3am Boombox Disturbance

Cat Fancy Magazine

2010-05-20T09:38:00.007+01:00

OK, this is not really about Cat Fancy. It is however about cats. My cats to be precise. Due to a recent change in circumstance I'm living on my own again, it takes quite some getting used to after sharing for so long. The thing is it's not only weird for me, it's making the cats a bit nutty.

There are two cats in the house there's "C" and "P" (the names have been changed to protect the innocent, I don't want them to get stalked on Facespace or Mybook.) "C" is my cat. She is quiet and a bit of a loner but she loves attention in the morning and late at night. She's slowly becoming more friendly, even popping up on strangers for some attention and a bit of cat-style showing off. This is no mean feat considering just how antisocial she has been in the past. She used to be more of a growl, hiss kind of kitty.

"P" is the little weirdo. She's generally more friendly but with a slice of "The Mental" (a common trait in felines.) She is/was my ex's cat. Now that said ex isn't here the poor little thing won't stop squawking whenever she's out of sight of a human. She has also started sticking to me like glue. This would be rather nice if it wasn't for the fact that the other cat is getting jealous. Normally this has never been an issue as they have such different personalities so they never really tread on each others territory. Now with only one human in the house things are starting to change.

Normally in the mornings around 8am "C" decides to start kitty alarm clock maneuvers. This is a combination of creeping up to my face like a hairy little ninja (a fat one at that) slowly reaching out her paw to full stretch and gently stroking my face. This stage of Kitty Alarm Clock is pretty much a failure because she's so gentle that it's actually rather nice, so not at all conducive to waking my lazy arse up.

After a couple of minutes of this she moves on to stage two. Now cat tactics are on the shift and she starts going for the more direct approach. Her formally straight-legged style changes up a little bit. She curves her paw and goes for the nearest part of the fave that has an edge. Now depending on my sleeping position it could be cheek, jaw, chin or nose. She puts her little pads on you and gently starts pulling at the face. No claws or drama though, just a slight rocking action somewhat akin to the way you'd try to wake up a very small child who's fallen asleep on the sofa just enough to get then up to bed without waking them fully. This cat tactic has a 50/50 success rate which depend on two factors, How awake I already feel and which part of my face she's pulling at. On the occasion that my face is hidden by may arm, hand or duvet she'll do the same thing to my hand.

Stage three is when she introduces the annoyance factor. Distraught that she has failed in her mission up to now "C" will climb onto my chest or side depending on sleeping position sniff the eyelids gently and if that doesn't word she turns away, lays back down on the chest/side just far enough away from my face that around 3-5 inches of tail can reach me and proceeds to wag her tail. If you own a cat you'll recognize this as the angry wag. If you don't imagine that the rhythm of the normal dog's tail is 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 or wag-wag-wag-wag like a drooling metronome. Angry cat wag is done with purpose the message is wag-wait-wait-WAG! Like a fast whipping motion with little intervals probably so the cats little thwacking muscles can build up enough momentum to get a good thump going. Stage three is usually a resounding success, the thwacking combined with getting little hairs on the face should be enough to wake all but the most drunken or deceased.

Yet as of late she's started changing her game. This must be part of the weirdo possessiveness both cats are developing. First of all the ritual is starting earlier than ever before. As early as 5am sometimes. Stage three has changed up too, no more wagging tail now it's straight to eye lid licking, or if I'm on my side ear licking. This part is horrible (ear licking) , 100% sure to get me out of bed. If the eye lick doesn't work she starts biting my hand, not violently just nipping and tugging my hand. The same kind of behaviour some small dogs are prone to. It's starting to look like I'm going to have to start locking them out of the room, then they start the howling...

Anyhoo, I've gone on for too long already. The strange behaviour of the abandoned "P" will have to wait for another time. Don't worry though, she's being looked after.

"C"

"P"

The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills

2010-05-03T09:54:00.004+01:00

Well it has been a very long time since I posted anything new. To be honest I had all but abandoned this blog but I have decided to try to re-engage with it. After all it used to be so much fun until the day I walked away and never really looked back. I don't know what the reason was. Hell, I don't know if there even was a reason.

Enough about the past, let's look forward and see what comes over the horizon. The focus, format and direction this blog will take is as of now unclear. Hopefully it will settle into some sort of rhythm, and in time find a place in my life. I realise that I'm probably writing this to myself as I've probably lost any readers I had when I stopped writing. Maybe some will return. There may even be new folks along the trail. For better or for worse I'm back in the saddle.

The title of this blog is taken from the book of the same name by Charles Bukowski. It just seemed to fit. I also just re-read it and can't recommend it enough.

Now showing at the GFT...

2008-11-21T19:28:00.002Z

Dialogue avec mon jardinier directed by Jean Becker. Go see it.

I'm not saying anything else about it....well apart from if I know you and you don't like it don't tell me cos I'll think less of you. :D

Just a quick follow up...

2008-10-27T14:39:00.004Z

I forgot to say earlier in the week that I got my Jaguar back from Jimmy Egypt's repair shop. If you ever need any repairs done and you're in or around Glasgow I'd just like to recommend him. the standard of workmanship was top notch (as ever), the quote was uber reasonable and spot on (unlike certain other Glasgow repair shops, you know who you are!) Jimmy and the guys were friendly and helpful as usual and they also don't put you under any pressure when you're in asking for some advice. Most repairers don't want to talk to you until they're on the clock.

I even took in my '68 for some work. I'll let you know how that went when I get it back next week. Here's a sneak peek at the '68 and the '66 reissue that I just set up. Can you spot which is which?

40 years old vs 4, which is the golden oldie?

Fuzztacular

2008-10-25T08:08:00.003+01:00

As some of you might know I've been getting back into music in a big way. I've made some choice purchases over the last couple of weeks and today I'm going to tell you a bit about one of my favourite pick-ups to date.

As a guitarist I suffer from a compulsion to try out new effects pretty much constantly, and over the years this has lead to me owning quite a few 'drawer warmer' stomp boxes. These pedals eventually get given away, traded out or sold. More often than not it takes something really special to snag a spot on my pedalboard. This week I was introduced to something that was special, very special indeed.

I have never found a Fuzz pedal I like, and believe me I've tried quite a few so when I stumbled upon the Shortscale guitar forum I was chuffed to discover that there was someone on there who was based in the UK and builds their own effects pedals. Some are origina designsl, some are clones and some are classics with an added twist. The latter is the one that interested me.

