Merchandise

Main article: Annual Report
See also: Articles on Axanar's commercial operations
Website Sells Axanar Merchandise for Big Potential Profits
Bookseller Pulls Axanar Merchandise

Axanar Productions operates an organization that goes far beyond the production of its eponymous film, expanding to the sale of entire lines of merchandise, including posters, apparel, artwork, Blu-rays and model kits of the starships featured in Prelude to Axanar.

Access to Axanar’s Donor Store is available for a nominal donation. Once inside, a wide variety of products is on offer, each for payment of another “donation.”

In a 2015 post on the Hobby Talk forum, Axanar director Robert Meyer Burnett outlined the production’s plans for a full line of merchandise:

As industry professionals, it’s our desire to bring back what drove our fandom when we were young and first discovered Trek…namely, connecting with other fans. … In addition to the film itself, we also set out to make all the supporting merchandise we as fans want to see…including model kits, apparel, literary tie-ins, etc.¹⁾ [emphasis added]

FOR SALE The Ares is only one of several starship model kits offered at Axanar’s “Donor Store,” operated by its for-profit fulfillment service, Ares Digital.

Burnett’s post followed another that questioned the legality of Axanar’s merchandising efforts:

Over on Starshipmodeler, I questioned how the producers of Axanar can licence kits to Starcrafts for production, when Axanar has no licence from CBS/Paramount. … Someone claiming to be one of the Axanar lawyers told me I didn’t know what I was talking about and that it was all legit. That slap down certainly turned me off this whole production. I think the Axanar producers are wandering into a very grey legal area, and hence their offer to give you a model if you support their non-profit production, rather than just sell it to you. But really, you can call it whatever you want if it gives you heartburn. Pay $X, and they will send you a model.²⁾ [emphasis added]

From the Axanar Donor Store (operated by Ares Digital):

• The “USS Ares T-shirt” is a black shirt priced at $21. It features the USS Ares patch design on the back.
• The “Do Not Fear T-shirt” is a black shirt priced at $21. It features the Axanar logo on the front. On the back is a quote by Admiral Marcus Ramirez from Prelude to Axanar, “I DO NOT FEAR THE KLINGON EMPIRE.”
• The “WonderCon Exclusive Prelude to Axanar T-shirt” is a red shirt priced at $30. Printed on the front is a movie poster style image designed by Ronnie Gamble.
• The “AxaMinion T-shirt” is a blue shirt priced at $27. On the back is the Axanar logo. On the front is the tagline, “AxaMINION” with a drawing of one of the “minions” from Universal Pictures’ “Despicable Me” series of films. The “minion” is dressed in an Axanar-style Starfleet uniform and holds a phaser from the 1960s Star Trek television series. It was designed by Sean Peter Tourangeau.
• The “Drip Drop T-shirt” is a dark blue shirt priced at $20. On the front is the Axanar logo. On the back is a checklist with the items, “Bigger”, “Faster” and “More Agile” which are all checked off. The final line is, “DRIP…DROP”. The font is reminiscent of the font used for the title sequence of the 1960s Star Trek television series.

HOUSE OF KHARN was one of five blends of Axanar Coffee offered for sale to fund the film.

Axanar partnered with a Libertyville, Ill., coffee company, Hansa Coffee Roasters, on a line of products called Axanar Coffee, which Hansa sold through a website, AxanarCoffee.com, using the Shopify e-commerce platform. A portion of the proceeds from coffee sales went to support the film.

The partnership started out with a gift of coffee from Hansa’s Kevin Kane, followed by Peters’ solicitation. Here is how Kane described it:

We sent 20 pounds of coffee with a custom label to Axanar Productions as a gift. Alec then approached us to do a line of coffee to help with fundraising, this is the result.³⁾ [emphasis added]

Alec Peters and Hansa Coffee’s Kevin Kane at the Treklanta convention in Atlanta, April 2016.

Hansa offered five blends in its Axanar line: House of Kharn (pictured), Andorian Ice, Decaf-6, Izarian Gold and a discontinued Ramirez Espresso.⁴⁾

In the wake of the lawsuit, the site has since been taken down but is still viewable via Archive.org.

