Apr 26, 2018
Moggie by Jink Wu & Unusual Creation Club
As you might guess, Moggie by Chinese artist Jink Wu is not your average, adorable, neighborhood cat. Abandoned time after time, Moggie has learned to hunt on his own and now has one paw in the city and one in the wild. No longer dependent on humans for food, Moggie often sips on ‘bird dew’ as he relaxes.
Jink debuted Moggie at the Shanghai Toy Show with an exclusive lime green soft vinyl edition under his Unusual Creation Club brand (UCC). While the STS edition quickly sold out, he has a new release tentatively scheduled for May.
A variation on the STS edition, the new edition will retain the basic color scheme but the dead bird will no longer have the visible wounds/blood. To keep up with the latest on Moggie, you can follow UCC (@UnusualCreationClub) on Instagram and Facebook.
Apr 23, 2018
Shanghai Toy Show Recap
As you may know If you happened to catch your on-site coverage on our Instagram, Francine and I made the trip out to China for the first-ever Shanghai Toy Show last weekend (4.5 – 4.7). We were really excited to attend the show and thoroughly enjoyed the convention organized by POP MART, one of China’s leading Art Toy retailers and brands. Here’s a quick recap and overview of STS which we will follow with posts focused on selected booths.
While Art Toys are a fairly new trend in China, toy hungry fans were amped up for the event with several thousand lining up early, the night before the show opened. Eager to buy the hottest toys, many couldn’t help but run-walk, or in some cases sprint into the convention hall. What struck us as we entered Shanghai Toy Show is the tremendous sense of scale from the large number of showcase booths, many with elaborate designs, to the sprawling 130,000+ square feet layout which likely makes it the largest Art Toy-specific convention in terms of floor size.
From Chino Lam’s brilliant Japanese food stall-style booth offering fresh Maguro Senpai vinyl to Fluffy House’s cute school house-themed booth and many in-between, STS outclassed other art toy shows in terms of presentation and ‘feel’. In fact, someone mentioned that in terms of the show’s ambiance and look, STS felt more like SDCC than any other Art Toy convention. STS has definitely raised the bar of what an Art Toy show can look and feel like, from the glitzy showcase booths (20x20’s and even several 30x30’s) to the smaller 10x10’s—which all featured ‘shell’ style booths with integrated display cases.
Since we weren’t too familiar with China’s Art Toy scene we were curious to see what the must-buy toys were. Based on line-ups, fans couldn’t get enough of Molly by Kennyswork—not surprising considering POP MART sells 2 Million+ Molly minis each year—and Labubu by Kasing Lung – both booths consistently had the largest lines over the three days. From what we saw, several other booths had considerable lines each day, including Chino Lam, Coarse, Pop Life, Pucky, Unitoy and T9G /Shoko Nakazawa. Fans came eager to buy and buy they did. As we walked the floor, we noticed almost everyone carrying at least one STS-branded bag, many with several. While it might not be immediately obvious from the photos, women were the primary buyers, informally it seemed like perhaps 70% of the attendees were female. Not to oversimplify things, but the flip-flopped demographics between Western shows and STS—as well other Asian shows including Taipei Toy Festival—seemed to drive buying tastes, as noted by several vendors.
Beyond conventional booths, Shanghai Toy Show also featured self-serve toy buying. A large Gashapon section in the rear of the hall was heaven for fans of capsule toys. POP MART also installed two of its innovative Robo Shops at STS. These high-tech vending machines feature a robotic arm that gently retrieves and delivers art toys to fans who select toys from the electronic display and purchase them seamlessly with mobile QR code payment systems that have nearly replaced cash in China’s larger cities. While one can browse by looking at the rows of blind box toys in the machine, each Robo Shop also features an embedded display case giving buyers a chance to view each figure in a series and get a better feel for what they might find when they open their blind boxes. While the Robo Shop offers mostly individual blind boxes, it also offers full cases. It’s one thing to see customers grab a blind box or two from the large door on the machine, but I was pretty amazed to see a customer reach down to retrieve a full case of the new Aquatic Molly minis. It would be great to see similar art toy machines here in the United States. Mollys, Dunnys and Be@rbricks from a machine at my local mall? Yes, please.
Complimenting the buying experience, Shanghai Toy Show offered programming on two stages including the opening/closing ceremonies—a common feature of Asian toy shows—artist talks, live-drawing sessions and an auction of one-off pieces from exhibiting artists. Continuing the ‘next-level’ vibe, each stage featured video boards for presentations and close-up views of artists’ live-drawing.