So this was my introduction to guitar FX 'Made by Mike' aka Mike Livesley. I was very impressed by his obvious exuberance for the build and his work ethic. My design was decided on, built and under my foot in about a week. It even came with a battery already installed, now that's customer service!! When it arrived I thought that I'd have a go with it for a few minutes then get back to Mike with some feedback but this didn't happen, no sir I couldn't put my guitar down for a good four hours.

Like I said previously, most pedals tend to leave me wanting, this Fuzz left me wanting more!!! The response from the slightest tweaks to the controls were spot on and the variety of textures it is capable of producing simply blew me away. This pedal is like classic vintage greatness but it doesn't suffer from the usual problem I have with older FX ie rather than lacking controls this has them in spades. I normally use Fender Jaguar guitars, The Jaguar is capable of many different tones due to it's myriad of swithching combinations, this makes for big fun when coupled with the Fuzz pedal. One part of the Jaguar circuit that never done anything for me is the frequency cut switch (known as the strangle switch) but it combines in a surprising manner with the Fuzz offering far less dirt and gaining a more punchy percussive timbre. In this setting I could imagine using it for a more biting clean sound that I would've previously used a low chorus setting to achieve. This makes that vibe possible without 'sweetening' the sound like a chorus tends to.

The following is a little bit of info from Mike, it's better that you find out what he's all about from the man himself rather than my half remembered ramblings. :D

"I've been building pedals for nearly a year now, what started as a project started by Aen, of shortscale.org and chief noisenik at Dwarfcraft Devices, to build a series of Boost pedals at cost for the members of Shortscale.org, a forum inspired by (but not exclusively devoted to) Fender's shortscale guitars; the Jaguar, Mustang et al.

Aen handled US production, while I built the pedals for the European shortscalers at first, and when stuff at Dwarfcraft picked up, I ended up building pedals for a bunch of our US folk also. The run of 14 boosters really helped me hone my skills and process, and build up a stockpile of components - while also learning about finishing cases. Early boosters were wired with stranded wire and featured shortscale stickers for decoration. I soon graduated to colour finishes and solid core wiring, and soon started experimenting with other pedals and designs. Since the booster days I have diversified into building Overdrives, Fuzz and Distortion boxes, Tremolo's, Vibratos and also switching boxes like True Bypass loopers.

I generally build to order, and will either be tweaking existing designs, making straight clones or selling my own designs. My profit margin is extremely modest, and I build pedals mainly for the joy of creating something that someone will be able to make joyous music or a racket with. The feeling I get hearing people's feedback, sound samples or seeing my pedals on people's pedalboards is a massive kick. I studied electronics at The University Of Southampton and I am a Leading Electronic Designer working in the 3D Graphics field at present. The pedal sideline is a marvellous distraction from my dayjob, and I love it. "

Made by Mike; a true seal of quality . Buy one. Want more.

Here is the official specs for the noisemaker Mike made for me.

"This Fuzzface design I made is a complete clone of the Fulltone '69 Fuzz, which is a Germanium FuzzFace using AC128 pnp transistors. Mike Fuller doesn't build these anymore as he says the transistors don't sound good enough, but I find that careful gain selection can yield wonderful results.

The standard Fuzzface controls of Fuzz and Volume are augmented by Bias reduction and Contour controls, to shape the sounds on offer. The Bias control is effectively another volume control inline with your guitar, before the Fuzz circuit, and can be used to dial out some of the inherent beefy low-end at high Fuzz settings, while the Contour control is a really ingenius filter which allows you to sweep from a stock scoopy fuzztone (at minimum) through to a rich midrange bitey tone full of harmonic overtones at maximum. When combined with the Fuzz and Bias controls the Contour control allows a multitude of sounds to be dialed in."

You see? Much more eloquent than me. All I really know is that I stand on the box and it makes my guitar rock harder, that's all I need to know...Well that and that I want another one.

The build quality and finish are A1 here. The look is classic and elegant, combining a metallic silver box with a blue LED and black/silver screw shaft control knobs with a retro flavour. Check it out.

MINE!!!!!

If you're tempted by one of these little wonders drop by Shortscale and get in touch with Mike. The Shortscale community are very welcoming so there's nothing to fear.

Gettin back to my roots!!

2008-10-24T10:28:00.002+01:00

well, Root...erm actually I'm talking about Root Designs. They're a Newcastle based company that launched in 2007 with the intention of bringing high quality Slipmats with fresh designs by great designers (Yuck and Jon Burgerman to name but two!) to the market.

So if you're spinning some records or know someone who does and they're fed up with naff hash leaf dogspuke inducing mats I'd suggest you try Roots Designs out. I recently bought a pair for a Friends birthday and the quality of the product and the service really blew me away. You can also buy from them on ebay (like I did)

I opted for the Yuck 'Let's Fight' for Pete's birthday.

Each design is limited to just 100 pieces so don't cry if you wait too long and you miss out on them!! I believe that they also do custom mats too, so I think that's definitely worth a bit of investigation too. :D

Make your own fun!!!

2008-10-23T10:37:00.000+01:00

As a follow up to yesterdays post I thought that I'd put out a little more info about LBP. There are a few key elements to the game.

First up is the game itself. I've only played through the first 4 locations so far, but there seems to be a good standard of platforming and easy puzzles here. Throughout the game you'll unlock items that you can use to create your own content.

This is the second (and my favourite) aspect of LBP. You can create your own level and share it with the online community, and of course you can play other peoples levels too. When creating your own levels you can also put prizes in there for people to collect, I read on Jeff Green's blog Greenspeak that someone had put a photo of him as a prize in one of their levels in the beta, dunno why they did it but the fact that you can is really exciting. (They probably did it cos everyone loves JG). You can also create your own enemies in the levels and give them fully customizable behaviours.

The last cool thing is that you don't actually have to make a game level, you can make an interactive birthday card, a Powerpoint free presentation (as demonstrated by sony at a recent games conference), a comic, ANYTHING! The sky really is the limit here.

Here is a link to a 2h hour time lapse of a group making content.:.http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/09/24/little-big-planet-24-hour-timelapse-video/. There's also a ton of videos on the 1up.com games videos section.

LBP Sackboy in the flesh

2008-10-22T10:15:00.001+01:00

I spotted this on tinterweb and thought it deserved a little big post. On of the developers of the game posted pics of a real life Sackboy made by their mother (aww sweet!)

Anyhoo here is the computer generated version:

And here is the home made version:

Pretty impressive huh?!

Little Big Planet

2008-10-21T10:18:00.000+01:00

I was lucky enough to pick up a copy of LittleBigPlanet last week (thanks to someone who needs to be sainted!) This is especially cool as the official release date has been pushed back due to the fact that one of the songs in the game had 2 references to the Qu’ran.

