Adventure People Kickstarter Launched!

[ZICA]

Captain Evil's Henchman Figure!

I've had a lot of people asking that an army builder figure be added to the Kickstarter so here's what I came up with, Captain Evil's Henchman

[ZICA]

So how do you pronounce ZICA? I always thought it was "zEE Kah" Is that not correct?

The "I" has the long vowel sound.

[sprytel]

So how do you pronounce ZICA? I always thought it was "zEE Kah" Is that not correct?

With this Zika virus all over the news, I could see where the Remco name might have less baggage.

[the_Archivist]

Also, nobody pronounces "ZICA" correctly so at least I won't have to worry about this with the REMCO name.

So how do you pronounce ZICA? I always thought it was "zEE Kah" Is that not correct?

[ZICA]

I'm not a huge fan of these characters, or the size. Im pretty much an 8 inch guy, but I believe in ZICA, so Im in. Good luck. We have to support each other and ZICA has only put quality figures out there.

Thanks for the compliment and your support, both are greatly appreciated!

[Fuzzysnail]

I'm not a huge fan of these characters, or the size. Im pretty much an 8 inch guy, but I believe in ZICA, so Im in. Good luck. We have to support each other and ZICA has only put quality figures out there.

[ZICA]

just pledgedgood luck!

Awesome, thanks!

[powersthatbe]

just pledgedgood luck!

[Tigger]

I really do appreciate your willingness to respond and listen without losing your cool. ZICA makes great products (I've got a ton of your stuff) so I definitely want this to succeed.

This! And another suggestion since nobody reads these days. Perhaps an image showing all 6 figures/renders (against a white background) that make up the Super All In level cam be shown with the price and posted on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. It may catch the attention of people scrolling through their social media feeds and if they share it, more people can become aware of the deal and this campaign.

[ODBJBG]

I've managed to work out better MOQ terms with the factory so now the original 4 figure set has been turned into a 6 figure set by adding on the Captain Action color variants. These were originally only going to be available if a stretch goal was met. Over on The Fwoosh forums they're saying the opposite in terms of character choices. They want to see army builders which are essentially multiple versions of the same figure. I guess this goes to show you can't please everybody.

Bringing back the REMCO and Adventure People names is my way of adding in a nostalgia factor to the mix, and it helps draw attention to the project. I've only seen a handful of complaints concerning any type of confusion that using the brand names has caused. Also, nobody pronounces "ZICA" correctly so at least I won't have to worry about this with the REMCO name.

Replacing the KOD figure would require more sculpting, which is another expense. The helmet was designed specifically for that character, and I'm sure at this point that trying to find a loophole to use it would still draw the attention of the license holder and their attorney. Right now I'm still on good terms with them so there's still a chance the figure could get made at some point. I'd rather not do something risky and ruin that possibility.

I dig the 6 figure "All in". And while I have been critical of some things and I still don't entirely agree with all the decisions made here, I really do appreciate your willingness to respond and listen without losing your cool. ZICA makes great products (I've got a ton of your stuff) so I definitely want this to succeed. There just wasn't enough to push me into that zone before, but the addition of the two color variants (while not necessarily appeasing every critique I had) did enough to solidly get me on board.

Good luck!

[ZICA]

It's nice that you added two Captain Action variants to the All In pledge level, but I'm a bit baffled by the decision. What you need is a higher ticket pledge level so that the hardcore collectors will raise the amount they're pledging which will drive up the overall amount raised. Now there are two pledge levels with the exact same dollar amount and $100 is still the highest pledge level.

On Fwoosh, people were saying they wanted an army builder of some kind so that backers have an incentive to buy multiples of a specific figure. As others have said, the foundation of these Kickstarters is getting a chunk of collectors to back at the highest reward level in order to drive that total amount raised higher. With the current highest reward level at $100, that isn't happening. I know you said no army builder was planned but that's almost necessary for an action figure Kickstarter to be successful due to the funding goals necessary to cover the high cost of tooling. Furthermore, now that there are no stretch goals, what is there to persuade people to raise their pledge levels above what they already are? I definitely think having appealing stretch goals dangling in front of the backers' faces constantly pushes them to add more to their pledges.

My two cents on the names and such is that it's confusing and misleading. Action Jackson, for instance, is part of the Adventure People line, in the Comic Action Heroes series, and made by the REMCO Toys division of ZICA Toys. It's just a mouthful. And I don't see how the Adventure People/Remco names really make sense.

Going by the Kicktraq, the campaign is looking to top out around $20,000-25,000. I think with some smart additions, a higher pledge level, and a huge push throughout the remainder of the campaign, the trend can be changed!

The factory helped me out by letting me get more bang for my buck and I'm passing that on to the customers, simple as that. Those Captain Action color variants aren't going to add to my cost based on how things were originally planned, because I'm now able to cut my MOQ by half. If it's going to take a small group of hardcore collectors to get this funded that's actually not a good thing. I need a large group comprised of casual and hardcore collectors to make this project, or any future ones, possible. In other words, there has to be a large enough market to make projects like this viable and profitable. There are two pledge levels with the same dollar amount because Kickstarter wouldn't allow me to change the original one.

As for the army builder issue, I agree that it would help improve the odds of funding but if I can't rely on the core characters to get this funded then what's the point. In other words, if there aren't enough fans of Captain Action, Captain Evil, Action Jackson, and Jet Jungle, that as a group total up to around 400 people to make this happen, that pretty much tells me there's no real interest in the characters. If that's the case, I'll move on and try something else.

Regarding the use of multiple brand names, it's basically like this. Using Funko POPS as an example, that brand has several characters based on different themes under it. Some I believe are original IPs and others are licensed properties. All of them have the same aesthetics and all are under the same brand, POPS. You have Batman mixed in with Star Wars, which are completely unrelated yet they're both part of the POPS line. The Adventure People brand is my company's version of POPS. Within that brand I plan to have different series. POPS has too many to list. Starting off I've got two, Captain Action and Comic Action Heroes. The REMCO brand will be used for the Adventure People and any similar product lines that involve licensed and original IP properties. The ZICA brand will primarily be used for product aimed at the customizer market, such as bodies, clothing and accessories.

[Tigger]

I've managed to work out better MOQ terms with the factory so now the original 4 figure set has been turned into a 6 figure set by adding on the Captain Action color variants. These were originally only going to be available if a stretch goal was met. Over on The Fwoosh forums they're saying the opposite in terms of character choices. They want to see army builders which are essentially multiple versions of the same figure. I guess this goes to show you can't please everybody.

Bringing back the REMCO and Adventure People names is my way of adding in a nostalgia factor to the mix, and it helps draw attention to the project. I've only seen a handful of complaints concerning any type of confusion that using the brand names has caused. Also, nobody pronounces "ZICA" correctly so at least I won't have to worry about this with the REMCO name.

Replacing the KOD figure would require more sculpting, which is another expense. The helmet was designed specifically for that character, and I'm sure at this point that trying to find a loophole to use it would still draw the attention of the license holder and their attorney. Right now I'm still on good terms with them so there's still a chance the figure could get made at some point. I'd rather not do something risky and ruin that possibility.

It's nice that you added two Captain Action variants to the All In pledge level, but I'm a bit baffled by the decision. What you need is a higher ticket pledge level so that the hardcore collectors will raise the amount they're pledging which will drive up the overall amount raised. Now there are two pledge levels with the exact same dollar amount and $100 is still the highest pledge level.

On Fwoosh, people were saying they wanted an army builder of some kind so that backers have an incentive to buy multiples of a specific figure. As others have said, the foundation of these Kickstarters is getting a chunk of collectors to back at the highest reward level in order to drive that total amount raised higher. With the current highest reward level at $100, that isn't happening. I know you said no army builder was planned but that's almost necessary for an action figure Kickstarter to be successful due to the funding goals necessary to cover the high cost of tooling. Furthermore, now that there are no stretch goals, what is there to persuade people to raise their pledge levels above what they already are? I definitely think having appealing stretch goals dangling in front of the backers' faces constantly pushes them to add more to their pledges.

My two cents on the names and such is that it's confusing and misleading. Action Jackson, for instance, is part of the Adventure People line, in the Comic Action Heroes series, and made by the REMCO Toys division of ZICA Toys. It's just a mouthful. And I don't see how the Adventure People/Remco names really make sense.

Going by the Kicktraq, the campaign is looking to top out around $20,000-25,000. I think with some smart additions, a higher pledge level, and a huge push throughout the remainder of the campaign, the trend can be changed!

[ZICA]

Even though I love all of these characters, it's very hard for me to be excited about plunking down $100 for what is essentially 4 versions of the same figure and only one that really resembles the character it's supposed to (Captain Action). The rest are passable at best, IMO. The lack of stretch goals (I understand the reasoning but at this point I think you'd done better to pretend one of the 4 was a stretch goal to add some buzz) and add ons just makes this seem like a tough road to go down.

I also feel like tacking on the Remco and Adventure People names, while a solid idea in theory, has only muddied the water. Most of the people who I see talking about those names, immediately begin discussing the figures that were typically associated with those lines. "I'd love to see such and such" as opposed to understanding that this is a new line entirely with no real connection to either of those brands.

Again, not trying to nag or be a pessimist. But I do think there is a demand for these characters, just not necessarily in the way they've been presented in this Kickstarter.

I'm curious why the KOD was originally going to be in the line, but since he's out, there was no replacement figure? Couldn't at least another figure using the previous molds be designed? If this was originally a 5 figure line up and it's now down to 4, seems like there should be some wiggle room there to do something else.

I've managed to work out better MOQ terms with the factory so now the original 4 figure set has been turned into a 6 figure set by adding on the Captain Action color variants. These were originally only going to be available if a stretch goal was met. Over on The Fwoosh forums they're saying the opposite in terms of character choices. They want to see army builders which are essentially multiple versions of the same figure. I guess this goes to show you can't please everybody.

Bringing back the REMCO and Adventure People names is my way of adding in a nostalgia factor to the mix, and it helps draw attention to the project. I've only seen a handful of complaints concerning any type of confusion that using the brand names has caused. Also, nobody pronounces "ZICA" correctly so at least I won't have to worry about this with the REMCO name.

Replacing the KOD figure would require more sculpting, which is another expense. The helmet was designed specifically for that character, and I'm sure at this point that trying to find a loophole to use it would still draw the attention of the license holder and their attorney. Right now I'm still on good terms with them so there's still a chance the figure could get made at some point. I'd rather not do something risky and ruin that possibility.

[ODBJBG]

Even though I love all of these characters, it's very hard for me to be excited about plunking down $100 for what is essentially 4 versions of the same figure and only one that really resembles the character it's supposed to (Captain Action). The rest are passable at best, IMO. The lack of stretch goals (I understand the reasoning but at this point I think you'd done better to pretend one of the 4 was a stretch goal to add some buzz) and add ons just makes this seem like a tough road to go down.

I also feel like tacking on the Remco and Adventure People names, while a solid idea in theory, has only muddied the water. Most of the people who I see talking about those names, immediately begin discussing the figures that were typically associated with those lines. "I'd love to see such and such" as opposed to understanding that this is a new line entirely with no real connection to either of those brands.

Again, not trying to nag or be a pessimist. But I do think there is a demand for these characters, just not necessarily in the way they've been presented in this Kickstarter.

I'm curious why the KOD was originally going to be in the line, but since he's out, there was no replacement figure? Couldn't at least another figure using the previous molds be designed? If this was originally a 5 figure line up and it's now down to 4, seems like there should be some wiggle room there to do something else.

[ZICA]

Just found out that this campaign was live and got my pledge for all 4 in! Figures look great and I'm very excited to have these in hand months down the road! Just making some observations, I think this campaign may have a long uphill battle. A few thoughts below..





I'm afraid that the lack of a higher dollar amount pledge level may hurt this campaign's success. Most other campaigns have had a huge number of pledges that were for several hundred dollars and without an army builder to achieve that (an unfortunate situation that happened for sure), it will take a lot of backers to jump on board.

The length of the campaign is also too long I think. It's been proven by data that campaigns have a greater chance to meet their funding goal if they are about 30-35 days long. The buzz must be maintained throughout the length of the campaign in order to keep the interest from waning. It's already hard to do that for about a month and I think doing that for 60 days is going to be very hard if there are no updates or nothing new to add to the campaign.

Additionally, I think there needs to be a much bigger push on various toy sites, forums, and social media platforms. More new backers need to continually come on board if there are no other relevant high level pledge categories to add.

Here's the Kicktraq that provides a lot of useful data, most notably, the daily data: http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/172...e/#chart-daily
Compare that to the daily data charts of other successful (and unsuccessful) campaigns in order to get an idea of what level of pledges to expect.

Adding more incentives to the campaign just wasn't possible with the the budget that's in place. The factory I'm planning to use does great work but their MOQ and unit prices are on the high side.

The reason I went with 60 days instead of 30 was because the Kickstarter got approved early so I wanted to take advantage of the extra time. Once it gets closer to the end there will definitely be a harder push to get the info out there. Big Bad Toy Store is helping by offering the figures for preorder on their website, and all of the sales will be added to the Kickstarter funding goal through the same pledge system that everyone is using.

I've reached out to some of the various toy sites and forums, and the reach I've gotten on the ZICA Toys Facebook page alone has been great. To get this project funded it would take the sale of approximately 435 full sets (4 figures). If the demand isn't there to sell that many with what's already being offered it proves that there's really no market for these particular figures, which is unfortunate.