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Going Savage with Rob Post of Savage Crucible
760 Plays3 years ago
This week on the pod we sit down with Rob Post, owner of the latest ultra-successful Kickstarter campaign, Savage Crucible. Learn about how the line got its start, where it's going, and how you can get on board.
Follow Savage Crucible on Instagram @savagecrucible and visit https://savagecrucible.com to get your figures!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
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Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Benefits of Zencaster's Podcasting Platform
00:00:02
Speaker
You've heard us talk about how much we love Zencaster. We've told you about how awesome their podcasting platform is, how easy it is to host, record, and publish adventures in collecting with their all-in-one web app.
Zencaster's Crowdfunding Campaign
00:00:16
Speaker
Well, now they're giving you, our listeners, the opportunity to support us and the nearly 30,000 other podcasts powered by Zencaster. That's right. Now you can invest in the podcasts you love
00:00:29
Speaker
through Zencaster's crowdfunding campaign. For as little as $100, join a community of other investors who seek to help Zencaster and independent podcasters like us succeed. If you're interested in investing in Zencaster, go to wefunder.com slash zencaster or click the link in our episode description below to claim your slice of the future of podcasting.
00:00:54
Speaker
That's wefunder.com forward slash z en c a s t r. Are you ready, kids? Get your parents permission, check your mailbox and grab your shopping cart.
Introduction to Adventures in Collecting
00:01:13
Speaker
It's time for the adventures and collecting podcast.
00:01:17
Speaker
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.
Guest Rob Post and Savage Crucible Kickstarter
00:01:30
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. Hi. Dave, we are back. Eric, we are. We're here. We are. And we're not going to talk about wrestling figures.
00:01:47
Speaker
Um, yeah. Yeah. Um, we are not taking, taking a little break, a little break after a couple of weeks in a row, right? Yeah. Uh, yeah. So two, two weeks in a row of, uh, talking about some, some fine wrestling figures, uh, and then, uh, you know, our, our normal news break. But today we are back with a, uh, with another guest, Dave. We are. Um, yeah. As, as is the norm.
Podcast Format Evolution
00:02:16
Speaker
Yeah, the norm. Remember when we weren't an interview podcast every week? I like what we've evolved into, though. We've worked hard to get here. How did anyone stay on board? People are like, oh, is there going to be a normal episode? I'm like, these are. If anything, you don't want the old version.
00:02:39
Speaker
I will say we have a list of topics for like just in case of like technical emergency like we're like where we have to go off the cuff so
00:02:50
Speaker
If all of a sudden you're like, oh, why are they talking about toys they brought on road trips with them?
Toy Availability and Crowdfunding Importance
00:02:55
Speaker
That's why. So what were your hauls since last time we talked about this? Well, it's been two years, so I've gotten a lot. Yeah, it's been a long two years. So let's not bury the lead, right? No, absolutely not. No burying. No burying the lead.
00:03:13
Speaker
So as as you're all very intimately familiar at this point it's it's certainly no famine when it comes to sourcing new toys for our collections. Whether it's a long standing industry juggernaut turning out new plastic from beloved ips and fandoms or someone like this week's guest delivering original characters through a crowdfunded campaign.
00:03:33
Speaker
We really do still live in an exciting time to be a collector.
Rob Post's Collecting Journey
00:03:38
Speaker
Joining us on this episode well into a scorching hot and successful Kickstarter is Rob Post, owner of Savage Crucible. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, Rob. Good evening, gentlemen. Thanks for having me. It is our pleasure. I think it is the understatement of the year so far to say that your Kickstarter has been wildly successful, so congratulations.
00:04:03
Speaker
Thank you. I appreciate that. Before we hop into your history with toys and Savage Crucible, this is a show about collecting.
Transition to Toy Making
00:04:13
Speaker
The first question we ask all of our guests, what are you currently collecting and what are some of your recent pickups? My most recent pickup is a Mondo Man in Arms.
00:04:26
Speaker
I hadn't really been collecting the Mando, but they finally got me with the Battlecat. So I thought that was too great of a piece to pass up on, and I thought that'd be a great display piece. So now I'm going back and collecting all their previous releases on the Mando O2. So we'll see. That's my most recent. I'm pretty happy with that.
00:04:48
Speaker
And those are the one six scale ones, right? Those, those are the big ones. They are the big boys. So how does it feel like, like I haven't, I actually haven't even seen one of those in person. Like, yeah, I'm thinking like back to like toy events and things. How is it like, you know, you're so used to like a five inch masters of the universe figure. What is it like having, you know, a one six scale battle cat?
00:05:10
Speaker
I don't have the battle kit yet that was on a pre-order so but the the one six uh man in arms man
Growth of My Action Figure Customs (MAFC)
00:05:16
Speaker
in arms it's it's kind of like the equivalent and a lot of things like when you opened up a sentinel or a galactus and you're like my god this thing is huge like you want to you just want to put it on your kitchen table so everyone has to ask you about it kind of thing it's pretty much the equivalent like it it's a showstopper a showstopper yes a collection centerpiece right yes very much so
00:05:40
Speaker
both literally and figuratively. Ayo. Yeah. So your journey to starting your own toy line is an unusual one. Tell us how you got there. So I was a collector, and I was collecting Mythic Legions at the time. And this is three, four years ago. And I was kind of looking for some hobbies to get into besides this collecting. I remember I thought that I would collect Mythic Legions, jump into that,
00:06:10
Speaker
It might take me a little while to collect some of the first releases. And it took me about two weeks, honestly. So then I had to figure out something else to do. So I was looking into customizing. I thought that had a lot of potential with painting. I used to do some more gaming and things like that. So I did enjoy painting. And but I didn't really like I don't have any ability to sculpt myself with any amount of attitude. So I was watching a show or something and one of the creators
00:06:40
Speaker
was talking about a Form 2 printer that they use at their shop. And I looked it up, and it was reasonably affordable, meaning it didn't cost like a couple hundred thousand dollars. So I ordered one, it showed up a couple days later. And I started printing something. I had my first print in about 12 hours from getting it. And from that point, I started getting on certain websites looking for sculptors to make some extra parts for my figures, because I wanted some barbarian characters that just weren't readily available out there to go buy.
00:07:10
Speaker
And so while there is a multitude of things or toys to buy these days, even just a couple of years ago, there's a lot of genres that are sort of overlooked, especially with more hardcore stuff. Everything seems to be a little bit more bright or kid-centric for that purpose, which is absolutely fine, but not what I was looking for for my own personal collection. And so I started 3D printing, hiring some sculptors just to sculpt stuff for me personally. And from there, I actually decided to just create a website on a whim
00:07:39
Speaker
and I started selling my parts. And like I said, that was like three, four years ago. I think that was 2018, December 2018, when I started doing that. And from there, we started MAFC and it kind of blew up from there in terms of just interacting with sculptors and creators and things of that nature.
00:08:00
Speaker
So, um, you know, you, you mentioned, uh, you know, my action figure customs and, you know, very well known within the, uh, the, the mythic legions community and in terms of a place to get, uh, you know, custom pieces, uh, did you find that people kind of had the same tastes as you, you know, when you were putting up those pieces, like, you know, the stuff that you were making for yourself, did it translate well to things that like other people wanted to purchase? Yes, actually. Um,
00:08:28
Speaker
There were a few hits and misses and sometimes there's a sculpt that just comes out of nowhere and everybody just absolutely loves it. No one even asked for it. But in general, yes, I could say that, um, the things that I was looking for and the things that the artists were creating were definitely, definitely hitting with the customer base. There's no doubt about that. Um, I can tell you like from the first day I started selling like 20 or 30 pieces, um, to like, I think my best month, we probably did like 60,000.
00:08:57
Speaker
in wildlife. So just in comparison, that's just a huge difference in unanticipated demand that you can't really account for, right?
Insights on Toy Industry Operations
00:09:10
Speaker
I think the great example is like the Draven head sculpt, which was his vampire head. And I call it the sculpt that no one asked for, but everybody wanted because not one person asked for that sculpt at all. And, but it's been one of the best sellers ever. And it's like I said, it's just something that no one really ever asked for. We just kind of did it on a whim and it was a big hit now.
00:09:33
Speaker
I think the thing that some of the tastes that I see out there that I don't really resonate with or like a lot of sweet woodland creatures and things like that, kind of whimsical stuff, doesn't really fall into a lot of the fantasy that I was reading as a kid. I was usually reading more hardcore stuff. So I think that's something that might be like a whole or some sort of a sub-genre that appeals to certain people based on what kind of fantasy tales that you were reading growing up.
00:10:00
Speaker
Well, we, we have this thing that we like to say, you know, uh, on, on the show in, in, in terms of toys, I didn't know I needed that until I saw it. So there, there are a lot of toy companies out there that do that Excel at, uh, at, at doing just that. And that kind of is the theme of the day, really, you know, like anything can be a toy now, like literally anything. Um, and, and sometimes you just need to like see it to be like, Oh, I, I,
00:10:29
Speaker
I need that now. Like we have a toy gelatinous cube now. Yup. Yup. And like we have Alf as a toy all these years, all these years later, you know, and people were prior to NECA even putting out that Alf people were taking, uh, black series Chewbacca black series Ewoks and 3d printing elf heads for them, you know, and then like chopping them up and kit bashing and stuff. So like even before he was officially a toy,
00:10:59
Speaker
people really wanted an elf toy. Yeah. That's pretty wild. Oh yeah. I think I had a stuffed elf actually. I think it's about the only thing you can actually buy of elf, right? I had, I had that as well. I did back in the day. Yeah. And the, and the other thing too is just like with, with the world of mythic legions, I mean, there's such a cottage industry around customization with them. Like it's like, it's a, that mean the, the line itself, you know,
00:11:30
Speaker
It's kind of designed to be kit bash and customized, but people like yourself and all the numerous other artists that are out there producing pieces that fit on those body types, it's just, it's incredible to see.
Inspiration Behind Savage Crucible
00:11:46
Speaker
You walk up and down toy shows, especially here in New Jersey with Legion's Con and Toy Con and Jay, just table after table with people that are making these super cool stuff for Mythic Legion's.
00:11:59
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say, it seems like it's like if if you're collecting mythic legions, that seems like that's part of. Part of what you do is like, OK, how do we customize this? So when you think of, you know, the customs that you were doing, was it a logical progression for you to scale that up to make your own toy line?
