3A Toys/Rebellion Press Release

[Dark Jimbo]

Oh Goddddd. Why now, after forking out for my first holiday in 11 years...? 

[Hawkmumbler]

Yes, but will he have a mini Judge Jack dangling from his jaw?!

THIS IS IMPORTANT DAMNIT!!!

[ming]

Latest from Gregory:

"Decided to push 1/6th Dredd back to end of August. Bit more time for people to save up"

[SIP]

Ha ha, I don't need time to save up,  I paid for it last year! !

[Dash Decent]

"The Dark One" sounds like a reference to Quality Street!  Or perhaps they're trying to get those not-in-the-know to imagine it as something else... a skull with legs perhaps.

Actually, it looks a bit like the silhouette for Sturm or Drang, or whatever those creatures in "The Schtickelgruber Grab" were called.

[sheridan]

About time we had a Satanus statue (assuming it isn't Old One Eye or Golgotha).

[Banners]

I'm not sure Rebellion and 2000 AD should be helping 3A plug new figures when, in the case of the Dredd & Lawmaster set, they have had our money since last year but have yet to fulfil any orders, nor contact purchasers directly with any explanation.

[BPP]

Hi Banners,

Sorry you're upset but 3A's business model for 2000ad is the exact same for their own IP and other licenses. They are perfectly clear that shipping dates are estimates and they items only ship when Ashley Woods is happy to sign off on them.

Gregory is constantly communicating on the 3A board. Several of us regularly post his comments here.

If you are mailing 'CS' you should appreciate that they are a Chinese based company and often don't have English speakers to hand. CS's default position is that the shipping date is as stated on the 3A production blog - so for Dredd it's moved from 2ndQ to 3rdQ.

Dredd is just about the 6th month since offering. It's pretty rare for any 3A to be shipped inside 6 months.

I've no association with them but do think your anger is slightly misplaced. Hope you don't let it bug you too much. Dredd will arrive and he will be great just like death, Sam, Mongrol etc..

[Dreddzilla]

So, the Blue Judge Dredd will be called "Apocalypse Judge Dredd" and will come with an added Stub-Gun on top of the Lawrod? I can work with that.

[Dandontdare]

It is a pretty shitty business model though, and I'm getting increasingly impatient with them - most companies will develop a product and then put it on sale when it's ready, rather than taking people's money for something with no idea when they can actually supply it. People will pay because of the fear of losing out with it being limited edition. 

What if they decide at some point that they can't get it right and refund our money - we will have effectively have just given them an interest free loan for a year or more. What if the company goes bust?

I'll wait for my already-paid Dredd/lawmaster and Fear & Mortis, but with the exception of Judge Fire (hopefully), I think I'll give up on my plans to collect the remaining ABC warriors, or anything else from 3A.

[Banners]

Thanks for your considered response, BPP – I take your points on board. I do not use 3A's boards, nor Facebook, but I do appreciate the comments from 3A that are passed on in this thread.

My order was placed 25/11, so a little more than six months ago now, and it was a not insignificant amount of money. I accept it'll be worth the wait, and we're paying for the kind of artistry and attention to detail that takes time to perfect. So, it's not so much anger, but more annoyance and disappointment I guess – mixed with anticipation and excitement...!

But I do maintain that taking the money up front more than six months ago, and then not receiving any emails about delays etc., is poor. Just because we're fans and geeks, doesn't mean 3A couldn't perhaps be a bit more professional.

[BPP]

3A wouldn't be able to make this stuff if it didn't work on a pay in advance model. Gregory has already been clear that Sam and Gronk / Fish were VERY small sellers. Unviable commercially small. If they were to add maintaining email lists for each order then you can only imagine the costs would go up and the sales down further. If you think about it - delays 'hurt' 3A more as it clearly indicates more costs on their end. If they could ship this stuff yesterday, they would.

This stuff simply isn't mass market goods. Its not even 'Forbidden Planet Stock' level goods. Dredd? Sure! A lawmaster set, maybe. Sam Slade? Half the staff of FP don't know who Sam Slade is. The only viable option for this stuff is to pay upfront and get it when its ready. You could maybe have it sooner if AW was less perfectionist but the trade off there is you would have a reduced quality item. Given how Death and Sam turned out I'm more than happy to wait a bit longer. I appreciate that it can be fustrating but hell, how long did we wait for the return of Bad Company?


you might find these useful sites (warning, 3A can be addictive)
http://www.worldofthreea.com/ - 3A production blog (teasers, 'for sale now' updates, shipping news)

http://worldof3alegion.forumotion.com/f24-2000ad - 3A unofficial fan forum where Gregory, the lead on the 2000AD line, posts regularly

https://www.instagram.com/ashleywoodart/ - Ashley Woods instragram - warning NSFW art - he sometimes comments / answers questions in the comments. 2000AD previews sometimes appear.

https://www.instagram.com/brent.ashe/ - packaging designer for 3A 2000AD.

[ted5536]

I have a couple 3A products and you get what you pay for they take time to make the product right. These are a lot cheaper then the other items I have gotten from them. When they did Metal Gear Ray it went about a year with no email updates and then it shipped out. Was well worth the wait and they did a great job, I expect the same for Dredd and Dark Judges. As mentioned above they would not be able to make these if the money was not up front. I also order stuff from Sideshow and just had a delay on something that was fully paid, they wipe all your payments and keep the preorder then charge you again a couple weeks later with an updated date. I vastly prefer the 3A way of just delaying and holding on to the money until it is ready.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I want my figures NOW!

[Dandontdare]

yeah, grumbling about the delays aside, they are quality items when they eventually arrive.