Vote for Me in the Clutter Magazine Canbot Competition

 

    The most important vote in any American's life is coming up in November, but that doesn't mean you can't get a jumpstart on democracy right now.  Clutter Magazine is holding a design competition right now to be a part of the first ever Canbot blind box series and I have two designs up for vote.  You can see pictures of them below and I would love it for you to help me out by visiting www.cluttermagazine.com and voting for the one you like best.  You can vote once per day, which is the perfect thing for you to do while you're hiding in the bathroom at work.  

Kaaarg Glow in the Dark Debut from Jeff Lamm x Clutter Magazine

     Sharon and I are on day three of our shelter at home order and the cats have begun to get suspicious.   I would bet my hard earned money when we're not home that the majority of their day consists of taking the best naps that anyone has ever known.  But now their day consists of staring at us all the time wondering why we would dare interrupt the routines that they hold dear.  I think they enjoy it somewhat, especially as a few of them are all about getting our attention, but the others just seems confused as to what to do.  Are they feeling some obligation to entertain us? Are they worried that we have lost our jobs and thus the ability to feed them? Now I'm starting to think their licks of endearment are their attempts to determine which parts of us to eat first.

    There are lots of things to do while in isolation that sound way more fun than being devoured by five confused felines.  How about doing some shopping? Jeff Lamm and Clutter Magazine have now introduced a killer collaboration by the name of Kaaarg, who you may recognize from the inaugural Five Points Festival poster.  This sofubi chunky boi stands eight inches tall, features five points of articulation, and even has an exposed brain that you can poke and peod as you see fit.  Limited to only 30 pieces in this debut glow in the dark edition, you can snag one for yourself by visiting shop.cluttermagazine.com.  

Oni-Tayu Smoke and Mirrors Edition from Tokyo Jesus x Clutter Studios

 

  There are but only so many ways in our crazy world to create something truly menacing.  Especially in America, where mass shootings are the norm and where the entire country is run by someone not mentally stable enough to manage a hot dog cart.  Freddy Kreuger wishes he could inspire so many nightmares.  To say I'm a bit jaded is the understatement of the year, but I will readily admit that this figure has a creepy "just found in the tomb of a witch" feel that is slightly unnerving.  Could be that whole skeleton made of random skulls, but that's just a guess.

    Tokyo Jesus and Clutter Studios team up again to offer us all a new version of their Oni-Tayu collaboration.  The first edition was filled with blood, so the natural progression for figure number two is to fill it with bone.  This is made from double cast resin and features and entirely new sculpted structure beneath the clear shell.  She stands at 12 inches tall, is limited to only 50 pieces worldwide, is filled with the angry ghost of a fisherman's daughter (not really, but maybe) and will be available for preorder starting on the more than appropriate Friday the 13th.  Each one is $350 and will start shipping out at the end of November.  Oh, and the skeleton glows with an otherworldly energy that I cannot confirm is not a poltergeist.  Imagine the fun you'll have!

www.cluttermagazine.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.

Tayu Crystal Blood Edition Resin Figure from Tokyo Jesus x Clutter Studios

 
   Has anyone ever made a toy with real blood in it?  Spoiler alert: there's not real blood in this one, but it did get me thinking about whether it's happened or not.  When Kiss released a comic book many moons ago each member supposedly poured a vial of their own life juice into the ink before printing.  But has anyone ever drip dropped some vampire energy drink into a resin figure?  I've never heard about it if so, and I doubt it would be a huge selling point.  Though there are stores that specialize in selling human body parts, so I'm sure some freaky toy collectors would be into it.  Maybe I'll go and get some blood drawn before my next Nordic Cats are made.

    No one tapped a vein for Tokyo Jesus's latest resin figure, but the effect is pretty spectacular regardless.   Standing at a foot tall, the mesmerizing Tayu was produced by Clutter Studios in an edition run of 50.  The clear resin with the suspended flow of color ensures that each piece is unique and will be a stand out in your collection.  They are available now for $333 by visiting www.cluttermagazine.com.  

I'm a Finalist for a Designer Toy Award

    

     For the third year in a row I have been shortlisted for a Designer Toy Award.  I thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my nonsense and to anyone who thinks enough of it to vote for me.  The polls are open at www.designertoyawards.com so please go out and vote for all of your favorites from the past year.  

