The Debut of Andrew Heath's Frozen Culture from 3DRetro at DesignerCon

   I'm a brave man, but I don't know that I'm brave enough for blind bagged food.  My particular brand of bravery lies firmly in the areas of relocating an unwanted snake, or taking a look at a wound and giving my opinion on whether it's infected or not.  But grabbing a blank package, with no idea what the contents are inside, and commiting to eating whatever it is scares me more than explaining technology to the elderly.  The stories I could tell you about that are too numerous and horrifying for this post.

   Thankfully, as delicious as Andrew Heath's Frozen Culture toys may look, their flavor is of absolutely no concern to me or you.  That's because these officially licensed Back to the Future vinyls are strictly for collecting and not eating.  There's seven different versions to acquire and they are sold blind bagged, so each one is a surprise.  There's also a collection of pins and prints with everything debuting at this weekend's DesignerCon from 3DRetro's booth number 405.  If you buy enough of them Ben might let you drive his Delorean, but probably not.  

Flat Bonnie DesignerCon Exclusives

    I love the creations of Flat Bonnie, because not only does she create the cutest hand sewn critters in existence but she also raises money and awareness for real life animals.  So I was beyond excited to see that two of her designs will be featured as part of the DesignerCon Dunny series from Kidrobot.  One of her designs has the distinction of being the first ever plush 3 inch Dunny while the other one continues her fight for our Earth's creatures by speaking out against shark fin harvesting.

     Of course she will have her own booth as well, filled with the 2 dimensional creatures she's known for.  Check out all the exclusives that you can find later this week a booth number 802:

Dobichan - Monochrome Edition

DesignerCon 2018 Exclusive - $50 each

9" tall - Limited Edition Plush

Special DesignerCon tag and numbered sewn in label.

Made of vinyl pleather (Animal friendly materials).

Flat Knuckle Bear - collaboration with Touma

DesignerCon 2018 Exclusive - $60 each

11" tall - Limited Edition Plush

Special DesignerCon tag and numbered sewn in label.

Made of vinyl pleather (Animal friendly materials).

Flat MAOCAT - collaboration with Touma

DesignerCon 2018 Exclusive - $40 each

7" tall - Limited Edition Plush

Special DesignerCon tag and numbered sewn in label.

Made of vinyl pleather (Animal friendly materials).

Momo the Anxious Axolotl (Holiday Ornament/Charm)

Designercon 2018 Exclusive - $20 each

5" wide x 3.25" tall - Limited Edition

Special DesignerCon tag and numbered sewn in label.

Made of vinyl pleather (Animal friendly materials)

Wonder Goblin DesignerCon Exclusives

    The psychedelic nightmare creatures of Wonder Goblin are some of the most interesting figures you're going to see at DesignerCon this week.  Each one is a visual over load of color and detail that may or may not forever imprint themselves on your retina, casting a monstrous shadow in your line of sight forever the way that looking at an eclipse without filtered glasses will.  These toys won't LITERALLY burn their image into yours soft tissue, it's more figurative than that.  But will you see them when you close your eyes at night, taunting you as slow heavy metal music plays in the background?  Probably not either.  You're taking this way too seriously.

   Let's take a look at some of the craziness you can take home with you:

    * 2 Budfoot releases - "Yeti" and "Yeti Kush" one is painted and the other is flocked. $300 for Yeti. $350 for Yeti Kush. 12 inches tall. Each run is limited to 7 pieces. (se above picture)

 

* Windigo "Night Tripper" release limited to 8 pieces, 3 of which will have special dread hair       attached. $350 with hair. $300 without hair. 13 inches tall. Painted in black light reactive vinyl paint. Windigo is part of the Boogey Boys toy series with Grizlli Atom. 

* Hagopuss Family - Queen + Defender + Baby. All 3 figures are sold as a set, and limited to 7 sets. Each set includes a 20 x 14 inch signed and numbered giclée print of the Hagopuss Family Portrait oil painting, printed with archival inks on cold press paper. The figures are painted in vinyl paints to match the fine art print! $450 for the whole set.

* Fungoid Man "Marbled Watermelon" release limited to 24 pieces. This will be the first soft vinyl Fungoid Man sold within the USA! Collaboration with Skinner and produced by Science Patrol! $150 each.

Get all this and more by visiting booth # 1251. 