00:12:23
Speaker
So I went down the path of actually looking to license some stuff and manufacture some parts previously. And that didn't work out. And so when you think about it from a toy company's perspective, the average toy company is usually is run by artists. If you think about it, usually most indie companies are usually based on the artists involved. They have some
00:12:47
Speaker
some talent or ability in the toy making industry. Either they came from a toy company or they're a sculptor or something to that effect, right? And so with being with so many different artists that work with MAFC, there's a good about five or six sculptors. That was something that we had. And a lot of the sculptors that work for MAFC are actually professional sculptors who do work for Mezco, Hasbro, Lego.
00:13:17
Speaker
So it was sort of a unique position to be in, to have that many talented people. And we would always talk about sort of the things that we wanted to see and the limitations we had in trying to have custom parts that only worked on a couple of bodies. And there's like new bodies that we wanted, right? So that was sort of where it came out of. We had the, we had the knowledge. We certainly had artistic ability. So yeah, I think it was a natural progression to get there.
00:13:48
Speaker
Now, you mentioned the background of somebody who typically starts a toy company being kind of an artist or designer. And yes, you had the time to kind of build these relationships with artists and designers. But your background, like we kind of alluded to at the top of the show, is kind of a roundabout way of how you had gotten into the industry. Does any of your background in finance, like was any of that
00:14:18
Speaker
you know, informing any of the decisions that you made or accounting. Excuse me. Right. Accounting that finance. So, uh, the finance is actually, uh, more correct in this, in this instance, but yes, actually, I mean, I have an operations background, um, a military background. I'm a disabled veteran, uh, Arabic linguists and military intelligence. Um, thank you for your service. Yes. Thank you. So, um, I think all of my decisions, um, are based on,
00:14:45
Speaker
Well, let me say that 97% of my decisions are based on solid numbers and logic, right? Um, so there's 3% in there that goes on gut or something that I just necessarily want. And I think that is the real difference of some of the things that I harp on. Um, because from my perspective, things don't make sense right now in the toy industry. There's a lot of things that don't make sense that people should be asking some really hard questions about. Um, and so.
00:15:16
Speaker
From an operational standpoint and understanding what I know about the industry, timelines weren't making sense. Pre-orders weren't making sense. The amount of money involved wasn't making sense. And so those are things that I am trying really hard with our company to make sure that we don't do and that we do right by the fans. So, cause they're, you know, we were having this conversation today
00:15:45
Speaker
Why do you have to have a pre-order for only a month or two months or a week? If you don't get your figures for two years. Yeah. I mean, we're sitting here shrugging. So yeah. They're not in production. They're not sending the money to China. Why? I don't, I, we do not know the answer. Someone can answer that for me. It'd be great. Um, so.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, just in some cases, like they're
Pre-order Strategies in Toy Industry
00:16:17
Speaker
completely, you know, you know, Hasbro has eliminated pre-orders now entirely from, you know, from the plan for the Lucasfilm products. So like, it's, it's a very, it is a very weird, is a very weird time. Right. There's some companies that do open up their pre-order window all the way up to when they're about to put in the order, because they want to maximize the amount that they buy from the factory.
00:16:44
Speaker
And so there are there are companies that do that but most don't let us try to create and it's a form of fear marketing Basically FOMO, you know, you're gonna miss out if you don't it forces you and there is some psychology behind it in terms of if you can delay a Purchase you'll delay it into infinity but like I said if you have it up to a couple weeks before you're gonna put place your order then and
00:17:09
Speaker
there's no reason to really worry about it. Some people are going to be early birds get in there first. Some people are going to build it up over time. Some people would actually buy more if you had a longer window, right? And then there's always going to be those people that wait till the last minute. That's just how it always works. So, but in terms of fans, um, my personal take is, is I don't want to try to limit the window in which they can purchase, um, to such a, such a limiting degree. There should be a wider, a wider window to be able to purchase.
00:17:37
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's, you know, we've seen a multitude of examples at this point from, from, you know, indie makers where that's been successful for them, you know, where it's not been a, it's like, Hey, listen, this is, we're going to have a nice long open, like, you know, pre-order window. And this is the finite day when it's closing. You know, we're going to be upfront about what that day is, but you know, you have time and. You know, this is, this is how it's going to work. And yeah, it's, it's stress free.
00:18:05
Speaker
And we've not seen any issues with that approach so far.
Thematic Direction of Savage Crucible
00:18:16
Speaker
So speaking of the approach itself, Savage Crucible. So here we are. We've arrived at the actual creation of the line. And you've mentioned your liking to fantasy and kind of that more hardcore fantasy. But how did you actually decide on the theme for Savage Crucible? Well, there's certain things that I really enjoyed.
00:18:42
Speaker
despite their problems as people Howard and Lovecraft were their Conan and their Cthulhu universes were very interesting to me. They were always fun, always mysterious. There was always a mysterious element to them. So that was sort of the one part of it. And the next part of it was is there's just so many great sci-fi movies over the years that brought in some really cool concepts in terms of worlds and
00:19:10
Speaker
I thought that it would just be a unique idea, not really unique in itself, but unique just to kind of bring it all together. And I really wanted to bring a universe together that allowed other brands to come into it. And so there's so many great little sub genres of fantasy and sci-fi that we all, or most of us really enjoy, but don't have the same kind of popularity to be mass produced.
00:19:35
Speaker
And so to create a vehicle where you could introduce some of those characters to be able to collect side by side, I think I thought would be pretty awesome. And so that was sort of the basis of the concept of Savage Crucible, someplace where you could literally, as in a crucible, mix several different brands together to bring it into its own world.
