Wave 1 lands in the US, 'Taco' gets a base, and an Early Look at Wave 2
over 3 years ago – Sun, Nov 08, 2020 at 12:53:46 PM

Hi All- hope you all are doing well. It's time for the latest Beasts of the Mesozoic project news so let's dive in!

Current Fulfillment Status

 Despite production for wave 1 moving at a fairly brisk pace, it the would seem that each step in the transit process has been met with some sort of delay and unfortunately I'm afraid we'll have to again add a couple more weeks to the fulfillment date. As of this past week, the wave 1 Ceratopsian shipment has just been released from US customs in California and is now awaiting freight transit to New Jersey.  Normally freight transit from west coast to east coast takes about a week, but as I learned with the recent Raptors shipment, carriers have been understaffed as of late so two weeks will be more likely. Nonetheless, I'm still expecting to ship out all wave 1 orders by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. And for those in the UK and EU region, Everything Dinosaur expects to begin fulfillment in about two weeks as well, so we're both planning to begin fulfillment by Nov. 23rd.

Psittacosaurus Gets a Base!

As some of you may have seen, I recently announced on my social media that due to possible bipedal standing issues with the Psittacosaurus, I'm having the factory make a full run of bases and posing rods to accompany all Psittacosaurus orders. 

In case anyone missed the post:

'As many of you are aware, the figure (Psittacosaurus) has been advertised to be displayed as either a quadruped or biped, and the early samples of the figure could achieve both with little trouble. However, upon reviewing four of the final samples I received a few weeks ago, none of them could hold a bipedal stance for more than 3 seconds. This was obviously very concerning, despite the factory showing me multiple videos of their samples standing just fine. In any case, I’ve decided to move forward with a production run of bases for the ‘Taco’ so that the bipedal poses can still be displayed. If anyone is thinking that it should have come with a base all along, I won’t disagree, but I saw this figure as a test run for the Tyrannosaur series. It presented an opportunity to understand the challenges involved with free-standing biped dinosaurs and I’m very glad to have some experience with this now.

These bases, featuring all new deco, are currently planned to ship with the Psittacosaurus figures, due out in a few weeks, but the base and the base parts will be in a separate bag and not in the regular box.'

These bases are expected to be at the New Jersey warehouse by the time the wave 1 stock arrives so I'm not anticipating any delays associated with this. Although this wasn't the original plan, I'll feel a lot better knowing that the figures are secure on people's shelves no matter what pose they decide to go with. Future releases of this figure will have the base included in the package just like the Raptors.

Wave 2 Test Shots

 Work has begin on Wave 2 and six of the eight wave 2 test shots figures are in. Here's a quick look!

 Einiosaurus

 Wendiceratops

 Avaceratops

 Kosmoceratops

 Spiclypeus

 Regaliceratops

 Expect to see more photos of these guys on my social media in the weeks to come.

So 'where's Pachyrhinosaurus and Centrosaurus' you ask? 

The larger 'Body 4' test shots are being made now, and the tooling for these has all been completed. This also includes the molds for Wave 3 figures such as Xenoceratops, Albertaceratops, Sinoceratops, Utahceratops, and Pentaceratops. Here's a few photos of the shiny new molds and some of the newly 'shot' parts.

 I expect to have the Body 4 test shots in just a couple of weeks- can't wait!

Finalizing Orders

There's still a little time left if any one needs to update their shipping address, request split shipping, or add items to an existing order. Please message me directly and let me know how I can help!

Unanswered Kickstarter Surveys and declined payments

As of this writing there are still 46 unanswered Kickstarter surveys and 9 declined credit card payments. These orders will remain in the system for the duration of the BackerKit project (until wave 3 ships next fall), but the orders can not be fulfilled until these issues are resolved. Please note that if you did not back the Kickstarter campaign and ordered only through BackerKit, you don't need to worry about the survey.

Last Call for Monoclonius Pins!

  If you missed out on purchasing the Kickstarter exclusive Monoclonius pin or if you just want more of them, I still have a few available. They are $8 each- please message me if you're interested. These will ship separately from your action figure order. Once they're gone, they're gone!

