So, Did the Spinward Traveller Debut Happen at Gencon?
- Thread starter Mako
- Start date
It did happen, but there are a lot of annoyed backers who not only have not received their DVDs, but also the various resin models and follow on sales that he made after the kickstarter campaign.
Ken Whitman does not respond to emails and simply doesn't deliver on promises, or indeed sales that he is obliged to fulfil. I paid for a Hiver model back in February, paying over $100 for it. I have seen or heard nothing since despite sending emails to him, while he continues to advertise more goods through junk mail all the time. Frankly, I feel like it's a con job and I am certainly not alone.
Ken Whitman does not respond to emails and simply doesn't deliver on promises, or indeed sales that he is obliged to fulfil. I paid for a Hiver model back in February, paying over $100 for it. I have seen or heard nothing since despite sending emails to him, while he continues to advertise more goods through junk mail all the time. Frankly, I feel like it's a con job and I am certainly not alone.
Nightwind1
SOC-12
Don't forget, Whitman has a well-known rep for not carrying through with his Kickstarters and such.
A shame to hear that about the DVDs as well.
Yes, there certainly are a lot of annoyed people discussing the lack of resin model shipments, especially after he's shown he has possession of at least the unpainted resin ships, and said they were shipping back in August.
I paid for a three-vessel set back in mid June, since the website listed them as "shipping" at that time, and there were pics of them.
It's been almost four months, and he hasn't responded to any of my e-mail requests to him for an update, and of course, no ship models sent, either.
On another thread in the TAS News section, under Resin Models, we're discussing alternatives to get him to meet his commitments to us.
Paypal now provides for a 180 day dispute window, instead of the old 30 - 60 day one.
From some of the posts I've read, he's been allegedly doing this sort of thing to people for about 20 years.
There are at least two blogs dedicated solely to him (and a number of other postings as well on other website), and his failed or mismanaged projects. See below for the links to those (and check out some of the additional postings about him in the sidebar links - they certainly are eye-popping):
http://dontfundkenwhitman.blogspot.com/2015/07/ken-whitmans-lies-even-tell-lies.html
http://notanotherdime.blogspot.com/
I know some of you may be outside of that, so if the Paypal disputes don't work, or are no longer valid, I guess a wirefraud complaint with the FBI and US Attorney General's office may have to be the fallback plan.
Penalties for that are rather stiff, at up to a $1,000,000 fine, and up to 30 years in jail.
I suspect that might get Ken's attention.
Yes, there certainly are a lot of annoyed people discussing the lack of resin model shipments, especially after he's shown he has possession of at least the unpainted resin ships, and said they were shipping back in August.
I paid for a three-vessel set back in mid June, since the website listed them as "shipping" at that time, and there were pics of them.
It's been almost four months, and he hasn't responded to any of my e-mail requests to him for an update, and of course, no ship models sent, either.
On another thread in the TAS News section, under Resin Models, we're discussing alternatives to get him to meet his commitments to us.
Paypal now provides for a 180 day dispute window, instead of the old 30 - 60 day one.
From some of the posts I've read, he's been allegedly doing this sort of thing to people for about 20 years.
There are at least two blogs dedicated solely to him (and a number of other postings as well on other website), and his failed or mismanaged projects. See below for the links to those (and check out some of the additional postings about him in the sidebar links - they certainly are eye-popping):
http://dontfundkenwhitman.blogspot.com/2015/07/ken-whitmans-lies-even-tell-lies.html
http://notanotherdime.blogspot.com/
I know some of you may be outside of that, so if the Paypal disputes don't work, or are no longer valid, I guess a wirefraud complaint with the FBI and US Attorney General's office may have to be the fallback plan.
Penalties for that are rather stiff, at up to a $1,000,000 fine, and up to 30 years in jail.
I suspect that might get Ken's attention.
Actually, reading through his profile on Wikipedia, his track record speaks for itself:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Whitman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Whitman
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Just a reminder to all:
[m;]RULE 1) No personal attacks.
You may attack ideas, subjects, or documentation.
However you will not get personal at all.[/m;]
Criticize to your heart's content, that is your right.
State facts.
Complain about service.
But please avoid making direct personal attacks on any individuals.
That's just how we roll at COTI.
Thank you.
[m;]RULE 1) No personal attacks.
You may attack ideas, subjects, or documentation.
However you will not get personal at all.[/m;]
Criticize to your heart's content, that is your right.
State facts.
Complain about service.
But please avoid making direct personal attacks on any individuals.
That's just how we roll at COTI.
Thank you.
Got it, ATPOLLARD. Thank you for the reminder.
I will attempt to keep all postings objective, and factual, as I always do.
Wow, ECHO, that is a rather telling article. I hadn't seen it before, nor was I aware that allegedly, all of those Kickstarters had failed:
"Whitman also stated that, even though none of the 6 Kickstarter projects have been fulfilled, he has used monies obtained in one of the 6 Kickstarter campaigns to help pay for one or more of the others".
Add that to all of the alleged non-deliveries of direct sales of the spaceship miniatures, and other stuff, e.g. DVDs for Spinward, etc., and the scandal widens further. Actual non-delivery, in the case of my spaceship order, 3.75 months after payment for the items that were listed as "shipping", on the D20 website, back in mid-June.
I inquired about whether Marc Miller is aware of this, on another thread here on CotI, due to licensing issues, and someone responded that he is.
It will be interesting to see if his awareness of these concerns will result in any changes relating to product and Kickstarter delivery performance by Ken Whitman, and/or D20 Enterainment, in relation to the licensing agreements for the Traveller name.
I certainly hope that it does have a positive outcome for people that have paid money to support these projects, and to buy Traveller miniatures.
I will attempt to keep all postings objective, and factual, as I always do.
Wow, ECHO, that is a rather telling article. I hadn't seen it before, nor was I aware that allegedly, all of those Kickstarters had failed:
"Whitman also stated that, even though none of the 6 Kickstarter projects have been fulfilled, he has used monies obtained in one of the 6 Kickstarter campaigns to help pay for one or more of the others".
Add that to all of the alleged non-deliveries of direct sales of the spaceship miniatures, and other stuff, e.g. DVDs for Spinward, etc., and the scandal widens further. Actual non-delivery, in the case of my spaceship order, 3.75 months after payment for the items that were listed as "shipping", on the D20 website, back in mid-June.
I inquired about whether Marc Miller is aware of this, on another thread here on CotI, due to licensing issues, and someone responded that he is.
It will be interesting to see if his awareness of these concerns will result in any changes relating to product and Kickstarter delivery performance by Ken Whitman, and/or D20 Enterainment, in relation to the licensing agreements for the Traveller name.
I certainly hope that it does have a positive outcome for people that have paid money to support these projects, and to buy Traveller miniatures.
Got the message and respect it, moderator.
I will just say this as facts: he has taken monies for promised goods and repeatedly not delivered over several campaigns. There is evidence he has used that money to fund other things. This is not just a few disgruntled individuals - it's a whole lot of people affected by this from what I gather.
He continues to advertise goods through what is essentially junk mail towards his Kickstarter backers, and does not respond to emails sent to him. There does not appear to be much evidence that much has been delivered at all.
I remember waiting for T5 for an age, and being frustrated by it for a number of reasons (As it turns out the later delays were due to a change of address, and my mistake in updating it properly). That is sorted now, thankfully. However, the point is that even though it took over a year to sort out, at no stage whatsoever did ever question to myself the character of anyone involved in it's delivery. It simply didn't ever register - at worst I thought it was an administrative error - which it turned out to be. The communication channels were always there - even if the communication was strained at times. I cannot say I feel the same way about this case - I feel duped.
I will just say this as facts: he has taken monies for promised goods and repeatedly not delivered over several campaigns. There is evidence he has used that money to fund other things. This is not just a few disgruntled individuals - it's a whole lot of people affected by this from what I gather.
He continues to advertise goods through what is essentially junk mail towards his Kickstarter backers, and does not respond to emails sent to him. There does not appear to be much evidence that much has been delivered at all.
I remember waiting for T5 for an age, and being frustrated by it for a number of reasons (As it turns out the later delays were due to a change of address, and my mistake in updating it properly). That is sorted now, thankfully. However, the point is that even though it took over a year to sort out, at no stage whatsoever did ever question to myself the character of anyone involved in it's delivery. It simply didn't ever register - at worst I thought it was an administrative error - which it turned out to be. The communication channels were always there - even if the communication was strained at times. I cannot say I feel the same way about this case - I feel duped.
