I want to start off by giving a special shout out to James Sidoti, a friend of mine from The Nation Facebook group, which is hosted by Rob Rosado from Entertainment Talk Nation on YouTube. James is a very avid toy collector and a huge fan of the kaiju genre. He messaged me telling me about this interview he was conducting with Mac McClintock from Titanic Creations and asked me if I could share this on my blog. I obliged and sent him a few questions of my own. What he came back with is phenomenal, I must say, in terms of information about their upcoming products and sales information. This is his interview:
Interview with Mac McClintock from Titanic Creations by James Sidoti:
James Sidoti: "What inspired you to start making your own figures and what has it been like in the process?"
Mac McClintock: "I had always been a Godzilla toy collector since I was three years old. Then as I got older, I realized it could be a very exciting way to make a living and I started diving into that."
Sidoti: "How well have your original kaiju vinyls sold?"
McClintock: "Titanicus has been extremely popular. Then, the others have been mild successes."
Sidoti: "Is there any insight you can give to how you acquired the rights to Gorgo?"
McClintock: "We reached out to VCI who had previously released the film. They claimed they were the rights holder and we struck a deal with them."
Sidoti: "How happy are you guys with the sales of the Gorgo figure? Did it do as you expected or better?"
McClintock: "Everything is good. We sold out basically. Have 10-15 units left depending if any arrive to people damaged. It [Gorgo] was definitely our best release and hoping the 30 cm and future articulated figures sell well, as well."
Sidoti: "When are you revealing the 30 cm Gorgo?"
McClintock: "Late October/early November. It depends on when the factory finishes the prototype."
Sidoti: "Cool. So if you can say, is it basically just a bigger version of the one that has come out now with the same accessories or are there any updates to it? Also, I assume it'll work like the first release where it has to be funded?"
McClintock: "It's just going to be a big statue. Going to try and do light up eyes. Funding will be more simple this time. Just hit $250 and it will go into production. Only making 500 of them."
Sidoti: "Y'all should see if you can do a 18 inch Gorgo so the original could double as an Ogra figure."
McClintock: "We really wanted to do massive articulated figures. It is just their price is a pain. Can't justify selling a figure for $300-$400."
Sidoti: "How big of a figure do you think you could do for a reasonable price?"
McClintock: "We can probably do a 12 inch one, but best way for us to get prices down is to have more fans. Like if we can go from selling 1K to 2K it can decrease all costs at least by 25%."
Sidoti: "Are there any plans right now for a re-release or repaint of the Gorgo figure?"
McClintock: "We are currently working on 5 different paint apps that we will be releasing next year."
Sidoti: "Are there any plans to do figures based off of monsters from the original Gorgo comics or will you just stick to originals?"
McClintock: "We very well reinvent some of the characters from the original Gorgo comics and give them designs that fit with the film version."
Sidoti: "Are there any updates on the comic or sequel movie announced when you acquired the rights?"
McClintock: "The comic is coming Q1 2024. The film is TBD based upon if we can sell some books."
Sidoti: "Were you able to acquire the rights to any other monsters?"
McClintock: "We are close to finishing up Reptilicus, Gappa, and Yongary (1967) here soon."
Sidoti: "Are you also acquiring the film and comic rights to them?"
McClintock: "Those are just for figures. Gorgo is the only one with a comic tie-in. Reptilicus, though, might pop up."
Sidoti: "Nice! I'm looking forward to all of those. I may have to get two Gappa figures."
McClintock: "Well, Gappa is planned to come with three."
Sidoti: "I'm guessing the [Gappa] set will be fairly expensive?"
McClintock: "Plan is $149.99."
Sidoti: "Will these be articulated figures, as well?"
McClintock: "Yep. Probably little taller than Gorgo. They should all scale well."
Sidoti: "For Yongary, I am assuming you're going to do the original design, but would you ever consider doing the one from the remake?"
McClintock: "We would like to do both. The problem is the guy who made the 1999 film is in hiding, currently."
Sidoti: "So for Reptilicus, Gappa, and Yongary (1967) are they also going to be crowdfunded with stretch goals and, if so, are you willing to disclose what stretch goals we could see?"
McClintock: "Plan is it will be the same for Gorgo. I honestly don't have the add ons planned yet for any of them. It would be stuff that is iconic to the movie."
Sidoti: "What other monsters are on your list to try and acquire? Also, do you have any more original figures in the works?"
McClintock: "We have more originals, which we are going to introduce through the Gorgo comic series. Then, lots of other random kaiju we would like to get."
Sidoti: "Have there been any licenses you've tried to acquire and haven't yet?"
McClintock: "Giant Claw. Sony wants too much for it and it is hard to justify."
Sidoti: "With many people wanting more kaiju video games has this been something you guys have thought about trying to make, as well?"
McClintock: "The upfront cost to make a video game is very high. We do not currently have the capital required to do it."
Sidoti: "Have you talked to any of these people behind recent games like GigaBash and Dawn of the Monsters about including Titanicus, Gorgo, and the other monsters you have?"
McClintock: "We have not yet. There have been discussions of trying to get the rights to older kaiju video game characters and make them into figures. I think there is one really big one that lots of people would be happy to see."
Sidoti: "What are your thoughts on the kaiju genre and where do you hope to see it in the future?"
McClintock: "I've been grateful to see it grow in popularity. It's hard to sometimes get people interested into the genre without the help of large studios. I hope that as more people are discovering Godzilla that they also look towards less popular kaiju, as well."
Sidoti: "Awesome, thank you so much for your time today. It was great to hear some insight on what's going on with the future figures."
McClintock: "Likewise. Thank you for having me."
Thank you to James Sidoti one last time for allowing me to put his interview on my blog. You can find him on Facebook as he is an active member of The Nation Facebook page hosted by Rob Rosado from the Entertainment Talk Nation channel. With that, I am working on my review of Titanic Creations Gorgo. Make sure you stay tuned for that by following me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.
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