Whirlwind Summit

The East Coast Chogokin Summit 2013 is now behind us...and I'm *still* trying to catch my breath. As is typical for the Summit, I failed to take a single photograph! Yeah, I kinda suck like that. But if you make it to one of these events, you know how non-stop it is! There's a WHOLE lotta toy geeking going on; it's typical to get pulled in multiple directions at once because there are just so many great conversations going on that you wanna engage in. Thankfully, this year's incredible host, JoshB of CollectionDX has plenty of great coverage. In fact, there's an impromptu interview with yours truly early on in the Summit video! ;)

There were plenty of new faces, as well as some long-time Summit-goers who'd missed the last year or two. And what was especially cool was to have so many folks who were actively making toys on hand. This bizarre hobby continues to promote creativity and camaraderie in impressive ways. There was even a rare public appearance of Matt Doughty of Onell Design, plus Grillo and Jesse Moore. It seriously doesn't get better than that!

So earlier last month, we saw at least a sneak-peak of the Powered Bio Suit at MicroBry's and Bwana Spoons' My Friend the Micronaut show in Oregon (there are TONS of amazing toys still available from the show, by the way!). Well, since folks at Grass Hut were treated to the first ever assembled prototype of the PBS, Summit-goers were able to check out the very latest advanced prototype! The design was about 90% done and in fact was a full-color mock-up. See, the production toy will be printed in color, but I usually print my prototypes monochrome to save time. I knew I was bringing the latest and greatest to the Summit for people to mess around with, so I just couldn't abide it looking shabby--especially next to prototypes from my comrades-in-arms, Ben Mininberg and David White! Gotta bring the heat when those cats are coming to town, y'knowmsayin?

So...y'know...the night before the Summit, I busted out the Monster Kolor rattle cans and spray painted my plain white prototype PBS! After that gloss clear coat, I was feeling the look:

Like I said in my post last month, the PBS project is all on me. I designed the toy (well, the mechanics, if not the aesthetics! ;) ) and I manufacture it in my own home. Sure, I certainly have backup--my homie, Larry of Minutia Studios, is helping design the stickers and packaging--but because this is the least collaborative toy development project I've ever engaged in, I'm actually free to reveal whatever I want...whenever I want. No secrets, no passwords, no need to be down to hear the latest gossip. Just real talk.

So with that, I can say that the toy is roughly 99% done! I'm hoping to receive my color ABS filament by the end of the week so that I can start doing in-color prints to show off. The packaging and stickers will be next, but I won't be able to get to that stuff until later this month. Either way, I'm loving every minute of this process. Unlike the Foe Gokin Gin Gin project I started years ago (which may be comatose, but still breathes, by the way!), there are no external forces to get in the way of making this happen!

Unless, of course, Takara-Tomy swoops in and sues my ass off for bootlegging their Diaclone toy. ;)

And speaking of bootlegs, I wanna switch gears real quick and talk about something real special. In honor of the Summit last week, my homeboy, Mason Fitch--painter of "The Foreman" Powered Suit Fake Type--dropped yet another one-of-a-kind masterpiece. This one is simply entitled, "Gundam":

His work is absolutely stunning. The color scheme comes from the RX-78-2 Gundam prototype Mobile Suit from one of the first "real robot" or mecha franchises, Mobile Suit Gundam. A true classic of science fiction. Mason even painted up the Inch Lady faux-Diaclone driver to resemble Amuro Ray, the show's self-discovering hero and pilot of the eponymous mecha.

And dig that sick Beam Rifle-colored Type C cannon! ;)

As usual, this "Powered Suit Fake Type" custom figure features 100% 3D-printed construction, a stainless steel body and shoulders, magnetically jointed arms, and a removable Type C main gun on the back. And to commemorate Labor Day, a day where we observe and honor the often-thankless sacrifices working class people in the US have made to make this country run since it's inception, we are putting this figure up for sale!

The price will be $125 plus shipping. Please hit up my Flickr for TONS of hi-res pics of this tiny gem. This will be the ONLY Powered Suit Fake Type custom-painted by us in this Gundam-inspired color scheme. This is a one-of-a-kind piece...and seeing as how the normal unpainted kits will cost about $90 from Shapeways (going live hopefully by the end of the month), it's not a bad deal for such fine paint work! :)

So if you're interested, please zap me a note using the contact form on the right! Support my buddy's art, all local artists, and even if you don't buy this figure, please take some time today to think about and appreciate some aspect of your life that would be a lot harder if not for the efforts of working class people everywhere!

And before I sign off, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't drop a teaser...

Diaclone Powered Suit type A. Coming soon! ;)