Miles Nielsen Kickstarter Project!

Miles Nielsen - Munktiki's Clayju master - is part of Beardo Games - a two-man team putting together an iPhone and iPad game called Crumb Catcher.

The object of the game is to use combinations of food to get as many crumbs as possible stuck in their beards. Reminds me - I had lunch with a dude a while back who would score heavy in a Real Beards of Boston reality show....

The game even has some monster beardos!

They're using Kickstarter to get the project funded. Only 15 days to go, so click here to head over, check it out, and if you like what you see, kickstart a few bucks their way. I did - not for any rewards (I declined to receive any goodies), but to help the boys get their project going.

Good luck guys!

Toy Art Gallery (TAG) shop visit

Toy Art Gallery (TAG), located in LA (near Hollywood), is one of the best indie toy stores I've been to. Its  selection and range are excellent, they have a great staff, and they use their ample floor space to regularly host shows and events.

On the eve of the 2012 SDCC, I had a chance to visit the gallery - in fact I went straight there from the airport. I snapped some detailed pics to share with you, but first, the store details:

Website: www.toyartgallery.com
Address: 7571 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles CA 90046
Toll Free telephone:  (877) 910-TOYS (8697)
Other phone line: (323) 653-TOYS (8697)
Hours: Mon-Sat 12-8 PM; Sun 12-7 PM
Contact e-mail: info@toyartgallery.com
Click here for a Google Map to the exact location.

Now some store shots, where you can see how TAG carries Western vinyl, Eastern vinyl, and everything in-between. These guys are the real deal: a veritable UN of Indie Toys.

T9G, Pico Pico, and a bunch more

Joe Ledbetter and company

Tons of blind boxed figures

 More after the jump:

KK Reviews: Miles Nielsen's Shishi

Shishi is one of Miles Nielsen's fast-growing stable of brilliant clay kaiju (or clayju, if you like) characters. Miles, who has been working in ceramics for years as part of Munktiki, does everything for each release. He sculpts, casts, assembles, glazes, and fires every figure, making each release an intense labor of love and fantastic execution of craftsmanship - infused into what are really very fun figures.

I was thrilled that Miles sent over a Shishi for us to review. Immediately I thought of Asagaya's Shinmei-gu shrine as the site of the shoot. Not far far from Asagaya station, it's a peaceful, serene, and very picturesque site dating back to the Edo period. It's also a popular shrine, so I performed the shoot discreetly and respectfully.

A visit to a shrine starts with the washing of hands. Let's start there.

There are a number of small and large shrines in the complex:

 Not to mention some gorgeous architecture:

 More after the jump:

Background story for Miles Nielsen's Shishi

In honor of leap year, I'll be posting 4 times today. This is the second post, which is also quite unique as there are no images! ^_^

Recently I've written about Munktitki's Miles Nielsen's upcoming ceramic figure Shishi. You can find those reports here and here. The figure will be released tomorrow at a show featuring Miles' work at Grasshut.

Miles is going all out with these figures, including coming up with an extensive backstory which brings together all his clay creations. Each Shishi will come with the full story in a mini-booklet. Here's the synopsis:

"A once thriving and prosperous town, now lays in the grip of a mutated and deformed madman. With his minions of Ikakumora and shadowy, skulking horrors, he has reduced the towns folk into a huddled, scared mass, afraid to even venture forth from their homes.

The mad man, a once prominent and rising star in the field of advanced genetics, through a horrible mishap in his lab has become grotesquely deformed. Through the mutation brought on by his own hand, his D.N.A was fused with that of his test animals, aggressive and cannibalistic squid. With this mutation, he discovers that he has the power to control with his mind, his malformed progeny. Using his mastery of genetics, he built an army of rabidly aggressive spider and squid hybrids, among other horrors. Mindless and terrible, these "spider squid" are controlled by more willful and evil, larger minions. Returning to the town of his youth, the madman, in his underground liar, sets out to wreak the twisted vengeance that his madness demands of him.

Two brothers, with a rich family tradition as the keepers of the foo relics, must brave the lurking terror and go to the temple on the edge of town where the foo statues reside, and perform the ritual that will resurrect the mighty foo from their stony slumber. The foo, once the towns pride and protectors now are nothing but a distant memory for the towns folk, except in the hearts of two brave youngsters.

The towns only hope now rests heavily on the shoulders of two small boys and their legacy.

After braving life and limb, the two brothers perform the ritual that sets in motion the resurrection of the mighty foo guardians. At the moment of their triumph, after the first foo has been awakened, the spider squid and their foul controlling minion attack, and mortally wound the remaining foo, who is still encased in its stone prison. In an act of mercy and preservation, the first foo fuses and joins with its wounded counterpart, thus saving its life. Through this, the foo, separately powerful, are now enjoined and infinitely more powerful as one, two headed foo guardian.

Thus begins our tale....."

