implications of this email, you should obtain independent legal advice.

 

GW Legal's responses and plan of action

Alright so I have received my response from Games Workshop’s legal counsel regarding their "infringement claim”.  I’ve posted the contents of our correspondence below.   Basically the gist of the discussion is that games workshop claims all chapter icons (as expected), all weapons? (I think they mean the bolter design mostly), vehicles (this specifically applies to the ground taker/ land raider I made but it was never for sale), Characters (like the stealth suit again I’ve already complied with).  The last correspondence manages to clarify that they also claim the shape of the space marine shoulder pad as their property as well, though the physical shape can’t be copyrighted it can only be patented so the legitimacy of the claim is questionable.  They also conspiquously list “the design of certain marks of armour” which clearly implies they believe my female marines are also infringing.  I don’t think they technically are but can’t really argue the point without getting sued.  They also specifically point out the trademark on the Aquila, this is the main reason the female marines are problematic as they have an Aquila on their chest.

He gave me 14 days to comply with the infringement take down notice. Which means they must be removed by September 3^rd 2012.  Following this course I will begin removing shoulder pads from the gallery on Saturday September 1^st.  Legally I can’t encourage anyone to purchase anything within the allotted time remaining before products are removed.  The time frame of item removal has nothing to do with item sales.  It has to do with the fact that I work every day of the week and will be out of town on the weekend of the 25^th so the 1^st is the first opportunity I will have to remove the items.  Removing the items does not mean I agree I am infringing on any of the products, only that I cannot afford a legal battle.

You will note towards the end of my latest response I mention the Chapter House Studio lawsuit.  The same things I’m cited for infringing are the same things Chapter House is being sued for.  Games Workshop’s legal department is no doubt aware of this fact.  They can’t rest on their laurels and just hold their breath till the lawsuit is done.  They will continue to assume they are in the right until proven wrong.  I however, unlike Chapter House don't have the legal counsel to fight Games Workshop so I will comply like a lot of websites have done.  However it’s important to note I am NOT destroying any of my works.  The 3d models will be removed from my Shapeways gallery but I will archive them.  In the event that Chapter House wins their lawsuit with Games Workshop the shoulder pads and weapon models may (I stress may) become viable again.  If a legal battle goes Chapterhouse's way I will likely seek legal advise regarding these items at that time.

If you haven’t followed the Chapter House lawsuit I encourage you to do so.  I know some people have talked about it as comical or like the sky is falling.  However I distantly hope Chapter House wins.  Not because I want to sell shoulder pads, but because Games Workshop is a legal monopoly.  They own the game rules, the game pieces, and the social events you use them at, I understand they created 40k but they are strangling the industry with their pricing scheme and poor rules writing.  Yes I know 6^th edition is the best written 40k ever, it’s still a polished turd not worthy of the background the fan base has supported for so many years.  Anyway, a win for Chapter House would limit Games Workshop’s litigations, foster competing products in the form of both additional game companies and added model companies, and possibly drive Games Workshop to limit unwarranted price increases.  I’m a huge fan of miniature gaming and good things can happen if Games Workshop loses their lawsuit.  If you’re one of those people that says Chapter House is getting what they deserve I argue that the Intellectual Property laws weren’t meant to limit industry growth and that’s exactly what Games Workshop’s monopoly does.  For every Chinese recasting company there are a thousand people like me who just want to make something for the hobby and can’t because Games Workshop claims are so broad they encompass aspects of the game beyond the identity of their products and company. By their argument the shape of their dice could be their patent which is wholly absurd.

Anyway, if anyone wants to request anything please email me and we can discuss its viability in the light of these limitations.  I will continue to make designs and produce products on Shapeways to the best of my abilities.  Regardless of the outcome of the Chapter House lawsuit I will strive to make products that support the hobby even if they don’t support games workshop.

In the interest of public disclosure here is the discussions between myself and Games Workshop's legal team.  I'd like to point out that inspite of the underlying threat of legal action the representative has been quite curteous and respectful and I personally want to say thank you to him for being civil in executing a matter that could be executed in a very uncivil manner. 

Enitial Contact on Shapeways Aug 15th 2012

Our Ref: Legal/TN/GLS/11843

Dear Sir

Your Shapeways products have been brought to my attention for infringing copyright and trademarks belonging to Games Workshop Limited.

