September 30, 2016

MWOTR Cero the Rhino D-Con Prototypes + Web Sale!

If you've been creeping around the bushes of MWOTR Headquarters like your Crazy Uncle SpiderEarth you've been noticing a lot of work lately, preparing for Designer Con happening Mid-November in California.  You've seen a lot of this and that, and if you weren't to careful, you may have lost your foot or some other appendage in a silicone mold.  It's a vicious world out there, and sometimes only the strong survive.


But getting to serious business, a lot of the business surrounding the camp has been about getting their newest character ready, and as you can see, he's no easy task.  Cero the Rhino is looking to be a monster release, as as you can see, as I first thought, this massive mini-figure is one big solid slug of resin gorgeousness.  Whether or not these are previews for an official Glyos-compatible production sometime down the road, I am not sure, but right now you can't look at these guys and not be impressed.

You see larger scale mini-figures move to other formats when the size gets too large.  Whether that's vinyl or sofubi, it always seems to take away from the initial design and concept single cast mini-figures create.  You've seen it with Electric Monarchy earlier this year.  You can accomplish something big, chunky, and beautiful without having to move from the medium, and I think Mystical Warriors of the Ring is doing just that with this character.

And as great as it is to see this guy get fleshed out for his Designer Con launch, there is talk about an online sale for fans and collectors prior or during Designer Con, who can't make it to the convention - maybe something a certain island country that does a lot of amazing keshi should consider.  This is all speculation, but I feel with enough interest, it may just happen and the rhino will break free sooner than later.

As always, if you want more information or just to keep in the know, please follow the link below, and don't forget to take a look through their store front to see if anything catches your eye.  It's always a good idea to support creative minds.  Also, if you would be so kind, drop your email into the box on the side there to subscribe to all my nonsense and updates.

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/

September 23, 2016

Dropped But Not Forgotten! Uncut! Onion! Violence! AshMade!

The Bad News Rad Uncle by Uncut
Hey, everyone!  SpiderEarth back again with another awfully titled update showcasing a lot of news pieces that I've failed to cover in any proper length.  It hasn't been a terribly busy week, per se, but all these interesting teasers or drops occurred one after the other, so a format like this felt more fitting.  So let's take a look at everything in store today!

For starters, Super Festival 72 is just a couple days away, and with that, comes a lot of news and updates from one of Japan's bigger keshi-friendly conventions.

Fantas by Onion Fights
I have two mini-figures today to showcase.  The first is from Uncut, with their Evil Dead inspired The Bad News Rad Uncle mini-figure in various colorways.  Uncut's stuff is always red-hot and if you've always enjoyed their stuff, I'm sure this is new mini is on your must-have list too.

The second is a rather intimidating clown character called Fantas from Onion Fights.  Must like Uncut, Onion Fights makes a lot of stuff American collectors, as well as everyone else in the world, just drool all over.  It is certainly not uncommon to find any post of theirs on any social media website or application with someone asking if they will ship internationally.  Frustratingly, Onion Fights keep to their Jiro Dreams of Sushi ways and almost require plane tickets to acquire.

Thankfully the next two are much easier to pick up if you're interested.

Various Characters by Violence Toy
The first is news of a new independent toy line called Violence Toy reaching costs for full-scale PVC production.  This is very exciting, in a number of ways.  Firstly, this could mean there is another big player in the keshi scene, bringing new collectors in with them, and inspiring and collaborating with keshi veterans.  Secondly, these mini-figures look really great.  I love that rude, crude, mutant thing and these guys look like what I'd expect Kinnikuman would like after a nuclear explosion.  Certainly keep this project on your radar.

Kabuki Karakasa by Ashmadethis/DRWG Co/Tru:Tek
The last but certainly not the least today is a collaborative effort between Ashmadethis, DRWG Co, and Tru:Tek called Kabuki Karakasa, and as a fan pointed out on Instagram, this is very much the missing piece in the classic Monster In My Pocket line.  This guy fits absolutely perfect with them, and if I didn't already know better, I would have assumed it was from a 1990's set to begin with.  Whether you are a casual collector or this one is making you feel your set is now incomplete, I would certainly suggest you tracking it down.