00:19:58
Speaker
Yeah, and from the designs that we've seen, from everything from that paranoid to the lizard guys, there is quite a mix of creatures and humanoid characters. Oh, yeah. And I was a big D&D fan growing up. And it's been great to watch Stranger Things and see that world come to life in a different way that you
00:20:24
Speaker
You know, that you didn't think was possible 20 years ago. Like no one, it was way too far down on the geek scale to ever be in mainstream America. Right. Yeah. If, if, uh, if only, if only Gary had, uh, had a few more years left in the tank and, and got a chance to see, uh, you know, it come kind of full circle. I'm sure he would have had some, a heavy amount of vindication. Absolutely.
00:20:49
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, the Kickstarter has been a massive success so far. Were you surprised at how strong of a response it got right out of the gate? Yes. Yes, actually. Very, very much so.
Success of Savage Crucible Kickstarter
00:21:04
Speaker
In fact, people have questioned like the the funding goals, like why I did the ways I did. And I was like,
00:21:08
Speaker
Well, I had no idea that like we might, we might have just funded at like 129. I didn't know, you know, like I had no clue where the numbers were going to be. And I did not imagine we would have gotten this far. Um, I thought it was going to take us like at least three weeks to get above like 250 or 300. And I mean, we did it in less than, I don't know, 10 days, about, about 10 days we got to 300 something.
00:21:36
Speaker
So, um, yes, I am very surprised. I mean, I, I thought that this would resonate with people, but I was not cocky. I was definitely, um, had a lot of anxiety going into it and just kind of thinking, well, um, sometimes you miss the mark. Sometimes you hit the mark. We're about to find out. So. Yeah. It was one of those things where, you know,
00:22:01
Speaker
We had noticed on social media, especially on Instagram, like people were posting, you know, kind of pictures and like, you know, that it was coming and, you know, just kind of the overall design and the presentation and, and also, you know, it always helps when you have the amazing, um, you know, taking some photos, but like, you know, we, just seeing some of the, those images and like,
00:22:24
Speaker
The fact that there were already, you know, hand painted prototypes, right? Cause those are the ones that he shot are prototypes, right? Yeah. They're check models. Yeah. They're, they're made in silicone molds. Okay. So, but like, even, even seeing those is like, it's like, Oh, this is like, this looks way farther along. Like then, then usually projects like this kind of look. And I think a, I think that really helped.
00:22:49
Speaker
you know, the initial boost is like, no, look, this is what these things are actually going to look like. And they look really sweet.
Fantasy's Mainstream Popularity Influence
00:22:54
Speaker
But, um, but to again, you know, riding that, uh, you know, the popularity of, of what, uh, what four horseman's doing, I mean, those, the existing in that world, that kind of culture, I think to like, you know, the background with, you know, my action figure customs, I think you, you like really hit the nail on the head with this, this project and, you know, uh,
00:23:18
Speaker
It was one of those ones where before we had even chatted before, you know, I, I, you know, we even knew what Savage Crucible was. Just looking at those initial photos was like, this is going to fund fast. People are already super jazzed about this and we're a week out from, you know, from the campaign even launching. So yeah, it's, it's like the perfect time for, for, you know, that kind of like deep fantasy kind of.
00:23:45
Speaker
stuff to really just kind of be at the forefront where it's, you know, it's almost like a new. I don't want to say Golden Age for it, but like, as far as, you know, action figures and collectibles goes, you know, thanks to the new popularity of like even something like D&D or like even, you know, the pathfinders and such of the world, like Mythic Legions and now Savage Crucible, like you're starting to see
00:24:14
Speaker
this pop up more and more? Yeah, I think it's I think it is a golden age. I think that with adult collectors and D&D going so mainstream that people have touched on it in some form or fashion that I think they can see the characters and the ideas for what they are and how much interest they bring to them or before people, you know, that was always a problem with science fiction
Fantasy and Societal Issues Exploration
00:24:40
Speaker
and fantasy. A lot of people shun them for
00:24:42
Speaker
being childish or something when we were younger, but they actually get the, you have the ability to explore ideas and then the untethered from some of the politics that, you know, day to day bring to it, right? So just on the story side of it, so you get to explore things. That was the great thing about Star Trek, right? You got to explore societal problems from a different angle without all the baggage. It was
00:25:01
Speaker
and, you know, Starship Troopers, you know, I mean, that was a big shock with those, you know, and the whole society, like you're sitting there cheering and you don't realize till about maybe, well, some people didn't rise to the entire movie, but some people didn't realize that they were actually cheering on some fascists there. So, just interesting ideas all around and fancy and really lets you explore a lot of those topics, so. And now, a word from our sponsors.
00:25:35
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:29:39
Speaker
So aside from the actual theme of these figures themselves, clearly a lot has gone into the consideration with design and scale for that matter. So outside of wanting these figures to play inside multiple worlds, like you had mentioned, what were some of the things that you took into consideration when you were designing these full figures? So for me, I've really always enjoyed
00:30:06
Speaker
Mafex and figure arts and monster art figures. Um, I think they have some of the smoothest best articulation. Um, and a lot of them like with my son, monster arts do a really great job of hiding joints.
