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A 1:18th Scale Galaxy Far, Far Away with Hasbro's Emily Cantelupe
934 Plays2 years ago
Do you sense it? There are tremors in the force... long have we waited to welcome Hasbro's Star Wars the Vintage Collection Designer Emily Cantelupe to the pod! This week we're talking all about TVC, Emily's design journey through Hasbro, the Ghost HasLab, the art of keeping secrets, and so much more!
Follow Emily on Instagram @ms_melon and keep up with all of the Hasbro goings on @hasbropulse!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
https://www.instagram.com/voicesbyjoe/
Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction and Summer Events
00:00:01
Speaker
The summer is here. That means outdoor festivals, comic-cons, and the perfect weather for toy hunts. As the weather heats up and you're out there enjoying yourself, stay hydrated with our show's sponsor, Liquid IV. Liquid IV hydrates two times faster than water alone and three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks, and it's easy to use. Just rip open a pouch, pour one of their delicious flavors into a water bottle, and shake it up.
Sponsor Spotlight: Liquid IV
00:00:30
Speaker
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00:00:56
Speaker
and use code AICPOD at checkout. That's 20% off anything you order when you shop better hydration today using promo code AICPOD at liquidiv.com.
Podcast Introduction and Star Wars Tease
00:01:17
Speaker
Are you ready, kids? Get your parents' permission, check your mailbox, and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast. I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and hauls, along with our journeys as collectors. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting.
00:01:48
Speaker
The force is strong in this episode. Oh, yeah. I do. You feel that you sense that you sense the the I don't want to say a disturbance in the force because that's not a negative connotation to it. I sense a power that we've not yet felt on this show. I thought you were going to start quoting the. The Force Awakens trailer, wasn't that like there's isn't it like, you know,
00:02:16
Speaker
Can you feel like Snoke yelling? Oh yeah, all the different cut-throughs. I wish at 9.30 at night on the day of the Ahsoka premiere that my brain was elsewhere and able to pull said quotes, but that's not going to happen. Yeah, I don't have them either.
00:02:37
Speaker
If you didn't figure it out already and you didn't read the title of the show or follow us on social media and know what's coming tonight, of course we have a special Star Wars themed episode.
Interview with Hasbro Designer Emily Canaloupe
00:02:50
Speaker
Long have we waited, but this is where the fun begins. Joining us this week on the pod is Star Wars, the Vintage Collection's Senior Product Designer at Hasbro, Emily Canaloupe. Emily, welcome to the show.
00:03:05
Speaker
I am so glad to be here, and I hope that it is of power in the Force that you sense. And if so, I hope that it's me and not this Knight of Ahsoka just permeating throughout the fandom. I think it's definitely you. Awesome. Awesome. I'll take it.
00:03:20
Speaker
This is been a long time coming. We are so excited to have you on the show. We will try to, and when I say we, this is going to be like 60% me. I'm going to try to bury my fanboy as deep as I can and be a professional objective journalist and interview person here.
00:03:44
Speaker
but clearly i'm off to a maximum maximum professional i mean i've had conversations for work about bib for tunas fat like maximum professional yes yes i was gonna say that like my forty am i the forty percent like i think i'm only saying that because i know you like your fandom started earlier than mine yes but i am currently sitting about.
00:04:12
Speaker
three inches from a Tupperware bin that's filled with like 400, three and three quarter inch Star Wars figures. So that's why I gave myself a higher percentage on that. That's that's fair. There we go. There we go. But before we jump into all the Star Wars goodness, as this is a show about collecting the first thing we ask all of our guests, what are you currently collecting? And what are some of your recent pickups?
00:04:36
Speaker
Sure. Well, sometimes it feels like I'm collecting everything, which is a problem when it's two toy people married. But I'd say my most recent splurge was the San Diego Comic Con exclusive Cherry Blossom Glow in the Dark Godzilla from Mondo. So I loved him. I immediately like saw him and had to have him. Like most of the time I'm pretty planned in my collecting, but this was total impulse.
00:05:02
Speaker
Um, and he actually reminded me of another toy that I have. Um, once I was in a Hong Kong toy market and I bought like a transparent purple Mafra and I've always thought he needed a friend. So that was my recent splurge. Awesome. Yeah. I, I, fellow Kaiju fanatic, I, I.
00:05:21
Speaker
I got a different San Diego Comic Con Godzilla. A friend of mine that was out there was able to come back with the Super 7 Dark Horse Comics inspired Ultimate Godzilla. So yeah. Very cool. So we both had a Godzilla Comic Con. I love it.
00:05:38
Speaker
I feel like my other thing I've been collecting in a big way is like, it must be a monster thing right now, because I've been way into the NECA gargoyles. And I loved the cartoon as a kid, it's actually is probably really cringy now. But I feel like when I was a child, I would like draw my own gargoyles characters in my comic books. So I was just like, way sucked into the story of the show. I think all I need is like Lexington to complete the core crew. So we're on the lookout.
00:06:06
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah, those are really cool. I back at New York Comic Con. Yeah, last year. Yeah, last year at New York Comic Con. They had like a neck I had like a full dial up of them and I couldn't believe how big they were like in person. Yes. Yeah, they're enormous. And so really, yeah, I love the color too. It's like muted and kind of realistic while still being those cartoon inspired colors. It's very cool.
00:06:31
Speaker
Yeah, they did a good job bringing those to life because, you know, to your point, like the animation style, it could be kind of cheesy bringing it to, you know, figure form. And they've done a really nice job of of, you know, modernizing it while still paying homage to the way that they looked on screen. So, yeah, really, really cool figures. Absolutely. They're starting to do this video game color variants. Oh, yeah. So with the Sega packaging.
00:07:01
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, it's something that I know from my work is like take an animated character and make them feel realistic. And it's always a dance. So I also really appreciate it when someone else does it well. I was gonna say when you're saying what else do you need other than Godzilla? You know, I finally have the right audience for the answer to that question. And it's porgs. There you go. Just so many they could overwhelm Godzilla. How many porgs would it take?
