Thank You!!!

Thank you for bringing us through another release!!! The turnout was excellent and all of us over here are so grateful to each of you for making the new wave a positive one. 

This was our biggest launch of 2013, and we were pretty nervous going into the Sunday night sale. The larger amounts of stuff that we have been ordering have progressively made the stakes climb higher with each new rollout. Grey hairs are no longer strangers on our collective heads! You guys have made all the sleepless nights 100% worth it, though!

This Gatekeeper wave brought back a lot of memories from when we did the Soul of the Traveler assortment. I clearly remember sitting upstairs in the attic, working like crazy with Marc and Rich (Disasterpeace) on what was to become one of the most intense Passcodes we would ever put together. The old Granthan Rig first made its appearance, as well as the original Gatekeepers, sporting the prerequisite detail lines of the time. I still listen to Rich's soundtrack on a regular basis.

Sometimes thinking about the old days helps to shape the future, and my mind has been moving like a joystick pondering the possibilities of 2014. Some new projects are in the works, projects that may take us down a few different rabbit holes together.

Thanks again for being there for the last 6+ years. It's a privilege to be working on this stuff every day, and Michelle , Marc and I feel unbelievably lucky that you guys continue to let us explore these strange worlds inside our imaginations. I promise we'll work like hell and do everything we can to never let you down.

Gatekeepers are GO!

Refresh:
http://onelldesign.com/store

EDIT: You may place additional orders and all limits have been lifted, thanks again for your continued patience!

Also note that past releases are still available over at the Buildstation.

Hope you enjoy the new stuff!!

Enigma Source Part 2

Enigma Source Part 2!

Buildstation Notice

We are on track for the new release tonight at 9:30 PM EST. The store will contain only the newest assortment of figures, with the past waves available on a dedicated Buildstation page. The idea is to minimize load time and make it easier to grab the new stuff.

The items in the Buildstation will still appear in your PayPal shopping cart with everything else, just pop over to the new page to add things if you'd like. Please be sure your cart is empty before placing a new order.

The limit of ONE ORDER WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR will remain in place. We are seeing a high volume of traffic and need everyone's cooperation to make this as smooth as possible. After the initial dust settles, we will allow customers to place another order.

Thanks once again for your understanding and support!

Enigma Source Part 1

All of us over here are super excited to share with you Part 1 of an all new comic, Enigma Source, featuring brand new artwork from the Cosmic King of Illustration, Ralph Niese!

Ralph really has a way of capturing the essence of a story, using a mastery of complex form and fluid line work that combines elements of Jack Kirby and Moebius, all resulting in a power packed visual feast!

Huge thanks go out to Ralph for working so hard on this comic. Michelle, Marcus and I were all so psyched when we saw the final pages, and we hope you guys will be as well. Part 2 coming later tonight!  -Matt

We thought now is a good time to update the comics section of the site. A number of new pages have been in the works for a while, and we're excited to start rolling them out over the coming weeks- stay tuned! -Marc

Major Micro

The combination of the Ivorinium and Clear Colorless does a decent job of evoking the old Microman/Micronaut aesthetic.

There are some funny toy line tributes happening in this build, as it blends a couple highly influential classic toy lines that share some interesting parallels, those lines being Mattel's Major Matt Mason and Takara's Microman.

Everything from the initial introduction of four main characters (a theme that really got its start with the original Hasbro GI Joe 12" line) to the futuristic space machines and general themes of exploration seem to echo each other.  I would bet that Microman owes MMM some credit for its existence, not just Henshin Cyborg (which again was born from Hasbro's vintage GI Joe 12" line).

Play patterns and series connections that started way back in the mid 1960's continue to repeat themselves to this very day. Something that my good friend John Kent refers to as Toyfinity.

Scorpio Swap

Mostly a Mimic

An interesting little factoid on the Neo Gatekeeper Reverse Armorvor shown above is that the purple painted areas are not a perfect match to the warm purple PVC from the rest of the Neo Gatekeeper assortment. The explanation for the variance is a classic showcase of how the manufacturing process can produce unexpected results.

