THANK YOU!

You guys rock!
The order period for Classic Maxx is closed, and I am very pleased with the results.
The best seller was the Ultimate Maxx, followed by the Basic version. A bunch of people picked up blanks for customizing- I can't wait to see what you do with them!
We're hoping to see production samples in November sometime - as soon as I have pics, I will share them.

It's incredibly difficult to have a completely independent toy company in 2014.
Financing is tough. How do you connect with the fanbase that is out there when you can't see the product in person anywhere?
But you, the fans, have made me happy with your support.
YOU make it happen.
 
What's next? That's something I have been thinking about. I'd love to mix it up a bit - who'd like a nice Ultimate Cruel to battle your Robo Force? Is Hun-Dred who you are jonsing for more? Or how about a Volkruia Sentinel? How about a pink Robo Force kit? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Maxx Zero Pre-Orders end Saturday! New Glyos release Sunday over at Onell HQ!

Just a reminder - pre-orders for the Classic Editions of Maxx Zero (Ultimate, Basic, and Unpainted) end tomorrow around 11 pm EST.
The response has been great! I appreciate all of the support so far.
I have checked in with the factory and everything looks great for delivery in December at this time.
I can't wait to get some production samples to show you guys!


Don't forget there is a new Onell Design Glyos System release this Sunday, including this monstrosity:

He'd look great against your Robo Force!

Breaking down Ultimate Maxx, and a clarification to paint apps

 Hello there Toyfinity fans!

Thanks for the orders so far on these three editions!
I'm happy to see that people like the Ultimate Edition so much.
I wanted to give you, the fans, a little insight into the color selections on some of these parts.

 So, we have the above parts.
Classic Maxx has to have black arms - there was no doubt about that.
I had a lot of thoughts about what color the middle part of the arm should be.
The vintage figures were so simplistic in the amount of color they used that there was no clear guideline of where to break the colors from part to part.
I always saw the center arm piece as a darker gray than the main body gray, and when we introduced the highlight gray into the mix, I had a number of conversations with Matt about the color of that center arm piece. As it is now, it will match the other darker gray paint applications throughout the figure; I originally thought it should be an even darker gray than those grays, but after a series of test mechanicals, I don't think it would have looked right.

The shoulders were also an important piece to get right to me. He's more complex than vintage Maxx, where they just picked a half of the shoulder to paint...so our solution was a two-tone blue on the shoulder. What you should imagine when you look at this figure is that any dark blue spot is a plate over the internal workings of Maxx - places that he could be opened up and repaired. The lighter blue spots are where you can see his internal energies bleeding through...illuminated from the inside. This concept ties this Maxx more to his friend ZEM, and give us a really interesting potential future variant figure.

Lastly, I really wanted to paint those Hun-Dred claws. Maxx doesn't use them, but those apps will be neat if you make a Hun-Dred in Maxx colors.

 The only real thing I want to say about the hands is something which might not have been clear from day one. These hands are our version of the classic Maxx's "c-clip" hands. With these paint applications, you can finally see the intention - where the darker grey is, there would be a slot, and the black parts are Maxx's fingers which slide out so he can grip things better.

He can also shoot energy blasts out of the blue part on the outside of his hand. I have always loved that conceptually.

 I had a very specific vision of the inner chest parts.
At his core, Maxx has green energy. A very specific green energy....
Also, when you put on his outer chest, the black apps underneath that core will give him a nice little "belt"-looking section.

Ahh, the heads....
Enemy was easy. Maxx pretty easy.
The chest was the biggest tricky part. The vintage Maxx had the sticker, which made it easy to arrange the colors on a black background. But if we had made Maxx with a non-textured chest, he would have looked pretty crappy.
I must have looked at over twenty different potential chest paint applications before settling on this one. I feel it has the right amount of color (each one a callback to the vintage Maxx chest sticker), and gives Maxx a nice amount of color at his core.
It was also fun to finally be able to color the part on Maxx's back the way I actually see it.


 

The legs were a lot of fun. By the time we had determined the rest of Maxx, it was easy to carry the motifs of color throughout the rest of his body. I wanted to have the right amount of black on his lower half to help callback to the treads and the vintage suction cup.

Ultimate Maxx Zero Mechanicals

And here are the mechanicals for the Ultimate Maxx Zero!
I'll give my thoughts on what you see below later this week - business trip tomorrow and Wednesday!

Basic Version Maxx Zero Mechanicals

 Whenever we make a Toyfinity product, we have to send a series of mechanical drawings over to China to accurate communicate the design of the product to the factory.
Below are the five drawings showing all of the various parts of the Basic Maxx Robo Force kit (leaving out duplicated parts like the other arms) with applicable paint applications.  

The chest was probably the most challenging part of this figure. Replicating the exact look of the sticker was a no-go - that would have required thirty paint apps all by itself!
In the end, it was important to me to have it look relatively simple and colorful. Maxx is not a giant depressed robot maniac. He's a robotic warrior who always tries to do the right thing for the universe.

