Apologies we didn't do a specific holiday email, you will see why when you work your way through this one, especially the bottom sections
Despite all the lower sections, we start 2021 in a really good place business wise, which is a pleasant surprise considering the last couple of years and still being in a pandemic etc. Our release schedule is back (okay, there's only 1 metal release but that's because of the theme, more metal next time!), stock is at good levels, we have a slew of unreleased minis all ready to go and a bunch of 2021 plans cobbled together, and hopefully improved, from the abandoned plans of last year.
So, there is a slight theme to our first release of 2021. It's subtle, so you may need to get your thinking caps on to work it out. I'm afraid we've had to use photos of greens as there was a delay in the resins arriving, but we'll get that fixed this week (see waaaay below). As it's been ages since we did this, let's just get on with it and leave everything else for the bottom half of the newsletter shall we ...
And some totally non-political non-satirical releases. Sorry I'm leaving out the fluff pieces to go with them.
First release in an age and it's just a bunch of ex-president characatures. With things like Stargrave coming up and Kevin having a bunch of very nice things waiting for release (check his facebook), I'd have though a more varied release. Still, at least it stops me forking out this time round.
Also, I've never really understood the appeal of these; like, it would take really liking a political figure for me to want a model representing them on the table, and I'm somewhat fond of political cartoons and satire, but for instance there's a vast world of difference between liking my army of space pirates led by a fallen hero turned to evil, vs. having someone I think is--umm, many words could go here but be censored--as the bad man leading my army.
Also, I've never really understood the appeal of these; like, it would take really liking a political figure for me to want a model representing them on the table, and I'm somewhat fond of political cartoons and satire, but for instance there's a vast world of difference between liking my army of space pirates led by a fallen hero turned to evil, vs. having someone I think is--umm, many words could go here but be censored--as the bad man leading my army.
Does anyone want to say why they like these?
I don't like all of them, but I think they are good for a chuckle at least.
Also depends if the miniature is good or not. Yeah, I want that swordmaster/Jedi Obama, Biden, the woman (Harris?) and Darth Trump because I think they are good miniatures, that can find use as NPCs.
I also have a Trump ogre for my AoS army, it's a sweet miniature.
The Harris mini could much more easily pass for a generic mini than the Trump or Obama minis, so I would be more likely to get that one.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I also feel that the Trump sculpts are missing a trick by not adopting his famous postural quirk, especially the Baron sculpt. That would almost make the mini worth buying.
I wanted to get the metal Baron for an NPC but he was gone so fast, I never even saw him on the website. I wasn't even sure if he got a proper release. Don't know if I like the model enough to buy the resin master.
These are all well sculpted and I got a chuckle but they're not motivating me enough to drop cash on 'em.
lord_blackfang wrote: If only the power to sculpt a recognizable likeness of a real person at 28mm scale could be used for good.
It was an honest question, not a rhetorical criticism. I don't understand the appeal/market and I'm curious. No subtext.
Part of the issue is that miniatures of this nature depending on company can easily swing in favor of one way. Also some people just don't like real life stuff or figures.
An update from Hasslefree went out today, but I'll summarize the important points:
1. Summer sale: use code SUMMER2021 to get a 20% discount.
2. No shipping in June due to a house move. Shipping will recommence in July.
3. If you have an outstanding issue with a Hasslefree order, Arty says:
"If we're already conversing, then we're on it. If we're not, please use the email bwartemis[AT]gmail[DOT]com* and bug me. ALL CAPS me, re-send an email from yesterday, do whatever ya like. I don't give a crap if your issue is you had a broken weapon in 2018. Free reign for two weeks! I am here and working the entire time.
*If you have emailed by replying to the newsletter or by emailing our orders or admin at domain name emails etc, there's a fair chance we didn't reply cos it got eaten. Our domain email is spotty and the spam filter is overactive. The new website will bring a change to that too."
4. If you're wondering why Hasslefree has had issues with some of its shipments (rough estimate is about 5% of them), the explanation is here (with some amendments for spelling and grammar from me):
I've [Arty] been pretty miserable the last couple of years. It's both affected the business and vicious circle-wise the business being affected has in turn affected me. 95% of you, as usual, have no idea what I'm talking about. Your orders were fine. I'm talking to the 5% (and since we have grown the business, 5% is not a small number of people) who got screwed by my condition.
The current incarnation of the business came about because Sal has a permanent illness. What's less known is that I do too, but up until recent years it's never really affected my life as more than a minor inconvenience. I also used to be married and we both ran the business. After I got divorced, we obviously lost half the man hours and by pure ridiculous coincidence, my condition got worse - a lot worse.
I've had 15 surgeries the last couple years - nothing life threatening but they all affected my work hours. We had never found time to replace my ex-wife and temporary help cannot fix serious issue orders. So that's where that 5% got screwed. I'd come back to work, catch up, start to fix issue orders and... new surgery or new disaster.
We've had a flood; I've torn a muscle that took months to repair, we've had Sal almost break her neck falling down stairs and she's still awaiting surgeries. Hell, we've even had a global pandemic.
Now this isn't a 'feel sorry for me' kinda thing, think of it more as a 'If it makes you feel any better, I was miserable and frustrated too'. And Kev and Sal have had to bear some brunt. Bear in mind they live hundreds of miles away from the warehouse; they have virtually no ability to fix an issue, and that added to my misery because part of my job for the previous years was to make sure that didn't happen. My mental health was pretty garbage during this.
My condition isn't 'fixable'. It's permanent but post pandemic I can get help again and I can manage it like I used to. I am back to work full time and everything is starting to feel like normal again. I've just spent a couple of weeks where 99% of messages and emails were pleasant, it was bloody great
So to anyone who got screwed, even though we've talked privately, I'm very sorry. Hopefully we've made it up to you. If we haven't, keep an eye on us and see if we're as back to normal as I claim. I'm confident.
And that's the last time I'm going to mention this past couple of years. I can't say there'll be no accidents or emergencies in the future obviously, nobody can. But we'll be more prepared this time, not constantly trying to play catch up.
I thought it would be useful to post this here for future reference.
Thanks for the update - crikey it really sounds like they have been through the ringer.
It would explain why the stock levels seem to have fluctuated quite a bit and some minis I have been waiting for for ages never seem to come into stock or just disappear from the website?
Also, I've never really understood the appeal of these; like, it would take really liking a political figure for me to want a model representing them on the table, and I'm somewhat fond of political cartoons and satire, but for instance there's a vast world of difference between liking my army of space pirates led by a fallen hero turned to evil, vs. having someone I think is--umm, many words could go here but be censored--as the bad man leading my army.
Does anyone want to say why they like these?
I agree their usage is limited certainly for GW games. I've got a pretty irreverent Raider force for Fallout and have got this guy leading the gang, nice bit of crossover to Mad Max and also everyone can see who it used to be (which is hopefully funny in game. I could imagine the Jedi-Biden might be a fun mini to sneak into SW: Legion too...
Also, I've never really understood the appeal of these; like, it would take really liking a political figure for me to want a model representing them on the table, and I'm somewhat fond of political cartoons and satire, but for instance there's a vast world of difference between liking my army of space pirates led by a fallen hero turned to evil, vs. having someone I think is--umm, many words could go here but be censored--as the bad man leading my army.
Does anyone want to say why they like these?
You don't have to approve of something to want to represent it on the table (although I have my suspictions about FOW players). You can knowingly run a warband of bad people.
Is that first pic in the OP (Suit jacket, tie and holding pistol) a limited edition or something as can't see it on their site?
Love that one, has just enough caricature and has a mild early 90s arcade game boss look to it...giving me a side scrolling beat em up vibe for some reason. Like something out of Final Fight
Also, I've never really understood the appeal of these; like, it would take really liking a political figure for me to want a model representing them on the table, and I'm somewhat fond of political cartoons and satire, but for instance there's a vast world of difference between liking my army of space pirates led by a fallen hero turned to evil, vs. having someone I think is--umm, many words could go here but be censored--as the bad man leading my army.
Does anyone want to say why they like these?
You don't have to approve of something to want to represent it on the table (although I have my suspictions about FOW players). You can knowingly run a warband of bad people.
in fact do it right and the fact that you dissapprove of them could make it all the more amusing *shrugs*
Donomar wrote: Is that first pic in the OP (Suit jacket, tie and holding pistol) a limited edition or something as can't see it on their site?
Love that one, has just enough caricature and has a mild early 90s arcade game boss look to it...giving me a side scrolling beat em up vibe for some reason. Like something out of Final Fight
Donomar wrote: Is that first pic in the OP (Suit jacket, tie and holding pistol) a limited edition or something as can't see it on their site?
Love that one, has just enough caricature and has a mild early 90s arcade game boss look to it...giving me a side scrolling beat em up vibe for some reason. Like something out of Final Fight
Some US stores use to carry them up until around 2019, Fantazation and Game Kastle come to mind, but I think Noble Knight is the only one still stocking them and even then it looks like they only get in new releases months later. Considering how little presence they have in the online stores I don't think they have normal distribution as all 3 of those online sellers tend to work direct with British and EU businesses to have offerings the discount online stores don't have.
So if you really want stuff it's pretty much direct from the looks of it or waiting to see of NK gets something in.
Thanks. The only mini I'm looking for has been out of stock on their site for over a year so it'll be a tough search regardless and definitely not worth ordering direct even if it was there at some point.
Although recent experiences might not be entirely indicative anyway; new rules will start applying from July onwards, which will change things again. Probably shorten delays as it should somewhat bypass slow customs/postal services that might exist in the destination country?
Hasslefree Minis
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We started HF in January 2004 when Meg was 5 months old. It has grown with our family with Kev as our main sculptor. In the last few years times have changed. Brexit and Covid has had to change the way we think and work and also Kevs needs and wants as an artist have changed.
