Jul 27, 2011
SDCC Flash: Paul Kaiju @ Global Figure Symposium
When 1PM On Friday came around, the Global Figure Symposium booth was swarmed by all the fans of Paul Kaiju. The crowd almost took up all of the aisle and created some major blockage. Paul was there to release his Boss Carrion (who had turned 1 that day), Salamander Joe, Mockbat, King Jinx, and a bunch of mini resin goodies. We cannot forget to mention his Seagool, which had made it into vinyl form thanks to Lulubell Toys. Congrats to PK on a stellar release and we cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next year! [Pics VIA Winu]
Jul 26, 2011
SDCC Flash: Skinner & Bigfoot Signing @ Dragatomi
Skinner and Bigfoot took over the stage at the Dragatomi booth, where they were there to hang out and sketch and sign for fans. It was at Dragatomi where they also debuted the Wax Sculpt of their upcoming Fujisan figure with Bigfoot.
SDCC Flash: Uh Oh Toys & MonstreHero @ Global Figure Symposium
The Global Figure Symposium booth was covered in an army of resin figures from one end to to the other. Who else could have brought this much awesomeness? Well none other than the dudes of Uh Oh Toys & MonstreHero. They brought a long a lot of their classic figures, as well as some new ones! The remaining pieces from the show can be found HERE and HERE. Take a peek after the jump for more photos!
Jul 25, 2011
SDCC Flash: kaNO Signing @ Kuso Vinyl
Up to bat at the Kuso Vinyl booth on Saturday at SDCC was kaNO. Not only was kaNO there to doodle on some Spikis and sketch in some books, but he was there to show off his new Dragon King figure. Take a look after the jump for a few more pics!
Jul 24, 2011
SDCC Flash: Scribe & Alissa Ross @ Cardboard Spaceship
Just like one of Scribe’s Rumpus Head Plaques, a lot of these were gone in a Flash. The Cardboard Spaceship booth housed a ton of custom and plush goodies by Scribe and his wife Alissa Ross. I was particularly fond of the little custom cupcakes!
SDCC Flash: Custom Super7 Figures
On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 10AM, Super7 showcased and released a ton of amazing customs from Brian Flynn, Paul Kaiju, Leecifer, Josh Herbolsheimer, Brandt Peters, Kathie Olivas, Arbito, and L’amour Supreme. If you’re lucky, there may be a few left today!
SDCC Flash: Grasshut Round 2
We thought the stuff they showed during preview night was awesome, but the following day just blew our minds. They had available a ton more goodies from Bwana Spoons, Martin Ontiveros, Arbito, Le Merde, and Kiyoshi Nakazawa.
SDCC Flash: Vinyl Frontier
Daniel Zana posted up at the ToyQube booth to promote his documentary, The Vinyl Frontier. That was then followed by his panel discussion with Tara McPherson, Keith Poon, Frank Kozik, and Jermaine Rogers.
SDCC Flash: Nakanari & Linda Le Signing @ Kuso Vinyl
Nakanari and Linda Le joined the Kuso Vinyl booth for their scheduled signing session. Choice of canvas to doodle on was of course the DIY mini Spiki figure! Linda was also sporting here outstanding Psylocke costume.
SDCC Flash: Joe Ledbetter Signing @ Hi-Fructose
At the Hi-Fructose booth on Friday, Joe Ledbetter stepped in for his afternoon signing and release of his ‘Mutant Bunny Mickey Monster’. He was there to hand sign and number these beautiful wood panel prints.
SDCC Flash: Rose Vampire’s Casket Cruiser Gets Touched Up
The following day after seeing Josh Herbolsheimer’s Casket Cruiser for his Rose Vampire we noticed something different. Xzibit must have stopped by the booth and pimped out his ride. Pop that collar RV! We cannot wait to hear more news on this prototype in the fall.
Jul 22, 2011
SDCC Flash: Cherry Vinyl Protos
Cherry Vinyl, a new collaborative brand from Pretty in Plastic and Lulubell, is showing new prototypes at the DKE booth including a new owl figure from Nathan Jurevicius left, and Egglue the Giraffe by Tiny Kitten Teeth (hat) and what we believe is ‘Le Chat’ from Femke (gray, green, clear).
Seen: Black Ball + DTA 2011 Awards
After the first full day of the ‘con, it was time to party. The spot? Bar Basic for Munky King’s annual party. This year’s ‘Black Ball’ featured live painting on a giant Possessed sculpture by Luke Chueh, Yoskay Yamamoto, Jesse Hernandez, and Angry Woebots. Featuring an agreed upon black, blue and white palette, the finished piece feels like a coherent whole and looks sharp as well.
As the live painting wrapped up, attention turned to the presentation of the awards for the first annual Designer Toy Awards presented by Clutter Magazine . Hosted by , the ceremony featured guest presenters, and a video display of each category’s nominees. While one can always quibble with the results, we’re extremely happy with the selection of Michael Lau for the Lifetime Achievement award, the obvious and justly deserving choice.
In case you missed the proceedings, here’s a run-down of tonight’s winners (thanks to my new favorite memory aid aka Steve Talkowski’s twitter):
- Fan Favorite Andrew Bell
- Best Online Store Rotofugi
- Best Plush Design Plunk and Pop. Anna Chambers.
- Best Collaboration Trouble Boys. Brandt Peters & Ferg.
- Best Collection Carl “Muton”
- Best Customizer Doktor A
- Best Blog Toysrevil (congrats Andy!)
- Best Licensed Jumbo Stormtrooper. Super7.
- Best DIY Platform Mini Munny. Kidrobot.
- Best Self Produced Hermes. Gary Ham.
- Best Toy from a Comic Kill Audio. Vinyl Cut.
- Best Mini Series Tic Toc Apocalypse. Amanda Visell.
- Manufacturer of the Year ThreeA
- Best Toy Store Rotofugi
- Breakthrough Artist Jason Freeny
- Most Influential Event SDCC
- Best Functional Toy. Mimobot. Mimico.
- Outstanding Production False Friends. Coarse Toys.
- Best 1/6th Figure Playge Rat. Ferg.
- Artist of the Year Ashley Wood
- Toy of the Year 4 ft. Companion. KAWS.
Congratulations to all the winners. Here’s hoping the DTAs inspire folks to keep up the great work and to come together to promote the medium we all love, art toys.
Jul 21, 2011
Michelle Valigura – Free Ceramic Mugs @ SDCC
Michelle Valigura will be signing at 2 PM on Friday (7.22) at the Grass Hut SDCC booth (#4739). Free mugs ? You betcha. First Come, First served. Michelle will be giving away 43 ceramic mugs and she’ll be sketching, hand-embellishing them on the spot. If you’re in Portland, be sure to catch her ‘Not Here to Make Friends’ solo opening on August 4th, 2011.
Tristan Eaton – B-Bot @ SDCC

Tristan Eaton’s brand new B-Bot vinyl figures will officially be released worldwide on August 24th in both a Mascot (above, $60) and DIY edition ($50). The toy brings the virtual character customization concept of the B-Bot ios app to the designer toy world with interchangeable pieces for trading and personalization. If you’re at SDCC, you’ll be able to purchase the DIY B-Bot for $50 in the Plastic City booth (#4835). Tristan will be on hand at the booth on Friday (7.22) @ 2PM to sign the figures.
MINDstyle x CoolRain - 18” Kobe in Korea
As part of Nike Korea’s Kobe Bryant Korea Tour, the Lakers shooting guard made a personal appearance at a Nike Hoopcity showcase chronicling his signature show line from the Air Zoom Kobe 1 right up to the recently released Zoom Kobe VI. As part of the celebration, Korean designer CoolRain was on hand to present Kobe with his brand-new 18” NBA collectible figure from MINDstyle. Limited to 300 pieces, the 18” Kobe Bryant is available at SDCC in the Toy Tokyo Booth (#5437) and will be available exclusively through pickyourshoes.com starting on August 1st for $299.99.
SDCC Flash: Fig-Lab & RealxHead
Unfortunately Mori of RealxHead couldn’t make it out to SDCC this year, but that isn’t stopping him from releasing some of his amazing figures. He has enlisted Don of Fig-Lab to help distribute some of these fine toys to the SDCC goers at the Global Figure Symposium booth (#4937). Along with the RxH release, Don also had available the Millennial Monster edition Dokugan and Blobpus DX, by the one and only Blobpus. Paul Kaiju even got in some of the action with a few custom Chaos figures.
