onell design
they' ve teamed up with onell design to produce a prototype of their rocket figure .
you can find out more about glyos figures, their universe and onell design, plus view galleries, read their blog and order your own toys on the official onell design website .
this figure has a modular design that can be reconfigured into many different forms, and all the jointwork is compatible with the onell design figures .
although you may find it difficult to find them now, onell design has released numerous colour - variants of each figure .
http% 3a% 2f% 2fwww. poeghostal. com% 2f2010% 2f06% 2finterview - matt - doughty - of - onell - design - part - i - onell. html
1000toys and onell design teamed up for a nu: synth figure glyosynth to be displayed at dcon (designer con) 2017 .
great article. congrats on all the success with onell…could not have happened to a nicer guy .
onell design has been producing and selling glyos figures from their official site since 2007 and over the last three years the line has grown to include new characters, limited - run custom variants and, most recently, vehicles .
when josh first mentioned matt and jesse of onell design (blog) to me regarding this year' s summit, he never mentioned their glyos system figs, microshow, or any of their other microman - esque toy designs .
it' s also worth noting the personal - level of service from onell design: as well as shipping with a bonus gift, my order receipts were hand - signed with a little'' thank you'' from the onell crew. it' s only a small touch but it adds a level of appreciation you don' t receive from bigger companies .
real name: matt doughty specialty: toymaker base of operations: onell design history: onell design is a small, family run toy company that strives to create an environment filled with creative potential. building out just a little bit every year, each person involved in the day to day operations does their work with a passion matched by a desire to connect with those that enjoy what onell has to offer, however tiny it may be! matt doughty, michelle doughty and marc beaudette love running onell, and it continues to grow only because of the incredible people out there who support all the crazy projects they get into! so get ready for more interchangeable figures, 8 - bit games, special collaborations and sporadic blog posts as 2010 rolls on…and remember to stay creative !
glyos figures are an oddity: in a world of extreme poseability and one - off designer vinyls, onell design has bucked both trends to create a range of affordable, durable and fun retro figures that seem part monster in my pocket, part microman, part lego .
( clear blue / clear). the trio is currently available now through the onell shop. don' t wait on these .
my fav purchases from ny comicon 2012! among the awesomeness, there' s the real uamou in the center which is this incredible medicom collaboration piece from realxhead & uamou. and also the black & glow - green armodoc from onell design on the lower left! so cool ~
ooh. i' d love to see matt take another crack at that early human soldier figure. i dig the design. great interview, poe !
a few weeks ago, i had the pleasure of interviewing matt doughty, founder of onell design and collaborator with the four horsemen on the upcoming outer space men, in person at his home. with his wife michelle and the help of a few other colleagues, matt runs onell and its line of increasingly popular glyos action figures. in addition, matt serves as a consultant to beantown toys and has done freelance work for hasbro and other companies .
the glyos system series is a series of toys produced by matt doughty and michelle doughty of onell design and sold exclusively on their website [ 1 ]. these three inch tall figures feature a simple peg and socket joint system known as the
fit function
that makes them completely interchangeable with one another, allowing for limitless build options .
the joints are a simple pop - in / out peg system, allowing rotation on a single plane. initially this may seem restrictive, but onell design has worked within these limitations to compensate for this. the legs, for example, are cast with a bent knee, meaning rotating the joint doesn' t simply twist the lower leg around the vertical - it affects the stance of the figure. play with them for a few minutes and you' ll see that although you' ll never reach microman - style level of posesability it' s possible to convey action and emotion within the limits of their movement. (it should be noted that onell design recently revealed a new set of rotator joints that will be going into production soon. )
although the figures don' t come with any spare parts or extras, what is worth noting is the generosity of onell design. i' ve placed two orders now and both have come with bonus figures i didn' t order. don' t bank on it or expect anything beyond your order, but don' t be surprised if you do find an extra little bonus in there .
taken from urltoken' s show
that new toy smell
episode 43, this video shows the complete review of the glyos system toy line from onell designs. to watch the full episode visit us at urltoken
this illustrates one of the other things i like about the philosophy behind glyos toys: the fact that both the packaging and onell design' s passcode section of their site flesh - out the story with enough tantalising details regarding each figure' s background without simply telling a linear narrative or defining every detail of the characters. again, this is reminiscent of older toy lines that weren' t supported by their own saturday morning cartoon show or movie .