Links for Kabuki Karakasa and everything else I've mentioned today are right here below, and it would warm my heart if you clicked on them and showed all the great independent toy artists out there some love.

http://bestintentionsmagazine.bigcartel.com/
http://violencetoy.com/
http://www.onion-fights.com/
http://uncut13terrorhouse.blog.fc2.com/

September 16, 2016

Mystical Warriors Of The Ring Reveal Cero The Rhino!

Even Goliath (left) is amazed at how good Cero (right) looks!
The crew at Mystical Warriors of the Ring have been busy brewing up some new things behind the scenes for Designer Con next month.  It's been a little teaser for this, a little teaser for that, and it's very hard to predict any of it because they always seem to have more than one surprise.

Maybe today's reveal cuts down on that a little, as the brand new mini-figure Cero the Rhino has taken it's first breath on The Interwebz. and what an attractive first look!

Look at the size comparison between him and Goliath and that classic arms-to-the-side MUSCLE/Kinnikuman pose.  Granted he's in black, but I'm not seeing any clear lines showing he's a multi-part figure.  Could he be one heavy-duty slug?  Wow, this guy would rocket up the wrestling rankings in my mind if that was the case, but I suppose only time will tell.  It's certainly has gained my attention, that's for sure.

 http://mystwarriors.com/blog/

September 15, 2016

OMFG Glow In The Dark Series 4 Kickstarter is LIVE!

I had previously proclaimed some big news would be coming from the October Toys' camp sometime soon, but this bit of news was something I didn't predict.  I mean, of course I still stand behind the conspiracy theory I created some weeks ago, but like any good nut job, maybe it's next time.  Just gimme' a little more time!

From their video, October Toys explains how often they get the request to do Glow In The Dark variants and the latest series of OMFG mini-figures were no exception, but a weird thought came over me when I heard that.  I thought Series 4 already had a GID variant, but when I sat down with the thought for a second longer, I was pleasantly reminded that it must have slipped my mind.

So the campaign to bring this set to the land of bright green is live on Kickstarter right now, and already, as of writing this now, the campaign has some really interesting details I want to share.

Firstly, even at ground zero here, funds are looking about half complete already.  That's a really great sign out of the gate to see if this project can has enough interest to get fully funded, and where Kickstarter hasn't showed a lot of love towards mini-figures lately, this one looks to be headed in the right direction.

Secondly, this has some exclusivity that collectors should keep in mind.  Treat this campaign as your opportunity to preorder this set now, because they are only producing quantities to fulfill backers.  There won't be any hitting a web-store anytime in the future.  This is it - preorder now or miss out.

A pretty big tangent off of that is the inclusion of the OTMFG BrainWaves mini-figure.  He's shaping up to be a bonus figure to accompany the set, seemingly free of charge, but I am also assuming it's not safe to risk not grabbing this variant now.  The Glow In The Dark BrainWaves could also be limited and exclusive to this campaign, so that complete set you have right now will no longer be complete if you are a day late or a dollar short.

As of right now, there is still about twenty days to jump on and preorder this set, and for six limited edition glowing variants, I'm not sure there is a better deal out there either for twelve bucks.  Follow the link below and consider grabbing this set while you still can.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georgegaspar/omfg-glow-in-the-dark-series-4?ref=nav_search

September 11, 2016

The Grossery Gang! Crusty Chocolate Bar Review!

Hey guys!  I recently had a weekend out of town and I came across a store selling some brand new Grossery Gang blind bags.  You know me, I couldn't refuse and for the price, I couldn't really leave without a good handful either.

It seems like Moose Toys has all sorts of designs for their packaging.  I looked for the fountain drink cup one, but I was still happy I found the chocolate candy bar one.  And I must say, when it come to theme, these guys are really awesome about that.  They really drive home the gross food thing in every category, but how does the rest stack up?

Under the wrapper is a fun, rather surprisingly heavy-duty plastic capsule resembling the candy bar advertised on the package.  It's certainly a good touch, but I wonder how much of a waste it is.  Of course, as well as being part of the theme, it keeps people from squeezing the packaging and discovering the hard rubber ultra rares, but once the mini-figures are out, what can you really do with it?  Maybe it's a little paint well or something to store some jewelry?  Ultimately, it's a shame a lot of these probably find the bottom of a trash bin, because there is little use for something this small.

Under the plastic chocolate, we get the checklist and two random mini-figures.  Not pictured is the giant checklist showing all 100-120 gang members in this series, and it strikes me just to how daunting it is to collect a set of this stuff.  A nice note from the checklist however is a little mention of Trash Pack on the top exclaiming The Grossery Gang is 'from the world The Trash Pack', and how true that is.

The mini-figures themselves are exactly, one-hundred percent, what anyone familiar with Trash Pack miniatures would expect.  As I really felt, this new toy line is, in all intents and purposes, a relaunch of an old favorite, and this proves it.  Commons are small, soft, and receive some paint applications.  Rarer ones get a harder rubber cast, with flocking, glow in the dark, metallic, or some other extra touch.  You can tell from the image above, in my lot I got a flocked ultra rare of some rank pineapple or something.

If you loved Trash Pack, you'll love these guys.  If you weren't thrilled with them in the past, for one thing or another, they have done almost nothing to change anything.  I, personally, have a soft spot for this stuff, so I might be throwing some more chump change their way, especially if I can find the fountain drink set.

September 10, 2016

Dropped But Not Forgotten! HealeyMade! DRWG! Rufus!

The Hex by HealeyMade
I'm telling you guys, I'm pretty trash at this.  I really enjoy reaching out and expressing some of my weirder feelings about stuff, but anything creative past that is just throwing turds at the wall.  I spent all day thinking up a decent title for this news format, and queue the failure game show sound, you get the first installment of 'Dropped But Not Forgotten'.

The Assassin by DRWG Co.
I'm not sure that name really describes everything very well either, but in essence, I needed a title to wrap around a few drops and releases that I missed to discuss in any proper length.  Some weeks there is nothing going on.  Some weeks there's just one or two things going on and I can cover that pretty well.  This week everything is happening, and I'm doing a pretty miserable job trying to mention it all.  So, with my dearest apologies for not covering them fully, here are a few recent keshi releases that I flew by me the first time.

Prolific bootlegger and designer HealeyMade released the flesh set of his gorgeous The Hex mini-figure cast in resin, with proportions and definitions that make you wonder Onion Who?

DRWG Co. just released the Secret Chief III "The Assassin" mini-figure following the beloved and successful Librarian.  If you like your keshi chunky and chibi, please check out this amazing artist.

Mr. Softy by After Midnight Studios
Finally, Rufus of After Midnight Studios is looking to release a new version of his Mr. Softy mini-figure at the Tenacious Toys booth during New York Comic Con.  If you enjoy your resin a little on the ruder side, like you know Keshi Drop does, do make sure you keep Rufus on your radar.

That's it for the first episode of 'Dropped But Not Forgotten' and wow that's a terrible name!  But do make sure you show some support and love by checking out their links below and buying up their toys so they can keep on keeping on.




Click these!
http://healeymade.com/
http://drwgco.bigcartel.com/
http://rufus.bigcartel.com/

September 9, 2016

Mystical Warriors of the Ring Reveal Designer Con Drop!

It's getting around that time.  The heat is beginning to cool off and the leaves are changing color.  It also means Designer Con is coming right around the corner, and with that, we will be getting some exciting news about new releases and convention exclusives.

Mystical Warriors of the Ring are out swinging and punching from the sound of the bell.  Released earlier today, they dropped an interesting look at one of their newest wrestling characters expanding on their Evolution line.

It's hard to tell solely from the image, but MWOTR has been working on a rhino character called Cero.  My hunch is that's what we're looking at, but more interestingly, is he coming alone?  This is the first time we've been teased with this character, yet there have been a few that have seen resin releases that haven't received the red carpet PVC like Goliath or an official set of mini-figures.

Is this where we seen some resin rhinos and some PVC bulls?  I think only Designer Con knows.

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/
http://www.designercon.com/

September 8, 2016

IronHaus Productions Teases New Wave Of Gorewads!

One hot scoop going around the social medias in the last few have been the teasers of the new Gorewads going around.  Gorewads are little mini-figures from the twisted mind of independent artist IronHaus Productions.  Imagine the old school Monster In My Pocket figures, but with a rabies, West Nile, Zika, or some other wretched plight.  That's the impression I get.  While I love Monster In My Pocket for being classic horror, these guys scream out 80's slasher flicks, monster movies, and all that campy rudeness.

Even looking at early pulls and prototypes, this wave is looking hotter than the dark lord's nipple clamps, with wild characters such as Turdcat, Mr. Yama, Sh*tty Kid, Diet Hell Turtle Redux, and (the Internet darling) Harambe's Revenge.

This is quite the hot topic and one to keep an eye on, because, sadly, there is no news of a release yet.  I will certainly have that information to share when it surfaces, but in the meanwhile, please visit the link below for more information.

http://ironhauspro.blogspot.com/

September 6, 2016

Onell Design's Bit Figs Trophy Set Review!

Welcome back, everyone!  It's apparently a rapid round of reviews and whatnot.  I really don't mind and I hope you don't either.  Today we received some more mail, maybe not as mysterious and puzzling as October Toys' recent package, but let's check it out all the same.  If you haven't already read up about it, scroll down to the article about October Toys' recent release.  It was very bizarre and I enjoyed it a lot.  Now let's move on and look at some Bit Figs from Onell Design.

The first thing you may notice is the golden bronze all these figures have.  This is the limited edition trophy set, and I'm lucky to have ordered a set while I could because it now sold out.  I've said it a million times, whether it's for limited editions or just normal drops, you gotta' be right there with your Paypal ready.  It's no rarity that a variant will drop and will completely sell out forever between the very moment it goes live to only a couple days later.  The Candy Bolton variant of Bukk*ke sold within moments that night.  The first Goliath was gone in just hours, and this trophy set was bought up in a couple days.  The only way you can take a passive approach to all this is that if you fund the project at it's very roots with Kickstarter for example, but only if one's available.  However, hopefully you were able to get a set if you wanted one, otherwise there are plenty of regular sets still available that come with rare figures as well.

Moving on to the review of the set particularly, you know there's something fundamentally wrong with me if the first thing I do with a plastic baggie full of new Bit Figs is to take a good whiff.  Why we have to hit up that first of the senses is beyond me, but that certain kind of PVC always smells so good to me.  Hits the right spot.  Some people smell their wine or beer.  Some even candles and spices.  Heck, you may even see some take a whiff off particular plant products.  Now, imagine this jerk doing the same with baggie full of mini-figures.  Admit it: it's not that strange.

Out of the packaging, these mini-figures are solid PVC with about an inch or more of height.  I would suggest they scale really well with ToyFinity's Mordles, but are a bit small and short for most anything else.  I would suppose this was with vending machine capsules in mind.  After all, that's a huge inspiration of this line and the only other place to find these besides the Culture Pirate web-store.  It's something to certainly keep in mind, despite how much I really wanted these guys to reach up another inch or so.

Looking into the designs of both the animal set and the ninja set included there's some real math in their depth and shape.  I think those who just see the video game pixel graphic style and suggest it was automatically calculated and made my a program are off on the wrong foot.  I'm willing to bet there is a dry erase board somewhere in Bit Fit Headquarters with just numbers written all over it.  Now I do believe they were sculpted and prototyped through 3D printing, the end result is a lot more cleaner.

Bit Figs are impressive for what they are designed to accommodate.  Some would to gripe about the size, but conflicting thoughts come to mind.  They would never fit in vending machine capsules, for starters, and if I plunked down a few coins for one of these guys out of a machine, I would give it nearly perfect remarks.  Compared to other things you find in machines, these guys blow them out of the water, and that's including the tiny little wrestler bootlegs that got me back into the keshi community a few years ago.

