Interview with Michael Sng of Machination Studio (The Origin of CODENAME: COLOSSUS)
Launched on Kickstarter currently (which I’d featured recently) is the “SCHNAUZER ARMORED WALKER” from Michael Sng (of Machination Studio) who has partnered up with Mighty Jaxx to make this diesel-punk collectible a toy-reality!
And while you head to the Kickstarter page to see how you can score a Walker and support this project, scroll thru for a lil’Q&A I had with Michael Sng himself (who BTW returns to Designer Con this weekend, @ the Mighty Jaxx booth #718, so you can bug him for MORE)! to get to know a bit more about the origin and world "Codename: Colossus" ... Thanks for your time, Michael!
IN THE BEGINNING: ”The story of the Codename Colossus world began when World War I failed to end. An earthquake split the Western Front apart leaving a giant pit of lava and burning up a large part of Europe and killing a lot of soldiers. The finger pointing in the aftermath led to the Treaty of Peace being torn up and both sides retreated because a large part of their armies died in the disaster.
After 10 years of development, the British unveiled a secret project codenamed Colossus. Giant walking tanks that can walk over the burning ground.”
TOYSREVIL: How did “Codename: Colossus” come about? What was it’s genesis? What’s it’s “toy story”. Michael?
MICHAEL SNG: "What I set out to create, 3 years ago, was a toy that I wish had existed when I was a kid: something that looks great like a well painted plastic military model kit, but could move like a radio controlled car. Something where the design sparks the imagination, and the simple mechanical movement will breath life into that imagination. It is not intended to be a tech toy. I mentally think of it serving a similar role like a cuckoo clock. You can tell the time with any other clock, but a cuckoo clock's simple mechanism still brings that little bit of delight."
TOYSREVIL: Why a “giant tank”? Although I am loving the “walker” aspect - very steampunk’s and awesome retro memories of Star Wars’ At-At walker crosses my mindscape!
MICHAEL SNG: "Why a giant tank? Well, I have always wanted something like this as a boy. Why walking? Because nothing says sci fi quite like a tank with legs.
The Pzkpfl.I Schnauzer Armoured Walker is my first walker from the opposition force, the Imperial Germans. It stands for 21cm and features a forward and reverse walking. The gatling cannon rotates and the main gun extend and retract."
TOYSREVIL: How has your toy-journey been? You’ve a wealth of builds before the current Kickstarter, and has even been reviewed on TESTED!
MICHAEL SNG: "The story of my journey of making the Codename Colossus toys got a lot of attention two years ago because I learnt 3D modeling, 3D printing, electronics, and programming completely from scratch over a course of 18 months to build my toy. It got me featured on many online articles and an invitation to speak at the TED Conference 2016 in Vancouver, Canada.
Last year I launched a Kickstarter for the Mk.I Cyclops armoured walker, and this year, I am launching the Kickstarter for the Pzkpfl.I Schnauzer together with Mighty Jaxx."
Here are some links for your kind considerations:
- Kickstarter for “Pzkpfl.I Schnauzer Armoured Walker”
- machinationstudio.com
- Machination Studio Facebook
- Instagram @machinationstudio
