Buck Weathers 8 Inch Dunny from Amanda Visell x Kidrobot

     Do you know how you get your farmers name?  You take the name of the street you grew up on and your dog's name.  Or something like that.  I ain't saying I know much about farming, but I have some bushes outside that are making me look like I do.  Seriously, they are banging and most likely making the neighbors jealous cause now all the birds and squirrels and chipmunks are hanging out at my place making it look like a Disney movie.

    This here is Buck Weathers, and he is simple country folk who doesn't appreciate your Dueling Banjos or Deliverance jokes.  What he does appreciate is chewing on his bit of straw and firing warning shots at anyone who tries to tip his cows over.  Seriously, why would you freaks want to push a cow down?  If you were really tough you would go bear tipping.

     You can get your hard working hands on this country bumpkin from Amanda Visell and Kidrobot on Friday, May 20th.  Oh, and it appears there are two different versions which my superior internet sleuthing has uncovered.

The First Ever 5 Inch Dunny from Sekure D x Kidrobot

    The world is full of firsts, not all of which are awesome.  Sure you're first kiss or your first car are great memories, but then they get counteracted with things like your first arrest, or your first extra nipple.  But wouldn't you kill to go back in time and get the first ever set of Dunnys that were released?  That's a pretty cool first, and you can sort of kind of relive that moment on Friday, May 13th when the first ever 5 inch Dunny from Kidrobot is released!  This inaugural edition was designed by sneaker and toy customizer Sekure D and will be available in two different colorways.  Don't come back to me ten years from now when your 5 inch Dunny collection is only missing this one and it's impossible to find for less than the price of a Volkswagon, cause I don't want to hear it.  I'm trying to get you in on the ground floor cause regrets are for other people.

Stealth Mecha Dunny from Frank Kozik x Kidrobot

    Where I live we have a national landmark named Lucy the Elephant that is exactly what it sounds like: a really big elephant.  I think there used to be a hotel in it or something and I know there's a window you can look out of right in the giant elephant butt, which was either bad planning or a work of genius; I have yet to decide.  I guess it's cool but how much better would it be if it was some hyped up weapon ready to protect our shores at any cost?  Imagine this: the enemy lands on the beaches of Atlantic City, ready to destroy all the monuments of grandeur that President Trump (cringe) has built in his name and suddenly the giant elephant comes to life, annihilating all that dare invade this nation.  Missed opportunity.

No, those tusks aren't actually hiding an array of missiles.

    If Frank Kozik was our president I'm sure our country would be filled with these Mecha Dunnys, ready to be deployed at a moments notice to vanquish all threats.  Or Amazon could use them to deliver books to you faster than a pizza.  Or both, which would be a real efficient use of resources and probably mean he wouldn't have to raise taxes.  Corporations should sponsor everything.

    Kidrobot is unleashing this color way of the popular 8 inch figure on Friday, March 18th.  Protect your homestead for only $74.99.

Mishka Dunny Series from Kidrobot + Release Party

    Oh my goodness this is the craziest Dunny series ever made.  They got zombie looking ones, crazy animals with guns and forked tongues.  There's even one that looks like you're creepy uncle Ted. This series is not for people that have never been in a fight or haven't had a tetanus booster shot in the last five years.  Each one is decorated with pure snake venom and contains the angry soul of a biker demon.  I want them all.

   Mishka and Kidrobot have teamed up to bring you these Dunnys that are sure to make your mother cry and tell all her friends how disappointed she is in you.  She doesn't get you man, but I do!  These are being released into the wild on Friday, March 11th, but if you're lucky enough to live in the San Francisco area you can get yours a day early by going to the release party at Woot Bear/Kidrobot SF.  Hit it up from 6-9pm, buy a ton of toys, and trade with your fellow collectors.

