Very interesting! I was in steel manufacturing for many years. I have always loved seeing the process of and idea becoming reality. Thank you for this.
Thank you for constantly lifting the curtain of toy production! For anyone loving the art of action figures, this is insanely interesting and it's kinda bonkers why the other companys are so hush about it. I have nothing but respect for the whole process. Must be quite difficult to juggle all these different items in all these different stages all the time. I'd love to know more about the concept and design phase, like how do you come up with the characters in the first place? Do you first have a design (or a role to fill) and come up with a biography later, or is it the other way around? I'm sure it's a mixture of both, but that's the part that just fascinates me and I'm sure you could fill an entire video with stories about that whole process. :)
Definitely don't stop on these kind of videos. Really love to know as much behind the scenes info as you can put together. Maybe a factory tour one of these days? Thanks for all the work.
Honestly I could listen to this stuff days on end Bobby and be captivated, your passion for action figure design really shows through when your talking like this, and its great for us collectors to get some inside knowledge.
This is was great! This felt like a master class and guide. Learning about all the different resins, the amount of samples and communication it takes to get a final product teaches patience. Thank you for making this 🤟
It was very interesting. I can see your passion on the creation process. I love watching your videos. It's cool to hear the individual steps. I didn't know the variant reason either. Keep up the good work. I hope you have a great year in 2025.
I have been in manufacturing most of my adult life, except for the four years I was in an airborne unit in the army. I used to work in a rubber manufacturing facility where we produced EPDM and silicone spark plug boots. I understand the concept of the tooling and then molding process. This is very interesting and how you are highly involved with the suppliers to ensure you are receiving the products to your requirements.
This video was very cool. I knew about some of these steps but didn’t how many test samples they went through prior to production. Thank you so much for walking us through the entire process, it's fascinating!👍
Hey Bobby. Another really awesome video about the BTS of toy developing. Loved hearing the process and timelines you work with on getting a series from concept to in hands. One element in packaging I'd love to hear about in a future episode is how packaging layouts for Action Force were designed...From the "simple" box color schemes and layout to the blister cards. More specifically, it appears you have a pool of artists that you have for work on the line...How do you plan or divvy up the work between them for each wave? Specifically how QB Productions did the art for Series 4 and 5, but you had Florencio Duyar for the Praetorians, and Troy McKie for other series. How you review the art, from an artist's eye, and go through that process. Thanks again Bobby.
This is, by far, the best video yet! I love waking up on Saturdays and thinking, “Let’s see what Valaverse has in store for us today.” The video is really cool, especially since I work in manufacturing. It’s fascinating to see this combination of toy-making and creativity, and I absolutely love Valaverse. I appreciate how transparent Bobby from Valaverse is in this video. He admits he’s not great at designing robots or vehicles but emphasizes the importance of building key partnerships to create amazing toys. It feels like there’s an opportunity to bring in a fantastic vehicle designer in the future. That said, I still love my Muddy Vanguards!
i really enjoyed your sharing! i am creating action figures as a hobby and I've come to appreciate the various disciplines involved in making an action figure. So thank you for sharing and spending time on this. 100% loving it
Informative video. I see a limited edition figure when you get the creative itch to do a paintmaster. Also, yes on the real pic of figure on package, pushing against the norm. 😎
That was an awesome vid Bobby! No other company that does what you do would ever give a personal look into what you do everyday. I love that about you and the fact that you are so hands-on with your product. Can't wait to see you in DFW
Hoho,a very thorough breakdown Bobby.Love watching these videos coz it’s never wrong to educate the masses on toy making.Keep up the good work my dude !!! 😲👌
Fantastic! *Love* this type of stuff! Quick question - when you machine the mold for a new figure, how many molds for that single figure's parts are generally cut? 2? 3? 10? I'd assume common items like barbells or hinges are ganged together, but what about things like a head or torso? If you have 5 "molds" for a given figure, are you ganging all 5 torsoes togther or are you ganging as many parts of a single figure together as a hedge against damage to another mold? ( sorry to nerd out; I'm in engineering software & manufacturing and find this fascinating!).
Follow up question: what happens to the steel molds after the production run? Can they be reused by the factory or does the production run destroy the mold? I ask because I’m wondering if eventually you could take the existing molds and create a budget figure for less. Save on tooling.
