Dinner Companions

Took this one in the kitchen, right before the kids chowed down on their dinners.

The PVC marbling on these two looked kind of neat under the tiny kitchen lights.

Experimenting with the metallics and pearlescent plastics this year has been a big highlight on the production side of things. Just a little tweak to the old mix can result in some interesting effects!

Phaseon Phundamentals

When samples for this new order arrived a little while back, the first thing I did was start building with the Phaseons (closely followed by the Buildman figures). Since the funny history of the Phaseon's path to production is always present in my head,  my creativity seems affected in a unique way when playing with the parts. The fact that the Phaseon mold arose from the ashes of the Beanbot design, which in turn was actually pulled from early MVR concepts, just adds to my odd fascination with the unassuming little clunker.

The build shown above is pretty contained, except for 17 Switch Pins that were left out. There are spaces to insert them for a more aggressive "spikey" look, but for this one the rounder finish made the final cut. The core construction of this "Range" Phaseon is a variation of the "Task Major" design, which I've been  messing around with over here for a bit.

This Range Phaseon has been battling with many a Glyan across our tables and floors, and is now searching for some Phase Arms and Gobon Blasters to add to its form!

Mission Details

The photography on this round has been a bear! Due to the special effects in the plastics (neon, metallic and pearlescent), trying to nail the precise color balance proved a bit trickier than usual. As we go further into the spectrum of hues, especially with pearlescent, neon and metallic additives, capturing exactly what these plastics do under different lighting becomes more challenging. The pics seen above are accurate under the lights in the studio, but outside -bathed in the rays of the sun- they can look quite different. Photographing the figures can make your eyes cross, but having fun playing with them makes up for the madness!

All that being said, I'm digging this round of PVC! The actual material has a rich luster, and each color really, really pops.The durometer is slightly harder than earlier waves this year, so you may want to warm the parts up before building as the weather becomes colder.

On to the details! We are confirmed for this Sunday, December 1st at 9:30PM EST!


There will be purchasing limits on select items: 

-Armorvor (3 limit per customer) 

-Travelers/Noboto/???? (4 of each style per customer)  

-Syclodoc (2 limit per customer)



The Ecroyex Initiative

 
Glyan -Ecroyex Standard (Bright Blue/Dark Blue with Red visors and White tampo) $8
Glyan -Ecroyex Reverse (Dark Blue/Bright Blue with Red visors and White tampo) $8
Neo Sincroid -Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black visors and White tampos) $8

Deep Space Glyan -Ecroyex Standard (Bright Blue/Dark Blue with Red visors and White tampo) $12
Deep Space Glyan -Ecroyex Reverse (Dark Blue/Bright Blue with Red visors and White tampo) $12
NOTE- Each Deep Space Glyan is made up of one Glyan and one painted Hub Set.

Ecroyex Commander Cynorico Sarvos (Bright Blue/Dark Blue with painted eyes, Dark Blue accents and bonus Phanost head) $8
Ecroyex Dark Traveler Strellevan (Dark Blue/Bright Blue with painted eyes, removable belt and inner/outer scarves) $8
Lost Sincroid Army -Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red with painted eyes, removable belt, small scarf and bonus Elder Exellis head) $8
Elder Exellis -Neo Eclipse (Black/White with painted eyes, removable belt and bonus LSA head) $8
Lost Sincroid Army -Neo Empire (White/Black with painted eyes, removable belt, small scraf and bonus Elder Exellis head) $8


???? -$8

Noboto -Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red w/ painted eyes, bonus head and White tampos) $8

Buildman -Argen MK VIII Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black visors and White tampos) $8 

Gobon -Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black visors and White tampos) $8

Phaseon -Gendrone Rebellion (Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black visors and White tampos) $6

Armorvor  -Gendrone Rebellion Mimic (Metallic Pearlescent Red/Silver Paint with Black visors) $8

Crayboth -Bright Blue $3
Crayboth -Dark Blue $3
Crayboth -Metallic Pearlescent Red $3



Swing Joint Set -Bright Blue $4
Swing Joint Set -Dark Blue $4
Swing Joint Set -Metallic Pearlescent Red $3 -Special Price
 
Hub Set -Bright Blue with Red accent and White tampo $4
Hub Set -Dark Blue with Red accent and White tampo $4
Hub Set -Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black accent and White tampo $4
NOTE- Each Hub Set is sold in a specific Drone configuration.

Axis Joint Set -Bright Blue $4
Axis Joint Set -Dark Blue $4
Axis Joint Set -Metallic Pearlescent Red $4 
 
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Bright Blue with Red accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Dark Blue with Red accent $2
Phase Arm/Gobon Blaster Single Set -Metallic Pearlescent Red with Black accent $2


Syclodoc -Ecroyex Guardian (Dark Blue/Bright Blue with White eye, Red Visor and white tampo- also features Bright Blue chest paint -also includes Armodoc head)-$25



Playing with Micronauts and Adventure People as a kid truly had a profound influence on the direction of my creativity, and being able to come full circle and pay homage to those classic toy lines this year has been something of a personal dream come true. For whatever reason, building with the Metallic Pearlescent Red Phaseons and all the matching accessories has been extra fun, and having Argen back (and finally in red) rounds out the return of these two Gendrones after nearly a year out of full production.

This final color selection for 2013 is about as direct a tribute to the Takara/Mego masterpiece Giant Acroyear as I could muster. It's my hope that some of you find yourselves transported to the golden memories of being a kid when you see these particular colors together again.

This wave has electrified my desire to build and take the figures on new mini adventures in a big way. After an especially tough 2013, I still believe it's important that we take a little time and remember to play once in a while.

With whatever the toy may be.

Thanks for reading this last list of 2013!

Red Metal

It has been a wild whirlwind over here for the last week and a bit. With the year coming to a close, the activity at the factory has been nonstop, as well as the action here in the house!

Our final wave for 2013 is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 1st at 9:30PM EST. 

Everything is currently on track, but with the intense shipping across the globe right now, there is a small chance that the release date may get bumped a few days. I'm hoping that's not the case, but the holiday season can create roadblocks from seemingly out of nowhere.

A full list will be up on Wednesday.

Over this entire week, we'll be posting up pics of this new round, which is paying homage to multiple classic toylines, with the most prominent being the Microman/Micronauts Giant Acroyear figure (which was a two tone blue with red accent parts). While studying the pantones of the old Giant Acroyear, I couldn't help but notice the parallels between the palette of GI Joe's Cobra and Microman's Acroyears. I've noticed the connection before, but when you get down to the details, the similarities are pretty neat.

The big event for me personally in this wave is finally running a Red Metallic (with pearlescent additive) Argen, along with the rest of the molds. Nailing a proper Red Metallic has been a bit tricky, as too much metallic additive pushes the hue towards a grungier red base color, almost looking more crimson/purplish than a true red.

Now that I have a few of these new Red Metallics in hand, I can safely say that they are a true red hue, akin to the Reydurran red we ran earlier this year. The pearlescent finish creates some vivid effects, which are of course very difficult to photograph!

Overall I'm really excited to have another metallic/pearlescent color to add to the build catalog. I hope you guys are in the mood for some Red Metal!

Clearlander

Ni will be releasing an all new Clear Outlander tonight, November 15th, at 9PM EST.

You can find this stealthy new creature over at the 481 Universe STORE. Make sure to also check out Ni's Customs page, as there are some excellent new selections of Monster Kolor infused figures on deck!

Maxx Works 3

As Ron and I worked out the proportions for Maxx, we tried different sizes for the little bot's head, starting with a significantly smaller noggin on top.

Using existing Glyos production figures for the scale match was a very important part of the blocking process, and served as a central point of measure.

The primary goal at this stage was to find just the right size for this new Robo Force. We wanted the sculpts to appear powerful and fairly massive in comparison to what we had worked on before, yet also maintain 100% compatibility with everything else already in full production.

The other major concern was that Robo Force would make sense financially for the Toyfinity team to produce, so we moved forward with certain dimensions and metrics in mind, conceived to hopefully result in an overall success and not just simply a redesigned classic robot.

Real X Head Bariban

On our recent trip overseas to Japan, Jesse and I were treated to an assortment of new Real X Head sofubi from Mori that made our heads spin.

The new RXH character shown above, called Bariban, is Mori's tribute to the Metal Hero Series of Tokusatsu, specifically Space Sheriff Sharivan. Over the years, I've discovered that Mori is a huge Metal Hero fan, as well as an avid Spiral Zone and 80's Real Type design aesthetic enthusiast. The futuristic look of his most recent works is an indicator of these little known interests.

Mori and I discussed 2014 a lot during our time visiting together in September (Japan) and October (NYCC), and some special releases are being lined up for a few all new crossover projects that have been quietly cooking in our respective kitchens.

Bariban here would look pretty killer with a RoboCop paintjob.

RHND!!!

Titanic

Head over to the Callgrim Store and check out Jesse's latest mini assortment!

Exellis doesn't seem to know what to make of the whopping blue titan standing in his usual hang out. Jumbo Callgrim is like five Blocks high!

From Below

Jesse is right on track for his 9 PM EST mini (and jumbo) launch tonight!

While taking the pics of the Jumbo Callgrim, it was pretty neat to shoot from angles that are normally not on the menu. Looking up from the very bottom of an Order soldier's foot is something I never thought I'd get to do.

These titans are something else!

Mercenary Alert

Our favorite King Under the Mountain, Jesse Moore, has emerged from his secret location for a surprise launch this Friday, November 8th, at 9PM EST.

The special edition NYCC 2013 Gray Galaxy Callgrim will be available, as well as a handful of the Test Type Jumbo Callgrim vinyl behemoths.

We've missed you, Thorin.

Maxx Works 2

Above are a few pics from the early development of Maxx Zero.

Ron and I sized Maxx's "Core Block" so that it would line up with our old Rechlen and Aves Trapping Rigs (a prototype of one can be seen in the background of the top pic).  That original set of proportions was worked directly into the new Maxx design, and thanks to the Toyfinity team being so open minded about new directions, we incorporated that DNA right into Maxx's code.

Regular Hexagons and Isosceles Trapezoids also factored into Maxx Zero big time, as these basic shapes emerged as the top problem solvers, especially on the tread base (more on that later).

Future Rewind

Toyfinity's John Kent brought his impressive Robo Force vintage collection up for another fun visit, and the boxy bots still remain as charming and quirky as ever.

These shots were taken as the classic and new Robo Force characters discussed their next set of moves on our kitchen counter.

I'm pretty certain that I overheard Hun-Dred mention something about a metallic pearlescent red...

Goodbye October

Happy Halloween!

The girls cleaned up this year, despite it being overcast and pretty crummy out.

After getting rained on, we made it back home, watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and sorted the sugar piles.

Hope you guys had a fun night out there as well!

MAXX-E

A big part of designing Toyfinity's new Robo Force Maxx Zero was making sure to include special hidden formations.

When I first saw Maxx back in the 80's, he reminded me a lot of the small Tomy wind up Rascal Robots and larger remote control Omnibots that I'd been playing with around that time, only beefed up. The simplified body construction made the entire Ideal Robo Force line stand out, particularly with how intricate rival company Takara/Hasbro's family of very famous robots looked in comparison.

It was most likely the very things I loved about Robo Force that proved the reason for the premature demise of the line.

Thinking about the reasons why the original Robo Force met an early end factored heavily into the development of the new series. The new Maxx needed to bring something more to the table than a suction cup base, a flip down chest and some crushing arms (though I loved those aspects).

