Toytography Magazine (Spring 2024) by ToytographyMag

MARCH 2024

A TRIP TO A LOCAL STORE INSPIRED THIS SCULPTOR OF HISTORICAL FIGURES

A DIORAMA TUTORIAL FROM THE SKILLED HANDS OF JORDAN AFFONSO WE DIVE INTO THE CREATIVE MIND OF AN EXPERT STORYTELLER

TOYTOGRAPHYMAG.COM

CON TE CONT E NT S

TABLE OF

2 ANGLE MASTERY 3

NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER A Message fr om Br ian Car r

Dynamic angles may be all you need to enhanc e your photo.

12 ACORI HONZO 21 SPACE STATION DIORAMA 26 CONTEST WINNER 35

FEATURED TOYTOGRAPHER Jason B. Mic hael

Sc ulptor of Histor ic al Blac k Figur es

A New Build by Oiler s Wor kshop

Themed Contest #r un

A Note from the Founder

To me, the beginning of the year is always an exciting time because I get to set new goals and look for new things to learn and explore. Whenever possible, I like to look for things that will take me to higher heights and elevate my mind. Additionally, I’m looking forward to a few toy releases this year. Specifically ones that I know will challenge my Toytography. New figures also means more stimulation for the imagination. It never gets old when holding a figure in my hand and letting my imagination just wander in search of that cool photo idea. I truly hope that you too achieve new goals this year and capture memorable content in you Toytography journey.

r r a C n a i Br Founder

In this issue We sit down with the very talented sculptor, Acori Honzo. Read about his amazing story and how a simple trip to a local store sparked and unforgettable historical journey. Our feature interview is with Jason B Michael. He is a phenomenal storyteller. The emotions he expresses in his images are truly memorable. We also have a new diorama build! Jordan Affonso from Oilers Workshop is lending his skills for an amazing design. Grab your crafting tools and prepare to create something that is out of this world!

Angle

Mastery

by: DanHickman

Crafting captivating toy photography involves more than just pointing and shooting; it's an art that involves careful consideration of various elements, and one crucial aspect is the use of different camera angles. In this article, we'll explore the significance of employing diverse angles in toy photography and how it can elevate the quality of your shots. To truly create dynamic photos, recognizing that different angles is key to generating different emotional responses, will help your picture tell an impactful story. Remember the old adage…” a picture is worth a thousand words.” Your camera can be one of the most powerful storytelling tools at your disposal. Let’s look at several different angles/perspectives that you can incorporate into your photographic arsenal:

Eye-Level Perspective One of the most common angles in toy photography is shooting from the eye level. This perspective provides a natural and relatable feel, making the viewer connect with the toys on a personal level. Ensure that the camera is at the same height as the subject for a realistic portrayal. Eye level gives the viewer the feeling that they’re right in the action, seeing everything from the same perspective as the toy, which makes for a very linear photograph, but can also flatten the subject due to potentially minimizing depth by reducing shadows.

Low Angle for Empowerment Lowering the camera angle can add a sense of grandeur and empowerment to your toy subjects. Shooting from below can make smaller figures appear larger than life, creating a dynamic and heroic vibe. This technique is especially effective for action figures or characters with strong, imposing stances. Imagine Superman or Captain America and how imposing and heroic they look from a child’s perspective. Looking up at your heroes helps elevate your perception of their power and stature.

High Angle for Vulnerability On the contrary, a high angle can convey vulnerability. This angle works well when you want to showcase a toy in a more submissive or contemplative pose. It's an effective way to experiment with the emotional impact of your photographs. When the subject is positioned below at an angle, the general feeling is one of being powerless or weakened, at a low point. If you are shooting a toy photo conveying a defeated hero or villain, the higher angle helps to give the viewer the sense of power over the fallen opponent.

Top Down View Taking a shot from directly above provides a unique perspective known as the bird's eye view. This angle can be particularly useful for displaying intricate dioramas or showcasing a group of toys in an interesting arrangement. Experiment with this angle to add depth and complexity to your compositions.

Dutch Angle Tilt your camera at an angle for a Dutch angle, introducing a sense of drama and tension into your photos. This technique can work well for action-packed scenes, creating a dynamic and visually stimulating effect. The Dutch angle is a shot in which the camera is rotated around the axis of the lens, relative to the horizon or vertical lines in the picture. This angle is primarily used to create a sense of unease or disorientation for the viewer. Dutch angles are generally used for static shots, but in a dynamic Dutch angle shot, the camera can pivot, pan, or track along the diagonal axis, specifically chosen for the shot.

Close Up Don't shy away from getting up close and personal with your toys. Close-up shots can highlight intricate details, textures, and expressions that might be missed in wider shots. This is especially important for your action figure reviews, allowing your audience to appreciate the craftsmanship of each toy.

Experimentation is key The key to mastering toy photography is experimentation. Don't be afraid to try different angles and compositions. Sometimes, unexpected angles can result in the most captivating and unique shots. As a toy influencer, showcasing variety in your photography style will keep your audience engaged and intrigued. In the world of toy photography, the use of different camera angles is a powerful tool for storytelling and visual impact. Whether you're aiming for a heroic pose, a dramatic scene, or a detailed showcase, understanding, and implementing various angles will undoubtedly enhance the overall quality of your toy photographs. So, grab your camera, explore different perspectives, and let your creativity shine!

