OFFICIAL Creature Caster launching on Kickstarter
- Thread starter CreatureCaster
- Start date
MAXXxxx
Well-known member
I feel sorry for you.
Seen this on Dakka(spider unbox): http://s1120.photobucket.com/user/Conrad_dakarn/library/Creature Caster
that saved me time and money. No way I'm gonna spend time fixing mistakes like that.
marjedi
New member
Dear god.
I am so close to not even bothering paying for shipping, and just writing the kickstarter off as a loss. Since the models come from Canada, there is a very good chance I have to pay customs and taxes. All of this will run 90-100$. Money I could spend on other items. Like one of the gorgeous upcoming Lords of Change from GW.
kittykat23uk
New member
They are ramping up their launch campaign for retail.on Facebook and Twitter. Anyone posting critical comments about the Kickstarter campaign or the quality of the casting is being deleted and blocked. Someone posted the unboxing videos there, they were taken down and blocked as well.
They are offering free international shipping and a 15% discount to retail customers. We have not yet seen exactly what retail prices will be, but it's safe to say that those of us who backed pledges over the minimum now needed to qualify for free shipping are up in arms about the way we have been treated.
Oh but if you want to spend an additional $270 on top of your pledge amount your whole order qualifies for free shipping! Having seen the quality of the casts I am amazed that so many people are still lining up to get bent over on this one.
In all honesty I am really sad, I loved the sculpts I just wish the execution of the casting had been better. Well maybe they will surprise me and send me some better casted pieces out to me!!
They are offering free international shipping and a 15% discount to retail customers. We have not yet seen exactly what retail prices will be, but it's safe to say that those of us who backed pledges over the minimum now needed to qualify for free shipping are up in arms about the way we have been treated.
Oh but if you want to spend an additional $270 on top of your pledge amount your whole order qualifies for free shipping! Having seen the quality of the casts I am amazed that so many people are still lining up to get bent over on this one.
In all honesty I am really sad, I loved the sculpts I just wish the execution of the casting had been better. Well maybe they will surprise me and send me some better casted pieces out to me!!
Bailey03
Well-known member
Regarding the store, I don't mind that as long as they finish shipping all of the KS orders before anything from the store goes out. Looks like the site says the store opens next month, so it appears they are trying to fulfill the KS first. Of course, considering all the unhappy people from the KS, I'm not sure how well their store launch will do.
I finally got my email about paying for shipping a few days ago. Was something like $10-15 US. Pictures like the ones MAXXxxx showed are not encouraging, but I've waited this long I'd like to at least get something. Hopefully I'll be able to salvage the piece, though it the casts are bad I'll see what can be done about getting replacement parts. I'm not optimistic, but am happy to be a bother if they want to send out crap.
I finally got my email about paying for shipping a few days ago. Was something like $10-15 US. Pictures like the ones MAXXxxx showed are not encouraging, but I've waited this long I'd like to at least get something. Hopefully I'll be able to salvage the piece, though it the casts are bad I'll see what can be done about getting replacement parts. I'm not optimistic, but am happy to be a bother if they want to send out crap.
cfwheeler58
Member
I'm right where Bailey is on this one.
I'm pretty sure I spent more than most and will be one of the last to receive.
At this point, it's hard to imagine that my concerns are as important as whatever
they need to do to get the retail store up and running.
My overall luck on indiegogo and Kickstarter has been very good.
I have more money committed to this than any other.
I will be rather vocal if sent feces.
That's just the way it is.......
I'm pretty sure I spent more than most and will be one of the last to receive.
At this point, it's hard to imagine that my concerns are as important as whatever
they need to do to get the retail store up and running.
My overall luck on indiegogo and Kickstarter has been very good.
I have more money committed to this than any other.
I will be rather vocal if sent feces.
That's just the way it is.......
SkelettetS
New member
been lurking a lot of threads regarding this CC kickstarterand was surprised they didnt get more negative feedback on FB but now i know why then Kittykat.
:bad:
i would be totally pissed if i had backed this.
:bad:
i would be totally pissed if i had backed this.
Well they've posted a couple of painted models here. If anyone wanted to give other gamers/painters a heads up on how badly their models have fared up to now I'm sure the community would appreciate it.
kittykat23uk
New member
That's what I thought when I first saw them too.
