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Oct 31, 2005
Huck Gee: Samurai Munny
Thanks to Huck Gee we have a dramatic preview of his custom Samurai Munny done for Kidrobot's upcoming Munny Show (11.03.05). This one's great -- love the facial detail and the accessories look to be the perfect scale. Huck loves to incorporate Asian themes in his work and does so with stunning results. I keep hoping for a Samurai Dunny -- maybe one of these days we'll get lucky! Huck's samurai Munny and the other Munny Show customs will be auctioned on EBay to support Feed the Children's efforts to assist children victimized by Hurricane Katrina. So make a generous bid and you just might take home this feudal warrior :-)
Podling Show Pics
Doktor A's Podling took its first huge step as the Podling Show opened on Thursday, October 27th at Playlounge in London. The show featured 20+ custom Podlings done by Doktor A, Campbell McAlister, Clutter, Elizabeth "Blu" Berdann , Jim Koch, Julien Hatswell, Lunartik, MAD, Mimic, miQ willmOtt, Mr. Clement, Nakanari, Peskimo, Sket One, TADO, Triclops, and WRD-ONE. The inventive shape lends itself to switching up the front and back for two distinct looks. The Podling customs done by this talented lineup are very nice indeed. WRD ONE's Dutty the Reseller is amusing and takes "flipping" head on. Ebay and designer toys are linked together for better and worse; it's nice to see artists engaging the dreaded topic. Is it Ebay or Flipper :-) By the looks of the pics and based on Dok A's report, the show was a rousing success! We already love the Podlings and after having seen these customs, we want more now! Props to all the artists and Doktor A for creating the Podling and for sending us this glowing batch of pics. So... which is your favorite? I'll go with Rat Rider by Doktor A.
Elph by
Doktor A
Rat Rider by Doktor A
Tin Man by Doktor A
Rupture by Doktor A
Oxide by
Doktor A
MAD
Lil Pinky by Nakanari
Hanus by Jim Koch
Continue reading "Podling Show Pics"
Suckadelic's Latest - The Battle of the Sexes Rages On
Suckadelic constantly pushes the envelope through underground action figures which simultaneously take on the action figure genre and hot button issues. The creator of what's touted as the first gay action figure continues to push boundaries and people's buttons. Suckadelic's figures are raw, pure and pointed. Toys as Art? Yup. Toys as social commentary? Check. Straight from Chinatown NYC comes the latest fig and the first female fig as well. Spurned souls? Jealous guys seeking the unattainable? Yes and yes? This one retails for $30 and is available directly from Suckadelic.com and select retailers. People continue to worry that designer toys are fading, that they've lost their bite. As long as Suckadelic and others do their own thing, we'll be just fine. Hit past the fold for the pic (probably NOT work safe).
Continue reading "Suckadelic's Latest - The Battle of the Sexes Rages On"
Oct 29, 2005
Jesse Hernandez: Aztec Dragon custom Munny
Jesse Hernandez sent this nice set of pics of his smokin' Aztec Dragon custom Munny that he did for the SF edition of the Kidrobot Munny Show (11.03.05). Jesse's piece is a stunning homage to the ancient Aztec warrior. The artisty is superb; check out the warrior's amazing helmet. Aztec Dragon and the other Munny Show customs will be auctioned off on Ebay to support Feed the Children's efforts to assist children victimized by Hurricane Katrina. Be sure to keep an eye on Jese Hernandez, we certainly will!
DKNY x Toy2R 8" Qee Series
Straight from Raymond Choy here's the full lowdown on the four Donna Karan New York x Toy2R 8" Qees that will be available at the New York Toy2R World Tour stop (11.18.05 @ Stephan Weiss Studio). The four DKNY Bear Qees packaged in a DKNY color box will be limited to 500 pieces for each design and will retail for $65 USD at DKNY's Madison and Soho Stores, Toy2R Expo, and Yoyamart. Check out the official ads for each for the four DKNY Qees by Gary Baseman, Frank Kozik, Tim Biskup and David Horvath. In my opinion, this is really a nice series with some great designs from four heavy hitters. Also, it's the only way most of us are going to be able to take home Baseman and Kozik's designs that also grace the huge 5 foot one-off Qees!
The Buckingham Forest by Gary Baseman
Nervous Cosmonaut by Frank Kozik
Town Crier by Tim Biskup
Made Man by David Horvath
Scott Saw's Custom Munny
The highly anticipated Kidrobot Munny Show on November 3, 2005 has most of us on the edge of our seats. I can't wait to see all of the amazing custom pieces in person. For the last few weeks, we have slowly seen some of these awesome pieces and one of my favorites is by Scott Saw. He has turned the Munny into a menacing alien creature or is this a victim possesed by an alien force? Keep an eye out for this one at the show.... Props to Scott for a killer Munny done for charity and for sending the flash animation and pics!
Oct 28, 2005
Huck Gee: Custom SUV!
We love Huck Gee's work here at VP, especially his iconic Skullhead. Though we do keep wondering... when is he going to take the plunge, trick out his ride and turn it into the Skullmobile? Well we might be getting just a bit closer. Here are some shots from Huck of an SUV wrap he did for Yokohama as part of their promotion of their Parada tire line for the upcoming SEMA automative products show in Las Vegas (11.01 - 11.04.05) The whole thing is lovely -- check out the huge Skullhead on the roof and the smaller one on the side mirror. There's also some lovely scenery and the leaves on the tail section are pretty ace. For those that can make it out to SEMA, keep an eye out for Huck's prototype of a new toy!
"TEQUILA REVEALED" PART 19
Okay, so Muttpop lied. Initially they promised to show us a glimpse of both the revised, final version of Original Tequila and a first glimpse at Extra Spicy Tequila. But they had so many nice images of the Extra Spicy Tequila that we decided to focus this entry on this very cool variant colorway. Muttpop received a shipment with prototypes of all three versions of Tequila (ORIGINAL, EXTRA SPICY, and RAW). As such, Muttpop's Jerry Frissen was able to take a bunch of high quality pictures of the Extra Spicy Tequila. Extra Spicy is a more abstract take on the character that embraces the rougher qualities of Tequila's personality and appearance. A total of 250 Extra Spicy Tequilas will be made. I am so glad they lied and decided to show this uber cool colorway of Tequila. When I first held this guy, it was so so hard to let go....I must have it and I am sure many of you are just dying to get your hands on one. Well...you don't have to wait any longer...his release is just a short month away!!Check back next week for a peak at the FINAL version of the ORIGINAL Tequila!
Oct 27, 2005
'Cut & Paste' Head to Head Design Competition
The Cut & Paste graphic design competition will be held on November 19th @ 10 PM at M1-5 (Tribeca, NY). Hosted by MC Bobbito, Cut & Paste will feature a tournament style arrangement pitting eight competitors head to head with a maximum of 15 minutes to work on an assigned design theme. The crowd will be able to view the competition up close and personal through large projection screens. The idea is based on DJ Battles but instead of DJ's spinnin' it'll feature graphic designers armed with Mac G5's, Wacom tablets and such. The competition will be judged by Tristan Eaton (Thunderdog Studios), Kendrick Reid (Comedy Central), Doug Jaeger (thehappycorp global),
Jeff Staple (Staple Design). All eight contestants will receive a cool gift bag, the semi-finalists will also receive a whopping 2GB Mimobot from Mimoco and the winner will receive an Apple iBook for his or her dope under-pressure designs.
Cut & Paste seems like a pretty innovative idea whose time has come. Designer toys are one canvas and outlet for talented designers to get their work seen, appreciated, purchased and enjoyed. Competitons such as Cut and Paste will likely raise the bar for top-notch graphic design and by extension designer toys as well.
Want to Enter?
Drop an e-mail to
cutandpastecontest@gmail.com by
NOVEMBER 4TH with the subject "ENTER CONTEST" with the following information:
1) Name, address, phone number
2) Work info - position, employer, brief job description
3) Link to website, portfolio, or other online proof-of-work (no attachments please)
4) Brief bio (3 sentences max)
For more info check out www.cutandpastecontest.com.
MPH "Twilight" MAD*L
Here's the first public look at My Plastic Heart's exclusive Twilight MAD*L which will hopefully be available towards the end of 2005. This one is limited to 300 pcs and there's a second colorway which is not for sale. This design from Team MPH is quite nice. It has a subtle and peaceful vibe -- would look nice in a living room :-)
Richard VanOver - "Follow the Leader" Munny
Straight from the man himself, here's Richard VanOver's Follow the Leader custom Munny for KR's upcoming Munny Show (11.03.05). Richard's not only the founder and head of Wheaty Wheat Studios he's also a talented artist in his own right. He's done customs before including the Funny Club Show, but I think this is the best I've seen from him yet :-) These two sheep are locked in a heated race... who will win? Hmm, is dynamite an advantage or a disadvantage ?!!?
Oct 26, 2005
Bill McMullen - "One Million" at KR NY (10.27.05)
Bill McMullen's ("Billions McMillions") One Million opens at Kidrobot New York this Thursday (10.27.05) from 6 to 8 PM featuring 100 individually painted wooden stacks of a hundred 100 dollar bills. For you big spenders, a set of one million dollars (100 stacks) will be available as well. Bill is probably best known in toy circles for the AD-AT toy design which took on both kicks and probably the most popular sci-fi flick of all time. He previously worked as an Art Director for Def Jam Records and is the founder and co-owner of Swish NYC, an urban lifestyle company. Bill's done some great projects and I know you need your own stack of $100 bills, so mark your calendars and check it out! You can always hit up the VP Event Calendar for the latest info on upcoming designer toy and related art events.
Cameron Tiede: Bedtime Tantrum -- Fully Exposed!
Thanks to Cameron Tiede, we have our second look at his Bedtime Tantrum custom Munny done for Kidrobot's upcoming Munny Show (11.03.05). Last time we got to see Bedtime Tantrum glowing brightly in the darkness, now we get to see the full detail of Cameron's design. Take a look at the accessories -- all done in Cameron's trademark style: Hockey Stick, Glasses, Cell Phone and ummm Poo! As if that's not enough, this one comes with a one-of-a-kind GID T-shirt! This one will be up for auction at the Los Angeles Munny Show venue with proceeds going to benefit children victimized by Hurricane Katrina.
Cronic + Ex-Style: Maverasu and Zyurai-Asu
Straight from Japan, Takenaka of Ex-Style sends us pictures of Ex-Style's Halloween colorway of Cronic's Maverasu figure which stands roughly 5.5 inches tall. This special colorway went on sale at HP of CRONIC on 10.26.05 at 10:00 am JP time for 4500 Yen which is approximately $45 US. I really like Maverasu for the menacing tentacles on its back. They are articulated at 4 of its joints and are interchangeable with the arms in the front. Besides the Ex-Style Halloween colorway, Maverasu has also appeared in several other colorways including a metallic version shown below. This toy is very popular in Japan and I bet there are some fans here in the US who are dying to get their hands on one. If you do, send us a few pics!! Takenaka also sent along pics of what is apparently a custom version of Cronic's Zyurai-Asu. Zyurai-Asu and Maverasu are apparently mortal enemies. This info maybe slightly inaccurate as we've had to rely on machine translation to compile this post :-)
Cronic+EX-S Maverasu
Zyurai-Asu
Oct 25, 2005
Devilrobots Greeting Cards
Tired of bland and generic greeting cards? Check out this series of 10 spiffy Devilrobots greeting cards brought to you by the nice folks at Play Imaginative. Each card will be sold individually for a retail price of $5 to $6 (exact price TBD). Unlike many other card sets, these are themed -- Birthday, Christmas, etc. The cards are on laminated glossy paper and have interior messages and graphics. Tofu head and robot goodness is splashed across these cards! Quite a few of these designs are amusingly charming and all have the distinct Devilrobots style. Three designs are available now directly from Play with the remainder to be released on a regular basis. Also, be on the lookout for future card series from Play.
Continue reading "Devilrobots Greeting Cards"
Pimp My Doll!!!
What happens when you give an artist fabrics and a sewing machine? Well, you get new adult toys...dolls!! Noooo...not that kind of adult toys!!! At the Pimp My Doll exhibition which is presented by Papier.Machine and the Pébroc Shop (Nantes), you will find an eclectic mix of artists from all over the world giving their own twist to the old fashion doll. Forget that bland teddy bear...bring on the bright colors, the eerie forms, the cuddly, the sadistic....this is where plush is taken to the next level!!
Line Up: Lmac (Singapore);Muju (U.K.); Aabland (Spain);Vincent "Pulcomayo" (France);Doma (Argentina); Flying Fortress (Germany); Monkeys From Space (Spain); Cupco (Japan);Dob{R}man (France) LVL CREW; Strom (France) LVL CREW; Llor (France) LVL CREW; Koa (France) LVL CREW/WDD; Skwak (France) WDD; Theory One (South Africa);Doudoupop (France);
Where: Pébroc17 rue Bon Secours 44000 Nantes, FRANCE
When: Launch party: November 12th; From November 12th until December 12th 2005; Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30 am - 7.00 pm
Vincent aka Pulcomayo has been so kind to send over some pics of his adorable creatures who are going to be at the show. These aren't your everyday dolls now are they???
The Pulcopiyo
Oizo
Skulo
Batz
Los Catchos
Ghost
New Kaiju Monsters
There is always something about the kaiju toys that fascinates me but finding updated info about them can be challenging at times, especially when everything is in Japanese. Well, this shall be my first attempt in translating the info I have regarding some awesome toys that just hit the Japanese market, so bear with me!!
The first toy is the ChitanoZaurus Series 2. This guy is at a whopping 9.8 inches tall and with his glowy orange/brown skin tone, it is easy to see how this not so little creature slowly grows on you. He is currently available from Japan for 4200 Yen which approximately is $42US. You an either fax or email your order and pay by bank or postal transfer. Check out Marusan for more info.
The next creature is ジャイガー which literately means anti- large demon animal. From the looks of this fellow, he is sure one not to mess with, so buy at your own risk. Purchasing info same as above. Hurry if you want one...deadline to order is by the end of this month!!!
Sket One: 'Operation' Munny
Here's a look at Sket One's Operation Munny done for Kidrobot's Munny Show (11.03.05). This inspired custom Munny recalls past childhood joy by seamlessly melding the popular electrified board game with a Munny. So... right about now you're asking... "Does it work?". Yes! Of course, if a would-be surgeon touches one the metal edges of one of 5 operation sites (2 on chest, 2 on head, and on the bottom of the foot), the set buzzes and the Munny's red nose light glows! The game pieces fit inside these 5 open wounds. Sket's been holding on to this idea since he created another great childhood toy crossover -- the 8-Ball Qee. The wait's been well worth it. The execution of this complicated idea is top-notch. This and other celebrity Munnys will be auctioned at the Munny Show with proceeds going to charities benefiting children victimized by Hurricane Katrina.
Oct 24, 2005
Tim Biskup: 9" DKNY 'N' Qee
For the upcoming New York stop of its World Wide Tour, Toy2R has teamed up with Donna Karan New York to produce four 9" DKNY Qees each with a different letter on its back. Here's a look at Tim Biskup's deliciously sublime design, 'N' in this special series. I love this one -- it's clearly Biskup yet more abstract than many of his recent character-based toy designs. It's a great change of pace and one I just might have to buy!
Touma's BOO
Touma debut his toy "Boo" in the US at this year's SDCC and the little creature with a wide grin was widely received. If you missed out, do not despair!!! Wonderwall and Touma has more variants of Boo and another little friend of his, Baboo (see below). Check it out. If you find them a must have, check out Oalaworld. I did and broke the bank!!
Oct 23, 2005
Zoltron x MARS-1: Toxic Cleanup Observer
Jim of STRANGEco sends word about the Zoltron x MARS-1 Toxic Cleanup Observer toy. The name's perfect as the blue and orange really does shout out hazardous waste disposal! This individually numbered , limited edition observer (156 pcs) will go on sale on Halloween (October 31st) at MARS-1.com, Zoltron.com, and STRANGEco. There will also be a small number available at the opening of Convergence at The Showroom NYC (10.27.05). For more info on the Toxic Cleanup Observer hit Zoltron.com
Controlled Substances Show Pictures
Thanks to Sket One we have a nice set of pics from his and MAD's Controlled Substances opening at Toy Qube (Flushing, NY) last night. Notable stuff: M13 figs from MAD, Ripple prototype by Sket, and the public unveiling of Sket One's CiBoys!
Cappas by MAD
M13 by MAD
