Jul 16, 2008
TTF Treasure: Itokin Park Special Himalan
I bought several cool vinyl figures from TTF, but the coolest treasure from the show was an incredibly generous gift. Kazhuhiko Ito (Itokin Park) gave Vinyl Pulse this special unpainted clear glitter Himalan. This one was on display but not for sale. So I thought I’d share it with all of you here. After the jump – more pics from various angles. If you’re going to SDCC be sure to catch Itokin Park’s first ever USA signing of the SDCC exclusive Himalan @ Super7’s Booth (#4729) on Friday (7.25) @ 4 PM.
Jul 12, 2008
Touma, Kaijin and Chino – Live Bike Customizing@ TTF
On Saturday @ TTF, Phalanx studio had several artists collectively draw on a single all-black edition of their upcoming CPX Bike project (below) done with Conceptive. They also asked Touma to rock another bike frame by himself. Here are pics of Touma’s impressive work and also shots of Kaijin and Chino working on the group bike featuring drawings from many artists at the show. Plenty more shots after the jump.
Phalanx Studio x Conceptive – CPX Graphic Bike @ TTF
Phalanx Studio has teamed up with Conceptive on the CPX Graphic Bike featuring the art of Devilrobots, Furi Furi, Nanospore, Phunk Studio and Phalanx themselves. This is a very limited run collabo project (20 pcs?) and will retail for 22,500 NT (~ $740). Ride in style.
Camilla D’Errico @ TTF
Oso Design House introduced their new Camilla D’Errico collection featuring apparel, handbags, and accessories @ TTF. The handbags are available in both color and dope grayscale editions which almost look like pen/ink drawings – very nice. Taking a cue from LeSportsac, many of the bags come with Camila's mini Bax Bear figure. Camilla signed for fans and also customized a few of the larger Bax Bears. Known for her fine art painting and her comic books, Camilla was quite a draw -- as you can see.
Faces @ TTF
Toy cons are about toys but it's also about reconnecting with old friends and meeting news ones (how touchy feel...). Here's a quick look at a few of the industry folks @ the show. Plenty more cool peeps after the jump.
Jul 11, 2008
Reach @ TTF
Taiwanese graffiti artist Reach signed on Friday at the Kidrobot booth. While most fans purchased the new Reach Bear vinyls for signing, one brought a guitar for Reach to drop his skills on. More pics after the jump.
Devilrobots Signings @ TTF
Update: Artist credits corrected. Late night blogging is dangerous ;-) Thanks to the robots for taking it really well.
The 2nd day of TTF has come and gone. In the early afternoon Japanese designer powerhouse Devilrobots took the main stage for a signing organized by retailer Monster Taipei. The event quickly drew a huge crowd. Shinichiro Kitai and Koto greeted a seemingly never ending queue of happy collectors. The waiting area in front of the stage was set up theme park style, snaking back and forth. Due to the overwhelming demand, the line was closed fairly early on and the session still lasted for two hours as Shin signed on toys, program guides and more.
Collectors waited with their prized tofus -- from the TTF '08 Exclusive Tofu (amazing!) to various Smerys and the rare blank mini-tofus from Play Imaginative. One by one each got a chance to talk to the Devilrobots and get signatures and doodles. Later in the day, the Devilrobots held another signing at the Play Imaginative booth which proved to be a strong draw as well. Plenty of pics after the jump.
Jul 10, 2008
TOY2R’s Kaiju Qees @ TTF
As in years past, Toy2R has pole position – two booths directly facing the entrance to TTF. Most of the items in the boot have been seen before, but we thought we’d post up the display of the upcoming Kaiju Qees. It appears there are a few additional creatures beyond what was shown at NYCC. Also, note the larger Kaiju Qee.... I believe this is an 8" but my brain was stuck on empty as I shot this pic before dashing off on Day 1 (Thursday). I'll double check in a few minutes as I'm head back to TTF for Day 2!
Red Magic's CiBoys @ TTF
As in previous years, Red Magic has a large booth @ TTF with the CiBoys as the star attraction. CiBoys are a bit of a guilty pleasure -- not unlike admitting that you liked 'The Last Element'. They're fun for the sake of fun, and that can be refreshing. It's rare to see a large concentration of the figures and in such a display, they take on a sense of evolution -- from the original design to more sophisticated pieces like the new large three kingdoms figures (above) with helmets and armor. The destroyers complete with attached weapons are cool as well. The idea of a maxed out CiBoy with accessories and add-ons is worth a smile or two. More pics after the jump.
