Plastic and Plush

2005 Toy Awards: Toy of the Year

The most anticipated award of the 2005 is the Toy of the Year.  This is only open to vinyl (as we’ve already given our Best Plush toy to Thomas Han’s Cosmic Quigly).  This was a very difficult category to narrow down to only three…but we were able to do!

Gary Taxali’s Toy Monkey simply did not get enough press last year.  It was an amazing art piece that reminds us of the early 1900’s.  Who doesn’t love that sad look and removable fez?  Hopefully we hear more from Taxali and Chump Toys.

Have you ever heard of Joe Ledbetter’s Fire Cat?  It was made by Wheaty Wheat Studios and was, by far and away, one of the most popular figures of the past year.  We actually could have included all of the Ledbetter toys…but I chose this one as my favorite of the lot.

STRANGEco had a runaway hit with their MARS-1 Observer.  This figure had multiple colorways – the black version being my favorite.  It’s for all of us fans of astronauts and outer space.

Winner: Joe Ledbetter’s Fire Cat
Ledbetter’s Mr. Bunny won our Reader’s Choice award…however, my favorite of Joe’s Wheaty Wheat figures is the Fire Cat.  It’s a truly unique figure as you all probably know.  With so many great figures is 2005 – what can we expect this year?

Plastic and Plush News: 1/31/06

Time for a little site update to let you know what we have going on:

- Check out the all new discussion board!  We want to build that thing up into a nice designer toy community.  We already have a Rocket World and Blythe forum...with more to come!

- We will be announcing our final award 2005 Toy Award tonight - Toy of the Year.

- Toy Fair 2006 is in less than 2 weeks.  We'll be there covering the events and uploading photos that same day.

- We'll be covering Wootini's Unnatural History (featuring Bloo Empire and Nakanari) on February 10th.

- Several reviews coming up: Petite Blythe, Big Puff Maki, My Beating Heart and more!

Painkiller Dunny from Thomas Han

Thomas Han is making available 20 sets of his Painkiller Dunny - from the upcoming LA Dunny series - through his mailing list.  For $40 (plus $5 shipping) you will receive a numbered glass case containing his 3-inch tall Painkiller Dunny (signed and numbered) as well a 2.5 inch by 3.5 inch trading card sized giclee print (also signed and numbered) in a protective case.

This deal will only be available to his mailing list members.  It's on a first come, first serve basis.So good luck...only 20 set out there.

Strange Carnival at Yoyamart

Ahhh...tis the most wonderful time of the year.  That's correct!  Toy Fair is less than 2 weeks away.  That means the introduction of new lines and prototypes...and plenty of parties!  If you'll be in NYC Sunday February 12th, you'll need to check out Yoyamart for a show sponsored by STRANGEco - including the likes of Friends With You, Nathan Jurevicius and James Jarvis.  Check out the above ad for more info.  I am planning on attending, are you?

Friends With You - Birds of Pray

Merry Karnowsky Gallery is proud to present Birds of Pray - the latest exhibition of paintings, drawings and soft sculpture by FriendsWithYou artists Arturo Sandoval III and Sam Borkson. The exhibition is an exploration of the “flora and fauna” of a whimsical world - where a new classification of mystical creatures and spirits exist just beyond our rational everyday. For this gallery exhibition, FriendsWithYou will present a discrete group of paintings produced over the past year, along with a multi-piece installation featuring wood sculpture, giant snakes, plush skins, and other magical deities.

FriendsWithYou recently completed their first solo museum exhibition entitled Cloud City. The exhibition included an oversized interactive playground, and was featured in articles in the New York Times and The Miami Herald.

Project: Neptoon and NY Comic Con

Project: Neptoon will be attending NY Comic Con this Feb 24-26 - look for them in Booth #103.

Sam Fout will be on hand all 3 days to sign the Exclusive Project: Neptoon "Chimp Pansy" skate decks. These are a limited edition of 85 high quality decks and will only be available at the show.

Also they will be unveiling the new painted sculpt of the nefarious Major Ripper.  The sculpt was done by renowned Disney Maquette sculptor Jason Peltz.

There will also be tons of other Neptoon merch, including canvases & prints, stickers, shirts, etc.

Who is Mirus?

Dave Quiles and Outta My Mind Creations have introduced us to their Mirus sculpts.  This might be one of the most unique figures to come down the pike.  The arms are attached and swivel using magnets and Mirus also have little mirrors on their faces. 

Dave had the following to say "I then started thinking about the mirror and what it represented so I thought to make him outwardly reflect the way people sometimes act, so I gave him wings and hidden horns with a hidden mirror underneath to reinforce the idea that it's about looking at oneself."

There are so many versions to choose from, I'm not sure which will be my favorite!

Pre-Order Brendan Monroe's Sours

Glen over there at Android 8 is now taking pre-orders for one of the most highly anticipated figures of 2006 - Brendan Monroe's Sours.  Hopefully he has enough mailbox space, because the demand for these figures are going to be crazy.  The Brown and the Green versions are what are up for pre-order.  They will run you $50 each - plus shipping.  Each figure stands at 7.5 inches in height and has a removable face.  How cool is that?  To get on the list email Glen at glen@android8.com.

MAD Hemp T-shirts

Socialpest.com is going to be cranking out 100 hemp t-shirts designed by toy designer MAD.  The folks from socialpest are encouraging people to sign up for their mailing list as they will notify those people first of the t-shirt sale.  And I probably would recommend not trying to smoke the hemp t-shirts...

Giant Uglydog Spotted in NYC!

Yes, that's a gigantic Uglydog in the window of Forbidden Planet (at the corner of 13th and Broadway in New York City).  Just in time for Valentine's Day, giant Uglydog has made a...well...giant debut.  What better way to show your loved one you care?