October Newsletter - ACW Previews, new Battlescale and prices!

[Leon]

Welcome to the latest Pendraken newsletter!

The UK shows are in full swing with only 3 events left on our calendar, so we've got a lot of jobs stacked at Pendraken HQ currently.




ACW Previews

One of our big plans for this year was to expand our ever-popular ACW range with a load of new sculpts, including infantry in frock coats, extra cavalry and some handy labourers too.  We've also taken the opportunity to add the 7th Cavalry for our Plains War range, along with Custer himself!

You can see pictures of all these new sculpts over on the Forum here and they will be going into master moulds in December ready for a release in early January.




Battlescale Walls and Hedges now available!

Battlescale have recently adjusted the packaging of their Stone Walls and Hedges packs, so instead of getting a bulk pack of all the types, you can now choose the individual sections instead.  There's straights, corners and gates for both types, plus breached walls and 'T' hedges too.

These are suitable for both 6mm and 10mm games, being about 10mm overall height, and are all available on our website here.




Advance Warning on prices!

We've been continuing to monitor things over the past 12 months and despite our price increase back in January, the costs of running the business just continue to rise each month.  We've managed to cut back on some bills and have made savings by reducing some staff hours, cutting a bit of advertising, decreasing the amount of new sculpts being commissioned, and this has all helped to an extent.

But as fast as we save money in those areas, the costs elsewhere jump up again, so things like business insurance, energy bills, show stands and hotels, have all gone up this year by between 20%-40%.  And with the UK government budget on the horizon, we're expecting another set of increases to both the minimum wage and employer NI contributions.

As a result, we're going to have to raise our prices for 2025.  We're not sure by how much at the moment as we need to wait for the budget, but we're expecting somewhere in the region of 10% on all metal products, plus some tweaks to our MDF ranges.  We'll have more info for you as soon as we know more ourselves.




Battleground 2024!

Next month is our Battleground show so if you're in the north-east of the UK, get yourself along and grab some goodies in time for Christmas!  We've got 33 traders, 25 games, 4 living history groups, 3 historical talks and a whole lot more!  There's more info on the Battleground website here or our Facebook event page here.




Last 3 shows!

There are only 3 events left on the 2024 UK show calendar, with the Fiasco show in Leeds coming up this Sunday, followed by Warfare in Farnborough on Sat 16th / Sun 17th November and finally our very own Battleground show on Sat 23rd November!  Pre-orders need to be placed at least 7 days in advance of the events, and they can be placed through the website by choosing the 'Collect at Show' delivery option.


Important Dates

Sun 27th Oct - Fiasco, Leeds - Visit Website
Sat 16th / Sun 17th Nov - Warfare, Farnborough - Visit Website
Sat 23rd Nov - Battleground, Middlesbrough - Visit Website

[fsn]

Bad news about the price rises, but thanks for the warning. 

I think we're all holding our breath waiting for the budget.

[Steve J]

Completely understandable that you have to raise prices again, given the increase in your costs right across the board.

[paulr]

Wot they sed

[Last Hussar]

It's not for wages, he needs bigger whips...