As the design work progressed, our minds kept drifting back to the similarities between those old Tomy robots and Robo Force. This in turn spiraled back to the predecessors of the Robo Force, Ideal's original Zeroids line. From there the entire world of 50's and 60's Japanese tin robots then came into play, as we studied the form factors and style lines of those antique and incredible pieces.

The above build pays homage specifically to all the previously mentioned influences, wrapped up in a major tribute to Pixar's awesome WALL-E, which is also a throwback to Tomy's early 80's work as well.

As John would say, it's Toyfinity.

Later on, we'll cover the 80's Real Type mecha design influences that also helped to forge the new Robo Force line!

Maxx Works

Tonight (October 27th) marks a very special release for our friends over at Toyfinity, for when 9 PM EST rolls around,  the old series Robo Force will make its return to the world of toys nearly 30 years after its original production run!

This special  project has been running in the background over here for quite some time.

Working closely with John "Doctor" Kent, Mike Hart and Charlie Parry of Toyfinity, we developed the new toys in house, which utilize the Glyos fit functions and play mechanics. My mentor Ron Daley and I built the Maxx Zero prototype from the ground up, based on my original design scribbles. The Toyfinity team, who are like family, put a lot of trust in us, and both Ron and I gave the project everything we had so Maxx's new form would hopefully honor the Robo Force name.

I personally still have my original Maxx from when I first received it back in 1984, and it has survived multiple toy collection cutbacks over many years. I've always felt that Maxx never got a real chance to shine as the cool character that he was, so having the opportunity to create a brand new version of Maxx has been a dream come true. I want to sincerely thank the Toyfinity team for allowing me to work on their property, which holds a place very close to my heart.

Over the month of November, I'd like to share a few notes on the creation of the new Maxx, from conceptual drawings to pics of the prototyping process at Ron's shop. There are a ton of secret builds hidden within the 41 parts that comprise Maxx Zero, from old Tomy robots, ZOIDS and Zeroids to the Trapping Rigs used by our own Rechlen and Aves. My hope is that this reforged Maxx will open up a new world of building and playing possibilities across the spectrum, and that Robo Force will make you smile like you were a kid again.

Cheers to the Toyfinity Team and their new adventures with Maxx Zero and Robo Force!

Shipping Update

Only a handful of packages remain to be shipped out for Monday morning, but the majority of all the recent orders have hit the post.

Thanks for your patience as we hustled through everything!

Raster Peace

The Album Artifact project rolls on, and I wanted to spotlight today's entry.

Our friend Rich Vreeland, aka Disasterpeace, has been the official soundtrack to Glyos since we first discovered him years ago. We've used his music exclusively for the Passcode videos and games, and had the amazing opportunity to work side by side while he scored The Soul of the Traveler back in 2010. Not only a top notch composer, he is just great company to be around.

Rich was recently involved in a fantastic game released last Spring called FEZ. The game itself is a very fun and inspiring title that made a lot of buzz considering there are no enemies, no weapons, no motor vehicle theft and no upset avians. But I feel it was the original soundtrack that truly separated this game from the rest of the pack (I won't get into the controversy surrounding the game's creator Phil Fish).

The gameplay promotes exploration and discovery to the highest, challenging players to basically figure out the game themselves as they navigate a vast 2D-turned-3D world (we like that sorta thing around here...). Vreeland's OST compliments this perfectly, as he manages to capture the wonder and curiosity while blending retro sounds with modern production. Reoccurring themes of light and dark make this album stand alone even without the visual cues. I could go on and on about this release- but probably better to just listen for yourself if you haven't yet.

The soundtrack's cover art (also designed by Phil Fish) is interesting and somewhat unexpected, as it does not feature any artwork or characters from the game- just color and shapes. What seem like simple gradients are actually noisy, pixelated color splashes that reveal another layer of depth to the image. The Album Artifact version has a funny way of simultaneously degrading these effects while also making it seem more up to speed with how the game actually looks. I guess the weirdness and unintentional commentary of these pieces are part of what fuels me to keep making them.

Thanks again for checking this out. Next week I'll be posting even more weird/freaky albums in honor of Halloween!

Thank You!!!

Thank you for all the great support of Sunday night's new release! It was a small round, but the activity was solid and the numbers seemed to line up with the flow of interest for this particular assortment.

Extra special thanks for giving the new mini card set a chance. The idea of doing a Passcode themed project like this little card set has been discussed here for a number of years, so seeing it finally come to fruition was super satisfying, and thanks to Tom at Sidekick Labs the vintage quality is spot on.

This small launch also allowed us to try some packaging again, in the form of the NYCC 2013 Combo Pack. The Combo Pack was another project that Marcus and I had been talking with Tom about for quite some time. The graphics chosen were designed to match up with the Passcode theme, focusing on Marc's pixel art. For those of you that have been hanging around here for the last few years, you may also recognize some of those sprites from the old Warp Zone days (when new characters would debut in a secret store called the Warp Zone). There is also a little Easter Egg on the back of the packaging as well, referencing something from way back in the early days of our operation.

For future packaging projects, our idea is to try different themes every once in a while, focusing on the various styles that we each employ to realize all these oddball characters and strange story arcs. In general though, the figures will continue to be offered as per usual, in the simple polybags with no fancy fixings.

 Speaking of basic operations, we are almost done processing everything from Sunday, and will begin the shipping on Thursday morning, hopefully wrapping up sometime on Saturday afternoon.

Our next release will appear at the very end of November/beginning of December, and will close 2013 out for us. If you enjoyed the looks of Ecroyex Armorvor and like the color blue, then the next round may make you smile.

Thank you so much from all of us over here, for keeping the engine running! We owe everything to each one of you, and never take for granted how fortunate we are to be allowed to do this.

Revenge of the Armorvors!

 

 The store is LIVE! Refresh: http://onelldesign.com/store

Edit: You may place additional orders and all limits have been lifted. Thanks for being patient with the system!

Passcode Wax Packs

Tonight we will be rolling out something brand new for us- Passcode wax pack trading cards!

I (Marc) am especially excited about this as it's been a dream of mine to design a set of cards. My brother and I started collecting baseball cards at a young age, and quickly got into Garbage Pail Kids, Marvel Universe, TMNT and the like. I still horde all our old albums, and bust them out once in a while for inspiration.

Matt and I enjoyed making the one-off Glyos cards that would coincide with Passcode releases, and have discussed a full set for years. It wasn't until we met Tom Lichtman through the Art Hustle project that we seriously considered releasing something. Tom and his operation Sidekick Lab are doing amazing things, recreating a vintage card collecting experience with the chipboard style approach sealed in old school wax packs.

This special Passcode card set debuted last weekend at NYCC in a blister carded combo set. Tonight we'll be offering a few of the two-packs that were left over, as well as just the card sets by themselves for the first time. There are 9 designs in this Alpha wave- 6 cards and 3 stickers (a complete set in every pack!). This is a bit of an experiment, and if you guys dig these, a more expansive set will be put into motion.

On Track

We're all ready for the mini release tonight at 9:30PM EST!

My apologies for the little quiet spell around here, but things have been cooking behind the scenes.

Also, I broke two toes and burned my hand.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that the inspiration behind the colors on the Armorvor shown above is the old Microman/Micronauts Giant Acroyear figure. A little Stealth Iron Man also may have gotten in there as well.

The strange neon pearlescent pale orange Armorvor shown in earlier posts pays homage to the great sofubi producer, Cord Viper, and his excellent color choices. Cord Viper put out a particularly killer Machine Sider figure that sported a very similar neon  pale orange.

Neon pale looks like an oxymoron now that I'm reading it. Ha!

Back Home

Our tiny team has finally returned back to the home front after a month of traveling to various locations, and the adventures have been a blast.

