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Court of the Dead

Apr 3, 2014

Back the March of Robots Art Book Kickstarter by Dacosta!

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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chocolatesoop/march-of-robots-art-book-project
Dacosta! is an incredibly talented graphic artist with a strong interest in robots as a subject matter. He has really inspired a bunch of our contemporary artists and illustrators to share their robot artwork, sketches and digital pieces online via his "March of Robots" social media campaign. I know my friends Steve Talkowski and Klim Kozinevich have participated by sharing and tagging their own robot pieces. You can look at all the insanely cool artwork contributed to Dacosta's March of Robots campaign here.

Dacosta is now taking his own robot artwork and compiling it into possibly the most exhilarating and colorful art book I've ever seen- all robots, all the time, front front cover to back!

I have backed this project, the artwork is just TOO COOL to pass up. I want to introduce my kids to art and illustration via books like these. And I can say I know the artist who created it- talk about Cool Dad factor.







The book is the main reward on this Kickstarter, of course, and you can preorder your signed copy for just $30. There are tons of other cool robot-related rewards as well.

There's only 11 days to go, so make sure to act quickly to get Dacosta up to his funding goal! So close!



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chocolatesoop/march-of-robots-art-book-project

Resin Cosmic Jellybots and Jellybot Plush by The Jelly Empire at MoCCA

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Our friend Selina (The Jelly Empire) will be selling these awesome, OOAK resin Cosmic Jellybots at MoCCA Arts Fest in NYC on April 5 & 6, along with a few different Jellybot plushes!



Meet the Jellybots that accidentally swallowed up stars and nebulas on their way to Earth!  Now they are filled with little cosmic power ready to take over! 10 pieces in total.

I will also have more plush for event and it also includes a special edition to go along with some regular ones.  It's all about the moustache. 

Any leftovers will be uploaded into my online shop after this weekend at www.thejellyempire.storenvy.com


MoCCA Arts Fest
128 East 63rd Street, NYC
April 5 & 6
11am - 6pm

Two RESTORE Debris Japan Exclusives at Mintyfresh Booth at ToyConUK

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If you're a fan of the Debris Japan figures by RESTORE, you gotta see this: TWO (2!!!) different exclusive Debris figures at the Mintyfresh booth at ToyConUK. Apparently, if these don't sell out at ToyConUK (yeah right!) you'll be able to take a crack at them via this lottery.

Pricing and info:

Debris Japan SFB Glaciation Edition exclusive by RESTORE for Toycon UK, available at the Mintyfresh Stand, for £90 GBP (incl. TAX) 
Edition size > EXTREMELY SMALL (they don't want me to tell but it's less then 25)

Debris Japan SFB Blue Edition exclusive by RESTORE for Toycon UK, available at the Mintyfresh Stand, for £45 GBP (incl. TAX) 

Edition size > SMALL (Less then 35 Restore might offer this in the near future)

There's also a third exclusive at Mintyfresh:

The INC Dropleaf exclusive by Instinctoy for Toycon UK,
will be available at the Mintyfresh Stand, for £95 GBP (incl. TAX)

Edition size: 50

Flocked version for toycon and 50 GID versions for online sales (flocked and GID are the Nose, Mouth and Claws)

Apr 2, 2014

Coffee and Fried Chicken!

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M and R, stars of the Coffee and Fried Chicken blog

And now for something completely different...

Coffee & Fried Chicken (in addition to being a delicious gastronomic combo) is a new blog from Kun-I Chang and Shihwen Lin.  The New York-based duo's blog features the daily life and interactions of R, a white rabbit who lives on coffee and M, a black monkey who loves fried chicken (that's straight from the description, don't send your letters and postcards my way).  I'll let the creators explain it.

Coffee & Fried Chicken was born on April, 7th, 2012 When M and R exchanged their vows. 

M designed the monkey & rabbit characters as the body doubles for themselves, and together they share their story with friends and families through the two characters. 

Since both M and R are a bit camera shy, they decide to use monkey & rabbit to capture little moments in their lives.

While the concept seems strange, the characters are cute, the photography is beautiful and the stories look fun to follow.


