Toy Haul 01/26/2015!

It's certainly a relief to be opening up some keshi mail, that's for sure!  Between this terrible weather and this flu bug that just won't go away, you gotta' take the small things in life that make you happy and just run with them.  Spring is on it's way, someday I hope, and I'm finally feeling better, so I hope that leaves the rest of the year open for some awesome keshi happenings.

I made a trade with Little Weirdos on the forums lately and I pleasantly received the package today.  So, let's dive in and take a look!

I do have some big packages on their way, but sometimes it's not always the giant baggies of figures that make your day.  Today, in this package, was all about getting my first Slimy Sludge minifigure!  FINALLY!  I know they are probably loaded in everyone else's Toys R'Us or wherever, but I've yet to find one anywhere close to me, and I've almost sucked it up and bought one way-overpriced on the secondary market, just to finally have one.  Luckily, it didn't go to that and my cool trade bud supplied with that awesome purple guy in the top left corner.

Not seen in the picture is the baggie of green slime that was included in the package as an awesome extra.  It was certainly a pleasant surprise.  I can understand where many people would throw it away eventually, once the gimmick wore out it's welcome, but it works out in my favor it didn't go that way this time.

Also in the package was this Oh-No Alien figure slotted there in the top right.  He's a pretty cool guy, and my first Oh-No Alien.  To my knowledge, he's from a gumball machine line here in the States that would be the closest thing coming to traditional Japanese gashapon keshi, at least one of them.  This guy is surprisingly chunky and solid.  I'm impressed for sure!  You know how I like to support gumball workers, so I'll certainly have to be hunting for more of these alien guys.

Green plastic dinosaur!  Classic!  Maybe the same you used to chew on as a kid.

Finally, it's a little black bendy tree ent from a line I'm not familiar with.  Regardless, he's very cool and will fit in just fine with the crew.

And that's the haul today, guys!  A little small this go around, but no bad eggs, so that's awesome!  All these guys are going right on my keshi shelves and that goo is likely to be dropped and stained into the floor very soon.  Just like old times!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Purist Ramblings: Bootin' N' Leggin'!

No matter where you turn.  No matter where you go, you're going to find yourself in that discussion about bootlegging and who draws the line where, well, at least when you're in the toy world.

But I guess not always.  It's likely called other things in other places, so you may find the "ripping off" or "plagiarism" discussions in different topics, but there are a lot of similarities and common threads.

You can be on a music forum and have the discussion that this particular musician completely ripped of the guitar riff or beat from a classic track.  The other side of the argument says it's a sampling, re-imagining, homage, or anything similar to that, and everyone and their mother will draw lines in the sand and dissect every facet until it's virtually not about the same subject.

There are some common things about sampling text, music, or even toy molds that just about everyone will agree.  It's generally frowned upon if you're copying someone else's work exactly with no creative altering from yourself.  It shows all kinds of disrespect to the artist, to the art, it's fans, and shows you want nothing but a quick buck.  Most people will be ok with heavy sampling, if it's reworked in ways that it becomes it's own identity.  If it feels like a new piece of art, even sharing off of others, it's generally accepted.

However, this is where I share my nuthouse opinion and receive a shower of rotten tomatoes.

I think we should not say what is to be or not to be, but decide what succeeds or fails with our support and money.  This is certainly not me condoning ripping off peoples' art and stealing food off their plate, but if the bootlegger gets away with it and makes money, who's really to blame then?  If a cheap knockoff comes out and blows sales of the original piece out of the water, then something could be said about the market's worth of the product.  If it's less-sophisticated but more successful, then something could be said about it's feature's worth to the market.  Trust me, I'm not saying I'd prefer a junkier keshi, I just think there are things to listen to and learn from when the low-end productions beat you at your own game.  The market is saying something, not with words, but with cash register bells, and I think it's worth the listen.

So I'm not the one to say "No, you can't bootleg that!"  Sure, I wouldn't find it the most respectful thing in the world, but there could be a couple good outcomes from it.  If you're hitting something the market wants out of the original, that the original isn't doing, you could succeed.  I don't mean a general variant on color, per se, but maybe something fundamental, like articulation.  For example, if particular video game or anime franchise haven't been represented in keshi yet, a bootleg version of a miniaturized action figure could be successful.  Also, if a franchise has been discontinued long enough, a die-hard market may still remain hungry for anything to collect, and bootleg may be successful.

Keshi is naturally very threatened by bootlegging because the product is both simplistic and affordable.  Keshi is a beautiful tiny sculpture, but it may not be too far removed from a glob of melted cheap plastic either.  Keshi and bootlegging has a history intertwining like DNA strands, where over time some knock-offs have become just as coveted as originals.

