Check out the breezy Hawaiian hues of Leecifer's custom Stitch. I love it and I think Lee captured the essence of the little Island Alien bugger quite nicely.
Disney's x Mindstyle STITCH EXPERIMENT 626 PROJECT Custom Art Tour - Leecifer piece. Hopefully making New York in February including stops in Singapore, Taiwan, Paris, Manila and other cities throughout 2009 and ending in Kauai, Hawaii
Killer J has a new toy out now called "Star Pet". It's sculpted by Skull Toys. Not sure how big it is, but if it's mini, it would be kinda cool. I'm not much into four legged toys but the eye looks cool. Will have to see it in hand as well in some clear colors. Toy collectors are a fickle bunch...
'92 minutes of PUS' Saturday Feb 7th @ 2:09 pm New York Comic Convention, Jacob Javits Center!
PUSHEAD at NYCC!!! For the first time ever, PUSHEAD will be at New York Comic Con. He will bring with him the first SKULLPIRATE with the left amputated arm. The 'LEFTY' colorway is made up of red, black, and metallic tones. The very first insanely limited 'BOOTY SACK' will be available! A blind grab with each 'BOOTY SACK' containing a rare or handpainted figure(s) for a set price. There will even be a chart listing what could be in each bag. And what PUSHEAD event wouldn't have a few handpaints?
MIKE SUTFIN!!! Skeletal artist Mike Sutfin will be in the house with a few Handpainted Rumble Monsters BOP DRAGONS. Mike is also bringing a few very limited BOP DRAGON / MINI DAMNEDRON matching Handpainted sets! Unfortunately, while Mike will be at NYCC, he will not be making a signing appearance this time.
HIDDY from SECRET BASE!!! Another first, Hiddy will be present at NYCC for a Super Special SECRET BASE event on Sat. Feb 7th at 4pm! He will be bringing USUGROW's Rebel Ink 'PREMIUM BLACK' version which is plated using a special and expensive process which renders the bandana and pants in black flocky! Plus, USUGROW's SALVATION INK in a special 'dark' clear brown vinyl Valentine version Also, Hiddy will bring along the new BLUE Glow-in-the Dark SECRET BASE ALL STARS. Finally, A few DEKA BEE handpaints and the latest SECRET BASE release DR. MORTALITY.
This makes your trip to New York Comic Con MISSION CRITICAL!!!
We started out Saturday at Super7 where the very first Trade Fest was held inside the store before opening with cupcakes made by dean and coffee / donuts provided by our gracious host. The usual suspects were there but we were also joined by a few of the Die-cast dudes from hither and far as well.
Super 7 Exclusive MonstreHero Victim available February 7th!
The Bait...
Super 7 also gave out grab bags to the first 15 people with toys and magazines. There was one un-lucky bag which honestly didn't seem all that un-lucky!
Here's what Joe got at Trade Fest. His toy karma is strong.
What did I get? As long as one trade is made, I say it was a successful event! Although I was late, I was lucky enough to get my grubby hands on this Koji Harmon custom Gargamel Smogon!
I also picked up the new RealxHead Mini Uchu man. I think the two go well with each other.
Of course, what would be a toy event without a little toybot studios TV? Just a bit to make you feel like you were there for a few seconds...
After Trade Fest at Super7, we ventured to the East Bay to bid farewell to Kimono My House located at the top of an industrial building in Emeryville. For 28 years, KMH was the oldest operating Japanese Toy Store in the United States. To celebrate KMH's history, collectors from around the world descended upon the Bay Area like the Swallows returning to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano. These guys collectively referred to as the "Die-Cast Guys" represent a few factions of toy geekdom including the 11-year old grand daddy site and forum ToyboxDX founded by Alen Yen or the guys that hang out at Josh Bernard's CollectionDX and the mecha-heads over at Robot Japan. Yes, there were a few of us from Skullbrain, but I have to admit, I felt a bit out of my element. All told, there was probably 40-50 people at KMH lining up to buy toys. I've never ever seen it that crowded, nor waiting that long in line to pay. As I was paying Yuki for my toys, he mentioned that he was moving the store to another location? Maybe KMH is not gone for good! Just this old store. Too bad. Either way, it will never be the same. For more pics of Kimono My House from our visit in November, CLICK HERE.
