toys

A Murder of Misfits are Ready to Ship

We’ve got a new batch of Instagram goodness compliments of Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters at CP HQ. Looks like everything here is finished up and ready for shipping to Japan. That rabbit totem and bird cage Elizabeth really are something else. Everything here is, actually — mutation has always been a predominant theme for this exhibition but I’m particularly thrilled with all of hand-sculpted elements added to some of CP’s classics. Last year’s mash-ups where a hell of a trip and did incredibly well, but there’s something more fetching about a figure that’s evolved from a new batch of clay. For me, it better showcases an artist’s talents and where they’re at stylistically. It’s what I connect to personally — to each their own — and I’m loving what I’ve seen from all of the artists this year.

(The zombie reindeer and rabid Crumbeater are pretty freaky though, haha!)

Amanda Louise Spayd Wraps Up Monsters & Misfits II

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With the shipping deadline right around the corner, Amanda Louise Spayd is putting the finishing touches on her pieces for Monsters & Misfits II. After all the sewing, sculpting, painting and spraying, it’s just a matter of sticking cute little clay faces on cute little dumpy bodies. From what I’ve heard, she’ll have about 7 pieces at the show, ranging from her little sack dudes to Skelves to a custom Lizzie. Oh, and lots of candy. Sounds like a whole lot to squee over, I reckon!

Monsters & Misfits II opens April 13th and runs through the 26th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan. Amanda, Chris Ryniak, Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters will be in attendance.

Chris Ryniak’s ‘Dainty Nibbler’ Hams it up for the Camera

Just a disclaimer: this is my favorite sculpture ever from Chris Ryniak, so the paragraph to follow will be nothing more than me fighting to translate my drool into words. Even the twisted lollipop is freaking genius. We first met the Dainty Nibbler as a sketch back in December. Two months later, his dopey grin was the first of many sculpts for Monsters & Misfits II in Japan.

And now here he is in all his glory. The palette, the expression, the impeccable attention to detail, his gleaming eyes … I’m honestly beside myself, over here. The level of quality we’ve seen in this show is nothing short of awesome . And so as to not be rude, the guy in the background is also looking charming as ever as he gnaws away on his cantler. Forget swooning, I’ve damn well fallen over.

Monsters & Misfits II is a CP group exhibition featuring new works from CMR, Amanda Louise Spayd, Brandt Peters, Kathie Olivas and Doktor A. The show opens April 13th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan.

Friday Night Art Dorkin’ at CP HQ

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Looks like Kathie and Brandt are engagin’ in a bit of #FridayNightArtDorks action right now, as Kathie has just shared a batch of new WIP and teaser shots on Instagram for the upcoming Monsters & Misfits II exhibition in Japan. It’s coming down to crunch time for the artists as these need to start shipping soon to clear customs, so here’s hoping we get a few more juicy snaps in the coming days while things get packed up!

There are a lot of interesting pieces in this batch, most notably the crazy white rabbit Boo Skelve totem up above. This is such a freaking complex and exquisite piece, and given that KO’s rabbits rarely make an appearance in 3D form, this piece is bound to be a showstopper.

This one has me a bit curious. First: what the devil is it? Second: is this a custom or an original sculpt? At first glance it looks like a customized Stingy Jack head (esp. that nose), but now I’m not so sure. The legs are throwin’ me, here. Such a bizarre little fellow.

And here we have Brandt putting on his best artist-face-of-utter-concentration as he manhandles a Skelve’s head. Stare that Skelve into utter subservience, BP! That lout ought to be painting himself!

And what’s this? Boo seems to have gained a Lucky puppet friend. Aw. The little hood is cute — loving all the reinterpretations of Boo in this show (there are more — stay tuned!). Happy art dorkin’ all!

Monsters & Misfits II opens April 13th through the 26th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan.

Amanda Spayd’s Mint Chocolate Skelve for M&MII

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Soft sculptures and candies aside, it appears Ms. Amanda Louise is also bringing a Skelve with her on the trek to Japan!

First teased last July, the antique-laced, button-butted critter marked Mandi’s debut production Skelve and had fans chompin’ at the bit for a release date. Sadly, the edition met a tragic end due to manufacturing issues.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS! Some of her Skelves managed to escape from the factory and Amanda is customizing them for shows (yay!). With that said, say hello to Mint Chocolate, a one-off who’s part of Monsters & Misfits II! More will make their way out of the woodwork in good time.

