Case study: EQSO The Crew, our blind box from A to Z

Services involved: Custom blind box · Mascot design · Figure manufacturing

Before offering our services to brands, we tested them on ourselves. EQSO The Crew is Popterror’s first blind box: six characters from the EQSO universe and one secret figure, slipped into mystery boxes and sold individually or as a full display. Here is how the project came together, from the first sketch to the shop shelves.

The challenge

After two series of 12.5 cm art toys sold in limited editions, we wanted a more accessible, more playful format that makes people want to collect. The blind box ticked every box: a lower entry price, the thrill of the surprise, and a series to complete.

But a blind box comes with its own constraints: you need several characters that work together, smaller figures that still have personality, a believable rarity mechanic, and precise packing to guarantee a display with no duplicates. The project also had to stay profitable despite one mould per character.

Designing the characters

We started from the EQSO silhouette, already known to our community, to create a crew: six characters, each with its own style, somewhere between skate, street culture and hip-hop. On the box, they are called Skully, Vandal, Purple, Cherry, Supagreen and Cyclo. Among them: a skater, a breakdancer and a graffiti artist.

Each character had to be recognisable at first glance, even at a small size: one dominant colour per figure, a strong accessory (beanie, gas mask, bucket hat, cap) and a simple attitude. We also created a secret figure, which the box only shows as a silhouette with a question mark.

Prototypes

As with our first series, the characters were modelled in 3D and then 3D-printed in resin, so we could hold them, check proportions and readability at 8-9 cm, and fix details that were too fine. This is the stage where you discover what a screen doesn’t show: a cap that throws the figure off balance, a detail that won’t mould, a colour too close to another.

Production

The figures were produced in vinyl in our partner factory in China, in the Shenzhen region. After the moulds were made, we approved a pre-production sample for each character: shapes, reference colours, paint, stability.

Packaging and display

Packaging is half the fun of a blind box. Each mystery box carries the EQSO identity, shows the line-up of six characters and the silhouette of the secret figure, with the odds printed: 1 in 6 for each regular character, 1 in 100 for the secret one.

The boxes are grouped by six in a display, packed so that it contains no duplicates: a collector who buys the full display gets all six regular characters. The display also doubles as an in-store stand.

Launch

The Crew was released on 11 September 2026. It is sold on our e-shop, individually or as a full set, in stores such as Art by Uzume and the Straat Museum in Amsterdam, and carried by the distributors Figoodies and Cosmic Group.

What this project taught us

• A series must be designed as a whole: colours, silhouettes and accessories must echo each other.
• Readability at small sizes is validated on a prototype, not on screen.
• The rarity mechanic (secret figure, odds, duplicate-free display) is prepared from the start, with the factory.
• Packaging is part of the product: it tells the story before the box is even opened.

This is exactly the experience we put at the service of brands with our custom blind box offer.