# DLM Status?



## Desert_Modeler (Jun 2, 2010)

Does anyone know the status of DLM (Don's Light and Magic)?

His website is still active but there was no response to an email.

Wasn't there a thread here that mentioned he's getting out of the business? 

I'm starting the TOS Bridge kit and his replacement parts look very good but if he's dropped out, I'll have to do a lot of surgery on the kit's parts...

Any help would be appreciated...


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## GSaum (May 26, 2005)

Desert_Modeler said:


> Does anyone know the status of DLM (Don's Light and Magic)?
> 
> His website is still active but there was no response to an email.
> 
> ...


I emailed him last week and he responded same day.


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## Owtw1997 (Jun 8, 2005)

Yeah, I ordered last month and it took two emails, but I've received everything I ordered and I'm happy with the quality. I guess he's really busy?


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

I ordered something from him last week and he hasn't responded to my emails. I just sent him a second, maybe he's really busy.


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## TIEbomber1967 (May 21, 2012)

There have been several threads now inquiring about Don's store, here's one:
http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/viewtopic.php?t=116172

After reading several of these threads here's my take on it...
It seems that if you place an order, and email him concerning the order he will respond.
If you inquire about ordering something he has in stock, he may respond.
If you inquire about items he is discontinuing, he probably won't respond.
The word around the net is that Don is either trimming the business down and only carrying a few items that are good sellers, or he's getting out entirely. No one seems to know for sure.

If there's something you want from his store, just order it.
If it's in stock you'll get it, orders are still going out.
Don't wait too long.


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

I've placed several orders with Don over this last year. Delivery has been perhaps a bit slower recently than in years past (orders used to arrive in 2 weeks, now maybe 3-5 weeks) but Don always delivers. 

I definitely agree with not waiting too long. For example, I ordered my gotta have photoetch set for the Enterprise D phasers (http://www.modelermagic.com/?p=21802) to make sure that I got a set. Now it has been removed from his web site and presumably no longer available.


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

I've already ordered, just haven't received any update as to when it will ship.


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

tardis1916 said:


> I've already ordered, just haven't received any update as to when it will ship.


On my orders, sometimes Don would send a shipping notice and other times not. One order took around 4 weeks to ship but Don was in the process of casting additional parts. I sent an e-mail at 3 weeks asking for a status and he let me know that was the case.


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

From his Facebook page on May 8th:




> I don't know exactly what happened to Star Trek modeling building back in April but after reviewing my sales accounts down to $25 this last week...apparently everyone has the parts they need for their Star Trek models. My work is done... June 1 is the last day of full time operations at Don's Light and Magic.


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## TIEbomber1967 (May 21, 2012)

The business is his, he can do with it as he wants, but what does "the last day of full time operations" really mean?
Is he closing up shop?
Is he getting another job, and DLM work will be relegated to weekends and ocassional evenings?
Is he not making any more parts, and selling the stock he has left?
Is he simply reducing the numbers of hours he's spending on DLM?
I appreciate your posting his message from facebook, but it doesn't tell us any more than we already know.


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

It would be really nice of him to just come out and say what he really means. I'm patient to an extent but having a two way conversation is very helpful.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

swhite228 said:


> From his Facebook page on May 8th: I don't know exactly what happened to Star Trek modeling building back in April but after reviewing my sales accounts down to $25 this last week...apparently everyone has the parts they need for their Star Trek models. My work is done... June 1 is the last day of full time operations at Don's Light and Magic.


 April? Taxes happened. A lot of people who normally would get a healthy return ended up having to pay even more. That and ObamaCare. Not intended as a political statement. Just the facts. Sales on everything almost always dip after tax time. A lot of folks I know have complained that they did not get a return this year and had to pay much more and sacrifice their purchasing power. Far less disposable income = fewer models and aftermarket parts sold immediately following tax time. Just like everything else.


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

tardis1916 said:


> It would be really nice of him to just come out and say what he really means. I'm patient to an extent but having a two way conversation is very helpful.


