Art Asylum

Art Asylum is a New York City based design studio and toy company, responsible for innovative design work on toy and collectible lines for several manufacturers, as well as on their own products. Sculpting, painting, packaging and illustration were all done in-house, and they have contributed much to the hobby, including pioneering work in the 1:4 scale realm, concealed articulation and the Minimate mini-figure. It lives on today as a division of Diamond Select Toys.

History

Started by Digger Mesch and Donna Soldano in 1996, Art Asylum was initially just a work-for-hire sculpting studio which designed various action figures, busts and statues for numerous toy companies such as ToyCom and Playmates. A notable job in this period was the design and production of the "Scuba Steve" action figure prop for the 1999 Adam Sandler film Big Daddy. They also sculpted deluxe Star Trek action figures for Playmates, and designed new packaging for the U.S. release of Kaiyodo's Neon Genesis Evangelion action figures.

With an increasingly profitable segment of the toy market being older collectors seeking heavily detailed quality designs, Art Asylum decided to enter the market as a full toy company. A small player compared to industry giants like Hasbro and Mattel, Art Asylum's licenses ranged from well-known brands like Star Trek, Eminem and Tony Hawk to more cult properties like Bruce Lee, Dark Angel and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They also signed leading rock and metal musicians like KISS,[1] Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie for a number of categories.[2] The Star Trek range became one of their signature licenses, and they released action figures, Minimates, role play items and electronic starships for multiple incarnations of the franchise.[3]

Art Asylum also has a history of collaborations with other companies, starting with Aztech Toys, with whom they made the first series of Silent Screamers action figures in 2000. They next partnered with Play Along Toys in 2002 for The Lord of the Rings Minimates[4] and the C3 Construction line (including sets based on Batman and Justice League), and partnerships with Diamond Select Toys and DC Direct have given it access to popular licenses like Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

The company dissolved in 2007, and some assets (including the Art Asylum name and the Minimates brand) were acquired by Diamond Select. The company still maintains a New York City office, and many of Diamond Select's toy lines feature design and sculpting work by former Art Asylum staffers. The Art Asylum logo appears on all packaging, and the Art Asylum site is now Diamond Select's official blog.

The company's enduring legacy are the block-style miniature figures Minimates, which Diamond Select continues to produce for a wide variety of licenses. Diamond Select also continues to produce a variety of Star Trek items, continuing the toy categories begun by Art Asylum.

Art Asylum Licenses

Notable collaborations

External links

References

  1. ↑ "KISS Toys From Art Asylum 'N' The Box' & 'MiniMates'," http://www.kissasylum.com/news/artasylum022002.shtml
  2. ↑ "Rock 'N Boxes From Art Asylum," http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/481.html
  3. ↑ "TNI Spotlight: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A From Art Asylum," http://toynewsi.com/index.php?itemid=1826
  4. ↑ "Toy Fair 2003 - Art Asylum," http://www.figures.com/databases/action.cgi?setup_file=fignews2.setup&category=actionfigures&topic=101&show_article=114