Stablelanders

Just in time to round out the first month of 2014, Ni has a brand new quartet of Outlanders ready to enter the mix!

These Outlanders have some of the neatest color combos yet, utilizing the old sea glass Neo Voss clear tint in conjunction with the crazy Rift Breaker pearlescent clear from last year. The translucent hues are accompanied by another duo spotlighting a subtle combination of a bluish purple and pinkish magenta, topped with a neat pale greenish accent.

You can find these new Outlanders over at the 481 Universe Store!

Congratulations on going into another year of Outlander production, Ni!

Happy New Year!

Thank you from everyone here at Onell for sticking with us through 2012. It was a crazier year than usual, I think all over the world.

Here's to a great 2013!

The Real Voss

CC and I (Cady and Michelle were busy swimming) gathered up a variety of sea glass over the weekend, and even found some of that rare aqua green tinted kind, which the recent Neo Voss color was based on. The pure, emerald looking green was the inspiration for the original Phase Pheyden.

Seeing Gloucester a little more through the camera lens has made me look even closer at how much the place still influences the way I see shapes and colors. Each trip up to the coast reveals something new, even after all these years.

Plus, the scallops rule.

Variable Suit

Some more pushing and pulling with the light sources. The SDD Variable Suit has been outfitted with an opening cockpit that stays attached to the build when opened due to the "hose" that connects it to the bottom part of the construction. The parts fit tight with no "wobble" and give Neo Voss Pheyden some extra head room for his big melon.

I've been thinking about the Stealth Dimension Division as I've been working and I like the idea that this team is like a Deep Science Unit, working on concepts in a special Phase Dimensional Environment which allows for unlimited creativity:

 With the ability to easily manipulate everything around them and rapidly test new designs, the SDD are responsible for many technological advances and innovative applications of existing hardware. The SDD come up with ideas, soft test them as "Phase Phantoms" and then send their plans to the Experimental Mechanics Division (EMD), who really push the designs and bring them into the "real" world. 

Shipping is moving along at a good clip and is on schedule. Doing an overnighter with Megan this evening that should result in a hefty round being ready for a post run tomorrow afternoon.

Light Show

Before the Block Fortress came down I took a few pics of an SDD Variable Suit with the lighting switched up a bit. This time everything was lit from behind, giving a very moody look to the shots.

There was some "creative" cutting done on this build, with lots of little options to beef up or slim down the frame. I really wanted to have something that my Neo Voss Pheyden could chill out in while we pack for the next bunch of days.

Thank You!

Thank you for a great trip into the Stealth Dimension!

When I was putting this order together months ago, it was due to a strange series of dreams that looked much like the images that have been on the blog in the past week. Transmissions of a geometric base, created from some otherworldly hard light ice, kept creeping into my mind, night after night. The idea of making these dreams a reality seemed far away, due to a number of production issues that exist for us when running clear vinyl. I was close to writing the "Stealth Dimension" off, and not pushing for the clear vinyl, but an opportunity came up and the option for Stealth (with bubbles and waves of course) appeared for what looked like the last time. So the trigger was pulled and here we are!

Since this will be the last of the clear colorless vinyl we produce, we decided to make a larger amount than we normally do, even though the chances of it selling through at a speedy rate would definitely be far lower and we would have to invest more than usual. I imagine that the Stealth vinyl assortment should stick around for a bit longer, and I hope this run supplies you guys with some slightly cheaper fodder for building some fun configurations. You can always turn it black with a little vinyl paint if you want to make a meaner looking machine!

Up next for us will be a drop in late July. We will not be attending SDCC for the first time in almost a decade, so we want to have something special on deck to make up for not being there. July will also mark our 5th year anniversary of full production Glyos toys! We actually debuted the first wave at SDCC and I will never forget the experience as long as I live.

We owe everything to all of you, for keeping us going since the beginning, and for being there year after year as we knocked around trying to find our groove (which we are still doing). My whole family and I thank you for absolutely everything.

Shipping from last Friday's launch starts at the end of this week, and I hope you dig the clears when they land in your hands! Neo Voss aqua green may have knocked the Gliporian orange and Phase green out of my top clear spots and the Smoke makes for a pretty good utility color, lining up fairly well across the boards with the other clear and solid colors.

The clear vinyl might seem a bit bland at first, but when you start building or sticking things inside it, something about it comes to life, with an interesting stacking of clarity that looks very alien and almost organic, like viewing a weird 3D X-ray. Anyway, you get the idea.

Thanks again for being there for our latest drop!

PS -I hope you are in the mood for a return to the Real Type color style in July. Particularly colors with a classic military vibe.

SDD Heavy Combat Armor

Being obsessed with the beefy style robots of the 80's has really influenced the building theory applied to many of the vinyl creations that pop up on this blog. There is something about a slight SD (Super Deformed) look that just appeals to me. I still love the hard edged, more real looking mechanical marvels out there, but in the end I always play with the beefballs the most. That kind of reads gross, doesn't it.

