We’ve hit a major milestone: this week, we received both the white samples and digital print proofs from the factory! It’s a huge step, and as always, we want to take you along for the ride. Below you’ll find a few photos (scroll for those), a breakdown of what’s looking great, and a candid list of things we’re working to resolve.

Awe at the Incoming!

• The digital proofs look fantastic at first glance. There’s a lot to review: we received seven massive rolls of proofs for the add-ons, and one big roll for the Vault contents itself. These are full print sheets made up of multiple items that will be trimmed down and/or cut and punched out. They are sent to us so that we can check for color and alignment issues. Everything is looking great! If you remember we did this process already locally so that we could catch anything that was glaring, so this is basically a second level of quality control for the project and part of the manufacturers process. Just to be clear, these sheets are not how the final products get delivered. We will show that in the unboxing video of the manufacturing sample once we receive it.
  
  
• We’ll be combing through every sheet and every page to ensure nothing’s missing, everything is correctly formatted, and all content matches our specs. There’s simply too much to cover in a single post, so expect more updates as we dig deeper into the review process!
  
  

• This is our first look at the mass-produced plastic parts. The wall clips work as intended and look great—huge relief!
  
  
• The vacuum formed trays look amazing. So that’s super fun!

• Unfortunately, the standee bases have another issue. The base decoration inserts don’t fit properly, and the standees themselves aren’t staying in place. What’s odd is that this looks like the previous STL version—one we had already revised and fixed some time ago. We’ve already flagged this with the manufacturer and are looking for an explanation and fix.

• The Vault’s lid arrived with a corner torn. We’ll be talking to the factory about reinforcing the corners for the final version.
  
  
• Many loose components (like map tiles and door cards) were not shrink-wrapped or otherwise secured in the sample box. We’re expecting these to be shrink-wrapped or bundled in the retail product, and will make sure this is standard before we proceed.
  
  
• Box Diagram Update: There’s a diagram on the box bottom showing how the Vault should be packed together. However, our tray configuration has changed since that art was finalized, so we need to update the diagram artwork to match the current tray layout.
  
  
• Dice Tray Insert & Interior Art: The sample is missing the dice tray insert and the interior tray artwork. We need to determine what’s happening here and will follow up as soon as we have clarity.
  
  
• Standee Add-on Pouches: These packages look really great with the window. You'll be able to see the standees in all their glorious color!
  

  

  
  
  
• Missing Punches on Insert Boxes: Several of the punch features we specified for the insert boxes and the box bottom are missing from the samples. It’s not clear yet whether this is a limitation or just an oversight, but we’ve asked the factory to clarify.
  
  
• Premium Carrying Case: We haven’t seen a sample of the premium carrying case yet. We’re assuming it’s simply running behind, as the final box size was only recently approved, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we have more to share.
  
  

• Some of the doors with wall openings are not performing as intended. We’re investigating the cause with the manufacturer to get this resolved before production.
  
  
• The cemetery wall pieces look good once punched out, but the punch process itself is causing some odd effects on the boards. We may need these pieces to be pre-punched or the process revised, and will work with the manufacturer on a solution.
  
  

  

  
  
  
• All of the standees in this sample have been plotter-punched, rather than produced with the final tooling. That means we can’t yet fully test punch quality or final finish. We’ll be asking for another sample proof using actual production dies before mass production begins.
  
  

  

  
  
  
• The manufacturer made some unauthorized changes to our prop dielines—especially for open doors—that we don’t agree with. We’re pushing back to get these reverted to our approved designs.
  
  

• Our biggest immediate task is to check every piece, verify counts, and ensure all content is present and correct. Given the scale, this will likely take most of the coming week. Accuracy now means a smoother production run for everyone later.
  
  

Open Issues & Manufacturer Communication