Interview with Papo sculptor (info on upcoming pieces)

[didusineptus]

7.  Varnish

"On the prototypes, I aim for somewhere between gloss and matte.  If you think any of the finishes are too severe [shiny?], let me know and I'll try and improve them."

8.  Releasing variations of models

"I'm in favour of issuing different versions of particular dinosaurs.  It'd be fun, and there's less study to do.  Bearing in mind the size of the company, releasing popular products in multiple versions would be extremely attractive work.  But if you think about it objectively, compared to other companies Papo's range of dinosaurs is inadequate.  At Papo, I am responsible for the dinosaur (excluding the marine reptiles), carnivore and mutant series.  If I'm sculpting a figure from one series, it takes about 2 months, and this means to sculpt more than 5 or 6 figures in a year gets difficult.  If I spend that kind of time doing that, then there wouldn't be much time left for new dinosaur series, would there?  Therefore, rather than making new versions of existing dinosaurs, the priority is sculpting new dinosaur series."

[Arul]

Baby triceratop is too glossy...its fine if it just hacth from the egg like rebor model

[Shadowknight1]

Some would also say Dilophosaurus is too glossy as well, though it did live in a very humid environment, afaik.

[didusineptus]

9.  Ornithopods, herbivores and marine reptiles...

"I'm planning to sculpt an iguanodon sooner or later.  The marine reptiles are being done by a sculptor in Germany; getting too heavily involved in another sculptor's area is a question of manners.  I feel bad about not being able to tell you more than that."

10.  Mutant series...

"The fantasy and mutant categories are different.  I'm responsible for the mutant series, and because I'm investing time in dinosaurs and carnivores, the mutant series isn't out yet [the ones he's meant to be sculpting, I assume?].  Given that I can only get 5 to 6 models out a year, if I focus my efforst on dinosaurs, then the mutants and carnivores suffer, and if I focus my efforts on the carnivores, then the dinosaurs and mutants drop off.  With mutants, you're working by imagining images in your mind of things that don't really exist, but because dinosaurs used to exist, and carnivores still do, the kinds of each have increased, and I'm thinking of concentrating on the mutant series.  At the moment I'm finishing a feathered velociraptor in the dinosaur series and thinking about starting a wolf-mutant.  There's a lot of affection for the idea that it was my idea to start the mutant series.  As other series are organized, I'll concentrate on them.  I'm happy to examine opinions regarding changing costumes depending on culture [whatever that means!].  Thankyou.""

10.  Mini dinosaurs and giganotosaurus...

"I didn't sculpt the mini dinosaur set.  I'll research the differences between giganotosaurus and tyrannosaurus and giganotosaurus' special features and think about when I can start sculpting it.

[suspsy]

Sounds like he's really not happy about those awful sea monsters.

[joossa]

Thanks again for the excellent translations! Very helpful!

[Takama]

Can any one translate information regarding the new Potential big Cats?

[KeU]

Dyscrasia, awesome post on the interview. Was gonna ask the missus to translate since she is Korean, but I guess didusineptus got us covered.
Thanks for the find and translation.

[DinoLord]

After reading these translations I have to say I really like this sculptor. He's clearly dedicated to his work and products. I wonder what his original prototypes are like to behold in person if he laments that the already detailed Papo models have lost a lot of the original detail.

[Dinomike]

Really nice to read his answers! I also hope he joins the forum one day!

[didusineptus]

11.  Repaints...

"Although personally I am not over the moon about repaints, within the company the idea of repainting and reissuing models if people want this is there.  The reason I'm negative about repaints is that, even though there are people who'd like to see models repainted and reissued, there are more than a few people who are critical of repainting an existing model instead of sculpting a whole new one.  I think the same thing, actually."

[Shadowknight1]

11.  Repaints...

"Although personally I am not over the moon about repaints, within the company the idea of repainting and reissuing models if people want this is there.  The reason I'm negative about repaints is that, even though there are people who'd like to see models repainted and reissued, there are more than a few people who are critical of repainting an existing model instead of sculpting a whole new one.  I think the same thing, actually."

