Platic Crack?

Here is a little something I have been waiting on for a bit over six months…. A proof of concept in plastic from another manufacturer.

I am stoked! The quality looks good, the price is right and the turn around time will be good. So why did it take six months then? Because it was free, a test mold and test shots arranged by my old account manager at WGF who has struck out on his own. He asked if I could send him the original files to split and use as a non-retail sample to show other clients. I agreed and after some waiting they arrived! This is only two of the five pose options... As a free test mold we were limited to a single sprue.

No doubt Wai Kee and the old WGF makes incredible plastic, but his shop is always jammed with production, this makes it pretty much impossible for me to look at that as a viable resource for future production or Kickstarter's. I had my doubts that anyone could get close, but I am reeealllly happy with these shots, and as this opens up the door again I am eyeing another Kickstarter.

I am still pulling together all the costs and if it appears to be a real option, I am more than happy to give it a go. This time would be FAR more focused. One kit at a time, with true costs, the molds and production would need to be funded in full for that 'episode'? But if it works, another would be on the heals of the last… Ferals? then StuG? then Shadokesh vehicle or walker… then whatever sounds fun.

With this kind of Kickstarter there would be a very focused goal, drive and costs… We are not so much looking at the typical song and dance hype train. The product would make it or not on its own merits, and cover its true costs.

Soooo what do you think?

Would you like to know more?

Tariffs And The Sixty Dollar Board Game

With 25% Chinese tariffs taking effect this month, I'm already seeing solicitations for board games with significantly higher prices. The $60+ board game is likely to be the norm, up from an average of $45-50. I wrote on my Facebook author page I thought my board game sales were likely to drop by 40%. That's a really high number and it's complete speculation, but let's take a look at what we know.

We know very little. If we try to read the tea leaves of market forecasts, they're concerned with publicly traded companies, most of whom can absorb some or all of a 25% tariff. Best Buy sources enough Chinese products with high margins, they may not even raise prices, just take the hit. For us small retailers, sellers of speciality goods without enough margin to absorb tariffs and no cushion to absorb higher costs, they just predict doom and gloom. A 25% tariff is a necessary 25% price increase.

One example of how price increases directly affect sales from comes from the auto industry. When vehicles rise in price, for every dollar of price increase, demand drops by .87%. With a 25% increase in price, we should expect a 22% decrease in sales using the auto industry numbers. That's our baseline though, a starting point. Buying a vehicle is different than a board game.

If you don't like Chevy dealer A, Chevy dealer B isn't going to have a significantly different price. That's because vehicles are sold through a closed dealer network and gross margin on board games is about 45% compared to 8-10% on vehicles. There's no wiggle room to sell you a Chevy Colorado for 25% off, even if dealer B wanted to. And there's no online clearinghouse for a third party to devalue a new Colorado. If you don't want to spend $60 for a board game at my store, there will always be someone selling that game for 20-30% off online, even in the age of MAP price protection. There is someone selling that same game with an MSRP of $45, right now for $30-35, which is probably half the regional sales of that game. It's more complicated than that though.

As the price of an item increases over psychological thresholds, the pressure to buy it online increases dramatically. Most store owners will tell you once a game hits a certain price plateau, sales drop off considerably as customers seek better value. It's why many of us sell so many little card games and so few $100 board games. The impulse purchase, in which calculations don't play much of a role, is probably around $30-40 nowadays. At $40-50, there's some thinking and we lose a lot of sales to discounters, and at over $50, there's a lot of thought into how to acquire that item most efficiently.  We are certainly earning that business in some fashion. And that's where board games will go, breaking that price ceiling (the one I artificially created for this example).

If you think this will be business as usual, we're going from a strong economy to where, "Markets are pricing in rate cuts in September and December." Markets are already signaling they expect pain in the second half of the year with interest rate increases up a quarter percent. My store sales for 2019 are up a staggering 20%, due to a number of factors. I'm predicting I end the year up 4% due to tariffs. It's a complicated bit of bistro math, but I'm expecting a lot of pain. I know I'll be doing a lot of dancing, I just don't know the tune.

