9 ms·

Funko Pop became a $686M business

48 points by jatsign 7y ago

tehwebguy 7y ago
Very impressive, but it’s a shame to me that the vinyl figure company to lock down every IP imaginable has such horrible, dead eyes.
fiblye 7y ago
>CEO Brian Mariotti called his company “recession proof.” Famous last words. When another major recession hits, one of the first costs to be cut is plastic junk. These are just beanie babies with more Disney branded characters. People will get sick of cluttering their house with dozens of the same item with mild variations at some point, until the next “gotta catch em all” toy comes out.
- ptah 7y ago
  they have the last 100 or more "gotta catch em all" toys. essentially they are monopolising the whole genre
fouc 7y ago
Seems like a market that is inflated by collectors that are hoping it will be worth more in the future. Could end up being another trading cards fiasco.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
  Or Beanie Babies. Or Bitcoin. Human nature is a funny thing.
  - CPLX 7y ago
    Or garbage pail kids, or cabbage patch dolls. This phenomenon has been going on forever.
  - nannal 7y ago
    > Or Bitcoin That sentiment always ages well
avian 7y ago
Does anyone know how plastic figurines like that are cast? I've been recently looking at some similar toys and they have many concave features and small details that seem impossible to make with simple injection moulding (as in, you wouldn't be able to remove them from the mould)
- Phillipharryt 7y ago
  Funk pops in particular are rather blob-like, their eyes protrude like raisins on a snowman so that casting is incredibly easy. For the intricate pieces (like a fish's fins) the main body just has holes, that then have a separate piece placed in them.
  - avian 7y ago
    Here’s one that’s distinctly not blob-like (note the hair curls, I don’t think those are separate pieces): https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6afbaf4d7a857e3cb84a2f86c6lg.jpg https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6af...
- janekm 7y ago
  The remarkably simple answer is that they are pulled out of the mould while still hot and flexible. Here's an article about the process with a youtube video showing the casting process (in a very small-scale facility): http://rampage-toys.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-sofubi-how-it-all-works.html http://rampage-toys.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-sofubi-how-i...
  - avian 7y ago
    Interesting. Thank you for sharing this!
- troydavis 7y ago
  It probably isn't the exact Funko casting, but here's how someone made their own soft vinyl figures (including concave features) using rotocast molds: http://www.mnartists.org/article/how-make-your-own-vinyl-toysculptures http://www.mnartists.org/article/how-make-your-own-vinyl-toy... Basically, sculpt by hand with polymer clay, make a resin cast of your sculpture (from a local vendor or DIY), and send the resin cast to one of many rotocasting vendors, most in China. Here's some examples: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/rotocast-toy-manufacturer.html https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/rotocast-toy-manufacturer.h....
onion2k 7y ago
When I see the success of companies like Funko Pop I can't help but remember Simon (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Star Wars, etc) Pegg's excellent essay[1] on the infantilization of adults by modern culture, turning us all in to passive consumers who want a magical superhero to turn up and save the day instead of doing something ourselves. "We are made passionate about the things that occupied us as children as a means of drawing our attentions away from the things we really should be invested in, inequality, corruption, economic injustice etc. It makes sense that when faced with the awfulness of the world, the harsh realities that surround us, our instinct is to seek comfort, and where else were the majority of us most comfortable than our youth?" The fact that actual grown ups want to spend money on plastic caricatures of their favourite movie characters is fine in itself, but only if we also take responsibility of the state of the society we live in. [1] http://simonpegg.net/2015/05/19/big-mouth-strikes-again/ http://simonpegg.net/2015/05/19/big-mouth-strikes-again/
- ejefz 7y ago
  https://img.fireden.net/v/image/1516/92/1516924381412.gif https://img.fireden.net/v/image/1516/92/1516924381412.gif
  - simias 7y ago
    The amount of racist and sexist dog-whistling in that image is deafening. I hope that the reason it's not [dead] after more than one hour here is because the people reading this thread haven't wasted quite as much time on 4chan as I did to get all these very clever references. Although even beyond that I hope that HN will manage to stay strong and not devolve into macro-image posting. This is basically the entire 4chan /pol/ mythos condensed into one single picture. Very convenient.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - swebs 7y ago
