October 31, 2016

AlienRobotMonster Blood Red Monsterex Drop News!

Monsterex by AlienRobotMonster
Happy Halloween, everyone!  Welcome back to The Keshi Drop!  I hope everyone has had a fun and safe evening, and are now kicking back with a nice scary movie and a bowl of candy.  Tonight I have more release news.  It's always fun and exciting for me, and I hope it's the same for you.

Perfectly themed for a spooky night like this, AlienRobotMonster announced their red colorway for the super-popular and sought-after Monsterex mini-figure.  For classic monster fans and/or Monster In My Pocket collectors, this monster mash-up character is right in your wheel house, and for me personally, this is one of the few that always seems to evade my best efforts.  Standing almost two and a half inches tall, this guy is an actual keshi monster, and you know you need that one overlord to look over your collection, and who better than a character with two heads.

Follow me this Friday, November 4th, to the AlienRobotMonster web-store for when this keshi beast drops.  Sadly, I have not found the exact time, but be persistent and check in every so often.  You know how it goes!

11/03 Update!
I found the approximate time for the drop will be 9:00am PST!  Good luck!

Obliterate your F5 key here!
http://alienrobotmonster.storenvy.com/

October 29, 2016

Violence Toy Offers Gorelords Master Sets!

Hey everyone!  Welcome back!  I just have some quick product news, and maybe a little thought on it, so let's get right into it.

Purveyor of the finest mutant and cannibal death-fighters in mini-figure form, Violence Toy is back with a little update on their Gorelords toy line.

They had first released their Gorelords in a three-pack of either a muscle flesh tone or a random selection of the other colors they had available.  While fans and collectors jumped all over these, looking to collect a master set, there was some speculation and some math crunching as to how much it would actually cost to accomplish this at essentially twelve whacks per blister.

Now the wait is over and you can now make your one-and-done purchase and grab a whole master set of your own for $320 plus ship.  For those who haven't jumped on the Gorelords yet, now is a perfect time to grab every character in every colorway without much fuss, but if you have already plopped down money on a good handful of blisters already, this is probably something of an agitation.

Keshi collectors are programmed to buy quick.  We know things sell out very quickly, and if we really want something, we have to be there on day one and grab what we can afford.  It's a risky move, and in this case it sort of reflects that, however it's also a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario for Violence Toy as well, who may see some backlash from introducing this sale after the initial launch.  But what's the right course of action?  Sure, fans wanted it, but how was Violence Toy supposed to know how many?  And further more, how would they know Gorelords would hit with collectors at all?  I feel it might be one of those things where you test the market out first, start small, and react to the needs of our customers.  I think this is a great way to do so.  I just hope it doesn't burn too many people that have already invested a lot in their own master set.

What do you guys think?  Let me know by leaving a comment below or hit me up on Instagram!

http://violencetoy.com/collections/shop

October 26, 2016

FreeKarateChops Offer Blind Boxes for NE Comic Con!

I have to say, I really can't wait to bury yesterday's political rant under an avalanche of mini-figure news and updates.  It's not that I think it's a wretched thing to read or will work up anyone, but just flipping over those rocks gives me the feeling like I need a shower afterward.  Yet, no matter how hard I scrub, I can't wash away the shame.  I'm glad I shared what I shared, but I'm happier to leave it in the dust and carry on with better and more interesting things, at least to me.  If you're here, I think to you too.

Resin wrassler, FreeKarateChops released a rather interesting piece of information today.  For those who don't know, FreeKarateChops is an independent resin artist and kit-basher with all sorts of pro-wrestling and pop-culture references.  It's rather interesting stuff, and I do feel a bit embarrassed to have only started showing off his stuff now.  At least, I believe this is the first time, although I could be wrong.

FreeKarateChops will be attending the Northeast Comic Con in Wilmington, Massachusetts, December 3-4, and to celebrate they will be introducing convention exclusive blind boxes full of resin greatness found otherwise in The Chop Shop.

Pictured above is the larger blind box priced at twenty clams, but there is also a smaller for half as much, but regardless, this is a helluva insane deal.  Some quality resin casts will cost you a twenty spot on their own, especially if you're counting shipping and handling.  If you make towards the frozen tundra of New England this December, he'll fill your ice-fishing tackle box with mini-figures for the same price.

You know me.  I'm always up for a great deal, and if you can make it to the convention, these blind boxes could be a deal of the century.  Consider attending if you're in the area, or visit his website today and grab a chop of your own now.

http://freekaratechops.storenvy.com/
http://www.necomiccon.net/

October 24, 2016

Art Without The Artist: Awful Election Edition!

Almost two years ago, I did an article pondering the idea of separating your opinions of a product and your opinions of the artist that made the product, and today I want to revisit it with new soul-crushing election flavor.

Let me preface this all with the point of view of a single American - me.  It's currently just a couple weeks away, and good god almighty, I can't wait for this whole thing to be over.  It's almost to the verge of surrender, not caring who claims victory, as long as I can wake up some morning in the near future without immediately being beaten down by all this.  So, for my readers in other countries, especially outside North America:  if you think news about our election is annoying to you, imagine being trapped within it these last few years and unable to escape this cacophony of madness and hostility.  I feel this place of annoyance has transformed over time to a place of hostility, as things are coming closer to an end and voices are growing more desperate to be heard.  It's as if you're a child again, living again with you father and mother, who once just had differences, but now are incessantly fighting and screaming, threatening and breaking things.  America, my country, has been the children of this house for a while, and although I can say it's pretty much a first world problem, as we're not occupied by a foreign military or under attack or anything, it's taken it's toll on our minds and our character without a doubt.

That's the backdrop I want to place first.  I want to set that table first, because I now want to expand on my reaction to this volatile political scene right now to how I feel it effects communities of business and art.  I think the biggest shame of this whole election is how it allowed everyone to overlook some of the most basic things.  We allowed it to slot us into such rigid yes or no categories, when, deep down, we all know neither were perfectly correct.  We allowed it to turn our heads from general discussion and we sat happily, secluded, in our own echo chamber of our choosing.  We were disconnected, alone, and told our world was going to fall apart if we, at an individual level, didn't do the right thing by whoever's standards.  We allowed it to create enemies out of friends and frenzied minds to think people who felt just slightly different to be less than human.  Peace and understanding was overwritten with panic and intolerance.  We somehow forgot we are all different people, from different parts of the world, living different lives, experiencing different events, with different dreams and goals, protecting different needs and possible vulnerabilities.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, we allowed this season to slot us blindly into yes or no categories, when we were aware of the million other possibilities, with the only result of these two being our unhappiness.

The third layer of this is the understanding of how vital it is to keep peace and understanding, especially when you have a platform to do so.  There are some exceptions.  If the person/character/production/group have a reputation of something otherwise, maybe it's an easier pill to swallow.  I'm not so sure of it's me or a character, but I think I might be an exception, even to a lesser extent.  I think people who visit my updates know I'm a ranting lunatic and not always that brilliant.  I have my opinions of a matter, concede they are likely wrong because I'm a lunatic, but suggest you do what I apparently have no skill in and properly inform yourself.  I'm not completely sure, but I feel if I came on here and started screaming about this and that, I'm not too sure too many readers would be too shocked or offended.  At first glance, some readers may see a giant screaming rant of madness and assume it's another Super7 pop-up store and not think too much more about it, but regardless, I don't think this is the right place nor I think I'm right person.

Given enough time, and our dysfunctional household will be back in order.  The screaming will end and everyone will calm down.  The things that are so incredibly dire right now won't be, given enough time, and while I'm not suggesting not caring about things, I am proposing things are more important than the matters of right now.  I have friends and acquaintances everywhere, from different states and time zones here in the States, to people far off in different countries, drinking beer and eating food I'll probably never get a chance to sample.  I have to remind myself to sit back and look at it at a larger scale.  I remind myself of how thankful I am to be in this position, and so lucky to have met so many different people, all interesting and complex in ways I never had first considered.  This stupid keshi thing, for example, binds us all together in an artistic vision of simple elegance and creative challenge.  It's here I am reminded that this is far more important to me, far more complex and unique, to ever sit perfectly into the rigid categories something like this election season demands.  It suggests I should shove it in, try to make it fit, compromise the shape, character, and everything that makes it so vast and interesting for it's sake.  I simply say no.  Maybe what it's telling me is important, to a certain level, but it's not the most important - not even close.