From one day to the next, it's like night and day.  From absolute garbage Crazy Bones to some good quality Bit Figs, it couldn't be more apparent who cares about their product and it really couldn't be more obvious that it's Onell.

Order some to see firsthand for yourself and follow the links below for more information.

Also Adam over at The Glyos News Dump did a really good write-up on these as well, so do check out his work too!

https://shop.culturepirates.com/
http://onelldesign.com/
http://glyosnewsdump.blogspot.com/2016/09/bit-figs-gold-early-impressions.html

September 5, 2016

Power GoGo's Crazy Bones Blind Bag Opening + Review!

If you're not a member on a toy forum yet, I seriously would suggest you look around and join as many that interests you.  Even if you never post or share anything, it's always a great resource for up-to-date information.  One thing in particular that I would never suspect being so handy is the news of people finding certain mini-figure series in dollar stores or some other discount vendor.

So that's what I did today.  With the extra time I had from work, I visited the local Dollar Tree and looked around for those hidden gems everyone is talking about.  I didn't find the holy grail particularly, but I found a display for Power GoGo's Crazy Bones blind bags that I felt were close enough.


I recall years and years ago, picking up quite a lot of Crazy Bones.  I believe this was their first set or few, when the mini-figures resembled more like odd-shaped bones than just weird characters.  I don't have them any longer, but I remember picking them up with a friend as a cheap alternative to the collectible card games that were previously eating a hole in our pockets.  I don't remember the game being decent, or much of a game at all.  In fact, I'm willing to bet the game was actually conceived long after characters were designed and sculpted, and was just slapped on last minute.  There were no official tournament circuit or regional qualifiers for Crazy Bones back in the day, but there were a ton of interesting and rare color variants that did keep our interest probably a lot longer than it deserved.

But at some point, the Crazy Bones bubble popped and we no longer cared.  Somewhere on this planet is a plastic container chalk-full of old Crazy Bones.  If I had to guess where, my best guess would be in the trash, but I would have liked to go through them today for old times sake.  But maybe we can rekindle some of that old nostalgia today, because like I was saying, I picked up a few blind bags.

First off, the price is alright.  For only a single fruit loop, you got a single blind bag that had two trading cards and two random Crazy Bones inside.  Being nothing really more than vending machine toys, seems to be a bit accurate, although quickly opening them up and going through them, I felt they really weren't worth even that.

And before I say too much more, I did know that Crazy Bones were made of hard plastic.  I remember the old school ones I had being of that material, although I want to feel they were a little heavier and less hollow.  These things are very light weight, mostly hollow, and equipped with that ever-so flattering hole in the bottom.  I suppose this was done in design, so it didn't take much to have them bouncing around a table like some wild, insane, bones, but why would you?  They would break!  And in the cases dealing with paint applications, the paint is going to chip and fall off!  And maybe that's not the worst idea ever, until you peak inside the hole in the metallic ones to see their true plastic color is a dead grey/white, like they were cast from recycled old milk bottles.

From materials, to design, to everything, these things are god awful.  They don't even have the likability for being humble vending machine bootlegs.  A big time toy company made these and thought these would sell by the truck load.  Yikes!  But even after saying all that, I didn't spend a lot and it was a nice adventure.  And as odd as it sounds, it kind of feels good to own Crazy Bones again, even if it's just six and they are hideous globs of worthless plastic.

September 2, 2016

Candie Bolton X Electric Monarchy! Magical Girl Bukk*ke!

Let's talk about a complete shock today.

I'm bored at work, just watching the week slowly come to an end, and I'm going through my phone.  I'm wondering if the wild and crazy news that's already happened this week is really all this week will see.  That would be completely fine.  With October Toys' OTMFG package of puzzles and Onell Design's Bit Fig hitting online shops, I can't really say it was a boring one.  Then, out of the blue, Electric Monarchy crashes the scene and drops another hot news nugget all over the place.  Now I have to get a mop and I fear my work uniform is ruined.


