The various issues and delays don't surprise me one bit. Clay is an amazing artist...when it comes to sculpting he is as good as you'll find. He's not a businessman though. He can go toe-to-toe with any sculptor whether he's doing a cold cast porcelain piece, a fine art bronze or a plastic action figure. But when it comes to running a business, managing employees, handling customer service issues, and just the day-to-day decisions that are required, he doesn't know what he's doing.
Anyone who has been collecting his work for a long time knows that the issues on this project are the same problems that happened 20 years ago! Production delays, paint issues, more delays because of the amount of detail, had to switch factories, poor communication with customers...how is it possible to be in this industry for that many years and not have most of this ironed-out yet? I would think by now they would have found a reliable factory that can handle the type of detail Clay puts into his pieces, or if not, pick a character that is simpler to produce. For a piece to be delayed a year is almost hard to do. His talent is what saves him and keeps him in business.
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