BloodFather's Axis of Chaos
- Thread starter BloodFather of Kharnath
- Start date
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
My thanks Killer B.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
View attachment 51547Freehand Cape. The freehand mimics a design on his saddle, out of view and under his right leg.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Posting this here because every time I try to post under General forum, it asks me to confirm I am not a robot and then proceeds to bug out. So...
I am about to talk about something of which I know very little about. So if I betray my ignorance, I need my attitude readjusted, please feel free to let me know.
I recently ordered the Sci Fi Flower Knight from Kingdom Death. I needed it in a hurry because I am moving soon, and I thought I would paint it quickly while waiting for another project to arrive. Anyway, the reason doesn't matter, I wanted it soon and I paid extra to have it soon.
The day after ordering, I received an email from KD that my order had shipped. Yes! It's on time.
The day after, I receive an email that says my order status has changed, and it included my tracking number. I expected to see that my package had left a sorting facility or some thing, but instead it said that USPS had received my tracking number, or basically that they were notified that in the future something would be coming for me. Seemed rather pointless and redundant, but okay....
Two days later, the same message was displayed. So basically KD never shipped out my items, but instead only notified USPS of their intent to ship.
I went to KD's web page and asked if there was a problem on their complaint page. I told them that I had paid for fast shipping, but that my money was being spent for no reason since they were not attempting to mail it on time. I told told them that I have ordered from them several times in the past, and that I was extremely disappointed. Below is their response:
Ben,
Two day shipping indicated the amount of time an item (once packed) takes to ship to you. First we must pack your items. When we have a sale we get literally 1000's of orders to pack. Our packing team is very small, in fact we are a very small company (10 people) so it takes about 2 weeks to get the orders packed, then we ship them out. Rest assured that once your items are packed we will ship them 2 day priority for you. As a frequent customer you should be aware of this already. Perhaps this is the first time you've opted for 2 day shipping.
Apparently as a frequent customer, I should be aware of their poor service. Now, I am no business man, but when a company tells me that they are so successful in selling items that they cannot possibly get them out at a reasonable time because of staffing issues, then I will automatically assume they should hire more staff.
But perhaps this is simply poor administration. For instance, I am assuming from the KD response to me that they sell the items, and THEN package them. Couldnt they package the items (place the minis in bags with all appropriate parts) before putting them on sale, that way they need simply box and address them? This cannot take 2 weeks time, even with a staff of 10.
Perhaps KD could ship out express deliveries immediately, and then sort and ship normal orders? This clearly isn't the case at present.
Maybe I completely misunderstand the business. I think I read somewhere that the KD creator broke even after his first KS campaign, even though it grossed 2 million bucks pretty quickly. But that was awhile ago...
Maybe that is the problem. KIckstarter. How often do you hear about mini companies missing delivery dates? If KS pledgers can wait a full extra year for their product, surely I can wait another two weeks for mine? The response I got from customer service indicates to me that they are more shocked at my disappointment at the two week delay than I am about the delay itself.
I do know one thing: waiting two weeks to ship out product to a customer that paid for express delivery is unreasonable. I don't care what kind of business, what hurdles the owners face, small business practices...there is no excuse. Amazon, EBay, and a number of other third party market places all agree that is is reasonable to assume that, when paying for express delivery, that a company will ship the goods within 48 hours.
I am going to cancel my order, I think, even though it would still likely get here on time before my move. From the Kickstarter.com blog, an article that warns why one should not expect a creative project to meet deadlines:
"Third, it presumes that Kickstarter is a store. Sure, it's unacceptable for a store to ship something late. But Kickstarter is not a store. The Estimated Delivery Date is the creator’s best guess at how things will go, and it’s made at a very early stage in the project’s life."
Kingdom Death is a store, however, and they seem to still be operating with that Kickstarter mentality.
I am about to talk about something of which I know very little about. So if I betray my ignorance, I need my attitude readjusted, please feel free to let me know.
