SKELETRON® Pre-Order Store

April Advances
7 months ago – Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 04:28:25 AM

Hello Roboskullers,

The Roboskull MKII continues to advance!   We've received additional test shot revisions, and if you're a member of our SKELETRON SECRET LAB on Facebook, you likely saw this pic of test shot revisions last week:

The factory has fine-tuned this deadly machine, and multiple components of the MKII are in production!

We are also very pleased to see the high level of detail that has been preserved in the latest round of 6" test shots.   Beautifully sculpted by Fred Aczon, you can see these ‘Boff’ Brechin and Gary ‘Goggles’ heads incorporate additional details that can be appreciated at the larger 1:12 scale:

SKELETRON Factory Visit

Cory Cantelupe will be traveling from the United States to Hong Kong and mainland China next month.  With boots on the ground, Cory will be working closely with the entire factory team during his visit and continue our push to final fulfillment!

FULFILLMENT SCHEDULE

Our current projected fulfillment schedule remains the same as the previous update:

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 | SUMMER

• 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
• ROBOKNIGHT HEAVY METAL ARMOR Accessory
• 4" Marauder JUNGLE WOLF TROOPER figure

PHASE D | LATE SUMMER

• 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

JOEFEST 2024

Palitoy Legend Bob Brechin is Attending JoeFest!

SKELETRON is over the moon to announce that Palitoy Legend Bob Brechin will be attending JoeFest in June!  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 the 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. Please join us in welcoming Bob, who will be traveling all the way from the UK from Augusta, accompanied by his son, Robert. JoeFest 2024 is going to be a truly unforgettable experience!

Variant Cardback Retro O-ring Skeletron/Wolf Trooper 

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.   Mark your calendars for Joefest, June 21-23 in Augusta! It’s going to be an awesome time!

Thank you all!

-SKELETRON

Easter Update
8 months ago – Sun, Mar 31, 2024 at 06:46:01 AM

Hello Roboskullers,

We hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend around the world.  Our factory has been hard at work since their return from the Chinese New Year holiday, and we received updated MKII test shots that successfully tuned nearly all of the remaining adjustments that we require for take-off.  Our factory is as excited to make this killer spaceship as you are to receive it, and we're so close we can taste it!   Here are a few pics, which include a test deco for the skull face and revised packaging trays:

We are also seeing concurrent progress on other items; here's a test shot of our 6" Wolf Trooper head where you can see the excellent detailing that is being achieved at 1:12 scale:

Our estimated fulfillment schedule remains unchanged from last month's update:

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 | SUMMER

• 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
• ROBOKNIGHT HEAVY METAL ARMOR Accessory
• 4" Marauder JUNGLE WOLF TROOPER figure

PHASE D | LATE SUMMER

• 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

SOLD OUT!   Retro O-ring Wolf Trooper/Skeletron 

Our 3.75" Grindstone Trooper/Skeletron featuring Wolf Trooper packaging art by Doug Hart has sold out!   We're truly blown away by the popularity of all our recently released figures, and we thank you all for making this possible and for sharing your love of these figures!

Frequently asked questions about this sold-out retro figure:

Q: Will you re-run this figure because it has sold-out?
A:  No, we will not be issuing a re-run of this SKU.  However we already had something up our robotic sleeve for JoeFest that we're excited to reveal in the lead-up to the show.  Stay tuned!

Q: Will you have inventory of this sold-out figure at JoeFest?
A:  Yes, we will have a very limited inventory of this SKU available at JoeFest in June and also at Assembly Required in November.
 

The Return of Battle Action Force!

Lastly, we have exciting news that was first dropped by our friends at The Full Force Fancast. For the first time ever, a fully authorized and licensed reprint of the 1980s Battle Action Force series will be published!  SKELETRON is extremely proud to be part of this historic project from Total Toy Books in collaboration with Rebellion Publishing.  You can read more about these upcoming hardcover treasury editions here, and stay tuned for more details!

We wish you a peaceful Easter Sunday, surrounded by family & friends.

Thank you!

-SKELETRON

Year of the Dragon, Year of the Roboskull
9 months ago – Sat, Feb 24, 2024 at 08:00:53 PM

Hello Roboskullers,

In the realm of Chinese astrology, the Year of the Wood Dragon has arrived, foretelling growth, vitality, and the blossoming of wisdom in the year ahead.

This is also the Year of the Roboskull!  

Though our factory has been shut down this month for Chinese New Year, we've been working closely with our production manager and the factory owner, who shipped us updated samples of many items.  Here's a glimpse of what we received, and what's happening:

• Our MKII pilots, Blood Wolf & Red Weasel, are complete and began in production prior to the CNY shutdown.  We received final production samples and they are very, very cool!

