Back in February we posted a partial teaser of the upcoming J-Zinger vinyl art toy project from KWESTONE x Invasion Toys. With the manga vs. sneakers figure now in production, Invasion Toys has revealed the front of the toy but left the back unseen.
A blend of the classic Mazinger Z manga robot and Jordan brand sneakers, J-Zinger has a slim, streamlined profile with several basketball shoe references, some obvious and some subtle. The modified red ‘heatsinks’ on the front of the robot immediately scream ‘swoosh’. Offering a deconstructed vibe, the red circular shapes on the lower torso reference the Jordan 3 shoelace eyelet clusters. Likewise, the ridges on the forearm guards are inspired by the 3’s heel design. So too, the gray mesh on the torso.
And of course there are the kicks. J-Zinger rocks a pair inspired by the Jordan 3 Retro Black Cement sneakers. This brings us to changes between KWESTONE’s original illustration and the toy design. Most notably, the Jumpman logo on the forearms and shoes has understandably been replaced with a punisher style skull. In addition, the ‘cement’ pattern has been replaced with a solid gray.
U(5.17): The figure will be produced in vinyl
While there’s no concrete release news as of yet, other than a suggestion about possible updates in the ‘coming weeks’, the images (of an early model) are a welcome sight.
