20 Million Miles to Earth Ymir Sofubi from Justin Ishmael

 

   The work of Ray Harryhausen has entranced me since the first time I saw Clash of the Titans.  One of my favorite films of all time, and probably the reason I'm so obsessed with monsters, the stop motion animation brought Greek mythology to life in a way that no one has done since.  Once I figured out who it was that was responsible for those amazing creatures I had to see everything else he made and his films are some of the very few that I can watch over and over without getting tired of them.   

    Now thanks to Justin Ismael, it's like seeing these insane creations all over again. Cast in glorious sofubi by Science Patrol, Justin's latest offering is Ymir, the star of 20 Million Miles to Earth.  He is available for preorder in two different colorways with or without his baby companion.  Expand your Harryhausen collection by visiting https://www.justinishmael.com.

    

The Rock-afire Explosion's Billy Bob in Vinyl from Justin Ishmael

     This one is bringing back some crazy memories for me and the love I have for anthropomorphic automatons and the pizza that came along with them.  I was all about Showbiz Pizza as a kid and was beyond mesmerized by the Rock-afire Explosion.  Their music wasn't great, but I loved watching as the robotic band wearing the skins of friendly wooden creatures came to some form of life unlike my own.  Looking back I'm sure you could trace a healthy amount of children's nightmares back to this group and their rodent successor Chuck E. Cheese.  But at the time who could have ever foreseen the possibility of the hulking mechanical behemoths being anything but wholesome as their dead eyes blinked audibly when they sprang to life in a restaurant that could serve not only an Italian staple but as the actual waiting room to Hell?  I could swear to you I had the best time there and somewhere I have the pictures to prove it.

    All kidding aside, this vinyl rendition of band leader Billy Bob captures a time in many of our lives that was filled with wonderment; where our biggest concern was the possibility of running out of golden tokens.  Relive it all thanks to the hard work of Justin Ishmael as he offers this officially licensed figure for preorder.  There are two versions available to collectors: the standard which includes the 11 inch tall toy, or the deluxe which comes with an exposed animatronic head and Birthday Bird.  There's also pint glasses and t-shirts so you can make Showbiz Pizza an entire lifestyle choice, which honestly should happen way more often than it does.

Everything can be found by visiting https://www.justinishmael.com.  

The Deadly Spawn Vinyl Figure Kickstarter from Justin Ishmael

    No, this is not one of the parasites from the next season of Monsters Inside Me, though if a doctor were to ever find something like this growing within someone I hope he has the presence of mine to put them down.  Tapeworms are horrifying enough, especially when they decide they need some air fresher than that of your inner colon and venture forth from your backside.  There's nothing out here for you little buddy, so you just stay inside where I can be blissfully unaware of your presence.  Editors note: I do not actually have a tapeworm.

   While this may look like the result of eating undercooked pork, it is actually the star of the cult classic horror film The Deadly Spawn.  Justin Ishmael decided to bring him to frightening life by turning him into an officially licensed vinyl toy, which is now on Kickstarter to raise money for production.  As of this writing he has received 83% of his goal in just under two days, so I think it's safe to say this nine inch tall monstrosity and his larvae are well on their way to becoming reality.  Both of these figures were sculpted by toy industry legend James Groman, who you may know from such famous lines as Madballs or his own crazy Kaiju figures that defy logic in size and detail.  Check out the link here to get in on this campaign and score these figures in their various iterations.

The First Ever Cinegantus from Justin Ishmael x Splurrt x Lulubell Toys

    Whenever you are presented with the opportunity to sever the head off of one mythical creature and place it on the body of another you should always do it.  Of course you would want to have both mythical creatures fill out the proper paper work to absolve you of any liability should the whole thing go terribly wrong in a Frankenstein sort of way, but that's stuff any mad scientist should already have been told by their lawyers.  In a world run by scandal and litigation you have to protect yourself from the inevitable get rich quick schemes and accusations of malfeasance that can plague even the most well-intentioned experiment.  A good insurance policy never hurts either and can pay for itself the first time you use it.

    Splurrt's Harryhausen-esque Cinema Monster has had his noggin replaced with that of Justin Ishmael's Galligantus to create Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuunnn......Cinegantus!  No one is safe when people are out there making super monsters, but safety is a relative thing anyway like I told the person who tripped on the walkway in front of my house.  I'm not sure if he understood me because his replies were muffled by his detached teeth and blood, but I think he saw the folly in his reasoning by the time he passed out and I drug him next door to the neighbor's sidewalk.  

    Lulubell Toys will be releasing what I'm told is a really really limited amount of these on Saturday, January 27th at 10am pacific time.  They are $200 each and sold blind and you can only buy one so don't get all greedy about it.  They will be available from www.lulubelltoys.com.