Kickstarter Progress

Aaaaah....Kickstarter. The place dreams go to die.

Over the past three years I've supported about ten or so Kickstarters. Currently I am waiting for four of them still to deliver. In order from oldest to newest:

1. Creature Caster

The brainchild of Ultraforge creator Jeremy Glen. This one is currently 15 months overdue. And in all likelihood I would think this is a year away from delivering. In reality it has been a train wreck since the moment it was funded. Up to that point Jeremy was an ace promoter geeing up the unwashed to support his creative ambitions. Post funding Jeremy suddenly turned into a snowflake that realised at various points he needed to discover himself. That's all fine except when you've taken $350k+ on the basis that the concepts were developed, a lot of sculpting done and that the project needed less than nine months to deliver.

Unfortunately we discovered Jeremy was a true artiste and couldn't project manager a pissup in a brewery. Production has now started but I am absolutely convinced that packaging and shipping are as yet uncharted icebergs on Jeremy's crowd funded journey.

I'm (with local Peter Wialliamson) in for $325

2. Custom Game Dice

My first Kickstarter fraud. John Warren raised $75k to buy a laser and blanks to produce custom dice. Four months into the KS after a failed website and a few proto dice, John discovered that human gestation is 9 months and his wife who was pregnant gave birth. John then unfortunately contracted a mystery illness that left him unable to work and required him to relocate to a different state with no forwarding address. However the Internet is a small place and some backers tracked him down through his reseller business on Amazon and his business mentoring podcasts. But don't despair, John had found his Saviour so everything was OK.

Recently after six months hiatus John has offered "those who want them refunds" though this is "at some point and as circumstances allow". He has steadfastly ignored requests as to what has happened to the assets he purchased and the shipping costs that haven't been incurred. Indeed 3-5 backers have offered to take the assets off him at cost - no reply.

I don't expect this to ever deliver or refund. I'm in for $37 but are getting my money's worth out of his KS comments section.

3. Mierce Miniatures Monstrous Mounts

Again another one well behind schedule. Mierce use KS to fund pre-orders of upcoming models. I am waiting for a flying monster with rider which is 12+ months beyond scheduled delivery. I've no doubt I'll get the model but have come to the conclusion that in future I'll wait until retail release. The upfront discount does not recompense delays and changing circumstances [since ordering we've had End Times, the death of WHFB and 7 months of AoS].

4. Kraken Mat

I only funded this just before Xmas. The mats are similar to Frontline and GamingMat.eu and are scheduled for delivery in May, originally April. Local Ryan Lister and I are buying one each. As yet no problems have developed other than the delivery creep which is related to the success of the venture (more stretch goals).

I expect delivery this half year.

Other than that the only other recent funding was for "Winterdale" a KS from a local company [headed by blog reader Matt Barker]. This promised 3D printable files for terrain. The files were delivered on time and I look forward to arranging to get some printed in the near future.

Posted with Blogsy