the first wave of glyos is known as the founders, a nice nod to the microman series of figures. it' s obvious that takara' s classic toy line is an influence on onell design' s sensibilities, for as well as sharing their name the founders also come in their own windowed - box resembling the spy magician packaging and inside each box is a 2 - page'' catarog'' - style preview sheet of the range .
as onell design are an online - only company, i' m including a quick comment on their service. due to being a smaller company, you may have to wait a little longer for your order - both my orders took around 10 days to pack and process. my first package arrived four days after processing. my second arrived the day after i received my shipping confirmation. my advice is to be patient - they are worth the wait !
onell designs' glyos system series is still one of our favorite lines... several years after being introduced to them. they continue to release new and exciting colorways as well as adding new head sculpts to the lineup .
sometimes when you see a figure you just sit waiting for a specific recolor. skeleden keldorac is that figure. at about 2 3 / 4 - inches tall, the onell design crew took a standard pheyden figure body and plussed it up with new upper arms, lower legs, a new head, and some armor for the chest and shins. the end result is a figure that' s basically brand new, with an added axe and new paint job to keep things interesting .
onell design has hit onto something amazing with their glyos series of customizable figures. this year, onell released a new component to the line with the addition of the rig. it’s very much in the vein of popular designer - vinyl toys, yet is so much more. with the simple positioning of the arms, you can change the rig from a mech - like fighting machine into a space - worthy dogfighter. the imagination - inducing factor is what really helps set the rig apart from other toys on the market, and what helps push it onto this list. the first release of the rig sold out ridiculously fast; but be on the lookout for more of these wonderfully toys to be released in various colors and paint schemes in the future .
onell design sold out of this one somewhat quickly, so ebay and forum trading are pretty much your only avenues for obtaining one at this point. i like it, so i' d say it' s worth it - all the skeleden figures are functionally similar with varying wonderful paint jobs. this is my new favorite of them, but i' m a huge sucker for skeletor. it won' t change the world, but it' s fun enough to futz with while you' re watching tv or on a phone call at work .
though the heavy armored rig – relgost wing divison is actually a fairly simple vinyl toy, with only 4 points of articulation, as you can see form the photos below, the design of it lends itself to a quick transformation of the look of the vehicle entirely with just a few quick rotations .
much of the indie toy scene revolves around collectible vinyl statues and art toys. these tend to be more eye candy than action figures, and can get very expensive. so while i appreciate the visual artistry of vinyls, i’ve always been more attracted to toys that do stuff. i’d rather spend some time with a $ 10 box of legos than dusting off $ 200 worth of vinyl zombie cyber - bunnies. so when i found onell designs’ glyos system figures, i flipped. onell has managed to create an exclusive line of affordable figures and accessories that are just as much fun to play with as they are to collect .
smart, smart, smart. the glyos system is like a lego set for building custom figures, and it works brilliantly. you can actually design your own unique figures from the ground up that look like they were factory - made, as opposed to a disparate collection of parts. as mentioned above, the basic figures are made up of over a dozen parts, which gives you a head, chest, waist, upper arms, hands, upper legs, lower legs, and feet to work with. and, there’s nothing to stop you from swapping in more parts, parts from other characters new and old, and upgraded joints and hubs available through the onell store .
articulation varies from figure to figure and build to build, but generally, the arms and legs swing, while the head, torso, ankles and knees twist. the lack of knee and elbow joints puts a damper on posability, but there’s a solution for that, too. onell sells “axis” ball joints that add flexibility wherever you use them .
new figures and accessories are released in limited numbers through the onell designs store page, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. that’s where the collectible nature of these toys becomes apparent. browsing the glyos forums, you will find a community of people buying / selling / trading figures and parts, such as limited edition heads, or sought - after color variants .
the fun factor is off the chart with onell’s glyos system figures. they’re fun to customize, fun to collect, and fun to obsess over in the forums while waiting for the next figures to drop. what you get for your money is more than toys; you become part of an enthusiastic online community, all participating in the unique greatness of the glyos system .
dark washes are used to add accents to the various grooves and channels on each figure' s parts and in the case of my'' standard'' pheyden and'' aves'' exellis, the eyes are also painted. the chunkiness of the physical design is translated to the colour - schemes, with the founders using a two - colour motif. grab a few for yourself and you can start creating your own colour combos, too .
