Sea of Daggers

Our deck mate on the high seas, Jesse DeStasio, has been running a very special fundraiser called the Sea of Daggers, which wraps up today. The core of the project focuses on one of Jesse's favorite childhood characters, Crae Drake. Those of you who have been following Jesse and his Knights of the Slice series over the last 8 years will no doubt be familiar with Crae, but this latest iteration combines the "Diskman" concept of enhanced Glyos compatible articulation that we used for the Gauss Armor project. Once again the Four Horsemen have granted us the use of the disc system so we can push Crae and his crew of characters into more poseable possibilities. 

As an added and deeply connected bonus, Jesse and I have integrated an old character form my pre-Glyos days of creating, which happened to line up very well with the expanding world that is the Sea of Daggers. "The Naval Deep" served as the primary antagonists for an old story I created called Cly Nonan, back in the mid 90s. Cly, much like Crae, was an explorer and solitary orphan, raised by hardened warriors to survive in a dangerous and mysterious world on the high seas. Both of our characters end up meeting "sidekick" nonhuman creatures that then accompany them on their many journeys. The similarities are downright uncanny. Of course, Crae looks a lot like Jesse D, while Cly looks mostly the opposite, being clean shaven, tan and blond. 

The Naval Deep surface as primary adversaries for Cly, as it is eventually revealed that an old war with them claimed the lives of Cly's parents. I spent many years working on the Cly Nonan story, spanning three stages of his life, with his final bonus appearance being in Rechlen and Aves, as an old man protecting his sidekicks from the misguided Space Trappers themselves. I never thought anything from Cly Nonan would make it into the modern Glyos universe, but thanks to Jesse D's campaign and some incredible support, something has.

Please go check out Jesse D's fundraising project and support what you can. Thank you to everybody that has already taken the plunge and made Crae and the Naval Deep possible, as it's an unexpected dream come true.

LegionsCon 2023

We are excited to make our annual pilgrimage to the amazing LegionsCon this weekend, November 11th-12th, in Whippany, New Jersey. The Four Horsemen are family to us, so getting the opportunity to hold another mini "GlyCon" within their powerhouse exhibition is an off the charts level event for us. Massive thanks once again go out to the 4H, their resident master of marketing Jeremy Girard and the infinitely generous Joe Veteri. 

Looking forward to catching up if you can make the show! 

Mercenary Alert

Returning from beyond the void and hot on the heels of the recent Game of Hope show, Jesse Moore and his boys have released an all new wave of Callgrim to wreak havoc on your toy shelves and work desks across the plastic frontier! 

This new assortment marks the online debut of the Heavy Armored Order, which is a special "hidden" form of the Sincro Armor Set. 

The main goal of  Sincro Armor project was to create a multi-purpose "universal" set that could line up with not only the Sincroborg, but also many of the various molds from across the expanded Glyos catalog -with extra attention paid to its interface with Callgrim. 

So as a surprise for Jesse on his birthday a couple of years ago, I hid the Heavy Order "face" behind another glued on outer Sincro styled armor plate, then sent the first test shots up to him as a present to discover. It was a good little bright spot in those uncertain times. 

Congratulations to our brother Jesse and his sons on the triumphant return of our favorite mercenary!

Game of Hope 2023

One of the major things we've missed throughout the pandemic was connecting in-person each year with our extended Japanese family. Now, after far too long a pause, we're all able to finally have a reunion, but for the first time right here in New England.

Tomorrow afternoon we'll be in attendance co-hosting the first Game of Hope exhibition to be held at Jesse Moore's Graphic Jam screen printing shop, which also doubles as the official headquarters of Callgrim.

Flying in direct from Tokyo and releasing limited editions of their otherworldly Japanese sofubi will be the superhuman quartet of RealxHead, Uamou, Cord Viper and Goccodo.

Running support for this mini showcase will be the equally incredible Marty "The Godbeast" Hansen, Toyfinity (John Kent), Spaced Out Design (Pj Bartlett) and performing live, Toy Pizza's very own Jesse Destasio and Zed Star Seven! Jesse D will also be promoting his latest campaign to bring another of his childhood characters to life (more on this next week).

In special celebration of the event, Jesse Moore will also be revealing his latest assortment of Callgrim, featuring all new runs of the most notorious bounty hunter in the Glyos System. Jesse will have some surprises pulled from his archives available as well. There's also rumor that some very rare Callgrim sofubi might make an appearance...

