Folks,
I had another great week! However, a few things did come up and they slowed me down a bit. Still, there is a lot to share this week, so, let’s not waste time. Hit the ‘read more’ button and we’ll get going.
THIS WEEK
This was another busy week. I managed to ship all of the sale orders save one, and I have emailed that customer to explain the problem. I am currently waiting his answer so I can get him shipped. I also shipped all but one of the new orders that came in since the sale ended, and I have emailed that customer, as well. I even shipped a dealer order. All-in-all, I have handled as much work load in the last two and one-half weeks as I would normally handle in a month and a half. So, thanks to all of you out there who have been ordering, I am tired and happy on this end.
AN AREA OF RISING CONCERN
I am still watching the price increases in my raw materials and shipping but, as of this time, there is little I can or plan to do about any of it. I’ll let you know if and when that changes.
OPEN ORDERS
As I said, I have two open orders: one from the sale, which is waiting on the customer to reply to my email, and another that came in after the sale and which will ship Monday. Otherwise, the shop is caught up and it is a good time to order. You’ll be first in line.
CUSTOMER ISSUES
As far as I know, I am on top of all customer service issues so, if you have a problem I have not addressed, please let me know because you’ve gone ‘stealth mode’ and are flying under my radar.
A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
I will be posting a special announcement as soon as I finish posting this update. Please watch for it.
NEW PRODUCTS
There will be nothing new today. I managed to finish two small masters, and several others are ready for production, but I had a few family problems this week and they kept me from making the production molds. So that I do not repeat the mistakes of the past and release a new item before I have production molds ready, I thought I would just release everything I made this week with next week’s new products. SO, next week should be a very good week for new TMD.
ON MY BENCH
Because of the family problems I mentioned above, I did not have a lot of time for the bench this week. However, as I said, I did finish a few small masters, complete with production molds, and I finished a couple larger masters that just need production molds made. I am still focused on the new product series focused on a specific family of early war, German AFV’s. Finally, my ‘mo-jo’ is still going strong and I cannot wait to get back on the bench. I have a goal of 8-12 new items for next week, and I have a very good chance of making that goal.
ON KARL’S BENCH
There is nothing new from Karl about his masters. I’ll let you know when that changes.
THE SHOP
The shop is in decent shape, but I still need to clean up from the sale.
THE OFFICE
The office is a mess. I have something else going on right now, and I have old papers spread everywhere. I should have things cleaned up by Monday, but we’ll see how things go. Either way, the master bench is clean and in great shape, so nothing will slow down the making of new products.
ME
My mood is about as good as I can remember it being since before the COVID stuff started. I am feeling very optimistic for the first time in almost two years. I even have a decent plan for the rest of the year. I’ll be sharing some of that with you later today when I post my special announcement. It may not make you very excited, but, to channel my inner Hannibal, it has me — ‘On the Jazz!’
THAT IS ALL
OK, that is all I have — for now. I will have more to share next week, as well as the first of the new masters. Until then, stay safe and try to build something (preferably something using TMD resin).
Joe