More about Miles Nielsen's Shishi ceramic kaiju figure

The other day, I wrote about Shishi, Miles Nielsen's newest ceramic kaiju figure. To follow up on that report, here are pics that Miles sent over of some gorgeous painted figures:

I love the way the paint work evokes elements of both traditional kaiju spray and ceramic glazing techniques.

 

More after the jump:

New Miles Nielsen ceramic kaiju: Shishi

Miles Nielsen of Munktiki is back in the mix - the clay mix, that is - with an amazing new figure: Shishi. You might remember a few months back when Miles made a huge entrance into the world of kaiju figures with two releases: Kappa and Ikamura. Click here and here to read more about those figures.

In his next foray into the world of ceramic toys, Miles dives deep in with a spectacular two headed figure named Shishi. The two works on so many levels. In particular, I love the head sculpt, as it reminds me of the stone lions in front of Chinese restaurants, shops, etc. (Incidentally, I'm not sure if it's related to the figure's name, but 石獅 (shi shi) is how you say "stone lion" in Chinese. Well, 石獅子 (shi shi zi), but close enough. To further digress, one of the classic tongue twisting tone busters is 四十四隻石獅子 (sishisi zhi shi shi zi).There's another about a mother riding a horse, but I'll quit while I'm ahead.) 

In terms of the figure's overall composition and texture, the heads juxtapose perfectly with the flat smooth body accentuated by sculpted fur. Bravo.

Shishi is made up of SEVEN molds comprising more than a dozen pieces:

- 2 heads (each being 5 pieces)
- 1 body (3 pieces)
- 2 arms (4 pieces each)
- Ear gang mold (Gang mold meaning there are multiple items in one mold.) ( 2 pieces)
- Tail gang mold (2 pieces)

The figure also comes with a set of ceramic twin boys, which make up the final mold comprising four pieces.

Here's a pic of a couple of some Shishis and twins:

Next we have the figure's backstory, which fits in with stories for Miles' other figures. In fact, each figure will come with a little book that includes its full story. Here's a synopsis, in Miles' own words:

"The spider squid (Ikakumora) is tied into the story as well. They are the minion of the yet to be released villain.... Takeshi aka Takoshi (octopus death). Shishi is the savior accompanied by twin brothers whom are the only ones who can summon him. Shishi and his counterpart were summoned by the twin schoolboys. During the initial summons Shishi’s partner was attacked and mortally wounded. The only way to save him was for Shishi to combine with him. Hence him being Siamese."

Finally, here are some behind the scenes mold + proto shots (which you all know I LOVE to post):

Shishi will be released at a show at Bwana Spoons' Grasshut shop in March. I can't wait to see how they turn out painted!

More on the Miles Nielsen/Munktiki ceramic kaiju figures

Here's some more info about the ceramic kaiju figures I posted about a couple of days ago.

First, the release date has been announced. The figures will go up on Munktiki this Friday at 6:00 PM PST (Sat. 2:00 AM GMT).

Now some more about the way the figures were made. The ceramic parts were made from plaster molds. Here's the breakdown for each figure:

Kappa

There are 6 molds total, each containing numerous pieces, as follows:
Head: 5 pieces
Torso: 6 pieces
Feet: 3 pieces
Arms: 2 molds, consisting of 2 pieces each
Tail: 2 pieces

Another look at one of the Kappas:

Ikakumora
3 molds, with the piece breakdown as follows:
Body: 4 pieces
Tentacles: 4 pieces
Legs: In Miles' words, "These are a “gang” mold, meaning all legs are grouped into one 2 piece mold. So it’s a long mold with eight pour spouts."


And another look at the Ikakumoras:

Knowing the sheer number of parts comprising each figure and the amount of work that must have gone into each piece is impressive enough. Even more impressive is how seamless the figures appear - a testament to the expert craftsmanship of the work. Great job, Miles!

Ceramic kaiju from Miles Nielsen/Munktiki

Miles Nielsen of Munktiki is about to release his first line of ceramic kaiju figures. I love this kind of cross platform pollenation, especially when the quality is so high.

Miles has worked with ceramics for years. He designed the mugs for a Gargamel mini Hedoran figure/mug set a few years ago. Plus, his work has been featured at solo shows in Tokyo and San Francisco (at Super7). Miles' knowledge of and experience in all things tiki and ceramics is deep. Now, the accomplished ceramist is taking the plunge into designing ceramic kaiju with two new figures.

The first is Kappa (one of the versions is shown above), which is something of a cross between Kappa, the famous Japanese yokai, and Garemon.

The Kappas, standing at around 16", will be $300 each.

Next is Ikakumora, a creature combining elements of a squid and a spider.

Each Ikakumora stands at nearly 10". They'll be $120 each.

 

 

 

Miles is planning to release the figures on the Munktiki site one day this week, so check there often for updates. He's also got lots of other projects in the pipeline, including a collaboration with Bwana Spoons.