Monster Scenery™: Container Shipyard

Pledge Manager Now Open!
8 months ago – Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 04:22:21 PM

Ok, shipmates!

The pledge manager is now open for all backers. We have already seen a little weirdness on shipping for digital pledges only, and that is being worked on now. There is no great rush to close things just yet, as we plan on having it run just past New Year.

If you know anyone who missed out during the campaign, we have opened it up for late pledges as well, so if your buddies missed out before, let them know that they can now join the crew! 

For Digital Pledges - We are about 95% finished reviewing all the files and plan to make them live before the Thanksgiving holiday (this Thursday). As we mentioned in the comments area, we really want to make sure the files are in a good place before releasing them, as we'd hate to have anyone print something and have an issue because we missed something simple. MFC John has done a lot of work the past couple of weeks fine-tuning each and every file, and our Beta 3d Testers have been printing things out on multiple machines to make sure everyone has the best experience possible so we appreciate the little bit of patience while we double check everything. For the past campaign digital files, we wanted to point out that all of the digital files from the previous campaign were optimized for our Form3+ resin printed from FormLabs. i.e., they were designed for resin UV printers and NOT optimized for FDM 3d printing (Bambu Labs X1C, P1P, P1S) like all of the files for this current campaign. The older files are also NOT pre-supported, as every resin printer should be optimized for that particular file so you get the best surface quality possible. MFC John said once he is finished fine-tuning all of the files for this campaign, he is going to revisit the resin files and adjust as many as possible to work well with FDM. This process will take a while, but he is committed to updating things. As he does this, he will be posting things in the 3d printing channel on our Discord to keep people updated on his progress.

What's this? Photos of samples already?!

Thats right!! We have some production sample photos of the new 20’ containers. We are super stoked with how the colors and logos turned out and couldn’t wait to share them with you. The function is working as expected, so we have already pulled the trigger on getting these made quickly. We have also pulled the trigger on the tooling for the 10' Containers, Hab Units, and connections to get them made as quickly as possible.

Shipyard is Open for Business

We have already started production of the containerships and cranes. In fact, Containership, v12r0, Hull #007 is well underway for display and delivery to Mr. Mike Pondsmith himself (of Cyberpunk Fame) at the R Talsorian Booth at PAX Unglugged in two weeks. If you plan on attending the show, please stop by the booth and say hello! 

If anyone has any issues with the Pledge Manager, please drop comments below so we can troubleshoot. Things always seem to act a little strange when first launched.

We will keep making updates throughout the entire process, so stay tuned for more updates in the near term.

Happy Holidays,

Team Monster

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!
9 months ago – Wed, Nov 01, 2023 at 03:37:41 PM

We're thrilled to announce the winner of our dock crane and set of 20’ containers giveaway—congratulations to Mike D.! We want to express our gratitude to everyone who participated in this campaign.

This has already been an incredible journey but there is still so much more for us here at MFC to complete in order to start fulfillment as soon as possible. We will be making regular updates here on Kickstarter but If you would really want to keep watch on what we are doing, please row on over to our Discord community and get in on all the action.

Ship Captains

For our Ship Captains, remember when John asked about deck colors a few updates ago? Well, we have exciting news—John decided to go an extra league and offer BOTH red and green decks! These decks will be double-sided, allowing you to choose your preferred style.

Late Pledges

If you missed out on the Kickstarter campaign, but still want to get in on the excitement then keep an eye out on all our socials for the notice when we go live with the pledge manager. We have been asked by the community if we are going to offer Late Pledges for those who learned about the campaign after the fact. We do plan on offering late pledges for those looking for physical ships with the understanding that all physical ships and cranes will be made for actual backers who got in on time first. Once those are completed and shipped out, we will keep the line going. We hope to have the pledge manager / late pledge portal step up and open just before Thanksgiving. We plan on leaving it open at least until Christmas so everyone gets a chance to get everything updated.

Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm throughout this campaign.