I recently ordered the Sci Fi Flower Knight from Kingdom Death. I needed it in a hurry because I am moving soon, and I thought I would paint it quickly while waiting for another project to arrive. Anyway, the reason doesn't matter, I wanted it soon and I paid extra to have it soon.
The day after ordering, I received an email from KD that my order had shipped. Yes! It's on time.
The day after, I receive an email that says my order status has changed, and it included my tracking number. I expected to see that my package had left a sorting facility or some thing, but instead it said that USPS had received my tracking number, or basically that they were notified that in the future something would be coming for me. Seemed rather pointless and redundant, but okay....
Two days later, the same message was displayed. So basically KD never shipped out my items, but instead only notified USPS of their intent to ship.
I went to KD's web page and asked if there was a problem on their complaint page. I told them that I had paid for fast shipping, but that my money was being spent for no reason since they were not attempting to mail it on time. I told told them that I have ordered from them several times in the past, and that I was extremely disappointed. Below is their response:
Ben,
Two day shipping indicated the amount of time an item (once packed) takes to ship to you. First we must pack your items. When we have a sale we get literally 1000's of orders to pack. Our packing team is very small, in fact we are a very small company (10 people) so it takes about 2 weeks to get the orders packed, then we ship them out. Rest assured that once your items are packed we will ship them 2 day priority for you. As a frequent customer you should be aware of this already. Perhaps this is the first time you've opted for 2 day shipping.
Apparently as a frequent customer, I should be aware of their poor service. Now, I am no business man, but when a company tells me that they are so successful in selling items that they cannot possibly get them out at a reasonable time because of staffing issues, then I will automatically assume they should hire more staff.
But perhaps this is simply poor administration. For instance, I am assuming from the KD response to me that they sell the items, and THEN package them. Couldnt they package the items (place the minis in bags with all appropriate parts) before putting them on sale, that way they need simply box and address them? This cannot take 2 weeks time, even with a staff of 10.
Perhaps KD could ship out express deliveries immediately, and then sort and ship normal orders? This clearly isn't the case at present.
Maybe I completely misunderstand the business. I think I read somewhere that the KD creator broke even after his first KS campaign, even though it grossed 2 million bucks pretty quickly. But that was awhile ago...
Maybe that is the problem. KIckstarter. How often do you hear about mini companies missing delivery dates? If KS pledgers can wait a full extra year for their product, surely I can wait another two weeks for mine? The response I got from customer service indicates to me that they are more shocked at my disappointment at the two week delay than I am about the delay itself.
I do know one thing: waiting two weeks to ship out product to a customer that paid for express delivery is unreasonable. I don't care what kind of business, what hurdles the owners face, small business practices...there is no excuse. Amazon, EBay, and a number of other third party market places all agree that is is reasonable to assume that, when paying for express delivery, that a company will ship the goods within 48 hours.
I am going to cancel my order, I think, even though it would still likely get here on time before my move. From the Kickstarter.com blog, an article that warns why one should not expect a creative project to meet deadlines:
"Third, it presumes that Kickstarter is a store. Sure, it's unacceptable for a store to ship something late. But Kickstarter is not a store. The Estimated Delivery Date is the creator’s best guess at how things will go, and it’s made at a very early stage in the project’s life."
Kingdom Death is a store, however, and they seem to still be operating with that Kickstarter mentality.
MAXXxxx
Well-known member
happened to me a lot lately. Up to 2 weeks before it's really sent out, then 6-8 weeks in transit.
Last year I had things like: still not received my order from april, but already had made orders in may and june.
yep, they should do this.
I think it's because of the success they had. They were not prepared for it.
If KD would have remained a small miniature maker with up to 100 orders or so a month, they wouldn't have a problem shipping.
But because how high they go on ebay their monthly stock of about 3000 figures (4 new with 500 each + some restocks) sells in an hour.
maybe the best choice if the figure is not that important and you move.
Worst case: Russian recasters will have it in a few days. They sell it for half price and ship at around 10USD (which takes about 2-3 weeks to reach the US, so not that slow)
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Help needed:
What do you guys think of this base color for the raptor? You can see a bit of shading and highlighting there too, so this would be the basic mix over all of his body. Plus red glazes in spots, and dark green brown patterned spots on his upper body here and there, a whitish color along his gizzard, etc. any thoughts? Should I go with a bright bright scale green instead for more of a cartoony and shiney look? Different color altogether? Need opinions fast!!!! Help me get it sorted...
What do you guys think of this base color for the raptor? You can see a bit of shading and highlighting there too, so this would be the basic mix over all of his body. Plus red glazes in spots, and dark green brown patterned spots on his upper body here and there, a whitish color along his gizzard, etc. any thoughts? Should I go with a bright bright scale green instead for more of a cartoony and shiney look? Different color altogether? Need opinions fast!!!! Help me get it sorted...
MAXXxxx
Well-known member
Imho stay with the muted green. Maybe even a bit more muted with red-browns in the shades.
Your NMM is more realistic, than cartoony, so a cartoon-green wouldn't look like it belongs there. The contrast between the two would be great, but in a distracting way.
btw please use bigger pics in the future, it's really hard to see some parts. Or just crop the part you are talking about. The hand and door are not part of the mini
.
Your NMM is more realistic, than cartoony, so a cartoon-green wouldn't look like it belongs there. The contrast between the two would be great, but in a distracting way.
btw please use bigger pics in the future, it's really hard to see some parts. Or just crop the part you are talking about. The hand and door are not part of the mini
.
Last edited:
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Thank you Emporer Maximus. We will Charlie Mike then (continue mission), with the FRAGO (fragmentary order, or alteration to original mission issued concurrently) of adding some red-Browns to the shadows here and there. That is, unless others offer contradictory advice. Maybe I should paint the other side of the tail using the saturated green (VGC Scorpion Green) in order to illustrate the potential. Although my instinct agrees with you...
Secondarily, thank you for the advice on photo size. I always use my phone to upload pics, and I often wonder how big or small it appears on a computer. I use a resizing app, and normally post my pics at a width between 400-600 (pixels?). This particular photo above was like 406. Here it is at 600:
Secondarily, thank you for the advice on photo size. I always use my phone to upload pics, and I often wonder how big or small it appears on a computer. I use a resizing app, and normally post my pics at a width between 400-600 (pixels?). This particular photo above was like 406. Here it is at 600:
Gandalf the Grey
New member
Ben, this is looking box art quality. Your time on the canvas has not been wasted as your blending is gorgeous
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
What you say sounds totally friggin awesome...not sure how I'd go about it...maybe I need to review Dave's blog then. Somehow seems like the raptor would look even more evil and vile this way...Also the name of a gnarly metal song maybe? BlAkK RaPtAh!!!!
So I guess my new question is: Bailey Black or the Below:
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Sir...this is the Highest Compliment from you....
Bailey03
Well-known member
In response to the KD stuff, yeah, I can definitely understand your disappointment. I don't think KD is trying to have bad customer service, but with the limited staff I can see why it would take them so long to ship out all the orders. Not sure it's feasible for them to expand the staff though, it's not like they're shipping out this many orders all the time... just when they get in new product which seems to be every couple months. Anyway, I agree that if they accept money for priority shipping then that should come with priority packing too! At the very least they should make it clear that the actual shipping can take up to two weeks. I feel like I've seen that disclaimer with other online retailers.
Back to the current figure... the elf dino dude is looking awesome! The NMM is really turning out well. I like the contrast range on the dino's tail too. As for the green, I think it looks good. I was originally thinking you might do a purple skin to contrast with the yellow armor, though that's just one idea. If you want to try the black orc skin mix I'm using, take a look at my WIP thread here or on my painting blog. Scroll to the bottom of Part 3 for the mixes and a breakdown of the process. Part 4 has some nice close ups too which might be helpful. Of course any of those versions (your green, my orc skin, or probably quite a few other colors) would look just fine.
