New Details on The Walking Dead Statues from Gentle Giant

2013/10/24 23:36:56 +00:00 | Jonathan James

During the San Diego Comic-Con, Gentle Giant gave attendees an early look at their new 18″ statues from The Walking Dead TV series, including Michonne, Daryl, and Merle. The Michonne statue was officially revealed earlier this month and we caught up with Gentle Giant's Greg Crafts to learn more about their new product line:

We caught an early look at The Walking Dead statues and Comic-Con and think know that fans will be really excited to learn more. After starting with the series of mini-busts, why was this particular scale and format decided upon?

Mini Busts may be one of signature formats, but it’s hard to argue that our quarter-scale statues aren’t equally as popular among the collecting community. As a matter of fact, we’ve seen a lot of growth in this area over the past few years, what with the success of our Sucker Punch line, not to mention all of the buzz around Honey Trap. Expanding into this category with The Walking Dead seemed like the next logical step for us. It also didn’t hurt that a lot of our collectors have been asking us for their favorite characters in this style for some time now.

We noticed that they are mixed media statues, with fabric being used for some of the clothing. Was this done to give collectors flexibility on the final look of the character? Will alternate clothing/accessories be included?

Absolutely. Some collectors will like their Daryl poncho on, some poncho off. We made sure that the level of detail was there so he looked great either way. As for alternate clothes/accessories, that’s not something we’re exploring quite yet, but we’ve done deluxe statues in the past, so never say never. It’s really going to depend on the piece and whether or not we see the opportunity to do something interesting in a way that doesn’t simultaneously increase the price too much. We do want to keep these statues reasonably priced for their market.

We saw Michonne, Daryl, and Zombie Merle. Will they all be released around the same time? When do you expect them to become available?

Their releases will be staggered. We’ll be soliciting another statue every couple of months, and we plan on the finished product landing somewhere between nine months to a year after solicitation. We do this so we can focus on each piece one at a time and give the edition the attention it deserves to make sure it’s done right. It’s also easier on our collectors’ wallets this way.

Could you tease some of the other characters that Gentle Giant is currently working on? Are all of the designs based on Season 3 or are you working on Season 1, 2, and 4 designs as well?

Our designs span the seasons. Our Rick Grimes Mini Bust is clearly Season 1. The Well Walker is definitely a S2 piece. One of our upcoming statues that hasn’t been announced yet is definitely a S3 piece, and so on. As for other characters, well, we just unveiled Carl, which is really exciting for us, as we think his arc on the show is fascinating. We still have several Survivors to visit, some still living and some, well, not. Shane, Glenn, Andrea, Morgan, T-Dog… Not to mention new additions to the cast like Michael Cudlitz’ upcoming Sgt. Abraham Ford. And then, you’ve got all of the featured Walkers… Honestly, we’ve barely cracked the surface, and we’re very excited about all of the potential. [Editor's Note: The comment about Carl is referring to the recently announced mini-bust]

How often will new statues be released?

The releases should hopefully be evenly staggered with the solicitation announcements, so once Michonne is released, there should be a new statue coming every few months after that.

Does the license allow you to create any character from The Walking Dead TV series? Does that include any Walker?

Our license is pretty comprehensive. I don’t think there’s a character out there that’s off-limits to us. That being said, it’s interesting, there are different labor unions and different contractual agreements with the talent or characters in the series. The living have been great to work with, the Dead, not so much. Many of the Walkers are a case by case scenario. There are so many extras that we cant just pick out anyone in the horde. Even if they would make a great Walker, we still need to get permission.

Do you have the ability or interest to create collectibles and/or statues based on The Walking Dead comic book series?

McFarlane took a stab at Comic based statues. We talked about doing something here years ago and still would consider it. But for now, we think McFarlane is doing some nice work.

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I'd like to thank Greg for taking the time to talk with us. We've included photos of the Michonne statue as well as recent Gentle Giant coverage links. You can learn more about Gentle Giant by visiting their official website at: