I don't know what discussions Tom has had/is having behind the scenes, but like CS this is something I have been thinking about myself. I expect there are some clear product lines from EW that should be able to support a viable business, provided the costs can be controlled. And there is also a need for a EU distributor for Onslaught - whether those things need to be in the same business is not certain of course. A vertically integrated business (manufacture, distribution & sales) could be efficient, but also risky and hard to set up.
With respect to mictator, I don't think diving into Kickstarter is the right way. From your post, it sounds to me like your idea is to raise money to fund the startup of a company that will sell 3D printed models based on designs you do not own, at lower prices than specialist 3D printing companies. There is a lot wrong with that... However even if the IP can be bought from Steel Crown, there needs to be some careful consideration of how best to do this, ideally we would concentrate our support in one direction. There are good reasons why these products are made available in metal, and to not do that because you don't have the skills/knowledge/interest is the wrong way of thinking about it: rather, the best outcome for the community is to have people with the right motivation and expertise to run things shrewdly. If, of course, they are willing.
I do think there is scope for a community-backed project to acquire the IP, review the product lines with a market review and continue a high-quality production capacity (almost certainly in metal). For commercial reasons I think we need to think carefully about the structure of such a company and whether the capital it has available should be public information... i.e. investors/donators need to have assurances and legal recourse to ensure that the money is being used effectively, but the value of the IP needs to be assessed on a commercial basis not "however much money the kickstarter raised". It is no good owning the IP if you can't afford to make it available for sale at a price people are willing to pay. Once the groundwork has been laid, it could however make sense to raise capital to acquire the IP/moulds and re-start production via kickstarter, based on prior negotiations with Steel Crown.
Is anyone interested in discussing this further/might be interested in getting involved? Or perhaps you already have some plans yourself?
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