Spaceship, Sith-3PO & A Festive Wookiee: A Rare Glimpse Behind The Curtains At Sideshow Collectibles’ Secret Campus

Walking onto the Sideshow campus in Thousand Oaks, California, feels less like entering a corporate office and more like stepping into a high-tech artist’s sanctuary. While the world knows the collectibles company for museum-grade statues, its roots are surprisingly humble. Founded 31 years ago by an artist collective of four friends, Sideshow began in a “pool house” backyard studio where freelancers spent their days creating monster makeup and stop-motion puppets for films.

Their first major break was a licensed line of Universal Monsters in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, horror toys were aimed strictly at children, leading to what the team jokingly calls their “Poochie the Dog” era with their Monster Shredders, “hip” versions of classic monsters like Dracula in a sideways baseball cap and the Wolf Man on a skateboard, which were carried by stores like Toys R Us, among others.

While successful, the artists craved more. They eventually pitched Universal on a “classic” line that captured true actor likenesses — a move that forced them to build their own direct-to-consumer website, distribution, customer support, and even payment plans because the figures were too expensive for traditional box stores.

Now three decades later, Sideshow has become the internet’s premier destination for deluxe pop culture collectibles, offering not only statues and figures crafted by Sideshow’s artisans but also a huge range of officially licensed products from artists all over the world. Whatever your fandom, it seems like it has you covered.

For the first time, Sideshow has allowed a journalist unprecedented levels of access behind the scenes at its secretive campus, and the welcome was anything but ordinary. Upon entering the foyer, I was greeted by a growling animatronic Chewbacca, playfully adorned with a Christmas hat for the holiday season. The Christmas spirit didn’t stop with the Wookiee, though; the entire building felt like a fever dream where the multiverse’s greatest heroes and most dangerous villains finally agreed on one thing: mandatory festive attire. Seeing legendary figures trade their usual “world domination” vibes for “holiday office party” energy was the first sign this was going to be a very different kind of tour.

The campus serves as a dedicated workspace where artists across various departments masterfully craft each figurine. A long hallway lined with a selection of these pieces leads into the “Spaceship” studio, a dark, customized environment designed by the artists themselves to evoke the atmosphere of famous sci-fi movies. Originally a bright photography studio with skylights, the room was transformed into a low-light space to eliminate glare on the digital screens and Wacom tablets used for ZBrush sculpting. To complete the immersive atmosphere, the studio features integrated spaceship sound effects.

While photography was strictly off limits in certain creative hubs to avoid spoiling unannounced figurines currently in development, the atmosphere on-site remained incredibly jovial. To keep the creative momentum high during long-term projects, the company pulls together what they call a “Mission Impossible” dream team. Since a single figure can take years to bring to life, the studio carefully selects a perfect group of individuals — a mixture of concept artists, sculptors, painters, costumers and fabric artists, project managers, and development leads — who are specifically hyped about that particular character.

Walking through these hubs, you can see how this “artist-first” philosophy extends to their personal environments. Because the designers might spend decades working within these walls, they are encouraged to customize their surroundings to stay inspired. Whether it is the office packed with personal collections, every corner of the campus is designed to keep the “dream team” entertained and engaged as they capture a specific moment in time.

One of the most emotional stops on the tour was the Star Wars Mythos display. These pieces represent what the team calls “love letters” — interpretations of characters at specific moments in time that were never seen on screen.

A standout moment in the company’s history occurred when their “Mythos” Obi-Wan Kenobi statue, a daydream created almost 15 years ago, was cited by director Deborah Chow as a tonal inspiration for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. “There were tears in the hallway when we saw that,” our host noted, “to know our love letter caused even a little bit of inspiration.”

Deadline readers can learn more about some of the products featured in this article HERE and also enter for a chance to win a free Clint Eastwood Action Figure courtesy of Sideshow. 

The technical artistry behind these figures is remarkably complex, particularly in the fabrication department. For statues featuring characters in more dynamic poses for example, the miniature costumes must be entirely custom-tailored from scratch, often with asymmetrical seams, uniquely distorted patterns, and specially printed textures to create the illusion of realism in microscopic scale.

Across every department, we see Sideshow’s “artist first” philosophy in effect, with teams combining modern technology with a very down-to-earth approach. Whether it’s the equipment or materials in their workshops or the physical spaces they inhabit, the mindset seems to be all about using whatever works best and whatever is most fun. Traditional sewing machines sit next to 3D printers, airbrushes, and spray cans fill a room where our host describes a process where “we turn ink into gas and bond it with the fibers of the fabric”.  It’s clear that every element of the campus is dedicated to treating pop culture imagery with the same respect as fine art.

Beyond their own creations, the company operates as a global distribution hub for other high-end studios from around the world.

Also significantly represented on the campus are Sideshow’s long-term friends and exclusive distribution partners, Hot Toys, who celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2025. As you enter the foyer, you are greeted by a selection of figurines from Star Wars, Iron Man, and other DC and Marvel heroes before entering the board room that has a wall of figurines to keep any super fan entranced for hours.

Hot Toys cemented its status as a premier partner for major studios and a favorite among industry icons. From its humble beginnings in 2000 as a Hong Kong boutique founded by Howard Chan, the company has grown into the world’s leading producer of hyper-realistic collectibles. Its craftsmanship has earned a dedicated following from high-profile collectors, including Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Hideo Kojima, and actor Oscar Isaac, all of whom consider themselves ‘fanboys’ of the brand.”

The company originally built its reputation by creating ultra-detailed 1/6 scale military figures, specifically focusing on US Special Forces, before shifting its focus to Hollywood cinema. In 2003, Hot Toys began acquiring major film licenses, eventually launching the Movie Masterpiece Series (MMS), which became the industry gold standard for “screen-accurate” collectibles. 

Today, they are a small team with talented artists with a brand that is globally recognized for its incredible lifelike head sculpts—often hand-painted by renowned artists like JC Hong and its extensive partnerships with massive franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and DC Comics. By prioritizing museum-quality detail and limited production runs, Hot Toys has transformed the concept of an “action figure” into a high-value art piece for adult collectors.

The tour continued through to one of the multimedia buildings, a space originally built during the pandemic that has become a full-time hub for video production, live shows, and virtual fan conventions. Unlike a typical convention where figures are tucked away behind glass, this facility acts as a controlled studio space where the team can precisely light and stage their latest products for the very best possible online fan experience.

Upon entering, I’m met by a life-size C-3PO and a gallery from the “Human-Cyborg Relations” charity exhibition, which was developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm. The exhibition showcasesthirty unique, artist-customized droids created to fund STEM robotics programs for children.

Moving down the hall and into the green room, there is an eclectic mix of C-3PO displays, including a specialized Sith-3PO head by Regal Robot and a Grogu figure lounging on a sofa. From here, you enter the main studio space, where figurines are being prepared for photography against various detailed environments, ranging from a Star Wars-themed apartment backdrop to a specialized horror set.

Moving into the next building on the campus, I am greeted by a display case housing the “R2-ME2” exhibition, featuring uniquely reimagined R2-D2 figures from a previous charity show.

Beyond this, a curated wall showcases some of the company’s popular releases from yesteryear, with high-end statues and figures from Sideshow’s archives, with characters from DC and Marvel universes alongside cinematic icons from Alien, Predator, and Terminator. This path leads into a grand meeting room for the video production team, an imposing space surrounded by life-size statues of Iron Man, Darth Vader, Yoda, and other legends from the Star Wars saga.

From here, I step back into the vaults, which chronicle the company’s modest beginnings with Toys R Us and its rapid evolution. It was in January 1998 that they launched their own brand with a line of 8-inch action figures based on the classic Universal horror films, starting with a first wave that included Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy. The archives also house their more experimental early projects: “Little Big Heads,” which were 4-inch caricatures with oversized, poseable heads; “Monster Shredders,” a playful series reimagining classic monsters as skateboarders; and “Pozers,” a line of large, 20-inch poseable plush figures.

Within the same area is a private theater where the Sideshow team can screen reference or inspiration – or, I’m told, also enjoy karaoke nights and video game tournaments.

What began thirty-one years ago as four friends working in a backyard pool house has evolved into the world’s premier destination for high-end collectibles. Yet, despite its global scale, Sideshow remains a studio where “art is first,” treating every pop culture icon with the reverence of a museum masterpiece. By turning their “daydreams” into industry-defining inspirations, they have bridged the gap between toy manufacturing and fine art.

It’s clear that Sideshow isn’t just making figures; they are capturing moments in time for a community of fans who, much like the artists themselves, never truly outgrew the magic of a great story.