Monday, September 30, 2013

Fortune Teller from Paul Shih Releases Today!!!



    Paul Shih is the master at taking food stuffs and making cute little figures out of them.  He's already conquered sushi and broccoli and now he has turned his attention to fortune cookies.  Check this little dude out.  He's all chillin with his little mustache, thinking about the fortune that he has inside him just for you.  No, he really does have a fortune inside him, I'm not even making that up.  Only 20 of this all-knowing little cookie were made and they go on sale today (September 30th) at 1pm Pacific time for $45 each.  

Void Man from Scarecrowoven x The Mark Ultra for NYCC


    It blows my mind that not only are people making their own action figures at home but that they make carded figures.   How cool is this?  Here's a hint:  it's real cool.  This is void man and he is a collaboration between Scarecrowoven and The Mark Ultra.  Now pay special attention to these release details here:  There are 22 figures in total, 10 in black, 10 in pink and 2 variants.  Twelve of these suckers will be available from Scarecrowoven at New York Comic Con, while the other 10 will be available from The Mark Ultra at http://themarkultra.bigcartel.com/ on Friday October the 11th at 10pm for you non con attendees.  

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Judge Dredd Customs from Jon-Paul Kaiser


 
I just watched the new Judge Dredd movie the other night and it wasn't that bad. Most of it was pretty entertaining, except for the fact of how ugly they made Lena Headey. I didn't think that was possible and whoever it was that did her makeup should win a Nobel Prize or something. Or be put to death, cause they totally managed to ruin the excitement I felt when I found out she was in it. She's a stone cold fox.
 
Jon-Paul Kaiser just made these Judge Dredd customs for a lucky collector and the amount of detail in them is unreal. Take a gander at them and then hit him up to make you a toy that will put the rest of your collection to shame.

 

Friday, September 27, 2013

More NYCC Exclusives from Tenacious Toys



    I could really go for a Slurpee right about now.  I looooooove Slurpees, but only the Coke ones.  I'm not very flavor adventurous and the Coke one is so good that I have never in all my years on this earth felt the need to deviate.  I did have a dream last night that they made whiskey Slurpees and I tried one and became an alcoholic.  See what happens when you try new things.  You end up in rehab.  

    New York Comic Con is on the horizon my friends and that means I'm gonna tell you about more exclusive stuff.  This batch will all be featured at the Tenacious Toys booth #208.  Sippy Shortstraw from UME Toys has kickstarted my Slurpee craving this morning.  Just look how happy he is.  It's probably cause his beverage is carbonated and the bubbles tickle.  Or he farted.  Carbonation will do that to ya.  This little resin guy will be $40.




    This guy isn't looking happy at all.  Maybe because he's got a case of the undeads.  Soko Cat made these Zombie Candy Corns that look like how I feel if I eat to many candy corns.  I'm not good at candy.  I'll buy a bag of candy, eat two of them, and then not want candy anymore for 6 months at which time what I bought has now gone bad.  I know, I know, "first world problems".  These will be $45.




     This is the physical manifestation of how most people feel about the Ewoks.  Still not as annoying as Jar Jar Binks by any means, but people really do hate them.  I can't remember feeling one way or another about them when I saw Return of the Jedi for the first time.  I was so mesmerized by the fact that they showed Darth Vader's face that there could have been an army of Barbie dolls that helped overthrow the Empire and I might not have cared.  These guys from Killer Bootlegs are pretty cool though, and proof that Endor was a rampant breeding ground for rabies.  

More NYCC Exclusives from Suburban Vinyl



    These guys remind me of a show I watched on Discovery Channel about the Humboldt Squid that are freakin huge and will literally kill you.  People fall into the water sometimes when they're fishing at night and the squid get all happy cause it's like "hey free fish"  then they decided to taste the fishermen and they were like "hey, not too bad" so they eat them too.  They're also known as diablo rojo and I make it a point to not mess with anything with diablo in its name.  The fact that I'm not dead proves that this is a sound philosophy.  Respect the science.

