Designer Con 2014

After a number of years without a proper visit, we're headed back out to the West Coast, this time to attend the legendary Designer Con which happens this weekend, November 8th and 9th (Booth #401).

Located in Pasadena, California at the Pasadena Convention Center, Designer Con is loaded with tons of incredible artists that cover many different aspects of the independent toy world- from all around the globe! We are extra excited that our extended family from Tokyo will be in attendance, with RealxHead, Uamou and Skull Toys all rolling out fresh selections of sofubi magic.

This particular Designer Con will also mark the gathering of multiple members of the Glyos family of full production figure makers, with Marty "Full Throttle" Hansen (Kabuto Mushi), Spy Monkey Creations (Weaponeers of Monkaa), Jon Karis of LRG and Plastic Imagination (Rise of the Beasts) and new addition Mark Vasquez (Mystical Warriors of the Ring) all in attendance.

Hand casting machine Pj Bartlett of Spaced Out Design will also be there, debuting his brand new (and resin heavy) creation, Quarzenic!

Nemo Campisi from Nemo's Factory (who currently has a figure in the tooling process over at our factory) plans on showing his fantastic Robot prototype (produced by the masters at True Cast Studio, creators of the Glyos compatible Walking Dud figure) as well as some incredibly innovative hand made felt creations that need to be seen and handled to be believed.

The elusive Jesse Moore will be at the show in spirit only, as he continues to build his Screen Printing Death Star up in Beverly. Even though he's had to take an extended hiatus from production for most of this year, Skullface's daddy still has a few tricks up his sleeve. We'll miss you on this mission, Gimli, and will eat multiple In-N-Out Burgers in your honor.

The rollcall of talent lined up for this show is pretty intense. Here is a list of this year's vendors.

We want to send out a gigantic thank you to our great friends George and Ayleen of October Toys and Ben Goretsky of 3DRetro for putting such a powerhouse event together. Marc, Megan and I are very excited to be part of the action this year. Michelle and the girls will hopefully make it out for the next one!

Thanks for reading through this link bomb of a post!

Please come by Booth #401 and say hi, and we hope to see some of you real soon!

New Weaponeers of Monkaa Release

The dynamic Spy Monkey Creations duo have a fantastic new release scheduled to pop up in their store today, July 9th, at 12PM PST!

Dubbed the Lava Strike Force, these fresh additions to the Weaponeers Universe are a true sight to behold in hand. I recently took a few of them up to Gloucester and snapped the pics above as the sun was nearing the horizon, resulting in some pretty wild lighting effects. The combination of clear neon orange parts, black PVC and painted accents really delivers a unique and visually arresting assortment. Brilliant work!

Be sure to head over to the Weaponeers of Monkaa story page to discover the secrets of the Lava Strike Force for yourself, accompanied by the extraordinary imagery of the one and only Nate Baertsch!

Fantastic round, Jeremy and Brian! Good luck today!

 

New Weaponeers Of Monkaa

Our friends over at Spy Monkey Creations currently have some brand new Weaponeers of Monkaa figures available in their store, featuring a particular clear green that is very close to our hearts around here.

Make sure you also check out their awesome new addition to the Weaponeer saga, The Golden Age, once again illustrated by the superhumanly talented Nate Baertsch!

The combination of chrome and clear on this powerful new Brutok pays some serious homage to the magic of Microman, and the timing is perfect in celebration of that classic line's 40th(!) anniversary.

Well done Jeremy and Brian!

New Weaponeers of Monkaa Release

Our friends Jeremy and Brian over at Spy Monkey Creations have an all new release that is scheduled to hit their store today, September 4th, at 12PM PST.

The new wave is a solid mix of deluxe and basic GITD figures as well as a selection of their recent SDCC 2013 special editions of "The Weaponeer" and "W.O.M.O.M.F.G. Gohlem" (shown above). Both of the SDCC versions are in limited supply and really came out looking great, with some really clever nods to classic properties from back in the day.

Make sure that you also check out the latest installment of the continuing WoM saga, Power of the Lifespring, featuring brand new artwork by Nate Baertsch!

September is turning out to be packed with new Glyos related stuff!

Good luck to the Spy Monkey team today!

Doubled Up 2

Bloodlust Umbreus, also sporting the double stack look.

Doubled Up

Been extra busy behind the scenes over here, and the old blog has suffered for it. I have some new pics on deck, to hopefully make up for the quiet spell.

Lots of projects that have long been in the works are coming to fruition, and should start to surface over the next few months. Some brand new stuff from us and some brand new stuff from our partner companies. This summer should be pretty wild, at least as far as new Glyos is concerned!

