I started this endeavor back in 2007 with a couple other guys to fill the gap left when Armorcast stopped making mechs. By 2010 I was making these mechs all by myself as Ravenstar had become unreliable and Scott moved over to making MWO style mechs.
The time has come for me to cease kit creation for the foreseeable future. I will still be doing custom build-ups for clients and selling kits that I have molds for. Unless it is a commission I can't justify the time/effort it takes to create a kit. If you are interested in a long, boring explanation feel free to keep reading.
Okay...here we go.
Unfortunately, the last few years have been a downward spiral. More and more people are opting for low quality, inexpensive FDM prints. More and more people are getting free 3D files and either having them printed or printing mechs themselves as resin printers have become relatively inexpensive. Even some of my regulars have opted to purchase Etsy products as they can beat my prices. International shipping has gotten so expensive I have lost all but 3 of my international clients. At my peak I had almost a dozen German clients plus UK clients, Australian clients, and 1 Canadian client. The cost of resin and rubber had doubled since 2010 as a result of Covid and now the shit global economy (although resin is finally coming down). I use to build my kits and have them cast by independent casters. The number of casters on the market has dropped and those still around are not interested in my small-batch jobs as they couldn't make much money off my orders (remember the Marauder debacle?). So, I started molding and casting at home hoping that it might cut costs but it had the opposite effect. The time I spend molding and casting a kit takes almost as much time as it does to scratch build the mechs. Now, instead of potentially getting 4-5 mechs done in a year I am lucky to get 2-3 done in a year. All of this means that to make any kind of profit I have had to raise my prices which has driven away even more customers.
Engagement on my Facebook page is down horribly.
Orders are way down. Six years ago I could set-up a pre-order and count on 20-30 orders regardless of the kit. I haven't sold more than 20 of any kit in the last 4 years. Most recently the Marauder garnered less than 20 total sales over 18 months, the SRM Carrier only pulled in 13 sales, and even the Stormcrow only sold 16 kits. If I add up all my sales over a calendar year, add in the pledges from Patreon then subtract all costs I am making around $10 per hour of work. That is just not sustainable.
On a personal note I am STILL dealing with health issues and dealing with the slow failure this endeavor has become is just becoming more than I can bear. Being on heavy opioids and Neurontin for 10 years masked a lot of other issues. Now that I am coming off the drugs physical issues have come to light as well as dealing with my my brain and hormonal chemistry having to readjust to the lack of opioid influence. Seriously, you'd be amazed what long-term opioid use does to the body.
So, that's the long and short of it. Mech creation is over for the time-being. If I can find a way to make mech creation viable I will jump back in but it wouldn't be before 2025.
Thanks for all your support over the years. It's been a hell of a ride.
