2018 Summer Convention Exclusives from FYE

    One of the most peculiar sights during Five Points Festival didn't involve the typical weird stuff you see in New York any time you do a bit of walking around the city.  It wasn't the lady who tried to stab the guy with a pair of scissors, or the stacked up Easter bunny blow mold figures that were an apparent work of art along the street.  Nope, it was that FYE was exhibiting during the convention.  Yes, as in FYE the mall store that is known for selling cds and dvds.  I know they've been pretty heavy in the Pop! Vinyl game for a while, but I was very curious what they would have to offer to the more discerning designer toy crowd.  I'll have to admit I was pretty shocked, as not only were they selling the stuff we know and love but they even held a signing with Ron English.  Getting a large retailer like FYE involved in our rather niche market is a pretty big deal.  Toy R Us had dabbled a little before going under, so this could not only fill that void but it could expose the toys we all love to an entirely new customer base, which is never a bad thing.  More interest equals more opportunities for artists to produce even more product.

   Which brings me around to the point of this post, which is that FYE have teamed up with Jason Freeny and Andrew Bell to create a fresh batch of Summer Convention exclusives.  And the best part is you don't have to be an attendee of San Diego Comic Con to get your hands on these, as all of them are available right now for everyone to preorder.  You can stay home in your underwear and have them all delivered right to your door.  You should put some pants on when the delivery guys shows up though, just cause not everyone is prepared for the special type of magic you bring to the table.

    Let's take a closer look now at what's available and some practical info about each:

    First up, Jason Freeny is playing the nostalgia game hard with his dissected take on some Nickelodeon favorites.  There's an 8 inch Reptar figure as well as a 4 inch blind boxed series from Spongebob Squarepants. The great thing about it is if you're a completist like I am, you have the option of buying the entire set that comes with every regular figure, all of the chase versions, and a set only exclusive glow in the dark Spongebob figure as a bonus.  Only 200 of the complete collector's set are available.

 

    You can't have comic con without something from an actual comic, and they have that with this Superman Steel Edition.  You wanna see what makes the Man of Steel so tough?  Just peek inside at his inner workings and realize he's not so different from all of us.  Does that mean that we are all secretly Superman and it's just a state of mind that separates us from greatness?  Getting a little deep there.

    Finally we have Andrew Bell's Kill Kat, which looks like it can't wait to nibble on your intestines.  How come in America we only get one flavor of that delicious candy bar this is based on when in other parts of the world they have a ton of different ones?  I feel like I'm being punished for something I don't remember doing.  How am I supposed to learn an actual lesson from the withholding of delicious treats?

    Get em all now before someone else does at www.fye.com.

Marbled Resin Gordos from Brent Nolasco

    Marbling isn't just for kitchen counter tops or quality cuts of meat; it is also the pinnacle of luxury in toy production.  Oat of the time I'm fawning over a release that features multiple colors of swirled vinyl, but the same effect can be achieved in resin by talented artists.  Brent Nolasco has put his creation Gordo into the hands of resin commander Task One and the results are beyond spectacular.  Each one looks as though it was found in a cave, polished up to a nice shine, and ready for display in the Smithsonian.  Instead, these works of plastic can reside with you and your guests will think you've recently come into money to be able to afford such stunning pieces.  Your secret is safe with me.

    These are available now by visiting https://brentnolasco.bigcartel.com.

New Star Wars Bootleg Figures from Dead Greedy

   What a time to be alive!  In case you don't understand my excitement I'll give you two words that will explain it all:  Space Force!  That's right, our moron in chief has announced that a sixth branch of the military is about to be created known as Space Force.  No word yet whether we will get to pew pew aliens with laser guns, or why we actually need to create the redneck version of Star Fleet (come on, like it's not going to be the most hillbilly nonsense you've ever seen) or really what any of the details are, but it sounds like it has potential.  For what I don't know and I wish that it was up to people smarter than me but I don't think those kind of folks exist in our government.

   Dead Greedy has had his work appear on national television but is now getting ready for intergalactic shenanigans with two more of his ever popular Star Wars bootleg figures.  There's Big League Chewy in all new Galactic Grape flavor, or Knock Noggin, who I'm sure will have his own spin off film eventually at the rate they're churning those things out.  Prepare yourself to combat all that space crime by visiting www.deadgreedy.com

First Edition Sum Lottery from Plaseebo x Planet X

    Living in New Jersey for as long as I have I am shocked that I've never run across a creature like this.  There are a handful of superfund sights near where I live whose chemical makeup could easily transform an other wise mild mannered turtle into a garbage infused killing machine.  And speaking of garbage and where I live, my home owner's association went to the trouble of creating and hanging flyers telling people to not leave broken televisions at our trash collection site.  The very next day there were five of them lined up where the bulk trash goes.  They weren't flat screens either, they were those ridiculously heavy behemoths that came before them.  I'd like to think they all belonged to one person who had been hoarding them and was so incensed at being told he wasn't allowed to throw them out that he did so just cause.  It's the most punk rock thing I've seen since that dude peed in the Wal Mart parking lot last week, blissfully ignoring the fact that there were ample bathrooms available for him to use inside.  Sometimes you just gotta be yourself no matter what.

    A few weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing this figure in person and it was everything I had hoped it would be.  It's big, it's loaded with LED lights, and the sculpt by its creator Plaseebo is insane.  So many little details really bring this thing to life, details which you can see in person by entering the lottery to own this first edition.  If you want the shot at it just follow these directions (by the way, you only have until June 20th at11:59 Hong Kong time to enter):

To enter lottery, please send the followings to info@planetx.asia :

1.  Name

2.  Shipping Address 

3.  Country

4.  Telephone Number

5.  Paypal Email Address

6.  Instagram / Facebook ID

Lottery winners will receive notification emails by June 22, 2018. Winners are reminded to settle payment accordingly before deadline as stated in notification emails. Item will be shipped in Aug, 2018. 

Arc of Time Resin Sculpture from Brent Nolasco

    Brent Nolaso is one of the most imaginative figure artists out there today.  His work never feels derivative of anything else I've seen and he paves roads with his creatures that most people aren't capable of driving on.  His latest release is entitled Arc of Time and if anything it pushes his work even further than he's ever taken it.  Made of five separate pieces of resin, each figure comes with a base and acrylic rod to suspend it (which is removable).  Sculpted by Brent and cast by resin wizard Task One, you can order one of these 11 inch tall figures now at brentnolasco.bigcartel.com.  They retail for $350 each.

The Blob Resin Figure from Creature Feature

     Here's a few tidbits for you trivia fans:  The movie The Blob was filmed in the Philadelphia area and is the feature film debut of one Steve Mcqueen.  That's all I've got.  What I like about The Blob is that it is an entity that can't be reasoned with.  You can't talk yourself out of getting devoured and it in no way shares what drives it's insatiable hunger.  It's just a big pile of goo that engulfs everything in its path and somehow digests it, which is the method of choice of American politics.  I suppose even the most evil of men need role models.  

     Creature Feature has taken that classic movie monster, given it some personality, and upped the technicolor anti with her figure, aptly titled, The Blob.  This resin figure has obviously rolled over a batch of Electric Kool Aid (rip Tom Wolfe) and is ready to bring his psychedelic sass to your collection.  Standing about 4 and a half inches tall and 3 and a half wide and weighing nearly a pound, he can be yours when he goes on sale tonight (Wednesday June 13th) at 8pm eastern time only at creaturefeature.bigcartel.com.

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.