The Tech Deck Dude Archive: March 2020

#100 - Chito

Chito is Tech Deck Dude lead designer Chito Arellano, pretty funny he put himself in as a dude.

A handful of 2005 dudes in Evolution Crew 9 and Zoods Crew 1 are clear Easter Egg/self-insert dudes. I really dig them since TDD was its own franchise, so it's not like they snuck themselves onto a clone trooper. They also add some much-needed street wear/civilian clothed dudes to the line of monsters, robots, parody figures, and occupational dudes (sports stars, first responders, etc.). Love the designer team's dudes since they dress as a regular guy going skateboarding in the 2000s would.

But, back to which dudes are the gang putting themselves into the line. Chito and Mikey are the toy line designers, Chito Arellano and Mike Petrosky. Rod is Rod James, a pro skater, and co-founder of Finesse Skateboard alongside his brother Steven Jones. Steven also worked for X-Concepts and still helps run Finesse on his own and Tech Deck for Spin Master. I just realized while writing this... Stevie J?! Was the G1 or G3 Stevie J maybe modeled after long dreads or braids Steve had at the time?

Lastly, in terms of regularly dressed dudes, I am unsure who Tre and J-Dub are supposed to be?

Evolution Crew 9 Variant (2005)

Re-issued in Ripboards and a 3-Pack (2008)

Toys R Us 6-Pack variant (2006)

Came with blue/orange Homer, Blue/green Ralph, Zobo (Krusty Klown), John (grey pants), and Billy (green-yellow bare-knuckle boxer mold).

3- Pack Variant (2006)

Came with Rod in his teal shirt/orange sneakers, and green Dakota (monocle and net)

Toys R Us 3-Pack Variant (2008)

Came with Splinter (teal reprint), Petey (red reprint), Manga (Black/gold), Rick (green suit reprint) and Mikey (blue shirt reprint).

Clash Crew 2 (2006) and Zoods Crew 6 (2007) version

Zoods version comes with Kixx (a rabbit, name is a play on Trixx). Kixx is wearing Jordan 3s as Chito is a big sneaker head.

He makes really cool original art toys inspired by Nikes, Jordans, and others (@kwestone).

#101 - 112 The Tech Deck Creatures (2003)

As Duke said in the ad promoting the wide range of dudes and the Creatures toy line, "WOOOOO THEY'RE UGLY!"

The Creatures have nails, but they sure don't look like fingers. They're technically Tech Deck Dudes and are listed as #101-112 in the Dudes numbering system.

Their short-lived line is riddled with canceled waves and a canceled appearance as the villains in the Bare Knuckle Grind game.

The Creatures were originally designed in sketches as giant thumbs with monster features. These came from an X-Concepts 2002 Toy Catalog:

None of these original six concepts (done by someone on the X-Concepts team) ever came to fruition.

The final product no longer really resembles thumbs. Unlike Tech Deck Dudes, they do have a nail on the back of their heads.

Here's all 12 from the old Tech Deck Dude website:

Note: Some colors changed from concept art to the actual figures.

Creatures Series 1 (released Feb 2003, copyrighted 2002)

Series 1 are warriors with claws, weapons, and fangs who stand on 2 feet (minus Nemesis)

Creatures Series 2 (2003)

Series 2 Creatures were a lot weirder and wider.
Figures had odder elongated arm spans and only half of them have legs/feet.

Compared to the last Series, wherein 4 out of 6 had accessories, only Voodoo holds a staff.

UNRELEASED/CANCELLED: Creatures Series 3 (Would have been released in 2004)

Note: The bottom line is Spawn, Bone, and other comic/licensed toys from a preview.

Toxic Mom listed the following dudes in the then-upcoming Creatures Series 3.

These figures never hit shelves, likely because of their complex ball joints, rotating parts, and additional articulation.

I theorize the original two Creatures Series were likely financial losses since they were much more expensive to produce and sold way less than the Dudes or Skate Crew lines.

This likely incentivized X-Concepts to sever any additional series.

1. VicotrVon

2. Jungor

3. Squirt

4. SuckerTongue

5. Muck Monster

6. Green Plant Monster

Concept arts of unreleased Series 3:

Victor Von:

Jungor:

Squirt:

Suckertongue:

Muck:

Green Plant Monster:

Some of the Creatures are in Series 1 of the Dude cards in 2003.

But, none were included in the Series 2 of Dude cards in 2004.

For some odd reason, there are a couple of creatures in the 2006 clash cubes? This is so odd since the line ended in 2003, and they were absent in the trading cards from 2004 onward. Meanwhile, there are no Dudettes in the cubes?

Welp, that's The Creatures. I don't collect them and genuinely wish they never arbitrarily disrupted the numbering system with these figures being "dudes" #101-112. They aren't dudes or dudettes; they're twice the size & scale, have different boards, and are just big monster action figures that don't follow the consistent size and anatomy of the other dudes.

But, if you like 'em, that's the fun of Tech Decks/X-Concepts skate toys. They made something for everyone to enjoy. From collab brand toys to Creatures/Grimm Dudes to the main Dudes line!

Creatures Debuted at Toy Fair 2003 (Feb '03):

The Creatures Were Supposed to be in The Tech Deck Dude Video Game in 2004:

Turns out there was going to be a PS2/Xbox version of Bare Knuckle Grind (known by fans as TDD BKG) that would have featured the Dudes fighting The Creatures in boss fights (who I guess in the canon would've been the villains of Dudesville). This was NEVER released in Spring 2004. Instead, the Bare Knuckle Grind game was only available as a PC game (which plays like it is half-finished). The game also had no story/plot and no mention of The Creatures.

My theory is: this is why TDD BKG for the PC feels so lifeless; it wasn't a finished game. The game is mainly just a bunch of obstacle courses with no clear story, the baddies in the form of The Creatures were never put into it, and so they just turned the game into a "Digital Playset" with 4 PC discs to collect and threw in some free dudes.

#113 - Gorgo

Gorgo is clearly a Big Foot/Sasquatch parody dude. He is the first regular Tech Deck Dude since Chito (#100) in the numbering system because The Creatures spread across #101-#112. Gorgo, (#113), Thunder (#114), and Chito (#100) both debuted in Evolution Crew #9 (2005). So, why not have Gorgo and Thunder just be #101 and #102 and leave those Creatures out of the numbering system? Who knows.

Evolution Crew 9 Variant (2005)

Toys R Us 6-Pack Variant (2006)

Came with Thunder (in his Iron Fist colors), Bruce (white costume), Barney (Blue), Jack (black and white with a red/black pumpkin head, and Big E (Orange hair).

Clash Crew 1 Variant (2006)

Some call this his "Yeti" variant.

Toys R Us 6-Pack Variant (2007)

Came with Bruce (Blue costume, Barney (blue, issue), Spin (teal/purple reissue), Sven (Blonde, white shirt reissue), and Fuse (red tracksuit reissue).

#114 - Thunder

Thunder is a clear Iron Fist parody, long before the Netflix show or his appearance in Disney's Ultimate Spider-Man. All his variants are clear superhero costume colorways.

He is erroneously numbered #118 on the back of a 2008 but is surely #114. Dude #118 is J-Dub

The design team must have been so proud of Thunder. He appeared in 7 color variants across 9 different pack types when you count his two reissues. I can get why, my favorite dude as a kid was Thunder.

Compared to other late G3 dudes, he far outnumbers any other in terms of unique appearances. Thunder came and struck like Lightning!

Evolution Crew 9 Variant (2005)

Clear X-Men costume homage

Clash Crew 1 (2006)

Dr. Fate or Green Lantern colors?

Toys R Us 6-Pack Variant (2006)

Clearly the Iron Fist colors.

3-Pack Variant (2006)

Clearly Wolverine or Sabretooth inspired

Clash Crew 3 Variant (2006)

Nightwing colorway.

Toys R Us 6-Pack or Zoods Crew 5 Variant (2007)

This Spider-Man version was released in a 6 pack and in a single pack with his Zood, a scorpion (not a green scorpion like Spidey's villain) named Venom (good one). He has the symbiote-style eyes like Venom/Carnage and an evil grin.

The issue of this dude in a 2007 Toys R Us 6-Pack erroneously numbers Thunder as #118, which was previously J-Dub's number in 2005-2006.