Giant Monster Embryos from Taylored Curiosities and Creo Design

    This thing is literally a beast.  Taylored Curiosities decided it was time to make her Monster Embryos a bit bigger, so she enlisted the help of Creo Design and they created this gigantic future critter.  And a monster it is, as the finished product is 6 inches tall and 8 inches wide of pure, solid resin.  You could use this thing as a weapon if anyone ever breaks into your house.  They made 10 of these for ToyCon UK and they will have customs from artists such as Lisa Rae Hansen, Nervis Wrek, and the one you see below by Ume Toys.  And Jon-Paul Kaiser will be customizing one in person at the event.  

Unpainted Glow In The Dark Pollen Kaiser and Luftkaiser from Paul Kaiju x Toy Art Gallery

    Did you miss me yesterday?  I was in the great state of Virginia visiting my grandparents, but I was thinking of you guys the whole time.  Well, part of the time, but I made an effort.  Our relationship is nothing if not abusive dear reader.  

    What do we have here?  Oh nothing, just the new glow in the dark Pollen Kaiser and Luftkaiser from Paul Kaiju and Toy Art Gallery.  And it looks like I came back just in time, because these release today at noon Pacific time from http://shop.toyartgallery.com/.  Pollen Kaiser stands at a mighty 10 inches tall and will run you $155, while his little buddy Luftkaiser is a mere 4 inches tall and is bargain priced at $45.  Limit one of each toy per customer.  Don't let me see these on eBay either or I'll send someone to beat you.  

Bog Zeroth from Meta-Crypt x Critical Hit x Lulubell Toys

    This guy will inspire countless metal anthems in drop d tuning.  He will be tattooed on the arms of sweaty bros whose shirts have had their sleeves removed.  He will be airbrushed on the sides of vans that you would never park next to when you visit the mall.  He is Bog Zeroth!

    Meta-Crypt (Brian Ewing and Hateball) and Critical Hit (Skinner) put their evil little minds together along with Lulubell Toys to bring forth this unholy monstrosity.  I know you want one so let's get to the details.  Since there are only 12 of them they are holding a lottery for the chance to purchase one.  Starting today at noon Pacific time you can email amy@lulubelltoys.com with "Crypt Lottery" in the subject line.  You must also include your name, full addresss, and your PayPal email address.  The lottery closes on Wednesday at noon Pacific time at which point they will randomly select the winners and email you.  Then you gotta pay up the $110 plus shipping.  

Species 246 by Dubose Art for Tenacious Toys

    So Tenacious Toys has this new thing they're doing called Super Series Sundays in which they will release a limited edition resin or custom series every Sunday night.  So now you have something to do right after The Walking Dead rather than watching that dreadful Talking Dead show where they get people to blabber on about what you just saw.  Who cares.  Kevin Smith was on it last week wearing his stupid hockey jersey like he always is.  Do you think he owns 70 of those things or that he just makes his man servant wash the same one every day?

    Back to business.  The first in this series is Species 246 by DuBose Art.  Only 10 of these were made in this exclusive color and will be available starting at 10pm this Sunday for $35 from www.tenacioustoys.com.

Tokyo Strain Deadbeet from Scott Tolleson

    Two Deadbeet figures in one week!  Is there a holiday I'm unaware of?  This is the Tokyo Strain Deadbeet from Scott Tolleson, which is available today at 10pm Pacific time for $70.  Only 20 of them exist and can be obtained at http://www.stolleart.com/store/.  I think he should have called it the Jamaican Bobsled Team edition myself, but then again no one asked me.  

The 2nd Avenue Trading Card Convention

    You know what was the best?  When they used to have baseball card shows in the mall.  You'd be minding your business, just looking to get some new pants and BAM there's like 200 tables full of stuff that you just have to look at.  And there would always be the one table that didn't sell baseball cards, but instead sold posters and band patches and stuff like that.  And you thought that dude was living the American dream, traveling all over the place like some newfangled mall gypsy.  Then it turns out he was actually wanted for double homicide in Toledo and was just selling stuff he stole from Spencer's to try and buy himself good legal representation.

    Like many things from my childhood, card shows have pretty much all but gone away.  Which is why this event tomorrow is so cool.  If you're in the New York area you should hit up Toy Tokyo Underground for the 2nd Avenue Trading Card Convention.  It's being put on by Sidekick Labs who make those cool Art Hustle card series.  It just so happens that series 3 has been released and you can pick that up along with all kinds of other card sets that will blow your mind.  You can also meet The Sucklord, Lamour Supreme, and Buff Monster and get them to draw you pictures, or something.  Sounds lek a good time to me!

Purple Cadaver Kid and Blood Sacrifice Usir from Splurrt

    Why must all good things come out at around the same time?   It never fails that anytime there's a toy I want about 10 others will follow right behind it just begging me to love them.  I just bought something last week, and there's a few things on the horizon that I'm planning to snag, but then this comes up and I have to figure out how to make it all work.  Cause I need this.  

    I've been in love with this Usir figure from Splurrt since I first saw the sculpt he was working on.  And this one looks like he's ready to start a killer band from Norway and sing about the old gods and frighten your parents and probably send you down a spiral of crime and self destruction through subliminal messages from the devil.  You know, everything that makes a band worth listening to.  He's coming out this Saturday, February 16th at http://splurrt.bigcartel.com/.  Price and time TBD.

    You could also get a purple Cadaver Kid this Saturday if that's more your speed.  Paint him up or leave him the way he is, either way he makes a great companion for your desk at work.  No one will ever steal your pens again cause they'll figure you're a loon.

Toy Fair 2013: Skylanders

    I'm breaking out of my comfort zone a bit with this one, but I was so impressed with the massive fiberglass figures they had on display I felt the need to share them with you.  

    Skylanders is a game created by evil geniuses.  For those of you not familiar it involves collecting a hoard of actual toys and then putting them on this electronic portal thingy and actually being able to play with the characters in the game.  It's a freakin gold mine cause it not only appeals to gamers, but to toy collectors.  I've been impressed with the concept since it came out and now they have created a new way to get all of your money.  This Fall they're releasing a new set of figures that you can mix and match to combine their different powers.  Of course there will be a new game to go along with it and a new portal that you have to own to utilize the new swappable figures (it's backwards compatible with the old figures though) and all just in time for Christmas.  Whoever thought of this should have a monument somewhere, probably of them swimming in a pool filled with gold coins.  You know, to capture how they actually live.

And they had the biggest booth out of anyone at Toy Fair that was on one of the main floors.  These giant figures are taller than I am and are bigger versions of new guys from the upcoming game.  

Post Apocalypse Dunny Series from Huck Gee x Kidrobot

    I was lucky enough to see this entire set of figures at Toy Fair earlier in the week and they are even more amazing in person.  I'm glad that Huck Gee and Kidrobot produce these things, because owning one of the customs that he makes by hand would mean that I would have to peddle my organs on the black market.  Seems messy and painful.  But now I can have smaller versions for a fraction of the price and be just as happy.  

    This of course is the follow-up to the Apocalypse series from late last year and shows how the world has turned into a Mad Max type wasteland.  This is what its gonna look like if those crazy people from that Doomsday Preppers show are right.  You can get em on February 28th at all your usual places.  

    Huck Gee will also be doing a signing tour that will consist of every Kidrobot-branded retail store.  Here are the dates:

Glow in the Dark Deadbeet Toy Art Gallery Exclusive from Scott Tolleson

     Oooooh I see what the did there.  Deadbeet, like a vegetable corpse.  Very clever, cause I was wondering at first why they were making toys of father's who don't pay child support.  Now it makes a bit more sense.