The 'Warhammer 40,000' universe was created by Games Workshop in the 1980s. The universe and its many characters, organisations, vehicles etc. form the basis for the tabletop wargame 'Warhammer 40,000'. Games Workshop has produced and licensed a huge number of products based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe including miniatures, novels, video games, art books and sourcebooks, art prints, merchandise, digital products and more.

Having designed and developed the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the races, characters, icons, units, vehicles, weapons etc. therein, Games Workshop owns the copyright in them. It is therefore an infringement of that copyright for a third party to offer for sale, possess in the course of business, manufacture or import any product based on the Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property without Games Workshop's permission.

You have copied a significant part of the unique expression of a number of Games Workshop's products. Copying of these icons, characters, weapons, vehicles and accessories is an infringement of Games Workshop's rights as copyright holder.

Games Workshop also owns a number of registered and unregistered trademarks. One such trademark is the 'aquila' double headed eagle design. You have featured this registered trademark on several of your products without permission. This is an additional infringement of Games Workshop's rights.

Please immediately remove the infringing items from sale and contact us at tom.nanson@gwplc.com to confirm you have removed the items and that you will not infringe Games Workshop's rights in future. Please read and comply with Games Workshop's Intellectual Property Policy found at http://legal.games-workshop.com.

We reserve all rights in this matter. If you have any doubts as to the contents of this message we recommend you seek legal advice.

Yours faithfully,
Group Legal Department - Games Workshop Group PLC
For and on behalf of Games Workshop Limited
tom.nanson@gwplc.com

My responce Contact on Shapeways and email Aug 15th 2012

Dear Sir,
I thank you for your notice. I deeply apologize for any affront. While I don't always agree with GW's business practices it was not my intent to undermine your intellectual property nor "steal" anything from you. My intent was to provide products which assist your customers in realizing their army vision. And as I've spent a great deal of time painstakingly creating each piece from scratch in my 3d software I didn't see this as "Copying" anything. I'm very sorry you feel that I've infringed your intellectual properties and will be happy to remove content you feel is inappropriate. However I must ask which files you specifically feel are too closely identified with your intellectual property. I will readily admit that all of my products are made in 28mm scale to be compatible with your products. While I can identify specific icons that and items that I've been asked to make that are patterned after your designs (generally older or limited availability designs), I would like clarification of where that line ends for my own edification. For example I'd like you to clarify if it is the icon on a shoulder pad or if it is the shape of the shoulder pad itself that you feel infringes. Likewise I've made a variety of weapons, arms, legs, female equipment etc, that are significantly different than your official designs but still use similar motifs to your traditional products. As example I of this I point to my pole arms and swords lines. I'd greatly appreciate clarification on these issues.
I will begin by taking the items which I recognize as falling into your IP down, this will include the shoulder pads with specific chapter icons, the individual units I recognize from 40k including my stealth suit and drone models, as well as weaponry directly patterned after 40k items such as the heavy weapons etc. Unless I hear otherwise I will assume this does not include shoulder pads that do not bare GW iconography, weapons that are uniquely designed, and custom units.
Please understand I do greatly enjoy your game and my goal was to grow and serve the fan base in a manner which was never intended to undermine any aspect of the GW business. The 3d modeling of my products and their subsequent offering on Shapeways is a hobby to me that doesn't even reimburse me for the cost of ordering test prints of the products. Perhaps the 3d printing process is an idea that should be presented to the executives to fill market niches for underserved armies in a manner similar to the "bits" service discontinued in the 90s.
I sincerely want to find a middle ground where I can comply with your wishes and continue to develop wargaming products to support my hobby and the hobbies of others. If we can please clarify the detail of what items infringe I'd greatly appreciate this.
Sincerely,
Dynath Kajira.
PS. This message sent via shapeways private messaging will also be sent to the email address listed above.

GWlegal response by email Aug 20th 2012 

Hi Dynath

Thank you for your swift response and for agreeing to remove the infringing products.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the hobby and Games Workshop encourages hobbyists to convert and customise their forces to increase enjoyment. Games Workshop does, however, object to commercial use of its intellectual property and/or distribution of its copyrighted material.

