Odious Cowboy and Soldier Kickstarter

ABSOLUTELY no offense to our boy - but I don't really get the appeal of vanity projects like this. Like, I get why someone would want to do it. But I don't get why people want to buy it. Do you need a bunch of some YouTuber's mascot/avatar on your toy shelves, and if so - why? Explain the appeal to me.
 
I feel the same way. I mostly posted it because I'd love a cowboy figure like that without the sasquatch head, furry body, and hairy hands and feet.
 
One of the few times I'd willingly give Mezco money again is if they did a One:12 Arthur Morgan. This is not that.
 
Damien said:
ABSOLUTELY no offense to our boy - but I don't really get the appeal of vanity projects like this. Like, I get why someone would want to do it. But I don't get why people want to buy it. Do you need a bunch of some YouTuber's mascot/avatar on your toy shelves, and if so - why? Explain the appeal to me.
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It's like Gomez for Mezco, or the entire Rumble Society for that matter. The appeal is in the figure itself, not fondness of the character from other media. Also similar to what Damtoys or Fogtoys or the other 1/12 cloth good figure makers put out... they are kind of like art figures. I see it as sort of similar to vinyl/designer toys. Lots of crossover with people who are into music, fashion, skating, anime, etc.

Then you also have people that follow Wade and know the story and actually like the character, and want him represented on the shelf.

Then there are people that are in Wade's community, or adjacent to it, and a lot of those communities get excited to support each other's artistic creations. So on one hand it's giving support, but I think a lot of people also genuinely get something out of seeing someone they know and like succeed with their dream.
 
AgentHemlock said:
It's like Gomez for Mezco, or the entire Rumble Society for that matter. The appeal is in the figure itself, not fondness of the character from other media. Also similar to what Damtoys or Fogtoys or the other 1/12 cloth good figure makers put out... they are kind of like art figures. I see it as sort of similar to vinyl/designer toys. Lots of crossover with people who are into music, fashion, skating, anime, etc.

Then you also have people that follow Wade and know the story and actually like the character, and want him represented on the shelf.

Then there are people that are in Wade's community, or adjacent to it, and a lot of those communities get excited to support each other's artistic creations. So on one hand it's giving support, but I think a lot of people also genuinely get something out of seeing someone they know and like succeed with their dream.
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Yeah, I can get behind that. And I've done it myself to some extent. But I feel like, and this is JUST me, that if I buy a silly mascot figure for some guy starting a toy company, that I expect that toy company to go somewhere beyond just more versions of his mascot figure. I want to feel like I'm helping them get somewhere beyond just revisiting the same basic vanity project over and over again.

And to that point; how many of someone's vanity projects do people need/want to invest in? I can much more easily get the idea of buying one Odious than continuing to buy more of them every couple years. Does anyone besides Wade and maybe a few hardcore hangers-on really want a shelf full of Odious in different costumes? I don't understand the appeal of that.
BUT, I also don't understand the appeal of 200 different Gomez figures in different outfits. Even if the appeal is just that it's a cool figure - how many 'cool Roach-men' does someone really want at 100 bucks a pop?
 
You may be overthinking the whole thing. Like AgentHemlock said, someone may just like the look of the figure. Doesn't mean they feel compelled to learn or care about any potential source material. Or expect to start up a new collection. They may just like that one figure. In this case, maybe someone likes the idea of bigfoot wearing clothes. Doesn't have to be more than that.

I suppose the Gomez thing may just be a cult movement. I know some Mezco One Collective fans are a bit obsessed with that line and can't handle any criticism of it. I suppose they may be gobbling up Gomez and Rumble Society figures. Honestly, some of the Rumble Society figures and items look neat, but I find it easy to just skip the whole lot. Especially at the prices they charge.

I know I've bought and enjoyed plenty of figures and toys just because I like the look of the item. And feel no need to be attached to any line the figures are attached to. Nor care about the media. Sometimes something just appeals to you and you get it.
 
