An Open Letter

To Whom It May Concern,

This is Mike Loniewski with Dark Future Gaming, a mid-Michigan Warhammer blog. I’m writing you today in hopes that you can help us with a project. We are attempting to make the world a slightly better place by donating money to a local non-profit called the Allen Neighborhood Center. It is a group run by a gal named Joan Nelson that sets up community gardens, runs farmer’s markets, provides base-level food assistance to local residents and generally does GOOD in the world. They are set up on the east side of Lansing and have been doing great things with very limited resources for our community. They have been in the local news recently because they are attempting to make an indoor full-time farmer’s market to provide local organic food to their city residents who typically don’t have access to healthy food. You can read more about them at http://allenneighborhoodcenter.org/. Their site has their annual reports listed there also, in case you wish to learn more about their situation.

                How do we plan on helping them? Well, I plan on doing a great deal of work while doing something I really enjoy: I want to build, paint and raffle a Warhammer 40k army off at the Michigan Grand Tournament coming up this late-September. This is Michigan’s first Grand Tournament and I’d love to set the tone here as one of good-hearted-ness and generosity.

                That means I need an army to raffle off. I am just a man. As a man, I have access to some resources. Some resources I have more of, some I have less of. Currently, I have access to a lot of hard work and ‘stick-to-it-av-ness.’ I have less access to liquid cash and/or models, paints, bases, cases, etc. This is where the Warhammer, gaming, hobbying and painting communities come in. If I can contact enough people, just receiving a little bit from a lot of people will go a long way to getting this army done.

                But wait, there’s more! You can win this army! Tickets will be for sale at Dark Future Gaming for $2 per ticket. You can buy as many tickets as you like and each ticket will give you a chance to win the army. You can (and hopefully will) buy as many tickets as you like. The compiled army will be the grand prize, along with any fixins I can get for it. But that’s not all Mike! I also plan to have several drawings over the weekend at the GT for everything else that is donated that isn’t part of the main army. Any extra cases, foam, dice, measuring tapes, models, units, paints, supplies or books will all be raffled off also, all for a good cause.

                Every penny that is generated from this endeavor will either be donated to the Allen Neighborhood Center or used to get whichever last model/piece/paint is need to finish the army before September (I don’t think I’ll need to do that at all because I hope everything will be donated!). I will make this process as transparent as possible and will regularly blog about progress at http://darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com/.

                How can you help? Simple: Donate. Donate whatever you can. Donate however you can. Help in whichever way you can. If you are a model retailer, models seem like a logical thing that you can donate. If you are a foam maker, foam seems to be right up your alley! If you are a hobbyist and you have a model that I could use and you no longer want it, send it my way. If you’re just loaded with cash, well, that helps to! If the only thing you can offer is a discount to something that I need for this project, then offer away! If you can airbrush like a champion and would help me there, I’ll gladly accept the help. If you just have words of wisdom, my ears are open.

                And if you do donate, and you wish me to do so, I’ll put your name on blast. I’ll post banners (if I can get a techy buddy to figure that out), I’ll facebook you, I’ll get people to tweet you and I’ll have choirs sing your name. But seriously though, if you want a bump on the page, if you want your name and stuff out there during the raffle or during the progress, let me know and we can work it out!

                As for specifics of what I need. My updated needs list will be posted on http://darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com/.
For starters I need the models:

60	Sorcerer
100	Tzeentch, Level 3, Terminator Armor, Gift
145	Daemon Prince
115	Tzeentch, Wings, Armor, Gift, Burning Brand
242	Thousand Sons x 9
35	Rhino
242	Thousand Sons x 9
35	Rhino
170	Heldrake
	Baleflamer
75	Predator
37	Heavy Bolters, Warpflame, Havoc Launcher
230	Lord of Change
55	Level 3, Exalted Reward
90	Pink Horrors
135	Soul Grinder
30	Tzeentch, Warp Gaze
200	Screamers of Tzeentch x 8

 

I obviously chose a Thousand Sons force with Daemons Allies. I think this army has broad appeal and would look great on the table top. As for right now, the only model I have secured is the Daemon Prince, except his wings. If you have wings, I need ‘em.
                Other things I need:

-          Dice (blue/black, blue/gold something like that)

-          Foam and case

-          Possibly the codices

-          3^rd party resin bases

-          Paint (Vallejo Magic Blue, GW Azurman Blue Wash, GW Golds, I should be able to come up with the rest)

-          Glue (I like the maxi-cure cyanoacrylate stuff, extra thick)

-          Green stuff (conversions, here I come!)

-          Anything else that I could auction (neat models, books, etc)

If you see anything on this list that you could help with, PLEASE let me know. You can email me at flymolo2@gmail.com and I will promptly get back with you. If you live in the mid-Michigan area, I can come and get whatever you have in person. If not, I can pay for postage to my house.

If you want to start buying tickets, you can also contact me at my email address and I can get your set up through Paypal, but the ticket buyer won’t be put up until I start to have some progress.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope to be reporting on a bunch of success in the near future. Take care!