00:07:28
Speaker
Yeah, it could go one of two ways. It could either be like a Godzilla with a real full tummy or a Godzilla taken over by porgs. What's the age-old question? Would you rather fight a chicken the size of a horse or a hundred horse-sized chickens, right? Something like that. Yeah, chicken-sized horses. That's what it is. So Dave, would you rather fight a Godzilla-sized porg?
00:07:59
Speaker
We wouldn't fight. There you go. They'd sense the friendly. They'd sense the friendly energy. You're Totoro like giant bird friends. I actually, you know, I have, I saw this picture and I can't remember the artist, um, that, that made it, but they made that, that famous scene from my neighbor, Totoro with, uh, with the girls waiting at the bus stop, but it's Ray waiting at the bus stop with a giant board.
00:08:27
Speaker
And she's amazing. Oh, that's pretty cute. I love the crossover. All right, so I feel like this is a story I have to share now. So my significant mother and I, we went to the Disney exhibit in Philly at the Franklin Institute. And it's Disney 100, so there's different things. And we got to the Star Wars section. And I don't remember what I was talking about, but literally, I'm saying, yeah, you know what it'd be. And I just went, oh.
00:08:57
Speaker
And she's like, and she goes, oh, you found it. And I go, it's a porg. It was like an actual onset porg from the movie. And I, yeah, it was a proper puppet. And I just like, I don't remember what I was talking about beforehand. I just know that literally stopped me in my tracks and I had to take like about five or 10 selfies with it. Yeah. I got all of a sudden I got a selfie on unaware that he was going to the exhibit.
00:09:27
Speaker
I get the selfie of just him making this, just his face filled with like the childlike wonder of like meeting their biggest idol. And it's him with a screen used pork. And I was like, this is the sweetest picture you've ever sent me, Dave. Yeah.
00:09:42
Speaker
Her team went to the Mandalorian Experience exhibit, which had all the props from the show. And I think I had a similar experience meeting the giant Bantha that they used on set, because it's huge in person. It's so fluffy. It was incredible to see. Yeah, Star Wars Snuffle Love, I guess. How could you not love a big Bantha?
Emily's Career Journey at Hasbro
00:10:04
Speaker
So speaking of Star Wars and doing things with the team at Hasbro,
00:10:11
Speaker
You recently celebrated your 14th anniversary there, so congratulations. That's quite a feat. Thank you. Tell us about how you got your start in the industry and how you moved through Hasbro and into your current role.
00:10:27
Speaker
Sure, I can review the origin story. So I went to an art school in Ohio, Columbus College of Art and Design, and my husband went as well. That's where we met. And both of us kind of got into the industry through a sculpture competition. So Hasbro brought this contest for an internship to our college, and the contest was
00:10:50
Speaker
sculpt and action figure in wax. And we both were like, Oh, this is so fun. We have to try. So they brought wax was how the industry made the toys at the day. It was like hand carved and using heat pens. And they also brought a bunch of stock round joint parts that you like embedded into the wax.
00:11:08
Speaker
Um, so my husband, who is currently a toy sculptor, he's amazing at it. Um, he won the challenge and his sculpture was incredible. Um, he went way above and beyond what the contest asked for. He just dug in and had the time of his life sculpting this action figure. Um, when Hasbro came and they reviewed us, they loved mine. They were like, this is really good. This is like a second place sculpt with your design boards. These are actually where it's clear that you put the most time and can we share these with a VP of design?
00:11:37
Speaker
I was like, yes, absolutely. Only one person was supposed to get an internship, but we both did. That's both our Hasbro origin story and it was really fun to win that potential for the future to just take a totally different path. I mean, that's incredible. That's awesome. Shouts to Corey, his work is fantastic. Thank you. Definitely a lot of respect in the community for him.
00:12:08
Speaker
And of course, you didn't just start in the gate at Star Wars. So what were some of the things that you worked on before you found your way over to the Star Wars brand? Yeah, actually, on the question of moving through the company, it's so big that you can try a lot of different things in your time at Hasbro.
00:12:27
Speaker
When I first started, I think I interned on strawberry shortcake. The funny story there is we would smell test the smell that would be injected into their little heads, and sometimes it was on the mark, and sometimes it was like, ooh.
00:12:43
Speaker
Some smell testing strawberry shortcakes was a fun adventure when I was an intern. And of course, you always want to get them right and they're right by the end product. But I mean, other things I've worked on, I've worked on so much. I've been able to work on littlest pets, small dolls, large dolls, plush, preschool, role play, kid vehicles. And now the fan product is where I'm at at the moment.
00:13:06
Speaker
And it really feels like coming home to be on Star Wars, which I've been such a fan on for so long. So that's just been a blast. So you mentioned you've been a fan of Star Wars for a long time. What's your personal relationship with Star Wars going into working now with it at Asbro?
00:13:27
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So my relationship with Star Wars really started with my relationship with my dad, who is amazing. And he introduced me to so much awesome nerd content growing up. So pretty much like, as soon as I finished kids books like C Spot Run, he was like, Okay, here's the Hobbit.
00:13:47
Speaker
So I was like, whoa, whoa, Tolkien is a lot. But I actually, because I knew Dad loved it, I would come back and I would like reread The Hobbit and then eventually The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books every year until they were clicking. And I was getting into that Tolkien universe. And then Dad and I would watch, you know, the Rankin Bass Hobbit movie. And then we would watch Indiana Jones and Star Wars and like X-Files together. And it was just such good times. And my definitely my love of pop culture kind of came from that connection with him.
