There is an old adage "The Customer is always Right" -and it's never more so, than in the wacky world of merchandising where huge efforts are expended on trying to develop new products based upon existing properties. The levels of perfectionism and fear are unlike any other in my line of work.
It may be an interesting place to visit, but I sure didn't want to live there!
One of the things I liked about making props and models for film was the fact I could produce an item on budget within an impossibly small time frame. Despite the pressures, I always felt that when I could present a finished object it was appreciated. Modelmaking for stills photography was another thing entirely as the tiniest speck on a finish was worried over.
I remember making the demarkation between a painted number and the background as shining and flawless as possible, only to have the photographer douse the whole thing in dulling spray for the final shot!
I'd always wanted to make toys and these AFL Footballers (designed by Steve Panozzo) were pretty much as close as I got.
I made a second series of New Zealand Players, but without Steve's original art, I found the client approval process a lot more difficult...
I also made a bunch of things for various clients, but I don't know if they ever saw production...
So it was I linked up with one merchandiser and we had some good times together.
Here's a Wiggles toy prototype I did when they replaced one of the Wiggles...
The Merchandiser was keen on Phantom merchandise and we had some early success with projects
like replica rings... In the 80's a ceramic bust of the Phantom with glowing eyes was popular, but when he tried to reissue it, the tooling was lost so he commissioned me to produce a new prototype. Here it is straight out of the mould...
So without too much fuss, I had a finished prototype for my Merchandiser...
Simple huh? But then of course, the License Holder had to approve, and this led to my New York Adventure in Part 2...
Looey
Super interesting. The Phantom bust is really nice. There does not seem to be nearly as much around in the way of toys and collectables for the Phantom as for many other superheroes, although there may have been more back in the early days of the character.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent work! I would have died and gone to heaven being a modelmaker or propmaker for a client back then!
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