WWW.JAZZINCDIORAMAS.COM

www.onesixthkit.com

JASON B MICHAEL Toytography Magazine: How did you get started with toy photography? Was there something that inspired you to start doing it? JasonBMichael: Well, I’ve been collecting for such a long time, to the point where I was like, “Should I do anything with these toys?” Even my wife was kind of looking over at the collection saying, “How much is this worth?” It was around the time Force Awakens just came out. Star Wars The Black Series started becoming big again, and I was happy to see these collectibles be easily accessible. So, I started to get back into collecting and comic books around 2017. For some reason, one day I was scrolling on Facebook, and I saw this post that was toy photography, it was “Hot.Kenobi”. It was a really interesting and fun picture of Batman and Superman, right next to each other, and each were in front of beer cans and Superman had punched right through it and Batman had only made a dent. I thought that was interesting to see someone use toys to create this type of image. The other time, I kind of found it through Sgt Bananas when the Last Jedi came out. He was hired, I think, by Hasbro and Disney to create a DVD insert of specific scenes from the film using the action figures. I thought that was fantastic. I was like, “How is this guy doing this?” Real effects, and explosions, and stuff like that… It was just mindblowing to see that these people were doing things with action figures. I saw Sir Dork as well.

His photography had blown up on Reddit or UNILAD or something like that. He was using a lot of fireworks, which aren’t available in Canada, so I was just wondering, “What can I do with this? Maybe I should give it a shot.” I had just bought the archive series Luke Skywalker. It was a very hard figure to come by, with his orange suit. I figured maybe I could give it a shot, put Luke on my computer keyboard and have a snowy background for Hoth. I just took that really bad picture, I think, four and a half years ago now? So, yeah, I just started doing that. I did that with my phone. My wife had a camera lying around, because she wanted to dabble in that but she thought it was too technical. I asked her if I could use her camera, which is the same camera I use now. So, I just basically started doing a lot of Star Wars photography, trying to learn the ins and outs of how to pose, how to use effects in shots, and things like that. It was just out of wanting to find a new hobby. I had a podcast, a film podcast, and because my background is mostly literature, film, and things like that, our podcast was a little complex, in terms of analysis and things like that. So, teaching college full time, and also having the podcast full time, was becoming incredibly difficult to maintain, because of all the research that we had to do for our show.

So, my partner and I, who is out in Ireland, we slowly became disillusioned with the fact that we were putting in this much work and not much was coming out of it. We did it because we liked it. It was a way for me to stay in school, because I enjoy school, but I was looking for something else to do. I felt that this toy photography could be a fun, new outlet. I could create stories, a little bit closer to film, pop culture, things that I enjoy as well, and a little bit less involved in terms of analysis. It allowed me to keep collecting with “purpose”. So here we are four years later, after all that. (Haha!) TM: Wow, so you started out using your phone? JB: Well, just that one first picture was with my phone. The rest of them were all with a camera. TM: Ah, ok. So, I guess, when you saw that one image with the humor, is that what launched you into the type of photos that you do? It seems like a lot of pictures that you do really tell engaging stories. JB: Well, the people that pushed me toward being more on the humorous side of things were Plastic Action (Jax Navarro) and NoseRain (Richie Chang) When I first started, it wasn’t about humor too much. It was basically about using Star Wars figures and creating these action shots, because that’s what you want to learn how to create the effects and things like that, because that’s what looks cool, right? So, it was less story involved and more

special effects or effects driven photography at that point. I remember having a conversation with Mitchell Wu, and he’s the one that really helped me, early on, carve out what I would call my style today. Basically, his emphasis was always on story telling. If you’re using an effect, and it has no special purpose, then it’s just an effect. It needs to service the story. If it doesn’t service the story, then there’s no real point in you using that effect. Which is why I use fewer and fewer effects now. A few things here or there in camera, but I seldom use effects anymore, because I don’t feel like they’re actually helping my story. It’ll create a mess in my living room, but they won’t necessarily help my story all too much. Early on, I didn’t consider myself particularly funny. Then, instead of trying to fit in to a specific niche, I started looking at what activates my imagination. What do I like to see in pictures, and things like that. That’s when the humor started to kick in. How can I put the strangest things together? What works? That’s one of the things I’ve always tried to practice, lateral thinking. My girlfriend is more of a vertical thinker, so she’ll come up with a thesis, for example, and she’ll be able to come up with a conclusion or a solution, that type of thing. I’m a problem creator, where she’s a problem solver. So, what I’ll do is, I’ll say, “Hey, this reminds me of this, which reminds me of this, which reminds me of this…” And she’ll say, “Ok, what does that all mean?” And I’ll say, “I have no idea.” (Haha!) All I know is that it’s linked. So, that really helps fuel my imagination, because I’ll be able to kind of pinpoint certain aspects of characters that are going to go together and just kind of have fun with that. That’s where I started developing humor. Just letting my imagination be what it is. It’s creating a problem and trying to solve it through a picture. TM: That’s really good. What I’ve noticed is, even though you do mashups with different characters, you still stay within the realm of who that character is. JB: Absolutely! Every time. TM: There was one picture I saw with The Chef, where he’s chasing down a pig. It totally fits the characters.