DesignerCon Exclusive Sofubi Strolls from Spanky Stokes x Toy Art Gallery

   Well look at what we have here!  It's been a long time since we've seen Spanky Stokes Stroll mascot in vinyl form, and it was starting to seem like I had maybe dreamt the previous ones.  You ever have those dreams where you're arguing with someone and then you wake up and are legit pissed at them?  My wife once dreamt that I let a tiger eat her and she didn't speak to me the entire next day.   For one, you don't "let" a tiger do anything.  Have you ever tried reasoning with a house cat?  Now imagine it weighs 400 lbs and could devour you.  And secondly...there's no secondly because seriously you cannot stop a cat from doing what it wants.  So there.

    Toy Art Gallery has prepared not one but two new versions of this figure for release at DesignerCon next week.  There's the tropical fruit juiciness of the glow in the dark Boogie Beach version, or for those of you that don't like flavor on your chicken, a plain glow in the dark edition.

   Either way, you can't go wrong with the world famous mascot of the designer toy blog that inspired countless others.  These will be available at the convention from booth # 543.

Designer Con Exclusive Resin Shard Dunnys from Scott Tolleson

    These beautiful resin three inch Shard Dunnys from Scott Tolleson are known as the Pain edition because that's what you'll feel deep in your guts if you don't get one.  You'll probably have a few leading up to their release at Designer Con as you fear having to live the rest of your life without one.  That's right, these are candy slick and exclusive to Scott's booth at the upcoming super sized edition of Designer Con in California next month.  As much as I would love to be there I am unable to make it, and seeing these has kind of brought that reality home.  Great, now I'm in a spiral of depression.

    Just kidding, I came to terms with it a while back, but if you're one of those lucky folks that IS going and who I'm still mildly jealous of, then you better high tail it to booth # 2005.  Scott only made 100 of these and at $60 each they won't last long.


    But wait...there's more.

    There's also this insane looking five inch Shard Dunny!!!!   This one is known as the Panic edition, because that's what people will feel as the doors open to the convention and they have to run likes it's a high school gym class to get to them.  I only run if someone is chasing me, and even then they better be armed with a weapon or a warrant, but I would make an exception for one of these.  They are limited to 80 pieces and will cost ya $150.  Make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes and don't mind being seen panting heavily in the company of others.  

Broke Piggy Presents: The Shard Dunny Custom Show at Designer Con

    

    A few days ago Sharon and I decided it was time we started watching Stranger Things.  That was on Monday night and as of this writing we only have three episodes to go before we finish them all.  Now when I binge watch a show I get completely lost in it and start making weird connections between the fictional world and this one.  Take this Shard Custom Show that Broke Piggy has put together for Designer Con.  It's a show within a larger show, which wouldn't be a parallel dimension like the Upside Down, but would be like a completely miniature version of a universe identical to ours living within our universe.  Designer Con would be the crunchy cookie of the Oreo while the Shard Show would be the creamy filling.  Thinking about crap like this is why I neglected to wash dishes yesterday and my wife had to eat her yogurt with a spatula.  Love ya, babes.

    Scott Tolleson's stone bro Shard Dunny is getting extreme makeovers from all of the artists you see listed above.  Previews of their work has popped up online and I've collected a mini gallery below to feature a few, but the big shindig is this weekend in California.  These are all one of a kind, but both Scott (booth #525) and Kidrobot (booth #518) will have exclusive versions available for sale in greater numbers, so check them out if you're there.   See more at booth #527.  

   

Designer Con Exclusives from 3DRetro

    Seeing these exclusives 3DRetro has in store for Designer Con makes me wish I was able to go.  But it's cool, I'll just be at work ignoring my responsibilities while perusing social media to see all the fun you're having.  And if you're not going just know you won't be the only one gently weeping into your cell phone.  Make sure you have a screen protector that's not cracked because tears of envy void the warranty.

     First up is this utterly stunning Jade Clairvoyant Dunny from J*Ryu and Kidrobot.  By far my favorite version of this figure, I first spotted this during New York Comic Con and it looks so much like actual jade you expect it to be cold when you touch it.  It's a beautiful piece of plastic that's limited to only 100 pieces and at $100 will be one of the big hits of the show.  Perfect for storing any ancient spirits you may have lying around the house that you just don't know what to do with.  And in case you're wondering it's never to early to shop for your favorite toy blogger for Christmas.