    Scott Tolleson is the man behind this undead root and this glow in the dark version is an exclusive to Toy Art Gallery and on sale today!!!!  You can pick one by going to http://www.toyartgallery.com/ at noon Pacific time for $65.  And he is almost 8 inches tall, so you're getting a lot of plastic for your money, which is a good thing in our troubled world economy.

Toy Fair 2013: Mimobot

    Mimobot is everywhere these days.  Pretty much anything you're into has a corresponding flash drive for you to store all of your secrets.  Their big reveal at Toy Fair was the new My Little Pony line that was just released.  I'm still holding out for a Sanford and Son flash drive, but they tell me the likelihood of that happening is slim to none.  A boy can dream though.  

    And right now they're offering 20% off through their website but the sale ends on Valentine's Day.  Get on it!

Toy Fair 2013: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

     Ok, so I loved the TMNT when I was a kid and maybe pitched a fit to have them all the moment they were released.  Then I ripped the packages open and instantly lost half of the weapons.  I wonder how many of those little plastic ninja stars were eaten and then unceremoniously pooped out by pets all over the world?  Well Playmates showed off the most obvious innovation in Turtles toys ever at Toy Fair:  the shells open to store their weapons!  Why did this take 20 years to accomplish?  It's freaking genius!  

    Of course that's not the only cool TMNT items they had on display.  They had what felt like a make-shift house on the show floor full of em.  Of course I took more pictures than this, but not all of them will fit on this humble page, so check the rest out at www.facebook.com/thetoyviking.  

Winter White Monster Embryos from Taylored Curiosities

  
     I'm trying out this new blog posting app for my phone and it's already angered me.  Normally my pictures are first but not today.  Jerk app doesn't know how I roll.
     Most of the time I wouldn't stand for such nonsense, but I really wanted to get this up for my friend Taylored Curiosities, so I'll sacrifice a little.  These are her new Winter White Monster Embryos.  She only made 7 of them and they are available at 5pm GMT by clicking here.

Update:  This app sucks and I went home and fixed this post cause my OCD wouldn't let it stand.  Jerk app.

Toy Fair 2013: Argonaut Resins

    It was great to see Eric from Argonaut Resins at Toy Fair a few days ago.  He was working on a brand new sculpt and size of his Pharaoh Hound.  This guy stands 5 inches tall and should be available soon as he was making great headway on his wood carving.  He also had some custom Tuttz on display that I believe will be available in the near future.  Eric's a great guy to talk to as he's been doing this for awhile and has some great stories about the collectible toy world.  He's always at New York Comic Con so make sure you stop by next time and say hello.  And check out all of the cool stuff he makes at http://argonautsresin.blogspot.com/.  

Toy Fair 2013: Funko

    I seriously killed my camera battery at Funko's Toy Fair booth.  Especially on all of the new Pop! Vinyl figures they have coming out this year.  Some I had heard about online, but others I was surprised to see, like Beavis and Butthead and The Watchmen.  They will definitely be getting a lot of my hard earned cash this year.  You can see more of my pictures of their awesome wares at www.facebook.com/thetoyviking.  I'm warning you now:  they will blow your mind and you will probably ruin your credit score cause you will want every one of them.  

    This Vinyl Invader Batman was about as tall as my townhouse.  If I could have figured out how to get him on the train I would have been all about having this as the greatest lawn decoration known to man.  

Toy Fair 2013: McFarlane Toys

    Stopping by the Mcfarlane Toys booth at Toy Fair one thing was made quite evident:  it's all about The Walking Dead.  Just look at the prototype for the Season 3 Blu-Ray set.  It's a reproduction of the Governor's tanks full of heads.  All you have to do is add water to it and the heads and various other bits and pieces float all around.  I don't even care about the discs, I just want the case!  They also had all of the newest action figures from the series but nothing compared to this:

    It's a life-size Michonne statue!  She had one of her pet zombies attached to a chain and the other chain was open so you could stick your head through it and take pictures.  I'm sure this will crop up at every convention they're at from now on, which is good cause they were still putting it together when I was there.  I know, it sucks that I didn't get what would have been the best Christmas card photo ever, but what can you do.

