Retro 3-3/4" O-Ring Action Figures embattled in the 80s Cold War!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - November 2025 - New Samples!
11 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.
New (left) and previous (right) LANCER sample images courtesy of Dave Proctor
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.
New (front) and previous (middle & back) LANCER sample images courtesy of Dave Proctor
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.
New (left) and previous (right) KRASNY-NINJA sample images courtesy of Dave Proctor
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.
UPTOWN engineering sample images courtesy of Dave Proctor
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.
VOLK proof card sample courtesy of Dave Proctor.
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
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - October 2025
12 months ago
– Fri, Oct 31, 2025 at 07:45:53 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
The end of October has arrived, and it's time for Halloween. We hope you all have fun and a safe evening!
Production Update
Last week, we met with the factory team to review the updates on the figures. We impressed upon the team the importance of promptly correcting any issues with these figures. We want to get them into production as soon as we can, but only once all lingering issues have been addressed.
In last month's update, we shared that the model shop had made some changes to the Lancer and Krasny-Ninja waist parts. The images below show these changes on Lancer (and are much clearer images than last month's screen caps).
Updated function sample courtesy of Dave Proctor.
You can see that the figure has a much better range of motion in the legs, and the legs are not forced apart anymore. The factory team has advised that we will need to retool the waist parts to achieve this. We've approved this plan once the model shop has verified the correct modifications. This revision also corrected the issue of the torso not closing completely above the arm.
Updated function sample courtesy of Dave Proctor.
In addition to the articulation and fit, we reviewed our revision notes on all the deco colors (note the green colors on the Lancer above are still too dark and will be lighter in production).
We also discussed the four remaining figures and what needed to be done to those to make sure these same issues did not affect them.
OUTLAW proof card sample courtesy of Dave Proctor.
While the team works through these corrections, progress continues on figure packaging so that part of the project will be ready to go as soon as production commences. The team has proof cards for this round of figures and is currently working on the blister trays. We'll have more proof cards to show next month.
Upcoming Shows
We will see you in Iowa in two weeks!
Once again, the LONGBOW® team will be in attendance at the 14th Annual ASSEMBLY REQUIRED presented by Code Name: Iowa. Please join us on November 14th and 15th in Des Moines at the HyVee Hall!
Thank you again for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - September 2025
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 07:58:49 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
Fall is here, and we're back to update you on progress for the month of September.
Production Update
The factory team provided us with a video update on the sculpt revisions they have been working on. They've made the necessary adjustments at the model shop to Lancer and Kransy-Ninja to fully achieve the desired range of motion and are moving forward in the process.
Screen capture of factory articulation test, courtesy of Dave Proctor
Progress on the VOLK, UPTOWN, GRU SPETSNAZ, and OUTLAW is ongoing. These figures also required some additional revision at the model shop.
Screen capture of factory articulation test, courtesy of Dave Proctor
Given the rate of progress, we no longer expect these figures to ship before the end of the year. We're sorry to report that we are not further along in the process, and please know that we are pushing to complete these figures as soon as possible, and will continue to share all progress as it occurs. We recognize that this project is taking significantly longer than originally estimated, and we thank you for your continued patience!
Upcoming Shows
Once again, the LONGBOW® team will be in attendance at the 14th Annual ASSEMBLY REQUIRED presented by Code Name: Iowa. Please join us on November 14th and 15th in Des Moines at the HyVee Hall!
Thank you again for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - August 2025
about 1 year ago
– Sun, Aug 31, 2025 at 06:45:57 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
This update is dropping on Labor Day weekend for backers in the USA, and we hope you're all enjoying it. This month, we have production and comic updates to share.
Production Update
Our factory partners are still working on the revision notes we sent them in the previous months. The figures have had an issue with the legs spreading apart. The factory thought they had a fix, and it worked well on LANCER and KRASNY-NINJA, but it continues to be an issue on the other figures. They are working to adjust the tooling as needed for proper articulation. This is a normal part of the process, but it is taking longer than they originally anticipated. We continue to push them forward to completion and will keep you all updated on the process.
Some figures still have fit and finish issues.
Our team also worked with the factory to finalize the bubble layouts for these first 6 figures: LANCER, VOLK, UPTOWN, OUTLAW, GRU SPTESNAZ, and KRASNY-NINJA. We hope to have more to share on that front soon.
LONGBOW Comic Issue #2
The team at Broken Icon Comics is still hard at work on CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Issue #2. Nick Wentmore has been working on the colored pages and is using a half-tone style to give things an even more retro feel.
Colored panels from CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Issue #2
If you are interested in running an advertisement in Longbow Issue #2, please reach out to [email protected] for more information. We still have a couple of half-page spots left.
O-ring Day at the Track!
Our friend at SKELETRON are sponsoring the Garage 66 entry for MBM motorsports, drivenby Timmy Hill in tonights Cookout Southern 500 at Darlington. We got to hang out with the crew this weekend and brought along a little o-ring awesomeness.
Watch the race tonight on USA Network!
Upcoming Shows
Once again this year, the LONGBOW® team will be in attendance at the 14th annual ASSEMBLY REQUIRED presented by Code Name: Iowa! This year, join us on November 14th and 15th in Des Moines at the HyVee Hall.
Thank you again for making this project a reality!
-GRINDSTONE TOYS!
CALLSIGN: LONGBOW Update - July 2025
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 07:02:59 AM
Hello CALLSIGN: LONGBOW® Backers!
The summer is in full swing, and progress continues as the weather heats up. We hope all of our American backers had a great 4th of July celebration this month.
New Production Samples
As we shared in last month's abbreviated update, we received new samples from the factory just before Joefest. This month, we would like to share some better images of these figures.
LANCER, KRASNY-NINJA, and UPTOWN samples
New samples of the Krasny-Ninja got the biggest reaction at both JOEFEST and the DFW JOW SHOW. But all the figures are looking good and making solid progress.
OUTLAW and GRU SPETSNAZ samples with production GHOST
Note that these sample figures have black rivets. The production figures will have rivets painted to match the plastic color, like you see on "GHOST".
GRU SPETSNAZ, OUTLAW, VOLK, and UPTOWN samples without their headgear
This image shows what the figures look like without their headgear. Something we asked for here was to beef up VOLK's facial scar, so it's thicker.
Upcoming Shows
Once again this year, the LONGBOW® team will be in attendance at the 14th annual ASSEMBLY REQUIRED presented by Code Name: Iowa! This year, join us on November 14th and 15th in Des Moines at the HyVee Hall.
We use essential cookies and our own first-party analytics to run BackerKit. With your consent, we also use cookies to measure our marketing and share data with advertising partners to show you relevant ads. Accept to allow all cookies, or reject to turn off the optional ones.
Read our cookie policy.
