Tell me what you would like to see in our catalog.

We currently have over 200 concepts that we are developing over the next few years. Our goal in life is to complete the entire animal kingdom, so it's not like we need ideas, but we need to know YOUR needs so we can prioritize what we are doing in Research and Development to serve you better.

Bring 'em on baby!

Sea Life
-oversized CRAB & LOBSTER
-starfish
-large OCTOPUS

The new apes are fantastic! - how about adding a MANDRILL with a colorful cartoony look

I would love to see a moose puppet as well as a Rat puppet, kinda like the Muppet ones. I am also in desprate need of an Earthworm puppet.

!I'd love to see some Creepy Crawlie Puppets, especially a Big Black SPIDER!! "

Most people don't like SPIDERS so just imagine the fun you could have with your audience with this one. The spider's mouth could even have little fangs and the eyes would be mischievous!! And when your not using him you could attach him to a hook and he'll just dangle there, grinning at the audience. he he he

Maybe a set of dancing singing tulips or flowers, and maybe a perm. Sun .. about 22" wide wearing sunglasses and only the mouth moves. Kind of like the old showbiz pizza one . A sun that is always there, and you just slip your hand in back.
and I really would like to see a plataypus (sp?) that would get some laughs, he would have to have a lisp, of course...

If I had an earthworm...even a small one, I could use it with the Butterfly song!

I can understand people coming up with all sorts of animal characters. I look beyond the "normal". How about an Alien. Ya know...little green man. Or how about a few different types of aliens? Funny looking of course.
How about a Robot/Droid? You could have alot of fun...his batteries run down & his voice slows as this happens. The same thing could happen if you had to shut him down due to his bad behavior.
An adult version of a Dinosaur? Since he's millions of years old, he could be equipted with hearing aides, glasses, and a cane.
Back to the norm....how about an old wrinkled up hound dog? Floppy ears, arms & legs. Keeps falling asleep durring your show.
Thanks for your time!!!

A robot puppet would be great I could use it alot

These would actually be revisions to current products, but I for one would really like to see them.

#1 Add a zipper to your Big Mouth Puppet. If the zipper could be hidden somewhat, it would still be fully functional. Just imagine the concepts ... The perfect politician / salesman / preacher / etc. knows when to zip his lips. My lips are sealed.

#2 A second lever for your Special FX Board. Double the possibilities.

#3 I have the ungimmicked board, but how about a false backplate to cover the mechanisms on the boards?

Thanks for all your suggestions. We are making a Basset Hound right now. It is an incredible character!

More wacky creatures and a platapus is on the books too.

Ax

I've got one show with an entire cast of robots and another robot I use in my vent show. Robots can be made of almost anything. Mine are all rod puppets made of polyfoam. You can see them at www.petrapuppets.com
go to photo gallery - you'll find robots. I'd love to see what Axtell would come up with from the Latex Universe.

Where would you want the second lever and what would the effect be?

Ax

We've got a slew of new products coming out!
The Cry Baby
Bassett Hound
A new AxTrax CD for the Storyteller
A new Magic Instruction Video for the Axtell Magic props
A Shark puppet and some other big surprises.

Give us a few weeks to get this on the webpages.

Ax

Where would I want the lever to be, and what would be the effect?

The easiest would be underneath the first with a spring to pull it back up. This is one of those ideas that while I was in the middle of a show, I thought wouldn't it be great if I could .... Now I can't rememember what it would be great if I could do.

A second idea would take some maneuvering with the gimmick. But I would like a knob that you could rotate inside the board to select another gimmick without taking everything apart.

As the symbol for the World Wildlife Fund a Giant Panda would be great to add to an ecology show, or a show about looking after each other.

There are lots of possibilities with a slow careful creature. Not to mention there breeding problems (save them for the adult shows)

My birthday just recently passd and i got some money. i was planing oon getting another puuppet. i might want to get the Hound Dog, but i would like to see it first.:)

my favorite animal is a monkey, and i wanted to get the amazing apes but they are also a little bit steep in price, so if the price goes down a little bit, i am going to get them, But i would love to see a "Gremlin" type of charater, fuzzy, cute, but again like wildthing, you don't know what the heck it is. Also maybe another idea could be for you to create a goofy looking Monkey, like with long arms, long legs, one that is knid of cartoony. thanks-mike

my favorite animal is a monkey, and i wanted to get the amazing apes but they are also a little bit steep in price, so if the price goes down a little bit, i am going to get them. But I would love to see a "Gremlin" type of charater, fuzzy, cute, but again like wildthing, you don't know what the heck it is. Also maybe another idea could be for you to create a goofy looking Monkey, like with long arms, long legs, one that is kind of cartoony. thanks-mike

my favorite animal is a monkey, and i wanted to get the amazing apes but they are also a little bit steep in price, so if the price goes down a little bit, i am going to get them, But i would love to see a "Gremlin" type of charater, fuzzy, cute, but again like wildthing, you don't know what the heck it is. Also maybe another idea could be for you to create a goofy looking Monkey, like with long arms, long legs, one that is knid of cartoony. thanks-mike

I think a back for the board would work and would be great for shows with little kids or suspicious people. Whenever I do shows, no matter what I say, people always ask to see the back of the board.

Our Basset is coming along just great. Today we mapped out his airbrushing. He's adorable. I'll have some pictures up on the web soon. Watch the NEW section!

Ax

We make the Ungimmicked Board for this reason. If a back can be put on, it could be taken off...so we think the ungimmicked board is the best solution.

Have you seen it?

Ax

Yes, Colin we are going to make a Panda. I would like to make a new happy face, but one could be made from Big Bear as well.

http://www.axtell.com/woods.html

Ax

Mike thanks for the suggestions.

We do plan on coming out with more monsters.


Ax

I like the idea of a new happy panda. Just to keep you busy. All the best.

The page is http///www.axtell.com/basset.html

Hi,
I love the idea of an alien or robot, but what about a monster, something ugly, but friendly would look really cool and funny. I live in England and there are not much puppet sites for the Uk, so thanks steve for a wonderfull site and great prices.

P.s. also, mabye a gremling type puppet might be kinda' cool!

Thanks once more Steve


Ben

How about a manatee? Another great one for environmental themes or water/boating safety or just for fun!

I would like to see a female version of your outstanding Lion puppet. Perhaps you could use the male Lion as the base.

I would also enjoy owning an Axtell Turtle puppet.

Thanks for the wonderful resources and congratulations on 20 years of creative puppetry!

I can just imagine the fun I could have with people- I was thinking Rizzo the rat too..lol! well, at least something similar

Can you list them and then have a vote for the best top 10 or 20? That would pinpoint everyones favorites- and you would have enough of a list for at least a year of puppet creations

I will have to rethink my decision to not buy the ungimmicked board. When I was working with the kids at vacation bible school, i couldn't get the board in the bag soon enough! It would have been so much easier to have the second board stashed on stage somewhere and let the kids explore it at will.
I think the idea of an ungimmicked board makes a lot of sense,..... now!

the idea of a monster sounds great! here is an idea that i got from a set of puppets i got mail order several years ago. why not include hook and loop backed, eyes, ears,beaks, noses, horns, beards, eyebrows, tails, hands etc. this way the audience can help you 'build' your monster.
i have a set of two glove type puppets that are completely blank except for the mouth and teeth (felt). there are 4 complete sets of "parts" that stick on to the body. they can all be mix and match.
just an idea, but those little puppets can get the most reluctant child to open up in just a matter of minutes.
mark

I'm an exterminator and am considering a custom termite puppet in standard vent size. I'm trying to decide--shaved fleece or flexible latex...What do you think, Ax?

If it's not too late to offer a suggestion, how about something similar to the Emu used by the late English comedian Rod Hull. It has a full sized bird, held under his arm, and was great fun. If you ever saw the (very) old Hudson Brothers TV show, you will definitely remember Rod Hull!

While I'm sure it's copyrighted by his estate, there's bound to be something similar you could do...take the bird arm to the next level!

Just my 3 cents (adjusted for inflation)....

-Chris

I think axtell should make a toucan puppet

Steve, reading the post below about a panda bear puppet gave me a great idea. How about adding a whole "endangered species" line to your catalogue? These puppets could be used to create fabulous awareness of some of the animals that are indeed on the endangered list to audiences. Of course the panda bear would be a great start! What do you think?

Also for new ideas with the Panda bear, how about actually giving the bear Asian type facial features? Now this may be considered "politically incorrect" but I think it would be hysterical to give it the asian type features and maybe put the big wooden sandals and martial arts type headband on it!

LOL!!!! that would be sooo GREAT! Rizzo from the muppets is sooo funny, him as a puppet, or a rat like him, would be SOOOOOOOOO funnyy....

I would love to see some classic famous caracatures..like a Mark Twain type of character...Im sure there are others that would be good, but cant think of them right now...

I would love to see some classic famous caracatures..like a Mark Twain type of character...Im sure there are others that would be good, but cant think of them right now...

Yup! We are making a rat this year. It's really cool!

Ax

I thought I'd toss this set back into the forum for perusal. It would be interesting to see how many ideas have been incorporated in the past 10 years from the list.

Here's another "new" idea. How about a great looking Run Rabbit Run that has interchangeable Axtell figures on it.

Man I have never seen this thread before.

It goes WAY back in time.

I would love to see a WHALE with the squirter option this year!!

I teach Jonah and the Whale every year and I really need a funny whale puppet that squirts me in the face!!

Dinosaurs

i would love to see a clown.

Actually, you might try asking for a special paint job on a Laughin' Louie for a nice clown.

I'd like to see a skeleton puppet.

Hi
You should definately do two versions of a Reindeer puppet. One with just the head and neck and a full size vent version. Perfect for the Holiday season. I think you should drop everything else and do this first! As I would like these making custom for myself but would prefer to get them cheaper....We are in a ressession:-) Ha ha!

The reindeer would be a great idea. With an optional Rudolph nose that lights up. The head and neck version (especially an animatronic) would be perfect for a taxidermy wall mount (as seen in the Country Bear Jamboree show). Moose as well for that matter.

?v=0

I'm reminded of going to see Santa at the mall when I was a kid. There was a "stall" next to Santa's setup that had 2 reindeer sticking out. Kids could talk to the reindeer while someone hidden inside the stall talked back through a speaker. The reindeer where stuffed and immobile, but imagine what you could do with a puppet or animatronic.

I'm also very excited about the ogre/bigfoot Steve hinted about in the full-body puppet thread I started. One of the toys new to our household this year was the imaginext Fisher Price Bigfoot. Great character.

Rudolph for sure will be added to the Axtell line..even though it's been done many times. Yes light up nose, hand puppet and animatronic. Lot's of fun stuff coming.

On those 3 wall heads from Disney... my favorite is Exit, the one on the left.

My big foot standing character is coming also... right now our focus is on the Goose, Blinking eyes Ostrich, Frog and New Bird! Oh, and the "Monster in a Box" show....and literally about 30 other projects. Ideas are never the problem, time is.

Ax

1. Ferret
2. Some sort of puppet that can appeal to special needs children, such as a wheel chair accessory etc. for a human puppet to use.

3. "Naked puppets" read this before you judge me as weird---I mean a puppet that can be customized for the puppeteer"s occasion. ie If the puppeteer wants an old man, he can just put a sweater, some glasses and gray hair on the "naked puppet". But if he needs a young woman later on, he can put a long haired wig, and a dress on the puppet.

There, now that you've read it you can go right ahead and say that I'm weird.

i agree i think a ferret would be a cuddly fun character, maybe even more in the pets section of puppets

A update on the kangaroo, with a baby kangaroo in itīs pouch, that can be manipulated from the back.

Great idea. In the meantime you can actually rig up a 2 dimensional baby kangaroo head. Attach it to the bottom of the pouch via a spring or elastic, then run an invisible string or fishing line down to it. Loop the other end of the line somewhere over the mama kangaroo's shoulder and down to your free hand. Then you can simply pull on the string and his head will pop up.

or have an elastic band atthe bottom/neck of the baby kangaroo so the head can pop up and down depending on whether or not you pull the string, which could be insterted through the momma's chest and leading to the hand, thumb ring could make it go up, the release the thread, te elastic pulls it down.

Or have a Mama kangaroo head operated like the stick-operated weasel, with your hand at the bottom of the stick and a extra trigger (say at the middle finger) to operate the joey. Push the bottom of the stick-mechanism forward (and Mama's head back) and baby pops out and forward. Pull the bottom of the stick back (and thusly, Mama's head forward) to pull baby back in. Kind of like a head at each end of the stick, one big, one small.


I also wouldn't mind seeing a crab with a head (or just eyes)that pops out like the Axtell turtle... a crab with actual pinching claw/s. Something like this, only with that Axtell touch...

How about a puppet shaped like a human thumb? Since we need an opposable thumb to do most daily tasks, it can be used to teach kids:

1. They can be helpers
2. They are important, no matter how small they are
3. All parts of The Body of Christ are important
4. They are thumbbody [HA! I got that one from Mark Lowery]

If you've never seen the thumb version of Star Wars (Thumb Wars) or of Batman, you're in for a real treat.