Drorgs Star Wars Inspired Sofubi from Nathan Hamill x Science Patrol

     I can appreciate a good mashup because there are honestly too many things in the world for me to enjoy and not enough time to do so.  We as a society need to start condensing awesome things otherwise I feel like I'm going to miss something.  TV shows would be a great place to start because the list of shows I want to watch versus my ability to see them all if greatly disproportionate.  I remember when my wife and I started watching Breaking Bad just before the final season was to air and being freaked out by how many episodes we had to watch to catch up. Not only was it a daunting task but doing so just added to the backlog of other shows that I couldn't watch at the same time.  So if someone could figure out the technology where I could watch two totally different shows simultaneously while maintaining a high level of enjoyment for each it would be greatly appreciated.  Otherwise, I'm gonna need all the good shows to start blending their stories together so I can maximize my time and see everything that's recommended to me.  I think Good Omens and Superstore could easily become a single thing, so let's start there.

     I love Porgs and I love Droids, so Nathan Hamill and Science Patrol are freeing up my love for other things by combining the two in glorious sofubi.  They come in two colorways, Carbonite and Starfield, and will be available for the first time at the appropriately named Scum and Villainy Cantina in Los Angeles.  Each set will be $40 and you can pick up yours during the event that is happening tomorrow, June 28, at 8pm.  

Kidrobot's Polyphony Exclusives Now Available at Rotofugi

 

    Being a completist is one of the hardest aspects of collecting, especially when it comes to designer toys.  There's so many exclusives that it can be hard to even keep track and then there's the ones only available at conventions in other countries that become nearly impossible to obtain without mortgaging your house.  Rotofugi is coming to the rescue by offering a slew of Beijing-based Polyphony's recent Kidrobot exclusives.  There's 2 different version of the Quiccs and Hello Kitty collaboration, two of the new Labbiters from Frank Kozik, and Scott Tolleson's Designer Con mascot 3 inch Dunny in an exclusive colorway.  These are available in their Chicago location now and will be offered up online beginning this Thursday, June 27, at 11am cdt.  Check out www.rotofugi.com for pricing info as well as limits of each figure Per customer.  

White Lotus SuperJanky from Junko Mizuno x Superplastic

      Oh Superplastic, how come you won't follow me on social media?  I thought we were gonna be bros when you first came out, but somewhere along the way that failed to happen.  Was it something I said?  Was it when you were doing the Janky photo contest and I put Janky in a bucket of human teeth?  I thought it was funny, but I've been wrong before.  Most recently when I thought Bitcoin could in no way be something sustainable, then BAM, guess who's not a millionaire.  I also tried to jump a dry-ish creek bed not taking into account my arthritic knee or the fact that I'm 40.  Nothing was broken, but my wife laughed until she nearly passed out.  Lesson learned: do dumb stuff when she isn't there and let the emergency room explain it to her.

    Superplastic may not be inviting me to their annual Thanksgiving diner party, but that's ok, cause I still think this White Lotus SuperJanky from Junko Mizuno is pretty cool.  If you do too you're in luck, because 444 of them were made and they will be available today starting at noon pst.  Get one for yourself at https://superplastic.co.

One of A Kind Mecha Sum Vinyl Figure from Mechavirus x Plaseebo

    It's that time of year again where we all need to be on the lookout for turtles crossing the road.  If I see one and it's a situation thats relatively safe, I will stop and help the little buggers along on their journey.  Kind of like a turtle Uber for when they're trying to get to their booty calls.  If you see one and want to help make sure you put him on the side of the street that he is trying to reach, because if you do the opposite he will just turn around and try again.  Those things are as persistent as teenage boys when there's an antique issue of Playboy within a 5 mile radius.  They can carry diseases that will make your tummy not feel so good, so I keep a box of gloves in my trunk for when I see one.  Plus, it's really fun to explain to the cops driving by why you're walking around the outskirts of the woods with surgical gloves on.  They're not suspicious of that at all.  

    The point is that you should save the turtles and save some shelf space for this beautiful one of a kind figure from Mechavirus and Plaseebo.  This dude looks like the snapping turtle that my father in law tried to push across the road with a tree branch that then in turn decided to try and kill him for his kindness.  Some critters just can't be helped.  This figure is beyond insane with mechanical features jutting out of his gut, a paint job that screams "here I am, come and fight me", and internal LED lights that would make you think he was ready to party.  He is not ready to party, unless systematically removing the sausages from your hands seems like a good time.  

    If you want to own this you're gonna have to enter a lottery to do so.  Here are the details you need:

To enter lottery, please send the following to: bob@plaseebo.net 

1.  Name

2.  Shipping Address 

3.  Country

4.  Telephone Number

5.  PayPal Email Address

6.  Instagram ID

    You can enter until June 22nd (this Saturday) and the winner will have to cough up $400 plus shipping.  

