Studio Oz - Hot Steel Planet Sculpture

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by Bot Sculptor, Jan 1, 2020.

  1. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    I'm starting a new thread for this since it will now be going into mass production. Indiegogo link: Hot Steel planet sculpture

    FX 1 sm.jpg

    For those that don't know me (which I'm assuming is most people) I'm a sculptor and Special FX artist for the big theme parks here in Orlando. My primary job is to take images from movies and TV shows and turn them into real, three dimensional objects for the public to enjoy. But sometimes the mouse and the wizard don't always make the attractions we want to see, and so I need to go and do it myself.

    And that's how big glowy things like this happen.
    Cybertron scale.jpg
    Scale reference

    This is going to be a limited run done through crowd-funding and will likely be the only time it is available. And while I may be a good sculptor, I am terrible at social media and will need everyone's help to make this happen. If you're on a Facebook, forum or other social media group dedicated to Transformers, please share the news and the Kickstarter link when it becomes active (I'll post it at the top of this thread). As of now we are tentatively scheduled to go live on January 10.

    Couple of quick details.
    1. This will be a lighted pop-art statue, not a toy.
    2. It will come with a display stand (not the same pictured) but will also be wall mountable.
    3. The size is a little over 12 inches in diameter by 6 inches deep (allow a few extra inches for the tall buildings).
    4. It will be cast in hollow and clear polyresin, lit with LEDs, and include die-cast parts.
    5. A mini satellite add-on will be available as one of the crowd funding rewards.
    6. Because the prototypes are already done and sent to the factory, we will be able to start production immediately on completion of the crowd funding campaign. Assuming the campaign is a success, these could be delivered as early as July.

    Let me know what you guys think and please leave a comment to help keep the thread from getting buried. I'll be posting more information on the rewards, status of the campaign, etc. Also, if you have a wishlist of other things you would like to see us do, please chime in.

    You can check out more of the stuff I've made on my portfolio page at www.studiooz.org

    FX 5 sm.jpg Cybertron after dark.jpg FX 4 sm.jpg
    FX 3 sm.jpg FX 2 sm.jpg
    Unicron scale sm.jpg Cybertron sample.jpg Prime stand 3.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2020
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  2. TRUCKvsGUN

    TRUCKvsGUN Well-Known Member

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    Very cool. By 12" diameter, 6" deep, is that to say that it is only a hemisphere?
     
  3. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    Yes, it's a wall hanging sculpture.
    Wall mounted.jpg
     
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  4. DrCalligari

    DrCalligari Does it come in purple?

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    Any chance we could get a preview of the price?
     
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  5. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    We are aiming for $145 shipped.
     
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  6. David Hingtgen

    David Hingtgen Chromaticon

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    I was about to ask "do you work in clay?" based on the tools I see----then I saw your member title. :) 
     
  7. DrCalligari

    DrCalligari Does it come in purple?

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    Cool, thanks!!!
     
  8. protohuman

    protohuman Primus was a pander

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    Wow! Great job, I can see this statue increasing in value over a couple years after production. This is one of those things that Hasbro will never do probably because it doesn't appeal casuals. It's funny because this is awesome and versatile for display unlike flaming banana pelvic thrusts.
     
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  9. maddogtheta

    maddogtheta Well-Known Member

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    Looks great! I can't wait to get more details once the kickstarter is live.
     
  10. zin

    zin Well-Known Member

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    I've been following your amazing work on the other thread, Studio Oz - Cybertron sculpture, and have been debating pulling the trigger for a long time. I'm 100% on board for backing this, particularly if you're aiming for $145 shipping. Amazing value for the price point.

    How does this compare, option wise, to the ones posted on the other thread? Is it equvialent to the Full FX Cybertron, the Hot Steel Cyberton, or the Cold Steel Cyberton? Somewhere in between? I've been debating getting the Full FX Cybertron. What might I be sacrificing if I get this version?
     
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  11. cool8or

    cool8or Well-Known Member

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    Do you'll ship overseas? Obviously not for the same price, just checking the option.
     
  12. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    It's basically going to be the Hot Steel version. In fact that's what it's actually called on Kickstarter. I've got everything done and submitted and we're just waiting on them to generate the URL.

    As for what you might not get; all the tiny windows. There's just no way to do those with this type of mass production. And any method that could do that would cost a half a million in prototype and mold costs.
     
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  13. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    It will be available internationally and shipping should be comparable, if not the same. What we are looking into doing is drop shipping directly from China. This should result in pretty even shipping costs for Europe and the US.
     
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  14. zin

    zin Well-Known Member

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    Ok, understood and sounds good. I dont recall there being pics of the Hot Steel version on the other thread. Are there any pics of it?
     
  15. myrrh

    myrrh Knell-Mown Wember

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    ...let me offer a few morsels of advice for the crowdfunding campaign...
    • Avoid Kickstarter in favor of an alternative crowdfunding platform. Kickstarter is the cause du jour for establishing precedent of active trademark defense, especially among small-minded attorneys, and Hasbro's watching it like a hawk. Once their corporate attorneys identify a target for enforcement, not even an ironclad case of fair use can weather the cost of defense.
    • Don't use any trademarks in your product titles nor descriptions, on any published media. That includes these threads: get a moderator to retitle them 'RobotPlanet' or 'CyberWorld' or somesuch. Especially if you're stateside, you need to make absolutely certain that your campaign avoids any trademark infringement.
    • Fans are smart, they'll recognise the homage and word-of-mouth will get around. That's okay, but keep a low profile about specifically identifying the homage anywhere outside of China's IP-wild-west.
    • If payment is due up-front, give folks at least six weeks from the campaign announcement to its close. Most of your pledges will come at the beginning and very end of the campaign, but six weeks gives folks enough time to hear about the campaign and then budget it into their next month's paycheck, whenever that may fall.
    • Be wary of scope creep. Add-ons are better than changes to the base deliverable; folks resent just barely missing their favorite stretch goal and stretch goals also slow down fulfilment of the core campaign.
    • Expect a lot of bad attitudes and don't let them drag you down. Crowdfunding is a wonderful tool, but when things have gone wrong they've left a lot of folks with chips on their shoulders against everything crowdfunded, regardless of context.
    • Be realistic with your schedules, based on all available knowledge, and then add 30%. When the unexpected occurs, it makes things take longer, not shorter. Optimism is not the right tool for establishing expectations amongst angry rabble-rousers looking for reasons to hold your campaign accountable for the unknown.
     
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  16. Grievlocke

    Grievlocke Omni Armory

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    This will be the perfect backdrop for my Legends photography! Count me in.
     
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  17. DoubleClouder

    DoubleClouder Prototype / Testshot collector

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    Awesome to hear, was following the other thread, can't wait!
     
  18. Bot Sculptor

    Bot Sculptor Sculptor of all things Transformers

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    Thanks. This was exactly the kind of input I was hoping for.
     
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  19. RVDA

    RVDA Toy Designer.

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    Excellent post.
     
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  20. Crabeg

    Crabeg Well-Known Member

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    I want one of these