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2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Chris
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 01-03-2007 14:31 |
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Submit questions to the Four Horsemen.
These guys have made some of the best Batman and DC Figures around!
Here is a list of what they have done, (this is about a year old, so more recent stuff won't be one it..)
Zipline Batman (ET/JP)
Zipline Batman 2 (ET/CB)
Joker (CD/JP/CB)
Mr. Freeze (regular head) (ET/CB)
Mr. Freeze (chase head) (ET/CB)
Killer Croc (CD/CB)
Bruce Wayne (ET/CD/JP)
Scarecrow (CD/CB)
Bane (ET/JP/CB)
Battle Armor Batman (ET/JP/CB)
Tech Armor Batman (CD/CB)
Hydro-Suit Batman 1 (ET/CB)
Hydro-Suit Batman 2 (ET/CB)
Stealth Wing Batman (CD/JP)
Night Patrol Batman (ET/JP)
Arctic Shield Batman (ET/JP/CB)
Battle Spike Batman (ET/JP)
Street Luge Batman (ET/JP)
Croc Armor Batman (ET/JP/CB)
Drill Cannon Batman (ET/JP)
Sky Strike Batman (ET/CB)
Electro Net Batman (ET/CD/JP)
Light Suit Batman (ET/CD/JP)
Bruce Wayne (ET/CD/JP)
Shield Strike Batman (ET/JP)
Crossbow Batman (ET/CB)
MegaBazooka Batman (ET/CB)
Exo-Armor Batman (CD/JP/CB)
Dual Blade Batman (ET/CD/JP)
Acid Shield Batman (CD/JP)
Acid Blast Joker (CD/JP/CB)
Nightwing 3 (JP)
Super Articulated Batman 1 "Zipline" (ET/JP)
Super Articulated Batman 2 "New" (ET/JP)
Ultimate 12" Batman (black & grey) (ET/JP/CB)
Ultimate 12" Batman (blue & grey) (ET/JP/CB)
SDCC/WWC 2003 exclusive Batman (blue/yellow - oval bat-logo) (ET/JP/CB)
SDCC/WWC 2004 exclusive Batman (mask off, mask off w/scar, mask 1/2 off) (ET/CD/JP/CB)
DC SUPERHEROES
Batman 1 (ET/JP/CB)
Batman 2 (ET/JP/CB)
Killer Croc (CD/CB)
Bane (ET/JP/CB)
Bane chase figure (w/Osoito the teddy bear) (ET/JP/CB)
Scarecrow (CD/CB)
Superman 1 (ET/JP)
Superman 2 (ET)
Supergirl (ET/JP)
Doomsday (ET/CB)
Bizarro (ET/JP)
Azrael (ET)
Mr. Freeze 1.5 (ET/CB/JP)
Laughing Gas Joker (CD/ET/JP/CB)
Batgirl - Barbara Gordon (ET)
Batgirl - Cassandra Kane (ET)
Brainiac - (ET/JP/CB)
Darkseid - (ET/CB)
Lex Luthor - (ET/CB)
Two Face - (CD/JP)
Clark Kent - (ET/CD/JP)
Mongul - (ET/JP/CB)
Catwoman - (ET/CB)
Parasite - (CD)
THE BATMAN
The Batman (CD)
Bruce Wayne (ET)
Man-Bat (ET/JP)
Mr. Freeze (ET/CB)
Mr. Freeze w/variant head (ET/CB)
Clayface (ET)
The Riddler(ET/CB)
Batgirl (ET)
Catwoman (CD)
SDCC/WWC 2005 exclusive Catwoman (CD)
Poison Ivy (ET)
Gearhead (ET/CB)
Learn more about them at their site: Four Horsemen Studios
I want to submit these questions by next week, so hurry and get em in!
Edited by Chris on 01-03-2007 14:33 |
    
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Razhwurz
Posts: 1672
Joined: 02.08.06
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| Posted on 01-03-2007 14:59 |
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Exactly how many new DCSH Batman figures are on the way right now? And don't say "There are several that you should look forward to." I'm looking for a number!
Never start with the head; the victim gets all fuzzy!
R.I.P. Heath
Edited by Razhwurz on 04-03-2007 18:28 |
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Caleson
Posts: 1631
Location: Rockville, IA
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 02-03-2007 04:24 |
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Are there any characters, in or out of the DC Universe, you've wanted to tackle but were unable to due to contractual limitations? If so, have you created any unused designs for such characters?
A few of your Batman figure concept sketches were shown in ToyFare and they looked great. Are these available anywhere?
How deep is your creative input in terms of figure articulation, accessories, action features, chase variants, and product materials (i.e. choosing rubber or cloth cape). Does it only go as far as the base figure design and sculpting?
What are your thoughts on the compromise of display bases that were originally planned for the first series of DC SuperHeroes? Would you like to see this idea resurrected in the future?
The S3: Select Sculpt Series title was originally used for a particular series of statuesque Superman Returns figures but now refers to basic scale DCSH figures. What are your thoughts on the usage of this title, and would you like to design statuesque Batman figures on display bases similar to the original Superman Returns S3 figures?
Some fans have disputed the influences on DCSH's Series 3 Batman, usually citing the art styles of Jim Lee and Frank Miller. Can you put this bickering to rest and give us some insight on the figure's creation?
Can I make the Fifth Horsemen? I'm getting a degree in graphic design and I promise I won't letcha down!
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
spencer1984
Posts: 1271
Location: Upstate NY
Joined: 30.06.05
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| Posted on 02-03-2007 09:52 |
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When the Masters of the Universe toy line was cancelled, you got a chance to do some of the characters you really wanted to do by producing mini statues. Any thoughts on carrying this idea over to the DC universe?
Can you provide a little background on the two different Killer Crocs? Was one "your" version and the other was the requested/required version, or were they both equally liked ideas?
Any thoughts on doing a vehicle?
The complete history of the Batmobile: BatmobileHistory.com
Scale models of Batmobiles & more: spencer1984.com |
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
FlaBat
Posts: 1526
Location: Miami
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 02-03-2007 22:34 |
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1). Why did DCSH first Batman, not use the ball jointed head of Bat Signal Batman when the rest of the body was a repainted Bat Signal Batman? No matter how you try to pose this figure he?s always looking down.
2). What Batman artists do you look for inspiration from for a figure, or do you try to mix styles?
3). Is there any figure(s) you really want to do, but can?t due to license restrictions?
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Tom-Tom
Posts: 128
Joined: 20.10.06
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| Posted on 02-03-2007 23:14 |
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will we be getting a redone robin or a nightwing? also, can you tell us why mattel is doing so many superman variants? and when will we see the next batman wave? |
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Chris
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 04-03-2007 14:06 |
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Last chance to ask questions.. I'm submiting these tomorrow.
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Razhwurz
Posts: 1672
Joined: 02.08.06
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| Posted on 04-03-2007 18:40 |
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When are we getting a physically imposing Joker? Not that stick figure crap; but the frame Alex Ross gives him, and that Frank Miller gave him in Dark Knight Returns.
[subliminal message] Harley Quinn would be nice.[subliminal message]
Never start with the head; the victim gets all fuzzy!
R.I.P. Heath |
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Chris
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 05-03-2007 19:49 |
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Locked - Questions Sent.
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Caleson
Posts: 1631
Location: Rockville, IA
Joined: 24.06.05
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| Posted on 13-06-2007 14:35 |
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*Unlock*
So what ever happened with this interview anyway? We wrote up quite a few questions.
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
Chris
Posts: 2999
Location: Richmond, Indiana
Joined: 22.06.05
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| Posted on 13-06-2007 14:59 |
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 SORRY!!!
Here they are:
First, I'd like to thank all of you for taking a few moments to answer
these questions.
From Flabat:
1). Why did DCSH first Batman, not use the ball jointed head of Bat Signal Batman when the rest of the body was a repainted Bat Signal Batman? Nomatter how you try to pose this figure he’s always looking down.
- Actually, we've put ball joint neck into all of the DCSH figures we've done, but for some reason they either get altered or omitted during production. We've looked into this, and things should get better moving forward.
2). What Batman artists do you look for inspiration from for a figure, or
do you try to mix styles?
- DC actually encourages us not to use any artists specific styles for inspiration, and to give all of the DCSH figures "that Four Horsemen touch", as they put it. We like to take many aspects of any certain character, combine them and try to bring out our favorite properties of that character, and then add our own twists. As you may have noticed, even though they fit seamlessly into the style of the DCSH line, both Clayface and Man-Bat are heavily influenced by the more animated versions of the characters.
From Spencer:
1) When the Masters of the Universe toy line was cancelled, you got a
chance to do some of the characters you really wanted to do by producing mini statues. Any thoughts on carrying this idea over to the DC universe?
- We've spoken to DC about this in the past, and there's probably no way we'd ever be able to work out picking up a license for DC Mini-Statues, since DC Direct already holds most of the rights to that kind of stuff.
2) Can you provide a little background on the two different Killer Crocs?
Was one "your" version and the other was the requested/required version, or were they both equally liked ideas?
- Mattel originally wanted this line to be very kid oriented, so when Killer Croc came about, we all figured that kids would probably like a more monsterous, animal-like version of Croc than the one that was portrayed in the comics. When it was decided to do a repaint of Killer Croc, we convinced our friends at Mattel to make a couple of minor tooling changed to give fans more of a comic based version of the character. It seemed to have worked, because both versions sold really well.
3) Any thoughts on doing a vehicle?
- If there's any more vehicles ever done, they'll probably be done in-house by Mattel. They are, after all, the masters of vehicles with their Hot Wheels properties. I doubt there's any way we could ever top their designers in the vehicle department (but we'd love to get the chance to try).
From Caleson:
1) Are there any characters, in or out of the DC Universe, you've wanted to tackle but were unable to due to contractual limitations? If so, have you created any unused designs for such characters?
- Every single DC character outside of the Batman and Superman story lines. We've done a lot (A LOT) of drawings and sketches of many of the other denizens of the DC Universe over the years, but none of them have yet made it any farther than that. And before you ask...nothing that we're at liberty to show you. Sorry.
2) A few of your Batman figure concept sketches were shown in ToyFare and they looked great. Are these available anywhere?
- We're not sure which sketches you're referring to. Those may have been variant Batman figures designed by Mattel's in-house guys.
3) How deep is your creative input in terms of figure articulation,
accessories, action features, chase variants, and product materials (i.e.
choosing rubber or cloth cape). Does it only go as far as the base figure design and sculpting?
- Lately we've been deciding articulation points for each figure. We come up with most of the accessories (some of which have yet to be produced) ourselves. Action features, chase variants and product materials are often decided by Mattel, and then they run it past us for our input. That's not always how it goes, but it's often the case.
4) What are your thoughts on the compromise of display bases that were originally planned for the first series of DC SuperHeroes? Would you like to see this idea resurrected in the future?
-We'd love to see them done, and we were disappointed when we were told that they weren't going to be, but we do understand the strain that a huge company like Mattel (THE largest toy company on the planet) has on it to produce quality figures and still try to keep the prices at a reasonable level. Production and shipping costs almost always over-ride everything else. It sucks, but that's business. Not much you can do to change it.
5) The S3: Select Sculpt Series title was originally used for a particular
series of statuesque Superman Returns figures but now refers to basic
scale DCSH figures. What are your thoughts on the usage of this title, and would you like to design statuesque Batman figures on display bases similar to the original Superman Returns S3 figures?
- First of all, we don't care for the recent trend of the word "sculpt" being used as a noun. That should be "sculpture". "Sculpt" is a verb (okay, we know - enough of our pet peeves). In any case, we don't mind it. It's just another title letting action figure fans know that this Mattel item may (or may not have) been sculpted by the Four Horsemen. We would have rather had them slap the Four Horsemen logo on the stuff that we've worked on, but the legal ramifications of that would be extremely troublesome.
6) Some fans have disputed the influences on DCSH's Series 3 Batman, usually citing the art styles of Jim Lee and Frank Miller. Can you put this bickering to rest and give us some insight on the figure's creation?
- Not Jim Lee, and definitely not Frank Miller. We just wanted to try something a little different with Batman and give him a bit more gritty, militaristic look than he's had before. That Batman was probably more inspired by the Batman Begins movie than anything else.
- We've heard many people say that the first Batman figure we did was inspired by Jim Lee's Batman. Actually, that figure was in prototype form before Jim Lee's Batman comic book was even solicited, and we kind of wondered at the time if he'd seen some images of the figure we'd done to create his version of Batman.
From Razhwurz:
Exactly how many new DCSH Batman figures are on the way right now?
- Nice try.  You know we can't reveal that kind of info.
From Tom-Tom:
Will we be getting a redone robin or a nightwing? also, can you tell us
why mattel is doing so many superman variants? and when will we see the next batman wave?
- Yes, but not really soon. Because they sell really well (whether fans want to believe it or not - they do - retailers want Batman and Superman most). No idea. That's Mattel's call, not ours.
I am sorry I didn't get this posted.. no excuses! I'm fired!
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RE: 2007 Interview #1 - The Four Horsemen |
real-dark-knight
Posts: 726
Location: The Shadow Of St Albans Abbey
Joined: 28.07.06
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| Posted on 13-06-2007 15:57 |
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Chris wrote:
I am sorry I didn't get this posted.. no excuses! I'm fired!
I remember you did that to Cale once (something about BatmanYTB being his friends and porn being his wife); if you've just given yourself the boot looks like it was a good idea you apparently forgave him!
Edited by real-dark-knight on 13-06-2007 15:59 |
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