A Trifecta of Black Friday Exclusive Releases from Tenacious Toys

    I enjoy a dumb American ritual as much as the next guy, but I have never once participated in the battle royale that is Black Friday shopping.  I'm talking about the old school, "get in line at 5 in the morning and be willing to punch as many people in the face as it takes to get a George Forman Grill for half price" event that place the day after Thanksgiving.  I've been an employee at a few companies where Black Friday was important, and by far the craziest scene was when Tickle Me Elmo was released.  I worked at a department store in Virginia and we only got 6 of the creepy vibrating Muppets for sale, though a mob of about 50 people were pawing at our doors like extras from a George Romero film that morning, desperate to own one.  In the store manager's infinite wisdom he decided the fairest way to deal with what would obviously be a problem was to line all 6 of them up on our service desk, unlock the door, and get the hell out of the way.  I think you know what happens next.  A surging mass of humanity nearly ripped the doors from the hinges, fighting and clawing its way to its goal.  Six people reached the plush toys; cradling them to their bodies to protect them from prying hands.  One woman was literally punched in the jaw by a grown man looking to usurp her prize.  I stood there stunned at what I was seeing; my 15 year old body incapable if not unwilling to intervene.  Hovering just below the cries of vulgarity and injury I could here a fainter, yet easily distinguishable sound that underlined the chaos.  It was the sound of high pitched laughter, coming from the dolls that would soon make a few kids Christmas mornings the best ever, even if they had to be careful when hugging mommy so her stitches didn't break.

     Of course with the rise of online shopping the madness around Black Friday has died down a bit, but the amazing deals to be had are just as prevalent.  Tenacious Toys is using this time honored unofficial holiday to release three brand new exclusive figures that you won't even have to kick anyone in the head for.  I mean, you still can if you want, but it would be wholly unjustified.

    At 10 am you will be able to score the first ever production release from Cat Atomic as he has lent his signature style to the very popular TEQ63 figure from Quiccs.  It stands 6 inches tall, is produced by Martian Toys in soft vinyl and will be priced at $80 each.  Only 150 of these exist and their release will be staggered every 15 minutes for an hour.

   Last Resort Toys has created a new series of mini figures called Run-A-Mucks and in a not so surprising turn of events, has allocated the blue versions to be an exclusive for Tenacious Toys.  Each set comes with 6 designs that stand about 2 inches tall.  Each set is $22 and limited to 150 pieces worldwide.  These will be available beginning at noon.

And finally we have Candy Cornelius from Alex Pardee and 3DRetro in an exclusive Giant Shark edition.  Personally, it reminds me of the last scene in The Shinning where Jack Nicholson has taken on the appearance of a freezer burned chicken tender.  That probably would have been too long of a title to print on the box.  This mean looking sugar demon stands nearly 8 inches tall and is limited to, you guessed it, 150 pieces.  He'll cost ya $65 when he's released at 1pm.

All of these can only be found by visiting www.tenacioustoys.com

George's Halloween Portrait Vinyl Figure from Tara McPherson x Martian Toys

    People in the future will one day search the internet for various moments that stand out in our history when looking to prove a point to someone they're arguing with. Search engines of tomorrow will be tasked with retrieving information about various wars, celebrities of note, and other factoids that that will run the gamut of the human experience. One day, someone will type in "name a moment in our past when the paint on a toy was completely nailed" and the picture about you will inevitably appear.

    Martian Toys has outdone themselves on this latest offering from Tara McPherson. I've been collecting her figures for years and I will go out on a very stable limb and say this is the best looking paint any of her toys have ever had. I saw the prototype at Five Points and of course was into it, but the colors are so spot on to the original painting and add so much life to this figure that it's impossible not to gravitate towards it. I'm beyond impressed at the production work, and if you feel the same way you can preorder one for yourself starting this Friday, October 25th. Get in early, because the price will only be $200 up to November first, after which it jumps to it's normal retail cost of $250. And you're getting a lot for your money, because it stands a foot tall! Get yours at www.martiantoys.com.

Vintage Edition TEQ63 Exclusive from Quiccs x Martian Toys x Tenacious Toys

    Do Quiccs collectors have second jobs just to pay for his figures?  There are seriously new ones coming out every week and I don't know how anyone keeps up with it financially.  I often wonder what people do for a living, one because I'm nosey, and two because I want to know if you're hiring. My idea of networking involves meeting someone, having them tell me I'd be perfect for this opening they have at their place of employment, and have said job pay me $100,000 with no experience.  Here is my resume in case you want to give me money:

- I'm funny and really good at doing impressions of people I work with and customers

- I have an extensive knowledge of the history of professional wrestling

- I will fight you

- I've been to a Dukes of Hazard museum

- I'm not scared of snakes

- King Diamond is my godfather (not really, but could you imagine?)

     If I sound like the employee of your dreams please hit me up.  But not if you don't offer a 401k, cause this isn't Soviet Russia.

     Out of all the TEQ63 that Quiccs has released with Martian Toys I'm going to go ahead and declare this one my favorite.  I'm a sucker for this vintage color scheme and if you like it as much as I do you better be ready this Friday, August 2 when it goes on sale at noon eastern time. This edition of 150 figures is an exclusive to Tenacious Toys which means they have all of them at their secret lair in Area 51.  Since they're nice people, you won't need to storm it and risk getting blown up by the military.  Just visit www.tenacioustoys.com at the previously mentioned time to secure one for yourself.

The Return of Jason Limon's Abominable Snow Cone from Martian Toys

   

    The word "abominable" is as equally hard to spell as it is to pronounce correctly.   When I say it I make a distinctive "d" sound right in the middle as I'm pretty sure I've done my entire life.  And then I thought about how many times I could have possibly been in a situation where I needed to use that word to begin with.  Other than talking about a monstrous snow man there literally has only been this toy.  Thank God for spell check for not allowing me to butcher its construction as I type this.

    Hopefully my turmoil involved with this word has inspired all six of you to say it out loud as if you were conjuring the dark essence it's mispronunciation evokes. That is my gift to you on this Friday.  My other gift is to tell you about the return of Jason Limon's Abominable Snow Cone figure in the all new lime colorway.  Martian Toys worked with Jason on this frozen treat beast that was voted Toy of the Year at the Designer Toy Awards a few years back, and you can pick up this version when they go on sale today (Friday, April 26th) at noon eastern time from https://martiantoys.com.  Brain freeze sold separately.

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.

Stranger Than Fiction Kaiju Show at Mothership Gallery

    I thought I'd see the return of the Stanley Cup to Philadelphia before anyone ever put on a custom kaiju show, but alas Mothership Gallery made it happen with their event, Stranger Than Fiction.  As per usual I was working the night of the opening, but I went the day after and took a literal butt ton of pictures for you to peruse at your leisure.  Head over to www.facebook.com/TheToyViking to see them all and pick up what's still available for purchase at www.martiantoys.com.

"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.