Articulation and Customization in Savage Crucible
00:30:19
Speaker
Um, without really breaking up the scope. Now they're really expensive and Bandai has a great factory, which they own. And so that that allows them to do things that the average inventory company can't do because they're not, they're not controlling it from that standpoint. But, um, when I did find my factory several years ago, um,
00:30:36
Speaker
Dave Proctor is our production manager. He's a former employee of Hasbro. He's a founding member of Boss Fights and just a world-class sculptor and engineer when it comes to toys. I mean, the amount of knowledge that he actually has is pretty breathtaking, actually.
00:30:52
Speaker
I actually wanted to do some things. I wanted double joints. I wanted, um, double knees and elbows that were better hidden than the average domestic figure that you got. And so the articulation was really up there, uh, on an important scale on the important scale rather. So that was important. The next part was pop and swap ability, um, being D and D that world, you know, that ability to customize as well.
00:31:19
Speaker
I realized that not everybody has the time to actually sit down and paint and customize figures and think through that. That's very time consuming when you think about it. And so a lot of people have kids and other commitments and spouses and things like that. And you can't spend that much time doing that. So I wanted to make sure that out the gate, I had a very large catalog of parts that gave people the ability to pop and swap without having to paint, to really create unique characters. And so tomorrow with some of the
00:31:47
Speaker
stretch goals that drop you'll start to see like these little knickknacks that go onto the figures that really help you differentiate them from a bullwhip to cuffs to a navigation kit and things like that that you can really outfit each figure and so the ability just in the first three waves I think there's there's definitely over a dozen of every piece in terms of forearm shins waste pieces
00:32:09
Speaker
Delta armor shoulder armor. There's over. I don't know how many different heads so you could literally in each way Army build your entire way of not not want to have one figure wearing the same same armor much less the same little accessories and giving everybody unique weapons, so There there is a rhyme and a reason to it. I have heard some whining about how this is possible and
00:32:31
Speaker
Um, the only way it's possible is if there's the demand there, right? So, and so far the demands pretty strong and we feel pretty good about it. So we'll be able to continue that based on our current projection. So, um, I don't see a lot of massive repaints going on over and over again. That's not going to be something that we're going to really entertain. So if you see old parts, they're going to be on a new body with a new head. Um,
00:32:57
Speaker
So, but that's part of the pop and swap mentality is that you can reuse parts, but not use them in the same manner over and over again. So you can have a really diverse shelf. And I think too, that's one of those things where people exist on both sides of the coin when it comes to reuse. And I think when it's done right, it's less of a reuse and a repaint and more of a reuse of engineering. You know, you're taking the time to make these
00:33:26
Speaker
really smooth joints, these, you know, these body parts that, uh, you know, that are engineered really well. Why not, you know, reutilize those parts to make new characters. It's just silly to think of it any other way. No, I completely agree. I mean, just, there's just no reason to have the same armor on the same skin. Yep. You can, you know, you can take any of the armor from the lizards and you can reissue it on a different body type and you get to reuse.
00:33:53
Speaker
That armor, you know, so that's, and you can think of all the multitudes of bolt body types that you can squeeze out. So, um, there's a lot, there's a lot of, you just gotta plan ahead and kind of think deep. And I think the biggest problem most indie companies have starting out as cash, you know, they're really strapped for cash. This is an expensive endeavor. And as you lose who earlier were way farther along because we spent the money to do that.
00:34:20
Speaker
And just the average person just doesn't have that kind of money in reserve, um, to do those kinds of things. Cause it is expensive, but it truly is. So that initial investment that you made into the project ahead of the launch of the campaign. I mean, like you said, that's, that's definitely the difference maker here. And I mean, it was, it was evident before the campaign launched. Yeah. I mean, we had two full time sculptors for two years. Oh, wow.
00:34:46
Speaker
Okay. So, um, I think you can imagine what we have in reserve, um, in terms of characters. Um, so you've been busy. Yes. And then if you look at just our check models, you know, we have, we have six different body, body figures and check models. Normally you see one check model of one body type, and we have three copies of each check model and six different.
00:35:15
Speaker
characters. So that in itself is about a $25,000 investment. Jeez. Yeah. Another really cool thing is this kind of speaks to the, you know, that. I would say sense of history in like the fantasy world, and that's the inclusion of a Frank Frazetta design character. How did that opportunity come up?
00:35:44
Speaker
So it came through MFC about, I don't know, two or three years ago. We, I approached the Frazetta museum, particularly Frank and Lori Frazetta to license some parts to sculpt and 3d make to put on some of the Ephesians figures. At that point, there wasn't a mess code deaf dealer out there.
00:36:11
Speaker
There have been some really nice statues made. I think maybe Faison did one of their, you know, molded flesh, whatever, bodies. But that was pretty much it out there. I think there was like a shorter five inch figure or something,
Licensing Frank Frazetta Character
00:36:24
Speaker
but not really my speed. And so I just wanted to make a really nice stuff dealer. I'd seen some people make a custom of it. Those people were able to sculpt it.
00:36:33
Speaker
Um, so I approached them and they were, um, uh, very gracious and humored me. Um, and we're just really polite and let me license, um, the parts or take, you know, license that deaf dealer figure in terms of making out some 3d printed parts. And it did fairly well. People were really excited about it.
00:36:54
Speaker
And no one had ever approached them about doing this. And I had to explain to them, you know, they're like, well, where's the body? And I'm like, well, no, there's buy someplace else. Like, you know, they just put these parts on it. They were just very gracious. And I mean, they just were nice people about it. They didn't, they could have just told me to go away. It wasn't worth their time, to be honest. I mean, they barely made any money off the topic. I mean, relatively speaking to like someone like Mezco or somebody else pays them for the licensing fees, right?
