Interview with toy designer Rohby
 

Toy designer Rohby has just released pictures of the prototype Bomber Zero transforming mecha. Based on a WWII Zero fighter jet, this aerial ace dominates the skies!

Rohby took some time to tell ToyArk about his new creation.

Did you collect many toys when you were growing up? What toys do you chase these days?
Growing up I didn't collect much toy at all. Just the occasional GI Joe, Transformers, and a couple of Macross toys. Which is why I'm so into making them now. These days I'm still not so into collecting toys. I marvel at toys for their design. Often if I see a toy that I really like I'll just purchase one and pass up the multiple color waves. Once purchased, I definitely take it out of the box and analyze the crap out of it. I always ask myself, "what is it about this toy that strikes me?"

I know what you mean about analyzing the crap out of a toy - my girlfriend is perplexed when I just sit there for hours staring intently at a toy. When you open up a new toy, what are you looking for? Are you absorbing the mechanical engineering structures; the artistry; the smell of the plastic/vinyl; something else?
It's usually the asthetics that catch my attention to purchase a new toy. Once purchased and it's time to open it up, I usually turn my attention towards the engineering of the toy. Things like articulation are rather important to me in a toy. Otherwise, it's more of a statue than a toy. But that's just my personal opinion!

You've got a fairly obvious Macross/Robotech and Transformers influence in your work - tell us about a Saturday morning in young Rohby's house.
I didn't really enjoy the weekend cartoons very much. They seemed too silly and kiddy to me, even when I was a kid. What I did like were the after-school cartoons. The one I remember best was Robotech (aka Macross in Japan). It hit me like no other cartoon ever did. I think I was only 6-7 years old at the time. It was definitely in the 1st grade though. Nonetheless, it made a great impact on me.

Since growing up, have you gone back and revisited some of those old cartoons, and discovered some new favorites?
So far I haven't discovered any new favorite cartoons from my childhood. It's hard getting into them now that I'm older. That childhood imagination seems to slowly drift away from you. I do however, find a lot of the newer cartoons interesting!

How long have you been customizing and designing toys? How did you get started?
I've been customizing and designing toys for about seven years now. I got started by bootlegging certain toys out of resin and silicone molds for an online community which I won't mention its name.

How long does it take you to go from initial concept to having a prototype in your hands?
It's hard to say how long it may take for me to go from concept to prototype. The design definitely determines that for me. If it's a relatively simple design it can take as little as two weeks. However, the Zero took much longer than that. The time frame was about four months. But the actual "working" time frame was a lot less. If I didn't have other projects that kept jumping in the way I would say the Zero should only take about 2-3 months.

You mentioned multiple color waves earlier... we've only seen prototype images of Bomber Zero so far - are you planning one definitive, realistic colorway or will you do a few color schemes?
We haven't decided on that yet. It's still rather early for us to make that decision at the moment.

Bomber Zero - why did you choose the Zero jet as a basis for your toy?
I chose this particular plane for a simple reason. If a plane like this from WWII was to actually transform, it'll most likely come from Japan in my opinion. They just love them mechas.

How would you describe the personality of the robot?
The personality of the robot would definitely have to be pure confidence. I wanted to capture this through its pose as well. It's floating calmly in mid-air slightly leaning backwards and just ready for action without a single doubt.

Did the character/personality of Bomber Zero come before or during the design process?
What I love about designing mechas is that most of the time the personality comes through the way you pose and display them. You can make them look tough, or wussy just by the way you setup the pose. Even if it had 20 machine guns, you can still make it look like a puss. Or the opposite, you can make it look like an absolute killer with a twig in its hand.

Do you invent back stories for your creations?
Yes, I do invent back stories for my creations. I think you kind of have to to keep things interesting. It's set back in WWII in a parallel universe in which man and machine were forced to become one with each other. Military engineers for Japan set out to create a new type of fighter that could catch its enemies off-guard, the "ZERO". The enemies were absolutely no match for it. Japanese military owned the skies. Opposing countries set out to obtain their technology. This is the only way they can survive.

What urban/designer toys do you have on your shopping list?
Right now I would love to get my hands on Ashley Wood's latest toys. I think his Bramble designs are awesome.

Hey, thanks so much for your time, Rohby! It's been a blast getting to know you, and all the best with Bomber Zero.
Thanks, it was my pleasure!

You can check out more of Rohby's Macross-inspired mechas at ROHBY - Scopey, or see his Flickr page at Rohby's photosets on Flickr

thats def a Japanese Zero, the Spitfire was British and looked alot different

Yeah, the spitfire has a distinctive "gullet" leading up to the props.

It looks awesomely adorable though. I want one. Love super-deformed figures.

Thanks for the correction. When I was cleaning up the text, I saw Rohby's reference to the Japanese fighter 'Zero', and thought it was a reference to a specific plane, such as the 'Enola Gay'.

Cleaned up text. Cheers.