Kiani regular base situation

[Phillip]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay and certainly not intentional.

The Lava bases were not completed before Chinese New Year so they will hopefully be done before the end of this month. Nothing else has changed in regards to what is going to happen with the Lava bases. Only the time has been pushed back a little.

Regarding the Regular Kiani. We have discussed this with the factory and at the time they were not going to replace any bases and I do not expect that to change.

I'm not so sure this was the fault of the factory but maybe more the fault of a supplier.

And in regards to Aspen they just do not have the weight, power, influence or whatever you want to call it to push around a large China factory. Aspen has only produced around 2,000 statues in 5 years and that gives them absolutely no clout with this factory or any factory. If they were producing Sideshow or Bowen numbers then maybe they could get the factory to do something, but at this time no such luck. That does not mean that Aspen is still not trying to work something out. When I have more information I will let you know.

And most importantly thanks for all your understanding. We are hoping to resolve this but we just need more time. Sorry.

Thanks,

Phillip

[nerdbane]

I, too, have a regular Kiani which is not displayable because the supporting wave has sagged so much. It seems others who have gotten replacement bases have experienced the same thing again, which stands to reason because they are probably from the original production run. So, a replacement base from the original production run is not a viable option.

It sounds like the root cause is a supplier problem for the clear resin.

No matter who is responsible, I hope some solution can be found in the not too distant future. Having such a beautiful work of art, which cost over $300, which cannot be displayed is really unfortunate.

[fantasticrour]

Mines is back in the box. We can speculate all we like about how hot or warm where we live. That's still not an excuse for the bases sagging. I look at my other statues and they didn't have that problem. Only this one. What can we do? Just take it, I guess. Or we can just wait and give aspen time. If enough time passes, out of sight out of mind.

[animatedUKfan]

Originally Posted by Phillip

Hello,

Sorry for the delay and certainly not intentional.

The Lava bases were not completed before Chinese New Year so they will hopefully be done before the end of this month. Nothing else has changed in regards to what is going to happen with the Lava bases. Only the time has been pushed back a little.

Regarding the Regular Kiani. We have discussed this with the factory and at the time they were not going to replace any bases and I do not expect that to change.

I'm not so sure this was the fault of the factory but maybe more the fault of a supplier.

And in regards to Aspen they just do not have the weight, power, influence or whatever you want to call it to push around a large China factory. Aspen has only produced around 2,000 statues in 5 years and that gives them absolutely no clout with this factory or any factory. If they were producing Sideshow or Bowen numbers then maybe they could get the factory to do something, but at this time no such luck. That does not mean that Aspen is still not trying to work something out. When I have more information I will let you know.

And most importantly thanks for all your understanding. We are hoping to resolve this but we just need more time. Sorry.

Thanks,

Phillip

Philip,
Thanks for this update.

With regards to the Lava base, I, like most others, was delighted when Frank started this thread on 30th June last year with the answer to our Lava Kiani prayers.
Bearing in mind it was many weeks prior to this that the problems with Lava Kiani became evident, it is now over 6 months since the solution was announced and it would seem we are still some months away from a conclusion.
I don't think many of us thought it would take this long - but the solution you came up with is the right one and I personally am happy to wait a few months longer for a new base that doesn't sag, so thanks again.

What really concerns me now is the regular Kiani.
The problem is fundamentally the same as with the Lava base - it won't support the statue properly which means the whole sculpture cannot be displayed.

I appreciate that there are 1200 regular Kiani's out there as opposed to 300 lava Kiani's which makes replacing the bases a daunting thought.
Also that Aspen have no pull with the factory, but with respect, that is not the fault of your loyal customers who have (and let's not beat about the bush here) purchased a faulty product from Aspen, not the factory.

I am pleased to hear that Aspen is still trying to work something out. However, I do feel that Aspen have been aware of this problem for a long time and should have come up with a satisfactory solution to the regular Kiani base by now.

Decisions need to be made very soon. No more pontificating. If the answer is "You bought a lemon, tough luck!" then please let us know now.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but even my patience could not stand another 6 month wait for a solution to this problem.

( I will also post this reply in the lava base thread as it is relevent. Any mods out there - should these threads not be combined as they fundamentally deal with the same subject?)

.

[benhernandez]

Dude they already said they weren't going to do nothing about the regular version.

[vpw]

I duno what to do with the regular now....should I try to fix it....should I try to recast it in harder material....it sux cos altho it's displayed right now, as soon as I remove the 12" figure stand I use to support her I know shes gonna fall flat....

Any ideas?

[animatedUKfan]

Originally Posted by benhernandez

Dude they already said they weren't going to do nothing about the regular version.

First they said they wouldn't do anything.
More people are reporting problems.
Now they say they are trying to work something out.

I am saying I think this has gone on long enough and if Aspen is serious about a solution it should be given some priority. Telling us it is their suppliers fault doesn't cut it.
If they don't come up with a solution, are you happy to keep a faulty statue and put it down to bad luck?

Originally Posted by vpw

I duno what to do with the regular now....should I try to fix it....should I try to recast it in harder material....it sux cos altho it's displayed right now, as soon as I remove the 12" figure stand I use to support her I know shes gonna fall flat....

Any ideas?

I think we need Aspen to come back to us with their ideas, but I hope they begin to treat the matter with some urgency after all this time.

I am sure there are people out there, probably that visit Statue Forum, who can come up with a solution but it is Aspen's responsibility and the onus is on them in the first place.

They have had everyone's money for these statues and we have a faulty product.
Yes, they are nice people and we all sympathise, but if it costs Aspen some money to do the right thing, I think they should bite the bullet and do it, without any further delays.

[nerdbane]

Originally Posted by animatedUKfan

First they said they wouldn't do anything.
More people are reporting problems.
Now they say they are trying to work something out.

Yes, they are nice people and we all sympathize, but if it costs Aspen some money to do the right thing, I think they should bite the bullet and do it, without any further delays.

/Agree. No matter who's fault it is (poorly designed, faulty materials, faulty manufacturing, whatever), we purchased the product from Aspen and they should step up to the plate and do the right thing. Faulty products should be replaced.

[Eternal_D]

Originally Posted by animatedUKfan

Firstly, please forgive the length of this post but there are lots of points to be made.
Secondly, this is not a rant against Aspen who have faced up to the Lava Kiani base problems and have always been approachable and friendly.

As an owner of both the regular and lava Kiani statues (bought from the Aspen website), I have listed my issues with the bases in this and other threads on Statueforum before.

My understanding of the Aspen official line is as follows (please correct me if I am incorrect on any of the points):

Lava Kiani base
Aspen will replace all of these free of charge to current owners that have contacted Aspen with their issue number.
These will be of a new material so that the same problem will not occur again.
Aspen will bear the cost of postage, and for international collectors the value of the replacement base will be shown as below the customs limit so that the collector does not incur taxes and customs fees.
These replacement bases are expected around March 2009.

Regular Kiani base
Aspen have not acknowledged that there is a widespread problem with the regular bases, but have suggested that if anyone has a problem they contact Aspen and there is a possibility there may be some spare bases that can be provided as replacements.

My own experience is that my lava base won't support Kiani at all.
My regular base also failed to support Kiani, and Aspen did send me a replacement regular base in October 2008 which was fine (although a value of $200 was marked on the customs form which incurred $60 in fees at this end - something I hope won't happen with the Lava base).
But at least I could now display my favourite Kiani again.

However, that replacement base has now also sagged considerably, to a point where the 'V' section barely holds her calf.
It may look as though she is sitting OK in the base, but the 'V' has widened under the weight of the statue and she is nowhere near as vertical as she should be.
Because this is a gradual sagging, I believe that more people have a problem than they realise; they don't realise that their statue is not standing as vertically in the base as it did when it was new.
The front wave has sagged further than my original base.

So, on behalf of all owners of Kiani statues, regular and Lava, I would like to ask Philip or Chris the following:

1) Please confirm whether all the points in my summary regarding the Lava Kiani base replacements are correct.
2) In the light of the problems raised in threads on this forum, do Aspen intend to do anything about the regular Kiani base situation? It appears replacing the original base with those you have as spares is a temporary fix at best.

My own thoughts are that replacement regular bases (in a different material) for any owners suffering these problems is entirely justified.
However, if Aspen could come up with an inobtrusive addition to the existing base to hold Kiani in place, that MAY also be an acceptable solution.

As a big fan of Aspen, I have spent a lot of money with them on comics, prints and of course statues.
I even bought a lava Kiani print and had it professionally framed to display with the 2 statues.
Only to have the bases and statues carefully packed away in a cupboard for months.

C'mon Aspen, show us you care about your loyal fans.

(I will also post this thread in the Kiani Lava Edition - Base Problem Resolution Thread as it is relevent to that thread too).

shoot, I didn't know we have to contact them about it...how do I go about doing that? can I just PM phillip here?

[animatedUKfan]

Originally Posted by Eternal_D

shoot, I didn't know we have to contact them about it...how do I go about doing that? can I just PM phillip here?

Only if you didn't buy your Lava Kiani statue from the Aspen store. From Franks post to start the Lava Kiani resolution thread:

"Place of Purchase - I believe almost everyone bought their Kiani Lava Edition through our store, but if you didn't, no problem. We'll still send you a new base. In that situation, just go ahead and email Chris at our Aspenstore and let him know."