Shipping Assault!

We have been processing and packing since the drop last week and things are finally starting to roll out! Orders will continue shipping right through this coming week, hopefully wrapping up around next Thursday afternoon.

Huge thanks go out to my sister Megan, who has thankfully returned from her recent Hawaiian adventure just in time to add some much needed hustle to the works. She is a true left-handed postal terminator

Thank You!!!

Thank you to everyone who was part of the drop this past Friday night! It was a wild release for us, in that we had never run all our molds in one launch before. This was fun and also slightly horrifying! My apologies for the fast burn rate on the Deep Space Glyans. I thought that because the configuration could be made from the other stuff available that it would just kind of be a fun extra thing on the menu. That was definitely not the case! Running all the new Hub Sets with the dome area painted seemed like it would limit some potential builds, so the DSGs were set up as more of an experiment. Next time there will be more of of them available.

The numbers in general worked out pretty well (aside from the DSG) and most of the items stayed active for longer than usual. The limits on a few things were put in place to try to ensure that everyone got a chance at some of the more busy items (based on past launches). The traffic was our highest yet, and the site seemed to hold up much better than last time, with very few reported problems with the store's performance. Overall the night was fun.

The next wave of stuff will bring back a few colors that might be a bit unexpected for some of you old timers. A few shades that have not rolled out in a while. The vinyl side of things will take a different route as well, with a "less is more" approach in the paint department. Hopefully you guys will like what's on deck when it shows up!

In the near future, keep your eyes on the Callgrim blog. Jesse has some absolutely wild projects coming together that will push things to a whole new level on the full production side of things. I think that his next release will be something to measure all other projects by. If you are into heavily painted deluxe battle machines, you will be extremely happy come late April.

Thank you again from all of us over here at Onell. It will forever amaze me that we are allowed to make these little toys, and that somewhere out there they each have a place to call home.
That's 100% thanks to you.


EDIT: Thanks for the sharp eyes Papioca!

Glyos United

The store is LIVE - refresh: onelldesign.com/store

9:30 PM EDT

We are bumping the drop a little to 9:30 PM so we can finalize a few last minute details. Everything is still looking good, just need the extra half hour to nail it down, this is kind of a beast! Sorry for the small delay!

More Zorennor

Some contained building.

I've been playing with that Hi-Phaseon like crazy, having it chase old renegade Beanbots around, trying to steal their parts.

Mission Details!

Sorry for the delay! Here's the skinny for the March 23rd drop:

United Glyan Coalition

-Glyan Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue visors and tampo) $8
-Glyan Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green visors and tampo) $8
-Glyan Zorennor Security Force Operator Cane (Black with Deep Red Visors and tampo) $8

-Deep Space Glyan Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue visors and tampo) $12
-Deep Space Glyan Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green visors and tampo) $12
-Deep Space Glyan Zorennor Security Force Operator Cane (Black with Deep Red Visors and tampo)$12
NOTE- Each Deep Space Glyan is made up of one Glyan and one specially painted Hub Set.

-Buildman Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue visors and tampo) $8
-Buildman Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green visors and tampo) $8

-Phaseon Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue visors and tampo) $6
-Phaseon Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green visors and tampo) $6

-Gobon Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue eyes and tampo) $10
-Gobon Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green eyes and tampo) $10

-ZED Commander Sullkren (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue eyes) $8
-ZRU Commander Exellis (Gray/Light Gray with Aqua Green eyes) $8

-ZED Extra Set ( Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue eyes-Pheyden head, Phanost head, Gray Govurom head and Pheyden chest and pelvis) $5


-Hub Set Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray) $4
-Hub Set Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray) $4
-Hub Set (Black) $4
NOTE- Each Hub Set is sold in a specific Drone configuration.

-Axis Joint Set Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray) $4
-Axis Joint Set Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray) $4

-Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray) $2
-Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set Zorennor Recovery Unit (Gray) $2


- Core Block Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights and tampo print) $14

-Heavy Armored Rig  Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights and multiple tampo prints) $25

-Rig Runner Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights and multiple tampo prints) $20

-Armodoc  Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights and tampo print) $25

-Conversion Set (consists of 1 long Rig Arm and 1 short Rig Arm for customizing vinyl figures) Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights and multiple tampo prints) $12

-Tri Hub "Wedge" Single  (vinyl isosceles triangle that can be customized for connectivity with all Glyos vinyl)  Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray/Gray with Light Blue highlights) $4

-Switch Pin Single (vinyl male/male pin which can convert any vinyl female fit function into a male)  Zorennor Exploration Division (Light Gray with Light Blue highlights) $1

As usual, there will be a few small surprises on drop night!

EDIT: Corrected a few details on the Hub Sets, Axis Joints and Phase Arm Sets, they are all packed SOLID and not swapped. I was brain fried when I finally posted this last night!
Thanks to Cappy for the spot!

Real Type Space Wave!

Cool Gray 1C + Cool Gray 8C + Cool Gray 10C Detail Lines =
Zorennor Exploration Division

Release this Friday (March 23rd) at 9 PM EDT.

Details up shortly...

EDIT: Added a pic for KAL

Plus One

The Little Things

Hubba Bubba

The idea of "hubs" in general have been a major theme for multiple projects over here, dating back almost a year in their collective development. Initially these ideas were born from the natural progression of wanting more parts to build with, pieces that would allow for subtle changes to the system versus major ones like the Axis Joints. I personally wanted to have a PVC upgrade set that could also be a contained build from the start. There are a few things that you can make with a default Axis Joint Set, but they are pretty abstract. This new PVC Hub Set needed to be more than just parts packed loose in a bag. So the development process started with this basic parameter in mind.

