BLOG STORY

As I guess nobody will ready this post, as I’ll only put it on my small Facebook group. I can talk whatever I want, it feels a bit like a shrink.

The blog dies in the end.

I got retired earlier in life after sequential breakdowns followed by severe depressions (this is the lighter and shorter version of the story). As a result, I have a lot of free time. Since I collect figures and statues and like to write, I decided to create a blog about statues, in English, even though I’m Brazilian and a Portuguese native speaker who learnt English through videogames, movies and songs; in other words, poorly. But, as I was doing nothing but going to the rehab center at mornings three time a week and to the shrink once a week at the afternoon, I dared do create this blog. (Was also a bit bored about my PS3, movies and my Portuguese blog, that is all about me, me, me…)

Well, after I started and had a few posts, I decided I had to publicize my new blog somehow because I was not talking about me - a subject nobody cares - but about statues and there should be a public for that. I wanted to earn some money with AdSense (dream on!) and thought of Facebook as a means to to spread the word about it.

Facebook suddenly turn out to be a game changer in my life since I met a pulsating community and learnt a lot. About the figures (I believed all statues to be solid, mind you), about the market, about the customs market, you name it. 

Then, a given day, I looked at my Faux Bronze Silver Surfer statue and decided to see if Randy Bowen had a Facebook account and, to my surprise, he had! I, more kidding than less, tried an interview with him. To my complete astonishment, he agreed. So we did the interview and I felt extremely good doing it, albeit a lot intimidating at first. It was an instant hit (given my blog proportions).

Motivated by this first unexpected success (in all senses, after all I talked to the “the man”, a thing I imagined impossible), I decided I would look for more people to interview. As I think Sideshow’s Skeletor statue one of the best ever created, I looked for its sculptor, Matt Black, and turned out he was a very approachable guy (as all the others I interviewed after him) and granted me the interview. So I went on, and, guided by I fellow community member, I began to interview who he thought to be the best sculptors out there. I started to track them down one by one and all, even though with some understandable delay - or delays - all were very friendly, even owners of companies.

Meanwhile another horizon had opened to me and I couldn’t resist to look into: the customs market. I bought myself a custom figure with the rest of my savings (because customs pieces are extremely expensive) and wanted to discover more about the people involved in the customs scene. By being untied to the licensors, the customs market produces extremely creative and unexpected visions and versions of the characters we love. I wanted to know more about the several roles in it, which I discover to work like a small-scale emulation of the big market. And then I went to look for people to interview, what turned out to be much more difficult than I ever imagined. But I dive in in the project which resulted in four articles with several interviews about the subject (to me, my best work so far). Of course, it didn’t generate as many hits as the big shots interviews but I long forgot the possibility of turn the blog profitable since, until now, after almost 50 thousand hits I earned merely $13.02. But as the thrill of doing this is the beginning (the contact with someone you admire or are interested about) and the end (when the article is read by as many people as I can possibly reach), I didn’t mind (much) the response to my customs arc was underwhelming and keep on going as I do up until now. 

To be completely honest I got really frustrated by it but it didn’t demotivate me. I was sure I did a good work, the best I possibly could regarding the evasiveness of people who makes part of the customs scene. So I was fine with myself and with a sense of accomplishment about the hard task I put upon me and, at the end, that was what really mattered.

Today, people to interview are becoming scarce, since I covered most of the Market with an obvious tendency to Sideshow Collectibles, since I’m a fanboy of them. I don’t know for sure about what I will write once I finish with the interviews but I will come up with something. Right now, I am trying to broaden the scope of the interviewed, which up until now were (aside the customs) mainly focused on sculptors and company owners. Those last came as a gift because I didn’t mean to interview them intentionally, exception being PCS’ Jerry Macaluso - another great guy –, who I purposely went after, following a suggestion of my friend. The contact with the owners always happened this way: I just tried to contact someone through the company’s Facebook page to answer the interview and instead of some PR guy, I got the proper owners to return my questions, what was amazing to me and a big honor as much as a big surprise as they were as humble as every other interviewed of the Market. It was harder to deal with a customs producer than with the owner of XM Studios the number one spot of my top 10 list of most popular posts by a far and, I imagine, unbeatable margin. I guess the only people who could beat him would be Sideshow Collectors owners but they are aiming to high because they’re very, very low-profile. Even so, I still sent private messages to the persons I imagine them to be - after a thoroughly internet search - but they never ever saw the messages and most certainly will not reply since I put too many edgy questions on the posts for them to answer.

