Kaiju Korner Video Reviews: "Old Timey" Stingy Jack

Welcome to the first-ever KK Video Review! This is the "Old Timey" version of Brandt Peters' Stingy Jack, a figure in the Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke line. Hope you like it!

Side by Side: Stinky Ginger - To Nakano Broadway!

I was joined by two versions of Chris Ryniak's Stinky Ginger on a trip to the worldwide capital of toydom - Nakano Broadway! Stinky is the third figure in the Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten sofubi line. Click on each image to see its full size.

We start our adventure waiting for the bus. Here the Stinkies are hanging out on a sign featuring a famous Japanese logo which one sees all over. It's for a delivery company called Takkyubin, which delivers packages all over Japan for very competitive rates.

Here the Stinkies face off to debate the relative merits of Takkyubin vs. Japan Post. One of the interesting features about life in Japan is people often mail things to themselves from shops rather than carry them home. For low fees (500-1000 yen or less) or even for free, you can have all manner of parcels and packages sent to you, which can be nice if you're on vacation or even out and about in your own town, given how crowded trains get.

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Side by Side: Calliope Jackalope - Akihabara Adventure!

Calliope Jackalope, a Kathie Olivas design, is one of the toys in the Circus Posterus and Tomenosuke-syoten sofubi line. Let's join two Calliopes on a very special KK Side by Side as they tour the nerd capital of the world: Akihabara!

The best way to get to Akiba? The train, of course! The station is on a number of lines, including the Yamanote (which circles around Tokyo) and the Sobu, which cuts across the city east to west.

Let's change seats...

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KK Reviews: Stinky Ginger by Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten

Stinky Ginger, designed by Chris Ryniak, is the third figure in the Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten sofubi line. (Click here to check out the first figure - Brandt Peters' Stingy Jack, and here to check out the second figure - Kathie Olivas' Calliope Jackalope.)

Stinky Ginger represents an interesting departure from the first two figures, with a stronger emphasis on texture and sculpting detail and a sharper, more angular design - in contrast to the round, smooth designs of Jack and Calliope. To my mind, that helps make the series more well rounded, as it incorporates other sofubi design traditions.

If I were to categorize Stinky, I might place the figure in a similar vein with sculpts from Shikaruna and Yamomark, which are extremely bold and detailed.

Let's start with a look at the packaging.

The figure comes in a traditional bag + stapled header card, which has a really fun illustration, lettering, and color matching the figure.

More after the jump:

Side by Side: Stingy Jack

This is my first chance to do a Side by Side with figures from the excellent Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten line of sofubi toys. I've written a full review of Brandt Peters' Stingy Jack here and one of Kathie Olivas' Calliope Jacakalope here. Now let's see how the first and second versions of Stingy Jack square up alongside one another.

Alas, the little park near my home is being worked on or torn down, so it's surrounded by massive walls of corrugated metal. As much fun as it might be to do the shoot within those walls, I did not have my pole vaulting equipment on hand, so instead I did the shoot on the ledges of the many pretty flower and plant boxes in the area. There were many onlookers, and lots of smiles all around.

Let's start with a front shot, which reveals just how much work is going into making each of these figures unique. It's immediately clear the designers and painters aren't simply "color swapping." Each version has its own identity and stands out strongly on its own.

This is the debut version of Stingy Jack, called the Classic Version (purple). In this shot and the next, you can see how the same masking was used on the eyes and mouth, but to different effects. I like the way the colors of the eyes are different, but they didn't alter the mouth color. That means they weren't color swapping for its own sake.

This version of Stingy Jack is called Toxic Marshmallow. Here we can see how the nose and stalk were hand sprayed in each version.

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KK Reviews: Calliope Jackalope by Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten

Circus Posterus and Tomenosuke-syoten are on a roll! Calliope Jackalope, designed by Kathie Olivas, is the second figure in the team’s collaborative line of sofubi figures. The first, Brandt Peters’ Stingy Jack, was a very long time in the making, requiring the talents of designers, sculptors, and painters in the US, Europe, and Japan.

Once the process was worked out and the kinks were smoothed over, this United Nations of Sofubi Masters kicked it into high gear. With the wind at their backs, they released Calliope Jackalope within months of Stingy Jack. The new figure slots in perfectly not only with this line, but also with Kathie’s previous customs, resin figures, and production releases.

As it’s the holiday season, I took Calliope out on the town for a series of photo shoots in six locations. So let’s get to it – it’s Christmas in Tokyo, with Calliope Jackalope.

Let’s start by looking at the packaging.

Like other figures in the line, Calliope, which is 7.5” (190 mm) tall, comes packaged traditional sofubi style, in a clear plastic bag with a stapled header card.

The header uses a beautiful minimalist color palette, with the figure’s name in English and Japanese. Interesting to note that in the illustration, Calliope’s antlers are intact, while the sofubi figure has antler stubs.

Once again, the back of the header is signed by the artist. I can’t recall seeing this done outside of the Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke line. It reminds me of the way Blobpus (Kaji-san) signs the foot of every figure he hand paints. These are really nice personal touches.

Our first shoot was with a little Christmas tree in front of a convenience store near my house. The tree reminds me of something from Peanuts. It has a straggly string of lights and plays midi style X-mas tunes on a continuous loop.

On the naming of things, a "calliope" is a steam organ. (Fits in nicely with the Circus Posterus motife!) A "jackalope" is a folklore creature that's part jackrabbit, part antelope (which, combined, gives you "jackalope")  - hence the figure's outfit and broken antlers. All in all a very cool name!

Let’s look at the figure from all sides.

Immediately we can see one of Calliope’s unique features: the articulated legs which spin 360 degrees and allow the figure to sit perfectly balanced on a ledge. I’ve never seen this done with a sofubi figure, and it’s a testament to the master skills of both the sculptor - Yohei Kaneko of Mirock Toys - and Teodoru Badiu, who performed the initial 3D rendering of the figure. The importance of technical skills can’t be overstated when producing sofubi toys (or toys with any material), from the design to the wax, joint, mold, and paint stages.

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KK Reviews: Stingy Jack by Circus Posterus x Tomenosuke-syoten

Stingy Jack is the first sofubi figure released through a collaboration between Circus Posterus and Tomenosuke-syoten. The making of Stingy Jack, a Brandt Peters character, involved an amazing design --> production development process involving top flight designers and artisans from around the world.

The process involved Brandt's original character design, as well as a 3D rendering by Circus Posterus's Teodoru Badiu, plus a resin prototype, followed by a new sculpt, waxing, test pulling, mask making, and many more steps until the figure reached the final manufacturing stage. For an exhaustive look at all the steps, check out the Tomenosuke blog and the Circus Posterus blog.

I'm thrilled to have the chance to discuss this toy, which blends western and eastern toy design and production techniques. Let's start with the packaging:

The figure is packaged in traditional sofubi style, in a clear plastic bag with a stapled header card.

Beautiful header front featuring an illustration and the figure's name in English + Japanese.

Here's where the packaging makes its mark. This debut version of Stingy Jack - called the Classic Edition (purple) - was a run of 120 pieces. Not only is the exact number of the figure stamped on the card, but each card is signed by Brandt. Really nice personal touch.

I shot the figure at my local park, which we might as well call KK Park since I do most of my outdoor toy shooting there.

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