Purist Ramblings: How Much is Too Much?

I've covered a good amount of drop and releases, at least to me, and every so often I catch myself saying something like "...And this one is virtually a steal!  You gotta' go get this one!" but it's dawned me a little - - -

What exactly is a good deal and to who?

When determining a reasonable price for a little rubber figure, a couple scenarios come automatic.  One could remember some of the original Monster In My Pocket or MUSCLE packages and splitting up the price among the figures.  A ten dollar set of five figures would make you assume each figure was two dollars a piece.  Another would bring up their origin of being gumball machine figures, and may only suggest something resembling that.

I, however, think neither of these are fitting anymore.  Not only are things like MIMP and MUSCLE turning into niche collector markets, it's become an art platform for all sorts of new artists and toy makers.  These new throwback art pieces are neither made in mass quantities or with sub-par materials to cut cost.  Independent toy makers pour their souls into these tiny creations, turning cheap slug-mold figures into an amazingly done miniature sculpture.

So now we enter the realm of how much should a piece of art go for, and really, the answer of that is going to be different from one collector to the next.  Some people may love one piece and willing to pay anything for it and some won't even pay a dime.  That's just how art works, and really, it's going to hinge on whether it attracts the customer on some personal or aesthetic level.  The people who get hooked are going to be those who say, no matter what price, that a particular drop or release will be a bargain and a must have.  I remember I was that exact way for the Onion Fights X Punk Drunker miniature last February that was being sold for fifteen US.  Honestly, that figure could have been twice that and I would have not thought twice about still buying it, that is, if I didn't completely get wrapped up in something else and miss it completely.

Just now, keshi are being released and sold for thirty or so.  Believe it or not, that's probably the average price on these Japanese convention-only releases, and some collectors wouldn't think twice.  Some people will be hooked onto what a figure looks like or what set it's a part of and will be compelled while other stare and scratch their heads, wondering how anyone could pay anything more than a couple bucks.

Not all things are limited edition and from talented independent artists.  You may see some big box superstore carry a minifigure line and wonder what would be reasonable to pay, but I suggest not much changes.  Keep in mind quality and materials used, and gauge the price against your interest.  I know for me, if something is cheap enough, I really can't refuse.

MWOTR GITD Goliath Leak!

Hinted from their Instagram, it appears the team at Mystical Warriors of the Ring plan on lighting up the night sky this July in their own way.

That's right!  Goliath, their monstrous alligator character, will be seeing his third colorway since becoming a multi-part PVC figure in their Evolution line.  He's seen metallic green, black, and now I'm sure fans will be excited to see this guy in Glow in the Dark.

I enjoy Glow in the Dark, but maybe not as much as some.  However, I am more than interested in seeing how much this bulky figure glows.  He's already a pretty amazing miniature on his own, so this extra bit might actually cause this variant to be very popular.

For more, as always, check out their website and blog down here!

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/

Circle K/Sunkus Sees Kinnikuman Reprint Promo!

Do it with me, everyone!  Do the Official Keshi Drop Fist Shake of Fury, as news has been revealed that Japanese convenient stores will be seeing a super awesome summer time promo event with Kinnikuman.  Not shaking your fists yet?  What if I told you it was with Circle K and Sunkus companies, Circle K also have convenient stores all across The States?  Yeah, there you go!  That's the fury, I'm talking about!

I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one to say a summer promotional event of this sort would please many mini collectors here.  In fact, Monster in My Pocket did many promotions in the 80's and 90's, and those mini-figures are some of the most coveted.  Granted we can take some relief in the fact that this promo would be just offering reprints of classic figures, but still, we are missing what could be a very fun event and opportunity to collect figures we don't already have.

This story was dropped by Super Punch and I want to thank them for the information.  Please check out their blog below for the original news release.

http://www.superpunch.net/2015/06/the-limited-return-of-muscle.html

Purist Ramblings: Too Much of a Colorful Thing?!

In this installment of Purist Ramblings, I'd like to toy around the idea that too many colorways and/or variants of a certain keshi figure or set can result in a decrease in value, and if there is any sort of merit to that.

Before I get into the thick of it, I want to say a lot of these topics root into how and why you returned into toy collecting as an adult.  I believe this central point might decide what side of the argument you may fall on, if after all, we can even agree there is actually an argument.

For me, in not just keshi but many other toy lines, I collect them now as an adult because I have a tremendous amount more freedom and budget to do so.  Now, maybe aside from the most rarest of finds, I can own every childhood toy I never had.  I can collect those set that were pictured on the back of the action figure card.  It's all just a matter of cost.

