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There are only a handful of hours left to buy into the Warpo Toys ‘Legends of Cthulhu’ Kickstarter retro toy line… 5 hours to be exact. The line has already funded and several stretch goals have already been unlocked. If they can raise another 10k before it closes then everyone at the ‘cultist” level and above will get another new figure – a figure of HP Lovecraft himself!
To help the stragglers make up their minds here is an exclusive look at the accessories that will come with the figures thanks to sculptor Eddy Mosqueda and the gang at Warpo Toys. When Warpo shot their Kickstarter video the accessories had not been finished so they mocked up some similar items. Now, below you can see the finished sculpts on all of the figures accessories:
We had a chance to talk with sculptor Eddy Mosqueda and ask him what it was like to step back in time and sculpt and design this new retro line of action figures:
AFi – What was it like for you to go back and try to sculpt in the style of a certain era?
Eddy- At first I thought it would be easy to sculpt in an simpler looking style again. But as I approached the actual sculpting style’s rules, the why’s and why-nots I was once part of, I remembered that we while were limited to the manufacturing processes of the day, all of what you put into the figure made the difference between good or bad toys. You have to put everything you have in to it, if it was ever going to amount to anything….I loved that time and those days so while I was working hard on this project, I was happy and excited doing this!
AFi – is there anything you have to do different or any different tools or materials you use for that retro look that you don’t do for your modern sculpts?
Eddy- Other than today the overwhelmingly largest percentage of modern toy sculpting is done using computers….Yes. I sculpted them using a wax compound over custom-to-each-figure wire armatures. I also sculpted them to original size, making it harder to sculpt this small scale….so I used several of my favorite small to tiny-tipped metal tools; most of which I made myself over the years. And Thee Tool of Them All, the electric “jeweler’s waxer” a gizmo that allows the sculptor to add or subtract hot wax that hardens on the sculpture, allowing one to carve, sand and polish the surfaces.
AFi –In the video we get see a little bit of your designs and sketches of the figures. Any chance we could get a better look at those?
Eddy- Sure, I’m sending you my four final drawings of the individual characters and the exclusive debut shots of the accessories That so far, collectors haven’t seen. Bryan, Tommy, and Eric from Warpo were a great inspiration and encouragement during this half-year journey. It was great working the guys they gave me the latitude to feel free with my designs and the direction to keep it in line with their expectations!
AFi – What are the differences in how you approach a retro line like this vs. how you do a modern line?
Eddy – It’s ‘kinda like ancient Egyptian vs. ancient Greek sculpture. The Egyptian approach was stiff while the Greek statues would bend, twist and stretch. The metal molds predating 1984 were made with straight “parting-lines” making the pose of the torsos straight and rigid looking. So since the late eighties, I’ve been able to twist and turn figures in extreme poses. The most evident project of this sculptural freedom can be found in the Playmates Toy line that I was sculpturately in charge of, Jim Lee’s WildCat’s….we broke new ground that led to the 1990′s collectible super hero figurative stuff that’s still en vogue.
AFi – So you did the the visual design of the C’thulhu Figures for Warpo. Most toy sculptors are not toy designers themselves. How long have you been designing toys and for whom?
Eddy- I was working at USC as a graphic designer, when in 1977 (I was 22 years old then), I was given a free-lance project to design and work on a doll project for “The Breyer Horse Co.”(Doll Head, Packaging, Logo Design,etc.) through a Toy group that’s still around today, “Unger Toys”. This led to designing and sculpting masks, toys, and figures for licensees and licensors such as Disney and Mattel where I landing a full-time job sculpting and designing for five years. In 1989 I left Mattel and became the business partner of a sculpting/design firm, Varner Studios for 15 years. Besides procuring work projects and sculpting, I was in charge of the design department with 3 other designers working for me on projects for Playmates Toys, like tons of Turtle lines such as Sports Turtles, Military, Rock, Western, Samurai Turtles, this went on for years, also creating TV and Toy characters for Universal’s Exo-Squad, Toxic Crusaders, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys for ages….Today, I’m still working as a vendor for Playmates Toys doing design and sculpting of Ninja Turtle Figures while I’m sitting on a bunch of my own characters and stories I’ve written with hopes of producing them myself, soon.
Thanks to Eddy and the gang at Warpo for answering our questions and letting us show these off these images!
The rest is up to you now. Check out the Warpo Toys ‘Legends of Cthulhu’ Kickstarter for all the rest of the details and your chance to own some great retro toys!
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