When we received the first production test shots for all the new PVC included in this wave, I noticed that the purple parts were a tiny bit warmer than what was expected. Variations of this nature have occurred plenty of times over the years, and are usually so minor that we just keep rolling, assimilating any tweaks that need to be made along the way.

What stands out with the Armorvor is that all of its secondary "swapped" colors are painted on. This means that if the requested purple paint has a little more blue in it, and the injected purple PVC ends up with a touch more red in the mix, we will sometimes have a minor discrepancy. This is due to the paint department using the requested PMS color swatch to match the paint hue as faithfully as possible to the supplied color mechanical, regardless of what the PVC actually looks like. Luckily, since the Armorvor has all of its "swapped" areas painted on, the variance is uniform throughout the entire figure.

I wanted to point this out, as a few of you might find these manufacturing hiccups of interest.

Sidrick: Cosmic Calamity Part 2

Sidrick: Cosmic Calamity Part 2

Sidrick and the MvR characters are back! I hope you all enjoy reading the conclusion to this wacky adventure as much as I enjoyed creating it.

I have been writing and drawing "Sidrick Stories" since I was 9 years old, and honestly it is still just as much fun now as it was then. Back in those days I had an audience of one (my younger brother) so it's pretty cool to think that Sidrick is making his way into all your homes 30+ years later!

Many thanks to Matt, Marc and Ralph for putting so much time and energy into making these guys come alive and helping me finish this comic. They are truly all amazing at what they do, and I am humbled daily working alongside them. Extra special thanks to all of you for allowing me the opportunity to show my art and introduce Sidrick to the Glyos community. Hopefully he'll be making another appearance in the near future!  -Michelle

Mission Details

This release has been in the making since the beginning of the year. Pulling all the elements together has been a true challenge, with multiple roadblocks coming up as we developed the different aspects of this particular launch.

Some of the "secrets" we have in store you may have already guessed, but I'm fairly certain there are a few twists that you will not have seen coming, and I hope they make you crack a smile.

On an exciting note, our resident artists, Michelle and Ralph, have created some fresh content to spice things up!

Ralph has illustrated an all new comic that continues to prove why he is one of the brightest and most forward thinking creators working today. How he tackles Noboto and Gobon is a real trip!

Michelle has been cranking away on the second half of her latest Sidrick story, which sees good old Sidrick coming up against a familiar Traveler who does not enjoy redheaded kids messing with his stuff! Seeing Michelle pick up the markers again has been the best, and her dedication to getting back into the groove has inspired the hell out of Marc and I.

Speaking of Marcus, he completes the trio of talent, and is without a doubt the most versatile artist that I know (or will ever know). From running the site, formatting all the content, building the product color mechanicals and tackling the store year after year, I want to take a moment to give extra special thanks to my younger brother. There would be no Onell Design without Marc Beaudette.

For our friends who have been with us since the beginning, to those of you who may have just discovered this corner of the universe, Michelle, Marc and I hope you are ready to meet some new (and old) faces this Sunday night.

Whew! On to the details!
 

There will be purchasing limits on select items: 

-Armorvor (2 limit per customer) 

-Travelers/Noboto/???? (3 of each style per customer)  

-Syclodoc (2 limit per customer)



Enigma Source


 
Glyan -Neo Gatekeeper Standard (Warm Purple/Magenta with Black visors and White tampo) $8
Glyan -Neo Gatekeeper Reverse (Magenta/Warm Purple with Black visors and White tampo) $8
Glyan -Glyaxia Ivorinium Elite (Pearlescent White with Black visors and Black tampo) $8

Deep Space Glyan -Neo Gatekeeper Standard (Warm Purple/Magenta with Black visors and White tampo)$12
Deep Space Glyan -Neo Gatekeeper Reverse (Magenta/Warm Purple with Black visors and White tampo) $12
Deep Space Glyan -Glyaxia Ivorinium Elite (Pearlescent White with Black visors and Black tampo) $12
NOTE- Each Deep Space Glyan is made up of one Glyan and one painted Hub Set.