Kev used to work for GW 30 years ago. It has always been his dream to go back as a sculptor but it has neither been the right time nor the right opportunity. This changed last month as he was offered something that as his wife I would have been really angry if he had walked away from. So last week he started at Forgeworld Specialist Design Studio as a sculptor. There comes a time in life when you need to chase your dreams even if it seems a bit scary and now is the time for Kev to move on and see where it takes him.
The initial panic reaction is "what about HF?" and dont worry both Dameon and I are right beside you on this lol. It is a huge change for all of us but initially it wont affect HF as we have a fair few of his releases lined up to continue his work whilst we finish testing the sculptors we have been scouting x We will continue to build the existing ranges and add to them.
I like to think of it as 'interesting times ahead' rather than a 'run around and panic' moment but it definitely will take a lot to get used to for everyone, especially me as i have sat at the desk opposite him at home for the last 19 years lol.
So please join me in saying "thankyou" to him for his hard work over the years and "good luck" for pastures new.
Sally x
Hasslefree Minis
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We started HF in January 2004 when Meg was 5 months old. It has grown with our family with Kev as our main sculptor. In the last few years times have changed. Brexit and Covid has had to change the way we think and work and also Kevs needs and wants as an artist have changed.
Kev used to work for GW 30 years ago. It has always been his dream to go back as a sculptor but it has neither been the right time nor the right opportunity. This changed last month as he was offered something that as his wife I would have been really angry if he had walked away from. So last week he started at Forgeworld Specialist Design Studio as a sculptor. There comes a time in life when you need to chase your dreams even if it seems a bit scary and now is the time for Kev to move on and see where it takes him.
The initial panic reaction is "what about HF?" and dont worry both Dameon and I are right beside you on this lol. It is a huge change for all of us but initially it wont affect HF as we have a fair few of his releases lined up to continue his work whilst we finish testing the sculptors we have been scouting x We will continue to build the existing ranges and add to them.
I like to think of it as 'interesting times ahead' rather than a 'run around and panic' moment but it definitely will take a lot to get used to for everyone, especially me as i have sat at the desk opposite him at home for the last 19 years lol.
So please join me in saying "thankyou" to him for his hard work over the years and "good luck" for pastures new.
Sally x
Interesting.
Wonder which range he will work on. I was also under the impression, that GW/FW completely moved to digital sculpting and I think Kev still does only greens?
Now that you mentioned it, I remember reading it in the newsletter some time ago lol But haven't seen anything until now. Looks good and glad he's able to continue to work.
Chances are he'll be working on Necromunda, he's done custom sculpts in the past for his own warband that he used at WHW games / events IIRC.
From the newsletter:
So for those of you who didn't click the link, as of last week, Kev started a new adventure and worked his first week as a sculptor for Specialist Games (GW).
Before we get on to what this means for HF, I wanna say that I am proud of my friend and happy that he gets to do something he has long wanted to do - add his artistry to the tapestry of GW.
Right, so first up, don't panic, HF isn't going anywhere. In all honesty, if we didn't tell you the above, you wouldn't even notice a difference for quite some time. Due to my illness over the past couple years we have 100+ unreleased sculpts (physical and digital), plus plenty of half finished sculpts, dozens more undressed dollies, parts and so on for new hands to work with. We'll be releasing Kev product for the next year without breaking a sweat and his presence and artistic style will be felt a long time after that.
During that time we will work with other sculptors and will undoubtedly find someone or someones who can move forward with us. We've already worked with a handful of sculptors who know us and there's plenty more untapped potential out there.
While Kev, against all the laws of physics, leaves a large hole behind, I am more worried about the world going to hell in a handbasket causing issues for the business moving forward than him getting to make a Space Marine
I wonder how long until we will see this new stuff or even metals of resins that have been promised aeons ago, because they've been struggling as far back as 2016 from what I recall with getting new releases out.
As a father I will never begrudge anyone taking a job for money or benefits. Obviously it's less of an issue in a country with a real health care system but it does make a difference.
But for Kev it means he gets to share his work with thousands of rabid GW fans and that's a definite bonus.
The only news I have to add is they're having a 20% off sale:
For 2 weeks (Until the 15th May) we're having a Spring Sale.
Everything is 20% off on the site.
Use the code SPRING2022 (on the final confirmation page before payment, don't write it in the comments box ) and it should remove 20% from everything in your basket.
Also the sci fi presidents are currently OOS but will return
All resin master sonly, which means they are off sale due to the happenings mentioned in the Newsletter.
The Sci-Fi ones will be in our upcoming Kickstarter.
Hopefully the KS is still on.
Finally you can check out Kev' sculpting blog here:
the old hasslefree website is closing in 48 hours or so and will reappear hosted on a new server with new shop software (see link for details) probably a week or so later
and while they say they'll migrate everything across if your waiting on an order etc i'd make a copy of the info for your records before it happens just in case
They are also not shipping anything until "at least November 14"
On the plus side there's a 20% off sale.
We're closing for regular mail until the above. 'No' sale orders willl go out until we're back to work, which wil be at least 14th November (see below for details)
As always when we close for any reason and you lot have to wait for your orders there is a bonus!
May I present, the bonus....
* (unless you email us because of an emergency/bday/whatever and then we'll see what we can do. Or you are one of the people mentioned lower down this newsletter).
The Big 2021 Halloween Sale!
Our biggest sale of the year!
Use the code 'HALLOWEEN2022' to get a whopping 20% discount off everything.
Input the code on the 'basket page', at the bottom right. The system should also remind you on the checkout page, at the top. If you are entering your Paypal details, you have gone too far!
We've also updated our system so the code can now be used multiple times by the same customer. This means if you come back for a second order within the sale it'll work again, try to make sure to mention in the second order comments box that you already ordered please!
The sale runs until at least November 14th*
There's also some new releases and halloween minis up.
So y'know, that's better than a sharp poke in the eye.
Automatically Appended Next Post: OK I see a problem already, on my computer it's got a white background with yellow and white text...
AND the first few comments on Facebook are about long-missing orders.
Sigh. I really want to like Hasslefree, heck I was to LOVE Hasslefree but it's just too much... hassle.
I mean I trust them to deliver eventually, and 20% off is nice. But I have been waiting about eighteen months for the Grymn power armour to be back in stock, and, well, by this point I've just ended up buying space dorf power armour from other manufacturers instead, because I got bored of waiting. Not sure there's much I still need from them.
As much as I enjoy a lot of their sculpts, probably going to pass on paying now for what I ordered to be shipped at an undetermined date sometime after November 14th... yeahhhh. Screw that
For those interested, there's a stream going on right now where the site owner is going over the mess that is the new site: https://www.twitch.tv/theartemisblack
Its difficult times for small companies so I hope they keep producing things.
With Sculptor moving to FW its going to be even more challenging.
I do find that on top of that, traditional sculpting is becoming increasingly rare. People either moving to software boring sculpting, selling STLS, hundreds of kickstarters of vapourware etc etc.
Well, I placed a small order. Will see how it goes.
This guy is begging for a weapon swap. I am thinking a Wargames Atlantic conquistador sword for a rapier and replace the palette with a halfing buckler... and Pathfinder swashbuckler achieved.
The male wizard is just an awesome sculpt... and the underworld girl, cuz it was cheap.
So they're going to use a platform were the TOS literally state they don't have to give you anything in exchange for your money other than an explanation at best if they so choose? Given the pandemic, health issues, and their not infrequent delivery delays, I'd say treat th at as a donation until proven otherwise. Just for the record, I don't ascribe any nefariousness or malice to their potential and past issues but it would foolish to ignore them as with Mierce.
warboss wrote: So they're going to use a platform were the TOS literally state they don't have to give you anything in exchange for your money other than an explanation at best if they so choose? Given the pandemic, health issues, and their not infrequent delivery delays, I'd say treat th at as a donation until proven otherwise. Just for the record, I don't ascribe any nefariousness or malice to their potential and past issues but it would foolish to ignore them as with Mierce.
My thoughts exactly, gonna be a huge nope from me. I would rather pay more once it hits retail so that I have something to back up getting a refund once it never arrives.
They have delivered on two KS in the past -- both like 6-12 months late, IIRC, but that's not too bad for a tiny operation, given that even the big firms tend to be late too.
I do get people's caution but I think I'd trust them a sight more than I would Mierce, or for that matter, Petersen Games (who are MASSIVELY late on all their current KS). As far as I know, despite many logistical snafus over the years, Hasslefree have always made good eventually.
Ian Sturrock wrote: As far as I know, despite many logistical snafus over the years, Hasslefree have always made good eventually.
You now know differently. They left out a miniature from one of my orders about 3 years ago, and have ghosted all my customer support emails ever since. This includes at least two of their "put the subject line in all caps and we'll make good on it" public notices.
Frankly, a single $6 miniature isn't a huge deal, no. However, the absolute lack of any response from them, AT ALL, even during times when they were pushing their customers to bring such issues to them, demonstrates such a lack of reliability on their part that I can't take the risk that maybe I'll get parts of future orders from them, maybe I won't, but I'll be paying either way.
Psychopomp -- fair enough! That is pretty crappy of them. :(
I had almost the opposite experience, in that I bought their Norse Dwarf multipack when it was first released, years back, and a two-handed axe arrived broken, and I just assumed I could fix it, so didn't ask for a replacement. About ten years later I still hadn't figured out how to fix it, and I decided I wanted to finally make that mini (I'd built the rest of the pack long since), so I asked them if I could buy just the axe. They sent me a free one with my next order.
Another time I asked about whether they could look out a Cote D'armes "Iron Grey" paint as it's my daughter's fave and she'd run out. HF's website said they were out of stock. Again it arrived as a freebie with my order!
So I have a load of goodwill for them. I do believe you though and if I were in a similar position re: unfulfilled order, I probably wouldn't buy from them again.
Hasslefree is one of the companies that either has amazing customer service (most of my dealings with them) or they totally drop the ball (the one time I spent a year trying to get a replacement of a ruined resin master they shipped me, they responded to only one of my emails, then ghosted me, and I eventually gave up).