Skator Resin Figure from Kalaka Toys

     This might be the most fun way to harass people that wear Thrasher Magazine shirts as a fashion statement.  You can show it to them and if they can't name any of the pieces that make it up then you are legally allowed to shame them.  Comprised of old school skateboard logos, this resin figure from Kalaka Toys might be one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a while.   The concept is a marriage of classic skate designs and the He-Man universe to create the ultimate toy you didn't know you needed so badly.  Do you realize how much I could have upped my street cred if I had one of these back in the day? My lack of coordination didn't allow me to skateboard long enough to do anything cool with it, as my best tricks were "Try Not to Need Bactine" and "Oh, That's Were I Left My Face Meat."

     This dude is available for preorder right now by visiting http://kalakatoys.storenvy.com.  Each extremely limited 6 inch figure is $150 with shipping included in the price.
 

Exclusive Gerald Okamura Sofubi at Kaiju Con from Max Toy Company

    I've had a lot of nicknames in my life, none which are really fit to print.  I may have deserved one or two of them but if I'm ever asked under oath I will deny their existence.  Gerald Okamura has been branded as "The Man of Many Weapons", which if someone ever called me that I would have that airbrushed on the side of my vehicle so everyone knew what was up.  It would be on business cards, a banner outside my house, and once a year I would take out an ad in the newspaper just to remind people.  Of course Gerald doesn't have to do any of that because we all recognize him instantly from all of the movies he's been in, and now he even has his own sofubi figure.

    Max Toy Company has released a few versions of these before, but the one you see above will be an exclusive to this weekend's Kaiju Con at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.   Not only will you be able to get one of these killer toys, but The Man of Many Weapons himself will be there to sign them for you.  Maybe he'll even show you some awesome moves that you should definitely not run home and try on one of your siblings.

     Get more info about the event by checking out http://www.janm.org.

TV Head Vinyl Figure Kickstarter from Phobia Toys

   I like when the names of things adequetly describe them.  Take this toy for instance and his name, TV Head.  It is literally a little dude with a television attached to his cranium.  Now the name doesn't imply how he found himself in such a situation, so we are left to guess as to whether the tv is some sort of benign growth or whether it fell from a great height and the injured party decided he liked the way it looked.  When my wife and I first got married we had one of those pre flat screen tvs with the big hump on the back and we bought an entertainment center not taking that into consideration.  I spent the whole day putting it together and quickly realized our mistake, so rather than return my masterpiece of Swedish engineering we bought another tv.  That's the best tv story I got and I apologize for the lack of plot or character development.

     Phobia Toys has a Kickstarter campaign that is winding down for this dude and you can still help him become a reality.  They're very close to hitting their goal and there are rewards left that include blank figures and customs from some of your favorite artists.  You can check it out and participate in its creation by visiting https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecherv/tv-head.

    

Skellene Mourning Doll from Miscreation Toys x Lulubell Toys

    If I can do little more than mildly entertain you and provide you with enough nightmare fuel to get you to Halloween, then I feel my purpose is served.  Those of you with an aversion to dolls will probably be mad at me after this, which is fine because I love this figure.  I'm a sucker for anything Victorian and fetal skulls are just the most precious little things that look like they will sass you in a heart beat.  The latest creation from Miscreation Toys oozes narrative, and while I am not fan of merely cutting and pasting, I feel the story he created to go along with this figure is imperative to the item itself:

    During the Victorian era, people often used a physical representation to mark the death of a loved one. These doll-like effigies were created to help the families cope with the deceased, and were typically left at the grave site in remembrance. 

    From time to time, a little impoverished girl would be seen wandering alone in one of these cemeteries playing with the mourning dolls left at children's graves.  No one knew who she was or from whence she came. One day her visits stopped and eventually her lifeless body was found in the woods nearby. Nobody ever claimed her, and she was buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery.
Years after her death, tales emerged about a little skeleton girl returning to play with the grave dolls in the middle of the night. Chatter and paranoia about the macabre sightings eventually lead to the girl’s grave being exhumed. However the figure in the small rotted casket was not the girl and instead was one of the mourning dolls she often played with. The girl was named “Skellene” in folklore ever since.

    Are you sufficiently creeped out?  It's good, right?  Now for a few more details about our turn of the century misses.  She stands a foot tall, is cast in Japanese soft vinyl, otherwise known as sofubi, and comes in three options that you can preorder right now.  There's the factory painted version, which is limited to 30 pieces, or you can choose a blank one in either green or black.  They are priced at $225 and $185 respectively and can be a wonderful addition to your cabinet of curiosities by checking out www.lulubelltoys.com.

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.