 Video Reviews and Previews 

There have been some early reviews as of late for the wave 1 Ceratopsians. These are professional, in-depth looks at each figure so I invite you all to please take a look!

Triceratops horridus (sub-adult) review by ShartimusPrime

 Medusaceratops lokii review by Andy's Dinosaur Reviews

 And I've also done a few quick previews for my own YouTube channel:

 I've been sending out review samples lately to select YouTube reviewers and toy news sites so expect more Ceratopsian coverage in the weeks to come!

 And one more thing... 

Just a quick note: by popular demand, 1/18th scale Protoceratops, Psittacosaurus, and several Raptors will be coming in 2021. Prototype development is currently underway- stay tuned!

That'll be all the news for now.  If you don't already, I encourage you to follow me on social media at Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter for the most up-to-date news on this project and also for the Tyrannosaur Series. Or check out the 'News' section of my website , updated every Sunday.

I'll be sending out a follow up 'Update' once wave 1 is ready to ship to everyone to give you all a last chance to check your orders (but please don't wait that long).

Until next time, take care everyone!

David

Boxed Samples are in- Wave 1 Production Completed!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2020 at 07:36:29 PM

 Hello again everyone, I hope you all are doing well as we enter into the fall season. This update comes a little later than planned due to some unexpected computer issues on my end, but that just means I have more to show you all now. So settle in and get ready for another one of those photo-heavy Kickstarter updates!

Ceratopsian Series, Wave 1 is completed!

 Despite some minor setbacks along the way, I'm happy to report that the Beasts of the Mesozoic: Ceratopsian Series Wave 1 has been completed and is on it's way now to the US warehouse! Please note also that Everything Dinosaur's shipment has also been sent and contains backer orders up until August 30th, 2020. 

You may recall from the previous update that these were planned to ship from the factory by 9/12, however we had another minor setback recently which pushed back the finish date a few more weeks. For more on that read on.

 Boxed samples- round one

 'They look awesome!' is what I think when I see this photo, but upon closer inspection, there is a big problem with the products in the above image. Thankfully it's not the figures, they all turned out great I'm happy to say. Nope, this time the issue is with the packaging.

It's an uncommon mistake, but it does happen occasionally. The wrong type of paper was used for printing and all of the packages were made using thin, matte cardstock. While at first glance it looks fine, this type of paper is not structurally sound and lends itself to being damaged too easily in transit. I had several instances of this already with these samples and each one was individually bubble wrapped. So I decided to halt the shipment and had every unit repackaged. My artists and myself put too much time into the packaging not to have it presented correctly.

 For comparison, the first version is on top, the final version is on the bottom. Not only is the box thicker now, but with the gloss paper, the colors are much more bold

 Again, it's not too obvious in the photo, but the first version (top) has thinner cardstock than the final (bottom). The difference between the matte and gloss surface however is much more noticeable.

 Despite the issues, the first printed versions still looked okay, but the way the Monoclonius box turned out was heartbreaking. It was the one I looked forward to the most and the dull matte finish just killed the look.

 The bottom version is final and dare I say way better than the first version. It was especially important to me to nail this package design, and I do think this was achieved as you'll see more of later.

With all of that said, the new expected fulfillment period is now late October or early November, but for most backers, early November is probably more likely as there still could be delays with getting the product to the New Jersey warehouse.

And what about all of those first-run samples? Well I don't have room to store them at the studio, so I'll likely post them on my ebay store after fulfillment is completed in case anyone is interested in obtaining those 'rare' package versions. That way they don't get confused with the regular stock.

Final boxed samples

 And now we take a look at the (real) final versions of the wave 1 figures in-package. 

Centrosaurus (juvenile) 

 Chasmosaurus

 Diabloceratops

 Medusaceratops

 Nasutoceratops

The red lettering was missing on my sample for some reason, but the factory did confirm that the actual shipped product all has the red lettering. 

 Protoceratops

 You'll notice that Protroceratops and Psittacosaurus both have the gold boxes instead of the green like the others. This is to distinguish them as being in the 1/6th scale. The box color is meant to go with the Raptor Series, which is also 1/6th scale.