These are awesome videos! Thank you for sharing! Videos that also help detail how sculpt, parts, articulation interact and the tradeoffs involved are cool areas to understand. We all have opinions about how a figure should be and seeing the decisions that go into that are interesting.
Very Interesting. I learned alot about variants. The Running Change part shocked me. I didnt know actionfigures could be changed right down to the wire. Great Video!
great video, very informative. When do we get a look at your personal collection? Would really like to see a video of your "toy room" and favorite pieces
This is a hugely informative video. I like the information, the presentation, and the samples from each stage of production. Thanks for putting this together!
I love hearing you talk about toy production. Your mention of variants got me thinking... in the original Kenner Star Wars toy line, there were multiple versions of Han Solo with two distinctly different head sculpts that both went into production/circulation. How exactly does something like that happen with a toy manufacturer?
Eating this up with a spoon! Don't want to go to the well too much, but here goes... At what stage does the production cost become final? How does Valaverse keep their factory work from getting subbed out? And one money question (not Valaverse specific): How much would it cost to have your old molds palatalized and shipped over to avoid unauthorized reuse? Thank you for your time.
This was a great video. It is a little sad to see how many chances companies get to fix things like loose joints and just don’t care. All toy designers should have your passion.
Damn you Bobby V. I watch these every time you put one out! I really like to hear how the sausage is made and if they are overcharging us for pork sausage and giving us chicken.
Very interesting. Probably can’t share, but would dig a follow up that went into numbers required to be able to deal with manufactures at this level and how to source them. Great content and delivered well. 👌💪
what would Valaverse need to bring toy manufacturing and production to the United States? Would this period of price increase on action figures help make the move to manufacturing nationally?
There is way too much speculation and misinformation amongst the fans. It’s fantastic to hear the truth from people who know it. I love this stuff. I watch Aaron Archer’s stuff on a regular basis, and it’s fun getting the inside track (great guy too).
Love your videos Bobby. How about a review of some of your competitor toy companies? Give a rundown on what you like and don’t like about their toy lines. Honest feedback is always appreciated that’s why I watch your videos.
Some people really need to watch this because some don’t seem to understand the process and how many steps are actually involved and going back and forth with the manufacturer dialing things in and it’s several months of work just for one character. they act like it’s as simple as just flipping a switch a poof!
I think it's important to point out that it is resin 3d prints that are more brittle due to the resin material, not necessarily because they are 3d printed. but resin prints are much more susceptible to shattering compared to other materials and other printing methods of 3D printing such as FDM. The reason I'm leaving this comment is just to clarify this. Good video :D
Do you think 3D printing technologies will ever replace injection molding as far as manufacturing goes? The way I see it the biggest advantage resin printing has is that you can jump straight into the production phase after prototyping without having to spend months going back and forth on getting the injection molds right.
Great video! Bobby, I have a few questions. First if tarrifs are put into place, will this affect your toy line as far as cost and time? Secondly can you possibly touch on cost, because I’m sure many have the same question that I have, how can someone like McFarlane produce figures at a low cost and Hasbro prices keep going up, the quality has gone down even with their Transformers. Lastly when the consumer gets a figure and there is barely any head articulation or it comes with two right biceps, the fingers on Giant man or maybe something was upside down I.e studio Series Optimus Primes tail lights. How does this get missed, does it cost more to send back and have it reworked. Does the factory hold some responsibility for messing up?
I don’t know if this would be better as its own video, but how do companies determine when to reuse parts? Is it encouraged or treated as a last resort? Does that differ for different kinds of parts - for example, is it more acceptable for a designer to reuse feet than it is a torso? Is it decided upfront (eg, this year we’re going to make this many entirely new sculpts, this many figures that are 50% reuse, this many that are 100% reuse, etc), or is it decided during the design process based on the needs of the figure? And are certain figure parts designed with reuse in mind?
Not going to mention names, but somebody didn't get the McMemo about selling McVariants online. It's annoying to get a variant you didn't order, especially when it turns the figure into a completely different character. This was a very insightful video, Bobby.
Was this interesting to you guys?
We need reestocks Night Ops!!😢
Yeah, use to love watching the how its made videos back in the day.
Yeah, it was cool. I never noticed that super awesome table before today. Great table, man!