Bailey03
Well-known member
Got my plague angel today. My initial impression is the kit isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. Only had about 5 minutes to look it over, but no major flaws. Found one bubble in a spot that's hard to see and easy to fix. A couple mold lines will be a pain to clean, but those are limited to a few spots. Definitely had worse on other kits. Pieces fit together well and, aside from those few spots, clean up should be quick. My main complaint is the softness of the details. Not what I'd expect from a resin figure. More fitting on a plastic gaming kit than a high end resin collectors piece.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not rushing out to buy their other kits. And, based on other comments, would definitely want to view them in person before buying. But I'm not unhappy with the kit (though happy isn't quite right either). All in all, I'm still interested in painting the piece. Will take a bit more work on my part to bring out the detail with paint, but i can deal with that.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not rushing out to buy their other kits. And, based on other comments, would definitely want to view them in person before buying. But I'm not unhappy with the kit (though happy isn't quite right either). All in all, I'm still interested in painting the piece. Will take a bit more work on my part to bring out the detail with paint, but i can deal with that.
Bailey03
Well-known member
Got to take a closer look under better lighting, there are some more mold lines which will be trouble. Just more pain the butt sort of stuff. I really wish the detail was crisper. I'm seeing more little stuff in the sculpt that would have been very cool, but just didn't really get there with the cast.
gohkm
Active member
I'm starting to see reviews of Creature Caster stuff on Facebook groups I frequent. The reviews are more often positive than not.
I'm not sure if this is Shiny Syndrome at play, or they genuinely upped their game. There's even a guy who claims to know Jeremy personally, and that Jeremy would never let anything subpar out of his grasp.
I'm almost tempted to buy one piece and see what it actually is like.
I'm not sure if this is Shiny Syndrome at play, or they genuinely upped their game. There's even a guy who claims to know Jeremy personally, and that Jeremy would never let anything subpar out of his grasp.
I'm almost tempted to buy one piece and see what it actually is like.
MAXXxxx
Well-known member
they are probably doing more QC lately. After a few extra postage for replacement it begins to look to be better to do QC than to pay extra for the post.
Also: they are probably not as bad as they seem to be from the reviews, but not as good as they should be based on price/time it took.
1. FB is heavily censored
2. People have different expectations. Based on the pics I've seen until now my opinion is pretty negativ. But someone who had for example only board games would rate them pretty high (until that person sees product from other companies)
3. Post-purchase rationalization. Really important.
Bailey03
Well-known member
MAXXxxx, I definitely agree. That's what I tried to get across in my previous comment. Terrible, no? But definitely not what was promised in the KS. "Quality printing and casting is absolutely essential. I have the experience, knowledge and passion to make Creature Caster the Cadillac of model kits."
View attachment 55324
Let's see how that actually stacks up...
Here's one of the wings from the Plague Angel with a close up on the feather details. Definitely not crisp details. On the KS he wrote "The surface detail is carefully designed to look great when painted by a beginner, after a simple basecoat, ink and drybrush." Details on the actual cast are no where near good enough that an ink and drybrush would bring out any of those fine details. I imagine I could go in there and carefully paint it to look good, but that's by working against the cast and not with it.
View attachment 55319
Here's a look at the shoulder. Clearly he created some cool skull shapes there, but the result of the cast is just a bunch of blurry looking blobs. One might think the camera was just incredibly out of focus. Nope, that's exactly what's there.
View attachment 55320
As for mold lines, here's one of the worst on my kit.
View attachment 55321
Look, it's not all bad. The face and body look decent and there's still enough detail there to work with. Is it worth the $65 US I paid for the early bird pledge? Eh, probably not. Is it worth all the time we waited? Definitely not. And is it worth the $84 US retail price? Not to me.
View attachment 55322View attachment 55323
I like the concept and design of the figure. The kit is passable enough I'm not going to chuck it in the trash and, because I like the concept, I will most likely try to paint it. But had I seen this in person at a store, there's no way I would have bought it at retail. Maybe half price on the sale rack, then I'd have bought it on impulse.
View attachment 55324
Let's see how that actually stacks up...
Here's one of the wings from the Plague Angel with a close up on the feather details. Definitely not crisp details. On the KS he wrote "The surface detail is carefully designed to look great when painted by a beginner, after a simple basecoat, ink and drybrush." Details on the actual cast are no where near good enough that an ink and drybrush would bring out any of those fine details. I imagine I could go in there and carefully paint it to look good, but that's by working against the cast and not with it.
View attachment 55319
Here's a look at the shoulder. Clearly he created some cool skull shapes there, but the result of the cast is just a bunch of blurry looking blobs. One might think the camera was just incredibly out of focus. Nope, that's exactly what's there.
View attachment 55320
As for mold lines, here's one of the worst on my kit.
View attachment 55321
Look, it's not all bad. The face and body look decent and there's still enough detail there to work with. Is it worth the $65 US I paid for the early bird pledge? Eh, probably not. Is it worth all the time we waited? Definitely not. And is it worth the $84 US retail price? Not to me.
