Monday, June 18, 2018

First Edition Sum Lottery from Plaseebo x Planet X




    Living in New Jersey for as long as I have I am shocked that I've never run across a creature like this.  There are a handful of superfund sights near where I live whose chemical makeup could easily transform an other wise mild mannered turtle into a garbage infused killing machine.  And speaking of garbage and where I live, my home owner's association went to the trouble of creating and hanging flyers telling people to not leave broken televisions at our trash collection site.  The very next day there were five of them lined up where the bulk trash goes.  They weren't flat screens either, they were those ridiculously heavy behemoths that came before them.  I'd like to think they all belonged to one person who had been hoarding them and was so incensed at being told he wasn't allowed to throw them out that he did so just cause.  It's the most punk rock thing I've seen since that dude peed in the Wal Mart parking lot last week, blissfully ignoring the fact that there were ample bathrooms available for him to use inside.  Sometimes you just gotta be yourself no matter what.

    A few weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing this figure in person and it was everything I had hoped it would be.  It's big, it's loaded with LED lights, and the sculpt by its creator Plaseebo is insane.  So many little details really bring this thing to life, details which you can see in person by entering the lottery to own this first edition.  If you want the shot at it just follow these directions (by the way, you only have until June 20th at11:59 Hong Kong time to enter):

To enter lottery, please send the followings to info@planetx.asia :

1.  Name

2.  Shipping Address 

3.  Country

4.  Telephone Number

5.  Paypal Email Address

6.  Instagram / Facebook ID

Lottery winners will receive notification emails by June 22, 2018. Winners are reminded to settle payment accordingly before deadline as stated in notification emails. Item will be shipped in Aug, 2018. 



Thursday, June 14, 2018

Arc of Time Resin Sculpture from Brent Nolasco




    Brent Nolaso is one of the most imaginative figure artists out there today.  His work never feels derivative of anything else I've seen and he paves roads with his creatures that most people aren't capable of driving on.  His latest release is entitled Arc of Time and if anything it pushes his work even further than he's ever taken it.  Made of five separate pieces of resin, each figure comes with a base and acrylic rod to suspend it (which is removable).  Sculpted by Brent and cast by resin wizard Task One, you can order one of these 11 inch tall figures now at brentnolasco.bigcartel.com.  They retail for $350 each.




Wednesday, June 13, 2018

The Blob Resin Figure from Creature Feature



     Here's a few tidbits for you trivia fans:  The movie The Blob was filmed in the Philadelphia area and is the feature film debut of one Steve Mcqueen.  That's all I've got.  What I like about The Blob is that it is an entity that can't be reasoned with.  You can't talk yourself out of getting devoured and it in no way shares what drives it's insatiable hunger.  It's just a big pile of goo that engulfs everything in its path and somehow digests it, which is the method of choice of American politics.  I suppose even the most evil of men need role models.  

     Creature Feature has taken that classic movie monster, given it some personality, and upped the technicolor anti with her figure, aptly titled, The Blob.  This resin figure has obviously rolled over a batch of Electric Kool Aid (rip Tom Wolfe) and is ready to bring his psychedelic sass to your collection.  Standing about 4 and a half inches tall and 3 and a half wide and weighing nearly a pound, he can be yours when he goes on sale tonight (Wednesday June 13th) at 8pm eastern time only at creaturefeature.bigcartel.com.







Monday, June 11, 2018

Ahwroo from Gary Baseman x Apportfolio



   A Florida man strikes again!!  Did you see the video of the guy from Florida getting arrested while a monkey wearing a diaper clings to him?  All of the best news stories begin with the words "a Florida man" because for some reason people in that state seem hell bent on doing the craziest stuff.  Nowhere else in the country comes even close to the antics of Florida, which I have developed a theory about.  I blame it solely on humidity.  Those of you that live in a place without it may be blissfully unaware of how disgusting you feel when the air is hot and damp at the same time.  It messes with your mind and can make stealing a car with a monkey coconspirator seem like the best idea you have going for you.  It's probably not that at all and that Florida has been cursed since existence.   I was just trying to be polite.

