Clutter Magazine #19 with my interview with Mutant Vinyl Hardcore

Just out is the new issue of Clutter magazine. Among lots of other content, it contains my interview with Rich aka LASH aka the man behind Mutant Vinyl Hardcore. A lot of planning, phone conversations, and work went into the piece, which is one of the most extensive interviews I've ever done. I hope you check it out, as Rich put a lot of thought into his answers, providing an excellent insight into his work, his toy making process, plans going forward, and tons of other material.

It's super easy to get the issue, and it's really cheap (the sale page has it at $3 + shipping). Click here to pick up a copy.

PS: Looks like they've also marked down a bunch of  back issues to $5. Some of the recent issues have really nice pieces on indie toy makers. So it might be nice to do a little bundle and save on shipping costs.

Mandarake exclusive Enmas

MVH x Blobpus Enma Ollies -  handpainted by Kaiji-san (Blobpus). Released today at Mandarake.

Regular version:

 

 Secret version:

Diggler & Doji-san wrap up their Southern tour: Charleston and Atlanta

The dynamic sofubi duo of Splurrt's Diggler and MVH's Doji-san joined us as we wrapped up our travels in the South. After leaving Knoxville, we made a beeline for Charleston, South Carolina, which involved a beautiful drive over the Blue Ridge mountains and a straight shot across South Carolina all the way to the East coast.

First up, some snaps from Charleston:

This cannon was on a ship that fired on Fort Sumter (which is visible from the shore) at the start of the Civil War. Long after the battle, the cannon was salvaged from the ocean.

At the Carter Museum, in the Oval Office. Nice place, though the Clinton library (in Little Rock, Arkansas) is more snazzy.

Carter received 3 medals when he won the Nobel Prize. Here are two of them.

More after the jump:

Diggler & Doji-san tour the South: Nashville + Knoxville

After Memphis, we carried on eastward through Tennessee. First up, a quick stop in Nashville for a bit of music and merry making.

Pretty good country singer

BB King's House of Blues

The next day, we were back on the road.

The IHOP Hunger

 We had a great time in Knoxville.

Masonic mysteries!

 More after the jump:

Diggler & Doji-san tour the South: Memphis

We had a blast with the sofubi swingers in Memphis.

First off, an NBA game: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors.

Introducing....

....from New York, weighing in at 5+ ounces, the one, the only - Diggler!

Starting at power forward, the masked wonder - the Maven from New Haven - Doji-san!

More after the jump:

Diggler & Doji-san tour the South: The road to Memphis...

Today Doji and Diggy hopped into our rented Sentra and joined us as we made our way from Birmingham to Memphis.

Rollin' down 78W

We pulled off the highway because, well, it was a highway and we saw horses and thought we might have a closer look. The boys went off on their own and sized up a ride of their own.

Airy and classy, but getting it out of the swamp would have been rough.

 Undeterred, D & D soon spotted an Alabama abode where they might settle down.

Bit of a fixer upper...

...but it sure had character!

Alas the stairway to nowhere was a deal breaker.

 So we piled into the Sentra and made our way to Memphis...

The road took us through Mississippi.

Later that night, after a Grizzlies game, we took a wrong turn, crossed the Mississippi River, and wound up in Arkansas. So in one day we were in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. And we ate fried okra and potato wedges. Southern comfort!

Blobpus x MVH x Medicom Enma Ollie

Today, pre-orders opened for the latest Enma, which features a head sculpted by Blobpus on MVH's Ollie. This version is on a blue base vinyl with gold, black, red, green, and silver spray. Though it's a Project 1/6 exclusive, pre-orders are up online, starting today and continuing through February 10.

The cost is 13,800 yen. The good news for overseas fans is the release is open to worldwide orders! However, the order page states that buyers will be chosen by lottery in mid-February, which suggests that this is not an "open" pre-order but rather a limited run.

Click here for Japanese ordering instructions.
Click here for English/overseas ordering instructions.

New Grody x Skinner x MVH mashup

Luke never found two sofubi parts he couldn't find a way to fit together. This one is an imperial doozy, combining parts from at least 4 different toys, and a lot more if you count the Monster arm variants. It's like one giant beating heart pumping life giving sofubi blood.

Let's break it down, because we are toy nerds and it is good:

Head: Skinner's Ultrus Bog
Torso: MVH's Ollie
Top arm (shoulder to elbow): Grody's Ensorcelled Man
Other arm parts: Grody Monsters (However, I'm not 100% sure about the top left hand.)
Inner body: I didn't have a look inside, but I think this might be the new Grody Skull (display sample seen at Super Festival 57), because of all the appendage slots.
Legs and feet: I'm going with Ensorcelled Man, after comparing these feet with the Super Festival 57 En Man.

So far, no name for this gargantuan lovely, but it's slotted to be sold at next week's NY Comic Con. Nobody does the Monster Mash like the Grodmeister.

Blobpus x MVH Debut Enma

Kaji-san (Blobpus) recently rolled out his debut production version of Enma, which features Kaji-san's head sculpt on Mutant Vinyl Hardcore's Ollie body. (Click here for my write up on the Enma back story and here to see the first Enma customs by Kaji-san.)

For the debut production release, the whole run, which was made to order, was painted by Kaji-san. Here are some bagged, loose, and close up shots of this phenomenal figure.

 Header close ups:

From all sides:

More after the jump:

Medicom x MVH double exclusive Ollie releases

Today in Tokyo's Shibuya district, Medicom carried on with its brilliant run of exclusive sofubi toys with a double release of MVH's Ollie at Project 1/6, Medicom's flagship store. The "standard" Ollie was metallic green, purple, and blue while the "secret" was GID with green, purple, and silver spray. The colors and header card made the figures' inspiration grinningly clear. ^_^

We rolled up on a fairly hot and humid day.

This funny sign on the door tells people how best to line up on exclusive release days. (Check out the diagram!)

We passed the time by gabbing and munching on a sandwich and iced coffee. When the clock struck noon, the doors swung wide!

More after the jump:

New MVH x Medicom Ollies

LASH sent in these beautiful photos the upcoming MVH x Medicom Japan exclusives.

Standard Version

Secret Version

Awesome job, Rich!

Kaiju Korner will head to Project 1/6 this Saturday to cover the release!

Visit to Mutant Vinyl Hardcore (LASH) Studio

The other day, I had the pleasure of training up to New Haven and spending a day with Rich (aka LASH), the tour de creative force behind Mutant Vinyl Hardcore. Rich has been a top notch customizer for years, but over the last year he has exploded on the scene with a growing line of original vinyl characters.

Here's my photolog of the trip.

The MTA runs a great service between Grand Central and New Haven. And only 14 bucks!

We started with lunch at the legendary Pepe's pizza. We didn't have to wait, but those who do are surely never disappointed by the food. Try the margarita and live!

After lunch we headed to Rich's new studio, a kind of artist's loft space with plenty of room for jazzercizing and toyer...um...cizing. Yeah....

 More after the jump: