Nostalgia & Innovation | Phase B Fulfillment
over 2 years 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

Happy New Year from SKELETRON!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Dec 31, 2023 at 08:50:37 AM

Dear Roboskullers,

Happy New Year!  We hope you've had a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and laughter.  As we usher in the New Year, we're excited to share this update.

PHASE B | Shipments En Route! 🌊 

Great news!  Our trio of PHASE B action figures are currently on the water and making their way to our US fulfillment center.  As soon as the cargo docks in New Jersey, we'll be deploying your rewards. Prepare to welcome 4" Marauder WOLF TROOPER, 4" Marauder GYRE WOLF, and 3.75" Grindstone Retro O-ring SKELETRON/WOLF TROOPER into your collection!  If you've recently changed your shipping details, please send us a message with your updated address right away. A big thank you to everyone who has already sent us their updated information!

 PHASE C | Roboskull MKII Update 💀 

Tooling revisions are still occurring to get every piece of the Roboskull MKII exactly right.  Here's a test shot featuring the large cannon blast effects and the penetrating gaze of the Roboglow eyes:

PHASE D | SIX-INCH Figure Update ⚅ 

We recognize that many of our backers are not collectors of Modern 4" or Retro O-ring and are simply anticipating the delivery of our stretch goal 6" figure line.  Our team is also working hard on six-inch and progress continues to be made.  Check out the steel below and stay tuned for future updates as we bring these figures to life at 1:12 scale:

SIZING THINGS UP  ☠️🐍

Responding to several requests from our backers, we recently posted images in SKELETRON SECRET LAB, and then to our Skeletron Instagram comparing the size of the Roboskull MKII to the HasLab G.I. Joe Classified Series H.I.S.S. Tank.  We purchased several HasLab H.I.S.S. Tanks for ourselves and were blown away by how awesome they are!  Even our most discerning collector friends found tremendous joy in receiving the H.I.S.S. for the holidays.  Congratulations and Thank You to the Classified HasLab team and to everyone who supported it!

As always, we'll be communicating specific timing and other details as we receive the information.  Thank you for continuing to be a part of this journey as we enter 2024 - The Year of the Roboskull!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎉

-SKELETRON

Thanksgiving Update
over 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 23, 2023 at 09:21:24 AM

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish you the happiest of holidays, and a wonderful Thanksgiving Day to all our American Roboskullers!  As we prepare for a day of gratitude (and so much eating) with our families, we'd like to provide you with a brief, but exciting Thanksgiving update.

Firstly, production is ongoing with the Grindstone Retro O-ring Wolf Trooper/Skeletron figure, Marauder 4" Wolf Trooper, and 4" Marauder Gyre Wolf figure!  They will be ready very soon, and depart for the US in about 2 weeks. (Reminder, pre-orders for these 3 figures closes on November 30th.)  Though we hoped to place these into your hands before year-end, we believe these will be delivered to your door in January. (Please send us a message with your new address by December 15.) Here are a few photos from the factory floor:

Secondly, we are SO EXCITED to show you the very first image of our fully-assembled first shot of the Roboskull MKII!  It looks fantastic!  After reviewing this assembled MKII unit, we now have mold adjustments across multiple components to be made before production commences.  Check it out!

Lastly, we simply want to express our deep gratitude to everyone who has supported us, and continues to support us.  We don't often mention it, but our families are absolutely wonderful and totally support us in everything we do- even when it's working on a Kickstarter update on Thanksgiving morning!  We also continue to be blown away by the collaborative support of our fellow toymakers in the action figure industry.  From latest start-up, all the way to the biggest toy companies in the world, there are so many good people in this industry.  Thank you to the owners, the managers, the marketers, the designers, the artists, the sculptors, the engineers, and the factory workers for being not only talented, but also SO COOL.  We continually find that the people behind so many of our favorite toy lines are also great people, too.  Thanks also to the showrunners, the YouTubers, the podcasters, the photographers, and the toy store employees.  To everyone in the industry who has taken the time to support us, to chat with us and share information, or offer advice and make recommendations- thank you!   And of course, we would not be here at all without YOU-  the toy fans and backers!  We hope our gratitude is felt by you in every update we make, and on this Thanksgiving Day, we hope you again hear our resounding "THANK YOU" for making this Roboskull dream become a reality.  Your support and continued graciousness during this ongoing journey is so, so appreciated.