Very interesting! I was in steel manufacturing for many years. I have always loved seeing the process of and idea becoming reality. Thank you for this.
Thank you for constantly lifting the curtain of toy production! For anyone loving the art of action figures, this is insanely interesting and it's kinda bonkers why the other companys are so hush about it. I have nothing but respect for the whole process. Must be quite difficult to juggle all these different items in all these different stages all the time. I'd love to know more about the concept and design phase, like how do you come up with the characters in the first place? Do you first have a design (or a role to fill) and come up with a biography later, or is it the other way around? I'm sure it's a mixture of both, but that's the part that just fascinates me and I'm sure you could fill an entire video with stories about that whole process. :)
Definitely don't stop on these kind of videos. Really love to know as much behind the scenes info as you can put together. Maybe a factory tour one of these days? Thanks for all the work.
The factory tour would be in China.
This video was definitely needed to educate people on just how the process works and to showcase how a lot of companies cut corners.
Honestly I could listen to this stuff days on end Bobby and be captivated, your passion for action figure design really shows through when your talking like this, and its great for us collectors to get some inside knowledge.
Could listen to this for hours. Always been curious about the process, would love to see more content taking a peek behind the curtain!
We need to see the Swarm Queen!!! We are waiting for Valaverse frogmen and night landing craft!!
Keep kicking @ss!!
A Queen Bee for the Swarm is such a great idea!
This is was great! This felt like a master class and guide. Learning about all the different resins, the amount of samples and communication it takes to get a final product teaches patience. Thank you for making this 🤟
It was very interesting. I can see your passion on the creation process. I love watching your videos. It's cool to hear the individual steps. I didn't know the variant reason either. Keep up the good work. I hope you have a great year in 2025.
I loved this video. I wanna make toys eventually. So this had so much great info
Love this! Thanks. Also, picked up the Crimson Shadow Praetorian. Its gorgeous
I have been in manufacturing most of my adult life, except for the four years I was in an airborne unit in the army. I used to work in a rubber manufacturing facility where we produced EPDM and silicone spark plug boots. I understand the concept of the tooling and then molding process. This is very interesting and how you are highly involved with the suppliers to ensure you are receiving the products to your requirements.
This video was very cool. I knew about some of these steps but didn’t how many test samples they went through prior to production. Thank you so much for walking us through the entire process, it's fascinating!👍
Love your Crimson Shadow Praetorians. Definitely need more.
Hey Bobby. Another really awesome video about the BTS of toy developing. Loved hearing the process and timelines you work with on getting a series from concept to in hands.
One element in packaging I'd love to hear about in a future episode is how packaging layouts for Action Force were designed...From the "simple" box color schemes and layout to the blister cards. More specifically, it appears you have a pool of artists that you have for work on the line...How do you plan or divvy up the work between them for each wave? Specifically how QB Productions did the art for Series 4 and 5, but you had Florencio Duyar for the Praetorians, and Troy McKie for other series.
How you review the art, from an artist's eye, and go through that process.
Thanks again Bobby.
This was very cool. I've always been curious how the ink jet process was done on faces. Thanks for doing this video
I just want to say thank you for what you're doing and I can't wait for the next wave of action figure.
This is, by far, the best video yet! I love waking up on Saturdays and thinking, “Let’s see what Valaverse has in store for us today.”
The video is really cool, especially since I work in manufacturing. It’s fascinating to see this combination of toy-making and creativity, and I absolutely love Valaverse.
I appreciate how transparent Bobby from Valaverse is in this video. He admits he’s not great at designing robots or vehicles but emphasizes the importance of building key partnerships to create amazing toys. It feels like there’s an opportunity to bring in a fantastic vehicle designer in the future. That said, I still love my Muddy Vanguards!
I love the behind the scenes aspect of these videos. I really enjoy knowing more about the process
Great video. Very informative. 👍
i really enjoyed your sharing! i am creating action figures as a hobby and I've come to appreciate the various disciplines involved in making an action figure. So thank you for sharing and spending time on this. 100% loving it
Informative video. I see a limited edition figure when you get the creative itch to do a paintmaster. Also, yes on the real pic of figure on package, pushing against the norm. 😎
Always fascinating to hear about the production side of toy making.
