G.I. Joe Retaliation Figures!

These look great! I already want all of them. They fit in perfectly with all the current Joes (Pursuit of Cobra and 30th Anniversary) I hope Lady Jaye and Flint turn out great too. The G.I.Joe Trooper is a surprise. I’m totally nerding out. I wasn’t expecting to see these before Toyfair.

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These are Sesame Street protos from Toy Fair 2004 or 2005. They show Series 1 in it’s entirety without accessories. The original plan was to have each figure come with a piece of Sesame Street until the whole neighborhood was built. The idea was scrapped before they (almost) went into production. It was said the playset pieces were going to be distributed through mail order or other means. Arghhhh! *tear*

Unmade Sesame

One of my favorite toy lines of all time is The Muppets by the late great Palisades Toys. When that line was cancelled due to lack of retailer support they tried their damdest to start a Sesame Street line to compliment it. Well, it didn’t happen and that stands as the most disappointing moment in all my years of toy collecting. That was back in 2005-2006 and I still haven’t let it go. There was so much potential for awesome and the prototypes looked so good, that I still have a bit of hope in the back of head that one day a brave company will find the protoypes and continue the line. A handful of Series 1 package samples are out there somewhere (Ken Lilly sold them through ebay). They are my holy grail.

      

Ken Lilly, the product manager for Palisades released a lot of pictures of the work in progress on the line. Over the next week I’ll be posting what I managed to save. I know it’s not good to focus on the past and what could have been, but with this I just can’t help it. I hope one day I hope I’m a good enough sculptor to make them myself.

The planned line up was as follows:

Series 1

Ernie with Rubber Duckie

Oscar the Grouch with Slimey

Guy Smiley

Two-Headed Monster

Series 2

Elmo

Grover

Bert

Count von Count

Big Bird with Little Bird

123 Sesame Street playset

Unknown Dates

Cookie Monster

Roosevelt Franklin

Yip-Yip Martians

Marauder "Gun Runners"

Marauder “Gun Runners” is another small company (possibly one man), that produces weaponry and some accessories for 3 ¾" figures. Most of what they make is great for G.I. Joe, but it seems to work pretty well with Star Wars and Marvel Universe too. The prices are very good, usually a dollar or so for a gun. He even offers bulk packs for a pretty big discount. It makes it really easy and affordable to equip a squad with matching arms. Another huge plus is the shipping. No matter how much you order, shipping is always $1.45. Insane. 

       

Back near the beginning of the 25th Joe line it was pretty essential to replace the crappy guns Hasbro was packing in. Things have improved greatly since then, but it’s still nice to have lots of options. Marauder’s quality is top notch. Sharp detail, rigid and durable plastic, removable clips and modular attachments

     

Marauder Jon’s 6th series is due out in mid to late April 2012. He’s been posting the reveals on his facebook page. I’ve mirrored the images he’s put up so far after the jump. I’m especially excited by the “Aliens” style flamethrower!

      

       

       

      

      

      

       

      

       

Not the clearest images, but it gives you a good idea. The quality is great in hand.

Masters of The Universe Classics - Fwoosh Reviews

     

For the uninitiated, Masters of The Universe Classics (MOTUC) is a modern take on the classic figures from the 80’s. The character designs remain mostly unchanged, but the quality, proportions, detail, paint and articulation have all been ramped up to modern day standards (and beyond).

     

I have faint memories of He-Man and only really had a handful of the later figures, so nostalgia isn’t a major factor in my love of these. They are just crazy characters that ooze with unhinged creativity and campiness. That combined with extremely high quality production makes for an irresistible product. I’ll probably post more about MOTUC in the future because they are one of the main lines I currently collect, but this post is to highlight something else.

Action figure reviews are plentiful online, they are usually informative, but not always that interesting. Matthew K on The Fwoosh goes the extra mile and really makes these figures shine. He builds increasingly elaborate dioramas, lights them with Eternian flare and poses the figures in dynamic interactions. His shots make me appreciate these figures even more.