I guess I did a bad thing regarding Sideshow, since now they got the interviews to be reviewed by somebody up in the hierarchy in order to folks there to answer. I bet this censorship was my fault but. on the other hand, I can’t give me such an important role as to influence the ins and outs of Sideshow Collectibles, the greatest statues manufacturer on Earth. But deep inside I still think it was my fault. I just hope they answer the two interviews I’m working that seeks to broaden the perspective about figures creation beyond sculptors. I hope that the interviews pass the censorship or at least the geatest part of them. There are two more persons I want to interview from there and then I’ll call the day with Sideshow. In fact, as contradictory as this may sound, I would interview the whole crew if I could, but I don’t think I will be able to. 

Interviewing is so much more fun than just write about some statue. However, I guess sooner it is what I’ll begin to do. Just wait and see me trash the new Deadpool PF from Sideshow! Hahahahahaha.

Summarizing, this blog is the best thing I’ve could ever done to myself. It gave meaning to an otherwise kind of meaningless life. Get in touch with this fantastically talented, intelligent and humble people, write about something I truly love and still earn a cent or two a day for doing so is being in collector-who-likes-to-write’s heaven. Even more when an article is read by a lot of people. The feeling of doing something that I love and sharing this with the reader is of truly profound joy to me. I couldn’t ask for more. Well, maybe a girlfriend, I’m also working on it (not as much as in the blog but I am)!

Well, folks, this was my try to make an already long story short. Congratulations and thanks if you read this nonsense this far!

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Allow me an afterthought: I realize, seeing how the last interview I posted had going down quickly on every major page thread, that people on the statues groups doesn’t really want to read, they only want to see pictures of statues, so I’ll never get read properly nor the interviewed get the attention they deserve. It’s a pity but it’s the truth. And I can deal with that. Only feel sorry for the guys who had to stop their works or take part of the weekend or another free time to answer my questions to the said fans.

Another thing that amazes me, but doesn’t bother me too much (as my Facebook group is secondary to my blog) is why the members posts their things everywhere minus in my group. I know I only have 250 members average (and don’t know how to expand the public beyond that) but these are 500 more eyes to see their posts… sigh… but that’s okay too; I can do it all on my own. It’s not as cool as it could be but it’s what I got and as I said earlier, apart from the girlfriend, I’m having the time of my life doing this whole thing and hoping somebody, somewhere, will enjoy it as much as I do.

I FORESEE PAINTING PROBLEMS WITH CAPTAIN MARVEL... OR NOT.

Sideshow bombshell Captain Marvel has all to be a hit or miss figure on the painting department. I say that because of her uniform full of stripes, that besides having volume also are curved and grow thinner, in other words, a pain to paint. To make matters worse the high contrast between golden and blue makes any flaw all the more noticeable. If you pay close attention to the prototype pictures, even there, there are small painting flaws what causes me great concern about the mass production of the piece. After all prototype paintings are meant to be perfect.

Circled are minor painting flaws on the prototype.
There shouldn't be flaws on prototype paintings.

I want this piece badly. Ex version, of course. I think overall, from base to alternate head, this figure to be awesome but I need to see the buyers' final product reviews of the statue to make my decision. On a bright side, already knowing the stripes to be a particularly difficult part to paint and one that can ruin the figure, I believe Sideshow’s quality control will take all the measures they can to assure the fabrics do this right, otherwise they will receive a lot of returns of the product, something I bet they don’t want. So, again is a wait and see figure. And that’s what I’m going to do. While trying to make more money on eBay to buy her!

INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSIONAL PROTOTYPE PAINTER ED BRADLEY.

