Wave 2 is on the way and reward fulfillment completes this month!
almost 7 years ago – Tue, May 08, 2018 at 12:18:23 AM

 Deluxe Raptors: Wave 2 is in transit now! 

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The long awaited deluxe raptors wave 2 are currently en route to their USA destination in Lakewood, NJ. (To be exact, as of this writing, they are in the Mediterranean Sea.) They are expected to arrive at the warehouse within the next two weeks and thus reward and pre-order fulfillment for Beasts of the Mesozoic: Raptor Series will conclude before the end of this month!

Final photos from China

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Before the raptors were sent away on their ocean journey my contact in China, Stefan Folkins, was kind enough to do a random case inspection for each figure type. Here are some photos he took from that inspection.

Acheroraptor temertyorum

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Adasaurus mongoliensis

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Velociraptor osmolskae (blue- Kickstarter exclusive)

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Sauronitholestes sullivani

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Tsaagan mangas

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For more on this, check out the full post on my Facebook page here.

So all seemed be very good and well worth the extra time needed to finish these, but then there was an obvious paint issue with the Fans Choice Saurornitholestes langstoni. Can you spot it?

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If you said 'the thigh', you are correct. Since the rest of the figure turned out so well, some may not have minded the harsh color break on the leg, but I personally felt that this was unacceptable and immediately asked them to fix it on all of the figures that had this mistake.The tricky thing was that these had already been packed and boxed in their cases for transport so asking them to fix this at such a late stage would've normally ended up not being done or at the very least delayed the shipment. However after respectfully expressing my disappointment about the matter to the production manager, he not only agreed to fix all of the affected figures, but committed to work all weekend in an effort to meet the scheduled shipping date. Here are some photos of the figures after they'd been fixed.

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Thankfully it was a simple adjustment, but no doubt time-consuming. I am extremely grateful to the factory for going the extra mile and correcting this problem. For more on this topic, click here.

Finalizing your shipping address and unpaid or unanswered surveys

Now is the time to check your shipping address

With the previous raptor wave shipments, there were some people who missed the opportunity to change their shipping address in time before their items went out. Luckily, most of those situations have now been successfully resolved, but in an effort to avoid this moving forward, please be sure to check your address on BackerKit especially if you have moved within the past two years. If you can not find your BackerKit order, please use this link and enter your email address: https://beasts-of-the-mesozoic-raptor-series-action-figure.backerkit.com/ 

If you need additional assistance, please message me.

Unpaid and incomplete surveys

As of this writing, there are still 51 incomplete Kickstarter surveys and 7 unpaid orders. Please know that if your BackerKit survey is incomplete or if your order is not paid in full, your items will not ship. (Again, you may use the link above to view the status of your order.) Most likely, the 51 people who's surveys have not been completed have long forgotten about this project and I wouldn't expect to hear from them at this point so they will have to miss out on the early reduced pricing. As for the seven unpaid orders, here are the first names and last initials of those who's orders could not be charged:

Brianna M, 

Daniel A. M.

Marc Y.

Elizabeth P.

Michael A.

Spencer M.

Connie B.

If you think this may be you, please contact me as soon as possible so we can get your order squared away.

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BackerKit store to close as of May 28th

Just a heads up for those who still are considering taking advanatge of the pre-order prices on the BackerKit store- the store will be closing on May 28th and at that time all of my personal inventory will be sold through creative-beast.com. I currently have all wave 1 raptors as well as the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, Build-a-Raptors, and post cards available on my creative-beast.com site and wave 2 will be added as soon as it's in-stock.

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For all Kickstarter and BackerKit customers still awaiting their orders

The progression of this project has been a bit unorthodox to say the least, which has made it easy for some backers to lose track of it at times. So it's no surprise that the shipping of the two deluxe raptor waves has caused a bit of confusion, especially if you happened to miss a Kickstarter update or two. 

Basically, for those with orders containing any of the wave 2 raptors, all of your items will ship together this month once the entire order is in-stock. So if you're seeing others post their wave 1 raptor figures and wonder 'where's my order', it is very likely that there's at least one wave 2 raptor holding up your order and it will be shipping in a few weeks. If you are unsure of what items you ordered, please feel free to message me, or follow this link: https://beasts-of-the-mesozoic-raptor-series-action-figure.backerkit.com/

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Pixel Dan deluxe raptors video review

And before I go, be sure to check out the latest Beasts of the Mesozoic review by the one and only Pixel Dan, right here! In this video, Dan takes a detailed look at Balaur, Velociraptor, and Linheraptor!

