Five Points Fest Exclusives from StrangeCat Toys

Five Points Fest is this Saturday and Sunday and I have been keeping a mental tally of all the stuff I want so far.  I've just about reached full mental capacity, so I've had to forget some things in order to make room.  Strangecat Toys has got so many exclusives that will fill their booth #423 that I have compiled the ones I know about so far here for you to keep track of.  That way you don't have to go and forget stuff like where you live, how to drive a car, or the fact that you're allergic to shrimp.  I'm pretty much saving lives.

Jasper: Series Zero Blind Box Release from Gary Ham x Martian Toys

   I have a distinct love/hate relationship with blind box toys.  On the one hand, I'm all about them when I first start collecting a new series and every box has a high potential for a new figure.  I start to really hate them when I only need a few toys to complete a set and get 15 of the same design that end up accumulating in my basement to be found later by the unlucky sucker that has to settle my estate.  I could fill a graveyard with doubles of blind box toys and with the lack of success I have at horticulture, I may consider using the barren soil of my garden for them rather than uncooperative plants.  The tiny tombstones will be so adorable.

    Martian Toys is turning the idea of the blind box on its head with Jasper.  You can buy them in mystery fashion, pray to whatever God you think controls good luck in picking toys, and be completely unaware of the inner contents of the package. OR you could skip whatever the fates have in store for you and buy a complete set.  Quit the games and get right down to business by getting them all in one shot!  This is the kind of forward thinking desperately needed for all of us who are obsessed with the idea of owning every figure and are also trying to maintain a level of civility while doing so.

    I'm so enamored by the idea of how they'll be available that I've completely glossed over the toys themselves.  Jasper was created by Gary Ham and this first collection features his design alongside those of Doktor A, Jellykoe, Muxxi, Dex Dexign Lab, Mizna Wada, and Yema Yema.  Plus, as if you needed an extra incentive to get em all, complete sets also come with a bonus 8th figure from Gary Ham!

    These three inch figures will be available starting today, Friday April 12, at noon eastern time from https://martiantoys.com.

Mini 'Mees Pocket Daruma from Gary Ham x Flat Bonnie

    Sharon and I recently checked out Craters of The Moon National Park in Idaho and aside from being the closest thing I'll ever get to walking on a different planet, they also have bat caves you can explore.  I was all about that so we got our permit from the visitor center and set off looking for the trails leading to these caves.  We were excited until we actually found one and was informed that it was a two mile walk to get to it.  Now that wouldn't have been a big deal had we not already spent three days in Yellowstone walking miles upon miles on terrain that only seemed to go up hill and rarely down.  Add the altitude in there and my nickname could have easily been Weezy.  So as much as I wanted to see the bats, I also wanted to be able to make it back to the car without the assistance of a rescue chopper.  

    Flat Bonnie and Gary Ham have saved the day with this Pocket Daruma.  Now I can see a bat whenever I want without being the subject matter of some park ranger's hilarious tale.  This little dude is as cute as they come and is ready to hang anywhere you can imagine for maximum enjoyment.  There will only be twenty of these vinyl plushies ever made and you can preorder one for yourself this Friday, October the 13th and noon pacific time.  Each nearly four inch piece will be $31 and will only be available from www.flatbonnie.com.  I'm thinking some little viking bunnies would be pretty dang cute, what do you guys think?

     

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.

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. 

Winter Reindeer: Night Stalker Edition from Andrew Bell x Gary Ham x Pobber Toys

 

    I have an entertainment center from Ikea that has been a pain in my rear since the day I bought it.  For one, it was the wrong color, which Sharon and I decided we would live with.  Then when we moved it somehow gained about 300 pounds since I put it together and nearly killed us both.  And the thing is so massive and holds so much stuff that it has made it an almost impossible task to replace.  We did swear an oath though that if we were to ever move again not only would we not take it with us, but that we would destroy it so it could not pass its evil onto others.  And by destroy it I mean carefully take the bolts out and even more carefully walk the pieces to the dumpster.  I'll be damned if it sends me to the emergency room in one final act of defiance.

   Let that be a lesson on how important it is to carefully select the things you use to display your treasures, for like an at-home haircut, it may be there longer than you bargained for.   Enter Pobber Toys.  They teamed up with Gary Ham to create the original version of this unique way to display your figures and now Andrew Bell has put his own spin on it.  This thing is nearly two and a half feet tall of resin and can be left the way he is or fully loaded with your favorite toys as seen here:

    You have from now until November 30th to preorder one of these things for $499 plus shipping and they are only making the amount that people order.  There will be no second chances, only massively crushing regret that will hinder you in the rest of your worldly pursuits if you don't get one.  Make the right decision by visiting http://pobber.bigcartel.com.

"King of Mischief" Sylvan from Jon-Paul Kaiser x Gary Ham x Pobber Toys

    When you don't live in the city you have experiences that people from a more urban area would have a hard time imagining.  Before you get jealous, most of them aren't what you would call pleasant.  Like the other day when the wife and I were out for a drive and we stop at a light by a large field.  Not far from the roadway we see a dead dear, which is not the most uncommon thing, but then it started moving.  It's dead body shook and jumped all over like a little project from Dr. Frankenstein.  Just before we thought the roadkill zombie apocalypse was upon us a little beagle backed it's way out of the deer's enlarged rear end and grinned at us like he had found an endless supply of beef jerky.  His little tail wagged a mile a minute as he pondered over his great discovery, before diving back in for seconds.  I'll admit, I was much less horrified by the fact that this puppy had gone head first into the rotting butt of a woodland creature than the idea of it being let back into the house and loved on by an unsuspecting family.  Filthy, filthy puppy dog kisses.

    Now this dude is more of what I would expect to find nibbling at the old Roadkill Cafe.  Hell, I don't think he's the kind of guy that would wait for a station wagon to provide his meals for him;  I bet he's more proactive in procuring his dead things.  Jon-Paul Kaiser has added a touch of evil to Gary Ham's Sylvan figure, and he will be making his debut at next weekend's Toy Con UK at The Hang Gang's booth.  Limited to 100 pieces worldwide, Pobber Toys will be giving the rest of us a chance at snagging one soon after.

   

Meet Your New Toy Display: Autumn Stag from Gary Ham x Pobber Toys

    One thing that can be a downside of collecting is determining how to show off your sacred objects.  Personally, I like vintage display cases, and not because I'm snotty and refuse to use those glass cases from Ikea (though that's true) but I love the juxtaposition of old and new.  Plus, I want my house to look more like a musuem than a convenience store.

    But what if you could display your toys on another toy?  Did I just blow your mind?  Does the idea make all of your dreams come true?  Cause Gary Ham and Pobber Toys are making it happen with the Autumn Stag.  This thing is a literal beast at over 2 feet tall and is sturdy enough for you to pile on your mini figures.  You only have until April 10th to preorder one for $499 plus shipping.  Sure it's a lot of money, but your toys deserve more than compact Swedish furniture that's a pain to put together.

Preorder one now at http://pobber.bigcartel.com/.

Meet Nathan Jurevicius at Woot Bear This Weekend

    Have you ever been so tired that you start dreaming while you're awake?  Like, for whatever perfectly legal reason that doesn't necessitate police investigation, you've been unable to sleep and you start seeing weird stuff that isn't there.  I used to work as an overnight dj for a commercial radio station, which meant I had to attempt to sleep during the day so I could stay up all night and entertain long haul truckers and drug addicts.  Sometimes my sleep plans didn't always work out the way I wanted and I would find myself driving home at 6am and seeing imaginary people walking across the otherwise empty Garden State Parkway.  When I went back to college it would happen as well; I'd be half asleep in one of those painfully boring 8am classes and would dream that I yelled out something ridiculous about "not petting the lions" then I would snap awake and wait nervously to see if I had actually said it out loud.  Thankfully I was able to keep my nonsense firmly packed away in my own head.  

    This dude reminds me of something that would come to you in those foggy states of consciousness, maybe leading you on an epic adventure that seems like it would make for a great book or movie until you think about it later and realize how you can't even make sense of it.  Nathan Jurevicius has teamed up with Pobber Toys to offer his take on Gary Ham's Sylvan vinyl toy, and the results resemble your new spirit guide.  You can pick one up this weekend at Woot Bear in San Francisco, as Nathan will be doing a signing there Saturday evening, and you even get a free print with purchase so you can spruce up your living quarters.  

    

NYCC Exclusive Sylvan Yeti from Gary Ham x Pobber Toys x myplasticheart

    It's that time of year again.  Time for me to start doing push-ups so I can fight my way through the crowds of New York Comic Con.  Every year it seems like they manage to pack more people into that building, making walking from one end of the con to the other a more physical sport than it needs to be.  It actually wouldn't be so bad if people didn't stop cosplayers in the middle of the walkway to pose for pictures.  Dude, I get that you NEEEEEEEEEED your photo with every girl dressed as Slave Leia because you're not one to pass up an exposed midriff, but just know that if you clog up the thoroughfare and I'm close enough, I'm gonna make the worst face you've ever seen in your life and ensure it is there forever to ruin your fantasy moment.  No matter who you show your pictures to, all they'll want to know is what's up with the angry looking bridge troll in the background.  I'm not just doing it because I'm a jerk, I'm doing it for all of those people that had to get way too close to sweaty strangers because you decided to create a traffic jam of epic nerd proportions.   One day they will build a statue of me outside of the Javits Center for my contributions to mankind and my dedication to keeping it moving.  

    But let's focus on what's really important about comic con, and that's the exclusive toys.  myplasticheart has been kind enough to get the ball rolling with Sylvan Yeti from Gary Ham and Pobber Toys.  This chilly fella is limited to 50 pieces and will be priced at $75 each and available at booth # 113.  

Blue Wooper Looper from Gary Ham

    My wife is a fan of Tiffany's and unless I hit the lottery this may be about as close to their iconic shade of blue she's gonna get for a while.

    Gary Ham will be releasing his latest Wooper Looper this Friday (May 24th) at 11am Pacific time.  He is limited to 30 pieces and will be $60 each at http://www.superham.bigcartel.com/.  This is what a real life Wooper Looper looks like:

Eeeeek!  It's the cutest little salamander thingy you've ever seen!