The game designers Media Molecule had this to say:

"We learnt yesterday that there is a lyric in one of the licensed tracks which some people may find offensive, and which slipped through the usual screening processes. Obviously MM and Sony together took this very seriously. LBP should be enjoyable by all. So within 12 hours of hearing about this issue involving a lyric (in Somalian, I believe!), we prepared an automatic day 0 patch and had a new disk image ready; however a decision was made within Sony that the right thing to do for quality and support of people with noonline was to replace existing disks. They assure us that they are doing everything in their power to get things straightened out as fast as possible, and will announce dates soon."

What a load of old cock and bull. All this OTT PC crap really gets my goat. I don't know if the references were simple references or slanderous and designed to get peoples backs up, but since the track is from a Grammy wining world music artist I don't think it can be too bad, this is probably just one of those knee-jerk reaction type situations.

I wonder how the fact that they're scrapping all of the disks they've already pressed will put a dent in the games sales figures...or maybe this is where we;ll fing out that blu-ray discs actually cost next to nothing to produce, either way it's still terrible that this game that people have been anticipating for two years already will be delayed just a little longer. One thing I can asuure you is that it is worth the wait!!

Oooft!!!! What a GAME!!!!

The cull is over!!

2008-10-20T10:06:00.002+01:00

Early last week saw the end of my 'collection thinning' when a van load of vinyl sped off into the sunset (well Whitley bay). It actually feels quite cleansing when you have a good clear out, one thing if for sure there's a lot less colour in the flat.

A few select pieces have stayed like the original Jamie Hewlett Gorillaz pieces and some customs I've picked up, but things are restricted to a new 'one shelf' policy. The Minion (o Doom) was quite surprised that I wasn't too bothered about getting rid of it all but it's one of those situations where when it stops gathering momentum I just lost interest along with it. I'm sure I'll still be picking up the odd thing, but I'm trying to keep it to a minimum. Though I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of window shopping/Internet drooling.

The other aspect that made the cull easy to stomach is the fact that it has enabled me to do some things that I just wouldn't have been able to do in the current economic climate, but more on that later.

Fiasco-a-go-go

2008-10-19T13:40:00.005+01:00

Well I actually made it to Fiasco on Friday despite being somewhat under the weather (my voice was similar to Oscar the grouch). Even though we arrived pretty early the place was pretty packed already, the crowd was pretty diverse too. There were young hipster types, traditional pub dwellers and a wide smattering of age groups. I prefer this kind of mix on a night out, it keeps things interesting.

Now when it comes to music, well this type of music I'm not the best choice to write about it (maybe I'll ask Pete if he wants to contribute...) It's not the sort of stuff I listen to on a daily basis but fark me it's great for a night out!! The most exposure I usually get is Saturday at the Sub Club, and I do really like it but the Fiasco boys blew them away on Friday, it was just so.....danceable (and that's coming from someone who doesn't usually dance all that much, was ill AND totally sober!!) The guests that night (Inland Knights) were good too, but I'm no house aficionado so I don't know much about them, either way I still much preferred the tunes touted by the regulars. I know nothing of the history of the music, I just knows whats I likes!

Well done to Ed and Frazer, it was a cracking night and it seems to be going from strength to strength. Methinks they'll be needing a bigger venue soon. One thing is for sure Fiasco is definitely a night to keep your eye on.

I'll be updating with their upcoming events as well as some photos from Friday night. :D

Fiasco....but in a good way.

2008-10-16T14:28:00.003+01:00

If you're free on Friday 17th of October then get yourself down to Fiasco in the Brunswick Hotel. If you're looking for a great night out with some of the funkiest people you're ever likely to meet then this could be the night out you're looking for. Here's the skinny on the boys and the beats...

This month Fiasco, brings you their Ten Ten Ten party, and with it, the greatest deep house outfit the UK has ever produced...none other than the mighty INLAND KNIGHTS!!!!

The knights consists of Andy Riley and Lawrence Ritchie who met in 1993 through their involvement Dj'ing with the legendary UK free party crew - Smokescreen sound system.

By 1998, Ritchie moved to Nottingham with what little studio kit he'd had in Sheffield, joined the To ka Project studio and began to put together the Drop label whilst producing closely with Riley.

The Drop Music catalogue now has 56 releases to its credit, and is renowned in the dance music community for the quality and consistency of its work.

Drop is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year and the guy's are touring to let thier fans get a piece of the action.

After having not visited Glasgow for nearly 4 years, we at Fiasco are honoured to be the only Scottish date on this prestigious Drop tour.

TICKETS: This event is non ticketed, and is likely to be the fastest sell out we have had so far at Fiasco and we urge you do arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Look forward to seeing you in there for the usual Funky Fiasco Frolicks!

With a combined experience of over twenty years behind the decks, and having not teamed up since Ibiza '05, Fiasco residents Ed-FM! and Frazer Devine take to the wheels of steel to create their own unique clubbing experience.With Ed's original jackin' "Chicago" sound being rare among the Glasgow clubs, it is a welcome sound to all who are lucky enough to catch a funky earful.Frazer on the other hand creates his own soulful blend of new york vocal house mixed in a way that is clearly his own.These two self made DJ's coming together, brings a whole new environment to the intimate basement club of Glasgow's Brunswick Hotel, Basura Blanca.Rather than a big space between the DJ's and the crowd, this venue has been chosen so that the DJ's can get involved, and have fun with the party goers.This is looking to be one of Glasgow's most fun, friendly and successful new nights for years.

I'll be popping along on Friday night and I'll be sure to report on events.

2008-10-09T14:30:00.003+01:00

"Oh my god have you tried their food? It's the bestest!" etc etc etc, that's all I ever heard about 'Where The Monkey Sleeps' so I decided to give them a taste test earlier in the week.

WTMS has become pretty well known for providing cutting edge good food without all the modern sandwich shop cool-than-thou-vibe trappings, the food does the talking, not the decor and that's how it should be. That's not to say that it's a dump, the decor is basic with LP Sleeves adorning the walls and there's plenty of comfy sofa seating. I especially enjoyed spotting all the old metal albums in the collection. Like the food, the premises falls on the right side of real Vs plastic and over-prepared. It feels comfortable and relaxing.

They offer a comprehensive menu which you can customize 'til your hearts content, which is great for me cos I'm a picky git!! I opted for the 'Loggins' pannini which consists of: Goat's cheese, char grilled peppers, olives, red onion, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, rosemary oil and balsamic vinegar. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be cos the food is even better in the mouth that it sounds on the menu (sadly that's not always the case in most places I've tried). The actual pannini bread was good too, I always look out for that, there's nothing worse than good filling on low quality bread!!

