Beasts of the Mesozoic is a line of 1/6th scale scientifically accurate dinosaur action figures, with great detail and articulation.
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Hi everyone! For those who've been following me on social media, you've seen the latest reveals of the finished painted 6" raptors from the Accessory Packs as I've worked on them in my humble work space. Well I recently completed an extensive photo shoot of all of the Beasts of the Mesozoic Raptors on the NECA dioramas (all created by the 'Dio Master' Stefan Folkins). I'm still sorting and photo editing many of the photos now, but I'm excited to at least share these new photos of the smaller raptors with you guys, so without further ado...
Buitreraptor from the Wetlands Accessory Pack
Mononykus from the Desert Accessory Pack
Microraptor from the Forest Accessory Pack
Troodon juvenile from the Mountains Accessory Pack
It was a great shoot and more new photos of the larger raptors will be posted as time permits.
The support for this project continues as we pass the $100K mark in BackerKit add-ons and new pre-orders! If you're one of the 269 post-Kickstarter backers, I'm so glad you found this project and thank you all! And of course to those Kickstarter backers who have added to your initial pledges- again, a big thank you to you all as well! The show of support and interest in this project has been a huge motivator for me and I can not express my gratitude enough. :)
That's all for now- remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest project updates. And if you've recently just found out about Beasts of the Mesozoic, the BackerKit Preorder store is still open until Nov. 7th.
Until next time- have a great weekend!
As I move forward sculpting the accessory pack bases, I wanted to take a moment to show you all the final sculpts for the Accessory Pack Raptors. A note on the foot bases- the ones shown here are not final. My plan is to make the foot bases compatible with both small posing rods or a removable foot peg. Using the foot peg will be a great way to take photos of your small raptors, but for long term display, the posing rod would be more ideal, so I feel both have their merits. Anyway- on to the photos!
Buitreraptor g.- from the Wetlands Accessory Pack
Mononykus o. from the Desert Accessory Pack
Microraptor g. from the Forest Accessory Pack
Troodon f. (juvenile) from the Mountains Accessory Pack
Now that all of the parts for the main raptor figures are completed and the parts map is finalized, I can also finalize the Build-A-Raptor sets. The main difference from how I had them previously is that the Atrociraptor set will now feature the more feathered body like Dromaeosaurus. Some of the heads are arranged differently now as well. My goal here was to make the two sets as different as possible while still being able to build appropriate versions of the raptors based on the heads included. BackerKit images have now been updated as well.
And here are all of the production parts for main raptor figures. I am currently in the process of preparing them for mass production tooling.
That will do it for now- remember to follow my progress on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for regular updates nearly every day. And of course the Beasts of the Mesozoic BackerKit Preorder store will remain open until Nov. 7th.
Until next time!
Hi all,
As October 7th looms closer, it has become apparent that I will need more time to complete all of the Beasts of the Mesozoic prototypes in order to meet the high standard that has already been set. I estimate an additional month is needed to complete the sculpting process for the remaining items, which sets the new BackerKit lock down date at Nov. 7th 2016. My sincere apologies for the delay. Currently I am looking to finish up all four accessory pack raptors within the next week and then right on to bases, nestlings and environment accessories. Here's a quick progress update on the new raptors:
It is obvious to me now that I began my Kickstarter with way too little product prepared. The huge response caught me off guard as it really grew into something much bigger than I could have anticipated. (not to sound like I'm complaining however)
So now it's nearly October and I'm about one month away from getting back on track. This time I have a timetable laid out, detailing my plan to finish the remaining products showing exactly how I plan to execute the remaining pieces. I also worked in an extra week at the end in case I fall behind again. Rest assured, I am taking notes along the way on how to run things more efficiently on the next go around. But there was no way to learn until I dove in and did it, so here we are, and honestly it's been a great experience so far.
So far 15% of backers still have yet to complete their surveys and I can only imagine this is because you all want to see all of the product before making your final decisions. During the Kickstarter campaign, I made a promise that I wouldn’t close the BackerKits until I showed ALL of the product, and I feel that I need to stand by this.
Yes this is the second extension now, but please know that I wouldn’t set the schedule back unless it were absolutely necessary and for the benefit of the products. I am very much looking forward to having these toys in-hand as much as anyone. But how does this effect the outcome of the project? Let's take a look.
Pros:
-Backers will be able to make informed decisions about what they are ordering by seeing the final prototypes.
-Prototypes will be as good as possible due to the development process not being compromised.
-Backers will have more time to complete their surveys if they choose.
Cons:
-A delay at this point could effect the final estimated ship date for the action figures.
-Printed materials will be delayed by one more month.
-Surveys and pre-orders will not charge automatically on Oct. 7th for those expecting it. All BackerKit orders will now be charged on Nov. 7th instead.
For those who ordered calendars and other printed materials, they will still ship in time for the holiday season this year. I now estimate shipping for these items will begin in mid to late November.
And as with the previous extension, if you need me to charge and close your order, it's no problem at all. Just send me a message here on Kickstarter or email me at [email protected]. I realize that you all have schedules of your own to keep, and I wouldn’t want to complicate that so I can lock down your order at any time by request.
Also, if you have submitted your survey and you decide that you want to add an additional item or items, I can reset your survey or add items for you, just let me know. (this has actually happened several times recently).
I will continue to update progress here on Kickstarter periodically, but for the day-to-day Beasts of the Mesozoic news, please follow my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
And the pre-order store will remain open until the lock down date as well. Please help me spread the word to those who may miss this message and feel free to copy and re-post the image below if you'd like. Thank you all for your continued support and patience- I look forward to showing you more progress soon.
Been meaning to catch up on the photos for the last several raptors including the Fans Choice figures. So finally, here are photos of all the raptors you've been waiting to see more of. Here we go...
Zhenyuanlong suni (mainline- revised version)
Pyroraptor olympius (mainline)
Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Fans Choice)
Pyroraptor olympius (Fans Choice)
Saurornitholestes langstoni (Fans Choice)
Zhenyuanlong suni (Fans Choice)
Anddd... that gets us all caught up on the main raptor photos. I will be adding all of these to my website as time permits. What's that? You want to see them all together- okay...
Also, I made a few small adjustments to the parts map. One of our helpful backers, Sim, was able to catch some inconsistencies that I overlooked. So the changes have been made and this seems to be accurate now (finally). The parts arrangements have definitely gone through their own 'evolution' during the course of this project. Variants have also been noted as well. Hi-res version here.
Just wanted to briefly show off the display at the recent JerseyFest model show this past month.
It was great turn out and I want to thank those here that were able to make it out to see me and the raptors in person. It was awesome meeting you all and I had a great time talking dinosaurs and making new friends.
One of the best parts of the show was that two people who have been integral to the success of Beasts of the Mesozoic were also at there- my moldmaker Jeremy Monz (left) and my painter Matt Holt (right). I don't get to visit with these guys often enough so it was great that we were all in one place.
And for a more 3D look at the raptor prototypes, I shot this little video while the display was up at the show. (Matt has a cameo.)
And here's an early look at the upcoming 6" raptors for the environment accessory packs. I'm hoping to get these done sometime in the coming week with the bases soon to follow.
As you can see from the photos, the articulation will be more limited and will consist of jaw, base of the neck, shoulders, hips, and base of the tail. They will also have individual foot bases and a foot peg (not seen) that will allow them to be interchangeable between all of the accessory pack bases
Was that enough? No? Okay well here's something else...
Okay I'm done now. Hopefully you made it this far.
More on the accessory packs and new package art reveals soon. Until next time!