I wanted to do an interview with the Hot Toys team at STGCC 2012 but unfortunately it couldn't be done. The Hot Toys team was kind enough to allow an email interview. I've recently gotten the reply so here it is.
Ms Yulli is Hot Toys' Chief Sculptor. She is based in Korea. She is responsible for overseeing the head sculpture process while offering professional acumen to create high quality collectible figures. She is also involved in coordination and communications between the creative and production teams.
More on Ms Yulli on the STGCC site.
1. What kind of material do you use to sculpt?
Super sculpey firm and epoxy putty.
2. How long does it take for you to complete one head sculpt?
It is irregular.
3. Which facial feature do you find the most difficult to sculpt? Hair / eyes etc
All parts are difficult, but eyes are the most difficult, because eyes have divers image and feeling.
4. Has any studio or actor personally complemented you on your head sculpts?
Sometimes, they complemented through company.
5. Is there any Hot Toys figure already produced that you did not sculpt but would have liked to?
Christian Bale of THE TERMINATOR 4, I like THE TERMINATOR series so much.
6. Do you have to work at the office or can you work from home?
I can work at home most of the time.
7. Have you met any of the actors you have worked on?
Not yet.
8. You’ve already done many figures from the Avengers. Is that the end? Or can we see more characters like Bruce Banner and Maria Hill?
I like The Avengers. I also want to see more characters like Bruce Banner and Maria Hill.
9. Has any work been done yet for Back to the Future?
I guess that somebody in Korea team sculpts it.
10. Can you share with us what are you working on currently?
I'm in progress with several projects according to company’s schedule.
11. Have you created your own characters that you would like to be made?
Yes, I like Arnold Schwarzenegger of THE TERMINATOR 2. When I heard I had to make it from company, I was very happy.
12. Are there any plans to open an official Hot Toys store in Singapore?
I want to see an official Hot Toys store in Singapore.
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13. How is it decided which projects get assigned to which sculptors? Can you choose who you want to sculpt?
Sometimes, company asks me to do it. But Hot Toys has many projects, so I have to sculpt any character.
14. Typically how many headsculpts must you make for each character? Don’t you get bored doing the same head sculpt over and over again?
It is not boring. I have to study and concentrate over and over again.
15. For figures with Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS), do you still sculpt the eyes or leave them out?
That system is very exquisite. Product designer in Hong Kong office develops it.
16. Is there any actor/actress who is very particular about their likeness?
Many actors/actresses are interested in their figures, so sometimes they give some comments thankfully, which are useful to sculpt them.
Mr Kojun
Mr Kojun is a talented and celebrated sculptor. He is responsible for head sculpting and art direction to create high quality and movie-accurate collectible figures. His recent sculpting projects include the DX Batman/ Bruce Wayne from The Dark Knight Rises, Nick Fury and Thor from The Avengers, and Bespin Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.
More on Mr Kojun on the STGCC site.
1. What kind of material do you use to sculpt?
I use super sculpey, just like other sculptors do.
2. How long does it take for you to complete one head sculpt?
It takes about 3 weeks.
3. Which facial feature do you find the most difficult to sculpt? Hair / eyes etc
Every part is not easy, especially the eyes.
4. Has any studio or actor personally complemented you on your head sculpts?
Sometimes it happens.
5. Is there any Hot Toys figure already produced that you did not sculpt but would have liked to?
There is no specific one that I would like to sculpt, because sculptors who made these figures did their best already.
6. Do you have to work at the office or can you work from home?
Actually it depends on the situation and I usually work in both places.
7. Have you met any of the actors you have worked on?
No, I haven't met them yet.
8. You’ve already done many figures from the Avengers. Is that the end? Or can we see more characters like Bruce Banner and Maria Hill?
I'm not sure but I also wish to make the Bruce Banner & Maria Hill, too.
9. Has any work been done yet for Back to the Future?
It's now in progress.