The Game of Hope is set to run tomorrow, October 28th from 1-6 PM at the Graphic Jam in Beverly, MA.

Mike "MZ" Moszczynski 1963-2023

Though he was a fairly private person, Mike "MZ" Moszczynski, fellow Glyos maker and creator/owner of the Zullbeast and Zullen, was one of the most generous people I've ever known. His sudden passing last month hit like a freight train for his family and all of us. He was just shy of 60 years old. 

I met Mike MZ online in early 2011, after he'd reached out about some of my older work, particularly the Rechlen and Aves series. His enthusiasm and genuine interest were the real deal, and we started to correspond regularly. Mike would go on to reveal his deep love of the classic OSM toyline, created by Mel Birnkrant, and the subsequent Four Horsemen relaunch of the line in 2010, which had led Mike to Glyos. We talked about how much the OSM had impacted the both of us, opening up new creative pathways and the desire to one day potentially build our own worlds. Mike really had an incredible drive to create, which became more and more evident as we continued to connect. 

It wasn't long before Mike started sending packages up here, each one filled with extraordinary customs, painted and built with true talent pulled directly from his surprisingly wild imagination. I tried to return the gestures by hiding old hand cast Rechlen and Aves figures in his outgoing packages after we'd have a launch. What started out as some fun gift giving quickly escalated, with Mike sending up a complete vintage OSM Series 1 set, as a gift. To say I was shocked is beyond an understatement, but the day I opened that box will never be forgotten. I still have them stored in that very box they arrived in, adorned with Mike's writing, reflecting his dry sense of humor. It was the same box I'd sent to him earlier, so my message to him was also scrawled on the inside flap. A small testament to the early days of our friendship. I'm so thankful that I held onto that beat up old box.  

Eventually in 2015, Mike decided that he wanted to get into the production end of things, so we worked together with our mutual great friend Marty Hansen (prototyping/casting), ace sculptor Rudy Garcia (sculpting) and at that time fellow upcoming Glyos "maker in the making" Pat Bussey (product art) to concept and create what would come to be known as the vinyl Zullbeast. Mike's endless love for all things cosmic and creepy really came through with the Zullbeast, and quickly rolled directly into the development of the PVC Zullen project at the end of 2015. For the Zullen, Mike and I imagined that a collective of alien races had stolen technology from across the other Glyos "lines" and worked in the background to manipulate the events of those other universes, sort of like a counterintelligence to the Delphi. Mike was all about collaborating and exploring together, and that was the case for as long as I knew him. 

Before Mike passed away, we'd been working on his latest project, which we called the "Zulloid". This one began in 2019 and went through some deep iterations over the last 4 years, continuing development right through the heart of the pandemic. As always, Mike stayed dedicated to seeing the project through, despite a variety of challenges, frustrations and delays. Once again, we worked with Marty, Rudy and Pat, and soon welcomed the great Anthony Coffey on board to take on digital sculpting duties. The Zulloid served as my first real working project with Anthony, who has gone on to sculpt many subsequent Glyos projects. Once again, another new branch of creative collaboration grown thanks to Mike's desire to keep making things.   

In my last conversation with Mike, which was literally the day before he moved on, he asked that we keep his world alive, and carry on the legacy of all that he'd worked on. I promised him that we would do so, and that his memory would live on with each and every figure that he brought to life, through his love of creating and the love he forever showed his friends. 

We miss you Mike, and we won't let you down. 

Power-Con Mini Wave is Go!!

Wave 98.5 is live!

Refresh: https://onell.store

Be sure to also visit
The Culture Pirates Shop
to complete the team!

Note: All limits have been lifted, thanks for your cooperation!

Also, due to the state of things with Covid-19, we will only be shipping domestically (and to Canada) for this wave. We sincerely apologize to our international customers for the situation.

Power-Con 2023

If you're in Columbus, Ohio this weekend, check out an especially super charged Power-Con, featuring a jam packed exhibition of independent action figure makers from all over the country. Also make sure to swing by the newly assembled "Glyos Alley" section of the show to catch up with many of the current Glyos makers and get your first shot at their special Power-Con exclusives. 

