R2-Q5 NYCC Exclusive from Kotobukiya

    Every family has that one person who was just born bad.  Most of the time that just involves someone making dumb choices that result in the police coming by every once in awhile.  Rarely does that involve trying to help the Galactic Empire defeat the Rebel Alliance and bring a reign of terror over the entire galaxy.

    R2-D2 will have to think twice about inviting his evil cousin R2-Q5 to Thanksgiving, cause he'll probably steal.  This droid is an exclusive release from Kotobukiya for New York Comic Con, though their will be some available for preorder through their website.  The ones bought at the con will come with this gold plated medallion as an extra special bonus.  Check em out at booth #1654.

NYCC Exclusive Pop! Vinyls from Funko x Fugitive Toys

    You know what's great about Pop! Vinyls?  I never feel guilty about buying them.  They're like those fun size candy bars that you keep eating cause they're small and before you know it you ate the whole bag.  Every time I see one of these guys that I want I just buy it because the price is always good and you never feel like you could have used your money for something better, like your electric bill.  

    Fugitive Toys will have three exclusives from Funko's ever popular line of figures for this year's New York Comic Con.  There will be a metallic Batman Beyond (which I need, a New 52 Nightwing, and that same Nightwing only in a metallic version.  Buy one, buy them all!  No need to hold back, because they're more affordable than buying a hot dog in the Javitts Center. 

Metal Mockbats and Anniversary Edition Luftkaisers from Paul Kaiju x Toy Art Gallery

    You wanna know what is frightening?  A House Centipede.  For those of you who were ignorant to their existence as I once was, this is what they look like:

    Our cat Icarus found on of these in the basement the other day and went nuts.  I had never seen one before and was pretty sure that this thing would crawl into my ear and eat my brain.  Turns out they don't do that, but I wasn't willing to take that chance.  So I caught him in a shoe box, took him outside, and put him on our neighbor's porch with the hopes that he would then go in his house and lay eggs in his skull.  That's what he gets for making it seem like someone is having an exorcism every time his really dumpy girlfriend spends the night.  

    Back to business.  I have no idea why I told you that story, except that if I were to go into the basement and see something flying around that looked like Paul Kaiju's Luftkaiser, I would be equally as worried.  He's not down there waiting for a a stray spider to cross his path, he wants the sweet meat. This is the Anniversary Edition made to celebrate Toy Art Gallery's fourth year in existence.  And they're only $45.  It's their birthday and we get the presents?  These are the best kind of friends to have.

    They're also debuting these new metal Mockbats from Paul Kaiju.  They have magnets in their joints so you can pose em however you want and their stomach flips down to show you their guts/make it easier for c-sections.  They come in three different colors and each one retails for $135.  All that you see here (except for the house centipede) will be available for sale tomorrow, Friday September 20th, at noon Pacific time.  

http://www.toyartgallery.com/

Jedi Ghost Edition Heathrow from Frank Kozik x Urban Vinyl Daily

    You wanna know what was especially crap about George Lucas tweaking the original Star Wars movies?  Trust me, a lot was crap, but I thought it was really really sucky that when Anakin dies he gets to live as a ghost as a young dude, while Obi-Wan gets to chill in the afterlife as a senior citizen.  Anakin was old as dirt when he died and he was a pretty crappy person in life, while Obi-Wan was Mother Theresa with a lightsaber.  Talk about getting the shaft on that one.  

    Frank Kozik and Urban Vinyl Daily are releasing this Jedi Ghost resin edition Heathrow today at noon Eastern time.  And they glow in the dark.  That's pretty cool right?  Thirty five bucks will get you one at http://urbanvinyldaily.storenvy.com/.

myplasticheart: First Exclusives for NYCC Revealed

    Thank God people are starting to release exclusive info for New York Comic Con.  I like to develop a game plan early on to determine the things I have to have and the longer I have to desire it, the more likely I am to take extreme measures to ensure I get it.  Will I push a kid out of the way?  Maybe.  Hey, what's the point of being bigger than them if you can't knock em over.  Ok, I wouldn't really do that...unless no one was looking, cause who's gonna believe some kid over me?  

    myplasticheart always have a ton of exclusive offerings every year and these are but the first two that they've allowed us to see.  The first is this Sideways bro from Yoskay Yamamoto x Mighty Jaxx.  They're really turning the idea of the designer toy on it's head (see, this is why Abraham Lincoln called me, and I quote, "The comic genius of our time".  It's on Wikipedia, so it must be true.)  He looks pretty calm and collected for not being able to pick his head up off the ground.  Only 100 pieces were mae and it will be $85 throughout the convention.

    This next guy from Dave Bondi is looking all sorts of familiar.  It's like a couple of well known characters met on Match.Com, had a nice evening out, things got crazy, and nine months later this is the permanent reminder of their first date.  Fifty of these were made and they will cost $65 each.  Both artists will also be in attendance sometime during the con to sign your figures/give you high fives.  

Rotten Rexx Custom Contest from Lulubell Toy Bodega

    You know how annoying hipsters are?  They always have to be into things that are outdated, like when you see them in public using a typewriter instead of a laptop.  Well, how many of those fancy jerks have dinosaur taxidermy?  Now you can beat them at their own game with Rotten Rex!  "Oh, that's a nice deer head you have on your wall I guess, if you're into contemporary animals.  I only collect animals that have been extinct for a butt ton of years."  Out hipster that, hipster!


    Rotten Rexx was created by James Groman who you all know even if you don't know you know.  He does some crazy work that's been featured in his work with Hasbro, Star Wars, Godzilla, and much much more.  You can get this head and paper plaque that is perfect for mounting above your fire place right now from Lulubell Toy Bodega.  They're also running a customization contest, where now through October 1st you can upload your painted Rexx head to Instagram and have the chance to turn your vision into an actual production version of this toy.  Pretty neat.  A full version of Rotten Rexx complete with a body will be available at this year's New York Comic Con.

Super Series Sunday from Kid Ink Industries x Tenacious Toys

    Normally, I would never cut and paste anything on here.  I'd like to think part of the charm of this site is that I tell you personal stories, funny anecdotes, or just blather like an idiot all while informing you about cool new toys.  There are however good times to let the words of another stand in for my own.  So with that being said, I'm going to let Kris Dulfer of Kid Ink Industries tell you about his new resin figure The Wiseman and the Crane:

    My father is a Veteran of the Vietnam War. Without diving too deep into that part of the history, understand it was the origin point for how this resin piece came to be cast...

    During the traveling related to his tour of duty, my pops found himself briefly in Thailand. While in Thailand he came across a merchant who was selling different wares and curios. Among the objects he selected a metalish figurine of an old man with a crane perched at his feet. An excellent gift, he thought, for my grandmother. He eventually returned home from his tour. My grandmother possessed the figurine till she passed away, upon which my father reacquired it. The figurine was always on my father's dresser as far back as I could remember, and I was always fascinated by it.

    Fast forward 30 + years: now I'm an adult, and an artist, I make molds and cast things out of plastics. Recently while having breakfast with my pops we were chatting about things, when it occurred to him that the figurine of the old man and the crane would translate into a fantastic resin piece. He suggested it. At first I rejected the idea, but then as the day went on, I had a recollection from my childhood. The spark of fascination with the figurine was a formative event in my young creative mind. I didn't quite grasp it then; but a subconscious part of me desired to recreate it, to see it in varying colors, like a toy. I changed my mind and asked my father to borrow the figurine to recast. When I began the process of molding the figurine i decided to research it further. After a little research and digging I ascertained the figure was based on the symbolism of the "Wiseman" and the "Crane". The symbolism was universal across Asia in earlier centuries: wisdom and perseverance, and these two symbols combined together equaled "longevity". Research indicated that the figure I possessed was actually made in Italy, cast from an Original Ox Bone carving. During the 1960's and 1970's these ancient Ox Bone carvings were molded and used to create pewter casts. The pewter casts were then shipped back to Asia and sold by a handful of savvy Thai street vendors alongside their locally made finery and wares. The rest is lost to history, as the saying goes.

    There's a Zen-like element to this whole story, the wheel of eventuality completing itself, as I finally do something that I've secretly dreamed about since I was a child. I can picture the spirit of my grandmother smiling down and winking at me. A knowing wink tinted with Wisdom and Perseverance.

- K.Dulfer, 2013

    Pretty neat huh?  Well you can own one of these figures when they go on sale tomorrow (September 15th) at 2pm Eastern time through Tenacious Toys.  There are 36 different color variations that have all been blind bagged and will retail for $25.  These are just a few of the ones you may get: