Mono Wave Sneak

New stuff is on track for the end of this coming week. Black, gray and white across the boards as well as a few surprises in the mix.

I've been building like crazy and having a lot of fun continuing the Glyanaut construction patterns. These basic colors seem plain at first, but once combined they are probably my all time favorite ones to build with. Something about the simplicity brings me back to my youth. Snake Eyes, Storm Troopers, Clawtron (ha!) and of course Darth Vader all represent the most basic of color styles just to name a few.

Our little guys will never reach those iconic levels of design, but it is fun to play in the shadows cast by the old masters. Plus, I can finally make the triple colored Command Pheyden that appeared on this blog back in 2008, the original of which I had to leave in China for a paint master on one of my trips there. More pics will begin rolling out tomorrow as well as the assortment details for the Mono Wave!

From the Files

Here are a few designs, some old and some fairly new. A couple things to come are lurking in this mess. This picture is a small fraction of the drawings that have been generated since starting this project. I don't think I could function without my Buxton Service pads!

Glyos Catches Mono...

...this April.

Prototype Glyan Sneak #4

This new sculpt represents the Standard Glyan wearing an Advanced Flexion Suit. I imagine these Glyans populating the various planets of Glyos, acting in many different roles as they go about the business of keeping things rolling throughout the System. These guys (and soon girls) can be soldiers, police, explorers, farmers, mariners, astronauts and whatever else your creativity allows. These guys are your average Joes (ha!) who can't warp through time and split the fabric of space, at least not without some serious hardware (maybe Glyaxia Command can help them out). I hope that when these Glyans roll out you guys are inspired to put your own spin on who they are supposed to be, a canvas for you to develop some crazy paintings on. I look forward to that more than anything else, seeing what all of your collective creative brilliance will evolve these small characters into.

On a related note, Rechlen and Aves will still see the light of day, but their scale will be larger to match this new figure. The size issue has made me crazy for years, but when it finally came down to making the average sized Glyan, having more building potential and slightly larger dimensions were the better choices for where we are headed with this whole project. I'm still a huge fan of the 2 inch figure, but after playing with this new guy there was no contest for what to do for full production.

There are still a few surprises concerning this figure which we'll spotlight very soon. Thanks as always for taking the time to check this stuff out.

Prototype Glyan Sneak #3

Includes three part Phase Blaster and alternate head. Four part arm and leg construction, three part main body. Uses the men's room.

Prototype Glyan Sneak #2

24 parts, a bit shorter than Pheyden and likes to pilot Rigs. Will be Buildstation ready and also available painted up.

Mercenary Alert

More story and art unfolds at the Callgrim Blog!

Prototype Glyan

Now that our latest project is in the steel tooling process, it seems like a good time to start showing a few sneaks! This is not Rechlen and Aves, but it has ties to them. More sneaks as the week moves on!

Also, we are going to leave the Fistful of Glyos open for one more day, as I spent last night gathering parts from every zone on the property! I hope the extra time allows for anyone who missed out to grab what they need. Thanks again for the great response!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who joined in on the release last night, we hope that you guys like the new Rig and the Fistfuls when they arrive. We'll keep the Fistful option open until later tonight, then it will be retired until everything has shipped out and we can dig up more stuff. The Bin has been burned through like crazy from the response!

It's fun trying different methods of getting stuff out to all of you, and we'll keep on tweaking things as long as we are allowed! For the record, I've personally spotted some very rare parts in the Bin as I've been going through it. There are a few things I couldn't believe we still had any trace of!

Our thanks once again to each and every one of you.

Son of the Junk Shop

The Mk II is prepared to roll out and hunt down some Armodocs!

Refresh the store at onelldesign.com/store

Also, as a fun experiment, we are offering some parts from the past tonight... Fistful of Glyos! This new entry to the store is much like the old Junk Shop, but this time the selection of pieces comes from our big Archival Bin! If you feel like rolling the dice and going after some oddball mixes, then this might be something you like. There are two options, the first being a Standard sized grab of random parts and the second being basically a double grab of random parts. The stuff in the Archival Bin spans all the way back to 2007, the year we started full production. There are some pretty oddball things hidden in the Bin. I hope you guys get a kick out of this and we'll see how it goes!

Heads Up

Some new RXH info concerning the quake aftermath and Mori's activity can be found over at the RXH USA blog. Thanks to Datadub for the update.

Japan Quake Update

Japan Quake Info - When the recent monster quake hit Japan I was actually in the middle of communications with Don online. He was giving me the play by play as the aftershocks were occurring and the first realizations of what had happened began to set in. Luckily our friends in Japan are OK and are already on the move to assess the damages in their areas. As we hear more from the crew over there we will update with any new information. Thank you for the concern and inquiries about the status of our brothers and sisters in Japan.

Return to Granthan

We will be releasing a MK II version of the Granthan Division Rig tomorrow night (March 12th) at 9 PM EST. The colors match the original Rig from the debut drop, except this edition has blue highlights instead of green. The fit function has also been improved some more as well (though still a work in progress) so swapping parts is not as challenging as in previous runs.

