In Living Kolor - First look

Rolled up pretty early this morning. The show is on the first floor of the Design Festa Gallery in Harajuku, so we were able to check out the display from outside. Some first look shots (click on each image for the full size):

Harajuku Kiddyland has moved!

A few weeks ago, the venerable toy shop Kiddyland moved from its Prime A location in Harajuku. Even after the move, they had staff in front of the old place handing out flyers to let the faithful know where to head. Pretty classy move that.
The original Kiddlyand wasn't much to look at from the outside, but once you made it in, after rubbing elbows with dozens of locals and tourists, it was huge in terms of the amount they crammed into each floor.

The new place looks palatial from the street. It's a gleaming Shangri-la of toydom decked out in a feline motife. Wait, there's Elmo next to Kitty. Is he a cat? Who knows these things?

Kiddyland (should that be Kittyland?) is in a lane just around the corner from the old location, so it's easy enough to find. Personally, I like my toy shops in nooks, crannies, and alleys, not next door to Chanel outlets. So the move works for the shop, I think.

Though I'm not much of a KL customer, I have bought stuff there - got this talking pea thing for a gift. I think it's called Mameshiba. Seriously, what the Henson is Elmo.....

Real Head Shinjuku Battle Royale @ Kaiju Blue

Kaiju Blue continues its line of sofubi shows with this latest show/exhibition from Real Head entitled Shinjuku Battle Royale.

Pics of the main display case:
The show opened on October 14, but today a surprise group of custom one-offs were sold, via blind bag. They quickly sold out, but it's cool that Kaiju Blue left them out for display for a while.
The latest rainbow warriors...
Great piece....
Nice to see this Skulltoys collab see the light of day again:
Cool Chaos mashup:
Two versions of the new mini Chaos:
Fortune cat display:
Other RxH for sale:
Show exclusive mini Fortune Cat:
Kaiju Blue has steadily expanded its sofubi offerings. The figures for sale seem to be a mix of figures sold at previous shows with a range of standard releases from designers like Blobpus, Sunguts, Billiken, Uamou, Max Toy, Real Head, etc.
Some amazing stuff from Vinyl Junkies and other designers in this former pachinko machine:

Previous shows I've covered at Kaiju Blue:
- Max Toy Co.
- Sakabashira Imiri
- Vatundoo Exhibition

Mandarake Badzilla Release Day

Rolled up at Shibuya Mandarake at 10:30 for a shot at the Badzilla exclusive. When we got there, only two people were there, so we figured it would be no problem.
A sign next to the Badzilla poster explained how the figures would be sold. If there were as many people (or fewer) in line than there were toys, then everyone would get one. Otherwise, it would revert to lottery. So, it didn't *really* matter how early you got there, since the playing field was level. Fair enough.
As it neared 11:00, the lines really swelled. By "release time" (11:15), there were between 75-100 people there. So it went to lottery style. Actually, they had us literally choose straws (wooden ones), and there was a 1 in 3 chance that your straw would be a winner, and you could then buy a figure 8400 yen (including tax).

Struck out, so no figure here unfortunately. But it was handled fairly, so it's all good.

I was told there would be 30 for sale, and that sounds about right from the way the line moved and folks were allowed into the dragon's lair to buy a Badzilla. But later it seems they did indeed sell some online through lottery sales. So it's anyone's guess how many are out there.

Pushead x Secret Base is back!

The latest BASE flier features the return of Pushead's Skullpirate, which feels like it's been on hiatus for a while. Couldn't get release dates or info, but hopefully soon. October always rocks in Tokyo!
Here's the interior of the flyer. Sorry for the sideways pic.

Artist Focus: Mark Nagata

Mark Nagata has been a tour de force in the sofubi world for about as many years as there are Ultramans (Ultramen?). As the cofounder of Super7, he helped run a company that, through its magazine, toy sales, and collaborations, shed some of the first rays of light on the once mysterious world of modern Japanese character toys.
Now that so many of the shadows have been cleared away and so many roads to Tokyo have been paved (thanks in large part to the Net), it's easy to forget how tough it used to be to find out about companies, releases, and toy shows. A small group of passionate folks, including Mark, did a lot in the 2000s to build the networks we now take for granted.
After leaving Super7 and taking a short hiatus, Mark founded Max Toy Co. He soon populated his universe of original toys with characters like Captain Max, Xam (his arch nemesis), Eyezon, Boy Karma, and others. He also set up the Max Toy website, fan club, and e-mail list to make it easy for fans to keep up with the latest news and releases.

