"Dragon Boy GO!" from Martin Hsu and VTSS Toys

Martin Hsu is super excited and honored to announce that Dragon Boy is going to Taiwan! For one day only on August 25, Dragon Boy GO! opens in Taipei, Taiwan at Wingrow Gallery! Martin will be showing new Dragon Boy paintings along with a limited number of Dragon Boy original colorways which are available HERE right now! Martin tells us that this has been a long time coming, and he feels tremendously blessed to bring Dragon Boy back home. Especially because he is excited to release his Dragon Boy designer vinyl there, not only to introduce the character, but to educate and share. On top of new paintings and products, a VERY special surprise will be revealed... let's just say there will be a couple of Dragon Boys which are "larger than life" ;) Check out the official Facebook invite HERE!

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"Royal Pride" from Tokidoki launches with a fierceness

Are you all ready for a new line of figures from Tokidoki... well get ready because dropping this month is the long-awaited and much talked-about "Royal Pride" collection. Spotted on display at conventions around the world, these figures are going to make their debut on September 10th and you have a crack at all kind of figures and characters! These are 3” PVC figures that are going to retail for $8.95 a pop and in this series, collectors will have a chance to acquire two chase figures; Blue Terror (1/32) and John Bronson (1/64.) There will also be 100 golden tickets randomly hidden in Royal Pride boxes. Anyone lucky enough to come across one will be able to redeem it for a very limited edition golden John Bronson, arguably the coolest member of the Royal Pride gang. Look for these in most all designer vinyl retails shops around the world!

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Super7 x Itokin Park - Garuru in Pearlescent Gray!!!!

Itokin Park’s popular Monster Family member is back thanks to Super7 in a very beautiful pearlescent gray vinyl version which features metallic gold and silver sprays, with additional details in black & red. This vinyl figure stands 4” tall and is articulated at neck... and will fit in with all vinyl collections! This figure will be available HERE this Thursday, August 9th at Noon PST for $35 each.

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More previews for Scott Tolleson's "Nosellots - Super Show Shindig" featuring Leecifer, Luke Chueh, Chris Ryniak, and many others!

We just got word from Scott Tolleson that his upcoming "Nosellots - Super Show Shindig", that we first covered HERE is shaping up to be one rad looking event! This spectacular show being hosted by the folks over at Screaming Sky Gallery will feature a ton of Scott's 'Nosellots' figures in the form of traditional paintings and 3D forms, you know there will be plush... as well as a curated 'Nosellots' custom show where he asked participating artists to go to town on whatever they wanted... they just had to keep the 'Nosellots' theme! Check out the pieces in this post which includes: “Reading is Fun” by George Gaspar • “Reading with the Nosellots” by Andy Linke • “But…how do I get down?” by Lana Crooks • “Satancis” by Leecifer • “Lukey Bean” by Luke Chueh • “Bernie in the Buff” by Chris Ryniak! What a fun cast of characters! The "Nosellots Super Show Shindig" opens on August 11th from 11AM to 7PM and runs through September 9th, 2012 at the Screaming Sky Gallery, 1416 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211.

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Insta-rad!!!!! Brain Snap... the App... Fresh!!!!!

Photos by: (left)@volta_catkid • (right)@steady_mobbin


Photos by: @patrickseangibson

Have you seen all of the AWESOME coming out of 99 Cent Brains?? Get on that and while I have your attention, download San Francisco based artist Patrick Sean Gibson's Brain Snap app. It costs you zero dolla' for endless hours of cool. Your instagram will be blowing up from all that love. Peep the vid and start BRAIN SNAPPIN'. Word on the street is Brain Snap 2.0 will be dropping in September with 50+ more illustrations to go bananas with. More info coming soon.

Source [Patrick Sean Gibson]

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NYC!! Detournement @ Jonathan Levine Gallery Opening August 8

Hey NYC, Wednesday, August 8th, this is where you should be! Détournement : Signs of the Times Group Exhibition curated by : Carlo McCormick Get your bums over to the Jonathan Levine Gallery to see works from the following artists: AIKO, Dan Witz, David Wojnarowicz, Dylan Egon, Eine, Ilona Granet, Jack Pierson, John Law (Jack Napier), Leo Fitzpatrick, Mark Flood, Martin Wong, Max Rippon (RIPO), Mike Osterhout, Posterboy, Ron English, Shepard Fairey + Jamie Reid, Steve Powers (ESPO), TrustoCorp, Will Boone, Zevs.Wowee. I'll see you there!

