May 14, 2013
Gunnzo Open House – DIY Contest & Trading Party (05.18)
Everyone's favorite San Diego based Designer Toy Store Gunnzo, will be having an Open House event, with a Do It Yourself Contest and Trading Party. There will be plenty of fellow collectors and artists at the event to share tips, tricks, and just talk toys with! Feel free to bring along some of your own materials, as Gunnzo will be providing some paints, markers, and other creative mediums to work with. The customizing event will begin at 1PM and the Trading party at 5PM, then the winning customs will be announced at 6PM. Check after the jump for the contest rules!
Gunnzo
2445 Juan Street
San Diego, CA 92110
Kidrobot NYC Presents: David Kraig for Munth of May (05.18)
For Munny Munth, Kidrobot NYC is proud to bring in customizer and artist, David Kraig for a live customizing event. This will take place on Saturday, May 18th and will run from 12-5PM. Be sure to stop by, take some notes, learn a few things, ask some questions, and fill your head with some knowledge to step your customizing game up!
Kidrobot NYC
118 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
May 13, 2013
Fonzo Loves the UK Customs Available Now
Was there a particular custom you just had to have from Freak Store’s” Fonzo Loves the UK” custom show? Well head on over HERE, where the remaining customs from the exhibit are up for grabs! There are a plenty of amazing customs left from some of your favorite around the world artists.
Mikie Graham x Dragatomi – Mechanized Mad Men Custom Android Release (05.15)
Dragatomi has teamed up with Mikie Graham for another round of their Custom Android Blind Box releases. Each Mechanized Mad Men blind box comes with a 3” custom Android figure and a custom Playmobil figure. They Playmobil figures depict such icons as Andy Warhol, Leanardo Da Vinci, Don Quixote, and many more. Each BB also comes with a wooden display base and a mini print with the characters personal story. The release will take place on Wednesday, May 15th through Dragatomi.
May 09, 2013
Kidrobot Miami Presents: Freak - Caracas Art Toys (05.10)
The heavy hitting customizers of Venezuela will have their very own group show at Kidrobot Miami. Some of Freak Store’s finest artists include: Burundanga Design, Gabriel Carpio, Charles Rodríguez and GerardMDS. “Caracas Art Toys” will take place on Friday, May 10th. If you’re in the area be sure to check out some amazing artwork!
Kidrobot MIA
638 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
May 02, 2013
Matt JOnes Presents: Design a Lovely Cup of Tea
There seems to be a ton of customizing contest going on at the moment, as we have another one to share with you! Matt JOnes has just passed us a long news on the ‘Design a Lovely Cup of Tea’ contest. The best design will win some great Lunartik treats, including a full tray of Mini Series 2 for first place and the runner ups will receive a pair of signed Mini Teas of their choice! The deadline is July 31st, with Matt and Doktor A. acting as judges. You can find the rules and guidelines to the contest HERE.
May 01, 2013
Custom Toy Union’s Battle Bracket 4
Custom Toy Union has opened up another Battle Bracket customizing contest! This contest will be open themed, which pretty much means any platform and whatever you would like to create! The winner will be chosen bracket style, where your submission will go head to head with someone else’s custom, until there is only one winning custom left! The CTU members will be the ones voting, with each battle having a 24 hour voting window. The winner of the Battle Bracket 4 will receive a DIY bundle of assorted figures courtesy of Vinyl Riot and bragging rights. Photo submission deadlines end on May 31st at Midnight PST. Send in only one photo to customtoyunion[at]gmail[dot]com. The battle is set to begin on June 2nd. Good luck everyone! Show em’ what you’re made of!
64Colors – Pirate Pup Gumdrop Customs
We know we are a bit late on these, but we just had to share! The unfortunately SOLD OUT super cute custom Gumdrop figures from 64Colors went in a flash. The Pirate Pup Gumdrops were an edition of 12 pieces, with 3 different colors available. Goes to show you to keep an eye on their Facebook or Twitter for those out of the blue releases!
