Toypocalypse 2: Future Retro at Toy Tokyo New York

I should have posted this earlier.  I submitted my five custom Outer Space Men to the now annual Toypocalypse event, showcasing the work of the Four Horsemen design team.

Adam Pawlus was kind enough to take pictures:

http://www.16bit.com/toyfair2012-4h-customs.asp

Thanks Adam!

Max Toy Co Minis.

The Max Toy Mini Crew

My Vinyl painting adventures started last January with a Max Toy Co Eyezon, and a little less then a year later, I've painted one of each Max Toy Co mini vinyl I've been able to get my hands on (Negora and helmetless Lady Max haven't been released as blanks).  It's been a busy year.  Thanks to Mark Nagata for making such wonderful toys, and encouraging customizing.  Also Matt Walker for creating a community to help get newbies like myself into the hobby.

Lot F Gallery - In Living Kolor

My name in lights!  Well, first name.  On a website.

Sounds like In Living Kolor Boston was a big success!  All the pieces from tghe show are up in the Lot F store.  Including mine, right up at the top.  I'd be grateful if you bought one, or two.  Or more.

I'm an Artist!

I've got pieces in two shows in October!

I sent several pieces to the In Living Kolor show at the Lot F gallery in Boston, October 8th.  The show is hosted by Matt Walker of Dead Presidents Designs and Monster Kolor.  He was kind enough to invite me; the following pieces will be on display, though I won't be able to make the show, Boston is a bit of a drive from here.

Officer Mutant, Chaos PD [RxH x Onell Design Flesh Chaos Trooper and Monster Kolo Paint]

Starguts Armodoc [Onell Design Glyos clear Armodoc filled with LEDs and coated in Monster Kolor]

Rainbow Barf Chaos [RxH mint green Mutant Chaos blank coated in Monster Kolor]

Aether Exploreres [Onell Design Glyos clear figures coated in Monster Kolor]

FungoBon [Onell Design Glyos Gobon coated in Monster Kolor]

 Second is the Gumpy Revolution show, October 8th at Gunnzo in San Diego.  I submitted a custom Gomi for the project.  Won't be at this show either, maybe some day I'll get some pieces in a gallery closer to home.

Hopefully there will be some better photographers there.  Pricing available at the show.

It's a Store!

See the Navigation Bar up top?  There's a link to a new page: The Store!  I've added some of my custom toy projects for your buying pleasure!  Just the Glyos Dice Heads that I've been flogging for a while, but I will have more up later.

The remaining Dice Heads are only $15 each, shipped.  That's cheap!

The Alter-Spacemen

I'm still loving the Outer Spacemen from Four Horsemen Studios and Mel Birnkrant.  The sculpts are fantastic, the packaging is retro-brilliant (and reusable!), and the line has excellent vintage provenance.  I finished up Xodiac to complete my custom take on them last week.  Messed up his helmet though, and am waiting on another set to replace it.  The new sclupts in Waves 3 and 4 should be due soon as well.

These are heading to In Living Kolor Boston for the Monster Kolor show at the Lot F gallery. Couple more pics after the jump:

Starguts Armodoc Mk. II

I continue to stuff strings of LEDs in clear Glyos toys.  This one is a little more ambitious then the last, featuring lots of masked off stars.  Monster Kolor comes in to make sure he looks as good with the lights off. More after the jump.

Ha Ha Ha! Not to scale...

Took years to put this together.

Only a handful of people will get this, and none of them read this blog, but: The Bear can't point.  It was his only reason for existence, and he can't point.  Just one of the many missteps in the disaster of the Adult Swim toyline.  Still, pretty cool that any of these exist.

Ebay: The Pluggening

In your pants.

Almost forgot to plug my current ebay gubbins!

DCU Classics Wave 18, and Transformers Collector Club Exclusive G2 Ramjet

Ramjet sold out in a couple of days, and was a hot commodity for a bit.  His price has come down, but he's still the best iteration of the venerable Classic Seeker mold, I think. Great colors, lots of well-applied tampographs, and shiny foil stickers!  Pre-applied!

I pre-ordered DCU Wave 18 because I wanted Black Vulcan, and the Apache Chief Build-a-Figure.  Now I'm selling the rest.

Yes, I bought an entire wave of pricey superhero figures to complete a joke from the Harvey Birdman cartoon.

The DCU figures are pretty cool though, I had never bought any before, and was tempted to keep all of them, save for Captain Boomerang.

Bouncing around the internets, begging for attention

A big sploot of new customs, more after the break:

 

  

Outer Space Men: Custom Metamorpho

I've been itching to customize some of the new Outer Space Men figures, designed by Mel Birnkrant, and produced by The Four Horsemen.  Finally got around to it last weekend.  More pictures and writeup after the jump.

Recent Glyos Customs

Glyos figures continue to be my favorite custom toy canvas.  See the slideshow above for my latest.  All painted with Monster Kolor.  The Armodoc is probably my favorite.  Black and Charcoal metallic, highlighted with orange pearl, Moondust Silver, and Lemonade Yellow.  Red details on the eyes were hand brushed.  I started customizing it with acrylic paints, and it languished due to my inability to get a solid, brushstroke-free coat of paint on it.  Post-airbrush, I just needed a good concept, and it was done in 24 hours.

Custom Glyos: Aether Explorers

This Pheyden and his research team have spent to much time exploring The Edge of Space, and now their very physical existence has become fragile and ethereal!  These will be posted for sale on the October Toys Glyos boards, $25 + Shipping each.  Full writeup and more pictures after the jump.

Custom Glyos: The Electric Light Delphi

The Electric Light Delphi.

It's much easier to blog when I have interesting things to talk about, for example, the Electric Light Delphi, pictured above.  It's my latest and greatest custom Glyos toy.  Build details and overlong write-up after the jump.

Monseter Kolor: The Right Way

Monster Kolor is Awesome

A follow up, and mea culpa to this post: How Not to Use Monster Kolor.  I bought an airbrush a few months back, and it's completely changed my view of MonsterKolor.  The paint was designed for an airbrush, and it is the finest airbrush paint I have found.  No thinning required, sprays smooth and consistent right from the bottle.  I've tried other airbrush paints as well, and nothing I've used even comes close.

Glyos Gobon with Monster Kolor C-Thru paint.

Monster Kolor is almost too easy.  I've been knocking out custom toys that actually look decent, and feature effects (color change, pearls, auto-paint worthy metallics) that I couldn't even approximate with a brush and hobby paint.

Now that I'm more familiar with the Monster Kolor's properties, I've been brushing it on as well.  In small areas, with a good brush, the results are excellent, for example the iris on Mini Xam, and gold highlights on Mini Eyezon below.  The paint provides smooth, vibrant colors with great consistency:

Left to right: My first Mini  Eyezon with MK brushed on. Mini Xam and Eyezon Airbrushed.

I've barely plumbed the depths of what Monster Kolor can do, and now my only gripe is that there aren't more colors (a standard, non-metallic purple would be great)!

Glyos Buildmen with very little MK color, and lots of MK clearcoat!

This is fantastic paint, and there's an active, helpful community growing up, at the Monster Kolor website to take care of newbies and veterans alike.  I would recommend it to anyone with an airbrush, or who is interested in starting with an airbrush.

New products like the just-introduced aerosol cans, and upcoming Monster Kolor Brushable should make an excellent product even more accessible.

Custom Toys for sale!

SALE! I dropped the price to $15, and I'll ship free!  Also refunded anyone who purchased at the $25+ shipping price.

I put some of my custom toys up for sale at the October toys forum.  $25 each, plus shipping.  The dice are from Gamescience, and the bodies are Onell Design Glyos Glow-in-the-dark buildmen.  Painted with acrylics, and coated with Monster Kolor Pearls and Ultragloss.  They really shine!

If you want one, send an email to sjlongmire at juno dot com.

Blogkeeping: Friday 4-15-2011

Things I have been doing that are not blogging:

• Picking a fight with clinical depression, and losing.
• Having fun with my new airbrush (see picture at left).
• Put a pair of shoes that I love, but don't fit, on ebay.

I've got a weeks worth of Trekathalon ready to go for next week, yay?

Tuesday March 15 - Blog Ennui, and a minor victory!

Oh no, I'm suffering from blog ennui!

New trekathlon posts?  Meh.  (they're coming)

Dead Presidents announced the winners of their Monster Kolor Neo-Hawaii contest. Who's that little red lump on the far right?  Why it's my shabbily painted Eyezon!   There must not have been enough entries, completely undeserved, but appreciated!

Glyos Custom: The Light Rig

Matt Doughty continues to consistently release awesome figures in his Glyos series.  One of the last waves included a clear-vinyl rig, that just begged to be lit up.  So I obliged:

Toys, Craftsmanship, and Happiness

Why am I so down about my continued interest in toys?  It's obvious: I'm living with my parents right now.
Will have for about a year in May.
In the room where I grew up.
Cramming what had been a full life down to one room.

I haven't felt like socializing, crafting, or communicating.  I've given up on most of my hobbies, due to lack of space, time, money, and biggest of all, energy.  I've been struggling with a really brutal depression.

Toy buying has been my hardest compulsion to give up, and the lack of space compounds the self-loathing after I buy something. Every little set of plastic eyes condemns me:  "You could have used this money to pay down debt."  "You'll never be happy again, stunted manchild." "We're why you will never have a meaningful relationship." etc.

I have to look at the bright side.  My life won't always be like this.  My debt was unexpected (herniated disk, unemployment), EVERYONE is getting hit by the recession.  It's not just me.  Toys aren't any less unworthy then Sports fandom, or fishing, or video games, or any other society-approved grown-man-hobby.  Ten dollars on a transformer every month isn't going to break me.  And I'm in a good place.  I had a welcoming home to fall to.  I have a roof, and food, and people who love me.

And if I do buy a toy now and again?  I remind myself that a toy isn't just a disposable plaything.  Toys are works of art.  I'm fascinated by the thought and effort and engineering that goes into each one.  The influences and inspiration, the marketing versus the concept.  This goes on to inspire and encourage my own creative projects.  This fascination I share with many other people.

I am better for it.