Aug 10, 2009
Brian Flynn Talks S7 Stormtrooper Jumbo Machinder @ SDCC 09
At the Kotobukiya booth at SDCC, Brian Flynn took the stage speaking about the upcoming Stormtrooper Jumbo Machinder. Brian brought up the history of the Jumbo figures, the creative process of the Stormtrooper, as well as pricing and release date.
Jul 30, 2009
SDCC 09 - MINDstyle
While ‘09 saw a definite slow-down in releases at SDCC, MINDstyle has found success with an active release schedule which included SDCC exclusive editions of the larger Two-Faced Hazel by Kathie Olivas, Stephan Le Podd by Doktor A, and their previously mentioned Second Anniversary Box Set. MINDstyle also released both Brand Peters's new Serv-O-Matics which look really good as well as Stitch Series 1.
Expanding their reach into collectibles, MINDstyle launched their new ATC line (Art Toy Collectibles) with Michael Lau’s Godfather figure and V.I.N.C.E.N.T. from the Black Hole film. The Godfather was available in the Original (marionette) version in Black, which will also be available in white. Two future editions were shown – the classic which features a seated ‘don and the secret horse head edition which while we may be in the minority on this, looks pretty cool to us – nice concept of fusing the godfather with one of the pivotal and visceral scenes from the movie.
In addition to art toys, MINDstyle is making moves in publishing with the release of Buff Monster’s ‘Life is Sweet’ book as well as the first issue of their new CTB (Collector’s Toy Box) Quarterly.
Ohm @ SDCC 09
French Muttpop artist Ohm was found doing several signings at different booths during SDCC. Each of which had an exclusive blank figure from the Tcho! mini series that Ohm would doodle on. We were able to catch him during his signing session at Toyqube for his Moko figure. More pictures after the jump.
Jul 29, 2009
Travis Louie – Uncle Six Eyes
Travis Louie’s Uncle Six Eyes figure was shown in proto from at this year’s SDCC. This is the first art toy from the talented NY-based painter and is apparently going to be a resin sculpture done by Bigshot Toyworks. Nice details in the proto -- curious to see if there will be a mono/grayscale edition to match his painting style. Bigshot Toy works is on quite a tear with the recent announcement of both Jeff Soto's Seeker, Louie's figure and their production invovlement with Ryden's YHWH [Pic courtesy of our sister site, VPEast].
SDCC 2009 – Dave Pressler’s Angry Clobber Monkey Customs
Our final wrap up of SDCC continues on for a few more posts ;-) In anticipation of next month’s release of Dave Pressler’s Angry Clobber Monkey vinyl from Munky King, he offered several custom ACMs at the ‘con including his super-limited So Very Dark customs (ed. of 4) which uses UV inks for some black light fun as well as two one-off WWII inspired pieces.
SDCC 09 – Karo Garo’s WaMen
So in all the commotion that was SDCC ‘09, we almost forgot to post about one of the cool unexpected upcoming releases – Japanese artist Karo Garo’s WaMen resins coming shortly from Cardboard Spaceship. WaMen blends bonsai elements with cute character design. Speaking of Bonsai, these ‘toys’ are also functional – you can plant a real bonsai plant in them thanks to the design which features a handy drainage system. Karo Garo has been creating these pleasantly different figures for a while now in super tiny runs. Now thanks to Cardboard Spaceship, these cool pieces should be much easier to track down.
SDCC 09 – Amanda Visell & Frank Kozik – Wood Labbit
Kidrobot’s final signing of SDCC on Saturday was perhaps their strong release of the ‘con – Amanda Visell’s Wood Labbit – an imaginative take off of Frank Kozik’s signature character. If you look closely you’ll note that the Wood Labbit is in fact a completely new sculpt – which makes the small run of 300 pieces pretty remarkable. Not surpisingly, these sold out in a flash and are now fetching several times their initial retail price in the secondary market.
SDCC 09 - Frank Kozik
Frank Kozik brought several stand-out pieces to SDCC, some for immediate purchase and others to lust for their future releases. First up, is the first edition of his Big Army figure from Ultra Violence – if you loved those ubiquitous green plastic army men as a kid (and who didn’t ?) This is for you. Also shown at DKE is the next figure in the series featuring a German solider.
