Physical Proofs APPROVED!
about 10 years ago – Thu, Jan 07, 2016 at 08:41:13 PM

Hey Everyone,

I hope everybody had a great Holiday and New Years! I received the Physical Proofs for the Grinders and Draconian Brimstone Decks a few days ago, but I waited to post an Update until I heard from Legends on whether the necessary adjustments needed new Proofs for not. The great news is they can do the minor adjustments without new Proofs. So we're all Approved for Print!

Since the Proofs took a couple weeks longer than they had hoped (because of the intricate details in the Grinders' Foil plates), we didn't make the Approval in time to avoid the Chinese New Years printer shutdown for a chunk of February.

So, the finished Decks will print sometime before or after the shutdown, and they will leave for their slowboat ride to the U.S. in late February / early March. It's a little later than I had hoped, but it was unavoidable!

Below are some Photos of the Tuck Boxes and the Grinders 6-Pack Box (all of the Tuck shots have them also perched on the 6-Pack Box). My iPad photos don't do them justice, but the details on the printing turned out beautifully!!! Better than I thought they would! I've had all of the Tucks and 6PK Box on my Desk the last couple days. They're all pretty mesmerizing in good lighting!

The minor changes that will be made for the mass printing will be:

(1) - they accidentally printed the White Grinders Deck proof with the Silver Holographic Foil. The finished Deck will be printed with the correct GOLD Holographic Foil.

(2) - the Blue Foil on the Blue Grinders Deck is a little too dark. They are switching it to a Blue that is a little lighter.

(3) - the Light Grey on the Draconian Tuck is a little too light. They are switching it to a Pantone that's a couple shades darker.

The CARDS turned out perfectly!! I'll shoot some pictures of the Cards this weekend, and do a separate KS Update for them.

thanks! Randy

BackerKits SENT!
over 10 years ago – Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 06:46:58 PM

Hey Everyone,

I just sent out the Grinders / Draconians BackerKits Please follow the Link you'll receive in your BackerKit Invite to fillout your Shipping Address, choose any Add-Ons, or add any extra Add-On items.

The BackerKits will be open until February 10th. If you have a Credit in BackerKit, your Card has ALREADY been charged that amount when the project's Funding Period ended on Kickstarter. February 10th is the date Credit Cards will be charged for any extra Add-Ons purchased through BackerKit (Draconians and/or Grinders).

Another way to get to your BackerKit is through the Direct Link below. Just enter your Kickstarter e-mail address and it should take you to your BackerKit setup.

https://grinders.backerkit.com/

I have also included an image of the items available within BackerKit, for easy reference.

PRODUCTION UPDATE:

The Physical Proofs for all of the Grinders and Draconian Decks are almost finished!! Last I heard they were expecting to ship my way sometime tomorrow. I'll post an Update with Proofs photos when I get them!

thanks! Randy

MidnightCards.com LIVE & Duel Deck Cross-Promo INFO
over 10 years ago – Tue, Dec 08, 2015 at 07:39:59 PM

Hi Everyone,

MidnightCards.com is now LIVE!!!

Also, this is for any Backer who qualifies for the Grinders and Duel Deck cross-promo. If you are a Backer of the Grinders campaign AND a Backer of the Duel Campaign ($24 or higher Pledge for EACH project), you will receive a FREE Grinders Poker Chip and Duel Poker Chip!

If you qualify for the Poker Chip cross-promo with the Duel campaign, please send me a PM with a simple statement of "Poker Chip". I need to figure out how many Poker Chips to order, and get going on them!

thanks, Randy

MidnightCards.com opening in 24 Hours!
over 10 years ago – Mon, Dec 07, 2015 at 06:45:08 PM

Hey Everyone,

I'm happy to announce that MidnightCards.com will be opening tomorrow at 5:00 pm EDT!

The last of the original Draconians and Bowling Decks will be available, and also 56 Midnight Variety Packs. The storefront's opening design is purposely streamlined and clean. I will add features and pages throughout 2016.

There will be 5 different SKUs available at the launch:

Midnight Variety Pack - 56 available - $59.95 + Shipping

Draconian Pair - 80 available - $23.95 + Shipping

Bowl-A-Rama Pair - 85 available - $23.95 + Shipping

Cosmic Lanes Deck - 60 available - $23.95 + Shipping

Bowling Decks Trio - 100 available - $41.95 + Shipping

Below are some photos, and the copy explaining the Midinight Variety Packs. For anyone interested in some Decks, I'll see you tomorrow at 5:00 pm EDT!

Thanks, Randy

Years in the making! Each Midnight Variety Pack will contain 6 Decks and a custom 6-Pack Box. The 6 Decks will include 1 Draconian Spitfire, 1 Draconian Lighting, 1 Red Bowl-A-Rama, 1 Black Bowl-A-Rama, and 2 Mystery Decks from a pool of 112 Decks. I've been setting aside these Mystery Decks for years, waiting for an item such as this!!