It's hard to say what the rules are.  I surely didn't want to write a piece outlining them, but instead, insist our money decides what lives and what dies.  If we support a bootleg, we may have failed the original artist, but it's their job to hear the coins drop and adapt.  It's never too late to make a choice on something or try something new.  I think the worst thing is to lose your livelihood to bootleggers without a fight, because most times, they can only beat you one way.  Listen to the market.  See where the money is going.  Understand what that is saying, and fight back.

Thanks for the read everyone and thanks to my buddy Ryan for the new image up top!

John Rauschelbach Interview @ Little Weirdos!

The guys over at Little Weirdos have a really awesome article, a Q&A actually, with toy designer John Rauschelbach.  It's a great read, especially if you're interested in some inside information about the cancellation about the beloved SLUG Zombies.

Stop reading this and click on that link below!

http://www.littleweirdos.net/2015/01/q-slug-zombies-designer-john.html

Purist Ramblings: Resin Revelation!

I need to come clean about being an idiotic hypocrite, again!  Get used to the disappointment, readers, it's not going to be the last time.  Far from it, I bet.  It's the SpiderEarth way.

So I was reorganizing my toy shelves when I came across my Kickstarter awards for funding the Kaiju Kaos game.  I covered them in a previous Toy Haul months ago, and I gave them glowing reviews.  And even today, I was still pleased in my preorder in these guys.  "I need to get more of these guys," I thought, so I jumped on the old computer and looked for a web store.

[Click.  Click.  Click.  Enter button.  Mouse wheel scroll.]

"$8 each.  Not too shabby," I thought, reading the screen.  "These are hand-sculpted, hand-molded, hand-poured, limited edition color resin castings by Acheson Creations...  Oh, my freaking god!  They are resin?!?!"

What a dumb jerk I am!  If not a dumb jerk, just so incredibly ignorant about the broad scope of toy making, even in the minifigure style.  I had given Kaiju Kaos loving praise for their awesome sleek and sturdy plastic figure, when they were never made of plastic at all.  Those couple Kaiju Kaos figures on my shelf next to my Kinnikuman have been resin all along, while I rant and rave how crappy I felt that medium was.

I had no idea resin could be that good and close to plastic.  I have some other resin minifigures that really don't look like plastic or rubber, but you learn something new everyday.  Resin can be pretty damn cool, and thus, I have brought all my resin stuff into the collection.

Thanks Kaiju Kaos!  I knew I needed to accept resin.  I knew it was just a matter of time, but I was just unsure when and how.  Today and because of your awesome work.  

Check out there fine minis by clicking this link below

http://baileyrecords.storenvy.com

Despair Colorways and Limiteds!

Last Halloween, I covered a limited-edition keshi figure coming out along side an American comedy album.  With help from both October Toys and Disart Toylabs, Comedian Adam Quesnell was able to get this pretty awesome guy made up.  And from it looks now, made up in a good selection of variants.

Some variants now are sold out, which certainly is common with limited edition, small run, toy lines, but it's not too late to grab the whole set now, if this is something you're interested in.

Granted the price point is a bit steep, $25 each or the whole set going for $250, but if you're into these guys, this might be the way to go.  As well as the colorways that have sold out, the clear and clear blue versions are only available in this collection.  Keep in mind, they are a little larger than convention.  They stand at three inches, so that also plays a part in the price.

These guys are pretty neat for sure.  Sure I'd like them a tiny bit smaller and cheaper, but I wouldn't be shocked if these guys turned into gems sometime down the road, so if you're the type that has the budget for the rarest keshi collecting can offer, I would track these down.

Find these guys and more at the link below.
faqcomedy.bigcartel.com

OMFG Series 5 Winners!

The voting for the community-based minifigure line, OMFG, has just wrapped up and voted have been tallied.  We have the cast of OMFG Series 5!  Gaze upon their awesomeness!

We're looking at something that may be looking at a release much later this year, but also not without another successful Kickstarter.  October Toys' fans have been able to support them for every project before, but that's what makes it so important to support early on.  If fans don't jump on projects like this early, and just wait to see when they are released, they may never make it to that point.

I, for one, have had a lot of success with Kickstarter funding.  Granted, yes, it's a slow turn-around, but imagine it more of a pre-order service with a certain minimum requirement.

A lot of great artists and designs came out of this batch with, in opinion, Illuminaughty leading the pack.  Without a doubt, if this character finds himself in PVC, I'll be running down as many variants as I can.  I just love the design and significance he had in a point of keshi collecting within me and how I viewed the scene early last year when I began.

