Check out the 21-second homemade commercial I created to showcase a toy concept I designed. I’m really proud of this one. It took a lot of planning and effort, but it was worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e52JjScBScQ
How It All Started
This story begins during my time at Solarbotics, where I did two internships. Dave, the owner, had connections with some Canadians working at a toy company in Hong Kong called Spin Master. Thanks to that connection, I ended up landing an internship with Spin Master in Hong Kong.
The experience was incredible. I was part of a small, forward-looking team working on future toy concepts. Not only was Hong Kong an amazing place to live, but working in the toy industry at that level was a dream come true.
The Idea of Licensing Toys
I learned something fascinating during that time: you can license your ideas to toy companies. If the company likes your idea and develops it into a real product, you can actually earn royalties on sales.
Naturally, I wanted to give this a shot.
My Concept: A Transforming Helicopter
The goal was ambitious but exciting. I wanted to design a helicopter that:
- Looked and flew like a normal helicopter.
- At the press of a button, transformed into an airplane-like vehicle.
- Moving wings that unfolded dramatically.
- Change its flight characteristics so it could fly faster.
Think “X-Wing” meets RC helicopter.
My From Sketch to SolidWorks
I started with rough brainstorming sketches, figuring out how the wings might fold and deploy. From there, I modeled the concept in SolidWorks, creating renders that brought the idea closer to reality.
Here is my Solidworks print screen and render.
Looking Back
That project was my attempt at bridging creativity with engineering and the toy world. It didn’t end up moving forward because by the time I finished, the flying helicopter trend had passed and the focus had shifted more toward RC cars. Still, the process of developing it and learning how the toy industry works was worth it.
Sometimes the best part of an idea is not whether it succeeds commercially but the adventure of bringing it to life. And who knows, one day I might share my RC car concept too.
