T. rex wave shipping soon, New Paint and in-Package Samples for 1.5 and more!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 03:34:18 PM

Hi All, I hope everyone has been enjoying their holiday season so far! It's time for the final Tyrannosaur update for 2022 and as usual, there's plenty to cover, so let's start with the most anticipated topic...

T. rex fulfillment status

US fulfillment- early January

In my previous update you may recall that the T. rex sea freight shipment was expected to arrive at the US port on Dec. 21st. Well, the most current arrival estimate is now set for none other than Christmas Day.

Allowing a few days for the shipment to be held and released from customs, trucked to our warehouse, and then have the cases sorted into inventory, the fulfillment will likely begin shortly after the New Year, which is still in line with my previous prediction of late December or early January. But if we can begin any sooner we certainly will. 

Also, if you need to update or check your shipping addresses, now is definitely the time to do so! 

UK and EU fulfillment now in progress

Great news for our backers in the UK and EU regions- Everything Dinosaur has just recently received their T. rex shipment and have begun fulfillment! So keep an eye out for those shipping confirmation emails.

Wave 1.5 paint samples

Moving right into the next set of figures, wave 1.5 is well underway and is expected to ship from the factory in mid-January with fulfillment expected to begin by late February. We have our factory paint samples now, and I'm happy say that this set has had the least amount of paint notes of any set so far. Here's a look!

 Yutyrannus

 Guanlong

 T. rex (juvenile) 

 Dilong

Stay tuned to my social media for more photos of these guys next month! 

Wave 1.5 package samples

In addition to the new paint samples, we have early package mock ups as well! Keep in mind that the window printing isn't present yet on these versions and you may see a couple misspellings (wacali?) but the final versions will have those issues resolved. In any case here's the first look at these figures in-package! 

Also, big thanks once again to Steven Melick for his help with the package designs.

I'll have the final versions to show off next month! Preorders for these are still open here. 

Wave 2 Catalog shots

Fine cuts for the Body 3 figures are being finished up now and I'll have progress to show on those soon. But for now, here are the rest of the catalog photos for wave 2!

 Bistahieversor

 Qianzhousaurus

 Lythronax

 Proceratosaurus

 Dryptosaurus

Wave 2 is currently listed for a March release, however this seems unlikely and I'm awaiting more updated information from the factory on this. I expect it to get set back by a month or two, but once I know more, I'll make an announcement.  

T. rex youtube reviews

For those who can't wait to see more of the new T. rex figures, I've sent early samples to some YouTube pros to help show off these tyrants in advance- check them out!

 Andy's Dinosaur Reviews- 1/18 scale 

 BionicleSaurus- 1/35th scale

 Andy's Dinosaur Reviews- 1/35th scale (WWD special edition)

 Dino Scream Reviews- 1/18th scale (Dino Riders special edition)

And that's a wrap for 2022!  I'll be taking some time off from social media after Christmas, but you can always find my most recent news on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or the 'News' section of my website. And as always, I'll be available via email or direct message, and will follow up as soon as possible.

Remember that the Tyrannosaur Series items, T. rexes included, will remain up for preorder at the discounted price at the until they become in-stock .  All other BotM items, can be found at the Creative Beast Studio shop.  Also note that in-stock US orders of $100 or more get free shipping for the remainder of this month at creative-beast.com.

Thank you all once again for the tremendous support this past year- I'm very excited for what's to come. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and I wish you all the best in 2023!

David

The 'T.rex wave' concludes- a look at the final packaged samples, plus new test shots and updated fulfillment schedule
over 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 10, 2022 at 11:24:36 PM

Hello again everyone, it's time for all of the latest news with the Tyrannosaur Series. I know we were all expecting to get our hands on those fully-painted T. rex figures soon, but we've had to adjust the schedule yet again. I'm going to break down all of the details for the 'T. rex' wave, as well as the following Wave 1 figures. So settle in for another jam-packed Beasts of the Mesozoic update!