I’ve been doing interviews with some of the best sculptors in the Market today. For a change, today I’ll interview an artist as important in giving beauty and realism to the figures we love: the painter. This guy I’ll interview certainly been on the road for a long time and know some places. Before we start, take a look at Ed Bradley’s Facebook profile:

The story of collectibles industry in one profile.

  

1 - You surely knows the Market and has a long history in it. Let’s start from the beginning. How did you choose your profession and how was working at Bowen Designs? How did you get there?

Ed Bradley (EB): I chose my profession as a part time thing initially. It was a natural progression and it made sense to me. I was painting for collectors, making money and doing what I enjoyed. Eventually I wanted to try painting for a company.  Randy Bowen was kind enough to give me a shot after I contacted him through Facebook.  I did some fill-in work for about a year. It was a great experience and much different from what I had imagined it would be. I had no idea. Lol.

Randy Bowen made a good choice, as always.

 2 - Why the decision of going self-employed? It has to do with freedom of choice or better income?

(EB): My decision to become self employed was fueled by various things.  I spent 14 years at a steel processing plant and I knew it was a dead-end job after my second year. From 2012 to 2015 I was painting on the side for Bowen Designs and then Kotobukiya. Eventually the paint work picked up and my full time job was holding me back. So I had a decision to make and I made it. It had more to do with doing work that was fulfilling and not so much to do with income.

3 – I saw on your profile that you currently work with several of the greatest studios of the Market. Could you briefly (or extensively, is up to you!) describe the differences and similarities in working with each one? Do you have to adapt your style according with the studio or you just go and do your job all the same? Do you use the same materials and tools with each one of them?

(EB): The similarities are that they all have a target to reach and they answer to the license holder. So all of the design work, sculpting , fabrication, painting and production has to be approved at each step. When the prototype reaches me, I am provided with as much visual reference as possible. Usually a turnaround sheet or list of Pantone color call outs to make sure the product is true to the source material. I rarely get to choose my colors. I use the same materials for every job.

4 – Do you believe you have a recognizable style and so do the other painters? If so, what denounces a piece is painted by you? I realize you like to use slightly darker tones of red, am I wrong?

(EB): Yes, I’m sure my work has a certain look to it, and most painters do have a style. I think what makes my work look like "my work" is probably most noticeable on the superhero stuff. I like keeping my work clean and sharp where the costumes break, and I keep my shading subtle. I also try to stay away from going too bright on colors whenever possible. But it’s not usually up to me.

5 – Do you love what you do? If you could choose another job, what it would be?

(EB): Of course, I love what I do. It just feels right and fits. If I could have another job... I’d work at a hobby shop or something.

6 – Do you also paint things other than statues and figures? Do you draw? Do you paint on canvas, per example?

(EB): I draw with my kids and I can color a damn good Scooby Doo. That's about it.

Thanks, Ed!

7 – I believe the painting job requires immense concentration and precision, one has to have a steady hand. Does this turn the profession stressful or it’s more like a cathartic thing, you just forget the world and for that moment there’s only you the tints and the figure?

(EB): I just zone out and do stuff. Time goes pretty quick and eventually I stop and evaluate my progress, then make tweaks here and there.

8 – What materials a professional painter uses? What kind of paint is more used? When to use an airbrush and when to use a brush?

(EB): Some painters may disagree, but I think the type of paint only matters to a certain extent. I use whatever gets me the results I’m looking for. I use my airbrush mainly for base-coats and shading muscles or the folds of a cape.

9 – In these various jobs you do, do you paint a series of the same figure or do you only makes the “artist proof” (is what they call it isn’t it?)?

(EB): I usually paint 2 identical copies called paint masters. One copy goes to the factory and the other stays with the home office. After the factory has completed a few samples, they send them to the home office to be compared with my original paint master. That way they can address any concerns with quality before the full production run is completed.

10 – Do you live quite distant from some companies. How do you get (and give back) the pieces to paint living so far?

(EB): Yes I live quite far from my clients. We just use UPS or FEDEX to ship the figures.

