Things look different around here, so we owe you an explanation. Over the past few weeks we rebuilt the shop, and most of that work happened after hours. This blog is where we'll post what changes, along with new sculptors and new kits as they arrive. We'll keep the posts short and the jargon low.
Yes, the name is a little on the nose. Work done late, for a shop called After Dark. It fit.
Easier to shop
The biggest change is that every figure now gets one listing. Before, a single figure could be split across several pages, one for each size or option. Now every scale from 1:24 (8cm) up to 1:4 (45cm) and all the sculpt options live on a single product page. Pick your scale, pick your sculpt, done. If you ever tried to compare every size of one figure, you know that meant a lot of open tabs. That's over.
Product titles now name the character and the sculptor plainly, so you know what you're looking at before you click. If shelf space is your limit, check the scale first. A 1:4 figure stands 45cm tall and wants a real shelf.
We also added a Shop by Sculptor page. When a new sculptor's kits go live, they show up there on their own. Here's who is on the site right now:
- Digital Dark Pin-Ups
- Texelion
- Abe3D
- ES Monster
- Siryll Art
- 3DMomoji
- Ronin Arts Workshop
Some sculptor pages now carry banner art too, so they're worth a second look even if you've visited before.
A new look
The design is darker and cleaner, with new fonts. Pink was the one thing we kept from the old look, and it's reserved for prices and checkout buttons, so you always know where the money part is.
The homepage art is new as well. We built it from real kits in the catalog and credited the sculptors, because their work deserves the billboard.
We also fixed the things that annoyed us on phones: the menu is readable now, and so are the cart and the buttons. And the age check is faster. It's built into the shop and replaces the third-party app we used before.
Behind the counter
Every listing's photos are being redone so they look consistent and carry our watermark. Fresh photos roll onto listings over the coming weeks, so expect a mix of old and new for a while.
We also have new listing tools that get new kits from our files to the store faster and with fewer typos. And more of the routine back-office work now runs on its own overnight. That leaves more time for printing, cleanup and packing, which is the part we'd rather be doing. Nobody sees most of this work, which is the point. If we did it right, you just get your kit.
The fine print, made clear
We rewrote the shipping, refund and terms pages in plain language, the way we'd explain things across the counter. Here is the short version:
- Print-to-order kits: most ship within 7 to 14 business days.
- Ready-to-ship kits: 1 to 3 business days.
- Plain packaging, and the return address reads "Grimdark Hobbies".
- US shipping only.
Kits ship unpainted and unassembled, so the painting is still yours. There's also a new accessibility statement page, for anyone who needs it.
More sculptors are on the way as we work to build out our massive catalog. Check back here and we'll post them as they go live. Questions go through the Contact page, and we read every one. Thanks for sticking with us while the paint was still wet.