Well the Space Presidents are up, currently locked but that just about changes my mind.
They don't have the power armor Trump and Obama though, maybe they're coming.
I really think they need at least one more model, Pensive Mikhail, the former Vice Space Chancellor. That way I can do my Siege of the Galactic Parliament scenario complete with cultists chanting 'Hang Pensive Mikhail!'
I was sent the link to this thread to catch up with so thought I'd say a few words
First up, if you're owed anything from HF, let me know via some form of data protected method. I'm fine wf you want to DM me here, i think I get emails for that, will check after this, or via email to bwartemis at gmail dot com. Even if it's from like 3 years ago, in fact 'especially' if it's from 3 years ago
I won't post a huge explanation or anything, I don't really like that to be honest but past issues have been due to me getting sick. I have a genetic condition, a few years ago it got worse, it is currently better *touch wood*. Any 'dropped balls' were due to me being in and out of work and using all my available hours to make sure HF stayed alive during pandemics and Brexits and whatever, sometimes a non-normal issue fell between the cracks and that just sucks for whoever that was.
Our new setup is far more stable. Backup is in place should I do fall ill again but I am taking much better care of myself.
As for the Kickstarter, everything in the Kickstarter is fully sculpted, we won't be waiting on anything and won't be able to be let down by those things going wrong etc. That is 100% on purpose to make sure that anyone who is, completely understandably, doing a 'wait and see' will see something good not some other unforeseen disaster
And finally, to worries about us being sans Kev, it is obviously a detriment to the business, but we have a 'lot' of unreleased sculpts due to my aforementioned illness (there's 50+ sci-fi minis in the KS alone). Plus we purposefully have invested a lot of money in resin casts of 'bitz', weapons, heads, uncountable dollies etc. so moving forward we will be working with other sculptors but you will likely see a lot of Kev in the work coming from them as we'll be utilising our resources to better match future minis with the existing range,
If we couldn't so the above and continue 'HF' to be 'HF' then we'd likely have closed up shop when Kev moved to GW. It wasn't an overnight decision, plans were made and hopefully you can follow along.
(And yes, I have taken to livestreaming work some days of the week, so you can watch the day to day trapping of HF Minis. Everyone is welcome and if it's a work stream then work Q&A is basically permanent . Figured it would be a nice extra way to give people comfort that there are less cracks to fall between these days )
Artemis Black wrote: First up, if you're owed anything from HF, let me know via some form of data protected method. I'm fine wf you want to DM me here, i think I get emails for that, will check after this, or via email to bwartemis at gmail dot com. Even if it's from like 3 years ago, in fact 'especially' if it's from 3 years ago
Sure, why not? I just forwarded you the email chain for the fourth time, so here's your fifth soft throw to drop this ball on. I anticipate more silence, again.
A while back Kev released a not-Kaleb Daark homage sculpt in resin. By the time I got there it was sold out, but the page said there's also a metal version, which I'd actually prefer.
Unfortunately, there's never been a metal version available on the website.
Is there any chance this sculpt might be re-released in metal some day? It's the best iteration of Daark that I've seen (there are a handful of other versions out there, besides the original GW on foot and mounted ones, but Kev's is definitely the best.)
After three years, four ignored emails, and several posts on multiple forums warning people of the dangers of doing business with them, Hasslefree has finally made good and provided me a refund.
So, there you go. They do eventually make good on things, I guess? I'll leave it up to the buyer to decide if they want to risk that amount of time and effort to get their order, if they're one of those dropped balls.
I for one consider my business with Hasslefree done and gone.
A while back Kev released a not-Kaleb Daark homage sculpt in resin. By the time I got there it was sold out, but the page said there's also a metal version, which I'd actually prefer.
Unfortunately, there's never been a metal version available on the website.
Is there any chance this sculpt might be re-released in metal some day? It's the best iteration of Daark that I've seen (there are a handful of other versions out there, besides the original GW on foot and mounted ones, but Kev's is definitely the best.)
Do you have a pic?
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Kid_Kyoto wrote: It's a tough call. I never felt there was any malice on the part of Hasslefree, just that they're overwhelmed and a small shop.
But yeah there's always a risk with a small business.
As mentioned above, was entirely me getting sick. I mean mistakes were made obviously, but that happens everywhere. The issue was in fixing the mistakes, if I was in hospital again then that person had a higher percentage chance of being screwed.
Anyway, I think I'm going to try livestreaming from the home office today, so if anyone would like to come and ask any questions about the business or the Kickstarter or whatever really, I should be available later today at https://www.twitch.tv/theartemisblack
Fair warning, there'll probably be some politics on there today too as we've been releasing the political parody figs and some people take jokes better than others
but i'm guessing you mean this one that i can only find as a thumbnail google has saved from an old dakka thread ?
No, the one I was referring to is Malak the Burned:
And now that I look at him again, I see that I must have been thinking of converting him into Daark, rather than him being a ready-made Daark homage. I think there's a good resemblance, but he's just carrying a normal axe, not Kaleb's iconic, organic Dreadaxe. Still, "Malak" is pretty close to "Malal," so Kev may have had Daark in mind even so.
Regardless, I'd still be very interested in buying him in metal. Any chance he'll be recast and re-released? He's currently listed as sold out in both resin and metal, which indicates that he was a strong seller for Hasslefree, even without exposed breasts or a perky butt. Surely that has to count for something.
Fun fact: Hasslefree used to sell Kaylee's Dreadaxe separately in resin. I still have one.
Ian Sturrock wrote: Anyone know why the pics of minis are so low res on the new site? Did someone accidentally upload all the thumbnails as main pics?
I went over it in the recent newsletters but basically the old site was bespoke, and had two issues of incompatibility with the modern site.
The first is that it stored images in bespoke folders, so all thumbnails were uploaded automatically but not the product images, I fixed that.
The second is that the new site doesn't use thumbnails per se, whereas our old site did. The new site uses a product image and dynamically resizes it for various things, such as thumbnails, wishlist images etc.
The problem with that second one is we don't 'have' full sized single shot images for most of our minis, we have thumbnails and composite advertising shots (the gallery image you see next to the blurry thumbnail on each of the product pages).
If we swapped them around, the thumbnails would be smaller versions of the composites, which is terrible as you wouldn't be able to see what they are.
So our only two solutions are to 'make' full sized single shot images of every mini or, the one we've chosen, get a plug in written that hides the first image on every page It's just not ready yet, once it is it'll fix that issue. For now, you just have to make an extra click on every page, annoying but liveable.
but i'm guessing you mean this one that i can only find as a thumbnail google has saved from an old dakka thread ?
No, the one I was referring to is Malak the Burned:
And now that I look at him again, I see that I must have been thinking of converting him into Daark, rather than him being a ready-made Daark homage. I think there's a good resemblance, but he's just carrying a normal axe, not Kaleb's iconic, organic Dreadaxe. Still, "Malak" is pretty close to "Malal," so Kev may have had Daark in mind even so.
Regardless, I'd still be very interested in buying him in metal. Any chance he'll be recast and re-released? He's currently listed as sold out in both resin and metal, which indicates that he was a strong seller for Hasslefree, even without exposed breasts or a perky butt. Surely that has to count for something.
Fun fact: Hasslefree used to sell Kaylee's Dreadaxe separately in resin. I still have one.
Malak was one of our new metal releases in the recent Halloween sale, someone doesn't get our newsletter!
I've just restocked Malak (and Vorgan), and the Halloween code is active for about 2 more hours, run!
Illumini wrote: Not going to use the Trump-head, but that is a really great terminator lord in itself. Could possibly be an Abaddon proxy, depending on actual size
Well, down to the last few hours. I went ahead and grabbed the 'Armada' pledge (25 figures for @ $150).
Squad Hydra really did something for me and I liked enough of the over sculpts to go in on this project.
Still considering grabbing the 'Predator girl' add on.
My daughter and I backed. Couldn't quite justify the 25 minis package as we only wanted 13 minis between us. Some great deals there though, for some really characterful, cool minis.
The minis looked great but dont really need any scifi minis. The one that could pass for fantasy (the lady with the basket-hilted sword) I figure i might as well wait for retail.
I did do an order in that last sale. It shipped mid- November, though I haven't received it yet. The minis are great, I have a big wish list...
All the non-politician miniatures look great and very appropriate for Frostgrave[edit]lol I meant Stargrave of course[/edit].
Except for Sister Liberty, who seems really for 40k and where I find the armor design quite ridiculous-looking .
But hey, one person's miss is another person's hit.
For those concerned about getting their stuff - I tried to place an order on their new website for the Halloween Sale, but their website gak itself when I created a new account and I lost the cart that my wife and I had put together over the previous 2 hours (£270-ish). I contacted them on FB to share my dismay and the fact that it made me give up and to their credit they got back to me a week or two later with a code.
I later placed a new order for £352.52 with the code and while I didn't get any free models for the large spend and just a few lollies (disappointed, yes) - I did receive the order in full.
I also placed an order (£35.76) during their smaller Black Friday sale, and I've also now just received that - with all models included.
So whatever else is going on, or has been going on with Hasslefree, I've gotten 2 orders (one quite large, one smaller) in full in the past couple of months, internationally over the holiday season and with the rolling Royal Mail strikes.
KidCthulhu wrote: I'm still waiting on my order from 11/16/22. I emailed yesterday for a status updated. Fingers crossed.
I did get shipping confirmation emails for both. if you didn't get one of those I'd be a bit concerned.
The smaller order placed and shipped earlier arrived more than a week after the larger order that was sent later. Because Post Office.
KidCthulhu wrote: My last two Hasslefree orders never had ship notifications. I would just get them after a month.
Previous websites notifications would sometimes break. for example if multiple people ordered very close to one another, which happened a lot during a promotion, or if I mass sent out shipping notifications instead of individually.
