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COLLECT & GRADE |
SERIES:
Since 2010, when Irondie was first published, many different series have been released. Here below we describe them in order to help collectors and gamers recognize each one, to buy those that are best suited to their need and to adequately take care of them, helping prolong the life of each dice.
2010: LIMITED EDITION - The "Limited" dice were the first to hit the market. They were made of stain and were handcrafted by manually molding them into small batches. These dice were slightly irregular yet very vintage looking, ideal for fantasy gaming. The varnish was very faint so as to let the real silver galvanized finish be seen underneath. Their main drawback was the softness of their structure, making them quite easy to dent when falling on the floor or hard hitting between themselves. They were easy to recognize from the 1, that had no other marks, differently from later series. No particular care was needed with regards to preserving the varnish cover but they had to be handled with care so as to avoid denting the body itself. The cost of each dice was high due to the manual manufacturing process and as a result, they have never been sold to distribution but only directly to the public or small retailers. The dice were made in 9 shapes and 8 different colors, plus the "rare" versions - a total of 144 unique models.
2011: UNLIMITED EDITION - To solve the Limited dice "softness", we invested in special steel moulds and started the "Unlimited" production. This process made it possible to increase shape precision and the metal alloy was harder, making them really difficult to dent or damage and able to sustain falls and hard hitting. This, however, didn't help the translucent varnish full cover, as each angle and spike was susceptible to the varnish wearing off due to intensive use; we used a double layer varnish (color and transparent layers) but there is still the physical evidence that when you hit or rub a protruding tiny part, sooner or later, the silver will start showing underneath the color cover. The real silver galvanized finish was to keep that luxury feeling of a high value product while, at the same time, we also created copper and brass finish variants. To differentiate between a Limited and an Unlimited dice, the best way is to look at the "1", as it has a circle mark around it. Along with a generic finish, to be used in any game involving d6 (but not for "Irondie The Game"), the dice range still counts as 9 shapes in 8 colors plus a rare version of each - a total of 144 unique dice. While their structure is almost impossible to damage, we strongly advise against rubbing or tumbling them against each other if you want the color cover to last longer.
2012: BATTLE EDITION - The "Battle" dice series has been developed especially for hardcore gamers: we needed dice with a color cover that lasted longer and, as it was impossible to obtain a varnish that resisted over angle and spike areas and hitting each other thousands of times, we decided to eliminate the color from here, and to put it where previously we had dark shadows; the result is a silver dice that is polished and shiny on the outer edges and dull on the inner areas (yes, the silver galvanized finish is still in place). This dice may seem less colored in appearance, but its metallic look is enhanced and it is ideal to roll without having to worry too much about color layer and overall look preservation. The Battle is identical to the Unlimited except for the above explained color schemes. The general rules apply to preserve and store them, such as avoid cleaning with solvents etc; these dice, unlike the Unlimited and Limited ones can be carried in your pockets or stored in a limited space, still maintaining a considerable lifespan.
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GRADING:
There are IRONDIE buyers interested in purchasing the dice for collecting purposes and not just for playing. Considering this, you should remember that the dice are made of silver-galvanic finished white metal, and the color cover is susceptible to impacts, including rolling them together or dropping them on the floor.
IRONDIE dice are meant and designed to tolerate normal gaming without significant deterioration, this means rolling them on a soft felt and possibly one at a time. Anyone who wants to maintain collectable value should avoid frequent and heavy-handed use of their collectable dice.
While the "BATTLE" serie is designed to avoid these problems as the exposed parts are already uncolored, the "LIMITED" and "UNLIMITED" are full color, so here we give a quick guide to grade them, based on the integrity of their color cover look.
Skilled painters are encouraged to restore their own dice with the proper color tint; at least they aren't cards... (*)
GRADING:
1) "MINT" : the dice color cover looks perfect, as it came out of the box.
2) "NEAR MINT" : minor bruises are present on the color cover, normally on spikes, corners and edges. Most of sides are still perfect looking.
3) "WORN" : this dice color cover has seen some battles. Edges and corners are worn and color went away in some areas.
4) "HEAVILY WORN" : this dice color cover has seen MANY battles. All edges and corners are worn, sometimes perfectly cleaned and the silver galvanized finish shine through. Also some part of the surface and inner areas start to be worn. This dice can have problems entering tournaments. If you plan to use a dice this way, better you go for "BATTLE" serie.
(*) totally repainted dice, i.e. those dice that doesn't show the original color anymore or were supplied unpainted, can be rejected for tournament play
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