TOY BIZ LORD OF THE RINGS
ACTION FIGURE CREATION PROCESS
Welcome to the first EVER Toy Biz Hub! Find every bit of history on the the toys that we love!
ACTION FIGURE PROCESS FROM CONCEPT TO RELEASE
The creation of an action figure is a lengthy process and follows an approval life cycle that consists of multiple stages (phases) and checkpoints that had to be approved by management. In order to illustrate the process, we will begin the process with character selection and follow through to the final product as seen by the consumer in retail.
APPROVAL LIFE CYCLE
The approval life cycle can be broken down into the following steps. This is also illustrated in the image below:
The approval checkpoints went from:
-
Sculptor
-
Toy Biz Management
-
New Line
-
Actor
-
and this process would sometimes repeat
The New Line Cinema approval form below clearly shows the many stages each action figure was required to pass, before being given the authority to be produced.
CHARACTER CHOICE
Once Toy Biz and New Line Cinema come to a consensus on which figure to produce, they then decide what outfit and look they want to achieve that will best express the screen accuracy of the actor.
During this stage New Line would gather images from the movies (that were still in production) and create a character profile folder that will be used by the Toy Biz team to reference during each phase.
For the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the actors had a clause in their contracts that demanded the actors approval of each figure with their likeness.
Once the character has been selected, the actual design process begins with sketches of the proposed figure.
New Line Cinema with help sometimes from WETA or Gentle Giant (who provided the scans of all the actors), would send a "character profile package". These packages would contain very detailed images of the actor posed in a few stances, while also containing acting doubles posing specifically for Toy Biz as figure reference.
Frequently weaponry references would also be compiled which would include multiple reference images of the weapons for the character.
Toy Biz worked with in-house and 3rd party artists to render proposed concept art and control pieces. These artists typically worked across many toy lines, and provided work for hundreds of characters, all in the same required format. These concept sketches would go to Toy Biz management for approval. After the initial sketch art was approved and was given the green light, the sculptor chooses the base material to start working the figure.
It is quite clear that Toy Biz wanted to have the most detailed product possible for the fans of the Tolkien movies.
CONCEPT ART
CLAY / WAX SCULPT
The sculpting artist would typically use some form of clay-like material or wax to bring the conceptual art to life. Castilene was used for a large portion of prototypes during this time. As it is easy to work with and holds its form very well.
While each sculpting artist has his or her own tool of choice, the process with which they shape and form the body is generally up to each. Most figurines are sculpted as a single piece, with articulation being added later. Other sculpting artists may prefer to remove the limbs and work on them separately before being attached later on. This kind of flexibility allows the sculpting artist more control to produce finer details on the prototype.
The sculpting artist will often reference the conceptual art and character profile folder imagery to ensure the figurine is as realistic as possible. Some sculpting artists may gain inspiration from other sources than the provided character reference material, like using real tree's for instance for such characters like Treebeard. After the general body shape is complete, the sculpting artist will begin to add the finer detail.
While some of the heads were sculpted by Toy Biz. The majority were in fact created in the labs of Gentle Giant. Gentle Giant live scanned each actor in 360 degrees, to build a 3D model that could be printed in extreme detail. Any flaws or refinements would then be corrected by their sculpting artist.
What this meant for the Toy Biz sculpting artist is that they would be working on a headless figurine, with some choosing to substitute a place holder head at times.
Then, depending on the design of the figurine, the costume may be sculpted directly onto the body if it would be a solid figure. However in the case of Toy Biz Lord Of The Rings, nearly all of the figurines were sculpted separate in order to capture the best likeness and texture.
The sculpted prototype (usually a one-of-a-kind), would then be sent to Toy Biz in for approval.
RESIN HARD COPY
After receiving the necessary approvals, the wax sculpt would be used to make a silicone or rubber mold. For each component of the wax sculpt (torso, arms, legs) a liquid solution is poured around the wax sculpt, and left to set in order to create the block mold that encapsulates it. Once set either the sculptor themselves, or a special molder will carefully cut a wave pattern down each side of the block. Then, it is pulled apart slowly, as to limit tearing of the mold and to remove the wax sculptt. This step usually causes damage to the wax sculpt, and is often a reason why so few survive today. Another being that smaller artist studios would also recycle the wax in order to save money.
