Google has kept a loose eye on their Android mascot, applying a creative commons license to the little guy, allowing artists and fans to go wild with their creations… I’ve seen little bits of schwag here and there, but nothing compares to the complete set of awesomeness that Andrew Bell cooked up…

One of the secret projects that has been keeping me busy lately. I teamed up with some friends at Android™ to bring their mascot to “life”. Head on over to the Dyzplastic production blog for details![Andrew Bell's Blog]

Created in collaboration with Google and Android Andrew Bell, and produced by Dyzplastic Production, this is the first official blind box series featuring everyone’s favorite open source mascot.  Series 1 features 12 different designs in a case of 16 and each vinyl figure stands just 3″ tall. There’s no word on pricing or exactly when these will drop, but a splash page on the Dead Zebra site shows “02:10:20:10″ which leads me to believe they go on sale at DZ on the tenth of February.

DKE Toys are the wholesale distributor for the series, one of Hero Design’s sources for vinyl crack; I should be able to sweet talk them into ordering a case or three.

I was a Lego kid. from 8-15, my floor was littered with bricks, nearly all the time. I was also one of those anal Lego kids (ahem), with all my bricks separated by class, color, and shape. But I digress… one of the coolest Lego’s I ever had was a Wizard key-chain that I got for being in the pilot program for the original Mindstorms set.

I lost him about 3 years ago, but I think I’ve found a replacement. Play.com is accepting pre-orders for these incredible mini fig flashlights! Available as a 7″ dynamo powered LED flashlight, or a more reasonable 2.75″ battery powered LED flashlight key-chain, for £13.99 ($23 US) and £5.49 ($9 US), respectively.

They’re is also a headlamp version (WTF) and a girl edition, but you can bet yer sweet Aunt Bippy I’m gonna own one of these. Maybe even two. (via Gizmodo)

CrazyLabel is responsible for some of the cutest vinyl pieces in my collection. The Treeson story is pretty awesome, and the characters are simply endearing. This is the first time the whole gang has been made available… as a blind box set. We probably wont see these stateside till Fall 09, but I can’t wait!!! I want the whole set.

CrazyLabel blog -Finally, they are here!!! It has taken us a little while in making them and I can tell you they are absolutely tasty! We will have more information to announce here as we move closer to the Taipei Toy Festival (TTF) 2009 in July. Until then, enjoy the sneaky peek below!

Photo by SmallandRound via flickr

Shawnimal’s started as a simple college art project by Shawn Smith, and has since grown to be one of the leaders of designer plush. I think if it wasn’t for his innovations and pursuit of the felted medium, we wouldn’t have as much awesome plush on the hot charts as we do today. He’s also an incredible wordsmith, pummeling me in Lexulous on Facebook (90pts for Agility? who knew “qis” was a word? Shawn does). I have a few plushies, but my absolute favorite piece is his BUD custom… which I picked up last year at Hero and Sound’s custom show.

Shawn is on my my short list of artists I’d kill to meet/hang/stalk, and not just because he looks adorable. Check out the Vimby interview that was just posted; get a look at the workshop and people helping Shawnimals do what they do best: Rule.

Shawnimals / Vimby

Levi Engineered Jeans are celebrating their 10 year anniversary, and  launched a new campaign called “The Twisted Originals,” via Neighbour Creative. They enlisted the help of Sculptor/Artist Wilfrid Wood to create three characters to match each one of the three fitting styles of Levis.

My absolute favorite is Hopper, the 29 year old ad exec who’s disabled but chose a bouncey ball as opposed to a wheel chair. With a plumber’s crack, stained white T-shirt, and ridiculous Lucha mask, Hopper’s the silly type of cub i’d feature on HBjD. His favorite style of Levi’s are Loose.

I can help but love the tubby guys, either in the real world or in toys… I bought Wilfrid Wood’s Coot last year, and I want Hopper to go along next to him.

Definitely check out the “Twisted Originals” blog, and the Mini Site; there is a ton more information about the characters and even a video with Wilfrid Wood talking about their creation.

Vinyl Pulse says that these figures will be produced in Hong Kong for Point of Sale displays, and we may possibly see them for consumer purchase on a mad stupid limited basis.

Despite my predilection for all things vinyl (and probably -), I have a soft side for designer plush. It seems that 2009 is the year for the medium to really take off, and fleece is the textile of choice. Hero Design on 93 Allen St. have caught the trend and brought some of the softlines to their store…

Read the rest of this entry »

Organ Donors is a premier blind box series from artist David Foox. The figures stand 3.25″ in solid vinyl, and were inspired by the story of a man who received a donor lung from an Iron Man athlete who died in an accident. From that came these 9 organ “donors,” in 24 colorways. The figures are $15.00 and ship blindbox style.

Organ Donors were showcased at NYCC this year, and were well received. The figures ship this March 2009. Head over to the FOOX-U to purchase, or look for them in your favorite vinyl store.

Though I’m partial to eyeballs of late, I really like the lungs the most. and though you can’t see in the pics, each figure has exposed buttcheeks from the openback hospital gown. Awesome. #tweetit

As much as I love vinyl, there is something about twisted plush toys that pull at my heartstrings.  Enter the Roadkill toys, take the beauty of animal autopsy by automobile inside your home, safe from your dog rolling in it and safe from the stew pot. Twitch the Racoon and Grind the Rabbit sell for £25.00 each, and come inside a translucent body bag with toetag telling of the poor critter’s demise.

Get your Squash-plush toys while they’re still fresh off the tarmac. Twitch the Raccoon was the first to be scraped off the road. But now there’s a new not-so-cuddly toy in town. His name is Grind the Rabbit. The first 1000 Grind characters are all limited edition. Each one has a personalised toe tag, handwritten by the creator. All of them have limited edition numbers. It took Adam, the creator, 7 long nights to finish all those tags, and caused him severe tendonitis. It’s not that we’re trying to emotionally blackmail you. Just buy one.

• Roadkilltoys.com

Courtesy of Skullbrain, Frank Kozik teases our wallets with  a first look at his latest Kaiju, Salari Ika. From proto to the finest Japanese vinyl, expect this 22cm corporate squidman to drop its red tape in the next month or so, possibly Wonderwall.

SkullBrain via ToysREvil

[ Timeline of Lego courtesy of Gizmodo, click to embiggen ]

The iconic studded Lego brick turns 50 today. Originally called the “automatic binding blocks,” they came into existence when a humble Danish toy company called Lego bought their first injection molding machine in 1947 and in 1948 established and produced the “stud-and-tube” brick format. For 50 years, the multi colored plastic bricks have unlocked the imaginations and creativity of billions of children (and adults, too) all over the world.

Legos were the literal building blocks of my childhood. From the oversized DUPLO blocks as a tot, I grew up with them, moving up a level till I settled on the Technics line (the ones with extra holes and rots and slots and motors). I was the kid that bought a set, put it together, and three days later disassembled it all for my own re-purposing.

Then the first Mindstorms set came out in 1998, and I got my first taste of robotics when I replaced the RCX’s firmware was able to create more complex programs for my models. I think the most complex thing I ever made was a photometer. It would track the amount of light in my room during the day and graph it on a rotating paper drum. Legos made anything possible, and really encouraged me to keep being creative.

• What were your fondest memories with the Lego? And I’m sorry your parents didn’t love you enough that you got Tyco or Mega Bloks, they don’t count.

• via – Gizmodo