    They are still heavily focused on their sports lines too, which is cool but not really my thing.  I did however take a picture of Claude Giroux cause I love the Flyers.  Gretzky is lucky he's a legend or I'd be pissed he was in the background trying to ruin my shot. 

    I also felt obliged to take a picture of this dude in his sweet viking get up.  But these aren't the only pictures I took.  If I put them all on here you would have to scroll for a decade, so check out more Toy Fair pics at www.facebook.com/thetoyviking and on Instagram @thetoyviking.

Toy Fair 2013: Kidrobot

    I made my first trek up to Toy Fair in New York yesterday not really knowing what to expect.  Many of the booths didn't reveal a lot that you couldn't already find on the internet to begin with.  So I was kinda bummed about that until we stumbled upon Kidrobot.  I didn't even know they were going to be there, so that in itself was a pleasant surprise, but then I saw the awesome stuff they had in their cases and was ready to hand over my credit card information on the spot.  

    The first picture you see up top there has caused quite a stir on my Instagram.   It's a huge, upright Smorkin' Labbit from Frank Kozik.  If I remember correctly it should come out around May and will be available in two different color schemes.  This is a must buy for me.  

    The other big reveal that I was able to get a picture of was of this second color way of the Frank Kozik and Chuckboy Cyborg Labbit.  The first one was released at San Diego Comic Con and has since been one of those holy grail pieces for me.  Thankfully,  this guy is set to have a much wider release in March so hopefully I'll be able to snag one there.  You can also see he is surrounded by Huck Gee's new Post Apocalypse Dunny Series.  These guys are sicker in person and made me even more excited for their release.  

    I was able to get a complete tour of the booth from their sales manager and got to meet their head artist as well.  We seriously talked forever about toys, the business of toys, and a collaboration this Summer that will blow your minds.  They involve Labbits and Munnys and something you would never expect but will want to own every one of.  They only had a mock up of those available and no actual samples, but it's going to be huge for both Kidrobot and collectors.  I'm sure someone will leak the information, but I didn't have permission to do that so I don't want to be that guy.  

    They are also continuing the Street Fighter, South Park, and Futurama lines and they will include not only blind boxes, but bigger figures also.  Again, there were no samples, but the mock ups looked pretty cool.  

    Toy Fair is really geared more towards people with stores that will spend a ton of money buying product, so the fact that everyone was so nice and excited to talk to me really blew me away.  I have a newfound respect for the entire company and the insight into their business was really interesting.  

Custom Toy of the Week: Skinner

    You can buy these Guumon customs from Skinner today at noon Pacific time.  There are only 3 and they are $200 and they will sell out instantly.  Why?  Because they have been blessed by the paint of bizarre art royalty that's why!!  Skinner just has to look at them a certain way and their value increases.  I met him at New York Comic Con and after he shook my hand I cured a child afflicted with rabies.  True story.  

    I mean, look at the love and care he put into these guys.  He even hand made the header cards.  Sure he could have sent one of his dozen minions down to Kinkos, got them to use the "chiller" font from Microsoft Word, and called it a day.  But no, he sat down, with cat in lap, and hand painted them.  Even the packaging is art!  Invest in the best toy you will ever own by visiting http://shopcriticalhit.com/.

Cavey Goes Vinyl

    When I heard that Cavey was going to be have a vinyl edition I got worried that maybe he had fallen in with a weird crowd and started hanging out at fetish clubs or something.  The internet has poisoned my ability to think anything other than the worst at all times.  Not able to picture these adorable critters in  gimp masks, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they will just be made from vinyl and not actually wearing shiny little suits and dog collars.  Whew!

     The first two colors of these plastic buggers are purple and white and you can start preordering them right now for $14 each.  And if you preorder from now - Valentine's Day you are entered to win a special one off purple pearlescent Cavey!  Get 'em now at http://www.heycavey.com/.