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YA’ HEARD! Episode #14 is now LIVE!!!

Are all you ready for the next episode of YA’ HEARD!... well episode #14 is now live. This new podcast features hosts, kaNO, Ritzy Periwinkle, Shane Jessup, and Sket One as they touch on a wide range of topics, from the business side of art, current events, designer toys... shoot pretty much everything in the sphere of art! In this episode they talk about everything under the sun including SDCC 2012, Jryu, Marka27, Luke Chueh, Alex Pardee, and much much more!!!! Stay tuned to www.yaheardshow.com and to the official Twitter page HERE for more information about the show. What are you waiting for... CLICK HERE and listen!!!

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Double Haunt Tees & Art Prints at Society6

Double Haunt tees and art prints are now available over at Society6! There are a bunch of other products as well such as hoodies, iPhone cases, and iPad and laptop skins. If you sign in to your Society6 account (you can sign in with Facebook) and use the link HERE to view the store, you'll get FREE SHIPPING on purchases up until midnight on the 12th August 2012... AWESOME!!!!

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Bruce Lee x MIMOBOT.... Ohhhhwaaaaataaaaa!!!!!!

Bruce Lee pioneered the martial arts movie genre, developed his own style of martial arts called Jeet Kune Do, and introduced the discipline, power, and speed of martial arts to the western world. Now, Bruce Lee is, quite literally, the most kick-ass MIMOBOT flash drive ever made. This battle tested Bruce Lee MIMOBOT has the tiger claw cuts, yellow tracksuit, and matching nunchucks, and the suave determination that made the Legend himself so iconic. The bad guys won’t get near your data, not if Bruce Lee MIMOBOT has something to say about it.


Bruce Lee MIMOBOT is the 2nd in Mimoco’s Legends of MIMOBOT series, a series devoted to celebrating those great figures of history and pop-culture who have changed the game, leveled the playing field, and succeeded in doing every other sports metaphor you could possibly think of. So get your hands on up to 64GBs of Kung Fu madness HERE! With soundbytes from Bruce Lee’s classic movies and exclusive pre-loaded MIMO-content, Bruce Lee MIMOBOT not only celebrates a Legend… it IS a Legend.

Source [Mimobot Press]

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PARTY!!!!! Mishka Presents Numskull "Dance Like a Video, Sting Like a Gif"

Lots of awesome hailing from the upside down lands. Sydney artist NUMSKULL will be in the Mishka NYC party house this Friday presenting, "Dance like a video, sting like a Gif " Before we go any further, WATCH THE VIDEO...


SAY SPAM!!!! This show will also be an opportunity to get your hands on some limited giclee prints only available here, in addition to a t-shirt release!! Sounds like a good time to me. Be there - 350 Broadway from 7pm.

Source [Numskull]

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Mr. Tom Morrow's digital illustration for Scott Tolleson's Nosellots tribute show!

The man known as Mr. Tom Morrow has created the above digital illustration print for the rapidly upcoming "Nosellots Super Show Shindig." This 11"x14" piece is described by the artist: "My piece shows a triumphant Lyle Bean on a stack of books, that he has just read through in record time. Along with a pair of bookshelves with a chemistry set behind and of course the trademark argyle to finish it off." The "Nosellots Super Show Shindig" opens on August 11th from 11AM to 7PM and runs through September 9th, 2012 at the Screaming Sky Gallery, 1416 NE Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211.

Participating artists include: A Little Stranger, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ajee, Andy Linke, Angry Woebots, Ayleen Gaspar, Brandon Griffith, Dana Lechtenberg, DrilOne, Frank Mysterio, Galen McKamy, George Gaspar, Jay222, Jeremiah Ketner, Jon Knox, J★RYU, Julie West, kaNO, Karen Hsiao, Leecifer, Lil'Japan, Luke Chueh, Michelle Coffee, Mike Egan, Nathan Hamill, Oliver Hibert, Scott Tolleson, and valleyDweller.

