The curse is ended!

...maybe. But this is a good sign in any case.

I haven't mentioned the curse before, but it's true. All too true. I don't know how or why, but I have a curse. Whenever commercial products appear on the market that I really like, they disappear at a speed that's in direct proportion to my liking of them.

I have experienced this curse mostly with pre-packaged food products or restaurant menu items. I'll find something I like and then suddenly it can't be found in any store. Or, I'll eat something at a restaurant a few times until it becomes my favorite menu item, then *poof* it's off the menu or it's "there" but the actual item has been transmogrified into some inedible golem of its former self.

All I can do is scream out my woe.

But it hasn't always been black despair.

Some time back I got a yen for expanding my Grenadier Miniatures collection. The minis were widely available years ago and then, you guessed it, *poof*. After searching diligently on th'Interwebs, I discovered that Mirliton in Italy now owned and produced the range. But shipping from Italy almost requires taking out a second mortgage to pay for it. The curse taunts me. But then, I discovered that Noble Knight Games in the good ol' US of A carries them.

The curse weakens.

A fews years ago Troy Wold showed up for a Pike & Shotte Game at The Panzer Depot and started setting out some very nifty Medieval/Renaissance style buildings, which I came to learn were from Conflix.

The Conflix buildings are very cool. They come pre-painted (no work for me) and are perfect for the discerning 28mm gamer to use as tabletop terrain from the Medieval era to the 19th c.

They're just the right kind of building to make a game pop.

So, I had to have some, but the curse...

The buildings were no longer being produced. I looked all over th'Interwebs and finally found a place in the UK that had some. I ordered several and then held my breath until they arrived on my doorstep. Another win against the curse.

Curse: 321, Dave: 2.

But that's only a tentative win. Conflix were still out of production with no hope of returning. I hadn't bought every building and now I wanted more.

And then today whilst browsing th'Interwebs for Conflix I found this: http://news.bachmann.co.uk/2018/01/conflix-range-relaunch/

Bachmann, the model train people who produce the Conflix range, are relaunching it in 2018. According to the schedule, some of the buildings should be available now; others will become available later in the year. I'm not sure if there's any new items, but even if not, it's a welcome event and I plan to pick up some of the items I didn't get before and double-up on some others.

I won't call this a win until I find an online seller that has 'em in stock, but I'm hopeful.

I wonder if I stop by Starbucks whether they'll have cherry tarts again? Or, if BJ's has brought back their thin crispy fries? Or...

No, I won't push my luck.