Back Orders
Good news, everyone! I should have all of the back orders shipped this week! That will, unfortunately, leave me with very little on the shelves again… but hey, at least the back orders will be filled. Again, I’d like to thank all of you folks who have been sooooo patient with GSI this past month or so.
Chain Maker
I’m on the verge of a new product… The Chain Maker tool! This is not something that can be made singly at a machine shop like the Tentacle Makers; I’ll need to have my CAD drawings adjusted by the molding shop, prototypes made, aluminum molds created, and then finally the product molded should the prototypes work as expected. This will not be a cheap startup so I’ll need some input from you all, right now.
The Chain Maker will be sold as a pair of identical press molds and enable the user to create Green Stuff chains in 2'” increments. The alignment mechanism and open ended molds should make them very easy to use. It may be possible to make chains of near unlimited size provided the prototypes works as expected.
I have some questions for you guys:
- Would you find this tool useful in your day-to-day modeling efforts?
- As useful as the Tentacle Makers?
- Is it acceptable that the tool must be lubricated with vegetable oil before each use? I don’t know if this will be necessary, but I thought I’d ask.
I would add one to my "to buy" list. I don't do green stuff modeling often, but I like the idea of having tools available when I'm inspired by a project. I wouldn't mind adding lubrication since its typically needed for sculpting tools as well.
ReplyDeleteI would totally buy a chain maker and yes I would use it all the friggin time. You should set up like a pre-order or something to gauge if it's worth it or not.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that I would be glad to throw up a review on http://www.standardtemplateconstruct.net/ for it :)
I would buy it, I also want to buy you tentcle maker but am aiting till u have stock again
ReplyDeleteJust got in a partial shipment today. I have to take care of all the back orders first, so I should remove the "out of stock" from the order page this weekend. You can place the order anyway. YOu'll just be at the end of the backorder list.
DeleteOne thing I learned in sales is that a ton more people will say they'll buy a product than actually will. Add a pre-order function that holds money in escrow so folks can get their money back if you don't garner enough interest.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of price tag would this chain maker have and will it feature multiple chain thicknesses in one tool??
I was thinking of doing a Kickstarter.com type thing but I think I'm still in the very early stages. I'd like things to become more concrete... I need more info, in general.
DeleteIt's too early to discuss price, I think. That said, ballpark would be about $10 a set.
There would only be 1 size (unless demand soars and I need to make more sizes!). It's roughly the same general shape as the chain bits in the Chaos Rhino kit.
Yes to all three. GS chains would be pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe tentacle-maker will be extremely useful to me - I have at least 3 miniature ranges i'm working on where this tool will be useful.
ReplyDeletethe same goes for the chain tool, I've tried using model-chain but hated the results and something like this would be very useful indeed. I would buy it for sure.
Definitely interested! This is something that I've been (sort of patiently) waiting for for a while. I'm glad that you're getting the technical stuff down...
ReplyDeleteWould it be something that would make various gauges of the chains? Would it be one size only? If it allows for different sized chains, especially on the same plate, I'd be even more excited.
Regardless, put me down for one, October or later.
First version would be a single size, much like the chains in the Chaos Rhino kit. If the demand is high I'll try to make other sizes but at $4000 per mold, it may be awhile.
DeleteThat's fair enough. I know this is a ways off, you and I communicated about it near the beginning of the year I believe. I'm still grateful that you're working on it!
DeleteHaving just ordered the tentacle maker and considering the anticipated successes it will bring, I'd happily add the chain maker to my 'to buy' list as well.
ReplyDeleteLook out for a review of the tentacle maker in the future on inquisitorjames.blogspot.co.uk
Cheers
James, did you get a tracking email? I don't know if the USPS or PayPal transmit those to folks outside the US.
DeleteLooking forward to the review!
Fair warning, the Chain Maker is probably a looong way off.
I think it's a great idea, and at 10$ I'd surely buy one! The thing is, my friend, that I think that you can get it done for way less than 4.000$: I read a week ago that a (don't know which country, sorry)european guy went to one of those places where you can laser print brass commemorative plates and such (you know, like the ones that says "Mr. Derp, MD PhD" or whatever), and he got done a celt pattern for a VERY low price (seriously, it was so low that even I, being the penny pincher that I am, thought about doing it) and with great results (he used GS later, just like in your molds). So why don't you give it a shot? You could also use silicon rubber instead of alluminium for the mold, that could decrease the amount of money you would have to invest in your project. You know, it's your idea and not mine and therefore I don't want to change your mind at all, but I thought that maybe this new point of view could help you a little bit.
DeleteI'll look into that, Gafapasta... Thanks!
DeleteYou're very welcome! I've been working side by side with the Administratum to find those ancient papers and the Emperor has finally let his light shine upon us haha: here's the link!
ReplyDeletehttp://sculptingtools.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/stamp-tools-press-moulds_25.html
That's pretty cool! I've been sculpting my sigils by hand and making a stamp from those. Has never really worked well. I'm definately going to try this!
DeleteI'm really glad to hear that, keep us posted! :)
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