One concern I've got is that the rider is looking dark. I know you haven't done his skin yet, but the NMM looks like a dark gold. That's fine for NMM, but combine that with the dark cape and the figure seems to be fading into the background. If you go with a bright green for the dino skin, that could become the focus. I'd be tempted to do a much brighter and more saturated red for his cape to help bring the focus back. Now, this could just be due to the lighting in the pictures, so use your own judgement based on what you see in person.
Back to the current figure... the elf dino dude is looking awesome! The NMM is really turning out well. I like the contrast range on the dino's tail too. As for the green, I think it looks good. I was originally thinking you might do a purple skin to contrast with the yellow armor, though that's just one idea. If you want to try the black orc skin mix I'm using, take a look at my WIP thread here or on my painting blog. Scroll to the bottom of Part 3 for the mixes and a breakdown of the process. Part 4 has some nice close ups too which might be helpful. Of course any of those versions (your green, my orc skin, or probably quite a few other colors) would look just fine.
One concern I've got is that the rider is looking dark. I know you haven't done his skin yet, but the NMM looks like a dark gold. That's fine for NMM, but combine that with the dark cape and the figure seems to be fading into the background. If you go with a bright green for the dino skin, that could become the focus. I'd be tempted to do a much brighter and more saturated red for his cape to help bring the focus back. Now, this could just be due to the lighting in the pictures, so use your own judgement based on what you see in person.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Will respond to what you said Bails and others, but first I need a vote. Black or green? Please note the green seen next to the black in this photo is not finished so disregard it. Compare the black to the above shot of tail...personally leaning black...
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
This will be my pallet then, Bailey...PS I am open to advice on how to improve on what I've done. Be advised that the sideI painted as an example is the shadowy side due to the raptor's positioning.
BloodFather of Kharnath
Active member
Too late. I dove in, head first, on the dark green/dark violet mix. TBH, I am struggling a bit to get the results I want. Any advice is appreciated, especially from you DP.
One issue is that my highlights aren't very smooth. I think I need to be more subtle with gradation changes. I only have 3 highlights I am working with and there are some not so subtle gradation changes in there.
Mainly though, my issue is this: the model has a lot of wrinkles and textures built in, which is just awesome artistry on behalf of Freeman. However, this has compelled me to paint in short lines to accentuate these skin folds. Well, it is hard to do this whilst maintaining smooth gradations and establishing zones of light and dark. So, rather than having smooth (and difficult) transition from dark purple/black to light gray, I feel like I have these abrupt and glaring lines. Perhaps I need to treat the skin like any otheR surface but use my line technique only for final highlights? I don't know the solution here.
Also, a little uncertain at this time on how I am going to do additional accents on his skin. His bird feet/knees I will do purple, just like Bailey, but but his face I want to somehow transition from the base tone to tan white to purple to pink. And maybe some Browns and oranges in there too.
Yikes...I have a plan but no vision...Any...I say again ANY expertise than can be shared is appreciated x1000
One issue is that my highlights aren't very smooth. I think I need to be more subtle with gradation changes. I only have 3 highlights I am working with and there are some not so subtle gradation changes in there.
Mainly though, my issue is this: the model has a lot of wrinkles and textures built in, which is just awesome artistry on behalf of Freeman. However, this has compelled me to paint in short lines to accentuate these skin folds. Well, it is hard to do this whilst maintaining smooth gradations and establishing zones of light and dark. So, rather than having smooth (and difficult) transition from dark purple/black to light gray, I feel like I have these abrupt and glaring lines. Perhaps I need to treat the skin like any otheR surface but use my line technique only for final highlights? I don't know the solution here.
Also, a little uncertain at this time on how I am going to do additional accents on his skin. His bird feet/knees I will do purple, just like Bailey, but but his face I want to somehow transition from the base tone to tan white to purple to pink. And maybe some Browns and oranges in there too.
Yikes...I have a plan but no vision...Any...I say again ANY expertise than can be shared is appreciated x1000