    You wanna see more New York Comic Con exclusives?  (if you pretend that Paul Stanley from Kiss is asking that to a crowd it sounds really cool)  Well, how about some more stuff that Suburban Vinyl is gonna bring with them?  Like these Minions of Dorkness from Scott Kinnebrew (aka Forces of Dorkness).  There's a total of twelve sets of each style of these tentacled bros and they're held together with magnets, so you can swap heads all day long.  They're gonna be $30 each and you can pick whichever ones you want; none of that blind box stuff here.  




    You may or may not know that I love cats.  I only talk about them so much that sometimes I wonder if its overboard.  Then I think screw that cause they're freakin adorable and do it anyway.  I believe the kids would call that YOLO or something.  I dunno, I'm old and cranky.  Mark Nagata from Max Toy Co. has created the most limited edition figure for the entire convention.  It could only be more limited if it didn't exist, cause he only made one of these bad boys.  That's right, there's only one.  And it's $175.  And if you buy him you have to hold him up to the sun like Simba from the Lion King and watch as every other collector's eyes get really wide with envy.  Get all this at more at booth #208.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Dead Folk Arcana Print Set from Skinner



    Hey, you there.  You wanna become a cosmic wizard, capable of raising the dead and always succeeding in your fantasy football league?  Then you have to start with how you decorate.  Posters of Bob Marley and Boondock Saints ain't gonna do it for you bro.  Not only are you not harnessing your inner necromancer, you're limiting your potential suitors to girls who can't go out of the house without their lucky sweatpants.  You gotta man up, tune in, drop out, trip the light fantastic, and decorate your abode more like the temple it should be and less like a smelly dorm room.

    Skinner is gonna be your spirit guide into your home makeover with this set of Dead Folk Arcana prints.  You get five mind expanding prints that will tear your soul from your body, spit on it, and then shove it partially back in like when you try to repackage something and it never ever fits the same way as it once did and you kinda give up and just leave it the best you can which is not nearly as good as those factory guys did it cause at least they could get the lid closed and probably didn't disappoint their families nearly as much as you do with your ineptness.  They're limited to 30 sets and come numbered in a nice folio to protect them and you get it all for $120.  The path to your greatness has never been more affordable.   These go on sale tomorrow, September 27th, at noon Pacific time.  Get em here: http://theartofskinner.com/.


This is a sample to get you hooked.  That tingly feeling in your gut?  That's your magic coming out.  Or a bad burrito.  



Hot Pink Resin Mao Bust from Frank Kozik



    There are an abundance of sparrows flying past the house today driving Icarus crazy.  He's sitting in the window making his little chirpy noises that could either mean "Come here birdy friends and lets snuggle" or "You would taste delicious with a nice balsamic reduction and side of micro greens."  I'm still waiting for my Rosetta Stone disc on cat language to come in the mail.  

    Or he could be trying to tell them about this new hot pink resin Mao bust from Frank Kozik.  It is his second favorite terrible world leader, trailing only behind Oprah.  He really wants his little green hat with the red star as he said people would take him more seriously with a nice cap.  Fifty of these were made and they will be $50 each when they go on sale tomorrow, September 27th, at noon Pacific time at www.frankkozik.net


This is his excited face as he now thinks he's getting a hat.  I need to stop typing out loud.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

NYCC Exclusive Black and White Harley Quinn from Harrison's Comics x Funko



    They're are gonna be Pop! Vinyls galore at New York Comic Con and this one is definitely on my want list.  Harrison's Comics and Funko will be releasing a 2000 piece run of this black and white Harley Quinn during the con, and if you're not able to make it Harrison's is also offering some online for the rest of the world.  

NYCC Exclusive Mini Tuttz from Argonaut Resins x Suburban Vinyl



    When I first heard that Suburban Vinyl was gonna be selling cracked cats I thought to myself "You shouldn't sell cats with a drug addiction, you should get them into treatment."  Besides, who wants to own a crackhead cat?  They're just gonna steal everything.  Then I returned to the real world and determined that the "cracked" they referred to was their sweet paint job and I felt silly for maybe 2 seconds.  

    Argonaut Resins made these exclusive Mini Tuttz for the good folks at Suburban Vinyl's booth at New York Comic Con.  They're located in booth #208, which is this giant collective booth that is so large it will have it's own gravitational pull.  






Octoberry Custom Octopups from Nathan Hamill




    I'm terrible at doing anything that's good for me, but I'm most terrible at eating well.  Seriously, I eat like a stubborn 10 year old.  Sometimes I'll try and trick my body and buy a carton of strawberries, but then I just dump packets of sugar on them to make them palatable.  Until they release a study naming donuts as a healthy alternative to vegetables its just going to be a matter of time before I die from snacks.

    Nathan Hamill painted up 8 of his Octopups to look like strawberries.  If you would like to own one they go on sale today (September 25th) at noon Pacific at http://nathanhamill.bigcartel.com/.  And they're only $25.  For custom painted toys?  That's a bargain my friends.  

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Butterpillars from Taylored Curiosities



    Who didn't collect bugs in jars as a kid?  It was free entertainment and pretty harmless unless you were out there catching Black Widows.  I was a bit too rational as a child though, so I only kept em for a few minutes and let them go again.  Sure I poked holes in the lid so they could breathe, but no one could explain to me what they were supposed to eat in there.  Do they have some sort of insect food delivery that goes into action when their brethren is imprisoned?  We didn't have the internet then, so if your parents didn't know things you were out of luck.  And the Encyclopedia Britannica would only get you so far, so I practiced catch and release.  It would be interesting to me if someone could pinpoint the moment that compassion left me and I became a cruel old hermit.  Get off my lawn!!!!!!!

    Taylored Curiosities has taken us back to the innocence of childhood with these Butterpillars.  You can keep them in the jar as long as you want and never have to worry about their discomfort.  Poke a few holes just in case though.  They're on sale right now at http://tayloredcuriosities.bigcartel.com/.



Outsmart Originals at NYCC




    Did you ever notice that it's cool to put designs on shirts but not on pants?  Like, if you have pants with a design on it you are pretty much a deviant who listens to Insane Clown Posse and has a low credit score.  Think about it, when was the last time you saw anyone who didn't look like a drunken mugshot wearing pants with a design up the leg?  We have made it unacceptable in our society to express your artistic desires on your dungarees and I'm ok with that.  If Project Runway has taught me anything it's that you gotta edit.  Less is more.  Your jeans are the pallet cleanser between your t-shirt and your sneakers, a brief reprieve of visual assault from those that are checking out your hot bod.

    Outsmart Originals doesn't make artists series pants thankfully, or they would be in trouble.  They stick to tees and have a load of them coming to New York Comic Con.  MCA has collaborated with some of his artist bros to transform his Evil Ape character.  Lamour Supreme, Sergio Mancini, Scott Tolleson, Oliver Hibert, and Evoker are all putting their spin on the iconic little dude.  And Outsmart will also have a shirt from Frank Kozik that features a Day of The Dead kitty!!!!!!I haven't even seen it yet but I'll probably buy it anyway, cause that's how I roll son.  

    Can't make it to New York next month?  You can preorder them all right now at http://outsmartoriginals.storenvy.com/.

Monday, September 23, 2013

People Find This Site in the Oddest of Ways


    

Yes, this is indeed The Toy Viking headquarters.



    Looking at the data for how people stumble upon this website is kind of interesting.  Three people found me by doing a Google search for "plastic balloon animals."  One even made his way here with his inquiry about "cool mickey mouse graphic designs."  My favorite though, has to be the handful that did a search for "google" and somehow made their way to my little corner of the internet.  A dozen or so have found me through a few different Russian sites that probably now have me on some sort of government watch list.  Speaking of Russia, Sharon and I just watched a documentary called Miss Gulag on Netflix, that is about a beauty pageant held in a women's prison in Siberia.  Women is prison there are a lot different from the ones in the United States.  For example:  Those Siberian girls looked like they were doing an artsy fashion shoot for Vogue and not doing time for attempted murder.  While in the United States, I am scared of any woman that has been incarcerated due to their facial scar collection and the fact that they could probably take me.  When I used to work in the mall we would get groups of women from a local half way house and the way they would give you the eye reminded me of when two cartoon characters are starving in the desert and one of them begins looking like a turkey diner to the other.  But they don't let cannibals live in half way houses do they?  I figure if you partake in eating another person you are probably stuck in jail forever.  Maybe it was because I have a beard and it was the most manly thing they'd seen in awhile.  Call me old fashioned, but I'm leery of someone winking at me with a tear drop-tattooed eye.  

   I can't remember if I had a point to any of this at all.  

Dunny Evolved Launch Party at Kidrobot New York



    Kidrobot is releasing a new series of Dunnys during New York Comic Con and are having a little get together to celebrate.  You see that little flyer up there?  It has a lot of information.  Most of it is of some importance, but the RSVP info is probably what you should focus on right now.  And by focus on it I mean you should email that person and tell em you wanna go.  Cause if you don't you may be spending that chilly October night standing outside of Kidrobot New York while all the cool people are in there getting drunk and buying toys.  You'll have your face pressed up against the window, looking a bit mental and wishing you could be inside having fun.  So RSVP ya bum!  On a side note I will be driving back to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey while this party is happening because someone has to feed my cats, so I will need to live vicariously through you.  Don't let me down.  



More NYCC Exclusives from myplasticheart



    This guy looks like he would have a flavor.  Like orange mango or something.  That would be an interesting way to display your toys; by grouping together the ones that look delicious.  I seriously have too much free time.

    myplasticheart is releasing more info about their exclusives for New York Comic Con and that would include this Junior from Lou Pimentel.  It's a special Necro Candy Corn edition that will be available for $35.




    My wife went nuts when she saw this because she does the whole crochet thing too.  She's shown her work to people before and they've confused it with knitting, which is a huge faux pas.  Knitters and crocheters evidently have this whole east coast/west coat rap battle thing going on and if you confuse the two it's a quick way to lose an eye.  I expect when she meets Leesasaur they will make some gang signs with their hands that I won't understand but that will bond them for life.  

Saturday, September 21, 2013

First Batch of NYCC Exclusives from Tenacious Toys




    The great blue takeover is happening at New York Comic Con this year courtesy of Tenacious Toys.  They have a giant collective booth with a ton of other folks that will form like some miniature city inside of the convention.  Word is they'll have their own post office, fire department, and grocery store, but I haven't been able to confirm this.  Seriously, it's gonna be huge.  These are some of the exclusives that Benny will have available just from his side of things.  Get ready to go into debt.

    MegaSeth is one of the best resin dudes I've ever seen and I'm glad I'll finally be able to see one in person.  This king of all that is metal from Lisa Rae Hansen is limited to only 5 pieces in this edition and each is hand made and only $60.  Me thinks I may need one.  





    Continuing with the blue theme are these Monster Embryos from Taylored Curiosities.  Pretty cute right?  I dunno how many were made or what they'll cost, but I'm betting they'll be cheaper than any cab ride in the city and a lot less dangerous.





    Is it a toy?  Is it art?  Will it unleash hellish beings who will wish to torture you if you try and open it?  Who cares (well the last part is kinda frightening to be honest) cause it looks cool.  Carson Catlin is a man with more patience than I've ever been able to muster.  You have to be zen-like to carve up toys the way he does with such precision.  Luckily these weren't all individually cut, or he may just have drive himself nuts.  Ten of these blue cubes will be available at $50 each.  




