These amazing customs from Porl popped up on the Vinyl Abuse forums a few days ago and I just had to share.
Castle Crashers is an XBLA game from the same team that did the amazing port of their metal slug game Alien Hominid from Newgrounds to PS2. The flashy-2d-sketchy-toony art style is back with Castle Crashers and I got to play a little with Scranto last week. These vinyl customs were based off of teddy troop blanks with a little sculpy to make the bad ass accesories and form up the shape a bit more. I’m totally posting this just for Scranto.
Remember when I was all WANT about the light up Radioactive Seamour Sheep from Crazylabel? Hero Design, my absolute favorite store in Buffalo, heard my cry and ordered a few, just for me. I picked him up today, and OMG is he some sort of exciting!
I couldn’t just post photos, I have to bring you a video…
Check out the Bearmop’age straight from MISHKA. Sitting on my desk as I arrived to work, goodies are the perfect thing to motivate an already spent Monday.
Not only did I get a handsigned/sealed 1/25 Skunk Ape, not only did I get some sweet stickers and a couple of pins, but they threw in a M.U.S.C.L.E shirt as well! I admit to crush hard on labels and brands that deliver consistently solid products, but I’m definitely in love with brands that love their consumers back. Way to take a little pain off a day where the first 5 hours (actually from 5pm saturday to 5am this morning) were spent barbacking for a bunch of drag queens.
OH, and check out what I did with the KEEP WATCH pins:
Its gonna be a party, and as much as I’m almost burnt out on the Dunny platform, i’ll be there snatching up the goodies. As I become more knowledgeable in the Designer/Vinyl toy realm, I start to get more excited about the individual customs. Series 4 I was a complete dummy; in this cycle I’m amped for Amanda Vissel, Frank Kozik, Huck Gee, DevilRobots, Jesse LeDoux, and of course, MISHKA.
I wear a lot of MISHKA, thanks to the boys at Krudmart keeping me in stock. The MISHKA Dunny is the first second (see below) for the NYC fashion label, and to celebrate, they are selling 25 custom Bear Mopped autographed Skunk Ape Dunnys from their online store.
I of course, just bought one, but I’m anxious to get another; keeping the collectors pack in mint condition.
[Update: Not ten minutes after posting this, does MISHKA comment and remind me that they actually had a figure in Series 3, "My Pal the Crook." This goes to show how much I paid attention to S3. Either way, totally stoked and essited. Way to go MISHKA! ]
I made this magnet back when I was good with my hands, back when I had nothing better to do than stay up late and watch TV. Meatwad is my cartoon idol, and naturally I was stoked when Adult Swim and KidRobot did a collabo. Of course, the stoked smoldered to a pile of smokey nothing when I learned there was no meatwad figure. But really who cares; I had already made the best figure 4 years ago.
Thanks to Scranto for taking the picture for me; he craftily came into possession of it a couple months ago and hung it in his cubicle at work.
WHAT: Hero is hosting a custom toy show featuring one-of-a-kind custom toys from over 30 artists from all over the world. The figure being customized by every artist is the 9″ Blow Up Doll from Jamungo (as seen to the left) and each custom toy will be available for purchase.
WHEN: October 24 - December 23, 2008. The opening reception is Friday, October 24 from 7pm - 11pm at El Museo directly next door to Hero. The show will only be on display at El Museo for the night of the reception (Hero will still be open next door) and the show will move over and remain on display at Hero from October 25 - December 23, 2008.
WHERE: The opening reception is Friday, October 24 at El Museo, 95 Allen Street, Buffalo NY 14202. The collection will be on display for duration of the show at Hero Design Studio + Boutique at 93 Allen Street.
WHY: This B.U.D.’s for You was organized to spotlight the phenomenon of custom designed toys and the artists creating them. We are featuring seasoned toy designers, gigposter artists, fine artists, illustrators, tattoo artists, musicians, etc. and there will be local artists as well as international artists. Each piece is a one-of-kind toy and they are all available for purchase.
I’ve seen full shots of some of the customs and this is going to definitely be sick as hell. If you want a chance at owning one, you best be at the opening night. After the gallery showing, what hasn’t sold will be put online. I have plans to steal Kozik’s and Dr. A’s so don’t come looking for me a’right?
The artists participating in this show are:
Frank Kozik • Dalek • Doktor A • Michael Michael Motorcycle • Shawn Smith of Shawnimals • Bobby Dixon • Aesthetic Apparatus • Anne Benjamin • Jordan Buckley • Mike Budai • Jared Cain • Coreroc • Delicious Design League • D-LuX • Doublenaut • DROID • Dwitt • Edreys • Jason Goad • Eleanor Grosch • Hero Design Studio • Richard Kegler • Bucky Lastard • Leecifer • Jon Mirro • Punchgut • Thomas Rooney • Rob Schwager • Craig Seder • Mike Slobot • Dan Springer • Dan Stiles • Strawberryluna • Adam Swinbourne • Steve Tenebrini • Amy Jo + Tooth • Lonny Unitus
IKEA can make some total crap. Sometimes you wonder what exactly goes through the heads of designers when they produce something like the HATTEN, which looks like an acrylic cake carrier flipped on end. Despite the seemingly drug induced design choices IKEA spews out en masse, you can always be assured they’ll have some wicked lighting to make up for it.
I saw the DIODER (featured in the video above) series last year, when I went with Angel and his biz partner to shop for new store furnishings. We had picked up the disc lighting, hoping for a multicolored cosmic front display, only to realized upon getting home, that we had picked the plain lights instead. Norman took back and we forgot all about them. Fast forward to last weekend with John down in Maryland, when we took the mandatory sweep through IKEA looking for an ottoman suitable for John’s new space. We saw the DIODER series again, this time in the form of adjustable light bars, brighter than the discs and a tad more expensive, but we thought the perfect solution for a faux ambient effect behind John’s Hi-Def.
He snagged the bars and I grabbed the discs, I wanted lighting for the vinyl hutch and these were perfect. However, as I never seem to learn from the past, the light bars turned out to be the plain boring white strips, though I managed to get the colored discs this time. John’s still trying to find a solution for the overly bright bars of doom…
Good luck trying to get these online, unless you want to pay nearly double from the .ca store and then extra on top to get it shipped from Canadia. Yes, Canadia…
ps. IKEA is the only company I know that gives you too much cord with your lights… not that thats a bad thing…
After the simply unattainable Kozik clockwork orange Ludwig, I have to post something a little bit more in my price range.
Hows about the new colorway for Brian Flynn’s Super7 (Snakes of Infinity) Kaiju, (Blood Rage) Squirm? This time, he’s a clear rotocast with red accents on his eyes and tentacles with brown painted boots, drops this Saturday online and at the San Fran store for an oh-so-do-able $50.
And while I’m on a kaiju fix, Hero Design Studio got a few new awesome Kaiju For Grownups in:
I’ve been a wee bit absent about designer toy posts for a bit, ok, pretty absent about a lot of stuff.. to think I let BRO beat me to the punch on the Elmwood Strip Updates because I was too lazy to get the info out first. I’m approaching that point right now where blogging is getting harder and harder because i’m working more and more. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve though…
Anyways, the Vinyl Toy Network was May 4th, an occasion full of collaborations and new customs and release teasers, like the one DKE Toys put out: a plush Anarchy Labbit. No word on price or release date, but I’m getting one.
I first mentioned coot when he showed up in my radar in January, and I begged and prodded for Beth (of Hero Design Studio in Allentown) to get him. She happily obliged, knowing my affinity for tall, beefy, nekkid lummocks, and even held him for me while I whored up for the scratch to pick him up. Reason number #573 that Hero Design is the best toy shop evar.
Since Flickr launched video capabilities for pro members, I’ve been taking advantage of it to show you a little more than a just a picture when I feature my new vinyl. Here is Coot in 90 seconds (flickr limits video to 90 secs and 15MB, to keep video at the raw clip level.)
Oh Hai! I'm Nate, the guy napping in the photo above. The handsome guy staring at you is John, he's mah bear and I love him to death. Only hitch is he lives in Maryland, while I live in the sometimes beautiful, always exciting, city of Buffalo, NY. Being nerds as we are, we connect daily through IM, Twitter, dirty picture messages, and the once a month (or so) flights for some bonafied lovin. This is my blog. Read it. Cheers.