And to the collectors who were amped about adding an ALS Skelve to the collection: fret not! She is releasing a new Skelve at some point this year … more on that soon!

Monsters, Misfits… and Zombies!

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Oh em gee. Kathie’s Instagram onslaught continues with some really sweet pieces for Monsters & Misfits II — we’ve got girls, we’ve got snakes, we’ve got … rotting reindeer? Fingers crossed the latter is a new edition, because who honestly wouldn’t love a zombie deer: Circus style. ;)

Monsters & Misfits II opens April 13th at the Kusakabe Folk Museum in Takayama, Japan.

FERG’s Fr0g S001 and K11 Spot [Swamp Dwllr] Set Drops March 5th

This Squadt’s ready to take to the sea! Hot on the heels of this week’s teasers comes a full monty of the Fr0g Squadt and his trusty aquatic sidekick Spot!

Limited to 200 pieces, Fr0g comes equipped with a wet suit, tanks, rubber flippers, spear gun, sMP5, tanto knife, 2.0 articulated and OG arms and a removable helmet. Spot includes wet suit with pouches (so freakin’ cute), rubber flippers and a removable helmet. FERG has brought his little dudes to a whole new plane … a superior piece of toy engineering, here, do NOT miss these! The duo will run you only $115 and that includes worldwide shipping. They release Monday, March 5th, at noon central via the Squadt store. More photos through the click!

Read More »FERG’s Fr0g S001 and K11 Spot [Swamp Dwllr] Set Drops March 5th

A Sneak Peek at the ‘Fr0g’ Squadt

Finally, something to show you! There’s been plenty of teasing for the past while in the restricted area of the CAD forum of FERG’s upcoming scuba squadt,‘Fr0g’. As you can see, this guy comes decked out in a wet suit and flippers, and brandishes a razor-sharp knife and harpoon gun. If memory serves, his flippers are removable, but don’t quote me on that.

Now obviously the missing puzzle piece here is the helmet, which is an all-new sculpt. Public pictures have yet to hit the web, but FERG did tweet this photo last week of (what looks like) the package design, which gives a pretty good idea of what this little bastard looks like. Insanely cool! More details to come — Fr0g is queued up as the next exit so we shouldn’t have long to wait.

FERG’s NKD Nozzel & QPMNT PACs 5 & 6

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FERG must be some sort of machine. Hot off the heels of his server-crippling TRIGGER exhibition with Brandt Peters last month, the release of NKD Nozzel, GERM S001 and now the FROZN WHOLE K11s from two weeks ago, the hustle continues. Just announced is the retailer version of NKD Nozzel and QPMNT PACs 5 & 6, all due out by late Jan/early Feb.

And these are seriously killer.

Dubbed [fr33dom club] and [Fort Burnout], QMPNT PACs 5 & 6 boast a whole whack of new gear including bags, hoodies, guns (duh), unique lenses and a sassy iron-on patch. Nozzel comes with the uber-cute butt-flap longjohns, tanto knife, lenses, 2.0 arms and removable helmet. Retailers have the choice of either bundling it all or selling the Squadt and PACs separately. QPMNT PAC snaps are posted below!

Read More »FERG’s NKD Nozzel & QPMNT PACs 5 & 6

A First Look at Brandt Peters’ Trouble Boy No. 7 ‘The Drifter’

FERG & Brandt Peters‘ TRIGGER exhibition unveiled a plethora of new toy goodness for us to anticipate in the coming months. To kick things off, we’ll start with Brandt’s newest Trouble Boy: No. 7 ‘The Drifter’.

Brandishing two boom sticks and a tanto knife, the black-clad, eye-patched Drifter is inspired by Japan’s Yakuza with the body tatt to prove it (bring on the striptease!). With that said … it probably comes of little surprise that this badass will be unleashed through Tomenosuke-Syoten sometime this year.

Pricing and edition size will be released closer to date of exit. Stay sharp!

Read More »A First Look at Brandt Peters’ Trouble Boy No. 7 ‘The Drifter’