11 – Do you have to redo the painting if it doesn’t please the person who decides about the figure? Who is this person who decides generally, what’s the name of his/her function? Is it common or everything is previously thoroughly discussed to avoid repaint or this varies from company to company? Do you have some degree of freedom when painting what will be the base for a mass produced figure?

(EB): Yep, the person I receive my direction from is called an art director or paint manager. If something I’m doing doesn't fit or isn't approved, it is their job to let me know what needs changed. Everything is usually discussed before I begin and the amount of direction can vary from company to company.

12 – Do you believe someday in the future 3D color scans and printers will turn painters obsolete?

(EB): I think it is more likely that it could replace certain aspects of production workers in the factory but I don't see it taking over on the paint master.

13 – Could you cite 2 figures / statues from each company you’re most proud of your work (including Bowen Designs).

(EB): Union Jack and X-Factor Cyclops for Bowen Designs, Deadpool and Iron Man for Diamond Select, Rogue and Black Panther for Kotobukiya and Rocket Raccoon and Groot for Sideshow Collectibles.

 

Favorite works for Sideshow Collectibles.

14 - What’s more difficult to paint to a company or to do a custom painting? They are different challenges or it’s the same thing?

(EB): I wouldn't say either is more difficult, it’s just a different approach.  It’s different because a custom job isn't bound by any rules, it’s all up to the collector.

 

I wanted my uniform pink and golden, just like Phoenix!

15 – Do you sculpt even if only for leisure? Because some sculptors paint their private works.

(EB): Absolutely. I sculpt from time to time just to have fun.

16 – Is there someone that was or is a font of inspiration to you? Who?

(EB): Sure, lots of people have inspired me. Comic books, movie monsters and action figures consumed my childhood and never really stopped. So the artists who created all of those things were providing my inspiration and continue to do so.

When the paint really adds to the sculpture.

17 – Can you tell us a hint of some super-secret project you are working on?

(EB): Well… I’m not supposed to talk about these things but I’m currently working on some construction paper with Elmer's glue and macaroni noodles.

18 – Do you use gloves to paint (because I believe the paint must be very difficult to remove from one’s hands)?

(EB): Yes, I wear a glove on my left hand when I’m holding parts. It’s more to protect the work than to keep paint off of my hand.

19 – The price of the figures are quickly inflating with the boom of popularity of collectible figures. Does your salary rises at the same proportion? Why do you think the prices almost doubled in some companies in the last couple of years?

(EB): I won’t pretend to understand how any company gets its numbers.

20 – How do you do to guarantee the quality of the painting once it goes to mass production? Generally, if something is to come wrong in a figure it is the painting. How do you do to minimize this?

(EB): I have no involvement with quality control.

21 – Have you been on SDCC? If not, have you seen the figures that debuted there? Some paint job called your attention among what you saw?

(EB): I have never been to SDCC but I see all of the work that is showcased there.  There's too many to pick just a few out but Jason Wires and his crew kicked some serious ass this year.

 

Ed wasn't there, but his work went to SDCC.

22 – How a professional painter does to get in the industry? Do you have some tips?

(EB): I would say to get in the industry you need to let your work speak for you so your mouth doesn't mess it up. If you've got what it takes and you do your job, then you’ll have work. Know your strengths and weaknesses and be honest about them so you don't end up taking on work that you really aren't ready for.

23 – Are you happy with your life the way it is? Did you find your place in the world so to say?

(EB): I am extremely happy with my life and I have found my place.

24 – Cite three painters and three sculptors you admire from the Market. And cite three painters from History of Art, if any.

(EB): Three painters- Joe Dunnaway, Kat Sapene and Steve Riojas. Three Sculptors- Andy Bergholtz, Mark Newman and Joe Menna.

Painters from History?  In my history it’s Bob Ross, Frank Frazetta and Norman Rockwell.

Thank you for painting this digital canvas with your words, giving it a completely new meaning I believe our readers will love. Hope all the best to you and yours. Once again thank you. It’s always a pleasure to have you here at ccfigures.

(EB): Thank you for taking an interest in what I do. It’s been a pleasure.