I think this is fair and while I am a big fan of Don's products he could do a better job at communicating anticipated shipping dates. Personally, I think any seller (big or small) really ought to let the buyer know the anticipated shipping date within 5 days of payment. 

If it's going to take 3 weeks, tell me. No news is not always good news.


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## tardis1916 (Mar 24, 2004)

He finally answered my email, I think it's important what is in the subject line. I think he has certain things filtered as I was forwarding the paypal receipt email and leaving the subject the same. This time I changed it to Order update request and got an immediate response that they would be shipping by the end of the week. :wave:


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## John F (May 31, 2001)

I placed an order with DLM last week, got an email yesterday that it would ship 
mid-week.


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## butch101 (Jun 27, 2006)

I got my parts a bit more than a month after ordering. no big deal. The quality of his parts is wonderful!!!


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## FlyingBrickyard (Dec 21, 2011)

It seems he may now be completely out of the business - though it's difficult to say for sure.

Despite his "Resign and Retire?" 'open letter' of June 25th on his site (the wording of which wasn't definitive), he still had items up for sale and a functional cart. So I placed an order on August 8.

I've ordered from Don before and have experienced initial periods of silence and 4-5 week delivery timeframes, but he has _always_ responded to inquiries quickly. Except this time. As of Aug 21 I still hadn't received anything beyond the Paypal order receipt when the order was placed, so I emailed Don directly to request an update/express hope that he was still in business.

I didn't hear back, so I sent another email on Aug 29 to inquire again. As of this morning (Sept 2), I still hadn't heard a peep, so I reluctantly contacted Paypal to request a refund. Paypal created a claim and told me the seller had 10 days to respond, but within 90 minutes I received a follow up email from Paypal saying the claim had been closed because Don had refunded the money in full.

While I'm glad I got my money back, I'd have much preferred to give Don more of my business.

I'm both disappointed and surprised there was a sub-two hour response to a claim request, but in the span of 25 days and 2 emails he couldn't spare a few seconds just to say, "Hey, things are backed up, but I'm still in business" or "Sorry, I really have thrown in the towel, let me refund the order."

In summary, I'm still not entirely sure of his current status, but while he isn't currently responding to inquiries, he does appear to be processing refunds. I'm not quite sure what to make of all of that, but despite this experience I wish him the best and hope he stays in business - and if he gets things back on track I'd be happy to order again.

For now though, I'm not sure he's still at it.


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## TIEbomber1967 (May 21, 2012)

I ordered from him in mid-July, and on the 29th of August I received an email saying my order had shipped. I might see it today!
So... is Don still in business? I think so. Until his site goes down, I'll assume he's still open for business. Perhaps things are taking longer than usual. Perhaps he keeps less stock on hand, and is casting things as they're ordered. Perhaps people just need to be more patient.


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## MHaz (Aug 18, 1999)

I talked to Don a couple weeks ago, and he's discouraged, but still in business until the end of the year. So if there's something you want, better buy it now!


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## FlyingBrickyard (Dec 21, 2011)

MHaz said:


> I talked to Don a couple weeks ago, and he's discouraged...


That's a shame, because he makes great stuff. Though he's not doing himself any favors with that "open letter" posted on his page followed by complete silence when contacted. 



> Perhaps things are taking longer than usual. Perhaps he keeps less stock on hand, and is casting things as they're ordered. Perhaps people just need to be more patient.


Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. I understand, and expected all of those things, and even mentioned them in my emails to Don. I even outright stated I wasn't in a hurry and didn't mind if it took several weeks, just to please let me know if he was still in business. If he was, I would be happy to wait as long as it took.

But I heard _absolutely nothing_ in return, when he claims to "catch all emails" and respond within 36-48 hours (and always had in the past). Coupled with his 'I think I'm quitting' screed on the main page, and an apparently defunct facebook page, what else is left to conclude?

So we can "perhaps" all we like, but what is certain is that Don should have responded, even if it was just a form letter. 

