House Of Liu - Mei Mei and Di Di

BUMRUSH Vinyl Figure by DynomightNYC

This is "physically" the closest ima gonna get to the New York Comic Con, happening this exact moment in Jacob Jarvitz Center in NYC = with DynoMightNYC's NYCC-Exclusive BUMRUSH Vinyl Figure, cruising for a bruising down the streets of the Eastern Singapore! Along with his tag-team-buddy, the Regular Edition BUMRUSH and a "special guest bruiser" - looking to tear up my neighborhood! He'll haveta get past me first!


THE PACKAGING: A pretty handsome cardboard-box with matt and spiffy-shiny-silver print. The window-display out front is die-cut to the shape of the face, head and horns of the vinyl figure housed within and keeps everything else a mystery (no lurve for the manboobies, eh?). I'm not too sure if this will help grab attention to the product at a toy boutique/shop (unless of coz the figure is displayed outside of the box - duh) but the subtilty of the product display is commendable, IMHO. Although I am not sure if the theme of the box-design gels with the Bumrush-origins, or rather his "ethos", but that is a matter of personal opinion and taste, really :)

Front of box-graphics also shows Bumrush in a Suit (variant version to come?), with sides and back filled with info and the origins of Bumrush [peep my interview with co-creator John Battistini HERE for the Bumrush-lowdown]


INTERNAL LAYOUT: The box opens up to a clear-plastic moulded-tray that slides out and quite importantly, does not have wire-ties (and that's a darned good thing!) - pop the figure out and we're ready for some fun!

Although I have to admit, the figure looks nigh imposing and huge via images online, but in person, he's actually pretty handy (no, I'm not saying he's small, becoz he is not!) and is a great size for having fun with! (peep my video-review top-of-post to see how much fun I had LOL). I haveta say tis kudos to the design of the character, which provided his visual identity and appeal (to me). Credit goes to both co-creators John Battistini and Justin Rudy (collectively DynomightNYC) and for ESC-Toy for producing such a sweet figure based on their initial designs [PEEP]

But then again, he'd tower above other toys and and would make pretty much a bruiser you'd not want to meet down some alleyway or fighting-ring, innit?


NYCC-PLUG: The Black-body/Purple-highlight/Yellow-paperbag head colorway is the New York Comic-Con-Exclusive variant limited to 250-pieces @ a SRP of US$75-per - which can be found both at Dynomight NYC's Booth #960 or online eventually (if there's any left, of coz :p).



STABILITY: Figure stands perfect upright on a single point of base-contact, it's stumpy-legs. The outstretched big paws also could serve as base-anchors, but even raised it could still maintain balance = good job this.

ARTICULATION:
The swivel-waist and shoulder-joints are noticeably tight. but not super-tight, tight enough to hear that subtle vinyl-creak (but no grind) and not loose that they'll unhinged when swung (who swings their designer vinyls anyways., yeh?) and I am suitably impressed with that aspect, so much so I'd not worry about having too much fun with them for fear of sustaining any breakage (NOT that I'd recommend anyone bringing their designer vinyls out of the display case and mucking about with them tho - but it sure was fun! LOL)

It would have been great if his wrists were articulated as well, for more playability and poses. I reckon a spare skeletal or decayed right-hand may be a bit out of the question (imagine if he brought a paper-bag that had his severed hand wrapped in newspaper, which prints of his defeat in a bout! muahahahahaha) *ahem*

... But then again, do watch out if you intend on man-handling them, as they are quite a hand-full to contend with, and I have my phantom-bruises to show for it! LOL



*ouchie*

*heh*
VARIANTS: In addition to the Black/Yellow/Purple NYCC-Exclusive colorway, there is the "Original" Regular Edition is in Yellow-body/Purple-strapped/Brown paperbag-head color, also limited to an edition of 250-pieces, at the same retail price. The 3rd variant is the DIY WHITE Edition - with currently no quantity, price nor availability details (to see public-print as yet).


DESIGN: I will not attempt to grapple nor deconstruct the concept of a horned-headed, chubby-fighter wearing a a paper-bag with a face, while fighting off his adoring public and fellow bruisers in Y-Fronts, and with a clawed lefty-paw and bloodied-stump for a righty - because there is no need to! It is just simple awesome, IMHO - a themed designed-creation that does not follow any existing big-eyed cutesy-pie or an indecipherable-artistic-expression of a notion (to be admired in dreams) - this figure, I suspect, would fit more comfortably with the conceptual-pantheons of Fighter Kaiju-figures, if not origins, while remain strongly Western-in-design, IMHO.