Celebrating our first attendance of this long running show, Onell Design and Culture Pirates will be releasing a special small Power-Con joint assortment across our two sites. Both attendees of the convention and those at home will have the chance to pick up the figures, both onsite and online, while supplies last. 

Our stores will open simultaneously tomorrow night, Friday the 11th, at 9:30PM EDT for online sales.

Onsite sales will open in Glyos Alley tomorrow when Power-Con begins at 2PM. 

A massive thank you goes out to Val Staples for inviting us to his show and letting us join in the fun!

Thank You!!!

A belated but big thank you for returning to Granthan with us on our 16th anniversary! The fact that we've somehow managed to quietly survive this long is an absolute testament to your dedication and generosity. 

Gearius and his various adventures over the years frames much of the creative journey that we've slowly explored since starting production Glyos back in 2007. One of the very first variant Pheydens was the Gear's Edge style, debuting in Wave 1 along with Standard Pheyden and Phase Pheyden. It was soon after that rollout that I carved a scar into one of the Gear's Edge Pheyden heads, which subsequently ended up becoming the prototype for the Scar Pheyden head that continues to be offered to this day. 

Soul of the Traveler, arguably the magnum opus of the Passcode era (thanks in particular to the extraordinary original soundtrack created by Disasterpeace), prominently featured Gearius in one of the lead roles, piloting his beloved Rig right into the heart of an unfolding space-time tragedy. I'll never forget working with Rich and Marcus up in the attic together as we hammered out that whole project. 

Gearius also reappeared once again as part of what stands as our most successful assortment to date "by the numbers", Wave 90. Who would think that a brown based wave would land at the top spot of all our statistics, but such is the case. 

Though he's a Second Generation Traveler, Gearius has really been with us from the start, so it's felt extra satisfying to fill your packages with the latest iteration of a somewhat unassuming, yet very pivotal, "new" old version of one of the first Pheydens. 

As of this writing, all orders have been packed and shipped out. Michelle and I were on duo duty, so it took a little longer to process the pile, but thanks to her we stayed on track. The main listening selection in the barn this time was to the 1980 Astro Boy animation, which I've watched so many times that I can "see" it, even if only just hearing the audio. We also listened to the new Indiana Jones soundtrack from the latest movie for a spell. We'll always love Indy around here. 

Our next round will be in conjunction with the upcoming trip to Power-Con in early August. The meeting of Glyos makers in the special "Glyos Alley" section of this beefy show covers almost everybody who is currently active in production, so it should be a good one. We plan to offer what we're bringing to the show online in our store at the same time as the convention, so this would mark the return of the "non-con" release, much like what we would sometimes do back in the SDCC days. Expect a direct crossover with the Culture Pirates shop as well.

Thank you once again for all the genuine creative freedom that you've fostered and shared throughout the last 16 years. Let's keep at it and see where the Dimension Gate takes us next!

*Extra special thanks to Cady for the powerful illustration of Gearius shown above! Truly amazing work, Bubba! 

 

Wave 98 is GO!!!

Wave 98 is live!

Refresh: https://onell.store

Note: Please place only ONE ORDER WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR TONIGHT. We will lift all limits after the first hour. Thanks for your cooperation. Have Fun!

Also, due to the state of things with Covid-19, we will only be shipping domestically (and to Canada) for this wave. We sincerely apologize to our international customers for the situation.

Gauss Armor Relgost Fugitive

Armored Delphi Reccuryn

Sincroborg Gray Renegade

Pheyden Prime

Variable Reflex Driver: Cliff Drifter

Crayboth Alcrayer CC Pic

Thanks for the awesome Crayboth pic, CC! Your future job as official Onell photographer awaits!

Crayboth Alcrayer

Armorvor Kugarrec Granthan Drifter

Variable Sincrodrone Granthan Drifter

Glyan Granthan Drifter

Traveler Gearius Granthan Drifter

As a Second Generation Traveler, Gearius possesses far fewer abilities than those of his First Generation brethren. Even after manning a powerful Rig and then later utilizing Delphi powered armor to lead his own special forces, Gearius still wonders about what his greater purpose might be. Must he always rely solely on external technology to meet any challenge, or could there be a way to evolve beyond it?

Depowering back down into a normal Traveler form (albeit now sporting a special multipurpose poncho armor he procured from a mysterious dealer of antiquities called Draecarek), Gearius returns to Granthan in search of answers, accompanied by a small team of kindred drifters ... 