00:37:21
Speaker
Um, so they were just really gracious to me. And when I approached them again, I had a different strategy about how I wanted to go about this. And I didn't want to do deaf dealer out the gate. I, knowing, um, Frank's library of characters, there's just so many awesome characters that he has that no one's ever.
00:37:42
Speaker
put into an action figure form. And barely some of, I mean a few have been made into statues, but that's just a few. I mean, he's got hundreds of characters that have potential, just fantastic characters. So that was the idea, that was the pitch. I'm gonna start with a character that most people, the average person isn't gonna know, only hardcore for Zeta fans are really gonna know about it and kind of build up to these more well-known characters. And that was the game plan, that was the sales pitch.
00:38:11
Speaker
Frankly, no one had ever approached them like that before. Yeah, I mean, what a pick. I mean, he does have so many toyetic designs. I mean, they're begging to be action figures, especially now with the technology and the way that these are designed. I mean, you could really bring those drawings to life.
00:38:34
Speaker
to life, air quotes, but considering now that you've, you know, you've licensed, uh, you know, the death dealer for, for my action figure customs and, and, you know, the, uh, what, what's the official name? I, I, I was going to say warrior with ball and chain. Um, can we expect to see more, uh, from the Frazetta library coming to Savage crucible down the line? Uh, I would count on it. Yeah.
00:39:03
Speaker
Cool. I think that was the expected answer.
Q&A Segment Introduction
00:39:13
Speaker
All right, so this next section, this is our follower Q&A. So if this is the first time you've ever listened to Adventures in Collecting, hi. Welcome to the show. Hope you're enjoying this episode. Make sure you're following us on Instagram at AIC underscore podcast, where when we have a guest, we will make an announcement on social media and give you the opportunity to submit questions for this very segment on the show.
00:39:42
Speaker
This week we have called the number of questions to one, two, three, or we have four questions for you today from our followers. Dave, would you like to do the first one? Yes. Yes, I absolutely would. Um, so friend of the pod at Craig stuff asks, assuming these will be available at retail down the road, what will they be priced at? Um, probably somewhere
00:40:10
Speaker
Around 55, I'd imagine. Okay. Next one comes from At Fortress Mattamus. Fortress Mattamus. I like that. It tracks too for this episode. This is good.
00:40:30
Speaker
Yeah, and must be said with a deep voice. With so many races, body shapes, and colorways, how compatible will these Kickstarter items be with future line offerings?
Future Line Compatibility Assurance
00:40:43
Speaker
Very. In fact, you know, we told people that our plan is to have the dwarf in wave four.
00:40:51
Speaker
And a lot, a good number of the parts will fit on the dwarf. Like any of the deltoid armor will fit on the dwarf. Any of the hands from the barbarians, they will fit on the dwarf. So I think someone previously asked, is the dwarf going to have metal fingers? And my response is, he's already got them in wave two. So.
00:41:11
Speaker
Yes. No, everything work with a dwarf. No, it's a different body, but, um, future body styles. Um, yes, there will be, definitely be an eye towards compatibility and reverse compatibility. We will do other body types certainly. Um, but that doesn't mean that some parts can't be compatible. Even if you go up in a, in a body size or down.
00:41:39
Speaker
All right. Next one is at Johnny underscore C underscore dagger. And Johnny asks, was there a particular reason why the character packs are not compatible with the $15 slates?
Slate Figures for Customizers
00:41:55
Speaker
Yes. The, the first answer is, is that we only came up with the slates and put them in the Kickstarter two weeks before it started. Um,
00:42:07
Speaker
The plan was always to have a $25 army builder figure. And when we got the final pricing for that, we just kind of inquired what a sort of a blank figure would cost to make. And it was so cheap that it allowed us to offer basically a figure in molded plastic with two or three little paint apps at $15.
00:42:32
Speaker
And I knew that it wouldn't appeal to, or I thought, I shouldn't say I knew, but I thought that it wouldn't appeal to the masses per se. The price point certainly appeals to everybody, right? But it was meant to appeal more to customizers. And it's sort of that one of those figures that when I was thinking the concept, I don't know if this will be true, but I was like, okay, I'll buy these. These will sit in inventory all year long, but customizers can keep coming back.
00:42:58
Speaker
and buying those to make new customs with, it's a lot more palatable to buy a $15 figure to customize and to buy like a $40 or $50 figure to customize, right? And so the packs were never meant to go on the slate. So we're always meant to go with the deco figures or the Savage figures. And so that's why there is no heads that go with them because the slates are literally meant for you to customize and paint yourself.
00:43:25
Speaker
So if you're going to paint them, then you can take a head from any figure and paint it, um, to go on there. And that's sort of the idea behind it. It's a, it's a blank slate. Now I, now I get the name. Yeah. Yeah. There we go. And that's, uh, I think, uh, Bill Dronowski over at dork layer. Um, it was the one that suggested that name. We were trying to come up with names about a year ago instead of saying army builders. And so our army builder names are slates as in blank slates and savages.
Conclusive Figure Concept
00:43:53
Speaker
So yeah, that's bad. I mean, it's perfect.
