Grindhouse Toys Presents: World War Hell

Did someone say they like VHS inspired packaging?
9 months ago – Sun, Feb 01, 2026 at 08:40:47 AM

Hello Boils and Ghouls!!!

We hope you all had a great New Years and are hopefully staying warm out there. 

Convention season is quickly approaching! Chris will be at Zolocon 2026 February 27 – March 1, 2026 at Valley Forge Casino Resort, King of Prussia, PA. The booth will not be set up this year, but hopefully next year when we have figures for sale! But if you see him in his battle jacket walking around please stop him and say hi! The full booth will be set up at Toylanta 2026 MARCH 27-29 in Duluth, GA. We will also be unveiling a brand new diorama set up for World War HELL made by the incredibly talented Jimmie Harrowvex of HVX Customs. This thing is going to be a game changer and we cannot wait for you all to experience it. 

We are still awaiting our first check models for World War HELL. We are hoping that we will have them for display at Toylanta. Chinese New Year is about to begin and so we should get them after our factory partners get back from their holiday. We will keep you posted as we get more information. 

We have received questions about Backerkit and when that will be going up. Chris had a meeting with Backerkit this week, going over all of the ins and outs of getting it all set up and into your inboxes. It shouldn't be much longer and we thank you all for your continued patience. 

Did someone say they like VHS packaging? We sure do over at Grindhouse Toys. The team has been cranking out the nostalgic goodness! These are still WIP and early peeks behind the curtain. So things can and will still change. There is no wear/tear or stickers yet. So do not fret!

Captain Winchester "VHS" inspired slipcase with artwork by Brian Sauer.

Captain Winchester inner "VHS Tape" inspired box packaging.

Sgt. Graves "VHS" inspired slipcase with artwork by Shane Pierce and brand new logo by Jason Bienvenu. 

Sgt. Graves "VHS Tape" Inspired box packaging. 

Sgt. Specter "VHS" inspired slipcase with artwork by Tim Baron.

Sgt. Specter "VHS Tape" Inspired box packaging.

Now some of you are probably saying, "Hey we saw the box art for Graves and Specter!!", well we say to you but have you seen the spine artwork by none other than Mark Pennington? Each standard VHS figure will have connecting spine artwork that shows a hellacious battle!

Thats it for now. We're back to the grind and remember, be kind and rewind!

-Grindhouse Toys

Happy Holidays from Grindhouse Toys!!
10 months ago – Thu, Dec 18, 2025 at 11:59:25 AM

Hello Boils and Ghouls!!!

Grindhouse Toys here with another update for you all. Our 2025 US Tour has come to an end! Thank you everyone who came by and visited us over this last year. If you missed us, don't fret! We will be hitting a bunch of shows in 2026, so there will be multiple opportunities for you to come see us again.

We are hard at work bringing World War HELL to life and have recently added a new member to the team. It is my pleasure to introduce you all to Bill Rawley. 

Bill is a Product Design Professional with over two decades of experience leading
innovation and design in the toy industry. He is responsible for securing strategic
partnerships and expanding brand portfolios, enhancing market reach and profitability. Bill has mentored designers throughout his career, ensuring the passion for good toys and play experiences continues. 

From his early days in the toy industry working with Eric, Jim and Cornboy at McFarlane toys, Bill has always had a desire to create high quality toys that look and feel as best as they possibly can. He carried that love of toy into the Toy Design Program at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) where he honed his skills and was introduced to the wider world of toy development.

After graduation, Bill went on to work for Hasbro Inc. where, for the next 21 years he would work on such amazing brands as Star Wars, Transformers, My Little Pony, Marvel, Power Rangers, Ghostbusters and many more. The action figures, role play items and vehicles produced while at Hasbro make up a sizable portion of Bill’s portfolio.

After Hasbro, Bill went on to lead the Innovation Team at Just Play. As the Senior Director, he was responsible for managing a team of talented designers to innovate and come up with new products and play experiences for licensed and new IPs. He was able to utilize many of his skills to design, draw, sculpt, sew, build, etc. and would often jump in to assist as well as manage his team.

Bill now continues to hone his skills and share his wealth of production knowledge as he works with the Four Horsemen and their partners. The sense of quality, problem solving and innovative thinking will be a huge asset as new projects kick off and begin development, and Bill is super excited to be a part of it all!

Bill will be our new Production Manager, working directly with Chris Gawrych, to get these figures created and at the highest quality possible. We are in good hands!

Just this week Bill and Chris went over all of the notes that the factory shared with us. There are a some revisions needed to be done to the sculpts for optimal mold making. But it is all very minimal and everything looks to be good to go! Now that that step is completed, we will move onto our first check models (articulated resin printed prototypes for checking articulation and making sure everything lines up correctly before tooling). 

Tentative packaging artwork for Sgt. Graves. 

In other O-Rings news, Carson Mataxis of Operation Recall has begun shipping wave 1 of his crazy successful kickstarter. Please go give those guys a follow! They've created something very special, utilizing the original GI JOE team to bring new concepts to life! Plus the Dark Reaper concept was submitted by Grindhouse Toy's very own Chris Scott!

https://www.operationrecall.com/#/

Operation Recall Dark Reaper and World War HELL's Sgt. Graves. Both sculpted by James Carter!!

Thats it for now, but we will keep you all posted on any new updates. We are eternally grateful for your support and cannot wait to get these figures into your hands!

Wishing you all a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year and...

Remember be kind and rewind!

-Grindhouse Toys

Heading out to the Highway! The US Tour Continues!!!
about 1 year ago – Mon, Oct 20, 2025 at 05:34:01 PM

Hello Boils and Ghouls!

Grindhouse Toys here with our monthly update! We have been very busy this last month working on World War HELL and gearing up for the great toy show pilgrimage of 2025. It was so great to see everyone who came out and seen us and the booth at JOELANTA last month! 

Our next show will be Spooky Empire October 31st, November 1st and 2nd in our backyard of Orlando, FL. 

https://spookyempire.com

Spooky Empire is always a horrifyingly good time, so come on out, check out the World War HELL prototypes and pick up a Grindhouse Toys shirt or World War HELL poster!

After that we will be hitting the road! Legionscon, Code Name: Iowa, Retro Toy Con and then back home for the Dirty South Meetup!

Over on our socials we shared the new artwork for Sgt. Graves by the amazingly talented Shane Pierce. 

This artwork really captures the grit and hopelessness that is World War HELL. I hope you all dig it as much as we do!!

Speaking of packaging, here is your first look at the packaging for everyone's favorite vengeful spirit/machine gun haunt, Sgt. Specter! Artwork by Tim Baron. 

The Toy Attics also did a quick update on World War Hell over on their youtube channel. Go check out their page and give them a like and subscribe. 

Ok everyone! Thats it for now! 

Remember to be kind and rewind!

-Grindhouse Toys

Shows on the horizon!!!!
about 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 13, 2025 at 03:26:34 PM

Hello everyone!!! Just wanted to pop in here and give an update! We are on the road for the rest of the year. We will be hitting 5 more shows. Come on out and check out the booth and the prototypes. Plus we will have shirts and prints for sale as well! (Don't worry if you can't make any of the shows! The shirts and prints will be added to the Grindhouse Toys website as well!)

Files have been sent to the factory!!! They will be making 3d printed check models (to make sure everything moves properly and works correctly). Then the tooling process can begin (Molds). I will be sharing any and all updates I get with you all. The journey is just as fun as the finish! Backerkit is not set up yet but we are still finalizing everything that will be offered. 

What is an update without a reveal you say? I've gotten a lot of questions about accessory packs. Well you ask and you shall receive! 

Thank you everyone for backing this project and I look forward to sharing more soon!

-Grindhouse Toys

Hard at work behind the scenes!!!!
about 1 year ago – Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 10:18:54 AM

Hey everyone! We are hard at work on World War HELL and wanted to update everyone on what’s been going on! All of the sculpting is being double and triple checked by the amazing James Carter, so that we will have no issues once we start tooling. Which will be very soon. We now also have a working prototype of the articulated jaw on the skeleton and the zombie headsculpts. Let me just say it definitely kills!!!!

Backerkit should be going up in the next month or so. There may be a surprise or two in the backerkit when it launches so definitely keep your eyes peeled. Here is a teaser….

We are also gearing up for our fall convention season. We head back out on the road and will be at Retro-Horror Con in Greenville, SC September 5-7 (https://retro-horrorcon.com) and then Joelanta Toy Show in Duluth, Ga September 26-28 (https://www.joelanta.com). So please come on out and visit the Grindhouse Toys Video Store! More toys that look like movies than anywhere in the world!!

**** diorama by Jimmie Harrowvex of HVX Customs