|
Community Links |
Social Groups |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
10-13-2019, 06:57 PM | #3841 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Anaheim, CA
Posts: 147
|
Quote:
Then you and possible some others need to get over there and get them. This guy isn't going to relent until he's forced to.
Also for the other posters, Here's our obstacle according to AWOTK: https://www.facebook.com/TiandengLiu https://www.facebook.com/HYingToysFactory/ That dude has OUR money. Something's got to be done about him.
__________________
Wanted: 1987 Battle Force 2000 Avalanche's Microphone/Mic/Headset |
10-19-2019, 10:56 AM | #3842 |
Father of Four
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Posts: 3,264
|
KS EF Update:
October Update Posted by Bill Murphy Oct 19, 2019 Hey everyone, Finally the Eagle has landed, we have recovered our tooling and I can be a bit more open with what’s been going on behind the scenes. To start meet Tiandeng Liu. This is the factory manager for both our Eagle Force and Larry Hama figures and is the reason we do not have our toys. This post will echo the post of Spero Toy’s AWOK line who is also using Tiandeng Liu to produce their line of action figures. Tiandeng Liu has not been able to deliver on his commitments for completing either of our Eagle Force or Larry Hama projects. He has been paid to finalize production but currently takes anywhere from 7 to 15 days just to reply to our messages, oftentimes leaving us in the dark as to what is going on. It's important to understand this was not always the case. Throughout most of the process he was very responsive, completed the initial run of the AWOK line on time, and revised our tooling (which he recognized as his mistake) so we could scale up our figures to be proper 1/18th size. However, once we paid him for production this all changed. Over the last year he started to drop the ball again and again. After we got our new Project Manager (Chris Gawrych, who currently also handles development and production for Four Horsemen Studios) and his local team on the ground involved, it seemed to get worse. He became even more closed off, refused to communicate, and wouldn’t move the project forward to meet our agreed upon timelines. It even got to the point where Tiandeng Liu would be hardpressed to commit to any specific deadlines. Spero Toys (as well as few other companies we know about) began to have similar challenges. Currently we are taking the stand that Tiandeng Liu is holding our project, funds and property hostage. He has admitted that he has not completed the manufacturing for all the parts needed to complete final assembly. This has been confirmed by Chris's team as they have visited the assembly factory several times and found many figures 1/2 completed while the factory waits for the remaining parts to be delivered by Tiandeng Liu so the project can be finalized. Although Tiandeng Liu has recently apologized for the delays, he has not been able to provide any updated images or timelines, only a new proposed delivery date of late January 2020. This of course if unacceptable but we have had little recourse as he has refused to return any funds we have paid him or turn over our tooling to Chris and his new factory. Over the last 8 weeks we have been trying to negotiate with him, including Chris's team visiting him in person on a few occasions. Three weeks ago he finally agreed to hand over the tooling, however he missed the initial date that was agreed upon, so we had a new target date of last Friday to pick up the tooling. I’m happy to report, we now finally have our tooling in hand. This is a huge win for us, as we’ve basically been in hostage negotiations for over 2 months. Until last night he held our biggest asset, the steel tooling. I’ve had to be very careful how we navigated this situation, including not being vocal online or to our backers, because at any point Tiandeng Liu could easily damage our tooling and we’d not be able to recover anything. Just so everyone understands, the steel tooling is our most expensive asset and also the most volatile. We have 9 steel tools and any one of them can easily be damaged, by even something as minor as a key scratch. Now that we have the tooling I can be more open about where we stand. What does this mean for the future of these projects? Recovering the tooling is a major 1st step to finally completing this project. Now that we have secured the tooling the plan is for Chris's team to test the tooling, finalize any remaining pieces that need to be manufactured and supply those to the assembly factory for final assembly and delivery. This all needs to be analyzed and negotiated with the assembly factory and logistically will take some time to figure out. Chris will be flying to China in early November to oversee this process. We'll keep in lock step with updates when we have them. I know this is not the news anyone wants to hear. It’s a cluster and I have tried night and day, every day for the last 3 years to avoid this nightmare, but sadly these are the types of situations that can happen when working in China. I have lost a significant amount of personal funds, outside of the funds we raised on Kickstarter, and my business and reputation have been ruined by Tiandeng Liu. It’s not lost on me that this situation has impacted others who want to use Kickstarter as a platform, and for all of that I am truly sorry. Tiandeng Liu has our funds and all we can do is try to take ownership over this situation as best we can to finalize the manufacturing and get our figures completed by the end of the year. We are also considering contacting the local authorities to report Tiandeng Liu, but we have been advised that at this stage this might not have an impact and could cause further delays. For those of you who are contemplating a kickstarter and working with China, let this be a strong lesson that it can be a nightmare. No matter how much blood, sweat and tears you put into dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s, the factory holds all the cards. I know many of you are passionate about Eagle Force and would like to see the line continue. As my business and reputation has now been ruined thanks to Tiandeng Liu, I more than likely will close Fresh Monkey Ficiton, so I have been negotiating to pass this property to other creators who are interested in expanding/revising the line once we have delivered on the commitment to this kickstarter. More to follow on that in 2020. |
10-19-2019, 11:05 AM | #3843 |
Father of Four
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Posts: 3,264
|
Thanks for the update Bill.