Manky Neko Pink Edition Exclusive from Seymour x Clutter Magazine

    If you meet enough kitties in your life, you're bound to meet some sketchy ones.  Never ones to let any animal go hungry, Sharon and I would feed the stray cats that hung around our first apartment.  It was actually in this motley crew that we found our cat Wednesday, who was more than happy to leave behind a tough life on the street for the one of leisure she enjoys now.  Some of her friends were not as interested in consistent luxury and wanted to come and go as they pleased, which is how we met Fergus.  He introduced himself by peaking into our windows and banging on the screens for attention.  Figuring the people who lived there before kept him deep in kibble we started hooking him up.  Whenever he would come around he was always suffering from some new malady; one day part of his ear was missing while on another occasion he had a dangly tooth that was seriously pushing the boundaries of our hospitality.  I don't know who he was pissing off, but he evidently had a sassy mouth that his fighting skills couldn't back up.  Despite his dental woes we tried to get him to live in the house but he wasn't having it, as we were a mere rest stop on his adventures.  I wonder sometimes about him and hope in his old age he decided that a life indoors was better than one getting beat up by gangs of possums.  I like to assume there were possums involved.

   Fergus doesn't hold a candle to this freaky kitty from Seymour.  He looks like he's lived a rough life and enjoyed every minute of it.  This 7 inch tall soft vinyl feline is cast in retina scarring pink and is an exclusive to Clutter Magazine.  He even comes with his own resin ID tag, which is handy incase he is ever lost and someone is desperate to get the little heathen away from them.  He's available now for $95 by visiting https://shop.cluttermagazine.com. 

SKLFKR: Untouched from Huck Gee x Clutter Magazine

    If I were president of America (which let's be real the standards of the job have been dramatically lowered to "can spell own name" and "can list favorite color")  one of my top priorities is approaching the United Nations about implementing the concept presented in the film Robot Jox to settle all disputes.  In case you're not familiar with said movie, it would involve each country building their own giant robots to duke it out in lieu of actual warfare.  Not only are we saving lives but we're saving a ton of money in military spending that can actually be diverted into more important areas.  Plus, you actually MAKE money by selling tickets to the fights and broadcasting them on pay per view.    Feel free to call me a genius at any time.  

    Who wouldn't watch this guy from Huck Gee and Clutter Magazine give Mecha Kim Jong the business end of that axe?  This twenty inch beast was engineered by the folks at Cubo, is made of a mixture of solid and rotocast resin, and features 11 points of articulation which is just below the legal limit.  You can preorder this white version for $300 when it goes on sale this Friday, July 28th, from shop.cluttermagazine.com.  Until then you should start reinforcing the are where you're going to put him so you don't have one of those Breaking Bad bathtub through the ceiling incidents.  

My Five Points Festival Review

    Did you make it out to the inaugural Five Points Festival? If you did, then you know it was the convention that the East Coast has been begging for.  If you didn't make it, I'm sure you were glued to your social media checking out all the excitement and planning how to make your way there next year.  It took the best parts of much larger conventions and parred them down so that nearly every booth appealed to my wallet.  Ok, I'm not really into comics, but the designer toys were so plentiful I had more than enough to look at and drool over.

   Usually when I attend a convention I have one or two things I really want on my list, then I inevitably find a few more as a bonus.  Not here though, as everywhere I turned I was literally bombarded with figures I'd never been able to see in person and desperately wanted.  Tons of artists that rarely exhibit in America let alone the east coast had tables full of toys that made me wonder how long I could go without paying my mortgage before it became a problem.  The Sunguts booth alone could have sent me to bankruptcy court.

   There was also a line of food trucks and a beer garden outside.  The beer I passed on but let me tell you about Phil's Steaks, which Sharon and I consumed both days.  Good Lord I would smack your momma to be able to eat from that truck every day, which is strange for me to say because I am so freakishly weird about where I'll eat. I have never once eaten from a food truck because food from a gas station will kill you, so food from a gas guzzling vehicle can't be much different right?  I was so wrong and wonder what else I've been missing out on.  Not that I'm willing to be bold to the level of eating a hot dog from a street cart, but I'm closer than I ever have been to being a culinary adventurer.  My wife is still amazed.

Other highlights from our adventures:

- Meeting tons of artists and collectors that I've known for years online but never met in person until now.  Literally I was standing next to people, heard them mention their names on Instagram, and we started talking as if we'd been life long friends.  That's the beauty of collecting.

- On day two we walked from Battery Park to the venue, which was approximately two miles.  Beneath the Brooklyn Bridge we saw a completely nude man laying face down on a large rock.  Was he sunning those hard to reach areas, was it performance art, or was their an issue involving chemicals?  As weird as it was to see it was weirder how many people passed by him without taking notice, as if it were commonplace.  I never want to be that comfortable, either as the man or the passers by.

- We went to The Statue of Liberty and took a photo holding up one of the exclusive Gary Ham Dunnys from Kidrobot.  A hopeful seagull thought it might be edible and nearly made off with it as my wife's outstretched hand tried to get it into position, which would have been a funny story, but would have also cost me $14.99.

- I actually ate at a food truck and loved it.  Did I mention that yet?

-  I tried to not be a germaphobe for once and didn't ask for hand sanitizer after holding onto the pole in the subway.  A few hours later I used that hand without thinking to remove a hair from my mouth.  Somehow I did not become patent zero for the next great plague.

-Someone dropped a can of chicken noodle soup and a bag of grapes on a different subway trip and a roach the size of a Chihuahua appeared and said "back up hungry eyes" with a perfect New York accent.

 - I never once had to stop in the middle of an aisle because someone was taking pictures of a half dressed woman from a comic book.  Cosplay is cool I suppose, but not when it causes me anxiety because I'm trapped in between sweaty people trying to take pictures of it.

    All in all I had one of the best convention experiences ever and would like to thank everyone at Clutter Magazine and Five Points Festival for letting me be a part of it.  I'm already saving up for next year.  

Check out all of the photos I took over at our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thetoyviking

Clutter Magazine Exclusives for Five Points Festival

   Having a severed head laying around the house is just asking for trouble.  Just ask anyone who has and they're sure to tell you the cons outweigh the pros.  Shockingly I have found an exception to that rule courtesy of Luke Chueh and Clutter Magazine.  Exclusive to this weekend's Five Points Festival,  the Black and Bone edition is limited to 50 pieces and comes with a nice pool of blood display stand all for only $100.  It's a bear, it's a skull, it's a crime scene and it speaks to me.  Not literally like voices in my head or anything, I meant aesthetically.  The pills take care of the voices.

   

    I think I found the culprit behind the whole severed head business.  Everything Splurrt makes looks like it has bad intentions and the Masterworks Cadaver Kid is no exception to that rule.  This behemoth is cast in a milk-white vinyl thats filled with purple glitter, limited to only 12 pieces in the entire world, and will sell for $165 each.  These things will go quick so make sure you have fresh laces in your Air Jordans if you want one.  

    Things are starting to get a little cuter as we go down the list.  This is Luna from The Bots and Urban Vinyl Daily and she is limited to just 50 pieces in this pink colorway and can be your forever companion for $60.  

    And don't forget about the amazing Dunnys from Gary Ham and Kidrobot.  The yellow one is only for VIP ticket holders while the other two will be available for everyone for $14.99 each.  

All of this will be at booth #234 for your shopping pleasure.

Vote For Me In The Seventh Annual Designer Toy Awards

     Ok, real talk people:  The United States is not known for our prowess when it comes to elections.  World War III is in the tiny hands of a man with a third grade reading level, so now's the time to dust off those Mad Max DVDs and pick up pointers on our future way of life.  We need redemption and we need it fast and while me winning Best Blog at The Designer Toy Awards won't stop the inevitable, I hope it can bring a smile to all of our faces before they are mutated forever by radiation and incapable of showing emotion.  Hopefully our new reptilian overlords will be gentle.  

    The best part of voting in The Designer Toy Awards is that there's no electoral college nonsense to screw it up.  Your vote matters and whoever gets the most wins.  Now don't just vote for me (do it first though) but also the wonderful folks who are up in the publicly voted categories.  Oh, and if I win you don't have to pay back your student loans (that is not true).  Get your democracy on at www.designertoyawards.com.  

Five Points Festival Exclusive Dunny from Gary Ham x Kidrobot x Clutter Magazine

    This May the east coast is finally getting a designer toy show to put us on par with our west coast friends.  With a show comes plenty of exclusives, including this Gary Ham Dunny from Kidrobot.  The yellow version on the right is extremely limited and only available as an incentive for buying a VIP ticket.  The other two will be available at Clutter Magazine's booth #243 for $14.99 each.  You can get a peak at the edition size to see just how rare these will be in the photo below.  Tickets and further info about Five Points Festival can be found at http://fivepointsfest.com.  I already know where $30 of my money is going. 

Five Points Festival Tickets Are Now On Sale

    I was pretty excited when I heard about Five Points Fest.  It's like comic con, but it feels more curated and adult in that it's focusing on designer toys, comics, street art, and food.  And the key word there is "curated" because they're promising that there won't be table after table of selling the crap you can buy at Wal-Mart.  Kidrobot, Super7, Tenacious Toys, Lulubell Toys, and more have already signed on and it's also going to be the new home of The Designer Toy Awards.  Sounds good, right?  The event doesn't take place until May, but you can buy tickets for it right now.  VIP tickets even include an exclusive Dunny from Kidrobot and Gary Ham.  Don't be left out, get your tickets now at http://fivepointsfest.com.