    Wait a second...this appears to be yellow.  How did this happen?  Just when you think you have a grasp on what's going on in the world they go and change things up on ya.  VISEone is the man behind this Zombie Goo figure and he will be at the convention to sign one of these 100 exclusives especially for you.  And they're only $40 each.





    Ok, all is now right with the world as we have returned to a more familiar shade of toy.   But talk about mixing it up.  We've seen resin, vinyl, and now plush!  Furry Feline Creatives made 10 of these hand made 15 inch plushies and they will be available for $40.  

    I'm sure there's gonna be more, but this is what I know about so far.  Go and say hi at booth #208.


Friday, September 20, 2013

KaijuMonster at NYCC



    Obviously, KaijuMonster wants all of my money.  If anyone is a fan of crazy monster toys be prepared to file for bankruptcy protection after New York Comic Con.  Just look at this lineup.  You have everyone from Max Toy Co., to Unbox Industries, to Guumon.  These are some heavy hitters and I can't wait to see the actual toys they'll have available.  

Two New Exclusives from 3DRetro Available Now



    The documentary Planet of the Apes has given us all insight into what our future holds.  Not only is it the first documentary to showcase events that have yet to happen, it's the first ever one that was brought to us courtesy of our eventual understanding of time travel.  We made some crazy advancements in technology before the monkeys took over.  That hoverboard from Back to the Future?  Yeah, we finally figured that one out too.  So we know the monkeys are gonna break out of the labs and enslave us all, so why not be prepared by putting this guy on your mantel.  That way, when they break into your house to send you to the salt mines they'll see that you were a loyal monkey revolution supporter and may choose to not throw poop at you.  SSUR designed these and this army green version is an exclusive to 3DRetro.  Get one now, and avoid getting pink eye from a flying turd to the face.




    The Octopup Revolt, as we all know, was squashed by a malnourished flock of seagulls.  Their little march onto the beach was adorable, but little did they know of the horrors that circled above their little heads.  Pity, as they would have made better leaders than those damn dirty apes.  Nathan Hamill brought some of these back to Singapore just for you, where they were an exclusive at a huge show that you couldn't go to.  Well fret not, because now you can complete your Octopup collection!!!!  All is now right in the world.  Till the monkeys get loose of course, but you knew that.

40% Off Sale from DuBose Art



    It's hard to believe that DuBose Art has only been making toys for a year, cause they have packed in a lot of stuff in that time period.  I mean a lot.  So much so in fact, that they need to clear some space.  So to celebrate their anniversary they're taking 40% off of all orders.  That's a pretty big deal.  You can get in on this only until October 1st, which is 10 days away.  Use the coupon code "whatayear" at checkout and save yourself a fat stack of cash while getting some killer custom toys.  


Thursday, September 19, 2013

R2-Q5 NYCC Exclusive from Kotobukiya



    Every family has that one person who was just born bad.  Most of the time that just involves someone making dumb choices that result in the police coming by every once in awhile.  Rarely does that involve trying to help the Galactic Empire defeat the Rebel Alliance and bring a reign of terror over the entire galaxy.

    R2-D2 will have to think twice about inviting his evil cousin R2-Q5 to Thanksgiving, cause he'll probably steal.  This droid is an exclusive release from Kotobukiya for New York Comic Con, though their will be some available for preorder through their website.  The ones bought at the con will come with this gold plated medallion as an extra special bonus.  Check em out at booth #1654.

NYCC Exclusive Pop! Vinyls from Funko x Fugitive Toys



    You know what's great about Pop! Vinyls?  I never feel guilty about buying them.  They're like those fun size candy bars that you keep eating cause they're small and before you know it you ate the whole bag.  Every time I see one of these guys that I want I just buy it because the price is always good and you never feel like you could have used your money for something better, like your electric bill.  

    Fugitive Toys will have three exclusives from Funko's ever popular line of figures for this year's New York Comic Con.  There will be a metallic Batman Beyond (which I need, a New 52 Nightwing, and that same Nightwing only in a metallic version.  Buy one, buy them all!  No need to hold back, because they're more affordable than buying a hot dog in the Javitts Center. 





