appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Marcel Thee

A cannibal, a conservative Australian politician wearing a burka and a Chinese vampire: it’s an unusual range of toy figurines and one that delights some collectors.
Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin has developed a string of offbeat limited-edition toy collections since it was founded almost 15 years ago, often based on real-life criminals.
Among them is Sumanto, arrested in Indonesia in 2003 for digging up an old woman’s body and eating it.
Forget Batman and Wonder Woman, this company caters to collectors who prefer their figurines grotesque. Its bestselling Setan Lokal (Asian Ghosts) series has been a particular favourite of the Chinese toy market and one the company hopes will sell well at its debut at the Taipei Toy Festival, which runs from October 10 to 13.

Founder and chief creative officer Cipta Croft-Cusworth wants the figurines to be seen as more than toys; they are reflections of the colourful dynamics of Indonesia, his home country (he is half-Indonesian and half-British).
One of his company’s most notable creations was a figure heavily resembling former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Purnama, the idealistic Chinese-Indonesian politician who was jailed on blasphemy charges.
More recently the company produced a toy version of the Chinese-Indonesian rap sensation Rich Brian, the first Indonesian to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard chart.
The fact that Chinese business has been able to evolve from ‘Made in China’ as a sign of cheap quality, to now being the world leader in all kinds of production is truly amazing
Cipta Croft-Cusworth
The often absurdist quality of its products has won GoodGuysNeverWin (GGNW) a dedicated fan base, not only in Indonesia but around the world.
Its eccentric characters range from gimmicky (Dark Vaper, a vaping super villain labelled “banned in Singapore”, as vaping itself is there); humorously culture specific (humanoid versions of delicacies such as Indonesia’s beef rendang dish and the Australian spread Vegemite); sarcastic and edgy (a burka-wearing Pauline Hanson, the right-wing Australian politician who has made disparaging remarks about Muslims); and nostalgically satirical (“Marsupials of the Universe” combines a He-Man toy aesthetic with Australian koala and dingo images).
Win Satrya, who runs the Indonesian toy production company Museum of Toys, praises GGNW’s “realness” and ability to touch on “taboo and urban issues in a way that is fun”.

The Asian Ghost series has remained GGNW’s most consistent seller in the Asian market, particularly in China and Indonesia. Croft-Cusworth thinks he understands why: Chinese and Indonesians are frightened yet fascinated by the same thing.
“Asian folklore is interwoven,” he says. “Fear of women with white hair draped over their face is one common theme, but there’s also fire demons, tree spirits, phantoms without a face, spirits in the lake, goblin-like creatures that steal your money or bring you good fortune, vampires, vengeful pregnant ghosts, and so many more themes can be seen echoed throughout Asia.”

Croft-Cusworth points to the Chinese origins of these supernatural tales, which spread “as far east as Indonesia, where new and original versions of these folk tales became legends”.
GGNW has come up with a new character for the Taipei Toy Festival called KAI Jr, a city-destroying monster baby. That particular toy is made out of 100 per cent recycled high density polythene plastic, Croft-Cusworth says. “This plastic was sourced, reprocessed and produced in Indonesia, and we are proud to bring it to Taipei this year.”
Indonesians of Chinese origin have been one of GGNW’s biggest markets. The self-aware humour of the toys might be one reason.

“We have poked fun at many stereotypes that people haven’t thought of. GLODOKOP is one,” Croft-Cusworth says. “He looks like RoboCop but he’s been repainted as a cheap rainbow-coloured knock-off toy.”
Since Glodok is a commercial area in Jakarta where a lot of knock-offs are sold, GLODOKOP is branded as “defender of Glodok and all knock-off electronics”.
Meanwhile, Vampir Cina (Chinese Vampire), a character in the Asian Ghost series, he adds, is “a play on the fact that there are so many Chinese in Indonesia that they brought their own ghosts with them”. Expanding his Asian market remains on Croft-Cusworth’s mind, even though he and his young family recently moved to Melbourne to set up GGNW in Australia.

His passion for customising toys can be traced to his childhood, when he mashed up toys to make hybrids, a habit he continued as an art director for a Jakarta television station, where he refined his skills by replicating objects in resin. By 2005, Croft-Cusworth was confident enough to take part in the first Jakarta Toy Fair and formally established GGNW, a name harking back to his childhood preference for villainous toys.
“[The name] is less about the good guys losing and more about myself playing the bad guy and always getting what I want. There were always way too many Luke Skywalkers, He-Men and Ace McClouds,” he jokes.
These days, GGNW has a total of 12 employees including the core team of Croft-Cusworth and three others. He has learned to balance his idealism with fan expectations, becoming more business savvy without sacrificing his edge. GGNW’s limited-edition nature – usually 300 pieces per character – is one result of his increased business understanding. “Figurines that are limited or rare are more desirable than the items that are easy to get,” he says.

“I hardly ever make a figurine without considering whether it will sell. This is only natural in business, but I also want to be proud of my creations, so I am still a bit choosy when developing an idea. It has to be edgy, and it has to be attractive.”
GGNW’s product decision-making is simple; it has to be something that Croft-Cusworth wants to make and people want to own. This wasn’t always the case.
“When I first started the company in 2005 it was a lot about what I wanted to make and less about the market,” he says, recalling how bad initial sales were before he realised he needed to balance his taste with the market’s.

These days, GGNW toys cost from 150,000 rupiah to 500,000 rupiah (US$10 to US$35) with the resale price of sold-out items reaching 1.5 million rupiah (US$106), a big price tag for a local product.
Those those who shell out for the toys are among Indonesia’s (and the world’s) growing number of toy collectors. They are consumers who buy toys and keep them in the original packaging to retain the mint quality. GGNW has always paid attention to the value of its packaging along with unique artwork that catches the eye, provides a background story, and builds the brand.
“Our packaging is the frame for the ‘art’,” Croft-Cusworth says. “It puts the figure in context, and we work hard to make the packaging as professional as possible. The use of blister packaging to mimic real action-figure packaging is what sets us apart from many of the other art-toy makers in Indonesia and Australia.”

Long-time fans, such as Indonesian collector Andri Ruay, agree. “Everything from their kitsch illustrations to the thematic toys are conceptually amazing and consistent,” he says. “The toys look really good on display.”
Being more serious and less niche also means taking more chances but also becoming more aware. Some early GGNW creations courted controversy, with the psychopath series in particular being accused of glorifying real-life murderers including a serial child rapist and cannibalistic killers.
Though it brought the company attention, GGNW hasn’t continued that series, and has also stopped making figurines resembling real public figures without their permission.

“We now know that we need to be more subtle,” Croft-Cusworth says. “Only if a public figure has requested it do we make a figurine in their likeness, or we have asked permission, do we make figurines of real people.”
He explains that the Ahok lookalike toy is “just a figurine of someone who might be him, but we can easily argue that it looks nothing like him as well”.
In the 15 years since he founded GGNW, Croft-Cusworth has experienced many highs and lows. But last year stood out, when he saw fans rushing to buy his creations at the Singapore Toy Fair the moment its doors opened. “We didn’t realise that so many fans had come from as far as Malaysia to grab our latest Asia Ghosts line.”
GGNW’s focus on the Chinese market isn’t only about buyers but also concerns production. For Croft-Cusworth and his team, it is important to remain an Indonesian toy company and be part of the country’s burgeoning toy scene. But in reality, it could be nearing the time to start thinking about moving production to China.
“The fact that Chinese business has been able to evolve from ‘Made in China’ as a sign of cheap quality, to now being the world leader in all kinds of production is truly amazing – so much so that there is almost no way around it if you want to create quality toys at an affordable price,” Croft-Cusworth explains.
“We will continue to remain true, however, to our nationalism for ‘made in Indonesia’ for as long as we can.”


South Park creators ‘rename’ show to ‘South America’ in jab at Trump

Competitors dig deep at Hungarian gravedigging contest

Snow in Malaysia? Viral highway fun dampened by soapy truth

Scientists studying cockroach milk and nose-blowing win Ig Nobel prizes

Offbeat

Taboo toys: criminals, ghosts and politicians among Indonesian company’s unusual figurines

A figurine of a dead body wrapped in a shroud, made by GoodGuysNeverWin. Photo: Agoes Rudianto

Handout image shows a Dirty Rolph (Ralph Harris) model, produced by Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: GoodGuysNeverWin

Tuyul (L) and Pocong figure toy, with its dead body wrapped in a shroud at the Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin, Jakarta, Indonesia, September 21, 2019.[13OCTOBER2019 FEATURE]CREDIT: Agoes Rudianto

Handout image shows a Vampir Cina model, produced by Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: GoodGuysNeverWin

Examples of toy figures made by GoodGuysNeverWin (GGNW) that illustrate the everyday life of Indonesian people, men smoking and women selling herbal medicine in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 21, 2019.[13OCTOBER2019 FEATURE]CREDIT: Agoes Rudianto

Handout image shows founder and chief creative officer of Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin Cipta Croft-Cusworth, in Melbourne, Australia.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT : Courtesy of Cipta Croft-Cusworth

Handout image shows a Chinese-Indonesian rap sensation Rich Brian model, the first Indonesian to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard chart model, produced by Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: GoodGuysNeverWin

Handout image shows a burka-wearing Pauline Hanson model, produced by Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: GoodGuysNeverWin

Handout image shows a Asian Ghost series models, produced by Indonesian toy company GoodGuysNeverWin.[10OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: GoodGuysNeverWin

Hand painted toys at GoodGuysNeverWin, a toymaker in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Agoes Rudianto

Dark tourism: three ghost tours in Southeast Asia where history, beliefs and horror combine to offer spine-tingling thrills

This picture taken 06 October 1976 in Bangkok shows a devastated Thammasat University. Numerous students were killed and others injured during violent demonstrations which have opposed there students and the police. (Photo by AFP)

Arrested demonstrators are forced to crawl all fours by Thai troops to waiting army trucks early 19 May, 1992 after the troops stormed Bangkok's Royal Hotel where hundreds of protesters took refuge late 18 May. (Photo by PONGSAK CHAIYANUWONG / AFP)

Justin Dunne poses for a portrait in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand. SCMP / James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

R9C33K Figures of Sikh soldiers stand guard at a Chinese grave in Bukit Brown Cemetery, Singapore; Sikhs have a reputation as loyal and fierce soldiers

Haunted places Tour organized by Justin Dunne Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand. SCMP / James Wendlinger [FEATURES 2019]

An alter is viewed during a tour withPenang Ghost Tours, at a century-old mansion, built on land that locals claimed was cursed, in Penang, Malaysia, August 08, 2019. No sooner had the house been built than misfortune moved in. The ownerâs daughter and several servants perished. After the owner died and the Japanese invaded during World War II, the mansion became a local command centre for the invaders and a bordello staffed by sex slaves. The soldiers executed many of those women here.[09OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: Jim Algie

Terra-Cotta Warriors statue at Bukit Brown Cemetery in Singapore.CREDIT: Shutterstock

Winston Lim, the operations manager and a guide for Penang Ghost Tours, at a century-old mansion, built on land that locals claimed was cursed, in Penang, Malaysia, August 08, 2019. No sooner had the house been built than misfortune moved in. The ownerâs daughter and several servants perished. After the owner died and the Japanese invaded during World War II, the mansion became a local command centre for the invaders and a bordello staffed by sex slaves. The soldiers executed many of those women here.[09OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: Jim Algie

Spirit Box app

A section of the Bangkok Haunt ghost tour in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. Dark tourism has taken off in Southeast Asia in recent years. Photo: James Wendlinger

‘Tinder tourists’: Indonesian sex workers turn to online dating apps for safety and to set their own rules

Dating apps have increasingly become an essential part of the travelling experience, connecting travellers seeking casual holiday flings. Photo: Alamy

T85NDH Indonesian couple in love sit in a cave on the tropical beach on background raging sea waves and blue sky

FFH6KP Black silhouette of thinking man sitting alone on the sea beach reading message on mobile phone on sunset sky background.

R16BXX Silhouette of trees and a man walking while looking at his mobile phone, against a beach sunset .

BJ529H Young happy asian couple enjoying their time outdoors

Lifestyle

Arts


Indonesian toymaker GoodGuysNeverWin creates figurines of criminals, ghosts, politicians, and even a cannibal
The limited-edition hand-painted models are popular among Chinese Indonesians



An Indonesian company creates unusual toy figurines


Indonesia

China society

Malaysia

Taboo toys: criminals, ghosts and politicians among Indonesian company’s unusual figurines

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Indonesian toymaker GoodGuysNeverWin creates figurines of criminals, ghosts, politicians, and even a cannibal The limited-edition hand-painted models are popular among Chinese Indonesians

Indonesian toymaker GoodGuysNeverWin creates figurines of criminals, ghosts, politicians, and even a cannibal

The limited-edition hand-painted models are popular among Chinese Indonesians