 Psittacosaurus

 Styracosaurus

 Triceratops (sub-adult)

 Zuniceratops

What's inside?

 Each figure also includes a full-color backdrop, a profile card, and instructions for attaching the tail. I'd expected the backdrop to be printed on gloss paper, but it's on matte and it actually works better for photography so I suppose it was a happy accident. The profile cards are matte as well, which looks great but again I'd expected the gloss. Both are from the first round of printing hence the matte finish. 

Monoclonius Exclusive

 I wanted to give the Kickstarter exclusive it's own spotlight here since it's especially personal to me, as I'm sure it is for many of you who owned the original Dino Riders Monoclonius.

I'm very pleased with how this turned out and it really gave me a new appreciation for the old Dino Riders packaging layout design. 

 And after removing the sleeve, here's the inner box.

It was tempting to create another diorama backdrop for this one, but it would've just been too busy visually. The original packaging was perfect as is.

 I was going for about a 85% Dino Riders/ 15% Beasts of the Mesozoic esthetic for the design, being mostly an homage, I wanted to be careful not to remove it from BotM completely so I kept certain elements like the removable sleeve and the checklist. 

I actually bought the original Dino Riders Monoclonius in-box at Comic Con last year in anticipation of this package design and I learned so much having it in-hand.  I'm very grateful to be in a position to make an homage to the toy line that really sparked my interest dinosaurs as a kid. 

And just a heads-up to the Kickstarter backers, if any of you would still like to add this to your existing order, I do have a very limited number left so please message me if you're interested.

Split shipping reminder

With fulfillment expected to begin in about a month, I want to make sure that I remind you all about the split shipping. If you have an order that contains wave 1 with wave 2 or wave 3 figures, the order will only ship once all of the items are in-stock. However if you'd like to split the order for multiple shipments, you'll need to message me as this is only done by request. 

Additional shipments will be based on the current shipping rates at the BackerKit store. There is one base rate for each shipment, and then you add the per item rate which varies depending on figure size- Zuniceratops (Body 1) being the smallest and adult Triceratops and Torosaurus (Body 5) being the largest. The first shipment will use the shipping balance that's already been payed, but later shipments will likely require some additional funds. 

Unanswered surveys and declined cards

As of this writing, there are still 49 backers with unanswered surveys and 9 backers with errored payments. These orders will remain open until wave 3 ships next spring, but please know that your items are not guaranteed until paid for.

Address changes

If you've moved since you placed your order and need to change your shipping address, please private message me and I'll send you a direct link to your order so you can to edit your info. Now is great time to double check this if you're unsure.

Wave 2 Production begins soon

With wave 1 now in the books, production is set to begin now on wave 2. This means tooling the big body 4 and all the accompanying heads. I've had time to look over the fine cuts thoroughly and have made minor adjustments on these parts to get them all just right. They're back at the factory now and tooling will begin for this next week.

Wave 2 test shots are coming soon!

More Ceratopsian Skulls Available Now

Just a quick note for all you Ceratopsian fans- we've added four more skulls to the Creative Beast Studio Shapeways store- Diabloceratops, Sinoceratops, Regaliceratops, and Kosmoceratops. All are 1/18th scale skulls sculpted by Raul Ramos. These skull sculpts were used as the structure for the action figure head sculpts so they complement the figures nicely.

I think that covers everything for now. I'll follow up again with you all just before fulfillment begins to give everyone a heads-up. In the meantime, you can still preorder the ceratopsians at the BackerKit Store. The wave 1 figures will remain at the preorder price until they reach 'in-stock' status, and at that point will move to the shop at creative-beast.com at the regular price. 

As always you can find me on social media at : Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where you'll see the most recent updates on this project and also for the  Tyrannosaur Series. Or you can just go to the 'News' section of my website , which is updated each Sunday and includes all of the same content in one convenient place.

If you've made it this far, thank you and I'll leave you now with a little video I took of my Beasts of the Mesozoic shelf where I finally put the raptors and ceratopsians together. It won't be long though before I need more space!