I’m afraid that I am not permitted to offer you any legal advice and therefore cannot give detailed guidance on your models. You would have to seek your own legal advice in relation to intellectual property for your product line.

I can inform you that Games Workshop considers any significant copying of its creations to be an infringement of its copyright. This includes, but is not limited to, the unique design of its vehicles, weapons, logos and the several marks of Space Marine armour, which includes the iconic shoulder pad design. Having created and developed the unique expression of the Warhammer 40,000 universe in its text, artwork and sculptures, Games Workshop claims the exclusive rights to produce or license products based on this intellectual property.

I can also inform you that the ‘Aquila’ double headed eagle design is a registered trademark and therefore any product that bears this symbol is an infringement. Games Workshop considers any significantly similar logo to be an infringement of its registered trademark.

I am sorry I cannot offer further assistance. As the seller, it is your responsibility to ensure your products do not infringe other parties’ intellectual property.

I look forward to your confirmation that you have removed any infringing items from your store within the next 14 days. Please also confirm that you will not infringe Games Workshop’s intellectual property in future.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We reserve all rights.

Best regards

Tom

Tom Nanson

IP Assistant

Group Legal Department

Games Workshop Group PLC

tom.nanson@gwplc.com

My Response by email Aug 20th 2012

Dear Mr, Nanson

Like yourself I appreciate diligence regarding this matter.  I am a simple hobbiest and take the interests of Games Workshop in this matter with great seriousness.

I want to assure you I am already complying with the requests of Games Workshop.  I have already removed a number of products and will continue to remove additional products going forward.  Unfortunately there is no automated or batch removal function in Shapeways which means I have to manually edit each item to delete it from my account.  This process takes time and I appriciate your patience.

I’m sorry that my request for clarification was interpreted as a request for legal advice. I honestly assumed that when Games Workshop was deciding I was infringing they would have made a list of specific infringements for me to correct.  As I understand the legal process the individual with a claim of infringement is responsible for defining that claim.  My only intention was to insure I addressed all of Games Workshop’s claims of infringement. I didn’t mean to be requesting your legal expertise, only the specifics of the infringement.  Regardless I’m working to comply with your requests so I see no need to consult legal counsel at this time.  And besides I have no doubt that Games Workshop’s claims have merit or its legal councils wouldn’t pursue them.

That having been said, I will endeavor to remove items based on the “shoulder pad”, “logos” (I assume this is directed at Chapter logos) and “Aquila” design that Games Workshop claims as their intellectual property.  I’m saddened by the loss of these designs particularly because Games Workshop has not made comparable products based on the Intellectual Property they claim.  I do however understand the need for licensing and intellectual property as a whole and will comply.

I agree it is my responsibility to ensure my items don’t infringe intellectual property laws and I will do better to comply in the future. Up to and including seeking legal advice regarding my hobby if needs be. However, in spite of not having legal counsel I am aware of the current litigation between Games Workshop and Chapter House Studios.  While I will comply with your wishes now I feel that I need to inform you that if the court decides you are not the Intellectual Property holder of any or all of these designs I will continue with my distribution of any public domain items at that time, which would be my right if that is found to be the case.

I will do my best to have the offending items offline within the time allotted.  I will also attempt better judgment regarding what items and requests to fulfill in the course of my hobby so that I don’t violate games workshops Intellectual Property again.

Sincerely

Dynath Kajira

Update July 23, 2012 (two things)

I wanted to talk about two things today.  First let’s talk about projects. I've had a lot of requests lately and I've figured out that the pile needs to be written down so I don’t forget anything.  I don't want people to not request things but i felt it important to actually record what I'm working on.  This will be in no particular order.