    Look at these little jawns from Gary Baseman!  Yeah, I said "jawns" because it is a part of my vernacular and soon midwestern housewives will be saying it the same way Beyonce made them profess that everything "slays", which is dumb by the way.  If anything was ever a jawn it would be these mini figures sold in blind packs of two (one of each figure) for only $4 each.  You can't pick the colors you get, but you can choose to eat one less convention center hot dog to afford them.

    I tried to skateboard when I was a kid but I had this really strong fear of falling and knocking out my teeth that prevented me from reaching my potential.  My fearlessness didn't kick in until my 30's and now I think it's fun to spend a week in the woods looking for bear just for the chance to watch them.  They're really impressive outside of a zoo setting when they're just doing their thing and wondering why some weirdo just traversed a hill to take their picture.    And of course now I can't skateboard because I don't heal as quickly as I used to and I don't want to be the old guy at the mall carrying around a skateboard that he obviously didn't just buy for his kid.  

    This guy's name is Moe Hawk (I see what you did there) and he was created by KRK Ryden.  Get one for $60 and live vicariously (and safely) through him.  

    This is Anesthesia, and she is rather haunted looking.  For real, this looks like it was found at an estate sale and is about to start up a five film horror franchise.  Which is why I like it.  Doktor A sculpted this lady and named her after the best sleep you'll get without having St. Peter look you up in his book.  And I loooooooooove a good patina, which this figure has plenty of to keep me happy.  I'm not sure how much it is but Designer Con only comes once a year so don't be a baby about financial stuff and think about how great it's going to look on your mantle.  

    All of this and more can be yours by visiting booth #532

  

    

Horrible Adorables Exclusives for Designer Con

    Horrible Adorables are bringing their whimsical road show to Pasadena, California this weekend to be a part of Designer Con and they're not coming alone.  Their car will not be getting optimal gas mileage because it will be loaded down with tons of soft critters ready to be adopted to collectors.   And speaking of soft do you see those squishy little dudes up there?  I've been seeing stuff like this in stores and I think they're supposed to help you release stress in a constructive way that keeps the cops from getting involved.  Just watching this GIF has made me feel more relaxed already, so this is some powerful stuff they have going here.  I wouldn't use one of these while operating heavy machinery.

 Take a gander at what else they'll have to offer and if you happen to be at Designer Con swing by booth #809 to say hello and buy one of everything:

Limited Edition Dissected Gnome from Bigshot Toyworks X Jason Freeny

    I was reading that the other day in Iceland a road crew had to go out and unearth a boulder they accidentally covered up because it pissed off the elves and they were taking their frustrations out on anyone who got close.  Not only did they dig it back up but they also pressure washed it to restore it to its former glory.  That would never happen in America because first we would have people fighting on Facebook as to whether the elves existed or not.  Then some idiot bureaucrat would figure out how much they owed the country in back taxes and send them a bill. Congress would probably pass legislation about which bathrooms they would be allowed to use, and people would have hunted them and made elf taxidermy earrings to sell on Etsy and none of this would have really been an issue to begin with because we would have taken their elven lands and put a strip mall there a long time ago.  I think I was meant to live in Iceland.

    I love the elves and their gnome kinfolk.  And I love black metal.  And I love anatomical gross stuff.  Has Bigshot Toyworks been camping out in my mind in an effort to create the perfect hybrid toy featuring all of my interests?  If somehow they could have worked cats and cable tv in I would have straight died of shock.  Not only is this metal loving gnome dude finally becoming a reality, but Jason Freeny has hacked off a section of him to let us all see his inner self.  This is the type of brutality that anyone starting a black metal band should aspire to, as setting fires and wearing corpse paint just isn't gonna cut it after seeing this.

    Only 200 pieces of  this dude will exist in the world and they will be up for preorder very very soon and also available at New York Comic Con and Designer Con it seems.  Keep up to date by checking out www.gnome.world.

My Designer Con Review as a Non-Attendee

    I didn't go to Designer Con and I've actually never been to Designer Con, but that doesn't mean I am any less qualified to talk about it than someone who was there.  This is America, and I'm gonna excercise the crap out of my freedom, and let me tell you, I'm feeling pretty damn free right now.  It may have something to do with the fact that I spent my Sunday at a gun show, which is about as much freedom as you can pack into the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia.  I mean it's an entire event that celebrates one of the most controversial amendments in the Bill of Rights.  It couldn't have been any more American if there was a bald eagle grilling hot dogs at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert.  I had never been to a gun show before, and it was by far an interesting experience, as I doubt anyone at Designer Con was asked if they were carrying a concealed weapon as they entered.  I wasn't, but I wished I had planned ahead and brought a machete or something, just so I could have said "oh, you mean my little friend Tito Santana?" as I pulled said machete from my jacket.  That probably would have given the ticket people something fun to talk about at dinner.

