Enjoy!

Moderator: Welcome to our VIP chat with Steve Varner:. Steve is the head of Varner Studios, an up-and-coming company that has big plans for the next year. They've already acquired the rights to do resin kits for the highly-popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show.

Moderator: Yet, Steve's most recognizable work is on Playmates' Star Trek line. As Primary Sculptor, Steve has been working on Star Trek figures since the line began six years ago.

Moderator: First, we'll start off by giving away one of our prizes for tonight and then we'll begin lining people up for questions.

Moderator: Please wait in suspense as we randomly pick a winner. :)

Moderator: And our first winner is bearytrek. Your prize is an original Borg figure, #85.

Moderator: Congrats bearytrek.

JohnTheBee: Go Beary

bearytrek: wow! thank you beary much!

Treker1: Way cool

Mark: very cool

JohnTheBee: 85...Wow

annex: congrats

Gene: Congratulations!

BJ: woooohooo!

mpete: yehaw

macd: you go beary

seven: wow, I hope I'm as lucky as Beary!

reddata: Oooooh

Gene: Don't we all

Steve Varner: Good evening, I'm Steve Varner: of Varner Studios. Among other things we sculpt the majority of Star Trek figures for Playmates.

Moderator: Welcome Steve, it's great to have you here tonight.

Steve Varner: It's nice to be here and I'll field any questions that I can.

JohnTheBee: Do you feel articulation is suffering for "art"..nice sculpt...love them, but no playability..how do you contribute to that factor aside the sculpting?

Steve Varner: I think there has been a trend with certain toy companies to go that way. I think it is good to have a lot of articulation, playability, but someitmes some of that has to be given up for the aesthetic. The toy company makes that decision.

Gene: Will Playmates be coming out with a 9'' Quark doll in the near future? He is number one on all my friends' wish lists.

Steve Varner: I don't really know how many more of the 9" dolls they will be doing. They have some other sizes they are considering but they don't always let me in on those kinds of things.

Mark: Steve, I was wondering why Playmates chose to produce all figures in the same height, even though the actors vary in actual height?

Steve Varner: It's a perceived value thing. You can't make one figure too much bigger than another or people feel gypped. No one feels gypped when they get the bigger one. Just the smaller one *laughs*

William: Steve, your sculpts are awesome--best in the business. My favorite is the Gorn. That said, there are a few "stinkers." For example, I don't think the essence/likeness of Uhura was captured in any of the 5" figures of her. Also, 9" Troi didn't look like Troi. Why does that happen sometimes?

Steve Varner: A lot of times it will happen in the actual manufacturing. What we give them is a wax. But when it goes over to the Orient for manufacturing what comes out isn't always what we send.

macd: Steve...when making the molds for ST figures how do you maintain the quality when making 20,000 and who chooses who gets made? Did you make the Ultra Trek Queen Borg..if so great JOB!!!

Steve Varner: Yes, we did make the Borg Queen. The thing is, I'm not really involved in the final molding process. That's actually done in Hong Kong.

Smitty: Steve, thanks for being here tonight. Do you have any influence or input whatsoever on the figures you produce? If not who can we, the consumers, contact at Playmates to request certain figures be made?

Steve Varner: You know, I'm always telling them things I think they should do. Sometimes they listen to me, sometimes they don't. I'm not really sure who to contact now. Maybe their Consumer Division? If they get enough people calling I'm sure it would influence them.

bearytrek: Is the 4.5" line considered dead by Playmates? the products being released seem to show a shifting of emphasis to the 6" line, 9" line and the pricier stuff... it seems as if the 4.5" line is being neglected, or at least, being phased out (so to speak!)

Steve Varner: I think it's definitely at least on hold if not dead. The 6-inch line is what has been concentrated on.

BJ: How long does it take to sculpt a typical figure? (from the time you start until you have something to show Playmates...)

Steve Varner: Usually we get something like a rough clay in about two weeks. Then it takes another two weeks or so to finish a wax. So it's about 5 weeks to completion.

TheRuined1: Will we see more from the Voyager line, such as the Hirogen or "alternate" versions of the crew?

Steve Varner: I'm not really sure. I know they want to stick to doing main characters where possible.

Moderator: macd is the winner of a Worf in Rescue Suit.

Treker1: Hi Steve. I saw your interview in Go Figure. Was sculpting Jeri Ryan the most fun you've had?

Steve Varner: It was a lot of fun *laughs* About the only thing that was more fun is that I'm sculpting a 12-inch Buffy the Vampire Slayer right now.

Moderator: Steve, could you tell us about some of yout other works, besides Buffy and Star Trek?

Steve Varner: We were the ones who first sculpted the Ninja Turtles. I basically took Eastman and Laird's comic and made them into toys....

Steve Varner: We probably do about 30% of the Happy Meal toys from McDonalds...we did the WildC.A.T.S line...

Steve Varner: We did ExoSquad too if anyone remembers that line.

Steve Varner: About the last year or so, we did about 36 of the Comic Book Champions and Sports Champion pewter figurines.

JohnTheBee: Even though not set to be released soon, had you been requested by Playmates to make any preliminary sculpts of Quark, Neelix or any other unproduced characters (any names of characters off the top of your head)? If so, any way you can post pictures on the net or in a major Magazine of the sculpts (legality permitting)?

Steve Varner: No, I don't know that we could. But we did do a Neelix. i thought it came out.

JohnTheBee: 9"?

Steve Varner: No, not 9-inch.

Steve Varner: I would like to do a 9-inch Neelix but it's not on the list.

mike: What recent figures have you sculpted? Are any new sculpts being done to add to the 4.5" Star Trek line?

Steve Varner: No. I think we did one 4.5" figure last year and I don't even remember what that was. We haven't really done much recently.

Exley: Can you tell us what trek figures you're currently working on now?

Steve Varner: We're not working on any. We're waiting to get the decisions right now. So currently we're not doing any Trek figures.

William: Steve, my favorite action figures are the 5" Gorn, Mugato, and Vina. Did you sculpt those? What is your favorite Trek figure?

Steve Varner: No, I don't think we did. A lot of the aliens we didn't sculpt. Leeta the Dabo girl is my favorite I think.

seven: Will we ever see the DS9 crew in their newer uniforms?

Steve Varner: Not that I know of.

macd: How do you get the detail in your figures...do you use pictures or the real cast? Also did you do the Worf in rescue suit?

Steve Varner: I believe we did the Worf head. We get the detail using photos and video captures. That's the way we get our art details.

Seeker: How did you learn the art of toy sculpting? You are truly a master of the art.

Steve Varner: Thanks! Up until about 1976 I was a sculptor in the motion picture industry where I sculpted things like King Kong. Then I went to Mattel where I went from sculpting 40 foot figures to 4 inches. And I've been doing that since 1976.

fhdavid: Are you working on the new movie line yet???

Steve Varner: No, we're waiting for photos and reference. We call that "scrap."

RedData2: Hi Steve. Considering the size of the collector's market (vs. the kids market, which I suspect wouldn't care who sculpted a figure), is there any thoughts in the industry about giving sculptors credits on a figure's packaging? Would you or any of the sculptors you know be up for this kind of celebrity?

Steve Varner: Yes, of course. *laughs* And on all the Star Trek resin kits my name is on the certificate of authenticity. Same with the Sports Champions and Comic Book Champions.

Moderator: Exley is the winner of a Q in Starfleet Uniform #111. Congrats.

Mark: Steve, I am anxious to see Species 8472. Did that character's "unique" anatomy produce any problems in producing the sculpt?

Steve Varner: I didn't do that. Digger from the Art Asylum handled that one.

Gene: Where is the 9 inch B'Elanna Torres figure? Will she come out soon?

Steve Varner: I don't think we did her so I don't really know.

Moderator: Steve, could you tell us more about the Buffy resin kits you are working on. I'm sure there are plenty of Buffy fan here.

Steve Varner: Absolutely. To start with we are doing a 12" standing Buffy figure. We're in the process of doing 2 or 3 Buffy dioramas and I have some neat ideas for them.

Steve Varner: One would be a pivotal scene where Angel and Buffy are in bed where Angel turns evil.

Steve Varner: Another would be from last Tuesday's episode where Buffy is fighting one of the swim team monsters and he's transforming and his skin is hanging off.

Moderator: Wow, sounds like some great stuff!

Steve Varner: Thanks!

fhdavid: How long is lead time from when you start till the figure hits the shelf? How long does it take to do a new figure?

Steve Varner: It depends on the company you are working for. Different companies have different mechanisms in place. But it would be hard to do it in less than 5 or 6 months and can take up to a year.

William: Steve: Give us a rundown of some of the Trek figures you did sculpt. BTW, did you do 9" Janeway? The likeness is AWESOME!

Steve Varner: Yes, we did the 9" Janeway. Thanks for the kind words. Hang on and let me get a list of figures.

Steve Varner: Last year (and some of these may not have been produced) 12" janeway, 12" Picard, 12" Queen Borg, 12" Resin Picard

Steve Varner: 12" Vulcan Leader resin. 12" Sisko head.

Steve Varner: We did do the 4.5" Alternate Universe Spock.

LilQuestie: I'm sure when you were little you didn't want to be a Toy Sculptor... What did you want to do when you were little, and how did you end up where you are?

Steve Varner: Well, I wanted to be a fine art sculptor but when I was making bronzes in the early 70's and trying to sell them (most of them were sci-fi fancy type sculptures) there wasn't much of a market for them so I sculpted toys in order to make a living. But now it's turning out that toys are fine art so I'm a happy camper.

seven: Will there ever be a 4.5 in. "un-borgified" Seven of Nine?

Steve Varner: I really don't know. There should be.

macd: Will you still be making the 12 inch resin Vulcan and Worf and Kirk, or did it it cancelled as well? Who replaced Overley...do they enjoy Star Trek?

Steve Varner: Those first editions were limited editions of 5000. They won't be re-released..but I don't know if they even were released. Chris was not replaced.

Karl: Are the sculpts you make directly as you envision them or does someone else have veto power?

Steve Varner: Somebody else does have veto power. However, on the new Buffy stuff I can do whatever I want.

Exley: Do you work exclusively on the action figures, or do you also work on ships and role playing accessories? Thanks again for being here, and keep up the good work!

Steve Varner: I'm pretty much exclusively figures, and our expertise is really portraits. Getting the faces just right.

Swift: Steve, you mentioned Hollywood projects. Anything that we might have seen on-screen? How were you involved with King Kong?

Steve Varner: I helped sculpt the 40 foot King Kong. Myself and two other people basically sculpted it.

Swift: Thanks, Steve! (Which 40-foot Kong? The ancient original? Remake? Prop?)

Steve Varner: The remake! I'm not that old. 1976. *laughs*

Swift: Tha was my guess. I was slightly confused there. ;)

Swift: Must have been a fantastic project.

Moderator: Smitty is the winner of a Borg figure #36. Congrats.

TheRuined1: Are there more twopacks on the way?

Steve Varner: You know what?I don't know of any but that doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. *laughs*

Moderator: Steve, it's been great having you here. Thanks for putting up with our rather hectic chat tonight. Is there anything else you would like to add before we go.

Steve Varner: Thanks for your interest and I hope that I was able to answer your questions.

Moderator: You have. Thanks a lot and have a good night.

TheRuined1: Thanks Steve!

JasonG: Thank you, Steve Varner:.

Treker1: Thanx

Smitty: Thanks Steve! Excellent, I got a Borg fig!

Seeker: Thanks, Steve

fhdavid: Thanks Steve

RedData2: Thanks Steve . . . and RTM!

Exley: thanks, steve

William: Thanks guys!

Karl: thanks Steve

Steve Varner: Good night.