Feudal Anime and other mash-ups

I love these. Anime on vintage Japanese photos. Brilliant. Check out more of these at Combo-pictures' flickr.

via: Likecool.com





Couple of video game mash-ups

CURE Brain Bug Boogie-Man by James Groman..!

Kontact over at Skullbrain found this flyer showing the next Boogie-Man head sculp by Cleveland based Artist James Groman. Gotta hand it to Cure. They know how to keep it fresh.

Check out this Zombot Ghoul. You can buy this as an unpainted resin kit for $225. Spendy and has that MacFarlane vibe loud and clear, but still cool.

Custom TK Kyuuketsuki by TK4949

It's been so long since I ordered this guy, I forgot what color his hair was...lol... Well, it's not white. But I like what TK4949 did to break up all the black. Looks cool. What color am I going to paint my hair? Metallic purple? Probably...lol...Beautiful Photogs btw... and where is mine?

via 3A Forum Daily News

More CALLGRIM Custom Corps..!!

More shots of CALLGRIM's upcoming Onell Custom Corps. Better not blink because these guys will be gone in a split second..!

Comic Book Artists Tools of the Trade: Toronto Comic Arts Festival

Toronto Comic Arts Festival: Pencil it In from Toronto Comic Arts Festival on Vimeo.

Interview with Alex Wald on His Collaboration with Altelier G-1 on The GARAKUTAGIGAS

One of the toys revealed at Super Festival 56 this weekend that just blew me away is the GARAKUTAGIGAS which is a collaboration between Chicago Artist Alex Wald and Altelier G-1. I first met Alex a couple of years ago at Mark Nagata's Toy Karma 2 Custom Show at Rotofugi. Super nice guy. Obviously super talented as well. We sat down for a virtual interview on his latest venture:

pictures via:
Sofubi Blog Kadomiumtank
Garamania

TBS: You mentioned Garakutagigas is a Junk Giant, a golem of garbage and industrial waste. What is his relationship to Garamon if any? He looks like a junkyard version of mecha Garamon.

AW: There is a core element of Tilsonite in the composition of Garakutagigas--the element that composed the Garadama meteor that brought the original Garamon to Earth. This rare substance has a number of strange properties; it may house a living intelligence that can exert a creative or organizing force over its surroundings. So when a metal reclamation yard was built over an ancient Tilsonite impact crater... I have enough notes to make a fairly decent story. I started to rough it out, thinking it would be cool to have a mini-comic with the toy but soon realized I didn't have enough time to get one done for the first release. It will happen eventually...



TBS: Is there any social commentary related to your design?

AW: Actually I'm very interested in the relationship between what we call art and what we call junk--dialectically opposite but really it's very much a matter of perspective. The lines are not at all fixed--what one culture considers junk, another calls art. Our society produces and venerates much that we condemn as "junk culture," we may know it's unworthy, mediocre or substandard but we love it just the same. And then there's the issues of salvaging the colossal waste our society produces as an unavoidable byproduct to progress. These concepts came flooding in to me as I drew the earliest pieces that evolved into Garakutagigas. I've been to a few junk yards, there's a pervasive atmosphere of doom to an auto graveyard. And I love the idea that all this waste, this useless garbage, is carefully guarded by men with guns and ferocious dogs.



TBS: Is he related to Hedorah or Smogun in any way?

AW: Yes, I think that (creator of Hedorah) Mr. Banno was prescient in some way; he was inspired by Rachel Carson's landmark book on ecology "Silent Spring." He conceived the pollution monster Hedorah in the early '70s when great debates raged about pollution and ecology. The following years have seen Hedorah resonate even more strongly in society. The collector's world we're familiar with is a tiny niche society with a million fragments--by now there must be nearly as many renditions of Hedorah as there have been of Godzilla. I don't know the statistics...it might be interesting for someone to take a census...

TBS: Was he shiny and brand new like Mecha Godzilla at one point and then fell into disrepair?

AW: Oh no, "baby, he was born this way!"



TBS: If you could pick another one of your illustrations to be made into a vinyl toy, which would it be?

AW: Mr. Okuda and I have discussed the possibility of another design. I'll decline from identifying it at the present out of deference to him. But I have a number of other designs on my astromonster blog and in my Flickr sets. I'd like to get back to sculpting some originals as well---I haven't made sculpture in a very long time....

TBS: Would you like to design more toys in the future?

AW: Oh yeah! That this is happening at all is totally a dream come true---I still can't believe it. In addition to my other drawings and images, I have many designs for specific toys. My sketchbooks have been full of them for years!

TBS: wow..! Thank You Alex... Looking forward to this toy. We can hardly wait. The response has been tremendous.















Alex with Mark Nagata who helped put the collaboration with Altelier G-1 in place. It also couldn't have happened without the aid of the omnipotent Yo Miyamoto..!

Which of Alex Wald's Next Astromonsters Should be Made into a Toy?

Langorias Redeveloped

My interview with Alex above yielded some interesting news. That maybe Altelier G-1 is already thinking about making another one of Alex's Astromonsters. Which one should it be?

Langorias


Zarmagon


Namakujin


Tonmagori


Diplogigas

Plaseebo x Todd Robertson: MechaNightGamer

Plaseebo is pleased to offer an Ultra Limited "MECHA" NIGHT GAMER edition of just 6 pieces created by Todd Robertson.

Each 6 1/2" high vinyl figure is customized by Todd hand sculpting and painting his unique vision of the original Night Gamer based on his addition to the unfolding Night Gamer backstory. Features include, Todds signature "Mecha-nized" hand sculpting of head and body that incorporate found objects, vinyl tubing, wire, multiple glass eyes and hand painted with MONSTER KOLOR. Each figure also has a switched internal color changing LED unit. These are signed and numbered by Todd on the base of the feet.

The edition will be offered via the Plaseebo web-shop on Saturday May 7th for $400. each. Plaseebo.net/





MechaNightGamer
© Todd Robertson 2011

Every ying needs its yang and a sense of balance has to be maintained. We have not yet heard of the yang in the Night Gamer story, but we will . A new nemesis has arrived and its called Mecha NightGamer.

As our nightgamers come from a parallel universe, in a sense so does mechanightgamer. Hailing from a dimension one minute into the future, the mecha virus has slipped through a tear in time and space. The virus incorporates itself into any life form it comes across. This allows the virus to control the lifeform. Its purpose it not yet fully understood.

While traveling alone, a sole nightgamer named Langley came into contact with the mecha virus. Langley became heavily infected, with the virus taking over fifty percent of his body. Although nightgamers have to live in pairs, the split Langley went through gave him the ability to act as a pair using the virus as second life form to bounce energy back and forth with. Langley or now MechaNightGamer had all the powers of a pair of nightgamers. Even worst the virus now knows of the nighgamers existence and wants to infect more. MechaNightGamer is searching the galaxy for others.

We can not yet know what fate awaits for our friends Wilbur and Orville, Will they be able to deal with MechaNightGamer? Will they or other life forms in our galaxy become infected? Will they discover the true purpose of the mecha virus? To be continued.

Freddie Wong: Home Alone

Star Wars x Disney by Nathan Boyd

Artist Nathan Boyd re-imagines classic Disney characters in Star Wars. Although Mickey is usually the hero, he likes Donald Duck and wanted to portray him as the lead. It makes sense because now Mickey is Han Solo and he's the one that hooks up with Princess Leia (Minnie)

via: Super Punch















a few more after the jump....

Bandai Tamashii Nations Previews

Bandai's Tamashii Nations has a bunch of previews for upcoming toys. Here are the one's i'm waiting for.

Super Robot Chogokin Alteisen Nacht. I literally just busted out the first version of this toy the other day (OG Red). It's pretty awesome. Heavy, lots of die-cast. A really great toy. To have the blue or night version (Nacht) with a sword is the perfect follow-up. Unfortunately, will have to wait until September when it releases. ¥5,250 yen








The Robot Spirits ZEGAPAIN. This design is really interesting. I haven't seen the anime, but I like the translucent plastic. Also due in September for ¥5,250


Composite Ver.Ka Robo Nagato. I have the first version of this figure and while I think it's cool, it's a bit too fragile and flimsy. You look at the thing wrong and parts fall off. Is it too much to ask to make a toy that you can actually play with? Will probably pass on this. Also due out in September. Price TBD.