Tomenosuke

Stingy Jack: An Anatomy, Part II

Previously on Stingy Jack, An Anatomy: Brandt Peters and Tomenosuke-syoten’s Shinji Nakako join forces and found an ambitious new designer toy project: Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke sofubi. This particular blog series follows the production of Brandt’s Stingy Jack, the first of an entire line of sofubi figures from different Circus artists. Part I saw Stingy go from resin prototype to mods to re-sculpting for sofubi format. Now: we head to Obitsu, a long-established Japanese plastics manufacturer, where Stingy prepares to be cloned. ***

Following Stingy’s sofubi facelift, the master sculpt is taken to Obitsu to determine how many molds it will require. With all of his accessories and details, Stingy is considered a fairly complex sculpt by sofubi standards, with seven separate parts (hat, head, torso, two hands, two feet). It’s determined that he’ll require a total of five molds, as illustrated by the colour-coding in the image above.

For molding purposes, the master sculpt is re-cast in wax, which is then used to create the metal molds.

And heeeeeeeere’s Stingy! I mean, can you get more metal?! With these molds, Obitsu casts the first test-pulls. As you can see, the body parts are made slightly longer than necessary to account for the flashing (i.e. cone-like ‘leftovers’ which make it easier to pull the pieces out of the mold).

Now, let us all hold hands and watch Stingy be birthed. It’s actually quite an interesting process:

1) The vinyl is poured into the mold.

2) The mold is then put into a large drum where it’s spun (the number of times a figure is spun is in direct correlation with the thickness of the vinyl).

3) The mold is then briefly dropped into a chemical bath, drained and cooled.

4) The sculpt is then plucked from the mold and set aside.

5) This is repeated with every part of the figure.

Up next: we cut some flash, assemble some Stingies and start planning the figure’s first colorway! (My kind of party!)

[via the Tomeno blog]

Stingy Jack: An Anatomy, Part I

Shortly after production began on Brandt Peters’ Stingy Jack sofubi, Shinji Nakako of Tomenosuke-syoten has been diligently chronicling the figure’s production process from start to finish. The idea of CP sofubi was first sparked last year and since then, we’ve all eagerly watched this jester-like Jack-o’-lantern come to life, one sketch, WIP shot and prototype at a time.

But now, for the first time, experience the process from a completely behind-the-scenes perspective; the digital models, the revisions, the wax models and pantones … a glimpse at just how much goes into creating the toys we covet.

This is the first instalment of Shinji’s ‘Making of Sofubi Stingy’ series, with many more to come. Enjoy!

Read More »Stingy Jack: An Anatomy, Part I

First Peek: KO’s Calliope Jackalope … in Vinyl!

Speaking of projects that I’m genuinely excited about: Kathie shared some snaps of the first vinyl test pull of her Calliope Jackalope via Instagram yesterday. This thing is looking seriously beautiful, especially given the complexity of the sculpt by sofubi standards. The figure is comprised of 8 interlocking pieces, some of which can be switched out … like this!:

Errrrmahgerd, mash up madness! Just wait till there’s a whole series of CP sofubi figures with body parts you can switch out … it’s a toytastic acid trip just begging to be happen. Seriously, could you imagine the trading parties?! What if there were unique chase pieces/custom pieces or booster packs you could buy? Would y’all be down?! There are so many exciting possibilities with this project … can’t wait to see where it goes!

More info on Calliope as soon as she’s through test painting — as for Brandt’s Stingy Jack, I actually have an interesting piece of (semi-related) news on him, so stick around!

CP Sofubi: Stingy’s Comin’ Along …

Brandt Peters’ sofubi Stingy Jack inches ever nearer to completion from the looks of these new snaps showing off the mischief makers’ first colourway: a regal transparent purple. The figure is still undergoing some tweaks (gloves and eyes will be brighter, a fade will be added to the body), but we now have a general idea of what to look forward to. A release date will be set once these adjustments are made, which should be very soon!

 

CP Sofubi: Kathie’s Calliope Jackalope Finished in Wax

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The CP x Tomenosuke sofubi vinyl project continues to blaze along with an update from Shinji that Kathie Olivas‘ Calliope Jackalope is now finished in wax and will be moving into the molding phase!

For those unfamiliar with the process, the cone-like extremities on each of the figure’s parts is flashing, which is used help extract the figure from the mold. It’s then cut away when the figure is assembled. As you can see, the Jackalope is a more complex sofubi figure as it comes in multiple parts: head, body, legs, ears, hat and tail.

To get a sense of what’s next, check out this video from Andy of Kaiju Korner. He recently had the opportunity to visit a small sofubi production house in Tokyo. Prepare for the chemical bath, dear Calliope!

BP x FERG Trouble Boy No. 7 [Drifter] to Drop June 16th!

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It’s official: the boys have touched down in Japan and Shinji at Tomenosuke has announced that Trouble Boy No.7 [Drifter] is releasing at MIDNIGHT Japan Time on June 16th for $150 USD. Given that this is a retailer release, shipping is likely extra. The edition is limited to 150 so prepare yourself for an Olympian-level race, folks!

Also: be sure to check a time zone calculator to determine the release time for your region. I’ve linked one here.

CP Sofubi: Stingy Jack Goes Into Production!

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*Sniff* *sniff* … ahhh … you smell that? That, my friends, is the scent of sweet, sweet sofubi vinyl going into production. Following his big first reveal during the Monsters & Misfits Japan tour last month, Brandt Peters’ devilish Stingy Jack (in collaboration with Tomenosuke-syoten) has since been improved in a couple of areas, making the toy thicker and better supported. Level up, baby … this little mischief maker is hitting the conveyer catwalk looking better than ever.

The first colorway is anticipated to drop at the end of June (fingers crossed). We’ll drop a sneak or two closer to the date.

In other news: Kathie Olivas’ Callipe Jackalope is just about finished in wax and is on its way to molds. We’ll keep y’all in the loop on that project as it develops as well. So much goodness in the works right now! *Asplodes*

For those new to all this awesome, Circus Posterus’ sofubi vinyl is a brand-spankin’-new collaborative project in conjunction with Japan’s Tomenosuke-syoten. Three figures in this series have been revealed thus far: Brandt’s Stingy Jack, Kathie’s Calliope Jackalope and Chris Ryniak’s Stinky Ginger. The figures are slated for release throughout 2012, with Stingy Jack making the first exit around end-June(ish). Since it’s a collab project, the editions will be shared between CP and Tomenosuke, with each party receiving half. In other words, these will be limited, there will be chaos and you’ll feel freaking INVINCIBLE when you score one after stumbling with anxious fingers and a pounding heart. Welcome to the league of F5.

Stick around, folks — things are just starting to heat up!!

 

BP x FERG Trouble Boy No. 7 [Drifter]: A Brief History

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Some interesting history about [Drifter] and the Yakuza from Shinji at Tomenosuke-syoten. Trouble Boy No. 7 is slated for release mid-June.

At the preparatory stage of the Trouble Boy #7 DRIFTER, I talked about the symbol accessories of the Yakuza with Brandt Peters. One of them was “tanto knife” that comes along with the Mac11. However, some of the ideas were finally omitted. One example was a badge which was drawn on the concept art of Brandt’s. I sent him a picture of real badges which is famous as a symbol of Japanese syndicates; however, I told him that our design should not be associated with the real one. Finally the idea was not adopted, so honestly I was a little bit relieved. It was just like ”Better safe than sorry.”
On the other hand, Brandt had a tattoo idea from the early stage. The special point of the Trouble Boy this time is the hidden tattoo covering the whole body under the clothes presented by so-called Brandt’s specialty touch. The above image is the first tattoo layout sent from Brandt on July 7, 2011.

[via the Tomeno blog]

Brandt Peters x FERG No. 7 [Drifter] Shipping End of May

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The second flyer for Brandt Peters x FERG’s next Trouble Boy has been revealed which can only mean one thing: a release date! Tomenosuke’s toy wrangler, Shinji Nakako, has just announced that production on No. 7 [DRIFTER] is wrapping up around May 25th and will be shipping to Japan immediately after. So we’re looking at a mid-June exit.

… Be still, my trigger finger.

More details to come closer to the release date. In the meantime, enjoy the BP sketch that started it all, and a lovely snap of the sweet, cold hardware that No. 7 will be packing (the suppressor is removable!). Pew pew, mthrfckr!!!

Coming Soon to Tomenosuke: Brandt Peters x FERG Trouble Boy No.7 [Drifter]

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In anticipation of the forthcoming release of the next Trouble Boy Squadt, FERG has revealed a slick new teaser of the only Squadt whose origins lie in the land of the rising sun: the Yakuza-inspired No. 7 [Drifter]. It’s also been confirmed that this installment of the barnburner collab between FERG and Brandt Peters is an exclusive to Tomenosuke-syoten.

Release info will be announced as soon as FERG nails down a date with Shinji … keep it locked!