The silicone or rubber mold would then be used by pouring the artist studios choice of liquid resin into the top of each mold until it is full. Once cured, each mold is gently opened to reveal the resin casting. This resin casting is referred to as a hard copy.
Once all the pieces of the figurine have hardened and inspected for flaws, they are assembled. This process also is a delicate one and required a lot of patience. Each connecting piece has a small hole drilled in it so that a metal or plastic joining pin could be inserted. This is also the step that the articulation was incorporated. According to what was required, the figure would be cut up to allow for modification. Many specialty tools are used and again this is up to the skill of the artist and needs of the contracting company.
The last step is assembly. Once the figure is pinned together and stands properly, it is then disassembled and packaged up to be sent for approval. Depending on the approval requirements and requests only a small number of hard copies were created. Normally 3 or 5 as some will go on and become paint masters.
PAINT MASTER
Once the resin hard copy is approved, the next process is to have the prototype professionally painted. Sometimes this was done by the original artist. However most of the time it is done by a specialist.
One of the greatest prototype painters in action figure history worked on the Lord of the Rings line. Highly respected and tenured, Eddie Wires was the standard for what all future artist measure against. His creativity brought to life hundreds and maybe thousands of action figures.
Eddie Wires was a behinds the scene guy but was an essential part of the industry. In my opinion, he is on the Mount Rushmore of pre-production culture. Sadly, Eddie passed away a few years later.
The painted hard copy is called a paint master, with usually only 2 samples being painted. The finished product is then sent for approval.
FACTORY STEEL MOLDS
Before a plastic sample of a toy can be made, the factory must take the approved resin prototype and convert it into a tooling pattern which is used to create the negative steel mold. This will allow for later injection molding of an action figure. This is typically done in a stronger material, similar to a porcelain . This new sample, which is correctly scaled for production, is then examined for any flaws and goes through vigorous scrutiny, until it is ready to be used to create a permanent steel mold. This is the most expensive and important part of the project. This is where defects and loss of detail happens for the end product. This process starts by using a Pantograph machine. A Pantograph is used to trace the contours of a hard copy or tooling pattern and translate these to the milling machine which cuts the steel mold.
PRE-PRODUCTION SAMPLE
Unlike companies some of the larger toy companies like Hasbro and others, Toy Biz did not own their own factories in China. Toy Biz was required to contract out the production of toys to these factories. This was one reason for the shifting of power among the larger companies.
It is not exactly known where the Lord Of The Rings toys were manufactured. However my guess would be they were likely manufactured in the area of Shenzhen city of Guangdong.
Chinese factories would create the steel molds that had plastic (usually in the form of small beads), melted into them. This process is called injection molding. These steel molds would be used to print of the thousands of figures during the production cycle. The very first batch of figures, often used as a sample to be produced from these molds is called a first shot.
The factory would likely use whatever colors, often non-production colors, other times plain, that they had left over from other projects to create these first shot figures. The only real purpose of these first shots was to serve as quality control at the factory, make sure that no defects existed with the mold, as well to be sent to Toy Biz for approval.
Because first shots are manufactured at the factory, there could be 10 of each figure, or there could be 100, it would just depend on what issues may have needed to be addressed. However most would destroyed. One thing to note is that many first shots will not have the copyright on the feet. The copyright (NLP stamp with date) was often added later after the mold was confirmed to produce accurate clean work. These are typically shot in wild colors, with the intention of looking at the overall appearance for making corrections.
FINAL ENGINEERING PROTOTYPE (FEP)
Once approval is given, a last run of "painted deco samples" would have been conducted. These are referred to final engineering prototypes or FEP's in the business. While these figures will look identical to the production figure they can still lack the copyright stamp on the feet. FEP examples do not look like test shots in appearance.
The last approval for the figure is given prior to production in mass quantities.
PACKAGING PROGRAM
During the period a figurine is being sculpted a different section of artists would have been working equally diligent to have the box art approved. The packaging program would follow through the same process and approval. The design departments would make the necessary change and corrections as they perfect the layout.
Then, a proof sheet would be created. This proof sheet is a final print of the box art. It is typically the same type of stock paper/cardboard thickness, and will have the a color pallet, and measuring devices surrounding the project.
That is it. The figures are boxed and date stamped and packaged in their assortment ready for distribution.