Wednesday, June 5, 2019

My Five Points Festival 2019 Review





   I love Five Points Fest. There, review over, please enjoy your day.  Just kidding, I'm kidding; but in all seriousness I look forward to this event every year and it does not disappoint.  This year Sharon and I didn't purchase a lot, but for me I was just as happy to be there and talk to everyone as I would have been to come home with a lot of stuff.  So without further adieu, here is my annual bullet pointed thoughts on this year's event:


- It was great seeing old friends and meeting so many new people.  For me, the day was very inspiring not only seeing everyone's creations but in laying the groundwork for my own.  Conversations were had, ideas were exchanged, and there are things in the proverbial pipeline.  Does water run through the pipeline and if so does having things in it threaten to clog the system?  Great, another thing to worry about.

- The layout of the venue was really good and I never felt like things got congested. They got a little hot and I got a little sweaty, so anyone that I hugged I apologize to.  Oh, and it's great that no one feels the need to cosplay with giant angel wings and swords like at other conventions because I've nearly lost an eye before to an impromptu photo session that happened as I was walking. I'm not trying to let someone dressed as a anime character rob me of my depth perception.

-  We didn't eat at the food trucks again this year because they were a little too exciting for my broken digestive system.  Instead, we took a walk to the Manhattan Three Decker Diner which was about the most old school Brooklyn thing I've ever experienced. You could even feel the subway as it passed underneath, which reminded me of those beds you used to see in movies that vibrated when you put a quarter in them.  I've never stayed anywhere classy enough to have tried one in person, but I imagine it's just as exciting.

 - There was such a crazy mixture of toys and vendors that I've only ever seen online before.  And I love to see what people are interested in versus prior years, and it does seem to fluctuate greatly. One particular booth that would normally be sold out and have a ton of people trying to flip their products on eBay still had items left at closing on Sunday.  Was it a matter of them making a lot more to combat the resellers, or has the hype died down enough regular folks can now collect them, without even having to be wealthy rappers?

- I love that the event has truly stayed focused on the word of designer toys.  There are plenty of other conventions that feature all that other stuff and it warms my heart to not see a single booth selling Pop Vinyl figures.  Don't get me wrong, I own a bunch of them, but I stopped going to a major convention in NYC because EVERY booth is nothing but Funko resellers.  It's boring, I can get them from Walgreens if I want them, and I just need something different.  Five Points is that difference.

      I want to thank Clutter Magazine for putting on such a great event and for having me at the show. I just uploaded a whole bunch of pictures to Facebook so if you want to see what you missed you can check out www.facebook.com/TheToyViking.



Thursday, May 30, 2019

Moonstone Polyresin Statue from Pascal Blanche x House of Gog





    I like my women like I like my coffee: heavily armed and covered in the bones of their enemies.  How else do you think I knew my wife was the one for me?  Fans of Heavy Metal magazine may recognize this temperamental lady from the cover of issue number 270, or from the wall you tacked it to once you ripped it off.  Pascal Blanche is the man behind the original art of this demon hunting lady, and she looks well equipped for the task at hand.  Except clothing wise, which when you think about it is really smart as you don't want your prey latching onto you and tearing up your church clothes.  And the blood stains, can you imagine the various types of blood stains that an extraterrestrial demon would cause?  You'd just have to throw everything away.

     This is the first ever polystone statue from House of Gog and they're making one hell of a debut.  The detail is outrageous from her body armor, to her not legal no matter what kind of permits you have weaponry, to that mound of biological and mechanical debris she so proudly stands upon.  Now like any good woman she's gonna set you back a few bucks, but standing over 18 inches tall and loaded to the gills with extras, you're certainly getting your money's worth.  Check her out for yourself by visiting https://houseofgog.com.



Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Five Points Fest Exclusives from StrangeCat Toys




Five Points Fest is this Saturday and Sunday and I have been keeping a mental tally of all the stuff I want so far.  I've just about reached full mental capacity, so I've had to forget some things in order to make room.  Strangecat Toys has got so many exclusives that will fill their booth #423 that I have compiled the ones I know about so far here for you to keep track of.  That way you don't have to go and forget stuff like where you live, how to drive a car, or the fact that you're allergic to shrimp.  I'm pretty much saving lives.










