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Court of the Dead

Feb 19, 2012

Terminator Che by TaskOne

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From the twisted mind and capable hands of artist TaskOne comes Terminator Che! The original Dead Che bust was designed by Frank Kozik and sculpted by Brin Berliner. This custom piece has been "reinterpreted" by Task, with photography seen here by Brad Topolewski. Pretty damn evil. 
You can follow Task at the links below:

Feb 18, 2012

Glass Mini Destroyer: Toygodd dives into alternative medium

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You might remember the Destroyer figure- it was a 5" resin figure produced not long ago by Argonaut Resins for an emerging artist named Oh Negative. Oh Negative turned out to be none other than the Almighty Toygodd- Eric Frank, editor and writer of the Toygodd, Hangar 3A and Vinyl Shack columns on Action Figure Times. If there's anyone who covers as many different topics in the toy industry as I do, it's Toygodd. I hang out with him several times a year when he comes to town for the Toy Fair and NYCC.


When Toygodd was here a couple weeks ago, he showed me his latest creation: a mini 2" version of his Destroyer figure, but this time in glass! Glass is a medium that is being used a little bit these days, but no one is making figures as detailed as Toygodd. They are super heavy, and cool to the touch. Such a fun medium! He even melted GID powder into a few of them and I can personally sttest to the fact that once you charge the GID ones up, they glow INSANELY bright. They even have an inner glow visible in a lit room- it looks like a tiny lightbulb. Watch for more info on the evolution of these figures, both on Toygodd's blog and mine.

SNEAK PEEK: Secret project teaser!

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Teaser! We're partnering with Brian Ahlbeck to put together a secret project. This piece, by Rich Page of Ume Toys, is one of the first pieces we got back. 
More teasers and more info on this project coming soon. 
(I will entertain guesses in the comments section of this blog post.)

Feb 17, 2012

The Battle of the Wordsmiths app and figure series

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Quite a long time ago, a gentleman named Tunde contacted me and asked me if I knew of a good sculptor who could help him with a project he was creating.

Why yes, I replied, in fact I do know a very talented sculptor: Mike "NEMO" Mendez.

I hooked Tunde up with NEMO by way of email, and that was that. I have kept in touch with Tunde, off and on, over the past couple years as he got his vision off the ground. Tunde is of African descent, and he had an idea for a series of action figures utilizing the cultural archetypes present in the collective unconscious of the African diaspora. In layman's terms, that means in many African cultures there exist certain characters- whether they be mythological or real- that are common threads amongst the many different cultures. Tunde envisioned a series of action figures based on these characters.

NEMO's job was to sculpt the heads of some of the figures so that Tunde could get them produced by a factory. Tunde wanted fabric clothing and accessories for these characters, and he showed me some illustrations at one point which were fascinating and of course fundamentally different from anything coming out of the Americas, or Europe, or Asia. In short, a very cool project idea.

Well, as many of you know, getting toys made, especially by factories, is no easy task. And it doesn't happen overnight. I do not know Tunde- I've never met him personally, I mean- but I know he is passionate about this idea and wherever he is, he is most likely doing what so many of us are: working trying to survive in the "normal" way, while also pursuing our passion on the side. Getting very little sleep, having very little extra money, and very excited about our next big creative project.

In Tunde's project evolution, he has created an iPad app, whose intro video is below:





Tunde's project is called The Battle of the Wordsmiths. Honestly, from the video, the graphics look pretty cool. Tunde tells me that the iPad app will be released this month and the limited-edition figure series will begin to be released later this year. Please support Tunde by visiting TBOTW's Facebook page and Liking it. Also, go download the iPad game in the iTunes store here. It's free!



Here's a description of the game:

THE BATTLE OF THE WORDSMITHS is an epic multiplayer role playing card game set in the Yoruba kingdoms. Using cards you build armies of creatures, shape landscapes, control forces of nature, and use magical charms in a war against your opponents. THE BATTLE OF THE WORDSMITHS combines beautiful graphics, original gameplay and fast paced strategy.

Feb 16, 2012

WIN the El Cucuy 7" Munny custom from JFury

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We are teaming up with artist Justin "JFury" Phillips to help give away this awesome 7" custom Munny he titled "El Cucuy". Entering to win is easy:
1. Go to the JFury Facebook page.
2. Click on LIKE at the top.
3. Scroll down and leave a comment under the picture of the El Cucuy custom.

Contest ends Friday night so click though now!

Feb 15, 2012

Gregory Lee's cutaway Raffy custom

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Our advertiser Gregory Lee of Greg Loves Toast posted a few pics of this work in progress to his Facebook page. A simple idea that Greg has been pursuing, but executed with unmatched care and precision, and especially, accuracy. The horse skull is a complicated object which Greg has painstakingly carved into the vinyl head of a 4" tall Kidrobot Raffy figure. Looks like he has sketched out more carvings on the body. Killer work. Can't wait to see the finished product. I could see him selling tons of these. Check out his shop!

Feb 14, 2012

Breeanzz x TOYSREVIL presents the "Black Valentine" Edition of The BEATUP BOXER

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Our friend Andy, the mastermind blogging genius behind TOYSREVIL, has teamed up with Breeanzz and My Tummy Toys to release a special Valentine's Day colorway of the Beat Up Boxer figure! This thing looks so sick. 10 pieces, don't sleep!

Featuring a glossy-black boots, boxing shorts, gloves and hat on a matte-black boxer-body in 10-inches of resin from Indonesian producer My Tummy Toys (http://www.mytummytoys.com), the character wears a tailored fabric-hooded robe with a embroidered TOYSREVIL-logo in white at the back. Never has the figurine look so fierce, and ready to take home the trophy!


The box housing the champ itself is no pushover too - featuring a "croc textured box" with a laser die cut box cover! To complete this ultimate lush package is a Giclee print (limited to 10 pieces signed & numbered) from with artwork from Breeanzz (http://www.breeanzz.com), and a Signed and Numbered Certificate of Authenticity Card for that knockout punch!

Priced at $180 US Dollars (price inclusive Shipping & Handling), the Black Valentine-Edition BEATUP BOXER is limited to only 10 units produced, and will be available for sales online via http://bit.ly/yKaWZ5 - from February 14th, 2012 @ 12 noon (+8 GMT / Singapore-time). First Come First Served, No Reservations. Have a great Black Valentines', Folks!
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