This time our update comes in form of a new collaborative effort between some really amazing artists.  Electric Monarchy's Bukk*ke keshi mini-figure is now experiencing a remix and limited edition variant through the lens of Candie Bolton, who I've covered once before.  Dubbed the 'Magical Girl' version of this glob of love, we are met with an extreme wave of sparkle and glitz across the color spectrum, with some anime-inspired paint applications.

Candie Bolton is a masterful artist and her sculpting skills alone are worth keeping her on your radar, however I have to sadly admit I lost track of her.  I had covered some mini-figures she had designed, but was saddened to hear they were going to be made with sofubi instead of keshi or resin.  Maybe I mistakenly felt that was her preference, and that's where loose ends never got picked back up.  I am very excited to be captured again by her, and with the Bukk*ke mini-figure is even more of a treat.

This mini-figure interests me in a great deal.  I'm under the assumption this variant is a harder resin cast, but there a ton of different and distinguishable colors within.  Each drip seems to be a different equal color.  I am certainly completely ignorant to exactly how this is pulled off without the mass of mixed color blending too much into a shiny brown, so this may have to be something to examine closer with a review in the future.

This collaboration was a pleasant update for sure, but the real shocker is that Magical Girl Bukk*ke goes for sale TONIGHT 6:00pm PST on Candie Bolton's website.  I have no news to how many there are of this, but I can't imagine there is enough for you to wait.  The Glow In Dark variant is completely sold out, and if you missed it, now is your chance to redeem yourself.

www.candiebolton.com
www.electricmonarchy.com

September 1, 2016

Glyos Bit Figs Go On Sale At Culture Pirates Webstore!

If I titled this 'SpiderEarth: the Hypocrite', I don't think it would be the first time.  I don't think it would be the second time or maybe even the third.  I've been so awful about contradicting myself from 2014 to this point, I don't know if that makes me the worst person imaginable for politics or the best, and this election year is making it even harder to figure out.

That aside, the point I wanted to make was that I've always been a supporter of the men and women in the vending machine business.  Vending machine toys have always been an important part of my nostalgia with keshi mini-figures growing up.  I've said this before, but I really doubt my MUSCLE/Kinnikuman mini-figures were legit.  I'm almost sure they were vending machine bootlegs, as I distinctively remember the Monster In My Pocket were in the toy isle and the strange pink wrestlers were in the machines on the way out.  So, as an extension of that, I do still drop a quarter or few in some machines carrying mini-figures.  It's not always worth the price, but a part of me hopes that someone will notice and stock more things keshi-like.  And I would implore you to do the same, except HOLY CRAP some really hot news dropped today.

Not all that long ago, I covered Onell Design's desperate attempt to atone for their multi-parted sins.  In an alternate dimension I refuse to admit is not this one, Glyos has nearly collapsed financially, like a bunch on jerks with wax wings.  They depended too heavily on their stupid pegs and stupid interchangeable parts, and when the great cosmic keshi lord (a slug I had mentioned before) gazed upon them, they nearly escaped it's ultimate wrath.  And in this alternate reality, where one stupid blogger is not a stupid blogger, but a king of keshi-dom, my slug-molded army attacked the Glyos empire in a giant domino effect of knocking each other over until the walls were breached, we soundly defeated them.  Now, as slaves to Keshi Drop and the great cosmic keshi lord, they make Bit Figs and all is right with the world.  Hooray!

Enough History for one day.  What I actually came to share was that despite the news that Bit Figs were hitting vending machines near you, they are surprisingly hitting the Culture Pirates web-store near you too.  And while I first got the feeling of 'Oh, man, there goes the fun of it!', there's nothing stopping anyone from enjoying both sides of it.  In fact, that's probably the best bet.  Although sets are super affordable (less than a flimflam for each figure), you'll be saving on shipping costs hitting up the vending machines.  The flip side of that however, is that Culture Pirates have all the limited editions and extra loot.  So it might be one of those things that you get your commons from one place and your chases from another.

Do take a look around the Culture Pirates site.  It's got some pretty cool swag - buttons, stickers, and everything else you could want to remind you of the world before Glyos was defeated.

http://onelldesign.com/
https://shop.culturepirates.com/