5 Questions With > Spy Monkey Creations

Code name: SpyMagician
Real Name: Jeremy Sung
Specialty: Plasticsmith
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, CA
History: Once merely a humble toy customizer, Jeremy Sung has since made the leap into the small business world as President of Spy Monkey Creations Inc. The Goal: to create quality hand made original accessories for various collectible action figure lines!

1.) What is Spy Monkey Creations, and how did it start?

Spy Monkey Creations is really the result of two things. My good friend, Bill “Fresh Monkey” Murphy and I had been wanting to develop product for the collectible toy industry, but it never worked out, mainly due to cost and factory issues overseas. I then began experimenting with small run, hand cast and finished accessories for action figures. The response was so positive that I decided to “make it official” and start a small company offering small runs of hand made action figure accessories rather than going the overseas factory route.

2.) How many weapons do you produce a week, on average, and how long does each one take?

Accessories are produced in batches, and in different stages of production (casting, cleaning, painting, etc.) but if I broke it down and added up the hours for an individual piece start to finish, it would probably take about 1 day. The actual production cycle however usually takes between 5-7 days before product is ready to be packed and shipped.

3.) What are your favorite toy lines (vintage or modern), and why?

I was a child of the 1980’s and my favorite toy lines were G.I. Joe, Transformers, Super Powers and Masters of the Universe. Those 4 lines had all the things that made a toyline great. Joe had articulation and a scale that allowed for vehicles and playsets. TF had what I feel is the greatest toy gimmick there is for a robot/sci-fi line: transformation. Super Powers was what I consider the best Super Hero line of the 80’s in terms of style and integration of gimmicks.

And then there was MOTU. I was a huge fan of fantasy adventure, and in the 80’s Masters of the Universe was the most successful and longest running fantasy based line. But MOTU was unique in that it added a sci-fi slant, had a larger scale that still allowed for vehicles and playsets, and had for the most part appropriate and effective gimmicks.

Today, I’m a huge fan of the Four Horsemen, and my two top US toylines are Masters of the Universe Classics and DC Universe Classics. To me, they are in terms of style and articulation exactly what I always wished for as a kid for super hero toys and MOTU.

I’m also a fan of Japanese toys, and currently my favorite line from over there is Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts. I feel that traditionally the Japanese were much better at robot or monster toys, but with Figuarts, they’ve really created a great line based around super-articulated humans that are still sturdy enough to be playable toys.

4.) What’s your most-wanted Masters of the Universe character for MOTUC?

My five favorite MOTU characters are Tri-Klops, Zodac, Fisto, Moss-Man and Clawful. So at this point, my most-wanted unannounced character would be Fisto, followed by Clawful. Though, I have to admit I’m really looking forward to Battle Armor He-Man and Orko in 2010, as BA He-Man is my favorite version of the character and I have a soft spot for Orko, thanks to Filmation.

5.) Are you working on any new accessories?

We do have more items in the works! The exact order of release is yet to be determined, but the items that are likely to show up soonest are a sword for Hordak, a shield for Tri-Klops, and clear energy shields and effects for MOTUC and DCUC magic/energy characters. Eventually we’d like to offer accessories for a variety of action figure lines, but for now we’re focused on growing slowly but steadily, thanks in great part to the wonderful support we’ve received from fans!