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1:12 (6" Scale) Super Articulated Action Figure Blanks

Created by Cryptid Toys

Super articulated action figure blanks for customizers, artists, and toy collectors.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

December Update
over 5 years ago – Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 11:10:36 PM

Hey Backers, 

Since the last update, the factories have been adjusting the tooling for both the skeletons and the male blanks. The one doing the skeletons made some tweaks since the last update when the test shots came in, but there are still some more things that need to be adjusted. Changing the heads and hands is still way too tough to do without applying heat to soften the parts so those will need to be changed further. They are stating that it should be done in January so hopefully that stands true. 

The factory doing the male blanks has finished tooling and they are in the process of testing everything now. The ABS molds were being tested this past week and the remaining parts for the figure are going to be tested next week. They should have a couple assembled figures next week and will get them in the mail to be inspected in-hand more closely. The following pictures are from the tooling process for the male blank and base. The white parts pictured are from the ABS tests. 

Since many keep asking about the Army Alphas figures (SWAT/Soldiers), figured an update on that front could be put here so everyone can see. The Kickstarter campaign for those figures has been ready to re-launch for some time now but these Super Articulated Blanks figures were the only real hold up for that. Just wanted to be sure that a factory could tackle the tooling process properly and have everything come out as desired before committing to launching the Army Alphas campaign again. Some time back it was stated that campaign would re-launch in 2018 but obviously with the year coming to a close in a few days, that will not be the case. More updates on that soon as well. The following are a few teasers for the SWAT, Soldiers, and some other army builders:

Update - Male Figure Tooling Still Being Worked On, Waiting for Next Skeleton Test Shots
over 5 years ago – Wed, Oct 17, 2018 at 06:29:02 PM

Hi Backers, 

To update on the progress of the figures, I’ve been told the recent round of tooling adjustments for the Skeleton at the one factory has been completed. Hoped this would have been done quicker but October 1 through October 7 is a national holiday in China called National Day where everyone has the week off so the factories were closed during that time. Currently waiting on them to run a few tests to check that the assembly issues have been resolved. Will update when pictures of the new test shots are completed and when they are inspected. 

The factory working on the Male figures and bases is still finishing up the tooling but I’ve been told to expect it completed in the next 10 days or so. The rep sent over some images of the parts that weren’t being worked on at that moment, which are shown below. This factory seems to be much more efficient than the one working on the Skeleton figures, as it took the other factory many more months to be at this same point in the production process, so fingers crossed production at this one continues to run smoother. 

Some of the Male figure tooling
Some of the Male figure tooling
Some of the Male figure tooling pt.2
Some of the Male figure tooling pt.2

Again, continuing to appreciate the patience that most of you are showing. This is Cryptid Toys’ first foray into overseas production, and as some of you may or may not know, it’s a bit like the Wild West over there. Factories often push the small production runs from tiny manufacturers to the bottom in their list of priorities, and can even completely take advantage of them by stringing them along with promises and not delivering.

We are not a massive corporation that has decades of production experience at factories who are accustomed to producing a specific type of product, so the original production timetable was indeed a bit too ambitious. There is learning on our side as well as the factory side for this production, but thankfully there haven’t been any disastrous events such as the factory running away with the money, or just closing up shop and holding the tooling hostage which has unfortunately happened to other companies, both big and small. 

I’ll update you all again as soon as there’s more to report. Less time between this update and the next one compared to this one and the last.

-Austin

Cryptid Toys

Skeleton Test Shots In Hand
over 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 11:39:52 PM

Hey All, 

A couple skeleton test shots from that factory arrived and the feedback after closely inspecting them has already been sent back to the factory for them to tweak the tooling.  

They were done in a very light cream colored plastic (test shots are just done with whatever material the factory has on hand from production runs of other figures) that is hard to photograph.  That's the reason for the red backdrop - the skeleton just disappeared into the white backdrop. 

Skeleton First Test Shot
Skeleton First Test Shot

There are several adjustments that need to be made, mostly with the joints, but no huge issues.  Some fixes include - making the ball joints on either end of the spine a little larger to have a tighter fit into the sockets, changing the elbow peg shape to prevent the upper arm from bulging, changing the ends of the pegs on the hands so that switching them out is much easier, and making the sockets on the bottom of the heads a bit larger to also make switching out the heads easier.  The flashing (extra plastic that seeps out between the two mold halves) will need to be trimmed off better for some parts, and the points where the sprues were (thin, tubular channels in the tooling that lead the liquid plastic to the cavity where the mold of the part is) will need to be cut off better so there are no nubs left behind. 

Test Shot Neck Movement
Test Shot Neck Movement

 The neck joints are more than tight enough to support the weight of the heads and still allow for good movement so that's what I'm also trying to achieve with the spine.  Those joints are a bit loose currently but the larger balls on either end of the spine should fix that. 

Don't think this was mentioned before, but every hinge joint on the figure (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles) has been given raised ridges to produce that 'ratcheting' or 'clicking' effect when moving them.  They are all functioning very well aside from the ankles which are a bit loose, so those will be tightened up as well.  

Expect another update when the factory makes some changes to the tooling and can update me.  The factory doing the Male figure and base has informed me that they are in the tooling phase for those so expect an update on those fronts when I have one as well. 

Thanks

-Austin 

Factory Update
over 5 years ago – Sun, Aug 19, 2018 at 08:37:05 PM

Hello All, 

The factory where the skeleton tooling has been completed is still unfortunately working slower than I'd like and I am still waiting for several test shots of the skeleton figure to arrive in the mail so I've decided to move the Male blank figure production to another factory. This other factory has already showed much better communication, even responding on weekends, and I'm hoping the progress will be more efficient and they will have much better communication.  I've just sent over the male figure files for starting a sample print before tooling begins so hopefully that can start in the next few days. 

I did finally get the tracking update that the skeleton test shots from the original factory are in the mail so I should have those in a few days to inspect and give comments for tooling adjustments.  

Will provide further updates when the test shots are in-hand. 

Update
over 5 years ago – Mon, Jul 23, 2018 at 09:16:05 PM

Hey All, 

Long overdue update again. Still pushing the factory hard to get some quicker progress but not too much luck there. The factory rep who had been working with me throughout the process but stopped responding to emails/calls but after a while, I was able to get in touch with someone else who let me know the rep who I was working with is no longer working there. I was given another rep to work with and they are running several more test shots of the skeleton and then will ship them to me via DHL for inspection. Since this is a much much smaller sized order than what the factory normally handles, the bigger orders have been given priority and the scheduled testing and tooling time kept getting bumped. This new rep assured me they will get on top of the rest of the tasks ASAP and will be making this order a higher priority. 

The skeletons are further along than the male blanks so since these will presumably be done first, they will just be shipped to all North American backers when they come in. I’d rather get you very patient people your figures sooner than later. It looks like many people ordered skeletons OR males but if you ordered some of both and you are in North America, your order will be broken up into two shipments -- the skeletons will be shipped when they arrive and the males will be shipped afterwards. If you are outside of North America, your entire order will be shipped once everything is in hand. 

 Once again, thank you all for your continued patience.