Ahwroo from Gary Baseman x Apportfolio

   A Florida man strikes again!!  Did you see the video of the guy from Florida getting arrested while a monkey wearing a diaper clings to him?  All of the best news stories begin with the words "a Florida man" because for some reason people in that state seem hell bent on doing the craziest stuff.  Nowhere else in the country comes even close to the antics of Florida, which I have developed a theory about.  I blame it solely on humidity.  Those of you that live in a place without it may be blissfully unaware of how disgusting you feel when the air is hot and damp at the same time.  It messes with your mind and can make stealing a car with a monkey coconspirator seem like the best idea you have going for you.  It's probably not that at all and that Florida has been cursed since existence.   I was just trying to be polite.

    This is not the same monkey from that viral arrest video as he is currently awaiting trial for his part in the automobile theft, this is Ahwroo created by Gary Baseman.  There's something sweet/mildly unnerving about the gleam in his eye as he gazes up his little skull friend.   Did he harvest that little bone helmet himself, or did he happen upon it in a field as it lay there waiting to be discovered?  Ask him yourself when this primate goes on sale tonight at 10pm eastern time from APPortfolio.  Made of polystone, this limited edition figure can be found exclusively at http://garybaseman.com.

Five Points Fest Recap

    The second annual Five Points Festival has come and gone and it was an amazing time.  I spent lots of money, saw a lot of old friends, and made a lot of new ones.  An event like this is so important to not only bring collectors and creators together, but to offer so much inspiration under one roof.  While my wallet might not be looking forward to next year already, I certainly am.  Here's my random thoughts from this year's show:

- The venue change from Manhattan to Brooklyn made getting to there a little more difficult, but the walk offered a lot of spectacular views.  Sharon and I got to see a lot of different street art and you couldn't beat the view of Manhattan.

- There seemed to be way more designer toy vendors this year, which I was happy to see.  Artists that rarely make it to the east coast had tables full of items I've never been able to see in person. It was overwhelming in the best possible way.

- The venue itself was nice but could have used a serious upgrade in the air conditioning department. I apologize to everyone who thought I was going into diabetic shock, but me and the heat don't get along to well.  Granted it was in the 90's all day, which combined with a city setting is not unlike being cremated.

-  When heading back to Penn Station we saw a lady try to stab a guy with a pair of scissors.  I yelled "Worldstar" but couldn't get my phone out quickly enough, so you'll just have to use your imagination like the old days.

- It was great to see so many artists who are independently producing their work and that are able to have it presented on such a large platform.  Every person I spoke with had such an inspiring story to tell not only about their creations buy the journey towards making them a reality.  It makes me want to work harder with what I do and with what I want to do.  

-    On the ride home we were sitting next to a couple who was obviously on their honeymoon.  He reached into a bag and pulled out two cans of Diet Coke.  She reached into her purse and pulled out personalized koozies from their wedding.  As I watched them load up their drink holders to prepare for sweet liquid refreshment I couldn't help to think what would have happened had Kelly dropped the ball and left them back at the hotel.

Tom: "Alright babe, prepare to have your thirst quenched because I got us matching Diet Cokes.  All we need now are our personalized wedding koozies so that our hands stay dry and warm while our beverage of choice maintains its coolness."

Kelly:  Exploring the contents of her purse:  "Oh drat, honey bug.  It seems that I've left our personalized wedding koozies back at the hotel.  Now what will we do?"  

Tom:  "Oh, well I guess I should have listened to my mother when she said you weren't wife material."  He the forcefully slams the Diet Cokes into the trash, unaware that the tariffs on aluminum imports will soon make those cans a luxury he can no longer afford.  

New Jersey Transit never disappoints when it comes to great theater.  I don't even know why people bother paying so much to go to Broadway when you could ride the train all day and be way more enthralled.


That was my experience at this year's event.  If you've never been you need to make it a priority to make it out for next time.  This is the east coast version of DesignerCon and I expect it will continue to grow even bigger.  If you want to check out all my pictures I took you can see them not at www.facebook.com/TheToyViking.  

Tenacious Toys Exclusives for Five Points Fest

   Seems to me that Five Points Fest has just exploded from last year.  There's so much being released that I can hardly keep up, but I'm doing my best over here in between moments of life.  Of course Tenacious Toys is gonna be there and of course they have exclusive stuff for you, some of which is pictured here.  I'm sure there will be other surprises as well, which you'll have to check out in person or be stuck watching the fun through various social media accounts (mine would be a great place to start).  If you are attending, go and say hi to Benny at booth #234 and pick up some new toys for yourself.

Lulubell Toys Exclusives for Five Points Fest

   Lulubell Toys always has one of the best booths at any convention they do and it isn't by accident.  There's blood, sweat, and probably a few tears involved in trying to put together such a diverse lineup.  It also doesn't hurt that they produce a ton of the best stuff coming out of Japan, much of which will be on display this weekend at Five Points Fest.  Go ahead and take a look at just part of what they will decorate booth #331 with.

Astro Crash from Josh Divine x StrangeCat Toys for Five Points Fest

   Do you ever think how insane people were who pioneered flight?  Today flying in a plane is safer than driving a car, but dudes like the Wright Brothers were strapped to wood and fabric contraptions powered by garage built engines and a handful of theories.  The amount of things that could go wrong mostly involved terrible maiming or death, so the fact that anyone pushed so hard to make it happen is kinda shocking to me.  Then I remember things I used to do growing up in rural Virginia and am suddenly thankful that someone already checked this one off the list.  Teenagers plus boredom rarely leads to innovation as much as it does disfigurement.

    Astro Boy surely had his ups and downs when it came to mastering the sky life, as evidenced in this figure from Josh Divine and Strangecat Toys.  You may know Josh from his day job at Kidrobot, but he's got more ideas than can be contained by a standard nine to five.  And sometimes those ideas involve a beloved Japanese character scraping his face off as he falls to Earth.  Don't act like that's weirder than how you unwind after a long day.

    This dude is made of resin, limited to 25 pieces, and will be available exclusively at booth #423 during Five Points Fest.  Josh will even be there on Sunday from 1pm-2pm to sign yours and answer all of your questions about love, life, and whatever else you can think of.

Black Drove Invades Five Points Fest

   Black Drove is so far ahead of the curve that I think half of the artists exhibiting at Five Points Fest don't even exist yet.  I am seriously having to do some research on some of these names, but that just means the toy world is a constantly growing entity.  Booth #340 will be packed with some of the craziest bits of plastic you've ever seen and you'll even get to see toys coming to life as artist VideoVomit paints live during the convention.  You can try and pick up tips or pick up a new figure as the paint still dries.  Tickets are still available for the convention and can be purchased by visiting www.fivepointsfest.com.  Meanwhile, take a gander at some of the items they'll have available:

Mini Muscle Minion Figure from Renone

    I used to have a boat load of these little Muscle figures but I have no idea what happen to them.  I moved around a lot as a kid and after a while I just sort of lost track of things.  Once when we moved to Pennsylvania for what turned out to be a very brief moment, the doors of our Uhaul trailer came open and spilled stuff all over the roadway.  The fabric of our couch cushions was redesigned by over eager tire treads and boxes exploded upon impact sending their contents all over the pavement.  Hindsight would tell us that was a great moment to turn around and call the entire relocation off, but hindsight is an annoying thing who never speaks up at the most opportune times.  He's a jerk.

    Though my collection is long gone I can at least be positive that this guy isn't laying on the side of a highway, destroyed by decades of exposure.  That's because RenOne hadn't invented his Minion character nor this figure yet.  In fact, he's just now offering it up for all of us to own.  Head on over to https://renonelab.bigcartel.com and choose the color you want of these made to order figures and then wait patiently by your mailbox for it to arrive.  He's even taking color requests if there's one you just can't live without.  Just don't be weird about it by asking for something like "Grateful Dead Parking Lot Cheese Sandwich on Acid."