This one has been a long (and we mean LONG) time coming....meet Helper Dragon by Tim Biskup, the very first Roto-a-Matic™ figure!

What's a Roto-a-Matic figure you ask? 

The Roto-a-Matic™ began it’s life as a vintage Mold-a-Rama* machine, invented in the mid-1950’s by Tike Miller, formerly of Quincy, Illinois. If you are lucky enough to have lived in the few midwest states (as well as some parts of California and Florida) where Mold-a-Rama machines have been operating for the past 40-plus years you have probably seen one at a zoo or a museum making souvenir animals, dinosaurs and the like.

Our machine once lived in the Los Angeles Zoo where it last made kangaroos, but was retired after decades of service. We have lovingly rehabbed this machine, re-christening it The Roto-a-Matic™. Then we asked some of our artist and toy designer friends to make new sculpts for the machine so it now makes art toys instead of zoo souvenirs, but the spirit is still the same…visit us in Chicago, put in your token and see your toy made right before your eyes! There’s nothing better than the feel of the warm plastic as you reach into the bin to pull out your newly made treasure. We sincerely hope you enjoy this figure as much as we have enjoyed making it possible. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: As we are writing this, the Roto-a-Matic is currently out of order (sad face). We've got our repair guy coming on Monday to hopefully fix the issues, but we will have at least a few of this figure (that we made before the break down) available at SDCC. If the repairs are successful we'll be making more so that anyone who wants a Helper Dragon can get one! Oh, the joys of re-habbing and trying to maintain a nearly 50-year-old plastic injection machine!

Helper Dragons stand 4.75 inches tall and are made of blow-molded polyethylene wax. They will be $6 (tax included). 

If you'll be attending SDCC, Tim Biskup will be doing a signing in our booth (Squibbles Ink + Rotofugi #4736) on Friday from 1-2pm. If we are unable to make more Helper Dragons prior to the start of the convention, Helper Dragons will first be available during the signing....but if we can get the machine working again tomorrow, we'll make more and they'll be availalbe every day. Thanks for your understanding!

* We are not affiliated or endorsed by Mold-a-Rama Inc.