Zealandia Models - Retro Dinosaurs Kickstarter is live!

[Libraraptor]

These models are definitely worth their money, no doubt about that. And oh, do I appreciate and adore someone like you, John, for putting that much effort and lifeblood into those figures.

I am  especially keen on the Compsognathus and wouldn´t avoid the Iguanodon if it wasn´t for the money. I fear, though, that the horrendous and impertinent postage - like postsaurischian I live in Germany - would put even  the Compsognathus out of reach.

Did I get that right, firstly I would have to invest an optional amount of money to the kickstarter campaign and after that I´d have the right to order? And how much would the Compsognathus be including posting to Germany?

If we lived in a fair world, I could afford all three, but since nothing´s fair, I fear I can at most afford the Compy.

[Faelrin]

@Libraraptor What you pledge for on the kickstarter is what you will pay for the figure(s). When you select a pledge it will tell you how much shipping there is. Think of it like a pre-order almost. You only pay when the campaign ends, and if it was funded successfully in time.

I checked and saw that the Compsognathus would be like nearly $70 USD with shipping, and that's with it being more beneficial for me because of the conversion rate. The set for all three would be like nearly $200 USD.

Edit: For comparison I could buy a BotM figure for $70 USD. While I'm not sure I can even support the campaign just yet anyways, I find that to be too much for such a small figure, despite perhaps the limited nature of it (assuming the campaign is funded). It is the same reason I passed on the Medicom Tully Monster figure on ebay atm. That said I do really want some of these, and I do want to help the campaign. It's a tough choice here.

Maybe there could be an option to pay for the figure now/kickstarter ends if funded in time, and shipping later when it is time to ship? It might feel less daunting for folks if they avoid the shipping now and pay it later.

[Retrosaurus]

Hey @Libraraptor, when you back an item, you're presented with the shipping cost when you select the item. In this case, global shipping is $45 NZD. So in total it would come to $120NZD, or approximately €67. What I can't speak for are import taxes upon arrival in your country, as there are different importing taxes and laws depending from country to country.

[Lanthanotus]

Just a random thought....

I am from Germany and pledged, not thinking of the shipping and taxes ("not thinking" as in "don`t care/accept", not as in "did not consider"). So if this project runs successfully - what I hope it does - I`ll go with the full costs anyway. But maybe there`s a possibillity to combine those shippings? I guess weight won`t be the ruling factor in this as the figures probaly wouldn`t exceed the weight that their parcel in size measure could weigh. Shipping within Germany wouldn`t be a problem and we (postsaurischian, Libraraptor and me) already traded in the past...

   

[Faelrin]

A @Andysdinosaurreviews Gave your campaign a shout out in his most recent video. Hope it gives it a boost of visibility:

[Retrosaurus]

@Lanthanotus Thank you very much for backing the project! Unfortunately, there are a few issues in regards to combining shipping, as it only really works up to a certain size. Though the weight isn't too much of an issue, the size of the box becomes the problem. As it is charged incrementally, the current largest box I can ship before the price practically doubles only fits one full set in it (quite snuggly, too). As well as this, once the Kickstarter is launched and has been backed, the changes you can make to shipping become quite limited. If the Kickstarter gets fully funded and I'm able to do this more autonomously, I'm going to investigate the possibility of having distributors.

@Faelrin I did see that! I'm absolutely chuffed about it 

[Cenozoic Fauna]

This is awesome! Really Hope it makes its goals, I have a few vintage invicta models, the Rex and megalosaurus, these sculpts are superb, and really epic. Great work on these figs!

[postsaurischian]

   It's a bit sad that this Kickstarter probably won't make it.
     I hope there will be a chance to get the Iguanodon individually afterwards.

[BlueKrono]

Only 5 days left and not even to the halfway mark. It's a shame; I really thought more people would find these charming.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I haven't really seen much about it. Needs more coverage on social media.

[postsaurischian]

Only 5 days left and not even to the halfway mark. It's a shame; I really thought more people would find these charming.