Neo Gatekeeper Viyer Sarvos (Warm Purple/Magenta with painted eyes, Magenta accents and bonus Phanost head) $8
Neo Gatekeeper Sullonev Pheyden (Magenta/Warm Purple with painted eyes, bonus Scar Pheyden head and scarf) $8


???? -$8
???? -$8
???? -$8


Noboto -Neo Gatekeeper Standard (Warm Purple/Magenta with painted eyes,White tampo and bonus head) $8   
Noboto -Neo Gatekeeper Reverse (Magenta/Warm Purple with painted eyes, White tampo and bonus head) $8    
Noboto -Mordireus Powered (Neon Clear Pink with painted eyes and bonus head)  $8  
Noboto -Ivorinium (Pearlescent White with painted eyes and bonus head)  $8  
  
Gobon -Mordireus Powered (Neon Clear Pink with painted eyes) $8 

Crayboth -Ivorinium (Pearlescent White) $3

Armorvor -Neo Gatekeeper Reverse Mimic (Magenta/Warm Purple with Black visors) $8


Swing Joint Set -Warm Purple $4
Swing Joint Set -Magenta $4
Swing Joint Set -Pearlescent White $3 -Special Price
 
Hub Set -Warm Purple with Black accent and White tampo $4
Hub Set -Magenta with Black accent and White tampo $4
Hub Set -Pearlescent White with Black accent and White tampo $4
NOTE- Each Hub Set is sold in a specific Drone configuration.

Axis Joint Set -Warm Purple $4
Axis Joint Set -Magenta $4
Axis Joint Set -Pearlescent White $4

Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Warm Purple with Black accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Magenta with Black accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Pearlescent White with Black accent $2


Syclodoc -Gatekeeper Defender (Magenta/Warm Purple with White accents, Black Visor and white tampo- also features some additional chest paint) -$25



In all these years we have never really run a proper straight up magenta PVC. The original Gatekeeper run was close, but leaned more towards the pinkish side of things. With this new magenta hue, I've been able to mix and match with some of our more recent releases, creating some interesting color combinations that range from Robotech inspired to the old Transformers Seacons colors.

The warm purple is closer to things we have produced before, but with a richness to the hue that seems to pop more than usual. Nothing outrageous, but pretty deep. A Deep Purple.

Thanks as always for navigating the word minefield above! More pics and assorted images incoming...

Scorpio Type

This build was inspired by the alien character known as Scorpio, from the old 1960's Mattel series, Major Matt Mason.

A color combo like this has some pretty interesting potential, as it can look very alien under certain circumstances, or your little sister's favorite toy in another.

Gatekeeper Evolution

A Traveler from the past returns this Sunday night, September 8th, at 9:30 PM EST.

The new list is almost complete (everything has been delivered and reviewed) and will be posted tomorrow afternoon, along with more pics!

There are things in this launch that we've been waiting literally years to finally release. We hope you guys like the results!

Mini Trivia: The magenta and purple shown in the pic above give these new Gatekeepers a shot of extra vivid color. Can you guess what classic sci-fi toy line this particular Gatekeeper color scheme pays homage to? Prize to the person who comes up with the answer!

PS -A Formanchie is not the prize (I still owe some brave souls out there).

New Weaponeers of Monkaa Release

Our friends Jeremy and Brian over at Spy Monkey Creations have an all new release that is scheduled to hit their store today, September 4th, at 12PM PST.

The new wave is a solid mix of deluxe and basic GITD figures as well as a selection of their recent SDCC 2013 special editions of "The Weaponeer" and "W.O.M.O.M.F.G. Gohlem" (shown above). Both of the SDCC versions are in limited supply and really came out looking great, with some really clever nods to classic properties from back in the day.

Make sure that you also check out the latest installment of the continuing WoM saga, Power of the Lifespring, featuring brand new artwork by Nate Baertsch!

September is turning out to be packed with new Glyos related stuff!

Good luck to the Spy Monkey team today!

Keepers of the Gate

Energized

Mordireus Mode activated!