- Team Monster

All Fast! A heartfelt THANK YOU to all our amazing backers and enablers.
9 months ago – Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 01:52:50 PM

Well Damn, Everyone!

This Kickstarter campaign has been nothing short of spectacular, with an unwavering tide of support from backers like you that continuously drove us forward. Regardless of your pledge level, you've all been instrumental in making this campaign a resounding success.  When we started this, we really had no idea how it would do but it just goes to show there are a lot of fanatics out there just like me. 

Now that the campaign is finished, the real work begins. 

Call in the Stevedores! 

Let Production Commence!

As soon as the campaign was funded, we started the mold-making process for the Hab Units, 10' containers, and the new connector parts. We have also asked the factory to produce the color Pantone samples of all the new containers with the new logos in order to get a jump start on approvals. For all of the digital files, everything has been completed and for the past couple of weeks, we have been sending them out to our beta testers to make sure there are no issues on multiple printers.  This process will take a few more weeks as we edit and fix minor issues and adjust assemblies. As soon as I'm confident all of the files are correct we will prep them for distribution.  

Pledge Manager

As we mentioned during the campaign, we are shutting down the office this Thursday through Sunday while we attend Fall-In located in Lancaster, PA. When we get back next week the process of setting the Pledge manager will get underway and as soon as it's finished we will let everyone so they can start working on their surveys. The plan is to get this live before Thanksgiving week so that we can start sending out the digital pledges as soon as possible. 

For the physical ships and cranes, etc, the master plan as discussed is to make what we can here in Virginia and ship things out in two waves. 

Wave one will be for all those shipbuilders' backers in the order of their backer number. We will also be reaching out to the "Build your own ship" and "Ultimate Shipyard" backers to start asking all those important questions like "What are you going to name her?!"

For the shipbuilder backers, we will ship out your ships as we complete them along with whatever else we can fulfill directly from our location.

Wave two (everything else) will all be sent out together once production is complete overseas and in our warehouse in Virginia.

Shipping Handled by Us

In an effort to provide the best possible experience for our backers, we've decided to take control of the shipping process ourselves. This way, we can guarantee a smoother, more efficient delivery to your doorsteps. 

Getting to it

As we navigate the waters ahead, we'll keep you informed every step of the way. Stay tuned for updates on production milestones and the shipping process.  Like all of the other Kickstarters we have had in the past, we will be making posts at important milestones and when important news is made available to us. That said, even if there is a lull in things we will almost post (at the bare minimum) at the end of every month even if there is not much to report. We also have a very active DISCORD that everyone is invited to join and participate in. This is the easiest way to get a hold of us directly.

We also set up new customer support emails for both regular customer service and our Kickstarter campaigns. Feel free to reach out with comments or concerns to: customerservice@ monsterfightclub.com and kickstarter@ monsterfightclub.com. These email addresses will generate tickets that our team will route to the appropriate contact person to get you answers as quickly as possible.

Thank You!

Thank you once again for your incredible support and for being part of this ridiculous vanity project of mine. The Team and I have had a lot of fun working on it and we are excited to see it out in the World. When you get it, SEND PICTURES!!! 

Fair winds and following seas,

John

Captain John Kovaleski

Master Mariner (and mega model builder)

KPS '91

Monster-in-Charge

Mystery Box! (Better drill air holes)
9 months ago – Fri, Oct 27, 2023 at 04:15:09 PM

Ahoy Dirt Dwellers!

Davy Jones just busted the locks on two more stretch goals. We be think'n you should all have another option of Hab Unit walls to further customize ye yard of containers. For all those Capt'n types, we got the bosun to dress up those internal doors on your vessel.  

The chronometer is a tick'n, and we've only got 3 days left before landfall. It's time to batten down the hatches and set our course for some incredible stretch goals that are still within reach. We've decided to make these hidden treasures visible to all, and boy, are they worth the journey!

