groundhog7s Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 There's an interesting article over on AFI (you can read it here) about how to make your figure line. It looks to be a project that could be cool to follow about someone's dream to make figures of their own property. What relevant to here is the fact that they've chosen Minimates as the medium and have enlisteded Luke's help to get the designs right. It's a nice read and it's always nice to see Luke's geek celebrity status in print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I am really excited for this project, and I hope everything works out for Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 It will be so great if he pulls this off. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 What I find most interesting is that he's mentioned on his site that ZICA Toys is making 3 3/4 scale figures for this line. That's not how I expected his articles to turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr baghead Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) The negative comment: He'll never get these "in stores/on shelves", Tarot has an on going comic, in stores, with a fan base of loyal and ironic fans and it couldn't do it. The positive comment: If he makes these as a personal run like Duff then he's a GENIUS!!! Kickstarts a great way to generate the funds if he uses it like a pre-order system and not asking us to pony up the cash and then give him more money to purchase the product. I can see this happening as a Duff style 'only at their personal site' item and leading the way for a brave new future of super indie-mates funded by their creators. I'm excited for that aspect (I hope he goes over the cost in a future article, I've got a comic no ones heard of too and I'd love some Duff style minimates!) edit: he's distributing them himself, which negates my Tarot comment, I can't see how this couldn't work if it gains enough fan support so I'm behind this 100%!!! Edited May 26, 2011 by dr baghead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Great comments dr. b (as always). I'd love to see more indie-writers try this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I definitely think a self-funded/Kickstarter thing is the way to do this. Once he has a page up, I encourage anyone who is a fan of Minimates to pony up. Showing DST this kind of model can work can only be a good thing for the property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I had an idea I threw at DST a while back about "how would I go about doing this?" Their answer was "I don't know." It was for a line of continual scale animals, super articulated and covered in fleshy fur. How cool would it to have a 6" Tiger with 30 POA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Um, change 'tiger' to 'groundhog' and I'm sold. I think the Kickstart idea is a great one, if anything because it would keep situation's like what's going on with Shocker Toys from happening (you know, for when common business sense isn't available). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 It sounds to me like the concept here is more or less to commission design and production, kind of like how DC Minimates were handled. If that's the case, I don't know if things like Tarot can really serve as a model. If this guy can generate funding,he can sell through his site. (Was Tarot a license that AA acquired?) The Kickstart idea is pretty incredible. A fan-funded Minimate line would be the bees-knees, and I hope that AA would see the value of embracing a virtually zero-risk venture that would send their street cred through the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 My understanding of the Tarot stuff at the time was that they were done almost as a favor to Jim Balent; I doubt that any money changed hands upfront. I agree that Kickstarter is a very smart way of paying for this. I saw a similar idea out there for an action figure line called (I think) Backyard Heroes, that was making a 6" figure that would look basically like Crystar. A pledge of something like $50 gets you the figure and other goodies. Sorry, can't remember where I saw it, so no link. I agree that all of us should pledge to support this. At the very least, we might get some cool custom parts! Luke, if you haven't already, please encourage Bill to come and hang around here with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murderofcrows Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 voice of sanity. as fun as this sounds how many people at what price point would it take to make this really happen? I am going to say in the thousands...we as the hard core community for minimates pass on current released waves. How much capital are you bringing to the table? if you have a huge chunk then you may not need that much support. if you are brining 500 to the table. I would say you are DOA. looking at your designs there are some fun looking characters but nothing that would drive me to buy the whole wave. in fact with the current releases of marvel alone I would pass due to economics and not knowing the source property. sorry to be a down note but you will need some capital to make it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshmonkey Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hey ya all....I thought I'd chime in here. Thanks so much for your support!!! it's great to see all this feedback. I have to be the 1st to say, I'm new to the Minimate world, so I welcome ANY feedback good or bad. I'm really goona have to look to you guys for some insight. Luke has been great so far, he has given me some great perspective. But I also want to hear from Minimate fans. This idea is a LONG shot, and I'm a realist, the chances of this happening are slim to none, but with a little luck and ALOT of support it might be possible. I'll keep the updates coming and please feel free to become a fan on the facebook page. The more fans/feedback I have the more interest I might be able to get from AA/Diamond. Again fan support for this is KEY. As far as the numbers go. Most factories I know of have minimum runs of 300 - 500 units. My hope is the get these numbers low and as I'll be doing the distribution I might be able to cut out the middle man and keep costs low. I'm not trying to make money here, I'm just trying to make this happen. Thanks again, I'll post some images as soon as I have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Welcome aboard, Bill! I'm a huge fan of what you're doing (well, as of today I am). Whether you succeed or not, you seem to be going at it in the best way possible that probably has the best chance for success. Yeah, it may not happen, but I applaud you for your efforts-you're trying something most people are too afraid to try. Or too smart (it's a fine line and I don't know when you cross it). Only time will tell if you're a genius or just an ambitious idiot. I'll shut up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Glad you could make it here Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hi Bill! I think it's safe to say that we're all rooting for you here. As far as working with Diamond goes, I'd suggest trying to get in touch with the guys at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, or Barry Lyga, author of the Goth Girl books. Both of them were able to basically commission a run of single figures from DST, so they might be able to give you some idea of what Diamond would expect as far as costs, figure runs, ect. Good luck in any event! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Harris Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hi Bill and welcome to this little place! I really like the idea and I really like the way you try to handle it. I'm pretty sure you'll find a lot of support here when time comes asking for it. One kind of help could be using this place as a thinktank. Just an example: As far as I see it, most of the charaters - I haven't read your comics yet but looked at the pic you posted - could easily be done with parts already produced. I know that Luke is a minimate genius, but you might also consider asking the fellow board members which parts would work best for the charaters you like to produce. I know that there are a lot of brilliant customizers here and people who just know everything about Mininmates. So whenever you need to know which hair part or jacket might be the best choice for one of your characters, you know where to find us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshmonkey Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys....I knew there had been small runs of minimates in the past like Charm City Cakes, but I didn't know about the Goth Girl minimate. So there has been a history of small runs...So some president has been established. As far as what existing Minimate parts to use, the issue with that is I don't know what tooling DST has the rights to use for their own projects. My understanding is that they can't use the Marvel tooling as it's still an existing license. So until I know for sure the designs might have to be minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 I could be wrong, but I think the tooling can be re-used between lines. There's been a lot of crossover between parts and I think they're not exclusive (or I'm just an idiot who should let other people jump in and answer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 They didn't start reusing the DC parts until after that line was discontinued. But that may have been a special situation as everything was distributed through DC Direct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) You're just an idiot 'hog . I think you're safe with any of the existing Minimates Parts Catalogue & could explain why but trust me you could . Whether you would actually save any money by doing so is a different matter because DST aren't numpties, they'll charge for a mould whether it exists or not Me? I'd stick to the generic Minimate 'Mr.Blank' & concentrate on a minimum of 'other' mouldings that dramatically increase the originality of the new character.....e.g. add 'female long hair part' to generic 'Mr.Blank' Minimate & you immediately get 'Mrs.Blank' . One inspired yet simple moulded part transforms a mundane unpainted Minimate into something else altogether . Add an accessory to the new 'Mrs.Blank' ....such as a sword...& you get an instant female warrior .....blah blah blah. Next up would be paint...keep it simple .....the classic Black Symbiote Spidey must be the personification of 'simple yet effective use of paint' ,a black generic Minimate with some white paint daubed on it . So simple yet to some people this was & still is their favourite Minimate ,I have a few Minimates,traded many, but I've never sold a Black Symbiote....I've given a couple away but I don't sell them No more help until it's confirmed that I'll get at least 2 of this new line :biggrin: Oingfloingyman. Edited May 26, 2011 by buttheadsmate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I've never sold a Black Symbiote....I've given a couple away but I don't sell them I'll take one. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Carnage. Widely considered to be in the top 10 best MMs ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 They didn't start reusing the DC parts until after that line was discontinued. But that may have been a special situation as everything was distributed through DC Direct. I think I remember Chuck saying at one point that exclusivity of parts was part of the DC Direct deal. May have been in response to a question about reusing Hawkman's wings for the Angel, and him saying they couldn't. Anyway, it seems to me like it was a couple years after DC Minimates untimely demise that those parts started showing up in the Marvel line. It certainly wasn't overnight. But I think that was the only case, and we've seen items passed back and forth between lines. For point of reference for this project, Goth Girl uses a hairpiece that was originally sculpted for Power Girl. So I would think all Minimate parts would be on the table, except perhaps something iconically tied to a character, such as Thor's hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Harris Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Whether you would actually save any money by doing so is a different matter because DST aren't numpties, they'll charge for a mould whether it exists or not That's a good point which might make every other thought irrelevant. If that's the case, there could be a big problem, because a lot of the Midnightmen really need sculpted parts to give them their pretty iconic look. Bill, I read the preview of your series and I really enjoyed it. The art is pretty amazing, the characters seem to be very interessting and the plot is pretty good so far. I didn't expect the cliffhanger at the end. Well done, you already got me hooked! Something else. I think it's a great idea to let the Nazis speak actual German in your comic. I really enjoy it when comics or movies do stuff like this and pass on Gibberish. Tarantino did a great job there lately. But they should speak proper German, right? And there is a little problem. Some of the stuff they are saying is, ehm, not so good. (I don't want to make fun of you, please don't get me worng, but to give you an impression: on page 6 they're actually saying: "They have a!", "I will him!" and "You not can all shoot at us!") So if you really like to continue this - and I think it's a cool idea -, you might want to ask someone speaking fluent German to give you a hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.