Another major principle was to have the ability to create defined combination builds that would utilize every part within their constructions. An example being a Deep Space Glyan that could be configured by using every part of a Hub Set and a Glyan, resulting in an old school Fisher Price astronaut vibe by intention of design. 

The larger central parts of the Hub set would also need to function as a PVC/Vinyl connector, allowing for an easy way to change those vinyl female fit functions into female PVC fit functions, opening up some play mechanics.

The above conceptual designs illustrate how the Hub Set and Drone configurations started to really take shape late last year.  Being obsessed with classic robots like Robby the Robot, Tomy wind ups (Pocket Bots, Rascal Robots) and small "helper" droids and  machines (R2-D2, V.I.N.C.E.N.T.,  IQ-9) came pouring out and influenced everything about the Hub Set and its combined forms.

Little machines rule.


EDIT: Removed Buxton-mania from the scans!

Triangle Tangle

The general process of creating new parts is a real combo of paper rumbles and mini studies. Ron always pushes me to make smaller test sculpts before jumping into the finished work, especially with the backwards compatibility of what we do. Most of the time I'll follow this method, but sometimes things just come out of nowhere and go straight to the finished prototype. Maybe it's akin to wanting to make a sandwich at 3AM when you had no intention of eating.

Which I did last night (salami and cheese special).

These new parts were more of a planned meal, due to the measurements needing to be pretty precise so that they would actually function properly. We went through three rounds of test shots before the final production pieces would work correctly. Nailing the new vinyl Switch Pin was possibly the toughest, as it has to hold the whole show together.

The above conceptual sketches are the usual mess of ideas, with a few done after the initial test shots failed to work (like the Switch Pin). Drawing stuff never gets old, and will always remain my first love.

Flex Appeal II

Continuing with the exploration of vinyl building potential, I find the main point of interest for me is that it has a certain lawlessness to it. Each time I start to think that a build might not work, it's refreshing to realize that things are different with rotocast vinyl. I'll still absolutely be a PVC geek for life, as there is a true magic to a toy with some limits to work around, but the more I experiment with vinyl, the more its potential is revealed.

Custom ships, structures, bases, mechs, and general vehicles are only a few of the themes that are possible to explore on a larger scale. Maybe that's the other big reason that vinyl appeals to me, because we can make true scale between the PVC figures and the vinyl constructs, a 1:1 ratio across the range.

Nailing the right pricing is always a major concern, and making the numbers work can be a challenge. These vinyl projects need to be affordable but pretty high quality to really survive. Kind of a working paradox in our present economy. That being said, I promise you guys I'll continue to keep the margins as tight as possible and the overall production level to our dedicated standards (translation: these new parts will not break the bank).

Some sketches are on deck next.

Options Open

One of the most appealing things about vinyl is that it can bend certain structural limits when combined with other vinyl parts. Since there is a more generous amount of "give" within a connection, neat cheats abound. Things that would normally retain a very rigid formation in another material are suddenly granted the ability to move, even if just a little bit, allowing for more options in a base configuration. The end result is a more organic connectivity between components. The PVC has this to a certain degree, but the rules are tighter, and in general have to obey the fit function assigned to each part. With rotocast vinyl you can cut a matching diameter hole into a piece and develop something completely outside the prescribed options. I think this is probably the greatest draw for me when building or playing with vinyl in general.

Lining Up

I've always loved the idea of sentient structures. Imagine if all the bricks in a building could think and move at a moments notice, reconfiguring into whatever design was requested, for whatever condition might arise.
I used to play with my construction blocks when I was a kid in such a way. Each block was alive and would work in unison with the other shapes. I had so much fun messing around with the simplest of things.

 In the 80's I discovered the amazing moving geometric puzzles that would later become a craze that swept the entire world. Rubik's Cube, Rubik's Magic Links, The Missing Link and the Magic Snake all drove me crazy. Especially the Magic Snake. I just wished that it could have come apart without breaking in the process. Do you guys remember these classics?

All these years later, I find myself wanting to revisit the "Sentient Structure" idea more than ever. This new project hopefully brings that old idea closer to reality, while paying deep homage to those classic puzzles and a few "Micro" themed playsets from the late 70's in the process

 Isosceles Triangle+?+Isosceles Triangle+?= Possible Fun Time

?=A long awaited vinyl part (at least for us over here).

I told you I was losing my mind.

Angled Effect

Sorry for the lack of action around here over the last few weeks. Multiple behind the scenes projects piled up, but are now about half sorted out. Some really cool things are on the horizon from our partners in crime that should continue to expand the possibilities of Glyos in general.

Speaking of expanding (and contracting), two oddball secret projects (lots of those floating around in this post) have made it over their last test shot bumps and look to be on deck for a sooner than later arrival. Maybe even in time for our upcoming late March release. The new parts were originally intended to debut with the Block, but getting their functionality correct proved to be a real challenge (as almost everything does with this stuff). Some sneaks will be popping up this week, starting with this post. These pieces are not very flashy or wild in their appearance, but with enough of them, you can create some pretty fun things. My obsession with angles just becomes more intense with each new endeavor!

A quick note about the March drop. Expect something a little different as far as color selections go, something that I've personally wanted to do ever since multiple character and accessory molds were created. It will seem kind of boring to some of you at first, but I'm hoping that once the building commences, my intentions will become clear and make a little bit of sense.

Or you'll just think I'm nuts.