Exclusive interview with INART Collectibles Art Director Viper - OneSixthRepublic

Interview that Charles Zen had with INART's art director, Viper. Some interesting things to note that I listed below.

1. Dune, Michael Jackson and Japanese anime related projects are coming
2. A new line called Master Series will debut in the future. (I imagine something close to Hot Toys original idea of a DX line)
3. 2022 was a big prep year for them. Establishing their workflow and how to operate since it is a new team and company.
4. The Batman Batmobile (Motorcycle is a translation error) production is coming close to an end. They hope to announce it soon. Working on vehicles is a new thing for them and comes with its own set of challenges.
5. 1/4 and other scales are possible down the line but not their focus due to their current schedule being packed.
6. Their design focus when working on figures is to keep in mind of how scale works. When working with 1/6 scale, their goal is to not only pay attention to proportions when scaling down but to make sure that it still looks 1/1 in realism with detail.
7. The INART team consist of only 30 people at the moment. They are an independent brand that works parallel with Queens Studio. They are working from one announcement to another and encourage artist to apply to work for them if interested.

Anime makes me think that Berserk pieces are coming. But much as I like it, if it’s kept in the same manga style I don’t think I could put it next to my realistic dollies. It’d piss me off to have Guts stand out as a stylised figure next to all the realistic ones. We’ll see. I wonder if they’ll move to some videogames in the future.

Some good stuff there. I wonder how much pricier this new “Master” line will be. A Smooth Criminal MJ would be very tempting, but if it’s something like 1K or something I’m out. I’m excited for some DUNC stuff though.

Victοr said:

Anime makes me think that Berserk pieces are coming. But much as I like it, if it’s kept in the same manga style I don’t think I could put it next to my realistic dollies. It’d piss me off to have Guts stand out as a stylised figure next to all the realistic ones. We’ll see. I wonder if they’ll move to some videogames in the future.

Some good stuff there. I wonder how much pricier this new “Master” line will be. A Smooth Criminal MJ would be very tempting, but if it’s something like 1K or something I’m out. I’m excited for some DUNC stuff though.

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I like Berserk as well, but wouldn't you as a fan want something that looks as faithful to manga? The Threezero Guts is a good example of translating 2D medium to 3D.

I was hoping to hear Batman Returns Penguin "COMING SOON".

muramasa007 said:

I like Berserk as well, but wouldn't you as a fan want something that looks as faithful to manga? The Threezero Guts is a good example of translating 2D medium to 3D.

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Technically yes, but in this 1/6th collection I want all my figures to have a similar realistic style. Blending in a single anime-styled figure with all the rest based on real actors would tick me off. Granted, I could keep the Berserk stuff separate, but then I'd open a new can of worms. I'll start being tempted by other, non-realistic 1/6th, start looking into comic based statues which don't have the faults of the cinematic translations, and that's just a slippery slope.

I'll keep it in mind, if it's announced, but considering how packed 2023 is already for me, and how 2024 and especially 2025 are shaping up, I doubt I'll be able to swing a Guts in his manga/anime style. But who knows, maybe they'll take a route similar to how Hot Toys took the Future Fight War Machine Punisher model and made it realistic, the headsculpt included. That's what I'm talking about in regards to a "realistic Guts". He won't need rooted hair either, so I reckon he'll be in that ~300$ area. We'll see. If it is Berserk anyhow, and not another anime license. I shouldn't jump to conclusions so early.

In regards to the rest, I wonder how deep they'll go with DUNC and when they'll start showing them off. DUNC 2 is out this November, but the Paul is from Part 1. And if they're going deeper with a Leto or something it'd be better to show him before Part 2 considering he won't appear there. Dunno, we'll see. But it's the line I'm most curious about.

Victοr said:

Anime makes me think that Berserk pieces are coming. But much as I like it, if it’s kept in the same manga style I don’t think I could put it next to my realistic dollies. It’d piss me off to have Guts stand out as a stylised figure next to all the realistic ones. We’ll see. I wonder if they’ll move to some videogames in the future.

Some good stuff there. I wonder how much pricier this new “Master” line will be. A Smooth Criminal MJ would be very tempting, but if it’s something like 1K or something I’m out. I’m excited for some DUNC stuff though.

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Threezero did a pretty damn good Gutz while having an insane amount of articulation. I'd be surprised if Inart does it but hard to tell. At the moment, you have Threezero and GameToys dominating the anime 1/6 market so not sure what Inart can or will do with it. Realistic anime 1/6 figure seems like a rather odd style so I don't see them attempting that. Who knows.




