Custom Sharkys at ToyQube

The previously mentioned custom Sharky show at ToyQube (here) now has put up the available pieces online for grabs. Surprisingly, I thought some were priced affordably.

Click here to view full page of custom sharkys.
I think some are missing though.

Jeremiah Ketner's solo "Morning Showers"

One of my favourite artists, Jeremiah Ketner is having a solo show entitled "Morning Showers", opening 7th November at Melanee Cooper Gallery. He posted two of his 20 paintings up at his flickr this morning.

Just this shot here is telling you a big statement. He has refined his new style by heaps since starting roughly six months ago or less. Absolute brilliance.

Kelly Vivanco's pieces for Teeny Tiny Art Show III

I first came across Kelly Vivanco's works through her custom Yoka a month back (not surprisingly). It was a fantastic piece of work from the artist and I went into browsing mode and check out her old and current works. I like how her works are simple to the eyes yet filled with richness.

These are few of her pieces for an upcoming group show with Three Graces Gallery opening 5th of September. This show features small paintings from various artists, I thought they are well-priced. Worth checking out.

"Literacy"

"Party"

"Seriously Knit"

Noferin's pieces for mixtART

Here are two mini paintings done on wood by the Noferin for the show MixtART at Giant Robot in San Francisco, opening on 20th September. I like how they are up close in these smaller pieces. They have been working on quite a few small pieces.

The Burj Dubai

The Burj Dubai will, for a long time, hold on to the title of The Tallest man-made structure in the world. Standing at - an unconfirmed - height of 636 m (2,087 ft) with 160 completed floors, it will take more than a mere nation's ambition and pride to beat.

These fantastic aerial shots of Burj Dubai were released recently and it shows exactly its grandeur and height domination.

View more shots here.

Andy Kehoe's pieces for Blab! #19

Andy Kehoe just posted his pieces for the upcoming group show at Copro Nason, titled "The Blab! Show", opening 6th of September. The show also features an impressive line of artists and most of their works can already be viewed here.

I think Andy's pieces are nicely priced. I would have collected a piece or two of his works if I had a steady income. Let's just hope that day will come sooner than expected.

"A Noble Leader Exiled, Hornless and Shamed"

"Lord of Treasury Holds True Power"

"There Is Always Hope"

"King Crow, the Figurehead"

Dan May interview

The Lumper posted up an interview with my top artist, Dan May. I have not much idea why the interview was up at a blog when I was expecting to see one at a proper site. Anyway, good on The Lumper for compiling the interview.

Dan mentioned he has an upcoming print which will be made available through Copro Nason.

And the biggest news of them all is that he will be having his first solo show with Copro Nason coming February 2009. I am extremely excited for him.

Read the interview here.

J Neth NC.7 Flora

I recently mentioned (here) about hunting down some Neth Creatures by J Neth and guess what? I picked up NC.7 from a seriously cool fellow boardie. Love it to bits and I knew straight away this is my favourite NC from the series of nine. I do not hope to convince myself to hunt down the rest of them. Well... maybe just NC.8 and NC.1 (click to view all NCs).

It's plain beautiful in the simplest way.

Selfridges London bringing in designer vinyls?

The good people over at Clutter Magazine's blog brought news that Selfridges along Oxford Street, London will be opening a new department by the name "The Designer Toy Lounge". Sounds posh doesn't it?

Hop on over to their page and read on.

Scott Belcastro's works animated

I kept reminding mysef to blog about Scott Belcastro's works when I first got introduced to his works through project: gallery' s blogger, Beau. Not been entirely into his works but I do keep an eye on his progress.

I quite like his compositions. Solitary being (including other than human) wandering in a solitary world.

His latest work is an animated project of his works in a music video for the band, The Deer Tracks, entitled Slow Collision. What a splendid combination by the music for the art and vice versa.


""Slow Collision" is such a beautiful ambient track with vocals that seem to touch that inner child within all of us. You close your eyes and feel as if you are floating through beautiful forests and lush landscapes."

Scott Belcastro

Easily my top acquisition for the year

Not exactly a full teaser since it is quite obvious whose works this is. :)

To be honest, I did not what or how to feel when I saw this teaser shot sent by the artist, early this morning. I am... very very excited. What's the word for 'more than just excited'?

Angry Woebots Munky King print

This was in the mail when I got home today. Did not expect it to be this small, but upon opening, I thought the size was somewhat nice. Particularly when I realized that the sketch was in fact a transparent paper envelope and the print goes inside it. I thought the transparency was a clipped-on when I purchased it.

Cheers to Angry Woebots for the complementary sketches. And of course to John for the splendid packaging - again!

my Giver of War

Massive appreciation to Andrew Bell for the mini-sketch and decal freebies. It was a long wait (since April?), but it all boils down to this brilliant-looking piece. When I first picked it up from the post office, I saw that it was smaller than I innitially thought. Upon opening, I'd say that it is of the right size. I guess I wouldn't had wanted it any bigger, I'm out of space at home.

The colour is fantastic, dark greyish makes it looks cool. The red wings are a sweet addition, small and makes you wonder whether he can depend on them. On a sidenote, I do miss the originally intended release - the orange Burning Desire.

I noticed US stores have started putting the Giver of Disease - Gangrene up for sale. I'm definitely grabbing one, just pondering which store that'll be earning my dough.

MINDstyle's China Earthquake Charity Auction

The patiently awaited MINDStyle's charity auction has just kicked off here. They've brought out the big guns - Doktor A, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters and etc. I did not know there was this giant 10" paint master Stephen Le Pod by the Dok. And Kathie's 9" two-faced Hazel is a beauty.

Not the most ideal starting bid prices but think of this way, donate $1000-ish and get a once-off original piece for free.

We shall see how this auction does when it ends on Sunday, 31st August 2008.

Alberto Cerriteño animated MTV for Austin TV

Alberto Cerriteño, one of my favourite illustration artists just posted up a music video made for Mexican Indie-instrumental group Austin TV entitiled Shiva (Isn't that a Hindu God's name?). I previously blogged about a video (here) he did a while ago when I first introduced him, but this one has so much more things going around in it.

The video has a smooth slow start and subsequently burst literally into action with whimsical creatures popping out, inferno started at the rear and monsters appearing. The last monster that appeared does remind me of my custom Mellow, most notably from the moustache. I also noticed that he likes showing bits of blood, seen when old man Mario hit his head during the drop. Check out the dog too.

"The story is based in an original idea from the band and tells one of many stories of this old man, named Mario Lupo and his xoloscuincle dog, Kerdoc. They accidentally fall in a hidden magic forest which actually is the devil's cave. Hope you like the animation, the art and of course, the music!"

From my point of view, Alberto is one of the top artists that has depth in his illustration works. Fantastic compositions and I just went through his list of works on his site again, I am absolutely impressed and I am glad that I had commissioned him earlier on for a custom which blew me away.

More info on Alberto's blog.

Jeremiah Ketner custom 10" Teddy Trooper for sale

I am lending a helping hand to a fellow boardie and fellow fan for Jeremiah Ketner's works to sell this brilliant piece of custom work.

It is one of Jeremiah's earlier works and style. This piece was featured at Rotofugi's "Teddy Troops Invasion" custom show back in 2006.

Hit up Pinkus if you would like to own this beautiful piece via the Kidrobot forum here.

*edit 5th Sept - SOLD

vintage denim helmet

I noticed my post on vintage vespa helmets (here) seemed to be a hot pick. Well, here's another one for the readers. I recently flipped through an old issue of Reader's Digest and came across this vintage denim vespa helmet. I am no expert but I do know a fascinating design when I see one.

Googled it straight away and found the store selling it.

Nexx Helmets has it here but I do not see the pricing. I'd say about £80.

I don't own no LAVAs

Yes. The Lava Smash came and went in an instant. As per usual, I noticed the newsletter in my spam mailbox a little too late. Not that I was going to persuade myself to fork out $175 for a production toy. Plus shipping charges, easily $200. But we all know this piece here can easily fetch at least 2 1/2 times in the secondary market.

It's not that much fun nowadays when it comes to collecting Joe's toys. It is just how it has become.

Like thousands of other Joe Ledbetter fans, I do not own a single Lava version of his series of toys. I would give max credit to the Lava Bunny. That was original. In the beginning, I thought it was a very creative colourway.

Subsequently, that thought changed.