If anyone is wondering I saw this today, dated 4 days ago so May 2 (I wish sites would just post the damn date something was posted):
Apologies. Update coming this week.
As some of you may have noticed we missed a trade show this past week due to recent health issues amongst other things.
Manufacturing continues though,I'll post a list of which minis will be delayed this week and we can then put up the pledge manager without people choosing minis they didn't know will take longer than others
It's sad to see the company slip and slide so much over the years, I used to be a regular customer but the spotty service and what seems to be ages for new minis showcased years ago to finally reach metal production has killed off all interest for me.
So a quick update to let you know that between my various hospital visits and tests I have mostly finished the Pledge Manager (Just working on the multi options to make sure they work correctly)
I 'was' hoping to get it out today, as I like launching things on a Sunday 'but' Backerkit are away for a long weekend and July 4th, and you have to have pledge manager son their system reviewed before you can launch.
So I get to finish off the last little things at my leisure while waiiting for them to get back and hitting the review button.
I don't anticipate any issues with the review so then we'll get straight into it and the next updates will be explaining how it all works
Art
By the time I get my Trump and Biden figures they'll be relevant again
They're dealing with a KS at the moment, and the most recent update says Artemis Black who runs their warehouse and well as dealing with the KS stuff has been out sick again
so while the warehouse does have pickers/packers it wouldn't surprise me if anything complicated like something out of stock or otherwise complicated in a normal order would also be delayed
Yeah, it's the same story time and again, something bad always happens with HF. Either these people are the unluckiest people alive, they have some serious chronic illnesses they should start planning around, or they are just making excuses.
Illumini wrote: Yeah, it's the same story time and again, something bad always happens with HF. Either these people are the unluckiest people alive, they have some serious chronic illnesses they should start planning around, or they are just making excuses.
I've met those involved, the health problems are real, they are also really nice and I have a lot of time for them.
Illumini wrote: Yeah, it's the same story time and again, something bad always happens with HF. Either these people are the unluckiest people alive, they have some serious chronic illnesses they should start planning around, or they are just making excuses.
I get the impression that it’s a mixture of all three, although rather than “making excuses” I’d characterise it as “being overly optimistic”.
Possibly wildly off-topic, but does anyone know if the Fantasy Football cheerleader is ever coming back? I think it's been permanently out of stock for years.
ekwatts wrote: Possibly wildly off-topic, but does anyone know if the Fantasy Football cheerleader is ever coming back? I think it's been permanently out of stock for years.
A load of the old moulds have worn out. IIRC the plan for this year was to go through and get some new ones made but it looks like that hasn't happened as expected.
For those interested, they're doing a Halloween sale, 20% off with the code HALLOWEEN2023, orders will not be shipped until after the 13th of November at the earliest.
For those who have partaken of the Halloween sale, no mail will be sent out until the 20th at the earliest at this point.
So, a smentioned in the original newsletter somewhere below. We have had to extend the sale a few days. It will now run through this weekend. That's it though Sadly my meds didnot work out and needed assessment and coming off them caused withdrawal symptoms which cost me work time. So this will give me some of it back
If you are a new customer and don't want to see our newsletters, there should be an easy unsubscribe button accessible somewhere on your screen.
No Mail until at least 20th November!
Sale orders that are already in have already started being worked on. We have help for that while I am occupied fixing other issues.
Right, listen up guys and gals!
We're closing for 'regular' mail until the above. 'No' sale orders willl go out until we're back to work, which wil be at least 20th November (see below for details)
We will still be open during this time, I'll be sorting the Kickstarter and outstanding issues from my hospital stays etc.
Last time I ordered from them with a similar sale, it took several months to receive something, and I had some miniatures missing. A couple more months later, I finally got everything with a few extras as apology.
Sadly, as a result, I always had second thoughts ordering something ever again from them.
I understand their situation, but I'm still baffled that even after all this time they seem to be unable to plan something more long term according to it (it's clear the health problems are more than chronic and will only get worse with time, at this point).
For those wondering, ME is the most recent renaming of what is/was commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (and a myriad of other names over the decades).
I backed for a pretty large amount and I'm not happy. I didn't know about Hasslefree's history with kickstarter, only having a good impression from the few models of theirs I have purchased over the years. We're a year on now with no meaningful sign that any work at all has been done. No pictures of moulds, no pictures of cast minis, no pledge manager, nothing. Absolute shambles. If they can't maintain the most basic professional pretence they should close up shop and refund the backers.
Just out of curiosity, were you aware of this thread or its predecessor? Obviously I'm not blaming you for their delays but am just asking. Companies like Mierce and Hasslefree have a long documented history of repeated issues with fulfillment that only worsens with crowdfunding.
I've personally been holding off for years from ordering despite wanting several minis from their lines but am not willing to risk it until they're all in stock (which has not been the case for roughly three years at this point). Heck, one mini is removed from their website even though is still accessible if you have the link so probably no chance at all I'll ever get that one.
Illumini wrote: Mierce in my experience is very quick to deliver anything not kickstarter. There are no issues buying something from their store
That is commonly reported but at other times historically it wasn't always the case. Regardless, do you think that the ability to force a refund upon them via your normal payment method as opposed to crowdfunding where that generally isn't the case plays a significant role in that?
It seems the big difference is that they have good control of anything that they can currently produce, while the kickstarters they need to get it designed and mastered first, and that seems to be where they have overreached earlier. However, they are still plowing through their backlog there, I think the rise of 3d modelling and printing has helped them.
Hasslefree on the other hand clearly has major issues creating any stock even for minis they have had for years
warboss wrote: Just out of curiosity, were you aware of this thread or its predecessor?
I was not aware of them, shame on me for not doing my research I suppose. I pledged based on my prior experience with Hasslefree being a little slow but delivering quality models. I didn't realise they were going to be THIS slow.
TheGenuineMetz wrote: I was not aware of them, shame on me for not doing my research I suppose. I pledged based on my prior experience with Hasslefree being a little slow but delivering quality models. I didn't realise they were going to be THIS slow.
No worries as I was just curious. Dakka gets occasionally mentioned unironically as a bunch of negative nancies so I figured I'd ask.
As for Hasslefree, is their website down for everyone? It just shows up a blank white page for me instead of a more typical error 404.
I am still waiting on my Halloween order to be shipped out.
Giving it another week and then I'll send an email, which will no doubt be ignored like so many others have had happen to them in the past here! If no reply by the end of February, I'll kick it up to Paypal and just ask for a refund through them.
Did check Facebook just in case, but nothing new there since December 31st. Nothing from Sally perchance? Anything new on the KS page itself, or are people being stonewalled there as well?
edit.
Well, Arty appears to be streaming Blood Bowl stuff, so he's still around.
Nothing on Facebook apart from a Happy Christmas/New Year image which the KS also got,
Sally's active on her page though both with her Dog Rescue stuff (which could have been more tricky/involved recently as the UK gov have just banned another dog breed), and some personal stuff which i could easily see having eaten up a load of time
but still no real excuse them for not posting a sorry, we're still working on things to KS/the Hasslefree facebook page
Quote from: Too Bo Coo on January 02, 2024, 07:42:52 PM I made an order like 6 or 7 months ago, their site said they had stock on the items I ordered, but then 6 weeks or so later I finally reached out. We went through the 'so sorry, let me look into this' before disappearing…. Twice.
Wrote them a few days ago after asking for a refund two months ago to zero reply (I could see they saw the message..) and jist said, 'ok, I guess no items, no refund so I guess I made an unintentional donation to your company'….
Very very disappointing, as this is hardly the first time. I know I'll hear ANOTHER story of some major personal issue, but frankly as this now seems to be a 'thing¡ for them, I really dont care. If there are so many issues that are this crippling for their business, perhaps its time to pack it in and close shop.
I really like Kev and Sally and I write this all with a very heavy heart, but enough is really enough…..
Sally here. I completely and utterly agree with every word that you are saying. Closing shop is something that has been at the forefront on my mind for the last year now.
The last few years have been a living nightmare for me too. I honestly wish I could go back 7 years and not let the business move to Wales.
At the time we thought it was the obvious next step up to a larger facility with designated workspaces then Brexit hit and we lost 40% of our business overnight that resulted in us doing some serious juggling behind the scenes to keep going. That business has not returned due to issues with import taxes and different countries sending back orders.
Then I had my accident and Dameon got very ill and we just seem to be chasing our tails constantly.
It has been a nightmare, neither of us has had an income for the last few years to try and keep restocks catching up.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, The minis will go on we are just figuring out the best way to do it. It might mean completely downsizing and possible relocations, we don't know yet.
So really what I want to say is that I am very sorry for the issues that you all have had but change is afoot and hopefully we can get back on track and you all start to love us again x
Just conjecture (based on experience watching various gaming trainwrecks) but when things get tough for a small company/project funds tend to be used to cover ongoing expenses rather than what they were initially intended for (like preorders and crowdfunding rewards). If the disruption is short/temporary, things go back to normal equally quickly as long as the delay/issues didn't affect incoming orders so that ongoing profit can cover back expenses for a while. If the issues persist for longer periods and negatively affect future orders due to the delays (despite increasingly desperate measures to remedy it like more frequent or more drastic sales), it's usually an unstoppable spiral unless something incredible happens like a big gofundme donation/angel investor/merger/acquisition.
The difficulty is if they have any debt over them in addition to customer back-orders. That might put them in a position where they've so much outstanding that there isn't really much to "sell" of the company in value for what a buyer would get when they also get the debt as well.
Which sadly might mean it all ends up going through administration. Whilst that can mean the line gets bought out by someone else in entirety, it can also be a really messy situation where things get lost, missplaced, messed up and so forth.
I know when Wayland bought the Spartan Games stuff they had issues such as their moulds just being dumped on a pallet and the ID system used for categorising was linked to software that hadn't been maintained etc.... Just all the mess you get when a firm hits tough times and crumbles and then administrators box everything up and so forth.
