RED SHADOWS® Marauder-compatible action figures and more!
For lovers of 80s toys, robots, spaceships, and skulls!
PLEASE NOTE: Ship dates are Estimated and subject to change.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
August Advancements
3 months ago
– Fri, Aug 30, 2024 at 06:20:00 AM
Hello Roboskullers!
We're here to report some significant progress this month!
Our Red Shadows® 4" JUNGLE WOLF TROOPERS have shipped from the factory! They are currently headed to our US fulfillment center from China on a container (sharing a ride with toys from some of our other Toymaker friends).
ROBOSKULL MKII, ROBOSKULL MKII SE, and Elite Flight Stands are nearly complete!
Your Roboskull MKIIs have turned out truly, terrifyingly amazing and the Flight Stand displays them beautifully! We expect these sinister spacecraft to ship soon, and we are hopeful that we can get these into your hands by the end of October. As always, additional delays are a possibility (and should perhaps be expected), but we are so very close!
ROBOKNIGHT HEAVY METAL ARMOR has advanced with the all-new steel mold that was ultimately necessary for this accessory to meet expectations. We are anxiously awaiting results from the new first shots, which we expect will be coming soon.
Though we have revisions to make, we are extremely pleased with the detail, articulation, and awesomeness of these 6" figures! We have test shot components for all 6" figures (6" Wolf Trooper, 6" Gyre Wolf, Pilot Character Kit, and 6" Jungle Wolf Trooper), except for Skeletron (who continues to lag behind the Wolf Pack).
You'll notice this Trooper has an excellent grip on his ZG Carbine Rifle. Each 6" Wolf Trooper will come with a pair of trigger hands, and will also include a second pair of hands to hold his rifle as you see above (right or left-handed).
As always, thank you for joining us on this journey as we continue to see slow, but definitely steady progress! We are beyond excited to get the rest of this project into your hands- you are going to absolutely love it!
-SKELETRON Crew
P.S. We hope you will join us at Codename: IOWA's Assembly Required Show in Des Moines, Iowa on November 8th & 9th! 🏴☠️
The Journey Continues
4 months ago
– Wed, Jul 31, 2024 at 05:24:15 PM
Roboskullers, our journey continues!
Over the last month, the factory has been hard-at-work producing thousands of your awe-inspiring Roboskulls! As of this writing, this next shipment phase is projected to leave China in approximately 30 days. If this factory schedule holds, they will depart China at the end of August, journey across the ocean in September, and ship to you, our faithful Roboskullers, in October. As you know all too well, projected schedules can change, but we are certainly on the home stretch for Roboskull MKII & MKII SE fulfillment!
Shipping containers are currently in high demand and low supply due to multiple factors around the globe. We are working closely with a global shipping company to ensure that we'll quickly get this phase on the water as soon as it's ready to ship.
We have not yet seen new test shots for the re-tooled Roboknight Heavy Metal Armor, so we anticipate it will likely not be ready to ship with the rest of Phase C. We will not delay Phase C shipment awaiting this Roboknight accessory, so we have tentatively moved it into Phase D of our fulfillment schedule.
We have also received an update regarding our 6" Wolf Trooper tooling, and the last of the 6" trooper steel tooling is finally complete and at the factory! We are expecting to see updated, full 6" Wolf Trooper, Gyre Wolf, & Jungle Wolf Trooper test shots very soon.
Lastly, 4" and 6" Skeletron figures are making steady progress, but have not yet caught up to the 6" Troopers.
All-in-all, we continue to see slow but steady progress. Below is a revised schedule, based on everything we know at this time.
FULFILLMENT SCHEDULE
Our updated, current projected fulfillment schedule is now as follows:
PHASE A | COMPLETE (early shipment)
ASSASSIN SKELEDRONE 3-pack
PHASE B | COMPLETE
ROBOSKULL Vinyl Record – Shipped August ‘23
Retro O-Ring SKELETRON/WOLF TROOPER figure – Shipped January
4" Marauder WOLF TROOPER figure – Shipped January
4" Marauder GYRE WOLF figure – Shipped January
PHASE C | OCTOBER '24
ROBOSKULL MKII vehicle with 4" Marauder BLOOD WOLF pilot
ROBOSKULL MKII SE vehicle with 4" Marauder RED WEASEL pilot
ROBOSKULL MKII Elite FLIGHT STAND Accessory
4" Marauder JUNGLE WOLF TROOPER figure
PHASE D | WINTER '24
ROBOKNIGHT HEAVY METAL ARMOR Accessory
4" Marauder SKELETRON figure
6" Marauder SKELETRON figure
6" Marauder WOLF TROOPER figure
6" Marauder GYRE WOLF figure
6" Marauder JUNGLE WOLF TROOPER figure
6" Marauder PILOT CHARACTER KIT
TOTAL ROBOSKULL Deluxe Hardcover Book
Wolf Trooper testing Skeletron's weaponry
We recognize that delays have become a regular part of this project, and we sincerely apologize that we have not progressed at the pace we estimated at launch. You all continue to be AMAZING with your patience and grace, and we appreciate it so, so much. Thank you.