David Johansen
SOC-12
GAH! Scandal schmandel! Was it any good?
Not that the scandal speaks well for the future of Spinward Traveller but it's as close as we've come to a Traveller TV show.
Not that the scandal speaks well for the future of Spinward Traveller but it's as close as we've come to a Traveller TV show.
So far, all I've found of it is a 1 minute preview/teaser trailer.
Actually, on the basis of what we've seen so far, not really, no.
The closest we've really come to a Traveller TV show was Firefly.
What I've seen (and downloaded!) so far, available to the Kickstarter backers:
Opening Credits - 1 minute
Pt 1 - 5 mins
Pt 2 - 6 mins
Pt 3 - 3.5 mins
Pt 4 - 3.5 mins
Pt 5 - 6.5 mins
(25.5 mins total)
All fairly raw footage, CGI done for the opening credits and a few other shots (e.g. ship's laser turret firing).
David Johansen
SOC-12
Not surprising, the trailer wasn't promising. Even so, Traveller TV would be a great thing. I wonder if something more like the fan made seasons 4 & 5 of Star Trek would be possible.
Well, I was waiting on a T-shirt. Hoped to wear it at DragonCon. When i saw complaints i dropped a note to Marc.
I do hope Marc has this situation under control. And i hope the actors and crew get paid. It appears he's known Ken for a while. Also they worked on T4 together. I'm not a T4 fan but Aramis tells us that there are some from a previous thread. I believe someone mentioned Psionics in T4 is pretty good. I never read it. I probably should sometime.
I'm not to wild about the spam emails about other projects. I'm not interested, if it does not discuss spinward traveller.
I do hope Marc has this situation under control. And i hope the actors and crew get paid. It appears he's known Ken for a while. Also they worked on T4 together. I'm not a T4 fan but Aramis tells us that there are some from a previous thread. I believe someone mentioned Psionics in T4 is pretty good. I never read it. I probably should sometime.
I'm not to wild about the spam emails about other projects. I'm not interested, if it does not discuss spinward traveller.
I tried to call Mr Whitman today, using the phone number Mr Whitman posted on his d20 Entertainment page and his Ken Whitman & Associates page.
I got a 'this number has been disconnected' message.
I would say that Mr. Whitman has disappeared, except he did block me on Facebook yesterday for messaging him and asking where my refund was.
There are a couple of webpages that extensively document Mr. Whitman's business practices over the last twenty years, as well as the more recent situation with regards to Jolly Blackburn. Mr. Whitman's handling of Spinward Traveller is not an aberration.
I saw on another site, that the Kentucky Attorney General has apparently sent him a letter, with 30 days to respond, given a complaint about either his, or D20's business practices, so perhaps he doesn't want to take any calls due to that, and/or other issues.
I guess I need to file my complaint with them as well.
I've filed a Dispute with Paypal, so am hoping to get my money back.
I guess I need to file my complaint with them as well.
I've filed a Dispute with Paypal, so am hoping to get my money back.
50k is not enough for anything other than a short scifi movie. I was in a 100k production and was amazed at the effort for a non-scifi. I assume D20E is sitting on a ton of footage. They just need the CGI and editing to pull it together. Not a small task.
They put out the resins to make extra cash. So, I'm not surprised if this is a big snag. They needed to look for bigger backers. Marc may have put in cash but up front they should have reached out to Mongoose and anyone that may benefit in exchange for a film advertisement. And they should film in a state that has many rebates, and assistance.
Well, well see how it turns out.
They put out the resins to make extra cash. So, I'm not surprised if this is a big snag. They needed to look for bigger backers. Marc may have put in cash but up front they should have reached out to Mongoose and anyone that may benefit in exchange for a film advertisement. And they should film in a state that has many rebates, and assistance.
Well, well see how it turns out.
They shouldn't be selling resin models that they do not provide. They weren't part if the Kickstarter deal either, merely advertised to kickstarter backers after the campaign had finished. As such, they should be delivered as soon as there was confirmation of payment. I've been waiting the best part of a year for my model.
They set their own goal targets with the Kickstarter Campaign, and these goals were met. If they then decide they didn't raise enough money to fulfil their own goals, then that's their own fault.
They set their own goal targets with the Kickstarter Campaign, and these goals were met. If they then decide they didn't raise enough money to fulfil their own goals, then that's their own fault.
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