Analog Toys Tribute to Bob Brechin of Palitoy

5/28/2020

Wow, it's been over a year since I've did my last blog. Sorry guys, I had a lot of personal things I was dealing with in my life.

Anyhow, I was asked by Tony Roberts of  #analogtoys to do a tribute piece for #BobBrechin, the chief designer for #Palitoy, a toy company in England that made the popular #ActionMan and #ActionfForce line in the UK. Head over to Analog Toys on YouTube as Tony does excellent reviews of toys from the 70s and 80s. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVvR_X1TXqUeLDV_hDPA2yA

So there were several teams in Action Force toyline; Space Force, Z Force, Q Force, and SAS vs their nemesis #RedShadows. There was another team that was developed, but never went into production called the Special Weapons Force (SWF). A character in the line was rumored to be Palitoy's headman Bob Brechin and the likeness is very similar to Bob.

I decided to sorta do a Ron Rudat style illustration trying to capture the likeness of Bob Brechin and the first prototype of the SWF scientist figure.

I start off with a gesture of the action pose for the illustration. I often get too hung up with facial details before I develop the entire figure.

I normally try to do three concept sketches, but to be honest, I could think of any but more than two, plus I was eager to get going the project. 

Tony liked the standing pose. I also wanted him to decide if he wanted the character to wear glasses or not. Four-eyes it is!

I was asked to remove the Uzi and replace it with some futuristic tool, kinda like a Dr. Who device. 

Since I was trying to mimic Ron Rudat's style, I used one of his illustrations to sample the color palette he used. Always tone your canvas kids. It helps you develop midtones.

 A little further in development.

 A little #breakingbad joke. I'm not saying or implying they were making more than toys at Los Palitoys Hermanos.

 For the packaging I had traced traditional Action Force design in Adobe Illustrator. Tony also provided me the bio he wanted to use on the back of the packaging.

And here we have the final illustration. Front and back respectively.

Thanks again to Tony over Analog Toys to work on this project. And again, check out Analog Toys and please consider sharing and subscribing to his channel.