They have a fantastic range of models, I'd hope if the worst comes that somebody else would take it on as theres money to be made selling these figures. The current team have just had too many health issues to efficiently run a business.
A newsletter should be sent out sometime today, this was posted on the KS page yesterday.
I figured I'd use my good health check in to answer a couple of questions we got since my return.
We have had the resins made because the moulds for resin masters are individual and take a while, so they were all made in advance.
We also use resin masters to make metals, it's more expensive but it essentially means that the metals we produce are masters. Those are the metals you get, which is why we have a reputation for high quality metals.
We have had some of the metals produced, just some random ones in between my hospital visits but the bulk are awaiting figures from the ill-fated pledge manager. We don't want to get hundreds of mini x cast only to find out that only 5 of you want it
Why haven't we hired someone to take care of the KS? Sadly it just doesn't work that way. We're a small family business and hiring someone to try and take over a project and business they don't understand would take a lot of money, time and training and wouldn't be a permanent position for anyone qualified.
There 'is' help in place to handle fulfilment and there is an emergency plan in place should I disappear on a long term or permanent basis.
If the worst were to happen, Sal and the backup help would fulfil the Kickstarter as the last act of HF Minis as it currently exists. A little morbid, but I figure you all should understand that the KS wouldn't disappear.
I'll update again Sunday as I'm planning to put out a newsletter addressing similar stuff about our main business.
We do have to make sure we pay the rent so there's a warehouse to fulfil this 'from' after all
BrookM wrote: A newsletter should be sent out sometime today, this was posted on the KS page yesterday.
Spoiler:
I figured I'd use my good health check in to answer a couple of questions we got since my return.
We have had the resins made because the moulds for resin masters are individual and take a while, so they were all made in advance.
We also use resin masters to make metals, it's more expensive but it essentially means that the metals we produce are masters. Those are the metals you get, which is why we have a reputation for high quality metals.
We have had some of the metals produced, just some random ones in between my hospital visits but the bulk are awaiting figures from the ill-fated pledge manager. We don't want to get hundreds of mini x cast only to find out that only 5 of you want it
Why haven't we hired someone to take care of the KS? Sadly it just doesn't work that way. We're a small family business and hiring someone to try and take over a project and business they don't understand would take a lot of money, time and training and wouldn't be a permanent position for anyone qualified.
There 'is' help in place to handle fulfilment and there is an emergency plan in place should I disappear on a long term or permanent basis.
If the worst were to happen, Sal and the backup help would fulfil the Kickstarter as the last act of HF Minis as it currently exists. A little morbid, but I figure you all should understand that the KS wouldn't disappear.
I'll update again Sunday as I'm planning to put out a newsletter addressing similar stuff about our main business.
We do have to make sure we pay the rent so there's a warehouse to fulfil this 'from' after all
Art.
I'm glad they have an emergency plan in place should he disappear long term. I'm not a backer but, if I was, I would be most curious about what the criteria for that plan kicking into action are because obviously being almost a year late at this point without even a pledge manager (according to the comments) in place yet to find out how much of what they need to make doesn't seem to be long term enough. Fortunately, I have the luxury of waiting (with my money) since I decided to instead just wait for the figs I want to hit retail and order them then instead. Still I will give credit where credit is due in that he hasn't gone radio silent so I do believe they're trying in some minimally effective way. Faint praise but praise nonetheless.
HF was never the most professional company, and now it is completely unreliable.
So... thats not really fair.
I think people have forgotten that a lot of these businesses that started off in the early 00's as mom and pop companies are still just that - they may have been in business for twenty years but that doesn't mean they've enjoyed or benefited from the market growing, or even that they've been able to scale up there businesses; there still small fish, but the pond is bigger, and now theres... 3d printed lakes? Eh.
At the same time, the consumer went from 'Oh hey, it arrived in a week, thats amazing!' to 'Why isn't it here the next day, why am I paying for shipping, and why does it cost this much compared to X?' All the while, ignoring the crippling effects of COVID, inflation, metal prices, and Brexit.
People see HF as being in business for 20 years, and expect a workforce, in-house manufacturing, snazzy designer packaging... and don't really understand whats involved in getting an maintaining a company that can do all that.
Am I saying all this is right or 'an excuse'? No... but I think people lose perspective when things have gone wrong and been so challenging for such a long time. Clearly, from Sals post, this is something thats been considered heavily.
I think over the next few years a lot of British companies are going to face some harsh realities and as consumers, we'll be worse off for it.
At the same time, the consumer went from 'Oh hey, it arrived in a week, thats amazing!' to 'Why isn't it here the next day, why am I paying for shipping, and why does it cost this much compared to X?' All the while, ignoring the crippling effects of COVID, inflation, metal prices, and Brexit.
That sounds horrible. Can you quote the examples of that in the thread?
HF was never the most professional company, and now it is completely unreliable.
So... thats not really fair.
I think people have forgotten that a lot of these businesses that started off in the early 00's as mom and pop companies are still just that - they may have been in business for twenty years but that doesn't mean they've enjoyed or benefited from the market growing, or even that they've been able to scale up there businesses; there still small fish, but the pond is bigger, and now theres... 3d printed lakes? Eh.
At the same time, the consumer went from 'Oh hey, it arrived in a week, thats amazing!' to 'Why isn't it here the next day, why am I paying for shipping, and why does it cost this much compared to X?' All the while, ignoring the crippling effects of COVID, inflation, metal prices, and Brexit.
People see HF as being in business for 20 years, and expect a workforce, in-house manufacturing, snazzy designer packaging... and don't really understand whats involved in getting an maintaining a company that can do all that.
Am I saying all this is right or 'an excuse'? No... but I think people lose perspective when things have gone wrong and been so challenging for such a long time. Clearly, from Sals post, this is something thats been considered heavily.
I think over the next few years a lot of British companies are going to face some harsh realities and as consumers, we'll be worse off for it.
Spot on. The only thing I would add is that Its not " in a a few years" its happening right now and last year at salute was an eye opener. Several companies vanished and I had chats with old friends, company owners, and it is grim.
HF did a lot of good things in the past when things were different, I really hope they can turn this around and get back into those days.
I think fairer would be to say they were very professional in the past, both Sally and Kev were absolute joys to talk to, both at Salute and over social media concerning queries, but things have taken an absolute nosedive in terms of quality after the change of guard.
I don't expect miracles, post Brexit shipping has become hellish to say the least and while I am not part of the "order now, deliver tomorrow" crowd, I do find it very disappointing how poor the communications have been. It's not just the KS crowd waiting on gak to happen, plenty of people who made use of their Halloween sale would also love to know why the promised delivery dates have been missed.
That sounds horrible. Can you quote the examples of that in the thread?
Which bit? This is the general impression I've gotten from this thread and others - usually focusing on smaller, longer-established British manufacturers...
Spot on. The only thing I would add is that Its not " in a a few years" its happening right now and last year at salute was an eye opener. Several companies vanished and I had chats with old friends, company owners, and it is grim.
Salute last year was just... sad. I had plenty of money to splurge, and brought most of it back. Fewer indie companies, more retailers, and those that could have done more just didn't bother (the Corvus Belli stand was bizarre).
Its a cycle though - the less companies make at the show, the less financially viable it is, so there's less stands to visit, so there's fewer reasons to go... and when companies stop going, they don't tend to go back. Heresy is a prime example here.
I think fairer would be to say they were very professional in the past, both Sally and Kev were absolute joys to talk to, both at Salute and over social media concerning queries, but things have taken an absolute nosedive in terms of quality after the change of guard.
Thing is, I don't think its as simple as that. Health has undoubtedly been a massive factor, but it's also scale and time.
Having a small company with 2 dozen products run out of a back room is one thing - having a warehouse and thousands of products is an entirely different beast. Each code you add, means X amount extra in restock, X amount of space needed to hold it, and X amount of potential problems - I can't imagine the logistics and financial implications of that for a large company, let alone one that's all down to one person. And we're not even talking about all the other hats like processing the orders, advertising and social media, trade shows...
Also remember Kev White is now working for GW so can't be involved in Hasslefree stuff any more, and isn't on social media posting new sculpts which remind customers that Hasslefree exists
Back in January I sent a message to the seller asking for clarification and as expected, no reply. In February I received a generic email from the seller asking ME why my order hasn't arrived yet.. have again replied asking for clarification as to why my order hasn't been sent out yet. But nothing since then, he's also been ghosting the KS project again, so I've decided to cut my losses and taken it up with Paypal.
For those who have placed an order during the Halloween sale, I'd highly recommend doing the same if like me you have no more faith in this company.
warboss wrote: Does Paypal have a 6 month window for making a claim?
They did a few years ago when it was relevant to me. I'd be sure to check if you have an outstanding order with Hasslefree. I wouldn't take my chances with them.
There is still a six month window, your Paypal transaction will tell you until the exact day how long you still have to file a claim, so don't wait too long. Mine was late April, but I've decided not to wait any longer.
If you are receiving this it's because your order has been delayed due to a problem with a metal mini.
Since my return to work I have resolved numerous issues but the one thing I couldn't do was have metal cast quickly. Your order 'is' being resolved, all missing metals have been ordered as a matter of emergency but we cannot speed up the casters more than just asking sorry.
If you are ok waiting for your order then nothing more for you to do. If you don't want to wait, you can reply to this email and I'll tell you which mini was an issue and we can go from there
Dameon
HF Minis
Well, sent him a reply telling him I cancelled, I look forward to a potential reply a month from now.
BrookM wrote: Are you fething kidding me.. This just came in.
Hi There
If you are receiving this it's because your order has been delayed due to a problem with a metal mini.
Since my return to work I have resolved numerous issues but the one thing I couldn't do was have metal cast quickly. Your order 'is' being resolved, all missing metals have been ordered as a matter of emergency but we cannot speed up the casters more than just asking sorry.