Friday, May 24, 2019

Tenacious Toys Exclusives for Five Points Fest




   Five Points Fest is happening in Brooklyn next weekend and we are starting to see those ever important exclusives pop up online.  Tenacious Toys will be holding it down at booth number 426 and were kind enough to put detailed descriptions in each picture as if they anticipated that I would be running late for work today, limiting my ability to make witty comments about each.  That's forward thinking at its best.














Wednesday, May 22, 2019

The Mutator Ultrus Bog from Skinner x Lulubell Toys



    Is this the greatest Ultrus Bog that has ever been created?  I could argue for it, as it arrives just in time for the summer months looking all cool and refreshing like an evil snow cone.  It's no secret that this figure is one of my favorites of all time and this version is only stoking that fire of desire to five alarm levels. 

   Skinner's epic lord of the underworld has achieved next level status by being double cast in luxurious Japanese vinyl.  First a layer of clear plastic was poured, then followed by a layer of orange to give it a crazy, multi dimensional feel that will put you in direct contact with your infinite selves.  That's a lot to ask from a figure, yet it delivers in every way.  Lulubell Toys will have a limited run of only 20 of these sweet bay bays available when they go on sale this Saturday, May 25th, at 9am pacific time.  He costs $125 plus shipping and will be offered exclusively through https://www.lulubelltoys.com.  


Tuesday, May 21, 2019

1/6th Scale Jon Snow Figure from Game of Thrones x threezero




    I can't believe that after eight seasons, Game of Thrones has come to an end.  I enjoyed this last season and contrary to popular internet opinion I though the finale was a fitting send off for the characters.  My wife asked me my opinion of it as soon as the show ended but I had a hard time formulating how I felt, but my only disappointment was in the fact that it was over.  I won't post spoilers here in case you haven't seen it, but know that what I'd really like to do is dissect the entire thing and show all the people that signed that redo petition what they missed out on by being butt hurt.

   There were lots of twists and turns this final season, maybe none more so than with Jon Snow.  His destiny didn't pan out quite the way we all expected, but the show literally killed of its most real world famous character in season one, so we shouldn't be that surprised that they were willing to take risks.  He's been dead, been a king, been exiled, and been chastised for not petting the goodest boy in the realm.  Dude has got to be stressed out, am I right?  This figure depicts Jon as he has appeared in the final season and comes with more detail than was packed into Sansa's dress she wore at the end (did you notice the embroidery on the inside of the sleeves? ).  He looks so life like that if you tell him he knows nothing he just might scowl at you.  He also comes with all the accessories one could possibly need for any situation that could arise in Westeros or beyond.

    You can preorder him now from threezero for $188 usd which includes shipping world wide.  He can be found at https://www.threezerohk.com.



Thursday, May 16, 2019

Mulan Clear Red Edition from Awesome Toy

 


    If you don't have boob rockets in your arsenal are you even trying to win at war?  Since the moment we are born we are all obsessed with em, so it's fitting that that obsession has turned on us quicker than a kitchen appliance in a Stephen King novel.  Boobs are the most powerful things on Earth and I have a recent example to prove it.  My wife and I recently took our nephew to an exhibit on the Marvel Universe and through the majority of the film props and original comic pages he declared his boredom.  Then we come upon Black Widow's costume, who is portrayed by the ample actress Scarlet Johansson.  He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes unblinking, mouth agape, and suddenly he became very interested in the world of comic books.  The boy was hypnotized and I swore I could hear the song Dreamweaver playing in his mind.






     Awesome Toy is harnessing the power of the ta tas with their sofubi figure, Mulan.  Cast in clear red soft vinyl, this babe of the battlefield will keep all you hold near and dear safe with the power of BOOOOOOOOOOOOOB ROCKETS!  Did I mention those earlier?  Each figure is $90 plus shipping and can be had by following these easy directions:



HOW TO BUY:
If you are interested please email the following info to:
sales.awesometoy@gmail.com
1. Email Title: MULAN Clear Red
2. Your Full Name
3. Your Shipping Address / Phone Number
4. Your Paypal Address
5. Your instagram or facebook account (optional)
Note that cancel or unpaid order will be banned from our future sales.