 Take care everyone- until next time! :)

David

Current Production Status, Paint Sample Galleries, and Monoclonius variant!
over 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 02:26:18 AM

 Hello again everyone- hope you all are finding ways to enjoy your summer! 

As we approach September, the anticipation for the first wave of the Ceratopsian Series is definitely in the air, so I'll start off with the latest news I have on the current production status. 

Fulfillment Postponed 2-3 Weeks

The paint samples are all looking great so far, but overall development is taking a little longer than we'd anticipated and thus we are now a few weeks behind the original schedule of shipping Wave 1 out to backers in September. Our original aim was to ship Wave 1 from China in the last week of August, with the expectation of fulfillment by late September. However, the factory has requested more time and now we plan to ship from China by Sept 12th, so it's roughly a 2-3 week delay. Whether this was an eventual result of the pandemic or not is uncertain, but even under normal circumstances manufacturing delays are not uncommon with action figures, as I'm sure the Raptor Series backers here can attest to. So assuming it takes the usual 3-4 weeks for the product to arrive to the US warehouse from China, we are now looking at fulfillment of Wave 1 to be around mid-October. This estimate is also the same for those of you having product shipped via Everything Dinosaur in the UK. I sincerely apologize to you all for this delay, but I do believe it'll be well worth it.

Split Shipping Cost Breakdown

I know that the split shipping cost has not been stated anywhere yet, but now that we're approaching the first wave of fulfillment, I wanted to post a chart to help people decide on whether or not to ship in multiple shipments. These rates are based on the current shipping rates at the BackerKit store. There is one base rate for each shipment, and then you add the per item rate which varies depending on figure size- Zuniceratops (Body 1) being the smallest and adult Triceratops and Torosaurus (Body 5) being the largest.

Orders can be split however you like, or you can elect to have your order ship all at once when the items all become available. if you need help estimating the additional shipping cost or simply want me to put you down for split shipping for the Wave 1 figures, please contact me via private message and I'll make sure you're notified when the first shipment is ready. 

Paint Samples

A few weeks back I received paint samples for all of Wave 1 and overall they turned out great. I did have a few minor notes and touched the figures up a bit, mainly in areas that I couldn't get to on the resin prototypes and they are all now back at the factory to serve as the final paint masters for production. Before sending them back though, I took a bunch of photos to show you all. Take a look and be sure to click each image if you want to see more. (please note that the joint colors are not final and will be injected in the appropriate colors on the final production.)

In addition to the photos, I also shot short videos for each one as well, so stay tuned for those. I'm planning to upload them to my youtube channel in the coming month or so. 

Monoclonius variant- juvenile Centrosaurus- is now available to Preorder!

Just as there was a regular non-exclusive Velociraptor osmolskae for the Raptor Series, Monoclonius is now getting a regular release figure as juvenile Centrosaurus! Taking inspiration from the classic Phil Tippett 'Prehistoric Beasts' short, this version also serves to make a nice female counterpart to the exclusive Monoclonius. 

And there's also brand new package artwork from Raul Ramos!

The juvenile Centrosaurus is available to preorder now at the Beasts of the Mesozoic: Ceratopsian Series BackerKit Store.

Adding to existing orders 

If you'd like to combine this or any other preorder item with an existing order, please private message me and I can add to it for you manually.

Diabloceratops Package Design Mock-up

I did want to show more than one package mock-up this time, but the update is already pretty full, so I'll just focus on one figure in-particular- Diabloceratops.

As you saw earlier in this update, I was sent some images from the factory of the figures in their plastic insert, or 'blister' as some you toy fans may know it. I just superimposed this onto the graphic design layout giving an idea of how the final product will look in package.

And as with the more recent Raptor Series releases, I'm also having these include collectible cards with the art and a species profile on the back. 

I'm actually finishing up the final packaging files simultaneously to writing this update. I'm just so glad there's only eleven figures in this wave! <phew>

Okay, that's it for now... I still have some files to send over to the factory before bed. I'll be sure to post more progress in the coming weeks on my social media at : Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter there you'll find the most current updates on this project and also for the  Tyrannosaur Series. Or you can simply check the 'News' section of my website , updated each weekend and includes all of the same content in one convenient place.