00:43:56
Speaker
Before absolutely before we hit the last question. I actually Talking about the slates and the kind of Kickstarter kind of exclusivity Aspect we didn't mention the Kickstarter exclusive figure So there's there is a specific colorway that is only going to be exclusive to the Kickstarter campaign, right? Yeah, I think convention convention. Yeah, it's an idea I came up with it's called a conclusive
00:44:23
Speaker
I don't know. That's the name I came up with. I don't know if I can claim credit for the idea. I'm sure someone's already thought of this before, but I don't personally like the idea of having convention exclusives. Um, the idea that some person has to fly 800 or 900 miles cross country to buy a $35 figures to make sure that their collection is complete or, you know, fall prey to eBay and some scalpers who just happened to live nearby. Um,
00:44:53
Speaker
Not saying that you shouldn't do that. I welcome anybody with an opportunity to make a decent dollar. It's just as a collector, it's kind of a turn off. Um, and so I don't, I just don't personally like that. Um, but I do like the idea of people coming to convictions, seeing you and getting some kind of reward out of that.
Convention Plans and Fan Engagement
00:45:13
Speaker
So I thought it would be a nice idea to kind of make it where, you know, once a year you put out a figure while you're doing the convention tour,
00:45:23
Speaker
Because our plan is to basically go to four or five conventions a year, spread out through the country, to give everybody a chance to come out and see the stuff, and also just to show it to people that haven't seen it. Because there's way more people that haven't seen this than they've seen it in coy collecting worlds.
00:45:43
Speaker
I just thought it was a better idea. And I also thought that would be nice to be able to offer those figures as contest items throughout the year to drive interest. That's sort of the opportunity. Cause when you think about it, gave away a figure once a week, 52 weeks out of the year, it's not that much like in the grand scheme of things. It's not that thing, but you've got something going on for the entire year. So why not? Right. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
00:46:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and it's it's a perfect way to, you know, kind of seed extra interest, too. I mean, that's, you know, it's where to get somebody on board who wouldn't have been normally like, you know, because there's there's that's the one thing with Kickstarter is like, you know, there's always that risk. But, you know, when you're when you have something like that going on, it's somebody going like, oh,
00:46:35
Speaker
Let me see what this is all about. And if this is for me and then yeah, they all of a sudden it's like, Oh, I'm, I'm totally on board with this, which is awesome. Yeah. And what about the collector that can't drop $180 to $200? You know, like you're going to deprive your daughter of something so that you can have a $35, $40 figure that someone's scalping. Cause I mean, yeah, the day it's just a toy, but at the same time, like it is your hobby. It is your passion. So I don't want to, I don't want to take that away from anybody.
00:47:05
Speaker
So that's where the idea came from it's sort of a balance between Creating a chase figure in a way, but also making it actually attainable It's it's the most heartwarming savage crucible that could be that could exist
00:47:21
Speaker
Yeah. It's the most heartwarming, savage thing. And that actually takes us to our final question of our Q and A, which comes from friend of the pod friend, friend of everyone. Let's, let's be honest. Everyone's favorite, everyone's favorite satirical toy count. Our, our, our favorite French expat living in the Netherlands. No Norway at toy farce asks.
00:47:48
Speaker
Exactly how, quote unquote, hashtag savage are you ready to be? Oh, Lord. Oh, that's so scary coming from him. I don't even know how to put the proper caveats on this statement. I enjoy the memes. I enjoy it all. Like it's hysterical. I don't take things very personal.
00:48:17
Speaker
So I enjoy it. I I'm looking forward to whatever you come up with, sir. That is.
00:48:31
Speaker
Uh, yeah, he's, he's just the best. He's the best. Yeah. Because he like, there are a lot of, you know, accounts that I'm not going to name anybody, but like hard air quotes that like are satirical, but like he gets satire. Like he really just chef's kiss, like from day one out the gate. And he's such a nice guy. Absolutely. Like he gets satire, but there's also like the care and, you know, passion for.
00:49:00
Speaker
He seems to be really in touch with a lot of different brands, right? He really has his pulse on it. Actually, I think I've already seen one that he hasn't published related to Savage Crucible. It did make me laugh pretty hard. I don't know if you'll ever share that. I don't know if I wanted to share that one, but it was good. It was really good.
00:49:25
Speaker
So to answer his question, just savage enough. No children need be harmed, but groaning and crying is perfectly acceptable. Just savage enough feels like a sticker or a t-shirt or something. I can see it now. Savage crucible. Just savage enough.
00:49:49
Speaker
Exactly as savage as we need to be. Hashtag savage. Well, before we let you go, that is the end of our Q&A section, so congratulations. You've survived the adventure collecting Q&A sections. Thank you everybody for sending questions. Yes, thank you as always. Before we let you go, Dave, would you like to fulfill your role as this podcast's James Lipton and ask,
00:50:19
Speaker
Our final question. Well, yes, I would. So the final question that we ask all of our guests, what is your favorite and or strangest piece in your collection? It can be one of each. Or it can be both. And this is tough. This is really, really tough. I have a ram man.
00:50:48
Speaker
original Ram Ram from Motu. I just loved that figure as a kid. It doesn't even work anymore. And somehow I managed to hold on to it. I have to say that's like my favorite. Toy that gives me a memory. Because I definitely wanted to be Ram Man. The strangest toy I have in my collection.
00:51:16
Speaker
It's made out of plastic and it's adult oriented and can be seen on TV without a caveat. Let's see, it's a dangerous question, gentlemen. Hmm. My favorite. That's pretty tough. I'm not gonna lie, that is pretty, I mean, I do get a glee every time I walk in the shop and look at the sentinel I have.