Yeah, Wade's mentioned that a bit, I listen to his streams when I'm working. He considered doing alternative outfits for sale separately, but ultimately the cost of producing them and selling them alone isn't that far off from selling them with a figure. And it opens up the different looks for those that passed because they didn't want the original urban lumberjack style, but a ape man soldier guy could go in the Mezco TMNT display or what have you. Tariffs blew up his spot repeatedly this year, but he still wanted to move forward. But ultimately yeah, I think he's aware that this is a test to see how many people want Odious in different costumes, and it might not work out. But there are more people by far who have purchased the set of two, or the set of three, than the single figures on the kickstarter, so people seem to want more than one.

I wouldn't call it a vanity project, per say, in the same way I wouldn't call the small shops and customizers that vend at Legions Con as vanity projects. There might be people buying in a GoFundMe kinda spirit, but other people who genuinely think it's awesome.

As someone who is content with just one variation of each character in his collection, I dunno why people buy what they buy either though—different strokes for different folks.
 
To be clear; I'm not even saying people SHOULDN'T want it, or that it's a bad idea, or that the figures don't look good or anything. I'm more just specifically saying that I, personally, do not understand the appeal of them. And that I can maybe understand why someone would want to grab one of them, but after that I really don't. But as I said above, I also don't understand people that want every version of Gomez. Are people actually buying them because there's this expansive untapped market for roach-head people in different costumes?

Maybe. I dunno. If it does well for Wade then absolutely more power to him.

But it is absolutely a vanity project. It's your personal logo/avatar/mascot as an action figure over and over again. There's no other way to describe that than as a vanity project. But, to be clear, that doesn't make it -bad-.
 
Out of curiosity, what would make something a vanity project vs a creator owned character? Like, is the TMNT a vanity project by Eastman and Laird? Or was it at the beginning, and then it ceased being one when it hit mainstream success?
 
AgentHemlock said:
Out of curiosity, what would make something a vanity project vs a creator owned character? Like, is the TMNT a vanity project by Eastman and Laird? Or was it at the beginning, and then it ceased being one when it hit mainstream success?
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TMNT was never Eastman and Laird's self-inserty avatar/mascot, though. It was a concept and characters they created outside of themselves as a separate thing. My understanding of Odious from when I listened to Wade's stuff more is that it's VERY specifically HIS online avatar/mascot (however you'd like to word it). It's not a character he created that he's best known for and that he happens to like.

But if Eastman had made a lizard commando in TMNT and expressly said 'this is my personal avatar in the TMNT universe' and then made products exclusively for and about that lizard commando to the exclusion of anything else, THAT would definitely be a vanity project.

Another example of a vanity project is when PDNA was Mega and they got Boss Fight to make that HACKS figure out of their mascot. That was 100% a vanity project. It was still a cool figure (I bought it). So it's not like 'vanity project' necessarily denotes something subpar, bad faith, etc. But it does kind of imply a lack of creativity or larger vision beyond 'I want MY thing to be a toy.' Which, again, is fine. I'm just not seeing the appeal for -other people- of supporting the ever-expanding roster of a vanity project. "I'm just going to make endless versions of my personal little online avatar" isn't something I see lots of value in.

Personally. Just me. Again, not saying it's a bad thing or people shouldn't like it. -I- just don't like it or 'get it,' as it were. But, as I said earlier, I also don't get the appeal of the endless Gomez figures that people go nuts for.
 
Ah....so "Odius" is a mascot. I've seen this figure in various news threads and what-not, but had no idea it was anything beyond some third party sasquatch. Just reading through this thread I've learned he's a mascot/avatar for some reviewer I've somehow never encountered before. Interesting.
 
I'm probably the only person to say this, but...I just don't care for Wade, I don't get the appeal. Just like Shartimus, or MadHatter, his vibe isn't my vibe. I cuss (obviously), but I don't like listening to people who cuss just to cuss. Or who do it in a way like a middle school kid, like they just learned how to--much like those guys do. Some of them are vulgar for vulgarity's sake.

Thus, any interest I *might* have had in this (which was miniscule to virtually non-existent to begin with) goes right out the window. Hard for me to separate the art from the artist. Ya know how it goes.
 
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