AboutShiniGami Expertise I can answer any question about Action Figure and Toy Design, Prototyping, Manufacturing and Production Management. Over 20 years in the Toy business with clients including Bandai US/Japan/Europe, Hasbro, Kenner, Mattel, McFarlane Toys, Playmates, etc., and also specialty companies including Toy Tokyo, The Showroom NYC, Kid Robot, Wheaty Wheat and many others.
NOTE: I travel A LOT, so during overseas travel (Japan, Hong Kong, China), I do not check for questions. Thanks.
Experience
Past/Present Clients: Designers including : Gary Baseman, Ron English, Frank Kozik, Pete Fowler, Futura, Stash, David Horvath. Companies including : Bandai Japan, Bandai US, Dark Horse, Hasbro, Kenner, Lucas Films, Maharishi, Marvel, Mattel, McFarlane Toys, MTV, NIKE, Playmates, Reebok, Sony, etc.
You seem like a true expert on the manufacturing of toys and right now I am
in the process of starting up my own designer toy/lifestyle company, so I
figure I should seek out the Yoda of toy manufacturing....lo and behold
google has sent me to you. If you have time, I was wondering if you could
give me advice as to finding the top sculptors and manufacturing factories or
if you could recommend some to me. I'm all about quality and I'm a fan of
many of the artists you have worked with, such as Futura, Kozik, etc..., so I'm
willing to pay more for higher quality to match or exceed the quality of other
artists. Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.
Answer I'm a project manager, and take care of the overall project. You can't just "find" a factory, as alot give you a cheap bid, and then run bootlegs on the side for sale in Hong Kong.
I use different sculptors depending on the style of the piece. My parnter is in Hong Kong, and takes care of everything from his end. Going to the factories several times a week and checking on printing, tooling, production, etc. You have printing done one place, production at another, final pack-out at another. And depending on materials used, might be othger factories involved for tooling, die cast, injection, rotation, etc.
I know almost every project someone has tried to do, is either still sitting in limbo after a year or 2, or never comes out, or I have to take it over.
