Over the course of 2005-2008, I assisted Art Asylum, designing production control art for various projects, most notably their Minimates line. This involved turnaround views for every part of the figure that was to be included in the final product, along with any surface artwork that needed to be applied.
Red Tornado was a project that should have been a winner, but suffered a bit from cost-cutting. Early on, I had designed a whirlwind base for him to plug into, simulating his tornado power. This ultimately got dropped, unfortunately. I had also developed a cape that could have been reused for R’as Al Ghul (assuming we ever got around to him). The cape that made it to production, though, works even better, so I can’t complain.
Looking back now, I wish I had gone slightly more robotic with the face, though it was fairly accurate to the comic at the time.
While the photos shown here on the site represent the finished figure, it should be noted that I contributed the control art only. As with all of the Minimate projects, there were many talented people involved: production managers, sculptors, other designers… This figure was very much a team effort, and the finished product reflects the contributions of many individuals.
Released 9/05/2007
Featured in TOYFARE MAGAZINE, Issue #116, April 2007.
