Mr. Sparkle custom Qee (Monster Kolor edition)!

 Amazing clean work from zombiemonkey...
 

It has been nearly two and a half years since I debuted my Mr. Sparkle Qee custom at Toy2r's 2010 Dcon booth and since that date I have received dozens of e-mail requests to re-make the design... including one from the creator of Mr. Sparkle himself, Mr. Donick Cary!

To answer the demand I have decided to release a edition of 6 new Mr. Sparkle customs through my website. This round of customs has three notable improvements from the first incarnation.

Follow zombiemonkie here:
Site 
Facebook
Twitter feed @zombiemonkie

  - Don P 

Patrick Wong's "Water Snake" 5"

Patrick Wong "Water Snake" 5" Toy2R Toyer Mini Qee Custom

This new custom by artist Patrick Wong is produced to celebrate the new Chinese New Year this February 10, 2013 - the Year of the Snake. This upcoming year the cosmic element is water and this is combination of animal and element is used for the design of this Mini Toy2R Qee Toyer figure.

People born in the Year of the Snake are reputed to be thoughtful and wise and to approach problems rationally and logically, seldom instinctively. Such people are complex beings, they are clever and men of few words from their birth.

 

 

Follow Patrick Wong here:
Site
Store
Twitter / Instagram: @patrickwongart 

 - Don P

Creatures and Companions by alarment

Alarment is currently working on his series Creatures andCompanions. Here are some work-in-progess (WIP) shots of the upcoming series offigures he has been working on for some time. 

Creatures

Companions

 

This series is made up of thefollowing:

• TheCreatures - Eleven custom 3 inch Dunnys 

• The Companions - Seven custom Funkeys and Fourcustom original sculpts (underlying base of vinyl Android head or Munnyaccessory). 

•  One custom Mini Munny 

• One custom 2.5″ Mini Qee.

The series will be offered in eleven individual pairings,one Creature Dunny and one Companion.  Each set will be offered blindboxed, with two lucky people finding a “golden ticket” in their sets.  Oneticket will be redeemable for the custom Qee, while the other will be for theMini Munny.  

You can follow all the news from this series on his Facebook page and his own site.
 
Follow alarment here:
Site
Facebook
Store

- Don P 

"Ate like a pig" by Davemarkart

Made for a benefit show in Italy. This is a 4 inch Piggy Qee custom by Dave Webb.

Follow Davemarkart here:

Facebook 

- Don P 

Raging Bull custom by Don P

A combination of a Mascot (7 inch) and a Piggy Qee. Made for a show in Italy (Mattia).

Follow Don P here:
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Acetone to the Bone by Pj Constable

This is a custom 8 inch Qee designed by Pj Constable for the Heavy Metal Qee Show. It is still up for sale and all proceeds from the Heavy Metal Qee Customs and Books go to The Garden House Hospice. This piece is extremely well sculpted and painted. Really love the crazy creepy look. This is a musthave for every custom Qee collector, grab it here it is on eBay now!

Acetone to the Bone, 8 inch Qee

Follow Pj Contable here:
Twitter feed @PJConstable
Contact

New from Fuller: Rebel Western, Mega Munny & So So Happy

 

Fuller shares with us 3 of his most recent pieces: above is a Rebel Ink figure which seems to be a favorite with many customizers. Fuller was given this one as a commission and was tasked with giving it an Old West feel. The other criteria was using the colors red, black, gray and white. I wonder if the customer knew how amazingly bad-ass it would turn out?

The sick piece above is actually a Kidrobot Mega Munny, which means it started out 18 inches tall! And with Fuller's sculpting/accessorizing, it's probably more like 20 inches now. That's a BIG friggin custom. It's like the size of my whole apartment. Here's what Fuller said:

I wanted to do add something to my Black Magic series. I don't do very many Mega Munny so I thought I would make him into one. I did a ton of more sculpting on this than I normally would. I have to say it was really fun. This was my original design of Voodoo from series one, but I decided to do a brown version. Thinking I like this one better. He will be for sale. 

(Watch Fuller's shop- this piece either has not yet been put up for sale, or it has, and it sold in the 5 freaking days it took me to get this blog post up!)

OK, so I'm starting to get this whole So So Happy Qee show. So So Happy has a number of characters of their own, which the artists are incorporating into their work. And to be honest, despite looking at different artists' and companies' characters day in and day out, I have to say that I really enjoy the So So Happy characters. You can see them all here. They're cute, and there's a bunch of them. 

Fuller writes: This is my entry for the SO SO Happy Project. I chose the character TRIBE. I wanted to add a few other characters and what better place than his mouth! 