And that'll do it for now. I will follow up soon once the new raptors are at the warehouse safe and sound along with a reminder to change your shipping address if you need to. And as always, I encourage everyone to follow this project as well as progress on my Ceratopsians series via my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Thanks everyone!

Wave 1 Raptors Shipping has Begun- PLEASE READ!
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Mar 15, 2018 at 11:55:23 PM

Wave 1 Raptors have Arrived and Fulfillment has commenced! 

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Wave 1 raptors have indeed arrived at the New Jersey Fulfillrite warehouse and the first shipments went out yesterday to the tune of over 1200 packages! But there are still many more to go out...

Please Check Your Address on BackerKit

After shipping began yesterday, I heard from a few backers who'd missed the previous update and unfortunately had their reward shipped to their old address. I know mentioning this now may seem too little too late for some, but I was under the impression that BackerKit emails Kickstarter update alerts to everyone who's placed an order, so I apologize to those who may not have received that email. I've tested the system myself and it seems to work, but I see now that this may not work for everyone so moving forward I will also send a private group message as well. My sincere apologies to those that I was not able to reach in time and I will do all I can to assist in correcting the issue.

How do I know if my order has shipped?

For those who's rewards shipped yesterday, you would have received an email confirmation with a tracking number.

If you would like to change your address for this wave or for the one in May, please message me as soon as possible. To allow people time to check and edit their addresses, I am holding off on the remainder of fulfillment until Monday, March 19th. 

Split Shipping Error  

Some of the people who ordered the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and/or Build-a-Raptors have accidentally had their orders split for the Wave 1 raptors. I just want those people to know that this was unexpected and it happened automatically as a result of having your address already confirmed in BackerKit for the previous shipment. For those who also ordered Wave 2 items, those will still ship in May as planned.

That's all for this brief update. Please allow a little extra time for me to respond to your messages as I have been receiving a lot lately, but I will get back to each and everyone of you as soon as I can. Thanks everyone!!

Wave 1 Raptors Shipping Soon- Plus Backer Pics and Paint Tutorial!
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Mar 12, 2018 at 08:41:00 PM

Wave 1 Raptors Shipping Soon!

The wait for the Beasts of the Mesozoic Deluxe Raptor action figures to begin shipping out into the world is nearly over! I have received confirmation of the China cargo shipment reaching the US safely last week and the goods are expected to be at the Fulfillrite warehouse in time to ship by this Friday. As we prepare for their imminent arrival, there are a few points I'd like to go over here.

 Wave 1 Raptors will remain available on Backerkit until Wave 2 arrives

Instead of moving the Wave 1 deluxe raptors off of BackerKit to creative-beast.com as was done for the Nestlings, Accessory Packs, and Build-a-Raptors after they arrived, I've decided to keep the Wave 1 raptors available on BackerKit with their Wave 2 cousins until all of them are stateside in May. Since the plan to ship them all together from the factory had to be altered, I can at least keep them together on BackerKit a little longer at the pre-order price which also allows those with existing Wave 2 orders the option to add them if they want. In addition, they will also be available on creative-beast.com.

 

Split shipping and Address changes

As mentioned in the previous update, the split shipping option is still available for those with orders containing raptors from both Wave 1 and Wave 2. You may choose to split your order at any time before Wave 2 becomes available. To ship the additional package, the cost is $11 for US and $22 for international (base shipping rates) and this will cover the postage for shipping your Wave 1 raptors ahead of your Wave 2 raptors.

Also, please be sure that your addresses are correct. Many people have moved since ordering so if you have any doubts or would like to change your address, please contact me. I can only ship to the address on file with BackerKit. 

If assistance is needed in either case, please message me here on Kickstarter or email me at [email protected]. 

Backer Product Photos- Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors

While we anxiously await the arrival of the big boys, the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors have been making the rounds on social media as project backers have taken some impressive shots of their new acquisitions. Below is just a sampling of the photos posted on the Creative Beast Studio Facebook page. To see more, click here.

There's also been some outstanding custom paintwork for the Build-a-Raptors, here are just a few:

In addition to Facebook, I also recommend checking out some of the recent pics posted on Instagram.

Build-a-Raptor paint Tutorial - 'Roadrunner Raptor'

In the spirit of people painting up their Build-a-Raptors, I was inspired to paint one of my own and then thought, 'why not document it too?', so that's what I did. The entire process can be viewed at this gallery. There are too many steps to include here, but below are a few highlights. 

Community Hub- the Beasts of the Mesozoic forum is up now!

