Abe & Munch Plush Toys Kickstarter

[Datky]

I so want the stranger one.

[Crashpunk]

Those Dota figures are sweet. I have some Fallout ones in a similar style and I love them. Much better than those god awful Pop Vinyls, which are frigging everywhere.

But what I'd really like are some Oddworld statues. They cost much more but are super detailed and look so great.

[V_O_T]

pop vinyls are horrid lol. But hell yeah to the statues. I'm just gonna throw an image of how I'd see Oddworld ones done in detail seeing as we are talking about merch.




Hold up, are the stretch goals actual plushies of live ammo or just those plastic tag things?

[Michael]

I've noticed people can comment on Kickstarter, and reading through it seems like there's a general consensus from people on the look of the plushies being slightly off model? Interested to see what you guys think? As much as I like them, I must admit I do feel the same way.

People have suggested tweaks to the designs that they think would look better. Bearing in mind the ones shown are prototypes and likely to change, I thought it'd be fun to play around with the images on photoshop and see what changes I would make. Attached is what I came up with!

The changes I'd make are minimal but IMO change the feel of the characters quite a lot. Here's an overview;

Abe- larger eyes, slightly lower down and rotated for a warmer & more characterful 'apprehensive' look. Colour edit so he's slightly more green. Another strip of brown felt atop the loincloth for the waistband. Mouth/lower head section slightly wider.

Munch- slightly wider embroidered eyes (expanding outwards), smaller headport, wider + pointier cheeks, slightly reshaped mouth, colour edits.

What do you guys reckon?

[Silver angel]

I've noticed people can comment on Kickstarter, and reading through it seems like there's a general consensus from people on the look of the plushies being slightly off model? Interested to see what you guys think? As much as I like them, I must admit I do feel the same way.

People have suggested tweaks to the designs that they think would look better. Bearing in mind the ones shown are prototypes and likely to change, I thought it'd be fun to play around with the images on photoshop and see what changes I would make. Attached is what I came up with!

The changes I'd make are minimal but IMO change the feel of the characters quite a lot. Here's an overview;

Abe- larger eyes, slightly lower down and rotated for a warmer & more characterful 'apprehensive' look. Colour edit so he's slightly more green. Another strip of brown felt atop the loincloth for the waistband. Mouth/lower head section slightly wider.

Munch- slightly wider embroidered eyes (expanding outwards), smaller headport, wider + pointier cheeks, slightly reshaped mouth, colour edits.

What do you guys reckon?

Your versions are more canonical, I like them. But I'm not against of what already there. Also I love pink Munch! :3

[FennecFyre]

-snip-

I'm loving these edits! Hopefully OWI and the people making the plushes take notice.

[Xavier]

Just wondering, do we have a visual on the print that comes with the master set?

[Vanilla ✜]

Just wondering, do we have a visual on the print that comes with the master set?

I would like to see that too, maybe they don't have a design for it yet?

[Xavier]

I might be tempted if the artwork they choose is a good one.

The fact it's signed by Erick too makes me think it's going to be in the same cartoony style as the pvc tags. To be honest I can't justify to spend that kind of money on a print of a cartoon interpretation of Abe and Munch.

[Michael]

Some of the details are a bit vague. I guess some is down to good faith, though $1500 is a lot to commit in good faith. As someone mentioned earlier it's not clear if the Live Ammo characters are plushes or PVC tags. Considering they're each a set of three, and the same price as the Stranger plush... I don't know? Perhaps they're not 10".

I expect more visuals will come along as project updates. They have a month for the campaign, and irrespective of whether they reach the goal before the end, I'm sure they'll continue to give progress reports to the backers. The Master Sets aren't selling fast, you probably have some time to wait on that, and see if any images appear before pledging.

[Vanilla ✜]

The fact it's signed by Erick too makes me think it's going to be in the same cartoony style as the pvc tags.

Who on earth is Erick, the description just says Lorne Lanning and the ESC team?

[Michael]

I think ESC = Erick Scarecrow

Also OWI just tweeted:

The Kickstarter is moving so fast! Which one of the ammo plushies is your favourite?

So I guess that clears up the debate whether the live ammo stretch goals are plush or PVC tag!

[Nate]

I know that there's a lot going on behind the scenes when a Kickstarter is being run, but I really wish they'd take the time to respond to the questions in the comments.

[Michael]

I know that there's a lot going on behind the scenes when a Kickstarter is being run, but I really wish they'd take the time to respond to the questions in the comments.

I agree. Though this was at least acknowledged in the first update, so isn't being ignored:

For everyone that is sending me messages via Kickstarter, I promise to answer them just allow me some time to respond.

[Xavier]

Looks like the print will be revealed only when the project is funded.

@zulag @OddworldInc That will be revealed once the project is funded. It will be worth it.

— Esc-Toy Ltd (@ESCtoy) May 15, 2017

Is it just me or is this weird?

[Phoetux]

Looks like the print will be revealed only when the project is funded.
Is it just me or is this weird?

Imo selling a set coming along with an unknown print is not convenient, especially if the price of it is expansive. Selling a print that nobody knows how it looks like it's really inappropriate, it's not an act to consider commercial.
And though you say "It will be worth it" that still doesn't change nothing, there might be some people who won't like it at all (even the fact that it will be signed by Lorne Lanning and ESC it's pretty inviting tho, but still).