You know how people reminisce about the first great love of their lives and how nothing has ever compared? well I used to frequent a sandwich/pannini shop back when I was at art school and it has always been the measure for every sandwich I've had since, and last week the old faithful was bested for the first time. (OK it wasn't great love or anything so grand, but it was a great sandwich but you get the idea!)

The staff member who was on while I was in was very helpful and friendly too. I like it when people are chatty without being forced or too pushy so that was the icing on the cake. I'd definitely recommend that you try out their rub-a-dub-grub. It just might the #1 nibble in your lunchbox for a long time to come!

:D

Where The Monkey Sleeps
182 West Regent Street
Glasgow, G2 4RU
Tel: (0141) 226 3406 E: info@monkeysleeps.com

Images stolen from www.monkeysleeps.com

Ta-Waaaang!!!

2008-10-02T22:19:00.004+01:00

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, you see I'm gonna set up my ultimate guitar. For almost as long as I've played guitar I have always wanted a Lake Placid Blue Fender Jaguar with a bound neck and block inlays, it has always been my dream guitar. Well recently I managed to pick one up from a very nice man for a very good price. Not only that but the guitar had most of the modifications I would have done to it already installed, so I saved myself a packet right there.

My 'main guitar' is off getting fixed at CC Music (courtesy of Jimmy Egypt) so I have to mold the other so that it's just right. I'm having a full-blown geek-gasm just thinking about it!! I have another project planned for my guitar pedals after I get this done, but that's a subject for another day!! :D

In other news, the Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik is now out on Rock Band as a full album download!! (so you might not hear from me for about a week! :D)

MY EYES!!!!!!!

2008-10-01T22:14:00.006+01:00

Are alright actually. That's right, I went for an eye test today...well to be honest eye test doesn't even begin to cover it. My peepers had a full on M.O.T.!!

OK I'm getting ahead of myself (as usual) It all began when....

The Minion O Doom had her eye test scheduled for today at Stephen Tang opticians and since I haven't had my eyes tested for about...oh eight years or so she press ganged me into calling up for an appointment. I grudgingly agreed and made the call.

I was hesitant to go for the test for two reasons, one is that I'm convinced that I have godlike vision (and didn't want to hear any different) and the other is that my limited experience with optometrists involve getting goggles stuck to my face, being told I'm fine after reading a couple of lines and leaving within five minutes of my appointment start time, so I had my cynical pants on.

However there were also multiple reasons that I decided to go, the main one being that Pete and Brook had explained what Stephen Tang is all about and due to their testimony I thought that it would be worth a shot, plus an eye health test seemed like a great idea, especially as I've never had one. So now we're all caught up, and now you know why I'm writing a review about my eye exam. If you know me you know I'll go on about something that really leaves me with an impression.

Arriving at the optometrist I was impressed by the look of the place, the front of house staff members were really good too, very friendly and not at all in your face. Within a few minutes of being inside I had a preliminary test done, I think this was just to establish a baseline for the eye test proper. It was a quick, smooth procedure which only took a couple of minutes. The staff member administering the test was very professional and warm. At this point I'd received more/better service than on my last eye exam and it was just the appetiser!!

At this point we met Stephen Tang. What a dude. This guy gave a level of service that you'd really have to experience yourself to get the whole idea. This is what you wish your optician/doctor/dentist/etc could be like. It's very unusual to meet someone who is as professional, open, adept, communicative and honest all at the same time. Maybe if you're lucky you'll encounter someone with one or two of those qualities. He's the sort of person it feels good to be around, no awkwardness or anything. Keeping you relaxed without resorting to the condescending pantomime routine that so many doctors etc slip into like a comfy pair of slippers.

The eye test itself was incredibly comprehensive, all bases covered, everything checked to the max including a real looking-into-the-back-of-the-eye-etc ocular physical! The equipment in use was just as cutting edge as the service, making the experience all the better. A true melding of technology and real one to one professionalism. This guy is so thorough that you could imagine him running tests on the space shuttle or something.

After the tests the minion picked out a cool set of frames and did her paperwork while we all had a natter (and I had an extra peripheral vision test, which was cool). At this point I really noticed the vibe of the place and it really impressed me, there was a real feeling that you were being dealt with by a team, rather than just a few people who work in the same shop. Instead of companies sending their workforce on team building exercises they should send to Stephen Tang's to take some notes and see exactly how it should be done. If my last optometrist was a gramophone, S Tang is the ipod (or eyepod :D)

If you're in Glasgow and you're due an eye exam give them a ring and make an appointment, trust me you will not regret it. I'm still kinda surprised that I had fun at an eye exam!! I definitely owe Pete and Brook a drink (or a sandwich) for guiding us to a new world of eye-health-goodness that up until a few hours ago I never really believed existed.

Here are the contact details if you want to check them out for yourself. I can tell you one thing for certain, I'll never go anywhere else!!

Stephen Tang Opticians
3a, Barrachnie Rd, Baillieston, Glasgow, Lanarkshire G69 6HB Tel: 0141 781 0388

Sale is still a go-go!

2008-09-29T23:43:00.002+01:00

Well things are plodding along nicely with the old sale. I still have about 4.5K worth of stuff in one thread, 1.5k in 8" Dunnys and I still have all my Dunny series, doubles and other minifigs to take into consideration! If I was actually selling at the top price these vinyl pieces sell for it'd be worth around 7k or so.

Well if any of you out there want to open a vinyl store gimme a buzz and I'll do you the deal of the century!! lol

Ka-Boom!!!!

2008-09-29T14:35:00.003+01:00

Well.... more like KER-post! That's right the mas cull if urban vinyl is finally upon us and the Minion o Doom is full of happiness, delight and dreams of foreign holidays. So far the sale is going well (about 2K yesterday, and a couple of hundred in Paypay fees) I'll keep you all posted as and when there are some updates.

Right now over on the KR forums I have 2 HUGE sale lists up. Pop on over there and get shopping!!!! There's everything from Ledbetter to Dalek to Baseman to Biskup.

What's at the end of the rainbow?...Xbox Live Gold?

