Beginnings

I've been an avid builder from a very young age. I tinkered with various building systems like Capsela, Lego, Tinker Toys, and Erector/Meccano. My path brought me to Hasbro, where I became a product designer, leading the design and development of brands such as Batman, Star Wars, Pokémon, Beyblade, Jurassic Park, MicroMachines, G.I. Joe, Spider-Man, Xevoz, and many others.

Having worked as an indie comic creator before Hasbro, I began to feel that toys could be so much more - creatively inspiring, deeply engaging, and more sustainable. So I left the Big Show to develop some of my own ideas while working as a consultant in the background. I built Dynamo Development Labs as a space for experimentation into what the future of toys might look like.

The Spark That Started It All

ModiBot was sparked by a question - what if I could design and build my own characters around a modular, physically expressive underbody? I started designing ModiBot in 2011, teaching myself 3D design as a path to self-publishing via 3D printing. 3D printing in SLS/Nylon was new and was the perfect material to explore ball-jointed construction. I worked to refine the build system and sold a few figures and accessories on Shapeways, evolving the connection system for maximum customization. As much as I was impressed by 3D printing, it became clear that the core figure needed to be higher quality than 3D printing could produce at the time.

The ModiBot build system debuted at Bay Area Maker Faire in 2013. We sold a small stock of 3D printed Myke figures and showed the first shots of the Mo figure. The reaction was phenomenal! We sold all our stock of Mykes, talked to potential fans, and won several awards from Make magazine's editorial panel, who were huge supporters.

Mo launched via Kickstarter in July of 2013. The fan funding enabled us to pay off the first round of inventory in 8 colors. We'd published our first 3D printed character kits during that time, which proved the potential of the customization system. Those early printed kits came as a bag of loose parts, posing a challenge for fulfilling the tons of orders we received — prompting me to redesign and publish the kits as collected parts on runners, like model kits.

Where We Are Now

ModiBot continued to develop as a side project while I was working on a toy startup called Modio, which moved into digital design and software development on Tinkercad. The build system has matured and diversified with releases like the ExoSkin and RoboSkin figures and various stopmotion tools and accessories.

It's largely been a one-man show since the Kickstarter days. It's been hugely rewarding to see the genuine love of the fans and all the characters and creative projects they've built with the system. Their passion projects drive me to create more.