These two pics were taken under different natural lighting, with one shot in the sun and one shot in the shade.

The crazy clear neon pink continues to be one of the strangest plastics I've ever seen.

More pics and a new release list coming soon. We are on track for September 8th!

BCC I

 

A triple team of talent have worked their magic on a very special release over at Banimon.com!

From the Banimon blog:

Tonight, Friday August 30th at 9.30pm EST, the Banimon Custom Corps One will be going on sale at our store. Figures will be $30 each, however we will have a small batch of deluxe beefed up figures for $40 (those have roughly double the parts, and also ship with a collectable poster of the new map of Planet Banimon. The quantities are limited, and we are asking that folks keep their orders to no more then two regular CC figures and one deluxe figure per customer so that everyone can get a chance to snag one. After the first 24 hours we will lift the limits on whatever is left. More details to come this afternoon, and hope to see you all tonight!!

Marking a milestone for the series, the first ever Banimon Custom Corps is the result of Banimon's creator, Boris Savic, combining creative forces with Pj Bartlett (Spaced Out Design) and Seth Longmire (Orbitdyne) to bring into existence a wild new array of mercenaries and madmen.

With Boris in charge of the story and artwork, Seth tackling the sculpting of some brand new parts and Pj handling all the casting, building, painting and photography (shown above) of the entire lineup, you know that something incredibly unique was destined to come together.

Congratulations to all three artists for completing this fantastic project. Larger custom runs are always a blend of pleasure and pain for many reasons, and when everything finally comes together it's truly an occasion to celebrate.

Enjoy tonight's release and we hope to see more from this trio in the near future!

Mordireus Mode

Crossworlds Part 2

Another example of the Four Horsemen's new Power Lords figures combined with some of our parts.

It's been fun trying to simulate the base dimensions of the original Power Lords limbs on these cybernetic builds.

Also, the Ggripptoggs are pretty big bruisers, standing just a smidge taller that a Syclodoc!

Crossworlds

As the fine tuning of the new "Glybrid" joint system has progressed, some pretty neat Power Lords test shots have shown up to tinker with. These test shots are crucial in solving any riddles that the various plastics may present.

The test shot shown above of the Four Horsemen's Elite Power Soldier has extremely solid joints and a super satisfying feel in hand. All the parts hold together, even under intense play and repeated movement. These figures can truly survive the pocket.

My favorite aspects of the new Power Lords are being able to still build and modify the core figures, even though they don't show any really obvious signs (outside of the back hole) of using our interface. The primary engineering goal of this endeavor was to not compromise the traditional "action figure" look of the characters, yet retain the interchangeability we've used for years. We wanted to create another option that could be applied to new projects across the boards, when the abstract approach might not be the right fit.

The Four Horsemen have some excellent things in store with the Power Lords that I think you guys will really love. Soon you'll be able to put together teams of Power Soldiers, to battle or befriend anything living on your shelves or hiding in your storage bins.

Also, that Ivorinium DSG up there is from our next release, which will be in early September. More details and pics coming this week!

Blacklander

A dark shadow is set to fall across the 481 Universe site tonight, as Ni prepares to release an all black Outlander over in his store at 9PM EST.

Perfect for building and customizing with, this particular black PVC has a really nice saturation to it.

Monoclone

Out of all the Noboto variations that I've been playing with around here, this solid yellow version has probably seen the most action.

Maybe it's the buttered popcorn look?

Little Critters

This pistachio pipsqueak has been sneaking into random outgoing packages since our July release.

A small batch of these Lymerran Crayboth may appear in the store at some point this week, for those who might want to assemble a tiny crew of them.

EDIT: They have now invaded the store...

Sand Trap

Cady and CC wanted to dig a tunnel through the sand at the beach, so of course the event turned into a photo shoot.

I'm still trying to the get the sand out of my fingernails!

Walks on the Beach

Another quick trip to Old Orchard Beach in Maine, another sandy shot of some toys!

Having this duo finally teamed up together and actually going on some adventures has been a lot of fun.