T. rex wave update

Fulfillment schedule

I previously estimated that the regular T.rex figures would be fulfilled around the end of this month. However, toward the end of October, the factory requested a few more weeks to properly execute the detailed paint schemes on the T. rexes as well as the new Ceratopsians in this batch. For those who have been following BotM, you know I must always allow the factory the time they need to properly make these figures. As much as I hate delays, I consider insufficient quality to be way worse. So we now have a new projected schedule for the T. rex figures which has them shipping out from China next week and arriving to the US port on Dec. 21st. We'll need an additional week or two to get the product to the warehouse and sort it into inventory, so I'm now estimating fulfillment to begin around late December or early January. T. rex fulfillment via Everything Dinosaur is expected around the same time.

Early shipment to backers?

Similar to what I was able to do with the grey T. rexes, I had hoped to bring a portion of the new production run to the US warehouse via air freight to begin backer fulfillment ahead of the main shipment. However, the backer quantities in this case are extremely high and they make up the vast majority of the production run. Therefore it was not an option in this case, unfortunately. 

On a similar note, however, it was feasible to bring over the preorder quantities for the new Ceratopsians early, (Fans' Choice versions of Pachyrhinosaurus and Torosaurus, as well as the Diabloceratops reissue) so those that preordered before November, should have their orders well before Christmas.

Split shipping for Wave 1?

For those wondering if your T. rexes will ship automatically ahead of the rest of the wave 1 figures, the answer is 'yes'. There is no additional charge for this split shipment and I definitely don't want to make anyone wait until the rest of wave 1 is ready. More on that later.

 Final packaged T. rex samples 

So, was it worth the wait? Absolutely. After the set back with the lost paint masters, we have still managed to make some great-looking T. rexes. I am really impressed with the final samples, from the figures to the packaging. Take a look for yourselves!

 1/18th scale T.rex

 And if you're wondering if these were hand-picked by the factory as an example- I also requested additional photos of what that had there, and everything looks to be identical in quality. 

  1/35th scale T. rex

 1/35th scale T. rex Special Edition (WWD version)

 This may have been my favorite package to design so far. Directly influenced by the old Toyway figure, and of comparable size. I thought it was interesting that they never used the 'rex' in the name.

 1/18th scale T. rex Special Edition ('Dino Riders' version)

While the WWD rex was my favorite package to design, this one is my favorite overall. I love how it turned out and am so happy that we Dino Riders fans can finally get a big T. rex in these colors.

T. rex Special Editions- limited quantities at retail

As many of your know, with manufactured goods, certain quantity minimums must be met in order to make a production run. With these Kickstarter exclusives, it's not always easy to line up the total quantities with the backer demand. So between the unpaid backer surveys and a few extras from the run requirement, we still have some extras for both the 1/18 and 1/35 Special Editions. Kickstarter Backers have one more week to add to your exiting order at the original Kickstarter price. Please send me a message here if you'd like to add to your existing order.

BigBadToyStore

Regarding the 1/18th Special Edition- these are way too large for us to keep extras at our warehouse, so we've partnered with Bigbadtoystore, who've been a huge supporter of Beasts of the Mesozoic ever since the Raptor Series Kickstarter, to sell a very limited quantity.  Note that the MSRP there will be slightly higher than the standard 1/18 T. rex at $239.99. Depending on backer requests over the next week, you could eventually see the 1/35th version there as well, but again, the price would be higher than the standard 1/35th T. rex. Expect the 1/18 Special Edition preorder to go live there soon. 

Wave 1.5 Test Shots

Fulfillment schedule

We have more news regarding the upcoming Tyrannosaur set. Previously we were hoping to begin fulfillment of these in late December, but with the 'T.rex wave' being pushed back, these have also been delayed. With the T. rexes now finished, we finally have clarity on the upcoming production for this next batch. 

Production for the remainder of wave 1 is to finish up in mid-January, prior to Chinese New Year, putting fulfillment in mid to late February. We're expecting to see the first paint samples by the end of this month, with final packaged samples in early January.

For now though, here's a look at the new test shot figures!

 Yutyrannus

 Guanlong

 T. rex juvenile 

 Dilong

White box mockups

Currently, the box designs and layouts are in-progress for these as well. At this stage, the general parts layouts and box dimensions are worked out and based on that, the dielines for the package art files are determined. We're still working on the final positioning of the figures, but this gives us a general idea of how to proceed with the actual package designs.