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INTERVIEW WITH POP CULTURE SHOCK JERRY MACALUSO

From Street Fighter, passing by Mortal Kombat to Masters of Universe and Conan (Schwarzenegger version) to… Power Rangers (?!), Pop Culture Shock has been amassed a great deal of fans. Today I’ll interview the founder of PCS (as the company is called by its fans and by his owner), Jerry Macaluso.

Ladies and gentlemen, with you: Jerry Macaluso!

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1 – I will start with a hard one: what sets PCS apart from the rest of the
fierce competition you face?

Jerry Macaluso (JM): You aren’t kidding when you say ‘fierce competition’. Over the past few years it seems like a dozen new collectibles companies have appeared. I think what separates us is that unlike the owners of most collectibles companies, I myself am a designer/sculptor. This means I consider PCS to be more of an art studio that sells copies of its art, than a corporate type manufacturer. While we use many talented sculptors, I personally art direct every project to make sure it stays true to the PCS ‘look’. There is a cohesive style to everything that comes from this studio. The other aspect that really separates us is, we listen to the community. We may not always agree, but we are listening and give all constructive criticism serious thought.

2 – Are there new franchises on the way? What could you anticipate to let
us salivating?

(JM): Well the big ‘well known’ secret is we are doing Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. It’s a license that’s very close to my heart because I was the Creature Supervisor for the first season. Another new license we have is Rambo. Even though other Rambo statues have been made, like with Arnold Conan, I don’t think it’s been done justice yet. Ours is going to be epic. Another that we are working on is the new videogame Battleborn. It’s a great game and when I saw the character designs I knew I wanted to make statues of them. We have a few more licenses but the paperwork isn’t done so I shouldn’t speak too soon!

3 – Many costumers complain of the long developing/producing period of PCS
from prototype or announcement until the end product arrives at the homes
of collectors? What do you say about that?

(JM): The long wait from pre-order to delivery is something we are working hard to improve on. The delays certainly are not intentional. There are a lot of factors during manufacture that cause these delays. The biggest factor is that I demand a very high level of quality and frankly, there are only a dozen factories left in China that can achieve the quality I demand. If we push too hard quality comes down, so we take a bit of a ‘when it’s done it’s done’ stance. That’s always how you get the best quality. Most collectibles companies will approve the second sample, it usually takes 4-6 samples before I approve them. Having said that, we are slowly moving to a pre-order model where we are further along at the factory level by the time we announce the preorder. This should cut down on 3-4 months of wait time.

Where's my Robocop?

4 – Which license has been the most profitable so far?

(JM): Street Fighter is our most popular license. I’ve been the Street Fighter licensee since 2001. That’s a long time!

Come and get me!

5 – Which was your fastest seller product of all time?

(JM): I honestly don’t remember. We have had a few collectibles that sold out within 5 minutes. The 1:3 Akuma, 1:3 Ryu and some others. I bet the collector community has a better memory than I do.

Five minutes ago I was on pre-order...

6 – Do you have some PCS sculpts that are your favorites? Which ones?

(JM): As an artist myself, I tend to like things less and less as time goes by. The longer I see something the more I can start to find flaws and pick it apart. So the honest answer is, the most recent pieces are almost always my favorites. Having said that, I still really love the Mortal Kombat 9 Sub-Zero sculpted by John Cleary a lot. I can’t really find any flaws in it to this day. As far as pieces I have sculpted myself, it’s the 1:3 Darkness from the movie Legend. It’s one of my favorite character designs of all time and I think I did a good job capturing his character.

Perfect in Jerry's opinion

One of Jerry own favorite works.

7 – All the process of sculpting of Pop Culture Shock is digital (through
3D software) or is there a part that is still hand made? Which parts are
hand made? I’ve heard you’re an active sculptor yourself and that you make
the 1/3 statues from PCS hand made. Is this info accurate? If so,
congratulations, handle business and clay at the same time! ;) At least you
didn’t abandon the fun part being in this industry.

(JM): My career began as a sculptor. I have sculpted for Toy Biz, McFarlane, Mattel, Trendmasters and as well as many movies. I try and spend 50% of my week on business and 50% on art. Currently we do about 85% of our 1:4 scale and smaller collectibles digitally and 100% of the 1:3 and life-size busts in traditional clay sculpture. While I myself can sculpt digitally, I still prefer good old fashioned clay and wax.

