So, a while back, I discovered a great website – HorribleLogos.com. (It is actually a great example of what I’ve expected the new trend in design to be – intentionally BAD design.)
The premise of the site is you pay $5, and you get a really bad logo.
Out of curiosity, I ordered a Weirdo Toys logo.
I just received it last night. Behold, the horrible logo.
Pretty gross, eh? It even has a typo! (Im)Perfect!
I won’t be adopting it officially, but I just had to share.
Whadaya think?
Unlike all the other cool “geek bloggers” out there, I don’t have a 30-day countdown to Halloween. Sorry folks 
But I do have something cool, quirky and creepy for ya.
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Do you recognize this guy?
I’ll give you a hint.
It’s where Shepard Fairey got the whole “OBEY” schtick.
Still nothing? Here’s another hint.
This is the man who said, “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubble gum.”
Well, how about the lady with the “formaldehyde face?”
Ah-ha! Now you remember.
Yep, this little guy is one of those creepy aliens from John Carpenter’s “They Live.” It’s an 80s classic. If you don’t know the movie, then I’m really shocked you’re even reading my blog 
But for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, lemme give you a quick, quick rundown. “They Live” is an old, sci-fi/horror movie from 1988. It stars wrestling great Rowdy Roddy Piper as an average Joe who stumbles upon the fact that aliens have taken over the world. How does he discover this secret you ask? Through magic sunglasses of course. Ha!
I don’t mean to spoil it for you, but here’s a quick look at what those sunglasses reveal. (Make sure you still watch the full movie though.)
Pretty creepy huh. I’d definitely hate to see those freaks face-to-face.
(Okay, I realize this isn’t a blog about old, horror movies, but I had to give you some context.)
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That’s what makes this figure so great. He’s a super-deformed incarnation of an iconic 80s sci-fi horror flick alien.
You’re probably looking at this guy thinking he looks kind of simple for a movie toy, but that’s because he is one of the newest “made-from-scratch,” resin toys by artist, Motorbot.
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The figure is pretty simple. He has a solid body with a poseable head, and he’s hand-painted. He’s actually pretty well made, and I’m really thrilled to have this custom toy in my collection. I have a bunch of “one-of-a-kind” bootlegs from Mexico and stuff, but I don’t have many of these limited-run, made-to-order kind of toys like this.
I’ve followed Motorbot on Twitter for a while now. It’s always a pleasure to see his processes and the various creatures he creates, but it wasn’t until recently that I felt compelled to buy one of his pieces. I dunno. There’s just something about a skinless, bug-eyed, skeletal freak in a suit that calls to me.
There’s an alternate version of Formaldehyde Face available as well. This one has a gray color scheme, which depicts how the aliens look through the magic sunglasses.
(Support a fellow toy maker and check out his shop. He’s got some cool stuff up there.)
Oh crap! Before I forget, there’s one last thing I wanted to show you. Here’s the fight scene from “They Live.” It’s not just any fight scene. It’s the most infamous fight scene in movie history. Thanks John Carpenter for giving us a 5-minute long street fight instigated by a seemingly trivial request to put on some sunglasses.
Enjoy!
I’m not a die hard fan of Kidrobot’s Dunnys.
I like ‘em well enough. I buy some here and there (hoping to get some good ones), but overall, I’d consider myself a casual collector. I’ve never paid collector’s prices for a Dunny, and I’ve never even considered buying a custom Dunny.
But now things are different.
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Now I’ve discovered the “Dunny Skull.”
And it was love at first site.
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What’s not to love? A visible skull in any toy is pretty cool… especially if it’s encased in a glass-bowl-helmet-thing.
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I think what tops it off for me is this guy’s suit, derby and umbrella. That’s one classy bone head.
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What I also love about the Dunny Skull is the attention to detail. The skull has the color and visual texture of real bone. A dark paint wash brings out the details, which includes all of the skull’s sutures, foramina and teeth, making it appear more “anatomically accurate.” Beautiful work!
Alright. By now I’m sure you’re wondering, “where the hell did this thing come from?”
Well, there’s a 2-part answer.
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First of all, the Dunny figure itself is actually from the Ye Olde English Dunny Series. It’s “Rainy London” designed by Triclops Studio. It has a hollow, transparent head.
(As a side note, the “Dunny Skull” custom didn’t come with any of the accessories of the “Rainy London” Dunny. I’m not sure why. I just happened to have the original Dunny on hand to steal the accessories from.)
Secondly, artist and toy maker, George Gaspar (of Toy Break, and October Toys fame) decided to remove the paint from the head and fill it with a cool, miniature Dunny skull… transforming a “meh” Dunny into a “yeah!” Dunny.
I discovered this little guy about a month ago through SpankyStokes.com. When they announced the custom, George had created a pretty small run of skulls. I think he’s making more custom skulls as fans demand them, so if you’re interested, you’ll have to send him a private message over at October Toys’ discussion board.
Best of luck!
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 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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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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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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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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(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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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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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?
Deathbot
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He wants to kill. He loves to kill. He’s programmed to kill. He has “kill” written all over him (on his chest anyway)!
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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Who will be more “death-y?”
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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?
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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.