Most custom orders ask you to pay and then wait quietly for a box. Ours has a checkpoint in the middle: you see a digital proof of your figure and approve it before anything is built. That one step shapes the whole timeline, so it is worth knowing exactly where it sits and what it asks of you.
Here is the full sequence. End to end it is usually 8–10 days.
Day 0 — you order
What you do. Pick the figure, choose the pack (figure only, gift box, or acrylic display case), upload your photo on the product page and add your notes. The photo is attached to the order itself, so it cannot get separated from it in an email thread later.
What to put in the notes. The details that have to survive. Hair colour and parting side, the outfit you want, glasses shape, a pet's markings and which side they are on, the plate text for a car, the name or date for the base. One or two specific lines are more useful than a paragraph of description.
What you get. An order confirmation by email. Everything that follows arrives at that address, so if a day goes quiet it is worth a look in the spam folder.
What we do. Before any design work starts, someone opens your reference and decides whether it can be built from. If the face is a silhouette, if the group photo has one blurred person in it, if the pet is a dark shape with no face — we email you and ask for another. Nothing is charged for that and no revision is used up. It costs a day. The photo guide exists mostly to stop this step happening at all.
Days 1–2 — design
What you do. Nothing, unless we ask a question.
What we do. Translate the photo into something buildable. A figure is a stylised rebuild rather than a scan — a standing one is about 12 cm tall and made from a small number of broad pieces — so this stage is a series of decisions about what carries the likeness at that size: silhouette and proportions, hair shape and colour, the outfit as blocks of colour, the pose, the base, and whatever the product adds on top of the figure (a frame holding the printed photo, a bouquet, a graduation cap, a car).
Days 2–3 — your proof arrives
What you get. A digital proof by email showing the figure as it will be built: proportions, colours, the printed facial details, the base, and any frame or prop that comes with it.
What you do. Check it properly, once, against a list. It takes three minutes and saves a round:
- Hair — colour, parting side, length, fringe.
- Skin tone.
- Outfit — is it the right garment, in the right colour?
- Glasses — present or not, and the frame shape.
- Facial hair.
- Pets — ear shape, coat length, markings on the correct side.
- Any text — name, date or plate, read character by character.
- Duos and groups — who stands where, relative heights, who is holding what.
Then reply. Revisions at this stage are free and unlimited, and nothing enters production until you say the word.
What useful feedback looks like. Specific and comparative beats general:
- "The hair is too dark — closer to the second photo — and the parting is on his left, not his right."
- "She never wears navy. Make the top cream, like the jumper in the reference."
- "Glasses should be round wire frames, not rectangular."
- "The white patch is on his chest, not his front leg."
- "The plate should read ABC 123, with the space."
- "He is about a head taller than her; right now they are the same height."
The hardest note to act on is "it doesn't look like him." If that is genuinely the feeling, tell us which part is closest and which part is furthest off, and we will work from there.
The one thing that moves the deadline. The proof stage runs at the speed of the conversation. The 8–10 day figure assumes the proof is settled in a round or two, so if you are ordering for a fixed date, replying the same day is the single most effective thing you can do.
Approval — production starts
What you do. Tell us it is approved.
What happens. The build begins, and not a moment before. That is why there are no surprises at the end — and also why a custom order cannot simply be returned once building has started, since it exists only because you asked for it. If you realise something is wrong right after approving, message us immediately; whether we can still change it depends on how far the build has gone.
About 3 days — build, finish, check, pack
The figure is assembled and hand-finished, checked against the proof you approved, then packed. If you chose the gift box or the acrylic display case, it is added here.
3–5 days — in transit
Shipping is free worldwide and tracked, with no minimum spend. Where a country charges import duties, those are collected on delivery and are the recipient's responsibility — worth remembering if the parcel is going straight to the person being surprised rather than to you.
Day 8 to 10 — it arrives
Open it next to the proof you approved. They should match; that is the entire point of the proof existing. If they do not — or if anything arrived damaged or defective — contact us within 14 days of delivery and we will remake it free or refund you in full. Photographing the parcel and the figure before doing anything else makes that conversation short.
The timeline at a glance
- Day 0 — order placed, photo uploaded, notes added. We check the photo is workable.
- Days 1–2 — design.
- Days 2–3 — proof emailed to you. Free, unlimited revisions.
- On approval — production begins, and only then.
- About 3 days — build, hand finish, quality check, packing.
- 3–5 days — free tracked worldwide shipping.
- Day 8–10 — delivered, with 14 days from then to raise a problem.
Two questions people ask before ordering
Can I change the figure after approving the proof? Ask straight away and we will tell you honestly where the build is. Before approval you can change anything, as many times as you like; after approval it depends on timing.
What if the proof never feels right? Keep going. There is no cap on revisions at the proof stage, and we would rather spend another day on the design than build something that ends up in a cupboard.
If you want to make the first three days count, the biggest lever is the photo you upload on day zero — how to choose the right photo covers what makes a reference easy to work from. When you are ready, the figures are here.