POP MART’s expressed goal for Shanghai Toy Show and Beijing Toy Show is to deliver the best Art Toy show experience in the world. An ambitious goal certainly, but one that seems attainable over the course of several years. With its next-level presentation, STS is raising the bar for what fans should expect from an Art Toy convention. The next step growth wise will be to attract more international brands and artists beyond the notable ones featured at STS. This is happening on its own with several state-side brands mentioning their interest in becoming vendors—noteworthy considering the distance/logistics.
We had a great time at Shanghai Toy Show, meeting artists new to us, scouting out new toys, buying quite a few of them and learning about Art Toys in China, a rapidly growing and extremely promising new market. With STS in the books, POP MART is now focused on the second Beijing Toy Show which will take place from September 7th to 9th 2018. Another toy trip to China? Tempting.
Apr 05, 2018
Shanghai Toy Show On-Site Coverage
It’s Shanghai Toy Show time! We’re in Shanghai and will be doing daily coverage via @Vinylpulse on Instagram from Wednesday (4.4) to Friday (4.6) every evening from about 7 PM to 1 AM or so. Here’s the last few shots from the show floor! Check @vinylpulse for all the photos so far.Want to see something we haven’t covered yet? DM us on IG and we’ll try to get to it.
Apr 04, 2018
Shon at Shanghai Toy Show: Shinobi and Hug Hug Cat
Shon will be exhibiting at Shanghai Toy Show with two announced drops. First up is an Electric Hug Hug Cat Crystal cast in clear vinyl with translucent purple and blue spray plus what appear to be prismatic foil strips. He also has the Shinobi Crystal Knight edition with a stylish cover-of-night design cloaked in black, purple, and blue hues with blingy gold accents. Both of these are limited to 110 pieces and will be available for 599 RMB each (~ $95) from the Shon/FuFuFanny booth [D15].
Apr 03, 2018
Luaiso Lopex x Pobber – Zombie Mario at Shanghai Toy Show
Pobber will debut the brand-new Zombie Mario from Luaiso Lopez at Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 – 4.7) in their booth [C9]. The undead plumber will also be available online on 4.10 from Pobber.
Secret Base x Ron English x MINDstyle – MC Supersizde Minis for STS 2018 (4.5 – 4.7)
MINDstyle will release MC Supersized Minis from Secret Base and Ron English at the first-ever Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 – 4.7). These will be offered blind assorted with five different designs for 88 RMB each (~ $14) from the Pop Life booth [A15] Ron and Hiddy will be signing each day of the show.
Apr 02, 2018
Hebru Brantley x MINDstyle – Fly Boy at Shanghai Toy Show
Pop Life has announced their releases for Shanghai Toy Show including a new Hebru Brantley Fly Boy figure (18”) from MINDstyle. This one appears to be based on the sculpt used for the giant Fly Boys seen at the artist’s HK show. Update: An advanced release of 88 pieces were available for a special STS price of 980 RMB (~ $155) from the Pop Life booth [A15]. The new Fly Boy will be available after STS for the regular pricing of 1580 RMB (~ $251).
Shanghai Toy Show 2018 (4.5 –4 .7) –- Map + Booth List
The first-ever Shanghai Toy Show—organized by POP MART—opens on Thursday (4.5) and runs through Saturday (4.7). Here’s a look at the official show floor map as well as the booth list. Looking at the map, two things stand out. First there are several extremely large booths, quite a few 20x20’s and several 30x30’s, quite rare for an art toy show. The second is that this is probably the most useful—most of the booths have recognizable brand logos—and attractive convention floor map that we’ve seen.
We’ll bring you more STS news today, and then we’re off to Shanghai. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be bringing you a steady stream of instagram updates from the show floor from roughly 7 PM to 1 AM PDT on Wednesday (4.4) through Friday (4.6).
Apr 01, 2018
Devil Toys at STS – New Releases from QUICCS and BSTER
Devil Toys has several releases lined up for Shanghai Toy Show including two from QUICCS and a collabo project with Benson Wong’s BSTER Studio. From QUICCS, comes TEQ Nano– a chibi style rendition of the artist’s signature character, available in both white + black editions. STS Exclusive Shark & Remi from QUICCS and chk_dsk. ? Yes, please. Revenge of the Toxic Kids features a translucent polluted rainbow design.
Finally, Devil Toys has teamed up with Benson Wong to produce his Lazy figure in vinyl. The original versions of his urban sloth were done in resin and now he makes the jump to vinyl which would mean he’ll be much easier to collect.
Joe Lo x ZombiesX – Zombie Neko at Shanghai Toy Show
Joe Lo and ZombiesX will release the new 進化の猫 soft vinyl figure at Shanghai Toy Show. We’re not really sure on the translation here, perhaps Evolved Cat, though visually it resembles a zombie cat which fits nicely with the ZombiesX association—which may in fact be the name of a series/line. While Lucky Cats (and their evil counterparts) aren’t new, the hissing expression is cool as are the individual whiskers, something we don’t see often. This one will be available at booth [E19],
Cote Escriva x Thunder Mates – STS Exclusive Golden Creepy Mouse
Thunder Mates will release the Shanghai Toy Show Exclusive Golden Creepy Mouse from Cote Escriva at their booth [D22]. This blingy new version of the stylish toy is limited to 200 pieces.
Jim Lee x Mountain Toys – Unspeakable Cthulhu Grey Nightmare for STS and WF Shanghai
Jim Lee will release his new Unspeakable Cthulhu Grey Nightmare in conjunction with Mountain Toys at both Shanghai Toy Show (booth A35) and WonderFest Shanghai (C-d09). This mono-ish version of Jim’s beastly toy is limited to just ten pieces – five for each convention. Happy hunting.
Uamou x Spongebob x Unbox – Mini Uamou Spongebob at STS
Unbox will release the new Mini Uamou x Spongebob figures at their Shanghai Toy Show booth [A21] for 250 RMB (~ $40). Cute and bound to be swept away quickly.
Gas Viper Studios at STS: Deep Sea Tiger Shark
Gas Viper Studios [booth B20] will debut its new Deep Sea Tiger Shark (ORCAS) figure at Shanghai Toy Show. Unlike his previous Beetle and Chicken figures, this underwater diver mech features a highly technical, detailed design. It’s unclear if the pilot is removable. Remarkably these look like production figures down to the packagaing, no wonder they took 247 days to complete. This one will be limited to 30 pieces and retail for 588 RMB(~ $94).
Gas Viper will also release several editions of his Tiger Chicken (machine translated name) figure with prices ranging from 188 RMB to 350 RMB (~ $30 to $56).
ToyQube for Shanghai Toy Show
ToyQube is on the way to China for the first-ever Shanghai Toy Show. They have an absolutely loaded release schedule for their booth [C5-C6]—seven so far with the possibility of at least one more. Let’s dive right in. On the brand-new front, there’s the sweet double-take Banalien from Paul Jackson in limited, advance release quantities. STS will also serve as the debut of Camilla D’Errico’s Rainbow Roll.
TQ will also release new editions of five of its recent figures. First up is a metallic gold Popeye Grin from Ron English. Steven Harrington’s Gotcha returns in a neon green follow-up to the sold-out OG edition. Going for the trifecta, ToyQube will release The Scarecrow by Jim McKenzie in its third editions, a sensational two-tone pink, call it ‘cherry’, colorway.
If blue is your hue, then you’ll want to pick up the blue GID Half A Nice Day fr om Alex Pardee and the new Skull Flower—with gold + black base—from Tara McPherson.
Mar 31, 2018
Jacoo Sun Studio at Shanghai Toy Show: New Bulldog, Whale and Diver Editions
In addition to her ball-jointed dolls, Sun Dongxu creates an impressively varied collection of resin art toys as Jacoo Sun Studio. For Shanghai Toy Show, she will be releasing STS exclusives and other editions of three of her toys which appear to be named simply (at least in English): Bulldog, Whale and Diver. Each is excellent in its own right, each with a distinct theme and approach. She will be offering quite a few editions at her booth [F2] – see the booth graphic below for pricing, edition size. We’ll be sure to spend some extra time at her booth.
Blackseed Toys at STS: Yu Wu Long Sanada Yukimura + New Yu Shou Long Editions
Black Seed Toys’ founder Kenneth Tang has quite a few toys releasing at Shanghai Toy Show spread across several booths. For many collectors the highlights are bound to be a brand-new STS Yu Wu Long and two new Yu Shou Long figures. The red + gold Sanada Yukimura edition (1980 RMB / ~$313) celebrates the legendary Japanese samurai. His samurai helmet at the center of the two-headed terror can be removed to reveal a sinister GID skull.
Black Seed will release two new Wu Shou Long editions—Beijing Tiantan (dark red w/navy trim) and a Spirited Away inspired design (red w/light blue green trim) – each for 1980 RMB / ~$313). There will also be 10-story editions in both purple and red (5980 RMB each /~ $947). Yu Wu Long and Yu Shou Long will be available via lottery (daily allocation) from the Black Seed Booth [A30].
The Designer Brand – Neapolitan Ice Cream Toy
Looking through the Shanghai Toy Show listings, we spotted these sweet three-flavor ice cream toys from The Designer Brand. They will be available for 199 RMB (~ $32) from booth [B25]. We don’t know much about the artist/brand, but we believe they are based in Korea. At any rate, these are really fun, with the bunny sculpt on top, and the ice cream stick on the left. We’ll try to get more info about these when we’re at STS.
Eric So at STS – ‘You’re Kidding’ + MA-1 Jacket Accessory
Urban vinyl legend Eric So will be releasing several new toys at Shanghai Toy Show. For his own booth, he’ll be releasing a new edition of his You’re Kidding monkey king (100 pcs, 399 RMB/~ $63), an homage to the most famous mouse. For Estate fans (and who isn’t?), he’ll be releasing the MA-1 Jacket accessory for his Sam Lee figure in secret colors. This is the jacket only, not the entire figure. These will be available in his STS booth [C20].
Blackbook Toy at Shanghai Toy Show : New Mousezilla, Clockwork Carot Toys + One-Offs
Blackbook Toy will be showing at the first-ever Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 – 4.7) with a full schedule of production drops as well as one-offs from Marvel Okinawa and Kenth Toy Works. On the production side, there’s the very cool Wonderland ‘Zilla (1140 RMB / ~ $180), the newest edition of Ron English’s Mousezilla. BBT will also release the MC Psycho Dim and Lil’ Alex (980 RMB each / ~ $ 156) from Frank Kozik. These are a follow-up to the previous MC versions and feature extra hits of angry red throughout. The brand’s mascot, Guy, will be available in two micro runs of 5 pieces each – the Nightmare edition by Marvel Okinawa featuring clear + opaque paint on clear vinyl and the Another World Infected edition by Kenth Toy Works. Each of the micro run Guys will be available for 1400 RMB each (~ $223).
There will also be several one-offs including some amazing work from Marvel Okinawa including three Mandala-themed pieces as well as a trio of in-house one-offs including a great Jiangshi ‘Zilla. All of these drops will be available at BBT’s STS booth [D21].
Mar 30, 2018
Tokyo Jesus x Manas Workshop– Gaki at Shanghai Toy Show
Tokyo Jesus is working with Manas Workshop to produced limited-edition runs of his Gaki figure. Debuting at Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 –4.7), these were designed/sculpted by Tokyo Jesus with Manas Studios handling production (casting) and painting. These turned out really well. The slight sculpt variations and the super-detailed, colorful paint put these at the front of the pack. These will be available at the Manas Workshop STS booth [C19] for 1350 RBM each (~ $215).
Mar 29, 2018
Brandt Peters x GUMS Production – Brutus for Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 – 4.7)
Brutus by Brandt Peters and GUMS Productions will debut with the my near neighbourhood edition vinyl (~ 11.8”) for Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 – 4.7). First seen in public at DesignerCon 2017, the adorable pup starts things off in a nearly all-black design—the gray nose is a nice contrasting touch. Brutus will be available at Toyqube’s STS booth [C5/C6] for 980 RMB (~ $155). While this is an STS edition, there’s a possibility of an online release for any remaining pieces.
Mar 28, 2018
Miquel Vasquez x VTSS – Crazy Spongebob and Patrick Figures
VTSS will display and take pre-orders for Miguel Vasquez’s upcoming wild takes on Spongebob and Patrick. As you can tell, these pieces are bonkers. Miguel has re-imagined the popular ‘toon characters with a hyper-real style featuring exaggerated proportions, photo realistic facial features and skin. VTSS has been developing these figures for awhile in order to make the artist’s hyper-real aesthetic a reality. We’re looking forward to seeing these in person at their booth [C23] where they will be available for pre-order for 990 RMB each. They are scheduled to ship in May.
Bounce x VTSS – Batboy Pre-order at Shanghai Toy Show (4.5 –4.7)
For the Shanghai Toy Show, VTSS [booth C23] will be taking pre-orders for its upcoming batboy figure from Taiwanese artist Bounce. Batboy delivers bounce’s urban style with a small serving of ‘tude. Great Stuff. This is an edition of 300 pieces and will be available for pre-order for 660 RMB (~$105) with an estimated ship date sometime in May 2018.
VTSS at Shanghai Toy Show – Yosuke Ueno and Luke Chueh
VTSS will be releasing/taking pre-orders for several figures at Shanghai Toy Show from their booth [C23] including three editions of the Bruised Lee figure (300 pcs, 780 RMB) from Luke Chueh. In addition to the standard OG edition, VTSS will offer pre-orders for the anticipated Bruised edition along with a surprise Panda edition—both of which are scheduled to ship sometime in April. And in a very pleasant surprise, VTSS will also release a brand-new Yosuke Ueno figure – Cont ‘n’ Roller (100 pcs, 520 RMB)
