I Heart Guts Valentine Pop-Up Shop @ Munky King (2.1 – 2.14)

Just in time for Valentine’s Day shopping, Munky King  brings you the ‘I Heart Guts’ Pop-Up shop at their Melrose location through February 14th.  Celebrating inner beauty, MK’s latest popup is stocked with a  wide-array of I Heart Guts product including their quirky and cute organ plushes (heart, spleen, uterus and more) as well as Tees, pins, stickers and posters.  As a heart warming bonus, 10% of the pop-up sales will be donated to the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinc so that all of us may have healthy guts.  If you can’t make it out to Munky King, check out the popup’s online stock. 

Spongebob x UNKL – Full Lineup in the Works

We first brought you news about UNKL’s Spongebob Squarepants figures based on their UniPo platform from the floor of last summer’s SDCC.  The SDCC protos offered up an appealing interpretation of the pervasive cartoon character with a definite designer toy look, thanks in part to the blocky UniPo body.  So UNKL’s recent reveal of a full line of  Spongebob UniPos (Toynami)  featuring five characters from the show is a welcome surprise.

Crossover pop culture vinyl is often a mixed bag. The best examples offer stylish, artistic takes on iconic characters while others rely on straightforward and some would say uninspired me-too iterations.  Character interpretation is not a one approach fits all endeavor.  Some projects feature artists’ wildly imaginative reinterpretations while others seek to recast the iconic through subtler stylistic choices.  In our opinion, UNKL’s upcoming Spongebob figures successfully walk the uneasy tightrope of balancing stylistic interpretation with instant character recognition and broad appeal.  

Doktor A x Kuso Vinyl – Chester Runcorn Wax Proto

 

We first brought you pics of Doktor A’s tripedal ‘Chester Runcorn’ figure in production from Kuso Vinyl as part of our DesignerCon 2011 coverage.   Now, Kuso has posted a behind-the-scenes look at the wax proto used to create the toy’s production molds.  Look for Mr. Runcorn shortly.

Flying Fortress – Teddy Trooper Keychains

Flying Fortress’ iconic Teddy Trooper is back in a new simpler yet fun form. The Teddy Trooper Keychain features a hand molded, casted and painted resin figure created by MUFFINMAN from Fakehouse.  The good news is that these have an undeniable simple appeal amp’d by the charm of hand-done production. The bad news?  The Edition #1 (gray, 30 pcs) sold out in just an hour.  We’ll definitely keep an eye on their web shop for the next drop.

TAG Presents: Grody Shogun & Velocitron in Karoshi *Update & Teasers* (02.03)

We last brushed on the upcoming “Karoshi” Show at Toy Art Gallery HERE. This show features the artworks and collaborations of Grody Shogun and Velocitron. We’ve got a little update for those of you who are attending Fridays show.

Line-up tickets will be handed out at 12 Noon. It is one ticket per person and you will need to be back in line by 6:30 PM for the 7PM opening. While we’re at it, feel free and take a look at some teasers from the show, thanks to Connell.

Toy Art Gallery
7571 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Fuller Designs – 3” Dunny Black Magic Series II

Fuller Designs is happy to announce the newest series of custom 3” Dunnys, The Black Magic Series II. This series is set to release in April, but are availalbe now for Pre-Order at $65 each. This series includes 5 designs, which go by Bayou Witch, Gator, Zombie, Shadow and Priest (Variant). They each also come with a 4x6” matching print. Pick yours up before they all get snatched up!

DMS x Neese – Ice Blue & Baby Blue Raar Plush

DMS and his Plush making Wife Neese, are proud to bring their collaborative Plush figure, Ice Blue Raar Baby Blue Raar! These Plush Toys stand 12” and 6.5” and feature resin claws, horns and eyes. They are limited to 10 pieces each and are available for Pre-Order HERE. These guys look oh so very soft, almost something you would want to cuddle with. The Ice Blue Raar will run you $30 and the Baby Blue Raar $19.

Super7 Release: Leecifer’s Fiery Tornado Honoo (02.02)

Super7 has another great release for you on Thursday, January 2nd. Take a look at the latest release of Leecifer’s Honoo figure, dubbed Fiery Tornado Honoo. We cannot even describe how perfect the orange, red, and yellow marbling effect is for this release! This is probably our most favorite so far of the releases. These will be available one at Noon PST at Super7, S7 and their distributors for $35 each.

Tomenosuke x Brandt Peters x Ferg – Trouble Boy #7

First seen during their recent joint exhibition, ‘Trigger’ @ The Stranger Factory,  Trouble Boy #7 from Brandt Peters and Ferg is slated for release as an exclusive from Japan’s Tomenosuke. Drawing on the lore of the Yakuza, Japan’s organized crime syndicates, this eye-patch sporting crime lord will pack twin MAC submachine guns and a tanto knife.  Going by Brandt’s original concept sketches, #7 will also honor the Yakuza tradition of elaborate full-body tattoos. 

The Trouble Boys have proven to be extremely popular with collectors.  #7 will definitely keep that trend going, and how.  Tomensouke scores yet another choice exclusive.

[Via Circus Posterus]

Ferg – NKD Nozzel S00? Squadt + Qpmnt 5 & 6

It’s Squadt time again. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – HK style + 1:6 gear fetish = vinyl bliss.  Ferg and Playge are back with  a trifecta – the NKD Nozzel S00? Squadt, Qpmnt Pac 5 (above) and Qpmnt Pac 6.   NKD Nozzel comes with 3 eye lens sets, 2.0 arms, union suit, tanto knife and the traditional removable helmet.  The base model is all well and good, but the options really make it sing.  That’s where QPMNT shines.

This time around you have not one, but two choices – QPMNT 5 and QPMNT 6.  QPMNT 5 [Fr33dom Club] brings the perfect gear for hermit-like anarchists including zip-up hoodie, duffel bag, pipe bomb, silver lenses, and the piece de resistance – a homemade pistol with an infamous history.  QPMNT 6[Fort Burnout] is a desert warrior’s dream complete with Fort Burnout tee, scarf, sM4 w/ scope + supressor, sling bag, and FB patch.

Ready to buy ? myplasticheart and rotofugi have the NKD Nozzel available for pre-order. While  both of the QPMNT PAC’s are going fast from retailers, DeKorner  still has a bundle featuring  NKD Nozzel with QPMNT 5.

Bombastic Fantastic x Lolligag x Bic Plastics – Lolligag Vinyl Figure

Bic Plastics has teamed up with Bombastic Fantastic to produce the first ever Lolligag Vinyl figure. They hope to release this cute looking Victorian-esque figure during SDCC this year. The Lolligag figure will come in 4 different colorways and stands 6” tall. She comes accessorized with a 2-sided lillipop, fan and is accompanied by a 1.75” Moot figure.

Scribe & Alisa Ross @ In4mation

Take a peak at some of the footage from the Scribe & Alisa Ross meet and greet/show/black book battle at In4mation in Hawaii. They showcased a ton of custom toys, artwork and plush for the 808’ers to gawk over. I know I would be too. It looked to be a great turn out and we especially love the idea of that whole Black book Battle! Lookin’ good Lofa Lightsleepers!

Reactor-88’s Custom Corner: MAp-MAp

Welcome to the first edition of Reactor-88's Custom Corner. Since I got involved with custom art toys back in late 2005, the art toy landscape has really grown and I'm constantly amazed by some of the custom toys people create. So my goal with this recurring feature is to highlight one artist's stand-out custom toy art. It might be a single piece or a complete body of work.

For this inaugural post, it's the latter. Matthew Platter, aka MAp-MAp is a traditional and digital artist based out of the UK. The first time I saw his work I was blown away. He pairs some really awesome sculpting abilities with excellent use of color to make his characters come to life. Where a lot of toy artists can sometimes go overboard by sculpting a piece beyond recognition, Matthew gets it right- his additions really enhance the original toys and take them to a new level. What's also nice about Matthew's work is that while each piece is very unique, they all have a cohesive feeling and you could imagine them all living together in some strange, far-off world. So if you like his creations as much as I do and want to keep up with him and his work, check out his website.

Huck Gee – Kitsune 8” Dunny

To go with it’s matching 3” counterpart, Huck Gee has come up with a small run of 8” Kitsune Dunnys. A fan of Huck? A Fan of the Gold Life Dunny Series? If so, this has got to be in your collection!

