Almost Done!

Did anyone get the number of that bus?

All the shipping for the January drop is nearly completed, with the last round wrapping up by tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you so, so much for your extra patience during the process of us putting everything together.
Our usual packing team combo was cut in half this time, so things took a little longer.

After everything is out of here, I will get back to updating the blog. There are some really fun things happening in February, starting with Spy Monkey Creation's all new production drop coming at the end of this week -on February 3rd! These weapon sets have so much potential for building, that it truly is an eye opener once you start to play with them. Some pics of a few in-house builds will surface here tomorrow.

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week and a bit, but things are almost back to "normal" (HA).
I can't wait to share some of our projects that are finally coming to completion with you guys!

Thank You!

Holy smokes! My apologies for not writing a proper thank you post yesterday, but we were busy bees after Friday night's drop. We experienced a few things that have never happened before, one being a near total crash of our website due to the high volume of traffic. Not necessarily a bad thing, but we were shocked by the event.

Maybe it was because we have not had a full release of all new Glyos stuff since last October, or maybe it was just one of those strange times that just occurs every so often. Whatever it was, it also resulted in our fastest sell out of almost everything in stock yet (it will be 5 years of selling production toys in July 2012). I feel psyched, but also a bit like a fool for not making more stuff.

The upcoming March release will absolutely have more Blocks, blank vinyl and more painted PVC. The numbers will be increased, but not to the point of overload. The vinyl aspect I know is not for everyone, but I'm hoping that the blank options might open the door for some of you that have hesitation. I'll be doing some basic tutorials (just me making something) soon, so hopefully that will also show just how easy and fun messing with vinyl can be. It really does add an interesting addition to this whole project.

For those of you who are hardcore PVC peeps, the nearly completed Hub Set should add some spice to your customizing endeavors. With 17 parts, and the ability to become various contained mini builds right out of the bag (think tiny mechs and the like), the Hub Set should add some new dimensions to things. I've really enjoyed playing with the test shots and feel like this set holds some true potential.

Thank you once again, for keeping us on our toes and for pushing us to become a better operation. Personally, I'll forever be astonished that this is real, and that we all have gotten to know each other through these weird little pieces of plastic.

Thanks for keeping us alive.

EMD Activate!

The new stuff is LIVE! Make sure to REFRESH THE STORE! 

Due to the amount of emails about possibly missing the new Block tonight, we are asking that each person limit their purchase of the EMD Core Block to 2 units and the Black Core Block to 2 units (4 units COMBINED).

Once tonight's release has run its course, we will assess the demand for the Block. New stuff is already on order, but we may beef the numbers up if you guys are feeling it. I personally apologize for not running more Blocks, but I was not sure if it would resonate at all because the concept is so strange.

Let us know what you think about the new round of toys! Thanks for coming out tonight!

9:30 PM EST Tonight

We are on track for a 9:30 PM EST launch tonight! An extra half hour gives us a little bit to finalize a couple things that we think will be worth the wait.

In the meantime, I will post a few of the more out there builds I have been working on since the Blocks came stacking and chopping their way into our house!

First up: Heavy Armored Block Trooper-Cane's Custom Version!

This meatball was created by lots of cutting and fitting, but using no adhesives. Everything was measured and installed using a knife and heat gun. Temperature manipulation makes things 100% easier when customizing with vinyl (and the regular PVC parts for that matter).
This figure is comprised of Armodoc parts, Rig parts, Block parts and Runner parts. I'll have an exploded view up in the next few days. The Phase Cannons can slide off, revealing Armodoc arms. The Phase Blockers can be removed, as well as the Block "skirt" -which rests over an Armodoc inner pelvis assembly. The "head" is made from the back of the Runner (WARP Bike) and was originally conceived to be used for things like this. You can actually see a trace of a mechanical looking Pheyden face on this small piece, right down to the three "teeth".
Makes sense that the front of a Warp Bike has the tough face of Callgrim and the bum is based on Pheyden's bulbous noggin!

At Work

Ramping up for the drop on Friday night (looking like the standard 9 PM EST time), the Glyans are busy at work, enjoying their temporary Block Base and developing new uses and configurations for the Block itself.

Overseeing all of this activity is Operator Cane, who stands more than ready to test fly one of the Block Fighters the EMD Technicians have assembled.

Little does he know how dangerous his first flight will prove to be...

Battlegripped Blocks!

On one of our great friend Phil Reed's many trips out this way he showed me a very cool technique that he created in which he can render just about anything in a cool geometric 2-D design style. This approach gives an almost cel-shaded look to whatever he puts his Battlegrip on!

Over the past few days Phil has been posting some awesome renditions of the Block builds that I have been shooting back and forth with him, over on his Battlegrip.com site. These visuals have really done wonders to help "illustrate" (ha!) the Block's potential for those that think I've lost my mind with this project (which I no doubt have).

Thank you Phil for taking the time to create these excellent works of art. They truly add a much needed dimension to understanding what the Block is -even for the goon that made the thing in the first place!

Gendrone Revolution: Shock Force

Argen and his Gendrone Revolution return to challenge the Glyans in an all new hue!

This metallic purple has definitely become one of my personal favorites (paying homage to Shockwave). It looks quite different under various light sources, making it pretty tough to accurately represent in photos. What I've done is taken some shots in the Block Hangar with the regular light set up as well as some outside pics in natural lighting. Beneath the studio glow the purple just pops, with a crisp hue. When you go outside, the color dulls considerably, and the detail lines start to show in an interesting way. It's pretty neat to watch, but Michelle is getting a little sick of me going in and out of the house so many times to watch the color do its thing.

I guess I should just stand by the window.

Mission Details

Before I get to the specifics of what's coming next week, I wanted to once again give my sincere thanks to all of you guys for being so positive in regards to the Block. I have had a lot of mixed feelings about actually bringing something that is pretty abstract (even by my standards) to full production, so seeing that there is some interest in this project is humbling. You guys are the best.

Details for the January 20th (Friday) release:

United Glyan Forces
-Glyan EMD Operator Cane (black with gray visors and tampo print)  $6 
-Glyan EMD Technician (orange with black visors/gray detail lines and tampo print) $8

Gendrone Revolution (pics later today)
-Argen MK VI (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $8
-Phaseon Gendrone Revolutionary (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $6
-Gobon (purple metallic/pale yellow visors with tampo printing) $10

Axis Joint Sets
-EMD Tech Set (orange) $4
-Purple Metallic Set $4

Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Sets
-EMD Tech (orange) $2
-Purple Metallic $2

Travelers
-EMD Commander Rynevo (orange Pheyden) $8 


Core Block
-EMD Core Block (gray and orange with black visors/tampo print) $14

-Black Core Block (black vinyl/no paint) $10

Rig
-EMD Heavy Armored Rig with Wings (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $25

Rig Runner (Glyan WARP Bike)
-EMD Rig Runner (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $20

Conversion Set (consists of 1 long Rig Arm and 1 short Rig Arm for customizing vinyl figures) 
-EMD Phase Cannon (Rig long arm) and Phase Blocker (Rig short arm) (gray and orange with black visors/multiple tampo prints) $12

-Black Phase Cannon and Phase Blocker (black vinyl/no paint) $8

Buildstation
-Black Gendrone  RESTOCK $4

A surprise or two might be in store as well...

The expansion of the vinyl stuff is a work in progress and will be tweaked depending on how everything shakes out after the drop. We're trying to keep the prices as low as possible and the margins are pretty tight, but I personally really want to offer something different and attempt to share the fun of messing around with all these larger vinyl parts.

Let us know what you guys think and we'll continue to twist the dials until we hit the right mix. 

Experimental Mechanics Division

I personally hope you guys get a kick out of this strange new addition to the Glyos ranks. There is something about holding one of these things that brings back a flood of memories for me. From playing near the ocean with the rocks, to customizing Star Wars Mini Rigs, to flying around Micronauts capsules and even overloading the old M.U.S.C.L.E. plastic trash can with piles of tiny Godzilla figures.

 The idea of chopping these up to customize might be a horror to some of you, so all black "Buildstation" style vinyl Blocks and parts will be online when these fully painted versions go live next week.

This is still an experiment, so we did not produce a ton of these. If the response is good, then we'll make more for the next drop (sometime in late March). There will be a run of matching Rigs and Rig Runners (Glyan WARP Bikes) available in this wave as well, for those of you still wondering about what the hell the Block is and what it does. Ha!

More details on the January 20th (next Friday) release will be up tomorrow, including prices, full assortment and more pics!

Thanks for checking this stuff out during the past week!

Last Close-Up Sneaks

Next post: Full Block Disclosure.

Thanks for checking out these strange close-up shots this week!
I hope you guys enjoy this new project and see some fun customizing potential on the horizon (maybe even as soon as next Friday).

Symbolism

Twists and Turns

Angles and Edges

Blocked In

The Core Blocks have started their journey and preparations for their arrival are underway!

Mercenary Alert

Jesse reveals some new 2012 plans for Callgrim over on his blog!
The Wraiths will make you guys crazy when they finally emerge...

Zoanoid Inspired Pheyaos Customs

When I was working on the Pheyaos customs a few received Zoanoid/Guyver inspired paint jobs.

Guyver's creator,Yoshiki Takaya, has created so many incredible and iconic designs that they seem to creep into everything I do -since all the way back to 1985! I can't believe Guyver is that old!

My childhood bedroom used to have xeroxed pages of Guyver taped to the walls that I would copy from old Japanese magazines. Guyver, Fist of the North Star, Grey, and Dragon Ball Z drove me crazy back in the 80's.

Oh yeah, I also loved Baoh!

20 Questions!

Brian over at Plastic and Plush recently grilled me with a 20 question assault and he has actually decided to put it up (the poor devil).If you are curious about the inner workings of our tiny operation, then you might want to check out the article that Brian has put together.

Thanks for risking the lowest readership your site has ever had by running my answers Brian! 

In all seriousness though, P and P has always been a great supporter of the oddball things we get into over here and I'm very honored to have been asked to answer these 20 questions. Especially the one about the pound of burger.

Also the one about Toto.

Intelligence Report

Pappysoup rolls 2012 out with a new MT short over at www.pappysoup.com!