JUST LAUNCHED: Vamplets Mini Figures on Kickstarter

Nightmares DO come true in a terrifyingly cute collection of Ghost Pony and Baby Monster Mini Figurines by Gayle Middleton. 

 Introducing 7 new Vamplet Mini Figures! These Vamplet babies range between 2-3 terrifying inches in height! Back the Vamplets Mini Figure Kickstarter now.... IF YOU DARE

JUST LAUNCHED: Sweaties Unite: Rise of the Uber Nerd Documentary Film by Jon Schnepp on Kickstarter

"Sweaties Unite!: Rise of the Uber-Nerd!" is a feature length documentary that follows the global rise in popularity of Comic Book Based Films and Series, as well as the downsizing in Comic Book Publishing, in its shrinking sales year after year, as more and more comic book stores close each year. With Comic Conventions having now turned into basically Mass Culture Cons, most of the people attending these Conventions have never actually read any of the comics that the characters that they love seeing in the theaters or on the television screen are based on. What has created this rise and fall and total separation between these mediums, what can be done to help, and what is the future of both?

Back the next AWESOME doc by my man Jon Schnepp, and make sure to visit Jon at our NYCC booth in October!

ENDING TODAY: Imps and Monsters Art Book by Justin Hillgrove on Kickstarter

“Imps And Monsters: Ten Years Of Art By Justin Hillgrove” is 216 full color pages that include over 300 paintings created by me from 2005 to 2015. The book is broken up into chapters, each following a loose chronological order, as well as being grouped somewhat by theme. The focus is of course on the paintings but there are quite a few sketches, stories and commentaries scattered throughout the book as well. In addition, there is also a chapter that touches on some of my toy design, comics and murals. Checkout some sample spreads below.

• Foil-stamped Matte Hardcover 
• 216 full color pages 
• 9” x 1” x12” (approx.) 
• Over 3 lbs (approx..)

TOY OF THE DAY: PREORDER Kidrobot Frank Kozik Mecha Stealth 8-inch Dunny

PREORDER estimated arrival date of April 2016
8" Dunny
designed by Frank Kozik
produced by Kidrobot

Preorder Kidrobot Frank Kozik Mecha Stealth 8-inch Dunny today!

Scott Wilkowski's latest Infected Dunny colorway

The infection spreads! The latest Infected Dunny colorway from Scott Wilkowski!

Clutter Magazine is proud to announce their latest collaboration with Milwaukee-based artist Scott Wilkowski! Known for his Infected and X-Ray Action versions of popular designer toys, Wilkowski has infected one of the most famous platforms of all time: Kidrobot's Dunny! Standing 3-inches tall, his Infected Dunny pieces are double cast in resin and officially licensed by Kidrobot.

Limited to 50 pieces in this colorway (Blue & Green), these will be available on Friday, March 4th at 12pm Eastern time for $60 apiece in the Clutter Magazine online shop.

Vamplets™ Announces Kickstarter for Baby Monster Mini Figures

Collectible two Inch tall minis feature a creepy but cute assortment of Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons and Ghost Ponies

Vamplets creator Gayle Middleton unveils her latest collection of collectible art toy Mini Figures in a Kickstarter campaign launching Wednesday March 2. The new mini monsters feature a terrifyingly cute collection of Baby Vampires, Infant Werewolves, Baby Undead Dragons, and mysterious translucent Ghost Ponies.

Vamplets President Jay Kamhi said, “Over the past 5 years we’ve focused mostly on designer plush dolls and graphic novels. But we’ve had so many requests from our fans for mini figures that we decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of 7 of our most popular characters.”

Fans can take advantage of an “Early Bird” Kickstarter Exclusive if they wish to purchase the entire seven piece set on the first day of the campaign.

CLICK HERE TO BACK THE VAMPLETS MINI FIGURE KICKSTARTER

Kickstarter: Luna by The Bots & UVD Toys

Kickstarter is becoming one of the better platforms for artists to gauge interest and fund projects that would otherwise just be a pipe dream. The Bots, Jenn and Tony, have joined forces with the newly created UVD Toys to bring Luna to life. Luna is a creature that has lived in the sketchbook of the Bots for some time now. Developing the sculpt and details over the past 8 months, The Bots and UVD have turned to Kickstarter to help fund the creation of this wonderful creature. With reward tiers ranging from $5 for a button pack, to higher tiers which include different artists customizing Luna for the generous pledgers. Take a look at the Luna Kickstarter page, pledge for a reward and/or share the page, any and all help matters. Hopefully this won't be the last creature to jump from sketchbook to shelflife, The Bots always have such wonderful creations and everyone should be so lucky to own a piece of their art.

- Mark-Anthony

Google+

Four Horsies of the Pocalypse Figures Available at BigshotToyshop.com

The 4-piece Four Horsies of the Pocalypse "Pocalypse Now Gift Packs" are available now to the general public following completion of the Four Horsies Kickstarter. Also available are the new 4" Lil Maddies in several color variants, plus the original 6" Maddies (which are running low on stock). Visit the Bigshot Toyshop today!

 

TOY OF THE DAY: PREORDER Kidrobot Uncle Scam figure by Ron English

PREORDER estimated arrival date of April 2016
8" vinyl figure
designed by Ron English
developed by Bigshot Toyworks
produced by Kidrobot

Preorder Kidrobot Uncle Scam figure by Ron English today!

LEGO breaking update - Disney and Lego join forces to take your wallet.

Still looking into whether or not this new series release is legit! But it certainly seems so. Disney has had a large presence with it's IP in LEGO's hands.

To quote the toy collector from Toy Story 2 "this is just like printing my own money (insert devious laughter)"

Expect a review of these suckers if this is going down, as I plan on buying a box of them when they hit.

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue

FunKo POP Rides: TMNT - Turtle Van Toy Figure

POP Rides: TMNT - Turtle Van

Pop! We're not talking about soda here folks!

Your favorite Characters the Funko Way!

Order FunKo POP Rides: TMNT - Turtle Van Toy Figure today!

BrickForge - A bag of fun

I know I had said in my last update that I would be covering new BrickWarriors sets, but I'm still working on that particular update. So in lieu of that, I pulled out an order from BrickForge (the only other LEGO compatible system I like besides BrickWarriors), and decided to review it.

(Top Left) BrickForge custom shipping envelope. (Top Right) Assorted bonus bag of random sci-fi elements. (Bottom) The contents of the shipment: Bonus Polybag, Main parts order, and the "Centaur Guardian" minifigure accessory set.

I like when I company puts in extra stuff, even if it's a call to action sort of flyer that mentions a KickStarter event (that I did end up participating in, and will be reviewing on here). When you run independent businesses, these kinds of things are what keep you going, and keep consumer/collector interest like mine, piqued.

But I can cover the results of that KickStarter at a later date. Let's jump into the great variety of accessories and components that I picked out from the website...

From more accurate Ghostbuster inspired replacement parts, to unusual and unique weapons and transparent "glass" bricks, this assortment did not disappoint.

If you have the official LEGO Ghostbusters set (which I reviewed on here a while back), you can see that the proton pack and neutrona wand are very accurate to the screen representations. Hell, BrickForge even went and made a PKE meter! If they had made a nice ghost trap as well, that would have been amazing! The soft rubber goggles (worn mainly by Ray Stanz in the movie) stretch to fit over helmets and hairpieces and make for a nice touch. Aside from the bright colors, they are very superior replacements (and if you are really into customizing, hey a little paint goes a long way...).

Next down in the image above, the violin is a nice and well crafted instrument that fits well a couple of different ways on a minifig. One bizarre and fun accessory is the transparent yellow stun gun, clearly modeled after a higher end real world Taser (the x2 I believe).

The rest of the ancient history/fantasy weapons, like all the rest of the parts, are made out of very durable, highly compatible plastic, that is hard to distinguish from the type LEGO uses.There is a wonderful crisp "snap" when you put these in the claw hands of the minifigs in your collection. This isn't the crazy plastic that encumbered those bootleg minifigs I last reviewed.

Most all of the parts above could be had for just a few cents each, and they have a HUGE lot of accessories to choose from, many which LEGO would never ever release, like for instance the great minifig accessory packs based on WW2 historical aspects. 

The creators at BrickForge may not have the wild sort of design aesthetics that you'd find with BrickWarriors, but BrickForge makes solid and well made accessories. And when they decide to do custom minifig upgrade accessories like the Centaur below, they really shine.

The tampo decal detail is sharp, well designed with clean lines. The helm and battle axe have additional paint applications to them which rounds this upgrade set out quite nicely.

BrickForge has a few of these sets on their site, so I picked on based on my astrological sign (Sagittarius), and was pleasantly surprised.

The set retails for just about $6, and it's worth it. Each part is well made, the set as a whole looks great when assembled onto the top half of most any minifig you have laying around.

So if you want to add some additional spice and variety into your LEGO setups, these guys at BrickForge can give you a lot of great parts for your dollars. Take my word for it, you will be impressed.

Personally, I'm glad both they and BrickWarriors are out there. Two topnotch competitors making unique things to round out the official ones.

Until next time! -Mario, the Artisan Rogue

Stats	Rating/Information
Items	BrickForge Polybag sets
Made by	BrickForge
Rarity	Common
Classification	In Production
Condition	New
Procured	www.brickforge.com
Worth	$15
Investment	$15
Further Research	n/a
Trivia & Fun Facts	For over a decade the souls at BrickForge have been transforming otherwise boring minifigs into legendary heroes by supplying the most exquisite & versatile of small-scale equipment & accessories. Their range of accouterments spans many themes: History, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Modern Combat; and encompasses popular gear such as helmets, body armor, bladed weaponry, firearms & even animals & scooters. Their innovative RiGGED system allows parts to couple together using a series of micro-connection points, creating colorful assemblies & expanding customizing possibilities.