MAN-E-NEWS// The ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ 5″ Foomi custom from Jon Paul Kaiser…

Continuing the jolly theme of last weeks smiling ‘Budha’ Munny, Jon Paul Kaiser is proud to reveal his third oriental inspired custom of late, the Totoro 5″ Foomi. Based on the much loved Studio Ghibli character, the unorthodox choice of platform had really pulled off, giving the round raccoon-like face and ears of Totoro’s ‘O’ form the space it needs to breathe. We love that Jon’s been experimenting with different subject matters recently, and although he will always be known for his darker works, it’s great to see his style translate to a wider audience. Anyone interested in commissioning a private piece from Jon should contact him through his site here.

MAN-E-NEWS// Custom Monsters from Cometdebris x Grody Shogun…

Tokyo based artist Koji Harmon aka Cometdebris has just revealed his latest custom project, featuring blind-bagged Monsters from Grody Shogun. Hand sprayed and brushed by the artist, the collection of weird and wonderful sofubi will be available to purchase from the Cometdebris’ store soon. Be sure to follow his twitter feed for updates on availability and pricing in the coming days…

Cometdebris x Grody Shogun Monsters! All unique, all hand painted, and all grody!

MAN-E-NEWS// WIP Squonk resin figure from Motorbot…

Master caster Motorbot has recently revealed some work in progress shots of his latest resin creature, the Squonk. Standing at around 3.5″ tall, the initial run of figures are set to drop on the Deadbear Studio store late next week, coming in a limited marbled resin run.

Motorbot is still putting the final touches to the figure (he’s currently working on a set of arms for the little dude), so drop by later this week for the full reveal…

MAN-E-NEWS// The Ice Scream Man from Brutherford Industries…

Featured here last month, Brutherford Industries‘ Ice Scream Man has finally been made available to the general public. Coming in Strawberry (limited to 125 pieces) and Vanilla (open edition), the beautifully finished roto cast vinyl figures have been priced at $75 and $50 respectively. Packaged in a hand made box designed by Tamara Petrosino and screen printed by Kelly Brutherford, the pieces are available to purchase in the Brutherford store now. No news as of yet regarding the other previously mentioned flavours or cone variants, but we’ll bring you more news as soon as it hits…

To celebrate the launch of the Ice Scream Man, Brutherford Industries have also released a 12″x15″ print of the character, once again designed by Tamara Petrosino. The piece is available in the shop now for $30 plus shipping.

 

MAN-E-NEWS// Bitsumo Lunar New Year Edition from Dai Tran…

Dai Tran over at Rawrs has just revealed the latest addition to the highly popular Bitsmo line, the Lunar New Year edition. Coming in a deep red resin with grey hand-tied mawashi, the 4.5″ tall hand cast figure features 7 points of articulation. Available to pre-order exclusively through the Rawrs store, Bitsmo has been priced at $65 plus shipping.

Bitsmo Lunar New Year edition is expected to start shipping from February 20th...

 

MAN-E-NEWS// Bruce Lee’s Temple of Kung Fu by MAD x Round 5…

UFC toy makers Round 5 have recently revealed their first ever Bruce Lee collaboration with legendary toy designer Jeremy MadL, in the form of the ‘Temple of Kung Fu’ mini figure series. Marking the first of several collaborative projects lined up by Round 5 based on the iconic martial artist, the first batch of 3″ ‘Temple of Kung Fu’ figures will come blind box with a whopping 28 different designs to collect.

Expected to drop this summer, anyone interested in getting a preview of the figures should head over to the New York Toy Fair (February 12th-15th), where the line will be available to view in full at booth #4517…

So over the past year I’ve been working on an amazing collaboration with Round5 and Bruce Lee Enterprises. It’s dropping in August of this year and to build up for the release Round5 shot 3 video’s about me, Bruce, and the process we went through in the development of this line of collectibles.  This video is the first of the 3.

-MAD

MAN-E-NEWS// The Glitter Waniphants from Rampage Toys x Hints and Spices…

Jon over at Rampage Toys shows no signs of letting up with the amazing Friday drops we’ve seen recently, so it came with no surprise to see the reveal of his Glitter Waniphants yesterday. Limited to an edition of 5, the clear glitter vinyl sofubi was created by Shane Haddy of Hints and Spices, and then expertly painted by Jon himself.

The figures will be available on the Rampage Toys store from 9am (Japan time) for an undisclosed price. Jon has hinted that this is just a teaser of an upcoming project with Haddy, so be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks as we find out more…

MAN-E-NEWS// Dropping Jaw resin figure from 11 year old JAMS…

The art toy scene saw the arrival of its youngest contributor this week, with 11 year old (!) Jacob Sieglbaum aka JAMS releasing his very first figure in the form of “Dropping Jaw”. Coming in an initial clear blue colourway, the 2.5″ hand cast resin figure will be available to purchase exclusively through Tenacious Toys for a pocket friendly $15 plus shipping. The young prodigy has stated that this will be the first of many editions planned for the toy, so watch this space for more info in the coming months…

MAN-E-NEWS// Shin and Nao Love Bears from Maqet…

Still can’t find that elusive Valentines gift for the toy crazed geek you share your bed with at night?! Well look no further, because Maqet are here to save the day!

Recently revealed on their site, the Shin and Nao Love Bears stand at around 4″ tall, are cast in Maqet’s Eco-friendly plastin material, and come with a wide variety of customising choices- so if the paint scheme isn’t to your liking, or you wan’t to change the platform figure all together, you can for as little as $20 plus shipping (pictured Love Bears are priced at $30). Head over to the site now to get your order in for a guaranteed February 14th delivery…

MAN-E-NEWS// The Ivory Warrior Skullendario Azteca 8″ Dunny from Huck Gee x The Beast Brothers…

Two of the scene’s biggest heavyweights, the mighty Beast Brothers and Huck Gee, have finally revealed their long awaited collaboration, the 8″ Ivory Warrior Skullendario Azteca custom Dunny series. Hand sculpt and painted by the artists themselves, the ultimate Shogun/Aztec mash-ups come signed and numbered, adorned with red Swarovski crystals, a custom flag, and a laser etched wooden box…

Now here comes the good news- on sale for 24 hours starting Saturday, February 8th (exclusively on the Beast Brothers store), the hand crafted figures are going to be releasing for just $475 each- that’s only just over half the price of a standard Huck custom! These are going to vanish quick…

From the hilltop overlooking the expansive Jungle comes the leader of the Ivory Azteca Warriors. Carved out of prehistoric mammoth tusk, adorned with ancient rubies and raising the tribes flag high.

MAN-E-NEWS// The Valentines Pink Robotones from Cris Rose…

Tonight (February 7th) sees the launch of the second figure in Cris Rose’s Robotone series, with this month’s addition coming in the form of Valentines Pink. Available in either Reynold or Rourke ‘Sprog’ designs, the 3″ hand cast resin robots come bagged and headed. Available from 6pm GMT over at Cris’ store for $25 plus shipping, the Valentines Pink Sprogs will only be around throughout February (or when stock runs out), so be sure to head over to the store soon to guarantee yours… And remember, if you manage to secure all 12 in either design throughout the year, Cris will send you the exclusive 13th edition for free!

Robotone releases are not a replacement for standard hand painted and rusted Editions of Sprogs, those are still ongoing as usual, they’re more of a monthly extra for those who like bright colours or require a more wallet-friendly robot in these trying economic times 🙂 Also, they’re for me! I just love solid blocks of colour!

The Lunabee Valentines Sprog custom

Anyone subscribed to Lunabee’s newsletter would have also been privy to another awesome piece of Sprog related news this week- the reveal of the artist’s latest one-off Sprog custom! Created to coincide with the launch of the Lunabee x Cris Rose Robobees series 3 this week, the custom Valentine Sprog is set to be given away as a prize in Lunabee’s latest giveaway- all you have to do to be in with a chance is reply to the newsletter (subscribe now!) with the specific subject header she mentions in it. The winner will be picked at random on February 14th, with the winner notified by e-mail and announced on Lunabee’s twitter feed.

MAN-E-REVEAL// The MOTU [ALT] ETERNIA custom series from Adam Pratt x MAN-E-TOYS…

We mentioned at the weekend that we would be announcing a massive new custom project from artist Adam Pratt (featuring a little helping hand from MAN-E-TOYS!), so without further ado, we pass you over to the man himself to explain a little more about what to expect in the coming months.

To all you MOTU and He-Man fans, this one’s for you….

I had decided about a week or so ago (and after some prompting from some of my fans) to tackle the Masters of the Universe line. I have done the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, but I didn’t have any aim or direction, just kind of doing the ones I like. After thinking about the He Man back story, and the really rich environment, I decided to go ahead and dabble in the canon a bit…

Alt Eternia is a world similar to Marvel Comics “What If?”- What if Man-E-Faces never turned from evil to good? What if He-Man was from the Vine Jungle and were a tribal warrior? I thought it would make a cool basis for some customs, and a neat story for people to follow.

I know the lineup so far will be Man-E-Faces, He-Man, Man at Arms, Mer-Man, Skeletor, Fisto, Trap Jaw, Zodiac, and Beast Man. I am going to also include Battle Cat and even Castle Greyskull in my custom repaints. That lineup might change, but I want to stay with those characters. Some of the figures from the 80’s line aren’t a good fit for customization due to the way the toys gimmick works, or the material they are made out of- That being said, it would be cool to re-fur Grizzlor into an arctic version of himself…hmm…

So this Man-E-Faces (pictured) was a working prototype. I had a little difficulty getting the figure prepped for customization, but from here on in I’m confident I have disassembly and reassembly of the Masters of the Universe figures down to a fine art…

Now this is where we come in… Adam has given us the honor of designing header and stat cards for each of the customs, with the first coming in the  form of the aforementioned  ‘Ever Evil’ Man-E-Faces. Taking inspiration from the classic trading cards of our miss-spent youth, the one-off designs will help to explain a little more about the various characters’ alter egos, whilst proving the perfect nostalgic companion to Adam’s awesome customs.

We’ll be following the project to completion, so stay tuned for exclusive reveals of the [Alt] Eternia cast (plus stat cards!) over the coming months here at MAN-E-TOYS…

MAN-E-NEWS// ‘Lord On Board’ custom resin figure from Abell Octovan…

‘Lord On Board’ is the latest custom toy creation from Indonesian toy maker, Abell Octovan. Standing at around 8″ tall, the self-made resin figure re-imagines the one and only Dark Lord as a skateboarding punk, replete with golden helmet, sneakers and deck, beautifully off set by solid black low slung shorts and open shirt. Unfortunately the initial gold/black colourway sold out within a matter of minutes on Octovan’s site (the toy was limited to an edition of 2), but word has it that more should drop in the coming months- stay tuned for more info…

MAN-E-NEWS// The Pretty Boi ‘Bio Morph’ resin toy from ESC Toy x Tomenosuke…

The ever busy Erick Scarecrow revealed yet another Tomenosuke exclusive this week, in the form of the ‘Pretty Boi’ Bio Morph edition. Limited to just 5 figures, the signed and numbered hand cast resin figures should be available to purchase through the ESC Toy shop some time this week. Co-designed by Yagi, each lucky collector who manages to score the piece will be rewarded with an 8″x10″ print from the artist himself. Keep following the ESC Toy twitter feed over the coming days for further updates…

 

MAN-E-NEWS// Plaseebo’s custom Garamon for the Garamaniacal custom show @FOE Gallery…

With the ‘Gagamaniacal’ custom show opening at the FOE Gallery this Friday (February 10th), we decided to take a quick look at Bob Conge’s (aka Plaseebo) contribution, the mighty Garamon and Skulloctopus From Outer Space. Standing at 14″ tall, the glow in the dark vinyl toy comes with internal colour changing LEDs that are controlled via a ‘rock’ switch in the back of the head. Available to purchase at the show, pricing on the one-off figure is still to be confirmed, so be sure to keep checking over at the FOE site for further updates…

Garamaniacal Press-

February 10-March 4. Opening reception Friday, February 10 6-9pm.

Co-owner Jim Shea teams up with Michael Nordstrom of Garamania to curate GARAMANIACAL, an homage to the clunky, crusty, fish-lipped, oil-belching, high-rise-wrecking meteorite monster Garamon and his “recycled” alter ego, the friendly and excitable Pygmon.  GARAMANIACAL will look at kaiju culture through the lens of these two iconic creatures, presenting information on the characters, the TV shows on which they first appeared, and the visionary artists who created them.  As well, the gallery will be filled with an amazing assortment of contemporary art and toys inspired by Garamon and Pygmon

Artists include:

Astromonster/Alex Wald, Bill Nordstrom, PLASEEBO/Bob Conge,  Bob Eggleton, CUPCO/Luke Temby, Dave Dopko, Gargamel, Greasebat/Jeff Lamm, Grody Shogun/Luke Rook, hellopike/Phil Staszkiw, Isabel Samaras, Jason Edmiston, Jim Groman, Josh Herbolsheimer,Cometdebris/Koji Harmon, hi guys!/Lauren Stutzman, Leecifer/Lee Gadja, Mark Dabelstein, Mark Nagata, Matt Sesow, Miles Nielsen,Monster Worship, Mutant Vinyl Hardcore/Rich Montanari Jr. , Paddy Charles, Paul Kaiju, Jacquelyn Heloise, Prometheum5/Ben Mininberg,Ralph Cosentino, Robert DeCastro, Steve Seeley, Gorilla Mouth/Troy Stith, zapatoloco/Benoit Robitaille, Brian Mahony/Guumon, Walter Parenton, Toybot Studios/Kirkland Jue, Michael Skattum, Rob Kimmel, Chauskoskis/Walter Jacott, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Street Grapes,Michael Tonn, Mike Ridge and more.

Coloring Contest

FOE and Garamania both feel strongly about community engagement.  So as part of this show we’ll be running an event to raise money forMSPCC.  MSPCC has an office in Holyoke and offers direct services to more than 4,700 children and their families in communities throughout Western Massachusetts each year.  Have fun, get entered in a drawing for awesome toys, and support a great organization.  Go to Garamaniafor full details and Down Load an Entry!

MAN-E-NEWS// The Valentine Zukies from Alison Perez…

With last week’s Autumn Zukies barely having enough time to acclimatise to the harsh temperatures outside, New York based artist Alison Perez has revealed yet another (slightly more seasonal!) one-off toy project, this time in the form of the adorable Valentine Zukies. Limited to an edition of only 2, the Valentine Zukies are available in yellow or baby blue, come housed in Alison’s now trademark 3″x3″x3″ protective display case (plus heart balloon accessory), and can be purchased exclusively through Alison’s store now for $60 each plus shipping…

MAN-E-NEWS// Custom Multiskulls from Monsterforge…

After only just surviving the war that was fought on Friday night to secure the last remaining MS artist proofs, Monsterforge is gearing up for yet another OMFG! drop this Monday with the release of 25 custom Multiskulls. Available at 9pm EST (February 6th) from the Monsterforge shop, each figure has been hand painted and sealed with polyurethane protective finish by the artist himself. Coming blind-bagged (no 2 are alike!), each figure will arrive signed and numbered with limited edition micro-print.

MAN-E-NEWS// Joe Ledbetter’s Mutant Bunnies #11-15 revealed…

The latest additions to Joe Ledbetter‘s elusive Mutant Bunny series have just been revealed, and unfortunately for all those money strapped collectors out there, these are the best designs yet! Standing at a whopping 12″ tall, the latest batch of hand painted one-off resin figures come in the form of “Leopard”, “Pirate”, “Yosupsup”, “Zombie”, and “Space Mutant”. Priced at $1,500 each, the beautiful figures will be dropping on Ledbetter’s shop some time soon- Can’t afford these ones? Well there’s another 25 planned for the series, so start saving now!

MAN-E-NEWS// Karoushi from Grody Shogun & Velocitron: Works available online NOW…

Karoushi, the latest show from the warped minds of Grody Shogun and Velocitron, has finally been made available for online consumption. Opening on Friday (February 3rd) at the Toy Art Gallery, a huge amount of the toys on show sold in a matter of minutes, but luckily for us TAG have held some back, with the remaining pieces available on their store right now. Anyone interested in bagging some seriously creeped out vinyl should head over there quick, supply is getting low already…

MAN-E-NEWS// Tuttz mini series 7: Valentines Day Hunt from Argonaut Resins…

Argonaut Resins have just revealed their 11th designer resin release in the form of the Tuttz mini series 7: Valentines Day Hunt. Limited to an edition of 50, the latest batch of Tuttz are available in 3 seasonaly inspired colours; hot pink, deep purple, and rose red. Each 3.5″ hand cast figure comes signed and numbered, with a mini story card and custom box from creator/designer Eric Nocella Diaz. Priced at $40 each plus shipping, the Valentine Tuttz will be released in batches of 5 across the next 2 weeks, exclusively on the Argonaut Resins’ shop.

Who is Tuttz…? 
The Egyptian King Tutankhamun had a favorite cat entombed with him on the day of his demise. Unbeknownst to the world was that this particular cat drank the King’s immortality elixir. Modern day archeologists were quite surprised to find a empty sarcophagus next to King Tut in the shape of a…cat. When the ancient hieroglyphics on this small sarcophagus were translated – the name inscribed was Tuttz…

Rumor has it King Tut named this cat after a pet chameleon he was given as a gift because it too could change colors.

Have you seen Tuttz…?