 

For those interested in a place to discuss Beasts of the Mesozoic and other dinosaur/ toy-related topics, there's a new forum up now for all of your needs. Project supporter Tayler VanWeeteringen was kind enough to create this brand new Beasts of the Mesozoic community hub! Be one of the first to join in on the discussions here! And in addition, you can also check in with other community members on Discord here.

Nestlings Preview Video

Adding to the Accessory Pack preview videos, I recently posted a preview video for the Nestlings figures as well. In it I go over the figures, the features, and posing options- take a look!

And in case you missed the Accessory Pack Preview videos, just click the links below:

Mountains Accessory Pack

Wetlands Accessory Pack

Forest Accessory Pack

Desert Accessory Pack

That's all for now. Watch for a follow-up this week on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts regarding the Wave 1 Raptors shipping status. I'm also expecting new production samples for the Wave 2 raptors very soon as well so stay tuned for that and until next time!

Deluxe Raptors Shipping Soon From China! But a few aren't ready to leave just yet...
about 7 years ago – Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 12:33:58 AM

As many of you know, there has been no shortage of challenges throughout this journey to make the best dinosaur action figures on the market. And now as the end of production finally begins to take shape for the inaugural run of the Beasts of the Mesozoic: Raptor Series, a new development has recently been brought to my attention that will unfortunately cause the fulfillment period to once again be extended a little longer. To the point- 11 of the deluxe raptors will be available in March, while 6 will have to be delayed until May. Please read on for all of the details.

Deluxe Raptors- Now in Two Waves

The Chinese New Year will be upon us soon officially beginning on Feb. 16th and at that time the factories will close for about three weeks in observance of the holiday. The plan all along was to have the entire Beasts of the Mesozoic line finished before this observance period, but due to the amount of time required for the deco revisions that I have requested throughout production, only 11 of the 17 Deluxe Raptor SKU's will be ready to ship before the factory closes for the break. 

I apologize for my part in this delay, but I felt it best to wait a little longer and allow the factory to give us their best effort instead of putting undue pressure on them and receiving  just 'acceptable' figures that were likely rushed. In this case, as throughout this project, quality has priority over time.That being said, here's how the remaining fulfillment breaks down. 

Deluxe Raptors- Wave 1 (March)

These raptors are scheduled to ship from the factory on Feb. 2nd and are expected to arrive to the US in early March. Included are: 

Velociraptor mongoliensis, Atrociraptor marshalli , Balaur bondoc, Dromaeosaurus albertensis, Zhenyuanlong suni, Pyroraptor olympus, Linheraptor exquisitus, Velociraptor osmolskae (red), FC Dromaeosaurus albertensis, FC Pyroraptor olympus, FC Zhenyuanlong suni 

(click the name to see the production sample)

Deluxe Raptors Wave 2 (April/ May)

These raptors are expected to ship from the factory no later than the end of March and arriving to the states in late April or early May. In the end, these figures will be about 6-8 weeks behind wave 1.

 Included in wave 2 are:

Tsaagan mangas, Velociraptor Osmolskae (blue), Sauronitholestes sullivani , Adasaurus mongoliensis , Acheroraptor temertyorum , FC Saurornitholestes langstoni

 Now, I know what you're thinking... 'By the time all of these items ship, it will have been two years since the Kickstarter campaign happened! Geeze!'  

This reaction is totally understandable and I'm probably having this thought more than anyone these days. It's a long time to wait, but I try to remind myself of these three things to help keep perspective:  

- production actually began in late Nov. of 2016. Because of the many unlocked stretch goals during the Kickstarter, an additional six months was needed to finish all of the new sculpting. That outcome was completely unexpected, but of course I'm grateful for the opportunity.  

- this concept hasn't been attempted before. This is likely the main reason for the success of the Kickstarter campaign. Action figure production is tricky enough, but creating a new type of action figure line brings additional obstacles to overcome, making set backs harder to predict than usual.  

- diverse product range and total figures. Beginning the Kickstarter with only three figures, the original estimated ship date of May 2017 was very much within reach. However by the time the campaign ended, there was a total of 25 different items spanning 4 different product types which of course changed the production schedule completely. The upside though is that we'll end up with a complete collection of figures as opposed to a small sampling. What better way to impact the dinosaur toy market right out of the gate?

Keeping all of that in mind, I want everyone to know that I'm waiting along with you and I am confident that this will be worth it.

Updated Shipping Plan

Despite the deluxe raptor delay, I am happy to report that the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors have been shipping for the past several weeks and the feedback has been very positive! I will be posting a separate update soon with more on that, but for now here is the updated shipping schedule. 