So it's saddening and frustrating to see artists blow up on social media about all this election garbage.  This was really the main inspiration of this update.  Without calling names, it looked like someone had a bad Monday night and really sunk into one of those election moods this season thrives on. I feel bad.  I look back through their activity like a timeline and you can almost tell the downward spiral.  You can see how the arguing and fighting nonstop, everyday, has it's affect and with each newer entry, it's getting more and more rigid until you're regrettably compromising more important things.

I may have made mention of this in the prior article, but an independent artist cannot afford to negatively affect their own brand, especially where the nature of this art is so tightly wound to their identity.  Large faceless corporations can get away with it to a larger extent, through sheer will and monopoly, but niche artists have to tread much carefully.  That's not so much a threat, as is no one wants to do business where they don't feel welcome.  If I'm selling girl scout cookies, but shouting and being confrontational, I'm not going to be selling a lot, and if I really care about spreading my love for these cookies, if that's really why I'm getting out of bed every morning, why am I yelling and causing a mess?  Why would I be turning away customers?  What matters could be more important than cookies?  If this is my passion, if expressing my love for this is what I want to do forever, what am I doing making sure the opposite.  It then becomes the crux of it all.  What's more important:  my passion or anything else in the world?  To escape this metaphor for a moment, to see an artist answer with the latter, even involuntarily through anger and frustration, is a great disappointment, because I feel, even two years later, it's very hard to remove the artist from his work.  If you fail your passion, your passion fails you.  Your art only stands with you there behind it.  Leave it for something else and it falls.

There are too few of us.  Too few artists and producers.  Too few customers and fans.  No one wins out when creativity and artistic passion doesn't reign supreme.  A hit to us hits too hard, and one we can't afford taking too many times.

Be good to each other.  That's the overall message.  Don't assume you're the only one out there having a bad time, and just find something that makes you happy.  Or look up into the night sky sometime and just stare.  Look at bursting suns light-years away, from your bubbled rock flying through expanding oblivion.  Look at our beautiful moon and it's interesting craters from times it likely bashed the surface of our planet a few times.  Look at everything in it's cosmic splendor, and then maybe a keshi mini-figure, and ask yourself if you stared at the TV enough.

October 21, 2016

Electric Monarchy Teases Figure 02 "Pug Burger"!

This week has been a blitzkrieg of keshi excitement.  Earlier this week, we saw the announcement of the new Kinkeshi series coming out next February, and today Electric Monarchy has released a teaser image showing off their second figure, following one of my favorite mini-figures this year.

Dubbed "Pug Burger" by artist Ulises Farinas, this rather nonthreatening black and white picture does actually strike a bit of dread and worry in me.  I know this is happy-go-lucky Keshi Drop and we're just talking about toys here, but I know Electric Monarchy and they don't hold back.  If they have a message or a statement to covey, you'll feel it like a brick to the head, and how this teaser is almost sneaking by innocently with it's plain white box with black lettering has me wondering exactly how little this exposes.

Allow Crazy Uncle SpiderEarth to go on a tangent and speculate a couple things.  I feel most artists have quite a bit attention to detail and everything presented serves a purpose and meaning.  I look at this white burger box, and this may sound funny or stupid, but I honestly get that bad feeling in my stomach like you're too far into something horrific.

You see, I feel product design and, in particular, a fast food box in general will try to convince you you made the right choice, even before you've taken the first bite.  There is a myriad of ways to accomplish this: from bright colors, cheerful pictures, to reassuring text like '100% Organic' or 'No High Fructose Corn Syrup'.  There are people employed to big corporations and fast food chains whose job it is to make sure products look completely one-hundred percent safe, without defect, and that burgers comprised of fifty cows are still extremely delicious.

I point this all out because this white box does absolutely none of that, whatsoever, and completely on purpose.  Extrapolate from that and you have a mystery mini-figure inside that is, instead, the focal point.  With no damage control or reassurance, whatever is in the box is speaking for itself, and I, for one, am not completely convinced just because it's a pug means it'll be more cute.

