Custom Toys of the Week: Valerie Gudell

    Since the Easter holiday is upon us, wht not feature some cool custom toys that would look right at home in a basket full of plastic grass and chocolate eggs. These guys were made by Valerie Gudell aka Cultured Critter Collective. What I like about these guys is that they're freakin cute and I'm man enough to say it! I also love that they're not over designed, which sometimes happens and can take away from a figure's overall look. So much can be said with subtlety and these guys are doing just that.

     If you'd like to pick up one of them or both of them or a whole host of creations from Valerie then you need to check out http://culturedcritter.storenvy.com/.

Jon-Paul Kaiser x Toy2r Pandaimyo Mini Qee

  

    I will take 14 of these please. Jon-Paul Kaiser just keeps killing it with his Mini Qee designs. This one is called Pandaimyo and he's not gonna take any crap from you. This is the baddest samurai panda on the planet and you can take him home this summer to guard your valuables. There will be variant versions as well, so I would expect to see some special releases for the major comic cons this year. Good job on this one Toy2r.

Easter Pocket Pork Dumplings from Shawnimals

     There are a plethora of festive releases this week in celebration of the Easter holiday, so if you got suckered into this being a gift giving occasion by someone close to you I'm happy I could bail you out.

     Shawnimals has som new brightly colored Pork Dumplings that are looking for homes. There are 6 different versions as you can see, and they are blind boxed at $11.99 each and available starting today from myplasticheart. Don't buy your loved one a rabbit and have it chew through all your electrical cords and leave little nuggets of joy all over the carpet. Buy them a Pocket Pork Dumpling instead!

Easter Cavey and Coney from A Little Stranger

    You can't think of Easter without thinking about stuffed animals. Or those candy coated marshmallow Peeps that you eat until your sick or that you put in the microwave until they explode (you didn't learn that from me). But mostly stuffed animals.

    A Little Stranger wants to give you some cool, handmade options this Easter with her über popular Cavey and Coney stuftees. These little critters are really limited, with only 75 Caveys and 20 Coneys available worldwide. I know i say this a lot and you may not alway believe me, but these will sell out so you gotta be fast if you don't want to be bummed out. And guess what? They come out today at 8pm London time. Quick, get to http://www.alittlestranger.com/wordpress/ and get yours.

Lunabee and Podgy Panda x Cris Rose

     We have a sweet theme going today: all toys that release today! It's more sporting if I wait until the last minute to show you things you're gonna want really bad. First let's take a look at this collaboration between Lunabee and Cris Rose. The amount of detail packed into these little guys is mind blowing and these might be my favorite pieces ever from both artists. These go on sale today at 7pm London time by going to http://lunabee.bigcartel.com/.

     Cris Rose isn't content with just having one set of figures release today, so he and Podgy Panda have these Podgonauts characters also making their debut. Each one has a unique expression on their wee panda faces and one lucky buyer will get a special monkey mechanic chase figure with their purchase. I knew NASA had to make some serious cutbacks, but I didn't realize they were hitting up the zoo to keep the shuttle in working order. Get your cosmic team together by going to http://crisrose.bigcartel.com/ today.

New Melting and Spike Mini Qees from Toy2r

    Everybody is getting in on the toy customizing craze these days. You can find blank vinyl figures at Target and Micheal's but nothing beats the originals. Toy2r is reinventing their popular blanks by adding some pretty crazy textures to fuel your creativity. Above you can see the 5 inch Mini Qee Bear with a bit of a melting look to him. And below you can see the same figure yet this time he is covered in pointy spikes. These still leave a lot of blank space for artwork but these probably won't be for everyone as some may see their embellishments as limiting. I think they would be great just left as they are and used as purely decorative items, but that's all up to you. Each one is $20 and available to order now.

Koralie x Kidrobot "Arlequine" 3 Inch Dunny

  

    Kidrobot you're killing me. It's not the fact that this 3 inch Dunny from Koralie isn't amazing, and it's not that is releases on April 12th for $14.95 and is limited to only 1,500 pieces. No, what kills me is that this is only available at your retail locations, of which there are 6 of in the entire world. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Why you no sell this online Kidrobot? Come oooooooooooon, I've got my credit card ready.