Cost as a kid is very different for an adult, and for many obvious reason.  Where some common actions figures barely find themselves double digits on auction websites, as a younger one, these toys were worth birthdays, Christmases, lemon-aide stands, and/or being a brutal little brat in the toy aisle.  Most adult toy collectors have vivid memories of the toys they had as a child, and playing with their small collection far beyond the brink of boredom.  Some of us remember being so bored with the same few figures, we tore them apart and reassembled them as new characters.

As an adult, cost relies on a few different things like materials, age, size, condition, and rarity, but overall, things are much easier to obtain, in no small part with the creation of the internet.  Now, with some clicks and some paypal credit, you can get many if not all the toys you never were able to get, but now that you have it all, what is it worth to you?  Is it okay if it's not as much as you thought or if you find it decreases?

This is the part of the discussion that may split the collectors, asking them how and why they found themselves getting back into toy collecting, but I suggest the proposed value we invest back into these toys are different than the value we have instilled in our heads from childhood memories.  I haven't said it all that often, maybe just a few times, but I've gone on record and saying I'm a 'quantity' keshi collector, if there really is such a term.  I feel this way because instinctively, maybe from as far back as childhood, I would rather have two or three commons than one rare figure, if given the choice.  In a hypothetical situation at a hypothetical playground, I certainly would be the kid that trades that super rare away for that handful of figures I didn't already have.  For me, rarity is a fun thing, but nothing I chase.  I just want that super large collection, because I grew up with no more than ten or so.

In the current scene, you'll see toy releases, especially of the independent sort, come with various colors and batch quantities.  This will create an arguably real or artificial economy for certain toys in the same line than others.  For example, a small batch of glow in the dark weasel figures may find more value between toy collectors than the flesh tone that found a release of a much greater quantity.  You'll also see the same happen to the first release of a figure more than it's future releases, but over the course of many different colorways and variants, those glow in the darks may not be that desired, considering the mold of that particular weasel has been used so many times.  On a toy maker's level, it's best to use a mold to the very furthest extent you can, because out of all the pricey parts of production, the mold is the most expensive.

So, another train track question, should a toy maker continue to reuse his or her mold, effectively decreasing the stock collectability with every variant and colorway?  There certainly is a fine line somewhere in there, but there hardly is a perfect number.  I'm not sure we can suggest toy maker's to risk future releases to maintain collectability, because after all, they only have value to us because we easily couldn't pay for them in the past.

If you couldn't guess already, I enjoy as many colorway, variants, and anything else I can get my hand on, only because I couldn't get my hand on many in the past.  The money I spend on keshi figures now isn't an investment to turn around for profit later.  It's a pile of money to burn in the backyard, satisfying an urge to enjoy a mass of figures, and while I know I do own some really rare figures, they are only as valuable as my nostalgia allows them to be.

MWOTR Announcer Figure Leak!

Released off their Instagram and Blog, the dudes at Mystical Warriors of the Ring have been teasing what they have been working on.

3D sculpts like this, along with one with a microphone, have been cropping up, teasing the idea of their announcer characters finally seeing themselves in the palm of your hands.

What's particularly cool as this adds a necessary element to your MWOTR play set.  They have the wrestling figures and the rings, that everyone knows of already, but they've had play mats occasionally too, when they don't sell out.  The announcer figures would add to that expanding play set just that much more, and will likely yield those awesome dioramas  across social media.

Keep your eyes peeled and ears to the ground!

http://mystwarriors.com/blog/

Robo Toy Fest Con Exclusive Black Colorway!

Sculpted by George Gaspar of October Toys, this giant robot miniature has surfaced in a few Robo Toy Fests of the past.  Some may even recall some of the color variants, from flesh, green, glow in the dark, and now black with this years convention underway now.

Exclusive to the convention first, check with the con's web-store in the coming days to see any survivors available for purchase.  At the very least, a good amount of past variants are still available, and are totally worth the look.

You'll find these guys generally for $5 a piece, which I feel is pretty fair for convention exclusives.

Check them out here!

http://robotoyfest.com/

http://www.planetxtoys.com/robo-toy-fest-exclusives/

FreeKarateChops Sluggo Bootleg Drop!

Feel how you want about the bootlegging scene, but one thing you can't deny is how hard it actually is to make a good-looking resin figure out of bits and pieces.

Luckily, FreeKarateChops' 8 year old apprentice has a natural knack for it, with the creation of this all-new character Sluggo.

Sluggo isn't just staying staying in his slimy nest, but he's also being released upon the world this weekend at FreeKarateChops web-store.

Do the new young artist a solid and check them out this weekend!  I'm sure they have plenty of awesome slugs looking for new homes.

http://freekaratechops.storenvy.com/

Universe of Violence Wave 2 Preview!

The artist formally know as Metal Monkey (now Ironhaus Productions Oz) has revealed the crazy new characters to be released onto his Universe of Violence.

The Wave 2 release will see Deadface II, West Nile, and Hell Chicken, all be cast in MIMP-style soft rubber, as well as new colorways for existing characters Satyrant and Venus Maneater.

These guys have that neat blend of neon color and brutal heavy-metal aesthetic, that I completely approve of.  I really enjoy that sort of 80's style contrast that was once found in a lot of classic toy lines.

For more information about Universe of Violence Wave 2's details or to catch up on previous releases from Ironhaus Productions Oz, check out these sites below.

http://ironhausprodsoz.blogspot.com.au/

http://ironhausprodsoz.storenvy.com/

Rise of the Beasts Komodo Dragon Prototype!

The guys at LittleRubberGuys are always hard at work.  With even their Series 2 launch still being produced, they have their eyes locked on the future, already working on whats next.

This image is a virtual 3D sculpt of a working Komodo Dragon character, and you can tell right away, it follows closer proportions to the Battle Beasts toy line that Rise of the Beasts takes much of their inspiration from.

Although having a few figures, I have never really been into Battle Beasts all that much, but that's nothing to say they have one of the largest toy collecting communities out there.  There is a lot people out there, thrilled to see this character a little stockier than previous ROTB characters, like the classic toy line, and I actually enjoy this look too.

I think I never got into Battle Beasts because of the paint, which I'm rather confident it won't be an issue with future characters out of this awesome toy line.  When Series 2 comes out, I'll certainly be following close to this guy's production.  Maybe there will be slug-molded variants as well.

http://littlerubberguys.storenvy.com/

New Cure Ukkari-Man Prototype Leak?!

Hey, everyone, sorry for the lack of post the last few days.  It's actually probably closer to a week, which has never been my intention.  I certainly want to add more content regularly than that, but it really has been a slow time in the keshi world, at least when it comes to things reaching my ear.

This however didn't.  Off their Instagram, awesome sticker/keshi studio Cure revealed this crazy-looking imp character.  There wasn't a lot I could salvage from their post, where virtually all of it was in Japanese, but hashtags attached this character with the other Ukkari-Man characters so it's probably safe to assume he's the new guy in town for that world.

I personally love this guy, as well as a lot of Cure's other mini-figures.  I love their squat poses and thick bodies, that show just the right about of detail at the right places to really pull off the theme and feel of the character.  I hope he doesn't get the same release the previous Ukkari-Man keshis did, with them only being lottery prizes for the lucky few that bought sticker packs.

It's certainly something to keep an eye on, for sure.  I know I wouldn't be the only one ecstatic to see a world-wide release.

http://www.cure-toys.com/

Atomic Blue Corn Colorway Bearito Drop!

If you remembered my first entry on this guy, you'll be stoked to hear he has his first variant color coming out very soon.  If you missed it, you're in luck, he has his first variant color coming out very soon.

Part wild beast part spicy wrap, this amazing little dude is all from the wild minds of Diehm Studios.  He missed the cut for the latest OMFG set, but he didn't miss our heart.  Now you can snag a metallic blue colorway to go perfectly with your flesh tone one, but unlike before, you have to trap this guy at Tenacious Toys instead of Diehm Studios.

I'm unfamiliar with Tenacious Toys' Super Series Sundays.  I can't say what this program is all about, but I'll certainly be happy if they have plans on releasing all kinds of great stuff every week on Sundays.  I'll certainly be looking into it more.  

As for this one, May 17th 8pm EST, the Atomic Blue Corn Bearrito will be released onto the world.  For $15, you can save one from the havoc it will cause without supervision.  Do the world some good and give one of these yummy bears a good home.

Check out these links here!

http://www.tenacioustoys.com/

http://diehmstudios.storenvy.com/

Ironhaus X Imperfecz Chupacabra and Ushi-Oni Keshi Reveal!

Independant artists Ironhaus and Imperfecz are back at it again, this time with a couple new characters to add to their Doom Gotter kaiju keshi mini-figure line.

Chupacabra and Ushi-Oni add to the city-stomping mix, in a traditional rubber-like material, so if you like your monsters pocket-sized, you'll want to follow these two awesome dudes for upcoming news on their release and/or to catch up on previous Doom Gotter goodness.

Here are their links!  Check 'em!

http://ironhauspro.blogspot.com/

http://imperfecztoys.bigcartel.com/