 I'm sure that more people find them charming, but I can very well imagine that people from outside New Zealand (probably the majority of potentially interested backers)
 tought they were too expensive in the end with shipping costs & taxes .

[BlueKrono]

I haven't really seen much about it. Needs more coverage on social media.

Agreed, especially compared to Cyberzoic. That was like drinking from a fire hose. 

[Halichoeres]

Being in NZ probably hurt. They can't do anything about shipping prices, but there's little doubt that cost them pledges. The comparison with Cyberzoic is kinda tough because the latter is an established brand led by someone with industry experience. But it might show, among other things, that there are just a lot more action figure collectors than there are dinosaur collectors.

[Faelrin]

Only 3 days remaining now. Was really hoping it would do better/be funded. Still doubt I can commit to it, since the initial card I was waiting to arrive got lost in the mail, and I'm still waiting on the second to arrive. Well not like it would matter anyways if it's not funded in time. Such a great idea, but without this funded, this is going to be lost potential. I wonder if the timing coinciding with Cyberzoic also hurt its potential. I think we saw this happen before with Mesozoic Life's first Spinosaurus kickstarter didn't we? It overlapped, and failed.

The lack of word getting out probably doesn't help either. I put out another post on my instagram. I don't know if it will help at all, but worth a try.

It could also just be cost prohibitive for folks that might be interested due to being based in NZ, as @Halichoeres said. It could just be the lack of brand exposure from being from such a new company/project too. I think that's why the second Mesozoic Life kickstarter also did better was because it had a larger audience at that point, among not having to worry about overlapping/competing with the BotM series campaigns. Granted the second campaign also had a much smaller goal then the first one.

Jacob, I really you can find a way to make this work in the future, or another go at a kickstarter down the road, if this one isn't funded in time.

[Retrosaurus]

Kia Ora everyone,

Sad news first: unfortunately, the Kickstarter campaign did not reach its goal.

The good news: I'm doing this anyway! This project means too much to me to let it fall into oblivion. Though this will take a bit longer as I cannot immediately jump into production, I hope to have them underway by late next year. I will continue to regularly update you all on how the project is coming along.
I'd like to say a massive thank you to all who backed the project, and those who spread the word about it and shared their enthusiasm about it. I cannot thank you enough!

In some more news, I am pleased to announce two things! The Zealandia Models website, and the Online Ephemera Archive. The purpose of this archive is a digital record of Pop-Palaeontological related ephemeral material such as catalogues, pamphlets, advertisements, and museum guides. A lot of the material being added has not previously been available for high-resolution viewing anywhere and would certainly be of interest to anyone who enjoys vintage dinosaur media. I plan to try and add a new item each week.

This can be found at https://zealandiamodels.com/

Many thanks,
Jacob

[TheCambrianCrusader]

Man I wish I could help out but I've been in a bit of a financial trouble for a lil while now.

[Lanthanotus]

Shame about that Kickstarter. But I will follow that ongoing progress and wish you all the best for that, Jacob. I hope we can purchase these awesome figures sooner or later.

[Pliosaurking]

Too bad on the kickstarter, it seems it went a similar way to the first Mesozoic life Spinosaurus kickstarter. I wish you the best of luck Jacob, and I look forward to seeing these beautiful pieces getting released, and the future of this line!

[Fembrogon]

I regret that I was unable to pledge at all to help even a little; even with the shipping costs, I was prepared to help out if I could get in a better financial state. Alas, things haven't improved for me.

I'm glad to hear the project is going forward anyway! I've bookmarked the new website for the future (although you might need to check if the url is working properly), and I hope to be able to show support before long.

[Retrosaurus]

Kia Ora Everyone,

First off, Happy New Year! I hope you've all had an excellent break in whichever way that may be. I have a small update on the Retro Dinosaurs. On the way is some crucial equipment needed for the production process. Though I can't yet say exactly when everything will be in place to get into the full swing of it all, I feel confident that the first models will be ready within the first half of the year. Thank you all so much for your patience.

Cheers,
Jacob