I’ve linked to all the reviews he’s done so far after the jump. Unfortunately he seems to have slowed up a bit. Hopefully we’ll see the next installment soon. I personally can’t wait to see him shoot the Sorceress when she comes our way in February.

Icarius

Hurricane Hordak

Man-E-Faces

Megator

Queen Marlena

Clawful

The Faceless One

Battleground Teela

Catra

Panthor

Battle Armor Skeletor

King Hssss

Bow

Palace Guards

Vikor

Buzz-Off

Grizzlor

Roboto

Chief Carnivus

Whiplash

Count Marzo

She-Ra

Keldor

Optikk

Evil-Lynn

Moss-Man

       

Glyos

                                           

Onell Design is an independent toy company that produces a build-able figure line called Glyos. There’s a growing roster of characters that inhabit the Glyos Star System. You can choose from about 14 basic styles (some with shared parts), that can all interconnect through a plug and socket system. Each release features these characters in different colour schemes so you can mix and match to make crazy new combinations. Once the figures from a release sell out they are gone. There’s a few standards that get restocked, but mostly you have to get what you want soon after the drop or you may miss out.

It’s hard to explain how much fun these figures are. When I get a new package I go into a trance. Time drops away while I pop them apart, trying different combos until I have a bunch of dynamic new characters standing in front of me. Most of the parts are abstract enough that they can be used for a foot, but they could also easily serve as a stock to a gun or a rocket booster. There’s been a few instances where I was just fiddling with my extra parts and realized I had an awesome new character hiding in there. It’s extremely satisfying and a great quick fix for an aspiring toy designer. They really make you feel like you’re designing new characters.

I’ll be posting more Glyos stuff, including my own builds, in the near future. Just search “glyos” on my blog and everything will come up.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the Glyos world. There’s extra part sets, in-scale vinyl vehicles, mini games, comics and even another line of characters by a second creator that uses the same system. Check it all out through their website at:

www.onelldesign.com 

New Blog!

Hello all! I’m Laird. This blog is for everything that I think is great. Most of that will be toy related. I’ve been itching to have a place to nerd out about my collecting and showcase what I think is tops in the industry. There will also be little previews of some of my toy releases leading up to the launch of Big Trubble (my designer toy label).

I wasn’t going to do this, but here’s an early pic of our first bust for BIG TRUBBLE.

 Sculpt and Design by Phil Woollam. Refined, Molded and Casted by Laird Henderson

Progress

My personal toy progress lately has been a bit slow and has jumped around a bit. I did get pretty far into a sculpt for the prey. I sculpted it out of Willow Products 360 wax, and while it was nice to sculpt straight from wax it was a little difficult to work with and I think my sculpt ended up more static and rigid than I had imagined, so he's going to get re-sculpted. Willow has formulated a few new sculpting waxes that are more forgiving. They stick to themselves better and hold heat longer, so that'll make dynamic forms much easier. I have some samples en route right now.

I have a good reason for neglecting my personal projects though. I've been working on some commercial jobs. First up was some small hand sculpts for imm Living, a new industrial design company started by some people I knew from OCAD. The function of them are USB sticks and the form is hands in various hand signs. I made the two popular gang signs "East" and "West". They're currently being produced and will be available about mid February.

The second project was a series of 6" figures for a WWF commercial. The spot tracks the progress of the production of a compact flourescent bulb and all the pollution it causes along the way. The figures are the people that are blissfully helping it along. This project was a real push. They wanted 6 figures in two weeks. The only way to accomplish that was to sculpt them out of polymer clay so I could bake them and skip any sort of mold making process. Also I had to keep my sculpting time down to two or three days each. I normally wouldn't rush that much, but they really needed me and it was a great project and opportunity. Tara handled all of the painting again and really made them look great, hiding some of the rough spots created by rushing. I was also able to pull in Phil Woollam to make the light bulb prop and the larger scale hand to hold it, as well Ian Langohr to sculpt the panda logo. It was hard work but it was fun and rewarding. Here's the completed spot. This is the director's cut. You might run into the shorter more upbeat one on TV. The longer one shows more of my figures, so I like it better.