Cliff Drifting

Drift across the Cliffs of Granthan once again with Wave 98,

rocking in this Sunday, July 9th at 9:30PM EDT!

Enter the Acolyte

Our extended family over at Toyfinity has some new Manglors action currently available to terrorize your collections! 

Accompanying the return of the Standard Manglord and the special Protolord from the previous Toyfinity preorder is the Manglord Dactylian Acolyte. Shot in a deep and vivid purple and accented with a very interesting, almost color shifting paint (watch the color pop simply by passing from shadow into light), the Dactylian Acolyte comes forth to test the Manglord on behalf of his master and terror from the skies, the Manglodactyl itself! 

Don't forget to also capture the latest tribes of Mordles while exploring the catacombs of the Toyfinity shop!

We're working closely with John Kent and Erwin Papa to help expand the world of Toyfinity's Manglors and think the next chapter might really rattle your bones!

SeNsational Stickers!

Years ago, I was lucky enough to meet the extraordinary artist known as Sen during a convention out west. After talking for a spell, Sen presented a short comic/manga featuring some Glyos characters that really knocked my socks off. From that moment on, I hoped that one day the rest of the world would get to see not only that short comic, but possibly a lot more of Sen's take on the oddballs that populate Glyos on the whole. 

Since last year that hope has turned into reality, with Sen producing a number of wicked illustrations that have accompanied our releases. But at the same time, in the background, they'd been working on another really killer project that's finally ready to rollout!

Head over to Sen's Hellomugicha Etsy Shop to discover not only their excellent (and official) SD holo sticker versions of many familiar Glyos characters (presented in the classic Bikkuriman style), but also a large variety of other amazing stickers showcasing Sen's awesome range of talent! 

We've truly loved working with Sen over the last year and look forward to the extraordinary artwork they have on the horizon! 

Thanks Sen!

Limmbiod Lashing

Thank you, Cady!

Thank You!!!

Huge thanks for supporting the return of the EMD in all its intense orange madness! You've all kept Michelle and I very busy over the last couple of weeks, and we are supremely grateful for that!

Revisiting familiar color combinations is something we enjoy doing around here, but certain older waves specifically represent the times when this project ventured into uncharted territory, such as the original EMD assortment. 

Not only did Wave 19 mark the beginning of what would be a loaded 2012, but it also ushered in the advent of the vinyl "Core Block". The memory of cracking open the first cases of the Blocks and realizing that I could legitimately build actual towers and sprawling structures is still very clear. We even tried playing a bizarro game of reverse Jenga when the first shipment arrived, seeing just how high we could stack the Block structures (multiple citadels right to the ceiling). It was a unique and different way to explore building and I'm happy we had the chance to do it. Our latest iteration of the EMD pays tribute to those days with the featured crossover builds.

Michelle and I tackled the processing and shipping as quickly as we could, though the rate of orders was a little steadier than usual, hence the lateness of this post. We finally managed to catch up over the weekend and are now in the pocket as far as pacing goes. I spent most of the barn time listening to classic tunes from the 70s (ELO, Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel -yes, I am old), episodes of Galaxy Rangers and some episodes of the 2004 Astro Boy (some of the best animation of its time). One particular 12-hour packing and taping stint was supercharged by these glorious pieces of entertainment. As of this writing, everything has hit the post.

Looking ahead, we are shooting for a late June/early July Wave 98, which will also serve as our 16th anniversary assortment. Hopefully you'll enjoy what we have on deck for it.  

To say we are thankful for the dedication that each of you continues to bring to the equation doesn't remotely cover how we feel. It's a state of perpetual gratitude that will last long after this all ends. 

As always, we'll give it everything we've got to try and keep the project as interesting, unexpected and most of all fun, as possible.

Special thanks to SeN for the wicked illustration shown above! We love it!

Wave 97 is GO!

Wave 97 is live!

Refresh: https://onell.store

Note: Please place only ONE ORDER WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR TONIGHT. We will lift all limits after the first hour. Thanks for your cooperation. Have Fun!

Also, due to the state of things with Covid-19, we will only be shipping domestically (and to Canada) for this wave. We sincerely apologize to our international customers for the situation.

EMD DSGs

Traveler Rynevo EMD Analyst

Gendrone Validator EMD

Launch bumped to 10pm!
Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!

Limmbiod EMD

Sincroborg EMD

Armorvor EMD Security

Gendrone Mineon EMD

EMD Commander Narreyon

Crayboth EMD Assayer

Glyan EMD Operative

Artificial Ambitions

Manipulate some mechanics with Wave 97,

experimenting this Sunday, April 16th at 9:30PM EDT!

Thank You!!!

Thank you for an excellent start to 2023! The Manglors Madness that began over at Toyfinity mutated right into Wave 96 throughout the last few weeks, and we've had a great time celebrating the long-awaited return of the classic series with all of you! 

As Toyfinity's main man, John Kent, detailed over on his blog, the road to bringing the Manglors line back to life started over a decade ago, transforming repeatedly during its development. We explored some wild concepts together, with multiple artists lending their abilities as things took shape. I still remember very clearly talking to Ralph Niese about the early Toyfinity plans and then waking up days later to a barrage of amazing concept art that he'd whipped up, based on just some early sketches I'd shared with him. That wicked artwork Ralph created became part of the foundation of the project, providing an awesome "what if" visual companion as we continued to reimagine a bunch of crazy old toy lines.

Many years and many drawings later, when the time finally came to actually bring the Manglors project into the process of full production, we sadly found ourselves living in a world without Ralph in it. Luckily for all of us, we were able to welcome another mega level talent to the mayhem, in the form of Erwin Papa. 

I'd met and worked with Erwin on multiple Toy Pizza/KOTS projects thanks to our favorite raconteur and super creative, Jesse DeStasio, so the timing seemed perfect. It's truly due to the infusion of Erwin's wildly original and creative style that the new Manglors initiative finally reached the right level to reemerge with purpose. We can't thank Erwin enough for his incredible contributions and steadfast dedication to resurrecting the Manglors series with Toyfinity and all of us over here. There's even more wild Erwin-Powered creature action on the horizon!

We also want to send out an extra special and massive thank you to the Cosmic Class artist that is Nate Baertsch! Nate's extraordinary digital painting for the Toyfinity Manglors launch was an absolute showstopper, continuing to fuel his meteoric rise to the ultimate levels of Frank Frazetta and Ken Kelly. No small statement, but absolutely true to the last word. Thank you, Nate!

Last but not least, thank you to our own Cady Doughty for putting together the new Manglors theme music! Cady really delivered on the challenge to come up with something "brief, spooky and cool", capturing the vibes flowing through Nate's art and Erwin's sculpting. Coupled with the supremely skilled Marcus working the animation in perfect timing as usual, we were all able to enjoy something really special. 

As of this writing, all the orders since the new release (except a few from today) have been shipped out and should have already started landing. Michelle and I worked together at triple speed to try and push everything out the door as quickly as possible, though a nice ice and snow mini front decided to give the old shovel muscles a mid-packing workout. Music in the barn once again leaned into the Interstellar soundtrack peppered with a little GI Joe: The Movie "listening" as the tape gun was flying. Seemed appropriate to channel some Cobra-La, seeing how that and Inhumanoids lent some serious DNA to the new Manglors aesthetics.

Looking ahead, the current plan is to return in early April with Wave 97 if momentum continues to pick up at the factory. Expect some more monstrous action within a decent sized assortment. For 2023 in general, we're going to try an alternating schedule between mini and medium scaled offerings about every other month, barring any slowdowns.

Thanks once again for being part of this ongoing project we call Glyos. It's because of all of you that we're able to keep on making unique and strange things to share with true authenticity. You allow us to pursue our creativity without interference, and for that our entire family couldn't be more grateful.

Wave 96 is GO!

Wave 96 is live!

Refresh: https://onell.store

Huge thanks to the unbelievably multitalented Erwin Papa for another wicked Manglors illustration! 

We've had the best time working on the Manglors project with John and Erwin, and what better way to celebrate the ongoing Manglors Madness than with a Manglors takeover! Kaisyriax and Pheyden look like they've met their match!

Note: Please place only ONE ORDER WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR TONIGHT. We will lift all limits after the first hour. Thanks for your cooperation. Have Fun!

Also, due to the state of things with Covid-19, we will only be shipping domestically (and to Canada) for this wave. We sincerely apologize to our international customers for the situation.

Manglors Manglophantom