I will certainly be sharing more updates with these guys when are looking for love on Kickstarter.

Toy Haul 01/10/15!

Boy, either it's me or there's something in the air when it comes to clear red plastic.  Welcome to the first Toy Haul of 2015 for me, but not really the first for the blog.  Mebbles received some awesome Glyos guys in the mail recently, so check out his review down below. 

Today's package is something of a follow-up from a previous look at had a Japanese promotional series between Square Enix's Final Fantasy property and Coca Cola, and with some luck on Ebay, I was able to get a sizable lot for nearly nothing.  

In that past blog, I had mentioned that limited edition bottles of the soda in Japan had little blind bags of these characters.  From what I could tell, every character from FFVII, FVIII, and FX was done in both a clear red plastic and a painted version.  Both variations has this ugly red base attached at the bottom, so I was curious to see them in person.

In hand, I was certainly impressed with these guys.  The red plastic used in the figure is soft and flexible, yet rigid in the body portions.  I would have to suggest it's nearly perfect, with negative marks for lacking a copious amount of glitter that deserves to be in any minifigure.  However, looking at these guys more detailed, there are some cheats here and there.  Not all the figures are single-mold.  Some arms on some characters, for example, are glued-on extra bits, and as I figured, the plastic base is of a different material and the figure is glued on top of it.

The plastic bases, as you could assume, are brutally bad.  They are made by lighter, cheaper, plastic, but the do have identification information on the bottom, even what version they are.  I suppose that a neat detail, but I would have to wonder what fans out there, chasing down these figures, wouldn't know who's who or could tell which ones were painted or not.

Even with the awful bases, these guys, at least the crystal red versions, are pretty neat.  The sculpt are very accurate and they aren't too small or big.  And, before too many give them attention, they are pretty cheap on the secondary market, considering they are both Japanese-exclusive and limited edition.  I certainly would suggest everyone to go out and check out your favorite Final Fantasy character in this form.  If nothing else, it's a pretty neat trinket for your desk.

Hijacked By Beasts!

I'm not sure whether to apologize or just keep going with the flow, because we have even more Rise of the Beast updates and news!  If you're interested and enjoy this line, then great, I hope you've strapped in and ready for the ride.  If not, then I'm sorry, we'll get to other things soon.

I had covered yesterday some released photos of the upcoming second series of Rise of the Beasts.  The first series saw a rhino character along side a scorpion one, and yesterday we saw the new prototypes of the lion character and the lizard character.  They even had weaponry included, which I felt was the bonus moving from the first set to the second, but today we received a pleasant surprise.  Check out this awesome gorilla character!

Color me shocked to see a third character added to the mix!  With the first set only showcasing two figures, I guess I assumed that would be the format for moving forward, but who knows what to expect now!

And really, it's a pretty good time to be involved with this line, because very soon if not already, the single-mold, rubber-cast, lion prototypes I discussed last month have hit the Little Rubber Guys' web store.  Then, I was unsure of the quantities available, but now it looks like we have a definite number.

There are only fourteen of these suckers:  four light grey, four dark grey, and six bone tone with a wash.  So, for all you limited-edition freaks out there need to jump on these guys quick, because time is running out, if not already!  It's probably best to good look, just in case!

And these prototypes are actually a good sizable difference taller than what we can expect for the final product.  The picture below illustrates it pretty well, with the grey keshi powerhouse towering over the weak and pathetic multi-part pansy.  We keshi purists really know a beasts when we see it, am I right?  High five!  No?  No?  No one?

Run, preferably without scissors in your hands, but you're an adult and I won't be held responsible for your decisions, so do whatever you like, to the Rise of the Beast web store here!

EDIT:  One more character has been released since the writing of this post, bringing series two to a whopping four figures, so far, all with weapons, and who's to say it'll stop!  But check out this awesome ant character.  He certainly is my favorite so far.  It's hard to say whether he'll be allied with the scorpion character or not, but I think they can make a great team for causing some chaos.  Keep in mind this is another 3d printed prototype, and in fact, the antennae did not print properly, so keep all that into account with these early photos.

Moar Beasts Leaks!

If you enjoyed the first set of Rise of the Beasts minifigures that came out a couple months ago, you're in Beast Heaven right now.  Not only is there variants for the first set in the works, but a bevy of news and updates about the second release has been popping up all over their Instagram at @littlerubberguys.  Check them out and follow them.


Previously, I shared that the lion character below would be a part of the new set, but just today his partner was revealed.  Look at this awesome reptilian character!  He looks pretty damn cool, considering both guys in these photos are 3d printings and are very rough representations of the final product.  I certainly love the look of both character, but I hope both of them see tails, at least the lizard.