      How is it sexist?
tiborsaas 7y ago
“OUR BRAND IDENTITY IS TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR LITERALLY EVERYBODY” Hmm, it's the thing everybody would advise against with a passion. - Who's your target customer? - Everybody. - Well good luck with that (snarky smily) Good to see counter examples.
- johnday 7y ago
  Disney springs to mind immediately. I suppose General Electric counts too?
ptah 7y ago
the documentary on netflix is pretty interesting
jatsign 7y ago
How strange. I posted this 2 days ago and it didn't make it to the front page, but not for some reason it says I only posted it 6 hours ago?
- sambal 7y ago
  Content is often tinkered with on HN by the two mods but it’s usually noted and for a purpose, might be one of them just really likes pops.
- grzm 7y ago
  Likely due to a mod re-upping the post as described here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380
jacksproit 7y ago
Based on how the prices have been falling recently this seems like a puff piece to try and prevent a full bubble pop. I wouldn't be sad to see them go. There are a lot of sketchy scams around "mystery box" sales that are essentially unlicensed unregulated lotteries. I suspect that some YouTube personalities are complicit in the scams. The language used on many pop sites is masterfully devious https://popcollectorsalliance.com/resources/whats-a-grail-where-do-i-find-one-learning-about-funko-grails/ https://popcollectorsalliance.com/resources/whats-a-grail-wh...
mkane848 7y ago
Maybe for now, but everyone I know in my age group that was super into these (23-28) is currently trying to sell them because they have too many and the novelty wore off. Feels basically like a Beanie Baby craze, except this time, the people who are into actual quality or give off the hobbyist vibe go to other products like Nendoroid.
ebg13 7y ago
I get why people like figurines, but I don't understand how much love funkopop specifically gets. Their model quality is just so poor. No detail. No character expression. No differentiation between characters. They feel like just the absolute lowest effort throwaways. There are so many great toy modelers out there, and yet somehow the cheapest least effort one is the one that people know about because it's the one that, for some terrible reason, gets brand licensing deals. edit: Just to add more...I mean...someone else linked this figure https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6afbaf4d7a857e3cb84a2f86c6lg.jpg https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6af... Every single funkopop figure looks exactly like that with only slightly more than a palette and hair swap. Compare that to the same series models from Banpresto: http://www.banpresto.jp/prize/0008.html http://www.banpresto.jp/prize/0008.html
- schnevets 7y ago
  I've never bought a Funko and I would never consider those figures a work of art, but there's something to be said for a simple medium that meshes so effectively with any IP. You can show yourself as a fan of a TV drama, comic book, and sports team on the same shelf. Something as detailed as Banpresto is likely to clash with other decor/figures. That said, some of their work (especially on real people) is bafflingly low-effort. Case in point, see the comparison between New Jersey Devils star player Taylor Hall and his Funko recreation: Real life: https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5be4813ca7ea4370591679a0/416x416.jpg?background=000000&cropX1=0&cropX2=408&cropY1=3&cropY2=411 https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5be4813ca7e... Funko: https://www.characterstation.com/eshop/19246-large_default/figur-funko-pop-hockey-nhl-devils-taylor-hall-geneva-switzerland-online-shop.jpg https://www.characterstation.com/eshop/19246-large_default/f...
- revicon 7y ago
  My Ron Swanson Funko is judging you for your lack of Funko Pop appreciation. https://i.imgur.com/aTIeVKi.jpg https://i.imgur.com/aTIeVKi.jpg
  - ebg13 7y ago
    Or maybe it's actually Tom Selleck or a young Sam Elliott or my dad. There's no way to know. Your visual indicators are white person with brown hair and a moustache who drinks liquids sometimes. It's not like there's only one of those. But, just so you know, it's a little weird that you bought a doll version of my dad.
silveira 7y ago
Here is an interesting video essay of the business of Funko Pop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ513v8Pquw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ513v8Pquw and looking the numbers, their future is very uncertain to say the least.
slang800 7y ago
Whoever came up with the idea of re-marketing children's toys to adults was a genius. It combines the passive consumerism of kids with the expendable income of adults in a way that simply wouldn't have been tolerated more than a few decades ago.

48 points by jatsign 7y ago

Very impressive, but it’s a shame to me that the vinyl figure company to lock down every IP imaginable has such horrible, dead eyes.

fiblye 7y ago

>CEO Brian Mariotti called his company “recession proof.” Famous last words. When another major recession hits, one of the first costs to be cut is plastic junk. These are just beanie babies with more Disney branded characters. People will get sick of cluttering their house with dozens of the same item with mild variations at some point, until the next “gotta catch em all” toy comes out.

ptah 7y ago
they have the last 100 or more "gotta catch em all" toys. essentially they are monopolising the whole genre

fouc 7y ago

Seems like a market that is inflated by collectors that are hoping it will be worth more in the future. Could end up being another trading cards fiasco.

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
Or Beanie Babies. Or Bitcoin. Human nature is a funny thing.
- CPLX 7y ago
  Or garbage pail kids, or cabbage patch dolls. This phenomenon has been going on forever.
- nannal 7y ago
  > Or Bitcoin That sentiment always ages well

avian 7y ago

Does anyone know how plastic figurines like that are cast? I've been recently looking at some similar toys and they have many concave features and small details that seem impossible to make with simple injection moulding (as in, you wouldn't be able to remove them from the mould)

Phillipharryt 7y ago
Funk pops in particular are rather blob-like, their eyes protrude like raisins on a snowman so that casting is incredibly easy. For the intricate pieces (like a fish's fins) the main body just has holes, that then have a separate piece placed in them.
- avian 7y ago
  Here’s one that’s distinctly not blob-like (note the hair curls, I don’t think those are separate pieces): https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6afbaf4d7a857e3cb84a2f86c6lg.jpg https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6af...
janekm 7y ago
The remarkably simple answer is that they are pulled out of the mould while still hot and flexible. Here's an article about the process with a youtube video showing the casting process (in a very small-scale facility): http://rampage-toys.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-sofubi-how-it-all-works.html http://rampage-toys.blogspot.com/2011/09/making-sofubi-how-i...
- avian 7y ago
  Interesting. Thank you for sharing this!
troydavis 7y ago
It probably isn't the exact Funko casting, but here's how someone made their own soft vinyl figures (including concave features) using rotocast molds: http://www.mnartists.org/article/how-make-your-own-vinyl-toysculptures http://www.mnartists.org/article/how-make-your-own-vinyl-toy... Basically, sculpt by hand with polymer clay, make a resin cast of your sculpture (from a local vendor or DIY), and send the resin cast to one of many rotocasting vendors, most in China. Here's some examples: https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/rotocast-toy-manufacturer.html https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/rotocast-toy-manufacturer.h....

onion2k 7y ago

When I see the success of companies like Funko Pop I can't help but remember Simon (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Star Wars, etc) Pegg's excellent essay[1] on the infantilization of adults by modern culture, turning us all in to passive consumers who want a magical superhero to turn up and save the day instead of doing something ourselves. "We are made passionate about the things that occupied us as children as a means of drawing our attentions away from the things we really should be invested in, inequality, corruption, economic injustice etc. It makes sense that when faced with the awfulness of the world, the harsh realities that surround us, our instinct is to seek comfort, and where else were the majority of us most comfortable than our youth?" The fact that actual grown ups want to spend money on plastic caricatures of their favourite movie characters is fine in itself, but only if we also take responsibility of the state of the society we live in. [1] http://simonpegg.net/2015/05/19/big-mouth-strikes-again/ http://simonpegg.net/2015/05/19/big-mouth-strikes-again/

ejefz 7y ago
https://img.fireden.net/v/image/1516/92/1516924381412.gif https://img.fireden.net/v/image/1516/92/1516924381412.gif
- simias 7y ago
  The amount of racist and sexist dog-whistling in that image is deafening. I hope that the reason it's not [dead] after more than one hour here is because the people reading this thread haven't wasted quite as much time on 4chan as I did to get all these very clever references. Although even beyond that I hope that HN will manage to stay strong and not devolve into macro-image posting. This is basically the entire 4chan /pol/ mythos condensed into one single picture. Very convenient.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - swebs 7y ago
    How is it sexist?

tiborsaas 7y ago

“OUR BRAND IDENTITY IS TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR LITERALLY EVERYBODY” Hmm, it's the thing everybody would advise against with a passion. - Who's your target customer? - Everybody. - Well good luck with that (snarky smily) Good to see counter examples.

johnday 7y ago
Disney springs to mind immediately. I suppose General Electric counts too?

ptah 7y ago

the documentary on netflix is pretty interesting

jatsign 7y ago

How strange. I posted this 2 days ago and it didn't make it to the front page, but not for some reason it says I only posted it 6 hours ago?

sambal 7y ago
Content is often tinkered with on HN by the two mods but it’s usually noted and for a purpose, might be one of them just really likes pops.
grzm 7y ago
Likely due to a mod re-upping the post as described here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380

jacksproit 7y ago

Based on how the prices have been falling recently this seems like a puff piece to try and prevent a full bubble pop. I wouldn't be sad to see them go. There are a lot of sketchy scams around "mystery box" sales that are essentially unlicensed unregulated lotteries. I suspect that some YouTube personalities are complicit in the scams. The language used on many pop sites is masterfully devious https://popcollectorsalliance.com/resources/whats-a-grail-where-do-i-find-one-learning-about-funko-grails/ https://popcollectorsalliance.com/resources/whats-a-grail-wh...

mkane848 7y ago

Maybe for now, but everyone I know in my age group that was super into these (23-28) is currently trying to sell them because they have too many and the novelty wore off. Feels basically like a Beanie Baby craze, except this time, the people who are into actual quality or give off the hobbyist vibe go to other products like Nendoroid.

ebg13 7y ago

I get why people like figurines, but I don't understand how much love funkopop specifically gets. Their model quality is just so poor. No detail. No character expression. No differentiation between characters. They feel like just the absolute lowest effort throwaways. There are so many great toy modelers out there, and yet somehow the cheapest least effort one is the one that people know about because it's the one that, for some terrible reason, gets brand licensing deals. edit: Just to add more...I mean...someone else linked this figure https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6afbaf4d7a857e3cb84a2f86c6lg.jpg https://media.entertainmentearth.com/assets/images/e9792a6af... Every single funkopop figure looks exactly like that with only slightly more than a palette and hair swap. Compare that to the same series models from Banpresto: http://www.banpresto.jp/prize/0008.html http://www.banpresto.jp/prize/0008.html

schnevets 7y ago
I've never bought a Funko and I would never consider those figures a work of art, but there's something to be said for a simple medium that meshes so effectively with any IP. You can show yourself as a fan of a TV drama, comic book, and sports team on the same shelf. Something as detailed as Banpresto is likely to clash with other decor/figures. That said, some of their work (especially on real people) is bafflingly low-effort. Case in point, see the comparison between New Jersey Devils star player Taylor Hall and his Funko recreation: Real life: https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5be4813ca7ea4370591679a0/416x416.jpg?background=000000&cropX1=0&cropX2=408&cropY1=3&cropY2=411 https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5be4813ca7e... Funko: https://www.characterstation.com/eshop/19246-large_default/figur-funko-pop-hockey-nhl-devils-taylor-hall-geneva-switzerland-online-shop.jpg https://www.characterstation.com/eshop/19246-large_default/f...
revicon 7y ago
My Ron Swanson Funko is judging you for your lack of Funko Pop appreciation. https://i.imgur.com/aTIeVKi.jpg https://i.imgur.com/aTIeVKi.jpg
- ebg13 7y ago
  Or maybe it's actually Tom Selleck or a young Sam Elliott or my dad. There's no way to know. Your visual indicators are white person with brown hair and a moustache who drinks liquids sometimes. It's not like there's only one of those. But, just so you know, it's a little weird that you bought a doll version of my dad.

silveira 7y ago

Here is an interesting video essay of the business of Funko Pop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ513v8Pquw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ513v8Pquw and looking the numbers, their future is very uncertain to say the least.

slang800 7y ago

Whoever came up with the idea of re-marketing children's toys to adults was a genius. It combines the passive consumerism of kids with the expendable income of adults in a way that simply wouldn't have been tolerated more than a few decades ago.