I nearly took another picture of these goons, buried neck deep in a mountain of French Fries.

Monsters VS Robots

The ever impressive Ralph Niese works his magic once again!

Michelle, Marc and I have been staring at this piece pretty much nonstop since first laying eyes on it.

Thanks a million Ralph! Now we just have to make a movie to match your poster!

Hidden Histories

Noboto's connection to Pheyden and the rest of the Travelers is a strange one, with heavy ties to our original Rechlen and Aves stories and characters.

A particular group from those old scribblings, called the Lost Sincroid Army, actually set in motion the creation of the first Pheyden, and Noboto played a major role in that event.

Neo Phase Hunter

A little tweak to the Neo Acroyear build from the other day. This design was also intended to double as a new type of Phase Hunter.

New Outlander Release!

Ni is set to release a brand new Outlander assortment in his store tonight, August 5th, at 9 PM EST.

The crazy clear neon pink shown in the pics above matches the Sarvos we ran back in December 2012 from the Council of Travelers release. It truly is one of the strangest hues of colored PVC I've ever seen. The surface seems to change its look depending on the light source you view it under. These pics were taken as the sun was getting low, which created a neat effect as Outlander Theta soaked up some solar energy!

Make sure you check out Ni and his partner Cpresti's new Astrolog as well, to see exactly what is going on between the characters shown above.

Congratulations on production round number 2 for the Outlander, Ni!

My Friend the Micronaut

A little late with this, but just last week our friends Bryan "Microbry" Wilkinson and Bwana Spoons hosted a special Micro-themed custom show at the Grass Hut Art Market out in Portland, Oregon called My Friend the Micronaut.

The contributors to the show really sent in some incredible work, ranging from classic customs, paintings, drawings, plush and even completely home grown 3D printed ABS masterpieces.

As I thought about what to send during the past few months, I kept looking at the old Micronauts builds I had made over the years. In the end I decided to make some updated versions of a few classic Micronaut and Microman characters, using only clear Buildstation parts (minus a few clear Noboto chests) and zero paint. The idea was to concentrate on the pure build aspect, and whether or not I could push just the raw parts into something half interesting.

Clocking in as the biggest build is Mega Membros, an updated version of the last two Membros inspired builds I tried some years ago. I lost count of the amount of parts used to make this beast, but it was a lot! It's one heavy alien beefball.

I've loved the Acroyear designs for such a long time, that creating another homage set was probably my favorite part of this self imposed challenge. A new Commander and Soldier were the result of many hours tinkering with piles of parts. Their individual piece counts are not super high, and mostly utilize the accessory sets. It was a lot of fun working the Swing Joints into some older ideas.

To round out the assortment of Micro geeks, I tried to create a President Acroyear homage, pushing the spindly look of the old Microman toys and going for a kind of lanky vibe. This tall goon was designed to battle the last entry into this batch, something I thought long and hard about sending at all.

For the last 3 years I've been working steadily on a "human" head for the Glyan, with the idea being that it would allow for some new roads to be traveled as far as creative avenues go. This side project actually went into steel tooling three separate times, each result not quite hitting the target I've been aiming for. I've wanted to share these trials with you guys for years, but have never been too psyched about showing things that I felt were not on point. That being said, I could not miss the opportunity to send some of these production heads from the second trial run out to the show, as the original Micronauts/Microman were the primary inspiration for the original head sculpt I've been battling with over the past few years.

For the first time, some of these heads are out there. The pics above are of actual production heads, not resin. The right ear is a little sunken, the nose is tiny bit flat, and there is the slightest loss of detail on the mouth from the original, but in clear PVC it doesn't look too bad. Not great, but I wanted to show you what's been cooking with this mischievous little head after a number of years. Bry and Bwana's Micronaut custom show seemed like the perfect place to sneak the Micro Glyan out for a mission.

Sorry for another text tundra, but Micronauts apparently cause me to ramble even more than usual.

Special thanks to Bry and Bwana for putting on such a cool event, it was an honor to be part of it all.

Long live Microman!