The following 3 pics stolen from Hypermook!
Yuki gave me this tiny Kamen Rider toys for around a buck each! They rule!!
My last toy from Kimono My House will be this translucent Jeeg. Thanks to Bert for showing me the way. This thing is so friggin cool I can't believe I've never picked one up before. Looks like candy, I want to pick it up and eat it. It's hefty and has a really sturdy feel to it. It's a toy made to be played with.
Thanks Yuki! Sounds like we will still be seeing you around!
We didn't have enough space nor time to hang out at KMH with all of the guys, so Alen and Erik organized a banquet at Tong Kiang Restaurant on Geary Street. I think there was probably around five tables and 50 collectors there with boxes and bags full of toys to trade and sell. I swear it looked like a toy show. Getting a chance to know these guys a bit, I have to say that I was humbled by the experience. Although these die-cast toys are my first love, I was never really a hard core collector. They were the toys of my childhood. When I got back into Japanese toys, I never really went back to what are now vintage toys. I pretty much started up with the modern stuff. A very interesting point was made to me by a collector sitting next to me at dinner. He said that when he meets someone that only has modern toys in his collection, is he really a collector or just a buyer? I write this toy blog and have been called hard core and all that. Sure i've got lots of toys, but these guys are on a different level.
Everyone one I met and spoke to were very warm and welcoming to someone that wasn't really part of their crowd. I think some lessons could be learned here. Although I don't really know or collect what they do, they were patient and willing to explain a bunch of things to a vintage die-cast newb such as myself. I think this openess speaks volumes for the character of these collectors. I was touched that Alen and Erik picked up the tab for dinner. Think about it, with 50 people banquet style with 8 courses, it's like a wedding reception. Amazing generosity. Thank you Alen and Erik.
Check this out. Jeremy brought all his audio equipment to do a Pod Cast for "Destroy All Podcasts" which airs on CollectionDX. wow.
Brian and Hillsy
Wayne wasn't sure if his vinyl Kaiju collection would be welcome here. On the contrary, not only was it welcome, it drew a lot of interest!
toybot studios TV presents Die-Cast Dinner at Tong Kiang Restarant
So what did I get at the Die-Cast Trade Fest? (the 2nd Trade Fest for the day). I picked up this Unifive Kamen Rider doll. It's my first. I dig the colorway and I realize now that Itokin Park's arms are modeled after toys like these.
I'm going to digress a bit on this 2nd toy. It's called an "Armored Police Metal Jack". I am not familiar with this anime or toy line nor do I know the manufacturer. It's not a die-cast toy as it's mostly made of plastic. It's a transforming robot that becomes some kind of car/sled vehicle with a pilot. The pieces come off to form a super armored robot. It's incredibly cool. More importantly I was reminded how fun it is to actually play with a toy. I'm embarassed to say I don't really play with my toys all that much. I pose them for a bit and display them, but rarely do I really play with them. Reason being it's too much hassle. When you have something like this MegaHouse Ride Armor that takes 10 minutes to transform from motorcycle to Cyclone and is a pain in the ass in the process, it's not that much fun. It's almost work.
But with this simple, beautiful, well engineered toy, I had fun switching back and forth from one mode to the other. The parts are solid and fit well together. It's got a nice heft to it. No small loose parts to take on and off during the transformation. It' an elegant toy that actually fun to transform and play with. It also doesn't come with 40 extra parts and hands and stuff. I gotta tell ya that a few Fix Figuration toys will make you not even want to open the box cause there is just too much shit to unpack and deal with.
Ironically it was the MegaHouse Ride Armor that I traded for this particular Armored Police Toy! I think these Die-Cast guys have something here. I may have to turn back the clock and see if there are some interesting, vintage die-cast toys I should be collecting! Thanks guys for the hospitality, education and wonderful trades. Should you ever want to collect Japanese Vinyl toys, I've got your back.
