Production Update 19

PROGRESS

This will be our final Production Update™! The production process has now been completed. As of yesterday Vicky, Brett and I ran the final molds for the remainder of the pieces we needed for fulfillment. We are now moving into our Fulfillment Phase and you will be receiving updates regarding our fulfillment progress until shipping is completed.

We have completed 16 four- to eight-hour casting sessions since the first weekend of January. Over that period we have finished 44 sculpts, 8 master molds, 82 production molds, used 594 pounds of metal, and cast 38,350 individual pieces. Unfortunately since I contracted the resin casting to Valiant I don't have the metrics for their production contribution to the project. But, they have cast 13,750 assorted base inserts, 1000 ammo dump pieces and 400 rocket bikes.

When we initially launched the project last September, we projected an estimated delivery of January. At that time, I anticipated we would probably top out at maybe eight to ten pieces. Although we prepared twenty four concepts for production, I assumed the Kickstarter project would only fund about half that and we would make the remainder over the following year for the online store. Response to the project was exceptional and we have been working day and night to get the fulfillment completed between Vicky and I plus the help of our local Bomb Squad team. Thanks for sticking with us and thanks for your patience and encouragement.

NEWS

At this point about 85% of the lower backer rewards packages (under BOMB KIT level) have been processed and shipped. Approximately 70% of the BOMB KIT level has been processed and/or shipped out. The remaining unprocessed packages number around 700 or so. This coming week we will be tackling the rest of the Bomb Kits and above to get as much out to you as we can. Valiant has indicated they should be completed with the reminder of the Rocket Bikes and we are supposed to have them by Friday.

Over the next couple of weeks as we work to package up shipments and get them labeled, some of you will be contacted by Brett who will be handling support. He is now filling the role of troubleshooting about 10% of the total pledges that contained errors or confusing selection in the backer surveys. We want to make sure that all the backers receive the items they are expecting. For the rest of you, your packages will be going out as soon as we can get them processed.

Several factors have delayed the Convention Maelee piece, the largest of which has been completing the production for the Kickstarter fulfillment. So, we will be making her available for GenCon. With ReaperCon three weeks away the work required for sculpting, molding, casting, and packaging is outside the realm of possibility within that period. We are making plans to have a selection of the Babes available for purchase at ReaperCon.

The online store should be ready by the end of April. We are projecting that the majority of fulfillment packages with correct survey selections will be shipped by ReaperCon, the third weekend of April. Packages with selection or selection issues will be handled on a case by case basis but will not affect the launch of the online store. When we return from the show, we will finalize the web store for launch and notify all of you with another update then.


See you next week!
~Patrick
The Sculptdude

Production Update 18

ReaperCon

For those of you heading out to ReaperCon who would like to pick up their rewards bundle, please send an email to info@bombshellminis.com with "ReaperCon" as the subject line, your Kickstarter ID, Name and Backer Reward Level (DETONATOR, NAPALM, etc.) and we will do our best to pull your package and bring it with us. I MUST have your email request before Midnight Friday March 29th, 2013 otherwise it will go out in the regular post.

PROGRESS

This past week the final master molds were made from the remaining batch of sculpts and half of that was turned into production molds. The remaining production molds should be finished this week allowing us to complete the rest of the metal casting next weekend.

NEWS

The much publicized label printing issue has now been resolved and we are back to prepping packages to go out. Thanks to Endicia for providing simple and usable software, we can now print both domestic AND international labels on the same printer. Two bins of domestic packages which included DETONATOR LEVEL shipped out Friday and there are two more international bins that should go out tomorrow. Once that has been processed, packages that include the Bomb Kits will begin shipping.

Thanks for your patience. We are just as eager to get the inventory out of the studio as you are to receive it! Shas'tan is even willing to lend a paw to help with the packaging!

I received the remaining resin base inserts and a handful of Rocket bikes this past weekend. The remaining bikes will arrive in a week or two.

Today is Vicky's and my seventeenth wedding anniversary. I'll be taking the day off today and will back at it again tomorrow to get the fulfillment going again.

See you next week!
~Patrick
The Sculptdude

Production Update 17

PROGRESS

The results of the Cast-a-thon have allowed Vicky and Brett to consolidate all of the Bomb Kits and organize all the Babes™ choices into corresponding bins.

Each box contains 25 Bomb Kits bringing the total to over 875 to cover all the backer levels.

SCULPTS

The remaining sculpts have gone to mold. I have now turned in all of the pieces featured in the Kickstarter Project as rewards. The mold team assured me they will have a selection of new molds from this batch to start casting this coming weekend, so we'll have more progress on the production after that.

Thulle is sculpted by Kevin Williams. Since he was already tabbed for molding I was unable to get any pics of him assembled. I will try to post some pics of the masters assembled once I can get some copies.

NEWS

Our casting vendor Valiant notified me they have shipped the remainder of our resin base insert order and we should be getting that later this week.

Once again I am thwarted on the shipping process. Pitney Bowes crashed again and will not talk to our printer. I tried the Stamps.com site only to find out after registering and uploading all the addresses that the site also does not support our label printer. So, I will be canceling both of those accounts and researching four of the top Mac-based shipping solution apps I have been able to locate. As soon as I can get that up and running we will resume printing shipping labels and sending stuff out. It's been like two steps forward and one step back with this stuff.

Martin turned in two awesome pieces this week. He painted up the Sword Maiden and Pussy Patrol figures based on the Matt Dixon licensed pieces. I think he did a great job matching the art.

As a reminder, Matt Dixon's art is not included in the postcard sets. We posted about our agreement in August when he signed on to license his art to us and many of you may have missed the announcement. You can get the details in the post here.

See you next week!
~Patrick
The Sculptdude

Production Update 16

THE PROGRESS

The Cast-a-Thon was a huge success this weekend. We jumped from a 43% completion mark to just over 80%!!! We had a great turnout with Reaper crew Melissa Grady, Martin Jones, Bryan & Shannon Stiltz pitching in to help Vicky, Brett and I.

We cast a full day on Saturday with Vicky and filling a couple of hours on Sunday to finish off some remaining runs.

After casting, the pieces went through a bit of QC and inventory to make sure we had what we needed.

This will give us ALL the remaining parts to complete the rest of the Bomb Kits and a big jump on fulfilling the Babes™ choices. Here is what you will get in your Bomb Kit.

This shows the Bomb Kit pack with a shirt and three of some of the many Babes™ choices you could select.

THE NEWS

So far I gotten autographs for the card sets from Keri Ruediger (shown), Tim Collier, Wayne Reynolds, and Patrick McEvoy for the rewards levels that offered them. I need to sit down and scribble on my cards to finish out the sets.

Paint work continues to roll in from Jessica Rich. Here are her pieces for Victoriana, Raven Skye, and some new shots of Betty & Shrapnel.

THE PLAN

The remainder of the week will see us packaging the rest of the Bomb Kits and getting them ready to ship out while I complete the sculpting on the final batch of Babes™ and Reinforcements Sets to get them ready for molding.

See you next week!
~Patrick
The Sculptdude

Production Update 15

PROGRESS

Today we are on our way out the door to do some more casting after missing last weekend. Next weekend we will be recruiting local friends and family to come out and have a big Cast-a-thon to finish up as many of the remaining pieces as we have molds for.

Many of you have seen some of my new client work pop up here and there. Some of these pieces were commissioned before we launched the Bombshell Kickstarter and the clients have been patiently (and not so patiently) waiting to get them.

Our current push to complete the project is dependent on many behind-the-scenes factors. The things I can share, I do. Most of the work I'm doing I cannot disclose until it is posted by my clients, so since it affects my production schedule it appears as if the Babes™ are the only thing in the works. However, there is currently a juggling act going on here at the studio to get a little bit done on everything.

None of the work is being rushed. To be clear, I've been doing this for a few years now, and I know how long it takes me to sculpt a piece. Typically I can glance at a piece of art and breakdown the necessary steps of what it would take to make a model in a manner of seconds. Getting to these steps, when there are sixteen armatures in various stages of completion can be daunting. But, as many of you know who have done a bit of modeling or conversion work, there is a curing time to the sculpting putty that requires work to occur in cycles. That is why I have many many figures in progress at the same time. Even though I can cure the material faster by placing it under my heating lamp, it still all occurs at a constant pace. Also, we have to work with Reaper's availability to help us with moldmaking. Their Bones project and the looming Reaper Con threat are all factors that compress our working time. All of this scheduling is due to coordinating the various aspects of our project with other folks who are helping to make the Babes™ possible.

Our main production delay comes from the fact that we launched the project in the fall and lost lots of time due to holiday obligations and the unexpected emergency with Shas'tan's surgery. But, everything seems to be back on track and we have a new strategy to complete the project over the next few weeks.

Now here is a cool shot of Betty and Shrapnel painted by the awesome brushmistress Jessica Rich. One set to keep and one set to share.

See you next week!
~Patrick
The Sculptdude