Scott Radke's Owls & Rabbits

Fantastic latest works by Scott Radke. This time round, exploring the owls and subsequently the bark came together with them. One of my favourite sculptures.

I wonder how much each went for...

Previously finished rabbits:

Giver of War - Dead Zebra edition

We finally get to see these guys all done and ready to ship. Andrew Bell just put these pictures up after having signed *100 pieces of them. The packaging looks stunning and the figure, I'd say breath-taking. Brilliant work, Andrew!

Oh by the way, no more than four colourways, please?

You may still grab them while they are still available here.

Jin Roh

When it comes to collecting 12-inch toys, the Jin Roh is definitely on top of my top 3 figures to own. I suddenly was reminded of its highly acclaimed anime in which it first garnered world attention. From my point of view, people just love watching 'sadistic' movies; movies that generate a sense of helplessness.

And in helplessness, comes naturally hope. The anime aside, the design of the character Jin Roh is a complete work of a genius. Truly frightening in every way. For story plot, read on here, though I suggest you go watch it.

Jin Roh is one of my favourite short animes of all times. It is not merely another anime, but a complete masterpiece with idealogies and... hope, really. The creator, Mamoru Oshii, also created Ghost in the Shell. Hence if you are familiar with Ghost in the Shell (which somehow was more mainstream, but almost just as good), you probably could tell where I am heading in this post.

In terms of toy, the 12" Jin Roh is a masterpiece, similarly to the movie. Though I am no expert in telling you whether the quality, proportion and accessories of the figure is impressive or not, I can tell you that it is one heck of an intimadating figure to have among all 12-inchers.

Recently, very recently, Revoltech announced the release of a more affordable, smaller yet detail version of the Jin Roh for about $23 (via. here)

Here are the previously released 12-inchers

Here is a treat to sum it up

Andrew Bell Altars - Skull

I previously mentioned Andrew Bell's Altars a while back here. By now, I have expected them to be all sold out. However, I came across one, Skull, which is still available via. Lulubell Toys. Bot my top preference. Hit them up if you fancy one.

$1000 gets this baby turning your backyard into a sacred ground.

J Neth

This is one artist whom I had not the opportunity to lay my eyes on until recently. J Neth's works is something that I, very slowly, grew fond of. Strangely, he never really got near to building a very big fan base. However, he did manage to gather a comfortable number of dedicated fans.

From my point of view, his works is of a minimalist's approach; in reference to his toys, they are more like artistic ornaments to a contemporary home. These are not toys. They deserve more than a mere glass cabinet with halogen lighting and protected from dust. If I do own one, I would place it where every guests in my home sees it; right smack at the center of my coffee table.

A custom labbit he recently did for

"Down the Bunny Hole" at Rivet Gallery in May 2008

I particularly love the Flora Collection (NC7, NC8 & NC9), which you can view up close here. I found a nicely written up interview with J Neth by Plastic & Plush dated December 2005 here. Very worth reading. Got into his works a little too late, shall have to hunt a bit for a couple of Neth Creatures.

Tune to J Neth's blog.

Scavengers Exclusives

So far, I have seen four figures of the Scavengers that are made exclusive, with the latest one whose image was released only yesterday or so.

Purple Aubrie, will be released at Dragon Con, Atlanta.

(29th August - 1st September)

Silver Aubrie released just yesterday in the Phillipines

Image courtesy of PowerPee

SDCC Exclusives, Masao & Nigel

At the moment, dig the white Nigel the most. These in fact are of smaller run than the chase Hazel in Series 1 and one can assume these should worth more, for the time being. Once all the exclusives got released, which is probably like 13 of them, prices should not be as ridiculous as they stand now in the secondary market. Very unfortunate that fans like us will have to hope these will be sold online, which is usually the contrary.

Just to recapture the rest of the store exclusives in the coming:

Cardboard Spaceship (Santa Cruz)
De La Barracuda Shop (Hollywood)
Dragon Con (Atlanta)
FX Show (Orlando)
myplasticheart (New York)
Rivet Gallery (Ohio)
Rotofugui (Chicago)
3D Retro (Online)
1045 Showroom (Online)
Secret Fresh (Manila)
Sugar Vinyl (Taiwan)
Toy Tokyo (New York)
VTN (Pasadena)


Heaps... and there's Series 2 in the making. I reckon I shall stick to collecting the series(s).