A personal challenge for this round of vinyl (outside of the base and saucer) was to create a build that used only the Wedges and Switch Pins that was big and solid. The "solid" aspect always proves to be the main obstacle when going very large with a build (vinyl or PVC), so the structure on the SDD Heavy Combat Armor shown above had to be extremely sturdy. After a number of experiments, a "dual" upper leg assembly formed and that really gave the rest of the build a strong foundation to stack on. The arm cannons have some good movement, and the multiple opposing angles help to keep their positions without the dreaded "droop" factor setting in. The thruster pack on its back can fold out into a set of small wings that can also get some fun positions. The central area has a strange assembly, as the parts are pushed through each other in a curved letter "C" style that locks into itself. Kind of tough to accurately describe it, but the result is a very tight and solid fit.

The complete build stands nearly 10 inches tall and weighs about 3 lbs! There are just under 60 Tri Hub Wedges and roughly 100 Switch Pins used in the construction. It feels like a big brick and is not fidgety or loose. It can also stand and not fall over after 30 seconds, which was the biggest hurdle.

I'm feeling very tempted to paint it up. What do you guys think? Paint or no paint? Maybe I'll leave some clear parts and use some dye to give it an extra real "Real Type" vibe.

 The above pic was shot under the kitchen light featuring an alternate central "head" assembly. The look of the parts really changes depending on the light source, which is something I've come to truly love about the tinted and colorless plastics. In general they have a slightly unpredictable quality that's pretty fun to explore.

Saucerama

The central platform of the Stealth Dimension Base started out as this kind of geometric UFO for Pheyden.

Building off the central "ball" inspired design, the Saucer has three Blocks integrated into its structure, with one located in the center of the ball and one inside each outer "wing". I imagine that since the Wedges are little semi-sentient creations in my tiny mind, the entire combined ship can reconfigure very quickly, and by summoning more Wedges can become the main hub for a central base setup.

Depending on what kind of Traveler is "Blocked" inside the main ball, the connected constructs become imbued with abilities that reflect that contained Traveler's own specific powers. The Traveler can then take control of the complete structure and alter its entire form with simply a thought.

I have definitely been playing with this stuff for too many weeks in a row! Hope you guys enjoy the pics of this odd build.

Next up: A Battle to Balance

Phaseon Manipulation

Ever since the Phaseon came into the picture, I've been drawn more and more into playing with the little bugger. Maybe it has to do with the core parts finally being returned to the fold after existing as the Beanbot for a number of years. Or perhaps it's that I'm a little sentimental about the figure in general due to its history within our ranks. Whatever the reason, I really like building with the Phaseon.

One of the big concepts behind the Hub Set was creating something that could breath new life into the older molds without breaking the bank. The Phaseon was one of the main targets for this thinking.

I imagine that the Phaseons are the "children" of the Renegade Gobons, existing as mechanical lifeforms designed and built by other mechanical lifeforms, true successors to the Gendrone legacy in their collective mindset. On the surface they seem almost like lifeless drones, barely making a sound and going about their business without missing a beat. But within they share a secret agenda, a plan that could guide the lowly Phaseons to an all new level of existence, one that could take them beyond the Edge of Space.

The Master Phaseon expands on the Strike Form Hi-Phaseon's  pattern, adding 2 more Phase Arms and 2 more Gobon Blasters. A contained build, this is one tall glass of Phase Energy.

There is a reason that these particular Phaseons avoid the Axis Tech and stick with the Phase powered stuff...


*The pic of the Neo Voss Master Phaseon up there is shot in lower light to better show the hue. It really is a unique color that behaves in some unexpected ways. It practically glows in direct sunlight!

Hiccups

It's been a bit! The late April restock ran into a few snags on our production side of things, bumping the toys back a little. My apologies for not updating sooner, I let the time get away from me while I had my head buried in getting a stack of challenges sorted through. The reorder of the ZED Conversion Kits is in, as well as the restock of Black Axis Joints and Black Hub Sets. A run of DSG Cane from the Explorer wave is still being worked on and will hopefully make it here by the end of the month.

On a positive note, we will have some all new stuff to release towards the end of this month. Returning to the selection will be the old sea glass looking "Voss" color, only this time it will be called Neo Voss, due to the slightly lighter tint in this batch. The Neo Voss color owes its hue to my days on the beach as a kid in Gloucester, MA. I would scrape around looking for old sea glass like a maniac, always searching for that perfect aqua-greenish color to be peeking out from under the sand. The name Voss is from my old Rechlen and Aves stories, where a symbiotic race called the Voss caused all kinds of grief for those troubled Space Trappers.

We're all pretty excited to have the Voss color back in the mix again, and it will be featured across the molds, except for Gobon, whose mold has been getting some long overdue maintenance.

There will also be another tinted clear color in the upcoming wave, as well as some all new clear vinyl. The clear vinyl is much like the previous runs we have done, containing air bubbles and visible casting "waves" inside the parts. These are not perfect, slush molded masterpieces but they are super solid, durable and less expensive than our regular painted vinyl. We had an opportunity to run the last of our clear vinyl for this release, so after this round, chances are extremely slim we'll ever produce clear colorless rotocast vinyl again.

Details will be popping up over the next few weeks, but we are on track for a May 25th release as of today. Still waiting on a few last minute additions to the order that should inject a little sparkle into the works.