James Yuen takes us inside the development of HTI’s latest Teamsterz range of vehicles, playsets and tracks

James, it’s always great to tie-in. To kick us off, what interested you about working on Teamsterz? What did you see as some exciting opportunities for the brand?
The HTI Teamsterz range is a fast-growing toy line for die-cast vehicles, play-sets and tracks. It is indeed an exciting opportunity and challenge, to bring creativity and a new level of stunt and action vehicle play ideas into the mix!

Can you talk us through your creative process when coming up with concepts for the range? What kick-started your process?
⁠It was all teamwork! I worked very closely with the product and development teams right from the beginning. Knowing all the constraints, consumer insights and marketing strategy helped us to create the perfect briefs for the specific products at different price points. Once we came up with the project briefs for each product, we started brainstorming the unique DNA for the play features and aesthetics.

One of our design mottos is that good design doesn’t have to be expensive… My big challenge was to come up with something aesthetically pleasing, highly functional, but simple for manufacturing and within budget! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Ha! Well, it looks like you managed it! Let’s dive into some of the range, starting with the Beast Machines Pirate Ship. Talk me through this one and what you wanted to do here.
The HTI Teamsterz product team had an initial idea of creating a new pirate-themed product range for their Beast Machines sub-brand. I came up with the Pirate Ship concept and wanted to create a unique Beast Machines play DNA with some ‘never-been-played’ features.

It’s all about the excitement and surprise elements when you are playing with the set… Vehicles shoot out from the mechanical shark’s mouth when the Pirate Ship is pulled along, sails can be converted into track play, and a detachable cannon can be plugged on to different parts of the ship.

Another important part of the DNA is styling. I envisioned the Beast Machines products fused with cyberpunk elements, enhancing the existing gritty robotic beast aesthetics to create super mean and menacing toys for children of all ages!

Nice! The Rib Cage Trucks is also a beautiful idea! What inspired these?
When I first received the brief for Light & Sound Rib Cage trucks, the main challenge was the price point. Once we had accommodated all the electronic components into the vehicle, there was little room to add new play features… But, as I stated before, we have a theory that good design doesn’t always follow big price tags.

I believed we could give the Rib Cage truck a very cool aesthetic design – and a simple and effective play feature – without compromising the price point. Inspired by my dear wife’s various beautiful hair clips, I created the ‘rib-cage clip’ to open and close the rib cage! And the beauty is that the rib cage is positioned downwards with the hinge on top of the spine, so it closes by gravity without the use of a spring!

And we have your wife to thank! Now, did any aspect of this new range throw up a tough design nut that you’re proud to have cracked?
It was always easier to come up with the product concept and design, but the real challenge would be to prove that the design and features really work!

The Pirate Ship was a good example… It took us quite a while to figure out the mechanism for shooting cars from the shark’s mouth, ensuring the upper jaw opened at the right time while pushing along the Pirate Ship! We had to work with our engineers, vendors and model shop in the Far East on a daily basis to produce numerous breadboards for trial and error.

We also needed to take into serious consideration if the mechanics designed would be manufacturable! If not, then we would have to go back to the drawing board… But the greatest joy and satisfaction was that it all paid off in the end! I am so thrilled that my Beast Machine Pirate Ship play-set design was selected as a Hero Toy – among all selected 27 new products – at London Toy Fair 2024!

Congrats on that. Now, looking at the wider industry, do you feel we’re in a good place design/creativity wise at the moment?
Absolutely. With many similar products available at the same price point, the only way to make your products stand out is through creativity and uniqueness. For example, if there was a smartphone with a fan/aircon function I would definitely buy it!

Before I let you go, what else is keeping you busy at the moment?
More amazing and creative HTI toy products in the making for 2025 and beyond! We are all very excited and committed to bringing more innovations and stunning new ideas to you all! Watch this space!

Will do! Thanks again James.

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