Stay healthy and active, everyone. Until next time!

David

Wave 1 Test Shots Arrive, Plus a look at the First Paint Samples!
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jul 08, 2020 at 09:12:44 AM

Hello again everyone- I hope you all are doing well! With the molds now completed for the Ceratopsian Series, things are now ramping up with the production process. As far as I've been told, we're still looking at a September release for Wave 1, but realistically I expect it to be in the latter part of that month. Let's take a look now at all the latest progress!

Wave 1 Test Shots 

Test shot figures for Wave 1 are here! As mentioned in the previous update, these are the first castings 'shot' in plastic using the brand new molds- PVC plastic and POM joints with no paint added. Test shots are made to catch any molding issues and to help find possible weaknesses or flaws with the articulation. I had a few minor notes on how to improve these for the final versions, but overall these are already very impressive!

 I'll be showing more of each one soon, but I didn't want to overload this update with too many photos.

The movement on these is as good if not better than I'd hoped. It's great to have these figures in plastic with fully-functioning joints as opposed to the fine-cuts which were all rigid resin. I have several videos planned for showing off these guys in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on my new YouTube channel for more.

Sub-adult Triceratops Packaging 

 As the factory continues to develop the actual figures, I've been developing more packaging designs here on my end. This is the latest box design for the larger figures in Wave 1, beginning with the sub-adult Triceratops. Package art is by Raul Ramos.

The three main box-type designs are now completed, so I'll just need to work on creating all of the unique sleeves now. With the templates all finished, I expect that the rest will go pretty quickly. 

Styracosaurus fine-cut video

I mentioned my new YouTube channel earlier, and here's the most recent upload for the Ceratopsian Series- a look at the Styracosaurus fine-cut. It gives a good idea of the articulation, plus the fine-cuts tend to show off the detail a bit more on camera than the test shots due to the flat gray paint finish.  Give it a watch!

Wave 1 Paint Samples- First Look!

I just recently received these photos via email from the factory showing the very first paint samples for Wave 1, shown here for the very first time. These are on their way to me right now.

 I'll likely have a few notes on how to make improvements once I get them in-hand, but for a first pass without my involvement, I'd say we're off to really strong start!

 These are all hand-painted samples and once I approve the paint for each one, they'll develop a process for creating each paint job with instructions including color swatches and custom paint masks for the patterns.

 Obviously these aren't the best photos, but I'll be taking plenty of my own once I have them in-hand. 

They're working on paint samples for the other six right now and they're expected to be completed in about a week. It's exciting to see that we're getting so close to the final finished figures!

Ceratopsian Skulls available now on Shapeways

For those who've been following this project for a while, you may remember that Raul Ramos created digital sculpts for several of the Ceratopsian skulls which were then used as a base for the final head sculpts of the action figures. 

For those interested in obtaining these beautiful skull sculpts, they are now being made available via the Creative Beast Studio Shapeways store! We plan to continue to add more digital sculpts to the store, not only for the Ceratopsians, but for other dinosaurs as well.

'Split Shipping' reminder

Before I wrap this up, I wanted to once again remind those with figure orders from multiple waves- you can split your shipping if you want to ship waves as they're released instead of waiting until all of your items are available to ship at once. This option requires an additional standard shipping fee per shipment which will be due once the shipment is ready. Orders can be split however you like depending on your preferences. All you have to do is message me with your request and I'll put you on the 'split shipping' list. Once you have figures ready to ship, I'll contact you about the additional shipping cost.

That'll do it for now. Be sure to follow my social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and now YouTube for updates on this project and also for the development of the  Tyrannosaur Series. Or alternatively, you can simply check out the 'News' section of my website which is updated each weekend and includes all of the same content as my social media in one convenient place.

Also, in case any one needs it, the Ceratopsian Series can be pre-ordered  here.

Stay healthy, stay active, and don't forget to play with your toys!

Until next time.