10 of the 56 Variety Packs will contain a Chivas Regal Deck I designed back in 2007 for my day job (years before deciding on designing custom Playing Cards as a "hobby"). The Chivas Regal Deck was part of a holiday Gift Pack that contained a 750ml bottle of Chivas Regal 12 Year Old Scotch Whiskey and a Deck of the Chivas Regal Playing Cards. The Decks were never wrapped in cellophane, and I imagine they would be VERY difficult to find nowadays. Seeing as we're so close to Christmas, each of the 56 Variety Packs will be Gift-Wrapped. The perfect gift for a budding Playing Card aficionado! Below is a list of the 112 MYSTERY DECKS and their quantities:



(10) Chivas Regal Deck



(1) TBC Blue Luxury Deck - HANDMADE Version


(3) TBC Blue Luxury Deck


(6) TBC Red Luxury Deck 

(2) TBC White Luxury Deck



(1) Original ORNATE Sapphire Deck


(1) Original ORNATE Scarlet Deck


(6) Original ORNATE Emerald Deck


(6) Original ORNATE Amethyst Deck



(6) Honeybee Deck


(6) Never Forgotten Deck



(4) LUXX V2 Gold Deck


(4) LUXX V2 Silver Deck



(6) Unbranded White ORNATE Sapphire Deck


(6) Unbranded White ORNATE Scarlet Deck


(6) Unbranded White ORNATE Emerald Deck


(6) Unbranded White ORNATE Amethyst Deck



(6) Unbranded Obsidian ORNATE Deck 

(6) Bicycle Obsidian ORNATE Deck

(6) Bicycle Black Imperial Deck


(6) Red Imperial Deck



(4) Brazil Deck



(6) United Cardists Deck



(2) Boardwalk Deck 
(I only did production and color work for the Boardwalk Deck)

FUNDED!!! AND LOTS OF NEW INFO.
over 10 years ago – Wed, Dec 02, 2015 at 08:24:42 PM

Hey Everyone,

Thank you all for a great campaign!!! We finished with just over 400 Backers, and a smidge under 200% Funded. I'm thrilled!!

Some of you may have noticed some mentions of a Draconian Brimstone Deck the past couple days. The Draconian Spitfire and Lightning Decks were my first solo project, and they were finished at the beginning of this year. Currently in production with the Grinders Decks is the FINAL Draconian Deck - the Brimstone. The Brimstone Deck has a newly designed Tuck Box that features a matte Black stock, a Reddish-Orange Foil, and a Grey Pantone that also has a UV Spot Ink overlay. The Back Card is hypnotic, borderless, and great for flourishing. The Face Cards have a new texture to them, and each Card has a "crackle" background pattern.

DRACONIAN PRE-ORDER:

The Draconian Brimstone will be an extra Add-On item available within the Grinders' BackerKit. It will also be the only Pre-Order outlet for the Brimstone Deck. The prices and items that will be available within BackerKit will match the Add-Ons Chart I've included in this Update. Also included are some images of the Draconian Brimstone Deck.

PRODUCTION PROGRESS:

ALL of the Grinders Decks, 6-Pack Box and the Draconian Brimstone Deck are in production together. Legends just finished the Digital Proofs for all of them yesterday. I have Approved them, and now Legends is working on the Physical Proofs. I will always keep you updated on the production's progress!

COPPER / BLUE SPLIT:

I've mentioned in a few comments and PMs, but I haven't made a formal announcement yet. For anyone in a Pledge Tier with multiple Copper Decks, you can have the total Coppers split into a Blue / Copper combo (EXAMPLE - a Brick Box pledge reward could go from 10 Copper Decks and 2 White Gold Decks to an order of 5 Copper Decks, 5 Blue Decks and 2 White Gold Decks). I won't be able to do these adjustments until AFTER your BackerKit has been completed though. If you would like a Blue / Copper split, please send me a PM after your BackerKit has been filled out. I should be sending out the BackerKits in mid-to-late December.

KICKSTARTER BILLING ISSUES:

For anyone who's Pledge did not go through successfully, please try to work it out quickly. Kickstarter will DROP you as a Backer if it's not cleared up in 5 days or so (I can't remember the exact count).

PRINT QUANTITIES & THE FUTURE OF MIDNIGHT CARDS:

Next week I will be launching a Midnight Cards storefront. It's the first time I'll have an online store to sell Decks!! The launch items will be the few remaining original Draconians and Bowling Decks, plus 56 special Midnight Variety Packs. A large reason I'm printing the Draconian Brimstone Deck is to have something to go with the remaining Blue and Copper Grinders Decks for the storefront next Spring (and because they're really cool!).

Below are the final print quantities for each Deck:

White Gold Grinders = 500
Copper Grinders = 2,000
Blue Grinders = 2,000
Draconian Brimstone = 2,000

Thanks again, and I'll do an announcement soon for any Backers who are part of the Grinders / Duel cross-promo. And then another with details on the new Midnight Cards storefront.

Thanks, Randy