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CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - March 2026
5 months ago – Tue, Mar 31, 2026 at 07:58:13 AM

Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!

Thanks to everyone who came to see us at Zolocon and our last-minute, unannounced appearance at Toylanta. It's great to get to meet as many of you as we can in person!

Production Update

In our January update, we shared the new timeline provided by the factory for production. Below, we'll hit on the individual items from that timeline and any new items that have come up.

Lancer & Krasny-Ninja

• Final samples were expected by the end of March for these two figures. We've been told that the tooling revisions for the waist parts are complete. Our factory representative advised that the new parts had some areas that needed additional polishing (rough spots). Because of that, we have not seen the final samples yet (but expect them shortly).
• Early in the month, we were given the opportunity to approve some mold colors even before the samples were completed. The colors were chosen to match vintage figures and have been approved for production.
• The factory is advising that we are still on track for production in their estimated timeframe. 
• Even though we do not have final samples yet, we feel like we're in a good place and do not expect them to have any major issues. We just need to see the whole package together before we give them the "green light" to commence production. 

Uptown, Volk, Outlaw, & GRU Spetsnaz

• Additional modifications mentioned in January have been completed, and the corrected waist and upper leg parts have been sent to the factory for retooling.
• Things are still progressing on the factory's estimates. Production is still expected sometime in June-July for these four. 

Remaining Items: Henchmen, ADAPT Trooper, Steel Web Shock-Trooper, MTF: Retro-Ops, and Resupply Pack.

• Some of the new parts for these figures are ready to move to tooling (Heads, Hands, & Accessories). 
• Still looking like we're on track for full tooling on these figures to begin in late summer/early fall.
• We got a sample of the color match for the Henchmen's body (approved) and updated images of the Henchmen's rifle with its new etched wood grain texture (approved). 

New SKELETRON Figures

While not a LONGBOW® release, Grindstone Toys is excited to share that the new Red Shadows® Retro YETI and Retro ZARGONAUT are available for purchase online from our friends at SKELETRON. 

Retro O-Ring 3.75” ZARGONAUT  is a 2-in-1 figure that also transforms into Commander ZARLORD!

These figures are in stock and available now at the SKELETRON online store.

Upcoming Shows

DFW G.I. JOE AND ACTION FIGURE SHOW

We will be in attendance at the DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figures Show, May 29th - 31st at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott in Irving, TX.

We are also announcing that we will be sponsoring Bill Young at the show.  Bill was a senior product designer at Hasbro from 1984 to 1997. He designed some great vehicles on the G.I. Joe brand, including the Cobra WOLF, Buzz Boar, Phantom X-19, Cobra Rage, and Hurricane VTOL. 

If you are going to the show, please stop by and meet Bill! 

JOEFEST

Come see us at JoeFest Toy and Comic Convention, June 26-28, at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center in Augusta, GA.

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

And we'll round out the year at our home show, Assembly Required presented by CODENAME: IOWA, November 13-14, at the EMC Expo Center at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at these conventions around the country!

Thank you again for making this project a reality!

-GRINDSTONE TOYS

CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - February 2026
6 months ago – Sun, Mar 01, 2026 at 06:25:51 AM

Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!

This weekend we are at  ZOLOCON at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, PA., with our friends from SKELETRON and MARAUDER.

If you are at the show, don't forget to keep your eyes out for LONGBOW® Reinforcement Coins on the show floor and around the convention! Find them and bring them to the booth to exchange for a free figure!

Production Update

With the factory being shut down for most of the month of February, this month's update will be a little light. We expect the team to start back today (March 1st, 2026). 

Adding Tiny Details

Something we have not shown before is how extra-small texture details can be added to tools. In this case, the woodgrain on the rifle for Henchmen (Tracksuit). These details are too small to be 3D printed as part of the master for tooling, so they need to be added to the tool directly. The factory uses these pattern plates, in this case with a 0.080 mm depth.

Note: These patterns are the inverse of the final detail (all low parts are high and high parts low). So the final product will actually be the opposite texture of these mock-ups.

Proof Card

This month in our ongoing series of cardbacks, we have the proof card for LANCER to share. As we covered in previous months, these proof cards are used to make sure the cards are the correct size, colors, and layouts. 

Upcoming Shows

DFW G.I. JOE AND ACTION FIGURE SHOW

We'll also be in attendance at the DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figures Show, May 29th - 31st at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott in Irving, TX.

JOEFEST

Come see us at JoeFest Toy and Comic Convention, June 26-28, at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center in Augusta, GA.

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

And we'll round out the year at our home show, Assembly Required presented by CODENAME: IOWA, November 13-14, at the EMC Expo Center at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at these conventions around the country!

Thank you again for making this project a reality!

-GRINDSTONE TOYS

CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - January 2026
7 months ago – Sat, Jan 31, 2026 at 12:24:01 PM

Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!

2026 is upon us, and we are quickly approaching Chinese New Year. As a reminder, during this time, most of the overseas factories used in toy manufacturing shut down for a month-long break. This includes most of the month of February. 

New Production Timeline

We met with our factory project manager this week, and he shared an updated estimated timeline for production on the latest round of figures. Note that these dates are estimates provided to us from the the factory, and further delays are still possible. 

Lancer & Krasny-Ninja

• Final samples should be available around the end of March. 
• If those are approved with no major issues, production would likely commence in April on these two figures. 

Uptown, Volk, Outlaw, & GRU Spetsnaz

• Additional modifications are being worked on at the model shop. 
• If things proceed smoothly, production is expected sometime in June-July for these four. 

Remaining Items: Henchmen, ADAPT Trooper, Steel Web Shock-Trooper, MTF: Retro-Ops, and Resupply Pack.

• Our project manager has already communicated the corrections for these figures to the model shop, so that they match the modifications made to the others. 
• If all goes as planned, tooling on these figures would begin in late summer/early fall.

Proof Card:

This month, we have the proof card for GRU SPETSNAZ to share. As we covered in previous months, these proof cards are used to make sure the cards are the correct size, colors, and layouts. 

Upcoming Shows

ZOLOCON

Troy will be joining the SKELETRON and MARAUDER crew at ZOLOCON 2026, February 27 – March 1, at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, PA. 

On the O-ring side of things, these figures will be available at ZOLOCON:

• CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® GHOST 
• NEW SKELETRON YETI  (Masked Cardback)
• NEW SKELETRON YETI  (Unmasked Cardback as seen at Assembly Required)
• NEW SKELETRON ZARGONAUT  (2-in-1 transforms into ZARLORD!)
• A very limited supply of previously sold-out items.

DFW G.I. JOE AND ACTION FIGURE SHOW

We'll also be in attendance at the DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figures Show, May 29th - 31st at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott in Irving, TX.

JOEFEST

Come see us at JoeFest Toy and Comic Convention, June 26-28, at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center in Augusta, GA.

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

And we'll round out the year at our home show, Assembly Required presented by CODENAME: IOWA, November 13-14, at the EMC Expo Center at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA. 

We hope to see as many of you as possible at these conventions around the country!

Thank you again for making this project a reality!

-GRINDSTONE TOYS

2025 CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Year-End Update
8 months ago – Wed, Dec 31, 2025 at 05:20:58 PM

Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas! And let us also wish you a happy New Year!

Development Update

Packaging Bubbles:

This month, our factory partners have shared with us some new images of bubbles they are testing for the figure packaging. The accessories that some figures come with will necessitate unique bubbles, like KRASNY-NINJA, while others, like VOLK & GRU SPETSNAZ, can use the same design. 

*Note: the figure in this image is an older sample figure; it is not a production figure.

The team worked from a "standard" bubble and has made recommendations on modifications for each figure. We've approved the new recommendations, and they will begin tailoring these bubbles to each accessory as needed. 

Proof Card:

This month, we have the proof card for UPTOWN to share. As we covered in previous months, these proof cards are used to make sure the cards are the correct size, colors, and layouts. 

Comic Update:

Our partners at Broken Icon Comics have completed coloring and lettering on CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Issue #2!

We expect to have more details about how the comic will be available in the coming months.

One Advertisement Space Left: 

On that note, we still have a single half-page ad space available. If you are interested in running an advertisement in Longbow Issue #2, please reach out to [email protected] for more information.

As we look forward to 2026, we want to assure all of our backers that we are committed to seeing this project through to completion as soon as possible. We have also continued development on future offerings, slotted for release after our initial Kickstarter items. 

Thank you again for making this project a reality!

-GRINDSTONE TOYS
 

CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - November 2025 - New Samples!
9 months ago – Sun, Nov 30, 2025 at 08:08:42 AM

Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!

We hope everyone here in the States had a great Thanksgiving weekend! It's the time when we stop to give thanks and reflect on all we have to be thankful for. 

First and foremost, we are thankful for all of our Crowdfunding backers, both on Kickstarter and those who pre-ordered on BackerKit. You made this project possible. 

We'd like to give thanks to Brian Sauer and the crew at Codename: Iowa for putting on a great show earlier this month, and for everyone who attended the show. ASSEMBLY REQUIRED is one of our favorite shows. One part toy show and one part class reunion, it's a fantastic way to round out the year. 

We want to thank the team at SKELETRON® for all their efforts in bringing YETI into reality. It's not a LONGBOW figure, but it was really important to us. It is a wonderful homage to our friend Arron, who we lost earlier this year.

We are also thankful, because we have new samples to share with all of you!

Production Update - New Samples

We had a meeting with our factory project manager, Dave Proctor, last week.  He shared with us updates on the current batch of figures.

LANCER

Lancer has seen some good progress. This image shows a new sample on the left and an old sample on the right. This new figure can now close its legs and sit properly.  You can also see that some of the gap issues in the torsos and legs have been corrected.  

In addition to the updated articulation corrections, some of the colors on Lancer have also been corrected. In this image, you can see a more traditional "vintage" green in the newest sample (front). His skin tone has also been corrected from the "sunburnt" samples we got earlier this year.

KRASNY-NINJA

We also got to see similar updates to the Krasny-Ninja. This figure has improved movement, and can close his legs and sit better a well. 

There are still some deco corrections for these two (for example, the eyes are too thin now). 

We have approved the updated waist and leg joints on these two. So all of their mold functions are set, and they can continue to move forward towards production. 

Other Figures

Some improvements have been made on the Uptown / Volk / Spetsnaz / Outlaw waist and legs. They can now close their legs. They will need a little more time with the model shop before moving forward to fix gaps and make the figure sit up properly. 

Packaging Update:

Last month, we shared a packaging proof card for Outlaw. These proofcards are produced for approval before full production begins. We will share these for all of the figures, over the coming months. 

Upcoming Shows

Now that Assembly Required has wrapped, our show schedule for 2025 is complete. We want to thank everyone who came to see us this year at Zolocon, Joefest, the DFW Joe Show, and AR. It's great to get to meet so many of you in person. We will have more information on our 2026 show schedule soon.  

Thank you again for making this project a reality!

-GRINDSTONE TOYS