View attachment 55322View attachment 55323
I like the concept and design of the figure. The kit is passable enough I'm not going to chuck it in the trash and, because I like the concept, I will most likely try to paint it. But had I seen this in person at a store, there's no way I would have bought it at retail. Maybe half price on the sale rack, then I'd have bought it on impulse.
kittykat23uk
New member
Well I can assure you that my videos weren't doctored in any way, and looking at what Bailey just posted, his plangel seems to be on the same par as my dragons. I think part of the issue is with the casting but also part of the issue is with the original 3D digital sculpt. I think that there's a lot to be said for having that solid sculpture in hand so you can really see all the details that you are sculpting into your model, instead of relying on a screen. For example, there is more detail on the outside of the mouth of Bailey's plangel, but if you look at the image of the inside, the gumline is poorly defined.
Still waiting patiently for my replacement models, so I can do a comparison and see if their QC has improved.
anotherpainter
New member
I don't get it!
Why back up an kickstarter that promise perfect casts charge an insane amount of money without ever seeing their work?
If i get an Nuts Planet bust i get an perfect crisp cast, never ever saw a single bubble on any figure or part and minimum to none mold-lines. Delivered in 2 days for 45€-60€.
And most important i do know exactly what i will get before i buy it. If anything is wrong with it i can just send it back and get my money back.
When people talk about good kickstarter they mean they paid to much for a product that was actual decent and arrived in several months. Even then its an bad deal!
If they are successful and if they deliver in time i can just wait the reviews and buy it of the stock a week later (often cheaper).
You don't need hundretthousend dollar to create one resin cast. They and all others could just produce a cast at a time, sell them become bigger ... and so on.
For 99% of companys on this platform, its just free advertise where you can sell overpriced goods or thin air.
There are very few project where kickstarter makes sense, because the product would not exist otherwise.
Kickstarter and brothers was a good idea for very special businesses and got complete out of control.
end of rant.
Why back up an kickstarter that promise perfect casts charge an insane amount of money without ever seeing their work?
If i get an Nuts Planet bust i get an perfect crisp cast, never ever saw a single bubble on any figure or part and minimum to none mold-lines. Delivered in 2 days for 45€-60€.
And most important i do know exactly what i will get before i buy it. If anything is wrong with it i can just send it back and get my money back.
When people talk about good kickstarter they mean they paid to much for a product that was actual decent and arrived in several months. Even then its an bad deal!
If they are successful and if they deliver in time i can just wait the reviews and buy it of the stock a week later (often cheaper).
You don't need hundretthousend dollar to create one resin cast. They and all others could just produce a cast at a time, sell them become bigger ... and so on.
For 99% of companys on this platform, its just free advertise where you can sell overpriced goods or thin air.
There are very few project where kickstarter makes sense, because the product would not exist otherwise.
Kickstarter and brothers was a good idea for very special businesses and got complete out of control.
end of rant.
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Bailey03
Well-known member
Yeah, the pros and cons of kickstarters is a long discussion. In many cases kickstarters are essentially just used as pre-orders from well established companies. This applies to a lot of the CMON projects where the majority seems to be planned long in advance of the kickstarter. In other cases it's start up companies or individuals who have an idea and are looking for the funds to make it happen.
As for the pre-order instances, you normally get a discount and possibly some bonus extras for ordering early. Delivery times usually aren't that long, though obviously that isn't a given. These tend to be lower risk.
For the start up cases, like Creature Caster, the people behind it have a concept and hopefully some samples to show you, but the bulk of the work isn't done yet. The assumption is, without people supporting the project through kickstarter, it would not be able to happen. So, while you can sit back and wait for the project to have its commercial release, if everyone did that then there's no guarantee it'd ever happen. In this case, we saw most of the 3-D sculpts (or at least WIPs that were far enough along) and several 3-D prints and everything looked good. Where things really ran off track in terms of both delays and quality was the actual casting process. I've supported other kickstarters like Black Sailors, Arena Rex and Kingdom Death were the product was of fantastic quality and, because I backed the kickstarter, in many cases I got extras that weren't available to the general public. These kickstarters are higher risk. But, I look at it as I'm investing to make these projects happen and in return getting something for my money. If I like the project and believe in it, then I might be willing to take that risk. In other cases, like you said, I instead just wait and perhaps buy the retail version when it comes out. As for this one, it looked promising and I really wanted it to turn out well. But I was also conservative and only went in for a single figure, so I limited my risk.