I imagine that this particular Rig was used by Klace after the Massacre on Granthan, the blue replacing the green to represent a new beginning and to honor the fallen Travelers that perished in the Armodoc attack. Plus, blue looked pretty good.

MK II

Saturday night special! More details to follow...

Remember Your Death

Hey everyone, it's Marc! I wanted to diverge from the usual material if I may for a moment. My long-time friend and DB bandmate Jon Mercer is nearing the end of a kickstarter campaign for a short film he is working on. Mercer has been involved in many of our media projects- everything from lending a hand with the Passcode videos to schooling me in Adobe After Effects helping create and edit Callgrim Episode 1. We've been family since the 1st day of 1st grade, and a quarter-century later we still love to challenge each other on crazy projects. Hey Mercer- we still wanna see that 3D Zombie Pheyden...

Check out the potentially kickass film, Remember Your Death, and maybe see if this project is something you may consider supporting. They're only hours away from reaching their goal!

In related news, I will be at PAX East this weekend to watch Mercer and friends speak on a panel for yet another cool project he is involved with! I'm also looking forward to seeing Phil Reed at the SJ booth, and stoked to catch a set by resident Glyos composer Disasterpeace! Maybe at some point I'll have a chance to showcase my Mario Kart skills...

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!

Mercenary Alert

Argrim custom revealed at blog.callgrim.com!

Sleepover

Almost finished with the latest project to send over to the factory for production. Time has been warped more than usual on this one. Floor sleeping accommodations remain a comedy situation, although this particular makeshift pillow beats out the old paper towel roll. Proper sneaks coming this week!

Mutations

Some mutations of our favorite "Meatball". More blank editions are definitely a must for this sculpt! With just a few chops and pokes (sounds gross) the Real Nibbler can alter how he rolls.

Alien Argus Custom Show

Tomorrow (February 26th) is the opening for Mark Nagata's Alien Argus Custom show at the Toy Art Gallery out in California. We were very excited to be asked to contribute to this fun event!

Argus is a very intriguing figure to use as custom fodder due to its varied surface sculpting. For some reason the "skin" looked like cooked turkey to me, so I had to follow that line of thinking for the final result (plus a dash of Mother Brain from the end of Super Metroid)! I imagine this Galactic Roaster causing major problems for Glyanauts on deep space exploration missions, blasting them with its Squawker Beam and hitting their equipment with a Dark Meat Kick. I know, this sounds very gross, but you can thank Mark for inspiring such a bogus concept!

The custom itself uses all the parts of the original construction and has been reconfigured using pressure fits. No glue or additional sculpting, just rearranged parts, lots of cutting and a bunch of paint. It adds a good challenge to attempt a custom while limiting the options to execute the piece. I find that I have to think much harder about where to place everything and what to chop. The figure still moves and can actually be disassembled with some twists and pulls.

If you are in the Los Angeles area this weekend make sure to swing by the TAG and check out the show! Big thanks to Mark and Toy Art Gallery for inviting us to participate. Alien Argus is a very cool toy!

The Real X Nibbler

After cooking behind the scenes since the last SDCC, the Nibbler finally debuts his new form- The Real X Nibbler! This vinyl meatball is the product of a triple collaboration between the Tarantulas, Mori and myself. Based on the original Nibbler design and then sent through the Real X Head Genesis Machine, this version is entirely produced in Japan by Real X Head.

Being a part of such a fun project has been very exciting and satisfying. Chris and Mori are both incredibly unique artists with truly original ideas, to see their minds come together and create this new version of the Nibbler is a rare thing to witness. No big egos, just the collective desire to make something fun to share.

I remember on our last trip to Japan, Jesse, Don, Mori and I shared a dinner together and we ended up working on the Nibbler design right at the table (as usual). Through email and the little camera on my iPod, we were able to communicate with Chris and make alterations to the core design as we ate! It was a classic working dinner between a bunch of serious toy geeks.

Chris is releasing the very first style of the Real X Nibbler this Friday over at his Fishtank Castle. From Chris via ToyBot Studios:

"Real x Nibbler is a triple collab between Onell Design, Real x Head & The Tarantulas. The original design by Chris was interpreted into RxH style by Mori and sculpted / manufactured in Japan by Real x Head.

This is the first vinyl version of The Nibbler - the debut release being unpainted with vinyl cut eye decals. Real x Nibbler stands 10.5cm tall (4 1/4") and has articulated Head, Arms & Waist. Colours in this wave are Molten Pink with White eyes (Mutagenesis #1) & Anti-Matter Black with Mirror eyes (Mutagenesis #2). Price will be £25 plus shipping.

This wave will be sold exclusively at The Tarantulas Big Cartel store - 'Fishtank Castle' - thetarantulas.bigcartel.com on Friday 25th February GMT PM - exact time TBC - check www.the-tarantulas.blogspot.com."

My deepest congratulations to Chris for sticking with this and seeing it through, it can be an intense roller coaster getting this stuff made! Thank you for including us in your universe Chris, it is an awesome place that I look forward to exploring even more!

