KK Reviews: Splurrt Toys

In this video, I review several Splurrt customs, while taking a look at a number of Splurrt resin and sofubi toys from over the years.  Make sure to check out my interview with Joe Merrill of Splurrt in the upcoming issue of Clutter Magazine.

Jyujin by GEEK! Produced by Medicom (Video)

Jyujin is a huge figure designed by GEEK! and produced by Medicom. The figure was shown at some Medicom exhibitions last year, and then we started seeing releases, at places like the Summer 2013 Wonder Festival, Medicom, and TAG.

The 12" behemoth is imposing, but it also has a thoughtful, brooding expression which adds to the character.

Here's my video review of Jyujin, with some other figures brought in for size comparison.

Kamen Rider Toy Shop Visit (Pics + Video) - Taipei, Taiwan

Kamen Rider is an old school toy shop in Taipei with tons of stock and a friendly owner. They have a nice selection of modern + vintage toys. I visited the other day for the first time, and here are some pics and a video from my visit.

Store Info:

Address: Nanjing W. Rd. No. 163 Suite 57, Taipei, Taiwan
Tel: 02 2556 3786

Hours:Mon-Sat 2-9,Sunday (varies)

Video:

Still images:

 More after the jump:

Paradise Toy Land Renewal Visit (Pics + Video)

 

Paradise Toy Land, one of Taipei's best toy shops, recently underwent a major facelift.

Here are a couple of snaps of the store:

And here's a video I shot:




Here's the store info:

Store address: Dun Hua S. Rd Sec 1, Lane 187, No. 17, Taipei, Taiwan
Phone number: (+886) (0)2-2776-6224
Fax: (+886) (0) 2 2776-4858
Website: www.paradisetoyland.com

By the way, this is also the first video I'm uploading that I shot with my new camera, a Canon S120. The frame rate is 60 fps, and it was shot in HD with Canon's IS, which creates a smooth image when you're standing still or walking forward. I find that when turning left and right (which I have to do a lot in this video), it's not as smooth. But in general I think the quality is much higher than with my previous videos. If you like it and want to see more videos from me, please head to YouTube to like the video, comment, and subscribe to my channel.

Thanks!

New York Comic Con 2013: Interview with Mel Birnkrant

Here I interview Mel Birnkrant, creator of The Outer Space Men toys, which were made by Colorforms in 1968. Click here to check out my report of the OSM booth at NYCC, including lots of still images and back stories about the original and new toy lines.

Osaka Sofubi Toy Factory Visit (with video)

Tokyo isn't the only place in Japan with sofubi factories. As I recently discovered, toys are also being made in the heart of downtown Osaka, in a toy factory run by Jungle. It's in the Nipponbashi district, which is home to many toy shops, maid cafes, and more vending machines than you can throw a stick at. Which you should never do, because vending machines are lovely, and sensitive.

Jungle has a very big toy shop nearby, and they put on toy shows once in a while.

This is a working factory, but they let me shoot a short video, which was cool. Here it is:



If you want to get in touch with them, there's contact info here. In the past, they've had folks working there who speak English, so it may be easy to communicate with them via e-mail.

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!

Wonder Festival 2013 (Winter) / ワンダーフェスティバル 2013［冬］ Interview with Mark Nagata

Here, I talk with Mark Nagata of Max Toy Co. about new toys and prototypes for upcoming releases.

Here are stills of the Max Toy protos referenced in the video:

Make sure to click on the image to see the full image size and the phenomenal sculpting detail.

 More after the jump:

Shikaruna studio video: painting with masks + store visit

Here's a video I shot at the Shikaruna studio. In this video, traditional paint masks are being used to spray the Shikaruna Oni figure. I was astonished to learn that there are around FORTY masks for this one figure. That's a huge up front cost, as paint masks are meticulously hand-made by master craftsmen using high quality materials. It can cost $150-$200 or more for a single mask.

After watching some painting from different angles, I look inside the studio/shop to look at some of the figures on display, for sale, and in various stages of development.

The video is in HD, so make sure to expand it to full-screen to see all the details.

Video walk through of Gateway vintage toy shop

Here's a video I shot at Gateway:



Click here for my store visit, with location details, opening hours, and other details.

Interview with Marusan's boss: Eiji Kaminaga

At the recent Wonder Festival, I had a chance to talk with Marusan's boss Eiji Kaminaga for a few minutes. In this video, Kaminaga-san talks about Marusan's new Godzilla figures, Marusan's new mobile app, digital photo frame (with pics + video), and other sofubi and digital publishing plans.

Mark Nagata (Max Toy Co) at SDCC 2012

Here I interview Mark at SDCC 2012. Kirby of Rotofugi joins the discussion as well. Touma too!

Bwana Spoons at SDCC 2012

One of our most bizarre and fun interviews to date! Make sure to watch it all - Bwana reveals a bunch of news during the second half.

Luke Rook (Grody Shogun) at Giant Robot booth at SDCC 2012

Luke Rook hung out for an hour at the Giant Robot booth at SDCC. He brought along a bunch of really cool motorized figures, as well as a couple of figures from the new Grody Girls line. Here's a video I shot followed by some still shots:

 More after the jump:

Ricky Wilson introduces Kuchisake Onna

Yesterday, in this post, I put up still shots of the original sculpt for the upcoming Velocitron x Shikaruna X figure: Kuchisake Onna. In this video, Ricky Wilson (Velocitron) talks about the figure, its development, and the Kuchisake Onna legend.

Interview with Paul Kaiju

Paul is in Japan to travel, visit with friends and fellow toy makers, and attend some shows. At his exhibition with Uamou at Studio Uamou, I sat down with him for a few minutes. We talked about his trip, upcoming releases and plans, and thoughts on the indy toy scene.

Miazawa-san (Shikaruna) painting Tetsujin-28 (video)

The other day I visited the Shikaruna studio. While there, Miazawa-san was kind enough to let me film him painting some Tetsujin-28s, one of the figures in Shikaruna's popular anime line.



A couple of still shots:

Thrashout store visit (video)

1/16/2012 edit: The store is now permanently closed.

Before Thrashout closes, I wanted to shoot a video of the shop. To date, it's the longest store video that I've shot at HD.  Though it's far from perfect, I hope it helps preserve the memory of such an iconic, one-of-a-kind store:

Grody Shogun sofubi assembling (Monster Kara update #3)

Here's a video of the sofubi assembling process. Luke is assembling blank GID Monster Kara parts.

A bit more on the release's progress: Irene and I have finished designing the headers, and we got them + the prints printed at a really nice place in Tokyo. I think you guys are going to love how they turned out. So that's all done, and we're still right on track to get everything shipped as scheduled. :)

Monster Kara Update #2: Sofubi parts prep

The Grody Shogun x KK debut Monster Kara order is coming along very nicely. Here's a video of me sounding very tired + Luke using a new tool (new to the Fort anyway) to drill holes into the Karakuri bodies. (Like with many other sofubi figures, when toy bodies are cast, the only hole is at the neck, so either someone at the factory or the maker has to create arm holes.)

So, there's an inside look at the parts prep stage of toy production. We're moving right along with the Monster Karas and are right on track.