JB: Yeah. That picture’s been going around for years now. It’s crazy, because it still pops up on my feed sometimes, uncredited, because I hadn’t put the right credit on it. It probably has had millions of eyes on it by now, and I haven’t made a single penny off that picture. But I really, really love that shot. It’s so much fun, because it was one of the first images that I had in my head and I was able to translate exactly what I saw. And it turns out that a lot of people gravitated towards that shot. It was one of those iconic toy photography shots where people were just like, “This is perfect.” I still really like that shot. I don’t celebrate my work too much, but that’s one of those shots where I’m like, “Yeah. That one’s mine. I’m really proud of that shot.” TM: So, let me ask you this. When your pictures are getting passed around, and you’re not getting credit for it, does that make a difference to you? JB: I used to be bothered by it, because when you’re starting out, you have no real idea of what copyright looks like and stuff like that. You haven’t worked with anybody. You’re not aware of what stealing images actually is, right? I remember having a long conversation with Johnny, Sgt Bananas, about this where he said, “You just gotta let it go, because it just happens so often.” Even when people copy your work. Which I had a little issue with Sgt Bananas, because I had done a shot that was very

similar to his, out of practice I remember hitting him up, because he had shared his picture in his stories, and I said, “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to post this. This was just for practice.” So, I apologized to him, and that was a conversation that really helped me to understand that sometimes getting all up-inarms and frustrated about those types of things is somewhat detrimental to actually enjoying the process. So, I try to kind of let it go. When I see the shot appear, I’ll have a few people that will tag me in the comments, but what can I do about it? I mean, I can ask for credit, but at the same time, I can’t keep chasing down people. There was also what happened recently with the Mario and the velociraptor picture that I had made. There was a… I’m not going to say any names, and don’t bother to go looking for this, because I don’t want them to have any publicity from me, but they basically recreated my picture, and then it went absolutely viral. Mine had gone viral, but theirs, there’s absolutely no credit. And if you look on their page, they’ve stolen work from Jax and things like that, actually reposting some of his stop motion video without crediting him at all, and I was just like, “What are you guys doing?” So, these individuals, they reached out to me, I read their message, but I didn’t bother answering, because it was like, “Oh, you know, we haven’t even seen your picture.” It was all a lie, because it was all the same angle, same positioning, and stuff like that. I even had people saying, “Copying is a form of flattery.” At the same time, I’ve moved past that shot now. It gets frustrating, because you kind of want the clout that goes with it, because it was your original idea. Then, it just becomes a pain to be policing all over the place, because it really does take the joy out of that. So, I feel like now I’m three quarters of the way to not caring. Whenever I see a picture, I’m like, “Come on, man. You know that’s me. You know I did that. Just say ‘Shout out to Jason’.” Or whoever it is that they do. I’ve seen them copy other people’s stuff all the time. Just credit them. Just say Jax or Johnny, because if these are the people that are inspiring you, let them know.

It’s just a small little detail that diffuses whatever sentiment the person might be harboring towards that copy. But that being said, I’ve slowly let go of that. What am I going to do about it? It doesn’t matter. TM: Yes, it’s true. Overall, you do have to let that stuff go, because the whole point of doing toy photography is to have fun. When you encounter something like that takes the fun out of it, then it’s like, I don’t want to ruin it. JB: I kind of understand though, because all things considered, I have a medium to large sized account. But I know that there are people who have smaller followings that are really doing their utmost to be noticed. If their work is being copied and they’re not getting credited, then it’s not fair. That’s the one thing for me. I always try to make it fair. Just be fair. If you’re taking from somebody that created something that you like, don’t take it. Just say, “Hey, I found it here.” It’s really a small, little gesture that goes a long, long way. TM: So, when it comes to your pictures, and the ones you’ve done up to this point, what could you say has been your most challenging photo? JB: It would probably be the Lone Roach that won the Mezco contest back in 2020, if I’m not mistaken. That is probably the most challenging picture, because of all the elements. It took a while to set up, to fix the poses, to make sure that everything was right, to make the trees, back when I was actually making props, and things like that.

So, that was a really, really challenging picture for me. It was the first one that I feel was starting to push me in the direction that I wanted to go. It was one of those where, when I saw it finished, I thought, “Oh, I can actually do this, and it looks good.” You know what I mean? Then, there was this series of pictures right after that that did incredibly well. I remember, when I won the contest, I thought, “What am I going to do next?” I felt pressure. It’s so weird. Because I wasn’t even having fun anymore. I was still trying to build that audience. I was still relatively small, at that point. It was just one of those instances where I was like, “I can take this seriously?” I mean, I won a pretty significant contest. There’s no money, but I’m getting some figures worth quite a bit of money, so that’s kind of interesting. It's cool, because it kind of gave me a little bit more confidence in what I was actually producing. So, I followed that up with Popeye fighting a shark, which I still consider to be one of my best pictures, because it’s personal to me, that one. Then Raphael fighting foot soldiers in the rain, so I had a couple of shots in a row where I was like, “These are cool. These are cool.” But I was approaching them with more confidence than I had prior to that one picture. That was the challenging one. TM: You would say that’s the one that took you the longest? JB: Yeah. It took me about a week to set everything up, make sure everything was ok, find the angle, and all that stuff. So, I’d been posing the figures, and trying to balance them like that for a while on my kitchen table, meticulously trying to put one on top of the other, how to balance this guy, what’s the right pose, how do I set the right angle… Are the antennae going to be like this? No, he’s jumping that way. The minutiae of every single, little thing is the culmination of what that was. Then the other challenge was the first time I worked with Mezco. That was really, really challenging, because I didn’t know what to do. I was just so scared, and every time I get a new contract, my initial ideas are always ones that kind of frighten me.

I kind of have to get the crappy image out of the way, so I can get to the good one. The only time that I was actually kind of elated by the fact that I could do something good was when I did the Mech this past summer, when Mezco sent me Void Cadet Gomez, I was super stoked, because it was the first time I got to shoot a Gomez for preorder. That one was challenging in and of itself, because I had to balance this 16” mech. It was fun, because I figured that I wouldn’t be alone on the project, they don’t tell us who we’re going to be working with, and I was like, “I have to get him in movement.” Because I know everyone else is going to struggle. They’re going to have him static or something like that, and if I get this big hunk of machine running, it’s going to look awesome. So, I got it, and I was really happy with that. There was that one, and there was also the Krig 13 photo that I did where I included all thirteen figures in one picture. That one was challenging as well, because it took another 3-5 days to set up each individual and move them and find the right angle so you can see all thirteen figures. It’s a messy shot, but you can identify every single character in that shot. So, it was good. TM: That’s cool. So you were trying to get all in the frame. JB: Exactly. So, everyone can say, “Ok, I can see all 13 of these guys. That’s insane.” TM: Offhand, how many commissions have you received from companies, and how did you get into that?

JB: Well, I actively chased it at first, because I feel that being in a creative job is always something that I wanted to do, because of my interest in film. But I slowly started to realize that the more you get involved in the business side, the less creative you’re allowed to be. I’ve slowly started to let that go, because it became frustrating for me to start getting notes from people, because I was like, “Well, ok, you want me to change this? But it took me half a day to make that picture.” I don’t have infinite time, you know? It’s this, or it’s nothing. So, the working relationship I have with Mezco, they call on me when they need me, and that’s totally fine. So, to me, I have a really great working relationship with them. They’re very kind to me, as well. I know a lot of people have trouble with the way they do business and stuff like that, but that’s never been my experience with them. So, people can complain, but I have nothing to complain about. I can empathize and say, “Well, that kind of sucks for you, but it’s just not the relationship I have.” So, whenever they need pictures, they say, “Hey, are you free to do this type of thing?” “Yeah, absolutely. Send it this way, and I’ll take care of it, no issue whatsoever.” So, whenever I’m done, I’ll send them prints of the shots that I took for them, just so they can have it in a catalog in their things. I think I’m the only person that does that, but to me it’s like, “Ok, you paid for these, so here you go.” Or, you asked me to work on it, I should say, so these belong to you. But the other companies that I did work with… It was a fun working relationship with Lume Cube. That was interesting to me. I haven’t worked with them in over a year, but they’re still the lights that I use all the time. I have a great time using them, and whenever we did have a working relationship, they were always awesome with me. I’ve worked with Umi toys, which has been interesting as well. Initially, my daughters were big fans of Stranger Things, so when they saw they had these capsules for Stranger Things with a plush toy and all that stuff, I showed my kids, and I said, “These people want me to take this. Do you want this stuff?” And they said, “Yeah, that would be great. We’d love to have these things.” So, I gave it to them.

I did the pictures and they said, “We can’t believe what you did with these. We’ve never seen this before.” They wanted to meet with me, so we talked about the process and all that stuff, and it was fun. So, I got to work with them a couple of times. I recently raised my fees, and I haven’t heard back, but that was on purpose, because I really wanted to make it worth my while. Like I said, I really want to exit the business side of it, so this will be worth the contract. If you want to pay this, then I’m fine. I’m still working at the college full time, so I don’t really care. It’s just extra money. The one contract I still have some malaise with is my relationship with Plunderlings, with Lone Coconut. It was a very difficult creative process for me, because I felt like I wasn’t able to produce my best work. I really like Ricky over there. He’s a fantastic human being. We were speaking like you and I are right now. We had a lot in common, like our taste in movies and things like that, and he contracted me for four or five pictures. I really struggled to get ideas to shoot the Plunderlings. That was one of the things where I was like, “Oh man, I really like this line. I really like Ricky, and I feel like I’m not doing this stuff justice.” And it hurt. It hurt my feelings to be put in a position where I have limitations. I didn’t think I did at that point, and when I realized that I did have limitations, it was kind of a little bit of a wake-up call. Ok, there are a certain set of parameters that these individuals want. I don’t know if I can fulfill those types of things, because the things that I should include in the pictures are not readily available to me, where I am. Then, after that, when I handed them the pictures, there were a few notes, so they wanted me to redo certain things. I was like, “I can’t really do that, man. This took a lot of time and…” You know? So, for me there was friction there, and once the contract was done, I suggested two other individuals that I felt would do a much better job at marketing and selling their figures. One of them is actually working with them right now, and he’s doing a great job. I’m glad that they chose to go with that guy, because I think he captures the real joyful essence of those characters convey. So, it was one of those things where it was a humbling experience,

because I didn’t think that I would face that type of limitation. It got to be a job, and it was a job I didn’t have fun doing. I couldn’t have the creative freedom that I wanted to explore. It was just a very difficult period photographing those things. TM: So, when they send you figures, or they ask you to take pictures of figures you already have? JB: No, no they send the stuff. TM: They send the stuff to you? JB: Always. TM: Do they give you a list of something to do? JB: Nope. They say, “Go ahead. We want you to do you.” Then after that, once I did me, they’ll be like, “Oh… well… We wanted a different you.” And you’re like, “Oh well, I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” That’s fine, I get it. They’re paying. They should get what they want. That’s why I admire the relationship that Trevor Williams has with Mythic Legions, for example, the Four Horsemen guys. He gets it. He understands what these people want. He understands how to sell these figures. I am not from the Caribbean. I am from up north in Canada.

I’ve seen a palm tree twice in my life that wasn’t on a post card. There’s a whole cultural aspect that was lost to me. Even though I’m aware of certain things, and I did research to understand a little bit more about where this would come from. Even the Plunderlings themselves, I looked into what sort of mythology they could do. I actually studied to make sure that I understood all that stuff. Then, generating the ideas and having the backdrops to go with it was just a nightmare. How do I do this? How do I convey these people are fun loving beach people, and stuff like that. To me, they look like woodland creatures, but no, it wasn’t that. It had to be a Caribbean vibe, and I was like, “Geez, man. I’m just not the guy.” TM: Yeah, that’s understandable. So, you said you pursued these companies in the beginning, then at some point, they started looking for you? JB: Yeah, sometimes I get messages a couple of times a week saying, “Hey, we’d like you to collaborate on this.” I’m like, “No, I don’t have any time.” Right now, I’m just flat out… The only people that I’m going to say yes to is Lume Cube, for example. Mezco, without hesitation I’ll say yes, every single time.

I remember pursuing Hasbro, and they never gave me the time of day. They never responded to any of my messages or anything like that. Which is fine, because I don’t buy Hasbro anymore anyway. It’s just one of those things where I’d be hoarding plastic that I’d have to give away to other people. I have nothing against the company, or anything like that, it’s just they seem to have the people that they like to work with. The only other little working relationship I have right now is with Toyzmetaverse, a shop out in Hong Kong. I help them with their advertising and they’ll send me figures in exchange, which I think is fun, because I can say yes or no, depending on what I want. For example, they sent me the latest medial studio Breaking Bad set. I was super happy, because it’s such an awesome set. I didn’t really have the $200 it would cost to get the set, but I really wanted it. So, they said, “Hey, do you want to help us out and advertise for it?” I said, “Absolutely! Send me the set. All in, man, no problem.” TM: Yeah, your recent photo that you did with that set was fantastic. JB: Haha! Yeah, that was fun. It was just a stupid pun. That was a really fun one to shoot. I have another one coming up that’s more of a mashup this time. I also work with Kai’Lab He sent me a couple of things that he wanted as well, so Kai’Lab Customs. He makes soft goods. He made me soft goods for Conan. He also sent me soft goods for The Last of Us, and for a western take on Mezco’s Jackie Vaporoni. So, those are those pictures that I made where he’s got a vest with a hood on, so I made a picture for Kai. He’s such a lovely individual to work with, as well, because he’s always super elated when people enjoy his work. To me, that’s just easy. He likes my work, I like his work, so it’s just a really fun collaboration. “Can you do this? I can’t wait to see what kind of story you’re going to tell.” “Ok, man. Let’s go.” TM: Ok! So, when it comes to you using the Lume Cube, are they the only lights that you use?

JB: Yeah. I mean, that’s basic for me, because if they’re sponsoring, there’s no reason for me to use anything else. I’m very loyal to the people I work with, so if Lume Cube is going out of their way to give me lights, I’m going with them. TM: What has been the most unusual thing that you’ve had to use for one of your shots? JB: I wouldn’t say that I use anything unusual in my photos. The things that I have that I would say are only for me are props that my father made. That would be somewhat unusual, in the sense that not everyone is going to have those things, because they’re made specifically for me by my dad. Those are really, really fun to have. I have a bar, he made a bed, he made stools, he made a dock for me for Popeye. So, these are going to be unusual, because they’re not going to be in other people’s pictures, but that’s about it. It’s not unusual in the sense it’s strange, it’s just unusual because it wouldn’t be usual to see them. TM: So, I guess that would be considered a way your father is supporting you in what it is that you do. JB: Oh, yeah. My folks love what I do. They’re very, very enthusiastic about it. There’s sometimes where I’m making pictures using very abstract figures, and they’re just like, “We don’t know what’s going on here, but it looks ok.” Then, after that, I’ll make a picture with the Butcher and Miss Piggy, and my mom will say, “Ok, that’s really funny.” TM: What about your kids? Do they do toy photography as well? JB: No! No. I have an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a 1-year-old. My 18-year-old doesn’t care about what I do. My 16-year-old likes what I do, but is so busy being a teen that she just does her own thing. My 1-year-old is captivated by the fact that I have these little people living in these display cases and they’re not moving. They seem to be very well behaved to her. Whenever she’s crying, I bring her to see the action figures, and she’s just like, “Wow, this is so cool! Can I touch?” “Sorry, these are dad’s.”

Haha! But yeah, they don’t particularly care. My wife is very encouraging, even given the fact that what we do as collectors is a tamer version of hoarding. So, I have her blessing to an extent. TM: So, for the people that follow you and really admire your photos, is there any type of advice or inspirational words you want to give to them? JB: I’m just a dude shooting toys, man! Haha! Anything inspiring? I’ll repeat what I said in the interview with Mezco, just be ok when it comes to missing out on toys and stuff like that. Try to focus on what you have, because one of the things I remember Richie saying is a toy is worth a thousand pictures and every single one of us have not taken a thousand pictures of that one toy. So, I firmly believe that he’s right. You don’t necessarily need to keep buying in order to make yourself happy. It was hard for me to come to that conclusion, as well. Whenever I get something, the happiness is always kind of subdued. I’m always like, “Ok, what’s the next thing?” Right now, I’m really trying to create with what I have. It has been much more fun, because I’ve gone digging through what I have and I was like, “Oh, I forgot I had that. What can I do with that? That’s awesome. I remember really enjoying this figure.

