YetiStand Alpha.

[ChaoticYeti]

OMG. it holds up that millenium falcon set? is that the big one or smaller one?

Not the UCS. Set number 7965.

Just got the new b-wing.

I realize some of you might not care for Lego. Let's just assume it can hold similarly sized brick building sets like what I have shown.

Edited September 2, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[ChaoticYeti]

Bringing it back on track. Some of you had weight concerns. If the Millennium Falcon doesn't do it for you, than this should. I don't have a VF-25s yet, but I did snag a set of armor.

[charger69]

I need an army of these! :D

[wmkjr]

A testament to the "kit of parts" mentality. This isn't a pigeon hole product.

I think this adapter needs to be a bit bigger for this one. What do you think?

Edited September 4, 2014 by wmkjr

[ChaoticYeti]

Update: Bulk order of acrylic is still on track for delivery tomorrow. I should be able to ship everything out by Monday at the latest.

[Saburo]

Update: Bulk order of acrylic is still on track for delivery tomorrow. I should be able to ship everything out by Monday at the latest.

Awesome! Thanks for keeping us updated!

[ChaoticYeti]

I am also expecting more black ABS filament today. If anyone wants to add a couple brick adapters, I should be able to accommodate without delays.

I have a 2x4, and 4x4 designs. $5 a piece.

Edited September 4, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[94medition]

Awesome! I will take two 4x4 if they can be shipped with the stands.

[ChaoticYeti]

Awesome! I will take two 4x4 if they can be shipped with the stands.

That is the idea. Pay for them the same way as the rest of your order and I will drop them in your box.

[94medition]

Done.

[ChaoticYeti]

Acrylic was just delivered. I have some issues with how it was cut. These are not as consistent as the small batches of samples I had ordered. I am not going to be shipping anything out until after I hear back from the vendor. I apologize for the delay, but this does not meet my expectations. I will keep you updated.

Edit: I am pretty livid. Trying to think about a solution. It looks like with a little bit of sanding these would work fine. The biggest issue is with the base. Free of charge to those who have ordered, I am willing to include the acrylic base pivot, and a printed base pivot if you want one for each stand in your order. That way you would have a working stand with the option of sanding the base to fit. This could change after I hear back from the vendor. Hopefully they will make this right. They just look sloppy. Nothing like the samples I had ordered. Too hot, and too fast. It is really dissapointing.

This only effects the base. The arms and elbows look fine.

Edited September 5, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[charger69]

Dem QC! Bro take your time, I can wait.

[ChaoticYeti]

Dem QC! Bro take your time, I can wait.

I expected to receive the same quality from the stands I have already ordered. This is not what I expected.

[Saburo]

That is disappointing! Hopefully the vendor can make this situation right.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Saburo

[dizman]

Ehhh no worries, I can wait and whatever you come up with is good enough for me.

[anime52k8]

I have no idea what I'm looking at from the pictures, but I trust your judgement. Personally, I would feel bad if it ends up costing you money out of pocket to fix. If it ends up being exorbitantly expensive to fix on your end, I'd be fine with receiving the stands as is and doing any necessary tweaks myself.

[ChaoticYeti]

Inconsistentcies in the cuts. Inconsistencies in the thickness of the acrylic. Both possibly due to the vendor rushing the order and not paying attention. Possibly miss aligned machine. They have been quick to respond before. No response yet.

Edited September 5, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[Silverstreak]

That suck dude. Don't worry though, us MacrossWorlders are a patient lot

Take your time, we'll wait.

[aceoftherebellion]

This does give us some unexpected insight into some of the problems Yamato and Bandai have faced, though. Factory produce just one item (prototype), they pay attention to the details to please their client, everything seems fine. Bulk order, they start cutting corners for speed. Nasty to see it first hand, hopefully your vendors will work it out.

[ChaoticYeti]

What is the issue?

-Inconsistent craftsmanship on the laser cut acrylic causes the base pivot to not seat properly in the base plate.

Wasn't there a fitment issue on the first sample of laser cut acrylic?

-Yes, there was. The dimensions I gave the vendor where exact measurements for the slotted base, and the tab on the base pivot. These did not account for the acrylic loss due to the laser cutting. I measured the remainder and redesigned the cuts to take into account the material lost through the process.

How can we be sure your revised design was correct?

- All of the pictures I have taken since than were of the revised design.

What is the solution ?

- All of the arm components came out perfectly fine and as expected. The only issue is with the base plate, and base pivot. Over the next couple of days I will be printing base pivots that fit into the slot that was cut. This is a component that will be included with every YetiStand free of charge. I will also be including the acrylic base pivot. If you so desire, you can file down the acrylic base pivot and base until they seat snugly. It took me approximately 15 minutes on one stand to do this. The picture posted at the top has a printed base pivot on the YetiStand holding up an armored YF-25. This works. The printed components I have been making for YetiStand are essentially solid ABS.

I am disappointed to have to make this compromise, but I believe my solution is fair. I have not heard back from the vendor. If they can not come to an agreement for the errors in this order, I will not be using them again. I am already looking into purchasing my own laser cutter. It is difficult to trust someone else to care as much about this project as I do.

Edited September 7, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[charger69]

Hmm, I don't want to sound like a d. but is it possible to consider a design change for the future? Maybe a turn and lock mechanism to secure the base pivot instead of a tight sit?

