Now, I'm a huge Masters of the Universe fan and regularly cast my eye over at He-Man.org to keep up to date with the latest news. I was particularly inspired to read fans asking for some sort of card playset or backdrop to display the new Masters of the Universe Classics figures within. and I quote:
Answers to WTFWTK 2.19 June 3, 2009
Q: Are fans likely to see a cardbord fold out Crystal Castle and/or Snake Mountain with future exclusive figures, or as an extra item to buy on Mattycollector?
A: Not anytime soon. Right now we are putting all our energy into developing out the best 6” figures possible.
Q: Are fans likely to see a cardbord fold out Crystal Castle and/or Snake Mountain with future exclusive figures, or as an extra item to buy on Mattycollector?
A: Not anytime soon. Right now we are putting all our energy into developing out the best 6” figures possible.
Answers to WTFWTK 2.24 October 11, 2009
Q: Is there any possibility of releasing a cardboard Snake Mountain, similar to the box that King Grayskull came in, perhaps as a mail-away, a club exclusive or even with a Skeletor re-release or another villain?
A: It could happen, but there are no plans right now.
Q: Is there any possibility of releasing a cardboard Snake Mountain, similar to the box that King Grayskull came in, perhaps as a mail-away, a club exclusive or even with a Skeletor re-release or another villain?
A: It could happen, but there are no plans right now.
Mattel Q&A Answers from Figures.com October 1, 2009
Q: If the demand is high enough would Mattel consider selling MOTUC-themed scenic cardboard backdrops for the line?
A: Possibly, but nothing is planned at this time.
Q: If the demand is high enough would Mattel consider selling MOTUC-themed scenic cardboard backdrops for the line?
A: Possibly, but nothing is planned at this time.
On reading this, as a paper engineer, I was inspired into action!
The question of how best to utilize paper and cardboard materials within the toy industry, has been in the back of my mind for quite a while now.
It is something which is very close to my heart because I remember as a child dreaming up and making my own vehicles from cardboard to fit my original 80's action figures.
Below are some of the solutions which I've been exploring so far in an attempt to answer to the questions above. These designs have been specifically tailored to fit Mattel's new Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, available at mattycollector.com
It is something which is very close to my heart because I remember as a child dreaming up and making my own vehicles from cardboard to fit my original 80's action figures.
Below are some of the solutions which I've been exploring so far in an attempt to answer to the questions above. These designs have been specifically tailored to fit Mattel's new Masters of the Universe Classics toy line, available at mattycollector.com
Slot together playset: Skeletor's Thrown Room, where he'll be able to assemble his council of evil. This was the first idea I had last year and have been thinking how best to produce a playset which requires no glue to construct it.
Attempted to create the artwork for this playset but found it very frustrating because my illustration skills only go as far as technical assembly instructions or exploded diagrams. I do not consider myself an illustrator really because I've a completely different set of skills, that of a paper engineer. At this point I decided to buy Painter X and spend some time learning this program because I felt that it would help with future projects I had in the pipeline at that time for example my Red Dwarf props.
Ok, problems aside, My second more resent attempt inspired by the release of Adora was to create a 3D slot together throne for hordak.There had been a lot of comments from the fans about the difficulties posing the new MOTU Classics figures into a seated position. Having already worked on developing Skeletor's thrown room I found that it was possible to design a chair in such a way which would allow the figures sit or rather (slouch), and yet still look convincingly seated.
The finished model worked very well indeed, could do with some small corrections mainly due to the thickness of the card I ended up using but, it servers my purpose as a working mock-up to pitch this concept.