Brain Bug Boogieman from Lulubell Toy Bodega

    Holy crap this guy is cool.  While he is unpainted and I'm not a hug fan of that, I can think of about a dozen people that I would beg to add some color to this guy.  Cure and James Groman are releasing this special open edition of their Brain Bug Boogieman figure through Lulubell Toy Bodega on February 9th starting at noon Pacific.  They're $95 and you can order as many as you want.  The catch is, they are only available for a 24 hour period of time so you can't debate about it, you just have to act!

Valentine's Frederick the Beetle from Super7

     Who knew that Valentine's Day was the greatest reason in the universe to make new toys?  Can't Leif Erikson Day get any love?  I guess since Leif didn't have a specific color he is associated with it makes it a bit harder, but that's what creativity is all about.  It could be green for Greenland, or red, white, and blue because we all know that he discovered America 400 years before that bum Columbus ever showed up.

    For now, it's back to the pink toys.  This pink Frederick the Beetle from Super7 will be available February 7th for $35.  It's cheaper than a meal at Red Lobster, but comes with a drastically less amount of cheddar bay biscuits.  

The Walking Dead Michonne Statue from McFarlane Toys

    So The Walking Dead comes back on tv pretty soon, which is good because the whole spilt season thing drives me insane.  I've been spoiled by Netflix and DVD box sets and am now used to watching entire seasons of shows in a matter of a few days.  So waiting a week between episodes, let alone a few months, makes me a bit twitchy.

    This statue from McFarlane Toys is based on the character designs from the comics rather than the show.  It's pretty cool and the picture will sell it to you better than I could.  You can preorder this sucker February 11th for $295 which includes shipping in Canada and the U.S.  

The Forest Warlord : Himalaya from Bigfoot x Dragatomi

    Two yeti toys in two days?  It's crazy right?  Those idiots on Bigfoot Hunter or whatever that show's called can't find any, but here I am with my second in as many days.  Maybe I should have my own show.  It would be called "Oh, Look at What I Found" and in one 30 minute episode I would find Bigfoot, The Jersey Devil, a butt ton of ghosts, Chupacabra, tons of vintage items to sell in my pawn shop (without having to call an expert), Jimmy Hoffa in a storage locker that someone didn't pay the bill on, a family of raccoons in your attic, and every car up for repossession in the tri state area.  I would put entire networks out of business.  Give me a call Oprah, and I'll save that sinking ship you call a network sweet cheeks.

    My second Sasquatch comes courtesy of the artist named Bigfoot and Dragatomi.  The Himalaya version of The Forrest Warlord is freakin huge.  It stands almost a foot tall and has a cool ice club that he can crush your skull with and suck out your brains like a juice box.  He releases on Wednesday, February 6th through http://dragatomi.com/.

Blushing Snybora from Chris Ryniak x Rotofugi

    I shouldn't be telling you about this because I really want one and I feel you will buy them all before I get the chance.  But if I didn't tell you I would feel guilty because you'd find out about it from some other place that doesn't put as much love into the toys they write about and my heart would hurt knowing that I subjected you to something so boring.  Here's what you could have read if I didn't write about it:

"Hey this is cool.  Info info info. "

    See, boring.  But no, I put my all into everything I write because I value you as a reader and enough crap already bores me to tears, like paying taxes, getting my oil changed, vacuuming, wearing pants, grocery shopping, making diner, etc etc.  I don't want to add something else boring to our days.  So I'm gonna spice this guy up for ya, even if that means that you buy them all and I can't have one.  I'm like a martyr or something.

    Chris Ryniak and Rotofugi have put their powers together to create this Blushing Snybora.  This guy is so sick!  Look at how the black paint makes the sculpt pop!!!!  I need one, like right now!  But alas, I must wait until they go on sale this Thursday at 11am Central time at http://www.rotofugi.com/.