Perhaps the most conspicuous Kozik figure on display was the giant Salari Ika. This one looks great – strong sculptural details and tight paint. The cherry on top ? 100% made in the USA.
Continuing on the high-end collectible theme, Kozik also showed off his bronze Mechanana.The finish on these is well-done with a convincing rusted/deteriorated surface. To truly appreciate these, you have to pick it up – these are solid and heavy.
Vinyl Frontier @ 5&A Dime
Saturday night at 5&A Dime was a viewing of a clip from Daniel Zana’s documentary on the world of designer toys, The Vinyl Frontier. Along with the 15 minute sneak peak came a question and answer session with artists from the movie, which included: Kozik, Tara Mcpherson, Attaboy, Jermaine Rogers, Keith Poon, kaNO, Thomas Han, Sucklord, and El Maz. The Q&A consisted of questions such a: What inspires your art?, Where did it al begin? and any upcoming projects you would like to share with everyone? When that question hit Tara, she spoke of an upcoming all female series with Kidrobot. Cannot wait to hear more on this. The Q&A session was then followed by a raffle, which had goodies from Kozik, Tara, Keith Poon, and 5&A Dime. A big congrats to Daniel for a successful event. More pics after the jump.
Monster Family @ SDCC 09
These three dudes drew a nice crowd with the release of a three pack of figures from the Monster Family series. This set included figures from Bwana Spoons and Le Merde who aren’t strangers to having their own figures. New to the “having your own toy” crowd is artist Joshua Herbolsheimer with his Vampire Rose figure. This is a name you better learn to pronounce, because I think it’s one we will be hearing a lot of. More pictures after the jump.
Jul 28, 2009
SDCC 09: Mike Sutfin – Madbattleman from Reckless Toys
During his signing on Thursday at Toy Tokyo’s booth, Mike Sutfin unveiled the prototype of his new original Madbattleman figure coming in the Winter from Reckless Toys. First reaction: whoa… The sculpt on this is super detailed with almost a complete lack of smooth surfaces. From the rat crawling down the right arm to the crazy brain pack on the back, Mike’s design pushes the boundaries and is a nice antidote to the smooth slightly extruded 3d shapes we’re often force fed.
This is the first figure from Reckless Toys created by Justin Kovalsky and Christopher Nelson of Toy Punks Fame with production assistance from Lance Martin.
[Pics: Reckless Toys’ Flickr].
Gargamel part 2 @ SDCC 09
On preview night, Gargamel only showed off the customs, which about 75% were gone moments after opening. Thursday they released the exclusive SDCC goodies, which included some Zagorans, Thrashman, Beetlar, Tokoji Seijin, GID Helper, Bangal Price, Ojo Rojo, and Koji’s newest figure Tokoichi Seiju. More pictures after the jump.
Strangekiss @ SDCC 09
It’s year number 2 that Strangekiss has made their way to SDCC. This year with the release of the Yeti figure by David Lanham. The Yeti did it big with three special artist edtions by MAD, Kozik, and the man behind the design David Lanham. The Strangekiss booth also had some customs for sale by artist Wuzone. Also on display were the prototypes of the Fetch and Maxswell figures and for the twitter users, Twitterrific’s Ollie.
Nakanari @ SDCC 09
Nakanari came all the way from Florida to show off his goods at the Kuso Vinyl booth. At SDCC Tony released his exclusive Kage Spiki, which sold out in a blink of an eye. Especially the release of the gold splatter chase during preview night. He was also on the spot doing sketches for all the fans of the little ninja character.
Cardboard Spaceship: Scribe, Angry Woebots, & Peekaboo @ SDCC 09
Cardboard Spaceship brought along some heavy hitters for this years SDCC. Two of which had some amazing resin figures and the other with some an awesome collabo print as well as mini baseball prints. Scribe and Alisa Ross made it all the way from Kansas for one of San Diego’s biggest tourist attractions. Scribe was there for his exclusive Rumpus release and a surprise Sumego and Bee release, while Alisa was there for her plush release.
Peekaboo made his presence felt with the release of his SDCC exclusive “The Birds” figure, which sold out very quickly.
Angry Woebots was also there with his collaborative poster piece with Scribe. One more awesome thing from CSS were their Baseball Card sized framed mini-prints from Shane Jessup, Andrew Bell, Scribe, Angry Woebots, Peekaboo, Jesse Hernandez, and Kozik. More pictures after the jump.
Jul 27, 2009
L’amour Supreme @ SDCC 09
L’amour Supreme was at the Super7 booth showing off some AMAZING custom Mongolions as well as his SDCC exclusive Jade Mongolion. Also on hand were some custom Mongolions by Dead Presidents, which were also for sale to the attendees. L’amour spent some good quality time with the fans by doing some sketches. More pictures after the jump.
SDCC 09 – Disney x MINDstyle Stitch Signing
MINDstyle released their first artist series figures of Disney’s Stitch at SDCC. On Saturday, all five of the Series One artists including Angry Woebots, Buff Monster, kaNO, Peekaboo Monster, Ron English, were on hand for a group signing which drew a long line of collectors. While Series 1 was released in very limited numbers at the FX show in April, SDCC marked the first major drop. The Stitch figures look great and also bring together the concept of an artist platform series with an extremely popular licensed character.
SDCC 09 – Marka27 and Jesse Hernandez
Talented artists and good friends Marka27 and Jesse Hernandez held down the fort at Munky King this past Saturday for a joint singing/sketch session. The session also featured the release of Marka’s new Mini-God resins – limited to 20 pcs, these are a steal at $100. Beyond creating compelling figures, both Jesse and Marka always put their full effort into their sketches making them a consistent draw at shows and conventions.
SDCC 09: Ron English – Ben Banger
For SDCC, Ron English released his newest original figure, Ben Banger, at the Toy Tokyo booth. If you follow Ron’s art you’ll know that he’s been doing Kiss inspired art from quite some time so it’s nice to see a toy from that body of work. Accompanied by a live MC Supersize mascot, he signed and sketched for fans (see the quick video below).
SDCC 09: kaNO – Boba-Def
NYC artist kaNO made the trip to San Diego for the release of third edition of his Hi-Def figure with ToyQube. Boba-Def is an homage to everyone’s favorite intergalactic bounty hunter. Turns out the Fett was an inspiration for the figure concept as a whole. Hit the video above to hear it from the man himself.
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SDCC 09: Sam Fout’s Bone Ghost Agent
While SDCC has come and gone, we have a bunch of things to still share from the mother of all shows – so consider this our ‘wrap up’. Sam Fout has been a little quiet on the figure front for a spell, so we’re happy to bring you a look at his new project – Bone Ghost Agent, a new run of 25 resins done in conjunction with Argonaut Resins. Hit the video above for Sam’s intro of the project including specific details of weapons, martinis, and more. Pics after the jump.
SDCC 09 – Jermaine Rogers – Believe
A few days ago we posted pics of Believe, Jermaine Rogers’s new Dero resin project. We had the chance to catch up with Jermaine and chat with him about the inspiration for the project as well as future figure plans. Enjoy.
Jul 26, 2009
SDCC 09: Scott Tolleson – Big Rollin’ Rascal
Scott Tolleson is following up his popular Tricycle Terror resin figure with his new Big Rollin’ Rascal. The new figure is equally popular, a special SDCC mono edition of the rascal (ed. of 50) sold out at the ‘con. The regular release is due in a month or so – watch the video above for the 411 directly from Scott.
SDCC 09 – Chris Ryniak – Big Muscamoot
For SDCC, Rotofugi released the first figure in their Lake Monsters series, Big Muscamoot created and sculpted by Chris Ryniak. In a short video shot in Roto’s booth, Chris talks about the project.
SDCC 09 – Kaiju Big Battel
Saturday Night – the final night of debauchery. At the top of the list ? Kaiju Big Battel @ Wonder Haus. If you’re wondering, what Kaiju Big Battel is… it’s basically Pro Wrestling merged with Kaiju Monsters. Kaiju villains and heros go at it in a chain-link enclosed arena while an announcer provides the hilarious play by play, blow by blow. Sponsored by STRANGEco and IWG, this one was one to remember.