When we first discovered Wandering Planet Toys, it was through their 4″ The Prisoner figures. Alongside that, we got to know the creative minds behind the company, Co-Founders Chris “Doc” Wyatt and Gavin Hignight. It was truly impressive that they managed to launch a toy company while actively pursuing their television production careers.
With the same creativity they applied to their career, they successfully expanded their toy company. Bringing licenses from Nancy Drew, Fletcher Hanks’ the Headless Ones, and most recently, the iconic Laurel and Hardy. But it was apparent that they still have unfinished business with The Prisoner. Now on Kickstarter, Wandering Planet Toys is offering deluxe 6″ action figures for the Prisoner in their WAVE 2 line. Having talked to Chris and Gavin about their Laurel and Hardy figures back in September of 2024, it was time to catch up again for their new endeavor. So, let’s welcome back “Doc” Wyatt and Gavin Hignight to GVN Talking Comics.
Exploring Their “OTHER” Jobs
GVN: I want to thank you both for once again spending some time with us. As we explored in our first conversation, you both are deeply involved in projects for television when you are not making toys for Wandering Planet. So, before we jump into your latest endeavor for Wandering Planet Toys, let’s discuss what you have been up to lately.
Starting with you, Gavin. You were the Executive Producer and screenwriter for “Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance” for Netflix. It was the first animated series to use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (originally developed for high-end video games). How long was this particular series in the works, and were you pleased with how it came to fruition?
GAVIN: Thanks! I was thrilled to be working in the Gundam universe, especially the Universal Century continuity as that’s the original Gundam timeline. Believe it or not, we pitched this to Sunrise, before the pandemic! That’s how long we’d been working on the series. My exec Taiki, at Netflix and I, came up with the concept and brought it to Sunrise, who thankfully really liked our angle, and were very supportive in making the series happen. They embraced seeing the “One Year War” from the perspective of Zeon, and therefore the Gundam of our series being… the big bad. I was very pleased with the series and hope those who haven’t seen it yet can enjoy it on Netflix. With a project like that, even if you’re happy with it, you always want to make more, and polish more… so hopefully, in the future we’ll get to follow it up with more story.
GVN: Your turn, Doc (check out our first interview to see the origins of Chris “Doc” Wyatt). You are also in the midst of a series for Netflix, “Ninjago: Dragons Rising,” as Executive Producer and contributing writer along with your cohort, Kevin Burke. This popular series is getting ready to begin its 3rd season in April. What can a fan of the series expect from this next installment?
DOC: It comes out April 17th on Netflix. Last season, we introduced a new villain force to be reckoned with, a team of ancient corrupted Elemental Masters named THE FORBIDDEN FIVE. They once rolled out a merciless campaign of conquest in their native realm, the Wyldness, but had been trapped for centuries in the Nether Space. Now unleashed, they’re on a quest to track down the source of their power so that they can increase it. Only the Ninja stand between the Forbidden Five and their domination of the Merged Lands. And, by the way, we also animated in Unreal Engine 5.
Juggling Television and Toys
GVN: Now let’s move on to why we are here: Wandering Planet Toys’ upcoming 6” figures for “The Prisoner.” Since you are both deeply involved in this process, all the remaining questions are for the both of you, or whoever wants to chime in.
How DO you juggle your television commitments with your Wandering Planet Toys responsibilities? Doesn’t seem like there would be enough hours in the year.
GAVIN: LOL. It’s hard some days. But Doc and I are both workaholics and just love to create things, whether they be animated, toy form, comic form, tv or film… we both love creating, so yeah, we’d be busy crafting no matter what. Toys have been really rewarding to make, as you really see the joy they bring to those who collect them, and we always make sure to work on toys that bring us joy, that can fuel you on one of those long days or nights.
DOC: It’s not easy. There’s a lot going on. But we’re passionate about it. We’re getting to make action figures that we would want to have as fans, so we’re driven to find the time in between our other commitments.
Laurel and Hardy Progress
GVN: As I mentioned, we last spoke when you were prepping for your Kickstarter Campaign for your Laurel and Hardy 6” figures. How is the fulfillment of that successful campaign progressing?
DOC: We’re not at the fulfillment stage yet. We’re still in manufacturing. We recently got the first test prints and are modifying them so the tools can be made.
GAVIN: We’re still in the manufacturing phase of Laurel and Hardy, but WOW I am happy with the results. We received some test castings last month, and in hand… I was just blown away by the sculpts. I mentioned before, I’m a lifelong fan of “the boys” and getting to pay tribute to their legacy, and connect with other fans through the figures has been amazing. They also opened the door for us to understand and work in the 1/12 scale, and their victories are also No6 and No2’s victories in our Prisoner 1/12 line. I love the retro style figures we’ve made, but feel the quality and detail we’re able to put into this scale, Laurel & Hardy, The Prisoner… and what’s coming… really helps identify us as a brand.
Expanding “The Prisoner” Line
GVN: My original introduction to Wandering Planet Toys was the introduction of “The Prisoner” figures. An idea that was sparked by your desire to have such toys available for your personal collection. When you first started with this idea, did you have plans for further figures in that line, or were your initial efforts your only ambition when it came to “The Prisoner?”
DOC: Of course. We ALWAYS dreamed of having Leo McKern, we just couldn’t afford it in Wave 1, so our goal was to make Wave 1 a success so we could get to Leo in Wave 2. Similarly, we have a plan for Wave 3 that we’ve been banking on since the beginning. We can’t wait to announce it.
GAVIN: Our short term goal was to make the best quality retro style figures we could for The Prisoner. But in the back of our minds, like we often do, we were daydreaming and what-if-ing. We had a shared document with tons of other ideas we hoped to explore. It was like, with every step of The Prisoner wave one that was achieved, the more real our other ideas seemed to be. We’ve had a few die on the launchpad, and that’s been a bummer. I worked on a project, we even secured the license, worked on it for two years and it fizzled. And the other challenge with some of the ideas on our dream list is that the licenses are so hard to secure. Hopefully with every successful wave of figures we release, some of those wish list ideas become more obtainable. And as for The Prisoner, in the retro scale, there are still figures and items we hope to make reality. The line has amazing support from a core group of awesome Prisoner fans… but yeah, these items are not easy to make. So… it takes time and strategy.
Developing the 6″ Prisoner Figures
GVN: When it comes to your new 6” Prisoner figures, how much did the success of your 6” Laurel and Hardy “figure in” (pun intended) contribute to your decision to offer fans these deluxe versions?
GAVIN: We have been developing them side-by-side. We’ve known for some time we wanted to offer fans a more modern Black Series or Legends style Number 6. And at some point, we were so happy with how he was coming along in development, it gave us confidence NOT to explore Laurel and Hardy as 5pt retro figures, but as the deluxe figures you now see in production. And now that I see them and what we were able to accomplish with them I know we made the right choice. One helped the other and vice versa for sure. For the release of The Prisoner Ultimate Edition, I’d say the success of Laurel and Hardy and momentum we saw their campaign have, gave us confidence as we approach No6 in this new scale. Fingers crossed!
DOC: None, really. We knew we wanted to do Prisoner 1/12 6” figures from the point at which Wave 1 of the retro figures were successful, because everyone kept requesting it. We were being asked constantly: “Are you going to do 6-inch with this?” So we knew the desire was out there. And we want them too! We love the retro line, but it’ll be good to have Prisoner figures of a scale that will stand on the shelf with our Star Wars Black Series and Marvel Legends figures.
Once More into the Kickstarter Fray
GVN: This will be your third Kickstarter campaign for your Prisoner line. I noticed that for those who choose to order the pair of figures, they will also receive a retro-style “The Prisoner” lunch box. That ALONE might inspire someone (like me) to order. Although this was not the first time you have offered such a prize, it is a GREAT idea. How did you decide to make that addition?
GAVIN: You’ll notice with our approach; we often try to make something that never got made… something that never got the toy or collectible treatment… but it sure would have been cool if it had. We try to fill in collectible cultural gaps. For fans of this series, wouldn’t it have been cool if they had the figures back when they first discovered The Prisoner… wouldn’t it have been cool if they were the kid who brought The Prisoner lunchbox to school LOL… as if being an intellectual kid isn’t hard enough… but you see what I’m saying. We just try to pay tribute to classic IP with love, with collectibles the IP never received.
We started getting into the idea of tin Lunch Boxes as alternate packaging, or collectibles that are useful, like for Laurel and Hardy we made one, for Prisoner and for our Nancy Drew line we actually are making two. We love the idea that someone can store their extra figures or accessories to the figures in the lunchbox. That it can make a nice display piece, along with your figures, conjuring nostalgia. And through wave one we met Prisoner fan at artist Richard Martin. Richard had painted this amazing classic looking Prisoner keyart… and shared it with us. And we were like… “How would you feel about working with us to make this a classic lunch box?!” And finally a couple years later, here we are! Thank you, Richard! How cool is that, the Prisoner fan community coming together to pay tribute to the series.
DOC: As a kid my Black Hole tin lunchbox was my pride and joy. I still own it!
Following Chris, Gavin, and Wandering Planet Toys
GVN: I want to thank you both for paying us another visit. Before I let you go, let’s remind our fans about the upcoming Kickstarter campaign and where they can visit Wandering Planet Toys.
GAVIN: Thank you for the continued support and for the great questions! Here’s the link for the Prisoner 1/12 scale deluxe figures (and lunchbox)!
And here’s where we are active online! https://www.facebook.com/WanderingPlanetToys/ and https://www.instagram.com/wanderingplanettoys/
And we just launched @wandering-planet.bsky.social
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
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