Interview > Sculptor Jean St. Jean

August 1, 2012 | Poe

Even if you’re only a casual action figure collector, chances are you’ve heard of Jean St. Jean – and you’ve almost certainly seen (and probably own) his work. His career has spanned many companies and toy lines, among them Diamond Select’s Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, The Munsters and Universal Monsters, and Marvel Select toy lines; Mezco’s mega-scale Thundercats figures; and DC Collectible’s World of Warcraft. He’s also an all-around cool guy. –PG

Jean St. Jean

Real Name: Jean St. Jean
Specialty: Sculptor / Musician
Base of Operations: Northern New Jersey
Website: http://blackplague1348.deviantart.com/
History: Jean St. Jean is a musician turned sculptor, who began his career in a small upstate NY toy sculpting studio doing mostly preschool toys and dolls. Five years later he joined McFarlane where he spent almost 7 years helping them develop their hyper realistic style, the last 4 years as Sculpting Supervisor. In 2004, he left McFarlane to start his own company, Jean St. Jean Studios offering sculpting, painting and prototyping services working on such licenses as Diamonds Select’s Stargate SG-1, SG Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica lines, Mezco’s Cinema of Fear, DC Direct’s World of Warcraft and Ame-Comi and Amoktime’s Killer Klowns and Day of the Dead lines. His current projects have been the Lion-o and Mumm-Ra for Mezco’s Mega scale Thundercats line, the Munsters 7″ Select line and various Universal monsters for DST including the Metaluna Mutant and Phantom of the Opera as well as contributions to the Marvel Select figure series. He has sculpted more than 30 mini-busts for DC Direct including Heroes of the DCU, Blackest Night and various movie properties.

Poe Ghostal: The new Marvel Select Venom looks fantastic. What was the process for sculpting this figure? What was your inspiration for the sculpt, and how do you approach Marvel Select sculpting in general? For example, do you tend to skew toward the work of a particular artist, or do you try to create a blend of elements, or come up with your own design?

Jean St. Jean: As with all of my DST projects they usually evolve out of extended conversations with Chuck Terceira (DSTChuck on his Art Asylum blog). In the case of Venom, he’s been requested for so long we wanted to do something special and get slightly outside of the usual MS formula and create a Venom with multiple custom options rather than one version with a base. As with all of the Select projects I’ve done, I picked up a bunch of the collected story lines and graphic novels and re- familiarized my self with his history to find what I thought were the coolest incarnations of the Eddie Brock Venom. First of I wanted a totally badass terrifying Venom with tons of teeth and a nasty tongue and a transforming Eddie Brock. So the “Lethal Protector ” storyline inspired me for those two heads and a huge pair of nasty claws. Then there’s been a lot of requests for the crazy multi-armed multi-headed version from the “Madness” story line, and I came up with a pretty interesting way to create that Venom. Last but not least I wanted to do an old school Todd McFarlane Venom with a big grin! The trick was all these permutations had to work on the same body; all the heads are interchangeable and there are multiple hand options.

In terms of Marvel Select in general I try to find the best elements of the character, such as the Marvel Select comic version Hawkeye (Disney exclusive DST Avengers), Nightcrawler, or Anti-Venom. Diamond expects me to bring my interpretation and vibe to the Marvel line, so I essentially get to do exactly what think should be done with the sculpt and paint work. They are the one company that actually utilizes me as an art director/ project manager and sculptor, so I particularly value my years of collaboration with them. (more…)

Joe Amaro Brings The Manta Raider to Power-Con

July 31, 2012 | Poe

You may recall Joe Amaro teaming up with vintage He-Man packaging artist Rudy Obrero to create a MOTU-themed vehicle called the Manta Raider. Well, Joe’s got some good news for those who wished they could get their own:

At the He-Man.org Power Party I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to Rudy Obrero face to face.

At the party Rudy told me that he wants to make the Manta Raider available to the fans!!! I need to figure out the logistics and price but it will be a very very limited run, definitely under 100. We talked about having it in some type of packaging so we can use Rudy’s awesome painting!

The plan right now is to have it ready for Power Con in September. Rudy will have a table there with some prints for sale. Best of all you can have all the items signed by Rudy!

Note: This is just a fan project and not associated, licensed or in any way affiliated with Mattel or Masters of the Universe.

Sightings > R.C. Short Circuit #5 Robot

July 31, 2012 | Poe

Though never produced, Matchbox showed off a remote control Johnny Five from the film Short Circuit in their 1988 catalog.

The fact that there have never been any Short Circuit action figures makes me sad (aside from some unlicensed, high-cost pieces a few years back). If NECA can give us a Claptrap from Borderlands, why not a Johnny Five? NECA seems like the perfect company to do it – they’ve already shown a penchant for producing toys based on 1980s sci-fi properties (Gremlins, E.T., Predator, Aliens), and they’re willing to produce lines that only have a handful of figures in them (Evil Dead II, half of the Player Select licenses, etc.).

Pic via ParryGamePreserve.

Toy Aisle Trolls > Leechhead

July 31, 2012 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe@poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: T16SkyHopp

Found this at my local TRU. The troll swapped out the red ninja and replaced it with an old Beachhead. I know that it seems like everyone is a ninja, but this is taking it a bit far. Correct one is on top, swapped is the bottom.

Sightings > S.H.MonsterArts Burning Godzilla

July 30, 2012 | Poe

S.H.MonsterArts Burning Godzilla
Due 11/12 for 7,140 yen (U.S. price to be determined)

This figure, based on the Big G’s appearance in Godzilla vs. Destroyah, features an entirely a mostly brand-new sculpt and translucent orange parts (corrected because a few small parts like the claws may be re-used).

 

Interview > Diamond Select’s Zach Oat on Battle Beasts

July 30, 2012 | Poe

One of the most talked-about toy lines of this year is Diamond Select’s Battle Beasts. There’s been a lot of speculation about this line, how it came to be and where it’s going, but the buzz is growing: a new comic book from IDW based on the property is already in stores.

I got in touch with Zach Oat, Marketing Supervisor at Diamond Select Toys, to find out more about what the future holds for Battle Beasts.

1.) Let’s start with the obvious: what led Diamond Select to pick up the Battle Beasts trademark, and were you concerned about the fact that you would not have the rights to the original toy designs?

We were brainstorming new concepts for toy lines, and we started thinking about similar toy lines that had experienced success in the past. Battle Beasts came up, so we did a little research and saw that the trademark was actually available. It’s such a great name, and it went well with our Minimates mini-figures, so we acquired it. The name was what we thought had the most value; we already had a lot of ideas for what we could do with the fighting animals concept, and the original toy line was known more for its gimmicks than for its characters and storylines, so we weren’t too worried about not having the rights to them. (more…)