ItsAllTrue.Net: For current collectors that are interested, but not familiar with the property, what is Skeleton Warriors about? What about the property interested you in bringing it back for current collectors?

October Toys: Skeleton Warriors was a property developed for kids in the mid-1990’s by Gary Goddard (also known for creating Captain Power and directing the He-Man movie). The story dealt with the classic struggle between good and evil as illustrated by the fight for power between Prince Lightstar of the Legion of Light and Baron Dark of the Skeleton Warriors. The brand spawned a 13 episode cartoon series on CBS, tons of merchandise, and an amazing series of action figures from Playmates.

We were raised on Harryhausen’s incredible silver screen skeletons and goofy classic cartoons like Disney’s The Skeleton Dance, so as action figure fans and monster aficionados, we were naturally drawn to this toy line. The Playmates Skeleton Warriors had incredible paint washes and vac metal details, but lacked good articulation and could not break apart like their cartoon counterparts. We jumped at the opportunity to resurrect this line with redesigned, updated figures taking advantage of our current manufacturing capabilities and incorporating the interchangeable Glyos System to create highly articulated, detailed versions of the Skeleton Warriors cast of characters (including many that have never been produced before!).

IAT: How has your past experience with lines like OMFG! and Z.O.M.B.I.E. prepared you for this project? What challenges have you faced moving to a larger, more intricate product?

OT: On the technical side of things, we have over a decade of experience prototyping and manufacturing all sorts of toys including action figures, mini figures, statues, plush, etc., so we were confident that we could create a high quality product.

Our main challenge with this line is exposure and spreading the word to interested outlets. Although this is an officially licensed product, it is a 20 year old brand with a scattered fan base that we are attempting to reunite and grow with this new line of collectible figures. That is partly why we chose to use Kickstarter for this project. Having run four successful Kickstarter campaigns with our OMFG line, we thought it would be a great platform to get the action figure community involved in resurrecting the Skeleton Warriors brand.

IAT: You’ve also collaborated with Onell Design’s Matt Doughty. What influences has he had on the project? And, in addition, what can you tell us about the crossover character, Skeleden?

OT: Matt Doughty is an insanely talented designer who has helped us bring this project to the next level by utilizing the Glyos System he developed within the Skeleton Warriors character designs. In the cartoon, the Skeleton Warriors would break apart into a pile of bones when attacked and then build themselves back up which made them very menacing enemies for the Legion of Light. Thanks to the interchangeable Glyos System, not only do these new figures boast an awesome 26 points of articulation, but we can finally break our skeletons apart and rebuild them – just like in the cartoon!

Of course incorporating the Glyos System also means that collectors will be able to use parts of their Skeleton Warriors with other Glyos lines such as Power Lords from The Four Horsemen as well as the classic Glyos figures like Pheyden and Exellis from Onell Design.

Speaking of Onell Design, we were also honored to work with Matt to create an official character for the Glyos universe – Skeleden! He is part Pheyden, part skeleton and features some seriously awesome bone armor sculpted by both Matt Doughty and George Gaspar. Skeleden also comes with an incredible new axe which is the first melee weapon for Pheyden. A special first edition is available exclusively through our Skeleton Warriors Kickstarter campaign and fans should keep an eye on the Onell Design blog (OnellDesign.com) for Traveler Skeleden’s backstory!

IAT: There’s been a lot of discussion focusing on the scale of Baron Dark, with him clocking in at 5”. Would you mind talking one more time about how the line is a 1:18 line with 3 ¾” figures and why Baron Dark is coming out a little bigger for our readers?

OT: This is designed to be a 1/18th scale line of highly articulated PVC action figures. That means that a regular human size figure will be around 4″ tall. Sticking to the established scale for these characters, that means Prince Lightstar will be approximately 3 3/4″ tall and Guardian approximately 4″ tall.

Baron Dark, however, is a monster and towers over the humans in the Skeleton Warriors universe, so he clocks in at a massive 5″ tall. We chose to start with him because he is the most iconic of the Skeleton Warriors characters.

IAT: What are some of the figures collectors could look forward to after Baron Dark & the Titan Skeleton are fully funded, both through unlocking stretch goals and down the road? Which characters are you most looking forward to producing in your new line?

OT: All of them! We look forward to continuing this line as long as possible with characters like Aracula (a skeleton with six arms) and Dr. Cyborn (part machine, part skeleton) and we definitely want to get into the Legion of Light with Grimskull (half human, half skeleton) and Talyn (who was never produced as an action figure). We also have the chance to finally make the long anticipated Bone Dragon as well as pets, vehicles, and play sets if there is enough interest.

IAT: What else would like to let our readers know about your Skeleton Warriors line?

OT: Baron Dark is the just the first in what we hope to be a long line of new Skeleton Warriors action figures! We have an incredible cast of characters, both skeleton and human, that we look forward to creating for fans and collectors. We sincerely appreciate all of the support we have received and want to thank everyone who has pledged on Kickstarter, shared the link on social media, and helped spread the word that Skeleton Warriors are back and still bad to the bone!

Continue to Kickstarter!