00:14:18
Speaker
this makes me so happy because what you're describing I you know I speak about my kids all the time on the show but I you know I have my oldest is gonna be eight and in September and this makes me feel really great because this is you're describing a lot of what we're going through right now like she's she's she's reading ahead of where she should be you know I like her school level so like she's already deep into
00:14:44
Speaker
comics and starting to get into some of the chapter books and dipping her toes in Bailey School Kids and Goosebumps. She's seen Indiana Jones and obviously all the Star Wars stuff. Before we started recording, we were talking that I am not watching Ahsoka tonight because we are here recording and we had a little bit of a late night.
00:15:06
Speaker
Um, if I watch it without her, I will basically fail her as a parent. Um, can't betray that. You can't betray that. Can't betray that trust.
Star Wars Figures and Market Decisions
00:15:16
Speaker
So we'll be watching it. Keep at it. Keep at it. And you might end up with like a professional nerd, I guess. That's so adorable that you guys share that the things we strive for professional nerd. Um, that's yeah, there you go. And at some point,
00:15:33
Speaker
At some point, you know, when it comes to like, you know, she can wait a little bit for X-Files, but, uh, Yeah, it scared me. I liked to be scared. Maybe that was a nice kid thing. I enjoyed it, but it was scary. That's right. And uncle David and Christina's like wheelhouse too. So we've done your Indiana, which is like the first steps towards that X-Files type storytelling. So like we've.
00:15:57
Speaker
If she's watching goosebumps though. We haven't tried watching any goosebumps yet. Reading versus watching. I would say reading's worse because you imagine whatever something's going to be is way worse than when you see it. That's true. You're not wrong. You're not wrong. But she's done okay with reading a couple of them so far. I just can't wait because she's going to take that career test at the end of high school and they're going to be like, okay, it looks like you're well suited for nerddom.
00:16:28
Speaker
You're well suited to be a nerd. Congratulations or not. I don't know what to do. You may or may not make money at this. Do you have any podcasters in the family? Well, since you're asking. So before we move into your present and kind of the future, we have to talk a little bit about the past. And this is something that I have
00:16:58
Speaker
Always wanted to ask you, and I know we have had conversations offline and I have had the opportunity to ask you this question, but I've been, been saving it for this moment. So before the, the, the, you know, kind of modern, uh, five POA five point of articulation line was put to rest. The releases that were coming out for the last Jedi solo and star Wars resistance were some of the best looking sculpts, uh, the team had ever produced at the time. I, I still maintain that that last Jedi.
00:17:28
Speaker
Leia is like one of the most gorgeous five point of articulation figures ever. Can we talk about why the rise of Skywalker didn't get a wave of those figures?
00:17:43
Speaker
Oh man, I don't want to dash your hopes here. I do have to say that it is still, the 5POA line is still in the vault for us. So I don't think that there's current plans, but this is the kind of thing that we're always open to hearing. What do the fans want? And if there's a larger call for it, that's the kind of stuff that catches our attention.
00:18:03
Speaker
And when it comes to the Rise of Skywalker product, I believe that this is an era that I wasn't on the vintage team specifically, but I believe that the reduced products for later sequel movies came a bit from the team sort of gauging demand from the audience, demand from the retailers based on stock in their current inventory, and that kind of thing. So, very sorry that it disappointed you. I actually agree some of our sculpture that went into the five POA products is like,
00:18:31
Speaker
still masterful just because it wasn't highly articulated, they're works of art. And I'll also just say personally, I've been really excited to hear about the Star Wars movie that's coming up with Daisy Ridley. I hope that it brings back a sort of revival for the story and the characters there and that we see new aspects and new takes and I'm very excited for it. Yeah, I mean, me too. My youngest, her middle name is Ray.
00:19:01
Speaker
So yeah, I'm I'm unabashed and you know my my my love for the sequel trilogy. Your oldest has been Ray. She's been Ray for Halloween. You're angling for professional nerd kid. You're angling her there. I love it. It's just it was just one of those things where like as somebody who came into Star Wars collecting in the 90s with the power of the force to kind of that like that relaunch.
00:19:25
Speaker
It was the only movie that didn't get a wave of that style figure.
00:19:32
Speaker
I'm by no means a completionist when it comes to, you know, collecting, but like, it was one of those things that was like, oh, it's the only Skywalker film that doesn't have figures in the style. Yeah, but I thank you. Thank you for answering the question. I know we both really appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, we like to say no doors closed. And a lot of it does come from us listening to the audience. And what do you guys have a demand for? And we certainly pay attention.
00:20:01
Speaker
Secrets and surprises are probably one of the biggest things that... That's one of the biggest things that comes with Star Wars. The secrets are a huge role.
Grogu Toy Development
00:20:17
Speaker
And you joined the team during one of the franchises biggest ever.
00:20:20
Speaker
or smallest, I guess he would be. Since you've worked on some of the earliest Grogu products, did you have to keep that information guarded for a while and for like a long time or was it just kind of like, nope, here he is.
00:20:34
Speaker
Oh man, did we? This is like one of my best toy stories. This is so fun and wild. It was a wild ride. So the first thing I'll note is that it's really amazing that LFL kept Grogu such a secret. And we certainly don't mind because the way that he revealed
00:20:53
Speaker
to audiences and that surprise moment. I think it's part of why we all love him so much. Grogu was just a shock to the world. And I'll just say that once our team saw him in the show, it was off to the races. So we knew everyone would want this character right away. You can tell that's got to be a toy. So I worked on some of our first Grogu products, the Talking the Child Plush, and also worked on the Bounty Collection and
00:21:20
Speaker
um, another kind of six inch plastic one. And these were some of the, they were, they were the fastest products I have ever worked on. And they actually might hold our company record because we went from initial conception of getting together and like, what is this toy going to be to concept, sculpt, deco sewn soft goods, and then licensure approved in three weeks. So that is not normal for toys. Oh yeah.
00:21:50
Speaker
as absolutely not normal for toys. And our team worked like super fast and close. This was like SWAT team style. We designated a single person at the leadership level to make decisions. We said, we're not gonna need to prove it all the way up the chain this time. I was running around the office to coordinate our various departments. I would run to sculpture and then I would run to paint and then soft goods. And there were nights that our team just ordered pizza delivered to the Hasbro office.