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Freak Store's Fonzo Custom Show pieces for sale!

After an amazingly successful "Fonzo Custom Show" at Freak Store, only a handful of the customs remain for on-line purchasing… but, if you're interested, you should check out the available ones HERE and get an amazing piece for a decent price. At the time of this writing, all that remains are the pieces by: Burundanga Design, Betso, Gabriel Mesa, GerardMDS, Fakir, M-lon, Murkasec and Simplevector.

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Shadoe Delgado's Fan-Art Contest with amazing prizes… including a custom!

We've been writing up quite a bit by the fantastic "newcomer" Shadoe Delgado lately and, as a thank you for all the attention and acceptance he's received from the Designer Toy community, Delgado is holding a fan-art contest for his Shadow-ling creatures.

The fan-art could be, but not limited to: what kinds of masks could they be wearing to hide themselves, or what is it under the mask that they need to hide? Is there a girl shadow, transgender, or no gender? What do creatures like Grundelmunch look like without a mask? Have fun with it, and go crazy...or not crazy? Also, use whatever medium you feel comfortable with.

To give you an idea, I've posted two examples of actual submissions by Mike Die and Super Cooper Berella. If you want to join in the fun, just e-mail Shadoedelgado [at] gmail [dot] com with your art and Twitter name (if you have one, not necessary for submission). The deadline for submissions is by November 1st, at which time an online poll will decide the winner and two runners-up… the winner will get their design turned into a minimum 7-inch tall custom that they'll get for free! Second place gets a 6"x6" hand-painted wood panel piece and third place (as well as the others) receive some Shadowling pins and $10 off of a future order from Delgado! You can read more about this HERE.

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Carson Catlin's Munnyworld Reticulated series at Tenacious Toys!

Carson Catlin attacked all of Munnyworld, doing a series of seven customs in his fantastic reticulated style. These 4-inch mini vinyl figures have colorful interiors and blank white exteriors, which really makes those snippets of color pop. All seven pieces were exclusively made for Tenacious Toys to sell… they will be available starting tomorrow, Wednesday, August 8th, 2012 at 9PM EST for $125 each. You can check them all out HERE and cross your fingers that you'll be able to snag one!

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Kidrobot is having a HUGE 10 hour sale!!!!

That's right folks... and as you read this, there is only 7 hours left of this EPIC sale! Kidrobot is offering up to 75% off on pretty much everything in their online store... and I mean everything. But keep in mind... this is all contingent on products selling out... so go HERE now, so you can secure some great stuff!!!!!

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Designer Toys 101: Who is Huck Gee?

If you are new to this column, it is truly meant to be read from the beginning to the most recent.
Please start with the first installment, "What are Designer Toys?"

This week's column isn't about a specific toy platform or a company or an industry term or even an explanation of some ambiguous concept, rather it is about a single person: Huck Gee. But in discussing Mr. Gee we will also be delving into the birth of Designer Toys as whole, but especially their Western culture aspect and the Kidrobot company phenomenon as well as the rise of Designer Toy customization. But, before I begin, I would like to express my gratitude to Paul Budnitz (founder of Kidrobot) for his introduction to The Art of Huck Gee, which filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge of those early years…

In the late '90s Designer Toys were a rising underground movement in Asian countries but almost unheard of in Europe or America. Paul Budnitz fell in love with the budding art form and decided to bring it to the States, buying as many of the pieces as he could and opening in a small retail shop in San Francisco. With no proven sales record for the product out of a physical location, no one — including Budnitz — knew what to expect.

When the doors of the first Kidrobot location opened on February 12, 2002, Budnitz almost immediately encountered his first customer: a "really huge and scary guy with a shaved head and a tattoo of a skull on his neck" or, in other words, Huck Gee. Yes, Gee was Kidrobot's first customer. And within two months, Gee was the manager of that first Kidrobot retail location. But it wasn't destined to last. About two years after being appointed manager, Gee — with some urging from Budnitz — quit the job to pursue a career as a toy artist. And it only took Gee a few months to start earning a full-time living creating custom Designer Toys. In a lot of ways, Gee was the father of modern custom toys… And he was quite successful at it.