What kind of ideas can I generate with that? I don’t need anything new right now. I can just focus on that.” We have a tendence to try to focus on the more recent stuff, because the toy photography zeitgeist is in a vacuum. Once everyone starts getting a figure, we’ll see the same thing for about two weeks, then after that there’s a drop off and we don’t see that stuff anymore. Then you don’t see it show up again, or very seldom show up again. So, what’s the point of enjoying it for two weeks? Sure, if you’re a collector and you have it on display, 100% ok with that. That’s awesome. But you could benefit from just doing something else, instead of buying that set for $400-500 or something like that. You could go out for supper with the wife, or read an interesting book, or put it aside for your kids school or something like that, you know? You’re not going to regret not having that Fantastic 4 set. That’s where I’m at right now. I’m trying to enjoy a little bit more. I mean, I got Buzz Lightyear today and I got Gomez yesterday, so I’m still enjoying getting things, but I’m trying to really get rid of stuff. So, the stuff I got this week, I paid for by… Something new is coming in, something old has got to go. That’s what I’ve been doing right now. Any other advice? I would say that, one of the interesting aspects of… I’ll give an example. I was listening to a podcast with some comedians the other day. One of the comedians is incredibly successful. He was saying that he thought that when he became successful, that it would fix all of his problems.

It would fix them, or he would feel a certain way, or he would feel satisfied or complete. I’m the type of individual that also used to think like that, so I’m always chasing the next thing. Even when it’s in terms of toys, because I don’t want to feel left out, or my next picture has to be better than the picture before it. It’s always this insane competition. I realized that none of that makes me happy. I would say, if a person finds themselves in that loop, they’re not alone. I think that most of us in the toy community are people that are looking to feel better through this process of exchanging, “Hey! I got this! I got that!” It’s one of those cycles that can be duplicitous in a sense, where we don’t really see that there could be a negative aspect to where all this is. To step back and say, “Ok, am I really doing this for the right reasons?” would be one of the things that I’m doing. That being said, I’m still enjoying myself, but I’m trying to space out what I do creatively, because I need to feel that satisfaction. Because If I don’t, I say, “It’s ok not to shoot. It’s ok not to be a part of the community. It’s ok to be part of the community when you choose for it to be time to be part of the community.” It’s online. Your real community is at home waiting for you to come give them a hug, spend time with them, stuff like that. That was one of the things that I had forgotten about that I’m slowly moving back toward.

Sculpter & Painter

ACORI HONZO

Acori Honzo is a sculptor and painter of 1/6 scale figures based on historical black icons. His journey into this medium was sparked by a random visit to a local comic book shop with his wife. During their visit, his wife came across a 12" DC Direct figure of the Joker from the movie “The Dark Knight”. Being fascinated by the figure’s details, they both agreed that it had to be purchased. Upon returning home, Acori sat down and took a closer look at the details of this figure. He marveled at the details of the head sculpt and the figure’s clothing. At the time, he had never seen such details put into a toy. Acori did not have a toy collection to add this figure to. So just like so many other toy collectors, this sparked a desire to collect more. But Acori’s desire became unique when he began to look for a particular type of figure. he was seeking black characters. Unfortunately, African American figures are currently not the main stream. Rather than excepting this fact, Acori decided to create his own collection of figures.

(Photo courtesy of Michael Crawford)

Having no prior experience in sculpting, the first thing Acori did was approach the toy collecting community and look for anyone who could offer any advice on sculpting. Most of the people in the community were a bit reluctant to share their secrets, so it was a challenge to find someone who was willing to share their skills with him. But that did not stop him for continuing to ask around. Eventually, he did find someone who was willing to offer their help. They admired Acori’s choice of “powerful subjects” and pointed him in the right direction to get started on creating his own desired collection. The first thing Acori wanted to do was test his limits. He decided to sculpt a figure that would pose a real challenge..... Michael Myers. As he put it, “A face inside a mask...can I pull that off?” And that he did! He even tailored the outfit and rooted the hair on the mask. The next figure he decided to make was a wolverine figure for his son. Again, he nailed it. By this time, he starting to get the hang of it. Once he discovered what he was capable of, the next challenge was creating the type of collection that he desired. But that now brought on a new challenge; skin tone. Acori compares painting head sculpts to applying makeup to a face. As simple as that sounds, he still found it a challenge when it came to painting sculpts with a darker skin tone. So, like many others, he turned to YouTube for assistance. He did searches for Makeup - Brown skin, Dark skin, 5 o’clock shadow, etc.

Initially, he found it difficult to find tutorials that offered clear explanations of how to use colors of paint for various shades. But he soon found help from a source that people don’t usually think to turn to. That unlikely source was children. He discovered that a child has pure honesty and is straight to the point in their explanation. “There are no big, sophisticated words”, he explained. “An adult tries to sound educational. A child just does.” He added, “If you want to learn a new thing, see if you can find a child explaining it.” After finally getting the hang of skin tones, he started developing his own techniques. He then felt that it was finally time to tackle the figures he desired. He created famous actors in iconic roles like Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, Marin Lawrence as Jerome and Whoopi Goldberg as Celie. He also created historic people like comedian Richard Prior and civil rights activist James Baldwin. Acori really enjoyed making sculpts and his passion for creating new historic characters grew. So much in fact that it was difficult to pull away from it. He began bringing his sculpts to his day and continued to work on them throughout the day. Unfortunately, his job didn’t take to kindly to his passion and he was eventually let go. But this didn’t bother Acori at all. By this time, he had been sculpting for roughly 5 years and He was already developing a good business making sculpts for others.