(As always, if anyone needs to change their shipping address, please contact me.)

Split Shipping

For those with orders containing any of the Wave 2 deluxe raptors, your orders will be shipped once all items are in-stock. However these orders can be split by request so that the in-stock portion of the order ships sooner. To help cover the extra shipping expense involved in this case, I am asking for an additional payment of the base shipping charge, $11 for US, $22 for international, to split an order. ( Note: in regards to the split shipping for the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors to US backers, this was done as a courtesy since the additional expense was still within the project budget.) 

If you would like to have your order split, please message me here on Kickstarter or email me at [email protected].

And now that the serious business is out of the way, lets have some fun...

Deluxe Raptors Spotted in China

Recently, my good friend and contact in China, Stefan Folkins, did a random inspection of the deluxe raptor figures being prepped to ship soon. He took pics of what he considered to be the 'worst' of each case he looked at. Take a look!

And this was the last photo Stefan took- I haven't heard from him since... 

Deluxe Raptor Wave 2 Production 

Stefan was also able to send these photos recently showing progress on the wave 2 Deluxe Raptors. Glad to see that they're already well underway!

For the full gallery, click here. 

Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors Leaving BackerKit 

 Now that the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptors are in-stock and making their way into the world, it's almost time to take them from the BackerKit and move them to their permanent home on my newly designed creative-beast.com website, set to launch the week of Feb. 5th. Until then, they will remain available at the BackerKit pre-order store.

The main difference is that the prices will reflect the regular MSRP pricing as opposed to the special BackerKit pre-order prices.The MSRP prices are already being used at bigbadtoystore as well as Dan's Dinosaurs and are expected to be the same on Everything Dinosaur. The chart below shows a comparison of the prices for both BackerKit pre-order and MSRP. 

As each wave becomes available, the items will be moved off of BackerKit to my website at the normal MSRP pricing. 

Well that'll be all for now. As always thank you all for your support and please keep an eye on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all of the latest project developments. 

Take care everyone!

Build-a-Raptors, Accessory Packs, and Nestlings are shipping soon!
about 7 years ago – Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 10:45:07 PM

Fulfillment for Build-a-Raptors, Accessory Packs, and Nestlings begins on Monday, January 15th!

As of yesterday all of the Accessory Packs, Nestlings, and Build-a-Raptor products have arrived at the Fulfillrite warehouse in New Jersey and we are ready to begin shipping! As they will be integrated with the BackerKit order information, I wanted to give you all the opportunity to please double check your shipping addresses, as shipping will begin on Monday morning, January 15th! If you have moved since placing your order and have not updated your shipping info- now is the time. If you need help finding your order, you can always contact the helpful folks at BackerKit (direct email: [email protected] ), or message me here on  Kickstarter and we'll get it sorted out for you!

In case you missed the last update, below is a chart showing which items will be going out and to whom. Keep in mind that Kickstarter rewards will have priority. 

(Note: deluxe raptors are currently estimated to begin shipping  near the end of February, but mostly in March.)

Here are few images of the product at the Fulfillrite warehouse:

I know I've said it before, but I really appreciate all of the support and patience of everyone thus far. It's so satisfying to know that we are finally beginning fulfillment! I can't help but to wish that all of the raptor product was shipping now, but this is a great start. Thank you all for helping to make this happen!

New Video Reviews!

I also wanted to mention here some new videos uploaded recently for Build-A-Raptor sets!

First we have a great new video review of the Velcoiraptor-type Build-a-Raptor set from 'Pixel Dan' Danny Eardly!

 

And here's an unboxing video from David Brooks over at Jurassic Collectibles for the Atrociraptor Build-a-Raptor set! He also gives a nice look at the BotM catalog I made last year as well. 

 

Expect a full review of this set on his channel soon! (note: he mentions Everything Dinosaur exclusivity, though this is only meant for the UK.)

Pre-Order Store Status

All of the Beasts of the Mesozoic products will remain up on the BackerKit pre-order store throughout this month. 

 

In February I plan to move the Build-a-Raptors, Accessory Packs, and Nestlings to the new and improved creative-beast.com (teased in a previous update) set to launch early next month. The deluxe raptor figures, however, will remain available on the BackerKit store at the pre-order prices until they are ready to ship and then they too will transfer over to my website. 

That's all for now. I will have another update in a few weeks focusing on the progress of the deluxe raptor product with all of the most up-to-date news and photos.

In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram,  and Twitter for all of the latest project news.

Talk to you soon!