ToyCyte sale!
We've slashed our prices for a lot of our toys to make room for more customs! Go get some amazing deals today at our store !
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2008 was the year that changed my mind about designer plush. It began with the innocent-enough acquisition of two items: A Curster Yeti by Erin Currie and Frank by Kristin Tercek (aka Cuddly Rigor Mortis). Following that, my mind, and the floodgates, were open to plush. I kept in touch with Kris and watched as new creatures were born into the Cuddly Rigor Mortis stable. You can see how her interests in Japanese culture, animation and horror movies are reflected in the detailed dolls. And detailed they are: each of the sizeable hand-sewn plushes comes with extra touches like embroidery and a birth certificate. If that conjures up an image of an Xavier Robert's signature, hello to everyone else who was born in the late 70s! But with designs based on Universal Monsters and New Jersey lore, these ain't no Cabbage Patch Kids. You can find the CRM crew on Facebook or you can enter here to win a 13 x 15-inch custom Anubis plush in the contest!
Continue reading...2. June 2009
Since I began ToyCyte in April 2008, I had the amazing “once-in-a-life” opportunity to try and find a great news team to cover an industry I love. I was able to explore any and all options to make a toy news blog profitable on a larger scale. I quickly found Jeremy, and a [...]
Continue reading...1. June 2009
I wonder what North Korea’s Kim Jong Il thinks of his semi-prominent place in American popular culture. For legions of late-night viewers, Kim looks a lot like Mad TV’s Bobby Lee. But to Canadian customizer Okedoki, he looks more like a Kidrobot Munny. Writes the artist: This was a commission for Foosh, for their 10 Year [...]
Continue reading...1. June 2009
Our first vinyl custoMONDAY artist we featured was a fan favorite (and one of my personal favorite artists in the scene), OsirisOrion, aka Robert Ingellis. I have been working with OsirisOrion for a few months now to produce a ToyCyte line of customs and today we get to debut them in our store! All dolled up [...]
Continue reading...29. May 2009
Hooray! He’s back. I’ve missed writing about Jailbreak Toys’ Obama Action Figure so much. Here’s a double-dose of news for the most political man in plastic. 1) Jailbreak is sponsoring an awesome Obama toy photography contest and 2) They are currently producing a Michelle Obama Action Figure! While we wait to see how they model [...]
Continue reading...28. May 2009
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We’ve previously written about the customized anime robots of Rotobox – how they’re production quality pieces, pay homage to some of the great robots and characters of animation, and how they completely transform Qees into new creatures with custom cast parts and amazingly clean paint jobs. Well, they’re back again with the fourth series of [...]
Continue reading...28. May 2009
With a rather verdant take on ‘Darkness’, Cris Rose’s latest custom is a little mind-blowing – taking cues from the fine, fine world of railroad modeling (and bringing Thomas Doyle to a whole new strata). Starting with a Neth Creature and turning it into a wandering gravesite, complete with mini-mourners and Rose’s super-effin’-classy insignia… well, [...]
Continue reading...25. May 2009
The name Prozac Rsin, R-sin and Rsin popped up on a ton of shows we covered last year. I checked out his Flickr, and noticed he was crazy-customizing Munnys like they were going out of style. I remember thinking: "his name must be a commentary on toy-making as a remedy for depression." Turns out I had part of it right. I'm in awe of how quickly Rsin can crank out these mini-masterpieces (all the while being a frequent tweeter). Rsin is part of the next generation of toy artists you will be hearing about everywhere, so take note. Interested in getting one of his signature Burning Bear Munnys? You'll have to enter custoMONDAY...
Continue reading...22. May 2009
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OsirisOrion sent in some more info on those custom Bop Dragons we told you about. The custom Bop Dragon run will drop on Saturday, May 30th at 8PM EST. The customs will be available at: http://osirisorion.bigcartel.com. There will be 2 colorways: “Deadly Nightshade” and “Radioactive Bare Belly.” They are each limited to 8 pieces and [...]
Continue reading...21. May 2009
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With the Mortal Plush : I Am Not Your Toy show coming up, the internet is abuzz with a plethora of really innovative and bizarre plush creations, all designed to show intense emotions – a really great concept, especially when applied to an object that usually exclusively demonstrates passivity or geniality. Immediately noticeable is Zabratta Toys’ [...]
Continue reading...21. May 2009
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I’ve been dying to get my hands on the huge canvas of the MadL, so when DLi$h sends along word of his newest MadL custom, I admit to a little bit of jealousy – only more so because the guy knocks it outta the park. Incorporating real copper mesh and tubing, and a working rotisserie crank [...]
Continue reading...20. May 2009
Coming up quickly on June 5th will be the ‘Into the Darkness’ show at the 1:AM Gallery in San Francisco. So excited about this show am I that I had a dream about it last night – one of those difficult dreams where I couldn’t deliver my art because geography and time kept on shifting. [...]