The weapons look to be a new addition to the new set, which would give these two rising beasts a clear advantage over your scorpion and rhino figures in the territory war for shelf space.  Luckily the rhinos and scorpions have been given time to amass an army, because when these two bad guys are released, they'll need it.

I'm not sure I how I feel about the removable weapons.  My knee-jerk reaction is somewhat negative, but these guys have continually proved me wrong and have gotten me to relax my standards, so I will certainly have to see them in person to really say one way or another.  While I may personally prefer the weapon being part of the arm mold, I can see where that is completely out-of-place in this line.

Haven't gotten on board yet?  Do these guys look awesome?  Well, you're in luck, visit the link below and check out the series one figures and prepare yourself for the rise of series two.

You can find your Rise of the Beasts goodness by clicking right here!

Purist Ramblings: Sketchy Resin!

In previous posts, I had made mention that, although I own resin miniatures, I have a particularly unfavorable opinion on them.  I don't dislike them.  I just find them hard to compare to traditional keshi.  I had used some reasons before, like the heaviness and brittle nature of resin compared to the classic flexible rubber, but I have also expressed a desire look past some short-comings and accept them, for no other reason, to support new artists.

They remain separate, even to this day, although they are inspired by keshi and aimed at keshi lovers.  There are some arguments to have to why they should be included.  Like my analysis for Mystical Warriors of the Ring and Rise of the Beasts, I had wondered if deviations from the pure keshi model should be treated as equal crimes, especially when I let Trash Pack minis virtually pass with a failing grade.

So, I've given it some though and really wondered if the weight and fragile nature of resin should logically be a deal-breaker when considering it keshi.  The easy answer is still yes, but the harder answer is more complicated than that.

I won't go into it too much, but there is something of the traditional keshi model.  I wrote about it plenty in past posts, so please refer back to them if you need some context.  Generally, traditional keshi are small, inch to two inch tall, unpainted, single-mold, rubberish minifigures.  Very few toy lines actually stay within these confides anymore, and some would argue for good reasons.  You can produce better a better designed product with it coming out of more than one mold.  Paint can make it look more realistic, and something larger can add more to the playability, but you can't simply super glue a G.I. Joe stiff and call him keshi.

I had suggested something to the effect of 'product be damned!  it's about the art or the objective of creating the perfect keshi within these rules!', as if I was some sort of sushi chef purist.  I was something I said in defense of the tradition, but accidentally, on the topic of art, I think I hit the nail on the head.  As dumb as I can be most time, I done struck me some black gold.

Imagine it, if you will.  You have a truly stunning keshi figure.  Let's say it's your favorite Neclos Fortress mini, because, frankly, I find them so beautiful.  Imagine that piece, that single, unpainted, rubbery guy is the keshi equivalent to a finished painting on the wall.  If you can imagine that, imagine what the resin figure is.  Would it be safe to assume that the resin figure, with it's fundamental flaws, could be the sketches or proofs of that same artist?  I don't think it's that far of a leap to believe.

The nature of resin manufacturing is very much hands on.  Hand-casted, likely from the artist themselves, and in low production, these are likely trial-versions of a product the strive to create.  Such are the scribblings on napkins and notepads covering studio tables and walls.  Although these pieces are very inferior to the final product hanging on the wall, they are still valuable and coveted pieces of art, even more to those that enjoy the limited-run or one-of-a-kind aspect of art collecting.  They are, if not keshi, part of keshi and part of the keshi artist, and that's something certainly to ponder around the purist mind.

Drop Down and Give Me Keshi!

Hot off their successful Kickstarter, the fine people at Brogamats are taking preorders for this interesting reimagining of the classic army men figure.

They are called Yoga Joes, and they certainly have character about them.  I'm not sure what sort of connection army men, in particular, have with yoga, but nevertheless, I'm always in favor of people getting outside and active, no matter what fashion.

One thing I enjoy seeing in these is the clever use of that ugly base in classic line.  Yoga Joes don't settle for blob of plastic around their army mens' feet to stay balanced.  They instead rework that into the yoga mat.  I'm not generally a fan of figure bases, but you can't have proper yoga exercises without the mats.

As cool and clever as these guys are, I do have a couple complaints.  These guys, at least from the few photos I've seen, look a bit too glossy.  I don't remember the originals being this glossy, however every toy factory with a pile of cheap green plastic made some, so maybe there were some that I've never seen.   Also, although the poses of the positions are spot on, the sculpting job on the figures themselves are rather subpar and blobby.  They have little to no details, outside what you may expect from cheap army men, but I think their aim with these guys was a little more than just that.