• Updated Roboskull MKII test shots (2 complete sets) were received in the US in absolutely gorgeous translucent black and red molded colors.
• These test shots are looking and working great.  Important fit and function details have been improved through multiple tooling revisions.
• Some aspects of the MKII still require further revision, which will prevent us from beginning full-swing production of the MKII as our factory begins to reopen.

• We also received some first shot components for our 6" Trooper, and the rendition of detail we are seeing is excellent:

• We received final production samples of the 4" Jungle Wolf Trooper, and we can say with confidence that he is marvelous.  Production of this figure also began prior to the CNY shutdown.

What does all this mean for our schedule?   We are continuing to push very hard for Late Spring delivery, and have been particularly keen about fulfilling our next phase, Phase C, before JoeFest.  However, taking into consideration all factors, we believe we are at high risk of falling short of this goal.  Based on everything we know at this time, our most likely schedule is 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 | SUMMER

• 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
• ROBOKNIGHT HEAVY METAL ARMOR Accessory
• 4" Marauder JUNGLE WOLF TROOPER figure

PHASE D | LATE SUMMER

• 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

We're sorry that we are again experiencing delays during this project.  As we stated during the Kickstarter- when faced with any potential quality issue during development, we will compromise our timeline but never the product itself.   We'd also like to recognize that you all have been AMAZING and EXCEPTIONAL at every step of the way.  Thank you!

Speaking of Amazing and Exceptional:

The reception to our 4" Marauder Wolf Trooper, 4" Marauder Gyre Wolf, and 3.75" Grindstone Retro Trooper/Skeletron has been nothing short of spectacular.  Thank you for sharing your experiences with these figures with our collector community!  Fueled solely by your support and shares, we very unexpectedly ran out of stock on the Retro Trooper in mere days, and our Wolf Trooper & Gyre Wolf stock is barely holding.   But have no fear!   We have a second (albeit much smaller) inventory of Retro Troopers on the way, that will arrive in early March, along with our balance of 4" Wolf Troopers & Gyre Wolf inventory.   If for some reason you want to pick up some more figures but haven't yet, there's no need to hit the secondary market. (Not yet, anyway!)

We also absolutely loved watching everyone's discovery of some hidden features that remained a bit of a mystery before the release of the figures.   Some of the highlights:

• Retro pistol fits into the back of the Retro figure
• Laser Sword and Claw fit onto the Jetpack of the Retro figure
• Across these three new figures, there are three Glow-in-the-Dark pieces.  Did you find them all?

We are extremely pleased with how these figures turned out, and from everywhere we looked, you are all very happy with them, too!   

We will also always listen to constructive criticism, and there were a few reviewers who lamented the need for a screwdriver to swap heads on our Retro figure.  There are two primary reasons we elected to do this:

1.  Utility:  Two "full" heads (instead of "pop & swap") allow customizers the option to make use of the bonus head on another vintage figure.
2. Nostalgia:  Using a screwdriver to swap heads maximizes the vintage experience we are striving to create with this figure.  We hope the experience unlocked a childhood memory, or at least was a lot of fun!
 
The design, quality, and attention to detail that you are experiencing with these figures are indicative of the product we will deliver for the balance of this project.   Again, thank you for your support!

-SKELETRON

Visit Skeletron.com for Store, Pre-orders, and more!

PHASE B Deployed | Behold, SKELETRON!
10 months ago – Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 11:10:12 PM

Hello Roboskullers,

We are so excited to talk about our newly shipped Retro O-Ring Wolf Trooper/Skeletron, 4" Wolf Trooper, and 4" Gyre Wolf, and we also have a month-end update on our Skeletron action figure!

PHASE B Deployed!

The last of our Phase B Pre-orders shipped on Tuesday, January 30th.  We have already been overwhelmed by the positive reactions we've been receiving to these figures.  To everyone who has already received their figures and shared their thoughts and photos online- THANK YOU!  It really makes this journey feel worthwhile for us.  Please keep them coming!

We know that many of you have not yet received your figures, and we are SO EXCITED for you to have these figures in-hand.   We've also been fielding many questions as to when these figures will be available for purchase again.   Although our store at SKELETRON.com is locked and loaded, we are going to wait at least a few more days before placing these figures into our store so that those of you who waited for such a long time can enjoy them before we offer them to the rest of the collector community.

We'd also like to again thank our collaborators on these figures, Marauder GR and Grindstone Toys!  Their guidance and partnership has been crucial to the success of these figures.  There have also been so, so many others who also contributed to the designs, sculpts, datafile bios, and more on these figures.  We'll be sharing more of our collaborator process online, so please keep watching. 

We hope this current shipment brings you joy as you await the next phases of this project!  We recognize that we still have a long way to go to completion, and our 6" figure supporters have an even longer wait than our O-Ring and modern 4" friends.  The Roboskull® MKII is making considerable progress, though some further tooling revisions are still underway.  The factory has just closed for Chinese New Year, so there will not be any significant progress in the next month.   We are in ongoing meetings with our Hong Kong team, and will provide a more detailed update on the remaining phases for you in February.