Thank You For Making Me a Finalist in The Designer Toy Awards

    I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who nominated me to be a finalist in The Designer Toy Awards and for voting for me to win as Best Blog.  I found out about the nomination while I was traveling all last week so I didn't have access to do a proper post about it, but I am beyond grateful for all of your support.  While it would be very cool to win, the greatest reward a writer can ever receive is having others read their work and enjoy it and everyday I am beyond thankful for that.  Jesus, that was sappy.  And it's not like I couldn't go back and edit a fart joke in there somewhere rather than go on a stream of consciousness rant where I type everything I'm thinking.  I should probably go take a shower before my wife comes home from work so I can at least fake some form of productivity today.  This is kinda like when you know you have to be up early for something important so you try real hard to go to sleep and you try to clear your mind of any thoughts but then you start wondering what it is about jazz music that is appealing to people and the next thing you know you didn't sleep at all and you have to try not to hallucinate while you're doing your important thing but then you kinda nod off and have one of those half asleep/half awake dreams and you're not sure if you just yelled something really dumb out loud or it was just part of the dream. What were we talking about again?

Peter Kato's Bedtime Bunny Has Made the Jump to Vinyl

     How have I not been hearing about these for months?  Sometimes, secrets are not worth keeping, especially if you're making something cool that people are gonna want.  I had just heard about Peter Kato's Bedtime Bunnies being made in luxurious vinyl a few days ago and thought I missed my chance to write about them.  But somehow they're still some of these January Blues edition available for all those who didn't get one yet.  It stands 6 inches tall, retails for $40, and is an edition of only 50.  Get on it before you miss out by visiting this link.  Produced by the folks at Clutter Magazine.

Kidrobot's Pop Up Shop for New York Comic Con

    Last year Kidrobot was nowhere to be seen at New York Comic Con and I missed them.  I missed them so much that I sat where their booth had previously been and quietly mourned their absence.  This seemed to be awkward to the other people who were set up trying to hawk their wares, and security wasn't really the most understanding group of individuals I've met, especially as they were dragging me out from under the table with what my lawyer said was not actually an excessive amount of force.  The good news is I fired that idiot and Kidrobot is back with not just a booth, but a pop up shop, which sounds way more better.  

    What is sure to be the hit of the show and a guaranteed sell out are these Infected Dunnys from Scott Wilkowski.  Available in either grey or purple (50 of each color) these suckers are gonna be $60  a piece.  

    Of course that is just one of a plethora of offerings that will be available to con goers.  You'll also be able to buy tons of toys before they're released anywhere else.  Things like J*Ryu's 8 and 20 inch Dunnys, or Amanda Vissel's Ferals mini series.  

   They'll also have the new Simpson's figures from Ron English and my personal favorite, doubleparlour's debut 3 inch Dunny, which is a must have for me:

    What other surprises will they have in store?  You'll just have to wait and see when everything begins later this week.  You can find their pop-up shop as part of Clutter Magazine's booth #603

"Candy Corn" Smorkin' Monger Jerome from Kozik x Rotofugi x Squibbles Ink for NYCC

 

    Every year about this time I go candy corn stupid.  I'll get caught up in all the Halloween prep, buy a bag of candy corn, and be instantly reminded of why I'm supposed to remember to never buy candy corn.  I can ingest maybe four pieces before a wave of death nausea washes over me, rendering any remaining part of the day useless as I try to sleep it off.  Then I usually take the rest of the bag to work, because despite how evil this devil's candy is, I still can't just waste em.  And I'm usually mad at those people anyway, so it's a win-win.

    Did you know New York Comic Con is coming up?  Well it is suckas, as in next week, and of course I have to go.  I had been pretty good about not getting too excited for any exclusives, basically for the sake of my wallet.  But my accountant will be happy to know that this toy is as affordable as it is desirable, so now she can work harder on getting me that tax exempt charitable status instead of nagging me about nonsense.

   Jerome is the brain (freeze) child of Frank Kozik and is produced by Rotofugi x Squibbles Ink.  This four inch tall ice cream dude with a filthy habit is limited to only 50 pieces: 25 of which will be available at New York Comic Con, and 25 to be made available online October 13th at www.rotofugi.com.  For convention goers, you can find them at the Clutter Magazine booth for $19.95 each.  You should probably save me one just cause I won't make it to the con until Saturday.  Thanks in advance, boo boo.
    