so that’s sort of my abbreviated time in the industry. i’ve always been on the outskirts. we created onell because we wanted to create toys without vetting anything out. we’ve had two offers for the company. as you go you learn that a lot of the things that people say and do are bullshit, because they just want your ip. you have to try to become familiar with the legalese of things .
urltoken is best not viewed in apple' s safari browser, we don' t know why. all material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. all materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. urltoken is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. photos taken by the urltoken staff. site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. be cool - - don' t steal. we know where you live and we' ll break your friggin' legs .
my specific thing is i do character design and sculpt final work. ron can make you a perfectly symmetrical body to carve into. and he’s a master mold maker, he’ll create a silicon mold, take a master and make a mold, and i’ll go in and i’ll run urethane parts. anything i’ve ever done he’s helped me with or had a hand in, and i wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without him. he’s a family member to me. so i was sort of taught by one of the old masters .
the glyos universe is set on various alien worlds and populated by robots, aliens, and humanoid characters with names like pheyden, buildman, phaseon, gobon, and crayboth. more of the backstory can be uncovered on the onell designs’ website in the form of some impressive comics and a series of games that reveal ongoing story details. the basic figures are around 2 3 / 4″ tall, and are made up of a dozen or more interchangeable parts, allowing for extreme customization .
we' re wrapping up glyos 101 with another look at onell' s massive toy selection, this time focusing on the robotic, from the buildman to syclodoc, and finishing up with the mighty rig. get your own toys at urltoken for everything i do, including exclusive videos, podcasts, and reviews: check the website: urltoken like the facebook fanpage: urltoken follow me on twitter: urltoken theme: takeover of the 8 - bit synths background: revival songs performed by kevin macleod, licensed under creative commons 3. 0 urltoken
speaking of upcoming releases, our next one (late may) focuses on a pretty specific and somewhat obscure homage that some of you may be familiar with from when you were kids. it' s a little outside the more popular 80' s toylines, but does have some significant meaning behind the scenes over here, particularly in regard to the dsg design. i consider this coming wave a temporally displaced birthday gift to my much younger and less gray counterpart, playing under the bed somewhere in a permanent 1984. be prepared for extra weirdness with this one, and of course, expect a couple surprises .
i ended up leaving college, farting around painting houses for a year, making money to buy toys–not books, just toys–and then i ended up taking a job in california at an upstart animation company called metropolis digital. i went out there and started doing design work for them, sleeping on a couch at a buddy’s place–no money, living out of my car. this was in 1997 / 1998. then i found out [ metropolis ] had this thirteen - story building that had a floor they had shut down. it had all this crazy wax masters and clay stuff that they were doing points on, to do digital work. there was all this sculpting equipment, too .
i started onell with michelle–the name is derived from a nickname for her. we wanted to do comics together. she drew as a kid, and she started drawing again and came up with this character named sidrick, and this concept called monsters vs. robots (when monsters vs. aliens came out her jaw hit the floor, it bummed her out). but monsters vs. robots was a story that sidrick read in his comic–so, a comic within a comic–that took place within glyos. when we decided to make a toy, we didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of money, but we had enough saved, and then eventually did some small urethane figures. i would go to the conventions and sell them. this was in 2003 - 2004. i started doing these little books and sold them as well as the urethane figures at the conventions, and it just slowly gained momentum .
what' s the difference between a regular toy line and a mini line? well, other than the obvious answer - the height - you can buy a whole bunch of these for the price of one regular vinyl figure. so, here are our top five picks for the best mini line featuring figures under 4
in height .
out of all of the cosbaby series that were released this past year, the avp was our favorite. the predator figures include a number of accessories, which doesn' t happen often in mini lines .
the 3rd series of gus fink' s boogily heads brought their strongest assortment of characters to date. a pumpkin head and a robot? gotta love' em !
this line of 9 figures with various sculpts was one of the under the radar releases on the past year. it' s a strong lineup of fun, different characters .
the original treeson was one of the most popular - and raved about - vinyl figures of 2006. this past year saw crazy label release 4 new mini characters in 4 different colors. one of the cutest lines of' 08 .
this site uses akismet to reduce spam. learn how your comment data is processed .
