Thirty in ’25: An O-ring Action Figure Campaign

For those that have been following the Thirty in ’25 campaign, then you’ve surely seen that the campaign has hit its initial funding goal, meaning that Thirty will now go into production and become a part of backer history!

For those unfamiliar with the effort, The “Thirty” o-ring action figure is from Chad LaForce (3.75″ 12POA). Thirty is part of the Undead Operator toy verse.

Check out details from the campaign below –

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/malchamzidek/thirty-in-25-an-o-ring-action-figure-campaign

Welcome to the Thirty in ’25 kickstarter campaign. 

Glad you could make it. I’m Chad, the creator/designer of the Thirty o-ring action figure. I’ve done my best to create a compelling campaign for you with plenty of details, expressive art, and a glimpse into the world of Thirty and Undead Operator. 
Quick tldr on me: I worked as a creative director in the video game industry, as well as a technical designer and multimedia producer.
As a young kid in the 70s and 80s, my first love was Star Wars, then MOTU, and THEN… GIJOE! And Joes became my ultimate toy crush. I’m still collecting to this day (in all seriousness, I’m team Cobra). I hope my passion and enthusiasm for o-ring toys shines through in this campaign.
Thanks for looking around, and I hope you’ll consider supporting the campaign and sharing it with everyone.

Now on to the good stuff!

UPDATE:
We are funded. Let the stretch goals pursuit begin…

The Campaign

This campaign is for the Thirty o-ring action figure. This action figure is specifically designed in the classic o-ring action figure stylings (ala the G.I. Joe and Cobra figures from the 80s and 90s). This means it comes at a scale of 3.75″, has 12 points of articulation (POA), and is generally compatible with other o-ring toys and play sets of that scale and design. 
NOTE: The action figure offered in this campaign is an adult collectible. While it certainly will come with a strong play factor (as did all early o-ring toys and action figures), this Thirty o-ring figure is positioned as a collectible for ages 12 and up, not a play thing for youngsters. 
This is in keeping with most o-ring action figures currently offered by companies such as hasbro and Super7.
Thirty also has a compelling story and narrative, with plenty of world-building already fleshed out by myself as the creator. So I’ve put plenty of art in the campaign here which hints at the broader strokes of her life as an undercover paramilitary agent who hunts the undead. I hope you’ll find it compelling.

The O-ring Action Figure

The Thirty o-ring action figure being featured in this campaign is already modeled and factory ready. Thirty will be compatible with existing 3.75″ o-ring action figure toys, complete with back and foot peg holes. For the most part, her weapons and accessories are interchangeable with your other existing o-ring action figures, and vice-versa. (She fits perfectly in your ‘Joe vehicles, for example.)
Depicted below are some images and specs of the o-ring action figure (prototype shown).

The Lore/Story

Thirty is a deep-cover operative. She works in dangerous conditions in major cities all across the country. Naturally, she has many different undercover outfits for her work (some are shown in various artistic representations here in the campaign, as visual flavor). For this first edition of the o-ring action figure, we’re going with her mainstay undercover disguise, also called her “Chicago gear”. You can see this represented in the prototype images of the action figure shown throughout the campaign. In her Chicago gear, Thirty poses as an urban skater chick, donning a numbered blue sports jersey, cargo pants and a skateboard, with additional accessories.
More of Thirty’s lore, and the unfolding story of the Undead Operator universe, will be unpacked here in the campaign once we reach near the funding goal.

You can also dive deeper into Thirty’s backstory if you get the comic book. 
You’re saying, “Wait, this campaign also offers a comic book?” Yep, the comic book is in production already. It’s set to be a full-color, 22-page Thirty one-shot! Get it by itself, or add it as an add-on.