Help Kickstart Luke Chueh's Dissected with Clutter Magazine x Unbox Industries

    All these years I bet you thought that Bears had special bear-shaped skeletons underneath all that fur.  I bet you wish you paid better attention in biology class cause bears are made with human skeletons inside of them.  I thought everyone knew that but apparently the public education system has once again failed us.  Thankfully Luke Chueh has enlisted the help of Clutter Magazine and Unbox Industries to help spread some learning around the world that is so desperately needed.  This figure is on Kickstarter right now and SURPRISE it's already been funded!!!!  That means that you won't be disappointed when you pledge your cash now cause its guaranteed to happen!  Now the stretch goals are starting to become unlocked, giving you even more cool stuff to go along with your severed head.  Check it out at this link.  

More NYCC Exclusives from Clutter Magazine

    New York Comic Con just opened it's doors, and while I won't be there until tomorrow, there is plenty to see and do right this instant.  Clutter Magazine sent me an email filled with all kinds of nutty stuff you're gonna want so let's get to it shall we.

   Fact:  Bears have skulls the same shape as human beings do.  It's on the internet, so it must be true.  Luke Chueh only made 15 of these Dissected Bear Heads in Kenner prototype blue, with 5 being released each day via an 11am lottery system.  The lottery last 15 minutes, after which time the winners will be announced and then they get to buy this dude.  No lottery today, only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so you have time to plan accordingly.  

    Tim Clarke is a legend.  The day he followed me on Instagram I almost pooped my britches.  This dude not only created Boglins and Sectaurs, but he worked on The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson.  We're talking about things that defined people's childhoods.  He's got a new toy series out called Totims and he will have a bunch of those and those prints you see above.  He'll be hanging around Saturday starting at noon and if you're gonna shake anyone's hand during the show, his would be a good one.  Maybe some of the magic will rub off.  

    Ron English is obviously not as big a fan of breakfast cereal as I am.  And I love Cap'n Crunch, even though it shreds the rook of your mouth like you were chewing razor blades.  This is the latest edition of his obese faux pirate, and it will be released Saturday at 1pm and Ron will be there to sign em and tell you the dangers of high fructose corn syrup.  

    I've been in a few fights in my day.  Most of those involved dust ups in my high school cafeteria and certainly never with anyone that looked like this.  Who would fight this guy?  I don't care how bad you think you are, when you see a guy dressed like this and with such an unpleasant look on his face, you need to move along.  Restore made this glow in the dark Neo Japan in such uber limited quantities (10) that he will be sold through a lottery system on Saturday at 2pm with the drawing taking place 15 minutes later.  

    Saturday is gonna be busy for whoever is manning booth # 504, cause at 3pm Jon-Paul Kaiser and UME Toys will be present to release their Buford Mandrake figure.  He comes with two masks, though which one is more disturbing is open to debate.  Meet those fine English gents and pick up this collaboration piece that is sure to be a hit, cause I said so.

    Ok, this is pretty killer.  We've never seen Jeff Lamm's Greasebat figure so...so...cuddly.  Lana Crooks hand made five of these stunning plush toys and I hope there is one left just so I can see it in person.  

    The Flyers lost last night and I'm kinda bummed about that, but they did play pretty well.  And I love the orange and black no matter what and this lizard bro makes me thankful that there's another game tonight with which they can redeem themselves.  Chris Ryniak's Snybora has long been a favorite of mine and this paint job from Squibbles Ink and Kirby Kerr makes it even closer to my heart.  Only 25 folks can own one though, so you better be quick if you wanna play with him on the ride home.  

    Visit the Clutter folks at booth #504 for all that you see and more.  That kinda sounded like something a game show announcer would say.  I need some sleep.  

NYCC Exclusive "Blown Away" Dunny Series from Josh Mayhem

    One thing I like to do when I see custom toys that impress me is to try and figure out how they did it.  Not that I'm gonna go out and try to replicate the technique, but I have a healthy fascination with how things are created.  Luckily I didn't have to torment myself too much with these because their creator, Josh Mayhem, was very forthcoming about his methods, but that doesn't make the end results any less impressive.  This "Blown Away" series contains 6 Dunnys that look like they were caught in a wind storm before their paint was allowed to dry.  These were created as New York Comic Con exclusives for Clutter Magazine's booth # 504 beginning at noon today.  The little guy in the front is the chase version, but no matter which one you get it's gonna look impressive in your collection.