Retro 3-3/4" O-Ring Action Figures embattled in the 80s Cold War!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - February 2025
26 days ago
– Fri, Feb 28, 2025 at 07:59:25 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
We're back with this month's progress update.
Back to Work
February is the shortest month of the year, so this update will be a little short too. A good portion of February is spent celebrating the Chinese New Year (CNY).
During this time, pretty much every factory in China takes a month off and very little progress is made. Anyone who has backed an action figure project on Kickstarter has encountered this or heard someone talking about it.
But the good news is, CNY has concluded, and our factory partners are back to work!
We don't have any exciting pictures to show, but here are some progress items that were completed this month.
The factory has received our notes from last month's first shots and we met with our rep to finalize revisions. These revisions have been sent to the factory production team to begin work on them.
Packaging files have been finalized, proofread, and submitted to the factory for production.
New plastic color samples are being produced based on our notes from last month.
ZOLOCON
Troy will be joining the team from SKELETRON® for ZOLOCON on March 1st and 2nd (this weekend!) at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. If you're in the area, come to the show and say hello!
A limited amount of GHOST figures will be available at the show.
Come see Troy from GRINDSTONE TOYS and the SKELETRON® Crew at ZOLOCON!
SKELETRON will also have a new variant cardback on their Retro Wolf Trooper figure (also by Grindstone Toys)! Below is the information from their announcement:
"Debuting at ZOLOCON 2025 — a final, special variant cardback of our Retro Series 2-in-1 Wolf Trooper/Skeletron! Featuring the bold, nostalgic art of renowned artist, illustrator, and skateboarder Tim Baron, this new cardback will be a distinctive and badass piece in any SKELETRON collection!"
Retro Wolf Trooper/Skeletron Final Cardback Variant | Debuting at ZOLOCON 2025!
"The figure is from the same production run as our Sold-Out Retro Wolf Trooper/Skeletron, so this variant cardback will appeal to those who missed out, want more, or simply enjoy another carded version with a killer Tim Baron cardback design. Can’t make it to the show? Don’t worry! This Tim Baron variant will become available online sometime after Zolocon at www.SKELETRON.com, shipping worldwide at the same price as our previously sold-out Doug Hart Retro Wolf Trooper version cardbacks. We hope to see you at Zolocon!"
We'll be back next month with another update at the end of the month!
Thank you again to all our backers for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - New First Shots!
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 06:59:13 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
This month we've been working with our factory partners to complete as many things as possible before the start of the Chinese New Year when the factory will close for the holiday break.
New First Shot Samples
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® test shot images courtesy of Dave Proctor
About a week ago we received new first shots from the tooling for our next batch of figures. This is the same tooling we mentioned was being cut and tested in our November 2024 update.
The factory provides these first shots so we can identify adjustments that are needed. Most of these figures have minor fit issues like small gaps between parts (this is normal and expected for this stage in the process). We've already inspected these parts and sent back our revisions. Now the factory will make the corrections and get us another step closer to production.
The factory also sent us some plastic color samples that we've also returned revisions on.
Note: these first shots are NOT final colors.
First shot images courtesy of Dave Proctor.
KRASNY-NINJA and LANCER first shots
LANCER and UPTOWN first shots
GRU SPETSNAZ first shot
UPTOWN and KRASNY-NINJA first shots
OUTLAW first shot
KRASNY-NINJA first shot
LANCER and GRU SPETSNAZ first shots comparison with SKELETRON® RETRO WOLF TROOPER
We will continue to update you on production as we have more information. Remember to check back here on the last day of every month for the latest Intel.
ZOLOCON
Troy will be joining the team from SKELETRON® for ZOLOCON on March 1st and 2nd at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. If you're in the area, come to the show and say hello!
A limited amount of GHOST figures will be available at the show.
Come see Troy from GRINDSTONE TOYS and the SKELETRON® Crew at ZOLOCON!
Passing of a Freind
As many of you probably know, the Longbow team lost a close friend this month when Aaron Detrick passed away after an eight-month battle with cancer. Aaron was a mainstay of the G.I. Joe collecting community, and the life of the party wherever he went. It will be hard to attend shows and not see him there. He will be missed dearly.
Aaron at the infamous Longbow "Hecklers Panel" - Joefest 2021
We'll be back at our regularly scheduled time next month.
Thank you again to all our backers for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS
2024 CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Year-End Update
3 months ago
– Tue, Dec 31, 2024 at 07:15:25 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
We hope you all had a merry and joyous Christmas.
December is a busy month for us at Grindstone with family obligations, so the end of the year goes so quickly. But it's also a good time to reflect on the year behind us while also looking forward to the year ahead.
GHOST Surprise
This past week on social media, we shared a secret detail about the GHOST figure we delivered in October. We haven't seen anyone post that they found it, so we thought it would be a nice holiday surprise!
We've got one more surprise for anyone who bought "GHOST".
He GLOWS-IN-THE-DARK!
This CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Deluxe figure features green GITD paint that reacts to UV light. For the best results, expose the figure to direct sunlight for a few minutes and then take it to a dark room.
The figure really pops under blacklight too.
Best of all, "GHOST" is still available and in stock at SKELETRON.com. If you haven't gotten this great retro o-ring figure yet, you can order yours at SKELETRON.com
Production Update
This month we have some more accessories from tooling to show you. This time the the rifle for MTF: RETRO-OPS and the Hammer for the KRASNY-NINJA!
Weapon accessories for MTF: RETRO-OPS and KRASNY-NINJA
We hope your 2025 gets off to an amazing start. We'll be back next month with your regularly scheduled update!
Thank you again to all our backers for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS!
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - November 2024
4 months ago
– Sat, Nov 30, 2024 at 07:35:47 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
We hope you all had a wonderful (and filling) Thanksgiving!
We're back with the November 2024 LONGBOW® update.
ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Troy, John, and Mikey were in attendance at ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.
This year's ASSEMBLY REQUIRED show was fantastic! It was great to meet some of you again and some for the first time. This is always a fun and interactive show. We want to thank Brian Saurer and the CODENAME: IOWA team for putting on such an amazing gathering year after year.
Production Update
Our factory partners had a few small updates this month. Unfortunately, we don't have any new images to accompany them at this time.
The first round of revisions to the LANCER body tooling is complete.
A first pass on the KRASNY-NINJA body tooling has been cut and is being tested.
A first pass on the VOLK/GRU SPETSNAZ TROOPER/UPTOWN/OUTLAW body tooling has been cut and is being tested.
Three additional tools with hands and non-weapons accessories (Backpacks & Headgear) have been cut and tested. These are being revised as needed.
We do have some images with more accessories from the completed weapons tooling. These include accessories for the alove mentioned OUTLAW and KRASNY-NINJA!
Weapon accessories for OUTLAW and KRASNY-NINJA
We'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas or any holiday you celebrate as the year comes to a close. We'll be back on Dec. 31st with a new update!
Thank you again to all our backers for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS!
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - GHOST ARRIVES!
5 months ago
– Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 07:40:47 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
Happy Halloween! It's time for the October 2024 LONGBOW® update.
ADVANCED DEPLOYMENT Update
All CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® ADVANCED DEPLOYMENT orders were shipped out by October 20th! Shipments were processed in first-in-first-out sequencing so that Kickstarter pledges were shipped first, followed by BackerKit pre-orders. As a reminder, this ADVANCED DEPLOYMENT shipment included:
"GHOST" Deluxe O-ring Action Figure
LONGBOW® "INVISIBLE" BATTLE STANDS
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® #1 Issue Comic with Exclusive Cover
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® #1 Issue Comic with Standard Cover
LONGBOW® & MTF: RETRO-OPS Patch 2-Pack
STEEL WEB®, ADAPT, and КОМАНДА ОХОТА Patch 3-pack
Many backers have already received their shipments, and we appreciate all the amazing comments that have been posted and shared online! We're grateful that our vision of delivering all-new, retro-style figures of the highest possible quality has commenced! We are extremely proud of the quality that has just delivered, but if you have had any issues with any of the products received, please contact us directly at [email protected].
ADVANCED DEPLOYMENT in-stock at SKELETRON.com
Missed out on GHOST or something else from this deployment? Or just want MORE? We have Great News!
Beginning Saturday, November 2nd at 10:00 PM (EDT), GHOST and the other Advanced Deployment products will be available* and in-stock at SKELETRON.com. (*Kickstarter Exclusive Comic not available)
To commemorate this exciting occasion, there will be a limited "GO-RING STARTER SET" bundle that includes GHOST, BATTLE STANDS, and Retro WOLF TROOPER/SKELETRON in both the original Wolf Trooper cardback and variant Skeletron cardback! These retro figures sold-out earlier this year, and Skeletron will be offering a very limited quantity taken from their nearly depleted convention stash. (Limit 1 GO-RING STARTER SET per order)
We'd like to thank our friends at Skeletron for hosting Ghost and our other Callsign: Longbow products at SKELETRON.COM! We're thrilled to be able to offer Flat Rate $4 shipping in the United States with most orders shipping within 1 business day of order placement! International orders also INCLUDE VAT collection at check-out so that orders ship Duties Prepaid straight to their destination!
Production Update
So with our first Longbow figure GHOST now produced and delivered, where are we at with the remaining figures?
LANCER early first shot
Our production team has shared this early first shot of LANCER with us! This figure came from the steel tooling and looks great! As is nearly always the case, there are some adjustments that need to be made, and revisions are currently underway. The factory is taking lessons learned from GHOST and Skeletron's Retro WOLF TROOPER with intent to streamline the process to allow future figures to be finalized and produced as quickly as possible.
We've also seen some new test shot weapon accessories! Though this particular test shot color doesn't photograph well, the details on these accessories are very crisp and clean. These parts come directly from the completed tooling, and are ready for production!
Weapon accessories for LANCER, VOLK, UPTOWN, and GRU SPETSNAZ TROOPER
We also received an updated production schedule from our factory partners. Though we had hoped to have more items completed and ready to ship before the end of the year, our overseas team has informed us that they will not be complete in time. Based on the latest information provided, we are now expecting additional figures to deliver sometime in Spring 2025.
This scheduled production is expected to include 6 additional figures. Specifically, they plan to produce LANCER, VOLK, UPTOWN, GRU SPETSNAZ TROOPER, OUTLAW, and KRASNY-NINJA in this group. We have seen tooling for these figures and will continue to share more details as we have them.
Once this wave of 6 figures has been fulfilled, the additional items will come afterwards are HENCHMEN (TRACKSUIT), MTF: RETRO-OPS, STEEL WEB® SHOCK-TROOPER, ADAPT TROOPER (RESEARCH FACILITY), and RESUPPLY PACK #1. We will continue to share more about these items as soon as we have the details.
Though we continue to see forward progress, we know it is disappointing that these next figures are are now pushed out beyond year-end. Please be assured we are doing everything in our power to push the project forward to completion as quickly as we can. As always, we will share with you any information we have each month in these updates.
ASSEMBLY REQUIRED IS NEARLY HERE!
Next week the LONGBOW® team will be in attendance at the 13th annual ASSEMBLY REQUIRED presented by Code Name: Iowa! This year join us on November 8th and 9th in Des Moines at the HyVee Hall.
We will have "GHOST" Deluxe figures, "INVISIBLE" BATTLE STANDS, LONGBOW® #1 Issue Comics, Individual Patches, and Doug Hart Character Art Prints for sale at the show!