Posters and artwork

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In late April 2016, five autographed 8“x10” photos of some of the cast of Prelude to Axanar were made available on the donor store, including Richard Hatch, Gary Graham, Kate Vernon, JG Hertzler, and Tony Todd. They are all listed at $20 except for the photo of Tony Todd which is listed at $25. Also, a pack of all five autographed photos is listed at $100. The images of Richard Hatch (as Commander Kharn), Gary Graham (as Ambassador Soval), and JG Hertzler (as Captain Travis) are the same as those included in the Amended Complaint filed April 11, 2016.

Axanar released a series of patches in the donor store and as perks. Artwork for many of the patches can be found at the Axanar web site.

• The Ares Class Development Patch On the upper rim of the patch, the text “STRATEGIC STARSHIP DEVELOPMENT BOARD” appears. The lower rim reads “ARES CLASS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT”. It is $8 in the donor store.
• On the Embroidered USS Ares Shoulder Patch, the U.S.S. Ares logo appears prominently as well as the text “NCC-1650” on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The Embroidered USS Ajax Patch (small-size) shows the USS Ares logo on it along with “U.S.S. AJAX” and “NCC-1652 on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The Embroidered USS Hercules patch (small-size) has the USS Hercules logo, “U.S.S. HERCULES” on the upper rim and “HCC-1667” on the lower rim. It is $6.50 in the donor store.
• The Starfleet Procurement Patch has “STARFLEET PROCUREMENT” on the upper rim and “Firepower through superior Fundraising”. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The Starfleet Disaster Response Patch has the text “STARFLEET DISASTER RESPONSE” on the upper rim and “Unity, Vigilance, Compassion” on the lower rim.
• The Starfleet First Fleet Patch has “STARFLEET FIRST FLEET” on the upper rim and “Strength Through Unity” on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The StarFleet Second Fleet Patch is styled after the Vulcan IDIC, has “STARFLEET SECOND FLEET” on the upper rim and text in an unknown script on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The StarFleet Third Fleet Patch has “STARFLEET THIRD FLEET” on the upper rim and text in an unknown script on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• The StarFleet Fourth Fleet Patch has “STARFLEET FOUTH FLEET” on the upper portion of the patch.
• The Fifth Fleet Embroidered Patch has the the text, “STARFLEET FIFTH FLEET” on the upper rim and “First to the Fight!” on the lower rim. It is $8 in the donor store.
• A patch with “AXANAR VETERAN” on the upper rim and “ARCANIS CAMPAIGN” on the lower rim.
• A patch with “STAR TREK AXANAR” on the upper rim and “FEDCON AWAY MISSION” on the lower rim.
• A Set of all 3 Embroidered Patches/Prelude to Axanar is also available at the donor store for $22 which includes the Ares Class Development Patch, Fifth Fleet Embroidered Patch and Embroidered USS Ares Shoulder Patch.

From the Ares Digital Axanar Donor Store: Klingon and Starfleet ships featured in Prelude to Axanar.

Scale Model Kits:

• USS Ares 1/1000 Scale Model Kit for $84.95
• Klingon D6 1/1000 Scale Model Kit for $84.95
• USS Korolev 1/1000 Scale Model Kit for $84.95
• USS Ares 1/2500 Scan Model Kit for $46.00
• USS Geromino resin model kit for $96.65

Metal Minis:

• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Ares miniature kit for $12
• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Korolev miniature kit for $12
• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Geronimo miniature kit for $14
• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Xenophon miniature kit for $12
• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Magellan miniature kit for $10
• Metal Minis: 1/3,125 scale Shuttle (set of 3) minature kit for $10

A line of Axanar-related publications is part of Peters’ announced merchandising plan.

Concept art for The Four Years War anthology planned as another Axanar merchandise product.

Peters announced this book on Facebook:

I cannot tell you all how excited I am to present to you a project that you will all love. “Axanar: The Four Years War Anthology.” A collection of 6 short stories, one on each character in Prelude to Axanar, written by current Star Trek authors and NY Times best-selling scifi authors.⁵⁾ The stories will be set during the time of the war and help inform each character who you will see in Axanar.^{6) 7)}

However, not all those authors remain committed to the project. One, James Swallow (“Star Trek: Titan”), disavowed Peters’ claims⁸⁾ that he was writing one of the anthology stories.

To clarify this point: I was approached to write a story for a Four Years War anthology, but as the project was an unlicensed work not approved by CBS or Pocket Books, I declined.⁹⁾ [emphasis added]

Peters also discussed plans to fund the books through Kickstarter campaigns:

This will be done through a Kickstarter. My guess is the limited edition, numbered hardcover, slipcased edition will be about $50 (similar items go for $75 that I, as a book collector buy). There will also be a signed/numbered edition of 100, signed by all 6 authors. All funds go to the production of the book, with anything else going towards the production of Axanar.¹⁰⁾

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See also: Axanar Scrambles to Ship Perks and Axanar Launches New Fulfillment Platform

Ares Digital is a for-profit company created by Axanar Productions to process and ship merchandise (known as “perks”) to donors of any project’s Kickstarter, Indiegogo and private donation campaigns. Ares operates a fulfillment website, including the Donor Store, on behalf of Axanar.

Terry McIntosh made the following statement about the funding of Ares Digital on March 9, 2016

I cannot speak for anything else – not my department – except for Ares Digital. NO DONOR FUNDS have been spent on Ares Digital. I’ve paid for any expenses out of my own pocket, including hours and hours of my time to create it, server, software, and co-location costs, and the data pipe/bandwidth costs, which are a recurring expense. Period.¹¹⁾

With his resignation in May 2016, McIntosh said that completion of the Ares Digital platform was halted. Axanar fulfillment director Diana Kingsbury announced in June 2016 that the software would soon be defunct, replaced by something new being created from scratch by a “new tech team.”

In September 2016, Axanar announced the launch of ”Ares Digital 2.0,“ which was built by its new chief technologist, Bill Watters.

AxaMonitor‘s analysis lists all the perks that were offered by the Axanar Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns, with the small subset of rewards that have actually been manufactured but whose delivery has been delayed for two years.

Axanar’s Donor Store is behind a password-protected paywall, accessible only to people who contributed to the production’s Kickstarter or Indiegogo crowdfunding campaigns, or via direct donation.

FOR $60, “retroactive donors” get a Blu-ray of Prelude to Axanar and other merchandise.

Some time after the lawsuit was filed, Axanar’s ongoing Indiegogo campaign was suspended, but the production has continued to solicit donations on its main website and Ares Digital portal. As of this writing,¹²⁾ Axanar continued to accept donations, with $10 offering entry to the Donor Store, where contributors can purchase additional merchandise, with proceeds going to the production.

"Retroactive Donor Packages" for the already completed Prelude to Axanar continued to be advertised on the main website. They are bundled sets of merchandise, accessible for purchase after the $10 donation to access Ares Digital.

The packages offer Prelude DVDs, Blu-rays, soundtrack CDs, patches, posters and other merchandise.

Buried in a Facebook thread on another topic, Axanar staffer Terry McIntosh warned donors the lawsuit and increased international postal rates may prevent creating and shipping supporters their promised merchandise:

Terry McIntosh
Almost forgot to mention this, as I had intended. It is highly unlikely that we’re going to be doing multiple or partial shipments of perks for the feature round, save perhaps sending out patches (since those can be included in a standard letter envelope and don’t require more than a stamp). The price of postage, especially with the recent and significant increase in international postage, just make that cost-prohibitive and we learned a very painful lesson on that with Prelude to Axanar’s perks that we won’t be repeating.

If there is ‘good news’ with the litigation, then we’ll proceed with creating the film and then all of the other perks can, of course, be made from it. If there is not ‘good news’ … but with that said, we’re choosing to remain very optimistic.^{13) 14)} [emphasis added]

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