Maybe it's just me.  You know I have a way of over-thinking things and twisting myself around a conspiracy theory or two, but if you're feeling a little uneasy, but excited all the same, I'm right there with you.  Maybe their first mini-figure wasn't as repulsive and shocking as they wanted.  I rather liked the rock star 'who gives a damn' flamboyance of Bukk*ke, but maybe that wasn't the point of the piece .  Maybe Electric Monarchy is back from the drawing boards with vengeance in a plain white box.

http://www.electricmonarchy.com/

October 18, 2016

"Perfect Large Numbers" Rekindles Kinnikuman Volume 1!

Hey, welcome back, K-Droppers.  I've got some seriously huge news to share with you, but first I have to do some housekeeping for a quick sec.

Before I get into anything, I do want to express my serious thanks to UraHameshi for all the new pictures, graphics, and the new beautiful banner.  She's a young talented artist that I met on the LittleRubberGuys toy forum and she's been nothing but professional and total joy to work with.  I seriously suggest you to check out more of her work, whether that's more of her graphic design, her crafts, or her videos on Youtube, and show some support for independent artists doing there thing.

Dragoste Art
http://dragosteart.wixsite.com/store
Shendijiro & Ura
https://www.youtube.com/user/Shendijiro/videos

Also, speaking about the LittleRubberGuys toy forum, I do want to credit both NamaNiku and BrockenmanJr for blowing this story wide open, earlier this afternoon.  Without their help, I think a lot of us would be very excited to see some of these images, but be quite confused to what any of it meant.  I've said it before, but it's worth repeating, this is why being a part of a toy forum or some sort of community is so important to your hobby, and why, if you haven't already, you should consider finding one that fits your needs and join.

LittleRubberGuys Toy Forum
http://www.littlerubberguys.com/forums/

Alright, let's jump right into this!  Hot damn, this is some really exciting news, so much so I'm finding it a little harder to find the point of entry.  I'm not sure where to begin, so please excuse the whiplash from bouncing back and forth.

Kinnikuman is regarded, if not completely legitimate, the grandfather of keshi mini-figure brands.  At least in the view of the American keshi collector, which could be very different to the say Japanese one, Kinnikuman took their wrestling characters off of their manga pages and anime episodes, and began making small, single-molded, mini-figures in various colors of unpainted rubber in the 1980's.  As far as the keshi west is concerned, this was the genesis of the trend and beloved toy brands like Monster In My Pocket only rode on the popularity created by it's predecessor and expanded on the niche for collectible pocket-sized figures in the early 1990's for American children.  The rest is pretty much in the story books.  Kinnikuman had a good run with numerous sets, even an Ultimate Muscle one that wasn't so bad.  Monster In My Pocket did as well, as did many other companies, keeping the keshi torch bright, but when you think of classic, old-school, toy lines and series from days long gone, you really think something new and different will be coming up next.  You wouldn't suspect something like Kinnikuman to burst back to life like a phoenix, but maybe that's why the reveal was extra exciting.

I unfortunately don't read the books, but from sources, I am gathering the manga is in midst of a story arc called 'Perfect Large Numbers', and to celebrate, classic Kinnikuman mini-figures molds are being revisited and re-sculpted into a new set and possible series of sets.  But it's just not a new HD version on an old classic, but as classics are getting redone, there will be a handful of new characters as well, all done by the son of the original 80's Kinnikuman sculptor!





Preorders on this first series seems to be up or coming up very soon, and I have to say, I, for one, will be all over this.  Something as special as a new running Kinkeshi toy line is something I thought I'd never see.

Who else is completely hyped over this!?

Kinnikuman Kineshi Volume 1
http://p-bandai.jp/item/item-1000106367/

October 11, 2016

Mystical Warriors of the Ring Cero Drop Announced!

We've been teased and tantalized.  We've been whipped and spanked.  We've been... no, this is escalating too quick. We haven't been taken that far.  But we have been looking forward to the word of when the Designer Con previews would be hitting the interwebs, and that moment has finally... arrived.  Yes, arrived.  That's a good word.

If you're lucky enough to live around the Pasadena area for Design Con next month, or first class enough for the plane ticket, well aren't you special.  You would be getting the first look on this drop, but maybe not this time.  This time goes out for the less fortunate, like myself and the rest of the stinky, homeless, bums of the keshi community, shucking mini-figures under trench-coats.