I'd have been fine finding some generic public posting somewhere online saying, "Hey, slowing down, I'm still at it, but it might take months." But there was nothing to be found anywhere. I made every effort to figure out what was going on, including attempts to contact the man directly, before reasonably assuming he'd folded up shop like he said he would. 

So while I'm sympathetic, it's entirely on him. I can't imagine it would have taken any longer to reply to one of my emails over 25 days than it did to respond to Paypal and refund my purchase, and it would have avoided this mess.

I still wish him the best, hope he gets over his discouragement, and may even resubmit the order in light of this information - but if slow sales and Paypal disputes are discouraging, don't post "I'm quitting" to your page and then go dark for a month when customers try to contact you.


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## thrownout27 (Nov 26, 2018)

I placed an order back at the end of July and have not heard anything as of yet after multiple attempts and 7 weeks plus. It would seem reasonable to me that if the site is up and that PayPal is accepting the money that we are still functioning. Does anyone know anything new here?


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## MHaz (Aug 18, 1999)

I talked to Don a couple weeks ago - his health hasn't been the best. He had what he described as stroke-like symptoms and some bad circulation issues that KOed him for a few weeks. He said he's trying to get all his orders taken care of, but he doesn't have much energy lately. I'll reach out to him to see if he can at least post on FB and some forums what everyone's order status is.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Thanks for the update. Wish him our best and a quick recovery. :cheers2:


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

I'm looking to get a couple of individual pieces for my 537 refit build. Is he wiling to sell say the impulse piece by itself or does he only do package sales??


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

irishtrek said:


> I'm looking to get a couple of individual pieces for my 537 refit build. Is he wiling to sell say the impulse piece by itself or does he only do package sales??


Irishtrek, PM me. I might have a solution for you in storage.


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## MHaz (Aug 18, 1999)

irishtrek said:


> I'm looking to get a couple of individual pieces for my 537 refit build. Is he wiling to sell say the impulse piece by itself or does he only do package sales??


Here are some options for pretty much everything Don makes. Much as I like Don, and would buy from him again in a heartbeat, there are other options available now...

Shapeways Store: Starship Sprockets

Shapeways Store: WileyCoyote's Workshop

Shapeways Store: Worksmith3D


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

That second link has the 3 pieces I'm looking for, but they are too expensive especially the deflector piece. But it's good to know us builders have options.
Charonjr I'm looking for the photon torpedo, the impulse clear piece and as stated the deflector dish, so if you have them post the info and Ill PM you other wise I may go with what federation models has on their web site.


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## Hobby Dude (Aug 7, 2019)

You building the NCC-1701 refit? Nice! That's my favorite enterprise! Let us see your progress.....:grin2:


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Right now I'm just looking for some more accurate parts. And what I'm building is the old AMT 537 scale refit not the POlar Lights 1000 scale.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

If you are looking for detail parts, don't forget the veterans, the men who started it all.

http://federationmodels.com/

JT-Graphics.com

Starship Modeler - Your Complete Information Source for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Real Space Scale Modeling


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## MikeUrvand (Feb 25, 2021)

Just stumbled upon this thread when I did a google search. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially a couple of years late, but Don Matthys (AKA DLM) passed away on 11/16/2019. 









Donald Lee Matthys


Donald “Don” Lee Matthys, 64, of Fargo, ND, passed away on Saturday, November 16, 2019, in Sanford Health Hospital, Fargo, ND. Don was born on February 15, 1955, to Leo and Mildred (Jensen) Matthys in Moorhead, MN. He graduated from Moorhead High School and was a member of the ROTC program. He...




www.wrightfuneral.com


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

MikeUrvand said:


> Just stumbled upon this thread when I did a google search. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially a couple of years late, but Don Matthys (AKA DLM) passed away on 11/16/2019.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We all know he passed away a year or so ago. If you'll take a look at the date this thread was started....


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Uuugghh, sounds like he was sick for quite awhile, sorry for your loss.


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