Here's a few of my favorite designs from the series:

Seen at Toy Fair: Kidrobot

    Toy Fair is a weird experience for a website such as ours.  Most of it is filled with stuff for kids and doesn't really cater to the adult collector.  In the days leading up to it we get bombarded with emails from different companies wanting to show us the latest in technology for entertaining toddlers, which if they'd ever seen what we write about they wouldn't want us anywhere near them.  But Toy Fair can still be insightful and a good time for those of us that collect designer toys and my favorite booth to visit every year is the one manned by Kidrobot.

    Unlike past years where everything was a surprise when I got there, I had some ideas about what they would be showcasing because of the various teasers that have popped up on Instagram.  Lest you think that diminished my excitement level at all, because two toys in particular had planted their images in my head and I just had to see them in person.  

    Gaze upon the glory that is the collaboration between Franks: Kozik x Frazetta.  I feel like these two vinyl titans should come with their own fog machine and Norwegian black metal band.  These were the prototypes on display and we should be expecting at least one of them to be available this Summer.  I already have a space ready.

   Now for something a bit more on the precious side.  These vinyl renditions of Horrible Adorables felt sculptures are going to be must-own figures for me.  Not only will they look great in any toy collection, but they look like they could be used as accent pieces in some fancy home decor magazine shoot.  

   I believe these will be sold in window boxes so you can pick the ones you want, which is obviously all of them.  

    Jason Freeny is a man of curiosity, which is mainly focused on the inner workings of some of the world's most beloved characters.  Soon you'll be able to own this anatomical representation of Bugs Bunny and marvel at all the bits and pieces that make him tick.  I've got a cabinet of curiosities just begging for a bit of humor, and this would look lovely next to the electro shock machine.

(By the way, all of these toys were expertly produced by Klim and his team at Bigshot Toyworks, who are on point when it comes to making cool stuff.)

    Ok, if you don't own a really nice table top display case yet, let me give you a great excuse to buy one.  This Dunny Chess set from Otto Bjornik is truly a work of art and when you're not busy owning your friends in the classic game you're going to want to make sure it has a place of distinction in your house.  You will be able to buy the pieces in packs of two or you could just skip all that and get an entire set.  Either way, the figures come with squares that form the game board and buying them will probably impress your mom with how much culture you have.  

   Of course these are not all the new things Kidrobot had on display, these just happen to be my favorites.  There's new stuff coming from The Simpsons, Street Fighter, TMNT and more Labbits and Dunnys than you can shake a stick at.  Have you actually ever seen anyone shake a stick at a group of things?  That whole saying would be way more effective if you saw people doing that.  

    See more pictures at www.facebook.com/TheToyViking 

Nathan Jurevicius Presents The Nightriders Mini Series from Kidrobot

    There are mysterious goings on in the dead of night, and I'm not just talking about that family of raccoons who have been treating your trash cans like a casino buffet.  I'm talking about more mystical happenings involving otherworldly creatures who are not in fact interested in pillaging your mom’s green bean casserole.  These are the Nightriders, a group of bird spirits that can travel between worlds as they carry with them information of things unseen.  See, even when you think no one is all up in your business your secrets are still not safe.  If they weren't so dang cute I would be at the store right now buying aluminum foil to cover all my windows and make hats out of to confuse their secret-gathering methods.

    Will they reveal all of their otherworldly knowledge to you?  There’s only one way to find out when these critters from Nathan Jurevicius are released.  Featuring a mixture of Dunny and Munnyworld figures, this blind boxed mini series is beautiful in its simplicity.  And each figure comes with a bonus, stackable owl companion!  Now you can finally realize your dream of having a stackable owl companion named Felix who solves riddles and collects magic-infused gemstones..  That's kind of a weird dream to have when you think about it.

    These will be available starting Friday, January 29th on www.kidrobot.com and wherever you prefer to buy your designer toys.

3DRetro is Throwing a Release Party for The 8 Inch Sketracha Dunny from Sket One x Kidrobot

    People love this Sriracha stuff.  The other day while walking through Target I noticed that they even had Sriracha branded boxer shorts, which could send mixed messages to anyone that sees you wearing them.  They could assume that what you got going on is so hot you just have to advertise it.  Or they could assume that what you got going on is akin to the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster and they should steer clear of the fallout.  You should be very aware of who your audience is before you wear those.

