Feb 24, 2006
Sodi Pop by John K. coming from Thunderdog
Thunderdog Studios unveiled several new original upcoming toys at Fuse Gallery during the recent Toy Fair in NYC. While pics of these pieces have been on the forums and such, many of these new sculpts seem to be getting lost in the shuffle a bit. So we're going to focus on them individually rather than as a group.
From John K., the creator of the beloved and often maligned Ren and Stimpy, comes Sodi Pop. Standing a towering 24" tall this nude female figure is pretty striking. While there's certainly some shock value in the piece, I think it offers more than that. The design is quite distinct with a face flush with a wacky perhaps slightly wicked personality. Finally, the slender shape coupled with the huge size (24 inches) results in a vinyl piece with a very different vibe from a great deal of what's currently being produced. I'm just wondering how to display this piece -- not sure an Ikea Detolf will cut it unless I give her a dedicated one ;-)
Feb 14, 2006
Dark Horse @ NY Toy Fair
All right VP doesn't usually cover these toys but I thought maybe I share with you the toys featured by Dark Horse at the NY Toy Fair, some which I found quite fun.
Feb 13, 2006
Toy Tokyo @ Toy Fair
Toy Tokyo's booth at NY Toy Fair was loaded with new and exclusive toys they have in the pipeline for the coming year. First up is Harold, the "don't mess with me" smoking penguin by Frank Kozik. There are 4 colorways and are about 6 inches tall. And of course, they also had on display Dr. Bomb (orange sherbet) and Dr. Bomb Jr. Take a look here, need I say more?
Go Hero known for their productions of Japanese retro style toys has a new toy with the name that escapes me for the moment. This armadillo-dinosaur comes in several colorways with this pearl white one exclusive to Toy Tokyo.
Another awesome toy is from the animated series FLCL. There are several variants planned including a TT exclusive done by Futura!
Finally but not least Toy Tokyo will also be carrying this cutie pie by a Japanese artist.
Feb 12, 2006
Fatima by Sam Flores
Here is Sam Flores' next beautiful toy, Fatima. Two of four (?) editions were on display at Ningyoushi's Toy Fair Booth. Fans of Sam Flores' paintings will recognize Fatima immediately. Beyond the really nice sculpt,it's very cool that the two editions pictured here are NOT simple colorways of each other. Rather they have slightly different hair treatments and completely different patterns on their dresses. Look for these really nice pieces in April.
Bill McMullen 3" Dunny
Here's a quick look at Bill McMullen's 3" astronaut-themed Dunny. This is essentially a companion piece to the previously shown Shuttle toy. The pair would certainly look nice together in a display case. We're starting to see more and more solo 3" Dunny releases. More details on this one to follow shortly.
Dave Flores 8" Dunnys from Kidrobot
Here are the Dave Flores 8" Dunnys. These are electroplated plastic for that nice metallic reflective surface. There are two complimentary designs -- one gold and one silver. More details to follow as your reporter neglected to note most/all of the specifics this time around :-( Just pics for now. I'll update soon.
STRANGE Carnival Party @ Yoyamart
Yoyamart was the place to be tonight and the hot event was a party sponsored by STRANGEco, STRANGE Carnival. All the hipsters of the designer vinyl toys were there....all right maybe not all but there sure were tons of artists and collectors gathered for a night of beer and artists signings. Unfortunately due to bad weather, Nathan Jurevicius couldn't make it but the folks of Friends With You and James Jarvis made the party. Oh by the way, Jack and I got lost on our way to the store and were heading the wrong direction when along came a guardian angel, Raymond Choy of Toy2R....phew!!. Here is a look at what went down...
Choco
Minty
Little Yoya
James and Jim
Fans with Signed Toys
Richard and Andrew
MAD
Toy Fair: STRANGEco
STRANGEco is no stranger to presenting awesome toys and 2006 NY Toy Fair is no exception. Along with their usual flare of unique toys, their booth was loaded with hordes of eye candy. Here are my favorites.
Mr. Bumper is a multi colored vinyl figure from alternative comics legend Jim Woodring. At first glance, he looks like he is riding an elaborate sentient amphibian but take a second look and lift the red cover and you shall find a surprise. Mr. Bmuper will come in limited editions in multiple color versions. The prototype shown at the show has a high gloss finish but the final product may vary.
We are all familiar with Nathan Jurevicius's Minitreehouse figures. Here STRANGEco has taken 5 of them and given them a new twist. This new series features 5 of these whimsical toys with multiple accessories for transforming them into 2 distinct outfits. More release information will be available soon.
A new comer to the STRANGEco family is Mainframe by SoCal artist Dean Bradley. This axe-wielding signature character comes alive as a limited edition vinyl figure. Multiple color versions are available.
Next up are the The Kebab Henchmen from Amos Novelties. Kleptikos and Periwinkle are the skewered henchmen of Helmut the Hot Dog Man from Will Sweeney's Tales of Greenfuzz saga. Sold separately in illustrated card box packaging.
