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Tony Quintanilla wrote on Sun, Jun 13, 2004 12:30 AM UTC:
The editors received this response from Mr. Spratt: <p>Dear Tony, and Mr. Howe, if you are attending: Thank you for your comments on my games; you're right on all counts except perhaps the 'outrageously expensive' part, at least pertaining to IMPERIAL and CHESS FOR THREE. The playing pieces for those two games are small, I can cast a whole team at once so the colors match, the molds have no parting lines to clean, so all I have to do is sand the bottoms flat; accent detailing with model car enamel makes the pieces more easily identifiable, and felting the bottoms makes for a nice quiet game and protects the board, which takes several tedious careful hours to hand-paint. I have on hand maybe a dozen sets of those two, and if anyone wants a set of the pieces, somewhat cleaned and bottom-sanded, to hand-detail and felt themselves, I'll let them go for $l per player; the se (2-3') pieces are designed for play, but properly detailed with a nice matching board they look pretty sharp. I don't think that's outrageously expensive for limited custom items, but I admit that 'expensive' is a relative condition, and I can't do them for less without getting into mass production; I will try to post some better photos as soon as possible. <p> On JETAN: I had a chat with Danton Burroughs, proprietor of the ERB legacy, about selling the JETAN sets back in ('96?) when I made them, and he said that a few sets for the fans would be okay, but don't go overboard; I guess I sold half-a-dozen, maybe, and the molds were starting to wear out anyhow. These pieces are five to seven inches tall, very detailed, cast one-by-one, chased, sanded, tediously hand-painted in many colors, and yes, I admit you might call them expensive. Not for everybody, sad to say, but I can't do them for nothing, and they do take time, materials and long experience. The same is true for SARANG, and more so; there are ninety-six players in the set. I was able to pour four complete sets and some spares before the molds were shot. This is how you establish limitedness--the molds get rough and after a while at the same crazy-making tedium, Meester Arteeste does, too. <p> My website is fairly new and I'll be posting a price sheet, bio and credo sometime soon, as well as the rules to these games and explanations of the players/pieces. Be patient, and know that I do appreciate your attention. <p>Thank you, James Killian Spratt, m.sc.

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