Lets see…

Sisters of Silence heads (Female with respirator and top knot)
Dark Eldar Harlequin Rider Heads (pilot mask with harliquine icons)
Dire Avenger Heads (possible upgrade sprue with weapons and banner)
Female Marine Bare Heads (female various hair styles)
Adeptus Custodes Heads (Male mk3 or 4 heads with wing motif and plumes)
Space Marine Shoulder Pads (about 400 of them, more on this below)
Space Marine Shields (heavy and light varients of about 300 chapters)
Space Marine vehicle icons (not sure I’ll do this but was asked once if I was going to and said maybe)
Revision of Mk0 Heavy Armor (exo armored Terminator)
Revision of Mk3b Heavy Armor (standard Terminator)
Total Remake of Female Marines (using beefier body design, likely with custom armor varients)
Hurricane Gunship Revision (custom storm talon alternative)
Tsunami Dropship (custom Storm Raven alternative definitely to expensive)
Iron Eagle Motorbike (motorcycle alternative)
Iron Eagle Heavy Motorbike (attack bike alternative)
Iron Eagle Trike Variant (3 wheeled bike alternative)
Sky Eagle Grav Bike Revision (jetbike revision)
Ground Taker Transport Revision (back burnered due to cost but still on the list)
Chevalier Warmech (Knight Titan alternative likely to expensive)
Gyrojet Rifles with secondary weapons (Combi-weapons)
Advanced gyrojet revisions (custom bolter revisions including pistols/combi-weapons/alternate weapons)
Blood Pack upgrades (blood pack icons and spiky lasguns)
Imperial Guard upgrades (shoulder pad-less guard arms, female guard uniforms)
Protoss (star craft race in 28mm scale)
Batman Heads (space marine and IG Scale)
Star Wars Storm Trooper Heads (Space Marine and IG Scale)
Eldar Wraith Lord Harlequin canopy (head for wraithlord, possible project)
Eldar Falcon Harlequin Canopies (for turret and vehicle body, possible project)
Aspecies Of Mu (advanced counts as space marine race, includes advanced power armor and centaur power armor variants)
Golden Legion (intricately detailed marine chapter, torso finished, arms mostly finished, legs left to complete, yes they are male legs no I won’t do 700 varients)
Emperor’s Tide Chapter (custom aquatic marine chapter, packs done, weapons done, need flippers and aquatic helms)
Scythes of the Emperor revision (custom female marine chapter, bodies done, scythes done, packs done, need cloaked arms, and add on cloth draperies, custom heads as well)
Iron Warriors Display (custom cybernetic arms for evil warriors, barely started)
Daemon Hammor rescale(7” scale D’hammer redesign)
Various Weapons Requests (combi weapons, frost blades, heresy axes, daemon weapons, necron weapons, eldar weapons)
Dalek Revision (revised dalek, spider dalek, heavy weapons dalek, supreme dalek upgrades, I haven’t gotten back to these but need to)
Other Franchise Figures (Ed209, T51b power armor, Starcraft Space Marine, these requests are very slow projects since they are built mostly from scratch)
MK16 Damocles armor (this was a maybe request, not sure I like the armor design enough to put in the work)

Tau Drones (various drones to build armies with cause GW won’t package drones alone)
Upgrade Sprues (still want to fix my Crusader and do my Death Cult and Arbites upgrades, maybe a servitor one too, so hard to get back to these)

So that’s my project list at the moment. I think everything is on there.  I might have a few other things that have been requested, if I’ve forgotten anything drop it in the comments.

On to topic number two.  Space marine shoulder pads.  This is of course a huge ongoing project so I thought a status update would be good.  I’ve designed approximately 290 space marine chapter icons.  These are sitting in sketchup in a 150mb design file.  I’ve just started work on my next batch of chapters this weekend.  I’ve completed maybe 15 chapters of those 290. 

I’m primarily going off of this list from lexicanum. http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/List_of_Space_Marine_Chapters#.UA3EgWGe6So

This rather comprehensive list includes both loyalist and traitor chapters which is quite helpful. They also have a pictorial list of chapters which includes an image of those chapters that have iconography chosen.  I’ve also been cross referencing chapters against the lists below.  I do this because there isn’t a definitive list of iconography and chapter names.  You’ll notice that lexicanum’s list of chapters is quite extensive but about 100 chapters have no icons.  This is generally because GW never ascribed an icon for them and generally their fluff or background material is so mundane or nonexistent that no one else has either.