2008-09-23T00:13:00.002+01:00

I think not!! You see I don't have a Live gold account on my 360, it might be because I'm a cheap git or that I play the kind of online games that all the little US swear-troll-racist-gay-hating-McHatemonger-bastard-sons-of-bitches (and their friends) tend to be attracted to, so I don't really see the need to pay Micro$$$oft for granting me that privelage....Well that and I really don't have the time to do a lot of online gaming so it isn't really worth my while anyhoo. OK, so you're probably thinking is there a point to this story then and can I skip straight to it? In the words of Keenan and Kel "Awwww here goes!!"

I started thinking about this earlier this evening, I swithched on the 360 to see if the new weelky store update was up yet, it wasn't so I just thought I'd have a root around to see if there was anything interesting and spotted that the new bikes update was out for Burnout Paradise. The sad thing is that it had a little "oh no you don't" sign next to it meaning that at the moment it's only available to gold subscribers. So what? you may say, well the thing is it's a free upgrade/add-on so there's no need for Microsoft to be sticking their noses in. I did some poking around and discovered that it's just a way Micro$$$oft have developed to incentivise their gold memberships, you see gold members (saucy) get the free stuff sooner...hmm that's a bit sh!tty, the game makers decide to release a freebie for all the nice people who bought their game and Micsoshit says "NO YOU DON'T!!".

Luckily for me I bought Burnout Paradise on PS3. It has free online AND they give out the free stuff straight away rather than holding it ransome so I was zipping into oncoming traffic on a motorbike in no time!! Also a game more dear to me, that is Rock Band (Shock! Horror!!) occasionally give out free songs to download but with the way the Xbox live marketplace now works you can't have the freebies on their system until they give you the say-so, or you subscribe to a gold account.

I just find it very strange that with Sony eating into the 360s sales lead that Micro$oft would give consumers another reason to go for the Sony console over their own. Let's look at some examples of the differences between the two consoles and the way things are shaping up.

Price.
360 is cheaper but the PS3 does play Blu-Ray and is a better media server. A similarly specced version of both consoles is around the same price give or take a few quid.

Hardware.
The 360 is about as reliable as Verbal as a police witness (if you haven't watched 'The Usual Suspects' for shame!!!) and it also sounds like a plane taking off. Sadly the PS3 does look like a George Foreman grill.

Online.
360 has a nominal charge but has the better online service (at the moment) though the PS3 is free to play online and is improving all the time. The charge doesn't make too much of a difference right now (it's around £39) but if MMORPGs ever make it big on the console people might balk at paying a subscription for that on top of the Gold account charge.

Microsoft already tried to introduce the Live Gold thing to PC users, said users swiftly told them to go and take a flying self-fornication and Microsoft stopped charging them for a service that they as PC users were used to getting for free.

Well there you go, I have no idea what's going through the Microsoft-monkey brains...They seem to be taking a great foot-hold in the home console market and doing their best to totally flush it. I realise that this is a bit of a weird reason to do a blog post but it just irks me.

Byee :D

Well I finally did it....

2008-09-21T14:32:00.002+01:00

That's right, I finally bought a bigger hard drive for my 360, mainly due to all the rockband stuff I've downloaded and all the new stuff I want to download. One good thing is that a lot of the 360 bits and pieces have had a recent price drop so instead of costing me £129.99 it was only £69.99 (thank goodness the minion didn't buy me one while she was on her hols). So right now I'm writing this while my old drive gets all it's info ripped out prior to it getting taken back to the games store to be traded in for something new... probably Microsoft points to buy more Rock Band tracks. I know, I'm a saddo, but the Chili Peppers Blood Sugar album is coming out soon along with all the new stuff with Rock Band 2.

Wot no art?

2008-09-20T18:35:00.003+01:00

I've not managed to do many customs lately so I made an effort yesterday to do some work on one that I started aaages ago and I also started a new one. They have a similar vibe as they use the same basic design and colour scheme. The colours were originally inspired by Anna's little birds. These are WIP pics. Click to see 'em bigger.

Lovebirds is the one I started ages ago. It has some carving/spraypainy and good old acrylic. I used a Mellow toy for this one.

Love Birds

The second one is a Hitchcock tribute (I love the birds). It is a 9" BuneeQee.

PTAKI

The little bird design is a doodle that I sometimes sign small work with. For some reason I really like it as a pattern... I'll post pics when I finally get them done and dusted.

You doity raaat!!

2008-09-19T10:24:00.002+01:00

Glasgow Craft Mafia will be having a new indie market at the QMU in Glasgows west end on Wednesday the 24th. The minion o' doom (AKA Cottonpetal) will be selling her wares at said market.

Cottonpetal's goodies will include new premium hand-made custom bags, plush and a new line of everyday shopping totes. So if you're within striking distance of Glasgow pop along and see what's on offer!

Also keep checking the Cottonpetal Etsy store for new items after the 24th

Dunny series 5 reviews part 5

2008-09-18T10:54:00.005+01:00

JMGS//Jellymon - Ratio 1/50

I'm not sure how I feel about this Dunny. I like it, I don't like it. There's nothing that really strikes me about the design, but there's nothing that repulses me either... ambivalence! That's the word I'm after. The colours are ok, the design is ok. And what's up with those weird nostril things on the front of the head? Honestly, I find this one completely uninspiring.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 1/5
Dunny design: 2/5
Overall: 1/5

Ok so this is another pattern design rather than character based Dunny, it sorta looks like it has three different 60s wallpaper patterns plastered onto it. It's aesthetic is very similar to the kind of pattern/design work you'll see in loads of magazines that are doing the rounds these days (Amelia's Magazine is a good example though most other "hip" publications tend to be all style and little substance, but that's a topic for another day.) Like Amelia's weighty tome this Dunny is on the right side of the funk fence. The colour picks are good here too, accentuating the good characteristics of pattern style. Some character elements are present here though, the googly eyes on the front and the face on the back keep it from being too abstract. The print quality on this Dunny is pretty cool and the face on the back looks good in a kooky way.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 4/5 The 1/50 ratio will make this one a bit more popular.
Dunny design: 3/5 Just n the weird side of average.
Overall: 4/5

Mishka NYC - Ratio 1/25

The picture of this Dunny above makes it look much better than it does in reality. In person the colours are muddy and that's made worse by the fact that it's flocked. I'm not a monkey design fan and this one can join the rest of them in the "no, thank you" pile.

Paint Quality: 4/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny design: 1/5
Overall: 0/5

Oh my god that is one fugly Dunny!! The colours are awful and the design is totally whack. It looks like a crappy copy of the Sket Dunny from series 4 but without the goodness. This Dunny is flocked and the flocking makes the colours look even worse! Skip this one and buy the old Mishka Dunny from series 3, it's waaay cooler. This comes with an eye accessory.....hmm, pointless. At least there's only one of these per case. On the Mishka NYC site it says that this Dunny is called "Skunk Ape", well it looks like an ape and it certainly does stink so good name.