The Roboskull MKII, Elite Flight Stand, and 4" Jungle Wolf Trooper will not be available for Pre-Order after August 31st. We will have inventory in stock at some point after Kickstarter & Pre-order fulfillment.
Grab the BEST DEAL offered for the forthcoming three-volume set of BATTLE ACTION FORCE Deluxe Treasury Editions! Returning to print after more than 40 years, these limited edition, oversized hardcovers feature action-packed stories with Red Jackal, Black Major, Baron Ironblood, Kraken, Muton, and more!
As always, thank you! We look forward to providing another progress update in August!
-SKELETRON
JoeFest Concludes & Retro Skeletron variant cardback available NOW!
5 months ago
– Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 02:03:18 PM
Hello Roboskullers!
As we know most of you were not in attendance at JoeFest, we hope you had a chance to check out social media and see what it was all about!
We had an AMAZING time thanks to all the backers, all the Toymakers, all Toy Sellers, and everyone involved and in attendance who made this JoeFest the best one yet!
If you're interested in seeing more of what JoeFest is all about or photos of what we brought to the show, please check out these links:
SKELETRON SECRET LAB on Facebook Skeletron Secret Lab is THE place for Red Shadows Fan conversation! Here are just a couple of images posted in the group by awesome Roboskullers who visited us at the show:
As a reminder, this is from the SAME production run as our Sold-out Retro Wolf Trooper/Skeletron, but with the head pre-swapped to Skeletron and featuring an alternate Skeletron cardback by Douglas Hart. This variant is perfect for anyone who wants to add more Retro Wolf Troopers to their collection, wants to keep a beautiful carded version of Skeletron, or who just missed out entirely on the Retro Wolf Trooper cardback version.
We'll be providing another update next month on our continued progress at the factory as we work towards total fulfillment. Thank you!
-SKELETRON Crew
Onward with Roboskull MKII, Onward to JoeFest
5 months ago
– Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 10:33:16 AM
Cory Cantelupe & Dave Proctor "Playtest" the Roboskull MKII & MKII SE
Onward!
Hello Roboskullers! As we prepare to join our friends at JoeFest tomorrow, we have some exciting progress to report:
PHASE C
Roboskull MKII & MKII SE continue to be produced in the factory and they are truly glorious! We are absolutely thrilled with the final quality of these crazy red flying skulls! There is confidence from the factory that both the MKII & MKII SE will ship from China later this summer. We cannot wait to get these terrifying beauties into your hands!
Roboskull MKII & MKII SE production testing
Note the Yellow Lightning Breath Effect that will come with the MKII SE!
Elite Flight Stand looks great and will be ready to ship with the Roboskulls!
Roboknight Heavy Metal Armor Accessory experienced a setback that ultimately required this mask accessory to be re-tooled. We believe it will catch back up in the process, but we can't yet be certain it will be ready to ship simultaneously with the MKII & MKII SE deliveries.
Marauder 4" Jungle Wolf Troopers will be ready to deploy with the MKII & MKII SE!
Completed 4" Jungle Wolf Troopers, ready to be packaged
PHASE D
6" Troopers, Pilots, & Gyre Wolf have been largely tooled, but we are still awaiting some critical tooling before production will be able to commence.
Steel Tooling for 6" Figures
4" Skeletron & 6" Skeletron are making notable progress. Some tooling has been completed, but the majority of tooling is not yet finished. We love how our final swinging-effect laser sword is turning out!
4" Laser Sword Test Shot with 4" Skeletron Print
Cory Cantelupe's visit to China was extremely successful, and we thank our partners in China and Hong Kong for their hospitality and continued efforts!
“After 15 years working in the toy industry, taking my first trip to China was an amazing experience. The people were wonderful, I learned so much, and we were able to make tremendous progress as a team.” —Cory Cantelupe
Real progress continues every month on all remaining products, and, at the same time, we feel that PHASE D is not keeping pace as tightly behind PHASE C as we would like. The factory is dedicated and very focused on finishing out this Kickstarter with AWESOME product, and we believe we will be able to answer schedule projections more definitively in the next month. As always, we'll keep you updated on where we are at on all fronts!
Onward to JoeFest, June 21-23
This weekend! SKELETRON will be at JoeFest with so many of our friends, including Marauder GR, Grindstone Toys, Total Toy Books, Operation: Recall, Creative Beast Studios, Delta-17, Raginspoon Toys, Savage Crucible, Spero, Super7, Toy Collectr, 4 Horsemen, Codename: Iowa, Joe Declassified, Roma Collectibles, The Toy Department, and so, so many other awesome companies and people! Skeletron will be at a booth shared jointly with Marauder GR, so be sure to stop by and say "Hello!" Palitoy Legend Bob Brechin be joining us for his first US appearance, and the legendary artist Douglas Hart will also be in attendance at JoeFest!