David

A look at the Metal Tooling Molds, first Package Design Layouts, and more!
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Jun 01, 2020 at 11:54:58 PM

Hi All, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this time with your families. I have for you now all the latest news with the Ceratopsian production, but I just want to begin by confirming that we are still currently on-track for a September delivery of Wave 1. Here's a look at all the latest progress!

Metal Tooling Molds

The metal tooling molds for all Wave 1 figures (and some of Wave 2) have now been completed and the first parts have been shot in plastic.  If you recall the fine-cut figures that I've shown in previous updates, those figures are made of a very hard ceramic-like resin and are the the parts  used to create these molds. Each mold block consists of several smaller molds that plug into it. Here's a look at some of the finished tooling molds.

  'What's up with the red?' you might ask.  This is just the mold release that is sprayed onto the metal (no, the workers did not have a horrible accident). The release is red so that it's easy to see but it does not effect the color of the casted parts .

 Each mold is made of two halves and are placed in a large machine that pushes the molds together and injects liquid plastic into the mold. Once the plastic cools, the parts are removed from the mold and the process continues as needed. 

After the smaller molds are created and inserted into the larger steel blocks, track ways are then carved into the block at specific points to allow the parts to all be injected with plastic at once. 

 These track way paths can be blocked off  if only certain parts are needed or if some parts need to be injected in different colors.

 I did a thorough write-up about the injection-molding process for the Raptor Series in which I documented my experience visiting the tooling factory in 2017. Click here for more on that.

 A few more tooling molds.

 The joints all have their own mold because while most of the parts are cast in a more flexible PVC, the joints are cast in a very hard, durable POM (similar to ABS). POM is different than PVC in that it doesn't flex, keeping it's shape under stress, but this also means that it doesn't accept paint very well. PVC on the other hand can sometimes be used for joints, mainly non-weight bearing joints, but it's best for detailed areas that require paint.

First parts castings in plastic

The molds are currently being tested for any injection issues, hence the term 'test-shots'.Many parts have already been shot.

 Once the injection issues are debugged, they'll use the shot parts to assemble the first set of test-shot figures. 

 All of the parts have sprues attached due to the injection process along the mold track ways. Initial castings such as those shown here are kept as a record of what parts belong to what mold without having to look inside the actual molds.

The final parts are then removed from the sprues and kept under a warm lamp to be assembled with the appropriate joints. I'm expecting to see the initial set of test-shot figures, the first fully functional versions, in just a few weeks! The range of motion on these plastic test-shot figures will be improved over the more rigid fine-cut figures that I've shown previously and will be a good indicator of what to expect for movement on the final products.

Package design layout preview

While the tooling and test-shots are being worked on, I've begun designing the look of the packaging. Here's a look at a design layout that I created for the Chasmosaurus figure. This design will be the basis for remaining regular release package designs. (the guidelines will be removed for the final.)

I wanted to keep the main design consistent with that of the Raptor Series, while giving it a distinctive box color and footprint. I also added a 'window' on top around the logo, which will allow for a nicer in-package look at the figure . 

 In keeping with the design theme of the previous releases, these will have a checklist on the back for Wave 1 consisting of the color designs, depicted in scale according to toy size. 

 And here is the final box back design with the sleeve on showing the stats and package art, by Shannon Beaumont in this case. Like the more recent Raptor Series releases, each of these will also include unique collector cards.

There will be more package design reveals in the coming weeks on my social media so stay tuned for that!

Catalog photo gallery 

I've recently completed a collection of catalog photos for each of the Ceratopsians, which depicts them in front of their environment insert photos, to be included with each figure.  Here are a few select shots from this photo set.

 The catalog was originally planned to be printed to hand out at San Deigo Comic Con, but that's been cancelled unfortunately, so my plan now is to make the catalog available as a download on creative-beast.com though I may still do a short run of a physical catalogs later if there's enough interest.

 Click here for the full Ceratopsian catalog photo gallery!

That's all for now. Keep watching my social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest updates on this project as well as the in-progress  Tyrannosaur Series. Or you can check out the 'News' section of my website which is usually updated each weekend.

And just a reminder, the Ceratopsain Series can still be pre-ordered  here.

Stay healthy and active everyone, and until next time!

David