Standing 7-inches tall, with the choice of strong colors mystifyingly apt. The broken-heart tattoo decal on his right fore-arm tells of an intriguing-path, while the fresh-bloodied left-stump-where-hands-used-to-be would make for a very interesting fight-story to be told, i reckon. The disco-arm-straps is something else tho LOL. And the slight grin would either send fear down his opponents, or belies Bumrush's cheeky character and/or motivations.

Frankly, if I could personally garner such an array of thoughts and reactions from a figure such as Bumrush, it has proven itself by being beyond just a piece of pretty plastic" - into being a vinylization of a character. with such, tis kudos (again) for the design :)



VALUE/QUALITY: Sturdy to the touch, firm to the grip. This is not a fragile toy waiting to be broken in pieces, I surmise. The paint application and treatment of the figure is one of the best i've seen in a long while! Except for a uber-tiny lack of detail in the tighty-whites (would've been nice to see slightly different colored threads - but that would've been killer LOL) - the figure is sweet.

If you decide to procure this figure, you wmay not let it just sit on the display shelf looking all purdy and neat> You may be liable to bring it along with you to create all sorts of havoc and generally have FUN. And that to me is a stronger intangible value beyond secondary-market value-fluctuations, IMHO.

What would make this figure even worth collecting, is that there is/will be a series of other characters from Bumrush's world, to come - a sense on continuation of said series, rather than just a one-off-design and multiple colorways. (I'm voting for a Battle-Bloodied variant anyways! Toysrevil-exclusive perhaps? LOL)




STATS:
BUMRUSH vinyl figure is designed by DynomightNYC (www.dynomightnyc.com) and produced by ESC-Toy Ltd (www.esctoy.com).

Regular Edition and NYCC-Exclusive Editions are limited to 250-piees each design - worldwide - with a SRP of US$75-per.

"WHAT the hell is he?! Bumrush is tough, SUPER tough! He is not a toy! He gives what he gets. He hugs as hard as he hits. He could be your BFF, or he could make you wear your ass as a hat. The choice is entirely up to you."

"Dynomight is excited to announce its very first limited edition figure. It will be available in the spring of 2008. Only 250 figures will be produced for the first series. Each colorway will be very limited! Crafted by the talent of Esc-Toy, Bumrush stands about seven inches tall and is made of a solid well-crafted material. This little guy makes  a great accent piece to any home decor. (Place him by your bed for added dream security. Bumrush loves to fight all the things that go bump in the night!)" [via]

Ron English's Rabbbit from Dark Horse

i've only seen images of Ron English's Rabbbit vinyl figure online and thru his pop-artworks, and had enjoyed what i had seen. now thanks to Dark Horse, i have an opportunity to give a personal review of this figure:

THE PACKAGING: what draws your attention first is the deceptively simple and attractive full color window-boxed figure (with ample space within). then the three-eyed creature within grabs you by your eye-sockets and your intrigue, simultaneously wondering what's the peaceful zen-like hypnotic stare's gonna do to your pop-culture-lurvin' psyche.


personally, the contrasting pop-dots within the box surface serves as quite an ideal (diorama) display for Rabbbit, standing there partially hidden amongst the colors, a striking image stares back out. unfortunately the surface is easily damaged, when removing the twist-ties and plastic-mould backing from the figure.

THE FIGURE: standing @ 9"-ers tall, this soft vinyl figure is non-articulated. (hence "figure" and not "toy" :p). a silent observer amidst other shorter vinyl figures :)



THE DESIGN: the figure character design itself is charmingly retro, with a heavy dose of kitsch, both disturbing and unique, especially with his three eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths (would've loved to see a single mischievous tongue sticking out from one of it tho hahaha) and the stubby three rabbit-ears, very reminiscent of Indian-deity halo-ed flames (IMHO). a lethal-sweet color combo of baby blue and pastel pink contrasts lightly with the off-whites in the eye-balls, tummy and fluff-tail = *very nice*

personally, i reckon it would've been pretty kick-a$$ if the off-white areas were GID (Glow-In-The-Dark), IMHO *heh*

PLUS: the unique character design mentioned above, and a banging good sculpt, to boot! :)))

MINUS:
i've only 2 gripes so far:
(1) the quality of the figure is a tad disappointing, with visible mould-joints around the figure, especially the obvious visible neck-to-head joints (which came apart slightly when i tugged at it gently, my bad :p), which is fine if the figure is left standing as-is and you don't take a peek underneath :p

but then again, this was released at the end of 2005, innit?

(2) the condition of the figure straight out-of-the-box, with slight dirt smudged over some surfaces (dust?) and a tad hard to wipe off, even with a damp cloth. (will try other liquids later on).


WRAP-UP: altho released more than a year ago, this Ron-English-design has lasted pretty well since (except for the physical dirt within) and has become an iconic representation of the artist, moreso than anything else i've seen so far, IMHO. and @ an uberly-affordable price of USD$17.99, you can do no wrong with having this figure in your collection.


check out Dark Horse for ordering details / and my multiply-album for more images of Rabbbit :)

[POSTED circa 25.01.07]

Touma's Zugan by Play Imaginative

i review a Touma-designed ZUGAN vinyl figure (from Mephist Festa),
with "wrap"-design by Jim Koch [blogged]:

TOY STORY: managed to snag this figure @ an irresistible price (you say: "discount" and i say: "how high?") at the PI@Galleria Foyer showcase on their first day (Sat) - primarily becoz both Touma [tag] and Furi Furi [tag] autographed it! - quite a surprising circumstance, as both Japanese designers/creators were signing on each other's toys at one point - there was also a Wood Grabbit (which i dearly wanted but cannot afford) as well as a Back&Bocky set.

DESIGN: the colors were eye-catching enough (kudos to Jim Koch's design, 'natch) with a muted fuscia-pink and matt-black. the wings-design at the back was purdy-nice, and im wondering if Touma designed-Zugan with an "ashtray" in mind? *cough-cough* ... or am i too thick to notice the subtility?


(Touma signed at "back" of ball-head)
TREATMENT: am liking the figure's weightage (i like a little bulk in my "bigger" toys, mind) and the matt-surface finish, with a small tinge of glossier-highlights at some areas (chest crest and back logo) are a neat touch. altho i haveta say, matt-black surface makes me a tad nervous, becoz it's very prone to scratches and marks, and boy, would they show. mine already does :( - including two glossy-spots on the matt-arms ... besides that, the paint-apps were mostly smooth and decent, but for a few uneven areas, primarily at the edge of surfaces (underneath). squint your eye and you'll be fine.

there was a small (but horrifying) dent (on back of "ashtray-neckbrace") that i had not noticed before (and only until i took pictures of it at home), so it could've happened anywhere (altho i did not box-up the figure myself personally) - a shame really ... or am i expecting way too much for a vinyl figure within this price-range? either that, or i have a terminal case of toyqualicontrol-titis ... but overall a decent production figure (worth *3 dancing Bockyz*), with mondo points given to initial design and form, and minus a point or two for quality of finish, IMHO.


(lil Bocky's dancing around the ashtray neck-guard's edge)
STABILITY: even with a bulky main-body design, the figure actually stands up pretty darn well (less chances of shelf-dives). seriously, i like to be able to pose my figure and not have it fall down at any given nudge, and if ZUGAN stands between the Gates Of Hell? i would think twice about trying to knock him down! *heh*


("SAFE SEX" = LOL - base signed by Tei of Furi Furi)
ARTICULATION: a slight tightness to both the swivel head and both legs - which i feel is a good thing (don't want no free-swinging joints, yeh? LOL). and what i actually like about the arm-shoulder joints was that it's a ball-"joint" that can be detached! re-attaching it back requires a lil small amount of effort (but of coz don't constantly much about with it lah!) - great for folks who'd wanna consider customizing it, IMHO. there really isn't a attachment mechanism involved, just a tight-fit, with still room for the arm to move about = *nice*

and becoz he's stable, you would find him lying on the ground below the display-shelf the following morning, missing an arm, becoz the dog went and chewed on it. yep. horkay.


(RAWK-ON!)
IT'S A WRAP: frankly, as much as i prefer Super7's and One-Up's colorways, this pink-boy still rawks (im endeavouring to embrace my inner-pink, thanks) ... altho my own personal preference is; the "bulkier" the toy, the simpler the design ... but that's just me.


(~happy times~)
irregardless, this figure also holds the distinction of being the second only vinyl toy in my finite collection that has been autographed. (the first one was a contest-prize) ... damn, that's how effin' pathetic i am. ya feel me? = of coz not! oh ye with a horde of signed toys! ... *HAH*

[POSTED circa 02.07.07]

DIY Blank Munny from Kidrobot (Video-Review)

my 2nd Toysrevil-Toy-Video-Review with my 1st DIY Munny!
(the 2nd part of the Anarchy In UK-contest prize)



[music: intro-sample from DJ Shadow's Six Days (Mos Def remix)
main-track: "Antique Toys" by Future Sound of London] *heh*
[POSTED circa 25.11.06]