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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MINDstyle just released some proto photos of Michael Lau’s upcoming vinyl marionette for their art toy collectible series: The task presented by Paramount Licensing was to create an interpretation that would translate well as vinyl. Michael was given the freedom to create his vision with the approval of the estate for the iconic character. What many [...]
Continue reading...Monday, May 25, 2009
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TV and movie tie-in toys are a hit or miss property, but I think with Michael Lau and MINDstyle pulling the strings, they’re definitely putting a hit out. Enough of my puns on the forthcoming Godfather marionette. Here’s the skinny from MINDstyle: One of the most acclaimed movies of all time leading character is re-defined through [...]
Continue reading...Monday, April 20, 2009
Finally! I’ve never even seen Lilo and Stitch, so my love of this format has no foundation in narrative or nostalgia – I just really dig the Stitch toy. It’s like a Munny that doesn’t suck. Honestly, it’s really hard to make a Munny look good, but maybe that’s just me hitting a monkey-saturation point. No [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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What is it with today and teasers for classsic film toys? I don’t think this is an April Fool’s Day thing because while MINDstyle is known for being purveyors of some of the finest art toys out there, they aren’t exactly known for joking around. They sent us the above teaser for a collaboration with [...]
Continue reading...Monday, March 30, 2009
Brandt Peters’ Peacemaker 32.9 is on its way from MINDstyle to select stateside retailers. The 12-inch, almost tin-like figure has a hand-weathered finish and comes in a vintage gift box with a numbered collector’s card. This Vintage Original version Peacemaker 32.9 will be an edition of 300 figures worldwide for an SRP of $94.99. The [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 24, 2009
During yesterday’s segment, we profiled designer toy companies for our report on blind boxes. Today, it's all about the end users of blind boxes: the fans. Toy fans echo the diversity of the toys. We enjoy different aesthetics and buying styles. Some people care about edition size; some don't. Some fans like vinyl; some prefer resin. But all of us are a little crazy. We're in an economic recession, and we're buying toys. Let's look at what toy fans want and the possible ways of getting it.
Continue reading...Monday, March 23, 2009
Now over a decade since the beginning of the designer toy movement, Kubricks, Qees and Dunnys seem like distant cousins from the toys that sparked the scene. They have become a category all their own: they are blind box toys. Blind box toys are sold with their contents enshrouded in secrecy. The risk-factor of buying the unknown is mitigated by the potential reward of getting something rare. You don’t know what you’re going to get, and that is, ostensibly, all packaged into the fun of the experience. Depending who you ask, blind boxing is a “marketing strategy” or a “fun experience.” Depending who you are, it is either one or possibly both. The segments of this story include: toy companies, toy fans, toy stores, toy artists and toy bloggers. Let’s begin at the beginning, with the toy companies. Part 1: Toy Companies.
Continue reading...Friday, March 20, 2009
Here are two very cool customized Scavengers to roll you into your weekend. Up top we have the MINDstyle Creative Group’s take on Kathie Olivas’ series 1 Dexter. The paint application is so clean on these “China Mask” customs. Fifty were made and are up for grabs (or likely already accounted for) at $100 a [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, March 19, 2009
SKWAK is back! Technically, he never went away. He's actually been pretty busy, and his current schedule includes new toys, new tees and a show. Johan of the French art blog Some Cool Stuff recently interviewed SKWAK. If you can read French, bookmark his site and read the entire interview here. Alas, I cannot read French. Luckily my mom is fluent and was happy to translate. Johan asked SKWAK excellent and thoughtful questions about his art, style, mind and world. SKWAK reports back onan 8-inch Dunny with Kidrobot (!), an upcoming mini-figures series with MINDstyle (!!), an American animation project (!!!) and maybe even some porn (???). So with props to Johan and my mom (who is now a SKWAK fan and too-kindly likened my habit of cramming pages with words to Skwak's style of "too much"), here's the latest news from the Maniac World.
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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Remember how quickly the first set of Michael Lau’s Jordon figures went? When I called Ningyoushi to get my SK3, the Jordons were already long gone. The new Jordon 049 x 023 colorways are currently available to MINDstyle’s ATS members. A limited amount will be offered online this Friday and in-store at De La Barracuda [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 10, 2009
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Vinyl Pulse has announced that they’ve got the exclusive public allotment from MINDstyle’s Art Toy Society offering of Michael Lau’s MONO SK3 Set. We speculated on these figures last week, and here they are. I’m a little nervous to know what the price on this edition of Black White Orange (sans Orange), 2bb1 and Fat [...]
Continue reading...Friday, March 6, 2009
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Well, fans of Doktor A didn’t really think it would be so easy as to snatch up a complete window-boxed set of his mini-Mechtorians, did we? MINDstyle has revealed the golden ticket figures we alluded to earlier this week. These are the official images of the Lucky Draw prizes being awarded to winning ticket holders. [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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I doubt it’s from kissing each other. But sometime this week, MINDstyle will release a grey and white edition of Michael Lau’s SK3 set, probably one of my favorite figure trios purchased last year. I’m a little unclear if this will be a general or Art Toy Society release. I am a sucker for monotone [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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Doktor A’s mini-mechtorians are here! And cheers to the Dok and MINDstyle for making minis awesome again. This is the first wave of mini-mechs, and it contains the six characters: DJ Gramo, Mr. Head, Sentry Wheel, Sir Shilling Copperpenny, Skuttler and a teeny tiny Stephan LePodd. This line from the Mechtorians site is (gramophone) music [...]
Continue reading...Friday, February 20, 2009
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Breaking news for Kathie Olivas fans in the LA-area: Miguel of De La Barracuda (who had exclusive dibs on the pewter Abraham Obama) just confirmed that the shop’s allotment of the exclusive Scavengers Beaumont by Kathie Olivas x DLB T-Shirt set will be made available this Sunday, February 22nd. The limited edition figure and t-shirt [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 17, 2009
ATS is a members-only club for loyal MINDstyle collectors. The membership fee includes limited edition figures and gives fans inside access to all our latest releases, including limited editions from an allotment of event exclusives. This is the best way to purchase those hard to find figures or for the completist, your chance of collecting all the different versions. Your membership fee includes Ron English's Abraham Obama Inaugural version vinyl bust (Happy President's Day) and the highly sought after red Hazel mini figure (NFS).
Continue reading...Friday, February 6, 2009
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Are you as terrible as me about pre-orders? Smart people just take the plunge and lock it in. What are the rest of us waiting for? ToyQube currently has Doktor A’s Mechtorian Mini Figures Series 1 up for pre-order for $89.94 here. MINDstyle has painstakingly recreated the mechanical citizens of Retropolis in great detail. The [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Following a flood of Google queries looking something like “Kathie Olivas NYCC,” MINDstyle has issued some clarifications. As reported here, Kathie Olivas will indeed have a grey colorway of Two-Faced Hazel for NYCC 09. There will be 200 pieces worldwide for $100 each, and Toy Tokyo Booth #858 will have a limited supply. On February 7th [...]
Continue reading...Monday, February 2, 2009
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Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas are kind of like the Prom King and Queen at this year’s New York Comic Con. First up: Brandt’s PEACEMAKER 32.9 vinyl collectible figure. The place to be is at Toy Tokyo Booth #858 on Saturday, February 7, from 12 noon to 2:00PM for the special pre-release. The PEACEMAKER 32.9, [...]
Continue reading...Friday, January 30, 2009
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MINDstyle just issued a statement to clarify some Scavenger speculation. With the original black Hazel mini figure from [Scavengers] Series 1 having set the tone on eBay, prices have sky-rocketed to USD $200 to USD $300 on the secondary market; for what was once purchased at a suggested retail price of just USD $11.99 for the [...]
Continue reading...Monday, January 26, 2009
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Well here’s a double-dose of good news for folks who were waffling on spending their rent money on Kathie Olivas’ Two-Faced Hazel Asia Exclusive. 1) They’re not yet sold out. 2) A random assortment of the Asia Exclusives have a stowaway: a blue Hazel mini-figure. Per MINDstyle: In celebration of Chinese New Year, MINDstyle and Kathie [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, January 22, 2009
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3DRetro’s VTN exclusive gold colorway of Ron English x MINDstyle’s Abraham Obama is now available to the general public at 3DRetro’s website here. The 16-inch rotocast bust was on display in Pasadena, and now can be on display in your house for $200. This is the 7th 8th colorway following Presidential, Inaugural, Pewter, Black, White [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Yesterday’s excitement is still with me, and I wanted to provide a bit more information on my favorite Ron English x MINDstyle’s Abraham Obama bust so far. The “Presidential” colorway was a hand-painted edition of 100 pieces. Rumor has it that this is the colorway one might see in an episode of MTV Cribs or [...]
Continue reading...Monday, January 19, 2009
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MINDstyle continues to make 2009 their year and Kathie Olivas‘ Two-Faced Hazel figures are leaders of the pack. Following sell-out runs of the first 9-inch Two-Faced Hazel and its all-white Vinyl Pulse-exclusive counterpart, MINDstyle is droping an Asia exclusive. In honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year, 500 Hazels are decked out in red and [...]
Continue reading...Friday, January 16, 2009
I totally live for all this Obama-inspired art, but I gotta call foul on this one. At this point, I’ve lost track of how many colorways of Ron English x MINDstyle’s Abraham Obamas have come out. The black bust was exciting and the pewter colorway kind of cool, but this “inauguration version” kind of [...]
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Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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