    I felt like I was in California right with you though, as I scrolled through the many pictures on Instagram, jealous of all the amazing toys I was seeing.  My favorite photos are always the ones that people take showing off what they bought.  Not just cause I like to pick out the things I also would have tried to own, but because I'm always impressed by the shear amount of money spent.  We're talking legit mortgage payments worth of toys. With that in mind I really want to start commenting on their photos, asking where they work and if they're hiring, because I am obviously doing something wrong career-wise.  I need to up my disposable income game, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

    When there were actually people in the photos I saw they all looked happy, so I'm going to go ahead and say they were having a good time.  When I was daydreaming about being there (on Saturday mind you, cause you don't daydream when you're surrounded by live ammunition as I was Sunday) I pictured myself equally as happy, so I declare the convention a good time which is probably enhanced by actually attending.

For the First Time Ever at Designer Con: Splurrt

    Splurrt is making his first trek out to Designer Con this year and he's bringing a veritable pile of toys that will stare at you as you sleep and teleport nightmares into your brain (or so I heard).  He's sharing  booth #553 with Paul Kaiju and his freaky creations will only be available on Saturday via lottery system.  So you're gonna need to grab yourself a ticket between 9am and noon, then return at 3pm when the selling madness begins.  If anything is left after the craziness dies down it will be sold on a first come first served basis.  In total he will have over 160 figures for sale, including the ones you see here.  I'm guessing he won't be bringing much back home with him.  

   

Super7 Exclusives for Designer Con

     Oh my Lord there is soooooo much going on at Designer Con weekend I don't know how people that are going just don't lose their minds.  Any time I go to a convention I am knocked stupid by the amount of things to see.  And at those I'm not even interested in a lot of the stuff that's there, so I can't imagine being surrounded by table after table of stuff that I want and having to pick from it all.  I would probably have PTSD afterwards.

   Super7 will be in attendance and will of course have some exclusives for your purchasing pleasure, like this gorgeously marbled Mongolion from L'amour Supreme.  It's so purty and at $65 is luxury you can afford.

    My cats already try to eat my snack food so I don't know how long these dudes would make it in my house.  Just last night Jorah snatched a Nilla Wafer from my hand and by the time I got it back from under the couch is was covered in teeth marks and spit.  The same fate would most likely befall these delicious looking fellows.  At $25 each and adorable as all get out, it would be worth the risk.  Just have to keep em locked up and away from hungry kitties.

     Pay Super7 a visit at booth #406. 

 

"Rainbow Flavor" Abominable Snow Cone from Jason Limon x Martian Toys

    Man, I do love a good snow cone.  I get em on the boardwalk during the summer and usually end up ruining a shirt and looking like a four year old eating it, but it's delicious and if people on the Wildwood boardwalk suddenly had an epiphany about how they looked they'd realize I am far from the freak show.  Watching these folks is one of the best (only) reasons you should ever come to the state of New Jersey, unless you're just the kind of sicko that loves high taxes and people treating you like you're a jerk.  Some of you might be into that I guess.  But people in Wildwood have the same mentality that the old guy driving in his car and with his finger jammed knuckle deep in his nose suffers from.  There is just a level of oblivion so profound it's like seeing the Virgin Mary on your toaster waffle when everyone else only notices freezer burn.

    The Abominable Snow Cone just brings those summertime feelings rushing right back to ya!  No longer will the mighty chill of winter impede your memories of sunburn and aggressive sea gulls.  Jason Limon and Martian Toys will be debuting the newest version of this impressive figure at this weekend's Designer Con.  Booth #603 will be the place to get one, but fear not if you can't be in attendance, because the rest of us will have a chance to own one come the first week of December.  The above picture is the only one I have of what this dude will look like, so I will show you his previous incarnations now so you get a better idea of how bad you need one.

