So, Did the Spinward Traveller Debut Happen at Gencon?

[Mako]

I haven't seen any mention of it here, or elsewhere, so wanted to know if the Spinward Traveller debut happened at Gencon (IIRC), and if so, how it was received?

Any news on when it may get airtime, or become available on DVD?

[Echo]

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.

[Nightwind1]

Don't forget, Whitman has a well-known rep for not carrying through with his Kickstarters and such.

[Mako]

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.c...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I know some of you may be outside of that, so if the Paypal disputes don't work, or are no longer valid, I guess a wirefraud complaint with the FBI and US Attorney General's office may have to be the fallback plan.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.

[Echo]

Actually, reading through his profile on Wikipedia, his track record speaks for itself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Whitman

[atpollard]

Just a reminder to all:

RULE 1) No personal attacks.

You may attack ideas, subjects, or documentation.

However you will not get personal at all.

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.

[Mako]

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.

[Echo]

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.

[David Johansen]

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.

[aramis]

Originally Posted by David Johansen

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.

So far, all I've found of it is a 1 minute preview/teaser trailer.