If you are ok waiting for your order then nothing more for you to do. If you don't want to wait, you can reply to this email and I'll tell you which mini was an issue and we can go from there
Dameon
HF Minis
Well, sent him a reply telling him I cancelled, I look forward to a potential reply a month from now.
I suppose the half glass full way of looking at it is that they solved numerous issues with your order other than producing and shipping the mini you paid for. So I guess an end to world hunger and peace in the Middle East incoming then?
BrookM wrote: Are you fething kidding me.. This just came in.
Hi There
If you are receiving this it's because your order has been delayed due to a problem with a metal mini.
Since my return to work I have resolved numerous issues but the one thing I couldn't do was have metal cast quickly. Your order 'is' being resolved, all missing metals have been ordered as a matter of emergency but we cannot speed up the casters more than just asking sorry.
If you are ok waiting for your order then nothing more for you to do. If you don't want to wait, you can reply to this email and I'll tell you which mini was an issue and we can go from there
Dameon
HF Minis
Well, sent him a reply telling him I cancelled, I look forward to a potential reply a month from now.
I suppose the half glass full way of looking at it is that they solved numerous issues with your order other than producing and shipping the mini you paid for. So I guess an end to world hunger and peace in the Middle East incoming then?
I got a swift reply not long after with the offer to ship out what's available right now alongside a partial refund of the missing mini, but at this stage I am so done with this all and going with a full refund, minus shipping (Paypal doesn't refund that, but I can live with it). Plus heh, the missing mini is the one I had initially wanted the most as it was to be a gift, but at this point, not going to bother any more, what little faith and confidence I had left is all gone.
This is so heartbreaking, as there was a time where Hasslefree was amazing. I still love their products, but they're getting impossible to actually obtain!
BrookM wrote: I got a swift reply not long after with the offer to ship out what's available right now alongside a partial refund of the missing mini, but at this stage I am so done with this all and going with a full refund, minus shipping (Paypal doesn't refund that, but I can live with it). Plus heh, the missing mini is the one I had initially wanted the most as it was to be a gift, but at this point, not going to bother any more, what little faith and confidence I had left is all gone.
Well, I'm glad you at least are getting the lion's share back. I wasn't aware that paypal doesn't refund shipping though admittedly I haven't filed a claim in almost a decade and the last 2-3 were through Ebay via Paypal by proxy when they were still owned together so it's long out of date.
KidCthulhu wrote: This is so heartbreaking, as there was a time where Hasslefree was amazing. I still love their products, but they're getting impossible to actually obtain!
I think it’s that there is so much unknown, like I assume some minis are being sent out. People must be getting some of there orders.
I am sure if they made a post with, these 5 minis have a stock of 10. They would get some orders, and able to send them out.
For myself I would probably jump on a few minis if they went up with a yes there is stock, and we can send them out ASAP.
But I myself am far too sick to follow up on Emails for minis over what could be months :( just so much Unknown involved.
For what it's worth an update today. Omitting the personal health details the update says the pledge manager is done and just needs to be "confirmed and paid for". Update next week.
I don't know; I've been afraid to buy because my last order was like pulling teeth. They even have some new products and I want to give them money. But I don't want to be sending emails for months for something that's already a finished product and shows in-stock on their site.
KidCthulhu wrote: I don't know; I've been afraid to buy because my last order was like pulling teeth. They even have some new products and I want to give them money. But I don't want to be sending emails for months for something that's already a finished product and shows in-stock on their site.
I've been waiting at this point for years to place my first order and the product that I wanted the most has been memory holed probably permanently and isn't even listed on their website (though my bookmark of the fig URL still works!) and the newer ones from the kickstarter and beyond mostly aren't available either in metal (I think one is available as a premium resin master). It's why I've kept up with the increasing and seemingly never ending drama over the years hoping to finally place an order.
I got the offer to have my missing metal get upgraded to a resin master for free when I cancelled my order, but in the end I just didn't want to risk it.
I just wondered if anyone had heard anything from Hasslefree recently?
It feels like there is a communication black hole, and it would be interesting to know if people have received an order from them in the last few months.
The_Minsk wrote: I just wondered if anyone had heard anything from Hasslefree recently?
It feels like there is a communication black hole, and it would be interesting to know if people have received an order from them in the last few months.
Nope, nada. Haven't heard a thing from them in quite a while now.
Is that the owner with the health problems or one of the employees? Just to put that into perspective... it's approximately 45 hours worth of Blood Bowl streaming over the past 20 days or, in other words, over a full work week (or almost two full work days a week every week) devoted to BB streaming.
I don't see from a quick check any kickstarter updates nor has anyone posted any progress on the pledge manager during that same time period but admittedly I only casually follow this.
If things are running like we suspect they are running Hasslefree may not be making enough to pay full time wages so seeing folk associate with it doing other stuff isn't too surprising
Yeah, their statement at the time was just that Kev had wanted to sculpt for GW again, and so took the opportunity when it was offered. Although I suspect that the prospect of a stable income, if only on GW wages, was probably also appealing given how hard it things are for small businesses in the UK at the moment.
warboss wrote: Is that the owner with the health problems or one of the employees? Just to put that into perspective... it's approximately 45 hours worth of Blood Bowl streaming over the past 20 days or, in other words, over a full work week (or almost two full work days a week every week) devoted to BB streaming.
I don't see from a quick check any kickstarter updates nor has anyone posted any progress on the pledge manager during that same time period but admittedly I only casually follow this.
I am so glad I purchased everything from Hasslefree ages ago when I could still reasonably expect my stuff to ship... I would be a bit annoyed at that much time devoted to streaming Blood Bowl (as much as I love it) while the company is still ages behind on everything.
Robert Facepalmer wrote: One of the employees, though IIRC Kev started working at GW to get health insurance for Sally.
Can’t comment on anything else, but that’s not how healthcare in the UK works.
Yes, for the most part, though I have been told that the NHS is great for Accident & Emergency but if you are needing regular care from a specialist, it can be lacking.
I'm sure a lot of people are wondering what's going on here at HF Headquarters,
So the short version is up here, Dameon will write a long version down below.
We're not closed. That's probably the important part. We've been close, well, not to completely closing but to changing this version of HF due to Dameon's illness, we're hoping we have avoided that.
Dameon is back to work. We're posting 3 times a week and if you have an outstanding order, wait a couple of days to see if you get a despatch email as Dameon came back for a few days and pushed a bunch of those outstanding orders out last week.
The Kickstarter is back in production after stalling while Dameon was out of commission. We'll update there separately to this in the coming week.
We do have help again, so its not just the two of us with one of us in England.
Our apologies if this sounds terse, we figured a number of you would prefer to just quickly hear the facts. We'll start updating things like our FB again this coming week and you'll find someone mannning the FBDMs as well.
We'll have a more normal newsletter next week with more details about what happens next both in our main business and the KS.
The Long Version
Allo All,
Alright, this will be long and the majority of you should just skip
The important part for now is above anyway.
If anyone doesn't know I'm sick by now, well, I am.
Oddly, despite having been off work three times this year, and almost dying twice in the past year, I'm actually better than I was when I was living at the warehouse. It's been a very bad case of 'It'll get worse before it gets better.
My long illness tanked my immune system and my body went into a kind of cascade failure. Think of it like aging really fast. I've been unable to walk for a while, that's better. I was unable to use my right hand, that's sort of better, it just hurts a lot to use it now, just typing this part of the newsletter is painful. My vomiting is mostly under control but I am still on a waiting list for my next procedure. I can't sleep, and I can't take anything to help me sleep in case I choke to death. It's been super fun.
I've been sick for such a long time now that I have been close to calling Sal and quitting more than once. If I'd stayed sick for longer each time I would have, I am just up and down. When I'm up I want to come back and fix everything and try to move forward, and then I'm down again. It's been pretty miserable.
My apologies to everyone who has been affected by my illness, it's not something that should have happened. The KS is miserably late, I've been unable to resolve any issues in my uptime well enough to just hand it off to someone else. The release schedule has been non-existent, same reason.
It's been absolutely miserable having plans, and unreleased minis and product, and just being unable to do anything about them. I also cannot react in normal time to issues that arise, like a resin mould breaking or product being delayed. My cover can put out normal orders but is limited in what they can fix problem-wise.
No blame to the NHS for this next part, it's not their fault they have the same budget as an 11yr olds birthday party, I'm just on, and have been through, a 'lot' of waiting lists for procedures and tests.
If I can't stay well, we'll have to change how things are for HF. We'll obviously let everyone know if that is the case. That won't affect anything outstanding, whether a missing order or the KS. Everythign will be resolved.
And a quick note for those who think it's as easy as 'just hire someone else'. If I was well enough to train someone I'd be working myself, and if I did train someone, I'm pretty certain they'd want paying Our money is spoken for, we have the KS money, rent etc put aside. Which is why we aren't closed.
For those unaffected by all this, who read this anyway, what are you doing, go watch a movie or something!
Which one of the names (if any) mentioned above is the person who is doing all the Blood Bowl streaming out of curiosity? Also, for the folks here in the thread who backed the KS, are you hoping for them to hire another person to fulfill rewards for them or would you feel more inclined to hope that they just sell the whole line/project to another company more able to finish it instead? I don't know if that's a viable option (whether logisitically or personally for them to concede the necessity of it) but figured I'd ask.
Robert Facepalmer wrote:Dameon is Artemis Black, the Twitch streamer. He used to talk about his Blood Bowl streams in past Hasslefree updates.
Thanks as that does make the post alot clearer.
Undead_Love-Machine wrote:I wonder how ill you need to be to be unable to answer emails, while still being able to stream yourself playing games on Twitch
Exactly. I don't think anyone would be raising concerns if the company was fulfilling its obligations (both in the kickstarter as well as simple day to day operations like communicating in a reasonable timeframe with customers beyond just taking further payments) while one of the key people there was streaming a dozen hours a week. If anyone understands that folks occasionally need a fun diversion from real life from time to time to relax, it would be gamers after all. Literally the entire hobby is built around that premise.
