A Call to Arms Nothing that we have experienced since launching our investigation into the disappearance of Charles Dexter Ward has served to fuel any sense of optimism. Quite the opposite. We have lost our funding, our office, our equipment, and I personally mislaid three years of my life. We don't expect things to go well, is the point. When we first decided to look into crowdfunding, we were too uncertain of the territory to attempt to finance a whole season, so we decided to test the water with the Crowley series. We put everything we had into that campaign, and it worked out better than we could possibly have hoped. But we're still not optimistic. Perhaps we just aren't wired that way. The budget for _The Call of Cthulhu_ is significantly higher than it was for Crowley, and economic conditions are worsening for a lot of people. Last year's success doesn't automatically lead to this year's success. That's why we're trying to make sure that everything we're putting together for this campaign, from bespoke CD books and digital offerings to new books and merch, is considered, desirable, and good value. This time, we're looking for numbers, rather than high-value investors (we'll obviously take those too!). And we're going to be pushing the whole way through, just like we did with Crowley, because we can't afford to take this campaign for granted. But right now, more than the money, it's the numbers that matter: in order to get the strongest possible launch, we need the highest possible number of people signed up to the campaign. With big numbers, we move up the Backerkit charts and we garner attention from people who might not otherwise know about the show, as well as earning the attention and assistance of the good people at Backerkit themselves. At this pre-launch stage, the numbers really are make-or-break. When we sent out the initial announcement to Pleasant Green subscribers yesterday, those numbers really started to climb. But it came to our attention that nearly 80% of the people who opened that email DID NOT sign up to the pre-launch. There are probably a lot of very good reasons for this - you're subscribed to this site, so you're hardly likely to miss out, or maybe you were just out and about on a Saturday afternoon and you didn't get around to it. I get it, I've been there - I never click those things either! But in this case, clicking the "Count me in" button gives us a lot of invisible assistance with the launch, without any obligation to actually back the campaign. And it also lets you in on whatever pre-launch offers we can put together that. At this stage in the game, we really need those clicks! So if you didn't get a chance to do it yesterday, please take a moment right now to jump to this link... Get Ready for Lovecraft Investigations: The Call of CthulhuFrom Julian Simpson - Get Ready for Lovecraft Investigations: The Call of CthulhuJulian Simpson ...and click "**Yes, count me in** ". Again, no obligation to pledge, just a registration of interest that we could really use right now. This next series is going to be immense, and we're really excited to get working on it. We know you'll love the story we have to tell, but we need to engage you all to get it over the finish line. Maybe it will be easier than we think it will be. But, as I say, we're never optimistic. Please do everything you can, and please spread the word to friends and family and to your online communities. The more interest we can register now, the greater the chances that this new season sees the light of day. Have a good Sunday. Matthew

We need your help to get this launched!

Finished off some of the SCW bits and pieces lying around. Couple of bombers, Soviet advisor and standard bearer (standard still to be done) and an assault guard I found hiding! Lovely figures that are fun to paint.

Umm miniature gardening! A new hobby?

Spanish Civil War

Second batch of SCW Assault Guards in lightweight overalls. Lovely Paul Hick’s sculpts by Empress Miniatures.

SCW Assault Guards off the painting queue and ready for basing.

That’s a lovely paint job.

Scooby Doo! 💪. Not at Salute but have a great show Karl. Hope to see you at Partizan.

Empire Engineer with long rifle. He’ll be a character in my Empire Midgard force!

Excellent. Very much enjoyed the discussion on basing and I’m a big fan of multi-basing rather than sabots. Really like what you have done here. Agree with your assessment of Infamy, Infamy! A sadly very under appreciated TFL ruleset!

A unit for Dragon Rampant and Midgard

Finished off some bits and pieces and now based ready for the table…although probably not together 🤔

A complete change of pace today as we left the streets of Vietnam and travelled to Plancenoit in 1815 as the Prussians attempted to seize the village from the French. A fun game of Black Powder. An infantry slugfest in and around the village with some swirling cavalry action as well. Great fun

Empress Miniatures with some Gringo 40s

After a tough afternoon Golf 2/5 fight through to the MACV Compound in Hue. A valiant effort by the NVA and probably a political victory with large US casualties. Hoping to bring this game to Partizan #spreadthelard

Some more pictures from our Charlie Don’t Surf game. US heavy armour are doing the heavy lifting. #spreadthelard

Good Friday gaming! What’s not to like! Golf 2/5 attempt to relieve the US MACV Compound in Hue. Our first try out of Charlie Don’t Surf by TFL!

Adding some colour!

Thanks Gareth, a fair few of your bits here. Namely the river!

Playing around with a table for Vietnam. A mix of urban and rural. Not finished but I quite like the contrast.

Lovely! Where might one purchase such beauties?

Lovely!😻

Pz. IV hits the French Sonia S35 through the rain. The shot bounces but the French tank lurches backwards as the driver panics. The Commander is shocked saving the Germans from any return fire!

German recce gets over confident and pays the ultimate price! Big CoC with @joewargamer.bsky.social

Great day yesterday at Herts of Lard organised by @joewargamer.bsky.social. Presented a Sharp Practice game representing the late afternoon attack on La Haye Sainte by the 13th Legere & 17th Line at Waterloo. A tenacious defence by the Kings German Legion saw the farm held in both am & pm.

Apologies should have said David Imrie 🤦‍♂️Not Barry Hilton

Decided finally to tart up my cloths following Barry Hilton’s recipe (available on his Saxon Dog Facebook page). Overall must say I’m pretty pleased. We’ve been playing on the plain mat for a few months and it looked pretty good. But this adds a bit more colour and variation.

All will be revealed 😉

It’s a super range. And a period I am determined to bring to the table at some time!

Finishing off an eclectic mix before the weekend. Some garden plots, tarted up some wall sections and finished the base for a Bolshevik Back of Beyond field gun.