Yo!  Psst!  C'mere!  I gots the good stuff right here.  I got that Mark V. stuff!  You know, the real good stuff.  All kinds of it, my dude.  Resin!  Urethane!  PVC!  Keshi!  Bro, I got it all: glows in the dark, shines in the sun, see-thru, don't see-thru.  Whatever you need, you know I got your hook-up.

Some days that only feels like a slight exaggeration.

But what's not an exaggeration is that you know MWOTR always makes a great product for a fair price.  If you can't make it to the convention, this Friday is your day.  Noon, central time, all sorts of mini-figures will be going live on the Mystical Warriors of the Ring web-store.  Of course, Cero the Rhino is the main attraction, but it appears he won't be on this card alone.  With him, or maybe against him, is Talos the Bull, Barker the Referee, and Molie the Interviewer, all in new variants.

And if you haven't heard me tell you before, you don't want to sleep on this one.  Even if you're missing the convention and thinking this is your relaxed, easy route to these exclusives, you still have to be right there the very moment these all drop.  I would not be surprised if these all sold out within hours, so be vigilant.

Obliterate your F5 key here!
http://mystwarriors.com/blog/
http://mystwarriors.com/shop.htm

October 6, 2016

Run For Your Life! Violence Toy's Gorelords Are Live!

One of the most anticipated productions going into this fall season, without a doubt, is the project coming from Violence Toy, and for good reason.  2016 has been a great year, but maybe not so great for purist two inch keshi.  It's been fabulous for resin and mini-figures, but aside from Super7's Masters of the Universe MUSCLE sets coming out at San Diego Comic Con, not much else has represented The Keshi One Percent.

Well, maybe that's about to change.

Teased all over Instagram and toy forums for weeks now, these mutated muscles are now ready and willing to fight to the death in your very own battle arena.  Live on the Violence Toy web-store, you can have your very own roster of vicious cannibals and maniacs to spice up your keshi collection, just in time of All Hallows Eve.

In various sets and various color variants, completionists beware:  a master of these blood babies could cost you more than a couple fingers if you are not joined up with a trading center on a forum yet.  A set of twelve in either muscle-flesh or a mixed color set will run you forty bones, and from the number of different colors there are to master that master set, you're looking to complete that order nine times over.  That could be a hefty pill to swallow for some, but there are certainly harder tasks to complete out there with mini-figures.  For example, look at anything Moose Toys releases, with their super mega ultra rares sometimes only being seen by a couple people per continent.

These guys are such a welcome addition to keshi landscape, providing just that much more excitement and creativity to the community and collectors alike, especially if you're attracted to the radioactive mutant aesthetic of it all.  With the Gorelords being completely without paint, traditional size and packaging, their success rides solely on their artistic value and collectiblity.  If they do in fact succeed, which I feel they certainly have a shot at, could they interest other companies new and old to come back into the keshi fold?  I think that's certainly a possibility.

To grab your very own Gorelords and to find additional information, please visit the link below while they are still available.


http://violencetoy.com/

October 4, 2016

So... Ugh... Everyone Is Selling Stupid Enamel Pins Now?!

Not coming anywhere close to anything ever
It's been quite some time since I took a moment to have one of my famous nearly completely unknown rants about something trivial and nonsensical within the world of keshi purism.  In fact, this topic may not even wrap around back to keshi at all, so I do apologize for that.  Regardless, let's dive into some SpiderEarth ramblings and make this weird for everyone.

I admit, in the last few weeks, I wanted to make a rambling post about how much I hate all these stupid enamel pins everyone is making now.  It's never been my thing.  I've never seen the appeal to them.  I've never gone to a vacation spot and needed the pin to remember my time there.  I never saved any pins out of any special video game bundle or anything.  When the old Loot Crate box came in, back when I was subscribed to it, the pins were lucky not to be thrown away with the empty box and packaging.  I mean, I get what they do.  It's like a flat piece of jewelry for your shirt, jacket, or any place visible, just to ensure everyone that sees it knows you're not interested in normal human interaction.  You're some pin-wearing freak, and to just keep walking.

I guess you can collect them, and I suppose that's what the trend is now, but I'm missing the point on that too.  I suppose a lot of people will look at keshi mini-figures and assume the same, but I'll tell you to scatter keshi across the floor in one dark room and enamel pins in the other, and then I can at least tell you with some confidence a keshi collection won't kill you.