Behold, SKELETRON!

Skeletron® has remained the most mysterious figure within this Kickstarter project.  Today we are revealing our packaging art, the final sculpt, and some surprise additional accessories for our Red Shadows® Commander!

Alex Horley has again brought his tremendous skills to our Red Shadows packaging art.  Not only did Alex paint this amazing work of art, he provided the art direction and is the mastermind behind the entire composition of this truly stunning piece.  Thank you, Alex!

Dave Proctor has been an integral part of this entire project, and he also took on the task of sculpting our very special Skeletron action figure.  Beyond sculpting this truly terrifying leader in incredible detail, Dave has also taken it upon himself to create an enhanced articulation method that will be first demonstrated in our 4" , and then our 6" Skeletron figure.  More on that to come...

Keen-eyed backers may notice that we've re-sculpted Skeletron's ferocious laser sword, which will now include 2 different energy blades for both "at-the-ready" and "sword-swinging" effects.  Skeletron will also come with an all-new sculpt for his Ray Gun, which now also includes a blast-effect (yes, a blast effect for 4").  Lastly, we have added an "energy disc" that feeds additional power to this robotic tyrant.  Our 6" Skeletron will also include all this, and perhaps a bit more...

That is all for now, and please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions about shipments that are currently in transit to you.  The best way to reach us is at [email protected], though we are happy to hear from you through any method that is convenient to you.  We look forward to all of you having these in-hand very soon!

THANK YOU!
-SKELETRON

Nostalgia & Innovation | Phase B Fulfillment
10 months ago – Sun, Jan 21, 2024 at 01:33:00 PM

Hello Roboskullers!

We're thrilled to share that our trio of PHASE B action figures have landed in the United States and are making their way from the West Coast to our New Jersey fulfillment center.  We fully expect shipments to you to commence this month, and thank you to everyone who sent us their updated shipping information!  As a reminder, this phase is for 4" Marauder WOLF TROOPER, 4" Marauder GYRE WOLF, and 3.75" Grindstone Retro O-ring SKELETRON/WOLF TROOPER. 

With this next shipment imminent, there are a couple more things we'd like to share with you about this phase:

Grindstone 3.75" Retro O-Ring Wolf Trooper/Skeletron

You've seen the Retro O-ring figure and we've shared the art that former GI Joe packaging artist, Douglas Hart, has created for this figure.  Despite all we've shown, the final carded Retro packaging design has been kept under wraps.  Seeing an action figure for the very first time, hanging from the pegs at a local store, was truly a childhood joy.  For those of you who pledged for this Retro O-ring figure, we hope you'll see this figure, complete in Retro packaging, for the very first time when it arrives at your front door.  Though we can't fully recapture the magic of yesteryear, we hope this figure hits your nostalgia buttons in all the right ways.  Then rip that bubble open, gear him up, and enjoy the Retro glory!  

Special thanks to Troy McKie and John Kukovich of Grindstone Toys for taking us down this beautiful, nostalgic path.

Marauder 4" WOLF TROOPER & GYRE WOLF

For 4" action figure fans with a more modern sensibility, welcome to the next level.  As previously revealed, we've incorporated thigh swivels, boot swivels, and ankle rockers into Marauder's awesome action figure system.  For those of you who are truly articulation fanatics, we have one more enhancement to reveal to you.  

Some backstory: Many of you may know that our colleague, Dave Proctor, is an industry veteran who has previously worked extensively at Hasbro, was one of the founders of Boss Fight Studio, and continues to be a driving force in bringing countless action figures to life for independent toymakers.  Dave is truly one of the action figure obsessed.  He's an amazing sculptor and engineer who also happens to have "the knack" for posing action figures.  Every action figure pose he strikes is just cool.  

In Dave's quest to make the best action figures and pose them for maximum effect, he's developed an innovative articulation enhancement that is small, but significant.  Dave has invented and added something that we initially called a "Trick Elbow" or "Tilt Elbow" to further increase the range of articulation, and more easily allow our new 4" action figures the ability to sight down on our ZG rifles.  Check it out:

The above image is a final production figure, photographed by our good friend, Eddie Merriken.  Eddie is an amazing photographer and was very quick to discover and comment that these figures pose better and more easily than he had imagined they would.  Thank you, Eddie!

Special thanks to Marauder John for partnering with us to bring our Red Shadows® to his world of Marauder Task Force!

Our next correspondence should be shipment notices from our fulfillment center (they'll be in your spam folder, no doubt), and we also plan to post another Kickstarter update before month's end. (With a rumored appearance from Skeletron, himself.)

THANK YOU!

-SKELETRON