The Winter Nibbler's Surprise Attack!

All new, from the wicked and brilliant mind of The Tarantulas, comes the Winter Nibbler! Set for release TONIGHT (October 30th) at 11PM GMT over at the Fishtank Castle, Winter Nibbler Wave 1 unleashes two versions of the little bugger onto an unsuspecting world! The Classic style brings the Nibbler's nastiness in his customary color scheme while the Vision version lets his spectral preferences shine through (GITD)! The Tarantulas has produced these in extremely limited numbers using some very interesting (and perhaps dangerous) methods over on the dark side of the Fishtank Castle. Don't miss the first chance to tangle with the Winter Nibbler!

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who grabbed one of the new Custom Corps sets! The run seemed to match up just right with those that wanted to take a set home. Once again, Matt Walker's unique talent has created something eyeball warping for all of us to stare at. Wait until you get to see these things up close!

Custom Corps 2.6

Dead Presidents X Onell Custom Corps 2.6

All set for release, Custom Corps 2.6 will be up for sale tomorrow (October 28th) at around 7PM EST. We are trying something a little different this time and offering our first Custom Corps set. In the past few releases, a large majority of the orders we received consisted of 2 Custom Corps per person, so we thought it might be time for a combo twist. This is a chance to get the duo of Hades Pheyden and Cerberus Gobon (I have Greek mythology on the mind) plus one Phase Arm and Gobon Blaster all in one swoop (plus a secret bonus). The cost will be $55 for the set and the run is more limited than usual. These two characters have an important connection to Phanost and stand together in all that they do. Whether it's saving those in need or hastening the demise of their enemies, their bond cannot be broken. Huge thanks to Matt Walker for his dedication to making every piece look top notch and to Jesse for creating a new killer painting to bring all the elements together. We are lucky bastards to get to work with these masters. Hope you guys enjoy this mini release.

Next Week

L'amour Supreme at Super 7

The man, the myth, the monster maker, L'amour Supreme, will be appearing for a solo show at the San Francisco headquarters of Super 7 this weekend (October 24th at 7PM). This is a great chance for those of you in the Bay Area to meet one of the coolest characters in the business. L'amour will have one of a kind custom painted creations for sale and some very cool takes on pieces from toy producing dynamos like Real X Head, Super 7 and even Killer J just to name a few. There may even be a sneak peek of some crossover stuff on the horizon with us as well. Check the Super 7 blog for more information about what they have cooking. Good luck Joel!

Dead Presidents: Behind the Scenes

Painting Warlord Matt Walker sent over these pics of our latest collaboration in progress. Getting a glance at what Matt puts into his production system is a real eye opener. Look at all those sticks! These figures are part of the second Custom Corps production run (Nemica Gobon being the first) with Dead Presidents, meaning all the figures are painted in a similar style as opposed to the blind bagged random approach to Custom Corps 2.0. This new run is actually a set of two figures plus a Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster. All parts are fully painted by Matt and clear coated for durability. Matt also modified the Gobon so that the body comes apart easier than the Nemica Gobon. Some other special parts to the puzzle will be revealed when the figures are released. On a side note, did any of you guys ever listen to the old metal group Stryper? I think they were the first Christian metal band and man did they have some gravity defying hair. Well I stand guilty of still listening to them (and TNT, Lillian Axe, Riot and T-Ride) and I've always loved that "Yellow and Black Attack!" angle they used to use. So yeah, this colorway was born from my love of 80's cheeseball heavy metal. Forgive me.

From the Trip Part Two

After a solid adventure in China and Hong Kong, Jesse, Paul and I headed for Japan to visit our friends and attend Super Festival 50. We had a good flight and after some time on the Narita Express we were greeted by the main man, Don "Datadub" Kratzer at the station in Nippori (where we stay while in Japan). As a great surprise Mori (Master of Real X Head) came to meet us right as we arrived! From the time we got into town things moved at a quick pace. Our first full day in we met up with Mori again as well as super talented Ayako Takagi (creator of Uamou). Mori took us all out to one of his vinyl factories, which was actually one guy pouring figures in a porch off the side of his house! It was wild to see the slush molding process in action. The differences between slush molding and rotocast molding became very clear thanks to the tutorial that we were given. Due to Paul's extensive experience in toy manufacturing he was able to articulate the major differences between these two types of vinyl production. Japanese slush molding is capable of creating an almost flawless crystal clear look while the roto-casting process leaves bubbles and waves. Outside of that point the end results are somewhat similar as far as the look and feel of solid colored stuff, although many hardcore collectors would argue that Japanese vinyl is absolutely superior. Personally I like having the option of trying out both types, Japanese and Chinese. We can sell the Armodoc for an affordable price because the production costs and material are lower than in Japan. The people producing the Armodocs are skilled craftsmen and not just a nameless horde of workers on a line. After spending time watching the Pheyaos mold in action and seeing two all clear figures emerge (which Mori cut and assembled) we went over to visit master painter of thousands of Kaiju, the legendary Goto-san. Goto-san was extremely welcoming and totally fascinating. His work space actually reminded me of my own organized mayhem. He demonstrated his techniques on a black Pheyaos which he turned into a homage to Metaldar (one of my favorite Metal Heroes). Mori then hand painted the yellow eye. It was surreal to be in the middle of it. Ayako also had one of her Uamous painted up. I also asked Goto-san to lightly spray the feet of my favorite Scar Pheyden. Being there will be in the front of my memory banks forever. After saying our goodbyes (and hitting my giant skull on everything in the place) we headed to Mori's shop and collectively lost our minds at all his crazy stuff. His accomplishments over the past six years have been incredible. Just staying in business these days is a victory and Mori has survived a very tumultuous market while remaining hyper creative. He is definitely a huge inspiration and really cares about what is going on around him. Between Mori, Don and Ayako we were in great company as we continued our journey. More to come ...

Mercenary Alert

They're up! callgrim.com/shop

From the Trip

Jesse and I had a great time in China, visiting multiple factories that cover all the aspects of what we are manufacturing. Looking at the process of roto-casting in action is always interesting and getting a close look at the Armodoc molds was a highlight. It's a different method than the vinyl slush molding we would see in Japan. While we were at the paint factory we experimented with a bunch of different techniques. Chun, a master painter there, is always fun to work with. We speak the universal language of "Lunatic Painter" to communicate. Jesse went nuts over the killer adhesion that the PVC paint had, super powerful and durable stuff. As always the trip was informative and worth every second thanks to our partner Paul. His knowledge and connections seem to have no limits. Japan up next...