Apr 26, 2013
Kozik x Skinner -- A Northern Bog (5.1)
Frank Kozik has been on a toy painting tear lately. His next hand-painted release, A Northern Bog, is a haunting edition of Skinner's Ultrus Bog. Kozik used the sofubi paint of choice, v-color, on these -- looks like purple, red, gray and black, to realize his vision. Limited to 9 pieces, Northern Bog (w/special header) drops on Wednesday (5.1) @ Noon PDT from Frank's site for $200 each.
Mar 19, 2013
Kidrobot x Blu Dot – Spring Forward Custom Munny Show (3.21)
Kidrobot has teamed up with furniture boutique Blu Dot to put together the ‘Spring Forward’ Custom Munny Show, opening on Thursday (3.21). The show will showcase custom Munnys from a diverse group of artists and designers including Nic Cowan, Esther Kim, Heidi Kenney, Josh Mayhem, The Fox is Black and more. After the jump, enjoy a preview of Josh Mayhem’s piece.
Spring Forward Custom Munny Show
Opening: Thursday, March 21st (6-9 PM)
Blu Dot
8000 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Mar 13, 2013
Fuller Designs x Vinyl Riot – ComicDroid Custom Series (4.27)
Fuller is hard at work on his ComicDroid Custom Series featuring unique (1 of 1)custom Androids celebrating the X-Men (heroes and baddies). The series will be released exclusively by Vinyl Riot on April 27th 2013.
Mikie Graham – Mr. Sparkle Custom Qee
Mikie Graham aka Zombiemonkie has just dropped an edition of 6 of his Mr. Sparkle Custom Qees. The very custom we saw a few years back at Designer Con, but with a few improvements. This custom edition features a nice shiny coat thanks to some Monster Kolor, removable head, and custom packaging. You can get one of these swell customs through his shop for $250 a pop!
Mar 05, 2013
Dragatomi & Daniel Fleres Presents: “The Gathering” A Swanicorn Group Art Show (03.09)
Taking place this Saturday, March 9th at Dragatomi is the opening of “The Gathering”. A group custom show featuring Daniel Fleres’ Swanicorn figure as the main platform. From what we’ve seen so far, all of the participating artists have brought their “A” game for this exhibit. Artists include: Alisa Ross, Daniel Fleres, Scribe, DrilOne, Downtimer, Jason Limon, Jay222, Jerome Lu, fplus, J*Ryu, Leecifer, Luke Chueh, Martin Hsu, Matt Linares, Phonetic Control, Shadoe Delgado, Topheroy, Yosiell Lorenzo, and 64Colors. Be sure to head on over to the show from 6-9PM, where a number of the participating artists will be attending!
Dragatomi
2317 J st. (between 23rd and 24th)
Sacramento, CA
Feb 26, 2013
Otto Björnik -- Kwadro Kwin: Royal Couples (2.28)
Over the past few months, we’ve posted about Otto Björnik’s ongoing Kwadro Kwin project. From the very first beautiful images he sent, we’ve been asking for release info. So we’re happy to pass on the word that the first drops for the ‘Royal Couples’ – matching 3” King and Queen Dunnys of a particular suit ($225) , will occur on February 28th. Otto’s created 5 couples per suit (20 total sets) – Hearts, Clubs, Spades and Diamonds as seen above.
Since he’s received heavy interest in this series, Otto will offer these lottery style. If you’d like to have a chance to purchase ($225/couple) drop him an email, ottobjornik[at]gmail[dot]com, by February 28th @ 11 PM PST with the Suit you prefer and also a second choice. Also, there’s one reserved complete set (all four couples) available as well.
Feb 22, 2013
Infinite Rabbits’ Latest Customs
Infinite Rabbits has been keeping quite busy recently churning out several excellent customs. Here’s a look at three pieces done as commissions/gifts. Up above is his surreal Treehed based on a So What mini-fig (remember those?) – featuring custom sculpting and a nice paint style apparently utilizing a mix of brush techniques. That same painting style can be seen on his CHKBOT, a custom Chuck Boy 3” Dunny and his wild in-progress ‘Bruiser’ Tequila custom (after the jump). Really nice work. Be sure to check out Infinite Rabbits’ facebook and online store.
Feb 21, 2013
Otto Bjornik for Art Without Borders - Aashritha
Otto Bjornik has created another elegant Munny for the upcoming “Art Without Borders” show at Art Whino. This piece is titled Aashritha and rather than going with his all black and white color scheme, he added a bit of color to the foliage, which gives it a nice pop! This custom and many others will be on site at the Art Whino Gallery this Saturday, February 23rd.
Art Whino Gallery
120 American Way
National Harbor, MD 20745
Feb 20, 2013
Laura Lorén – Miss Mermaid Qiqi
Laura Lorén has recently brought her talents as a fashion designer to the designer toy world with her custom Qiqi toys. Here’s a look at Miss Mermaid which will be shown as part of the ‘Project QiQi’ group show @ the inaugural Toycon UK (4.6). While the elegant piece does feature some custom sculpting, the neatly tailored custom ‘clothing’ is the highlight here. In some ways, this approach is similar to some of the work done by custom 1:6 artists where clothing and gear are an essential part of the presentation. Kudos to Laura for bringing a relatively novel look to the world of custom vinyl toys.
Feb 16, 2013
Frank Mysterio’s Ramakien Paw
Ran across this fierce Ramakien Paw by Frank Mysterio during my news run and immediately thought ‘must post’. Based on a Thai version of Hindu mythology, the impressive piece brings a new dimension to the toy while flowing nicely with the sculpt. I’ve always enjoyed pieces with all-over patterns and this one gets extra points for the subtle use of accent colors on the predominantly mono design.
Feb 15, 2013
Kasey Tarauj’s Carnigator Custom Munny for Art Without Borders (2.23)
Here’s a look at Kasey Tarauj’s Carnigator Custom 7” Munny created – a whimsical piece recalling childhood – the joys of old-school carnivals and the ever-present desire to be bigger – to play with the big kids. A paraplegic since her early teenage years, art has been a sanity saving outlet for Kasey who won the Best in Show award in Kidrobot’s Munnyworld 2012 Contest. Featuring extensive custom sculpting, bright color scheme, and genuine croc teeth, Carniagtor was created for Art Without Borders (2.23), a group charity custom toy show put together by Art Whino to benefit the critical work of Doctors Without Borders which provides medical assistance to people of the world in dire need.
Feb 14, 2013
Rotobox Vinyl Anatomica – “Golion” Custom Qee & “Spiderman 2099” Custom Celsius
Rotobox Vinyl Anatomica have just finished up another couple amazing customs for you to feast your eyes on! Take a look at the “Golion” Custom Qee, known to most of us as Voltron, which is a part of their Rotobox Suparobo Series. What would make this custom even more amazing is if each body part would come off and form the lions. Perhaps that’s something for the near future? The second custom they’ve shared with us is the “Spiderman 2099” Celsius figure, which perfectly depicts our favorite web slinging super hero. Each of these customs are limited to 1 of 1, which makes things real special for the future owners of these fantastic customs! More shots after the jump!
Otto Bjornik – Kinuyo
Otto Bjornik shares with us another one of his amazingly elegant custom commissions. This is Kinuyo, a 7” Munny for one very lucky collector in London. The simple black, white, and gray goes wonderfully with this piece. We cant forget about the extra sculpt details, such as the dress and the flower on her head. If you like what you see here, and are wanting to get your very own original Otto Bjornik piece, check out his website and give him a shout!
Jan 31, 2013
Rotobox Vinyl Anatomica – Jumbo Combattler V Qee
Here we have another magnificent and highly detailed custom from the Ong brothers, also known as Rotobox Vinyl Anatomica. They’ve taken apart this massive 16” Qee and turned it into the Jumbo Combattler V (a holy grail of Jumbo Machinders I hope to one day add to my collection). This commission also comes apart into 5 separate pieces just like in the show! There is a collector somewhere out there jumping for joy, knowing he will soon have this piece in his collection. Rotobox also mentioned it took them 6 months to complete this custom and I believe em’!