The Long and Winding Road - of Toyfinity, Classic Maxx Zero, and Choices

Hello there, Toyfinity fans.
Been a while since we had a nice long chat.
2014 is a year where I'd be happy with a do-over. 2013 too, for that matter.
The initial plan was that we'd have Manglors this year, Knight of Darkness would make an appearance, probably a new Mordle or two, and we'd have the classic Maxx and Hun-Dred on our shelves. You know what they say about the "best laid plans..."
The schedule has been transformed by many different events behind the scenes, and most of those projects will not see fruition until 2015. What you will see this year is the first entry in the Classic Robo Force series.

All along, I've had a vision in my head of what my version of Maxx Zero would be. 
Because he existed as a vintage toy, we had a blueprint of sorts to start with - but the figure I was imagining was much more complex in terms of paint. Maxx is my Pheyden, my Mickey Mouse...I imagined his look would evolve in complexity after hundreds of adventures and accomplishments.
The figure would be, at his core, in the classic colors of Maxx, but potentially not what everyone would want as their Maxx.
I didn't want to exclude the fans who love the primal nature of the paint applications and details of the original Ideal Toys version. I also saw an opportunity to provide a product that the customizers of the world have asked me for - a completely blank Robo Force kit in a nice base color that would be easy to paint.
What would be the best way to reconcile these varied approaches to Maxx Zero?

And that is the beauty of being truly independent of corporate interests.
Toy companies since the beginning of time have been hamstrung by production realities - paint masks cost money. Assembly costs money. Paint applications cost money. There is only a certain level of complexity that a figure can have and still hit a retail pricepoint. The majors have an idea that a premium figure has to sell for a 400% mark-up when put into a box with a folding lid.
Toyfinity is not limited in that way. I believe we've been clear with you about why figures cost more as we add paint applications and pieces.
YOU, the fans, can make the decision yourselves - with one minor change to the overall process of how you have bought these figures in the past.

For the first time, Toyfinity is going to offer you the opportunity at three Robo Force kit selections as pre-orders. It's a reality that costs have jumped to create mass-production items, especially at low production runs. Knowing this, I can't place an order for a massively expensive and complicated figure (or figures) without knowing for sure what you, the fans, want. After delivering multiple quality products to you in the past, I believe the time is right for a pre-order.

To create this Maxx, we started with one key thought: the base color of the figure was key to his vintage image. Without the classic "Commodore 64 grey/beige", there was no point in undertaking this project. So we sent the factory a classic Maxx figure to match the plastic as exactly as they can.
Packaging will be the same as previous waves - Maxx will be packed in a baggie. There may potentially be a Robo Force logo sticker on the baggie - still working that out.
From there, we get into the options:


#1 - Maxx Zero Basic Edition.

The ultra-Classic Steele-Forged Hero!
At $18, we have the Basic Maxx Zero. He's a standard 41 piece kit, including all of the pieces that you get with any Robo Force kit. The intention of this figure is to provide a nicely-balanced figure that is a pure update to the vintage Maxx figure, with slightly more color than the vintage on some parts. The full schematics for this figure will be provided later today for your perusal.

#2 - Maxx Zero Unpainted Edition
Exactly what the customizers have asked for! For $12, you get a completely paint-free figure that you can customize in any way you want.

#3 - Maxx Zero Ultimate Edition

The big man himself. For $35, you get a Maxx which will have over ONE HUNDRED PAINT APPLICATIONS and is 100% detail lined!
Again, on Monday, a full set of mechanical drawings will be posted which show where all of the paint applications on this figure will be placed. Over sixty of these applications are brand-new and never before used on a Robo Force kit.  This figure has more paint applications on it than some import figures which sell for double the price!

I look at an Ultimate Edition much like Takara-Tomy looks at Deluxe Transformers - Hasbro has a one-size-fits-all box that they must fit a Deluxe Transformer into (that costs exactly $15). TT will take that deluxe figure and put 3x the paint applications on the figure because they know it will look better - and because they aren't locked into that US retail price on their figures.

I want this to be a showpiece in your collections, as it will be in mine.
As such, THIS EXACT KIT WILL NEVER BE PRODUCED AGAIN.
There may be other Ultimate Editions in the future, but never again this exact Maxx Zero in these exact colors.


So, now that you know the details, let's talk about the Toyfinity pre-order process.
This isn't Matty-style pre-ordering - there is no "sellout" that will magically pop up before the end of the order period. There is no "magical minimum order" that will suddenly be announced as missed and the project canceled. Whatever editions you order during the order period will be produced and delivered to you. There are no limits on any of the editions. Most importantly - no stock is being produced for sale in the Toyfinity store later. If you skip them now, you will NOT be able to purchase them from Toyfinity later.
Pre-orders are live in the store now. The full mechanical drawings for the Basic and Ultimate Editions will be posted later on Monday so you make your decisions.
The pre-order period starts now, and ends at 11 pm EST on 10/25/2014.
Payment is due when the order is placed, and the figures are currently scheduled to be delivered in December. I will keep you updated to any changes or issues that arise during the process.

What else to discuss...I suppose that's everything!
If there are any questions, send me an e-mail at feedback@toyfinity.com
It's a new time for toys. We're in this together, my friends. You have choices as to what Maxx Zero kits you want in your collection, and if it works, in many of our products going forward.
I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to provide you those choices.

PREMIUM

The Original Steele-Forged Hero!

A morsel

A taste of things to come.