    This is not the same monkey from that viral arrest video as he is currently awaiting trial for his part in the automobile theft, this is Ahwroo created by Gary Baseman.  There's something sweet/mildly unnerving about the gleam in his eye as he gazes up his little skull friend.   Did he harvest that little bone helmet himself, or did he happen upon it in a field as it lay there waiting to be discovered?  Ask him yourself when this primate goes on sale tonight at 10pm eastern time from APPortfolio.  Made of polystone, this limited edition figure can be found exclusively at http://garybaseman.com.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Five Points Fest Recap




    The second annual Five Points Festival has come and gone and it was an amazing time.  I spent lots of money, saw a lot of old friends, and made a lot of new ones.  An event like this is so important to not only bring collectors and creators together, but to offer so much inspiration under one roof.  While my wallet might not be looking forward to next year already, I certainly am.  Here's my random thoughts from this year's show:

- The venue change from Manhattan to Brooklyn made getting to there a little more difficult, but the walk offered a lot of spectacular views.  Sharon and I got to see a lot of different street art and you couldn't beat the view of Manhattan.

- There seemed to be way more designer toy vendors this year, which I was happy to see.  Artists that rarely make it to the east coast had tables full of items I've never been able to see in person. It was overwhelming in the best possible way.

- The venue itself was nice but could have used a serious upgrade in the air conditioning department. I apologize to everyone who thought I was going into diabetic shock, but me and the heat don't get along to well.  Granted it was in the 90's all day, which combined with a city setting is not unlike being cremated.

-  When heading back to Penn Station we saw a lady try to stab a guy with a pair of scissors.  I yelled "Worldstar" but couldn't get my phone out quickly enough, so you'll just have to use your imagination like the old days.

- It was great to see so many artists who are independently producing their work and that are able to have it presented on such a large platform.  Every person I spoke with had such an inspiring story to tell not only about their creations buy the journey towards making them a reality.  It makes me want to work harder with what I do and with what I want to do.  

-    On the ride home we were sitting next to a couple who was obviously on their honeymoon.  He reached into a bag and pulled out two cans of Diet Coke.  She reached into her purse and pulled out personalized koozies from their wedding.  As I watched them load up their drink holders to prepare for sweet liquid refreshment I couldn't help to think what would have happened had Kelly dropped the ball and left them back at the hotel.

Tom: "Alright babe, prepare to have your thirst quenched because I got us matching Diet Cokes.  All we need now are our personalized wedding koozies so that our hands stay dry and warm while our beverage of choice maintains its coolness."

Kelly:  Exploring the contents of her purse:  "Oh drat, honey bug.  It seems that I've left our personalized wedding koozies back at the hotel.  Now what will we do?"  

Tom:  "Oh, well I guess I should have listened to my mother when she said you weren't wife material."  He the forcefully slams the Diet Cokes into the trash, unaware that the tariffs on aluminum imports will soon make those cans a luxury he can no longer afford.  

New Jersey Transit never disappoints when it comes to great theater.  I don't even know why people bother paying so much to go to Broadway when you could ride the train all day and be way more enthralled.


That was my experience at this year's event.  If you've never been you need to make it a priority to make it out for next time.  This is the east coast version of DesignerCon and I expect it will continue to grow even bigger.  If you want to check out all my pictures I took you can see them not at www.facebook.com/TheToyViking.  


Thursday, May 31, 2018

Tenacious Toys Exclusives for Five Points Fest




   Seems to me that Five Points Fest has just exploded from last year.  There's so much being released that I can hardly keep up, but I'm doing my best over here in between moments of life.  Of course Tenacious Toys is gonna be there and of course they have exclusive stuff for you, some of which is pictured here.  I'm sure there will be other surprises as well, which you'll have to check out in person or be stuck watching the fun through various social media accounts (mine would be a great place to start).  If you are attending, go and say hi to Benny at booth #234 and pick up some new toys for yourself.





Lulubell Toys Exclusives for Five Points Fest




   Lulubell Toys always has one of the best booths at any convention they do and it isn't by accident.  There's blood, sweat, and probably a few tears involved in trying to put together such a diverse lineup.  It also doesn't hurt that they produce a ton of the best stuff coming out of Japan, much of which will be on display this weekend at Five Points Fest.  Go ahead and take a look at just part of what they will decorate booth #331 with.