Kaijin @ One Up's TTF booth
One Up is offering the Memory of Forest Fulcraim from Kaijin (35 pics) in their TTF booth. They are also showing a brand-new unpainted sculpt of their upcoming Kaijin figure. Eagle-eyed readers will note that Kaijin submitted a painted version of this figure for the Kaiju show at The Showroom NYC held this past April. If you're wondering -- Kaijin has yet to name the figure. We're stoked that One Up continues to promote Japanese artists through original vinyls and pleasantly surprised at the rate of production and progress.
Chi-Kit Kwong's Chibo @ TTF
Chi-Kit Kwong's wildly ambitious Chibo project (blogged) debuted in display form in the Locomotive Productions booth (A17). These look good in person and there's alot of variety. Sixty figures in under two years will be something to see (6 figures every two months).
RCWORK - 1/6 SURIYO Figures @ TTF
Raymond Chan produces some of the sweetest handmade 1/6 figures around under his RCWORK label. His SURIYO: The Forgotten World line features a unique rural aesthetic -- a trip back to a simpler lifestyle. A staple at TTF, Raymond showed his [Ha] Worker along with a card showing the [Songing] Fishman. Both figures were listed as sold out on the printed cards [presales?]. We'll try to track this down a bit more. At any rate, this work is too beautiful not to show now.
Touma's Poopty from Headlock Studios
Touma's ability to create characters that translate well to vinyl has made him one of the most prolific creators particularly in the Asian market. His next figure Poopty is the latest addition to his long-standing collaboration with Headlock Studio. Other figures in the same line include Talons, Snout, and Slither to name a few. More than his other creations this one feels decidedly Japanese in terms of humor -- with the sculpted gas 'cloud' emerging from the creature's (skunk/squirrel?) butt. Coming soon. Close up shot after the jump.
Tim Tsui – Da Fighter + More at TTF
Tim Tsui provided the biggest ‘wow’ moment of the show IMO with the unveiling of his brand new Da Fighter figure – the first in his new fighter series. This thing is huge (wide) and very funky – the tribal patterns, the horned shoulder armor, the bling collar, the red transparent left claw and mace. Oh and did we mention, that it’s a wolf and not an ape? Great stuff.
The colorway shown here was for sale at TTF for about $100. It’s limited to 150 pieces total – 50 for TTF, 50 for SDCC and 50 for his online store. It sounds like the fighter series is Tim's alternate mostly non-ape series. While Tim usually ships his ape figures in a cloth bag, he's gone for a flashier silver heavy bag for Da Fighter (pic after the jump). Oh if you're wondering why Da Fighter was launched so soon after Da Warrior -- the answer is that Da Warrior took much longer to produce than expected which resulted in the bunched up releases. Sounds like the TTF supply is sold out.
Tim also dropped his Sharky from ToyQube – really slick. It was going for 2000 nt (about $60). It will likely be available at SDCC. It comes with a cool banana accessory that fits nicely into the aquatic carnivore's jagged teeth. And if you’re wondering, there will be at least one more edition but that’s all we could pry loose -- well, we didn’t want to pry too hard ;-) Tim is also offering a new ape head key chain/lighter topper (400 nt, about $13).
Finally, Tim dropped a custom Da Warrior in black, gold and red. It sold within the first few hours (~ $400) – not surprising given that Tim rarely does one-off customs for sale. More pics after the jump.
The Excitement of TTF ‘08 – Day 1
Day 1. TTF is located on the 9th floor of the Mira department store in the Living Mall in Taipei. Getting up to the venue is made a little more challenging by the two very slow elevators (no AC on a very humid day = hmmmm). The entrance area for the show was very crowded – even on a Thursday TTF is a popular event. I don’t normally show crowd shots but I think it’s key to understanding the popularity of the show and the toys in Taiwan. Plenty of energy and excitement to go around. A few more pics after the jump.
Jul 09, 2008
In Taipei for TTF
Hi all. I just got into Taipei last night to cover the Taipei Toy Festival. We’re going to bring you all the toys you want to see and the stories that matter. I’m off to the opening of the show right after this post is complete. In the meantime I thought I’d share some pics of ZhongXiao Rd. which is located in a busy shopping area of Taipei (and yes, is where my hotel is located). If you’ve never been to Taipei – one constant are the scooters and more scooters! Enjoy. Toys coming up later today.
Tokidoki Tigers Debut @ TTF
It’s already Thursday in Taipei, so that means today is the start of the Taipei Toy Festival. We’ve already hopped on a plane and are ready to bring you sweet coverage of the show. Our first TTF news is that STRANGEco will unveil tokidoki’s Tiger figures at the show. So where can you get these wild cats? Any guesses? SDCC of course! The tokidoki tiger will be available in four colorways(yellow, orange, pink, and white). If you look closely, you’ll see that the orange and white have slight differences from the Yellow and Pink. STRANGEco’s done a great job of keeping this cat in the bag (just couldn’t resist!).
