■Profile
Company Name: Tianjin Wakeway Cultural Creative Co., Ltd.
Brand Name: HEX Collectibles
CEO: Evan Cheng
Company Address: Tianjin, China
Facebook: @hexcollectiblesofficial
Instagram: hexcollectibles
YouTube: @HEXCollectibles
Year of company foundation: 2018
(*We heard from Mr. Evan Cheng, co-founder of HEX Collectibles)
────First of all, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself? You have lived abroad for a long time, please tell us about your life experiences while abroad!
Hello, I am Evan Cheng, the founder of HEX Collectibles. I graduated from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, where I studied and lived for a long time. During that time, I was exposed to different cultures and lifestyles, and it was also during that time that I became a statue collector of American and Japanese comic statues, which led to the idea of establishing a statue studio.
────Tell us the meaning behind your brand name!
Our brand name is HEX Collectibles. "HEX" stands for the initials of "Highly detailed, Expert production," which reflects our ongoing pursuit of precision and professional production. We strive to break through the boundaries of design through continuous innovation and accurately capture the essence of characters. We are also committed to starting from the design of dynamic style and the quality requirements of continuous improvement, giving each collection its own unique character soul, and artistic value.
────Tell us about the history of your company! What was the initial idea behind your brand? And why did you decide to get involved in this industry?
HEX Collectibles was founded in 2018 and has been in operation for around 5 years. Our brand was initially established with the idea of providing high-quality collectibles and services to a wide range of statue collectors. We believe that the statue industry is full of vitality and innovation, and we hope to bring more collection fun and satisfaction to anime and game enthusiasts through our own products, while also transmitting our love for anime and game culture through statues.
────Tell us about your current creative team! How many members do you have in total?
Our team has three departments: product design, market operation, and production. We have over 20 members, and all of them are dedicated to the career they love. At the same time, the members of Studio Hive, the Thai studio founded by our co-founders Kan and Skan, are all well-known professionals in arts with rich experience in design, aiming to provide high-quality statue design for collectors. We work together to create innovative and dynamic designs, using our expertise to deliver high-quality products to our fans.
©YUMI HOTTA, HMC, TAKESHI OBATA, NOEL/SHUEISHA, TV TOKYO, DENTSU, PIERROT
*Products limited to the China region
©POT98-11/V・N・M
*Products limited to the China region
────Tell us what you consider your greatest advantage!
Our main advantage is in statue design. Our designers are well-known in the art and have a deep understanding and enthusiasm for anime and games, enabling them to design unique prototype paintings and models for our products. Our production process is also very refined, using high-quality resin materials and delicate manual painting to ensure the quality and precision of our products. In addition, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to cooperate with the well-known game and anime IPs around the world, such as Naruto Shippuden, Bleach, Hearthstone, etc., providing a wide range of product options for collectors.
©2022 Blizzard Entertainment,Inc.
────Tell us about your product series to date! What products are most appreciated in the market?
To date, we have launched several product lines, including the UDS series, which focuses on scene design, the EDS series, which presents character dynamics, and the MMS series, which focuses on static portrayal. These products are carefully designed and produced with exquisite craftsmanship and have a strong expressiveness that brings visual impact and collection value to fans. Our UDS series has been well received in the market, such as the recently released Hashirama and Gaara statues, which have been popular among collectors. This is mainly because these statues have the ability to restore the anime's appearance, combined with high-quality character and scene carving, making them very collectible.
©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Pierrot China
*Products limited to the China region
©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Pierrot China
*Products limited to the China region
────Tell us what you find difficult and what you find enjoyable in the development of your company!
In our view, the most challenging part is when we are just starting out and need to promote our brand to a wide range of statue lovers, strive to expand the player base, establish trust and a good reputation, and constantly maintain and cultivate relationships with the collector community. This is a hard but necessary job, and we have worked hard to accomplish it and have had good results.
At the same time, the most exciting part is when our statue works are appreciated and recognized by fans. For example, at the Wonder Festival in China, we received a lot of attention from fans, which has allowed more people to know about and feel interested in statue collectibles, and we are very pleased and proud. These unforgettable experiences are our driving force for continuous efforts.
HEX Collectibles past event exhibition scenery (Shanghai Wonder Festival)
────In which countries are your products currently sold? Which specific products are selling better in which countries? What do you think is the reason for this differentiation?
Our product is currently sold on several continents, including Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Our product sells well in China and the Americas, mainly because the market is relatively large and people are increasingly interested in anime, games, and statue collectibles.
────Tell us about your creative team's favorite Japanese ACG work, illustrator, drawing director, etc.! Please tell us the name of your favorite work/character and why!
Our product design and development team is composed of professionals who love anime and games. For example, our concept designer Skan is a big fan of Naruto Shippuden and his favorite characters are Naruto and Sasuke. They are powerful and have super cool techniques, and their strong bond is a central theme throughout the anime. Skan has turned his love into his career, creating concept designs for numerous statue collectibles of characters from the series.
©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Pierrot China
*Products limited to the China region
────If you had the opportunity to collaborate with a famous Japanese ACG work or a master artist, who would you like to collaborate with? If possible, in what form would you like to collaborate?
We do hope to have the opportunity to work with the respectful manga artist and film director Otomo Katsuhiro. We greatly appreciate his works and deeply admire his artistic taste and creativity. For example, his work "Akira" is a science fiction animated work that intersperses deep thoughts on humanity and society. We hope to have the chance to work with him in the future to create a unique resin statue artwork that combines the artistic style of Akira with our design and production experience.
────Tell us about your favorite Japanese toy brand or product series!
We highly appreciate the Japanese statue brand Prime 1 Studio. They collaborate with the well-known game, anime, and film IPs around the world and are dedicated to producing high-quality resin statues, providing a wide range of product choices for statue collectors. The various product lines of Prime 1 Studio have always been impressive, such as the Ultimate Premium Masterline, which includes many well-known IPs. Their products are known for their fine production techniques and excellent designs, and we greatly appreciate Prime 1 Studio's innovations and achievements in the field of statues.
────We would like to hear your opinion on the current state of the figurine industry! Also, what are your company's thoughts on future industry trends? What direction would you like to take?
The statue industry has great potential for future development. With the progress of 3D printing technology, the production process of resin statues has become faster and more accurate, which helps to improve output and bring more diverse works to players. In addition, as people's quality of life improves, they are more willing to consume for their interests or childhood memories, thereby increasing the attention to anime collectibles, and the demand for statues will continue to grow. In the coming years, we hope to focus more on design and create more diverse and refined statue products. We also hope to expand new business channels, such as global online sales and exclusive services, to provide more convenience to consumers.
────Your entry into the Japanese market is becoming more and more imminent, and we would like to hear your thoughts and opinions about it!
We are very happy that our statue product is about to enter the Japanese market. Japan is one of the birthplaces of anime and has the world's most diverse anime and game culture. We hope to bring more collecting fun to Japanese collectors through our product.
────Thank you for being interviewed, is there any words you like to say to your Japanese fans?
Dear collectors in Japanese, we look forward to sharing our statue works with you and believe that through our persistent efforts, we can bring more collecting fun and satisfaction to everyone! Thank you for your support!
We will announce the latest product release information of HEX Collectibles on HobbyTerepa. Please enjoy it!