It was also around this time that his wife had discovered a new place for him to continue his passion. He now has his own studio at the Cherry Street Pier and has currently been working in that space for 5 years. It has been quite the learning experience being in this location, but he is enjoying the workspace. During his recent visit to the San Diego Comic Con, he saw the the limited number of black characters and non-existence of black historical figures. It was then that Acori realized that he needed to fill the void and increase this awareness of significant black icons in our culture. Turning his passion into a full time business, Acori has created his own figure line called D.O.P.E. (Doing Our People’s Excellence). His wife also helps with tailoring the clothes for the figures he creates. His first set of figures, Bass Reeves and Stagecoach Mary, are scheduled to make their debut at the 2024 SDCC. Claiming that 2Pac has been his easiest sculpt, he is exceptionally proud of Stagecoach Mary because she has been his most challenging due to the lack of photo references. Nevertheless, through his meticulous detail, he has created a phenomenal sculpt. Each new sculpt is a new opportunity. The way he sees it, if something has to be done, he just does it. He is not concerned about the challenges. Those are very inspiring words and we look forward to seeing more of what Acori Honzo will create.

1518 Arrow Hwy, Suite F La Verne, CA 91750 Tel: 1-909-593-4912

EKIAHobbies.com www.onesixthkit.com

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I have always been fascinated by my dreams, and more specifically in the case of this Tutorial…my nightmares. Equally I have been fascinated by what brings us relief and Joy. REM Sleep provides the unconscious mind with its own private theater where ones unreconciled emotions can easily manifest into forms considered unnatural regardless of the fact that they are a result of a perfectly natural process. My Nightmares as a child took the form of a Xenomorph more often than not. My inspirations too the form of things that could face those fears: Adventurers, Astronauts, Scientists, Warriors. I was about 8years old the first time I saw ALIENS and it fascinated and excited me just as much as it frightened me. This Diorama Pays Homage to those Nightmares and their associated Feelings as well as the Heroes who Venture into the unknown in a Selfless way to face the Monsters of Not knowing. To put it plainly I was a damaged Kid. Emotionally speaking I faced Feelings of Claustrophobia, Isolation and impending dread. The feeling that you were caught in a Labyrinth of Padded Walls in the middle of an Endless Vacuum being Stalked by a many angled horror born of suffering…yeah this is how I felt as a Kid sometimes. I have since reconciled those feelings and the trauma that fueled them, I am a content Adult with the ability to face my past with candor and joy. And so I make Art out of it sometimes. I wanted to capture these vibes from my nightmares in very subtle ways and show a Selfless Hero venturing into the Unknown as well as show respect to the original filmmakers and artists that haunted my creativity and inspired by love of all things sci fi. This Diorama starts with a few sketches of my planned Layout to make sure proportionally it all makes sense and that the visuals in my head actually make sense in 3 Dimensions. Then working backwards from the height of the Figures meant to be in the Diorama I plan radially out from that and get my finished Dimensions. I used a 12” or 1:6 scale Action Figure as my Baseline and then sorted out the “Claustrophobic” internal Hallway height of 14” which when flooring and ceiling details are added will shrink to closer to 13-1/4”, If I were planning a more neutrally themed diorama my ceiling height would’ve been closer to 16” I used the width of the figure to determine an airlock door width that would make sense in the scale and then built a profile or cross-section(side walls shape) that flowed naturally around the airlock door and used that profile shape as the guide for all the corridor wall shapes. Basically it helped me plan how large the Footers and Crowns would be along the tops and bottoms of the walls to create the Space Station Hallway Vibe that most of us feel so familiar with.

This Diorama’s Base Material is EPS/XPS Insulation Foam and after cutting the flat Portions of my walls and achieving the angles by using my hot wire cutter set at a 45 degree angle I then created Buttresses for the Footers and Crowns by making Trapezoidal Shapes in 1/2’ thick Foam to serve as mounting for the faces of said Footers and Crowns.

I sculpted the Footer & Crown Faces by creating flat shapes that intersect properly in compound angles. The compound angle being the the walls joints that pivot at a 45 degree angle moving towards the airlock door. Each wall having 2, 45 degree points, otherwise defined as 2, 135 degree angles if measured independently from the walls they project off of.

The compound angles cuts were achieved by pinning the 1/2” thick cut foam faces to the buttresses on each flat surface which sets the faces at the about 70 degree angle they sit at(I just eyeballed the angle when I cut the buttresses) and then looking downward from the top at the dividing line or center of the 135 degree corner and simply slicing straight down the middle of the outside of that angle. I did this 8 times one on each side of each corner intersection.

I removed the Footer and Header faces and cut out Ls Squares & Rectangle sections from them and strategically rounded over or “filleted: abutting cut faces by sanding them down with ZERO pressure using a sanding block with 120 grit sand paper to my desired roundness. I then scored some additional detail lines to look like they were designed as overlay panels that were meant to fit together.

These were glued in place and then I began echoing the same theme on the open wall spaces left in between the Footers and Crowns with rounded edge foam lengths and slim panel line cuts. I did all this while keeping in mind the idea of “regular” shapes but layed out in an inconsistent way. This was to achieve the feeling of something ,technical but unfamiliar or slightly off, like a dream. I especially feel the large rounded edges gives off the Feeling of a Padded Room inside an Asylum, like its designed to feel soft and comforting but in reality its a cage and your subconscious mind feels that.

moved on to making the Bulkheads that would sit in the corners of the angles we just cut, I used a template I made out of cardboard to echo the same profile of the hallway for the Bulkheads which I cut out of 1/8” thick expanded styrene sheet by hand using a small box cutter and metal ruler and then lined the outer facing edge with 1/4” wide .030 thick styrene by using super glue to create that welded structural beam look.