River City Girls Review (PS4)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: River City Girls
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: WayForward
Genre: Adventure, Arcade, Fighting, Multiplayer
Price: $29.99

Also Available On: Switch, Steam, XB1

---

When Nekketsu koha Kunio-kun (roughly translated as "Hot Blood Tough Guy Kunio") made its way to arcades in 1986, not even its biggest fans thought it would have legs. Even as developer Technos Japan had high hopes for it (going so far as to name its principal protagonist after company president Kunio Taki), it seemed to carry a one-off vibe. After all, it was a side-scrolling beat-em-'up that, for the first time, employed four-direction movement and required multiple hits to dispatch enemies. It turned out to be a commercial smash, prompting the release of a port to the Nintendo Family Computer the next year and serving as the kickoff point of an immensely popular franchise.

That the Kunio-kun series is still alive and kicking three decades and three years later despite one industry challenge after another speaks volumes of both the loyalty it has engendered and the quality for which it stands. Now owned by Arc System Works, titles in the intellectual property – which has branched out into seemingly disparate genres, including a variety of sports – boast of outstanding technical and artistic polish, uniquely quirky plots and premises, and engrossing gameplay designed to generate high replay value.

River City Girls is no exception. Featuring a lush color palette and rock music consistent with its retro sensibilities, it turns the hero narrative upside down by having familiar high-school characters Misako and Kyoko do the heavy lifting vice usual leads Kunio and Riki. After learning of their boyfriends' kidnapping, they're spurred to action — from detention, no less, in an obvious nod to their kickass predilections — out of Nekketsu High School, and deep within River City. The result is a rollicking ride that never feels fabricated or forced. To this end cutscenes and interactions laced with humor propel the narrative and help the presentation forge ahead.

Combat mechanics are excellent, in no small measure complemented by easy-to-master and lag-free controls. Difficulty ramps up over time, but never unfairly, and with an eye towards encouraging gamers to collect experience points and currency (earned from encounters) for use by Misako and Kyoko in raising stats, learning new moves, and purchasing battle-purpose gear and equipment. And while River City Girls has a clear end (Save Kunio and Riki!), it's far from linear; side-quests abound, and the attainment of their objectives yields accessories that provide percentage boosts to abilities and skills. It even has collectibles by way of Sabu statues and cats; finding all will net more bonuses, not to mention unlock the real final boss fight.

For all the open-world options, River City Girls isn't overly long. In single-player mode, it should be good for around 10 hours or so. That said, it earns its keep in cooperative mode. As with every other classic beat-em-'up title, it finds itself reaching new heights when enjoyed by two gamers who band together in beating up all the bad guys on screen. The shared experience can likewise smoothen any rough edges produced by grinding, and by the occasionally uneven pace. In any case, it proves well worth its $29.99 price tag. Highly recommended.

---

THE GOOD:

• Outstanding audio-visual presentation reminiscent of classic beat-'em-ups
• Deep and engrossing non-linear gameplay
• Superb cooperative mode
• Solid addition to the Kunio-kun franchise

THE BAD:

• Uneven pace
• Grinding required
• Side-quests can lead to time-consuming backtracking

---

RATING: 8.5/10

---

Under $50: A customised facial with 48 options?! 👄

We all love a little pampering, but keeping yourself beautiful can be pricey. Salon Finder helps you get more bang for your buck on beauty treatments.

SHOW IN BROWSER FEBRUARY EDITION Copyright © 2020 Daily Vanity Pte Ltd, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website DailyVanity.sg This email was sent to latestnews401.singapore@blogger.com Why did I get this?    Unsubscribe/Edit preferences Daily Vanity Pte Ltd 201 Henderson Rd Apex@Henderson, #06-13/14 Singapore 159545 Singapore Add us to your address book

Samurai Warriors 4-II Free Download

Samurai Warriors 4-II - is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and sequel to Samurai Warriors 3. Unlike past Samurai Warriors games, this one only has Japanese voice and it is the revised edition of Samurai Warriors 4.

Featuring: The last title released for the tenth anniversary of the series, Samurai Warriors 4-II, is here at last! Naomasa Ii appears as a playable character for the first time, and the various personalities of the age are explored in more depth in "Story Mode", which is now focused on individual characters. Series favorite "Survival Mode" returns, powered up from its previous iterations.The most well-received elements are carried over, while the action balance, cut-scenes and character development systems have all been upgraded.