Jerry and his "work" on the movies

8 – On average, how many people work on a PCS figure to elaborate the
painted prototype?

(JM): A lot of artists are involved from concept, to sculpture, molds, casts, electronics, paint, costuming, etc… I would say at least 6 people are involved on every piece. Sometimes many more. Then we should not leave out the photographers, graphic artists, customer service, shipping, factory project management and so many other people that keep things running.

9 – Do you outsource sculptors? If so, how do you guarantee unity to the
pieces of a given line of statues?

(JM): While we do have a great staff of full time in-house artists, we do outsource many of our sculptures. As the sole art director at PCS, I work hard to keep a cohesive look to everything. I give a lot of direction to our sculptors to help guide them to our style. The sole exception to this was when we were doing Masters of the Universe collectibles. For those I brought on the brilliant artist Emiliano Santalucia to art direct.

Thank Emiliano Santalucia.

10 – Do you have a 3D printer at PCS or do you outsource this part of the
project either?

(JM): We own two Stratasys Eden 3D printers, which are very high-end machines. However, even with two of them we still need to send some prints out to vendors when we get behind. If we had more room at the studio I would probably buy a couple more.

11 – How old is Pop Culture Shock? When things began to work? Tell us a bit
about the company’s story

(JM): Pop Culture Shock Collectibles was technically formed in 2007 after I sold my previous company, SOTA Toys. However, for the first few years it was mostly a hobby as I ran it out of my home and I only released one statue per year. After 10 years of running SOTA Toys I was a bit burned out and just wanted to take it easy. In reality the fans and collectors created PCS, because I would not have grown the company if I wasn’t getting so many requests to make more statues. So, in my way, I see PCS as having really come together in 2010.

12 – In your opinion, what is the best statues company out there (not
counting PCS, of course)? Why?

(JM): That’s a tough question as companies have strengths and weaknesses. My personal favorite is Kotobukiya PVC statues. They are so beautifully made and really capture the characters personalities. But at the same time I’m not a big fan of their polystone statues. Something is missing in their polystone for me. As far as polystone I would say Sideshow is still king of the hill. Their art department really knows how to balance the composition of the figure with the base. Some companies, like XM and Prime 1 go too crazy on the bases for my tastes. I prefer a more subdued base. And while he isn’t releasing any statues lately, I’m a huge Randy Bowen fan. I love his work.

Bowen Designs, Kotobukiya and Sideshow.
Jerry favorite companies other than PCS.

13 – What measures you take to guarantee quality control standards to your
production lines? Never saw a fan complaining of the end product they
receive from PCS.

(JM): We do something most collectibles companies do not, we have a full time employee in China. Most companies rely on the factory quality control and every few months send someone from the USA to China. I’ve learned that that is not good enough. Our employee spends his week going from factory to factory doing constant quality checks. He and his assistant also personally review every piece before it is packed into the box. This ensures we have one of the best records for quality control in the industry.

Quality in every product is a cornerstone to Jerry Macaluso.

14 – Do you have a specific team for each franchise or everyone takes
whatever work falls on one’s lap?

(JM): We don’t have teams but I do have artists that are my go-to for certain licenses like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Some artists have a hard time getting into the aesthetic of a license, particularly if they aren’t a fan of it. You really want to choose a Street Fighter fan to sculpt Street Fighter.

Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are two very
different games also on sculpting.

15 – What is the most fun and what’s the most difficult parts of working in
this industry?

(JM): The most fun is conceptualizing a new project. Discussing ideas with everyone and sketching. That’s great fun to see it come to life. The worst is all the technical and logistical issues that come with working with factories 6000 miles away. It can be very difficult even with our full time employee there. I wish I could hop in my car and go see what’s happening personally.

16 – How do you justify the inflation of prices of collectible figures in
the last couple of years, even though PCS is one of the companies with more
competitive prices over there?