That was an awesome vid Bobby! No other company that does what you do would ever give a personal look into what you do everyday. I love that about you and the fact that you are so hands-on with your product. Can't wait to see you in DFW
Thank you for this!
How long does the tooling last before it’s worn out and discarded?
It was.l listen to this at work really cool video Bobby
Hoho,a very thorough breakdown Bobby.Love watching these videos coz it’s never wrong to educate the masses on toy making.Keep up the good work my dude !!! 😲👌
Loved the video! Thanks Bobbie❤
Variants did not disappear from Amazon. Mcfarlane Platinum versions get sent to people all the time and it’s not mentioned on the website.
Fantastic! *Love* this type of stuff! Quick question - when you machine the mold for a new figure, how many molds for that single figure's parts are generally cut? 2? 3? 10? I'd assume common items like barbells or hinges are ganged together, but what about things like a head or torso? If you have 5 "molds" for a given figure, are you ganging all 5 torsoes togther or are you ganging as many parts of a single figure together as a hedge against damage to another mold? ( sorry to nerd out; I'm in engineering software & manufacturing and find this fascinating!).
This is awesome , thx 🙏🏻
Glad you liked it!
Great video Bobby. Lookin forward to whats in the pipeline from valaverse 👍🏻👍🏻
This is awesome man! I'd love to see another video about the sculpting process.
Very cool to learn more about the production process of this hobby we love. Appreciate the effort! Great video.
As soon as I saw the reaper proto type, I want it just because the reaper is my AALLLL TIME favorite of the whole line.
Follow up question: what happens to the steel molds after the production run? Can they be reused by the factory or does the production run destroy the mold?
I ask because I’m wondering if eventually you could take the existing molds and create a budget figure for less. Save on tooling.
I know they sometimes get repurposed as ship anchors.
34 minutes & 9 seconds of absolute awesomeness!
Very interesting! Thank you.
I know you haven't watched it all yet! haha
@Valaverse What about now? 😉
Years of watching how it's made has prepared me for this. 😆
Just wished you could have post full images of your products up close or jpeg'd
These are awesome videos! Thank you for sharing!
Videos that also help detail how sculpt, parts, articulation interact and the tradeoffs involved are cool areas to understand. We all have opinions about how a figure should be and seeing the decisions that go into that are interesting.
Great content! I enjoy these kinds of videos ,Bobby. Keep up the great work.
I thought is was very interesting. Love knowing the process.
Can't wait to get me some Shadows.
Very Interesting. I learned alot about variants. The Running Change part shocked me. I didnt know actionfigures could be changed right down to the wire. Great Video!
Thanks Bobby. I greatly appreciate this video. Thanks for taking the time to go through this.
great video, very informative. When do we get a look at your personal collection? Would really like to see a video of your "toy room" and favorite pieces
Amazing! More videos like this, please, I love to get into the guts of the process.
Thanks for the knowledge really need it from the real practice on the field
He's an awesome figure. Totally dig him
This is a hugely informative video. I like the information, the presentation, and the samples from each stage of production. Thanks for putting this together!
I love hearing you talk about toy production. Your mention of variants got me thinking... in the original Kenner Star Wars toy line, there were multiple versions of Han Solo with two distinctly different head sculpts that both went into production/circulation. How exactly does something like that happen with a toy manufacturer?
So when you get the VSP and request changes do they create a whole new mold or do the cut in to the current mold?
23:45 Printing in other parts besides the head?
love
this especially since the Praetorian was my first Valaverse purchase
Eating this up with a spoon!
Don't want to go to the well too much, but here goes...
At what stage does the production cost become final?
How does Valaverse keep their factory work from getting subbed out?
And one money question (not Valaverse specific): How much would it cost to have your old molds palatalized and shipped over to avoid unauthorized reuse?
Thank you for your time.
I could listen to Bobby talk about toys allday.
It's always great to hear about this side of the hobby. Thanks for your input.
This was a great video. It is a little sad to see how many chances companies get to fix things like loose joints and just don’t care. All toy designers should have your passion.
Yes.. Thk u for letting us know the in depth process of toy making
Have you ever considering going into the silicone doll line? One of the appealing aspects is how life like the 1/6th scale models can be
awesome video! as a digital sculptor, this was very informative. I want to try toys at some point.