And a bonus... Baby Diabloceratops 3-pack!

 This gives an idea of the different sizes of each boxed item.

Of course, I'll posting more info on these as it becomes available on my social media, so stay tuned.

 More grey T. rex customs

 Following up on the last update, we have more awesome customs to show for the grey T. rex figures. Enjoy!

 Thank you to everyone who submitted!

Andy's Dinosaur Reviews custom T.rex

Andy's Dinosaur Reviews posted this great video showing off his amazing 1/35 T. rex custom, inspired by Prehistoric Planet- check it out!

Tyrantisaurus Rex custom paint tutorial

And last but not least, here's my own custom paint tutorial showing how I painted my 1/18 T. rex into an homage to the Masters of the Universe Tyrantisaurus Rex! 

If anyone is interested in purchasing a grey T. rex, they're in-stock now at creative-beast.com.

 Wave 2 

 Just a small update on the Wave 2 figures for now. The final tooling parts are on their way to the factory now, these being for 'Body 3' - Lythronax, Bistahieversor, and Dryptosaurus- so I'm hoping to have new fine cuts to show you all next time. But for now, here are some new catalog photos for this wave!

Suskityrannus

Teratophoneus

Expect see more about wave 2 in the coming months!

LegionsCon wrap-up 

 Just a quick note regarding LegionsCon, which was this past weekend in Secaucus, NJ. Big 'Thank you' to everyone who came out and visited. I had such a great time chatting with the fans and it was a lot of fun to see the reactions to the new Cyberzoic prototypes. 

For those who couldn't attend, here's a sampling of what you missed!

The first painted armored dinosaur for Cyberzoic made an appearance at the show.- the Achillobator with converting Razorhound armor!

And here we are again at the end of long update- there's always just so much to share! Thank you for taking the time to read this far- I really put all I can into each one of these. But when I'm not posting Kickstarter updates, be sure to follow my latest posts on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Or, you can check out the 'News' section of my website.

Just a reminder that the Tyrannosaur Series items will remain up for preorder at the Tyrannosaur Series preorder store until they become in-stock .  And for all other BotM items, visit the Creative Beast Studio shop.

Take care everyone, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

David

Final T. rex paint masters, new package designs, wave 1 test shots and more!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 23, 2022 at 12:19:53 AM

Hi All! In the last update, I was just about to leave for Power-Con and now it's time to catch up on everything since then. So get ready for another BIG update. 

T. rex fulfillment status

First things first- let's address the current status of the upcoming T. rex figures. 

We're planning to have the next production run finished around mid-October. Which means that the main stock will likely not arrive at our warehouse until the latter part of November. However, for the Kickstarter fulfillment, I do plan to ship a small portion of the production run via airmail to the US which will get the items to backers a little early, hopefully still meeting the late October estimate mentioned previously. Everything Dinosaur will likely have to fulfill in November, however, so for the UK and EU backers, if you would prefer to have your items shipped from the US, please let me know as soon as possible. 

As many of you know, the shipping dates have become extremely hard to predict, but I'll continue to do what I can to get the items fulfilled as efficiently as possible without compromising the production process.

Final T. rex paint masters

Last time, I showed you all the unaltered, newly created paint masters from the factory based on my photo reference, which were meant to replace the ones lost in transit this past spring.  Here now are the final new paint masters, after my own revisions. And I'm happy to report that these did arrive safely to the factory with no issues. So here now is a look at the final final T. rex paint masters.

1/35 T. rex

 1/18 T. rex

 1/35 T. rex (Special Edition)

 1/18 T. rex (Special Edition)

Last call for Special Edition T. rex figures

On that note, the order with factory has been placed and is in progress now. But there are still a few slots available for the special edition T. rex figures for those who backed the Kickstarter campaign. Please message me soon if anyone is interested in adding these to your order. 

Paint sample comparisons

So, the next step after the factory received the new modified paint masters is for them to go back and adjust their own paint samples to look just like the ones I modified.  Here are some examples of the results of our process. Note that the paint masters are labeled with masking tape.

