In the Pulp Arcana Studios corner of Fanboy Planet, Savage September has been an absolute blast. It has allowed me a chance to do a deep dive into, in my opinion, one of the best figure lines out there right now. The reviews for Nashorn the Disinherited, Who-Man, and the Frazetta tribute Warrior with Ball and Chain brought close looks at some absolutely incredible action figures. As I posted some of the final “FIELD PHOTOS” that close every review on my instagram, I reached out to Savage Crucible in the hopes they might notice the shots and maybe even be willing to share a little bit of information with all of you here at Fanboy Planet.
To my surprise and delight, Nikki, one of the painters for the line and the social media manager for the company responded back. Nikki explained that she and Rob, the owner of the company were willing to do an interview. It is therefore, with tremendous pride and excitement, I present an interview with Harvinger Studios and look behind the scenes at the awesomeness that is Savage Crucible.
What was the genesis of Savage Crucible? How did things get started?
Savage Crucible was a concept created by William Robert Post, the owner of Harvinger Studios. As a long time fan of dark fantasy, science fiction and action figures, Rob first formed the company MAFC myactionfigurecustoms.com. MAFC brought together a group of talented sculptors and designers to create 3d printed custom parts for fantasy action figure lines. At a certain point and depth of creation and engineering, the idea to create a new and original fantasy action figure line was born. There was a unique alchemy of ideas and characters born of this creator group, that was further refined into the concept of the Savage Crucible universe.
I know that the line was on Kickstarter originally. Can you tell us about the Kickstarter experience and the transition to full retail for the line?
We brought Savage Crucible to the public realm for the first time on Kickstarter on February 10th, 2023. The Kickstarter offered the first three waves of the line. This was a challenging undertaking, as we had to make it understood that the three waves would be delivered at different times subsequently, yet we wanted to show the breadth of the line we were about to create and start to flesh out the Savage Crucible world. Wave 1 was the Lemurians (lizard-men), Wave 2 was humans (barbarians, warriors including a figure officially licensed by the Frazetta Art Museum based on the Warrior with Ball & Chain painting by Frank Frazetta), Wave 3 was the Harbinger of the Abyss (a Lovecraftian-inspired villain) and the Pirahnoids (fish-men).
Due to the structure of Kickstarter and how funding momentum can be harnessed into unlocking stretch goals, we also were able to add a ton of accessories, weapons, armor, and alternate heads to wave-specific Character Packs. We were overwhelmed by the positive response to the Kickstarter which surpassed the minimum funding goal very early in the campaign.
One of the things that I fell in love with was the addition of bits of lore to each box. It made each figure a compelling character. Can you talk about the importance of lore and story for the line?
When building out a fantasy or sci-fi world, lore is everything. This world has to stand on its own and be believable even though it is not based in the world we know. While we had our first graphic novel created along with the Kickstarter, we wanted to convey the general premise of the Crucible and the flavor of the characters to anyone who saw an awesome looking action figure on the shelf of their local comic shop or online as they shopped for figures. Our character biographies are very detailed and much longer than what you’d normally expect of a figure line, for this reason. We expanded upon that with detailed cartography (maps) in each box, plus a blind-bagged card with artwork and 5E Dungeons & Dragons-compatible stats which further broadens the lore and world-building. Allowing for immersion in this fantasy setting, is very important to the SC team.
One of the things that became abundantly clear when I got my hands on the Raider accessory pack was how customizable the figures are. Can you talk about the importance of customization and has it ever been a hindrance for the design?
Since we are all action figure collectors and customizers, in addition to our first company catering to customizers, part-changouts and customizability was a core feature of the line. As action figures have evolved over the years, we feel that the customer-base now expects and appreciates the ability to swap parts and tailor figures to their own preferences. In addition to named figures which come with a vast amount of accessories, we have also offered the lower-priced “Savage” and “Slate” figures in Wave 1 and 3. Savage-class figures have full paint apps with minimal accessories. Slates are made in a dynamically colored plastic with paint apps on the eyes and mouth–all geared toward customizing and army building. Why simply collect when you can create innumerable combinations that set your shelf apart from all the rest?
Tell us a bit about Wave 1 and Wave 2 please. Readers here have seen the reviews of some of Wave 2, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the waves as a whole. Also, do you have a favorite figure from each wave?