Gee's typical design sensibilities gear towards pre-Industrial Japanese aesthetics: samurai, ninjas, kabuki, geishas, etc. And while his customs have superbly clean, minimalistic paintjobs, it's the bevy of hand-made accessories that truly make them shine.

As Kidrobot grew up from being a retail store into a production company, Gee went along for the ride: having designed numerous highly-demanded Dunnys for the company, culminating in a blind boxed series solely comprised of his work. And yet Gee's focus remains on his customs, creating wonderful characters that inhabit a fantastical Japan of his own creation.

Next Week: What makes Designer Toys art while normal toys aren't?

Designer toys used in this week's column are all customs created by Huck Gee. Photo of Huck Gee graciously taken from the wonderful Jeremyriad.

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Huck Gee's Instagram competition for "ClutterMunk" proof set!

From now until Sunday, August 12th, 2012, Huck Gee is holding a competition on his favorite social networking site: Instagram. So warm up your cell phone cameras and take some Huck Gee related photos — "artwork, illustration, design, Subaru, black t-shirts, basically anything Huck…" — and hashtag them with #huckgee. Gee himself will choose the three tagged photos that he deems most creative and each of those three will win a complete set of printer proof "ClutterMunk" prints. Fantastic! Get to it, folks!

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Mujuworld's "Mini Guardians" will include Forest & Ocean Guardians!

Over the weekend, we announced that Miss Muju has been busy working on a line of affordable "Mini Guardians" figures. Hand-cast in plant-based, non-toxic bio-resin, each 4.5-inch figure will be hand-painted and we're now being told that the first wave release will include Forest and Ocean Guardian colorways! Can't wait! These should be dropping in the Mujuworld online store within the next two weeks, but follow Miss Muju's Twitter feed for more up-to-date announcements.

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A Little Stranger's Cavey proudly competes in the Olympic Games!

Oh, Cavey, you cute little rapscallion, what sort of Olympic mischief have you been getting up to? It certainly looks like Cavey's been competing in several of the Olympic Game events, doesn't it? To celebrate this athletic side of the Cavey plush, A Little Stranger has issued forth five different Olympic Cavey colorways — one for each of the Olympic rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red — that are each limited to only 40 copies. These "Champion Cavey" fleece figures each have a specially Cavey Olympics 'gold' medal around their necks and come with a Cavey-shaped Union Jack flag pin for you! Each one is only £16 (approx. $25) apiece and can be found in the Cavey online shop right now!

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"Dragons" customs show with Cris Rose, DMS, Squink, Stuart Witter and more!

We've already reviewed several of the pieces for the upcoming "Dragons" charity group show, which requested that customizers make a dragon-themed 4-inch Kracka Munny piece. The event will feature 50 pieces by 49 artists: A Little Stranger, Alto, Blue-Frog (who contributed two pieces), Cheo, Cris Rose, David Stevenson, DMS & Neese, Dr Barbados, Emily Bee, Fark-Fk, Felt Mistress, Flatties, Graffiti Life, Hoakser, Inkbotz, Jim Freckingham, Jonathan E, Jon-Paul Kaiser, KeziArt, Lex, Lisa Rae Hansen, Lunabee, MAp-MAp, Mark James, Mark Treharne, Matt JOnes, Mike Strick, Mimic, Michal Miszta, Mr Lister, Pete Fowler, PJ Constable, Planet Domu, Run DMB, Sneaky Raccoon, Squink (pictured above), Stae, Stu Witter, Taylored Curiosities, TMH, Triclops Studios, UME Toys, Uncle Absinthe, Zombiekel, Zro Toys, and Zukaty.

Most of the works are available for preview HERE and, more importantly, prices are listed. All the customs in the show will be for sale — with all proceeds being donated to DiabetesUK — on August 18th from 10AM to 1PM EST at The SHO Gallery, The Coach House, 1A Inverness Place, Roath, Cardiff, CF24 4RU, UK. The gallery can be contacted by phone (011 44 29 20 485334) during those hours to place orders for pieces with a credit card as well.

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