Thomas and Friends Blind Bag Minis

I'm a big fan of blind bag/box/whatever toys. They trigger whatever chemical in my brain that also responds to tearing open a fresh Magic booster pack. The down side to most blind packaged toys is the price. $4 or $5 (and up) just to pull the same figure I pulled twice already? Nah.

That's why I was a big collector of the Zerboz super hero micro figures. At a buck a pop, I could grab a handful and feed the need. These Thomas and Friends minis are definitely next on my collect list. My son is a huge Thomas fan and it has slowly infected me as well. And these are just $1.49 a piece and available at Walmart. With over 70 different designs like metallic colorways and superhero engines there's plenty to keep a collector hunting.

+The Highest Fever 

SCARECROWOVEN x ALAVAKA

DHP has teamed up with illustrator extraordinaire, Scarecrowoven to give you some awesome Alavaka packages. Both Scarecrowoven and Devils Head Productions did painted colorways of Alavaka on red and milky white marbled vinyl. An AMAZING Alavaka 5 color 24x36 silkscreen print featuring glow in the dark ink and 7 color silkscreen tshirts are among the other goodies that will be part of the collaboration packages available March 20th in both the DHP webstore  and Scarecrowoven's webstore. Get ready for AWESOMENESS!

'The Forager' - alto - Arts Unknown Production Piece

Following the sad demise of Arts Unknown, Chris Dobson (alto) has revealed one of the designs that he had in the works with them.

Entitled 'The Forager', it was one of a series of pieces that were planned for production.

Now in search of a new home, any interested parties should contact Chris, if they can take this Beleaguered Beetle and his Praying Mantis companion, under their wing...

TOYSREVIL: Revealed: 1/6 Hellboy Mignola french resin statue from Fariboles Productions

SO BAD ASS! Read Andy's post here:

TOYSREVIL: Revealed: 1/6 Hellboy Mignola french resin statue from Fariboles Productions

Critters Resin and Rubber Figures by Eric Nilla and Friends

<terrible pun> These Critters are a handful </terrible pun>

This movie terrified me as a kid.  But I can't help wanting to own one of these little guys.  Sculpted by Zectron and painted by Joe Whiteford, these Critters were cast by Eric Nilla and are available for pre-order from today (3-13) until Sunday at Noon for $25 plus shipping.

Pre-order resin

And if resin's not your thing you can get the same sculpt in black sparkly rubber for only $12!  Killer.

Pre-order rubber

+The Highest Fever 

Tenacious Toys blog hits ONE MILLION pageviews after 5 years of blogging

 

Dear readers,

THANK YOU so much for reading the Tenacious Blog! I just noticed that we have passed a very important milestone: 1,000,000 pageviews! Thank you all so much for coming back and reading all the great posts our team has put together for you over the past 5 years. We hope to continue this trend for a long, long, long time. As you can see, we are now publishing more "useful" posts which offer critique, criticism, reviews, and honest and blunt assessments of various issues in this tiny art toy industry. 

I have never personally felt comfortable raising hot button issues when I write blog posts, mostly because as the Supreme Overlord of Tenacious Toys, I want to remain everyone's friend. I will continue to occasionally publish my signature EVERYTHING IS AWESOME posts which promote the various works of the artists and companies that I'd like to encourage and help.

However, we now have a roster of talented and opinionated writers who like to call out the issues as they see them. I have encouraged them to simply be honest and fair in their reporting, and let the chips fall where they may. You might have seen some of those posts popping up here in the past.

On that note: if any of you have created toys or collectibles which you would like reviewed, please feel free to contact any of our bloggers to set up a review post. I do not personally need samples of any more toys. They're everywhere in my small apartment and if I have to put one more talented artist's work back into a box and into storage, I'm going to cry. So please, contact one of our bloggers and send samples directly to them for review. Our blog posts are sent out automatically to our Twitter, Facebook and Google+ accounts, as well as wrapped into emails that are sent out to subscribers each morning. Total reach is 20,000+ people.

Which brings me to our staff: we would be more than happy to welcome in any guest bloggers who feel like they have something to say. Please email me personally if you are interested in writing for this blog. I want to make it the most useful and most community-driven art toy blog out there. My opinion alone will not make this blog great. Yours will.

- Benny Kline

The Blue Inner Child REVIEWED on Go Figure News

Super cool review on Go Figure News of our exclusive Blue Inner Child figure by Nerviswr3k and SubUrban Vinyl. Read the review here:

Go Figure News | The Blue Inner Child

Unboxing video below:

 

Disney x Play Imaginative Toys Play Foul

Artist and toy designer Sergio Mancini has alleged Play Imaginative are not fulfilling a toy design contract after several years of design, production and excuses. The toy in question, pictured above, is a design contracted from Sergio based on his hand-painted custom for their Play Imaginative Mickey 2012 showcase.

The toy is fully produced through Play Imaginative, and the design is even appropriately credited to Sergio on their website.

Play Imaginative is no stranger to licensing- with an expansive line of active licenses from globally recognized popular culture brands. Meaning there's no excuse to jerk anyone around with fulfilling a contract. Especially when the original artwork was provided to them for their showcase for free, and production design payout consists of only 20 production pieces.

