"Rant - the pain/joy of Kickstarter " Topic

Hope this goes here.

I find Kickstarter such a pain/joy in one respect:

The Siren's song of such joy in 25+mm skirmish and 15/18/6/3mm battle wargaming always seems to take so long to arrive and satisfy (when it does satisfy, not naming names.)

I have started buying only miniatures that seem to have long term potential play (to death do us part which is about 25 to 30 more years given my age – not even I live forever) but I want to see them in the lead/plastic before I commit a significant amount of my dwindling storage space to another army. It seems to take so long for some manufacturers to deliver the finished product… (Again, not naming names.)

The problem of a smashing success is the apparent inability to deliver on time if the KS goes fantastically well. Failure perversely seems less frustrating.

October 2013 (okay that was affected by Russian bureaucracy and international politics but you are dealing with the Russians… should have expected that…) and November 2014 – or even January 2015 for that matter – have passed. (Again… not naming names.)

Some do well – Thank you for Two Hour War Games efficiency as usual, Ed.

Okay, I feel 'better' now. No responses are needed…

All right then, let's move on. Anyone else in group want to speak?

I'm pretty happy with my miniature game Kickstarter experiences so far. I've backed Sedition Wars, both the original Oathsworn Dwarf and Halfling sets, the Anarchy Models HD stencils, a set of gaming table plans, Games and Gears Ichiban brushes and their game boards, a boardgame cafe in London that I have yet to go to, the Mantic Dungeon Saga: Dwarf Kings Quest, the CMG ZAS Mercs set and the recent Conan one. There's just one Kickstarter that I regret pledging into, and that's a computer game that remains nothing more than vapourware three years later.

I backed Dark Sword's figures from Stephanie Pui Mun Law's artwork – first time I'd dipped my toe in Kickstarter – and got my figures exactly on time. Mind you, it's what I'd expect from Dark Sword, it's a great company.

I've been tempted many times to jump in….AQotMF was the one that came close to making me do it…

sigh….

It's a lot easier to avoid jumping into Kickstarter campaigns with both feet if you remember that practically everything that is sold on Kickstarter will be sold in stores and on webshops very soon after the backers get their deliveries – and, sometimes, *before* the backers get their deliveries. You will often find that the products are no cheaper if you back them on Kickstarter than if you just bought them retail, as well.

There have been several Kickstarter offerings that have piqued my interest recently, but if I'm honest with myself, I'll be just as happy buying them from a shop in 92 weeks as I would have been receiving them in the mail in 90 weeks.

I have resisted most Kickstarters… but then it came Conan, and I just couldn't resist anymore.

Some kickstarters are a great deal and come in on time. Check the track record of the company if it's not their first rodeo. You are best off not looking at it like a store, but like a project creation machine. Most projects won't happen unless funded.

The big boys seem to be using it more like a store, so I expect they are to be judged a bit harsher for failure. Small time folks trying to make something new for the first time, they are a risk but that's what the spirit of KS is…

I'm very happy with the Sikh Wars figures received from funding a Kickstarter. NEed to PAINT them still, but that's on me.

When you can't afford to "invest" you are sublimely indifferent to Kickstarters.

My Kickstarter experience has been fantastic. I backed the West Wind War and Empire range and just received my order yesterday. They were about 8 months late but that was due to all the stretch goals being unlocked and a large amount of additional armies needing to be sculpted. They kept in touch all through the process and now I have some great figures. The nice thing was that at my level of commitment I got figures for about 40% off what the retail will be. This meant a huge discount and I could build the 4 armies that I really wanted to the degree that I wanted. I agree that you need to figure out the track record of the company and back accordingly.

Backed first Reaper bones KS – ok, there was a delay and some quality issues, but positive overall.
Backed a small KS for dwarven minitaures, was in time.
Backed DarkSword Stephanie Law minis – no issues, perfect execution
Same with Bombshell babies
My second Reaper Bones KS is at US post at the moment, I don't mind it being a little late.
Avatars of War indiegogo is a still a problem, they're years behind the schedule
Hope Rum'n'Bones from Coolmini will be on time…

Think that's the end of the list ;)

Only two left and one is mired in Russian Bureaucracy, (and I will stop there,) and the other (Worldspinner, software based, due January 2015,) is being Alpha tested then opened in stages, so that means it should not be too much longer.