Edited September 7, 2014 by charger69

[ChaoticYeti]

Hmm, I don't want to sound like a d. but is it possible to consider a design change for the future? Maybe a turn and lock mechanism to secure the base pivot instead of a tight sit?

I am currently trying to come up with a different method for the base. Injection molding would solve this problem. Laser cutting is largely a 2 dimensional process. Tab A in Slot B sort of thing. It should be repeatable. "Turn and lock" wouldn't be feasible with laser cutting.

[Scyla]

Hmm, I don't want to sound like a d. but is it possible to consider a design change for the future? Maybe a turn and lock mechanism to secure the base pivot instead of a tight sit?

Well you could design it in a way similar to the way Bandai implemented the hard points on the wings of their new 1/72 VF-1 kit.

However if laser cutting only allows for 2 dimensional cuts that this won't be an option.

[94medition]

CY, sorry to hear about the screw-up of the vendor and thank you for working on the solution. There is so much potential for the stand. Hopefully this won't deter you from offering the stand in the future.

[Mechapilot77]

What is the issue?

-Inconsistent craftsmanship on the laser cut acrylic causes the base pivot to not seat properly in the base plate.

Wasn't there a fitment issue on the first sample of laser cut acrylic?

-Yes, there was. The dimensions I gave the vendor where exact measurements for the slotted base, and the tab on the base pivot. These did not account for the acrylic loss due to the laser cutting. I measured the remainder and redesigned the cuts to take into account the material lost through the process.

How can we be sure your revised design was correct?

- All of the pictures I have taken since than were of the revised design.

What is the solution ?

- All of the arm components came out perfectly fine and as expected. The only issue is with the base plate, and base pivot. Over the next couple of days I will be printing base pivots that fit into the slot that was cut. This is a component that will be included with every YetiStand free of charge. I will also be including the acrylic base pivot. If you so desire, you can file down the acrylic base pivot and base until they seat snugly. It took me approximately 15 minutes on one stand to do this. The picture posted at the top has a printed base pivot on the YetiStand holding up an armored YF-25. This works. The printed components I have been making for YetiStand are essentially solid ABS.

I am disappointed to have to make this compromise, but I believe my solution is fair. I have not heard back from the vendor. If they can not come to an agreement for the errors in this order, I will not be using them again. I am already looking into purchasing my own laser cutter. It is difficult to trust someone else to care as much about this project as I do.

can you show us a clear picture of just the affected piece (pieces?)? i'd rather not have to use the printed abs like piece as i'm sure it won't be crystal clear like the acrylic (and for me that ruins the ENTIRE point of these stands for me), so i want to see what piece i'd have to now sand. a pic of the piece you sanded vs. an unsanded one would help. thanks.

[ChaoticYeti]

I compared the acrylic I had previously ordered to the new ones. The new ones are up to 1mm thicker. This is also affecting the fitment issue.

I just picked up a table router. I think I can fix the base pivot pieces so you don't have to sand/file anything.

Edit: I just heard back from the vendor, who has basically told me "tough luck". I will set up the table router today, and hopefully be able to fix the fitment on the base components.

Edited September 8, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[CoreyD]

Your dedication to this project is truly outstanding, Yeti!

[technoblue]

Edit: I just heard back from the vendor, who has basically told me "tough luck". I will set up the table router today, and hopefully be able to fix the fitment on the base components.

Now that's classy of them.

I gather they take their money up front for the order? Whatever the case, it's a real shame to see this kind of support and I'm sorry to read that something that should have been resolved with a little observation on their part is taking so much time and effort on your end to fix. I agree that new material might help for the next run or, at the very least, a new supplier.

I'm looking forward to whatever you can do, CY. Take your time.

Edited September 8, 2014 by technoblue

[aceoftherebellion]

Is it a case where the vendor is doing the cutting of prefab acrylic sheets? That could explain some of the problems, if they're getting sheets of variable thickness and just cutting what they get. That still sucks though, I was hoping to buy into a later production run, I hope this doesn't keep you from producing more of these in the future

[ChaoticYeti]

I am assuming they are purchasing large acrylic sheets. The protective paper on the acrylic has a different company name on it.

If anything this is pushing me to take this further. I am going to either invest in a laser cutter, or push for injection molding again.

[Saburo]

I compared the acrylic I had previously ordered to the new ones. The new ones are up to 1mm thicker. This is also affecting the fitment issue.

I just picked up a table router. I think I can fix the base pivot pieces so you don't have to sand/file anything.

Edit: I just heard back from the vendor, who has basically told me "tough luck". I will set up the table router today, and hopefully be able to fix the fitment on the base components.

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to this, you are great asset to the community!

As for the vendor, that was a sad move on their part.

[David Hingtgen]

Hopefully the router will allow for quick consistent cuts, and once you've got it set up, you can fix the base pivots fairly quickly (and not have to custom-adjust it for each individual piece).

[ChaoticYeti]

As it turns out, the table router I got is a little unwiedly for the size of piece I am trying to work on. I am printing some pieces to help with that. I will probably be able to update on progress later tonight, or early tomorrow.

Edit: Mods, this has turned into more of a Workshop post. I would understand if it gets moved.

Edited September 8, 2014 by ChaoticYeti

[ChaoticYeti]

Plummeting margins, but back on track:

[Aye Aye]

Thanks Yeti! Appreciate the transparency and the effort involved in pushing these out to us in the same build quality you envisioned.