Brock Otterbacher, Creative Director, Toys & Collectibles
Hey gang! For those of you joining us for the first time, this is where we look behind the scenes at the nitty gritty of what it takes to get some of our products in your hands.
We're midway though summer, past San Diego Comic Con, and have Fall just on the horizon, so it's a great time to update everyone with on several projects, both collectibles and tiki mugs.
Aliens Tiki Mug (Mondo Tee-kis)
The blue version should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. It's due to arrive at port any day now, then customs, inspections, etc. Those should be - fingers crossed - in your hands before the end of the month.
The Hive (black) version, which the majority of you ordered, hit a major, unexpected snag last month, when the batch of black glaze the factory was using began to crack, like so:
This is something that can occasionally happen to a mug here and there, but the percentage of Alien mugs this was happening to was too much for us have confidence to move forward at that particular factory. Thankfully, our friends at Tiki Farm are quick, and got them to a new factory that was able to create a stable batch of the glaze. Here they are, just awaiting their silver highlights:
They're all going to be finished and shipped from the factory to us at the end of this month, and then looking to be arriving sometime later in September.
Ramona Flowers
Ramona Flowers is almost done! With the delays we discussed last time, we had expected the figure would be in hand this month. But with the amount of them being made (it's a lot, thanks to all of you!), the factory is telling us end of September for shipping from the factory. So while completion date is in September, they're likely to get into your hands in October, taking into account shipping to our warehouse, customs, etc.
As we get closer to September, we'll stay on top of updating you more frequently. Additionally, to show our appreciation for your patience throughout these frustrating delays, we'll be sending everyone who pre-ordered the figure directly from us an exclusive Ramona enamel pin. These will only be available to you guys, and never remade again.
All that said, below you can check out a few photos of the final packaging:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures
Now time for turtles! Michelangelo should be in your hands soon, and joining him later this month/beginning of September is Raphael. Our production samples arrived last week, and this means the full shipment is about to be on it's way from our factory. Here are the brothers united at last!
Batman Red Rain Statue
Another arrival in late September is the Batman Red Rain statue! We're super excited with how this one turned out. Here's a sneak at the packaging, which uses Francesco Francavilla's beautiful art to great effect.
Additional Updates
Harley Quinn is looking to ship in Late November/December, so she's about three months behind. However, she's looking fantastic, and we're excited to share some photos soon.
As for upcoming new items, we're getting Masters of the Universe and Batman: The Animated Series 1/6 scale figures further into production before we take pre-orders, more so than we have done in the past. This will shorten the time between pre-order and delivery quite significantly, and get some of the kinks worked out early in the process. We have big plans for both lines, and want to make sure they're done right before presenting them to you. There's a LOT more coming soon, and we'll discuss a lot of fun stuff soon.
As always, thank you for your patience! If you have any questions, please shoot us a message here.