-The Highest Fever
@thehighestfever

LEGO Architecture - Empire State Building: Overlooking the details on a minimalistic model.

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A particular line that had me intrigued when it first came out was the black box clad seemingly upper level collectible model line of LEGO Architecture models. The line pursues an effort to showcase a range of cultural building icons that range in size and price, with from what I can tell a random sort of application to how scale is approached.

The particular model I will be talking about today is the LEGO Architecture - Empire State Building set (21002).

The packaging is totally the opposite of all the rest of the LEGO lines that have come prior, with an emphasis on sort of an Apple inspired "premium" format kind of presentation that is visually striking on store shelves and looks right at home in places like Barnes and Noble and the like.

 I wanted to start out with a smaller model from this line, because I was not sure the minimalist approach to the overall look of the models was something I was too crazy about. As luck would have it, I managed to find the LEGO Architecture - Empire State Building set on sale for $12 (it normally retails for around $20 in most places).

Once you get past the facade of the outside though, you'll find it's pretty much just another sort of normal bit of contents for this model (which of course is always presented very well to aid in assembly in all other kits)

The contents included two poly bags of bricks, a set of instructions that also carried a minimalist aesthetic that mirrored the outer box.

A nice little add in, a small spot light on the artist, and a two page are of facts and history of the real Empire State Building.

I found the rating on this set to be an odd one. It's recommended for anyone 10+ years old, but the overall design and build aspect of this model would be hard pressed to give much of a challenge to your average 6 year old. I wager to think that the reason for the age approximation is because of the over abundance of vastly smaller bricks for the set, many which of course could present choking hazards for younger unsupervised kids.

The major criticism was in the design towards the end: (left) 1. the overall stability of the model and (right top and bottom) 2. what seems to be a rare oversight in quality control with the model design.
Everything about the LEGO Architecture - Empire State Building set really plays it up as a sturdy and fairly faithful minimalist rendition of the real thing. The problem is it has a few hits against it for me.

1. Shown in the above image on the left, is the fact that when handling the model a long stretch of the side of model is actually only attached by stacking a count of over four 2x2 bricks without any sort of "lock in support".

2. Which brings me to the connected issue (pardon the pun) of the other side being more than adequately secure because of the usage in place of a normal 2x2 brick, with a 2x2 brink that has an extension lock lug.

The reason I find this irritating is because on far more insane sort of complex models (like anything out of Ninjago or the new Chima line), every effort to make almost redundant levels of stability shine in many ways so that the playability factor of the toys are in top form, is just par for the course for LEGO.

In my mind, the LEGO Architecture - Empire State Building set (as shown in the two right hand images above) just plain left out a second 2x2 with lock lug. Why do I say that? Because there are two receiving blocks that are part of the top section of the model! The top right image shows that there is one that is just there. No function for it.

I know this seems like I am making a mountain out of a molehill, but considering the low brick count in this model, the high esteem and slick polish to all else about the presentation of the model... and somehow, quality control seems to have just overlooked that aspect of the final build. Kind of disappointing especially for the running retail price of between $20 to $30.

So, in a final word, if you plan on spending a small bit of time on a sort of overpriced smaller model, and you REALLY like the Empire State Building... then go for it. It really does look like the real one, in a very minimalistic style, but doesn't hold up too well for young hands/rougher play very well.

Solution? Order a companion 2x2 brick with locking lug for the set from LEGO, (my plan in the near future) and enjoy it as a desk/mantle set.

Until next time!

Apr 1, 2014

Transforming Godzilla Eggs are No Yolk!

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   Sorry for the puns but these new transforming Godzilla eggs are AWESOME.
Bandai has only released 5 kaiju eggs since March, but we're already looking forward to more!

   The four toys are Godzilla (from the 1994 film), King Ghidorah (From 1965 film), Gigan (1972 film), Mecha Godzilla (1974) and Mothra (1992). They are all easy to transform and are made of a high-quality, durable plastic. The Mothra comes with his alternate (larvae) form as a snap-on!
Godzilla (Gojira) 1994 Version.
Mecha Godzilla (1974 version)
Gigan (1972 version)

King Ghidorah (1965 version)
Mothra (1992 version)


These eggs look like a lot of fun to play with and will make a great addition to your kaiju display shelves......we all have those, right?

Mar 31, 2014

Komega's Amazing SoulDroid Dunnys

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Komega shares with us this amazing fosl Mecha Dunny - "Soul Droid" . Soul Droid is ready for action, and has you in his sights. The ancient fosl skull is pretty awesome, but where's the Amazing?

Wait for it...

BOOM
Yup, he lights up. And, there's an ultra-tiny skull in there- more than one of them, I hear.
Komega's first figure is sold out, but 2 more are available here.



Be sure to stay up to date with Komega's releases on Facebook and Instagram @komega


Mar 30, 2014

threezero x Titanfall = Epic!

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Do I really need to add anything to what you can see in the pic!!!

From threezero Facebook page

Today we want to share with you something BIG!

Witness the rise of the Titans, as we will be making figures from first-person shooter multiplayer video game, called: Titanfall.

In Titanfall, players compete on a war-torn planet, playingas mech-style Titans and their pilots. We will disclose more details about figures, which we are making as we get closer to showing the prototype (which will happen really soon), however we can already say that Titan on this teaser is about 20" tall and will come with the pilot.

Yes 20 inches tall!!! its going to be huge!! without checking, think it maybe similar size to the threeA Real Steal figures released last year, if so, hope they look into the 'top heavy' aspect of the figure as the Real Steal robots are quite difficult to secure once posed.

Anyway, I'm off to have a blast on the game, will update news as soon as anything pops up on threezero!

Thanks for reading

Wai Man

www.onesixthbruce.co.uk

Hot Toys Marvel Winter Soldier round up.

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In the space of a few weeks, Hot Toys Marvel steam train rolled in with 3 new preorders tied in with the worldwide release of Captain America The Winter Soldier.

Liking the weathering on the suit!

Fans will love this new version of Black widow!!

Head sculpt on this is fantastic

Now we will have to wait and see if Hot Toys will release the Stealth version on his suit, I guess very likely they will...


BUT no so sure about Falcon...


I've watched the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it, fans will for sure get all three and the preorders will sell very well.

Captain America: Golden Age version, Black Widow and The Winter Soldier are all available from your usual Hot Toys vendor, as for the others mentioned above, we shall see!

Thanks for reading

Wai Man
www.onesixthbruce.co.uk

Mar 29, 2014

New Ardabus Rubber Art Prints And Webshop

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Echo's Brother

Ardabus Rubber has been hard at work this year on secret projects- one of which, we can see, was adding a giant in-house fine art printer to his studio arsenal. A wide and exciting art print line joins Ardabus' (newly re-designed) webshop lineup here! I'm super stoked on these additions, which make Ardabus artworks available from $12+

Triple Positive

This is the first time Ardabus' earlier, and difficult to find paintings, like "Triumphant Return of the Anthropomorphic Spectre" have been available as large format prints;

Triumphant Return Of The Anthropomorphic Spectre

Word on the street is that these Tshirts are ready, and are amazing.
Find more of Ardabus' artwork on his website. or stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram @ardabusrubber for new toy art & paintings.


Mar 28, 2014

SubUrban Vinyl Gallery 1s And 2s Preview Is Live

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Sub-Urban Vinyl Gallery kicked off their "1s and 2s" custom toilet seat exhibition today in-house, and has updated a preview section on their website here. Available also are these Sucklord "Ass Wipe" toilet paper rolls. Sculpture? Utility? You decide.



To view the exhibition preview, click through here, or contact suburbanvinyl@gmail.com 






Autonomous Amplifier, circa 1886 by David Ten

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Created for a charity auction, David Ten's latest piece is crafted from wood, metal, clay acrylic and vinyl and draws inspiration from antique 1940's wooden radios, steampunk aesthetics, art deco, and Kabuki Masks.  You can seen and purchase more of Deeten's amazing artwork at his online store.

-The Highest Fever
@thehighestfever

BB-8 Star Wars Premium Format(TM) Figure
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