I also finally have a website. All thanks goes to James for hooking me up. It's very simple right now. We have some ideas for something that looks and functions nicer, but this does the job for now. You can see more shots of the hands, some more shots of the WWF figures as well as download my portfolio and resume.

www.lairdhenderson.com

As for the future, I'm currently developing some new products for imm Living, continuing production on Society of Hunters and doing some experiments for a new line of stylized wrestlers called U.L.O.C.

Stay tuned!

P.S. I apologize for the ugly webcam window. I switched from Stickam to Blogtv. It's a much better community. Stickam is full of bratty little kids and Blogtv is much more diversified. A window that doesn't fit my sidebar is a small price to pay.

Whoa

I just stumbled across this and was very impressed. It's called Patch Together.

www.patchtogether.com

I've seen their prototypes posted on message boards lately, but didn't clue into what they were. They're a toy company (of the designer variety) that set up an online community for the purpose of gathering toy concepts. They have an ongoing competition that allows the members to upload their designs, other members vote on them and the winners get their toy produced in a limited run. They also get paid $500 plus 5% commission, not great, but it is a good starting point. Most of my designs are too complicated for their production. They seem to only produce basic forms with only a few points of articulation. If I can come up with something a bit simpler and an idea I don't have a strong attachment to, I might try my luck. There's some legal and copyright questions that I have regarding the whole situation, but anything I'd submit would be something I'd be willing to let go, just in case. Mostly it's just really encouraging to see a community full of toy designers (some look to have some promise and creativity too).

Society of Hunters

Speaking of monsters, I've had some in my head for a while. As I said I'm giving Persons a break for now, so I'm hoping these will be a change of pace. The basic premise of this line is big monsters that eat little monsters. The big monsters are all from different species. They've formed an elite hunting club in order to band together and devour a poor helpless little species that inhabits their area. The hunters vary wildly in their physiology, but the prey is one group. They show that they are part of the Society of Hunters by wearing ties with the organizations emblem embroidered on it. They'll have some interesting functions to help them with the hunting and consumption tasks, but I'll get into that later. Here's a few sketches I've done of them so far.





Sketching is unusual for me, I usually go from my head, but it seemed necessary because I wanted some truly original characters. I might have fallen into some cliche if I wasn't careful. They'll transform quite a bit once I get sculpting them, especially that third one, he needs some work.

I can't remember if I got the whole tie thing from Monster Factory's Mr. Jefferson, or whether I came up with it myself then just happened upon him. Hopefully what I'm doing is different enough and it's not seen as a rip off. Looking at all three now, there's quite a bit of Monster Factory in there, I'll have to twist some stuff around in the sculpt to avoid that.

I'm going to get a start on the little cute guy soon. So look for pics in the next couple weeks. I might be on my cam sculpting too >>>

Monster Factory


This is a weird review to start on. Historically I’ve been an action figure collector and a fairly mainstream one at that, so this isn’t an ideal representation of my main interests. It’s always been G.I. Joes, Superheroes and Sci-Fi stuff for as long as I can remember. A couple years back I discovered the Kidrobot site and realized there was an art toy movement starting to emerge. While I find a lot of it lacking good character design or creative concept, a few pieces seemed to float to the top. Strangely enough these were plush. The bizarre, simple characters from Friends With You were appealing and, yes, cute. They seem to be self aware regarding their cuteness and didn’t over do it with too much pink, stupid smiles or big dough eyes. Ugly Dolls are another early example of this formula.


I first heard of Monster Factory while checking the Magic Pony website. Magic Pony regularly has art shows and product launches and Monster Factory were having an event celebrating their latest series of Monsters. I followed some links, did some googling and found their site. Their monsters took all the best aspects of modern plush, mixed them together and pushed it to new heights. Being so entrenched in action figures it took me a while to actually take the plunge and buy some.


Finally I used Valentines Day as an excuse, buying a heart themed character for Tara, and two of my long time faves for myself. I decided to go to their studio myself and pick them, so I could make some hands on decisions. As soon as I picked one up I knew these were something different. It sounds odd, but they have a presence when you’re around them. This is amplified when you touch them because of their superior construction and packed stuffing, you can tell they’re well made and haven’t skimped on materials. There's a distinct weight and firmness to them. (As a side note and point of contrast I went to Magic Pony soon after to handle the Friends With You “Malfi” and was instantly turned off, he was floppy, had crumpled seams and his pleather material was cracking) I was hooked and acquired a small gang over the next couple months.



It was also very inspiring to see a company producing toys, by hand, in Toronto and still managing to thrive. They have a fair sized space in downtown Toronto in a building reserved for small entrepreneurial businesses. That scenario is exactly where I’d like my professional career to go and seeing it in action was encouraging. Their website is nicely designed and has a lot of good info about the founders, the monsters, a web store, blog, gallery, etc. The only thing I found that it lacked was that it was difficult to get a sense of what the monsters are like in three dimensions because all the product shots are from the front. I’m going to fill in the gaps with some shots I took of my collection, as well as my thoughts on each character.


Even though these are hand made locally, they have gone to great care to make them feel very professional. They come with two tags affixed to them. One is a general Monster Factory tag and the other is a character specific tag with an illustration of the character on one side and a short write up on the other.



I snipped these off but kept them in a safe place. They also have the standard tags sewn into the seam, one is fabric with the logo on one side and other side has info on the fabric, “made in” and washing instructions. The other is a coarser larger tag, which I found to be quite ugly. I carefully snipped this off each of them. It had no relevant info from what I can remember, just that it was made from entirely new materials. I remember reading somewhere that they have been approved by toy safety standards, so these tags are most likely included for legal reasons. I kept the logo tag because I see it as a signature by the creators and would feel strange removing it. Another interesting detail is that when you pick them up from their studio they give them to you in a clear plastic bag. Whether this was out of convenience or not I'm not sure, but it is a smart way to further advertise your product


Mr. Jefferson was the first monster to catch my attention. As you can see in the pictures he has a very simple body structure. There's two structural choices that I find interesting. They chose to have his arms as separate pieces of fabric instead of it just being extensions of his main body shapes. This makes them seem more significant and strong and encourages the handler to hold him by the arms. I also like how his mouth is hinted at with just a seam and a small pink tongue is stitched into it. The tie is of course what really sets this character apart. I have a personal distaste for ties, so seeing a goofy monster in a tie, somewhat making fun of it, is satisfying somehow. The tie is tacked at the back and sides, but tends to ride up in the front making some awkward folds in the fabric at the side tacks. It's minor, but I would have like to see the tie tacked in more places to avoid this. His colour is also a very mature choice. This is something that runs through most of their line. They could have gone for a vibrant green, but they chose something just slightly off and unexpected, which is refreshing. It shows confidence in their design to not rely on the obvious.






Colin is apparently a fan favorite and I can see why. He seems to have the most function and the most complex structure of all the monsters. He's posed in a sitting position which makes a nice contrast to a lot of the other characters. His hoodie is fully functional apart from not being removable. The hood can be pulled down revealing a bald head and his hands fit snugly in his front pocket or can hang at his side. While this is hardly an action feature, providing these functions seems like it gives the character some depth. Most other toys of this sort would have those tacked in place, but they go the extra mile. Another subtlety I only noticed after looking at him for a while is that his torso is slightly twisted so that he isn't perfectly symmetrical. I find this adds just a little bit of life to what could have been a fully static pose. It's a detail that shows a lot of thought was put into him. My only gripe is that he has a flat spot that connects his butt and his back. This shape makes him want to roll back on most surfaces. It's a minor issue that can be compensated for with a little squishing.