Still waiting to see how that still suit Paul looks. Least it's a bit of confirmation they didn't cancel it or anything yet.

Hologram AI said:

Threezero did a pretty damn good Gutz while having an insane amount of articulation. I'd be surprised if Inart does it but hard to tell. At the moment, you have Threezero and GameToys dominating the anime 1/6 market so not sure what Inart can or will do with it. Realistic anime 1/6 figure seems like a rather odd style so I don't see them attempting that. Who knows.

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I skipped it at the time, waiting for something more "high end". But mostly I don't want to start getting anime stuff because then I'll get some NGE figures and end up buying the TLotGH Nendoroids... Maybe the books are enough.

Hologram AI said:

Still waiting to see how that still suit Paul looks. Least it's a bit of confirmation they didn't cancel it or anything yet.

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WB is trying to turn DUNC into their Star Wars (not that they'll succeed). It was never going to get cancelled, but I doubt it's a labour of love so I hope they put out a good product and don't just half-ass it merely to do their duty as per WB's orders.

Anime seems like a waste of their talents, they're not figures that require extreme high detail.

Very interested to see what Michael Jackson figures they’ll produce. Already have the Hot Toys Beat It and Bad figures, I’d love Smooth Criminal and Billie Jean.

I think I am getting out of the DC game so the only thing they have I am interested in would be MJ.

Seems to confirm some rumors I've heard, that they will be doing an anime line, a DX line and hinting at other scales torwards the end possibly confirms that they will be doing 1/12 too.

It also seems they would like to make characters they're more invested in as opposed to what some people want, luckily 1/6 collectors can be pretty single minded and it seems like InArt/Viper share the same tastes as most collectors.

However I wouldn't take the "30 people" team literally, actual teams are compromised of only a few individuals nowhere near that number, by 30 people they're most likely talking about factory workers who paint, assemble, QC and package the figures, you will usually have between 20 to 50 working at a time.

Seems to confirm some rumors I've heard, that they will be doing an anime line, a DX line and hinting at other scales torwards the end possibly confirms that they will be doing 1/12 too.

R_R_X said:

It also seems they would like to make characters they're more invested in as opposed to what some people want, luckily 1/6 collectors can be pretty single minded and it seems like InArt/Viper share the same tastes as most collectors.

However I wouldn't take the "30 people" team literally, actual teams are compromised of only a few individuals nowhere near that number, by 30 people they're most likely talking about factory workers who paint, assemble, QC and package the figures, you will usually have between 20 to 50 working at a time.

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Oh man, 1/12 would be very interesting

Knightstalker said:

Very interested to see what Michael Jackson figures they’ll produce. Already have the Hot Toys Beat It and Bad figures, I’d love Smooth Criminal and Billie Jean.

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Pretty sure blitzway are doing 1:6 Smooth criminal.

zombieshane said:

Seems to confirm some rumors I've heard, that they will be doing an anime line, a DX line and hinting at other scales torwards the end possibly confirms that they will be doing 1/12 too.

Oh man, 1/12 would be very interesting

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Maybe but knowing the 1/12 market well I don't see how they'll sell mini InArt figures to Mezco/Figma collectors who mainly care about the fun factor of figures and want more articulation and accessories for affordable prices, I don't think they would care as much about rooted hair like 1/6 collectors who seek that kind of realism.

No Interest in Dune or Anime so that'll give me some breathing room hopefully. And while I enjoy MJ's music, I don't think I'd want a figure of him. That said, it would still be cool to see how it turns out.

Would love an InArt Sun Records Elvis though. I'd definitely pay for that.

It's not Anime, but Vagabond Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro should be a good start for InArt.
And SlamDunk Sakuragi should be a good one since the new Anime movie is going strong at the moment.

Just Don't do City hunter like Hot Toys.

Sounds like for the most part I have my key POs in. Nothing besides the already announced Legolas, Daenerys and Joker 2019 holds much interest for me.

Eager to see whatever they present though.

Anime? I'd love to see them tackle Dragon Ball characters! A proper 1/6 Son Gokou and Android 18? I'm sold!!

I'd pay the money for InArt Daft Punk, if we're talking musicians, but it's highly unlikely. I still want it. Give me the 1K pack!



I do wonder if they'll go after the new Trek flicks if SW is cornered by HT. Whatever you may think of the KelvinVerse, the newer outfits are ace.

Hate the idea of "DX" series. Are the current figures not the most deluxe/best they can do? All of the figures should be "DX." It just sounds like a term they can use to start charging $2000 for sets.

Anime better be cheaply priced, because I'm not paying $300+ for headsculpts that only require simple eye decals, minimal sculpting, and one-tone paint.