1/35th

 1/18th

 1/35th (SP)

 1/18th (SP)

This process took place over the course of several weeks of back and forth notes to get things just right. There were too many exchanges to show here, but these photos show a good idea of where we ended up. Unfortunately this process set us back a couple of weeks, but it was unavoidable and undoubtedly worth it. After all of the trouble with this, I'm really glad to have things finally on-track now!

New package design layouts

 And as we progress with this new series, we also have a brand new look for the Beasts of the Mesozoic packaging! You saw a hinting at this with the grey T. rex package design, but with these new regular releases, we get to have the full-on new BotM look, complete with window printing.

Both the 1/18 and 1/35 T. rex figures will share the same general design...

 But the backs will be different.

1/35th

I also want to give a big 'thank you' to Steve Melick for his help with this new package design.

 1/18th

I do want to note however, that the Fans Choice Ceratopsians will continue with the previous design style for the sake of series continuity. 

And now we get to the fun ones- here's a preview of the packaging for the Special Edition T. rex figures!

First we have the 1/35th scale rex with packaging inspired by the  Walking With Dinosaurs 'Tyrannosaurus' figure packaging by Toyway from 2000.

And for the big 1/18th scale rex, we have package design based on the Dino Riders Tyrannosaurus rex toy packaging by Tyco in 1988. 

Both of the later two will have inner boxes as well, but we'll save those for next time.

Tooling update for the rest of Wave 1

The tooling has been completed for the next batch of figures and the factory is currently in the 'debugging' stage of creating the first test shot figures. This is when they test the molds with the first plastic injections, or 'shots', to catch any molding or articulation issues. 

 These are the very first examples of the assembled plastic figures, so if you catch any assembly errors such as  Alectrosaurus having the juvenile T. rex lower legs and neck, or the body 1 figures with upside down necks, there's no need for concern- the arrangements are a bit chaotic at first with so many parts to sort out. 

 I'll take some proper photos later once I have the test shots in-hand, which should be in the next few weeks. It's always exciting to move these figures around for the first time, so I'm very much looking forward to that! And it's still to soon to know if there will be any changes regarding the release date for these, but we're still aiming for late 2022.

Grey T. rex (and friends) stocking soon

While all of the Kickstarter backers and early preorders have had their grey T. rexes fulfilled by now, the remaining quantity is expected to arrive at the warehouse any day now, so this will be final weekend to take advantage of the preorder on BackerKit. While the price will remain the same once in-stock at creative-beast.com shop, the shipping costs will be slightly higher.

Other new arrivals

It's also the final preorder weekend for the 4 inch 1/18 scale raptors and ceratopsians, as well as the Fans Choice Medusaceratops, the big green Triceratops 'Steelhorn',  and the new two Build-a-Raptors. 

For anyone still interested in preordering, these can be found here on  creative-beast.com.

BotM T. rex fan customs!

One of the coolest things about releasing the paint-your-own versions is seeing people's custom paint designs. Here are some of the stand-out paint customs done so far, using the grey BotM T. rex figures. 

 For those who would still like to submit a custom to be featured- not to worry, I plan to have more T. rexes to show in future updates! Simply email me your BotM T. rex custom photos at [email protected] or message me on Facebook/ Instagram with your submissions.

Follow up on Power-Con '22

 For those who've made it this far- nice job- we're almost done!

I just wanted to thank everyone who came out to Power-Con this past month and stopped by our booth.

 It was great to meet so many new fans and to also gain some new ones. I absolutely loved this show and can't wait to go back next year. It truly was  'AMERICA'S MIGHTIEST TOY CONVENTION!'

 Once again, Pixel Dan was on-hand and did a great little video showing off the display, mostly centered around the MOTU Tyrantisaurus rex (not-Megatron) custom that I made for this show.

 And while it wasn't meant to be a product reveal, I am putting together a tutorial on how I made this custom from a grey BotM T. rex, so stay tuned to my social media for that.

 Ahh, okay that's all for now. If you're still reading, thanks so much for hanging in there- I hope it was worth while! I only do these Kickstarter updates every so often, but there's always new posts and updates on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Or if social media isn't or thing, keep an eye on the 'News' section of my website, updated every weekend.

Of course, the entire Tyrannosaur Series will remain up for preorder at the Tyrannosaur Series preorder store until they become in-stock .  And as for everything else, check out the Creative Beast Studio shop.