And that wraps it up!  That pretty much was my initial idea for the topic.  I was annoyed seeing these stupid things crop up, regardless of how many people were interested in them, and just wished everyone went back to making mini-figures or anything remotely close, but the longer I thought about it the more I felt I was on a different stream of thought.

You see, I've only been reintroduced to the keshi collecting hobby for the last four years or so.  My entire scope of knowledge on this subject are these last four years, what I remember when I was very young, and what I've read and heard about in between.  I didn't actually experience any of that, so if there was a trend or a pattern, per se, I wouldn't really know of it, at least assume there was one, but I think there may be.

Not to chime the doom bells of keshi, because keshi enthusiasts will always be around, but maybe keshi collecting and producing will fall out of popularity someday in the following years.  This could be a trend only to America, as well, as maybe some new artists in Italy, for example, may be inspired by the years of American creativity, and start their scene when ours seems to be on it's last lap.  What I am saying is there may be a pattern to things popping into popularity and falling out of popularity, and these infernal enamel pins might be a indication of that.

I think you can see that with the Glyos fanbase.  You see some of the most loyal, hardcore, and longest standing collectors there in the American scene, and Glyos itself is a dissection and evolution of keshi fundamentals.  You know when Glyos hit the scene, many keshi collectors jumped ship and are experiencing the best of both worlds between action figures and keshi.

Like I said, I've only been here the last few years.  Maybe the great days of the keshi reemergence are over and done with, with me missing every last one of them.  Maybe it's not as popular as it once was some years ago, but it must have been born from some great need or something.  Maybe for some that need has been filled and are moving to other needs.

I'm starting to feel 80's nostalgia is playing a huge part in adult collecting, not just keshi.  People are getting back into keshi because they had them when they were younger or recognize them from days gone by.  Stupid enamel pins were part of those nostalgic days too.  Maybe not mine, but a lot of others, and just as 80's inspired toy lines are coming up everywhere, so does 80's fashion accessories.

I suppose it only makes sense, even if I think it's dumb as hell and I'd rather step on keshi figures any day.

October 3, 2016

Clutter Magazine Reveals Relaunch of Boglins For NYCC!

Back in the 80's, when I was just a kid, I was fortunate enough to have my very only Boglin puppet.  I remember having conflicting feelings about it.  On one hand, I distinctively remember it being one of the ugliest toys I've ever seen and was, if not creeped out by it, just genuinely scared.  It was green and wrinkly.  The texture was lifelike and wriggled as if it was alive.  In the right hands of my father or a cruel uncle, the thing came to horrific life with emotion and personality.  There was that one hand, but the other was enthralled that there was nothing quite like it.  Most of the other toys were hard plastic, poorly painted, and moved only so much.  Even the dolls, fabric puppets, and stuffed animals could only come to life only so much.  Even at that age, when my brain was telling me to run and hide, something told me it was a special toy.  Solidifying this idea, I remember my father and uncles having a good laugh over it's lifelike features.  With some reflection, maybe I need to rephrase something.  Back in the 80's, when I was just a kid, my dad bought himself a Boglin and I eventually claimed it for myself.

Who's not excited as hell for this?
Fast forward almost 30 years later, and you wouldn't believe me I told you they were just announced to make a comeback at this year's New York Comic Con, but that's exactly what's happening!  Okay, maybe not exactly that right now, but maybe even better now that I've been obsessed with keshi the last few years.

Although I never had any when they originally came out in the early 90's, these new Boglins take very much after the Mini Boglins released by Mattel.  Two inches of solid rubber and capturing all the great character the Boglins brand always had in spades.  Tim Clarke and Maureen Trotto are so extremely talented and it's of no mystery why their work has become legendary and their creativity permanently imprinted Boglins in millions of minds across the world.

Now, with great excitement, we are back into the Boglin world, this time with a four miniature blind box set.  This series is only limited to 400 pieces, with my guess being 100 per mini-figure. but for only six clams per bog, that's a really great deal!  I am beyond ecstatic about this update and I will be doing my best to get my hands of these guys for sure.

Time to turn on the Bat-Mule signal!