Sergio is no stranger to licensing and production design either, with global clients including Kidrobot, Andrew Bell's Android Mini, Toy2R, Designer Apparel brands and a CV of international exhibitions. Companies would do well to tidy up their business with contracted designers. 

So, why blog it? After a generous amount of time going in circles by email, independent creative professionals usually get to choose between public awareness or letting things go. For small contracts, a legal consult and retainer to even plan taking a negligent party to task would be more costly than the payout due. As a creative community we can hold companies accountable, and inform their patrons and potential designers of potential risks. Disney, and many others, have licensed their character's friendly faces to companies they trust to represent them. And this kind of treatment in representation of anyone's intellectual property deserves a pass.

If you would like to add your support to industry awareness of Play Imaginative's alleged neglect in fulfilling their contractual obligations, feel welcome to reach out through;

Disney's Instagram

Disney's Facebook

Disney's Twitter

e-Mail Disney

Play Imaginative's Facebook

Play Imaginative's Twitter

Play Imaginative's Instagram

eMail Play Imaginative

-Tasha Zimich

Amazing Resin Crystals From Skullerygram

Instagram resin caster & jewelry maker Marisa Rand @Skullerygram shares her beautiful resin pendants featuring colour-swirls, embedded ferns or moss, copper, or segments of butterfly wings. Clear resin pieces are something the Toy Community commonly hold in high regard, with muddy colour-shifts or embedded trope elements like Skulls or Glitter being a well-worn path. These pieces blew me right away.

The clarity, shape variety and vividness of the embedded elements is indistinguishable from crystal or glass. The Morpho butterfly wing segments being an especially original concept. Many of these pieces will be affixed with electroplated copper or pinned with eye hooks to be wearable as pendants, and sold through Skullerygram's Etsy 13/03/2015 at 7PM EST.

 Keep an eye on Skullerygram's Instagram for release details, currently planned for 13/3/2015 at 7PM EST here. Even if jewelry isn't your thing, they're pretty amazing. Many pieces will be $30ea, with some being $40+ea, for original sculpts, cast, and embedded art pendants on chains, they're an encouraging example of what resin casting in other fields would benefit to strive for.

-Tasha Zimich

Cold Hearted Bastard Skullhead Bust from Huck Gee

Huck Gee's latest Skullhead bust is an unpolished Cold Hearted Bastard version. Well, the bust is mostly unfinished, except for a small polished portion on the chest which shows off the Busts cold hearted blue center. The finish on this piece was created, or not finished, based on a lot of feedback from Huck's last Bust release, Not another Heartless Bastard, which featured a completely polished finished. With a small run of only 10 pieces, this frosty bust is going to be priced at $225 each plus shipping. With only 10 pieces available, those who are interested in purchasing one of these cold beauties should head on over to Huck Gee's online store on Thursday, March 12 at 12pm(noon) PDT. Each bust is going to be signed and numbered.

 - Mark-Anthony

Google+

Vintage OG Silver Oozeball by The Disarticulators

The Disarticulators are releasing a Vintage OG Silver Sofubi Oozeball and the following is what they have to say about it:

"Whilst it was great to see The Disarticulators’ Oozeball sofubi receive a limited painted run at Wonderfestival Winter 2015 a few weeks back, we know that a few of you guys were a bit disappointed that the release was limited to Japan only- well fear not, as we’re proud to reveal that an alternative “silver” version of the said “Vintage OG” edition will be touching down in the Man-E-Toys store later this week! Here’s the blurb on the figure for the uninitiated few “A follow-up to last years hugely popular keshi-ball release, the Oozeball has been redesigned by The Disarticulators’ Tru:Tek from the ground up for the new medium, featuring a more organic, Ooze-It like face, paper clay-style textures, plus a cheeky little extra… a hidden face inspired by Georges Méliès iconic 1902 silent movie, Le Voyage dans la Lune! Beautifully sculpted by none other than Zectron, the 2-part design has been upscaled from the original 2″ diameter to little over 3″- making it both more in-keeping with the classic Madball scale, and, more interestingly, compatible with a wide variety of mid-sized kaiju with the capped base removed…” Produced in a super-squishy “Ooze-It Green” soft vinyl and fitted with the previously unannounced squeakers on the undercarriage (yep, you read that right!), the limited run of 15 balls have each been treated to simple, vintage-style silver factory sprays courtesy of Rampage Toys. Touching down in the Man-E-Toys store this coming Thursday, March 12th at 9pm London time, the silver “Vintage OG” Oozeballs can be yours for just $50 each plus shipping…"

Be sure to head on over to the Man-E-Toys shop and pick up one of these limited Vintage Oozeballs for only $50 plus shipping.

 - Mark-Anthony

Google+

Funko Hikari in stock and ready to rock: Ghostbusters, Transformers, Guardians of the Galaxy, MOTU and more

Funko collectibles and figures - huge inventory of Hikari figures at great prices!

Why do I have so many Stay Pufts? 

I have no idea, but I have now reduced the price on the Stay Puft Hikari to $24.95.

CoolFun Magazine Issue 1 - Sanrio Hello Kitty Go Around

CoolFun Magazine Issue 1 - Hello Kitty Go Around. Plus lots more!

Touma 6-inch KnuckleBear NIGHT SKY in stock now

Click here to purchase the Touma 6-inch KnuckleBear NIGHT SKY figure