One of the strongest elements of this piece, and many of Fuller's pieces, is his use of bright colors contrasting with black. I dig that about his work.

Here's a little more about the So So Happy Qee show, which I took from the blog on Toy2RUSA's site:

So So Happy x Toy2R Custom Qee Project

Toy2R is thrilled to jump into 2012 with a new DIY project, especially when it’s tied to one of the fastest growing brands – So So Happy. In collaboration, between Toy2R and So So Happy, an incredible roster of artists have been invited to customize 8” Qees inspired by the So So Happy characters and brand. Over 30 artists are taking part in this project and the Qees will be displayed at venues and trade shows across the country for 2012.

Participating artists include: Albert Art, AW177, Sneaky Raccoon, Chauskoskis, Diogo Machado, Frank Mysterio, A Little Stranger, Howie Green, Fuller Designs, JC Rivera, Jon-Paul Kaiser, Julie West, Ardabus Rubber, Kim Mayhew, Leecifer, DGPH, Matt Anderson, MeSmithy, Mikie Graham, Grimsheep, Pocket Wookie, RSIN, Scott Kinnebrew, Scott Tolleson, Shawn Wigs, Steve Lew, Valerie Bermudez and Valerie Gudell.

Scott Kinnebrew Fang custom Qee for So So Happy show

Scott Kinnebrew sends us his submission to the So So Happy custom show, which involves custom Qees from over 30 artists. I must admit that despite keeping tabs on almost everything that Toy2R does, I had no idea who or what So So Happy was. So I went to their website... and I still have no idea. Apparently they are a California studio that makes stuff and donates to charity. They seems to have many characters that they license out. I DID manage to figure out that Scott's Fang custom is based on one of their characters, which is available as a plush here. Of course, Scott stuck Fang in a Stormtrooper suit! Cool custom. Here's more pics of Scott's custom Fang:

Scott writes:
Here's the Qee I'm dropping on the Toy2R / So So Happy show.  He started out as a Pig, but got a few mods and some homemade armor to wrap up the look.

I picked "Fang" after I read all the different bios because he looks like a devil, he's into custom toys, loves Mongolian BBQ, and he dresses like a Stormtrooper at Renaissance Fairs...seemed like my kind of dude.  I haven't done a Qee in a while, and it reminded me of how much I like the platform.

Custom Mini Qees & Fatcaps by JCRivera for our NYCC booth

Customizer JCRivera will be on hand at our NYCC booth (#876) that we're splitting with Toy2R. He'll be signing at 11AM on Saturday October 15th, right before Jon-Paul Kaiser. JC sent us 3 Mini Qees and 3 Fatcaps- pretty unique style he has going on here, with a lot of detail in each piece. You can inspect for yourself at NYCC!

JCRivera - JC Rivera's Store - JCRivera flickr - JCRivera tumblr

TEASER: Matt Anderson 16-inch Qee custom for NYCC

Matt Anderson is going to be coming up to New York with a few amazing custom pieces that will knock your socks off. We both agreed we wanted this one to be somewhat of a surprise, so here's all you get for now: this aggravatingly cropped teaser image of a large-scale Toy2R Qee he customized for our NYCC Booth (#876). Matt will be signing alongside Rsin at our booth at 1PM on Friday October 14th.

Just a warning: When you actually see this custom fully revealed, there's a 90% chance you will scream and die immediately.

Also: Matt loves this custom so much that, if you survive the unveiling and you want to buy it, you might actually have to fight him for it in a brutal cage match.

If you want to get the scoop on what Matt's working on, follow his Facebook.

Custom Qees by JCRivera for NYCC

 JCRivera will be showing up at our NYCC booth (#876) with a gang of customs. Here are a few sneak peeks: above is his Evil Ape custom, with bulldog accessory made from a Kidrobot Labbit figure! Suitably swagged out for his trip to NYC!

Above is Ricky the Passive-Aggressive Bunee, a two-for-one custom Qee which can be displayed either way depending on how your mood is swinging...

And finally, JCRivera will be bringing in some of his own hand-cast resin figures to give out to those of you who make it to his signing at noon on Saturday October 15th. See you there!

If you want to see more art by JCRivera, check the following links:

www.artbyjcrivera.com
store
flickr
tumblr

CTU x Toy2R Assassins 2 "Custom Qee Series" on sale now

CTU x Toy2R Assassins 2 "Custom Qee Series"

The series consists of Blind Bagged 2.5" Qees  from:

Ardabus Rubber * B.A.L.D. * Fried Gold Productions * Fuller Designs * Hugh Rose * Jay222 * Matcandraw * The Model Maker * Mr. Munk * Rocketboy * Rsin * TyleR

All BB's will have a chance to win a customized 8" Qee by B.A.L.D. via a Golden Ticket (randomly placed in one BB package)

On sale here: http://customtoyunion.bigcartel.com/ for $40.00 plus S&H each.

Kris Dulfer custom Mecha Tanks for sale now

The M3CH4 TANK custom Qees from Kris Dulfer's solo show at White Star are now up for sale on Tenacious Toys in our Kris Dulfer section. Each 6" tall piece is unique, featuring a 5" Mini Qee, a 2.5" Qee driver and various parts and accessories molded and poured by Kris. 

You can follow Kris on his Tumblr where he posts up much of his work.

Half Off Matt Anderson Commissions, Today Only!

"Onikuma," a custom Mini Qee made by Matt Anderson for Tenacious Toys

It's Matt Anderson's birthday today, and he's giving YOU a present: book a commission with him today for a mini figure (Mini Qee, Mini Munny, etc) and get it for half off! That's a very generous offer from a talented artist. 

Above is a picture of the type of work that Matt does: steampunk-esque with a healthy shot of electronics and mixed media. The figure above will be for sale at Tenacious Toys as a part of Matt's "Anar-Qee" custom series. When he finishes the last piece, the entire series will be for sale (at full price of course) on our website. 

If you want you very OWN Matt*A commission, however, today is a good time to contact him. 

You can find Matt on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

NYC Loves Qee Party and Mini Qee Custom Show recap

On Monday February 14th, we teamed up with Toy2R and Yoyamart to help launch Toy2R's new products in 2011. On display were the Kaiju Bossy Bear figures, the new 2-inch Domo Series, and the protos for Skelanimals Series 2... but the big draw was the launch of Toy2R's new low-priced 5-inch DIY platform, the Mini Qee! With seven different head shapes, the $15 Mini Qees are sure to be favorites with artists and toy customizers of all stripes.

To help promote the new Mini Qee platforms, Toy2R asked me to help curate a custom Mini Qee show which would be a one-night-only event happening at Yoyamart during Toy Fair 2011. Yoyamart has had a VERY long relationship with Toy2R, even longer than Tenacious Toys, so it was only natural that the wonderful, bright and open Yoyamart shop at 15 Gansevoort Street would be chosen for the event. (The event was dubbed "NYC Loves Qee" and from these pics you can definitely see that we do indeed love our Qees here in NYC!)

I picked 19 of the best artists I knew to customize the Bear shape of the Mini Qees- these Mini Qees, in fact, were some of the very first to come into the US. (Currently Yoyamart is the ONLY US shop to have ANY Mini Qees at all, so definitely hit them up if you are looking to get your hands on the platform. Most of the artists who attended walked out with their arms full of the new Mini Qees to work on at home!)

The artists we called upon were: NEMO, Mr. Munk, Ian Ziobrowski, Zam, Mr. Den, Nerviswr3k, Rsin, Matt Anderson, Bryan Allen Collins, LYS0L, Phetus, Jon Malmstedt of Rampage Toys, J*RYU, NREAZON, Grimsheep, Foox, Tony Depew, Dinky Cow and Southerndrawl. The custom work submitted to this show was nothing short of spectacular, and I'm not just saying that because we helped curate. Each piece was expertly executed, and on a short timeline to boot. Each of the artists mentioned above worked hard and created something wonderful, so my most heartfelt congratulations and gratitude is in order to each an every one of those ladies and gentlemen. (It should be noted that the Custom Toy Union curated some Mini Qee pieces, and Kevin Winnik curated even more pieces for this show.)

The party was a great success, thanks in no small part to Stephane, the perenially positive owner of Yoyamart; Kevin Winnik, head of Toy2RUSA; Matt Siegelbaum of Strongtree Images who shot all the pics in this post and many more; and of course all the artists who contributed work to this show to make it as strong as it was. We had dozens of artists show up; collectors, industry reps, the heads of companies, celebrities (see if you can spot any in the online gallery!)... champagne was enjoyed by all and it was a blast from start to finish!

Many retailers have already ordered the Mini Qees, and they will be showing up in other US shops eventually. For now, if you want one, you need to head to Yoyamart.
There are many more amazing pictures of this show: pics of the customs as well as people shots. I urge you to go check out the public gallery on Strongtree Images- you can share your favorite pics on Facebook, embed them into your blogs, tweet them... go nuts!
I'd like to thank Kevin Winnik for asking me to help curate; this was a really fun project and I enjoyed it a lot. I'm looking forward to curating more toy shows in the future. The 20 custom Qees that I curated will be up in a special page in the Customs section of Tenacious Toys, and all the pieces that did not sell right there at the show, will be for sale on that page of TenaciousToys.com. In the near future, look for MANY Tenacious Toys artist collaborations featuring the artists in this show. I have already lined up projects with a bunch of them.

NYC Loves Qee: Toy2R Toy Fair Preview Party Feb 14th in NYC

Toy2R invites you to experience the next generation of fun during our Toy Fair Preview Party being held at Yoyamart on February 14th. Come out and take a peek at their 2011 projects and join us in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Qee. Yoyamart will play host to our NYC Loves QEE Show and the unveiling of:

• 5inch Mini Qee DIY Collection – Our the newest 5″ scale Qee opens the genre to new artists and new possibilities. With a SRP of $15 each – DIY customizing doesn’t have to break the bank – just the rules!
• In addition, there will be more than 40 original customized 5inch Mini Qees to illustrate the realm of possibilities using Qee! Customs by Jason Freeny, Jon Paul Kaiser, ViseOne, Scott Tolleson, Voltaire, MCA, Pocket Wookie, Atypical, A Little Stranger, NEMO, Mr. Den, Ian Ziobrowski, ZAM, Mr. Munk, Dinky Cow, NREAZON, Grimsheep, Foox, J*RYU, Rampage Toys, Phetus, LYSOL, Bryan Allen Collins, Matt Anderson, RSIN, Nerviswr3k, Kim Mayhew, Southerndrawl, Tony DePew and more!
• First public preview of Toy2R’s collaboration with CTU for 2011!
• Plus it will be your very first chance to pick up a 5inch Mini Qee DIY before anyone else in the world!
• 5inch Kaiju Bossy Bear by David Horvath – the evolution of the classic character created by the mind behind the Uglydoll phenom, continues to explore new variations. Come see what Bossy Bear has been up to and how he has transformed into the biggest thing since….well, him!
• 2.5inch Skelanimal Qees Series 2 – Cooler than the Dead, Toy2R breaks loose with the follow-up to the best selling Skelanimal Qee Assortment from last year. WIth new designs by Voltaire, Lunabee, Pocket Wookie, Nick Z, Albert Art and PO! – Qee takes the Skelanimal theme on another journey through art and imagination!
• New Qee-Shells – Gotta see them to get them!
• Domo Qees – Courtesy of Dark Horse – the newly released 7inch Domo Qees will be displayed as well as a sneak peek at SERIES 3 of Domo Qees – taking over the world is the definition of Domonation! Come out to see why!

Plus surprises, custom Qees of all sizes, special guests and more – all awaiting to be your date on the 14th! Come out and celebrate with Toy2R and see why Qee continues to be a best selling platform for the past ten years!

YOYAMART
15 GANSEVOORT ST
NEW YORK, NY
212-242-5511

Join the Qeevolution and experience the next generation of fun….it’s Qee!

Custom Mini Qee Show Teasers

Join us at Yoyamart on February 14th in NYC for a closer look at the above customs based on the brand-new 5-inch Mini Qee platform that Toy2R is launching!

Show starts at 6pm at Yoyamart NYC, which is located at 15 Gansevoort Street in Manhattan. 

There will be LOTS more custom Mini Qees there at the show, plus more great new items from Toy2R. Some of the participating artists will be in attendance, so bring your black books!

More teasers will be revealed as we run up to the show date.
Props to Kevin of Toy2RUSA for pulling together a great show, and for these excellent teaser images, and big ups to all the participating artists for working this project in on a tight schedule.

Ian Ziobrowski customs: 20in Qeebert Einstein & 7in Jerry Garcia

If Ian Ziobrowski is not the next rockstar toy customizer, I will eat my hat. He consistently delivers extremely high-quality customs with simple, yet perfectly sculpted details, and expertly applied paint. Above is Qeebert Einstein, the 20-inch custom Qee he made for the Qee to the City custom show down in Miami we are helping put together, along with Wizard Sleeve Toys and Toy2R. The show started yesterday, and you'll be able to purchase the custom Qees from this show here. Expect to see many more images of customs from that show here on this blog. Here are a few more images:

Just before he completed Qeebert Einstein, Ian was working on a commission for a private collector who is a Jerry Garcia fan. This Jerry Garcia custom is based on a 7-inch Kidrobot Munny figure:

Ian's talent is undeniable. Here's to a long and successful art career for him! If he keeps banging out customs like the ones above, he's going to be one busy guy. Go Ian! 

If you are interested in a commission piece by Ian Ziobrowski, email him here. You can also friend him on Facebook here, or stop by Genuine Artikle in Lake Ronkonkoma, NY (on Long Island) where he works.