Over the years, Mark has been a fixture at SDCC. He also deserves a lot of credit for expanding the variety of art and artists involved in the East/West character design scene. Mark has done that through collaborations, custom shows, and publications. He has curated or been part of shows in Chicago, Tokyo, Barcelona, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

A couple of show posters:


Speaking of which, two of my articles about Mark's work have been published in years past (when you could walk into a store and choose from 4 or 5 vinyl toy magazines) - in Playtimes and Clutter magazine.

Here's one:
Now here I am in the blogosphere writing about Mr. Nagata yet again!

I like a lot of things about Mark's work. First, there's his unique color palette. Mark's work tends to feature complex designs, and he isn't shy about using seldom-used colors and color combinations. Plus, he's about as inventive and exploratory as you can get (that almost sounds clinical), which means you never quite know what you'll see from his next release (and that almost sounds ominous), which is awesome. But when you look at his number of his figures side by side, there's a cohesion to the group.

Another thread I really like that runs through much of his work is a kaiju space theme. You have to wonder how much fun it would be to see Max and Eyezon battling it out in a cheesy 1950s style live action flic!

On to the toys. Here's a look at some of Mark's customs and one-offs:


Another specialty of Mark's are his header cards, which are based on paintings he does for new toys and collaborations.

Here's a set of an original painting + print + header card (click on the image to see the full-sized hi-res pic):
Mark's background is in fine art and illustrations. Before entering the toy scene on a professional basis (and not just a lifer otaku with a thing for Ultraman) he worked with many of the world's biggest publishers and companies. For example, Mark painted the cover images for more than 40 Goosebump novels.

Here's one from 1997:
So, it's not surprising to see his paintings on header cards and prints (which are often included with his figures).And that may be the thread that brings it all together and makes Mark so important in the modern sofubi scene. With each new toy, collaboration, and show, there's a sense of expansion, of building on what's come before while welcoming new people, companies, and galleries to join in on the fun and build even more bridges to the future.
Speaking of which, don't forget the In Living Kolor show, which is just around the corner. Check back here for my show report, and remember to check out Max Toy Co to see what Mark and crew are up to!

Artist Focus: Matt Walker (Dead Presidents Designs)

This is the first in a series of Artist Focus pieces, which I hope will grow into a long list in the fullness of time. I’m glad to kick off the series with a focus on Matt Walker, the man behind Dead Presidents Designs.

Matt, an automobile pinstriper by trade, is based in New England, but he’s certainly traveled the world in recent years to attend shows, give pinstriping exhibitions, and expand his network of toy collaborations.

I first saw Matt’s toy custom work a couple of years ago. Besides his signature pinstriping, Matt brought a fresh and interesting sense of color and design to the toys he worked on. (Click on each image for jumbo pics.)

Whenever I look at a paint job on any figure, I focus not just on beautiful or unusual paint work but also on the paint’s ability to bring out, well, the character of the character. Matt really nailed it with this Boy Karma piece, which was an exclusive at the Kaiju Invades San Francisco show held at Double Punch in Dec, 2009.

Boy Karma strikes me as one of Max Toy Co’s more exotic space kaiju themed figures. With the design sensibility Matt brought to this piece and dozens of other Max Toy figures he’s customized, it’s no wonder Matt and Mark have collaborated so frequently. Their styles match up really nicely.

With this custom job, the pinstriping is a perfect accompaniment to the figure’s cosmic personality. It’s almost like a series of constellations floating in a blue and purple nebula. Speaking of the color, again, it perfectly complements the figure. I’m a sucker for gradients, and this figure’s shift from deep blue to deep purple is simply gorgeous.

Here’s the Boy Karma shown with another series of Max Toy figures customized by Matt. There’s an Eyezon and three mini Max Toy figures. I bought the figures at the Kaiju Comrades II show held in Tokyo in March, 2010. (Check out my write up here.) The show featured work by Matt, Mark, and many other Western and Eastern artists.
This particular set was special in that it was among one of the first batches painted using Matt’s new Monster Kolor paints, which he designed specifically for painting toys. The colors just jump off the sofubi and are one of the most unique and fresh contributions to the sofubi scene in recent years. More recently, Matt has expanded the line with a set of Hawaii colors.
Here are some detailed shots which show how Matt has established himself as one of the top clear figure painters.
Lil' dude's got soul!
At Superfestival 54 (write up here) the other day, I had my first chance to see Cosmic Squadron, an original figure by Matt.
This is a really cool character that fits in nicely in the classic pantheon of space characters. It’s also made from Japanese vinyl which, as you can see from the early examples of the figure, are going to allow Matt to do some amazing things with his Monster Kolor paints. I can’t wait to pick some up!

One of the most exciting things about Matt’s work is the way it has evolved so quickly over the last two years. He’s hopped in his rocket ship and zoomed from custom paint work to a unique line of paints and original characters at light speed.

I can’t wait to see what he has planned for the In Living Kolor show (coming September 26)... as well as what lies beyond!