KOZIK-SMASH THE STATE BLACK 10-DOH!

I first talked to Frank Kozik about doing a new version of his Smash the State 10-Doh! figure last November at Dcon. This image shows how it changed over time. The middle image is the one I showed him for approval.

We agreed to do 50 figures total. It doesn't sound like a lot, but doing anything 50 times is very tedious. Especially when you have to do 50 different things 50 times. Unpacking and repacking is just one of several things that I didn't take into consideration when planning this project. Little things like that add up quick and take more time than expected.

I never made any large black 10-Doh! figures, so I had to paint all of them. I don't have a paint booth set up yet, so my back porch had to suffice. 

I originally tried doing a 3D printed mask, but you can see the results were fuzzy and problematic. Unfortunately, I still have to pay for that mask. It's all part of the trial and error that goes into each project.

Carlos East of The Beast Brothers was kind enough to help out by creating these masks for me. I picked out all the eyes, X's, and stubble, while he painted them all. He totally saved my butt on this one.

I thought a real pixelated cigarette would be a great accessory to match the label. I did this model in Rhino and I Photoshopped the colors in for the mockup.

 Mana Studios did the output, molding, and castings. I had to trim, mask, and paint all 50 cigarettes.

 I was originally planning on drilling a hole in the body and using the peg on the cigarette to secure it. Carlos recommended that I use magnets. It was great advice, but a lot more work. I ended up drilling all of the cigarettes and bodies, then gluing in the magnets. It wasn't easy, but the results were well worth it.

This shows the mockup next to the 1st finished sample, and I'm really happy with the results.

These debuted at SDCC 2014 and sold pretty well. It's not a cheap figure and hopefully this blog helps explain why. I have some that are signed by Frank, so order soon to get those ones.

http://squidkidsink.bigcartel.com/product/smash-the-state-custom-figure