Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Ed Roth’s Rat Fink (and friends)

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Weeks ago (April 12 to be exact), I made my way down to Athens, Georgia for the annual “mini-comic and zine explosion” known as Fluke. It’s a fun little show hosted at a small bar downtown called Tasty World. At its core, Fluke is a small gathering of people that are passionate about comics, art and the like. I try to make my way down there every year with my buddies from Wide Awake Press, and this year was just the same. After a quick look around the bar and some good (and bad) comics one can get bored easily.

Luckily, just a couple of blocks away lies a store full of comics, toys and all kinds of quirky goodies (junk) you can imagine. The place is Bizarro Wuxtry, and it’s always a joy to visit, because you’ll always find something odd to capture your interest. Whether it’s classic horror comics, cool new toys or some old ALF bubble gum cards, you’ll always discover something new (even if it looks like the piles of junk are untouched year after year). And of course, the most iconic part of the store is its owner, Devlin, in his trademark Bizarro t-shirt.

Bizarro Wuxtry Bizarro Wuxtry

Bizarro Wuxtry

Bizarro Wuxtry

Bizarro Wuxtry
Bizarro Wuxtry store photos courtesy of Taylor Vandiver (thanks Taylor).

I dropped in and looked around as always. Climbing over piles, delicately moving between shelves and cabinets doing my best not to knock anything over. I didn’t see much of anything that I cared to get (or didn’t already have) when out of nowhere stood this shrink-wrapped stack of Rat Fink toys. They looked liked they’d been sitting there for ages. The packaging looked stained and bleached (probably because it was set up near a window).

The toys are a series of Rat Fink figures based on the infamous characters and illustrations by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. These things were made in 2000 by Japanese toymaker, Planet Toys (the same folks that brought you that Zowroku toy). So, I’m not even sure if these things were widely available in the U.S.

Here’s a look at the toy packaging.

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Rat Fink by Planet Toys Rat Fink by Planet Toys Surf Fink by Planet Toys Surf Fink by Planet Toys
Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Beast by Planet Toys Beast by Planet Toys

Luckily, as you can see, the sun bleaching and stuff had no effect on the toys. They look as good as new.

Rat Fink
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Rat Fink by Planet Toys Rat Fink by Planet Toys Rat Fink by Planet Toys

It’s Rat Fink. What else can I say (well, he kind of looks like a really screwed-up version of Mickey Mouse)? He comes with a bouquet of flowers and an interchangeable hand holding a brush. I’m not “in-touch” with the whole hot-rodding scene (or any automotive scene for that matter). I’m not quite sure what relevance these flowers have, but I do know the paint brush is for detailing his car.

Surf Fink
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Surf Fink by Planet Toys Rat Fink by Planet Toys Surf Fink by Planet Toys

This bug-eyed surfer-bum is fairly poseable, but what good is a poseable surfer if the surf board is stuck in his hand? My favorite part of this Surf Fink is probably his big, crinkly neck and back. It also looks like he suffers from a really bad skin condition. Gross.

Oh, and the back of his shirt reads “Surf-Fink San.”

Crazy Girl
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Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Crazy Girl by Planet Toys
(I tried to put her hand on her hip as shown on the package, but I felt like I was gonna break it.)

Imagine being served by this ugly-ass waitress. Complete with bulging, bloodshot eyes, snaggly teeth, grey skin and stitched scars. Crazy Girl (shouldn’t that be “Waitress Fink”?) is dressed in the classic diner waitress uniform which is great, but she’s wearing rollerblades which feels a bit out of character and out of time. She also comes with a tray with interchangeable items. She can serve you a hamburger, hot dog and a drink or the ever-popular 8-ball burger.

Her hat reads “Crazy Girl,” and the back of her shirt reads “Harvey’s.”