Emmitt is one of the larger monsters and is clearly quite a bit of work to produce. He has a lot of different elements to him, from the tuft of hair, the pleather mask to the tattoos. I'm not sure
how they got the tattoos on there, but they seem to be very durable. I really like how he can hold Kevin and Dave under his arms. I doubt this was done on purpose, but its fun and creates a type of group dynamic that I find satisfying when collecting. I have one major crit with Emmitt,
even though he already has a variety of materials, I think he needs one more. His tank top is the same sort of material as the rest of him. While this works well for Colin's hoodie, I find it distracting and unconvincing as a tank top. A regular cotton t-shirt material or even a knit, like a standard "beater", would have been much more satisfying. Also instead of having a standard
seam between his flesh and the shirt, a ribbing similar to Colin's would have separated the shirt better and made it more convincing. I'm sure they had their reasons for not doing this, he is already one of the more expensive monsters, but I think that one more detail would have elevated him from a good to an excellent.





Bradley seems to be a successful experiment with complex form. I'm not a seamstress, but I'm amazed with the planning and calculations or trial and error that must have went into his pattern. If you follow the seams they go in unexpected directions to achieve a very round fluid form. I'm having trouble putting into words his appeal. I think it's the large round head with the features squished to the top, the contrast of the white hair with the deep red body and pursed pink lips...he just looks cocky, or stubborn, or annoying. Most likely someone I wouldn't like in real life. The colour choices are bold and wouldn't have worked with some other monsters, but I think it compliments his cocky personality quite nicely. He doesn't really need it but I could see him wearing a vest, as is he feels a bit naked. One complaint is that his feet slope upwards which makes him want to tip forward, but I usually have him behind another monster that he can lean on. Despite the nakedness and tippy-ness Bradley is one of my top two favorites, I almost bought him before I bought Colin.



Owen is a nice simple design that adds some variety to the group. His basic form is similar to Emmitt, with the big upper body and ape-like arms, but his form is a little more streamlined and extreme with very few seams and much smaller feet. He is also a noticeably different scale. He’s about half as tall as the others but is bigger and bulkier than Kevin and Dave. There’s not much to say about Owen, he doesn’t have any outstanding qualities, but he’s a solid design, I can’t think of any possible improvements. He even stands extremely well because he can lean forward on his fists. I bought him to add some variety in scale and colour and he does that nicely.




Kevin and Dave are almost identical styles, which is something I wanted to avoid, but they make a nice little pairing, so I couldn’t resist. Something about Kevin being the only small one felt too lonely. There’s two major differences between the two; shape and colour. Dave is a blue/grey and Kevin is a deep yellow. Dave’s shape is a little more kidney bean-like and Kevin is a little rounder. Their arms are sewn into the seams at the side of their body but this doesn’t feel cheap because their arms are so small. I’m glad they didn’t go this route with their legs, instead they have the sections extend from the front and back panels. This makes them more tubular and creates a nice fleshy crease when they’re sitting, My only complaint is that their toes tend to point too far backwards and look awkward. A little bit of twisting can lessen the extremity of the angle. Another nice detail that you can’t see from the product shots are little tattoos of their first initial on their butts. Even though the website clearly states their size, I was shocked and pleased to see how small they were. They feel like little kids and the others are the grown ups. Like Owen they add great variety to the group.










A crit for all the characters who have whites in their eyes; I’m not sure why they chose to use dark stitching to attach them. I’m aware that this is some sort of plush esthetic, Ugly Dolls also handle their eyes in this way, but I’m not sure why. It doesn’t bother me to the point of distraction, but I do think they’d look slightly better with white stitches.


A factor I didn’t talk about but that you can see in the scans is the way that they create vague personalities for each individual. This gives you just enough info to start forming a feeling or attachment to the character in your head. One of their more popular characters, Kevin, is probably as successful as he is because they’ve pushed his character a little further. This was done through a series of sketches posted on the website from his sketchbook and a music video depicting his vivid imagination. All of this and much more, including a multitude of other monsters can be seen and purchased at www.monsterfactory.net.