SNEAK PEEK: DeKorner's Kookie No Good Sofubi by Scott Tolleson

Normally, Fortune Cookies are a perfect way to finish a good meal at a Chinese Restaurant -- a crunchy treat with a happy and hopeful message.  Forget all that. Kookie No Good is a wayward, sad, mischievous fortune cookie or perhaps a 'misfortune' cookie.  Whether he is upset at the world or just upset that he's food, he's certainly not looking to bring you good fortune.   

Starting with De Korner owner Kevin Cao's desire to make a 'bad fortune cookie' toy, Kookie No Good was designed by prolific artist Scott Tolleson. The appeal of this adorably upset sofubi toy lies in his priceless expression with furrowed brow, and pursed lips. The Kookie No Good 2014 retailer edition features a cookie color base vinyl with red, black, pink and white sprays. Manufactured in Japan, the figure stands 3.5" and is articulated smoothly at the neck.

As always, hit me up if you are interested in this piece. They retail for $35 each.

Godot Cosmonaut by Sergey Safonov up for preorder now on his site

Sergey Savonov's Godot Cosmonaut custom set is available for preorder now on his website here.

Here's what Sergey shared with us:
April 12 is a Cosmonautics day in dedication of the first manned space flight made on April 12, 1961. As you remember, in 2011 we did a Kickstarter campaign to celebrate 50 years of Gagarin's flight and produced a Luno figure. So let's keep the tradition alive.

This year, special holiday release is a Godot Cosmonaut with his little helping Rover friend. If you're attending to ToyCon UK today, you can see them in person at Fugi.me booth.

This year I am not at the Con, but you can see my toys and ARTRANSMITTE booth and special secret release at Taylored Curiosities stand.

Godot Cosmonaut is the most complicated release to date, it's made of 26 parts and three different plastic materials. I'll be making these to order, so If you want to add this set to your collection, please preorder yours.

Thank you for your support and Happy Cosmonautics day!

- Benny Kline

Some Assembly Required - A Custom Toy Show at Hope Gallery

Hope Gallery Tattoo, in New Haven, is hosting it's first show of the year, a Custom Toy show titled "Some Assembly Required". Opening April 12th, "Some Assembly Required" will feature works from artists from all over the country.

One of the pieces in the show was produced by Kevin Derken, titled Death Head Krote. Kevin combined a Makerbot Replicator 3D printed skull and the legs of a 1/20th scale Maschinen Kreiger Krote. The end product turned out pretty nice.

Death Head Krote by Kevin Derken

Death Head Krote (back) by Kevin Derken

Joe Capobianco is also going to release some new custom painted Vavava VooDoo resin pieces. VaVaVa VooDoo is a piece which Joe has had in the works for several years now, from original sketches to the hand painted pieces going to be made available at the show. 

VaVaVa VooDoo by Joe Capobianco

A total of 13 VooDoo girls have been painted up, with each VooDoo piece having a special event only price of $200 each. After the event, the VooDoo gals will be made available online but will be priced a bit higher at $275 each plus shipping. To make the event even more enticing, Joe is going to be raffling off one of the 13 VooDoo girls, a special one-off stand alone. Unfortunately, this is only for event attendees and the winner must be present to win, but if you are heading to the event, why would you leave early?

So, if you are in the area on April 12th, be sure to head on over to Hope Gallery Tattoo and check out some great works. Opening reception will run from 7-11PM.

Hope Gallery Tattoo
835 Woodward Avenue
New Haven, CT 06512

- Mark-Anthony

Google+

MAJOR GIVEAWAY CONTEST: Win a Matt A x Forces of Dorkness Collab Sculpture!

We're not even kidding! You could win this SICK sculpture!

WIN THIS SCULPTURE

OK kiddies, it's time for a contest! And this one is so awesome, I'm not sure my inbox can handle it!

Enter to win this beautiful sculpture by Matt A*, hand-painted by Scott Kinnebrew of Forces of Dorkness, valued at $450!

ENTRY:
Entering is simple: email me by April 25 with the word "ENTER" in the subject line.



That's it! Contest starts RIGHT NOW!


RULES:
1. One entry (one email) per person. I will pick winner from a list of email addresses, and I will only put your email address in once, so emailing me more than once will not increase your chances.

2. Open to US residents only because shipping this piece overseas is risky. All 3 of us have had overseas packages lost or arrive broken.

3. Must email me by April 25 to enter.

4. Winner picked randomly using a list of emails in a spreadsheet (numbered) and using random.org's Random Number Generator.

5. This contest IS OPEN to people who are currently on the Tenacious Toys email list! Feel free to send me the email with ENTER in the subject line to enter. You are NOT automatically entered into the contest without that email entry.


TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1. One winner will be picked from my list of valid entrants on April 26th.

2. Your entry into this contest will function as your explicit agreement to be added to the email lists of Matt A*, Forces of Dorkness and Tenacious Toys. If you do not wish to be on our email lists, you cannot enter. (All email lists have an unsubscribe option)

3. Email address list of entrants compiled by Tenacious Toys will be given to both Matt A* and Forces of Dorkness to add to their own email lists.

4. This sculpture is priced at $450. This contest is for the sculpture only. Prize cannot be redeemed or exchanged for cash. Yes, we really are giving away a $450 sculpture!

5. We will pack and ship the prize with care.... but we are not responsible, financially or otherwise, should this piece arrive broken. Matt A* will not fix it, Scott will not repaint it. We will not send winner cash money. We will not reimburse for damage.

6. If you bombard me with emails, I will get annoyed and drop you entirely from the contest. One email per person please. I won't even tell you I'm dropping you... you just won't win.

7. Your entry into this contest is your explicit agreement to the terms and conditions described above.

threeA - UKTK - ToyConUK Exclusive

Doesn't see a future, doesn't care, Guard of a Nation....

OneSixthBruce secured a first ever official threeA exclusive for a convention held in Europe! And yes its in London UK.

Event is ToyCon UK this weekend at Bethnal Green London, unfortunately all tickets are sold out BUT a few will be available at the door.

Sale procedure for UKTK ToyCon Exclusive raffle

Raffle tickets are £1.00, which will be donated in FULL to Cancer Research UK, the raffle gives you a chance to then buy the UKTK if your number is drawn (not to win the TK)

Cost of the UKTK is £110.00GBP

STRICTLY ONE PER PERSON - ALL PAYMENTS CASH ONLY

Raffle tickets will be available at the booth from 11.30, draw will take place around 2.30 at the booth. If number is called and no takers within 10 minutes or so, another ticket will be drawn to replace it.

To those attending, Good Luck.

To those that are unable to make it but want a chance to score a UKTK, there will be an eBay auction where 100% of the sale will go to Cancer Research, click -> Auction

Thanks for reading

Wai Man

www.onesixthbruce.co.uk

Disarticulators ToyCon UK Exclusives

With ToyCon UK right around the corner, a few more exclusive releases are coming through the wire.  Tru:tek is going to have at least 2 Disarticulator ToyCon exclusives. The first release is a "Color Change" Madballs of Death!, available at the Disarticulators booth. These were designed by Zectron, cast by Tru:tek, "in a marbled mix of thermal color changing pigments". Priced at 28 GBP each and limited to just 6 pieces, these Madballs of Death will be available at the Rampage Toys x Disarticulator ToyCon Booth #16.

In addition to the color changing Madballs, Disarticulators is teaming up with Collect & Display to release some exclusive Oozeball sets. Limited to just 6 balls with matching display stands, these Oozeball sets are priced at 22 GBPs each. ToyCon UK is shaping up to becoming a great event, from the look of all the fantastic releases popping up.

Stay tuned for more information regarding a collaboration from the Disarticulators and possibly Triclops studios.

- Mark-Anthony

Google+

Acid Rain Mini Munny and Dunny Set by Josh Mayhem

Acid Rain Mini Munny and Dunny Set - by Josh Mayhem

Josh Mayhem recently completed a custom Acid Rain Mini Munny and Dunny set as a commission for a private collector. Both pieces are heavily colored with dripping paint while being attached to a solid base. The many different layers of paint can best be seen on the base, where shadows can be seen through the clear portions.

Acid Rain Mini Munny Base Closeup- by Josh Mayhem

Acid Rain Mini Munny - by Josh Mayhem

Acid Rain Dunny Base Closeup - by Josh Mayhem

Acid Rain Dunny - by Josh Mayhem

Acid Rain Dunny - by Josh Mayhem

Be sure to follow Josh Mayhem on his website or through various social media outlets. Josh's Gundam Themed work is also great too see.

Josh Mayhem Facebook
Website
Instagram
Twitter

- Mark-Anthony

Google+

Rampage Toys Gachapon Machine at ToyConUK

From Tru:tek -

Marking day 3 of our exclusive Tru:Tek/Disarticulator reveals for ToyCon UK this weekend, we’re proud to present a very special collaboration with Rampage Toys… the Pachi Gacha Machine! Featuring a vintage Cosmos inspired vendor/display unit realised by Tru:Tek, the little red box will be filled to the brim with custom Rampage keshi, with 2 very different series up for grabs; Cupcake Pachi In Ya Pocket, featuring 3 classic Rampage MIMP customs, and Mecha Freaks, a crazy bunch of rubber ‘bots that were created during our trip to Japan in February…

Cast by Tru:Tek in a mix of TCon inspired mint greens, magenta, and flesh, the little guys come packed in a classic red/clear gacha capsule, with each purchase securing at least one figure from both series. Priced at £6 each, or just £10 for 2, the Pachi Gacha Machine will commence vending capsules at the Rampage x Disarticulator booth (#16) when doors open this Saturday, April 12th…

Exclusive Artist Custom MegaSeths for ToyConUK

Lisa Rae Hansen's MegaSeth is hugely popular and even spawned a Tenacious Toys exclusive "Love Monster" edition.  Recently she sent unpainted figures to four of her favorite artists and they returned them as the amazing pieces you see below.  These custom MegaSeths from artists Jon Paul Kaiser, RunDMB, DMS and Mr. Lister will be available at Lisa's I Break Toy's booth (#39) at ToyConUK.  In case you can't make it over the pond to pick one up, Lisa will have any not sold at ToyConUK will be available at her site.  Lisa will also be debuting the first 10 DIY MegaSeths at her booth as well.

-The Highest Fever

@thehighestfever

We Become Monsters launches Crypt Creepers resin series

Crypt Creepers resin figures by We Become Monsters

Chris Moore, the madman behind the nightmarish creations at We Become Monsters, has just announced that his Crypt Creeper resin series is now available for purchase.  The series is a run of 25 hand cast and hand painted 4" tall resin figures in a variety of colors.  Each is polybagged and comes with a header art card.  

Crypt Creepers

-The Highest Fever

@thehighestfever

Emirati Mo Abedin Announces First Middle Eastern Anime and Manga Title Raiiken

Our friend and cohort in the Middle East, Mo Abedin, is incredibly industrious and ambitious. I've been following him, and chatting with him, through the development of his Foo Dog brand, his MEGA DIY figures and the Mercury sculpture pictured below.

Mo Abedin's Mercury sculpture, available on our Super Series Sundays page

But Mo cannot be easily compartmentalized into just the "toy maker" category... he recently made the rounds at the impressively large and well-attended Middle East Film and Comic Con (which I hope to attend one day) promoting his upcoming project Raiiken, which will be a manga and anime export which he intends to release in Japan. Below is a great video interview detailing the Raiiken concept and Mo's long history with imported Japanese anime properties:






I have a great respect for Mo, who seems to be gracefully defying the American perception of Middle Eastern youth culture... if you listen to Mo speak about his childhood, you realize that our perception of the Middle East might be, shall we say, skewed.

I blame the American media, and I feel it's only fitting that Mo is pursuing the development of a new media property which will turn our ill-conceived perceptions upside-down.

He's held huge toy show in malls, produced his own lines of toys and is obviously well-connected. I've seen pictures of him talking art with sheikhs! And here I struggle to get third-tier journalists at our free daily papers to mention my shop...


If you want to follow Mo, his Facebook page is here and his Twitter is here. Big things coming from this guy. Watch him.