Speaking of new projects, there is something secretly going on with Callgrim that may actually break your brains. Jesse really knows no limits. Be ready for big things.

I recently spent some time playing with Spy Monkey Creation's latest Weaponeers of Monkaa wave and wanted to see if I could put together a convincing Contained Build, using just two complete Weaponeers to make a single character. It is possible to use every single piece, but depending on who you want to represent, a few of the extra heads may be left to the side.

Each time that I build with a Weaponeer, I am really impressed by how big things get with so few parts! It's great having the different aesthetics to choose from, as it pushes the creativity in fresh new directions.

Weaponeers of Monkaa: Bloodlust

Our friends Jeremy and Brian over at Spy Monkey Creations will be unleashing some brand new Weaponeers of Monkaa action today at 12PM PST! Umbreus looks deadlier than ever in black and red (and makes for a good match with our recent release, and Flaw matches the older Hades Force run).


From Spy Monkey's site:

Figures and accessory packs as featured in the Bloodlust Storyline will go on sale 12 noon PST on Wednesday May 1st at the Spy Monkey Creations Store!

The new products will include: 

1.  Weaponeers of Monkaa DX Bloodlust Umbreus - $15

This is a deluxe Weaponeer figure featuring additional paint details, a full set of bonus heads, sword and sickle weapon and bonus Vac Metal ABS Accessories! Each figure includes 35 Glyos System Compatible black PVC and silver chrome ABS parts, and a matching trading card.

2.  Weaponeers of Monkaa Flaw the Obsidian Gohlem - $12

This standard Weaponeer figure includes a full set of bonus heads and sword and sickle accessories.  Each figure includes 31 Glyos System Compatible black PVC parts and a matching Trading Card.

3.  Weaponeers of Monkaa DX Obsidian Close Combat Armory - $5
    
This deluxe Close Combat Armory includes a complete PVC Close Combat Armory in an alternate build plus bonus Vac Metal ABS parts!  Each Set includes 17 Glyos System Compatible black PVC and silver chrome ABS parts.   Compatible with all Weaponeers of Monkaa actions figures and other 6-7" action figure lines!

4.  Weaponeers of Monkaa Obsidian Close Combat Armory - $3
    
This standard Close Combat Armory ships un-assembled and includes 14 Glyos System Compatible black PVC parts.  Compatible with all Weaponeers of Monkaa actions figures and other 6-7" action figure lines!

 

This new wave really delivers a sinister punch and sets an appropriate tone for Spy Monkey's new fiction, Bloodlust, which further expands the Weaponeers of Monkaa legend. The story features awesome illustrations by the super talented Nate Baertsch!

Have fun today and good luck Jeremy and Brian! We love the new round!

Weaponeers of Monkaa Unleashed

Spy Monkey Creations unleashes their brand new Weaponeers of Monkaa figure range today, October 1st, at 12 noon PDT (3 EDT) in their online STORE!

These figures bring a fresh dimension to the table, with a larger and more mechanical design principle. Builds get real big, real quick!
When combined with their previously released Armory Sets, the customizing options absolutely explode! I've been carrying Palidar around with me for a bit, and he remains completely awesome after quite some time in the spotlight. Hades has had a number of battles with Brutok, usually having to call in reinforcements to challenge the big green behemoth.

I know I've said it before, but Jeremy, Brian and Bill have created something very special with the Weaponeers line. Get ready to truly have a blast once you get your hands on this first wave.

Seeing the recent Banimon drop and this new Weaponeers release reminds me that the old dream of different toy lines sharing the fit function is slowly becoming a reality. Mixing up the parts across each series seems like dream, with no limits or legalities holding things back. Just a simple little shared mechanic that allows for you to make whatever you feel like playing with. Pure creative freedom on a very basic level.

I'm excited to see where this goes next.

More Monkaa

Monkaa Sneak

Travels

Jesse and I are off to visit the factory once again!

While we are away, some fun projects will be rolling out from Spy Monkey Creations as well as from Banimon! It should be a stacked month for all new entries into our collective playground.

Marcus will be posting some sneaks from SMC's Weaponeers of Monkaa, leading up to their big reveal at Power Con next Saturday. I can't say enough about how psyched we all are for Jeremy, Brian and Bill. These guys worked like madmen to nail this debut. The figures themselves will alter the landscape of how we all build!

Boris Savic, creator of Banimon, has quietly been working away on his brand new figure for quite some time. The results of all his hard work will finally be available very soon! After playing with them I think you guys will be smiling, as each little soldier is packed with some very interesting build potential wrapped up inside those awesome Boris-born aesthetics!

More details to follow on both of these projects!