I posted a newsletter this last week and I wanted to gather some more info about the KS before sharing it directly here (I know some of you have forwarded the info etc and thank you).
That's the general state of HF i.e. not great thanks to my continuing up and down health.
At the moment it is up, so we are pushing forward. I'm not going to make any guarantees about me, but I have noticed some people who think that if I disappear so does the KS. That is not the case. Even if I were to just straight up die, everything gets shipped up to Sal and she will continue with it.
Since coming back to work I have attempted to organise the mess that we are in. The problem with being in and out is that I do not get notice of being sick and everything is left where it was the day I fell ill. Cover steps in to send out regular website orders etc and of course they need to move things and use things.
It's been, and continues to be, a bit of a chore. However, things have progressed this past week. We have received another batch of resins and I have talked to our resin caster about a schedule for the last few problem minis (2 broken moulds, 2 missing 'pieces, a sword and a head, and the 2 3d sculpts). Everything else is ready.
We will 'not' be waiting for all these problems to be fixed before putting up the pledge manager but we 'will' be waiting for a firmer idea of when they will be resolved.
I am not taking more money without a more solid schedule in place, this could take a week, it could take a couple. As long as I am up and working I will keep people updated. Sal will now let people know if anything happens to me.
Just so this isn't a wall of text, I took some photos of the 3d sculpts, which we have progressed with and will include them below, they are just from my phone but they should show what you will get and also the size comparison with existing minis.
I understand completely that people are annoyed at the extended delays, but I can assure you, spamming 'drop the pledge manager' doesn't do anything In fact if I'd dropped it before I fell ill this last time we'd be in a much worse spot.
Captain Cain is somewhere in between the regular soldiers and the Hel-IX enhanced guys. He is not a small man
He comes in multipart not the 2 piece shown above, I have included the sprues below...
The multipart is simply because of the dynamic posing. It will allow you to rotate his upper body slightly for different positioning and makes weapon/hand swaps easier if you want something different on him. The choice of heads is included.
And as a final pic, I quickly took a photo of the Sister Liberty sprues. I'll do a size comparison with her this coming week (and do them in our actual photo studio).
These will now get resin mastered and should quickly move through to metal production. We should also get the missing/broken minis sorted this coming week and our resin house can give us a better schedule for when we get masters back and can send them for metal production.
I specifically didn't fill the above with 'sorry's, just take it as permanent that I am sorry that my ill health has impacted both the KS and our business in the way that it has. Better to spend my good health time resolving as much as possible
So no real news, save that some confirmation that models are being cast.
The bit about Sally being the backup for Artemis just puzzles me since well... Artemis has said he was near death from his illnesses. So if Sally hasn't come in yet, when?
So I remain in the call it quits camp. It's not worth Artemis' health and there seems no real back up plan.
It's all a bit too sad and I wish them all the best. Somethings should be private though, like his health.
If minis can or cant be delivered just say so and leave it at that.
Life happens to all of us so I think it would be a lot easier on everyone if things didn't drag like this.
Are those 3d prints going to then be used to "master" the resin models? I hope not because that will result in even softer details. Admittedly it's sometimes difficult to tell with 3d printer resin as it doesn't always show shadows well but that's why some folks ink them to accentuate the details when showing them off. Those look about the same level of crispness/detail (maybe slightly more if I'm generous) that I used to get with my OG first gen Elegoo Mars pre-pandemic.
I posted a newsletter this last week and I wanted to gather some more info about the KS before sharing it directly here (I know some of you have forwarded the info etc and thank you).
That's the general state of HF i.e. not great thanks to my continuing up and down health.
At the moment it is up, so we are pushing forward. I'm not going to make any guarantees about me, but I have noticed some people who think that if I disappear so does the KS. That is not the case. Even if I were to just straight up die, everything gets shipped up to Sal and she will continue with it.
Since coming back to work I have attempted to organise the mess that we are in. The problem with being in and out is that I do not get notice of being sick and everything is left where it was the day I fell ill. Cover steps in to send out regular website orders etc and of course they need to move things and use things.
It's been, and continues to be, a bit of a chore. However, things have progressed this past week. We have received another batch of resins and I have talked to our resin caster about a schedule for the last few problem minis (2 broken moulds, 2 missing 'pieces, a sword and a head, and the 2 3d sculpts). Everything else is ready.
We will 'not' be waiting for all these problems to be fixed before putting up the pledge manager but we 'will' be waiting for a firmer idea of when they will be resolved.
I am not taking more money without a more solid schedule in place, this could take a week, it could take a couple. As long as I am up and working I will keep people updated. Sal will now let people know if anything happens to me.
Just so this isn't a wall of text, I took some photos of the 3d sculpts, which we have progressed with and will include them below, they are just from my phone but they should show what you will get and also the size comparison with existing minis.
I understand completely that people are annoyed at the extended delays, but I can assure you, spamming 'drop the pledge manager' doesn't do anything In fact if I'd dropped it before I fell ill this last time we'd be in a much worse spot.
Captain Cain is somewhere in between the regular soldiers and the Hel-IX enhanced guys. He is not a small man
He comes in multipart not the 2 piece shown above, I have included the sprues below...
The multipart is simply because of the dynamic posing. It will allow you to rotate his upper body slightly for different positioning and makes weapon/hand swaps easier if you want something different on him. The choice of heads is included.
And as a final pic, I quickly took a photo of the Sister Liberty sprues. I'll do a size comparison with her this coming week (and do them in our actual photo studio).
These will now get resin mastered and should quickly move through to metal production. We should also get the missing/broken minis sorted this coming week and our resin house can give us a better schedule for when we get masters back and can send them for metal production.
I specifically didn't fill the above with 'sorry's, just take it as permanent that I am sorry that my ill health has impacted both the KS and our business in the way that it has. Better to spend my good health time resolving as much as possible
So no real news, save that some confirmation that models are being cast.
The bit about Sally being the backup for Artemis just puzzles me since well... Artemis has said he was near death from his illnesses. So if Sally hasn't come in yet, when?
So I remain in the call it quits camp. It's not worth Artemis' health and there seems no real back up plan.
This was asked and answered in the comment section of that last update:
Ryan Dunham
1 day ago
What I don't get is why, as you put it, were to "straight up die" and Sally would continue with haven't you done this already a year ago? If she's next in line to do it then give it to her to do now! You've been basically dead for over a year. So get it done. I know I sound harsh but your sob stories just don't fly anymore mate. It's excuse after excuse
Hasslefree MiniaturesCreator
about 24 hours ago
Should I die and the entire business need to be shipped to Sal,. who does not have a warehouse and works in another country from home, it will, as would usually be the case when someone in charge of a project dies, take a considerably longer time.
Sal is not set up to resolve the KS, I wrote it to let people know that there is a backup plan in case I die, or get too sick to work at all. The KS doesn't die with me.
Also I go out of my way to 'not' post sob stories I just inform people what has happened and what is going to happen.
That backer is being totally unreasonable. I'm sure this Sally person is perfectly capable of months of silence followed by posts kicking the can down the road figuratively speaking. There is no reason to assume he or she can't continue keeping up the current pace as you don't need a warehouse or be local to show little to no visible progress towards completion.
warboss wrote: That backer is being totally unreasonable. I'm sure this Sally person is perfectly capable of months of silence followed by posts kicking the can down the road figuratively speaking. There is no reason to assume he or she can't continue keeping up the current pace as you don't need a warehouse or be local to show little to no visible progress towards completion.
Ouch. Not saying you're wrong, but ouch.
Due to their oversharing newsletters and this KS I know more about Hasslefree than I ever needed to. IIRC Sally is Kev's wife and has serious health issues of her own. Not sure what country she is in these days but the UK is weird technically Wales is a another country.
Due to their oversharing newsletters and this KS I know more about Hasslefree than I ever needed to
So...there's a reason why its that way. From the about us section of the HF website.
Kev and Sal (The Whites) established Hasslefree Miniatures with Kev as a sole trader back in January 2004
HF was always a very hands-on, public company because of how it started - they literally knew every customer; who would buy what, when they would order, what sort of things they were looking for and liked. Those small start up miniatures companies from that period could do that.
A lot of the figures are named after customers who became friends - like Inso, who has a blog here. There kids grew up very much as part of the business - running around at trade stands, helping out.
People don't realise just how 'mom and pop' some companies are some times.
IIRC Sally is Kev's wife and has serious health issues of her own. Not sure what country she is in these days but the UK is weird technically Wales is a another country.
She does (its in the about section) - ME.
Again, as per the website, Sals based in Derbyshire whilst the business is in Caerphilly. Thats a hefty round trip for someone with a condition like ME, and its not connected well.
I think what Daemons trying to say here is that whilst mechanically, there is an option to resolve it... but its not an option that can be taken lightly
You're talking at least a container full of 'stuff', which you then need to house in reasonably good conditions, and then you need to set up to process orders, and then you need to have someone process orders as well as running the business. The more product codes, the more orders, the harder this is. Then theres is the issue that the logistics side of the business can no longer do the logistics side of the business.. that's a headache.
Reading the two messages, and putting my comms professional hat on, there more definitive with language if not with actions - thats positive. I appreciate it may not read that way, and I'm not saying its sunshine and roses, but.. I'm quietly confident reading these two.
So the short version, as always, is up here, then I will go into detail below for those who are interested in the why's and wherefore's of such things.
We are currently closed. We're not 100% certain when we will re-open but it will be at least 1 week and likely more.
Just to be absolutely clear, even though some people will ignore this part, we are NOT closed down
Something behind the scenes has happened with the server and it is some level of catastrophic, we are working on finding out 'how' much we need to fix and while we do so we are closed for new orders.
Existing orders will be fulfilled. However you may be contacted by us to double check shipping addresses etc. as while the server is melted we currently have no way of checking if you wanted a different shipping address to your billing address.
This does not affect the Kickstarter, it's only related to our webstore.