The Flooring is done by cutting a whole sheet the size of the entire Base out of 1/8” thick expanded styrene sheet and then demarcating a panel pattern that follows the shape of the hallway in pencil. Pencil can be erased off styrene easily and won’t bleed through the paint like ink would on styrene. After deciding on a panel line layout I committed to it by scoring it all in with a metal ruler and extendable box cutter for subtle sharp lines.

I painted the Floor with a Base coat of Flat black and then 3 layers of Greens. All Spray Paint, then I came back and Burnished the paint back off to make it look like and Old walked on Hard surface, Burnishing is achieved by pouring Denatured Alcohol on a hard surface of paint and rubbing with a mircofiber cloth and/or soaking a small portion of the cloth to effectively smear and remove simultaneously to simulate age from slow progressive wear. I wanted this space station to look Vintage Futuristic but also feel like it itself was Old, like seriously Old, like this research station has been used by 2 or 3 generations of technicians in space for 150 years and was now derelict. Again adding to the ominous dreamlike vibes.

I Painted the walls with 3 layers of PEWTER Gray acrylic paint, I chose this Pewter Gray because it achieved its “grayness: from its GREEN Tints. I feel this station needed to have Inorganic Shapes but have Contradictory Paint schemes that echoed Organic themes, not only Organic but Rotting Organic. The Green Tones would provide a “Bile”-esque backdrop to the next color which was “Heirloom White” Spray paint by Rustoleum, which I selected because I thought it looked like freshly cleaned Bone. Once you have 2-3 strong coats of Acrylic on the foam you can safely and LIGHTLY begin to spray Caustic paints like Rattle Can Spray Paints on the foam without fear of melting the Foam.

I sprayed all the walls with “Heirloom White” and then came back and colored back in select areas with a thin coat of Pewter Gray to give a Moldy Worn look to the Paneling, I also wiped off some of the paint before it dried to add to the worn look. I also combined the Pewter gray with Water as a wash and applied it to the white areas and wiped away the excess to create and almost “humid” accumulation of the green tinted Bile looking Gray, thus adding the contradictory nature of the piece in that it was Mechanical Regular Forms but arranged in an irregular Pattern and painted with Neutral Colors that also have a Rotting Organic Undertone to them. All Pushing towards the Unsettling Dreamstate I was going for. I Sketched the “Weyland yuntani” logo on some graph paper and cut out a stencil, I pinned the stencil down where I wanted it and used a sponge and in a very intentional perpendicular dabbing motion applied the paint inside the stencil lines and no where else. If you are paying attention you will notice I only used 2 Colors on the Walls but achieved quite a bit of Variation with them by technique. The Floors stand out as having a Blue tone to them but also a Blackness surrounding the edges especially leading to the Airlock, which I feel echoes the Journey across the vacuum of space into the Unknown.

Using all the same techniques described thus far and the same Materials as used on the Bulkheads and Floor I made the Airlock Door and painted the Wall behind Flat Black and mounted the door panels so they were starting to open. This was so the feeling would be a window into the Unknown Black and the Doors opening would indicate an uncertainty. The hope is one is not sure if something on the outside is about to come in, or if someone in the inside is bravely venturing outside. You may also notice the shape that occurs as a result of the hallway wall profiles around the airlock is nearly a stereotomic trace of a human face, top of head, ears and jawline. I placed the window where the Left eye would be and half of a W for “Weyland Yutani” corp on the bottom left where a mouth would be thus giving the subtle indication that this is a Human experience and these hallways could very well be inside someones Mind, the question is are we exiting or escalating the experience inside the mind?

I painted the Main sheet of Plastic behind the trim of the Bulkheads with Espresso colored paint thus making the Bulkheads or Bones of the station the only part with WARM Color Tones (Reds & Browns) adding the idea that we are essentially inside the mind of a living thing but the experience is rotten and contrived, false. I also used the same techniques to build a ceiling and added some Wire and Dowel rods to get some subtle conduit details to build out the interest of the piece a little further.

On the ceiling I used my hot wire cutter to remove a section of foam and create a slot with 45 degree angles facing downwards and glued in a strip of Stock aluminum as a platform to place a 12 volt LED strip upon. This would face the light upwards so that the only light coming into the piece would be indirectly reflected off the angled slot faces down into the hallway creating a diffused ethereal Dim glow. Again on purpose with the themes of: Subtle, Dreamlike, Uncertain, Frightening, Unknown, etc.

I will likely add some tweaks to this as I usually do have more ideas after a Diorama is completed. And as this is a personal piece I will likely never be truly satisfied with it. This was designed to show the process of how I translate my ideas and feelings and even life experiences into a piece to recreate a moment or a feeling encapsulated in miniature. I kept the shape and scope simple so You could find things in this to use and adapt to your dreams, hopefully not nightmares and to your dioramas and toytography.

JOE MYERS (USA)

JAY BOAZ (CANADA)

Winner!

Congratulations to the themed contest winner! #Run

Name: Michael Gresser Country: USA Instagram: ModernToyFare What type of camera do you use: Canon Rebel T5i How long have you been doing Toytography: 3-4 years but I've been posing and taking photos of figures on my shelves for decades. Tell us a little bit about your photo. At the end of all of my YouTube reviews I like to have Toy Photography to better show off the figures. I often like to tell a store with my photos. So on this one, MegaMan was the focus and I am a huge Marvel vs Capcom fan. I put the Jada toys MegaMan & Ryu up against the Marvel Legends Juggernaut. I needed to show off MegaMans range of motion more so I 2 nd decided to have a shot of him running, which then evolved into the shot of him running from Juggernaut that you see today.

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