Continue reading...19. May 2009
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I guess I haven’t been super-enthused about Disney’s Stitch Experiment 626 Project Custom Art Tour. It’s not the artists or the toys; maybe it’s the Disney? Even then, I can’t put my finger on it. I like Disney’s Span of Sunset collabs and my sister brought me a kind-of-cool Vinylmation figure back from Disneyworld. (She [...]
Continue reading...19. May 2009
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OK, before someone says “Verdigris is the new black” based on Doktor A’s Mini Mechtorians variants and this new custom Dunny series by Collin David, let’s review the facts for those at the back of the classroom: Verdigris is the common name for the green coating or patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is [...]
Continue reading...14. May 2009
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Le Merde and Cometdebris recently collaborated on a small batch of custom Tokoji Seijin figures. “Both of us added paint, Le Merde added a little resin,” writes Koji. Four figures will go on sale on May 23rd, at 5 PM PST (May 24th, 9 AM Japan Time) for $200 each here. Figures come packaged with [...]
Continue reading...14. May 2009
Jared Deal may be working on Kanji wave 2, but he hasn’t forgotten about Vlad. However, rather than revisit his original resin sculpt, he’s paying homage to the vamp with a series of custom Mini Munnys. “This is what happens when vampires bite vinyl,” writes Jared. Each 4-inch mini comes hand-painted, numbered, and signed with [...]
Continue reading...13. May 2009
The blind box strikes again! Bryan Collins’ Beast Buddies raise an interesting question : are blind boxes really that bad when every piece you can potentially get is original and from an artist you dig? Either way, Mr. Collins’ is offering up an undisclosed number of custom 3” Dunny Beast Buddies, each with an original sketch, [...]
Continue reading...11. May 2009
amybean dropped by ToyCyte HQ last March, but she's been a part of the Bay Area art scene for the last two decades. Her creative output ranges from the cozy to the crazy. Her career path has included plush, pyrotechnics, prototyping and lots of stuff in between. Those following today's Throbblehead post, will be stoked to learn that the most recent concert amy attended was, in fact, Throbbling Gristle. amy's latest endeavor is an homage to the elusive Skunk Ape with a series of intricately detailed hand-made plush dolls. I had the opportunity to chat about cryptids and eat caperberries with amy last week, and I learned a lot. I also got to check out the whole Skunk Ape gang in rare close-up, and they're awesome. To borrow a phrase from the Skunk Ape's "mythical" compatriot: the (Jersey) devil is in the details. You could get to know amybean in one of her myriad blogs (see below) and attempt to track down the cold trail of the Skunk Ape on your own.Or, you could win one of these spectacular 12-inch beasts right here when you enter...the contest.
Continue reading...8. May 2009
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The Multiple Personalities 2 show at LIFT is almost upon us. This is an open platform show featuring western toys, kaiju, resin, one of a kind sculptures and paintings by 50 artists from around the world. We’ve been showing you some previews, and here’s a couple more to lead up into the show. First up, [...]
Continue reading...8. May 2009
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I’m forever diggin’ on Poland’s ciah-ciah and what the man can do with a toy and some black paint, so this recent custom Munny (with other mini-toy accessories, as always) is the perfect centerpiece to his ongoing Pyraminds papercraft project. If only we could all have one. I’m just imagining the plethora of constructed paper Pyraminds [...]
Continue reading...8. May 2009
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Live, now, on Holly Stanway’s Etsy page is perhaps her first departure from cute-creepy into creepy-cute. More cuddly than a Living Dead Doll, and cuter than a Teddy Scare, her Zombie-Bear plush is in all aspects a traditional jointed, poseable teddy bear – except for the undead little girl face. As a zombie fan, I can [...]
Continue reading...7. May 2009
Gary Ham has been making figures out of bass wood for a while now, and was instrumental in me adding a wood toys category to ToyCyte. Now he’s “testing out the DIY world” with his first do-it-yourself bass wood toy: Itty Bitty. Itty Bitty will come unassembled for easier painting and multiple head variations. There [...]
Continue reading...7. May 2009
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Friday, May 8th from 8-11:30PM, ToyQube presents the launch of the BEit Dude figures. Several popular artists have customized a BEit Dude.The designs show the versatility of the toy, along with the endless possibilities that could be created. The customs at the show will be available for sale, and there will be Kicktoys t-shirt giveaways throughout [...]
Continue reading...7. May 2009
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We already told you that Patch Together is organizing a custom show based on Mekazoo’s Robolucha. ToyCyte pals like Nanan1, 2PetalRose, DLi$h, Porlzilla, Tan-Ki, Das Mo, VISEone and TyleR have already joined the crew. The final flier confirms 64Colors, Collin David, Cris Rose, Das Mo, Drilone, Frank Mysterio, Grimsheep, James Yeah!, Jason “Bunk Bots” Hilbourne, [...]
Continue reading...6. May 2009
If you are the rare bird who was put off by all the violence in those carefully-crafted weapons-n-ammo accessories of recent Huck Gee customs, you’re in luck: Huck is showing off his softer side with a series of ten SkullBunny figures. This little guy has been sitting on the backburner for a year or so, trying [...]
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8. June 2009
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