As the last thread on Sci-Fi Metropolis's J2 kit was heavily edited, I am restarting the thread. I would like the Delta Pilot who I tried to help resolve his order problem with SFM to contact me here, or by e-mail, as I have lost his. I am very interested in knowing if SFM finally sent you the kit you paid for over a year ago. I can report that after finally getting my funds back from them, for a J2 kit that never arrived, and then was promised a kit for free within 2 weeks, some 4-5 weeks ago, to compensate for their terrible service, it has never arrived. I honestly don't expect it to arrive at my doorstep, ever.

If anyone else has a non-aggresive story, not "hate" oriented, just the facts, to tell about their orders with SFM, please post, or e-mail me about it. I am trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

Hi Ya Simon.


Well I never had a Problem with Sci-Fi Metropolis. I recieved my 24" Jupiter Two right away. It was a pleasure to build. I have also inquired about Future releases and such and always got a fast reply. Thats a shame about the problems you are having, the J2 Is a Nice kit. I hope everything works out.


High Regards, Mark

Hi Ya Simon.


Well I never had a Problem with Sci-Fi Metropolis. I recieved my 24" Jupiter Two right away. It was a pleasure to build. I have also inquired about Future releases and such and always got a fast reply. Thats a shame about the problems you are having, the J2 Is a Nice kit. I hope everything works out.


High Regards, Mark
Thanks for that beatlepaul. I'm not just looking for negative comments, buyers who have had positive experiences will help form a balanced opinion of SFM. I'm not on a "witch hunt" at all, just trying to gather information on the situation I ran into.

Thanks Simon for posting your findings. it is a shame that SFM didn't respond even to a high profile customer such as yourself especially when you were going to HELP bring them more business. They have, by the look of the products and by testamonials from customers such as Beatlepaul who have recieved their merchandise top notch quality products, they are just losing out because of failure to deliver/ distribute said products.

Well, George, the Delta Pilot I tried to get SFM to refund, or send him his kit, posted on starship modeler that they haven't done either. As I have some connections, I have relayed this information to someone who can do something about it. I can't name names right now, but as far as high authority on licensing LIS merchandise, you don't get any higher. The plot thickens.....

like i have said, what a shame these great products are at our fingertips but still out of reach. are they just spending ALL of their time MAKING these things and ignoring the distribution part of good business ?

Not sure if they made enough to cover orders, may be the entire problem!

that may be the reason. they seem to have too many irons in the fire and need to ship out what they owe customers. i understand fully that product development takes an enormous amount of time, and maybe they are trying to do it all with a skeleton crew. they may need to hire some people to work in shipping and recieving so they can then devote full time to development of new products.

I agree. I think they were overwhelmed, and lost track of many things in the ensuing panic. Not on purpose, things that you don't expect can take control very quickly.

I really like the looks of their products, and they look like very high quality, it just drives people crazy me included that those things are so close, yet so far "SIGH"

I agree. I think they were overwhelmed, and lost track of many things in the ensuing panic. Not on purpose, things that you don't expect can take control very quickly.

But this shows a lack of organization, neatness, etc. The orders go in ONE PLACE, and the payments are verified, and they go to the second place (counted for reference so they can make those kits) and the mailing label is generated from that stack too. They should have hired a full time office admin to do that stuff, so they could work all the time on satisfying orders. Thats a problem with creative types as they never understand the need for orderly flow of things.

Good point. I learned about business and added it to my creative side, it's an absolute requirement to run an internet biz, or any other kind of venture. You need discipline and to make client satisfaction a top priority. It's not as easy as some people think. Cardinal rule, "Never promise anything you can't deliver".

Well, after a few weeks of this post, one client reports a good experience on Hobby Talk, and Two, myself included, reported a bad one. The second negative experience by George, was posted on Starship Modeler. Not enough to make an informed decision on SFM's general business practices. I can only hope that the way George and I were treated is not the norm. At this point, I am no longer conducting the survey, and am chalking it up to experience with yet another on line vendor.

What kind of Diorama are you gonna do for the 2 footer? Lumber yard, Yellow Circle, or sandy crater on Pryplanus?

