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Dick Blick talks about the Kolinsky situation

I know I have several posts on this subject already but this piece that Dick Blick posted on their Facebook page is a good concise description of what is going on. Unfortunately there is still not any dates on when the issue might be resolved.

Tip of the Week – Why can’t I get my favorite Kolinsky brush?

July 26, 2013 at 3:29pm

Have you tried to buy a kolinsky sable brush lately and noticed that they were out of stock? Perhaps you have received a letter from us stating that we cannot ship natural hair brushes to you. While we would love to ship those brushes to you, recent changes in the regulation of those items is currently preventing that from happening.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun requiring specific certification of certain products and is closely regulating the distribution, importation, and exportation of natural hair brushes that may have been made from endangered species. According to the National Art Materials Trade Association (NAMTA) “Trade in kolinsky hair is managed by the provisions set out in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Kolinsky hair comes from the species called mustela siberica. It is important to know that this is NOT AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, but because of a seldom used provision in CITES, trade in kolinsky hair requires CITES documentation.”

One of these requirements is documentation of the country of origin of the hair being used in the brush. Many of the major brush brands are manufactured in Europe, which follows different regulations and necessary documentation. While these companies and the European CITES are claiming that their version is comparative and valid, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has started refusing to allow brushes which do not come with the forms they consider to be valid from entering or leaving the United States.

Art material retailers, brush manufacturers, and art material vendors, with the help of NAMTA are working to come to an agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Services and CITES to help ensure that the necessary information and documentation can be made provided to them so that natural hair brushes can again become easily available to the artists who rely on them.

Until then, the availability of certain natural hair brushes or an inability to ship them to your location remains a possibility. Hopefully an agreement will be reached soon, however if you are interested in a specific brush that is out of stock, please go ahead and place an order for it so that it will be reserved for you. We will place that item on back order for you and ship it to you as soon as we get new inventory.

If you would like to read more about CITES, you can do so here.

- Audra
Product Information

For further assistance using art supplies, feel welcome to contact our Product Information Department at 1-800-933-2542 or e-mail us at info@dickblick.com. Hours of operation: M-F, 8:00am-5:30pm CST.

And here is the link to CITES as it might not come through in my copy and paste.
http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/

Painting the Ultimate Halfling Team for Blood Bowl - Session 1

I spent most of yesterday painting, a pretty rare occurrence these days. I don't usually have that kind of time to really concentrate on a project anymore. I made a lot of progress on the halflings because of it. The skin and hair are mostly done, I might bring the highlights up to make some of the faces pop a bit more (at which point I have to repeat to myself that these are gaming miniatures and not competition pieces). Some of the expressions are quite humorous and a little extra emphasis would be a good thing. I just went for generic brunettes for all of the hair but I may go back and change that to get a little variety, there isn't a whole lot of hair to paint on this bunch since most of them are wearing helmets.

I decided on a quarter patterned uniform in yellow and red. Not the easiest colors to work with but I think they will be quite striking in the end. The yellow is basically finished and the basecoat for the red has been layed in. So a good chunk of work yesterday on the halflings but none at all on the Treemen. I'm not quite sure how I want to approach them and they could potentially eat up a lot of painting time. I would like to finish the team before I have to go to Maryland later this month so I have about 12 days to finish them. Oh and I still haven't managed to play a game yet, but the dwarves are ready to go!

A few in progress shots.

The guy in the middle looks like he is trying to fly and he even has a cape. I think he is somehow related to the halfing sitting in the front corner of the picture.

The halfling that looks like he is sitting will be in the left hand of one of the Treemen, It looks like he is about to be thrown across the field. I haven't read the rules but it at least implies that a treeman can toss a halfling.

The Beginning - Willy Miniatures Ultimate Halfling Team

I managed some work on the Halfling Blood Bowl team this weekend. I prepped and assembled everything. Old Stump required some surgery to make his left arm fit properly, it wasn't terribly difficult a regular razor saw took care of the initial work very neatly. I sculpted a new nose for Player #5 and a new finger for Player #1. I'm sure they are going to be replaced but I would rather be painting than waiting for replacements. I think I did just fine, once they are painted you will be hard pressed to figure out which ones needed to be fixed.

I have a few step by step shots of working on Old Stump, the miscasts and then some team photos after they were primed.

Player #5 miscast nose

Player #1 miscast finger on right hand (he should be pointing at something)

Old Stump Torso

Removing the shoulder pad over the left arm, single straight cut.

Left arm in position (test fit)

Old Stump assembled (epoxy) with the shoulder pad back in place

From the top

Team shot 1

Team Shot 2

Close Up Left Side

Close Up Center

Close Up Right Side

Treeman

Old Stump

Other Treeman (he should have a Halfling in his left hand, but I forgot and left him in the box

Indiegogo Loot - Willy Miniatures Ultimate Halfling Team

Typical gamer, I haven't played a single game of Blood Bowl but my second team has just arrived in the mail. During my quest for fun Blood Bowl teams to paint I found this little crowdfunding project on Indiegogo; Willy Miniatures Ultimate Halfling Team. Indiegogo is definitely not my favorite platform for this kind of thing because you have to pay upfront and then making changes requires coordination with the organizer. That being the case I didn't jump in till almost the end when all the stretch goals were unlocked.

The team I purchased consists of 14 individually sculpted halfling players, 2 standard treemen (#2 & #3), Old Stump (star treeman), a Halfling star player, a coach and a chief (I think this counts as a cheerleader, or maybe for halflings a medic). I also picked up three other minis out of the Willy Miniatures line; the dryad, the human female star player and the dwarf cheerleader.

I took a quick look at the castings and they look great! Very clean, they should be ready to paint in no time. And yes I'm already aware that you should not expect to win with this team, but they will be fun to paint and should at least look good in defeat!

You can find more miniatures here: Willy Miniatures

Here are a few initial shots from the grand box opening: