My Prized Robos

So, I am not the type to flaunt my toys around, but I just can't help it this time around. My trip to Taipei Toy Festival resulted in two of my best toys purchases in a long time. Both are the Expo Robos sculpted by Itokin Park but each of extreme differences in nature. First up is the Psychadellic Robo, commissioned by One Up and designed/painted by Itokin himself. There are only three of these made, one was auctioned at TTF, another is owned by One Up and the last one....well, obviously moi :-)....The other Robo is a crossover between Cronic and Itokin Park. This spooky one is shrouded in Cronic's color scheme executed by Itokin Park. Now this piece took a bit of effort to get. Let's just say, the auction went on a tad longer than I expected it to. In the end, I parted with  5000NT (US$150) and in my hands sat one of the five Cronic x Itokin Park Robos. Eat your heart out folks!!!

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Crazy Label @ TTF

Crazy Label, a recent newcomer to the designer toy scene, launched two new toys at  last week's TTF.  The first is Treeson -- a tree like creature with a stick growing out of its side -- created by Bubi Au Yeung.  The 5" Treeson was available in both the standard production edition and a special DIY edition which has a blank rather than painted face.   Treeson is available now for $20 + shipping directly from Crazy Label.

In addition to Treeson, Crazy Label is just about to launch the Tamo platform toy created by Alfredo Mejia.  Tamo (Te Amo - "I love You" in spanish) is a female character born among the clouds. The strength of the platform is the curvy female form and the flexibility offered by the 3 head sculpts with different hair styles.   To show off the platform, Crazy Label sponsored the  Take a Peek custom show featuring 15+ custom Tamos from talent around the globe.  Finally, three early release Tamo's were available in beta packs which included one free shirt from a selection of several designs which matched the figure designs.

We're curious to see what the future holds for Crazy Label.

Alan + Treeson
Tamo Beta Releases
Bubi Au Yeung + Treeson
Crazy Label Crew

NVC
Elizabeth "Blu" Berdann
MAD
Doktor A

Shan Michael Evans
PlaysKewl

Wonderwall @ TTF

Just got back from TTF.  We still have tons of coverage to put up in the next day or so ;-)  While Wonderwall didn't have a booth at TTF they displayed a large number of Touma's current and upcoming toys at the Monster Taipei booth.  Monster Taipei organzied TTF and is one of the premiere retailers in Taiwan. 

A large number of Goons were on display including a white (TTF pseudo-exclusive?) retro goon, and a nice Orange-Brown yoyamart exclusive retro goon and of course the TTF exclusive edition.   Mixed in with the production pieces, there were three hand-painted Goons which were part of the TTF auction on the last day.  We're huge fans of the Retro Goon and the Yoyamart edition is quite nice.  Speaking of retro goon, this seems to be a continuation of the body 'mod' approach to breathing new life into an existing toy -- we're likely to see more and more of this (mostly in the form of new heads ?). 

Several other Touma pieces were on display (mostly released) including the ever-popular capsule KB's, Boobies, and more. Touma's brand new Magman Kaiju piece was there as well.  Mixed in with the existing pieces were some sweet new ones!  Such as the new 6-inch Knucklebear which  made an appearance in a black partially-flocked version! Partial flocking is a nice effect.  I'm curious to see how far flocking can be pushed... Is it possible to do multiple color flocking in the same region?

Flocked KB is sweet for sure, but the clear shocker were the two Touma plushes.  Both a plush Snout and a plush Knuckle Bear were on display.  We believe these will be production items (will double check and update). 

Touma was everywhere at TTF with multiple signings and multiple booths spanning Play Imaginative, Monster Taipei and One Up.  Keep it tuned to VP for a look at the PI and One Up offerings.

Flocked Knuckle Bear
Plush Knuckle Bear
 
Plush Snout

 
 
 
Yoyamart Retro Goon

TTF Exclusive Retro Goon
 

Toby's Dumb Dummies @ TTF

Kaching Brands made its first public splash at The Taipei Toy Festival.  Their booth featured a preview look at several upcoming toys, most of which will be available for purchase at SDCC.  Toby, a talented designer from HK, was the clear star of the booth.  He was on-hand as Kaching's representative and eagerly answered questions about his upcoming Dumb  Dummies line.  Dumb  Dummies highlights the spark of life to be found by others  in our everdays lives which may seem repetitive and monotonous to us.

The first figure in this new line is TobyHK which is based on Toby himself right down to the numbers tattooed on his left hand.  What are the numbers?  Hmm...  A secret alien code? Nope.  They represent the day and time he met his girlfriend.  This way, he'll never forget ;)  TobyHK is a really nice figure complete with removable satchel and removable goggles.  While the prototypes shown here have glued-on goggles, the production goggles will be removable thanks to an elastic band (which looks pretty slick).  There are four versions currently planned -- Black (SDCC Exclusive) complete with a golden opera mask design on the face, Red -- exclusive to Asia, the standard Blue and a Game of Death inspired yellow and black.  TobyHK puts Toby's stamp on the classic HK urban style.  This is one cool figure loaded with subtle details from the  spunky sculpted hair to the ear bling to the bracelets.