00:22:16
Speaker
so we could keep running. And again, it was really wild. We wanted this figure to come out, these amazing characters and the various little bounty collections and everything. And it was really wild. And it brought us together as a team in a way that I feel like we had this team make it happen camaraderie. We certainly don't continuously run that fast anymore because it was like wild. But it was awesome. At the same time, it was awesome. And I remember it fondly.
00:22:46
Speaker
I'm glad you mentioned Bounty Collection, because I have tried to get every variation of Grogu eating. Love it! Except for this one. He's that one, the face I couldn't.
00:23:03
Speaker
Here, yeah, I have the cookies, I have the soup. They're great. Yeah, they're the best. This is the first time I've seen them all at once, Dave. You do have more of those in real life. That's a great way to target your collection. I love it.
00:23:17
Speaker
Yeah, I was like, because he's just like, that's his thing, like he eats and just has the shifter knob. Like, I was like, okay, I need, I'm just gonna get Grogu eating because otherwise, where do you stop? They're all adorable, so. Yeah. I was like, yeah, Grogu eating is gonna be my genre for these.
00:23:39
Speaker
It's perfect. That's the perfect way to collect bounding collection. It's incredible. So before we leave the topic of Grogu, do you have a favorite Grogu that you've worked on? Like if you had to pick one? I mean, I think we've made over 40 bounding collections. Yeah. And there's a newest series that's out, right?
00:23:59
Speaker
Yeah, there's new waves out. My favorite might be the first, the talking, it was at the time it was the child, it wasn't Grogu yet, so the talking the child's flesh was a big one that was so collaborative with the team. It was the premier item of those first crazy three weeks of Rush. And again, I think it just really brought us together. Yeah, that original one, the one that for those of you listening,
00:24:27
Speaker
We could see each other, but you can't see us, sorry. But yeah, the one that is behind you there, that one, it permanently lives with now my two-year-old. That is her baby. So it's... So cute! And he, let me tell you, he has been through a lot. He's still taken. Everything still moves. If you need a playtester on anything, my two-year-old will put anything through the ringer.
00:24:55
Speaker
Oh, that's adorable. Oh, your family sounds so cute and nerdy. We try. My wife tolerates it. Bless her. She tolerates it. So as technology continues to improve, we're seeing better and better looking and better moving vintage collection releases.
Technological Advances in Toy Design
00:25:18
Speaker
Talk to us a little bit about the design process of a vintage collection figure, like how we get from start to finish. Sure.
00:25:26
Speaker
Um, I think when, when you ask this, I have to think about like where the toy industry has come with the new technology. And I mean, where it's come only in my time in the industry, it's taken bleeps. So again, when I joined, it was wax carving and the sculptors would hand carve in that box at true scale, um, maybe 4% larger to count for mold shrink.
00:25:50
Speaker
And if the size was wrong, you might have to sculpt it all over again or like cut them at the waist and lengthen them in a way that didn't look right. Whereas in digital that we have now, you can just scale very easily. You can undo. I remember the sculptor sculpting G.R.H.O. portraits at scale and thinking that
00:26:10
Speaker
sculpture that portrait is the size of my thumbnail how did you do that and it was absolutely an incredible art but now i mean they can zoom all the way in and add that little dude molted Kenobi so it's huge changes for the industry and i think honestly the most inspiring part of that has been watching these talented artists and makers
00:26:31
Speaker
adapt to the new tech. I always say adaptation, I think, is the strongest skill to build in this industry because it moves so quickly. And it's the same with photo real face stucco. When it came, it was a game changer. And again, I remember like those awesome little portraits, they get the final paint and every once in a while,
00:26:49
Speaker
little off the registration or size of eyes and stuff and thinking you know there's such a good sculpt that could it could look better and then photo real came and now it's like this ultimate sculpture technique with this ultimate deco technique or Mary to just make
00:27:05
Speaker
Perfect tiny little representations and it makes me really proud of the industry and again now proud of the the painting also adapting to digital deco practices and We've all taken on these amazing technological leaps. It just inspires me. It's huge yeah, and it is incredible like you know, I'm
00:27:26
Speaker
Of course, you know, I have, I have her at the ready for, for this evening or well, of course, but, um, you know, it's, it's incredible because, you know, we, we see this, you know, across companies, across brands with the, you know, the, the, the face printing technology, you know, in various scales, but for some, I don't know if it's because.
00:27:50
Speaker
just the kind of marvel of the fact that it's like, I can't believe you guys are doing this tiny, but also the kind of, what's the word that I'm looking for? You don't really see some of the artifacting in the final product that you do with the larger scales in these small figures because the closer and closer you get, there's only so close you could get to a three and three quarter inch figure before you're like, it's right next to my eye.
00:28:19
Speaker
Um, you know, like it just, it looks incredible. These really do look like these, the ones that have been coming out over like the last, you know, two, three years at this point, like they look like little, like this looks like a one 18 scale Rosaria Dawson. Like she's here standing in my hand. One of the Andors in the store I saw, I was like, Oh wow. That's unbelievable.
00:28:44
Speaker
Awesome. Love it. I mean, once again, I'm so proud of our team, just like taking on the challenge of new tech and excelling at it. And it's so many talented makers behind it all. And it comes together and I'm so proud of the final product. And now a word from our sponsors.
00:29:05
Speaker
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00:29:22
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
and use the code AICPOD12 to get 12% off your order and free two day shipping. Shop today to get the best deal ever. And now back to the show.
Design Process and Character Selection
00:32:07
Speaker
So is it still starting? Like does the process still start with like somebody
00:32:13
Speaker
you know, drawing like a, you know, just kind of a 2D version of the character, you know, or is it going straight to like that 3D render and then, you know, upward and onward? Sure. I can say that it's a little different depending on whether it's a realistic line versus a stylized line.