Paint Quality: 4/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny design: 0/5
Overall: 1/5 Maybe the flocking will make it burn easier...

Dunny serie 5 reviews part 4

2008-09-17T10:45:00.005+01:00

MAD Agent by MAD ratio 2/25

I found this one confusing when i first saw it without it's hat! I didn't know what the hell was going on until i realised what it was called. The dodgy paint job around the collar was to blame, i think, which makes the black much more dominant than the beige and brings it forward in the design. Anyways, I don't like this Dunny too much. Clever idea and cool accessories (including the magnifying glass which ACTUALLY magnifies) but once more, just a little too muted and boring for my liking. The hat is awesome, but the whole figure is just too.... beige!

Paint Quality: 2.5/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny design: 4/5
Overall: 1/5

As far as the accessories in this series go this Dunny by MAD is probably the cream of the crop. The actual design is quite simple yet bold with just the right amount of detail to get the character across and the extras go quite some way to balancing out the simplicity.

I got four of these from my two cases and all of them have really bad paint QC on the head. It's so bad that he upturned collar actually looks like it's been blurred out and the eyes are all printed squinted, with such a simple design there's really no excuse for not having crisp lines and level peepers. You can even see this in the above pic that KR put on their site. As far as the accessories go, the hat is pretty badly made with paint splatters on it. The little secret document (it actually has a sheet inside the envelope) and the magnifying glass (it actually works!) are really cool though.

Paint Quality: 1/5
Desirability: 4/5
Dunny design: 4/5
Overall: 3/5

Junko Mizuno ratio 1/50

Ah, this one gives great first impressions. I love the base colour, a wondrous duck-egg blue shade which works very well with the red haired character. this could have been another boring face on a Dunny but the use of bold lines and the fork in the hair make it a little different and a bit quirky. There's not much that new here, but a certain je ne sais quoi makes me like it.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 5/5
Dunny design: 4/5
Overall: 5/5

I really like this one, the colour choice and bold lines are great. Unlike some other series 5 Dunny this design is a fine example of what you can do with a sparing simple design and the use of a colour wheel. It's nice to see an artist modify their art to match the platform rather than just shoehorning an existing design onto it. As such this is more abstract that what you'd normally see from this artist. Top notch.

Paint Quality: 5/5 Flawless.
Desirability: 5/5 Cool design and a rare piece too.
Dunny design: 4/5 It's a keeper but not quite a classic.
Overall: 5/5

Dunny series 5 reviews part 3

2008-09-16T10:54:00.002+01:00

This is the third in our series of Dunny series 5 reviews. Today we're looking at two 2/25 ratio designs by Clutter and Amanda Visell. Here we go!! :D

Clutter 2/25

This one's not so cool. the stripey ear reminds me of goth girl tights, unfortunately for me! But the wooden ear is cool. I don't like the shades of pink and lilac used, nor the application of the hearts and skulls - i think it could all have been done way, way better. It's a bit cheesy and obvious in a metal-girl 12 year old kind of way, and not for me.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny Design: 1/5
Overall: 0/5

Well this is a bit of a weird one, the overall look of the Dunny is somewhat cheap and while there are a few cool things about the design (sword/wooden ear/skull belt/tattoo) but we've seen most of that before on previous designs by other artists. Possibly the worst thing on this Dunny is the face, especially the mouth which is a total disaster, it looks very unfinished/rushed. The colours on show here make this Dunny look even more cheap and have a 6 year old girls toy vibe. Overall this is a bit of a mish-mash and scores low on the originality stakes. This looks more like a bootleg than a KR Production piece.

Pirates are cool but this guy shows that there is always an exception to the rule. This Dunny falls well short of the mark and needs to walk the plank. This and the Sneaky Raccon Dunny are the bottom of the Dunny pile in this series, and possibly of every series to date. If you buy a case you're gonna get stuck with two of these.

Paint Quality: 4/5 If it had bad printing it might be more interesting.
Desirability: 0.5/5 No redeeming qualities the 0.5 is for the sword.
Dunny design: 0/5 Cheap and lazy.
Overall: 1/5

Amanda Visell 2/25

I think this one is a really cool and unusual! I love the 1950s advert vibe the two little men on the Dunny ears give to the design. Their weird little faces and suits and dangly legs are awesome! The elephant is a new take on the Dunny as far as I'm aware and it works well, especially on the stupmy feet. I find the trunk slightly off-putting, but it doesn't take much away from the overall piece. I'm also not too keen on the splattered paint effect.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 4/5
Dunny Design: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

What can we say about this little dude? I really love this design, like all of Visell's work it exudes charm and you'd have to have a heart of stone for this not to bring a smile to your face. The colour and design are spot on and the ears are put to fantastic and playful use here. This is yet another artist to mark off most Dunny collectors wish list and Visell does not disappoint. This is a truly classic Dunny Design and one of my favourites to date.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 5/5 Plus you get 2 per case :D
Dunny design: 5/5 Classic.
Overall: 5/5

Dunny series 5 reviews part 2

2008-09-15T10:49:00.014+01:00

For today's look at Dunny series 5 we'll be looking at the Huck Gee and Sneaky Raccoon. Once again my loyal minion will be adding her opinion to the mix. :D

Huck Gee ratio ?/??

Oh no! I don't like this one at all. Sorry Mr. Huck Gee, I don't like your style at all and never have. I'm not keen on that base colour, nor the minimalist face design. I suppose the hat is OK. I like the way the bamboo weave has been imprinted rather than printed onto the hat, but that's about all I can say. I don't want to look anymore!

Paint Quality: 4/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny design: 1/5
Overall: 0/5 - Yuk!

This is quite a hard one for me, I'm a bit of a Huck Gee fan and even though this series of traditional Asian designs from HG have been doing the rounds for what seems like a long time now it's quite a nice design and it's good to see it come to a 3" production Dunny rather than rare 8"ers or customs. Like the Kathie Olivas series 5 effort it's just a slight variation on a design that's getting a bit tired and samey (IMO) but none the less it's a welcome addition to the 3" series.