[Michael]

Hmm. The cynic in me is saying 'revealed once project is funded. It will be worth it' basically means the print has yet to be decided or created. And the funding from the project would be used to do so at a later stage.

I could understand this to an extent. The aim of the Kickstarter is to fund the production of the goods on offer, and it's likely that only so much money was set aside at the beginning for the creation of the prototypes to draw in business. Not everything can be created up front.

That said, given the cost of the Master Set, I would expect at least a rough idea of what to expect, even if it's a description or a quick sketch. As Phoetux said, everyone will have their own opinion of what constitutes good value to them. $1500 is a hell of a lot to pledge in blind faith.

Speaking of signed prints- I'm still waiting for my NNT naming comp. print OWI

[Nate]

I actually cancelled my pledge today. As much as I'm sure Alf would look cute, I really don't need more clutter in my life.

I do want the live ammo, but I'll just have to check into that at some point in the future.

[Xavier]

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of campaigning around this kickstarter. All we got was some teasing before the launch and then only some posts on social media to highlight what percentage of the goal was reached.

It's good to see that OWI sent out a newsletter about it via mail but it still feels like ESC are barely communicating about it.

I backed numerous Kickstarters and this one is amongst the most dull ones.

I hope they'll start to up their game soon, maybe once the first goal has been reached, otherwise we might never get the Live Ammo plush toys.

[Michael]

For a brand as well loved as Oddworld, I was surprised I didn't see the kickstarter linked in any articles on gaming sites like GameInformer or IGN. Perhaps I just missed it, but it defo seemed to be just Twitter and a couple Facebook posts.

I'm not sure how it's looking atm. The first few days were really promising but things have ground to a near halt. At current rate, it may just about get funded, but I seriously doubt it'd get anywhere near the stretch goals. The campaign needs reinvigorating, perhaps a 'making of' video showing the creation of the prototype plushies.

Another issue is the amount of people saying they'd only really want Stranger- people that have pledged perhaps only to increase for one of the stretch goals later on. If it's nearing the end of the campaign and the stretch goals look unlikely, these people could pull out. And instead of a last minute boost, we'll see a sudden drop.

Then also consider that few, if any of the comments are 100% on board. Each one has a criticism or a question that makes them slightly unsure, for one reason or another. This is certainly bad for potential backers who might view the comments and wonder what's going on. It's all well and good saying the questions will be answered 'eventually'- thise questions need answering right now, as things like that left unsorted affect the public reaction to the campsign.

Gotta admit I'm of two minds on my Alf pledge. $165 incl postage for Abe, Munch + Alf. But I can get Abe + Munch with postage for I think $52. Can I really justify a further £90 just for Alf, when I haven't even seen him? Hmm As said before, I do feel they could look better too, and a part of me feels I'm only going for this 'because its Oddworld'

At least with things slowed down, I have a nice 20+ days to decide

[Steef-Herder]

Looks like the print will be revealed only when the project is funded.

@zulag @OddworldInc That will be revealed once the project is funded. It will be worth it.

— Esc-Toy Ltd (@ESCtoy) May 15, 2017

Is it just me or is this weird?

That's some serious carrot-dangling BS. Everything about that pledge seems poorly planned and set up.

It'd wanna be some Swanland-tier promo art they've newly commissioned for that cost, cos nobody's gonna want a print with PVC character art or something similarly simple.

[Vlam]

I'm proud of you, guys!

[Andrelvis]

For a brand as well loved as Oddworld, I was surprised I didn't see the kickstarter linked in any articles on gaming sites like GameInformer or IGN. Perhaps I just missed it, but it defo seemed to be just Twitter and a couple Facebook posts.

I'm not sure how it's looking atm. The first few days were really promising but things have ground to a near halt. At current rate, it may just about get funded, but I seriously doubt it'd get anywhere near the stretch goals. The campaign needs reinvigorating, perhaps a 'making of' video showing the creation of the prototype plushies.

That's pretty much how all kickstarters go. New campaign get a lot more visibility on kickstarter.com, so during the day or two after launch pledges accumulate quickly. Then the quantity of pledges per day greatly decreases.

[Xavier]

New picture

The @ESCtoy x @OddworldInc plush project is at 65%! We're almost there! Let's keep it going! https://t.co/Nqj44xC5Qh #esctoys #oddworld pic.twitter.com/gljIIiUE27

— Esc-Toy Ltd (@ESCtoy) May 17, 2017

Do you think they are trying to say the plush toys can go in the washing machine?

[Gunnr]

^I think he just got to the boiler

[Xavier]

In case you are interested you can see the evolution of the campaign over here:

https://www.backerkit.com/projects/7...-plush-project

According to the trend it should get funded.

[Silver angel]

Is it something wrong with my eyes, or today in the morning there was $28,020? And now it's 27,977...

[Xavier]

Hmmm I don't know about that but it just jumped to $ 29,394

[Vanilla ✜]

I was planning on getting the $1500 as it would cost £1100 for me but after talking to some friends about it, it's doesn't seem worth it Buying both $125 rewards to get Lulu Munch and Alf would cost $250, I don't really want to pay $850+ for a print I have yet to see. Plus I'd rather have an autograph if I met Lorne Lanning and Erick if I get to meet them in person.

[daniel992]

It's jumped to $38,000 now. I can see this happening