I want to thank Don "Datadub" Kratzer for being the perpetual man behind the scenes. Don is a very generous person with his time, energy and dedication. There would be no Japanese collaborations without his involvement. I bow to The Governor!

Ultimate thanks as always to the true Master - Mori Katsura. It can never be said enough times, they do not make better men than Mori.

I hope you guys have fun tracking down the first release of the Real X Nibbler this Friday, and get ready for more teeth crunching craziness in late March!

The Knight of Darkness is also proud of his nephew...

Thank You!

Last night's launch was super solid thanks to all of you guys! Each time we put out new stuff, there is never a guarantee that it will be met with a positive response, so I am deeply grateful for the strong turn out for this wave. I must apologize for not having more Silver parts available. All the supply numbers across the board were even, Silver just went faster (followed closely by the Infection Clear Red). Silver will return in the next round for certain, and not only in the styles you have seen, but in all new figures as well (from all new molds).

We'll continue to keep the most popular colors in full rotation with each launch and whenever restock arrives from overseas. After doing this for a number of years there are definite colors that always seem to move at a steady clip. Black, Clear Colorless, Silver, Gray and GITD Green have always performed really well with White gaining in popularity over the past year.

I'm personally psyched for the upcoming months because of the different plans in the works, especially getting to work with Ralph again on more comics (sneak above)!

March should be fun for those of you who dig the RXH crossover project. Pheyaos will return in a couple of different ways, and we will also see the appearance of a chompy overlord from across the pond.

I know that Jesse has a killer Callgrim Custom Corps cooking and almost ready to go that really showcases his painting and building skills. I can't wait for him to roll them out! Thanks again to all of you for allowing us to keep this going for a little longer, I'm thankful for all the things you each share with us every single day.

Henshin Wave 2 is Live!

REFRESH THE STORE!

Thanks for the extended patience tonight! At least it wasn't an extra day this time. Honestly, Marcus and I still have nightmares about the Glyaxia launch at least once a month. I can hear the sounds of 8-bit doom looming before my slumber each time I think we are moving ahead! Ha! Times like those keep you on the straight and narrow, believe me.

We are psyched to bring you guys Henshin Wave Part II, filled with clear colors that hopefully strike a few nerves of happiness for our little community.

On a special note, Ralph has resumed the Gendrone Chronicles art assault and we should have new pages early next week.

Friday Roll Out

We are on track to release a new round of stuff this Friday, February 18th at 9PM EST. This is a follow up to the Henshin Wave, featuring some clear color styles that fill in a few more spaces of the rainbow! Here is the list of what's dropping:

-Clear Red Buildman Gendrone
-Clear Red Echo Morph w/Phase Arm and Gobon Blaster
-Clear Red Axis Joints
-Clear Blue Exellis w/Govurom head
-Clear Blue Axis Joints
-Clear Orange Pheyden w/Govurom head
-Clear Orange Axis Joints
-GITD Green Pheyden w/Govurom head
-Argen MK II
-Silver Axis Joints
-Silver Phase Arm Set SINGLES (one Phase Arm and one Gobon Blaster per package instead of two -trying something new with the method of release)
-GITD Green Rig

This is the whole assortment for Henshin Wave 2!

On the horizon we have 3 upcoming releases for the RXH crossover series with Mori, featuring some new Pheyaos action and a very special triple joint project that has some bite (ha!).

Some brand new parts are also being made that should open up even more building potential. I can safely say that my eyes have nearly fallen out from sculpting this new batch of stuff. Without Ron to keep the balance I would literally be running around the frozen woods in pure madness! Thank you Yoda! I hope you guys are ready to meet the all new Glyanauts around April...

On one last note, The Beanbot will be returning to its roots here at Onell and will be renamed in the process. Next assortment will see the debut of the Phaseon Gendrones! It's good to have the little guy back where he belongs.

Glip Tint

Tried to match this orange to the old Gliporian hue from back in the Rechlen and Aves days. Pretty close! This color and the Neo Phase green stand as two of my favorite clear tints from over the years (and the clear smoke as well).

Looks like the end of next week for the new drop!

Shinto Gangu On-demand

Mori continues to rock the boat with fresh ideas. Head over to the RXH USA blog and read about his new method to meet the growing demand for his Japanese micro releases. He is now offering the chance to literally have your selection from the store made to order. That green Chaosman #1 is particularly glorious!

Infection

Continuing our recent crossover collaboration with The GodBeast, AKA the super talented Marty Hansen, we will be releasing a special clear red Infection colored Echo Morph with the upcoming new wave of figures. This color matches up with with the Infection Pheydens Marty released a while back and marks the first time we have rolled out a clear red in our own assortments.

Marty really knocked it out of the park with his Kabuto Mushi project, and I really enjoyed working with him and Nate (of Dork Dimension fame) on its development. These are some extremely talented guys who keep pushing the envelope on what they create, inspiring those they work with to try and do the same.

This colorway is dedicated to the work that Marty has put into all of our crossovers together. I hope to remain his friend for another 10 years and beyond.

Reborn

New colors are around the corner...