Regardless, good luck finding yoga army men anywhere else in the world but at www.brogamats.com so stop in and check themselves out for yourself.  They even have a hot pink variant if you're in need for something a little more limited edition.

Purist Ramblings: Flesh Color!

I'm sure everyone has come across that sort of situation that just sort of doesn't feel right.  You're almost blind to it at first, but you're slowly realizing that something has been done for such a long time, but probably not for the best.  At this point, it's established and well-known.  It's been accepted and it's virtually created a definition onto itself and no longer really rooted in it's origin.  However, no matter how vestigial, the root remains.  Footprints are created and can be lead back to where it came from, if anyone wanted to trace them.  So, I wonder, is something that is considered part of a tradition immune to reevaluation and/or change?

It's silly and I know, but maybe it's not.  

Race in America has been anything but perfect and how tradition handles race has been something of a divided discussion.  Some people argue for an alteration, while others suggest it's fine the way it is.  An example of this is the Washington Redskins football team name, and the suspect nature of it's namesake.  There are many native American tribes to name a sports team after, and many things from their heritage to consider, if you desire something a bit more ambiguous.  Simply calling the team Redskin and reducing the influence of the name to something so distasteful, shows the need for a name outweighed the care to create a meaningful one, especially when you're dealing with other human beings.  But football purists will argue the tradition in the name, and suggest it not be changed, no matter how dodgey.

Moving away from the football example, in the keshi world there is a color that became the standard.  It was used famously by Kinnikuman, or MUSCLE for us 80's kids in the States.  It was neither orange or pink, but maybe a little mix of the two.  It was called flesh, or flesh tone, and to this day keshi is made and released in standard, quote end quote, flesh tone.

I recall George and Ayleen from October Toys having a passing spat about it on an episode of Toy Break.  If I remember it correctly, Ayleen turns to George and wonders out loud of it's offensive to call that tone flesh.  I think it was this scene that sparked my interest in the topic.

The word flesh is a particularly weird one.  Unless I have my definition wrong, flesh is considered all the meaty bits under the skin, or it's supposed to be, but I can see where others can assume skin tone and flesh tone as interchangeable terms.  Even so, a pinky/orange tone doesn't fit the universally 'Ow! Bring me to the hospital now!' red color that lines under any mammal's skin.  So, I wonder what it's supposed to mean.  What are it's footsteps?

Much like hardcore Washington fans, the Japanese don't always have the best win/loss record in being the most culturally or racially aware.  Japan has a secluded nature to the country.  They like to keep theirs theirs, and uphold tradition.  They are proud and very hard working, but may have questionable understanding of the rest of the world.  Various anime characters and fashion fads, drawn from other cultures and peoples, are examples of this such of a thing.  Although purely unintentional and innocent in intent, they show poor understanding of the subject matter, at best.  

However, I'm not sure I can blame Bandai in Japan.  Only when the name flesh tone as a color was a translation off their designs can we suggest it was their idea.  It could have been the American side.  It could have easily have been Mattel, considering they changed the name from Kinnikuman, which meant Musclemen, to just MUSCLE, possibly removing the emphasis away from words associated with weightlifters or wrestlers and brought it into body parts.

They are just toys after all.  They have no intention of being offensive, at least not these ones.  Maybe the Sucklord's collection has, from time to time, in a tongue-in-cheek way, but that's almost to be expected from the dark lord of bootlegging.  So, when it's all said and done, I think flesh tone is nothing to shout at the skies over, however I think it deserves a moment to think about.  White people aren't crayon white, just as black people are not crayon black.  No race has a color swatch, to be exact, but we can see there was a hiccup in translation that maybe needs to be amended.

Flesh tone is Kinnikuman's original color.  They came to the States and we flubbed it up.  We dropped the personification in their design.  We dropped part of the translation and repackaged them with all the care and understanding of "Ehh, they kinda look like fleshy body parts" when we shouldn't have.  We effectively Japan'ed Japan.  We can trace our steps and see that.

Unlike Redskins, the term flesh tone doesn't hit a target on a race, thankfully for the keshi community, and for that, I imagine the term will likely stay, but still, I think we owe it to ourselves and the little toys we love to do it right, or at least consider it.  

Why not Muscle, Musclemen, or Muscle-flesh tone?

Thanks Earthlings for dropping by!  If you haven't already checked it out, Mebbles has a great Glyos review just below this post, so go check that out too.  I've been harping on him to write something up for me and I've been neglecting Glyos for what seem infinity now, so it would be very awesome to give him a read and a comment.  Thanks again!