Jul 04, 2008
BLObPUS x Ilanena - TTF GID Diablo
While we are by no means Kaiju experts, we really dig BLObPUS figures. Why ? Simple -- they're amazingly creepy. Kaiju = monsters. And monsters are supposed to be creepy, right? BLObPUS delivers creepy like nobody's business.
For Taipei Toy Festival (7.10 - 7.13), BLObPUS will drop a limited GID edition of his Diablo figure hand-painted by Ilanena. Wicked -- truly. Find it at where else but One Up's booth (A13-A14). Click through for some great close-up shots.
One Up @ TTF
One Up has quietly established themselves as one of Japan’s influential vinyl toy companies by showcasing talented but previously lesser known Japanese artists through their shop and with the production of an increasing number of original figures. One Up will be exhibiting at the Taipei Toy Festival (7.10-7.13) once again with a strong lineup stacked with Japanese illustrators and Kaiju creators including 460 Ryuku Entertainment, Blobpus, Goccodo, Gumliens, Ilanena, Itokin Park Hariken, Hiroshi Yoshii, Juki, Kaijin, Shin Tanaka, Touma, Tttoy,& Vinyl Junkies. If you’re going to be at TTF, check out One Up in booths A13 & 14. Individual posts to follow ;-)
Jul 02, 2008
T9G’s Bear Hunter @ TTF
First shown at T9G’s recent solo show at Medicom’s Project 1/6 in Japan, his new Bear Hunter figure will drop @ this year’s Taipei Toy Festival in a salmon-ish colorway from intheyellow [booth TBA]. Bear Hunter fees like an amalgamation of several recent T9G figures including his recent Vatundoo and a hint of the classic Booska as well (crown and ears). More pics after the jump.
MOGraphixx Rangeas @ TTF
Japanese designer MOGraphixx created the color scheme and the header card illustration for his collaborative edition of T9G’s Rangeas. MOGraphixx, a 3d animator, illustrator and character designer is perhaps best known for his series of videos featuring KAWS figures. Intheyellow will drop the MOGgraphixx Rangeas @ Taipei Toy Festival [booth TBA]. If you dig old school monsters, Rangeas is worth a close look. More pics after the jump.
Jun 26, 2008
Wonderwall x Paradise Toys Tudo
Coming to Taipei Toy Festival 2008 is Tudo. A Touma designed toy brought to you by Wonderwall and Paradise Toys. Touma Fans will have the chance to nab him at TTF. Can't make it out to the festival? No worries, he will also be available at Fewmany and Paradise Toys store.
Galaxy Bunch Alpha Ultimate DIY Edition for TTF
Up until this point Michael Kwong’s Galaxy Bunch has been known for the Virus series of cool personable cosmically minded minis. Well that is until now… Galaxy Bunch is going big with the introduction of the 8” Galaxy Bunch Alpha figures. First up is an white DIY 8” Alpha exclusive to TTF – limited to 100 pieces for $1000 NT (about $30, great price). Dig the figure – nice robotic feel, something that’s kinda missing in platforms. Peep the animated GIF movie (after the jump) and you see the highly-detailed articulation in the arms. Who says multi-point limb articulation is just for 1:6 ? Only thing slightly unusual is that this ‘DIY’ that has printing on it – TTF logo on the back. But hey, it’s a debut exclusive – neat. After the jump – more pics.
Jun 24, 2008
Mad Barbarians X Real x Head TTF Mad Head Barbariman
Mad Barbarians and Real x Head will release a deliciously funky edition of their Mad Head figure for this year’s Taipei Toy Festival. The TTF Mad Head features a split design dividing the character in half. The right-hand purple side almost appears to be flocked. Limited to just 50 pieces, it’ll be available at the One Up booth for 1600 NT ($52).
Jun 18, 2008
Buddha’s Delight + Pet @ TTF ‘08
Newcomer Mi2 will debut their line of Buddhism inspired figures at Taipei Toy Festival ‘08 (7.10 – 7.13). A few weeks ago we showed you a head-shot of the Buddha’s Delight figure. The finished sculpt turned out well with the female Buddha resting on an organic mass of audio speakers. The design concept explores the double-edged relationship between spirituality and popular forms of communication such as television and music. Very nice sculpt – though the circular base does detract from the form a bit. Buddha''s Delight and the companion piece, Buddha's Pet, will be available in special white editions at TTF. After TTF, Buddha's Pet will be available in two editions - The Black Gold and Amorous Ox. Pictures after the jump.
