Porcelain Skull Brain by Emilio Garcia x K. Olin Tribu

   I've been on a skull kick recently.  There have been some really cool skull based designs from artists out there and it makes me want to refocus my collection a bit.   How cool would it be to have an entire display case devoted to designer skulls?  Sure, my therapist would probably have a thing of two to say about it, but for what I'm paying that guy it wouldn't hurt him to agree with me every once in awhile.

    This would be a really great place to start my new morbid hobby.  It's a porcelain Skull Brain designed by Emilio Garcia and brought to life (death?) by K. Olin Tribu.  They only made 100 of these and they go on sale today at http://www.artandtoys.com/.

The New 52 Pop! Vinyl from Funko

    Yeah, I'm a bit obsessed with these things. Not that I'm the only one mind you, cause I bet if they had a support group for this sort of addiction there would be a waiting list to get in.

    It is a known fact that everything you love will eventually have a Pop! Vinyl figure from Funko. I'm completely ok with that because they are very affordable and don't take up a ton of space. These figures are based on The New 52 character from DC Comics and will be available next month. You know I need that Batman figure to add to the 6 different ones I already have. I told you I have a problem.

Paul Frank x Play Imaginative

    Fact:  monkeys are hilarious.  There is very little about a monkey that is not funny.  Throwing poop = funny.  Wearing clothes = funny.  Any form of monkey stuff = funny.  Of course I have plenty of monkey stories, but some aren't fit to print because the monkeys did such shameful things that they can't be told without a serious disclaimer.  They were still funny, but not until I was well out of range of whatever horrible thing it was they were doing.  

    One time the wife and I were spending the day wandering the Philadelphia Zoo when we made our way to the gorilla enclosure.  They have a very spacious outside as well as an indoor dwelling that is larger than any house I will ever own.  While inside we were watching this gorilla poking himself in the butt with a stick and laughing about how this couldn't possibly get any better when up walks an Amish family.  The gorilla all of a sudden drops his stick and walks up to the glass and examines them like they're the first people he's ever noticed.  It was really weird and it made me wonder if zoo animals get just as excited for seeing different types of people that they've never seen before.  Like, in the gorilla's mind was he thinking "Holy crap it's Amish people.  I've never actually seen them in person."    It would probably blow his monkey mind if conjoined twins paid him a visit.  

    So the moral of the story is we all love monkeys.  Paul Frank knows this and has created quite a good living based on it.  Play Imaginative also knows this and that's why they have teamed up to make monkey toys.  They will have vinyl ones that you see way up top there before I went an rambled on.  And they will have ones on their Trexi platform as you can see at the bottom.  My favorite is the Evel Knievel one on the right.  Just because.  

New Releases from Outsmart Originals

    Outsmart Originals releases new shirts faster than this humble one man show can keep up with them.  So what I've done is compiled all of the new shirts that I missed here together for you so that you can stop buying your shirts at the Goodwill and pretending like someone didn't die in them.  

    First up are two designs from Frank Mysterio.  You like wrasslin?  You like Aztec gods turned into street artists?  Then you better get on these.  

    Next we have this one from DGPH.  That little dude is called Ultra Mole and I think he's gonna kick the crap outta that cyclops.  If there's anything I've learned in life it's that you can't trust somebody with one eye and horns.  Always leads to disaster.  

    And finally we have this Tusken Raider/Raiders of the Lost Ark mash up from Scott Kinnebrew.  This idol is a lot better than that piece of crap Indiana Jones almost got killed for.  Cause not only does it appeal to collectors of artifacts, but it appeals to Star Wars fans, who would probably pay more than any museum would for it.  But then again, Star Wars hadn't been created yet in the time period that Indian Jones takes place, so I guess the guy was just working with what he had.  Still, he could have retired if he found one of these in the package and in mint condition.  

A Clockwork Carrot by Frank Kozik x Blackbook Toy

    Well this has certainly escalated quickly.  It was only a few weeks ago that we saw this guy sculpted in clay and then wax as they prepared to make the molds for him.  Now we see his first incarnation in vinyl.  This was posted on Facebook by Blackbook Toys who are working with Frank Kozik to bring this A Clockwork Orange obsessed rabbit to life.  This is only a test pull to see how it would look once manufactured, and I'm hoping that the final release will be in full color.  There's too much personality in this toy to leave him monotone.  I have a feeling we'll get a glimpse of the finished product very soon.  

Tilt Warning Custom's Kickstarter

    These guys may have the coolest job ever.  They make custom pinball machines!  If I had a ton of money I would totally have them make one with all the famous cats of the internet.  Keyboard Cat, Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub, all the big celebrity felines.  It would quite possibly be the dumbest thing in the world, but it would be hilarious.  And no, you can't play it.

    In all seriousness I love pinball.  One of the few things I like about living near the Jersey Shore is going to Wildwood and playing in the arcades.  That, and my collection of Senior Week booty shorts that I get every year.  I've said too much.

    But no really, in all seriousness, Tilt Warning Customs need your help to fund an awesome Kickstarter campaign they have going.  They have lined up artists Jeremy Fish, Frank Kozik, Coop, Sam Flores, and Alex Pardee to each create a custom pinball machine to be part of an art show.  It's crazy, functional art that will be mind blowing.  Your sponsorship of the project will reward you with everything from t-shirts from the artist of your choice all the way up to actual backglass featured in the machines that come framed and lit up.  You can support this very unique project by clicking here.  

Super Fun Time Review: Sea-Borgs from Monster Pants

    This is Ophelia.  Ophelia is laying in the bed that I paid a lot of money for and she claimed the moment we brought it home.  She won't let any of the other cats sleep on it and she wakes us up constantly throughout the night in an attempt to make us leave too.  It's a king size bed that according to her only has room for one 13 pound feline.  She has now taken this approach to our toys as well.  As soon as I opened a box I received from Monster Pants containing these Sea-Borg resin figures she claimed each one for herself and they have now become part of her hoarded objects.  I was able to catch a rare glimpse of them as she was creating a pretty involved story line that involved murder, love, and betrayal.  Basically, she was just reenacting what she sees on Sons of Anarchy.

    James Felix McKenney created the Sea-Borgs from scratch.  Usually he can be found making pretty insane movies, but the lure of having complete control over something you create was too much to pass up.  His buddy the Sucklord taught him some secrets and the rest is action figure history.

    What I like about these guys is that they are something I would have gone crazy for as a kid.  I would have harassed my mom for an eternity to buy me these things and then I would have gone outside and played with them in the first puddle I could find.  And it's not that I would be ashamed to be in my thirties and outside playing with toys.  It's that I don't want to share!  Get your own Sea-Borgs by going to http://www.monsterpants.net/.

Cyborg Labbit from Frank Kozik x Chuckboy x Kidrobot

      I was in a state of mild depression when the original version of this was released at last year's San Diego Comic Con and then every jerk bag in the world posted them on eBay for a gazillion dollars.  I figured this was just something I would never own and I had to come to terms with it.  But then I went to Toy Fair and saw this guy and the dark cloud of despair was lifted from my life.  That was also around the same time they upped my meds, so it's hard to tell which event had a more profound effect.

    Behold the Nemesis Edition of the popular Cyborg Labbit from Frank Kozik and Chuckboy.  This 7 inch bunny with a cyber smoking problem is coming out on March 14th from the folks at Kidrobot.  They made 1000 of them and they will cost $60.  

Custom Toy of the Week: Scott Kinnebrew x Tenacious Toys

    Are you sad cause football season is over and now your Sundays are filled with yard work and emptiness?  Fear not, cause now you have a new purpose on Sundays!  Tenacious Toys is continuing their Super Series Sunday toy releases with "Our Lady of Immaculate Rebellion by Scott Kinnebrew.  he made 15 of these Princess Leia/Virgin Mary mash-ups and each 5 inch figure come blind bagged for $30 each.  What color will you get?  I dunno, I'm not psychic and if I was I would charge you $5 a minute to tell you.  Supernatural powers don't come cheap ya know.  Get one this Sunday at 3pm Eastern time by going here.  

Rose Vampire Off Road Casket Cruiser from Super7

    One year for Valentine's Day my wife and I wanted to do something different.  So instead of the usual go out to diner, buy flowers, and eat chocolates until we were diabetic, we went to see monster trucks.  It was the best Valentine's Day ever!!!  And I almost got into a fight with this volunteer fire fighter who had these obnoxious kids that kept jumping around and landing in my lap which made me quite uncomfortable but then when I said something he got mouthy so it was about to go down but then he realized that he hadn't actually had enough beers to give him enough courage to want any part of this so he sat back down and I was able to watch giant trucks crush little cars in peace without having to stomp the life out of a hillbilly in front of his young kids and wife.  Not that I would have felt bad about doing so.  

    This Off Road Casket Cruiser from Super7 just brings back all of those romantic memories like someone has opened the floodgate of my heart.  Get one today for $65 from www.super7store.com and relive your own romantic redneck moments.  

Hellboy Mini Qees from Toy2R x Dark Horse

    It's not easy to get news about what Toy2r is up to these days since their US office has closed and my ability to read Chinese is about as good as my ability so shoot lasers from my eyes.  Every now and then something will make itself known to me and I can share it with you.  This is a good one too.

    Utilizing their Mini Qee platform (which I love) they have announced plans to release these three Hellboy figures this summer.  They worked closely with Dark Horse and Mike Mignola on the character designs and word is some of them will be rarer than others (my guess would be the glow in the dark to be the rarest).  The best part is they'll only be $19.99 each when released, so you don't have to feel too guilty about not saving for your retirement.  

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.