Take care everyone, and happy autumn!
 

David

Grey T. rexes shipping and a Full Update on the Wave 1 Status!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 04, 2022 at 02:24:43 PM

Hi All, hope everyone is well! Man, a lot has happened since the last update. Everything is moving along of course, but not without a few surprises. Some things are going according to plan, while other things... are taking longer than expected. Thus seems to be way with action figure production, especially lately. But enough for the intro...

Grey T. rexes pledges begin fulfillment tomorrow

One thing that has remained mostly on-track, at least since the last update, is the early fulfillment of the Grey T. rexes for Kickstarter backers and for those who preordered early. As some of you may have heard, a small quantity of these were first offered at San Diego Comic Con a couple weeks ago.  Getting new product from the factory to that show was relatively easy due to the proximity of California to China. In addition, the plan was to also have the fulfillment quantities at the warehouse that same week. However, that shipment, being much larger, was held up for about a week in U.S. customs due to random inspection and only just arrived at our warehouse yesterday.  

I should also mention that there have been some changes to the fulfillment plan that was mentioned in the previous update. My intention was to work with an additional warehouse in California to help get product out sooner, because as I mentioned, the proximity to the factory would have been much more favorable. However, after inquiring further, it became obvious that the logistics of splitting product between two locations (CA and NJ) would become very complicated and potentially very costly. So I opted to ship the early production portion to my regular NJ warehouse location (Fulfillrite) via air freight and despite the customs delay, that looks to work just fine. For those interested, this shipment also includes the 6 new 4" Raptors and Ceratopsians, The Fans' Choice Medusaceratops, The 'Steelhorn' green Triceratops, and both reissued Build-a-Raptor sets. Those items have begun shipping today to those who preordered early, and the Grey T. rexes will begin shipping tomorrow.  By the way, if you know you have a Grey T. rex pledge or preorder and you recently moved, please contact me with the new address immediately. It's important to note that this early quantity is specifically for the Kickstarter and preorders before July 5th. All later preorders, as well as the regular stock, is now expected to arrive around mid- September, so their respective preorders will remain up until that time. 

Everything Dinosaur

For our UK and EU backers, a shipment of Grey T. rexes on its way to Everything Dinosaur now specifically for the fulfillment of the Kickstarter pledges and BackerKit preorders before July 5th. So, expect those to begin shipping within the next week or so. As of this update, they aren't stocking the Grey T. rex, but they will be stocking the Tyrannosaur Series Wave 1 as well as the subsequent waves. 

Grey T. rex Review

Our pal Greg at Dino Scream Reviews made a great early review video for both Grey T. rex figures, so if you're interested in either of these figures, be sure to to give this a watch!

 Wave 1 Status

T. rex Paint Samples

There's been a lot happening with the Wave 1 releases since last time. Let's begin with a look at the early paint samples!

T. rex Paint Sample Progress

 As many of you know, the original prototypes/ paint masters for these T. rexes were unfortunately lost in transit after I shipped them to the factory, never even making it out of the US. So using my own photos of those prototypes as reference, the factory did their best to replicate the paintwork, and what you see here is their first pass, unaltered. 

 Admittedly, they all still need a little work to get them where they need to be, but given the circumstances, I think they pretty good! After I return from Power-Con this weekend, I'll be focusing on finishing up these four and sending them back as the final paint masters to be followed for production.

 After I'm done finishing these, I'll be sure to take some photos to share with you all.

 Wave 1 Fine Cut adjustments 

Last time, I showed the fine cut figures for the rest of wave 1. At that time, I'd recently sent them back to the factory for tooling, but I did have some notes. Well, the corrections I requested with those notes have taken the better part of the past month, longer than expected, and only now are we actually ready to tool these bad boys.

You may recall that it's not just the Wave 1 figures that are being tooled right now, but all of the Body 1 (five figures), Body 2 (four figures), plus Dilong, Yutyrannus, the baby Diabloceratops, AND the Old Buck horns. So it has been a lot to go over to get everything correct. But I'm happy to say that we are finally ready to move forward with all of these. Here's a look at the recent improvements. 

Yutyrannus  'lip' adjustment

 'Yuty' here had trouble closing its mouth, looking like a constant snarl or a smirk. While that does look kind of cool, it's not what I wanted. So now the lips are flush to protect those beautiful teeth when they aren't chomping on prey.

Yutyrannus standing legs

 Based on my notes, these two interchangeable standing legs were created recently and work the same as the standing legs for the T. rex figures. 

Wrist joints and hand positions for Body 1 and 2

One of the biggest challenges, surprisingly, was articulating the small wrists of the Body 1 and Body 2 figures. Unlike the Dilong and Yutyrannus, there was not enough room for a double ball joint. So the hands had to be fixed at the proper angle for each one (based on the prototypes) and each uses the disc joint, just like the 1/18 T. rex. Getting the angles nailed down took several attempts, but I eventually got them where I wanted them.

 It's worth mentioning that the  hands in the upper right are brand new hands for Eotyrannus with the longer third digit and shorter arms. I was barely able to implement this in time based on the newly published findings. It's been suggested that I adjust the head sculpt as well, but for the sake of not delaying these figures further, and given that the head is mostly covered in 'fluff', I opted not to. Plus, I just don't think it's a good idea to make significant changes to the look of a figure that many people have already ordered. But tweaking the hands and arms seemed subtle enough.

Detail enhancements for Body 2- heads, necks, and hands

 On the Body 2 fine cuts, there were definitely some missing scale details on the heads, necks , and most notably on the hands. There was also some work done to get the mouths to close properly, and the tongues had to be adjusted as well.

For all of these parts, I had them go back into the sculpts and either define the existing details more, or add back in what was lost. They all look much better now!

Body 2 foot pegs in base

 I wasn't sure how well this would work, but I had them add in two small base pegs for the feet. So far it looks really good, but I imagine this will only be good for photos and not so much for long term display. These will include posing rods as well.

Dilong tail adjustment and writs pegs

 The tail positioning for Dilong was initially too low so I had them base the tail holes on the deluxe Raptor figures with the option of the raised or lowered tail plugs. The neck feather articulation was also improved as were the wrist joints.

Wave 1 Fulfillment- Updated

So now to address the T. rex in the room- will this cause a delay? There's no way around it, the answer is 'yes'.  The tooling process itself will take 1-2 months and we'll need an additional 1-2 months for paint sample approval and production. Now, before we start worrying about how that lines up with the holiday season, let's take a closer look at what all is currently in development and how far along we actually are with each figure.

Set 1

These figures are now planned for October, as they do not require new tooling. These figures are currently at the paint sample stage.

-1/18 T. rex (regular)

-1/18 T. rex Special Edition

- 1/35 T. rex (regular)

-1/35 T. rex Special Edition

-Fans' Choice Pachyrhinosaurus

-Fans' Choice Torosaurus

-Diabloceratops reissue

Set 2

And these figures are tentative for mid to late December. These figures are currently at the tooling stage:

-Juvenile T. rex

-Yutytrannus

-Dilong

-Guanlong

-'Old Buck' (both versions)

-Baby Diabloceratops 3-pack

So despite my plan to have all of these available at the same time, right now it's looking like these SKU's will be split if I'm to get things out as they're ready, which is my intention. I know that many of you have several figures from the Wave 1 Tyrannosaurs and you may be wondering,  'Will I need to pay more to split my order again?' No, there will not be an additional charge to split the T. rex figures from the rest of the Wave 1 figures.  I will cover this additional shipping expense.

It's always regrettable to have to push back a release date,  but as in past circumstances, the development has to take priority over meeting the estimated fulfillment times.  I've learned so much over the years about action figure manufacturing, but one thing I still have yet to master is estimating the amount of time involved.  But, as always, the delay means more time to take advantage of the preorder pricing. 

I will be updating the delivery estimates on the product descriptions shortly. Thank you all in advance for your understanding and patience. 

SDCC Follow-up

I just want to briefly mention here what great pleasure it was to exhibit at San Diego Comic Con a few weeks ago! 'Thank you' to all who were able to make it out, I had a great time chatting with the BotM fans as well as making some new ones. 

And in case you weren't able to attend the show, Pixel Dan made this great little video showing off the entire table display, including the new reveals for Cyberzoic. Take a look!