The overall quality is pretty good on this Dunny but it should be since it's not exactly bursting with detail, mid you that's not necessarily a bad thing. The design is simple but very effective. The colour choice is pretty sweet too, match that muted palette with the elegant styling and the Dunny comes across as a quality piece. This Dunny comes with a pair of knives and a traditional conical sun hat they are pretty sweet and OK quality.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 4/5
Dunny design: 3/5
Overall: 4.5/5

Sneaky Raccoon ratio 1/25

This one's pretty average. The base colour's a little neon and jarring, but I can forgive that. I like the little face, but it's kind of hidden way down on the Dunny head and is easily missable. Actually, the whole head design looks like it's been applied too low down, to me at least. The other details on the figure seem like a bit of an afterthought and appear to have been popped on wherever there was a space. I don't get why this was released as it is!

Paint Quality: 3/5 - crappy edges in places.
Desirability: 1/5
Dunny design: 1/5
Overall: 0/5

Ooft! Where to begin?... Well I could probably sum this Dunny in 3 words "waste of vinyl". The colour choices are bloody awful and the paint job looks like a 2 year old designed it on a Fuzzy Felt kit from the Eighties. The biggest let down is that the card/sticker that comes with this Dunny is really cool, if only KR had picked one of the artists designs more like what's on the card I find it very hard to believe that this is the best submission from Sneaky Raccoon.

This was one of the first designs that leaked from this series and it put the shits up quite a few Dunny fans luckily it wasn't prophetic of what was to come from the rest of the series.

Paint Quality: 3/5 Print alignment is a total stranger to this Dunny.
Desirability: 0/5 At least this is a 1/25 so you'll only get stuck with one per case. (keep the card tho)
Dunny design: -1/5 Totally wasted opportunity and possibly the worst ever Dunny to date. Overall: 0/5

2008-09-14T12:28:00.009+01:00

Today we're gonna take a look at two Dunny from series five. I say we because the minion o' doom is in on this too, that way we get a fresh look at the Dunny along with my more cynical view. The minion is not too keen on vinyl so for her to actually like one is a big thing. She only has 6 she's kept so far.

Dunny will be rated to the following criteria:

Paint Quality: ?/5 As you'd expect the overall quality of the paint (usually an issue with KR).
Desirability: ?/ Do we want it? If so just how much?
Dunny Design: ?/5 Good use of the platform or a lazy design transplant? Future classic or instantly forgettable?
Overall: ?/5 Our basic overall rating.

First up we have:

Kathie Olivas Ratio ?/?? (probably 3/100 or something similar)

This one is cool! It gives off cute vibes without being sickeningly sweet. The bunny outfit worn by the character is toughened up with a pair of evil eyes and some serious fangs. The flocking works excellently and the whole thing looks top quality. Sweet!

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 5/5 Even I would keep this one.
Dunny design: 5/5 Suits the platform perfectly.
Overall: 5/5

I like the KO design, if you're familiar with her work it's exactly what you'd expect from her, and to be honest that's the only real negative here. KO's work is very cool but we've been seeing the same variation on one design approach from the beginning and it looks like it'll be the same recycled ideas until the end of time. That in itself wouldn't be too bad if the idea was in any way original but it's just a weird/evil variation (tho quite a cool one) on the kid in a suit toy.

OK let's look at the toy itself. Despite my misgivings about the lack of variation with KO's work it does look damn fine on a Dunny. The evil bunny suit is cool as is the kid's trap-jaw mouth and lolly pop accessory, the signature KO style is spot on. If you've seen any of her customs you'll know that Munny/Dunny is where these designs were meant to be. I hate flocking but it looks quite good on this figure as the paint lines are crisp and clear though it would have been sweet to have had the kids face painted on plain vinyl. The overall paint looks pretty good for KR especially as it's on flock. It would've been nice to see a brown variant. It's great to have a KO Dunny design particularly if Dunny are the main focus of your collection.

In short, it's a great addition to the Dunny line but we've seen this design before and I'm sure we'll see it again (and again and again) probably on different platforms etc but I've reached Kathie Olivas saturation point.

Paint Quality: 4/5 I'd say 3/5 on vinyl but it looks good for a flocked piece.
Desirability: 5/5 Popular artist with her first mass produced outing on this platform.
Dunny design: 5/5 I think this will be viewed as a "classic".
Overall: 5/5

Frank Kozik Mecha Dunny Ratio 1/100

Hm. This one's OK. I can appreciate the excellent details which really enhance the sharpness of the robot model. This is made of plastic, which never feels or looks quite as nice as vinyl, but plastic was probably essential to get this level of angular, robot detail. Cool idea, but not quite my cup o' tea.

Paint Quality: 5/5
Desirability: 0/5
Dunny design: 2/5 (not really a Dunny)
Overall: 2/5

A lot of people give Kozik flak for the same reasons I gave KO some in my review of her piece, that's right, repetition of design. Well they certainly can't say this about this design... or can they? Well it's certainly not the usual Kozik offering (many would sum it up as stubble/cigarette/angry face) but it's like any crappy asian market cheap-ass-free-in-your cereal toy you'd ever have the misfortune of finding in your Wheaties. The plastic feels incredibly cheap, light and nasty and the overall design doesn't quite look right and face facts it's pretty hard to screw up a traditional boxy robot but somehow he managed it on this one. Luke Cheuh made a Mecha-bear using the same aesthetic last year and it looked like crap too.

On medium to close inspection the paint job is classic Kid Robot in other words crappy. They need to train their factory staff with colouring books and teach them to only colour inside the lines. Needless to say this one will be popular as it's a hard to find "chase" design and I think that'll be it's saving grace. If I wasn't a completest this one would be traded away in an instant. I wish it had been made out of tin or something... the plastic was just bleaurgh.

Paint Quality: 2/5
Desirability: 1/5 (for me) 5/5 (for collectors due to rarity)
Dunny design: 2/5 Like the Huck Skull it's not really a Dunny and the proportions are wrong.
Overall: 1/5

That wraps up our first 2 Dunny reviews. I'm quite surprised how much I dislike the Kozik especially as I do normally like his work and I love robots but hey, you can't please everyone right? I like the way the piece photographs but as soon as you get it in hand the magic disappears. Shame. Ahyhoo pop back soon for more of our opinions on Dunny series 5.

A very lucky day...

2008-09-13T23:39:00.003+01:00

I popped into Fat Buddha today and picked up two cases of Dunny series 5. Leslie picked out the cases for me, and they were veeeery cool indeed. These days cases come in a few different layout versions, this mixes up what you might get as well as making it harder to pull a full set so most serious collectors end up buying lots of blind boxes trying to snag the rarer designs, or they pay crazy prices on Evilbay.

My first case was the one with the Junko Mizuno chase and one regular Huck Gee, it's not a great case but it did have a GOLDEN TICKET in it! If you don't know what that is it's not a free pass to Willy Wonka's choc shop. This golden ticket nets the holder a special Dunny limited to 600 pieces. The one for this series was designed ny Huck Gee so all is good there. Apart from the golden ticket it's not a great case for completing a series, well or so I thought...