NYCC was a great experience, and getting to be with our friends, old and new, absolutely made the trip worth every minute. The awesome amount of quality conversations with so many imaginative and unique individuals at NYCC was inspiring, filling the days with a constant spark of excitement -not to mention many good laughs! From PM Food Crawls to crazy AM hotel lobby discussions, the stage was constantly set for pure fun.

Now that we're back, we have lined up the date for this month's launch, which will fall on Sunday, October 20th, at 9:30PM EST.  We'll have 3 Armorvors in all new colors (which were available at NYCC in a very small preview assortment), as well as a new Gray Galaxy Dark Traveler (seen above). The new Dark Traveler has two different Clear Smoke tints (lighter limbs and darker body) fused with a pearlescent finish and a dash of sparkles, giving the final form the "Gray Galaxy" look. There may also be a small surprise in the mix as well.

Wrapping up, everybody here at Onell sincerely thanks all of you who made it out for another excellent NYCC. Spending some time together was the best, and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Destination Point

A few pics of the upcoming October wave, from a recent trip up to Gloucester with TGB and his son, Kobe.

Some advanced releases of the above Armorvors will be available in limited quantities at our booth (#102) over the next few days and Jesse has even printed a batch of special shirts to sync up with these particular colors for the show.

Hope to see you guys at NYCC!

NYCC 2013

We are gearing up for another trip down to New York City for NYCC 2013! This year we will be located at Booth #102, sharing space once again with the masters of retro styled trading cards, Sidekick Trading Card Publishing (Booth #203).

The range of guests on track to exhibit this year is one of the best yet, so without further ado, here is the NYCC 2013 show schedule:

Thursday

3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Nistuff
Table 3- Rawshark / Onell

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Godbeast / Spaced Out Design
Table 3- Toyfinity

Friday

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Nistuff
Table 3- Rawshark / Onell

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Godbeast / Spaced Out Design
Table 3- Toyfinity

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou/ Skull Toys
Table 2- Monster Worship
Table 3- Bah'glenn / Nemo's Factory / Kranix Dyeworks

Saturday

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Nistuff
Table 3- Rawshark / Onell

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Four Horsemen
Table 3- Toyfinity / Godbeast

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Rocket North (Banimon) / Spaced Out Design
Table 3- Peter Kato

Sunday

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Nistuff
Table 3- Rawshark / Onell

1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Table 1- RXH / Uamou / Skull Toys
Table 2- Peter Kato / Spaced Out Design
Table 3- Bah'glenn / Nemo's Factory / Kranix Dyeworks

We will have some preview figures from our upcoming smaller October release (a new Armorvor Trio and a a couple other items) available, as well as something very special that we have been working on with Sidekick that you may find interesting, especially if you dig trading cards.

Jesse will be armed with some fresh Callgrim action, and is set to showcase something... big.

The list of Glyos related exclusives and figure debuts is strong across the boards, with planned new figure reveals by the Four Horsemen, Toyfinity, and the Godbeast.

Ni will have all kinds of great stuff, from full production exclusives to a fresh assortment of custom creations.

Banimon mastermind, Boris Savic, has an awesome new Keshi inspired Red Army Man that matches the recent Spy Monkey releases and really captures the flesh colored greatness of Kinnikuman.

The hand cast attack is really packed to the maximum this year, as Pj from Spaced Out Design, Chris from Bah'glenn Creations, Dominic of Nemo's Factory and Peter Kato will each be showing off completely new projects that are all fantastic and totally unique! Complimenting the urethane madness will be our old friend Roy of Kranix Dyeworks, with his innovative constructions and beautiful hand dyed finishes.

Rounding out the PVC avalanche are the Masters of Japanese Sofubi: RealXHead, Uamou and Skull Toys!

The assortment of magic that these guys (and incredible lady) have in store is out of this world. We may even have a special crossover or two on tap as well. We are honored to once again have our family from Japan join the craziness of NYCC 2013!

We can't wait to see everybody again!