If I'm understanding the update correctly Bill is looking to pay for production out of pocket (since the first factory stole his/our money) just to see these through. Some have accused mismanagement. The fact that it's been delayed so many times for so long and we still don't have EF figures is extremely frustrating, but not evidence of mismanagement in and of itself. Cleary there are factors outside of the creators control no matter how hard they try. Bill, it's all your call, but your vision for EF, Monster Force, EF2, the eras of EF are what I signed up for. I hope you get the chance to see it all through. If so, count me in. Last edited by Dod Ear; 10-19-2019 at 11:07 AM.. |
10-19-2019, 11:13 AM | #3844 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Co. Meath, Ireland
Posts: 354
|
Yep, thanks for the update.
It sounds like a nightmare, but I’m still in. Hopefully now things will get moving again. I would still be open to Wave 2 after we get our figures. |
10-19-2019, 11:40 AM | #3845 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Animal Kingdom
Posts: 339
|
Quote:
Thanks for the update Bill.
If I'm understanding the update correctly Bill is looking to pay for production out of pocket (since the first factory stole his/our money) just to see these through. Some have accused mismanagement. The fact that it's been delayed so many times for so long and we still don't have EF figures is extremely frustrating, but not evidence of mismanagement in and of itself. Cleary there are factors outside of the creators control no matter how hard they try. Bill, it's all your call, but your vision for EF, Monster Force, EF2, the eras of EF are what I signed up for. I hope you get the chance to see it all through. If so, count me in. I still believe Eagle Force will rock the GI Joe world in much the same way that Marauders made an impact. Once the first figures arrive in collectors' hands, word will spread of the quality of this line, and one can start thinking about the future again. |
10-19-2019, 11:43 AM | #3846 |
LNC Commander
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Sbartek's Guest Room
Posts: 24,577
|
Quote:
Thanks for the update Bill.
If I'm understanding the update correctly Bill is looking to pay for production out of pocket (since the first factory stole his/our money) just to see these through. Some have accused mismanagement. The fact that it's been delayed so many times for so long and we still don't have EF figures is extremely frustrating, but not evidence of mismanagement in and of itself. Cleary there are factors outside of the creators control no matter how hard they try. Bill, it's all your call, but your vision for EF, Monster Force, EF2, the eras of EF are what I signed up for. I hope you get the chance to see it all through. If so, count me in.
__________________
|
10-19-2019, 02:02 PM | #3847 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Deerfield Beach, FL.
Posts: 3,790
|
I'm also in for that monster force line.
__________________
System Engineer: CISCO CCNP Data Center, CCENT, CCNA Routing & Switching, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CCNA Wireless, CCNA Data Center and CCDA Certified. CompTIA Network+ and A+ Certified. God be with you mother, I love you. What we think, we become. Buddha. |
10-19-2019, 04:05 PM | #3848 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Val Verde
Posts: 2,345
|
I hope this doesn’t come down to closing FMF. I was really looking forward to further Eagle Force as well as the Monster Force and Ninja stuff...
__________________
Needs : AOCI Lamprey Vests, (or similar), ROC Flash helmets, ROC Shipwreck flippers, 25th Dusty Torsos (or similar), BBTS Bull (Taurus) head, Snake Eyes V.52 forearms. |
10-19-2019, 10:31 PM | #3849 |
Bald Master
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Wolverine Lake, MI
Posts: 15,128
|
Quote:
Thanks for the update Bill.
If I'm understanding the update correctly Bill is looking to pay for production out of pocket (since the first factory stole his/our money) just to see these through. Some have accused mismanagement. The fact that it's been delayed so many times for so long and we still don't have EF figures is extremely frustrating, but not evidence of mismanagement in and of itself. Cleary there are factors outside of the creators control no matter how hard they try. Bill, it's all your call, but your vision for EF, Monster Force, EF2, the eras of EF are what I signed up for. I hope you get the chance to see it all through. If so, count me in.
__________________
"Once got busy in the back of a Buzz Boar!" FEEDBACK: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...ck-thread.html CUSTOM WORK: https://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-j...s-customs.html |
10-19-2019, 11:30 PM | #3850 |
The Man You Know & Love
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: In The Middle of a Late Night Crew Orgy
Posts: 28,211
|
Depending on where Hasbro takes the GI Joe line, which I hope they start producing more figures, I am really wanting to mix these in with my Joes as well. These figures have a lot of potential and look great.
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Eagle Force Returns At WonderCon 2016 | C.I.A.D. | G.I. Joe Conventions and Get Togethers | 3 | 03-20-2016 11:29 PM |
Eagle force | sevenlima | G.I. Joe General Discussion | 25 | 11-05-2014 11:11 PM |
Figures Eagle Force: The Cat | Clockwise | G.I. Joe Customs Finished Projects | 7 | 09-20-2014 06:42 PM |
Custom Mego/Hasbro Eagle Force & RIOT Figures w/ Eagle Island 18 figures total | Toboro | G.I. Joe on Ebay | 0 | 08-04-2013 03:26 AM |
Batman The Dark Knight Returns Part 1(Animated Movie) Discussion | Shin Densetsu | Movies DVD Television | 12 | 08-15-2012 01:46 AM |
|
|
Recent Off Topic Threads |
Hisstank Late Night thread... |
Last Movie You Watched? |
Joy Toy's Dark Source Line |
What song are you listening to? |
JazWares 18th Halo |