The Accessories

We have accessories for the action figure, and we have accessories for the campaign. Let’s talk about both. The Thirty o-ring action figure will, of course, come with some accessories, such as the skate deck and handgun. These two items are already modeled and featured in the images of the o-ring action figure prototype shown here in the campaign. But, perhaps your new Thirty action figure should come with a few more accessories, eh? Some ideas are: katana, nunchukas, cell phone, throwing knives. Maybe more. But we should put these things to a vote, so you backers can choose some of the accessories! 
Look for the opportunity to do just that in an upcoming campaign update. 
You’re welcome. 🙂
As an example, backers of the “Thirty in ‘25” o-ring action figure Kickstarter will be able to vote on various skate deck concepts for Thirty’s board. A few concepts are depicted, below. And, if we get into stretch goal territory, we’ll design and model a larger “long board” skate deck accessory for the figure -and that’s where these designs will really pop (think tech deck size with working wheels). We have additional surprises, too, as we’ve partnered with an existing new York-based urban skateboarding clothing label, with clothing currently sold in Zumies stores across the country, to design a special Thirty accessory pack. More on that if we hit stretch territory!

Further along the lines of accessories and add-ons, we have the Thirty one-shot comic book, the Thirty sticker pack, someoriginal hand-illustrated comic art, and3 original hand-illustrated sticker pages.. These are available in the reward tiers and some as add-ons, right here in the campaign. Preview some images, below. (Some may not be final/finished art.)

In terms of the accessories for the campaign, do you like zines and skater culture? Well, here’s a lil’ zine I made. The Shred Zine. 
(Hint: Google “fold a zine” if you’re gunna print it out and fold it up proper.)

The Zombie Grimoire (Lore Accessory)

It’s a book. The Zombie Grimoire is a first-person narrative, as told by a best-selling author of Thirty’s world, who was affected by The Cleave and became a zombie. Calling himself only Zamzum, this zombie author takes the reader on a brief eschatological journey, hinting at the agenda of many of his shadowy “superiors” along the way. Because this Cleave-infested narrator has a condition that he refers to as zombie brain, the text can be zany at times, but it also packs a strong social undercurrent and gives rich context as to how the zombies and undead of Thirty’s world came to be. In Thirty’s reality, this book was released by pro-Cleave media to garner support for “undead rights.” However, it quickly became a rallying emblem for those who abhor the undead and long to see their cities cleansed of The Cleave. (It is required reading for all Undead Operators such as Thirty.)
Specs: There are dozens of full-page illustrations. It’s a quick read, existing in digest format. 351 pages in 7.5×7.5 inch square format. Full-color perfect bound cover with B7W interior.
The price point offered her in the campaign is significantly reduced from that on other listings, so get it cheap here as a campaign backer. Unlike the one-shot comic book, which is still in production, this product already exists in its finished, published form. This book is offered here in the campaign as an add-on, or as a part of The Grim Reader reward tier.
See two full-page illustrations from the book’s interior, below.

Stretch Goals

We hit 80 backers, and we are funded, so here is the itinerary for unlocking stretch goals. All are locked, currently, but I hope we’ll get some (or all) of these unlocked to add the rewards to the campaign! More art and details to come.
GOTHIKA is our first goal, unlocking at $11,900!

Gallery

Here is a gallery of images; prototypes, promo art, and otherwise.

Risks and challenges

All campaigns have risks and challenges. This is a campaign for a factory-produced toy, and all such production can carry unexpected delays or complications. However, the prototype is fully modeled and a functional printed toy has been created, painted, handled and exhibited. All in all, this campaign is further along in terms of up-front creative production than most other campaigns of its type. Also, there is no one making any income or salary off of the funding of this campaign; every penny will go towards the creation and fulfillment of rewards. furthermore, there is only one o-ring action figure toy featured in this campaign, and that also reduces risk because there is simply less production to manage.

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The o-ring renaissance is most definitely upon us! Congrats to Chad and to all that have backed so far on hitting initial funding and good luck on the road ahead!

Will you be adding Thirty to your 1:18 scale o-ring collection?