Welcome aboard Orca. grab a seat cushion, kick back, grab a brew n' make yer-self comfortable. Just watch that ye don't get sea sick till after the Q&A.

OpOrca: By now most McFarlane aficionado's have heard tell that your team of artisans have been hard at work puttin' together a miniature rendition of the ol' Orca, with a vignette of the venerable Quint getting forcibly removed from it's stern. First of all, from what we've seen, we wanna say it looks great; Kudo's to your team. How long ago did your team actually begin work on the project and how did the inception of this particular product actually come about?

Todd McFarlane: Well, we usually work pretty far in advance, so the initial idea and sketching and getting approvals and that sort of stuff actually happened in 2000. As far as how the idea came about, I'm lucky enough to have many, many creative folks working for me. The idea just came up when we were tossing around potential properties and we ran with it.

OpOrca: It's apparent that this set is unlike anything you've released before, but how did this project differ from other McFarlane pieces in relation to the production process?

Todd McFarlane: Yes, the Jaws set is a little different for us. Just in terms of size, it's the largest boxed set we've every produced, so that creates a certain amount of issues with sales, production, and whatnot. Still it's really cool and I'm happy we went with the scale we chose. Also, Steven Spielberg was pretty involved in the approvals process, from sculpting to packaging.

OpOrca: Can you tell us a little about what actually goes into a piece like this as far as R&D, and what's essentially involved in the technical end?

Todd McFarlane: It's a pretty lengthy process, but in a nutshell it all starts with an idea. If it's an outside property, like Jaws, we have our licensing folks determine whether it's an obtainable license or not. At that point, we generally start doing initial sketches, sculpting, tweaking the sculpts and whatnot. During the entire process, the licensor has to approve what we're doing, so the whole deal can be somewhat time-consuming.

OpOrca: What sources were used to get the correct technical specs for the Orca? Were you able to scrutinize the genuine Orca before it was removed from the Universal back lot?

Todd McFarlane: We used stills from the actual film supplied by Univeral as reference for the sculptors.

OpOrca: Does McFarlane Toys have any plans for future 'Jaws' related pieces?

Todd McFarlane: Hmmmm, no specific plans at this time, but anything's possible....

OpOrca: Will this be a limited edition, and how many pieces will actually be produced?

Todd McFarlane: We don't usually give out production numbers, but I can tell you it's not limited in the usual sense. It's basically a normal production run for us and should be pretty easy to find in stores.

OpOrca: For those that can't wait for the street date, can one pre-order directly from McFarlane Toys?

Todd McFarlane: No, unfortunately, we don't sell direct to consumers. It's not good business to compete with your own retailers. There are several companies and Web sites that do preorders, though, if that's what you're interested in. We have a list of retailers and online stores at spawn.com.

OpOrca: In closing, what's changed about your mindset and personal outlook on life since this company's inception? What philosophy or insight could you share with us that has helped you remain focused yet creative? Where do you see the company going as an innovative entity?

Todd McFarlane: Geez, nothing about me has really changed since the company's inception. I've got more employees and we're a bigger company today, but ultimately McFarlane Toys is still about putting out a variety of cool action figures. It's pretty simple. I don't know that I can provide much insight, other than my own beliefs: Be true to your own vision and what you want.

OpOrca: Well gotta get back to Sharkin' and what not. Thanks for hanging out on the Orca with us and chattin' about yer work, it's been blast. Rock on!

Believe you me, there'll be quite a few out there waiting to get their hands on this newest McFarlane endeavor. Bein' yer a special visiter to Orca we want to make sure you watch yer step gettin' back on the dock. The last visitor who took a wrong turn ended up lookin' like the character from that darned movie about that sickly fly-man. Egads!