Crazy Catzilla from Joe Ledbetter

   Am I totally bummed that I won't be at Designer Con this weekend?  Yeah, it sucks, but it's not like I had grand plans and they suddenly got cancelled. I knew my behind was gonna be at work and I would be living vicariously through the magic of the Internet and I'm ok with that.  At least that's what I keep telling myself so that I don't throw an obnoxious fit and get locked out of the house.  But all hope is not necessarily lost, because nice folks like Joe Ledbetter know we can't all make it to California, so he's doing something special for us.

    This is the final version of his popular Fire Cat and only 75 have been birthed into this world.  It will be available at his booth at noon on Saturday the 21st, but a special batch of figures have been saved for an online release.  Those figures will be for sale on his website Tuesday, November 24th at 8am pacific time.  Crazy Catzilla can be had by all!!!!  Well, 75 of us anyway, so not really, like, everyone. How about: Crazy Catzilla can be had by the lucky????  That sounds better.

Stingy Jack Swirl from Brandt Peters

    "Be still my heart, for thou beatest too fast at the sight of marbled vinyl!!!!!!"  That was taken from an unreleased Shakespearian play about a cobbler whose real dream was to one day produce multi colored vinyl toys to win over the nobleman's daughter, until she was tragically killed by a rogue gang of circus clowns and he spent the rest of his life becoming Batman and avenging her death.  I found it on The Bard's official Tumblr, which he somehow still updates much in the way Tupac still releases new music from beyond the grave.  Supposedly JJ Abrams has signed on to direct as he wants to focus on art pieces after Star Wars.  Can't learn this crap on TMZ.

    Now that it's become painfully obvious I've taken too much of my medication this morning let us quickly get to the facts before I really lose it.  Brandt Peters' Stingy Jack is not only sporting a killer swirl of colors that I love in a completely non platonic way, but he also glows in the dark!!!!!!  It's almost too much goodness.  And they're very limited with only 50 available worldwide and only half of those in North America via Circus Posterus this Saturday, November 14th (Tomenosuke will take care of the rest of the earth.)  A few will also be available at Designer Con booth #519.  

Nerfect Artistic Novelties Presents "Krampug" for Designer Con

    You know what's wrong with kids?  Well, it's a long list, but the main thing is that they feel entitled.  We've all witnessed the epic meltdowns they have in a store if they aren't allowed to get something.  They throw a fit, their parents buy them a new iPhone, and the transformation into horrible person is nearly complete.  And we're too delicate with them too.  We want them to behave themselves so someone invented a stupid elf that moves around the house and supposedly creeps on their every movement.  That smiling little idiot doesn't inspire the fear that children need to not act like butt clowns.  Which is why I am so happy that here in America Krampus has finally been brought to the attention of mainstream culture.  You wanna act like a zoo animal?  Well, this is what's gonna happen to you:

    Go ahead and try to take a selfie while riding in a basket attached to the back of a goat man, it's just gonna be blurry and probably won't get many likes.  

    Let's go back to the first picture though, that contains the rather more adorable Krampug.  I guess dogs need an incentive to not be jerks all year too.  He is the creation of Perfect Artistic Novelties and is an exclusive to their booth (#1025) at this year's Designer Con.  Each one is hand made and ready to keep your furry friends in line.  

    

    

Naomi Knaff is Bringing Resin Madness to Designer Con **Updated**

    You ever watch that show Monsters Inside Me where the people are all like "I was totally having the worst headaches and when I went to blow my nose all of these weasels fell out"?  It's never actually been weasels, but how cute would that be?  Or a guy could have some growth on his leg and out popped a kitten. Unfortunately it doesn't ever turn out to be that.  It always involves some worm-like critter that makes your life miserable for a bit before a heavy dose of antibiotics and some usually very disgusting occurrence serves to rid you of it.  Or as I like to call it, Saturday night.  

    The resin creations of Naomi Knaff make me think of what bad dreams would look like if they could take a physical form and be surgically removed.  That is probably the highest complement I've ever paid anybody, because I love them.  These are our bad thoughts manifested into hyper-color monsters and should be preserved in pickling liquid and put on display in curiosity shops, where they will have a warning never to open their jar under penalty of law.  Kinda like a mattress tag but with more immediate and dire consequences.  

    Naomi is bringing her insane creations to this year's Designer Con and can be found at booth #724.    If you're going you should see her work in person because like most things on the internet, the pictures don't do them justice.  

UPDATE!!!!!!!!

    The two figures you see below are custom paint jobs courtesy of Tru Slithers and they will also be available.  Pretty sick!