Xycoss Traveler Clone

Mission Details!

Almost time for our first release of 2013! To mix it up, the focus of this wave is concentrated on select figures, as the Gendrones are taking a little break from the action after protecting the Council.

A special "Mini" Blocker Rig marks the return of some vinyl outside of the Syclodoc/Armodoc mold. This Blocker configuration dates all the way back to last year, when I was first building with the Block. Maybe it's the compact look of the parts all tightly packed together, but for some reason I really like the idea of smaller Mini Rigs.

As mentioned before, the old Adventure People line is the main inspiration for this assortment. The simple color schemes, durable figures and fantastic vehicles (like the Firestar 1) have influenced many toy lines over the years, particularly the one we have here.

I could go on about it forever and bore you all to tears, so let's get to the list!

The following are scheduled to be in the store on Friday, February 1st at 9:30PM EST.

There will be purchasing limits on select items: 

-Armorvor (2 limit per customer) 

-Travelers (3 of each style per customer)  

-Syclodoc (2 limit per customer)


Also, due to the particularly unique hue of the yellowish orange parts, they get the nickname Yellorange, because typing creamsicle too many times makes me hungry.



Operation: Sonesidar



Glyan -Sonesidar Rescue Unit (White/Yellorange with Green Visors and Yellorange tampo) $8
Glyan -Sonesidar Excavation Division (Yellorange/White with Green Visors and White tampo) $8
Glyan -Sonesidar Defense Force (Gray with Green Visors and White tampo) $8

Deep Space Glyan -Sonesidar Rescue Unit (White/Yellorange with Green Visors and Yellorange tampos) $12
Deep Space Glyan -Sonesidar Excavation Division (Yellorange/White with Green Visors and White tampos) $12
NOTE- Each Deep Space Glyan is made up of one Glyan and one specially painted Hub Set.

SRU Commander Arclurran Sarvos (White/Yellorange with Green eyes and Yellorange spray masks) $8
SED Commander Lorsailus Pheyden (Yellorange/White with Green eyes and Yellorange scarf) $8
Neo Phase Pheyden MK II (Clear Neon Green with Green eyes) $8
Discovery Exellis (Gray with Green eyes and Gray scarf) $8

Crayboth -Neo Phase (Clear Neon Green with no paint) $3

Armorvor -Sonesidar Mimic (Yellorange/White with Green Visors) $8

Hub Set -Sonesidar Rescue Unit (White with Green Visors and Yellorange tampo) $4
Hub Set -Sonesidar Excavation Division (Yellorange with Green Visors and White tampo) $4
Hub Set -Sonesidar Defense Force (Gray with Green Visors and White tampo) $4
NOTE- Each Hub Set is sold in a specific Drone configuration.

Axis Joint Set  -White $4
Axis Joint Set -Yellorange $4
Axis Joint Set -Gray-$4

Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -White with Green accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Yellorange with Green accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Gray with Green accent $2

Mini Blocker Rig -Sonesidar Defense Force (Gray/painted White with Green accents and multiple Green/White tampos) $20

Syclodoc -????? -$25

Of note is the Neo Phase Pheyden MK II's specific tint. Much like the neon pink from the last wave, this plastic behaves in odd ways depending on the light source it's viewed under. It can look super clear like in the pictures above, or almost frosted by the light of the computer monitor. It also packs that extra neon punch which you really have to see in hand to fully appreciate.

The gray PVC is a bit lighter and a different hue than the grays we have done before. Yet another color that can shift pretty drastically based on the lighting. Personally, I think it may be my favorite gray tone yet.

The new Syclodoc will be revealed over at the great Phil Reed's Battlegrip.com this coming week, as he inspired its color combo!

Thanks for reading yet another text pile up, and we hope you find something you like in those pics up there.


PS -Michelle refers to Exellis with the reversed scarf on (a nod to Aves) as "Lips Exellis", which I now cannot unsee. Thanks lady!

Old Feelings

Playing with these new colors brings me right back to the late 70's, having tiny adventures under the beds of our old house in Maine.

I love when the detail lines are on everything, but I've come to equally love the pure toy look that happens when the molds are just run with some minimal spray applications and a few tampos.

The Adventure People vibe I get when handling these is kind of crazy, particularly on the DSGs. They've hijacked my Alpha Probe for multiple unauthorized missions since arriving.

More pics coming up!

New Wave

Back to the world after a week spent at the shop! Wrapped up some long standing projects and had a great time working with the master, Ron Daley.

When I returned home, the samples from our new February wave were waiting for inspection. After looking everything over, I'm feeling pretty psyched to share what's cooking with you guys!

