#ZenStudios Update October 2024

Welcome back to ZenStudios! It's been a while and we apologize for that. Between shipping delays, workshop updates, and warping toward the completion of the Polar Lights 1:350 Refit (it's ALMOST THERE) it's been a while since we touched base with you. But no longer. Here's where we are, what's to come, and the plan moving forward!

NEW WORKSHOP

With the gracious approval of Mrs. #ZenStudios, we have a new workspace. We repainted the wall (it's no longer PINK) and, using an old dismantled bookshelf, we mounted shelves onto the wall. This allows for all of the projects, finished and in progress, to be displayed while opening up the room which we both really enjoy. This is where all the magic is going to happen and build videos are coming, we promise, as we nail down the schedule and get into the groove with getting them done and posted. We have been working hard in the background setting up our studio and giving us the footing to make this as professional a production as we can from the start as a springboard to adding new features and upgrades as the channel, website, and social media reach grows. Nothing happens over night but we are looking for modest gains to begin with and building up from that point. We are happy you're along for the ride!

UPGRADE ALERT

We had been using a hand-held battery powered airbrush from Neat and Handy. It was a great product to dip my toe in the water of airbrushing, something which I had never done before! Using an airbrush was essential to do the 1:350 Refit which was part of the learning experience that kit has been. I was travelling at full impulse (not Warp Speed...nothing of that kit has been Warp Speed) toward doing the saucer Aztec work and the compressor in my hand-held airbrush burned out. I thought to myself that this would be a good time to purchase an upgrade to enhance my modeling ability so I got one of these Master Airbursh Cool Runner units. It's beautiful. It's efficient. It's wonderful. My Neat and Handy airbrush was sufficient right up until the point it burned out on me but having an airbrush system with an external, AC powered compressor has changed my life as a scale modeler and I will never go back. And, furthermore, doing the saucer Aztecs with the one I had been using would have been far more difficult and given me subpar results. I must bid my Neat and Handy airbrush a 'thank you' for doing me a favor and pushing me into getting this upgrade. I love it.

1:350 Enterprise Refit

Our journey on the aforementioned 1:350 Polar Lights Enterprise Refit is getting close to the end and the ship is almost ready to leave drydock. The goal is to have this model finished by the end of October so we can move on to something new and fresh for #FullKitFriday starting in November. This 1:350 Refit has been on the workbench for over a year while I took my time to experiment and learn new skills. Once this model has been delivered to its recipient, there will be a full write-up and showcase on my YouTube channel of how the model looks in all its glory. As SprueVerse says, 'Warts and all'. And it will have a couple but the educational value of building this model is immeasurable as it tests all your skills, problem solving ability, and patience along the way. Looking forward to having it finished!

PART-WORK BUILD UP COLLECTIONS

All of the #ZenStudios build up subscriptions are active again, save one. Delays are still ongoing from the manufacturers in some cases so here is where things stand...

FanHome encompasses the largest distributor of ZenStudios build-up collections so we will start with them. Both the Ghostbusters ECTO-1 and Star Trek Enterprise-D have our next packs as backordered waiting for out of stock parts but the news is not all bad. FanHome have finally decided to move our collections along by skipping the out of stock month's delivery and dispatching the next delivery instead. The bad news is that we cannot continue the build process as we wait for the next pack in our build schedule to arrive but the good news is at least we will have the packs following to marathon when the missing packs come in. Eaglemoss operated in this fashion with my DeLorean subscription skipping out of stock parts while keeping me on schedule to build completion. It's a fantastic intermediate solution to keep everything moving. According to FanHome customer service, they are on track to have all the stock issues resolved in December so I hope that holds true. Knight Rider and Eleanor do not appear to have the stock issues that are plaguing the Enterprise and ECTO-1 collections and appear to be shipping as normal. We do have a pack of the Enterprise-D, Eleanor, and Knight Rider in hand so look for those over the next few weeks on our YouTube channel!

We'll bundle Hachette Partworks and Agora Models together as technically, both collections under this banner are Hachette Partworks collections. ZenStudios has the Titanic on indefinite suspension for the moment while the orphaned Eaglemoss Collections of ECTO-1 and Eleanor as well as Knight Rider finish up from FanHome. When we subscribed to the Titanic collection, Knight Rider had not yet been released and Eaglemoss was just about to go under so the addition of Knight Rider coupled with the delay of the completion of the Eaglemoss buildups has forced this suspension. Luckily, Agora Models is kind enough to allow us to suspend our collection indefinitely while we catch up. If the website and YouTube channel explode with traffic for some reason we will re-evaluate the reactivation of the Titanic. We do have one pack of Titanic in hand and will bring it to you soon to, at the very least, get it off the backlog in our workshop. Our contact in the UK responsible for collecting the Batmobile Tumbler from Hachette for us continues to do so. We think we will likely do one massive final delivery of the Tumbler as there are only fifty stages left and our last delivery contained forty-two stages which would make this next delivery only eight more! The Tumbler should be completed next September according to the build schedule.

NEW COLLECTIONS INBOUND

We do have two new collections starting soon! The 'Post-Apocalyptic (***MAD MAX***) Ford XB Falcon should ship out its first delivery from Hachette Collections at the end of October. We are collaborating with our friend @ranger_hans on Instagram on this build. @ranger_hans will be doing the clean version where we will be modifying ours with dirt, dust, air tanks, spare tire, you name it. Going to be a fun build watching how @ranger_hans and our builds come together in parallel. Give him a follow on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/ranger_hans/ , https://www.instagram.com/hans_builds_a_model_car/ ) to see his come together. We are also brainstorming with him on how to get his build featured on our YouTube channel which would be super fun! The other collection new to us is the 1966 Batmobile collection from FanHome. This has been available since January and we have put it off as long as we could. We just couldn't risk having FanHome remove this collection from their offerings and never getting a chance to build it. This model will be on a quarterly build schedule until some of the other FanHome collections are finished! Again, it is subject to re-evaluation should our channel growth accelerate!

Speaking of FanHome, the New York Comic Con is NEXT WEEKEND, October 17-20. Our friend World of Wayne is going to be there as is FanHome where they have a booth display of new collections and offerings. We are super excited to see what FanHome has in store for us. We know they will be showcasing their Star Trek Starships collection but this is where they announced the E.T. build-up last year. So hoping for a 1989 Michael Keaton Batmobile so we're keeping our fingers crossed we see that model come from FanHome in 2025! Any announcements will be shared on our social media, YouTube channel, or here on our website!

On a sad note, Ian Campbell and his wife Julie have decided to close shop on their wildly successful Partwork Upgrades and Partwork Distribution services and the conclusion of 2024. Products have already begun to be phased out and new subscriptions via Partwork Distribution are not available, however, if you have a subscription running through Partwork Distribution already it will be honored to the end of the subscription run. This hits the community in the stones a bit because they have been so helpful and essential in our lives as scale model builders providing assembly cushions, power mods, and other upgrades and we are sad to see them go. We are, however, excited for their next chapter in their life and sincerely hope they remain a part of our community that they have so faithfully supported. Our gratitude to Partwork Upgrades cannot be adequately conveyed.

We cannot thank you enough for your support of ZenStudios and what we do. Look for updates on all mediums throughout the month of October and we'll see you for another monthly update in November! There will be things on the bench and there will be content, we promise! Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and FOLLOW all of our platforms for all the updates during the month and...

FIND YOURSELF SOME ZEN!!!!!!!!!