In the end, you're taking a risk whenever you back a kickstarter so it's a good idea to be very critical when it comes to who you support and who you don't. For miniatures, I never back if all I see is concept art. I want to see the actual sculpts. In most cases it's unlikely they'll have production casts before the pledge period ends, but I will definitely pay more attention to their plans for casting (though in this case those plans changed). I've been pretty happy with the ones I've back. This one is probably the biggest disappointment for me, and even that isn't a total loss. I'm not backing too many these days. The most recent ones for me were the Quest, a project from Nocturna where I like the sculpts and, since they're an established company, I was not worried about the quality of the cast. The other was Kingdom Death 1.5. I didn't go crazy on that one like many others did, just got the upgrade to the base game and a few expansions. But that was based on a positive experience in their last kickstarter, so I have confidence there won't be too many issues with this one (plus much of their stuff is very hard to find outside of the kickstarter).
As for the pre-order instances, you normally get a discount and possibly some bonus extras for ordering early. Delivery times usually aren't that long, though obviously that isn't a given. These tend to be lower risk.
For the start up cases, like Creature Caster, the people behind it have a concept and hopefully some samples to show you, but the bulk of the work isn't done yet. The assumption is, without people supporting the project through kickstarter, it would not be able to happen. So, while you can sit back and wait for the project to have its commercial release, if everyone did that then there's no guarantee it'd ever happen. In this case, we saw most of the 3-D sculpts (or at least WIPs that were far enough along) and several 3-D prints and everything looked good. Where things really ran off track in terms of both delays and quality was the actual casting process. I've supported other kickstarters like Black Sailors, Arena Rex and Kingdom Death were the product was of fantastic quality and, because I backed the kickstarter, in many cases I got extras that weren't available to the general public. These kickstarters are higher risk. But, I look at it as I'm investing to make these projects happen and in return getting something for my money. If I like the project and believe in it, then I might be willing to take that risk. In other cases, like you said, I instead just wait and perhaps buy the retail version when it comes out. As for this one, it looked promising and I really wanted it to turn out well. But I was also conservative and only went in for a single figure, so I limited my risk.
In the end, you're taking a risk whenever you back a kickstarter so it's a good idea to be very critical when it comes to who you support and who you don't. For miniatures, I never back if all I see is concept art. I want to see the actual sculpts. In most cases it's unlikely they'll have production casts before the pledge period ends, but I will definitely pay more attention to their plans for casting (though in this case those plans changed). I've been pretty happy with the ones I've back. This one is probably the biggest disappointment for me, and even that isn't a total loss. I'm not backing too many these days. The most recent ones for me were the Quest, a project from Nocturna where I like the sculpts and, since they're an established company, I was not worried about the quality of the cast. The other was Kingdom Death 1.5. I didn't go crazy on that one like many others did, just got the upgrade to the base game and a few expansions. But that was based on a positive experience in their last kickstarter, so I have confidence there won't be too many issues with this one (plus much of their stuff is very hard to find outside of the kickstarter).
anotherpainter
New member
Why not? Thats exactly my point. We do not need to guess if they are or not, when we could just look at the product after they are done producing it.
I question exactly this assumption. If they took their time to create the models and 3d prints they can create a resin cast for few bucks more.
They do not need the money to start the buisness, they would do it anyways.
I would even say, if there buisness plan is upfronting 90% of the time and money and then cancel if they dont get enough preorders... they will fail anyways.
Look at @Rotten_Factory. Its one man and he is able to produce Resin prints of his bust without preorders.
We do not talk about a project that wants to mass produce personal mini helicopters and need 90% of the money upfront to build factorys. Its about resin casts.
And if they DO need this money and if they HAVE a working prototype and when People are WILLING to preorder, then they get this money from investment companys too.
Kickstarter lowers the intrest rate they have to pay. Thats all.
I do not think there where any bad intentions involved.
Thats the part where most fail. They have the product and they can produce it but they have no experience and connections to produce high quantity in good quality in low time.
I do understand the creator was a well known guy who delivered in the past. He showed his full product and was trustworthy. I do not ask why trust special this guy. I ask why do you need to trust at all.
I argue that there is no need to take any risk. We are not talking about a friend you help out or a buddy you believe in. We talk about business.
Money for goods. I do not believe in Burger King or support them or feel part of them, i just give them money for an burger.
I do believe in company and support them, by buying their stock!
So if they are successful i get a part of the win for my risk.
What does kickstarter give backers for the risk they take? The goods they paid allready.
For me the fact alone that its on kickstarter when its obvious the kickstarter money is not needed to make it happen, makes them look shady.
That said if i would have such an project, i would go on kickstarter myself too. Its the easyest way to get an intrest free credit without any safeties.
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