(JM): Prices are rising for several reasons. The good reason is quality. Many of us companies are raising the quality and better quality usually means higher price. In addition, factories that have the best quality are raising their prices because they have come to see that there is a line of companies knocking on their door trying to get them to manufacture. It’s the law of supply and demand. There just aren’t a lot of great factories left. There are other more incidental reasons, but the two above are the main ones.

17 – Why 1/4 is the standard scale for figures nowadays? Is there an
explanation for this? If not, what’s your theory?

(JM): I think 1:4 scale is the perfect balance of detail, space and price. As you get smaller a lot of collectors feel the statue becomes more like a toy. I think our 1:6 statues are some of my favorites but they don’t sell nearly as well as the 1:4.

18 – Do you think that the 1/3 figures will really catch or is this format
reserved for very special figures in PCS?

(JM): I think 1:3 scale is my favorite. It’s certainly catching on with Prime 1 and ECC jumping into it. Because of the cost and space I don’t think it will become the ‘new 1:4’ so for now I’m only focusing on what we call ‘A List’ characters. But you never know, I might try something down the line.

1:3 Arnold ready for war.

19– Did you ever think in entering in the 1/6 articulated figures arena?
What’s your vision about this segment of the Market?

(JM): We are doing 1:6 articulated figures, or as everyone calls them these days, ‘Hot Toys Style’. I’m approaching this market from two different angles. One is from what we are known for, Street Fighter. We have a very full line of 1:6 SF figures being developed. I hope this line goes for ten years , if not more. The other way we are getting into it is with licenses for less well known properties that I’m a fan of. So, we are doing Sons of Anarchy, The Thing, An American Werewolf in London and even Alice Cooper. All things I love that I didn’t see anyone else doing. I myself collect Hot Toys so I’ve learned about the market that way, and while I don’t think we are at the Hot Toys level yet, I think the 1:6 figures we are making are pretty good.

Entering the 1:6 arena to cause some anarchy on the market.

20– What makes you happy with PCS? What makes you mad about it?

(JM): PCS is like being a kid in a candy shop. There is not much to complain about. I try to choose licenses that I love, or that I find creatively interesting so it’s always fun. At times dealing with the factories can be a bit of a drag but really it’s a great job.

21 – Where are your figures manufactured?

(JM): China

22 – What do you say for a guy/gal who wants to enter the Market as a
sculptor?

(JM): I would suggest practice both digital and traditional sculpture. The best digital sculptors I know are also good at clay. Being good at clay is harder than digital so it gives the artist and extra step up. I would strongly suggest spending a lot of time learning to translate others two dimensional artwork into three dimensions. Most of the time in this business the sculptor will not be designing the statue so they need to know how to translate others artwork. Many times I see great sculpture portfolios full of original art. But then you hire them and they cannot follow others art. Being able to copy is one of the most important things.

23 – What would astonish you the most: to see an alien or to see a ghost?

(JM): Hmmm good question. I would be most astonished to see an alien as I actually spend a lot of time thinking about what type of life exists on other planets. I’ve always wanted to do a line of statues based on alien creatures.

24 – Three bands and three movies.

(JM): Bands - The Sweet, Savatage, Abba. Movies - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Evil Dead 2, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Did he see Encounters of 4th Kind? That movie almost got me.

25 – What is the franchise of your dreams?

(JM): Gatchaman

Gatchaman. Would you collect them?

26 – Leave a final note, or quote, or a bombastic news to PCS fans.

(JM): I want to thank all of our fans and collectors. Without you we wouldn’t be here today. I also want to thank you for the interview. We will continue to work hard to bring collectors the highest quality statues and figures possible while keeping prices as reasonable as possible.

Thank you for your patience! Have a great day!

-x-x-x-

You already gave a great day with this interview, Jerry! To be perfect only if you send me a Blanka statue, since I’m Brazilian and love SF II!... Just kidding… kind of… er… nevermind…

Well, thank you for your sincerity and passion for what you do and for a so informative and fun interview. Now I understand the reason for such cool statues with such high quality production value and so friendly prices. And Gatchaman doesn’t seem an impossible dream. I just don’t know if it’s going to sell…

-x-x-x-

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