Nah, yo, it's been a rough week, work-wise, but it's straight. I'm just happy to be where I'm at these days. The 9-to-5 is overall pretty chill, and the toy stuff progresses nicely. Well...you know what happens when I take too long between posts: y'all get slapped with a gigantic fucking update! So enough about all that other shit. Let's get down to it! Word is blonde...
So earlier today, Troy Stith, Man of the Hour, dropped his Kaiju For Japan charity sale. This dude deserves sick props for having had to deal with us tempermental, unreliable-ass "artist" goons! He organized this sale with the quickness and I'm sure he'd never want to take any credit for the work. To be sure, it's all about those who've suffered--and continue to do so--in the Tohoku region of Japan, but I just wanted to take a second to give my man a shout. Big ups.
Heh...I really shoulda been more active about pimping this sale before, but what can ya do? It's all good so's long someone pulls the trigger, knamean? Do it for the cause. Do it 'cause the toy's fucking DOPE. Finally...Tohoku Gin Gin:
The figure was painted at Walker's lab with a special blend of Monster Kolor formulated to mimick anodized aluminum. Shit's fresh! If the sun ever decides to peak out over the Bean this month, I'ma take some outdoor shots. Thing looks BLAZING! I wanted to go for a sort of Bullmark Hedorah color scheme...and I think we rocked it pretty damn good. Either way, this is the first full-color Gin Gin release ever! One of one and all that...you know what time it is...
So it's the same mold as the Yojimbo releases. Same two+ pounds of lead-free pewter locked together with rare earth magnets. You could drag this thing behind your truck, and after dusting it off, it would still sparkle...and maim intruders. And it features the same packaging as the Yojimbo's. This stuff will never be used again. The production figures will have slightly tweaked packaging and inserts...and most importantly, no hand-carved foam padding inside!
I know $258USD is mad steep, but it's obviously for an important cause. Not a dime goes into my or Troy's pockets. Tell your people. Post it all over the world. This hobby may be fun and all that...but at the end of the day, it's about making a difference and trying to create a better tomorrow. 'Cause you know some people less fortunate than we could use it.
If you can't swing the price tags these things are going for--or if toys just aren't your thing--please consider donating to Second Harvest. They're a food pantry that serves displaced folks immediately. Japan isn't hurting for rapid-response tech or personnel. They're highly organized and relief workers are well-integrated with the communities they serve. But the immediate need of those who are hungry in the most chaotic areas still has to be addressed. Pantries like Second Harvest are going above and beyond right now.
...
Anyway, the light sensor on my camera's starting to go...so pics are gonna get progressively more and more grainy until I get off my lazy ass and pilfer a new one. Yo, I can't front, though: my shit's lasted for-fucking-ever. That joint was top of the line...in '93! ;)
Quick M.U.S.C.L.E. Gin Gin update. I completed "baby Gin Gin" 2.0 a few weeks ago because I wanted to tweak the proportions and some details. Got 'em printed through Shapeways...and I gotta say, they look mad fresh. I basically made the head a lot bigger so it's more in the M.U.S.C.L.E. style, pointed the toes out a bit, and enhanced some of the other fine details.
Check it (note the "BN" on the back actually stands out visibly now!):
The clear Objet print material ain't bad. I'ma have Walker hit it with his high-gloss clear coat to make it look extra glassy. Right now, if I dunk him in water, it looks like a fucking jewel: as usual with clear shit, the material may be "truly" clear, but the microscopic surface texture is what fucks everything up (think clear Chinese vinyl that looks mad cloudy because it has an "open grain" porous surface texture...versus clear Japanese vinyl that's SUPER glassy because of the closed, hard glossy surface).
Anyway, now that I'm getting more of these from Shapeways, I'm starting to notice more variation in their print quality. One of these came back looking like a lump of dog shit. Took a while to clean it up...and it's still got this weird slimy chemical feel to it. Eh...what can ya do? They're still $13!
I'ma do the final tweaks this weekend. The 3.0 version will likely be the final. "Final" what, you ask? I have no fucking idea! On the strength, I'd LOVE to get these produced in big quantities and in lots of different colors and styles. It's tough when my own homies are SO supportive of Gin Gin and all the sick shit we're doing...but likely won't be able to afford the damn things when they come out. I wanna make something that's flavor--that they have a real connection to--and that they can afford, y'knowmsayin? I'll keep y'all posted...
Quick Unicron stand update: got a call from my fabricator the other day--sounds like wave 3 is just about ready to roll! This will be a bigger order, so hopefully, maybe a few will actually remain in stock for more than a few days! I've already taken a bunch of preorders, so we'll see how it goes. I sound like a broken record, but I just love hearing how people are REALLY feeling the stand! I'm not some egomaniac (WHAT!?) who thrives offa pats on the back, y'knowmsayin? I'm a fan, first. I consider my "customers" my peers: so if fellow fans think my shit's dope, then that means a lot to me!
And finally...some really fresh news...a new project. Check it. Most of y'all probably aren't aware, but I'm a HUGE Voltron I fan. Yes, the superior Vehicle Voltron Force. Yeah, I said it. WHAT!? I challenge any of y'all to go back and try to watch either show--neither is Shakespeare, but after two or three episodes of lion, you'll be ready to end your life with a bullet. The vehicle joint actually had a plot...in fact, as a wee pea, I saw it as "Starblazers light"! There was politics and war...and yet it wasn't so GODS-DAMNED depressing as fucking Starblazers...
Whatever--if y'all disagree, we'll go toe-to-toe some other time.
The 15" Matchbox combiner based on the venerable Popy DX "Kikou Gattai" Dairugger set was, like, my favorite shit in the world as a kid--even though my family could never afford to get me one! A friend of the family had one (heh...a kid I didn't even like), so whenever we were forced to go over there for dinner or whatever, I would just make nice in order to rub my love-stink all over that toy! Anyway, what was the biggest problem with the Matchbox release? No fucking Blazing Sword.
And now, George Sohn of Toynami has given us Voltron I/Dairugger fans something fresh to lose our shit over like when we were kids: a genuine "Shogun Warriors" Jumbo Dairugger XV. Holy hell--the fact that such a thing exists makes my head swim. A bunch of us were partying at JoshB's last weekend and I got to fondle this thing inappropriately in person. What's it's biggest problem? No fucking Blazing Sword.
What the fuck...really? Gonna do me like that AGAIN??? That shit ain't right. But wait--I'm a CAD jockey and with so many avenues of rapid prototype and manufacture at our disposal these days...could we actually make something happen???
Stay tuned.
;)
