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Ring Around the Weirdo

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Do you have any semi-lame toys lying around? Like these guys – the Bubbly Chubbies.

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Bubbly Chubbies

The only reason I keep them around is because they are recalled Teletubbies knockoffs. Wouldn’t it be great if you could easily transform such cutesy-ass characters into something mildly disturbing?

You know, something like this?

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Bubbly Chubbies with monster faces

Well, apparently you, can. All you need are some cheap-ass monster face rings.

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Monster Face Rings

These rings look like something you could find in those cheapy, import toy catalogs… like Oriental Trading Company.

I bought these rings on eBay, and once I’d received them, I realized I can instantly transform my “normal” toys into “weirdo” toys with the most minimal of effort. This transformation took very little time and money… About 5 seconds and 5 bucks. I just grabbed a ring. popped it over a toy’s head and voila! Instant weirdo.

I really love the look of the new and improved Bubbly Chubbies. Now they look more like “Grubbly Chubbies.”
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Grubbly Chubby

This Chubby is now a wonky-eyed viking guy with high blood pressure and a pink, marshmallow body.

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Grubbly Chubby

And we have a your standard screaming skull Chubby…

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Grubbly Chubby

and we top it off with the always classic gore gag… the dangling eyeball Chubby.

After seeing how great these guys turned out, I figured I’d try the remaining rings on some other figures I had lying around.

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Monster Kermit

This vintage Kermit figure becomes a naked, bug-eyed screamer.

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Devil

The blue guy from “Voltron,” King Zarkon, becomes Satan in his formal wear.

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Monster Ovion

And the green, alien guy from “Battlestar Galactica,” Ovion, becomes some weird raving, alien lunatic.

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Ovion, King Zarkon and Kermit

With that last one though, I have to admit – Ovion looks cooler and weirder without the ring/mask.

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Toys with Monster Rings

So, that’s about it. I just thought I’d share what originated as a cheapy, weird ring impulse buy actually ended up making some mildly interesting characters for my toy shelves at work.

You guys have any quick ring-faced figures you wanna share? I’d love to see ‘em.

• Buy an Ovion figure on eBay!

• Buy a King Zarkon figure on eBay!

• Buy a vintage Kermit figure on eBay!

• Buy Monster Rings on eBay!

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Posted in Custom, Goofy, Monsters | 16 Comments »

Custom Dunny Skull by George Gaspar

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

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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Dunny Skull

Now I’ve discovered the “Dunny Skull.”

And it was love at first site.

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Dunny Skull

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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Dunny Skull

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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Dunny Skull

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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Dunny Skull

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.)

Dunny Skulls

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!