 Tomorrow I leave for Ohio for Power-Con. I hope to see some of you there as I'm sure it will be an awesome time for us adult toy collectors!

That'll do it for now. It's been pretty crazy these past few weeks, but no matter what's happening, there's always more news to share. Follow along with the latest developments on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or via the 'News' section of my website, updated every weekend.

The Tyrannosaur Series is still up for preorder at the Tyrannosaur Series preorder store .  And of course, for all other BotM items, go to the Creative Beast Studio shop.

                                                Take care and until next time!

David

Grey Tyrannosaurus rex in-package, July Fulfillment plan and Wave 1 Progress!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 12:24:00 AM

 Hello everyone, it's time once again to get caught up on the latest developments with the Tyrannosaur Series!

You can already see where we'll be starting off, so let's dive in.

Grey Tyrannosaurus rex Update

The grey T. rexes are in the final stage of completion now and I'll be reviewing the final final sample figures this week. Plenty of work has gone into the development of these which we'll get further into, but first here's a look at the figures in package!

1/35th scale

 Box dimensions 10.5" x 8.25" x 4.75"  (26.7cm x 21cm x 12cm)

 Each will come attached to two plastic trays with the main figure on top and the base with interchangeable parts on the bottom.

 One of the recent improvements has been the longer, more sturdy metal foot pins in the base.

 1/18th scale

 Box dimensions 18" x 12.5" x 8.25"  (45.7cm x 31.8cm x 21cm)

 Again, this one also comes in a similar arrangement to the 1/35th scale version, but MUCH larger of course.

This version includes the new metal foot pins as well.

 It's hard to get a proper sense of how big this box is from the photos, but this should give you some indication. Here it is with the adult Triceratops.

 So what's the difference between this sample and the final final sample I mentioned? Read on...

 T. rex mold adjustments 

One of the most challenging issues that has come up while developing these figures has surprisingly been getting the mouths to close completely. It was very important to me that the mouth could be closed as I'd shown previously with the fine cut figures (I even used a photo of this on the back of the packaging). But the injection-molded test shots were unable to achieve this. 

They had to first figure out what the problem was and then adjust the metal tooling to change the way the head and mouth parts fit together.  

 So at this point, I'm happy to say that this issue is now fixed on both heads, though I don't have them in-hand just yet. Here's the updated 1/35th version...

 And the updated 1/18th version. This was the much more complicated one to fix.

In addition, other recent adjustments include:

 -finding the right hardness for the neck and torso that could hold the correct shape while still being flexible enough to pose.

-Getting the 1/18th scale bases to attach more securely for posed displays

-Plastic hardness was increased for the standing legs for better weight-bearing durability. 

These were only the recent improvements- there've been more before this, like for instance the metal foot pins and the wires that were missing in the tail ends initially. Each new figure often goes through a few rounds of improvements before being ready for production, and the T. rex here has been one of the more complicated examples. 

Fulfillment plan

So what does all of this mean for the fulfillment? Will the time involved with these adjustments affect the shipping schedule? Yes and no. Normally this would be a solid 'yes', however, after all of the transit delays last year, I've been working on strategies for making the shipping process from the factory to the US more efficient thus making products available sooner. This includes hiring a new freight forwarder and working with an additional fulfillment warehouse.

For the Kickstarter pledges and preorders, I'm currently arranging to have some of the new stock warehoused on the west coast. This means that a small portion of the upcoming production order, enough for the current preorders plus some extras, are expected to be shipped in a few weeks via air freight ahead of the main quantity. These will be sent to a new fulfillment location, much closer to the factory than our main New Jersey location, in California. That way, fulfillment for the grey T. rexes should still be achievable during the latter half of next month as planned. 

The remaining stock will then be completed and shipped from the factory by the end of July via sea freight, estimated to arrive in our main warehouse sometime around late August or early September. However it's important to note that fulfillment to the EU and UK through Everything Dinosaur will still be subject to sea freight and will have to be fulfilled around that time as well. Alternatively, if you live in those regions and would prefer to have your items shipped from the US, please let me know soon. But if you're concerned about US import fees, you may want to hold off and ship with Everything Dinosaur, though you can also contact me about duty-free shipping options from the US, which will vary depending the destination.

Grey T. rex preorders

The grey T. rex preorders will remain open until the regular stock arrives, but the cut off for July fulfillment from the US will be July 5th, after that preorder fulfillment will change to late August/ early September when the regular stock arrives. (The retail price for the grey T. rexes will remain the same as the preorder, but the shipping cost is likely to increase slightly once in-stock since the current shipping charges are lower in most cases than the actual costs.) 

The other July preorder items are included with this fulfillment plan as well, and if it's successful, this method of sending out preorders ahead of the main stock will continue for future releases as an incentive for those who ordered early.

Wave 1 T. rex paint samples coming next month 

 That leads us to the latest on the Wave 1 figures. The good news is that the first paint samples for the T. rex figures are being worked on now, and I'm even expecting to have the regular versions on display at San Diego Comic Con next month! (more on that later) 

The not so good news is that all four of my hand-painted T. rex prototypes were lost during shipping, not even making it out of the US. Yup, shipping problems strike again, but there was always a contingency for this. As you all know,  I take plenty of photos of each prototype to share here and on social media, but those photos also serve as reference images for the factory to follow in case something like this happens. They'll make the best paint samples they can using that photo reference, then the samples will be sent to me. I in turn finish up the paintwork, photograph the figures again and send them back. To be fair, this is the only time we've ever lost a package during the production process, but luckily it's something we've been prepared for. In any case, we're getting new paint samples of these figures soon, and I can't wait.

More Wave 1 Fine Cut photos

In the previous update, I showed the factory's photos of the remaining wave 1 fine cut figures and this time I have a few photos of my own to share. These fine cuts are back with the factory now, I've provided them with my notes, and the tooling process is underway. Expect to start seeing paint samples of these sometime in August.

 Guanlong

 One thing worth mentioning is that all of the wrists will be changed to a barbell joint for hand movement in any direction. They used disc joints on these, which worked on the large T. rex, but for smaller figures, I found it too limiting, especially for posing the hands in more natural resting positions.

 Juvenile T. rex

 Also worth noting- the juvenile rex, as well as its other 'body 2' counterparts, will have small foot pegs in the base for temporary, free-standing poses. Though the posing rods will still be included for long-term display options.

 Dilong

 The tail on this Dilong is actually plugged in too low. Expect this to have the same tail attachment as the deluxe raptors, with a high and a low tail plug. The reversed hands however- well that's on me. ..

 Yutyrannus

 Do you spot the new piece? That's right, the base will include an optional add-on portion which can be used with both the Body 3 base (above) and the Body 4 base (below). And of course it will use the same connector tab that comes with the 1/18th scale T. rex. 

 As for the wave 1 schedule so far- with the new shipping strategy mentioned earlier, we still have a reasonable chance at mid-to-late September preorder fulfillment. However there's still plenty of work left to do so if anything changes, and it very well could,  I'll be sure to let you all know.

Upcoming Convention Appearances

San Diego Comic Con

Finally after a two-year hiatus, San Diego Comic Con is back and I was lucky enough to keep my spot as an exhibitor. The show runs from July 27 thru the 24th, with preview night on Wednesday the 26th. Even if you can't make it out, I'll be posting photos of my table setup and any new reveals on my social media. If all goes as planned, I'll even have the new July products at the show for sale while the preorders are being fulfilled. If you can make it out to the show, be sure to stop by table B-03!

Powercon

Two weeks later, on August 5-7th, I'll be at Powercon in Columbus Ohio. I've been wanting to go to this show for a long time now so it'll be great to finally attend- and as a guest no less! Once again, I'll have product on hand and plenty on display. I may even paint up one my own T. rex figures just for fun. 

So, that's the news for now and I hope you all enjoyed yet another look into this toy-making process. The coming month is shaping up to be quite eventful, so be sure to follow along with all of the updates on my social media at Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter, or through the 'News' section of my website, updated every Sunday.

And remember, you can find the entire Tyrannosaur product line up for preorder at the Tyrannosaur Series preorder store . And for all other BotM items, check out my Creative Beast Studio shop.

                                Take care everyone, and happy summer!

David