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The Exclu Collective Issue 8 - April 2019 Editor Jack Sturman @exclucollective Creative Team Jason Yang @workmoreorless Spencer Witt @swittpics Isaiah Takahashi @blksrs Trevor Williams @onesix_shooter Tham Ying Keet @yingkeet0675 Patrick Pchalek @wonderbunk Shahzad Bhiwandiwala @sbphotographs1 Dan Leonard @tinyepicphotos TJ Frye @capes.and.rifles Matt Heywood @heywoodpop Ivan Martinez @ivantot_pf
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Exclucollective.com The material seen here-in may not be replicated or reproduced without the express permission of Exclu Media Ltd and this includes the material presented by our featured artists. Exclu Media Ltd is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or retailers seen here-in. All rights reserved.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
COVER INTERVIEW
RICHEE CHANG @NOSERAIN
COVER INTERVIEW We catch up with Richee Chang as he talks all things Toy Photography from his E8 Cover’s, his inspiration and his evolution as a creative.
GUNDAM : HOW TO Our own handy-man Isaiah Takahashi takes us behind-the-scenes on his latest project as he tackles a Master Grade Gundam build.
THE TOYS THAT MADE US We chat with the Co-Editor of Netflix’s “The Toys That Made Us” Nick Ferrell as we explore his work on the show and his own Toy Photography.
GUNDAM : HOW TO
ISAIAH TAKAHASHI @BLKSRS
COLUMNS ONESIX Alex Brooks talks us through his most recent shoot as a Hot Toys Photoblogger with an indepth look at the Hot Toys Thanos .
THE BLACK SERIES Matt Solous cast’s his mind back to Toy Fair 2019 and shares his thoughts on the various Black Series present at the show.
THE TOYS THAT MADE US
THE SQUARED CIRCLE Matt Goldberg brings us upto speed on the Wrestling Figure community and previews the year ahead.
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NICK FERRELL @FUZZFANG
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ALEX BROOKS
@BG_TOYART
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LUDO OPSOMER
@OL_DESIGN
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SERGIO SANTOS
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BRIAN RUNGKAT
@AKIRAJO9
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MATT SOULOS
@STARWARSTHEBLACKSERIES
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MATT KIRK
@ROLLTHEHARDSIXX
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MATT GOLDBERG
@MBG1211
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HIROYUKI SAKURAI
@HYARURON0115
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RICHEE CHANG W
e kick things off in Issue 8 with an insight into the world of our Cover Artist alongside a look at his recent, ideas-based photographic style and their inspiration.
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It’s great to have you back with us in an Exclu Publication after we last saw you in the pages of Issue 5 back in 2017. What’s changed for you in the time since? It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? It’s good to be back! Thanks for having me again. Oh man, a lot has changed, while at the same time, a lot hasn’t changed. I’ve posted around 348 more posts to my account, developed relationships even more with the friends in the community and met some of the ones I interact with every day and who inspire me. I had some fortunate opportunities to collaborate with some cool companies as well. So, mostly a lot of good change. All of this while still having a lot of fun and loving every bit of toy photography just as much as I did in the beginning. Maybe even more so now. Let’s talk Covers! Walk us through your approach to both cover variants and how you came to create the final images themselves. Because Exclu focuses on exclusive access to more aspects of the toy community, including interviews, additional photos, various behind-the-scenes and processes, I think my current work sometimes focuses on making connections that are expressed with concepts that make sense if you know about a particular universe or franchise– in this case, Dragonball. The Thanos and Chiaotzu cover implies a scene where Thanos has now come for the earth’s Dragonballs and the Z fighters have failed to stop him. Chiaotzu, one of the weaker Z fighters shows his bravery and willingness to take Thanos down by using his signature self-destructing move. Keeping the covers in the similar theme, I used Gotenks who is also part of the Dragonball universe. He has an attack where he can summon ghosts and the S.H. Figurarts Gotenks comes with one. Insetad of using it as a ghost, I decided to interpret it as a genie and have it come out of a lamp like in Aladdin.
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The Toy Industry has been pumping out some amazing releases in recent months but what have been your favorite reveals and releases that you’ve earmarked for your collection? Without a doubt, nothing has me more excited than the possibility of getting some Kubo figures from NECA. When they announced they had the license to make those characters, I immediately thought how awesome it would be to have the full cast of Kubo on my shelf. I can imagine paper Hanzo being so much fun to photograph. I’m hoping they announce or show some prototypes soon. I seriously have no patience for this! We’ve seen your work develop and become more accomplished since our last showcase together back in 2017 with a wider diversity of styles, do we chalk this up to practice or have there been specific learning points along the way? I think that it’s mostly a result of re-tuning my approach to toy photography to something along the lines of what I was first exposed to– a form of toy photography that was fun and imaginative. I used to focus on creating photos that made
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figures look real or natural in the environments they were in, and I still love doing that from time to time, but now, it’s a little more about an idea or concept and that’s what excites me the most, you know, that challenge of finding that next idea and to see how I might execute it, and from there that’ll dictate how the photo will look stylistically. I realized I find this approach more fulfilling as a creative and as I’m wondering how I’ll create the photo, I’m learning and trying things I didn’t expect to try at times, too. I love that because it keeps this new and fresh for me. I’m a believer of trying things out and not being married to a single style to define the work, especially in the beginning. If there is someone who is new to the hobby, I’ll usually encourage them to find a style they like and try to do that–the important thing is to start and not limit themselves from learning all they can. For me, it’s about exploration, time and practice. Hopefully that will one day culminate to a style that most accurately defines my creative expression.
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QUICK FIRE What’s your favorite toy line of all time? S.H. Figuarts mostly because they have so many licenses and characters, but also because their figures usually have above average articulation and likeness. I feel like the needle may have moved a few degrees towards Mezco One:12 lately as far as anticipation goes. What other Toy Photography accounts do you look to for inspiration? The way you worded this question is interesting because I wouldn’t say I’m actively looking to other toy photographers to inspire my photos–I’m usually inspired by movies, pop culture, various objects and other media that I can pull from to form connections and ideas. I will say though that there are definitely toy photographers I admire because of their influence on my own work over the years. A few of the key players I’d have to name would be @captaindangerous, @hot.kenobi, @sgtbananas, also @tanaka_tatsuya, @plasticaction and @workmoreorless, @blksrs, @swittpics, @eyeofuatu and @mitchelwuphotography. I hate to leave out so many others that have also probably contributed in some way, shape or form, but these accounts had the most impact on me and where my works stands today.
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2018 was a fantastic year for you creatively with many imaginative works popping up on your Instagram. Of those which were your favorites to work on and which were those that you couldn’t wait to finish up? If I could open that to everything I’ve created up until this point and not just 2018, I’m definitely having a lot of fun with the board game series and Pokémon card series. I would love to continue to find ways to incorporate familiar games and see how figures interact with them. I don’t think I’ve ever had a time where I wanted to just get a photo over with. I enjoy the process because I’m excited to get the idea out there from start to finish.
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Speaking of your collection, which figures within it could you shoot until the end of time without tiring? Ant-Man. A typical answer, but it can do so much since it can interact with the real world. If that’s too obvious of an answer, I’d say the NECA movie turtles. They photograph extremely well and with the turtles having a diverse set of personalities, there is a lot to ideate around. As we look onwards to the rest of 2019, what are your creative goals that you’d like to achieve by the time the year is through? I really want to take a stab at stop motion animation. It’s something I’m somewhat familiar with in theory, but to do it (well) is another thing entirely. It’s fascinating but also intimidating, especially after watching stop motion films and the behind to scenes for those films. The amount of time and dedication is mind numbing. If I can start messing around with it this year, I’ll chalk it up to a win. Lastly, what are you working on personally at the moment? Any projects that we can help spread the word on? Working on several things, but not ready to divulge just yet. One thing I will say is that I’ll be selling prints at a local con called Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. at the end of April. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while, so this’ll be sort of a test. Stay tuned to my IG for more info if you’re interested and in the area.
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QUICK FIRE What toy or collectible has the most significance within your collection? My natural instinct is to go immediately to something nostalgic from my childhood like my Power of the Force 2 Jedi Knight Luke or my Kenner BTAS: Batman, but I will probably choose my Enterbay 1/6 Kobe Bryant figures. They sort of represent this journey for me and more specifically, the beginning of the noserain account.
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Are there any figures that you are currently on the hunt for? Any grails that elude your collection? So, someone in the community, Jazer aka @knightwing2110, recently showed me the 1/6 Yoda Hut by Sideshow Collectibles and it looked so cool! I would definitely want to take photos of my Hot Toys Yoda in there. The other figures I’d love to own one day are the Mezco One:12 PX Previews Deluxe Punisher and the One:12 Deluxe Joker.
Where do you like to hunt for toys? Target and Gamestop are probably the only two physical places I’ll consistently stop by if I’m around it. I still enjoy the experience of going into the store and looking around even if I don’t buy anything. If Amazon counts, I guess Amazon, but that’s not really “hunting”.
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huge thank you goes out to Richee for sharing an insight into his work and the way that it has evolved since our last feature with him back in Issue 5. Head over to @noserain on Instagram for his latest works.
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M Y T I M E W I T H T H A N O S by h o t t oys Alex Brooks / @bg_toyart
Hey everyone, it has been a bit of a blur since my last column – there’s been Cap, Loki, Iron Spider, Tactical Bats, Luke Skywalker, Neo, Doctor Strange, Wolf Predator, Black Panther and Thanos! So I’ve been kept out of trouble!If I wrote in detail about each piece we could be here all day but standouts for me have been Tactical Batman, Neo and Thanos. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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t seems Hot Toys have been workIInfinity ing overtime to get all of their War line out before the release of Endgame and I for one am glad to have gotten my hands on the Mad Titan earlier than expected. For me, Thanos in the MCU was masterfully executed and my favourite MCU villain to date. The work that went into making him come to life on the big screen is something to behold, from Ryan Meinerding’s beautiful concept art to the fully CGI’d rendering – they totally nailed it for me. To do this on-screen badass justice, Hot Toys had to nail this figure too and, thankfully, they did. When the box turned up at my door my first thought was ‘that looks a little small’ compared to say the Hulk which was packaged in a larger box with fitted polystyrene. For whatever reason, Thanos isn’t packaged the same way as hulk but rather the same as the rest of the IW line, in plastic moulded trays. This is the reason for the smaller box, less bulk, and he isn’t as big as the green guy either. When you first lay eyes on the sculpts it’s like seeing tangible CGI! They’ve done a fantastic job replicating the likeness. You get a kind of neutral face in addition 14
to a gritted teeth angry face. The neutral face is awesome because in certain lighting it looks like he has a wry smile. Paint application has a beautiful texture to it and the teeth on the gritted sculpt are great. Even though it’s 1/6 scale it’s still larger than the average figure so the level of detail is one another level. The body is proportioned well and the outfit has some weathering. I’ve seen some figure customisers adding more weathering to theirs but it looked fine to me. The torso part of the outfit is moulded (plastic I think) but I couldn’t tell you which fabric the trousers are made of – they felt nice and moved well though! The arms are pretty much the same as Hulk’s arms so if you own him you know what you’re getting. The paint app and line grooves are good but I have heard some complaints about paint transfer from others. I can only speak from my experience and I didn’t have any issues after 3 days of extensive posing and reposing. The only downside is that when the arms are bent to their maximum degree at the elbow the ‘skin’ bunches up and creates unnatural bumps etc. This can be countered by using creative camera angles to hide them.
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W h en yo u f i r s t l ay eyes on the sculpts it's like seeing ta n g i b l e CGi!
The legs again are much like Hulks but any unsightly knee joints are hidden by the trousers. The legs have a satisfying sturdy click when you change their position. It felt like they could take a lot of reposing without a problem. I even managed to pose them more extremely than the instructions suggested to achieve a kneeling pose. However, do so at your own risk!
Overall articulation is kind of what you should expect for this type of figure. No he’s not super flexible. There’s some slight ab crunch. Arms can be moved 360 degrees at the shoulder and almost 90 degrees at the elbow. You do get the non-articulated extra arm to enable you to display Thanos with a tight closedfist, bicep clenched pose. You can twist him at the waist. And legs bend well as mentioned. You get three right hands to choose from and two infinity gloved left hands (one is a permanently closed-fist, the other has articulated fingers like a standard Iron Man figure). His head is a little limited. If you want him to look left or right you MUST lift his chin first and move it over the top of the neck armor to avoid damage. He can look up but looking down is not really possible unless you cheat like me!
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PHOTOGRAPHERS TIP Making Thanos look down
Take his head off of the neck peg, tilt the neck peg forward, and then balance the head back on the edge of the ball joint thus creating a looking down pose. As long as you don’t shoot from the back you shouldn’t see the gap created by doing this. Shoot from a low angle looking up and it looks great!
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I had a blast recreating various scenes from the film. Some were very challenging like when Thanos is holding another character by the throat, but with perseverance and patience achievable. When he’s stood next to the avengers he’s very dominating and has great presence, just like in the film. Trying to replicate the different lighting was fun too. To replicate lighting from the opening scene I found that firing orange and blue light together at the same spot produced a similar feel. Titan shots used a lot of warmer light (oranges and yellows) to mimic the look of the planet and change Thano’s purple skin tone etc. And for Wakanda I wanted to mimic natural light using my softboxes a lot more.
In all I probably took 500+ shots of this guy (not 500 different poses) trying out different lighting and angles and then narrowing it down. Think in the end I had close to 40 final shots which took a while time to finish but completely worth the effort. The added bonus was that Ryan Meinerding, Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development, reposted a load of my shots to his social media and that, as Thanos says, does put a smile on my face! I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you out there who took the time to like and comment on my Thanos series as I really do appreciate it. I can now look forward to seeing what you all create with this amazing figure.
Well that’s pretty much it from me for now. I’ve had the pleasure of shooting the Iron Man Mark L but until that is officially released I’m afraid any other info is under wraps. I’m also working on another secret project which I can hopefully divulge in my next column so stay tuned! Lastly, if there’s anything you’d guys like to know or prefer me to cover in these columns then get in contact with Exclu. I’m happy to answer your questions etc. Cheers, Alex.
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LUDO OPSOMER
Ludo, a 32 years old French IInamgraphic designer based in Paris. my daily-job I mostly create de-
sign for companies such as websites, corporate documents and motion design. I have been collecting toys since my childhood but in 2012 I started rebuying more toys, and posted what I was buying on Instagram with my phone. At this ne photographer who contin- moment it wasn’t literaly «toy phoues to grow leaps & bounds tography» but more like a simple is Ludo and he stops by to share picture of a toy.
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a closer look into his process and full compliment of new images.
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In 2015, I discovered a big community of people who were doing the same thing I was, but in a better way. Since that day I am spending all of my free time on this hobby. For me, toy photography is an extension of what I see in pop culture, mostly movies thanks to these famous franchises that have been going on for over a decade. It is a manner to create new things that pop culture doesn’t necessarily do. It is an unlimited mean to pay tribute to all the heroes I love and a way to create new and unseen stories. Or, in reality, it is just a good excuse to buy toys as an adult.
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WE’RE IN THE ENDGAME NOW
alking about heroes... I really + T think there is a correlation with what has been happening for over a decade with Marvel Studios, and what I am doing with toy photography. They had an ambitious project, a lot of stories to tell and what I saw in these movies really inspired me in differents ways. I like the fact that all of their heroes can meet, fight against each other or together in epic battles. I also appreciate how special effects are made, practical or not, and how they try to iconize those men and women. To summarize, I tried to put a combination of all of this in my work as a toyphotographer. In order to continue a serie that I had started on my Instagram account I made a new one here about Avengers. Luckily, companies such as Bandai with the SH Figuarts line, make really good products of those characters within an accessible price range. I mostly collect 1:12 figures and it’s a good compromise to make what I want to do with them. Sometimes I am unable to find exactly what I need make the perfect shot, to go further in this passion and remedy to this issue, I have started making my own props, like this wakandian shield. I am also buying some custom-made stuff, you can see here an amazing headsculpt by OneSixthKit for Captain America.
BANDAI ////////////
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SIZE I N TOY PH OTO G RA PHY, S I Z E D O ES N'T M AT T E R , Y O U A R E F R E E T O D O W H AT Y O U WA N T .
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YOU KNOW ME? here are cases when the figure T you’re dreaming of doesn’t exist... Recently to create a complet
custom-made Miles Morales figure I learned about casting, molding, painting and sewing by myself. If you really want something, and if it is not available on the market, you can to teach yourself to new skills and make it! Toy phography is an unlimited creative hobby, you can recreate or imagine what you have in mind to tell stories. You mix and match
characters from different universes or franchises, and this is why I loved puttin together this shot of a basketball game on the roofs of New York where those fellows who live in the same city but never met, until I made them play against each others. Over the past few months I tried to find my personal style. In order to put life in those pieces of plastic I mostly aim to create colorful images with sharps lights on details with a slow movement to hight-
light what is happning or is going to happen. I rely on practical effects as much as possible because I don’t want my photos to look like unnatural situations. However,I feel that digital effect, if used wisely, can be a great finish touch, and this is something I often do to give this polished look to my shots. I want to thanks Jack and the Exclu Team for asking me to be part of this project. I am happy to bring my contribution to this world of living toys.
You most definitely need to be following Ludo via his Instagram handle @ol_design right now! Head over and keep up-to-date on all his works. 27
S H I A H A T A K
M A D N GUW:TO HO A H I A I S
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ew thing n at some empts to d n a h s his nd att om start srs) trie opers a hi (@blk tom Clone Tro ow he fared fr ering. s a h a k aiah Ta his usual cus -02 kit. See h cals & weath ilder Is 8 ster bu ps away from r Grade RX-7 ith custom de a m n ur ow 8 as he ste Maste the build w � in ig r e for Issu undam : The O is own spin on e “G uts h build th and how he p h is n fi to
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tarting a build for the first S time can be a bit intimidating. Just looking at all the parts laid out is a little overwhelming. Once you get going, it’s actually not too bad. Building consists of cutting each piece from the runner, slicing away the excess nub, and sanding smooth. Prepping each piece for assembly is where you’ll spend most your time.
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The actual assembly is usually straight forward and simple, as long as you follow the directions! I’ve come to find the build process is quite relaxing and fun. Total build time on this figure was about 16 hours. I definitely took my time and double checked each step along the way to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. Finishing a build like this is so rewarding!
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irst step in this stage was to F paint in some extra details. For this figure, it wasn’t too much.
Next step, decals! I used the RX78-2 Version 3 waterslide decal set for this kit. The decal process is extremely tedious and time consuming, but it is one of the most rewarding. The process involves cutting each individual decal out, dipping in water, and applying to the figure with a setting solution. The benefit of using waterslide decals is they are rather easy to apply and maneuver, so you can get perfect placement. This entire phase took probably about 10-15 hours total. Extremely tedious, but extremely rewarding. 32
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Just a few grey panels and some silver and black accents. The next step is the paint chipping effect. This is a super simple technique I first learned from my friend Ian Clark (@IanClarksArt). It basically involves painting on thick lines of black acrylic paint, then using a toothpick to scratch off most of it until you get your desired look. This was the fist time I’d done this technique and I was super happy with the results.
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THE DECALS
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PHASE 3.
PAINT & WEATHER
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he next step was to seal in T all that work! For this I used a Krylon Clear Matte coat. This was
another product recommended to me by Ian Clark, and I absolutely love it! Each piece was given a layer of topcoat, then I moved on to panel lining. I ended up using both Gundam markers and also Tamiya Panel Line Accent for the panel lining. Both products worked well, and both have their pros and cons. Once the panel lining was finished, I went in with my classic liquid shoe polish weathering technique. I’ve been using this technique for a while now, and I still prefer it as my go to weathering process. For this kit I used both black and brown. Once all the lining and weathering is complete, the kit gets one last coat of the Krylon Clear Matte. The last step in the build process was to add in some extra metallic detail using silver Rub N’ Buff. This is another simple technique that gives really good results! I kept it simple on this kit and used it mostly on the dark colors and weapons. Done! 35
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his build was an overall T amazing experience! It was super challenging at times, but
also super rewarding. This was my first serious model kit build, and I’m looking forward to getting into more! I really encourage anyone interested to give one of these kits a try. Pick up a High Grade kit for cheap and spend a few relaxing hours on it. You won’t regret it!
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Lastly, I just want to thank my good friend Richee Chang (@Noserain) for gifting me this kit after I had been eyeing it for months! Huge thanks again to Ian Clark (@ IanClarksArt) for all his help along the way. Ian is a master kit builder, and my kit would not have come out nearly as good without his help! Thank you to Exclu and
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SERGIO SANTOS F
rom Saint Seiya to Super-Hero’s, Sergio has immersed himself in the world of popular culture and a keen hands-on style of practical photography.
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Hey! My name is Sergio and I’m Brazilian, hailing from the state of Rio de Janeiro. I’m 35 and work as a graphic designer alongside print, logos, packaging, outdoor environments and other graphic materials. I’ve been collecting action figures for about 8 years now, starting off with the figures from Saint Seiya. Later on I found my passion for 6” super hero figures but I did have a brief passage through some 12” lines too. I started my action figure photography about 5 years ago as a hobby and as a form of treatment against depression, which helped me a lot to deal with this
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disease. I started photographing all kinds of figures, until, over time I was spending more time with the Marvel figures and their cinematic universe, with which I identify more.
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BANDAI ////////////
have been learning photography Igroups, with my friends and via Facebook like the American ACBA,
and the Brazilian CAFA, where I made many friends online and in the “real world�, besides perfecting my own techniques and experiments. My focus on setups are action scenes, combat and acrobatics. I like to challenge myself with dynamic poses and simulate movements. I also like to include tangible elements, such as lines, smoke, coloured lights and even bottles in my compositions, to improve the ambiance and give more truth to the image.
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SIMPLER & MUCH EASIER always try to finish my phoII usually tos without using Photoshop, do not delete stands or supports, but rather hide them behind the body of the figures themselves, or use high contrast in the case of photos with a white background. This whole process is as important to me as the finished photograph itself. I take every moment posing the figures, setting the stage and elaborating the whole composition. As for editing, I just balance colour, brightness and contrast using Lightroom.
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myself in my own universe, returning to my childhood and to a period where life was simpler and much easier. I want to thank the entire Exclu Collective team for the opportunity to be among such talented artists. Many of them have been, and still are, an inspiration for my creations and with whom I continue to learn more and more, this has been a unique and very rewarding experience.
For me, all the creative processes involving a photograph is great fun and is where I isolate myself from the outside world and lose
Keep right in the loop with all of Sergio’s incredible work via his Instagram handle @sirdios.
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THE TOYS THAT MADE US. J
oin us as we sit down with Nick Ferrell who is not only a gifted Toy Photographer but is also a CoLead Editor for Netflix’s “The Toys That Made Us”.
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NICK FERRELL Thanks for taking the time to join us for this series, Nick. Tell us a little bit about yourself and background.
changed my handle to something that was more in line with my original intentions of hairy creepiness. See? I told ya’ it was a stupid story.
Pleasure to be here! Born and raised Southern Californian with fifteen years in the television business under my belt - ten of those as an editor. I also dabble in illustration, animation and motion graphics, both professionally and for fun. Art was my first love going all the way back to elementary school, and I actually had ambitions to follow that path up until I started shooting movies with my friends in high school and became obsessed with the editing process. On top of all of that, I’ve also been struggling with a debilitating toy collecting addiction since childhood.
Obviously toys and collectibles heavily influence your work, but we’ve noticed more art directed toy photography in your feed. Is toy photography becoming a new hobby?
You post both your professional and personal work with regularity on Instagram. We would love to hear the origin story behind your handle @fuzzfang. Ha! It’s actually an incredibly stupid story. My original IG handle was @thebadbeard because - at the time of coining it - I had grown a ridiculously long beard as tribute to my late father who was always mistaken for Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. But then this whole “hipster/ wannabe urban lumberjack” fad hit and this thing that I had always associated with bikers, scumbags and weirdos suddenly evoked thoughts of guys in bolero hats selling artisanal cheese in Williamsburg. I couldn’t have any of that, so I chopped my beard down and
Yes. Very much so. It’s kinda been this gradual evolution of my social media posts that finally hit a boiling point in the last year or so. What started as an account created solely to promote my illustration eventually started to include the occasional toy snapshot - or “shelfie” as the kids call ‘em. Soon those started to develop into staged softbox shots on bright, monochromatic backgrounds to spotlight specific action figures. And finally, I started branching off into the more elaborately staged shots that I’ve been doing lately. I’m still shooting with just an iPhone but my plan is to upgrade to a DSLR this year for more control over my exposure and depth of field. I’ve also gone down the rabbit hole of foam diorama crafting after seeing some of the ridiculous dio work that IG guys like @oeleooeleo and @al_figures have been doing. I’m currently working on a Castle Grayskull dungeon dio that’s gonna be pretty effing epic. My girlfriend thinks I’ve lost my damn mind.
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AN AVERAGE DAY.
...working on The Toys That Made Us mostly consists of sitting in a dark room with my dog while trying to figure out how in the hell I'm gonna piece all of this damn footage together... How long have you been aware of the more creative side of the toy collecting community, and has it surprised you at all to see how expansive it’s becoming in 2019?
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The first time that I can remember seeing people create fun content with action figures in a professional sense was in those “Twisted Mego Theater” strips in the old Toyfare Magazine (RIP) which then eventually evolved into Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. Yes, they were getting paid to make that stuff, but you can’t deny that the ideas grew from the creators’ love for toy collecting. But as far as toy-influenced creativity - specifically photography - in a grass roots amateur sense, that was something that I became aware of shortly after joining Instagram back in 2012. There’s no doubt in my mind that this art form owes its current vibrancy to the Instagram platform and, frankly, I’m not the least bit surprised at how much it’s blown up. We’re all feeding off of and inspiring each other with new ideas and techniques, and I’m super stoked to watch this community get even bigger in the years to come. It seems like you have quite the dream job working on the Netflix’s ‘The Toys That Made Us’ documentary series. Tell us about your contribution to the show. I’m one of two lead editors along with my partner in crime, Ben Frost. The two of us are responsible for taking the countless hours of interviews conducted by our
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willustrious team of field producers and distilling them all down into the most compelling and entertaining story possible. We also write all of the narration, so we’re the guys to blame for the corny jokes. At the end of the day, we’re really editor/ writer/producers who are lucky enough to enjoy a lot of authorship over the show thanks to the trust that Executive Producer, Brian VolkWeiss has in us. Sometimes being an editor means being a button pushing monkey who exists solely because the showrunner doesn’t know how to run an Avid. Working with Brian is the exact opposite of that. The show is his vision, but he’s allowed us to take the ball and run with it in a fun and collaborative way. He’s also a big toy nerd, so it’s always fun to come into the office and share photos of recent acquisitions with your boss. Exclu loves The Toys That Made Us! Can you give us a peek behind the curtain - A ‘day in the life’ of Nick Ferrell? I wish I could say that it’s glamorous and exciting, but my average day working on The Toys That Made Us mostly consists of sitting in a dark room with my dog while trying to figure out how in the hell I’m gonna piece all of this damn footage together. When I’m not doing that, I’m hashing out story ideas with editor/producer, Ben Frost or talking about recent toy acquisitions in the hallway with producer, Rich Mayerick and post production supervisor, Jason Brian. Continues on page 72.
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Where do you like to hunt for toys?
What does your toy collection look like?
I do most of my buying through eBay, Instagram dealers, Big Bad Toy Store or directly from companies like Super 7 who handle their own retail. The internet is my enabler.
Everyone who comes to my house says that my collection looks like a museum exhibit. I put A LOT of effort into its presentation. These are beautiful little pieces of art and I believe that they should be showcased with reverence and style. 49
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BRIAN 50
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@ A K I R A J O 9
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BRIAN RUNGKAT
lacing a desire to keep all of his works purely Tangible in nature has led Brian to create a portfolio of inspired works, many of which bring us closer to the figures themselves.
I am known as Akira Jo on social media and I’m a toy photographer and collecting enthusiast. My work in Toy photography is based around everything being tangible with no editing to add or remove anything within the picture. I really love the A.C.B.A (Articulated Comic Book Art) style, because I have no knowledge of Photoshop and of course, for me going down the tangible route is much more challenging and requires me to be more creatively active.
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This series called “Ronin Logan” consists of two pictures, set up to resemble that of a feudal era in Japan. Logan is simply travelling in the first image with the second showing the result of a samurai ambush. 52
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Kamen Rider is a Japanese Superhero and here I used Kamen Rider Ichigou to give the picture a little bit of a darker mood and move it away from the expected tone.
MEZCO ////////////
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his shot is meant as a tribute T to the Iron Giant, and here I used the Sentinel variant. The buildings are set up in a way that shows that this is not a metropolitan scene but rather a small town staying true to the movie
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THE IRON GIANT ////////////
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Making full use of the fantastic sculpt by the Mezco team showing a tougher looking Popeye than what we are used to seeing, I wanted to show the kind of lifestyle Popeye went through to be such a tough sailor
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IT'S GOING TO BE A G O O D D AY >>
Simple shots can turn out the best and here we have Jigen enjoying his cigarrete,while waiting on Lupin on the public phone.
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Now here’s a simple picture of the Bandai Tamashii Nations S.H. Figuarts Hulkbuster showcasing the magnificent details and the light-up features of the figure.
BANDAI ////////////
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Sometimes the simplest set up proves to be the hardest shot. In this case, the set up is simply a printed cut out from a classic Hulk comic, however making the aspects blend proves to be very challenging. Using the custom head-sculpt by the OldBoy CTTS Team on the S.H.Figuarts Hulk Infinity War body, creating that classic comic book cover.
Lastly here is a simple picture of Tom Holland’s Spider-man enjoying a well earned break while soaking in the view of the neighbourhood he protects.
You can catch up with all of Brian’s work and keep yourself in the loop with his latest projects via his social media handle @akirajo9 on Instagram.
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SWTBS
B L A C K S E R I E S AT N E W Y O R K T O Y FA I R ' 1 9 Matt Soulos / @starwarstheblackseries
For me, the New York Toy Fair (NYTF) was a real mix bag when reflecting on what Hasbro had on offer for Star Wars… If you were one of the ten thousand people who around this time last year ‘Backed the Barge’, then it would be safe to say that you would be a pretty happy 3.75” Vintage Collector. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ne of the big surprises had to be the 1978 Kenner O Retro figures, however by the time Hasbro held their panel, it really wasn’t that big a surprise. Target, who are the exclusive partner for the first wave of 6 figures, had not only put them up on their website but they had ‘sold out’ their pre-order hours before Hasbro even took the stage.
The other big surprise for Toy Fair, was also revealed some 24 hours before the panel, by another online partner, being The Black Series Hyper-Real 8” Black Darth Vader. While there was a lot of new product to share, there was one line that fell very short of new news. Sadly I am talking about my beloved Star Wars The Black Series 6” line. When you break it down there was one new reveal announced in Obi Wan Kenobi (Padawan) from The Phantom Menace.
Don’t get me wrong, the quality of this figure, in the ‘Photo Real’ age, picks up exactly where last year’s Mace Windu left off. This is a gorgeous looking piece of plastic, the face sculpt, a Jedi Robe (as all Jedi should), an interchangeable hand, everything with this figure is as it should be. It was however just one new reveal and I can’t quite recall a previous NYTF, SDCC or NYCC where only one new figure was revealed. Yes, Darth Maul was also (finally) confirmed to be returning to the Archive line, however this had to be the worst kept secret over the last 6 months. Both Kenobi and Maul will be available as the Star Wars Celebration Exclusive, which will be released on a foil 1999 The Phantom Menace (foil) card-back. Unfortunately this appears to be the only ‘Vintage’ packaging we are getting in support of The Phantom Menace’s 20th Anniversary.
Right - Dan Leonard @tinyepicphotos
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Above - HYPERREAL Darth Vader Hasbro / Lucasfilm
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Following the NYTF, I asked myself, what lies ahead for the future of The Black Series? What part will the Hyper-Real 8” line play? Will it impact the 6” line? Does the 6” line need to change? What would I do if I were Mr Hasbro?
Since I asked… here are my thoughts. Firstly the Hyper-Real line. I am not sure why the 8” scale was chosen over say the 12” scale, however that was the decision
Hasbro made. There was concern following the announcement that this may signal the end of the 6” in line? I do not believe this to be the case and I think we will see the Hyper-Real line happily sit alongside The Black Series 6” line similarly to how Marvel Legends have their 6” line co-exist with their 12” one. If Hyper-Real were to be it’s most successful, I would hope, for now, that they just focus on the Original Trilo-
gy characters. The top of my list, for Hyper-Real would be Heroes from A New Hope, the Bounty Hunters from The Empire Strikes Back, as well as the classic Imperial Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers. Moving back to the 6” line, I would like to see The Archive line shift it’s “rules” so that improvements beyond just the application of Photo Real techniques can be applied to previously released figures.
WE NEED CANTINA ALIENS, WE NEED MORE C L O N E VA R I A N T S A N D Y E S , W E S T I L L NEED A BODHI ROOK! +
In my world, I would almost split The Black Series line into two segments. I would continue to do what The Black Series is currently doing; with maybe four ‘mainline’ waves a year consisting of 6 to 8 figures. These waves would continue to focus on key characters from whatever new properties are released into both the Theatrical and Streaming spaces. These would continue to be released in-store and across multiple online retailers. The second line would build on what was done with Admiral Piett and more recently General Grievous. Both these figures were released through what Hasbro call ‘Fan Channel’ online retailers, such as Dorkside Toys, Empire Toy Shop, BBTS and Entertainment Earth. I would use these outlets to release the more obscure/specialised characters on an international level. I would envisage at least 8 of these figures a year, releasing in the months between the ‘mainline’ waves. Something that I am sure I will miss from The Black Series community is the level of engagement that Steve Evans (former Design Director) had directly with the fans. It is obvious that the likes of Neca, Super 7, Marvel Legends all have incredible fan engagement and for the last few years so has The Black Series on an almost daily basis. I do think the Star Wars team has done a great job over the last two years to really cover off ‘must have’ characters in The Black Series line, we are as collectors in a good place. While I don’t really support straight up fan service in making future Star Wars films, I do support it when it comes to toys. We need Cantina aliens, we need more Clone and Stormtrooper variants and yes we still need a Bodhi Rook! You can recap on all the events of New York Toy Fair 2019 on our dedicated space over on Exclucollective.com. Be sure to seek out Matt on Instagram via @starwarstheblackseries for daily posts and features. 61
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MATTHEW 62
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HOT TOYS
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MATT KIRK
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he OneSixth community is boiling over with incredible talent and one such stand out is Matt with his ability to pack in emotion and atmosphere into every shot.
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Growing up in the eighties and nineties, I was fortunate to have such memorable pop culture influences that continue to inspire me to this day. A huge icon for me early on was the late great Stan Lee. His characters he created were such an inspiration to me and he is a huge reason why I do toy photography. Some of my other childhood inspirations were of course, comic books (Spider-Man, Daredevil, Batman, Spawn) movies (Alien, Predator, RoboCop) and toys (He-Man, GI Joe).
Now I’m primarily known for shooting 1:6, but I still collect all sizes and all lines of toys. Soon after I started collecting I stumbled upon this incredible toy photography community on Instagram and it opened my eyes to all the possibilities of toy photography. There were so many amazing artists doing mind blowing sets that I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Given my love for all things pop culture, I started collecting everything I could get my hands on that was related to it. I collected 6 inch figures at first but then moved on to 1:6 figures. 65
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BAD WOLF his was such a cool way to T bring my movies and comics to life that I decided to give it a shot.
The community welcomed me with open arms and were so supportive. This is definitely the best community on Instagram.
Elements of photography that appeal to me include the use of color, lighting, smoke, and water effects to help convey emotion and bring my figures to life. I really enjoy taking portraits and close-ups the most, but I do a little bit of everything. I always tell people that my figures do half the work because of how real they look, but I try to enhance the realism as much as I can with my photography.
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BIG CHIEF 66
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MONDO ////////////
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starting toy photography, + S ince I have been lucky enough to be a contributor for Hasbro for the last few years and had my work shown at Comic Con and other toy conventions. I also am the founder and administrator for two feature pages on Instagram (Where Toys Dwell and Where Nightmares Dwell) I wanted to show my love and support for all of the talented toy photographers and this was a great way to do that.
I want to thank Jack, Trevor and the whole Exclu Team for this opportunity. This magazine is a wonderful way to showcase some of the best talent in the toy community and I’m very humbled to be in such incredible company. This has definitely been challenging but also a lot of fun!
You can catch up with all of Matt’s work and keep yourself in the loop with his latest projects via @rollthehardsixx on Instagram. 69
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THE SQUARED CIRCLE
T H I N G S i WA N T T O S E E F R O M M AT T E L & WWE IN 2019 Matt Goldberg / @mbg1211
2019 has kicked off to a great start with Mattel’s WWE line as so many new features have rolled out, including swappable heads, hands and new, highly-detailed face printing technology. While I’m super excited for all of that, there’s still a few things I’d love to see in the near future. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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I would love to see Mattel include emotional head scans with all their Elite figures or even their upcoming, higher-end Ultimate line. I’d love to see these with all their male and female figures, such as: yelling, teeth showing, angry, happy, sad, mad, mid-match/post-match, sweaty, messy hair, etc. For figure photographers like myself, the more emotion we can convey with the figures the more believable the image becomes.
+ Alternate Era Attires
Even though every WWE action figure is technically an alternate attire, Mattel’s WWE line now includes Chase Variants with one per set. While this is a really great feature, I’d love to see a truly different era of these characters as a chase, similar to their Elite 63 Shelton Benjamin. For those unfamiliar, the main release of Shelton was his current, modern day look while his chase variant is from many, many years ago and he looks quite different. Since then Mattel has just included alternate outfits, which is still great, but if we could Flashback versions of these characters as their chase variant that would be really nice. Such as a rookie version if that makes sense? I love the chase variants, some are way better than others of course, but if we could see a whole new figure somehow as a chase that would be even cooler and highly sought after.
+ Female Swappable Hands
While all the male Elite figures come with swappable hands these days, I’d love for the females to as well. They are extremely overdue for some new hand molds as their hands are a bit odd, their wrists are angled and you just really can’t do a whole lot with some of the hands, especially the flat, open hand. I would love to see fists, open hands, accessory holding hands and even character specific hands like some of the male Elite figures come with. The women deserve some love, too, in this area and I really hope we can see that sooner than later.
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Mattel is kicking ass and body slamming these latest WWE action figures to the mat, but I’d love to see them improve the line that much more. They’re definitely heading in a great direction this year and I can’t wait to see what they have planned for us for 2020! 70
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THE TOYS THAT MADE US. ////////////
What action figure or collectible are you on the hunt for currently?? Lately I’ve been picking up a lot of funky licensed non-toy MOTU items like Ben Cooper costumes, clocks, lunchboxes, etc. I’m also desperately on the hunt for Bloodstone and Rockadile from Ideal’s Rocks & Bugs & Things line. The trick is finding them clean and complete with their accompanying “Mordles”.
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TTTMU has covered several iconic brands and toy lines. Which has resonated most personally with you and why?
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
What’s your favorite toy line of all time? MOTU obviously sits atop the heap, but it only edges out Star Wars by a hair. Right under those two sit TMNT, Super Powers, M.A.S.K. and Real Ghostbusters. Notice that four out of those six were Kenner lines? That’s because Kenner was the Michael Jordan of toys.
Masters Of The Universe was the main reason I wanted to work on TTTMU. Hands down. It’s my all-time favorite toy property and getting to take the reins on that episode was an absolute honor. Exec Producer Brian Volk-Weiss recognized my passion for the subject matter and allowed me a level of autonomy on that episode unseen on any other in the series. I basically got to do whatever I wanted with MOTU and I consider the months spent working on it to be the absolute apex of my entire career. While I have worked hard on every episode in this series, I worked even harder on that one. I even stuffed it full of visual Easter eggs. Funny story: When I came in to interview for the position with Director/Executive Producer, Tom Stern, he had no idea that I was a toy nut. Suddenly, mid-interview, I started grilling him on whether or not they had locked in Mark Taylor and Roger Sweet for the MOTU episode. He was like, “Wait... you... you know who Mark and Roger are?” It was hilarious. Actually BEING a toy collector was never a prerequisite for the job, so he didn’t know how to process this weird dude (me) walking into his office and dropping all of this science out of the blue. I told him right there in that interview that I was put on this planet to edit that episode. In hindsight it was probably a little arrogant and presumptuous, but whatever. I got the job. Has the positive response to TTTMU surprised you, seeing that it focuses on such a unique niche?
show came together, we realized that we couldn’t make it too inside baseball in fear of alienating casual viewers. But we also didn’t want to dumb it down too much and piss off the hardcore fans. It was a very delicate tightrope that we walked and over time we eventually landed on the conclusion that one of two things was going to happen. Outcome number one was that hardcore toy collectors - stoked at finally seeing the fruits of their hobby recognized in mainstream media through a show not called Toy Hunter - would embrace the show while mass audiences would just kinda shrug and move on. Outcome number two was the exact opposite in that the mass audience would be the one to embrace the show as accessible nostalgia while the collector/nerd crowd - brutal in their online vitriol of late - would write the show off as watered down junk and start online hate campaigns calling for us to be drawn and quartered. What actually happened, for the most part, was a third, unanticipated outcome: everyone liked it. That kinda caught me off guard. I knew we had done something special when all of my close friends since high school (none of whom are toy collectors) started texting me to tell me how much they loved the show. And from what I’ve heard, we have a lot of fans within the ranks at Netflix as well. That being said, we’ve still had a vocal minority of detractors, but you can’t please everyone. I’d encourage those people to make their own show if they think they can do it better.
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What has been the most challenging part of working on TTTMU?
What are you working on personally? Is there anything we can help spread the word on?
The toughest part - by far - is having to cram these multi-decade spanning stories into a forty-something minute run time. And in doing so, hard decisions have to be made and certain things that we may be in love with have to get cut. For example, we had an entire segment in our Star Wars episode where we focused on product photographer, Kim Simmons.
I have been nose to the grindstone editing season 3 since last spring, but now that things are starting to wind down to a more reasonable pace, I’m going to be turning my attention back to my art, which I’ve been woefully neglecting. I plan to toss some new art prints and stickers up on my web store in the coming months, but in the meantime, people can check out all the existing stuff that I have for sale over at nickferrell.com and then follow me on Instagram (@fuzzfang) for updates.
We interviewed him in his photography studio and he detailed his process in shooting all of those now classic product shots on the Star Wars card backs and vehicle/ playset boxes. It was a wonderful segment - especially for a toy photography nerd such as myself - but in the end, it had to go in interest of time. Heartbreaking, but what can ya do?
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So there we have it, straight from the mind of Nick Ferrell so we say a massive thank you for his insight and we eargerly await more from The Toys That Made Us team.
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HIROYUKI 76
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@ H YA R U R O N 0 1 1 5
HIROYUKI SAKURAI
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ur community is ever growing and it’s great to stumble onto new works and one such recent find is the talented Hiroyuki and his bright, playful portofolio.
Hello everyone, My name is Hiroyuki Sakurai and I was born and raised in Gunma, Japan. I like Marvel characters, especially Spider- man as I remember back when I was an elementary school student, I always watched the first Spider-man movie which was directed by Sam Raimi. Spider “actions” like web swinging, wall crawling and Spider-sense really captured my heart and now I’m crazy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I started taking Toy Photos and collecting action figures in 2017 and I mainly use 1/12 figures in my work. Taking pictures which have a story and enhanced character charm is my aim in Toy Photography. I prefer shooting outdoors because the sunlight, the sky, tree, plants, sand, and river can add effects to my pictures. For example, the blue sky makes photos more clear and the setting sun also adds drama. In addition, there are four seasons in Japan and I enjoy that seasonal change reflected in my work.
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ANT-MAN
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" W e m e t a f e w y e a r s a g o at t h e a i r p o r t i n G e r m a n y ! I g o t r e a l ly b i g . A n t - M a n ? A n t - M a n , I k n o w y o u k n o w t h at . T h at ' s m e . C a n y o u b u z z m e i n ? "
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ately, my favorite figure has L become the S.H.Figuarts Ant-Man and the Wasp from Ban-
dai. These two figures have good shaping and a wide range of motion. The point is they can change their own size at will within their movie. It helps me to be more creative and I’m able to take more fantasy photos. By using miniature cars for instance, Ant-man can be Giant-Man in my photos. Also I can shoot Wasp with cute flowers and they are able to fit any situation making them so fun to shoot.
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BANDAI
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CHILL THE EFF OUT. on a journey with toys last ILaos,went year ; I shot them in Thailand, Turkey, Greece, and Italy.
While traveling, I met a lot of people and started talking with them as I found that Toy Photography could be a great tool of communication. I never forget that I took a beautiful picture in Cappadocia, Turkey where I bought a hot air balloon toy and set up Baby Groot on it. I climbed up to the top of the hill early every morning and I had so many balloons surrounding me when I was shooting it. The beautiful scenery was spread out there and it was such an exciting and wonderful experience.
On Instagram, there are so many great Toy Photographers and I’m always inspired by them. Nowadays, I spend my free time on shooting my figures and trying to find new idea’s. I would like to learn more about photography and enjoy it further and this year, I’m going to try my hand at creating my own diorama’s. It is real honour to work with Jack and the entire Exclu team via my feature here so a big thank you for support in getting me here.
Head over to Instagram and follow all of Hiroyuki’s projects via his showcasing handle @hyaruron. 82
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EXCLUCOLLECTIVE.COM The material seen here-in may not be replicated or reproduced without the express permission of Exclu Media Ltd and this includes the material presented by our featured artists. Exclu Media Ltd is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or retailers seen here-in. All characters, IP’s & License’s belong to their respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. This publication is self published by Exclu Media Ltd. and was first published in April 2019.
GET IN TOUCH We alway’s enjoy taking the time to get to know our community of passionate creatives & collectors so feel free to get in-touch either by social media direct messages or via email.
jack@exclucollective.com If you are a member of the Toy Industry and wish to advertise and promote on any instance of our platforms then email our Marketing strategist at the address below and ask for our media & services kit.
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Full Release Cover Variant
THANOS.
THANK YOU 84
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