for addicting my 8 year old son to a game about house renovations and flipping. i nee… urltoken
with this mashup, i’ve combined one good movie with one awful movie. robocop and paul blart: mall cop = paul blart: … urltoken
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1. 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
i' ve only met the guys from rocket north a few times, but they are really great guys. boris and fridge put out some great work that can be seen at the home of their comic, banimon .
i can' t wait until these see production. keep an eye on the progress at urltoken
destroy all podcasts dx episode 410 - the super mario bros. super show! slime busters & the legend of zelda: the ringer
collectiondx is your source for reviews, news and collections of the latest japanese toys, american toys, robots, designer toys and action figures. add your collection today !
collectiondx, collectiondx logo and site contents are ™ and ©2018 urltoken collectiondx is a registered trademark of joshua bernard images of collections are ©2018 by their respective owners and cannot be used without permission. use of this page constitutes agreement with our terms of service privacy policy
2010 has been a banner year for toys. thanks to games, movies, comics, and all - around nostalgia; toy companies have given their all to release fantastic pieces of plastic greatness. we, here at mtv geek, have compiled a list of 10 toys that truly outshone their competition this year .
mattel’s dc universe classics line of figures is known for a number of reasons. one of those is the collect & connect figures. these are split up throughout a wave, so if you were to buy them all then it’s like you get another over - sized figure for free! this year saw the release of possibly the most important c & c figure to date: darkseid. the ruler of apokolips, and would - be destroyer of the universe, has been sculpted by the famous four horsemen in a classic look straight out of jack kirby’s new gods comics. having darkseid be a larger c & c figure made sense, but also forced people to buy the entire wave of figures to complete the important dc comics villain. thankfully, he was definitely worth it .
square enix is known for their figures based on their own videogame properties. their final fantasy and kingdom hearts figures are all beautifully done and highly articulated. however, it took them stepping outside their own sandbox to make it on this year’s list. snake, a. k. a. big boss, a. k. a. naked snake (filthiest codename ever) is the star of konami’s metal gear franchise… in a roundabout way. while most fans think of solid snake; big boss is the original covert badass from which solid, liquid, solidus, and all the other oddly named soldiers were cloned. this play arts figure is sculpted, painted, and articulated in such a way that you can pose him to look exactly as he does in the games. this figure comes from metal gear solid: peacewalker on the psp and is packaged with extra hands, guns, and a sweet riot shield. hell, the only thing missing is his cigar; but, this is america and we frown on our toys smoking. well, the organization in charge of such things frowns upon it anyway .
when merchandizing began for the iron man ii film, hasbro flooded the shelves with their line of 3 3 / 4” action figures. 3 series of figures were introduced: the movie, concept, and comic series; and, out of literally dozens of iron man figures, the comic series war wachine set the standard. he’s extremely comic - accurate while still fitting in with the rest of the line’s figures. his shoulder - mounted armament is able to pivot on his back from “stored” to “ready” positions, and even come with detachable blast effects! rhodes may play second fiddle to tony when it comes to getting the women and being an avenger; but, this figure is anything but second best! well, technically its 7th best in this instance, but nevermind all that .
“a toy story figure? ! ” yeah, we know that’s what you’re exclaiming loudly, while reading this at your cubicle. well, get the hell over it already! this toy is pants - wettingly exciting, and it’s based on a disney property! insanity rules this day! ... and the number 6 spot on our list. woody is notable for a number of reasons. first, his sculpting is spot - on with the pixar / disney toy story movies. next, his articulation is not only plentiful, but is also made up of the revoltech joint. lastly, his accessories. he comes with tons of stuff, including the binoculars. it’s like getting another action figure as a bonus! the big thing that sets woody up on this list is his face. actually, make that faces. yep, our pal woody comes with two faces and what makes them so damn great is the moveable eyeballs. you read that right, moveable eyes! he is the first figure of his size to allow for such a wide range of expressions thanks to those rotating peepers. don’t believe us? just google image search the toy in order to see all kinds of ghastly horrors! we warn you: you won’t be able to un - see it .
updates of classic properties are all the rage right now; and while g. i. joe never really goes out of style, there are still plenty of new versions of old favorites. geez, how many snake - eyes figures have there been in the last 25 years? ! everybody loves that silent killing machine! however, we’re not here to talk about him or any of his joe compatriots. nope, we’re at the number 5 spot and it has been conquered by the evil forces of cobra! the h. i. s. s. (high speed sentry) tank is probably the single best known vehicle of cobra. week in and week out, cobra commander would end up trolling around in one of these, although; usually while fleeing from battle like a friggin’ coward. this new version makes the list not only because it conjures images of our beloved h. i. s. s. of old; but, because it also has all the modern and realistic styling you expect from today’s toys. we imagine something like this is in development right now by some government contractor looking to add a little badassery to the battlefield. if we were on the joe team, we’d be confiscating these things left and right !