What Lies Beyond the Horizon? (Stretch Goals Await!)

Let's knock out these waypoints quickly, then sail on to a whole new treasure trove of possibilities.  Let's unlock these hidden gems and swell our ranks with more backers! It's time to summon the winds of fate and steer the ship of our Kickstarter campaign toward new heights. Share the Kickstarter page far and wide with your friends and fellow enthusiasts!

What awaits us if we reach these goals? Well, shipmates, brace yourselves for an array of rewards:

• Decals: Personalize your containers with style and flair.
• Bridge Walls: Forge new paths and connections in your container world.
• 20' MFC Container: A mighty addition to your container fleet.
• Extra Connectors: Seamlessly join your containers.
• Roofs and Floors: Make your stretch goal containers stand-alone, ready for adventure.

But that's not all! Ship Captains, you're in for a treat of maritime marvels:

• Watertight Doors: Secure your ship in the roughest of seas.
• Life Rings: Safety first, even on the open ocean.
• Acrylic Windows: Let the light in and the beauty of the sea out.
• Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boat: For those daring adventures on the high seas!

A Special Thank You for Your Incredible Support!

As a token of our gratitude for your unwavering support, we're thrilled to announce an exciting bonus! We've just released DLC Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone scenarios and special rules designed specifically to maximize the use of our containers, container ship, and dock crane. It's our way of saying "Thank you!" for helping us make this Kickstarter campaign a roaring success. (you can find them at the bottom of the Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone page Here.)

So, shipmates, as we approach the final stretch, let's rally together and make these last few days truly remarkable! Together, we can reach those enticing stretch goals and create a world of endless possibilities with our container-based adventures!

Set your sails high, and let's navigate these uncharted waters together!

- Team Monster

Red to Red, Green to Green, Never try to go between..
9 months ago – Thu, Oct 26, 2023 at 02:48:25 PM

RULE 14 Head-on Situation (a) When two power-driven vessels are meeting on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal courses so as to involve risk of collision each shall alter her course to starboard so that each shall pass on the port side of the other. (b) Such a situation shall be deemed to exist when a vessel sees the other ahead or nearly ahead and by night she could see the masthead lights of the other in a line or nearly in a line and/or both sidelights and by day she observes the corresponding aspect of the other vessel. (c) When a vessel is in any doubt as to whether such a situation exists she shall assume that it does exist and act accordingly. 

as a memory aid,  "Red to Red, Green to Green, Never try to go between!"

Thank you, Captain Hard! (rules of the road instructor, Kings Point, NY)

During my sea-fairing days, that was a pretty important thing to know.  Today, however, as a model maker, I use the reference in relation to ship deck paint color. I've been doing a bunch of color and texture tests for the base color of the decks of the ship and I think I've landed on the best two options. 

RED OPTION

GREEN OPTION

Ok. I'm not sure if is drum roll-worthy,  but I think it makes a big difference on the look of the ship.

What does everyone think? I know what I think it should be but I'd like to hear from all of you guys. Please note this is the base color. I'm going to grunge things up a bit with rust, welding seams, worn areas, safety lines, etc. but these are what we are thinking at the moment.

I won't say anything else as I don't want to influence the conversation too much.

It would be super helpful for everyone to chime in here.

There is also going to be a white version (unpainted) for people who are going to want to paint things themselves.

Here is a pic of the unpainted deck as is.

WHITE PRE-COAT

Also, next week Monster Fight Club will be attending Fall In! in Lancaster, PA next week. 

If anyone is planning on attending the show, please stop by and say hello. We will have our Containership Demo Table on hand for people to check out in person.  Because this is a relatively close show for us, we tend to bring all our normal stuff but also a lot of "Scratch-n-Dent" stuff to crazy discounts. We need to clear some room in the warehouse for all of the Holiday stuff showing up. 

It's all great product, usually just messed up packaging over prints like past other projects that we still have some on hand.

Game on!

John

Monster-in-Charge