00:32:30
Speaker
So when it comes to something like Black Series and Vintage Collection, a lot of what our team of designers is doing is working with reference that comes straight from LFL. They have incredible reference documenting archives. And then when it comes to something that's more stylized, it is something where the designer gets more control artwork done at the beginning and guides exactly how we want the stylization to happen. So that's dependent on which kind of product.
00:33:00
Speaker
We talk about just the litany of characters that exist in the Star Wars universe. And there's an ocean of possibilities for character selection for really any line, but especially for the vintage collection. So can you tell us a little bit how you and the team decide who to include?
00:33:21
Speaker
Oh, sure. So I'm gonna call this maybe the toughest part of a super fun job. But it's, it's a lot of factors that I can kind of break down for you guys that all swirl together in the decision making here and gain different priorities over each other. So I think, of course, you know, one of the first things is evaluating the new content for the year, what is Lucasfilm making right now. And that will be something I think we always prioritize highly within our lines. So we want to get you know, the new news out.
00:33:48
Speaker
And then after that, we do listen a lot to our audiences. So we pull, you know, social looking and what the fans are interested in, as well as, you know, for Vintage, we love the fan-led March Madness vote. It's awesome that they do that. It's a great way to tell us what they're looking for. Super helpful. And, you know, we do need to balance some of the deeper cuts with the more, you know, mainline characters. So we balance that out a little, but it's amazing to hear what fans want.
00:34:17
Speaker
And then efficiency plays a role. So if we're able to make a character by using some existing parts, that's a bonus. It makes them a little more feasible for us. We're looking for those creative solutions until then. As well, we look at big anniversaries. And is there something that we want to tie into for marketing for the year? So again, it's a lot of factors to balance. And our final selects are kind of come down to like, well, would you trade that person? No, I guess not. These kinds of meetings.
00:34:45
Speaker
Again, this is like where toys seem very serious until they're not very serious at all. It's like, what, what about this character? Um, but yeah, we balance all those factors out and our team stays really close. It also evolves throughout the year because entertainment news will come in that we'll react to. So, um, again, tough part that we all pay a lot of close attention to, and it's very multifactored.
00:35:10
Speaker
I'm glad you brought up the March Madness thing because this year we actually were invited to help kind of like participate in it, uh, at, at mile high ground and at, uh, SW TBC on, on Instagram. Uh, you guys should both should be following them. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome accounts, especially for if you're a vintage collection fan, um, that March Madness thing, the amount of work that, that those guys put into that is absurd.
00:35:36
Speaker
It is so crazy. And honestly, the last year's winner was Dooku, and he was announced in the pipeline at San Diego Comic Con. Yeah, he was. So there you go. I mean, yeah. It certainly looks like a ton of work, but it's a great way for us to hear from the fan audience. So again, I agree. Kudos to those guys that run the March Madness vote. It's really awesome for us to see. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
00:36:06
Speaker
So, uh, sticking with kind of character selection and, and, and kind of, I guess you could say action figure logistics, uh, with, with so many characters appearing in both the vintage collection and the black series lines, uh, do you guys ever kind of share resources, you know, from, from one side to the other? Do you know, doing decisions that impact or do decisions on one line impact, you know, decisions say on, on the other line?
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think when it comes to like sculpture resources, that's something that it's not necessarily a copy paste, but it might look like a file of her example, a vintage takes one from black series might be a great starting point, but that whole form of the character is going to need to be reworked and re sculpted for the manufacturing tolerances of the smaller scale. So that means
00:36:56
Speaker
different minimum wall thickness applies. Everything needs to maybe get a little thicker if it's going to get a lot smaller. Feasibility, you know, any other manufacturing considerations for the scale difference needs to be applied newly to the sculpt. So it does take a lot of work. Again though, it's a starting point and so our sculptors stay close on the two lines and they work together.
00:37:19
Speaker
And at the end of the day, LFL is an awesome documentation, their reference library. That's the end goal for both teams. So if it lands there looking the same, we did our job right. So let's talk about the Hazlab.
Ghost Ship Project and Exclusive Figures
00:37:36
Speaker
Part of the reason that the one 18th scale Star Wars figures are so iconic is the inclusion of ships. The ghost funded quickly. Congratulations.
00:37:45
Speaker
and is well on its way to start unlocking tiers. So tell us more about what went into The Ghost. Well, Dave, real quick breaking news. Just before we recorded this show, Ezra has been unlocked. So we've hit tier one, 11,000 backers. So congratulations, additional. That's right. And congratulations, community. Yeah. Yes, thank you, community. But yeah, let's get into The Ghost.
00:38:13
Speaker
Sure, absolutely. I mean, we'll call it continue unlocking tears now. We're so excited for the team. I mean, cheers are on the Hasbro office when it backed. Cheers when this tear unlocked and we were like heading on our way down the hallways to lunch like 11,000.
00:38:31
Speaker
excitement at the Hasro office and we're very happy to see that kind of excitement from the community. I'd say that three and three-quarter scale, it was built for vehicles and the way that it unlocks vehicle play is one of the most amazing parts of the scale. Our team is so excited as well to see that ship, the Ghost, which was such a legacy in animation first, now coming to live action in Ahsoka, which we all are so excited to watch.
00:38:59
Speaker
Disney class and it's perfect for toys as well I think. One of the things that makes the ghost the right pick for me, I really like, I say this a lot when I talk about playsets, I really like a location, a place at a ship where a lot of figures come together inside of it and you can display a lot of figures up to different stuff on the insides. And the ghost, we see so much of the interior, we see the whole crew,
00:39:21
Speaker
You know, in the seats in the cockpit area, we see them together in the back living quarters, the hold. So I think recreating those interior scenes is just going to be a blast with the figures and stuff. And so much went into creating it, you know, working directly together with the showmakers. And Lucasfilm was extremely exciting for the team. That's our geek out moment. And the detail that the sculptors go into for a big item like this, the hand painting of the model from our paint master team.
00:39:51
Speaker
It's so exciting for the team to come together on these dream projects and we're similarly excited to see the fans get hyped for it as well. So back to ghost, let's get the other tears. We're just so excited to keep unlocking.
00:40:08
Speaker
Yeah, and and I mean something that as you were talking about it was just kind of dawned on me. You guys actually kind of got to reveal what the ghost was going to look like in live action form like like in the toy revealed you know what that was going to be and I you know it I don't know why that didn't just didn't dawn on me until literally just this moment, but that's really cool.
00:40:32
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, our team, the vehicle team especially worked directly with the show runners and it was a back and forth conversation. So it was very interconnected in a way that we were really excited to collaborate with them. So, so our next two tiers, just to remind everybody that's listening, right? We have, uh, Canaan and, uh, and, and just to clarify, these are, are exclusive to this project, right? The next two figures, Canaan and Zeb, right?
00:40:59
Speaker
So I came in at 14 and then Zeb at 17,000, right? I think it's 14 and 17, yep. So you'll have just about the whole crew. And if you pre-ordered the Deluxe Sabine, you'll have the whole crew. So yeah, there you go.
00:41:20
Speaker
That's right. So these figures, just as a reminder, they're exclusive to the campaign on their mural inspired card backs, which was key to the content. And as well, they are exclusively appearing here in their seasons three and four looks. So we're very excited about them. So is there a particular detail or feature or something that was included in this project that you're most proud of?
00:41:47
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So my area of the project was certainly more the figures and the lead figure designer for Vintage Collection. I stayed connected to the vehicle development so that figure and vehicles work together. But my own focus was the figures. And I think just bringing the Rebels characters to life at 3 and 3 quarter scale finally was such a joy and a geek out moment. There are characters that you are like, yes about.
00:42:13
Speaker
And I think certainly our team did a rewatch of Rebels to dig into those little awesome fan details. One of the things I had a lot of fun with was building those deeper cut fan nods into the accessories.
Design Challenges and Fan Engagement
00:42:26
Speaker
So we've got Ezra with that loft cat and white that he connects with. His stolen Scout Trooper helmet was a lot of fun for me with all the painted designs on it.
00:42:35
Speaker
the category totem that was so important to Hera and her family, the Meiluun fruit that she sent the guys running around for. All of that rewatch of Rebels and then building those little moments in was really the joy for me. Yeah, I mean, it's just, I've been rewatching just a couple of episodes leading up. Disney Plus actually has put together this awesome, like,
00:42:59
Speaker
I guess you could say like best of a soca playlist for like, you know, to kind of get people up to speed. And I immediately like zipped through the playlist all the way to the couple of rebels episodes and just rewatching them and like reliving those, those moments again. Um, it's been a while since I've, I've watched the episodes and man, that show has just aged so well. Like I actually think I like it. I loved it to begin with, but I actually think I like it better now.
00:43:26
Speaker
Um, you know, a couple years, you know, a few years on, it's just so good. It's so good. It really is. I think it's that when you know where it's going and you know, the story is going to get so juicy. You really enjoy the start of the characters and where they evolve to even more. Yeah. Like the, the, the reveal of, of fulcrum being so, uh, it's just so, so stupid. Good. Like it's just.
00:43:51
Speaker
Really good moment. I mean, I considered a lot of other accessories for the characters. Like, for example, I thought about a holocron the way that Ezra digs into that Sith temple and gets the red, you know, pyramid-shaped holocron. But I thought at the end that it might be too small. Not a lot of payoff, so I figured the lafcat and helmet were better at our scale. But, man, the team has to stop me from building in fun stuff. They do. Do they, though? Do they really have to stop me?
00:44:20
Speaker
Can they not? We look for what's gonna pay off the biggest and I think that's where I'll bring some of the options and then we'll pick like that one's gonna stand up. Plus toy photographers are gonna absolutely eat that love cat's gonna be showing up everywhere. Plus he's way cute. Everyone loves a love cat.
00:44:40
Speaker
Uh, so we've now entered our, our Q and a, uh, portion of the show here. So, um, we understand that, uh, you know, our, our guests aren't always fully accessible to every single fan everywhere. Um, so we, we respect that and, you know, we want to make sure that our followers and listeners have an opportunity to submit questions, uh, for these interviews. Um, Dave.
00:45:06
Speaker
What should they do if they want the opportunity to submit a question for a future interview? You should smash that follow button for Instagram and keep an eye on those stories because you'll see when our next guest is on and we'll ask, do you have a question for that guest? And we'll do that in a regular post too. And then you get to hear it on your podcast.
00:45:36
Speaker
form of choice and you can leave reviews because there's that helps um and if you're on youtube you can smash that subscribe button and hit the bell and then you'll get to know when more content is dropping and you'll get to see the results of your question i literally look forward to this moment in every episode now every every time every yeah bravo
00:46:05
Speaker
Bravo, again. Wonderful. Hit that subscribe. And I'm starting to learn what those things mean. A great job. A great job you did. Read the ancient texts. Thank you. You must. So as I mentioned, this is our Q&A section with questions submitted by our followers. Dave, would you like to do the first question here? I would love to. So this is a question that a lot of people asked in some form or fashion.
00:46:35
Speaker
Was there a specific design reason that the new Sabine Ren release comes with a removable helmet as opposed to a swappable head like Bo-Katan or Costco?
00:46:46
Speaker
Sure, absolutely. I'm actually excited to speak to this one since I know it's been a topic of a lot of discussion and to speak about how we got there, where we're going. So when it came to Sabine's helmet for the initial decision making, in general removable versus interchangeable helmets have been a tough one for us to get kind of a read from the community about what they want. It's been a little split.