It’s a symptom of Space Marine gluttony in modern 40k.  GW names chapters just to kill them off.  They do this for several important reasons.  Firstly they have different people write different codex’s so no writer wants to step on another writer’s toes so they avoid overlapping fluff as much as possible.  Second, the core space marine armies IE Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Ultra Marines, and Black Templars, are pretty much sacred.  If anything grand and inventive was ever planned with the other first founding chapters it’s mostly forgotten now.  Customers would cry doom if any first founding chapters got their ass kicked and their design team would redacted overnight if anything sucky happened to the favored chapters.  Thus they invent new chapters to shaft.  Thirdly, a longtime ago people would write in to white dwarf with original ideas.  It was one of the things I loved about the old dwarf.  But the chapter approved articles and space marine icon line ups and such were compiled from those chapter dossiers.  Games Workshop was really cleaver here.  They got their customers to send them pictures so they could publish them, then they tossed the icons and color schemes into a side publication so they could trade mark them.  Oh I’m sure the index astartes book sold out its phenomenally small print run but really the project was mostly intended to grab a bunch of IP and claim it as their own.  Short term gamers don’t really recall but most of the 40k marine chapters were created after they appeared as someone’s personal army in WD. Hell the original 20 legions were created from the ideas of individual employees, and up until the 90s were legally the property not of GW but the individual creators.  That’s’ why there are 2 missing legions and why most first founding chapters have never had their own codex.  Now GW keeps those Trademarks alive by mentioning chapters they axed in codex’s and name dropping in black library products.  Not that I’m cynical or anything.  My point is really no one knows all chapters that exist and what their icons look like, so this is a rather involved process.

I also confess that I collected a lot of icons into a photoshop file in order to recreate the icons in illustrator and then import them into sketchup.  Unfortunately during the entire process I lost the names of many chapter icons due to me being to lazy to write things down.  I’m working down the lexicanum list so I can remember what each icon is called. LOL.

You’ll probably note some variances between the icons on these lists. I’ve already found 15 chapters that have multiple icons for them.  Some like the Space Sharks have entirely changed names while others like the mentors have sort of evolved.  Admittedly this is often for the best. The original space shark icon is laughable. Also admittedly the original space shark icon has a quaint charm that sums up my youth painting 40k miniatures.   At any rate I will be trying to do these icons when I get the chance.

On occasions there will be icons I won’t do.  These icons are generally those icons that fall into two categories.  Category 1 is icons that have been done to death.  I’m sorry Space Wolves, ultramarines, and blood angels. It’s not that I don’t like your logos; it’s just that you have been milked to death by your GW overlords.  Sorry.  Specifically these are the core chapters I mentioned before (BA, DA, SW, UM, and BT).  Some other chapters likely fall into there as well like the Grey Knights but I’m not sure yet.  Category 2 is icons I just can’t do well.  The ones that string to mind here are the Alpha Legion’s post Heresy icon and the Thousand Son’s briefly lived 3^rd edition icon.  The Hydra logo of the Alpha legion is very cool but I can’t do it the justice that it deserves.  Likewise the Oroboros icon the thousand sons used on their banners is very cool but to intricately detailed to pull off well.  These sort of shoulder pads will likely become dedicated projects on their own like my Eagle and Lion Shoulders. Or I might never do them cause I don’t like the chapters and no one asks me to do them.

As I go through the icons I’m also adding designs.  These added designs may be my own chapter ideas like my Tides of the Emperor icons.  Or they might be joke shoulders like putting the wifi icon on a shoulder pad.  I even might get inspired by the name or background of a chapter that has no icon and make it one.  Such as the Angels of Flame which I have a sweet firebird and sword motif I designed.  Still others might be just random doodles I thought were cool looking with no real intent behind them.  Anything to inspire me really.  If I don’t have something entertaining to do then I’ll end up never finishing things.

The last thing I wanted to say about the shoulder pads is an honest statement about the proceeds.  For most of my products the proceeds of the purchases goes into a pool used to pay for test printing new models.  For most of the shoulder pads however I won’t need to test print at all since I’m using a template that I have tested multiple times.  So I’ve decided to take the dollar a model and put it into my computer fund.  Collectively the shoulder pads sold will help me replace my ailing computer with something that is more reliable. IE less likely to have the hard drive crash and lose my models.  It won't be the only avenue of funding I use to replace this machine but it will be part of it.  I’m not sure if the fact I intend to use the money this way will bother people as I’ve been designing things for a while without making any kind of profit.  I just can’t deny any longer that my computer needs replaced and this seemed like a good juncture to start working towards that.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Space_Marine_Chapters
http://www.gobiel.com/sonsofruss/chapter.htm
http://www.ironhands.com/chapters.htm