PALITOY & PIZZA
Beers with Bob Brechin & The Odyssey of Action Force
Join us for a Saturday night conversation with Bob at JoeFest! Bob worked at Palitoy in the UK from 1967 until 1984, and as Chief Designer was responsible for Action Man, Action Force, and so many other iconic toys! Decades later, he joined our SKELETRON design team to develop the soon-to-be-released ROBOSKULL MKII. Bob also very recently authored “My Palitoy Story” in collaboration with Brian Hickey to celebrate the creativity, ingenuity and vision of the Palitoy Team.
Bob will also have concept prints for sale at our SKELETRON booth, and will be available for signings. Then also join us for PALITOY & PIZZA with Bob at 8pm on Saturday night!
Perhaps best known in our collector circles for his classic work on G.I. Joe packaging art, Doug Hart is also the packaging artist for our Red Shadows Retro Series, Callsign: Longbow, and Operation: Recall! Doug will be on the showroom floor and also has a panel at 1pm on Saturday! We will also have Doug Hart Skeletron prints for sale at our booth!
Making its debut at JoeFest 2024— a special cardback of our Retro Series 2-in-1 Wolf Trooper/Skeletron featuring breathtaking Skeletron artwork by the legendary Douglas Hart, whose iconic style adorned GI Joe packaging in the 1980s and 90s.
This figure is from the same production run as our sold-out Retro Wolf Trooper (also illustrated by Doug Hart), so this variant will appeal to those who missed out, want more, or simply enjoy another carded version with a killer Skeletron cardback design. Can’t make it to the show? Don’t worry! This Skeletron variant will be available online after JoeFest at www.SKELETRON.com, shipping worldwide at the same price as our sold-out Retro Wolf Trooper.
We will also have a very limited quantity of the sold-out Retro Wolf Trooper cardback version at the show.
BATTLE ACTION FORCE Pre-order is LIVE & at JoeFest
Total Toy Books is coming all the way from Ireland to show samples of the 3-volume BATTLE ACTION FORCE Deluxe Treasury Editions that have just gone up for Pre-order! Pre-order now to receive all three volumes of these beautiful, massive books at a very SPECIAL PRICE!
It's not too late to grab a flight or take a drive- hoping to see you at Joefest, June 21-23 in Augusta!
Thank you all for your continued support!!!
-SKELETRON
Happy Mother's Day (& Roboskull Day)
6 months ago
– Sun, May 12, 2024 at 02:51:03 PM
Hello Roboskullers,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
There's nothing better in this world than Moms! Thank you to all the Moms for bringing us into this world and for all the mothering and nurturing you provide. You're the best!
Mother's Day is celebrated today in the United States and is celebrated in more than forty other countries. While our Irish and British Roboskullers celebrated their mothers back in March, thanks to some Roboskull history revealed by Brian Hickey of Total Toy Books, they still have cause for celebration today:
"On this day, 40 years ago (May 12th), the Roboskull made its debut in Battle. It was included on a poster that was collected in 4 parts and then pasted together once all pieces were in-hand. The poster featured Baron Ironblood and all of The Enemy characters and vehicles."
The completed poster has now been restored by the Total Toy Books teamand will be featured in the pages of Battle Action Force Treasury Edition Volume 01. Sign up to the mailing list to be among the first to hear about pre-order dates for these unique books! You can also CLICK HERE to view the assembled poster.
HAPPY ROBOSKULL DAY!
On this 40th anniversary of Bob Brechin's vintage Roboskull's first appearance in Battle, we'd like to share an update on what's happening today with the Roboskull MKII progress at our factory.
As we mentioned in our last update, Skeletron's Cory Cantelupe flew overseas to Hong Kong earlier this month and has been working very closely with our factory representative, Dave Proctor. This dynamic duo is currently in mainland China, working with the factory and factory owner, Chen, on final deco details while the MKII production parts are being molded.
We (Ben & Mark) have been in close contact with the team in China, including earlier today, and are extraordinarily pleased with the care being taken to ensure that your final production Roboskull MKII meets and exceeds expectations!
Interested in seeing more behind-the-scenes? JOIN OUR SKELETRON SECRET LAB on Facebook, where we'll be posting some more cool factory pics & clips very soon! We'll keep you updated on the MKII and everything else in the next update, and as a reminder, we'll be atJoeFest in Augusta on June 21-23!
This show keeps getting better and better! Not only will Palitoy Legend Bob Brechin be making his first US appearance, the legendary Douglas Hart has joined the JoeFest roster! Perhaps best known in our collector circles for his classic work on G.I. Joe packaging art, Doug is also the packaging artist for our Red Shadows Retro Series, Callsign: Longbow, and Operation: Recall! Bob, Doug and the Skeletron Crew hope to see you there next month!