    A less ambiguous method of showing your love for the spicy condiment is with the new 8 inch Sketracha Dunny from Sket One and Kidrobot.  It's the safer alternative for me, as my digestive system is a delicate flower.  There's a release party happening at 3DRetro this Friday where you can pick up the toy, have it signed by the artist, and dine at some fancy food trucks they'll have parked outside.  All the details you need are in the picture, you just have to clear off your calendar and go.

   

"It's a F.A.D." 8 Inch Dunny Signing and Release Party with J*Ryu

    I love this Dunny from J*Ryu for many different reasons.  For one, it's a Dunny and I'm kinda partial to these make-believe critters.  And for two, it pretty much matches my authentic personal brand.  This is the most versatile Dunny ever created when it comes to enhancing how Sharon and I decorate our home.  It's ornate, it looks vintage, and it's a toy.  It could be a piece of architectural salvage from a French house of ill repute or it could be a haunted artifact inhabited by the vengeful spirit of some ancient Japanese demon.  Either way, that pretty much sums up our home design philosophy.

    This thing is gorgeous in every version I've seen of it and now he's been shrunken down to a more manageable 8 inch size.  There's even a chance you might get a 1 out of 4 chase piece in beautiful pewter.  Either way they both come with a removable vinyl key that fits in its chest, which makes your options for displaying it that much more dynamic.  This Friday you'll not only be able to get your figure early; you can also get it signed by the artist himself during a release party at Kidrobot San Francisco.  All the details you need are in the picture you see there, including the promise of a very specific type of gift with purchase.  Wait a second, I think I finally understand what the F.A.D. stands for.  This is like the time I realized that Guns and Rose song "Mr. Brownstone" wasn't about some creepy old dude that lived next door to Axl.

Sket One's "Sketracha" 3 Inch Dunny from Kidrobot Available Now

    I have no idea what Sriracha tastes like because I have a fluffy little lamb for a stomach.  I've been trying to be more food adventurous, but that is way less Indiana Jones and more not skipping over as many aisles in the grocery store as I used to.  For me that's a big step, though a very cautious one, cause just one wrong move and I'm doubled over begging sweet death to take me.  I suppose that's a bit dramatic.  

    Sket-One is the king of condiment Dunnys and he has expanded his range with this gastorintestinal heathen.  Kidrobot just released this 3 inches at the end of last week and from what I understand they are tough to come by.  But I believe in you way more than I believe in my ability to digest this stuff without complication.  Oh, and there's a 2 in 5 chance you'll get a nearly-empty chase variant.  

"It's a F.A.D." Funny from J*RYU in Kidrobot Exclusive Patina Finish

    You see this tombstone here?  I have no idea who this lady is, but I feel we would have been great friends.  It all has to do with my belief that she planned to have her final resting place adorned with super sick patina.   Now I have more reason for thinking this than just being a nut ball, because I took this picture in Laurel Hill Cemetary, which was actually created as a tourist attraction by who else, the Victorians.  So I figure the people buried there really put some thought into giving visitors something cool to see and remember them by.  This woman was acutely aware of the oxidation process and knew that years down the road, the patina covering her marker would increase in how bangin' it was.  That's some thinking I can get behind.

    I am completely in love with this toy, admittedly a lot has to do with the sick finish that everyone knows I'm so fond of, but J*RYU and Kidrobot really outdid themselves with this Dunny in every aspect.    I love how the figure is not necessarily a character, but is focused on the various ornamental details covering it.  Just go ahead and throw out some of your other toys to make room for this monstrous 20 inch beauty.  Or better yet sell em off, cause something this stunning, and large, don't come cheap.  It's gonna run you $500, which is a little too rich for my blood, but I desperately wish it wasn't.  In fact, my new goal in life is to get to a place of financial security where making such a toy investment would be like buying a loaf of bread.  Maybe I should give that nice man a call that offered to harvest my kidney a few months back.  Hopefully he's cleaned the place up a little and stopped letting the goats sleep in the operating room.  I better have my tombstone picked out just in case.

    You can only get this edition from www.kidrobot.com, or their locations in San Francisco and Las Vegas starting this Friday, November 6th at 9am MST.

Christmas Releases from Kidrobot

    Halloween is now two days behind us, which can only mean that it's time to be bombarded with Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't know how people ever forget to shop until the day before because everywhere you turn someone is reminding you that it's coming up.   Christmas is your vegan friend who keeps leaving their brochures from Peta all over your house.  

    Though it can start to inflict blunt force trauma on your very being, Christmas is also a fun time that you get to spend with your family, eat beyond what is socially acceptable, and a day to show off just how great your engineering skills are by assembling the most complicated toys know to man.  Oh, and there's presents, which I will remind you I accept all year round whether it is marking a major holiday or not.  

    Something that's on my perpetually growing wish list is this new Dunny from Frank Kozik and Kidrobot.  This dude is trying to bring to light the hostile working conditions that North Pole Elves are facing this time of year as they are pushed beyond the limits of their little bodies in an effort to make unreasonable deadlines.  You can get one for yourself and ask him how the arbitration is going starting tomorrow, November 3rd from www.kidrobot.com.  Just don't be surprised if he sets up a giant inflatable rat on your front lawn.  

    You know what's great about these DIY Munny ornaments?  They already look good, so any lack or artistic ability that may be hindering you is totally a non factor.  Just pop em out of the box and onto your tree and wait for your cats to knock them down and shove them under the fridge.  Your experience may vary.  These are also available tomorrow in a handy 5 pack.  

Even More New Releases from Kidrobot

    

    Kidrobot is going to town with all of these recent releases, so much so that I've collected the one's I've neglected thus far into one post to help you maximize your toy buying abilities.  Prepare to be overwhelmed with things you need.

    Let me tell you something.  Doesn't it sound real serious when I start a paragraph off with that?  Like I'm on the verge of snapping while interrogating you for a crime you just won't confess to?  Well I've got a witness, bub, and I'm ready to make sure you go away for a looooooooooong time for buying that Insane Clown Posse cd.  Kidding, but seriously, just steal the thing next time so it doesn't end up on your credit card statement.  That will haunt you if you ever need to take out a loan.  

    What I was gonna tell you is that Amanda Visell's Ferals mini series is beyond adorable.  Not that you can't see that for yourself, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of reinforcement when you're declaring things the cutest you've ever seen.  Utilizing the Munnyworld and Dunny platforms for her animal creations, these will make even the toughest grown man squee with delight.  They're sold blind boxed for $11.99 each but I dare you to be able to just buy one.  You can't.

    I've coveted this Dunny from doubleparlour the moment I found out it was happening.  I snagged one this past weekend and completely love it.  It's really interesting to see their work transformed onto such a familiar platform and to have been done without relying on any sculpting.  Hopefully this will not be the last version of their work realized in graphic fashion, cause now I'm hooked.  These are available now for $14.99 each.  

    Halloween is coming and everyone would really appreciate it if you put more effort into your costume this year.  Stop going to that dumb store in the mall, buying what you think is "sexy" or even worse "funny sexy" and parading around like you're changing the game.  Instead of scarring your trick or treaters for life, why not get yourself one of these masks.  You can pick from the DIY ones you see above, designs from the new Dunny series from Brandt Peters, or Frank Kozik's uber popular Labbits.  Your friends will thank you.  Available now for $19.99 each.   

"The 13" Dunny Series from Brandt Peters x Kidrobot Release Party at 3DRetro

    Whatcha doing this Friday?  You don't have to actually tell me, because I can't be held to secrecy if you're up to something weird.  I'll tell all your business.  You're gonna want to cancel any and all plans you may have had and instead go hang out with Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas as they release  a brand new Dunny series at 3D Retro. This is Kidrobot's first Dunny series in what seems like forever and just may be my favorite one yet.  I saw some of them in person at New York Comic Con this past weekend and they do not disappoint.  If you're lucky enough to attend this event and buy an entire case of toys (because not doing so would be silly) they will be giving out the chase piece as an added bonus (on a limited basis, so get there early).  Imagine not having to sweat as you prepare to open each box, your face turned upwards praying to every god you can remember from your "history of the world's religions" class at the community college.  It could be the most stress-free moment of your blind box opening life.  

      All the info you need to go is in the picture up there and if you're not able to go, cause maybe you are geographically prohibited, fear not because these figures release world wide the same day on www.kidrobot.com and wherever else designer toys are sold.  

My Top 10 Exclusives for This Year's New York Comic Con

    Let me tell you how prepared I am for New York Comic Con:  I went out today and got a flu shot.  I normally get one every year, and usually well before now, but there was no way I was gonna be pressed up against the sweaty, sniffling, masses without giving my immune system a chance at survival.  Plus, I'm totally out of sick days after The Great Kidney Stone of 2015 and I ain't trying to not get paid, suckas. So the only thing I have left to do is prepare my credit cards to be used and abused and to present to you my top 10 favorite exclusives I've seen for this year's convention.  

    Now this isn't one of those arbitrary lists with random numbers like Buzzfeed puts out there.  I have respect for the sanctity of the top 10 list and damn it without some sort of tradition we're just a bunch of apes rubbing sticks on the rocks to poke each other with.  I will not be poked by an uncouth monkey!  Speaking of ape-like creatures, the top dude you see there is the brand spankin new Wing Kong from Super7.  I love it.  It's a monkey, who looks pissed off, and he's got wings.  That's pretty much the total package.  Available at booth 174.  

    And speaking of horrible illness, check out this infected Dunny from Scott Wilkwoski x Kidrobot.  See, this is the type of thing that I am confident my flu shot will protect me from.  Available in purple or grey and only $60 each, you better be quick to the Clutter Magazine booth # 603 to get one.  

    If I were to ride a horse, which I'm not saying I will, I would hope that it would be a demonic hell pony with a tentacle mouth and bat wings.  Oh, what a coincidence, I happen to have one right here.  Bigshot Toyworks has these Lil Maddie figures at booth #208 just in time to rustle up your demonic cows and send them to the demonic slaughterhouse for processing into demonic burgers.  

    Is it an ice cream cone?  Is it candy corn?  Is it andy corn flavored ice cream?  Is it ice cream cosplaying as candy corn?  I don't know, but now I have a headache thinking about it.  Kozik's Monger Jerome from Rotofugi x Squibbles Ink is looking very Halloween-y in this paint job.  I need one and you do too only at booth # 603.

    Oh let me tell you how I love some marbled vinyl.  It's like the sweet patina of the plastic world.  These Cestodas from Miscreation Toys are the size of a small child without the nagging.  Mishka will have these available at booth # 110.  Bing a back brace to carry this sucker.

   I have yet to even see what the latest Shub Zeroth figure from Meta Crypt looks like, but I am so confident that it couldn't possibly suck that I'm adding it to my list.  Go pay a visit to Brian Ewing at booth # 120 for some killer art and metaphysical plastic.  

   I love snow cones, so now you can add that to the list of facts you know about me.  I hope that a snow cone never turns on me like this crazy dude from Jason Limon x Martian Toys.  Damn, this is a great figure and available at booth # 203.  

   CATS!  It's huge, it's a cat, and I need it.  Komatsu x myplasticheart have a special release of this new Daioh Negora at booth 113 and I'm gonna try and get one cause I'm that kind of pimp.  

    Another Dunny and another item I have to own.  Like, I won't die per se if I don't get one, but I wouldn't stand to close cause I may rage out.  doubleparlour killed this and it's debuting at booth # 603.

    The award for "most adorable freakin thing at comic con" goes to these Sleepytime Sea Bunnies from Peter Kato.  They are limited to 30 pieces and will be available from the Piq Products booth # 614 starting tomorrow.   

Imperial Lotus Dragon Release and Signing with Scott Tolleson at Rotofugi

   

    Did you miss me?  Sharon and I took a bit of a vacation and headed out west to visit with her grandmother and drive all around Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.  It was my first time on that side of the country (I'm not terribly well traveled) and it was like being in a completely different world.  Not only was the landscape crazy but the people were waaaaaaaay different than what I'm used to.  Mostly because they weren't miserable.  New Jersey has a certain reputation for people being mean and it wasn't given arbitrarily.  It's probably because there are just too damn many of us packed together in a small place and we're tired of smelling each other's armpits.  I could even feel myself getting angrier as I got off the plane on our return home and I almost beat a guy for looking at my luggage at baggage claim.  But out west everyone was so nice and pleasant and we had great conversations with people we just met.  And their Wal Mart was reeeeally clean, which will let you immediately gauge the happiness of the locals.

     Scott Tolleson will be taking a trip this Friday (I don't need any gold trophy to know that was "Seemless Transition of a Seemingly Unrelated Story to One About Toys of the Year") to Rotofugi in Chicago to release his Imperial Lotus Dragon Dunny from Kidrobot.  Buy yourself a toy, have Scott sign it, and enter to win free stuff.  Scott has been painting up these two fellows you see here and I wonder if these may be the door prizes in question:

    If so, you'd be a lucky son of a gun to own either of them.  Check out the details in the picture at the top of the post, cause I have to go to work and probably shouldn't be late cause I was typing all that out for you.  Kisses.  

Ron English's Apocalypse Grin Dunny Coming Next Week From Kidrobot

    Living in New York must be nuts.  There's always people around, nothing ever seems quiet, and I don't know how anyone affords to buy food after paying their rent.  Seriously, how are all New Yorkers not holding telethons for people to feed them?  I can't even rent a closet in the city for what I pay for my town house.  One benefit of living in the city is you get to stumble upon amazing works of art just hanging out there on the side of a building. People that have insane gallery shows are just painting real estate like its no big deal.  The other day while Sharon and I were roaming around trying to get to Toy Tokyo we ran into a huge mural from Ron English.  While we didn't physically run into it even though we were dehydrated and sweating like some urban nomads in a foreign dessert, you would have thought we had never been anywhere before with our level of amazement.  Which, to divert slightly, we totally embraced our inner podunk Midwesterner when we went into a two-story Target in Brooklyn and were completely floored with the escalator for shopping carts.  Check out this jawn:  you're roaming around my on the first floor, getting all your essentials for domestic life when you realize there is a new Taylor Swift album you will die without, but alas, the electronics department is on the second floor.  Are you supposed to just abandon your cart full of Hot Pockets and tabloids and hope that someone won't pillage your future purchases?  Should you strap it on you back, channel your inner sherpa, and lug that 4 wheeled son of a gun up there?  Fear not, because carts have their own adjoining escalator which moves them effortlessly between floors.  I know, it's crazy right?  I wanted to take a video of it but I didn't want people to think I was adjusting beautifully despite my obvious mental deficiencies.  You get mistaken for simple once in your life and you never forget it.

     The point of all this was originally, I think anyway cause I can't be bothered to read all that again, is that I saw some crazy out of doors art from Ron English and we don't have that stuff where I live.  We have people that paint rude sayings on billboards, but that can hardly be considered art, especially when their vulgar diatribes are not grammatically correct.  You can bring some Ron English art INSIDE the house next week when Kidrobot releases this ballin Dunny.  There's the regular version, which is just a bigger rendition of his original 3 inch design, and there's that super clean white chase design at you're not gonna want your friends to get their dirty finger prints on.  Get one for yourself next Friday, September 4th, for $75 from www.kidrobot.com or wherever you like to buy your toys.