trap - jaw makes his name as one of the best toys of 2010, by leaving all of his masters of the universe classics in the dust. while mattel’s online - exclusive line is always a fan favorite, none of the other insanely - muscled barbarians and evil sorcerers can hold a candle to this piecemeal monstrocity! trap - jaw is a mercenary / barbarian / space - pirate that tried to revolt against skeletor cause he wanted to be the # 1 ass - kicker in eternia; but, was literally torn apart by ol’ boneface’s fury. thanks to the fine sculpting skills of the four horsemen, trap - jaw’s figure can be set up to look as he did pre or post beating. that’s right, you get enough parts in the package to create 2 different versions of the character! kronis has the snarling visage and regular arm, while trap - jaw bulbous eyes and raggedy face match his cybernetic arm. tons of attachments for that arm are included as well and can be stored handily on his belt when not being used to filet he - man. the sculpting, paint, articulation, and accessories all add up to one of the best action figures we’ve ever had the pleasure of owning .
the devourer of worlds! yes, galactus has once again made his way into the toy aisles, and this time there’s no denying him one of the highest places on our countdown. in 2005, toy biz released their 16 inch galactus as a build - a - figure in their marvel legends line. until now, the toy biz galactus was definitely the best (out of very few) rendition of galactus to ever be released. what were the odds that only 5 years later we would be able to purchase an even larger version of the ancient s. o. b. ? this new galactus comes to us from hasbro’s marvel universe line of 3 3 / 4” figures, and is far more intimidating than any previous incarnation. he towers over the other m. u. figures at a whopping 19” and features lights and sound. he’s fully articulated for hero - stomping action and is packaged with his chrome - colored herald, the silver surfer. first released at the 2010 sdcc in a giant blister pack with art by joe quesada; galactus can now be found on the shelf in a window box, sporting an illustration by mike deodato jr .
there were a lot of high - end toys that could have made the list; but, the general high prices, plus limited availability left them off. honorable mentions go to pretty much everything hot toys or 3a toys have / are / will produce, seeing as how they are all amazing. if you have the cash to blow, and are a serious collector, you can’t go wrong with their collectibles .
© 2018 viacom international inc. all rights reserved. mtv and all related titles and logos are trademarks of viacom international inc .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1. 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
head over to the blog for the most up to date happenings in the world of glyos .
browse the store to find the newest items, and the buildstation for past releases .
submit your own photos, artwork, and glyos related content to the glyoverse .
each figure is made of super durable, full color injection molded pvc plastic. parts are completely interchangeable with all glyos system series figures .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1. 0 strict / / en
urltoken
but before that, make sure to check out the toyfinity store later tonight at 7pm edt, as john will publicly debut an all new toyfinity character with some very interesting connections to what we have cooking for wave 74 ...
grab all 10 characters from the safari and marine sets in one limited edition 10 - pack .
thank you for a surprisingly strong turnout for a really weird release! we weren' t sure what to expect with this wave, as the subject matter was so specific and connected directly to a very obscure property. thanks to you, though, things turned out pretty good, and apparently, you guys really like phanost in green (ha !). it was a true dream to work on this tribute, and i' m extra thankful that you allowed it to meet with some success .
speaking of this wave, one of the major elements that kept rolling around in my head from the beginning was the desire to see an
updated
catalog - type set of illustrations that pulled right from the original source material. of course ,
was the artist that could make that wish come true. the above illustrations bring it all together, and ralph' s hyper mutant abilities (mutorius ?) once again delivered the goods above and beyond, right down to the classic font style! ralph, you 1000% nailed it! thank you for pushing the concept to where it needed to go !
on another note, we were super psyched to be able to release the all new kots crossover rift killer in this assortment. rising from a truly collaborative effort between
and myself, the rift killer, like so many secret projects, had been in the works for a spell. finally seeing this crazy figure go into full production has been a blast. the rk truly has some wild dna !
crew for their dedication and inspiration. we' ll get a little more into the rift killer in an upcoming post .
all orders placed since the release last week have been processed and shipped, save for the ones that came in earlier today. as always, the mega team of michelle and
never missed a beat and made quick time moving through the orders. we went into the archive for packing tunes and pulled out some taking back sunday and saosin for the barn soundtrack. pj and i both practically lost our voices singing (screaming) along .
our next release is set for early july, and will stand as our 11th year anniversary and wave 74. some fun plans have come together for this one, and we' ll be revisiting a few old friends and meeting a new one as well. hopefully it will hit the right notes. we' ll also be wrapping up the ap mystery series soon, although there are a couple
honorary
space vintage ap figure selections that we' ve debated continuing the sub - set with. it will be hard to say goodbye to those homages !
i think i' ve kept it relatively short this time (right), in comparison to the usual scroll - a - thon that escapes my swiss cheese brain. thanks again for all the continued interest in not just what we do over here, but also in what the super talented glyos makers do across the spectrum. it' s the variety of projects that keeps things exciting, and being able to see new figures come to life never gets old. this only works because we' re all in it together .
open a dimension gate to the past, next tuesday, may 29th at 9: 30pm edt .
thank you for exploring the
slightly pink
villser ullmoriun biovessel with us over the last week! we really appreciate all the steady communication that has been popping up in those comments as well. it always feels good to talk with you guys, and even after all these years we' re still gaining new insight into our community on a regular basis. marking our 72nd wave is only possible because of your true interest in this stuff, and we' ll keep on creating within this world as long as we have the ability to do so .
beyond the return of the buildstation, this recent wave wraps up our small trio of
real type
releases as we head towards the warmer months. it' s a blast endlessly exploring the oddball hues of real type color theory, so revisiting the genre later this year is a definite. in the meantime, we' ll continue to nose around the biovessel with some special posts popping up over the next week .
almost every order placed up until late last night has headed to the post. as usual, michelle and
were the dual forces responsible for keeping things on track. little dragon and a dash of fleetwood mac scored the barn mayhem for the week. quick note for those of you that may have received two different tracking numbers; please disregard the first one you received and just follow the second one that was issued. we had an old school paypal hiccup and had to re - enter the shipping on a few orders .
i said i' d keep it short and i almost got there! thanks once again for being part of glyos and for all the awesome creative inspiration that you continue to share not only with us, but most importantly, with each other .
. we will lift all limits after the first hour. thanks for your cooperation. have fun !
long thought lost on a now forgotten mission, the enigmatic commander mraedis and his mraedis agents unexpectedly emerge from the zorennor rift, possessing critical intelligence regarding the new villser threat .
know friend from foe this sunday, april 15th at 9: 30pm edt .
we' ve detected that javascript is disabled in your browser. would you like to proceed to legacy twitter ?
you can add location information to your tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third - party applications. you always have the option to delete your tweet location history. learn more
here' s the url for this tweet. copy it to easily share with friends .
by embedding twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the twitter developer agreement and developer policy .
not on twitter? sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen .
this timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you .
hover over the profile pic and click the following button to unfollow any account .
when you see a tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love .
the fastest way to share someone else’s tweet with your followers is with a retweet. tap the icon to send it instantly .
add your thoughts about any tweet with a reply. find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in .
can' t find a community you love? create your own and start something epic .
during the interview, matt showed me his extensive collection of vintage toys as well as giving me a sneak preview of an upcoming vinyl piece, as well as a mold master of an outer space man. on a more personal note, mr. doughty is a very friendly, laid - back host who absolutely loves toys–playing with them, talking about them, and most of all, making them .
note: matt asked me to explain that the grizzly adams beard seen in the photos is due to intense preparation for the latest glyos release. –pg
my favorite lines were the fisher price adventure people, star wars…micronauts was an obvious one. and then in the 1980s i loved g. i. joe, all the major lines that we all loved. they’re part of me as an artist: masters of the universe, star wars, joe, transformers. strangely, i wasn’t huge into transformers until the 1990s. i had been exposed to the japanese stuff when i was very young, so i actually thought it was a ripoff when i first saw it. i remember seeing a seaspray when i was a kid and being mad, because it seemed like they had lost the soul. in retrospect it’s ridiculous .
i had a japanese neighbor growing up, so they would go to japan three times a year and come back with stuff, and my mother would let us go down there and play. i was exposed to [ super ] sentai in 1980, i was playing with the power rangers [ in the 1980s ] before the power rangers were here. so i had a weird pedigree in exposure to foreign toys, as well as domestic, from a really young age .
i always liked making stuff since i was little. i graduated from college with an illustration degree. i had about two years off when i didn’t really collect much, and then i got insanely into collecting–joes at the time, and some old vintage stuff. i happened to have a roommate who was an avid collector, which was kind of rare at the time–this was in ’92–and i just started collecting stuff and going to toys r us. i had always played with toys, even carried them through high school, always had some in my pocket, even during that time when you tend to hide it from your peers .
and that was when i really discovered plumber’s compound. which sounds completely boring, but as a child i was searching for something i could sculpt onto wire armatures that would dry instantly and not crumble to pieces. i never found a clay that could do it, so i always used medical tape, tinfoil, q - tips, whatever. when i discovered the plumber’s compound, a whole new world opened up, because i could sculpt quick and fast–i’m a reductive sculptor, i’d make a shape and then cut all the way into it, versus sort of layering and straight - up sculpting with a hot blade. so while i was in california, i started sculpting a ton .
and then i decided to come home for christmas and i hooked up with michelle. we had known each other growing up. and then i got offered a promotion at digital, but i turned it down and went to washington, d. c. with michelle. we both lived there for a bit. at the time [ 1999 ], everyone thought the world was going to end. her family had run a business selling generators, and their business quadrupled. so we said we’d come back and help out a little bit .
but the entire time i still drew, i still sculpted at night, and i came to the realization that i wanted to make a toy. i was already sculpting little guys. one thing led to another and i ended up meeting this ex - prototyper for hasbro named ron daley. i had come in with this small figure–smaller than what we do now–and i showed it to him. we had a connection, and he helped me figure out how to do stuff. he showed me mold - making. he was my yoda. he was like a master who took in a bonehead who had a little bit of ability .
and on a side note, pheyden was our first toy. that was made for michelle for christmas, and it was based on one of her characters, a mechanical ghost of her character noboto from monsters vs. robots. but it was also a character i’d made up when i was nine…i’ve had this long - running story since i was a kid. i tried to blend them .
so i made it for her and she liked it, and then i brought it to a convention and the reaction, strangely, was very strong for that particular aesthetic. i had other figures, but he was the one that resonated. so we made urethanes of them, sold them out pretty quick at a show–there was no online sales at the time. we decided we were going to make pheyden the first toy .
at the time i had also started to work with ron on prototypes. he would get a lot of jobs and i would work with him on stuff, for mattel or hasbro–it was never figures, it was always like accessories stuff or playset parts, nothing like the horsemen get to do. but it was fun, because i was working on an optimus prime mask, or an avatar arm gauntlet or these weird chess pieces. i r0lled the dice and went full - time working with ron. as i was sourcing that pheyden figure i met the beantown guys, and ron and i ended up sculpting all their figures .
it’s just a few of us here–it’s me, it’s marc beaudette, and jesse [ moore, of urltoken ], he’s a brother to me, and so is marc. and there’s ron, who i do all the prototyping with. and then michelle–when she’s not raising our two children, she does all bookkeeping and the billing and everything .
wow, no mention of shockinis and how we spoke at the shows when you started matt = /. still great interview though and great stuff. i am looking forward to the 4h line that you teamed up on .
man… great interview, poe! you gotta love matt and all he does. he' s one of the most humble guys i have ever dealt with, and he' s as generous as he is kind. you can tell everything he does is about love: love for his wife, his family, his friends, his customers, and his toys. he' s classy beyond words– a lot of toy makers could learn a lesson from him .
matt is one of those guys, i' m just thrilled to know. i can email matt and know i' m going to get a response and best wishes. he loves the people who show interest in his stuff, even if some of us haven' t bought in years .
good stuff. very interesting path, & so far, very informative. can' t wait for part two .
i had no idea, prior to the outer spacemen announcement, what the glyos system was, but i' ll definitely be on the supportive side now. plus, dude has a photon figure on his shelf… you just have to appreciate that .
matt, your passion and perseverence in this industry are commendable. more than anything, i' m just glad to see someone doing their own original thing, as opposed to just releasing essentially the same toys over and over .