Kitsune, the Seven Tailed Geisha. The Masked Beauty, the lover, the mirrored trickster. Protected by Kabuki, the Masked Ronin, her reflection of anger and retribution incarnate.

Each figure is signed, numbered and limited to only 10 figures worldwide! It comes with all of the accessories you see and retails for $750 each. Feel free to email sales[at]huckgee[dot]com to get yours today!

Super7’s Mummy Mania! Customs from the Crypt Contest Winners & Pocket Baseball Boy

  

Last Saturday at Super7 was the big Custom Mummy Mania Show, where the winners with the best design, would get their custom produced in the next series of both Pocket and Full-Sized Mummy Boys. Artists, customers, and painters alike participated, but there could only be 2 winners. Who were those two winners might you ask? Well it was Gian Marayag for his Saturday Night Special Mummy Boy and Eckotyper’s Spinal Fusion Pocket Mummy Boy. Congrats to both of these guys and we cannot wait to see these put to production!

Not only did Super7 showcase an excellent show, they also revealed the newest figure to their Mummy Pocket Collection, Pocket Baseball Boy. This figure would go most perfect with their Baseball Boy T-Shirt! After doing a Football Boy shirt, can we expect a figure to come out as well? Stay tuned for more info!

Disney x CLOT x MINDstyle Mickey Figures

To celebrate Chinese New Year, Edison Chen’s CLOT just released the ‘Silk’ Mickey vinyl (7”, ~$122), the latest in their run of Disney collaborative figures produced by MINDstyle.  So far we’ve seen the 3-Eyed Mickey toy and now this CNY edition.  Word has it that there’s more to come including a crossover Mickey with a rather high-profile artist.  Keep a look out.

Toy2R’s 5” ‘Love Pink’ Mini Qee Bear

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Toy2R has announced their 5” ‘Love Pink’ Mini Qee Bear featuring the unusual grass-like texture also seen on last year’s Love White and Love Green editions of the figure.  While the design doesn’t stand out, the texture treatment definitely does.

Art Slam 6th Anniversary: Pardee, Skinner and L’Amour Supreme

Artslam, San Antonio’s bimonthly party featuring live art and live music – a perfect combination, is celebrating its Six Year anniversary with their ‘666 Maximus Erectus’ show (1.28)  featuring a trio of special guest artists including Alex Pardee, Skinner and L’Amour Supreme, 30 local artists and six live bands.  If you’re down that way, buy tickets ($6) and go check it out.   Look for more from San Antonio shortly.

Art Slam || 666 Maximus Erectus
Saturday, January 28th 2012

White Rabbit
2410 N. St. Mary’s
San Antonio, TX

Photos: Fat Cap 3 Signing @ KRLA

Ok so a certain AWOL blogger is slowly recovering from the agony of missing the Fat Cap drop @ KRLA, thanks to the great photos the ‘bot posted to flickr.  Series artists Sket and kaNO (sup D!) were on hand to meet/greet peeps and to sketch and doodle in books and on toys.  Fellow artists Tristan Eaton (he of Dunny and Munny fame), Shane Jessup, Ritzy Periwinkle and Luke Chueh also dropped by. 

While Sket’s standard Fat Cap is cool, the case exclusive black/gold rules.  Both bring back fond memories of his ‘Cover Your Soul’ custom  Dunny.    As forkaNO’s USPS Fat Cap , it screams NYC to me (he paid me to say that).

Looking through KRLA’s event photos, it was hard not to notice (and drool over) the red mega munny customized by Tristan Eaton (ok, fan boy mode.. that eye is sick) and kaNO.   For more photos of the signing head on over to KRLA’s flickr set.

WeKillYou - ‘A Mystical Timezone’ Edition Vishnu Paramata Release (01.31)

We Kill You has set out to release their new mini figure, dubbed Vishnu Paramata. This 3” resin mini figure is based on The Boss figure from 2009. ‘The Mystical Timezone’ Edition is limited to 20 pieces and is cast in orange resin, with blue and purple sprays and handpainted eyes. Each figure comes with either a knife, bat, or morning star accessory, which he hides behind his back. They will be available, as well as a few One-Offs in the WKY Shop on Tuesday, January 31st at 12PM PST.