Orders and Rewards - Campaign Update Twenty Three
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 08, 2018 at 12:53:55 PM

 Hello Backers! 

We are now only one week away from delivery as of tomorrow, and I just wanted to share some new details, and ideas with everyone! Orders will lock in tomorrow, and then we will be all set for distribution Friday, November 16!!!! For additional models that have been added via thingiverse, skip to note below! 

In the meantime, I have been working on getting the City Builder stretch goals fine tuned, and all of these included as bonus features in the Mall Rat set should also be delivered next Friday! 

Since I needed to make some hardware modifications to my 3D printer this week, and was short on print time, my test prints for the city buildings were at 30 percent, but as you can see there is still quite a bit of detail with a 0.2 mm nozzle! 

My main focus has been completing the shopping mall, and now that all the test printing has been completed, I was able to focus a bit more on these buildings. The quality on all of these city models should be very high even printed at a much smaller scale.

The city builder models are designed to be stacked in numerous parts to better fit smaller printer capabilities. But since these ones are not snap together like the mall, some adjustments will be needed to make sure they fit your printer. For example, some buildings are much larger in their footprint than others, and will need to be scaled accordingly. 

Please note Frank's Pizza below was the first model I ever built using my new software, and it was the first test print at 75 percent, so it isn't going to be as nice as some of the other ones on here. Also please forgive the bad painting, I was just rushing through this one and it was the only photo I had as I have given the model away. 

My recommendations based on your printer sizes is to print larger structures like the bank at 50-75 percent, which should accommodate all 180 mm printers, and still fit within the tabletop appearances of 28 mm scale.

Below is a picture of the Public Safety Building at 70 percent. Each building features an interior as well, but some are blank inside, while some have tile or other features. It just depends on the model.

Speaking of interiors, one of the goals for Faye's Diner was to have interior scenery.  Since we didn't officially unlock that goal, I had to be sparing with the amount of time I dedicated toward these additional bonus models.   

With that said, I have released a very simply designed restaurant terrain set on my Thingiverse for anyone who still wants this feature. It wasn't as detailed as I would like it to be and therefore I didn't include it in the main Mall Rat set.  

NOTE:  Included in this set will also be a plain support column feature on Marlin's Gun Store overhang for anyone who wants to add those to the front of the building.

Here is the link: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3193545

Also, I have some cool new announcements to make next Friday after the files are sent out! I am very excited to finally get these files to you, and I hope you all have as much fun as I had when you finally you begin your own assembly of the Belmont Hills Mall! Thank you so much for your support and patience! Have a wonderful weekend, survivors! I will have more to share next week!  

Throwback Thursday - Campaign Update Twenty Two
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 01, 2018 at 09:47:15 AM

 Hello Backers!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday! I just wanted to drop everyone a quick line, and show off some photographs of the mall so far! 

Just a side note, there are still a few rougher prototype pieces from the earlier prints included in these photos as mentioned in the previous update. With such a large structure to assemble, it was important to utilize every printed piece for walls and floors I had available even if they weren't the nicest looking prints. 

As mentioned in the previous update, the pre-orders will lock in next Friday, and then from there, the following Friday, November 16, everyone should receive their downloads if there are no delays. I am still waiting for a response from the Backerkit team with some final questions regarding the distribution, but I don't anticipate any issues as everything moves forward.  

Speaking of Backerkit, I have received nearly all of the surveys, but there are still a few that haven't been completed that have rewards. Thank you all so much for taking the time to complete them. Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or didn't receive your link, or your direct message via Kickstarter. These surveys will need to be completed in order to receive your downloads from my understanding of the Backerkit service. 

That's all I have to share for now, but I hope you like these new photos! I was very excited to show you how things have come together in such a short time! I thank you all for your support and patience as we near the final two weeks before delivery! Please let me know if you have any questions! 

Thanks, survivors! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Schedules - Campaign Update Twenty One
almost 6 years ago – Fri, Oct 26, 2018 at 12:14:59 PM

 Hello Backers!

Hope everyone is doing well! I just had some quick updates for everyone today I wanted to share. If you stick around for a minute, I have some cool photos to show as well! 

Super excited to get to those, but first on the list is the set delivery date for all files, which I have set for November 16! That is the goal, and barring any unforeseen delays between now and then, that will be the day everyone will get to download their mall via the Backerkit service! 

My original plan was to have everything out into your hands by November 9, but an extra week was needed to add some more improvements to a few more models. They worked in their original design, but I wanted to improve the quality in the time I had. Thank you so much for your patience! 

If you have not gotten your Backerkit survey link, or have any questions regarding the one sent, please let me know. Within the next three days, I will be sending reminder messages via Kickstarter's direct message service to anyone who may have missed the survey link! 

These, to my understanding, will be needed to receive your downloads via the Backerkit delivery system. Add-ons and preorders will be locked in on November 9! Once the orders lock, the delivery set up will begin. If there are any delays through this feature of the service, I will immediately post an update to keep everyone aware of the time frame you can expect to receive your downloads.  

Now for the fun stuff! Please note that some less than desirable printed, prototype models were used during these testing photos, but I am really excited by how it is all coming together! 