The Wave 1 Lemurians have deep roots in old school DnD and we felt it was important to have a variety of creatures that could be army-built or stand alone as named characters. The Wave 2 Humans ground out the line with more familiarity and bring in more of the neutral or anti-hero element. Wave 2 is also near and dear to our hearts because it marked the forging of our relationship with Frankie Frazetta of the Frazetta Art Museum and the journey of respectfully bringing his grandfather’s artwork to action figure form. Each member of the team has their individual favorites from each wave but they usually fall into Ko’Mo or Nin for Wave 1, and with Wave 2 we have hardcore fans of every figure.
Wave 3 is coming (I already have the Pirahnoid Slate and Harbinger of the Abyss on pre-order!). Tell us about the theme and the figures please.
Wave 3 takes us into the realm of the Abyss. Our first and second graphic novels do a good job illustrating the players behind this evil force. We have one of our chief villains, the Harbinger of the Abyss who is rooted in the mysteries and origins of the Crucible. Forming a part of his vast armies are the Pirahnoids, various classes of fish-creatures which do his bidding. You have your light-armored Fathom Scout, clad in kelp, the medium-armored League Striker who dons chitin armor from other sea creatures, and the tank-like Abyss Dreadnought in shimmering plate armor. Our Wave 3 character pack gives you a variety of weapons, tomes, and relics. The Pirahnoid Savage and Slates (and a head pack that was offered only direct from savagecrucible.com) offer additional army-building and customizing opportunities!
Can you walk us through the design process for a Savage Crucible figure? From conception to shipping, I’d love to know how the sausage is made, so to speak.
Interestingly, we have a variety of processes of character creation! Our team members all have vivid imaginations and every single team member is involved in conception and refinement of different characters. In some instances, a single designer might sketch out concept art or a 3d sculpt and present it to the team, its design evolving from there. In other cases, a team member might assemble existing parts into a unique combination, paint it and work with the sculptors to create new parts for their character idea.
What we can tell you is that it is rare for a figure to only have been worked on from start to finish by one person. We work closely with our factory’s lead designer to refine the engineering and sizing of the figures and parts, they get tooled, and then the production process goes into full swing. We encourage readers to check out our Savage Crucible youtube channel because we have some great videos of the production process when we visit the factory. From there we work in the packaging design, biographies, graphic design, photography, and the work-in of other elements such as softgoods and blind-bagged cards and weapons! It’s truly remarkable how it all works and comes together!
You recently did a pre-order run for your savage stand and deluxe dungeon set. Absolutely ingenious combinations of stand and mini-diorama. This type of world building is something we see in other figure lines like GI Joe Classified and Marvel Legends, but have been pretty scarce for fantasy figures. As a toy photographer, I am beyond excited for what this can bring. Can you tell us about them?
As collectors ourselves, we are always thinking about the broader scope of collecting and the latest trends across many different lines. In the HasLab era, many lines have chosen to trend in the direction of very large items which take up a lot of space. We wanted to get back to our roots and think about ways to really enhance a collection, even if it’s only a few figures, and further expand on that immersion we discussed earlier. The dio-type elements bring back something that was present in the earlier days of collecting that we felt was missing. Additionally, Savage Crucible has seen an amazing response among the action figure photography community, and we hope to see these stands and dio elements brought to life through their creative lenses!
As we are already excited for the next wave of figures, coming, are there more waves planned after wave 3? Are there any hints you can give us as to the future of Savage Crucible?
So far we’ve delivered Waves 1 & 2, and approaching fulfillment of Wave 3. Along the way we’ve put out various single releases and Konclusives (convention exclusives) which are available on our website now. These releases or “drop figures” as we like to call them, don’t interfere with the production or timeline for Wave 3 delivery. Available at retail for preorder currently are Frazetta’s Death Dealer which continues our relationship with the Frazetta Art Museum and the artwork library therein. Hailing from the pages of fantasy novels, Moorcock’s Elric will be the very first time that this character will be made into an action figure!
Expect the long-awaited Wave 4 to be revealed very soon. We’ve discussed on our Youtube channel for a while now, for fans to expect a much smaller wave structure as we move past Kickstarter. This will allow more frequent, affordable releases at a much quicker pace. I think we can all agree that reducing wait time for figures is a noble goal!
There you have it Planeteers! Straight from the Crucible. I have absolutely loved every figure I have from this line, and have already placed pre-orders on a number of figures from the fantastic, upcoming Wave 3. When those come in, you can count on seeing some reviews and shots right here on Fanboy Planet. Huge thanks to Nikki and Rob from Harvinger Studios for taking us into the Savage Crucible.
All photos here courtesy of Savage Crucible.com