00:47:07
Speaker
because some feel that without the helmet being removable, it's missing that classic toy feature. Others prioritize the perfect aesthetic proportion of an interchangeable. So we had kind of built our own rule system internally that a character would get a removable helmet if the hairstyle is really trimmed and slim on the head. And we thought that was feasible for Sabine's hairstyle, which is cropped a little close. I think you can see where that's going.
00:47:35
Speaker
We did make the helmet at the minimum wall thickness that the factory has rules around. That's their standard for ease of molding. And we also don't want to make her head too small under there, or she'd look a little strange on helmeted. So we made it the minimum wall thickness. And then, well, for the final product, when we saw that first shot tooled, it does certainly disappoint our team when a figure doesn't quite come out like we dreamed. The proportion we found wasn't working for the slimmer female figure in the way that it had worked with
00:48:03
Speaker
Bigger armored male figures that offset that proportion of minimum wall thickness better So I think the the female figure did affect it in this instance and that's definitely you know a learning for us So we've had a lot of you know talk internally. I can say that moving forward We're going to be looking at interchangeable helmets as our standards. It's the response has been pretty clear that you know will take some time to turn the ship on and
00:48:28
Speaker
but that's where we'd like to go in the future. And we hear you, we agree, and we're aligned on that future path. So thank you for everybody that's shared the response to that, and we hear you. Awesome, thank you. All right, next question. This one comes from atratisforced, excuse me, atratisforcedad asks, soft goods. How do you go about selecting materials and designing the cuts for them?
00:48:58
Speaker
Sure. So I think soft goods is really fun. It lends a lot of movability to the figures. If it can look right, it helps them sit in a vehicle. We just balance that with where we can afford to do it. And again, whether the shape of the soft goods is going to be something that looks nice at the scale. And we have a sort of selected number of fabrics that we have higher confidence in for sort of
00:49:19
Speaker
being a thin fabric that looks right at our three and three quarter inch and being best for cost. We also kind of keep our eyes out if a costume calls for something really unique. But honestly, honestly, this question I have to shout out to some of our internal team members. I love that this question lets me shout out our soft goods team of soft goods project engineer Hannah and soft goods senior model maker Kayla, because they are
00:49:43
Speaker
awesome, self-driven, amazing creatives who are always willing to take on a challenge with me and find creative solutions. They're amazing to collaborate with. And I can remember when we got the neck drape and the laser cut weathering holes just right on Mando's soft goods cape. It's just going to pull the figure together in a really fun way. Hey, you got a hood to fit on that awesome Tagruda head of Ahsoka's?
00:50:12
Speaker
That took some trying. Listen, I love her. She's got an odd shaped head. That's quite a challenge to tackle. So yeah. Also love a good soft goods application here on my end. It's not every day you have to fit a hood over Montrels. And that's another one of those discussions that makes our job very weird and fun. And also a sentence that you get to say. Yes. Yes, absolutely.
00:50:41
Speaker
So at the twins sons collecting asks, what has been the most challenging figure and your favorite to work on? Um, so I'm guessing it's like, I think, I think, well, yeah, one of, one of each year, if it happens to be one of the same, that's.
00:51:00
Speaker
It was a really cool question. So I'll pick challenging a year first. First off, many, many things have their own hidden unique challenges. And our team is always seeking creative solutions. That's like every day for us. We're constantly meeting to review feedback from our production side and discuss solutions. But I think one that comes to mind just because it was fairly recent was Chris Santin.
00:51:24
Speaker
So he actually had some things that we needed to tune in. And I remember that the very first, oh, you've got him. He's such a cool, such a cool buff Wookie. I remember that his first round was this like perfect representation of the draping way that Wookie hair would fall around an elbow.
00:51:43
Speaker
And so of course I had to ask the team one of my classic painful questions and say, but can he meet the pose of a two handed rifle grip? And our team was like, oh, we evaluated it and he couldn't at the time. It couldn't bend to achieve it.
00:51:59
Speaker
And so in order to make the key pose happen, we stopped and we made sure to cut back the hair around his arm joints. You're gonna check out your chrysanthe for it so that he could achieve the range of motion, bend the elbow in and grip his two-handed rifle. So I think in the end, we overcame that challenge and it came out great. We were able to achieve that key character pose. And so for me, that comes down to when you meet a challenge, balance form and function and ask those right questions.
00:52:29
Speaker
So if that was the most challenging one, do you have a favorite? Or is that like an impossible ask? It's like fairly impossible, but I'll descend into geek out mode here and just say for my personal fandom.
00:52:42
Speaker
I love Ahsoka Tano. I think she's been one of the most powerful and developed Jedi path, Jedi stories of Star Wars. And I've been with her since the beginning since Clone Wars movie in the theater. You know, at first I was like, that's a lot of nicknames, but then she's super
00:52:59
Speaker
super grew on me. Her story developed, she grew in her Jedi path, she had successes and failures that taught her things and watching her story develop, it's just become one of the best Jedi hero stories for me and one that I've connected to a lot. So I'm a longtime Ahsoka fan and the season seven finale of Clone Wars, that four episode arc made me cry.
00:53:24
Speaker
You're not alone. I'm gonna call, oh my gosh, I think maybe, maybe sobbed at home alone. But I'm gonna call one of my favorites for personal reasons, just the Ahsoka Mandalore from Clomor season seven. Worked on the figure was amazing. I was also really proud with the final execution and how it came out and it was just a joy.
00:53:43
Speaker
An awesome San Diego Comic Con 2-pack would totally be Clone Wars Anakin, Clone Wars Movie Anakin and Ahsoka, but their card backs would have to say Snips and Skyguy. That would be an awesome Comic Con exclusive. Just throwing that out there. That's the fun one.
00:54:05
Speaker
So at ITPW on Twitter asks, on some of your live streams, it looks like your personal collection is housed in an imperial wall case.
Personal Collectibles and Pricing Insights
00:54:17
Speaker
Where did you get those? Oh man, thank you so much for asking. My husband and I built it. So you guys can't see me, but right behind me here.