THANK YOU ALL AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-SKELETRON

Red Shadows, Shows, & Shots
over 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 12, 2023 at 11:18:01 AM

Hello Roboskullers!

The SKELETRON Crew was in full force in attendance at the Assembly Required GI Joe convention in Des Moines, Iowa last weekend.  Thank you to the incredible team at Codename: Iowa for hosting this event, to the wonderful vendors, and to all of you who made the journey (and especially fellow Roboskuller Mark Seddon, who flew to us from the UK)!

It was so much fun to catch up with friends and great to be able to show our progress to fellow Roboskullers at the event-  test shots, factory samples, and new packaging.

It is with great excitement that we reveal to you the next packaging art illustration by world-renowned artist Alex Horley- GYRE WOLF!

We hope you'll agree this piece is nothing short of spectacular, and Horley's artwork also hints at something special about GYRE WOLF's capabilities, yet to be revealed.   A few GYRE facts:

• File Name:  Gary Goggles
• All proceeds from the sale of GYRE WOLF go to the family of Gary "Goggles" Head
• GYRE WOLF was not a part of the Roboskull MKII Kickstarter, but was made available as an add-on during the BackerKit
• GYRE WOLF's datafile bio was written by Glenn Winkler, who along with some other friends, assisted us in creating elements of the GYRE WOLF character
• Pre-orders for 4" GYRE WOLF will close at month end (11/30)

Production at our factory continues for our next wave of fulfillment:

• 4" Marauder WOLF TROOPER
• 4" Marauder GYRE WOLF
• 3.75" Grindstone Retro SKELETRON/WOLF TROOPER

We will end pre-orders for these three items on November 30th, and production of these figures may still finish in time to allow product to arrive in the US before year-end!

We continue to make tooling progress on the ROBOSKULL MKII vehicle, and all molded first shot parts should be completed in the next few short weeks.  We recently received test shots for the "Breath of Death" lightning blast effect, and are excited to share these images with you.  We were not satisfied with the overall sculpt of this blast effect on our prototype, so Mark O'Byrne created a new sculpt to better capture the "crackling lightning" effect, and we absolutely love the final effect!

Here's also a first look at the first shot Prisoner Transport (& Skeledrone Transport), which is looking absolutely fantastic:

As we approach Thanksgiving and the 2-year mark of the Kickstarter ending, we are so thankful for the support you have provided, and the support you continue to provide.  Your continued positivity is so appreciated, especially given that we've fallen short of our target date for fulfillment.  You're all awesome, and we remain entirely dedicated to providing you with the best, most kickass toys possible.

THANK YOU!

-SKELETRON Crew

OCTOBER OPERATIONS
over 2 years ago – Sat, Oct 07, 2023 at 10:09:39 PM

Hello Roboskullers!

We're absolutely PUMPED to update you on the latest developments from our Red Shadows Lair and share some amazing test shots we've received for the patent-pending Roboskull MKII.  We'll cover two really cool and fun first shots in this update:

We received the (swappable) 6" seat and it looks killer!  The ball-socketed control sticks are working great on this first round, and they provide a satisfying amount of movement while you place your figure into the seat and pose him.  Some other adjustments will need to be made, as always, but overall this first shot looks fantastic.

We also received some first shot wing samples!  The wings are one of the things we've been most excited to see because our prototype model was not quite able to achieve the true aesthetic we've been planning to execute for the wings.  You'll notice in the images below that the wings have a really beautiful translucency to them, which shifts as the thickness of the part itself varies.  We'll be dialing in the exact amount of tint we want to use to achieve this, but even this first shot really demonstrates what the effect will be like for the final product.