They’ve also go this tribute celsius piece in the works at the moment. Can you guess who this commission piece will be? Here’s a hint, it’s Akuma from Street Fighter.
Jan 24, 2013
Otto Björnik -- Kwadro King
Otto Björnik has finished the latest chapter of his Kwadro Kwin custom toy project. Kwadro King continues the playing-card themed narrative with four 9” King Dunnys – the husbands of the Kwadro Kwins. The newest installment continues Otto’s strong white, red, black designs with sharp execution and great visual synergy between the individual pieces. Complimenting these 9” pieces, Otto is also planning four 3” customs. So you might be wondering about release info for these pieces. It sounds like Otto is planning to release these as royal couple sets (King and Queen) sometime in February. We’ll certainly keep you updated on that.
After a long and arduous journey, the four sisters were united with the kings whose hearts they captured.
Kai of the north kingdom was a ruthless and iron-fisted ruler. Only two things could crack his callous exterior: his beloved canary whose warbling could instantly turn him into a big, doting marshmallow, and Qortni's temper which made him tremble worse than jelly in a railroad car. He enjoyed both. Together, Kai and Qortni made a formidable royal couple.
Kendl of the south kingdom was a benevolent and generous king. Most of the time he was very jolly and cheerful -- except when Quiana beat him at games, which happened to be all the time. Everyone in the kingdom regarded Kendl and Quiana as the lucky couple.
Kavan of the east kingdom was a debonair gentleman, full of charm and grace. He made all the ladies in the kingdom swoon and bat their eyes. Unfortunately for them, he only had eyes for Quilla whom he showered with gifts and affection. One look from him, and she could feel her heart flutter like a thousand butterflies. Kavan and Quilla were completely and utterly in love.
Kinah of the west kingdom was enormously wealthy, with rooms filled with gold and gems and all sort of trophies. Whatever King Kinah desired, he got. So it frustrated him to no end that the only thing he could not get was Quarta's satisfaction and approval. She was always highly suspicious that whatever she did not have was actually better. Kinah and Quarta were constantly craving for more.
Jan 11, 2013
Huck Gee – Wolf Rider
After seeing the print release, we had a speculation of an actual custom figure to be made in the near future of the Wolf Rider. Now that speculation can finally be put to rest, as Huck Gee’s latest newsletter brings some excellent news. Complete with made from scratch wolf, expert rider, with long staff sword, flag, and teddy bear, the Wolf Rider could be yours for $1600 each. They are also limited to 10 pieces, so be sure to send your inquiries to sales[at]huckgee[dot]com.
"Beneath the masks lie expert warriors, handpicked and rigorously tested by General Shirokuri himself. The wolves they ride are massive, fearsome, wintery beasts with minds as sharp as their claws and teeth. The bond is a lifelong commitment, paired when the wolf is still a suckling pup. They spend the rest of their days together. Eating, training, sleeping, the two become one. There is no distinction between beast and rider once joined in battle,communicating through a complex system of touches, motions and whispers, allowing them to be as effective in the roar of a battlefield as when prowling an enemy on padded paws in a hushed forest." - Chapters of the North, Volume III - Mahotsukai Hoohige
Jan 10, 2013
Custom Preview #2 for “Fonzo Love NY” @ myplasticheart (01.11)
Here we have another round up of amazing customs for the upcoming “Fonzo Love NY” show taking place this Friday, January 11th. Here we have 10 more shots of submissions coming from all over the place! From left to right we have, Camilla d’Errico, 64Colors, Nakanari, Jeremiah Ketner, Andrew Bell, Gary Ham, kaNO, Fuller Designs, and Scott Tolleson. Such an amazing roster and that’s not even all the submissions! We wish we could be there for the opening, so if you so happen to be in the NY area, stop by myplasticheart! Also check out our last custom round up HERE.
myplasticheart nyc
210 Forsyth St.
New York NY 10002
