Rebots: The future of 'adult toys'
Captain Planet has met his match. RAVON, a rebot, is one of the last six beings on Earth, and ready to tackle the challenges of an environmental wasteland. Deng Hua and Tang Wenjia, collaborators of indie-design studio ONSITE and college buddies from their days at Xian Art Academy, haven’t grown up in one important way: they both still love playing with toys.
The apartment they share is filled with toys they’ve collected. “We have a bookshelf and every compartment has a toy, just like its own room,” Deng tells us. “I like all toys, whether they’re simple or complex. It’s like they have their own life. Maybe they come alive when we fall asleep.”
“Our dream is small,” says Deng Hua. “We just want to make it a reality.”Back to basics
The creative duo’s obsession with toys began in childhood. “Back when we were young, our toys were ones we created ourselves, very simple,” says Tang. “We didn’t buy toys, we just made them.” As they grew up, they could afford to buy whatever they wanted. “We got more materialistic, but were less happy.”
So they turned back to what had made them happy as kids, designing toys as part of their new toy brand MTT (My Times Toys). “A lot of toys are too commercially oriented [nowadays],” says Deng. “We wanted to do something more pure and with an environmental theme."
Between working day jobs in graphic design and hanging out at music shows, the two came up with MTT’s first product, Rebot (short for Recycled Robots) a group of six action heroes that will be created using repurposed materials.
ONSITE brings together their design style, social responsibility, and youthful life philosophy to create a 3D design piece that is uncommon up to now.— Ka Xiaoxi, Neocha Chinese-language Chief Editor
Tang and Deng hope to serialize the story and even make it into a comic series, starring the characters AGNA, CHIO, HEZZ, JADO, RAVON and TIMIN, the last six people on earth. In keeping with the theme, the storyline they’ve developed centers around the toys and follows them as each uses their unique design to tackle different challenges in an environmental wasteland.
Neocha’s Chinese language chief editor Ka Xiaoxi says, “ONSITE brings together their design style, social responsibility, and youthful life philosophy to create a 3D design piece that is uncommon up to now.”
One step forward, one major setback
The Rebots are futuristic, with sleek lines, stark black and white design and sporting black masks that conceal any facial expression. But as of yet, the toys exist only on the drawing board. “We want to use recycled materials like plastic bottles,” explains Deng. “But we’re having trouble finding a manufacturer.”
The choice of discarded materials and the toys’ theme of rebirth make for an interesting contrast and allows for hope amid the environmental degradation they envision as the setting for their heroes’ adventures.
As for their inspiration? Deng keeps it simple. “When we were small the sky was blue. Now it’s grey. I used to lie on the grass and look at the sky. You can’t do that anymore.”
“The hardest part is reusing these materials,” says Deng. “Actually manufacturers can do it, but it is too expensive. Not many are willing.”
Still Tang and Deng persevere. They hope to put together a sample soon and to partner with an environmental organization to popularize the toys and ideas of sustainability among young people. “Our dream is small,” says Deng. “We just want to make it a reality.”