Also, I used mostly single walls and floor tiles in all of these testing photos as they were the best way to test overall durability as I made improvements to the models. The walls have also been upgraded from what is depicted here.  

All of the improvements have now been finalized, and all the models have been completed! As it stands, I believe the entire "Mall Rat" set is close to 150 STL files excluding the city builder stretch goals! Here is the first look at my recent assembly testing!

(NOTE: for added wall stability, the hole connection spot on the center of all walls depicted in past renders, and photos, has now been removed and will print with a solid infill center to lend additional structural support. )

The center spot was not needed for a secure connection as mentioned in a previous update. I decided it would be best to add more strength to all single walls, so the wall system that will be delivered is even stronger than the one depicted in these photos.

Finally, as I tested every model, I took detailed notes on how I sliced the models, and what temperatures, and speeds were being used. Newer PLA tended to work well with lower nozzle temperatures initially, but as your PLA spool ages, I recommend increasing your temperature for better layer adhesion for flat surface parts. 

The area I live in is prone to high humidity and sudden cold and heat, so that impacted the PLA I was using as I printed numerous consecutive weeks without storing my material. In addition, I have found that slight differences in level on the print bed can cause unevenness in assembly, so I really had to take the extra time to ensure a level print bed when doing floor sections especially. 

In order to answer some questions everyone might have during their printing, I made a quick print guide that will be included along with the assembly diagrams! This should help get you right into the action! 

Thank you, survivors! It has been a wonderful month! Hope you all have an amazing weekend, and enjoy the upcoming Halloween festivities! I will be back as soon as possible with more information!

Building Plans - Campaign Update Twenty
almost 6 years ago – Sun, Oct 21, 2018 at 08:04:50 PM

 Hello Backers! 

Hope you are all doing well! This update will be brief, but I have another, and somewhat unexpected surprise, to share with everyone! 

After many hours of building, and sorting through a giant box of printed pieces,  I thought to myself it would be really beneficial to have some kind of blueprint to look at while I am assembling everything. 

In my quest to get an accurate part count, and determine which of the larger blocks would work best in certain places, I went ahead and designed some floor plans for everyone! These plans are just for general ideas, and maybe you'll find some ways to improve or modify these plans as you start your own build. There may even be a few errors in there you might catch!  

I have just started to use them myself, and so far, I found them pretty helpful. Also, they are still a nice little addition as I had a fun time making them, and they are actually full size blueprints at 1/2"=1"!  (NOTE: If you have a wide format printer that can print at ARCH D - 24"x 36", these plans are actually to the scale on the drawings when delivered as a PDF!)  

Hope you all like this little bonus. My goal with these is to help lessen the planning steps, and get everyone into the fun part, which is up and running on a tabletop as fast as possible! 

Thank you, survivors! I will have more to share soon! Have a great weekend! 

Special Holiday Bonus Gift Packs - Campaign Update Nineteen
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 06:15:03 PM

Hello Backers! 

It is with much excitement and gratitude that I present you all with.... a present! For your overwhelming support of my artistic pursuits, and ongoing patience as I make my way through the final process of the campaign, I have designed a few more add on terrain files just for you! 

I wanted to make something really special for the backers, and I really hope you like what I came up with! Shopping malls during the winter holiday season are prime locations for the old man in red! Now, you'll get to add this new seasonal theme to your miniature mall as well! 

"Window Shoppers" and "Mall Walkers" will be receiving the Christmas tree, candy cane decoration, presents in the fake snow terrain piece, as well as the lamp post! 

For everyone at "Anchors Aweigh" and higher, you will also get the exclusive store front, miniature house and Santa's classic sitting chair, which can all be used independently or as part of a full interior store front. With the inclusion of the elf house, you can also make an entire holiday village display to really confuse the undead as they try to swarm upon your party! 

As you can see, some of the other test prints are included in the background of these photos as well. The new weathered and traditional style wall types for the stretch goals have really turned out nicely, and those larger blocks for wall and floor sections really make for easier assembly. I highly recommend using the blocks as they've proven great time savers for me personally. 

Speaking of time, I have some other news to share. Also, I want to thank everyone who has taken time to fill out their Backerkit survey! 

Time estimates, progress updates and other news: 

I am happy to announce that all of the digital design steps are now completed!  This includes stretch goals for the mall. Everything is also nearly complete for my final quality, printed inspections, and the file sets will be ready to send within two to three weeks on schedule! 

I will be announcing the Backerkit schedule very soon through an update, and tell everyone when orders will be locked in, and when we have a delivery date set! 

As mentioned, Backerkit will be handling the file distribution, so everyone will get the information on how to download their set of files via a Backerkit email from my understanding. 

Since this is my first time using Backerkit, I am still learning. I will be sending out reminders with survey links to everyone who has yet to fill out their survey very soon directly via Kickstarter's messaging service.   

If you have any questions regarding Backerkit, or regarding the survey that was sent, please message me! I know the surveys might be a little confusing for first time users, as I was unfamiliar with it myself. 

That is all I have to share at the moment! But I want to say before I go, I am so excited to get these files to you! I've had so much fun with this project, and it is really your support that's kept me going throughout it all! 

Thank you all so very much! Have a wonderful weekend; I will be back with more information as soon as possible!