Toby also has a series of blind-boxed mini-fig dogs in two designs, Seme and Dum, which are part of Dumb Dummies.  The chase figures will be a striking metallic gold.  Judging from the traffic at the booth, women really dig these cute figs ;-)

Both TobyHK and the dogs will be available at SDCC.  In the fall, Toby will strike a huge blow for Dumb and Dummies with  Holy, a bruising boxer.  A rough prototype of this figure was shown at the booth sporting a visor.  Holy has seen his share of rough times in the ring as evidenced by his partially chewed on left ear ;)  Hmm, wonder where the name comes from ;-)  Did we mention this is a big figure?  It stands at least 10 inches high and is a seriously beefy figure. While much tightening is needed (including making the arms and hands truly symmetrical), Holy should come out on top once completed. 

Beyond Dumb and Dummies, Toby has also created the Fourcube figure which will be released at SDCC as a DIY figure.  This one is quite large as well standing an easy 10 (probably more like 12+) inches high.  The future will see some beautifully designed Fourcubes. Finally, Fourcube is a preview of sorts for Toby's next series, Planet Rock.

So what does an artist do in the lulls of a long convention?  Sketch of course.  Toby filled his sketchbook with page after page of new characters.  He also does walls ;-)

Also, not shown at the booth were Toby's TWO repaints of the upcoming 12" FLCL Canti vinyl to be released at SDCC. Toby, remember the name, you'll be hearing alot more from him soon enuff.

Btw, you heard it here first -- Kaching Brands and Toby  will make a HUGE splash at SDCC ;-)

Fatcaps @ TTF

The Fatcap from Kidrobot -- a new graff inspired mini-fig with a spray cap head and a Dunny body -- was made available for the first time at Taipei Toy Festival in a preview release of sorts.  While the full series won't be released for several months, a special TTF exclusive GID edition Fatcap limited to 200 pieces was available during the show.  This version was designed by spray paint manufacturer, MontanaColors.  It's nice to finally be able to see a Fatcap up close and personal though the GID aspect overshadows the design elements and doesn't really make the shape 'pop'.  One really cool feature of the Fatcap is the inclusion of some sort of rattle which simulates the classic sound of shaking a spray paint can. 

The full series to be released in a few months will feature 19 designs with 2 chase/mystery figures.  Also, this series has a redemption ticket feature which will net 200 lucky winners a print by Tilt plus a chance to win a can per day for a year of MontanaColors paint (Ok, 365 cans).

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

Monster Taipei's TTF Party (07.08.06)

To thank artists and vendors, Jen -- the owner of Monster Taipei and organizer of TTF, threw a relaxed party at a pub in Taipei.  The pub soon was filled with pretty much every artist and vendor attending TTF all relaxing after a hectic and busy Saturday.  There was free food, and of course free alcohol.  When the beer pitchers ran dry, mini San Miguel Kegs were pressed into action at each table, when those ran dry, Smirnoff Ice was liberated from refrigerators.  Chatting and relaxing with so many cool people was one of the highlights of the show. 

Tim, Ryota, Shin, Simone
 
Sam, Pixie Crew
Touma

 
 

Devilrobots - Thrill of Alienation @ Pixie (07.07.06)

So after things shut down at the TTF venue for Friday, the party moved to Pixie for the opening of the Devilrobot's Thrill of Alienation exhibition.  We follpwed Eddi Yip on the short route from the hotel to Pixie and on the way chatted with lots of great people.  A Quick run down of who showed (off the top of my head): Touma, Mad Barbarians, T9G, Koto, Eddi Yip,  Shin of Devilrobots, Asteria, Tim Tsui, Darren Gan, Sichi, Richard Wong of Red Magic, Sam and Lin-Lin of Jellymon, Darren Gan of Play Imaginative, Mori Chack, Ken of One Up, Ken Joho of Spanky, Toy Baroness, Nitin (KR), Toby HK and plenty more cool folks ;-) 

Pixie is a really nice two-store location run by Mark Chang of PhalanX.  It's a split level boutique with the top-level being the primary "store" area and the bottom area serving as a mini-gallery.  Devilrobots posters, toys, blow-up balloons including a giant inflatable To-Fu head filled the space. On the lower level, a table full of Devilrobots stamps was available for people to go ahead and make their own stamp collage.  On the wall were 100 alien records in plastic cases.  The records include a polaroid along with a sample of each alien's body ;-)  Good times for sure.

 
Koto, Eddi Yip, Shinichiro (Devilrobots)
Koto, Lin-Lin, Sam, & Shinichiro
Mori Chack & Mad Barbarians

 
 
 
 

Continue reading "Devilrobots - Thrill of Alienation @ Pixie (07.07.06)"

Winson Classic Creations: Apexplorers @ TTF

Winson Ma's Apexplorers
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Red Magic @ TTF

Ok, I'm on fumes over here ;-)  Red Magic showed several CiBoys sets but the highlight had to be the unveiling of protos of 16 of the 30+ original figures in its ambitious Love Original project (below the fold). 