 - Benny Kline

Tasha Zimich x UVD Interview & Dunny Release

I want to share a couple new pieces I worked on for Urban Vinyl Daily, "Oops" and "Oww" custom 3" dunny. We published an interview on UVD here where I share some thoughts on my processes and artmaking. Alongside the interview, these 2 dunnys released on their eStore here.

"Oww"'s had a rough day! I'm positive his sister had a hand in it, she's looking either embarassed & apologetic, or cheekily remorseless. "Oww" is currently up for adoption here.

-Tasha Zimich

Kevin Derksen for Some Assembly Required Exhibition Hope Gallery

Holy shooting skulls, Batman! Kevin Derksen's contributions for "Some Assembly Required" custom toy show at Hope Gallery, New Haven CT are out of this world. The piece pictured here, "Death Head Krote" is a 3D printed Skull on the legs of a Maschinen Krieger Krote (1/20 scale).

This show will feature artists from around the country, Grimm Vinn, Scotty Munster, Jesso, ZAM,Jamie Henderson, SKET ONE, Monster Kolor, Emil Edge, Oddity Tattoo, Kevin Derken, DJ Tambe, Hope Galleries, Eric Merrill, Julio Rodriguez, Tim Harris, Phil Young, Christian Perez, Ralph Giordano, 

Some Assembly Required opens April 12th at 7pm, serving drinks and refreshments, so get in early to see and acquire gorgeous pieces like this Death Head Krote.

-Tasha Zimich

Announcing the Tenacious Toys® My Rewards Program

We are very excited to announce the new Tenacious Toys® My Rewards Program! This is a program which AUTOMATICALLY assigns rewards points to you for each purchase you make at Tenacious Toys. Redeem your points for discounts on purchases of ANY item!

Basically this system is set up to give to 10% back on every purchase. Spend $100, get points worth $10. Spend $500, get points worth $50.

Here's how it works:

1. Once your order has shipped, your My Rewards Points will be redeemable the next day. You will know your order has shipped when you receive an email from us with tracking info. It is the act of us marking your item shipped (by adding the tracking number to your order and marking the order "Complete") that triggers the system to add the points to your account.


2. To view your My Rewards points, simply click on MyRewards in the My Account section or Rewards in the nav menu.


3. Enter the total amount (in points) you'd like to redeem (10 My Rewards points = $1). Minimum redemption is 100 points (worth $10).


4. You're now ready to save on your next purchase. Upon placing your order, your redeemed My Rewards points will automatically be deducted from the total purchase amount. You do not need to redeem all of your points at once, but you do need to redeem a minimum of 100 points (which is a $10 discount off your next order).

The best part is, this program was activated in early 2014. I wanted to test it out and make sure it was working right before I made the announcement. So, if you've completed a purchase in 2014 (and it was an in-stock item that has already shipped to you) go ahead and log into our site to check how many points you have accrued!

How to locate your My Rewards points balance:
Log in to Tenacious Toys. Click on My Account (if you're not already there). At the bottom of the My Account dashboard is the link to the My Rewards Program page.

Plaseebo Dead Ben for Monster Kolor

"DEAD BEN"
                                                                                                       Copyright Bob Conge 2010

While a gravesite in the burial grounds of Philadelphia's Christ Church is marked "Benjamin Franklin 1790", he does not lie beneath that soil or any other for that matter.

This great American founding father, author, political theorist, statesman, and inventor was a fine scientist as well.
It was Franklin's research of lightning and electrical fluid in combination with his experiments in refrigeration and heat conductivity that led to his quest for immortality.

In 1773, when Franklin's work had moved from printing to science and politics, he corresponded with a French scientist on the subject of preserving the dead for later revival by more advanced scientific methods, writing: "I should prefer to an ordinary death, being immersed with a few friends in a cask of Madeira, until that time, then to be recalled to life by the solar warmth of my dear country."

He had arranged with the astronomer David Rittenhouse for certain instructions to be carried out in secret upon his death. Ben's body was to be exhumed  from the grave on the very night of his burial and taken to his laboratory where he had prepared months earlier for the event. The gruesome task before his friend would require the skills of an experienced surgeon who he had arranged to meet at midnight. Yellow fingers of candle light moved across the black walls as Ben's head was relieved of the burden of his heavy and lifeless body. The skull was then sealed like a glass jar and filled with alcohol to preserve and float the pinkish grey asset Ben wished to send beyond death into an unknown future. His head was then installed in an mechanical devise Ben had constructed to hide in plain sight, a marvelous clockwork automaton in his own likeness. Ben had built the automaton some five years earlier and it had become a fixture in his home that entertained all visitors with its ability to write "A penny saved is a penny earned" on a sheet of paper and then sign Ben's name to it. The better part of Ben continued to reside unnoticed inside the automaton as it preformed for many years before its gears froze up and refused to write another word.

Some time in the mid nineteenth century a picker purchased the now somewhat tattered automaton along with some old furniture and silverware from the attic of a decedent of Ben.

The whereabouts of the automaton remained unknown for the next one and a half centuries. In 2004 Matt Walker stumbled across the machine in a cold storage sub-basement of an estate sale on the Old Kings Highway in East Sandwich Mass. Matt was intrigued and purchased the dusty old thing.

Back in his studio, looking over the mechanism inside the automaton, Matt realized it would require a specialist to give his find a much needed facelift. The next day he shipped the piece to Plaseebo Custom in Springwater New York for evaluation.

Bob opened the box at Plaseebo with great anticipation, he loves creepy. But what was found inside the automaton was beyond imagination, a hand written letter signed by Benjamin Franklin, explaining the two hundred year old secret. Indeed, beneath the faded clay face lie the skull of Ben with his brain still floating inside. Totally freaked and enthralled Bob flaked off the cracked clay revealing the skull beneath to verify the seemingly impossible story. He immediately set to work on completing Ben's long unfulfilled plan to cheat death.
The rebuilding and reanimation progressed at breakneck speed over the next two months of sleepless nights. Utilizing all the technological advances that were mere figments of creative wishful thinking in Ben's time, enabled the Plaseebo team to not only jump start the brain but connect its processing to an onboard computer with software that enabled Ben's thoughts to be interpolated with a voice program. BEN WAS BACK ! The team added  power and cooling systems, audio and video input capability and built a mobility unit to mount the twenty first century automaton on. Then affectionately named him "Dead Ben”.
                                                                   
When returned to Matt Walker, Dead Ben became the creative driving force that inspired Matt to found his new company in 2007 and even suggested Matt name it "Dead Presidents Designs" in honor of his being the President of Pennsylvania from 1785 thru 1788.

Here is a preview of my custom painted finished figure with a switched color changing LED unit mounted in the tank base that illuminates the red glass eyes.  

 Plaseebo and Dead Presidents Design, aka Monster Kolor, are pleased to announce the debut of the DEAD BEN hand cast resin figure on April 12th at the opening of the MONSTER BRAWL show at the Monster Kolor Gallery in Middleboro Ma. The show will feature custom versions of the Dead Ben figure by Miscreation, Jay222 and Plaseebo.   

INSANE ToyConUK Exclusive Glyos-Compatible Tankopula Keshi Monstrosity!

Joining the slew of exclusive kaiju, sofubi and keshi that’ll be up for grabs at the Rampage Toys x Disarticulators ToyCon UK booth next Saturday, April 12th, Tru:Tek is proud to reveal the resurrection of one of the craziest ever resin figures in keshi form… the mighty Tanklopula!

The brainchild of Triclops, Jesse Destasio and The Tarantulas, the Rampage-sculpted mini figure features signature elements from all 3 artists, including tentacles, a Nibbler chest piece and Tankhead turret- all coming fitted with fully interchangeable, 100% Glyos compatible joints.

Originally making a very limited appearance back in 2011, the latest (and most likely final) run has been produced in a urethane rubber courtesy of Tru:Tek, with the batch of 15 each coming in a special one-off colorway inspired by a wide variety of 80s, 90s and 00s pop culture.

Touching down exclusively at the Rampage/DA booth (#16) come opening time at 9am, Tanklopula has been priced at £35 a piece. Stay tuned for details of online sales, plus AP releases from both Destasio and Triclops soon!

Probably the craziest keshi-style piece I've ever seen. What a dream team of collaborators! Anyone who picks one up for me at ToyConUK gets free stuff. Will make it worth your while.

- Benny Kline