Loved this I’ve been wanting to make my own line of action figures. I’d love it if you did a video on the cost of producing a single figure or line
Damn you Bobby V. I watch these every time you put one out! I really like to hear how the sausage is made and if they are overcharging us for pork sausage and giving us chicken.
As a fellow toy collector i definitely find this interesting.when it comes to making these i dont know alot and like learning how this is done.
What was the name of that guy who said did your digital art? I want to ask him how can I learn to be a sculptor and make toys
Good lesson and cool video!
Very interesting. Probably can’t share, but would dig a follow up that went into numbers required to be able to deal with manufactures at this level and how to source them. Great content and delivered well. 👌💪
Great stuff! Love hearing about the process :)
Wowie yowie! Really cool and informative video, Bobby
what would Valaverse need to bring toy manufacturing and production to the United States?
Would this period of price increase on action figures help make the move to manufacturing nationally?
Awesome content! Tks for sharing it!
Love these types of videos! Thanks Bobby.
Quick question do you plan on doing 1/6 scale figures in the future?
Hello Mr Vala. I picked up black and white Pandora👌🏿 very cool.
I have two of these pre-ordered on bbts. They look dope!
There is way too much speculation and misinformation amongst the fans. It’s fantastic to hear the truth from people who know it. I love this stuff. I watch Aaron Archer’s stuff on a regular basis, and it’s fun getting the inside track (great guy too).
Love your videos Bobby. How about a review of some of your competitor toy companies? Give a rundown on what you like and don’t like about their toy lines. Honest feedback is always appreciated that’s why I watch your videos.
Some people really need to watch this because some don’t seem to understand the process and how many steps are actually involved and going back and forth with the manufacturer dialing things in and it’s several months of work just for one character. they act like it’s as simple as just flipping a switch a poof!
I think it's important to point out that it is resin 3d prints that are more brittle due to the resin material, not necessarily because they are 3d printed. but resin prints are much more susceptible to shattering compared to other materials and other printing methods of 3D printing such as FDM. The reason I'm leaving this comment is just to clarify this. Good video :D
This is Very, Very, Cool! Thank you for sharing, amazing insight!
Nice.
So who has an orange/red ARAH OG BAT from before the running change?
0:30 Damn that's wild so you flipped it over at the archives and it said Valaverse on the back? Crazy.
Excellent presentation. Now how’s about one on packaging
So excited for Street Force!!!!
Do you think 3D printing technologies will ever replace injection molding as far as manufacturing goes? The way I see it the biggest advantage resin printing has is that you can jump straight into the production phase after prototyping without having to spend months going back and forth on getting the injection molds right.
SUCH a great video! Ive learned a lot.
Definitely keep these in the video mix
Great video! Bobby, I have a few questions. First if tarrifs are put into place, will this affect your toy line as far as cost and time?
Secondly can you possibly touch on cost, because I’m sure many have the same question that I have, how can someone like McFarlane produce figures at a low cost and Hasbro prices keep going up, the quality has gone down even with their Transformers.
Lastly when the consumer gets a figure and there is barely any head articulation or it comes with two right biceps, the fingers on Giant man or maybe something was upside down I.e studio Series Optimus Primes tail lights. How does this get missed, does it cost more to send back and have it reworked. Does the factory hold some responsibility for messing up?
Will the swarm vehicle come with a swarm pilot. Also, will female swarm troopers come this year.
I love this stuff! Keep up the great work
Thanks so much! I wanted to know this kind of stuff my whole life
Variants? We like to call them "chase" now
Very interesting Bobby thx for sharing 😊
Fascinating video
Love this inside baseball. Keep it coming.
I don’t know if this would be better as its own video, but how do companies determine when to reuse parts? Is it encouraged or treated as a last resort? Does that differ for different kinds of parts - for example, is it more acceptable for a designer to reuse feet than it is a torso? Is it decided upfront (eg, this year we’re going to make this many entirely new sculpts, this many figures that are 50% reuse, this many that are 100% reuse, etc), or is it decided during the design process based on the needs of the figure? And are certain figure parts designed with reuse in mind?
Great lesson man!!
Not going to mention names, but somebody didn't get the McMemo about selling McVariants online. It's annoying to get a variant you didn't order, especially when it turns the figure into a completely different character. This was a very insightful video, Bobby.