Metal Mockbats and Anniversary Edition Luftkaisers from Paul Kaiju x Toy Art Gallery



    You wanna know what is frightening?  A House Centipede.  For those of you who were ignorant to their existence as I once was, this is what they look like:


    Our cat Icarus found on of these in the basement the other day and went nuts.  I had never seen one before and was pretty sure that this thing would crawl into my ear and eat my brain.  Turns out they don't do that, but I wasn't willing to take that chance.  So I caught him in a shoe box, took him outside, and put him on our neighbor's porch with the hopes that he would then go in his house and lay eggs in his skull.  That's what he gets for making it seem like someone is having an exorcism every time his really dumpy girlfriend spends the night.  

    Back to business.  I have no idea why I told you that story, except that if I were to go into the basement and see something flying around that looked like Paul Kaiju's Luftkaiser, I would be equally as worried.  He's not down there waiting for a a stray spider to cross his path, he wants the sweet meat. This is the Anniversary Edition made to celebrate Toy Art Gallery's fourth year in existence.  And they're only $45.  It's their birthday and we get the presents?  These are the best kind of friends to have.

    They're also debuting these new metal Mockbats from Paul Kaiju.  They have magnets in their joints so you can pose em however you want and their stomach flips down to show you their guts/make it easier for c-sections.  They come in three different colors and each one retails for $135.  All that you see here (except for the house centipede) will be available for sale tomorrow, Friday September 20th, at noon Pacific time.  










Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Jedi Ghost Edition Heathrow from Frank Kozik x Urban Vinyl Daily



    You wanna know what was especially crap about George Lucas tweaking the original Star Wars movies?  Trust me, a lot was crap, but I thought it was really really sucky that when Anakin dies he gets to live as a ghost as a young dude, while Obi-Wan gets to chill in the afterlife as a senior citizen.  Anakin was old as dirt when he died and he was a pretty crappy person in life, while Obi-Wan was Mother Theresa with a lightsaber.  Talk about getting the shaft on that one.  

    Frank Kozik and Urban Vinyl Daily are releasing this Jedi Ghost resin edition Heathrow today at noon Eastern time.  And they glow in the dark.  That's pretty cool right?  Thirty five bucks will get you one at http://urbanvinyldaily.storenvy.com/.

myplasticheart: First Exclusives for NYCC Revealed




    Thank God people are starting to release exclusive info for New York Comic Con.  I like to develop a game plan early on to determine the things I have to have and the longer I have to desire it, the more likely I am to take extreme measures to ensure I get it.  Will I push a kid out of the way?  Maybe.  Hey, what's the point of being bigger than them if you can't knock em over.  Ok, I wouldn't really do that...unless no one was looking, cause who's gonna believe some kid over me?  

    myplasticheart always have a ton of exclusive offerings every year and these are but the first two that they've allowed us to see.  The first is this Sideways bro from Yoskay Yamamoto x Mighty Jaxx.  They're really turning the idea of the designer toy on it's head (see, this is why Abraham Lincoln called me, and I quote, "The comic genius of our time".  It's on Wikipedia, so it must be true.)  He looks pretty calm and collected for not being able to pick his head up off the ground.  Only 100 pieces were mae and it will be $85 throughout the convention.





    This next guy from Dave Bondi is looking all sorts of familiar.  It's like a couple of well known characters met on Match.Com, had a nice evening out, things got crazy, and nine months later this is the permanent reminder of their first date.  Fifty of these were made and they will cost $65 each.  Both artists will also be in attendance sometime during the con to sign your figures/give you high fives.  

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Rotten Rexx Custom Contest from Lulubell Toy Bodega




    You know how annoying hipsters are?  They always have to be into things that are outdated, like when you see them in public using a typewriter instead of a laptop.  Well, how many of those fancy jerks have dinosaur taxidermy?  Now you can beat them at their own game with Rotten Rex!  "Oh, that's a nice deer head you have on your wall I guess, if you're into contemporary animals.  I only collect animals that have been extinct for a butt ton of years."  Out hipster that, hipster!