Amos Novelties presents Vortigern's Machine, a cutting edge study of today's youth by James Jarvis and Russell Waterman. The series continues with a variety of new vinyl figures, Wiggs, Rusty and Dworkin, Mr. Waverley and The Witch Doctor.
A new limited edition vinyl figure from San Francisco artist Jeremy Fish, the Turtlecamper will be available in white, silver and gold. A skull as the turtle's shell with a camper embedded on it...just awesome.
Shikito. Yes, they have the likeness of shit....well they are. France's Superdeux is the artist behind this funny fella which comes in several different colors. Just in case you are wondering what Lauda Shikito Salvatorem means...well it means All Praise Shikito, the savior. Ingenious!!!
And finally...Ron English....
Toy Fair: Wheaty Wheat
Wheaty Wheat has a loaded booth at Toy Fair with prototypes of several news toys including The Boiler and Inkslinger No. 5 both by Brandt Peters, several Urbanites from Chris Lee, Buckeye Rot by Sket One, Clownies: Stitches from MAD, and Cait the Alchemist by Trangark. The overall design and layout of the booth is quite nice and even has a flat-panel screen showing stills of 3D models of the toys as well as other content.
Brandt Peters has two separate toy protos on display, The Boiler and Inkslinger No. 5. Both bring Brandt's retro 30's inspired art to 3D life.The Boiler is 7" high and comes with an oil can accessory. Inkslinger is 5" high by itself and comes with two tattoo guns, a stool and a crown.
Tragnark's Cait the Alchemist stands roughly 6" tall and comes packaged with a Bungie, bird figure, and a dvd with a short animated feature. Apparently there will be several different Bungie variants including at least one chase figure.
While several of Chris Lee's Urbanites were on display, the star was clearly everyone's favorite, the bright orange Mellow. Mellow stands 8" high and comes with a green PVC jello accessory.
Sket One's badass tomato, Buckeye Rot is looking better than ever and the big news is that he will be packaged in a wood crate! It's always nice to have companies focus on the design of creative packaging as well as amazing toys. Wheaty Wheat is raising the bar with this figure.
The first of the twisted vinyl/articulated plush Clownies, Stitches, was on display once again. He stands a whopping 13" high and is incredibly poseable thanks to armature throughout his body.
Also on display was the upcoming and hotly anticipated MAD 2k5 Artist Series 1 figures plus the Save Huck Gee MADL. And... the mini-MADL series lineup was revealed in poster form.
Feb 11, 2006
Filth 9MM from Thunderdog Studios
In the middle of a nasty blizzard the pre-Toyfair festivities roll on. We just got back and dried off from the Thunderdog Studios party and toy unveiling at Fuse Gallery in NYC. Beyond the top-notch vinyl toys previously unveiled, the dog had at leat four surprise vinyl projects. IMO the most striking was the huge Filth 9mm from Luke Irwin aka Filth (of course!). This is Filth's take on the legendary and ubiquitous Beretta 9MM pistol. This baby measures 12-inches across! A couple of things stand out here. First, this is designer vinyl but against the mold of character-based figures at least in the standard sense. Second, the piece can be approached from several angles. Pure symbol worship? Social commentary about the role of firearms in our society? A little bit of both? Something entirely else? Finally, this one comes in a faux (presumably) wood-grain gun box. This one drops in July '06 in three versions Pink Flock, Gloss White and the "Secret Christmas Version". Vinyl's getting stale? Nope, not here.
KOA's Dunny from Kidrobot
The long anticipated Dunny by KOA has
finally arrived. His name is Flabby, he is partially GID and he will be
unleashed upon the public on April 13, 2006. This 8 inch has an
edition size of 700 pieces and is priced at $39.95, which makes him
affordable and relatively easy to obtain. KOA is famous for his simple
yet sick designs and Flabby is no exception. Trust me folks, I have seen this in person and color and design execution is just amazing. And he is purple...I LOVE purple!!!
20 inch Dalek Dunnys from Kidrobot
Yes, they do exist!!! These 20 inch Dalek Dunnys are the bomb!!! This giant came from a new sculpt apart from the one used to make the 20 inch El Loco and the execution is just prefect with its smooth surface, vivid colors and of course their size!! The box it comes in is no let down either, beautifully designed. We will definitely see more of these in the near future. Details will be soon be available.
Ganesh by Doze Green from Kidrobot
Yap, we are in NY. Yap, it is snowing in NY. Yap, we have our press pass for NYTF and we just returned from viewing the upcoming toys from Kidrobot. They are revealed for the very first time anywhere!!! Lets talk about the Ganesh figure by Doze Green. This is a rare event ... a brand new Doze Green sculpt. This one is his take on the Hindi god of fortune, Ganesh. The elephant god is done up urban style complete with kicks, colored jewel and a matching boom box base/accessory. Oh... and the box is amazing, glossy black accent designs over a flat black base. It's a velcro-opening window box. Nice stuff. This dope figure comes in 4 colorways Red (700 pcs), Blue (700 pcs), Green (300 pcs) and White (100 pcs). Ganesh drops on April 27th for $59.95. Stay tuned for more exciting toys to be unleashed!!!