These particular color selections pay homage to some of my all time favorite figures from the classic Fisher Price Adventure People line. Can you guess which ones? The detail lines were left off of this run to try and capture that pure "toy" feeling from the old days. Man does that golden orange pop on the pure white! The hue is a close cousin to Glyaxia yellow, with a dash more orange. Some other colors will also be in the mix, with a selection of only certain molds available this time. A full list with specific details will be posted this week.

The current target date for this launch is Friday, February 1st at 9:30PM EST.

Galaxxor Crossover

Not too long ago I was invited to work on a new Galaxxor edition by its creator, artist and Nerd City host Ben Spencer. I've admired Ben's Galaxxor project since discovering it and was very excited when the chance to collaborate popped up! Galaxxor has a very cool vibe and the sculpt looks right at home with the stuff we do over here, so working together seemed a natural fit.

What's really fun about this particular edition is that it's not just Ben and I pairing up, but also Marty of TGB Customs and Nate of Dork Dimension doing their magic in the casting and illustration departments! Marty has been on fire with his Kabuto Mushi and Infection 2.0 turnout, so seeing an all new set of casts is a great way to keep the ball rolling. Nate continues to impress with his abilities to push the characters into new territories with each illustration he completes. Both of these guys have been doing incredibly solid work since kicking off 2011.

For my part in this crossover I sculpted two "jumbo" sized heads for Galaxxor's larger body. Compared to a standard Glyos figure, Galaxxor is a giant, so the heads had to match up. When approaching the design itself on the brainy looking one, I was trying to get that Mother Brain feel from Super Metroid fused with the big brained enemies from Robotron 2084 (and a dash of Brainoid from the Adventure People line). This had to be a head that would also be fun to make larger scaled Glyos bodies for down the road. I've always wanted to have a few beefier noggins to use for the purpose of topping extra large builds, and for deformed Braniac little creatures as well. Hopefully you guys find this pile of synaptic scariness interesting!

The other head has kind of a funny story, as it was actually created after the Main Brain one. When Ben, Marty and I were going back and forth about what the special head should be we all landed on a version of Pheyden to do the job. Well, I had a hard time getting into it when the time came to actually start the sculpting and I mutated the once innocent Pheyden into the bulbous thing seen above! When I showed the boys I think they were a bit surprised by the weird direction I went in and were a little confused by what I had done.

Since the brain head had a reversible "back" face that has a kind of visor thing going on, it made the cut, but since I felt a bit like a mad scientist unveiling his freak I created another head more in line with the original idea.

Naturally even that head was warped by my hazard of a mind and it became a part of the ongoing Pheyden storyline from the Passcodes involving the Delphi. I imagine it is very possible that the Delphi may have evolved from something like a Traveler throughout their long existence, and that it might be that the current Travelers could follow this pattern. This "Delpheyden" head represents the next step in a Traveler's evolution, taking design cues from the Delphi look. I see the Galaxxor body as an inter-dimensional technology that was discovered and then utilized to hasten this evolution by Glyaxia Command. I know, I have problems.

The plan is to eventually release these two heads on their own in continued collaboration with Marty, following up on our work together with Kabuto Mushi and Infection 2.0. The first place to get them though, is on the special C2E2 Edition of Galaxxor coming out on March 18th at the Nerd City Booth at C2E2 in Chicago! Ben has created a very cool color scheme and Marty has done some of his usual super quality molding and casting work. Top it off with an all new illustrated header card by Nate the Ace, and the team up is complete!

I wanted to say thanks to Ben for inspiring me to get sculpting and for allowing me the chance to play with his creation. Galaxxor has an excellent feel as well as a lot of heart. My thanks also go out to Marty for bringing together yet another fun collaboration with some very talented people. I'm lucky these guys even let me in their building!

Fishing Around

That little Glyanaut got something rolling while I was building some stuff, resulting in a full spectrum of Adventure People inspired creations. As I was working on the designs, it became more and more clear that having fully interchangeable "human" proportioned characters is a welcome addition to the ranks and has me analyzing the 2" scale a little harder.

One of the goals from this series of constructions was to "nail the scale" with the Glyans, and I think the look presented above is the most in line for what would work, in aesthetics and functionality. I also really like the mysterious "helmeted" vibe these guys have, like it could be anyone under the hood. It reminds me of all the neat characters who would never show their actual face, their masks ironically being what defines them. That being said, I've been working on some human heads and they actually fit proportionally very well with the size and form factor of these new body constructions. I hope you guys get a kick out of these builds, and hopefully they get the juices flowing for a full scale Glyan invasion.

PS- The Fisher Price Adventure People line was one of the greatest damn piles of plastic that ever went into production. It still inspires me to this day with almost everything I do regarding toy development. What a play pattern those toys had.