First off, our most abject apologies to all of you who were expecting Star Fleet ships before Christmas and are still waiting.
This was due to a combination of things but boils down to a higher demand than expected and a failure in our system to scale up to meet it. We did have an idea that the ships would be popular and had made plans to be able to scale upwards to meet all orders.
It is frustrating for you (who, after all, just want to play a great game with cool minis) and chafing for us, as we did not meet our stated obligations. We mentioned in the State of the Mongoose that while many miniatures manufacturers are making the switch to resin, we did not all attend a 'resin seminar' and the issues we have seen with others visited us as well. We thought we had side-stepped them, but obviously not all...
On the plus side, we did manage to ship all rulebooks and squadron sets to UK, Europe and 'rest of the world' customers and we have been greatly encouraged to see very few issues with the actual models - so far just 3 mis-casts and 2 mis-packs which have already been replaced,and represent a tiny, tiny percentage. This, at least, bodes well for the rest of the range.
The main issues have been on the US side, where the point of manufacture is also the point of distribution, and we saw a break down on both sides for the reasons stated above.
However, we have not been idle, and have been spending the past two weeks revisiting our systems and processes, identifying where things are breaking down. We had already brought in more staff to scale production up but that was not sufficient. We have recently purchased more casting equipment (effectively pressure pots, the machines that, among other things, stop bubbles appearing in your models), doubling the amount available to the casters. This, with a slight change in the resin we are using (don't panic, it is the same resin, just has a slightly longer 'setting' time) will enable a caster to spend more time prepping while greater numbers of models are being pressured, tripling the number of pieces he can produce during the day. It all comes down to being able to fully utilise the equipment we have which was, beforehand, running at something like 32% efficiency.
In addition, we have also brought on a dedicated mould maker (something we should have done before) whose work will allow the casters to maintain their pace at full stretch. Everyone in the facility is aware that customers are waiting and are working with renewed effort to meet existing orders.
I need to sit down with both our production and marketing teams to agree more precise dates (this will be done next week and we'll keep you updated), but I can say the following will happen;
1. It is Mongoose's policy to send out products as soon as they are available, not when we can send a full order out - this way, you get your games and models sooner. So, all rulebooks still outstanding, whether they are part of larger orders or not, will go out next week.
2. All outstanding squadron sets will be sent out that week or the week after.
3. All Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleet sets will be sent out before the end of January - and I say this to cover ourselves, as it is my intention to have them sent out a lot earlier in the month. As I said above, we'll get you more precise dates as soon as possible.
4. The fleet boxes will be made available to distributors to send to retailers in February, during which month we will effectively have a 're-launch' of the game, with the rulebooks backed up with more than sufficient stocks of squadron and fleet sets. The Kzinti will follow in March, the Gorn in April (though pre-orders for those will be sent at the same time we ship to distributors, if not before).
By this time, not only will our production be properly balanced, but we will have a comfortable amount of stock of all ships to handle, well, pretty much anything!
We want to thank all our customers who have shown considerable patience thus far, and want you to be aware we are working both hard and smart in order to get your models to you. We remain confident that, when you see them, you will see they have been worth the wait!
In the mean time, we have no right to ask anything of you but the 're-launch' of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet does provide an opportunity. If you play the game and show off the ships to your friends when you receive them, we would be grateful! A Call to Arms: Star Fleet and the '2500' miniatures line are both projects we are taking the extreme long view to (much as we did with Traveller), and we have lots of exciting things in the pipeworks, from official tournaments to the Journal and, of course, the first supplement. It is our aim that in 3-4 weeks time, these teething problems will be far behind us and we can then spend time exploring the universe of Star Fleet and all the mysteries it contains.
We hope you will be there to join us.
This was due to a combination of things but boils down to a higher demand than expected and a failure in our system to scale up to meet it. We did have an idea that the ships would be popular and had made plans to be able to scale upwards to meet all orders.
It is frustrating for you (who, after all, just want to play a great game with cool minis) and chafing for us, as we did not meet our stated obligations. We mentioned in the State of the Mongoose that while many miniatures manufacturers are making the switch to resin, we did not all attend a 'resin seminar' and the issues we have seen with others visited us as well. We thought we had side-stepped them, but obviously not all...
On the plus side, we did manage to ship all rulebooks and squadron sets to UK, Europe and 'rest of the world' customers and we have been greatly encouraged to see very few issues with the actual models - so far just 3 mis-casts and 2 mis-packs which have already been replaced,and represent a tiny, tiny percentage. This, at least, bodes well for the rest of the range.
The main issues have been on the US side, where the point of manufacture is also the point of distribution, and we saw a break down on both sides for the reasons stated above.
However, we have not been idle, and have been spending the past two weeks revisiting our systems and processes, identifying where things are breaking down. We had already brought in more staff to scale production up but that was not sufficient. We have recently purchased more casting equipment (effectively pressure pots, the machines that, among other things, stop bubbles appearing in your models), doubling the amount available to the casters. This, with a slight change in the resin we are using (don't panic, it is the same resin, just has a slightly longer 'setting' time) will enable a caster to spend more time prepping while greater numbers of models are being pressured, tripling the number of pieces he can produce during the day. It all comes down to being able to fully utilise the equipment we have which was, beforehand, running at something like 32% efficiency.
In addition, we have also brought on a dedicated mould maker (something we should have done before) whose work will allow the casters to maintain their pace at full stretch. Everyone in the facility is aware that customers are waiting and are working with renewed effort to meet existing orders.
I need to sit down with both our production and marketing teams to agree more precise dates (this will be done next week and we'll keep you updated), but I can say the following will happen;
1. It is Mongoose's policy to send out products as soon as they are available, not when we can send a full order out - this way, you get your games and models sooner. So, all rulebooks still outstanding, whether they are part of larger orders or not, will go out next week.
2. All outstanding squadron sets will be sent out that week or the week after.
3. All Federation, Klingon, and Romulan fleet sets will be sent out before the end of January - and I say this to cover ourselves, as it is my intention to have them sent out a lot earlier in the month. As I said above, we'll get you more precise dates as soon as possible.
4. The fleet boxes will be made available to distributors to send to retailers in February, during which month we will effectively have a 're-launch' of the game, with the rulebooks backed up with more than sufficient stocks of squadron and fleet sets. The Kzinti will follow in March, the Gorn in April (though pre-orders for those will be sent at the same time we ship to distributors, if not before).
By this time, not only will our production be properly balanced, but we will have a comfortable amount of stock of all ships to handle, well, pretty much anything!
We want to thank all our customers who have shown considerable patience thus far, and want you to be aware we are working both hard and smart in order to get your models to you. We remain confident that, when you see them, you will see they have been worth the wait!
In the mean time, we have no right to ask anything of you but the 're-launch' of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet does provide an opportunity. If you play the game and show off the ships to your friends when you receive them, we would be grateful! A Call to Arms: Star Fleet and the '2500' miniatures line are both projects we are taking the extreme long view to (much as we did with Traveller), and we have lots of exciting things in the pipeworks, from official tournaments to the Journal and, of course, the first supplement. It is our aim that in 3-4 weeks time, these teething problems will be far behind us and we can then spend time exploring the universe of Star Fleet and all the mysteries it contains.
We hope you will be there to join us.