    Rotten Rexx was created by James Groman who you all know even if you don't know you know.  He does some crazy work that's been featured in his work with Hasbro, Star Wars, Godzilla, and much much more.  You can get this head and paper plaque that is perfect for mounting above your fire place right now from Lulubell Toy Bodega.  They're also running a customization contest, where now through October 1st you can upload your painted Rexx head to Instagram and have the chance to turn your vision into an actual production version of this toy.  Pretty neat.  A full version of Rotten Rexx complete with a body will be available at this year's New York Comic Con.





Saturday, September 14, 2013

Super Series Sunday from Kid Ink Industries x Tenacious Toys



    Normally, I would never cut and paste anything on here.  I'd like to think part of the charm of this site is that I tell you personal stories, funny anecdotes, or just blather like an idiot all while informing you about cool new toys.  There are however good times to let the words of another stand in for my own.  So with that being said, I'm going to let Kris Dulfer of Kid Ink Industries tell you about his new resin figure The Wiseman and the Crane:

    My father is a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Without diving too deep into that part of the history, understand it was the origin point for how this resin piece came to be cast...

    During the traveling related to his tour of duty, my pops found himself briefly in Thailand. While in Thailand he came across a merchant who was selling different wares and curios. Among the objects he selected a metalish figurine of an old man with a crane perched at his feet. An excellent gift, he thought, for my grandmother. He eventually returned home from his tour. My grandmother possessed the figurine till she passed away, upon which my father reacquired it. The figurine was always on my father's dresser as far back as I could remember, and I was always fascinated by it.

    Fast forward 30 + years: now I'm an adult, and an artist, I make molds and cast things out of plastics. Recently while having breakfast with my pops we were chatting about things, when it occurred to him that the figurine of the old man and the crane would translate into a fantastic resin piece. He suggested it. At first I rejected the idea, but then as the day went on, I had a recollection from my childhood. The spark of fascination with the figurine was a formative event in my young creative mind. I didn't quite grasp it then; but a subconscious part of me desired to recreate it, to see it in varying colors, like a toy. I changed my mind and asked my father to borrow the figurine to recast. When I began the process of molding the figurine i decided to research it further. After a little research and digging I ascertained the figure was based on the symbolism of the "Wiseman" and the "Crane". The symbolism was universal across Asia in earlier centuries: wisdom and perseverance, and these two symbols combined together equaled "longevity". Research indicated that the figure I possessed was actually made in Italy, cast from an Original Ox Bone carving. During the 1960's and 1970's these ancient Ox Bone carvings were molded and used to create pewter casts. The pewter casts were then shipped back to Asia and sold by a handful of savvy Thai street vendors alongside their locally made finery and wares. The rest is lost to history, as the saying goes.

    There's a Zen-like element to this whole story, the wheel of eventuality completing itself, as I finally do something that I've secretly dreamed about since I was a child. I can picture the spirit of my grandmother smiling down and winking at me. A knowing wink tinted with Wisdom and Perseverance.

- K.Dulfer, 2013


    Pretty neat huh?  Well you can own one of these figures when they go on sale tomorrow (September 15th) at 2pm Eastern time through Tenacious Toys.  There are 36 different color variations that have all been blind bagged and will retail for $25.  These are just a few of the ones you may get:





Friday, September 13, 2013

Watermelon Chewing Gum Cadaver Twins from Splurrt




    You know, its never really too early to shop for Valentine's Day.  Flowers wilt, chocolate melts, but Cadaver Twins are forever.  Splurrt is releasing this Watermelon Chewing Gum edition of his disturbing figure tomorrow (September 14th) at 12pm Eastern time.  Two lucky folks will get one of the Freezer Pop chase versions, which perfectly illustrate the dangers of leaving your conjoined monster babies on ice for too long.