10. Can you share with us what are you working on currently?
I'm modifying some characters which are released on the site.
11. Have you created your own characters that you would like to be made?
Actually I’ve done it quite a long time ago.
12. Are there any plans to open an official Hot Toys store in Singapore?
I'm not sure but I hope, too.
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13. How did you join Hot Toys? Before John Connor (Terminator Salvation) was revealed it was all very secretive.
I was introduced to Hot Toys by Our Chief Painter & Production Director Mr JC.Hong.
I was introduced to Hot Toys by Our Chief Painter & Production Director Mr JC.Hong.
14. Do you still work on your own projects?
No, I only work on company’s works.
15. Will you be sculpting Wolverine again, maybe for Wolverine 2?
I don’t know yet.
16. Most of your work are male characters, when can we see a female character sculpted by you?
I don’t know yet but I hope that I could do it later.
Mr J.C. Hong is the Production Director and Chief Painter who is based in Korea. J.C. He is responsible in overseeing the whole production process, while offering professional advice on head painting, art direction and production to create high quality collectible figures. He also leads the coordination and communications between the creative and production teams.
More on Mr J.C. Hong on the STGCC site.
1. What kind of material do you use to sculpt?
N/A
2. How long does it take for you to complete one head sculpt?
It depends on the characters, from few weeks to two months.
2. How long does it take for you to complete one head sculpt?
It depends on the characters, from few weeks to two months.
3. Which facial feature do you find the most difficult to sculpt? Hair / eyes etc
The most difficult part is to satisfy customers’ need. Yes, eyes and hairs are not easy, especially we are Asians, we don’t know very well about western people.
4. Has any studio or actor personally complemented you on your head sculpts?
Most artists are looking at what we are doing and give some comments to our Hong Kong team. We also discuss this with the Hong Kong team.
5. Is there any Hot Toys figure already produced that you did not sculpt but would have liked to?
Basically I have quite similar thinking as our Founder & CEO Mr Howard Chan, as we are of same age, and the memory on the movie and animation is quite similar. So we just follow Howard, as he likes, we also like and indeed he has good choices.
6. Do you have to work at the office or can you work from home?
Normally I work at home.
7. Have you met any of the actors you have worked on?
Too bad we didn’t meet them. One day if we have a chance, of course we’d love to meet.
8. You’ve already done many figures from the Avengers. Is that the end? Or can we see more characters like Bruce Banner and Maria Hill?
We shall have more characters from The Avengers. We are still thinking and would take into consideration customers’ wishes. For Bruce Banner and Maria Hill, yes we are still thinking.
9. Has any work been done yet for Back to the Future?
Yes, we have started sculpting.
10. Can you share with us what are you working on currently?
We are enjoying together with customers.
11. Have you created your own characters that you would like to be made?
One day, we want to make some funny things.
12. Are there any plans to open an official Hot Toys store in Singapore?
Yes, I wish but don’t know. Many thanks for the Singapore people who went to our booth at STGCC. I am sad that I couldn’t join you guys this time, and hope to see you next time.
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13. Can you tell us what you have to do as Production Director?
I monitor the production process, coordinate with Korean and Hong Kong team, etc. We always work together and share our work with each other.
14. How long does it take for you to paint a head sculpt?
It takes about a few hours.
15. As part of the head sculpt is (*hand) painted, do you have to go to the factory and instruct the staff on how you want the figures to be painted for every new character?
Yes, of course.
16. You mentioned on Facebook about trying out new painting techniques. Can you share with us the results of it and are they being implemented on the final product?
Yes, we always strive for better quality. We care about customers’ need and every year we have some plans for increasing the quality of products.
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| From left to right: Mr Kojun, Ms Yulli, Ms K.A Kim, Mr T.J Cha |
I would like to thank Reed Exhibitions and Ninemer Public Relations Pte Ltd for making this possible. I would also like to thank the Hot Toys team for taking time to answer these questions.
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