So for right now, if you have ordered from us and not received a despatch notification, please keep an eye out for an email in case we need to ask you something.
If you need to contact us, obviously our domain name is down so please use BWARTEMIS at GMAIL dot COM.
Also please make sure you are following our FB Page as I cannot send out newsletters every day
The Long and Scary Explanation
Ok folks, strap in, because I'm typing this and even I don't believe it.
(If anyone out there buys into the whole 'we are living in a simulation' stuff, this will not help disprove it).
Yesterday our website went down. It's happened before, it's not usually a big deal. This one is.
I got an email from our web guy that included the word 'catastrophic', not normally a good sign.
Our server is toast, and backups or recovery are currently in 'status unknown' territory.
A mysql update broke, let to a number of steps (a rollback, a reboot, a corrupted file system etc.) that got worse and the reboot corrupted the whole thing.
(Just for clarity purpose, nobody's data is at risk or anything, this is more akin to a hard drive failure)
This is beyond terrible timing obviously, I am just back from illness and have been working on a number of things to get the business back up and running. This is like a kick to the genitals as far as that is concerned.
However, it gets worse! This happened the literal day that our web guy is leaving the country for a 'cruise', not even a normal holiday, a 'boat in the middle of the ocean, try working online from there' cruise!
So we are currently sans website and more importantly, sans database.
Obviously we have emails for all payments and orders etc. But that means over the next few days I have to manually go through all order emails, make a spreadsheet, mark off everyone's order that has been shipped using the physical sheets of paper we use for that and then contact people from their payment details to ship outstanding orders.
Can we do that? Yes.
Is it a metric f&*%ton of work that takes time away from the plans to release new product and get the KS out the door etc. that I have been working hard on these past weeks since returning from illness? Also bloody yes.
I'll get a holding page up over the next day or two and link it to this newsletter on our FB page. I can't even do that easily as ...no server.
The bad luck of it both happening, and the timing of the things around it is ludicrous. I stared at the email for a little bit wondering if I was still asleep to be honest.
But, all we can do is soldier on. No point in panicking or freaking out. We'll get the orders out, do a full manual inventory and then depending on how long it takes us to get the full site back up we will likely start up our backburnered Ebay store. We will keep you all informed about each step as we go but priority number one is making sure we get outstanding orders out the door so people don't start freaking out when they can't check on the website.
Arty.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I believe the website incident - Blotz (MDF Terrain maker) and a few others have also been affected.
Not everyones properly back on line yet though (looking at the original list) - I imagine some have decided to call it a day.
Too Fat Lardies has only been back up a few days, and there does still seem to be back end issues (I imagine those back up are rebuilding from scratch if anything)
Thing is, a lot might be out of his/whoevers hands. Even taking the technical side of things out of it, Hasslefree had an enormous catalogue and if you've lost everything (images, text, prices) thats a huge undertaking to get back to right.
He's streamed a lot for a long time - theres a whole stream schedule available with some of his older streams
I do hope they don't shut down as I've been thinking of ordering a few miniatures for them, but I don't really see anything here that suggests they actually have? They've not posted an update in a while, but it doesn't appear as if they were very active with that stuff before and then suddenly it's stopped. Their last post before this was in December last year even, so a lack of communication just seems to be the norm for them. It may be that they just don't have the site working properly again yet, or they may have used it as an opportunity to catch up on things or even just have a bit of a break.
I don't see how this is anything but good news in an admittedly sardonic sort of way. The "coming soon" placeholder on their website is no more or less meaningful than any update they've posted on kickstarter for their long overdue campaign. At least now they're not actively taking any money from new or returning customers unaware of their recent woes whilst having no apparent real capability of fulfilling their orders. This is a bitter win for the gaming community and hopefully will allow them some time to focus on what matters.
Not sure why people keep defending this sort of behaviour. I've recently hopped back into the KS game and backed two projects, Damsels Not in Distress 2 and Dark Object, both projects had a backer kit out in less than two weeks, so what's stopping Arty from doing this? If you can stream and shoot the gak daily on discord, you can pop onto KS and give a proper update.
Illumini wrote: Is there any recourse for failed kickstarters, or is our money lost?
In general its money lost.
It's like any investment, there is a risk that you will lose all of your investment. Even if a firm goes into administration, chances are that backers are the very last in the line of people that are owed money and a firm that goes into administration is unlikely to have much cash floating around even when assets are sold off.
That's the gamble with any Kickstarter. You put your money up front to allow the firm to do what they aim to do; with the risk that you could lose everything if things go wrong.
Hmm. Web site I can understand. But why not an update on FB? Or a comment on their KS project? Not everyone uses Discord, and anyone who regularly uses Discord and has a FB page, I'd expect be able to post on FB...?
i've found that small companies (even fairly sucessful ones) rarely manage to keep multiple social media feeds going baring the occasional 'new stuff to buy now' post (and even then you often find they fail to post it on all their feeds)
I suspect it's because a lot of it is not done in any sort of formally allocated business time, but more likely when the person who does it is fiddling with their own social media, and suddenly thinks, oh yes i need to post something for the business too
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: i've found that small companies (even fairly sucessful ones) rarely manage to keep multiple social media feeds going baring the occasional 'new stuff to buy now' post (and even then you often find they fail to post it on all their feeds)
I suspect it's because a lot of it is not done in any sort of formally allocated business time, but more likely when the person who does it is fiddling with their own social media, and suddenly thinks, oh yes i need to post something for the business too
The other trap is waiting until you've got "meaningful news". Big firms like GW have so many things going on at once they have stuff to talk about all the time. Even if a specific X thing hasn't got anything happening for a whole year or more; you've got YZQWER to talk about. Smaller firms and esp smaller firms in trouble might have nothing to really say that anything meaningful has changed. Things are just chugging along however they are (or they aren't and everything is standstill). So there's nothing to "say" and certainly nothing positive to say.
The more time passes without any closure the less good will I have and, in fact, the more bad will. If this is how Hasslefree is choosing to handle the situation then good riddance.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Small companies can ping from time to time to remind us they exist.
"Hey Johnny from Sussex just painted up one of our Goblins, check out the whole line in our shop" kind of thing.
Even memes, polls and whatnot can help get people to check you out.
Obviously this does not apply to Hasslefree since they don't even have a site any more... But other companies can do more to keep up a presence.
While I agree I also understand that many of these companies were formed before the "social media" boom and as such they are not wired to do marketing like that.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Small companies can ping from time to time to remind us they exist.
"Hey Johnny from Sussex just painted up one of our Goblins, check out the whole line in our shop" kind of thing.
Even memes, polls and whatnot can help get people to check you out.
Obviously this does not apply to Hasslefree since they don't even have a site any more... But other companies can do more to keep up a presence.
While I agree I also understand that many of these companies were formed before the "social media" boom and as such they are not wired to do marketing like that.
By the social media boom you mean 20odd years ago now right?
I totally get that not everyone is as keyed into the online world nor has the resources or output of a firm to be a social media machine; but at the same time posting a few updates a month (or even one) on a social media site isn't rocket science and should be within the capacity of most firms even one-staffer firms.
There used to be updates on both the Hasslefree facebook and the Hasslefriesian one. There would be WIP of new sculpts on Hasslefriesian and then posts about new sculpts or old ones that were just now becoming available or available again on Hasslefree... but that was 5 or so years ago when I actually followed them.
Smokestack wrote: There used to be updates on both the Hasslefree facebook and the Hasslefriesian one. There would be WIP of new sculpts on Hasslefriesian and then posts about new sculpts or old ones that were just now becoming available or available again on Hasslefree... but that was 5 or so years ago when I actually followed them.
Hasslefriesian is Kev White's page, he doesn't post any more since he works for Forgeworld now and can't be directly associated with HF.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Small companies can ping from time to time to remind us they exist.
"Hey Johnny from Sussex just painted up one of our Goblins, check out the whole line in our shop" kind of thing.
Even memes, polls and whatnot can help get people to check you out.
Obviously this does not apply to Hasslefree since they don't even have a site any more... But other companies can do more to keep up a presence.
While I agree I also understand that many of these companies were formed before the "social media" boom and as such they are not wired to do marketing like that.
By the social media boom you mean 20odd years ago now right?
I totally get that not everyone is as keyed into the online world nor has the resources or output of a firm to be a social media machine; but at the same time posting a few updates a month (or even one) on a social media site isn't rocket science and should be within the capacity of most firms even one-staffer firms.
Go tell them that... You barely see anyone doing good Socials.
On that subject the boom itself was more like 10 or 15 years ago, not when the social thing started but when the relentless volume churn of news and content geared up at full speed. Before that we had slow forums, FB fragmented news and clunky websites.
What I want to say is one post once a month on any platform is not picked by any algorithm and is invisible content. You need to play the game of constantly putting up news mate.
Truly, it might be the end of an era. The era of boomer part-time businesses that aren't beholden to anyone and can drop everything the moment they no longer feel like it.
I feel like part of the problem is UK law where businesses apparently have zero regulatory oversight until they make 90k annually.
(where I come from, a high schooler selling anime doodles at a con would have to be VAT-registered)
lord_blackfang wrote: Truly, it might be the end of an era. The era of boomer part-time businesses that aren't beholden to anyone and can drop everything the moment they no longer feel like it.
I feel like part of the problem is UK law where businesses apparently have zero regulatory oversight until they make 90k annually.
(where I come from, a high schooler selling anime doodles at a con would have to be VAT-registered)
Not going to address too much of what you posted seems naive the idea that Boomers are past and the future is better (XD) I would end up off topic but well Hasslefree was far from a partimers back in the day. Not sure how many decades they have on their backs but they produced loads of amazing miniatures.
Well ignoring the nonsense that there is no regulatory oversight until they reach 90k (when they have to register for vat) I was surprised to find out that they are no longer registered as Hasslefree but Black & White games.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09197984/filing-history Is their finances if anyone wants to have a look.