productz of society: stanley (why diy)
STANLEY is a "Productz of Society" and is a creation of "SAMBA" from London UK, who actually begun "life" as an animated character (peep video here) ... Samba mentions: "Other than the original story, the figure is about the T-Shirt and how it can showcase different designs and graphics and also be used to make a statement."
TOYSREVIL: WHY D.I.Y.? instead of approaching a toy-producing company?
SAMBA: The D.I.Y approach in the production of Stanley comes mostly from the influence of Japanese Kaiju (Something I personally am a big fan of!). I feel out of all toys, Kaiju has a very unique quality that really makes it different from other toys. The main production values of Kaiju, and in particularly in some of the smaller new-kaiju companys are very small production runs and commonly hand airbrushed. I feel gives them a very strong hand made, 'No Thrills' quality and makes them a bit more individual than some toys that have larger production runs. This is the same feel I wanted the first 'Prototype Edition' of Stanley to have and it give people a chance to own something a bit more special and exclusive.
TOYSREVIL: nice. (one of) the spirit of Kaiju (to a noob like me) is the seemingly "more personal" approach, as opposed to all-factory-made, IMHO. (and yes i know, some most factory-made-toys are handpainted :p) ... did you have in mind to make Stanley as a toy when you first created the animation? and why did you chose Stanley?
SAMBA: Originally Stanley was created as a character for my animation, but after I had made my film I begun to imagine him as a figure - this came from looking at my own toy collection and noticing that I have no figures that are really a human form. I have plenty of Apes, Monsters and Robots but no humans. Funnily enough, since I have made Stanley into a toy I really like the interaction he has with my other toys, he is almost like the toy collector in with all of the other figures.
(Overcoming Coulrophobia Movie)
TOYSREVIL: "a toy collecting other toys" (you know that's a movie in the making, yeh? i call dibs! LOL) ... you mentioned you collect toys (kaiju) - what do you collect? and do they influence you in your toy design?
SAMBA: I do collect toys and definitely draw as much influence from them as I do from everything else - literally everything influences me and sparks ideas. My favorite designers are Tim Tsui, Real Head, Secretbase, Blobpus, Bounty x Hunter, Muttpop, Mist and Kozik. I also love old skool Transformers and am a fan of anything with Robots in!
TOYSREVIL: robots are your friends! ... back to Stanley, is he currently articulated?
SAMBA: The current 'Prototype Edition' of Stanley is not articulated, although the final production version will be articulated and have accessories.
TOYSREVIL: how do folks get their hands on Stanley and how soon? and what's next for Stanley's development?
SAMBA: Before the final vinyl version of Stanley is released, I will be doing an auction of a small number of the 'Prototype Edition.' These will all be hand painted (Airbrushed) and no two will be the same, I hope this will give people a chance to own one of the exclusive first originals and at a fair price. I am currently working on the different designs and colours of this edition and hope to hold the auction in the next couple of months.
The final edition I hope to be ready in the later part of the year.
TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time and trouble, Samba! good luck to your production and we'll be looking forward to further developments!
- for any inquires, do drop Samba an email at productzofsociety [at] hotmail.co.uk
TOYSREVIL: WHY D.I.Y.? instead of approaching a toy-producing company?
SAMBA: The D.I.Y approach in the production of Stanley comes mostly from the influence of Japanese Kaiju (Something I personally am a big fan of!). I feel out of all toys, Kaiju has a very unique quality that really makes it different from other toys. The main production values of Kaiju, and in particularly in some of the smaller new-kaiju companys are very small production runs and commonly hand airbrushed. I feel gives them a very strong hand made, 'No Thrills' quality and makes them a bit more individual than some toys that have larger production runs. This is the same feel I wanted the first 'Prototype Edition' of Stanley to have and it give people a chance to own something a bit more special and exclusive.
TOYSREVIL: nice. (one of) the spirit of Kaiju (to a noob like me) is the seemingly "more personal" approach, as opposed to all-factory-made, IMHO. (and yes i know, some most factory-made-toys are handpainted :p) ... did you have in mind to make Stanley as a toy when you first created the animation? and why did you chose Stanley?
SAMBA: Originally Stanley was created as a character for my animation, but after I had made my film I begun to imagine him as a figure - this came from looking at my own toy collection and noticing that I have no figures that are really a human form. I have plenty of Apes, Monsters and Robots but no humans. Funnily enough, since I have made Stanley into a toy I really like the interaction he has with my other toys, he is almost like the toy collector in with all of the other figures.
(Overcoming Coulrophobia Movie)
TOYSREVIL: "a toy collecting other toys" (you know that's a movie in the making, yeh? i call dibs! LOL) ... you mentioned you collect toys (kaiju) - what do you collect? and do they influence you in your toy design?
SAMBA: I do collect toys and definitely draw as much influence from them as I do from everything else - literally everything influences me and sparks ideas. My favorite designers are Tim Tsui, Real Head, Secretbase, Blobpus, Bounty x Hunter, Muttpop, Mist and Kozik. I also love old skool Transformers and am a fan of anything with Robots in!
TOYSREVIL: robots are your friends! ... back to Stanley, is he currently articulated?
SAMBA: The current 'Prototype Edition' of Stanley is not articulated, although the final production version will be articulated and have accessories.
TOYSREVIL: how do folks get their hands on Stanley and how soon? and what's next for Stanley's development?
SAMBA: Before the final vinyl version of Stanley is released, I will be doing an auction of a small number of the 'Prototype Edition.' These will all be hand painted (Airbrushed) and no two will be the same, I hope this will give people a chance to own one of the exclusive first originals and at a fair price. I am currently working on the different designs and colours of this edition and hope to hold the auction in the next couple of months.
The final edition I hope to be ready in the later part of the year.
TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time and trouble, Samba! good luck to your production and we'll be looking forward to further developments!
- for any inquires, do drop Samba an email at productzofsociety [at] hotmail.co.uk
