I’m on assignment in New York City for New York Toy Fair 2018, so I didn’t have the opportunity to LIVE Recap the F4F Q&A livestream this morning (trust me, it breaks my heart too). But while I haven’t had the time to fully watch that 4-hour video and recap it just yet, here’s a consolation prize: a full recap of the 1.5 hour Making of Dark Souls SD Artorias Documentary! Chibi or no, after watching this video, the latest F4F to go up for order is one of their most impressive statues to date…

[I’ll get to recapping the weekly Q&A as soon as I have a ton of time to spare, but in the meantime, please enjoy this summary of the latest Making of Documentary!]

Question: What was the inspiration for the cartoonlike design of Dark Souls SD?

• First4Figures could have just shrunk down their 1:4 resin to make a smaller PVC, but Banpresto has basically already done that
• F4F wanted to make Artorias more accessible in both price and size, but wanted to make something different from what Banpresto has already offered
• Ultimately, F4F chose a style with an enlarged head for Artorias and smaller hands and feet. Other figures in this series will follow these same proportions.
• Had to engineer this in a way that it will remain stable over time
• Inspiration was to look at the marketplace and make something complementary to what’s available already and also to make something accessible
• Artorias has tons and tons of details; enlarged head and cartoony proportions contrasted by a high level of detail is the style

Question: Why choose a chibi version of characters instead of just smaller versions of the actual characters?

• In addition to the reasons given in the previous question’s answers, Alex wanted to flex his creative muscles; more challenge to not just replicating the exact in-game model of Artorias as he appears in Dark Souls
• Wanted to create a unique design and not just be beholden to the in-game design

Question: With so many SD figures in the marketplace, were you worried about making something unique that would stand out from the SD crowd?

• Because F4F is a western company that works with many eastern licenses, it was very easy for First 4 Figures to look into the Asian side of the market
• Dark Souls SD is an almost Japanese-esque—it straddles both Eastern and Western styles of creative design
• F4F spin on this style: Absolutely accurate detailing on the PVC evident on sword, armor, textures, etc.—this extreme amount of detail is not  seen on your usual SD figures
• Artorias SD has a feeling of “hand-made” because of the hyper-detailing on it
• Tons of different textures and paint applications used on this statue—F4F spent a lot of time making sure every section of the figure is as detailed as possible
• Purple effects piece on base represents Artorias’ special move from the Dark Souls game
• There are two layers of effects pieces on the base—wind effects on top of fire itself
• Head uses resin style of painting on plume and helmet made of PVC
• Layer upon layer upon layer of paint textures are used to give the PVC a resin feel

Question: What did you learn from previous PVC products that helped with the development of PVC Artorias?

• SD Artorias is by far the most complicated PVC First4Figures has done to date, with 50+ pieces making up the statue (like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle!)
• F4F has learned to look closely at the engineering aspects of their designs
• A complete understanding and mixture of ABS and PVC plastic allows this Artorias PVC to exist and pass the aging test
• If the sword was in PVC plastic, it would become limp and bend over time because PVC is softer and more malleable—it remains rigid because of the use of ABS plastic
• •[Alex and Chock spend a massive amount of time in the video pointing out the details in each deconstructed piece of the Artorias PVC figure. I can’t explain this in words without video, so if this kind of engineering is your cup of tea, be sure to watch the video for a very length explanation!]

Question: In what way were the SD Solaire and Artorias figures more difficult than the resin versions?

• Doing the resin versions first and then the super-deformed versions really helped a lot. Once F4F had the proportions worked out, it wasn’t that difficult to transfer the details from the preexisting resin Dark Souls statues to the SD PVCs. Once the style template was nailed down, it was fairly straightforward to design the SDs.
• The previous experience with BOTW Link and Crash PVCs also helped a lot

Question: How many F4F SD pieces do you plan on making?

Outside of Artorias and Solaire, there’s development work done on two more PVCs and one more in Hints in the Artorias packaging for the next couple characters getting PVCs!

Question: “Will a Dark Souls SD Sif be made to accompany Artorias?”

Alex: “Can you make one without the other? Say no more.”

Question: “Can this style be carried over to other games?”

Alex already has more SD PVC items in the works from other games with the same resin-level quality and accessible low prices, although not saying what yet.

Question: What are the dimensions of the First4Figures Artorias SD statue?

Easiest can test ever—just under 2 cans tall! 7.5” wide (because of sword) by 7.5” deep and 8” tall. Weighs about 590 grams (1.3 pounds).

Question: What’s the difference between the regular and exclusive versions of SD Artorias?

The exclusive edition has a thicker base because it needs to house batteries for LED light-up effects. The base features both “always on” mode and also an “animated movement” mode where you can see the lighting moving around inside the effects piece.

The exclusive version from the F4F website will also come “with a beautiful, beautiful box”. Special effects on the box aren’t integrated on the mock-up box shown in the Documentary. Silver and gold foils will be present, along with the unique number of the limited edition statue. Each EX box will also have an authenticity card and a number on the bottom of the base (along with sticky pads on the base bottom).

The Day One Edition (for those who pre-order Artorias before Tuesday 2/20/2018) and validate on ) will include extra F4F Reward Points and an extra Day One Card signed by Alex Davis.

First 4 Figures went back to the drawing board and changed the style of the box to a space-saving shoebox design for SD Artorias so that the box doesn’t take up as much space as the Exclusive Crash Bandicoot’s Box.

The regular version’s open-window box is also beautiful, and will represent First 4 Figures on retail store shelves around the world. There’s also a backdrop insert in the box and a leaflet (with Reward Points!) with instructions for cutting the backdrop into a coliseum arena.

…And there you have it! I don’t have any great love for Dark Souls (I’ve never even seen Artorias in a video game), but after seeing the love and amazing detail that went into this PVC, I decided to place an order for this beauty. If you want your own, the exclusive version of Artorias SD is available for order on the F4F website now.

Having heard about all the work that went into this mini masterpiece, are you impressed, F4Fans? Are you buying Artorias, and who do you hope is next in the series after Solaire?