Still projected to ship on time (despite some challenges)!
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 11:14:08 AM
Hello backers!
The production of these beautiful dice is almost finished. All of the d120 dice have been laser marked with their numbers and are currently in transit. The 120-sided d20s are being marked as we speak and they are last bit of manufacturing that needs to be completed before I can begin all the packing and shipping. The final elements of the packaging are also on the way. Both the cylinders that will hold the dice and the cardboard trays that will hold those cylinders securely in the box for shipping have been manufactured and are in transit.
According to the current schedule I should be shipping all of your rewards in the final week of April.
Manufacturing these dice is an extraordinarily difficult undertaking. Knowing this, I included a generous amount of extra contingency time in the production schedule and it is a good thing I did! In the first batches there were some slight misalignments during the machining process and later some issues with the anodizing that required my machinists to recycle those dice and start over. This meant an additional order of aluminum and steel was needed and we had to wait for that to arrive before completing the machining. The hardness of the 304 stainless steel also required the team to slow down the machining more than anticipated, further adding to the production time.
Despite these challenges, I am currently still on track to ship your rewards by the last day of April as promised!
I want to give a big thank you to my backers. None of this would be possible without your support. There are reasons that you don't see this type of product from larger dice makers. The manufacturing costs are too high and the profit margins too low to justify the design time required and the risk involved. Your support enables me to bring passion projects like this into reality and for that I am deeply grateful.
Happy gaming,
David
Still on schedule!
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 01:29:26 PM
Hello backers!
I am happy to report that everything is coming along well.
The dice production is progressing as expected and is on track to finish according to schedule.
The wood stands, leather bags, and microfiber bags have been delivered to me and they all turned out great! When it comes to packaging, the boxes (both the fancy inner box as well as the shipping box) have been manufactured and should arrive to me within a week.
There are two additional pieces of packaging I designed to ensure these heavy metal dice are well secured for shipment: a cylinder which will actually contain the die and a cardboard insert to secure the cylinder in the box and prevent any unwanted movement. Both the cylinders and inserts are currently being manufactured and are scheduled to arrive with enough time remaining for me to pack and ship all your rewards in April.
I can't wait to have everything ready to finally start sending your rewards! Thank you as always for your support. You make it possible for me to take my epic dice designs and turn them into beautiful objects that participate in countless adventures at your gaming tables across the world.
Happy gaming,
David
Production is underway and on schedule!
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jan 05, 2023 at 04:44:55 PM
Hello backers,
I hope that you all had an enjoyable holiday season and are excited for a new year! I've been working hard on this project and I am happy to report that everything is on schedule for your rewards to ship in April as promised!
Machining the dice has been going smoothly so far. After all the dice are machined, the next step for the aluminum dice will be the bead blast and anodizing while the steel dice will receive their mirror polish.
Production of the accessories has been progressing nicely. I have already received the completed order of hundreds of wooden stands and I should be taking delivery of both the leather and microfiber bags within the next few weeks.
As far as packaging goes, I have placed the order for the boxes as well as the outer shipping boxes and they will be manufactured soon. I have been spending a lot of time figuring out the best way to secure the die and accessories within the box so that they will arrive safely. Packaging a 1.4 lb hunk of steel for shipment is a challenge. An item that heavy and dense can easily destroy most packaging and beat up everything else in the box. I take pride in the appearance of the packaging I design and simply bundling the die it up in a bunch of bubble wrap doesn't seem like the elegant presentation I am striving for (not to mention the mountain of bubble wrap that would end up in the landfill). After considering many options I designed a strong cardboard cylinder that will hold the die and a heavy duty cardboard insert that will hold the cylinder securely in the center of the box while leaving room for both a wooden stand and leather (or microfiber) bag. I'll have some images in a future update so that you can see how it will look.
For now I will leave you with some images of the dice being machined. Thank you for your support and happy gaming!
David
Pledge Manager is now open!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 08:54:25 PM
Hello all!
All backers should now have an email with their link to the BackerKit pledge manager. Follow that link and add all the items you want (they are all in the "add-on" section). Your Kickstarter pledge will be applied as a credit.
Any additional amount won't be charged until shortly before I ship, which will be in April 2023 or hopefully sooner. I will be sure to send out an update before any charges happen to make sure no one is surprised and also to give everyone a chance to update their shipping address if necessary.
Thanks for your support and happy gaming!
David
Pledge Manager... still coming soon ;)
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 11:50:59 PM
Hello backers!
I jumped the gun a bit with my initial timeline for the pledge manager. This is my first time using BackerKit and there were a few parts of the process that took a bit more time than I initially realized.
The pledge manager is in the final review stage which takes a couple days for the good folks at BackerKit to double check everything is set up correctly. You can expect your invitation email to arrive at the end of this week. Thank you for your patience and support.
Happy gaming,
David