Favorite Childhood Toy Memories
00:51:46
Speaker
That's given me a lot of happiness here in the last couple of months, just to see that big old thing. I think outside of that, it might be, I think one of the best paint jobs that was the most subtle was there was this, I think it was a Mayfax Venom, and they painted the base like this dark blue and then went over it with a black.
00:52:08
Speaker
And it was like, it's just two colors, but there's just something about it that just looks fantastic. Like I, just to get that much play out of two colors is just really impressive to me. So I'm just trying to think of things that like give me insight into me. So yeah, I think those are, those are my answers. Yep. Hey, no, great answers. Uh, yeah. And that, that got to love ran man, ran man too. That's.
00:52:33
Speaker
I used to love bashing my right man through stuff. Like Masters of the Universe or otherwise. I was like, this guy can go through things. Yeah, I definitely remember that one being in the bin like years later. Like when I started playing with your Mo2 figures. That's seven year age gap. I got to enjoy things like they were...
00:52:57
Speaker
None of my friends knew who, who any of the Masters of the Universe characters were until they came over my house. And I was like, Oh, this is Stinkor still worked. Yes. Oh yeah, it did. Oh yeah, it did. You were a plague on other people's parents. Those kids would come home and tell their parents they wanted that figure and they're trying to go to the store to find it.
00:53:14
Speaker
Yup. Yeah. And that time it was, you know, you had a better luck at a flea market at that point. That's the only way. Yeah. Flea market or like a garage sale. That was it. That was your only chance. Yup. Cause this was, that was way pre eBay and everything, but yeah. Fun time. Maybe a comic shop. Yeah, it's true. Secondhand at a comic shop. Yeah. How many toys did you guys get where some kid just got too old and was like, I'm done with them.
00:53:42
Speaker
Here's my whole collection. Like, I think that happened to me like twice.
Inheriting Toy Collections
00:53:49
Speaker
I know that I got a bunch of Star Wars figures that way. Like, later on. That didn't happen for me so much. Cause I was, um, you know, my cousin and I were the same age. So, and we were like kind of first in that regard.
00:54:09
Speaker
Right. So like everything went through us first. So that was more you, Eric, where.
00:54:17
Speaker
it was my stuff that you were getting. Yeah. I inherited a bunch of toys from, from you that way, like full collections, like the, those, um, Rambo figures, the karate kid ones, the masters of the universe, uh, wrestlers, turtles wrestlers. Yeah. Like literally all of the most iconic, how can I forget GI Joes? Um, literally like the most iconic toy lines of the eighties got dropped into my lap.
00:54:45
Speaker
as a five, six-year-old, which was awesome. The only one that really kind of continued on through you was Real American Hero.
00:54:55
Speaker
Yeah, real America. And I mean, Star Wars, there was a little bit of a gap, but that one picked back again. Turtles not go all the way through for you. I'm not sure. No, I mean, they stopped in the by the time I got was getting the turtles from from Dave. They were still making them like those. You were on the tail end, though. Yeah, they're getting the really horrible pizza delivery, Michelangelo or whatever.
00:55:21
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah, the like crazy, you know, some of the mashups are cool. But like, yeah, yeah, it was the it was the really like, thrown shit towards the wall to see what kind of sticks, Ninja Turtles. But yeah, I do remember, though, going to garage sales and picking up, like,
00:55:41
Speaker
People's collections of some of the stuff that, you know, that Dave had and that I already had. So like I was, I can remember going and like fill it filling gaps. We, you know, uh, the town we grew up in actually is known for having the longest annual running, uh, labor day street fair in the entire country. Okay. Um,
00:56:02
Speaker
And there were always cool like comic vent, like people selling comics and toys at that street fair. And tons of garage sales, the same weekend. Yep. And that was the thing, like the walk from our house to where the street fair was, it was also townwide garage sale day because of everything that was going on in the Labor Day street fair, everyone would do their garage sales. So you'd hit up the garage sales on your way to the street fair, you know, or vice versa. So I remember Labor Day being,
00:56:29
Speaker
when I was younger being like a thing I would save up for to try to fill some gaps in those collections.
Savage Crucible Kickstarter and Online Presence
00:56:38
Speaker
Awesome, guys. Well, Rob, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us tonight. Before you go, please let our listeners know where can they find out more about Savage Crucible online? Where can they back the campaign? Let them know where they can find you.
00:56:55
Speaker
So the website is www.savagecrucible.com. You can go to Kickstarter to back the Kickstarter campaign. Just type in Savage Crucible in the search bar, upper right hand corner. And there, follow us on Instagram, hashtag Savage Crucible. And there is a private Savage Crucible Facebook group where we pull people and ask questions and do some reveals as well. Awesome. And we'll make sure we include links to all of those in the show notes. So guys just hit the show notes and we'll put the link to the, the,
00:57:25
Speaker
the campaign right there as well as the website and everything. Rob, nothing but the best of luck for the rest of the campaign. Thank you again for joining us on the show and let's definitely have you back on once we have some figures in hand. Awesome. I really appreciate it, guys. Thanks, Rob. Dave, send us home. Everybody, go do a Google search for some Frisetta.
00:57:50
Speaker
Thank you, dear listener, for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Our music is Game Boy Horror by the Zombie Dandies. Find more about them both on our show notes.
00:58:07
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.
00:58:31
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.