 
 
 
Richard Wong, Founder of Red Magic

 
 
 
 

Continue reading "Red Magic @ TTF"

Play Imaginative @ TTF 06

 
 
Release of Touma's Mephist Festa!
 

 
Touma Signing
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

AdFunture Workshop @ TTF

Eddie Yip and Jellymon
Jellymonogram
 
 

 
I WZL
 
 

 
Teddy Troops Artist Series
G-Robot768
 

 
 
Fafi Girls
 

The Lad Proto by TLP
Faille
Standard 10" TT

Kidrobot @ TTF

Taipei Toy Festival.  The first day on the show floor has come and gone.  We have loads of pics and will try to push them up quickly.  The goal is to do this booth by booth, in no particular order (as of yet!).

While the recently released Mongers and Mad Barbarians Dunnys are available for purchase at the booth, we'll focus on the new stuff.  Fatcaps!  TTF is the debut of the Fatcaps with an exclusive TTF GID Fatcap.  This is available for purchase at the booth.

Several upcoming toys were shown at the booth including the upcoming 8" TADO Dunny, a beautiful Kenzo Minami 8" Dunny, Huck Gee's new cowboy themed Kidrobot (sweet!), the new Flowbots series and what we believe is the new labbit form factor.  We'll tighten this post with details over the next day or so -- still jetlagged ;-)

Btw, Mad Barbarians will be sigining Friday and Saturday so we'll have pics of that tomorrow (hopefully)

TADO 8"
 
Kenzo Minami
 

 
KR by Huck Gee
New 5" Labbit
Flowbots

Fatcap -- GID TTF Exclusive

Gumliens Kakukaku Kirinosuke TTF Exclusives

These cute yet fierece blue Kakukaku Kirinosuke warrior figures designed by Gumliens are TTF exclusives from One Up (booth )  There are  a total of 5 of these TTF exclusive figures including  3 larger hand-painted resin figures available for NT$4500 (~$155)   and 2 hand-painted  mini soft-vinyl figures available for NT$650 each (~$22.40).  There's also a red colorway which is currently sold out.   I'm digging these and wondering if we'll see a production run of the smaller figures since they are apparently vinyl.     One Up is thinking out-of-the-box with their super-limited TTF exclusives from talented Japanese designers such as Gumliens and Itokin Park. One last thing, you might be asking Gumliens?  These gum (chewing) a(liens) are created by Gumtaro and Hitomi Hirayama.

Omni x Pixie "MINE" So What Figures

Updated: edition size, removable heads

After a year of relative silence, PhalanX's So What Figure is back with the Omni x Pixie "MINE" figures as part of the new Formula Series. This figure was designed by Taiwanese singer, Jay Chou, as an exclusive for his Omni store.  As with all the upcoming Foruma Series figures, Mine comes with 2 interchangeable heads -- monkey and humanoid!   MINE is limited to 200 pieces with  1 in 10 being a special hand-signed chase figure blinged out with real crystals.   MINE  will be available at Pixie's TTF booth (A 38).  Also, in other toy news -  PhalanX will have an exclusive edition of  adFunture 's upcoming London Police figure in the near future.

Source: Pixie Blog

TTF Itokin Park Robo

We love Itokin Park and really dig his Robo figure.  Here's one of the nicest variants so far -- a Taipei Toy Festival Exclusive Robo in rainbow hues.  This one is uber-limited.  How many?  1 available (3 total)!  This cool hand-made figure will be auctioned off at TTF (07.06 - 07.09) at One Up's booth.

TTF Skuttle Alpha by Touma

Touma's Skuttle α is an evolutionary variant of the classic Skuttle.  The most obvious and striking change are the much more primitive claws.  In addition the feet are different, with claws on both the front and the back.  This figure will debut in a TTF '06 Exclusive Edition from One Up.

Take a Peek at Tamo (TTF)

Tamo designed by Alfredo Mejia, is Crazy Label's 2nd designer toy.  Tamo (Te Amo - "I Love you") is a stylish girl born in the clouds.  The rotocast figure stands 3.5" tall and is articulated at the head.  Crazy Label has organized a custom show, "Take a Peek" which will offer a first-hand look at the figure through customs created by an international roster of artists including :  Alfredo Mejia, Doktor.A, Eddie Hui, Elizabeth Berdann (blu), elio, ESP Crew, idlechimp, James Liu (veggiesomething), Lunartik, MAD, NVC Crew, PlaySkewl, psticks, Shan Michael Evans, SpookyAMD, Triclops, woolloomooloo plus more to be announced.  Take a Peek will be held during the Taipei Toy Festival at Crazy Label's booth (A14) from July 6th through the 9th. Full-size pictures of the customs can be found on Crazy Label's Flickr Album.  Tamo will be officially released sometime in the fall. 

Tamo looks  promising as a new cute platform toy with a touch of edge.  We're looking forward to seeing these in person at TTF.