Hence why I'm more excited for his feathered raptor than the raptor repaint.

[SpartanSquat]

Thanks for sharing it! Im happy that a feathered velociraptor will be in the collection. But Im more happy with Iguanodon, Basryonyx and Giganotosaurus.
If the Giganotosaurus and Baryonyx resemble to Brett Booth drawings like he used for Allosaurus.


The mini giganotosaurus have a big resemblence to Tyrannotitan Brett Booth.
Also the new repaints...the actual t-rex is fine, but the new raptor is much better. I hope stegosaurus, triceratops and pachycephalosaurus will have new colours.

[Tapejara1122]

Cant wait to see how the baryonx will look like. I hope its sculpt is nice because I havent seen a good bary that looks apealing to me...

[KeU]

Cant wait to see how the baryonx will look like. I hope its sculpt is nice because I havent seen a good bary that looks apealing to me...

Not even the Invicta one? That's a beauty.

[didusineptus]

Last bit:

12.  Figures from other companies that are similar to Papo's dinosaurs...

"Before I start a sculpt, I first gather materials (basically a number of books and one or two hundred photos from the internet), analyze the skeleton, put it all together and build up a picture in my head, then pay attention to the research and finally make a decision as how to go about doing it. 

To those people who wonder if Papo's dinosaurs aren't modelled on other companies' figures, I'd like to say that all existing models end up being subjected to a similar process.  With the tupuxuara, in particular, I didn't end up seeing the Sideshow sculpt until after I had studied the skeleton and developed the head for mine.  Even if you cover the skeleton with skin, there's no way they can be anything but similar.  Everyone's looking at the same technical books, aren't they?  With mine, you can see something in the pose - because I wanted to make it a bit dynamic.

My models, unlike those of other companies, have no bases and are smaller.  If you go into lots of kinds of detail - like skin - there are many points of difference.  The debate over copying is based solely on colour and pose.  It seems that this misunderstanding is due to the scientific books or other materials that are being referenced being the same.  One thing's for sure:  there are writers who spend 2 or 3 weeks copying somebody else's work because they think that no fool is going to want to waste time.  Even my models are going to become some other writer's material, naturally.  Even that's a pleasure, from the writer's perspective.

Thank you all for your interest, which only makes my sculpts better."

That's all folks!

[Tapejara1122]

Cant wait to see how the baryonx will look like. I hope its sculpt is nice because I havent seen a good bary that looks apealing to me...

Not even the Invicta one? That's a beauty.

Nah, with me im very picky with my spinosaurses and barys and others of that family. Invicta's bary's pose just looks weird to me...

[tanystropheus]

This interview is bittersweet on a number of levels. It is apparent from the interview that Papo gives much thought and dedication to their products, but (sadly) they are also completely missing the opportunity to become the market leader; it seems that Papo is content in delivering a low output of dinosaur products per given year (3-5 dinosaurs with reissues included).  It almost seems as if Mr. Seo is prioritizing his personal Papo Mutants line over the beloved core dinosaur line.

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Thanks for posting and translating this interview, didusineptus! I found it really fascinating. And I agree with others that this sculptor seems very committed to producing good detailed figures. I'm also looking forward to seeing his new sculpts... Feathered Velociraptor, Iguanodon, Baryonyx, and Giga. Sounds like a really cool lineup!

[CityRaptor]

This interview is bittersweet on a number of levels. It is apparent from the interview that Papo gives much thought and dedication to their products, but (sadly) they are also completely missing the opportunity to become the market leader; it seems that Papo is content in delivering a low output of dinosaur products per given year (3-5 dinosaurs with reissues included).

You know, quality over quantitiy. Ofcourse Papo also introduces dozens of other figures every year.

It almost seems as if Mr. Seo is prioritizing his personal Papo Mutants line over the beloved core dinosaur line.

You think so? Because unlike the Dinosaurs, the Mutant Line did not get an addition in years. Last ones to be added were the Dragon and Gorilla if I remember correctly. Ofcourse he would be more fond of his personal line.