Beast
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Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Crazy Girl by Planet Toys Crazy Girl by Planet Toys

This guy is probably my favorite of the bunch. He’s just a total freak. He has a gnarly mouth full of teeth… and five tongues… covered in blood. That’s pretty good on its own, but combine that with blue skin and the four long eye balls hanging out of his eye sockets and you’ve really got something. He’s also got the awesome ability to rear his head back and open his huge mouth.

It looks like he’s just wearing a regular ol’ tank top, shorts sandals and a big iron cross, and the back of his shirt reads “Irresistible Beast.”

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Rat

If you’ll notice the toy packaging pictured earlier, each toy is marked with a sticker designating a “Special Figure Included.” Well, behind the “8″ in the faux 8-ball on the card there’s a mystery figure. This got me psyched, because I was imagining even more cool little creatures inside those little bubbles.

Well, it turns out, they’re not that great. Sure, this little winged eyeball creature is cool and all, but to get the same damned one with each toy is disappointing. Why not do a unique toy with each character? There was only one difference with the toys – Rat Fink’s little character was yellow. Pretty crappy huh?

I’m not sure what this creature is or what its relevance to Rat Fink characters are. Anyone have any insight?

Gama-Go’s Deathbot by Tim Biskup

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Deathbot
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Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi

He wants to kill. He loves to kill. He’s programmed to kill. He has “kill” written all over him (on his chest anyway)!

Tim Biskup's Deathbot

Deathbot is a fellow you can find (along with several other recurring characters) on Gama-Go.com – a site dedicated to the art and design of illustrator, Tim Biskup.

This wooden Deathbot toy is available through the Gama-Go site, and the toy was produced and also sold by Ningyoushi.com. It’s a pretty cool, simplistic wooden toy with limited poseability (his arms, legs and neck are made up of wooden rings threaded with metal wires).

Okay, Deathbot’s a killer. I get that, but what happens when you pin him against a virtually identical, heartless, robotic killer in a battle of the Deathbots? That’s right! There’s an even more “rare” wooden Deathbot, and this guy means business.

Deathbot (Suit Version) – limited to 400
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Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi

Who will be more “death-y?”
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Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi

Will it be the the primal, nude, intensely-colored, original red Deathbot we all know and love? Or will it be the subdued, cold, calculating and sophisticated black suit Deathbot?

(Click to enlarge)
Gama-Go Deathbot Wooden Toy by Tim Biskup and  Ningyoushi

You be the judge.

Note: the toy’s arms, legs and neck come packaged super-stiff. They will not pose like the pics shown on the site. The only way I managed to loosen the pieces for added poseability is by unscrewing each appendage slightly, giving enough space between each wood ring to allow the metal wire to bend. Good luck.

Info Update:

During this photoshoot, i was posing my Deathbots (very delicately mind you) and the metal in their arms snapped. Both of them. It was very disheartening that they had immediately become expensive pieces of trash. I contacted Ningyoushi via their website and explained my troubles. Within a day, I received a message stating they’d happily repair my Deathbot toys. I was just asked to send the broken ones in for repair. Yippee! It is always great to interact with a company that stands behind their products and will put themselves in the shoes of the customers.

I’m a guy with two nearly-irreplaceable wooden toys, and I’ve been given the chance to get them repaired instead of spending even more money on buying new ones. Thanks Ningyoushi for understanding and not milking me for all I’m worth.

Info Update Again:

Good news! I received my Deathbots in the mail today. They’re back and as good as new. Maybe I should try not to pose them so much this time around. Thanks Ningyoushi for the quick repair service.

For the Love of Dunny

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Here we have the little Dunnys by Kidrobot. I’m sure you all have seen these small, designer bunny toys. They’re figures made of soft, smooth vinyl, and they’ve been around since 2004.

The various Dunny Series are wildly diverse, visually interesting and even somewhat entertaining. The toyline consists of blind-packed (you have no idea what you’re gonna get) toys designed by various guest artists such as Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Shepard Fairey and Frank Kozik just to name a few.

GINGERMAN (Chase) by Kronk
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Kidrobot - Gingerbread Chase - Kronk Kidrobot - Gingerbread Chase - Kronk

SERIES 4 (Chase) by Shane Jessup
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Kidrobot - Dunny Series 4 - Shane Jessup Kidrobot - Dunny Series 4 - Shane Jessup

SERIES 4 by Jon Burgerman
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Kidrobot - Dunny Series 4 - Shane Jessup Kidrobot - Dunny Series 4 - Shane Jessup

2 FACE SERIES 2 by David Horvath
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Kidrobot - Dunny 2 Face Series 2 - David Horvath Kidrobot - Dunny 2 Face Series 2 - David Horvath

SERIES 3 by Mishka
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Kidrobot - Dunny Series 3 - Mishka Kidrobot - Dunny Series 3 - Mishka

SERIES 3 by Alex Pardee
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Kidrobot - Dunny Series 3 - Alex Pardee Kidrobot - Dunny Series 3 - Alex Pardee

As with a lot of blind-packed toys, These toys are limited edition, so once they’re sold, they’re gone. I’m sure Kidrobot’s intent is to combine the addictive thrill of gambling with the obsessive compulsion of completing a “limited edition” collection. I feel sorry for the completists out there. Not only will it be costly obtaining the whole Dunny collection, but being stuck with all the extras you don’t want has to be annoying. I guess eBay could be your ticket out.

Hell, even I’ve picked up a handful of these at a time hoping to get some cool rare ones. Luckily for me, I haven’t been totally seduced by them. I have some good ones and bad ones, but here’s a look at some of my favorites that I’ve picked up over the past couple of years. According to Kid Robot’s Dunny Checklist a couple of these are chase figures. Wowee! They could be worth hundreds (of cents most likely).

Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Thanks to my buddy, Chris, I got word that FAO Schwarz wants you to make your own weirdo toys… straight from your children’s heads using the Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit.

They’ve partnered with the North American Bear Co. to bring you some of the most primitively cool custom dolls you’ve ever seen.

Here are a few brought to you by the children of the NAB staff:

Claws Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Claws

Oliver Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Oliver

Sharky Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Sharky

Solarbeam Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Solarbeam

Superhero Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Supperhero

Yucky Monster
FAO Schwarz Make-Your-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit - Yucky

It’ll cost ya 250 smackaroos, but the good part is a portion of sales will be donated to Global Action for Children.

Gus Fink’s Boogily Heads

Monday, October 15th, 2007

Over the weekend, I made a road trip with some of my buddies to Bethesda, Maryland to partake in our annual adventure known as SPX. It’s the “Small Press Expo” and is typically filled with independent publishers, artists, writers, etc., but this year I came across something rather surprising. There was a guy selling toys. His name is Gus Fink and he’d achieved the honor of getting his artwork re-interpreted as a new toyline (created by Rocket USA) called “Boogily Heads.”

Described as an “art toy with booble action,” these little guys are replicas of original sculptures created by Gus Fink. They all look like unique, hand-painted sculptures. The quirky, weird, hand-made style of the bobble heads fits perfectly in the do-it-yourself spirit of SPX.

I fell in love with these little toys at first sight.

Here’s a look at Series 1:

Skygor
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Skygor

Marshmello (limited edition version)
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Marshmello

Milq
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Milq

Oinks
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Oinks height=

Pinko
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Pinko

Derf
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 1 - Derf

And here’s Series 2:

Skullgnome
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Skullgnome

Cricker
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Cricker

Kitix
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Kitix

Cheezor
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Cheezor

Squiggie
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Squigie

Paperbag
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Gus Fink's Boogily Heads - series 2 - Paperbag

They all come packaged with a little mini-comic/poster drawn by Fink too. The drawings didn’t make nearly as good an impression on me as the toys did. I think his future is more in toy making and less in comics or illustration.