but beyond that…holy crap, that collection of yours is amazing. i can' t make out everything, but kudos to you for owning vintage examples of twincast and soundblaster as well as a few laser beasts !
great part 1. ghost target over at points of articulation (scroll down for a picture) has been into these for a while. very cool stuff! i am looking forward to tomorrow' s part 2 .
man… he is easily one of the most awesome people i' ve ever met. just watching him at a show, handing his toys, for free, to little kids who showed interest… its amazing .
that was a great interview, and i can' t wait to read part 2. if you get a chance to do another interview with matt, can you see if he' d give more info on the human soldier ?
matt is a gent and an amazing human being i' m so glad i took the plunge and ordered my glyos just over a year ago it opened me up to not only great figures but a great community of people and all because of matt' s great generosity and the fantastic example he sets. i salute you sir !
poe ghostal received his first toy, a mighty mouse figure, at age three. thus began a lifelong interest (some might say obsession) with toys. a child of the 1980s, he grew up on star wars, he - man & transformers toys, as well as more obscure lines such as power lords, robo force, and manglors .
poe has written about toys for urltoken and toyfare magazine. he was a founder of urltoken and has been a guest reviewer for michael crawford ’s popular review site .
the glyos system is a range of 2. 75 inch figures available exclusively online from their designers / creators / producers ,
today i' m going to be looking at the reissued figures from that first wave of toys, the founder series .
at just under 3'' tall, each figure comes in 13 pieces with 12 points of articulation (neck, 2 x shoulders, 2 x wrists, waist, 2 x hips, 2 x knees and 2 x feet) and is built on the glyos joint system, a standard of pop - in / pop - out pieces that allows parts to be interchanged with other glyos, plus other figures including the beantown beanbots and the outer space men from four horsemen. the idea is to combine these parts to create new figures, and even vehicles .
it' s an intriguing system and one that' s certainly a lot of fun to play with. yes, that' s right - i said'' play with.'' unlike most other collectable figures, glyos toys are pleasingly chunky and robust, being more than capable of withstanding a good solid play session and more .
and although it may seem a minor point, it' s nice to have a box that can simply be opened and resealed without damaging it .
'' hailing from the fabled edge of space in the mysterious glyos system, space traveler pheyden journeys through endless dimensions securing the order of the infinite universe and patching holes in the fabric of time.''
despite his skull - like face, pheyden is the'' core hero'' of the glyos range and - to me - seems to be a nod / analog to the micronauts' time traveler .
'' rebelling against his tyrannical creators in the glyos system, prototype sincroid exellis battles for the freedom of his mechanical brethren as leader of the lost sincroid revolution .
the sincroids are - from what i can gather - a range of cyborgs / androids of which exellis is one such being. exellis models (given all the colour variants, i assume it' s a line of sincroids rather than an individual) appear to have some form of programming defect that has led them to rebel against their creators. that' s my take on it, anyway!
onell design is an independent toy company and artist collective . they produce the glyos system series featuring the characters pheyden , exellis , crayboth , argen , gobon , armodoc , armorvor , noboto , buildman , skeleden , and various others . the toys are made of interchangeable parts , and hearken back to the durable , small-scale action figures of the 1980s , such as adventure people . the figures can be described as a cross between an action figure and lego . onell design toy figures are primarily sold directly by the manufacturer , although on occasion a release may be made available where a specially decorated figure is available elsewhere . 
onell design is an independent toy company and artist collective. they produce the glyos system series featuring the characters pheyden, exellis, crayboth, argen, gobon, armodoc, armorvor, noboto, buildman, skeleden, and various others. the toys are made of interchangeable parts, and hearken back to the durable, small-scale action figures of the 1980s, such as adventure people. the figures can be described as a cross between an action figure and lego. onell design toy figures are primarily sold directly by the manufacturer, although on occasion a release may be made available where a specially decorated figure is available elsewhere.
onell design is an independent toy company and artist collective. they produce the glyos system series featuring the characters pheyden, exellis, crayboth, argen, gobon, armodoc, armorvor, noboto, buildman, skeleden, and various others. the toys are made of interchangeable parts, and hearken back to the durable, small-scale action figures of the 1980s, such as adventure people. the figures can be described as a cross between an action figure and lego. onell design toy figures are primarily sold directly by the manufacturer, although on occasion a release may be made available where a specially decorated figure is available elsewhere.