..:: Purchase the game here and support the developers ::..

1. FEATURES OF THE GAME

• Smarter artificial intelligence and enemy officers have more attackaction patterns and are more difficult to defeat.
• Highly challenging and richly rewarding endless castle Mode! Survive and ascend the increasingly difficult Castle.
• New 13 different game endings plus the ability to merge weapons to create your own and more powerful weapon.
• For the first time in the epic Samurai Warriors' franchise history, General Naomasa Ii will be a Playable Character.
• Samurai Warriors' new 13 playable characters plus, 13 Exciting new chapters of gameplay with 65 total scenarios.

Game is updated to latest version

Included Content

▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Horse Set
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - BGM Set 1
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - BGM Set 2
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Animal Set
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Weapon Set
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Scenario Set
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Old Costumes Set
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Special Costume Set 1
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Special Costume Set 2
▪ Samurai Warriors 4-II - Edit Parts Set + 2 more

2. GAMEPLAY AND SCREENSHOTS

3. DOWNLOAD GAME:

♢ Click or choose only one button below to download this game.
♢ View detailed instructions for downloading and installing the game here.
♢ Use 7-Zip to extract RAR, ZIP and ISO files. Install PowerISO to mount DAA files.

SAMURAI WARRIORS 4-II DOWNLOAD LINKS

      

PASSWORD FOR THE GAME

Unlock with password: pcgamesrealm

4. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS GAME

➤ Download the game by clicking on the button link provided above.

➤ Download the game on the host site and turn off your Antivirus or Windows Defender to avoid errors.

➤ When the download process is finished, locate or go to that file.

➤ Open and extract the file by using 7-Zip, and run the installer as admin then install the game on your PC.

➤ Once the installation is complete, run the game's exe as admin and you can now play the game.

➤ Congratulations! You can now play this game for free on your PC.

➤ Note: If you like this video game, please buy it and support the developers of this game.

Turn off or temporarily disable your Antivirus or Windows Defender to avoid false positive detections.

5. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
(Your PC must at least have the equivalent or higher specs in order to run this game.)

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10
• Processor: Core2 Duo 2.4GHz  or faster for better gaming experience
• Memory: at least 1GB System RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 11GB free HDD Space
• Video Card: 640*480 pixel over, High Color or faster for better gaming experience

Supported Language: English and Japanese language are available and supported for this video game.
If you have any questions or encountered broken links, please do not hesitate to comment below. :D

A Rare Victory At Glucken Ridge

   I played a game of Team Yankee a few weeks ago with my friends at this local club called Board and Brew. I say "local" but it's a good 30 miles from my house, forty five minutes with traffic on a good day. Anyway, it's a pretty good place with plenty of tables and they have beer. So its good.

   I played a fellow I have known for several years but rarely get to see, named Anthony. I was his first opponent ever in Flames of War. He plays Italians, I play Indian Army British. Anyway, in this game, I played a Czech Force with Soviet allies and he ran an American force.

Soviet T-64s advance on the left flank - daring the Yankees in their flashy M1s to attempt to do something about it. One Hero of the Soviet Union is made.

Minefields slow the Czech armoured advance, but a few turns of rocket artillery have softened up the American infantry defenders and the T-72M assault drives them from their foxholes.

All of my scouts are killed. Because I stupided. And my infantry never disembarked.

Beyond the trees in the background to the left, T-64s keep reinforcing M1s occupied.

Burning platoon of M1 Abrams. A sight sure to please any Warsaw Pact player.

In fact, I got very lucky and took them all out in one turn.

   In the end, I won by pushing the American infantry off the objective. The Americans did destroy enough of my units to make it a 5-2 victory rather than a 6-1 overwhelming victory. But I will take it! Anthony was a great sport about it all and a lot of fun to take on as an opponent.

Ma! They're At It Agin!

An Old Scenario to try out the new rules again.

One Brigade? I've got a whole Division marching on and you're hitting me with one Brigade? Lovely.

The Battle for Light Rock Valley will continue tomorrow. 

Oh.... I guess we are gonna have a fight.