Toy-Feature: Duster by DMS
I first knew of DUSTER by DMS via an email submission, and immediately found the form intriguing, if not vaguely familiar ~ perhaps a mecha afloat in my dreams, or perhaps a long-forgotten denizen of the toy-realms ... regardless, the handmade Duster-figures (from "Planet 44") measuring 4" x 3" has seen releases in four editions thus far, three of which (shown above) are still available via http://dmsone.bigcartel.com.
CLICK THRU for a Q&A with Duster's creator, who chooses to be known only as "DMS".
[DUSTER Original]
TOYSREVIL: What inspired you to create them? How were they created?
DMS: I’ve always really enjoyed Sci-Fi, since a kid I’ve been a huge Star Wars geek. I love dark Sci-Fi films like: *The Thing*, Alien, Dune and my favourite Event Horizon. The duster sculpt was totally unplanned, I rarely sketch a design before sculpting in clay. I prefer just to see where things develop without too much planning, then I make my silicone mould and start casting.
With Duster I really wanted my own figure, I had been working on Dunny candles and customs for quite a while and felt it was time to retire them and start a new project.
[DUSTER Camo]
DMS: As far as toy inspiration, I’ve seen them compared to the Three A style which is a huge compliment as I love that style. I think they’re different enough and I didn’t really see any similarity until I started working on the weathered, beaten looking paint jobs. I just didn’t want to make a cute looking figure, I wanted something a bit darker.
[DUSTER Medic]
TOYSREVIL: Ooohhh I lurve "dark" LOL ~ One plus for these figures were the surface treatment, which exuded a decadent decay, which appeals to me personally. How long have the Dusters been in existence? (in "toy-life" and/or "real-life")
DMS: In real life I completed the sculpt in November last year, in my back story I see the original prototype being around 5 years old.
TOYSREVIL: Who are the "Duster"? And what do they do?
DMS: In 2131 the decision was made by the World Council to attempt to create habitable colonies on alternative planets after great concerns for the planet Earth, this was not announced to the public.
Climate Change over the years had been causing viruses to mutate with devastating effects worldwide and by 2198 the common cold (VURI) had developed into the deadly EO/H74 epidemic.
2203 saw a huge rise in extreme weather conditions with the Tsunamis and The Great Floods, while the virus spread worldwide and gained pandemic classification. With the rapid infection of over three quarters of the world’s population by 2206, isolation of healthy humans and animals became essential for the survival of the species.
With the near completion of the Alternative Planetary Colonies (APCs) in 2210, the evacuation plan NOAH was announced to the world. To the horror of all but the isolated. The isolated healthy were organised into colony groups of both skilled and unskilled men, women and children with Doctors, Scientists and Engineers high in numbers. It is believed that uninfected world leaders and celebrities had already been evacuated to private VIP colonies.
In the year 2213 the colonists boarded the ARC shuttles and were evacuated from Earth, wondering if the slogan of the NOAH program ‘safe in space’ was at all true. The fate of the remaining tens of millions left alive on earth is unknown.
On arrival evacuees adjusted to colonial life, duties were assigned with the purpose of stabilising and developing the colony. Bonds were formed and new families created including my own. Attempts to contact the other colony planets was futile, although still carried out daily, it is widely thought that the other ARCs may not have reached their destination planets.
Planet 44 was my birthplace, a planet similar to Earth but around eighty percent smaller. Made up of five regions; Ocean, Mountain, Deep Forest, Desert and the manmade New London One colony. New London One is much like a city, contained within a series of Bio Domes with simulated Earth living conditions,
My mother was a leading robotics designer, my father an engineer. Both were responsible for designing and building the robots of Planet 44, they were caught in a Nebula storm while testing one of their designs and are still missing.
Growing up with a background in robotics from my parents, I am now following in their footsteps with my own creations. Duster is my first robot unit and functions to collect dust samples from nebula storms in the Desert region, by far the most toxic and dangerous region of Planet 44. These samples are then returned to my New London lab for analysis, the Desert region must be made safe for future generations as the colony expands.
Five years since the original prototype my work continues with the Duster units, I have been assigned with adapting them for use in other regions of the planet. Recently the Camo units were deployed to the Deep Forest region for analysis and the Medic units to the Desert to aid and repair the Original Dusters. Further versions are planned.
[One-Off DUSTER Purple Haze]
TOYSREVIL: Cheers for your time. In closing, do share with us, who is DMS?
DMS: I’m a self-employed artist and graphic/web designer from Cornwall UK. I sell my pieces through my store: http://dmsone.bigcartel.com and my own website: http://www.dms-one.net I also occasionally write a blog: http://dms-one.blogspot.com.
I'm probably best known for my custom Dunny candles which have gone out all over the world to coellectors. I also make Krinker graffiti styled mini statues and a Banksy style rat but developing Duster and my Planet 44 creations are now my main focus.