SDCC Flash: Grasshut Corp
Sharing the stage with Gargamel are the boys of Grasshut. Currently displayed during Preview Night were custom figures by Bwana Spoons and some of Arbito’s resin creations. I also fancied that Yeti looking head by Martin Ontiveros. Cannot wait to see more from these guys!
SDCC Flash: Dragatomi
There’s a ton of madness going on at the Dragatomi booth (#4935) this year! Not only did they reveal their upcoming collaborative figure with Bigfoot, but they’ve also amassed a custom army and had them march all the way to San Diego. We cannot wait to see what goes down at their booth on the first day of the convention! Signing Schedules & Participating Artists listed HERE. More pictures after the jump.
SDCC Flash: Kuso Vinyl
The Kuso Vinyl booth (#605) had a ton of goodies to look forward too. On display were the all new Fuluto mini series by Toby HK, kaNO’s upcoming Dragon King figure, a bunch of mini Spiki goodness, Jesser Hernandez’s Clear Mictlan, and all of their awesome accessories and clothing. We know their booth is a little out of the way, but we highly recommend checking them out. Especially for the signings which begin on Thursday all the way to Saturday. Schedule found HERE.
SDCC Flash: ToyQube
ToyQube made it all the way from New York to attend this years SDCC and along with them came many toys! On display were Keithing’s Myth Warriors, custom Hi-Def Clone Troopers, and his ‘Driftwood’ customs. Also joining in on the fun was Tony Montalvo of Titanium Toyz. They had a whole bunch of goodies available, such as his Titanium figures, which are available in an ‘Iron Man’ variant and the Original colorway. Tony also has available some custom ‘Snackz’ zipper pulls at the booth. On display were the Bronze edition, Captain America edition, and Red Skull edition, which suits SDCC! Be sure to stop by their booth (#4934)and say hello!
SDCC Flash: Onell Design @ SDCC
Onell Design took the lead of the Global Figure Symposium booth (#4937) for Preview Night at SDCC. They had on display a ton of upcoming August drops and their new Task Force Volkrium figures. If you aren’t lucky enough to be attending the convention, Onell will be doing a non-con release. It will be taking place on Thursday, July 21st at 7PM EDT.
Jul 20, 2011
First Look @ SDCC 2011
It’s that time of the year again… SDCC. We’re in town and ready to bring you quick, rapid fire coverage of the show. I look forward to comic-con every year, while many remark that four days is too much, I often think a full week *might* be fun. It’s just a special ‘place’ – a vibrant, crazy, awesome city that exists for four days only to disappear and then reappear the following year. Quick observation: There’s seem to be less advertising. The massive wraps on the side of all the hotels facing the convention center seem to be gone. Unless, they are going to pop up in a single day – which seems unlikely.
Had a chance to do a quick look around on Tuesday. Here’s a quick photo recap of just a few of the things that caught our eye including some booth previews and setup. Along the way, ran into several awesome folks including Jermaine Rogers (with his new Aleppin Sane from Plastic City). Enjoy.
MAD Magazine Spy Vs. Spy Customs @ SDCC
As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, MAD Magazine invited 40+ artists to customize a special blank edition of the Spy Vs. Spy figure. The full collection will be shown @ SDCC in the DC Comics booth (#1915) including pieces from Jason Freeny, Bubi Au Yeung, Sket-One, Andrew Bell (above), Derf, Steve Kiwus, Dave Perillo, Hermann Mejia and more). If you’re going to SDCC, be sure to check out the display.
Angry Woebots x Silent Stage @ SDCC
Silent Stage will release a full slate of figures, prints, shirts and more from Angry Woebots, Peap and more @ SDCC in their booth (#4929). At the top of the list are the Bronze Panda King (30 s/n pieces) and Stealth Panda King (20 s/n pieces, above) cast in in translucent resin. Staring at empty wall space? Woebots has four to choose from – there are 3 different panda prints (11” x 14”, editions of 35 s/n pieces) and one wicked Grizzly print (8” x 10”, 100 s/n pieces). A Woebots postcard set will also be on offer (250 sets, five 4” x 6” postcards & 2 stickers).
If you’re looking to rock some cool gear , you’re in luck. Choose from the Woebots SDCC ‘11 Panda tee (50 pcs), the Peap x Silent Stage SDCC ‘11 shirt (50 pieces) or Silent Stage x Army of Snipers Dogtags (50 #’d pcs).