00:54:29
Speaker
So we bought a new house and I described to my husband my dream Star Wars office. And so we collaborated and we did this in a four day build project. So actually, if anybody wants to see it, if anybody's curious, I saved it in the highlights at the top of my Instagram, but we built it out of a large sheet of plywood. We cut the holes with a hole cutter and then connected them with a jigsaw to make the pill shapes.
00:54:54
Speaker
And from that, sanded all corners down, stapled the mylar sheets to the back, laid down the LED strips. And it was almost complete. And so I finally described to my husband, what if we could nest little figures inside the lit up pill shapes? And I sketched for him an idea for this little figure platform that you could drill into the back.
00:55:17
Speaker
He is so amazing. He quickly 3D sculpted it and 3D printed a bunch for me. And now I love the way it's come out. It's like all of these figures silhouetted in the pill shapes. And it's like very, who's that Pokemon shapes are so iconic. Um, if anybody's got questions, I'd love to let you know how we did it and how you can build your own future extra Q and A. Yeah. There you go. There you go.
00:55:44
Speaker
Um, so one last question that a lot of people asked was, can we talk about what the community has named the Boba tax? Sure. It's, it's a tough nickname, I think, but the answer is that Boba Fett is a deco intensive character, as are many of the Mandalorians.
00:56:01
Speaker
And that's a tough reality for us in pricing an item, and especially with the way that manufacturing costs have recently shifted. So our newly announced Sabine is also high in Deco. I've seen some comments that have said, how is she deluxe with that number of accessories? And the truthful answer is that she's wearing it.
00:56:20
Speaker
wearing all that deluxe-ness on her armored echo. And so, you know, another answer here is that when it comes down to retail prices, Hasbro doesn't control pricing in the market and retailers are free to set their own SRP. So a good amount of cost work goes in behind the scenes. Our team is always trying to set the best price for you to get those fun, complex characters and those complex designs out in a way that we can feasibly manufacture. So much paint.
00:56:49
Speaker
Just so much paint, so many deco hits. Oh, Sabine. Sabine is so awesome. Yeah. I mean, she literally tags her own armor and changes it all the time. It's pretty great. Well, again, thank you for answering all of the Q&A questions. We did it. Congratulations. You've made it through the Adventures in Collecting fan Q&A.
00:57:12
Speaker
And thank you to everyone for submitting your questions. Yes, thank you. So before we let you off the hook and send you home, we do have a tradition on the show. Dave, would you like to fulfill your role as this podcast's James Lipton and ask our final question? Well, yes, I would. The final question that we ask all of our guests
00:57:40
Speaker
What is your favorite and or strangest piece in your collection? It can be one of each or it can be both. This is great. I love it. So.
00:57:50
Speaker
A personal favorite is probably the carded Bescormando, which Jon Favreau signed for me. So he came to visit the Hasbro office, which was an amazing visit. Um, actually I'm, I'm used to opening all of my toys and I like to let him breathe, but this one I'm kind of like, should, should I get him graded? Should I grade it? I'm not sure what you guys think about grading him.
00:58:14
Speaker
I might need to, but it's a super fun memory because he was so nice to the team. He took his time admiring the toy samples and engaging each of us individually and signing a lot for us. It was an amazing experience with him and it was a blast to have him and please come back sometime, Dawn. We loved it. So that's a super fun memory figure for me and one that's really special.
00:58:37
Speaker
And for weirdest, so I, this is a figure that did not come out. I once asked just what would it look like if we flocked a vintage collection Chewbacca. He might be the only Chewbacca in existence. Love a good play on words. I love the name.
00:58:59
Speaker
Gotta up your pun game in the toy industry. But he might be the only in existence, and he's really awesome even though it's not something we proceeded with. So I love that silly sample. That's awesome. We may not be getting a flocked Chewbacca, but we are certainly getting a life day Chewbacca. And that's something that's very exciting. I love that we're... Holding his arm. I love that we're recognizing that that's a thing that really exists that once aired on television. I love that we've reached that point in the...
00:59:28
Speaker
I almost bought a Life Day plush last time I was at Galaxy's Edge. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, these are the high nerd holidays that we all must celebrate and remember. It's in my calendar. It is in my calendar, and B. Arthur joins me every Life Day and pours a drink into a man's head. It's something that needs to happen. Incredible. Happy Life Day. Happy Life Day in advance. An early Life Day to you, Emily.
00:59:59
Speaker
So with that, we've reached the end of our interview. Can you please tell our listeners where can they find out the latest about the The Vintage Collection, Star Wars, Hasbro, yourself? Where can they do all the following on social media?
01:00:17
Speaker
Sure, absolutely. So you can hear any latest news that has roll pulse on Instagram and on YouTube. We love to share our latest toy news. You also hear a lot more from designers like me and all the other incredibly amazing people around the company as we do little shout outs and behind the designer desk videos. You can also catch me at Miss Melon on Instagram, reference to my silly name. And yeah, that's the place to come hunting.
01:00:45
Speaker
And I believe you guys have a stream coming up on the 29th. Yeah, August 29th at 11 a.m. Eastern on the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel. That'll be a day after this episode airs, so you can listen to this, hear this lovely little plug for the livestream, and then make sure you watch the Star Wars Ahsoka livestream on the 29th. There we go, right?
01:01:08
Speaker
Awesome. That's right. Looking forward to it. And we can't wait to share more reveals with you guys. Awesome. Emily, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. Thank you. This, this lived up to every expectation I had in my head. So, so thank you so much. Thank you for coming up with my weird stories. Thank you to the vintage community and let's get the ghost. Let's get the ghost. Dave, send us home. The force will be with you always.
01:01:38
Speaker
and also with you.
01:01:57
Speaker
Follow us on social media at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter. Stop by and say hi. Show us your toy hauls and share your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode.
01:02:21
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer Frank Kablaui. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives license. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.