Our 6" figures are also charging ahead!  Here's a 6" print of our Gary head and the helm for GYRE WOLF that is being used to create the tooling for the figures.  With this larger 1:12 format, we've been able to add some really nice details to these 6" sculpts that will shine through on the final figures:

Though we've kept much of his development behind closed doors, progress continues to be made on our 4" and 6" Skeletron, and he is looking more tremendous by the day.  Our Red Shadows Commander will be awesome, and Alex Horley has completed the packaging art to match-  we're excited to show him to you soon!

We're also extremely excited to announce that 4" WOLF TROOPER & 4" GYRE WOLF are beginning production this month!  Our factory plans to ship these by early November in order for us to deliver these figures, along with our Grindstone Retro Wolf Trooper figure, in December.  While further delays are still a possibility, we've worked through every detail and made every minor, but important tooling adjustment with the factory to ensure these figures are fully ready and are the best they can be.  We'd like to thank Dave Proctor in Hong Kong for his meticulous attention to detail and passion for quality toymaking.  Thank you, Dave!  Getting it just right has taken time, and we are so happy these next figures will soon be on their way to you!  Here's a quick pic of our new 4" Marauder Wolf Trooper factory sample, just hanging around on the desk with some of our current favorite toys: 

This updated schedule is below, which reflects December as our next estimated delivery:

PHASE A | COMPLETE (early shipment)

• ASSASSIN SKELEDRONE 3-pack

PHASE B

• ROBOSKULL Vinyl Record – Delivered AUGUST 
• Retro O-Ring SKELETRON/WOLF TROOPER figure – Estimated Delivery DECEMBER 
• 4" Marauder WOLF TROOPER figure – Estimated Delivery DECEMBER 
• 4" Marauder GYRE WOLF figure – Estimated Delivery DECEMBER 

PHASE C | LATE WINTER/EARLY SPRING

• 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 | SPRING

• 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 appreciate your continued patience, and we hope you're enjoying this journey with us.  And in case you haven't yet joined our SKELETRON SECRET LAB OF SECRETS on Facebook, here's a shot of our 6" prototypes (note, not final) that Mark O'Byrne shared a few weeks back:

Interested in SKELETRON secrets?  We will again be in Des Moines, Iowa for ASSEMBLY REQUIRED on November 3rd & 4th. WE LOVE THIS SHOW!  If you've never been and you like GI Joe a little bit, and there's a slight possibility you could attend-  you really need to check it out!  We'll have the latest updates from the factory at our booth and, like at JoeFest, we'll have a free, small gift for our RED SHADOWS faithful (Just whisper "Red Shadows" to someone on the team.)  SKELETRON's Ben Conway & Mark O'Byrne will be there, joined by Mark's youngest daughter (Assembly Required is VERY kid-friendly), our great friend and supporter Sean Harker, and the talented Cory Cantelupe!  Of course we'll also be joined by other talented creators, fun & friendly toy sellers, and so, so, so many cool collectors-  you really should meet them!

Lastly, there's a super rad, very special Kickstarter campaign happening right now that we think you'll want to know about.  What could possibly be more metal, more badass, than a Flying Armored Red Skull with Laser Beams?!  It just might be Armored Dinosaur Riders with Laser Beams!!!!  And THE ARMOR TRANSFORMS INTO ROBOTS.   No, seriously, we're not even making that part up!  CYBERZOIC is an amazing new world created by Creative Beast Studio founder David Silva, and we think this new action figure line might be the ONLY thing that could stand to survive against our ROBOSKULL MKII & RED SHADOWS Army!  Oh, and did we mention they fight dragons!?!?  THE DINOSAUR RIDERS WITH TRANSFORMING ARMOR AND LASER BEAMS FIGHT AGAINST ALIEN DRAGONS!  Check it out-  Live on Kickstarter Now!

That's all for now, and as always THANK YOU!  Thank you for backing this project, and thank you for being an amazing part of our action figure community!  We hope to see you in Iowa!

-SKELETRON