There is no 2 footer Y3a, SFM is not happening. I'm not touching another Lunar Models kit ever again, and our relationship with AW Studios is at a standstill for business reasons I'm not going to get into on a public Forum. So for now, the 12 inch Polar Lights version is the only one I'm doing until some other company puts out a decent 24 inch version that clients can send in. My days of production of new kits is over for now. I have so much build-up work, I really don't have the time to deal with all the complications that arise in that area of modeling. I'll stick to what I know, and let experienced production outfits create kits. I just build 'em dude. My business has always been set up to have kits sent to me for assembly work, I just wanted to produce my Alien Terrain Bases to offer something "extra" for some clients. We have outstanding presentation Bases at Strange Stuff Studios, and we are developing new ones, you won't believe the awesome Base we have developed up for the 1/350 th scale Enterprise A/Refit, but actual model kit production is out for now. Sorry but that's the way it goes, I'm over it.

Simon, do you know if these people are still in business ?
http://www.customreplicas.com/Major Projects.htm

hmm link didn't work, lets see if this does.
Portfolio of Major projects








Last updated: May 17, 2005




66" TOS Enterprise

A completely scratch built recreation of the original 11 foot TV filming miniature. This portfolio highlights the most dramatic angles of the replica, with detail shots of the nacelles and primary areas of interest.








1/32 scale - 66" Movie Nautilus

A completely scratch built recreation of the original 11 foot movie filming miniature. This portfolio highlights the most dramatic angles of the replica, with detail shots of the build-up, as well as close-ups of the primary interest areas.












1/32 scale Movie Nautilus salon interior

Originally planned as a part of the 66" Nautilus project, this interior set will eventually feature all the major set walls, furniture, and characters that were part of the original movie set.

Progress on this project is happening in between that of our other major projects ( including the launching of Accurate Models ).












4 foot Jupiter 2

A completely scratch built recreation of the original 4 foot TV filming miniature. An exacting recreation of the Robinson Family's ultra sleek "flying saucer" inspired spaceship. All major areas of interest are shown in this portfolio.










24" Jupiter 2

The last in a long line of specialty builds that have become synonymous with Custom Replicas' passion with classic spaceship recreations.

This 1/26 version will feature a complete upper deck as well as 1/26 figures and Robot.





All photography, © Copyright 2003 - 2005, Custom Replicas

try that link again
http://www.customreplicas.com/Major

i guess you need to copy and paste it in the search bar.

this is a different linkhttp://www.customreplicas.com/accurate.htm (http://www.customreplicas.com/accurate.htm)

this is a different linkhttp://www.customreplicas.com/accurate.htm (http://www.customreplicas.com/accurate.htm)
ok that works, now scroll forward about 4 pages to see the jupiter 2's in 2 foot and 4 foot models.http://www.customreplicas.com/accurate.htm

scroll 6 pages forward

Yes I know of them, and as far as I know they are still in business. I had communications with them a couple of years ago about the 66 inch TOS Enterprise, as at the time, I had a client interested in that build. The deal didn't materialize, but the Company is somewhere I can go for large scale models.

Getting back to the obvious question I was answering Y3a in the first post. The Base is something I went through the process of designing, and then having the Base produced by a casting company, all steps, A to Z. I know how to do this for any concept I may want to do that way, in the future, but it's not what I do for a living. So clients are the ones that need to go to these sites, choose a kit they want built in a certain fashion, and then contact me for terms, that's what my service is all about. It's this little "production" tangent I took for a while, strictly on a personal whim, that has you guys a tad confused. I don't want to produce any more kits. I am very much involved in making a line of superior quality presentation Bases with my business partners, and you can see those at the Strange Stuff site. I think there's plenty of good kits out there, it's augments, Bases, and other Diorama goodies that's sorely lacking in the modeling marketplace.

So yes, I know this company, and they make very good kits as far as the "buzz" on the net is concerned. I'd love to build the 66 inch TOS, but have yet to find a client who will shell out the rather high fee to do so. That would take a year or more to create correctly.

do you know what they charge for a 2 foot and 4 foot jupiter ? and are they able to get them to you better than SFM ?

Ask Bert, they won't bite your head off, or will they??????

i tried but never got any response from them. i didn't know if they were still in business since the info on the site is almost 2 years old

would they be able to get jupiter 2's to you to build, or are those pre built items ?

I know they sell the kits, it's the busy season for builders right now, might take a while for them to respond Bert.

simon, are you all through with the idea of doing buildups of the jupiter 2 ? i wonder how their j2 compares with SFM's ? have you ever done business with them ?

Ok , just e mailed them, lets see if i can get some info.
Bert
TruckFLIX Moderator



Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 120
Location: Carson City , Nevada

simon, are you all through with the idea of doing buildups of the jupiter 2 ? i wonder how their j2 compares with SFM's ? have you ever done business with them ?
Not at all Bert, I would LOVE to build a decent 24 inch J2 with a load of goodies! I have not done any real "biz" with them, but from the phone conversation I had with the owner, they do a lot of work for high-end builders and distributors. My personal opinion is they run an honest and reputable business. But my last contact with them was over 2 years ago. So "buyer beware" is still the best advice.

Hi Simon, i just got an e mail from Jim, and in less than 5 minutes. here is what he said.

Bert,

I am not offering the 4 foot J2 anymore.

We haven’t decided to offer the 2 foot J2 yet.

Jim Key

Oh well, Jim is a great guy, and he must not be selling enough of them to keep producing the kits. I had a conversation with him quite a while back, and he is a friendly and well informed part of this business. If he isn't making them, he has good reason to do that. I still hope that one day, a client is going to order the 66 inch TOS Enterprise, so I finally get to see his kit. You gave it a shot Bert, that's all anyone could have done. I didn't even realize J2's were part of their product line. Which it turns out, they're not. Back to the drawing board....

Thanks simon, i have seen their production model for both 2 and 4 foot versions. A lot of work went into them, maybe if i had enough money someday and he still had them, he would consider selling one of them. oh well, one can only hope.

Well, when I get caught up, in around 2 years, maybe I'll ask him if he could make 24 inch J2's for Strange Stuff? Not that I think he'd do me a "special" favor, but I would mention there is a lot of interest in a good kit of this size. Ya' never know.....

thanks simon, if anyone can do it, YOU CAN !!!

I'll give it a shot in the future, no promises, as they may not be interested in doing the 24 inch J2's at all. These guys do a lot of pro work on an industrial basis, big projects for big bucks, and this is small potatoes to them. Seriously Bert, I'd have to approach them with a lot of orders to get them interested. I can't just tell them I have belief in a potential for multiple orders, I'd have to actually have at least 25 to 50 serious buyers, cash at the ready, to get some kind of positive response. If you think you can find that many modelers who would seriously commit to buying a kit that is probably on the expensive side, then go for it and let me know what you come up with. I'm not going to try and get them to start a production run without some incentive that makes it worth their efforts. Money talks, bs walks. So if you really want me to try, do some pr work, and find modelers who are ready to commit to a multiple order I can negotiate with. If you succeed, I'll contact Jim and see what I can get done.

thanks simon, if that were to happen, those j 2's would probably be delivered sooner than the already ordered SFM ones. I will see if i can stir up some interest. There are modelers out here who want one but like everyone else, are gun shy from trying to order from SFM.

Clarification, all SFM J2 orders were cancelled, and I "convinced" them to refund my money. There are no J2 models, 24 inch, or otherwise, coming in soon, or in the future. All buyers who ordered from SFM and didn't receive their order, were invited to post that information here, and I would pass it on to the proper people for follow-up. Since few responded, I have dropped the survey. So if anyone you know wants to get together to muster up a serious list of people of 25 to 50 in numbers, who have the means to each afford a kit, I will approach Jim to get a production run started with this list, and a 50% downpayment for each unit. Otherwise, your all on your own to find a good 24 inch J2 somewhere out there. That's the scoop, and I'm not getting involved unless enough interest and willingness is shown. Are we on the same wavelength now? Can you dig it my modeling friend? I knew that you would......

thanks simon, may i copy and paste your post that is just above mine here and paste it into a new thread i will start ?
Bert

thanks simon, may i copy and paste your post that is just above mine here and paste it into a new thread i will start ?
Bert
Of course Bert your an honorary member, feel free to do so. And, I'm not going to handle or accept any funds until the deal is struck with Jim. Also remember that there's no guarantee he'll go for it even if you should get these numbers of buyers together and agreed to go through with the purchases. Jim may simply be working on projects that are much more profitable than this to devote any production time towards it. At this point, I haven't even got an idea what the price of each kit is, so were just trying to prove that there are sufficient numbers of serious, ready to pay buyers that desire a worthwhile number of 24 inch J2 kits. At the point where you accomplish this task, I will see what I can do in regards to having the kits produced, again, no promises. Just want to be real clear on this issue. And be sure that people are "for real", not just telling you "yes", but are going to back out when the payment is required. Get some kind of written promise, and keep records. Otherwise Bert, feel free to post whatever you want to.

thanks simon

No problem Bert.