INTERVIEW: Hobby Figures

The latest news from the newest anime collectibles company...

For a great selection of anime and manga action figures and collectibles, check out YesAnimation.com, SuperheroToys.com, Alter Ego Comics, BigBadToyStore.com, CornerStoreComics.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonsterIslandToys.com.

For a great selection of Japanese pop culture apparel, check out TShirtGurus.com and 80sTees.com.

Shortly before the holidays, CoolJapaneseToys.com had the chance to interview Hobby Figures, a new manufacturer in the anime & manga collectibles market, and ask them some questions about their company and the new products they have in store for fans and collectors...

1. Tell us a little bit about how Hobby Figures was started and why you've decided to begin making pop culture collectibles.

The creation of the brand Hobby Figures is the result of a meeting in the Good smile company Japan office in 2005, during which the President M. Aki, told us in view of our expertise in figures, that maybe we should think about creating our own brand. After a period of thinking, we have taken the decision to start this new adventure and Hobby Figures was born in March 2006. We have opted to establish the headquarters in Hong Kong for logistics reasons. An office in Japan scheduled soon.

2. What type of collectibles do you make and what are some of the licenses you're working on now and in the future?

We are working firstly on figures characters and we try to bring some news and show our knowledge. For example, we integrate magnets inside the arms and legs of our Mugen figures. This solution minimizes the risks related to shipping and also extends the pleasure of the unpacking and mounting step. We have others projects, one in particular is very interesting because it would be a serious alternative to action figures and PVC figures, but I cannot say too much now as patents will not be tabled. But it’s something revolutionary since it takes up all the benefits generated by a PVC figure and an action figure, but in one product. The code name is Endo skeleton.Concerning the future license, we have lot of ideas about popular series like Naruto Shippuden or Saint Seiya. We are already working on something.

3. Of all of the popular licenses, why the choice to do Samurai Champloo and for that matter Queen's Blade? These seem like pretty diverse choices.

Concerning Samurai Champloo, we were looking for a popular old license that had a lot of fans in Europe and also in North America . Samurai Champloo seemed a good choice. We also love this series, and any other Japanese brands release Cold cast collectible figure on this license.For the choice of Queens Blade license, it was during a meeting with the staff and the president of the magazine Hobby Japan. We were looking for a new sexy girls license, and M. Tony Yamaguchi, presented us Queens Blade and asked us if we would interested in this license in exclusivity for some important territories such as the USA and Europe. We have found a very strong potential, so we have signed a license agreement for several years for a line of PVC Figures.To reply to the pretty diverse choice, we have chosen to work on two licenses completely different to show that we are able to working on any kind of license or product. Sculpting a Male or female figure is absolutely not the same job. It was important for us to be known also in Japan, and Queens Blade is very popular, so it was an opportunity for us to introduce and present our brand and figures there.

4. Will the Samurai Champloo series be ending with the release of Fuu or do you have plans to produce other characters or variant versions of the initial three?

We are sorry for the fans but our series of collectible figures based on Samurai Champloo will end by Fuu character. We have no plan yet to release others characters or variant versions, even if some other characters are really great and could be very good figures. Also we are not really interested in variant versions by colors or something else. We prefer making only one version for every fan. I’d like to remind all fans of Samurai Champloo that our line of collectibles is limited to 2.000 (666 pcs by Area) so for USA, only 666 pcs of each character will be available. In Europe it’s already sold out. Japan release will be later.

5. Why was the decision made to go with cold-cast for the Samurai Champloo series instead of PVC? Will these be released in PVC at a later date? Why are the Queen's Blade figures being produced in PVC instead of cold-cast?

After careful consideration, it seemed logical in view of the quality of the series that cold cast, was more appropriate than PVC to really represent a collectible. Also for technical reasons, especially painting effect, after some tests , the result was better on cold cast than PVC. But initially it’s true that we thought about a PVC production.Concerning Queens Blade figures, it’s simple, PVC allows us to propose a cast off version. So like you could imagine, you could remove their clothes

6. When can we expect to see pictures of new product? Fans are anxious to see what you do with the Risty figure and other characters in the Queen's Blade line.

Christmas coming, exclusively for Action On-line and its readers, you will find a pack of pictures of our Risty prototype zero. Sculptor, Mr Shunji Haguii made an extraordinary work, as you will see by yourself, the fineness of muscles on legs are an evidence of his amazing work. The release is scheduled for April 2009, price is not fixed yet. In 2009 some other surprise will come on old and new popular Japanese animation…

Thanks to Hobby Figures for taking the time to answer our questions, I' sure many fans are excited to see what new products are on the horizon, including details about the mysterious "Endo Skeleton."

You can find additional photos of the Queen's Blade Risty Figure in the gallery below.

Hobby Figures Queen's Blade Risty Gallery