Mother of all
almost 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 07:17:49 PM

A quick update today. I would like to say the picture below says it all. But you'll probably not be able to make much of it. But let's just try and see how far you'll get:

It looks a little like a giant donut. A pancake perhaps. Could be a pie with a really big hole. But don't let the apparent tastiness of this thing mislead you. It's pure silicone, not something you'd like to put your teeth in.

You're looking at the mother mould. This mould will be used by The Tinnen Roos tomorrow to cast the very first white metal miniature copy of the Rollecate. A few more copies will follow. Using these first generation copies a production mould will be created by the lovely lady on the photo below:

We'll go and visit the factory tomorrow. Pictures will follow!

Second stretch goal unlocked + box factory report
almost 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 07:15:36 PM

Today we achieved another milestone: the second strech goal was unlocked! That means all game boxes will not only contain a beautiful white metal miniature train, but the train will be in a protective red velvet bag. It looks really posh:

So now we can start moving towards the third stretch goal: rules summary sheets for all players. Even though the game is not all that complicated, there are quite some little facts that are useful to have in front of you while playing. We plan to include little dice odd charts, for instance.

Box production started

Today we got word from Kilsdonk that production of the game boxes had commenced. So we rushed in to witness the actual process ourselves. Just too interesting and cool not to go and see. Let's start with some raw footage of the production process: 

As you can see, this is not a large scale operation, but involves some honest, skilled workmanship. After the bottoms where formed and glued, it took quite some time to setup the machine for the lids. Too long for us, so we didn't linger around much longer. We took some more photos that you might like. The little montage below should be both soothing and interesting.

First stretch goal unlocked!
almost 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 07:12:00 PM

Good afternoon! We have some good news. The first stretch goal was just unlocked! Rollecate crossed the 3,000 euro mark, which means we'll upgrade the game box to an extra thick quality card board with a nice, matte black interior. Thanks to everyone who made that happen!

The next stretch goal is 3,500 euro. Hopefully we'll reach that, because that means the white metal miniature train will get a nice red velvet bag to keep it safe in. So, please tell your friends about this Kickstarter!

This afternoon we received a photo of a dummy box just created by Kilsdonk. That is, a bottom. Tomorrow the production process will start, using the heavier quality, black finish cardboard that was unlocked by the first stretch goal.

Production has started: some first pictures!
almost 5 years ago – Sun, May 12, 2019 at 07:10:55 PM

Since the project has reached its required funding, and I don't like to waste time, I decided to give a green light for production of two key components of the game: the white metal miniature and the luxury game box. The two respective companies were at the ready and so, already today, I received photos from the first steps in production.

From Kilsdonk, a Dutch box-making company over 100 years old, I received the first picture. They started preparations to create the game box. On the picture, you see what they call the 'label' for the bottom. The label will be used to wrap a solid 1.5mm extra quality card board interior. Which has a matte black finish, by the way. That will look so nice! Tomorrow, I will visit the factory and hopefully catch a glimpse of the first boxes running of the production line.

DTR spincasting today sent me another cool picture. It is what I'd like to call Miniature #0. It's a high definition (and as such very expensive) 3D-print of the scale 1:87 Rollecate miniature. As you can see, the internals of the locomotive have been modeled as well!

This miniature will be further detailed by hand and then used to create the mother mould. From this mother mould, the first generation of white metal locomotives will be cast. In turn, these first generation engines will be used to create a second mould that is suitable for mass production. 

Later this week I hope to visit the shop and show you the actual casting process!

US-friendly shipping option added
almost 5 years ago – Tue, May 07, 2019 at 10:40:54 AM

Good morning everyone. The past few days we have been working on a solution for the high US shippings costs. And we believe to have found a solution. So that's why we have added the 'Rollecate (incl. shipping to US)' reward. It includes a copy of Rollecate, shipped to the US for free. We are currently only offering a limited quantity.