The second case was the motherload, it had the 1/100 Kozik chase, 1/50 Jellymon, the ??/?? Kathie Olivias and two Huck Gee chases. What that all means is that in just two cases I managed to pull a complete set, including the golden ticket. Very cool indeed.

Over the next few days I'll be reviewing the individual Dunnys and letting you know exactly what I think of them, the minion might even get in on this too...

Tsk Tsk

2008-09-12T19:58:00.001+01:00

I got a new toothbrush today, OK that's not really newsworthy I mean, I do love getting a new brush but that's now why I'm writing this.

As you might have noticed in some of my previous posts I like to recycle and I really hate wasteful packaging. That brings me to the reason for this post....

My Aquafresh "extreme Clean" tooth and tongue wiggly-middled tooth cleaning instrument. What's wrong with that then? you may ask.... Well I think that the whole tongue and cheek cleaner that they've slapped onto it is a total waste. You see the thing is as a human, with hands I'm capable of turning my tooth brush round and brushing my tongue. Seriously, what's the deal? Are we really all that lazy these days? Mind you I think you can buy a Gillette razor that has five blades on it or something. Mental. What's gonna be next? Maybe a toothbrush that cleans your teeth, dishes and walks the dog while removing all your facial hair?

OK maybe I'm going a bit over the top and to be honest it's not even the stupid cheek and tongue cleaner that annoys me. (well not that much) No, the thing that got me bugging is the fact that the felt the need to put it ON THE FRONT OF THE PACKAGING!!! I wonder if they'd approve of me rubbing my tongue against them in the shop, you know just to try them out.

Right now I bet you're wondering why the hell I bought this brush, well the truth is I didn't buy it. The responsibility for buying this monstrosity falls firmly at the feet of my loyal (but bad brush buying) minion. I'll give it a whirl tomorrow and then I'll know what I think of the rubber-scrubber.

Mine!!!

2008-09-11T19:45:00.003+01:00

This week has seen the triumphant return of the loyal minion from her break in Canada. Amongst the good stuff she brought back with her were a couple of bits of Burgerman goodness. She found them in a little funky boutique-style store.

I like the fact that they're two totally different styles and to be honest I find it hard to pick my favourite 'though I've always had a soft spot for doodles on cardboard. I'm sure Jon still has lots of cool stuff available on his site (the small canvasses are especially choice) so go check out his wares at www.jonburgerman.com and keep the man in veg.

2008-09-03T14:01:00.002+01:00

While trawling the internets the other day I came across some old news that I somehow managed to miss out on, there are FULL ALBUM downloads coming to Rock band 2!!! So far there have been five albums confirmed:

"The Colour and the Shape" -- Foo Fighters
"Blood Sugar Sex Magik" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Nothing's Shocking" -- Jane's Addiction
"Peace Sells... But Who's Buying" -- Megadeth
"Texas Flood" -- Stevie Ray Vaughn

I'll happily download 4/5 of these (sorry SRV) I'm especially stoked about the Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters contributions. Hopefully more coolness will follow, however the much talked about Nirvana "Nevermind" DLC is jst a figment of someones imagination. Apparently it was used as an example of what could be done and that quote was taken out of context. That doesn't mean that it won't come out at some point in the future...

In the bad news there will also be a "best of No Doubt" DLC pack. Oh well at least it should be a very small download. :D

Hard drive hard luck

2008-09-01T11:56:00.005+01:00

PS3 - The fat boy needs to get even fatter

Everyday in our lives space is an issue whether it's personal space, living space or storage space (the biggest issue with my flat) well today my concern is hard drive space, I'm running out fast! My main system is chock-a-block as are my 3 external units and this laptop even my ipod is getting crowded, but I can handle that because things can be moved around or deleted my real concern is with my gaming machines.

My PS3 is getting stuffed, mainly due to the fact that many of the games have a mandatory 4 gig install so now I have room to buy 2 more games and 4 gig installs. I wanted to snag the "Siren" download only game but sadly I didn't have the HDD space on the 60 gig that came in the PS3. Things aren't all bad though, with the Sony machine you can pop in any SATA HDD (around £60 for 320 gig) plus you can back up all the contents of your PS3 (if you have a spare external drive with enough room) saving you the hassle of re-downloading all the crap you've amassed since buying the console. Pretty cool huh?

The 360 HDD - The villain of the piece

The real problem I'm having is with my 360. You see it doesn't have a standardised HDD, it's in a daft looking silver case (pictured above) that plugs into the top of your machine (or side depending on the orientation of your console). Space is such an issue with the piddly 20 gig drive that my 360 came with that I'm worried about any Rock Band DLC coming out that I want cos I might not have the space to download it. I've already went through it deleting all the music I don't listen to as much on it but alas, it's still too full.

Mixed blessing - At least it comes with a transfer cable

What's that you say? Just buy a bigger hard drive? Well I would but if you want to buy the 120 Gig version you can buy in stores they charge a whopping £129!! That might not seem too much but I could buy 640 gig of space for my PS3 for that. Greedy Micro$oft sons of bitches!! I also don't feel too confident in buying expensive peripherals for a system that tends to commit electronic suicide if someone looks at it sideways. Hopefully my loyal minion will remember to buy one for me while she's in Canada at least it'll save me a bit of cash...

Remake-a-rama...

2008-08-31T16:52:00.003+01:00

I read today that there is a Friday the 13th.... I suppose you'd call it a re-imagining or something it's set outside of the usual umpteen part sequel-strewn series (you can just call it Friday the umpteenth). The film is being produced by Platinum Dunes, they're the same bunch that did the Texas Chainsaw and the Hitcher and Amityville Horror remakes (all terrible). I know that there's plenty of cash to be made from these genre flicks (the Friday the 13th series has grossed over a billion dollars in box office and DVD sales on it's own) but a huge part of the fun of these films are the hokey B-movie vibe and these high budget slick versions just don't seem to have the same heart and tongue in cheek elements that are par for the course with these low budget movies and the inevitable modern twists and more serious vibe they try to apply to these films always seem to fall flat as they just don't fit together.

Poster teaser from comic-con

Apparently Platinum Dunes are trying to get the go-ahead to re-boot A Nightmare on Elm Street too, I suppose with this Jason film and the Halloween one by Rob Zombie this'll basically cover all the big genre characters and they'll all have has a crappy remake each well apart from Texas Chainsaw cos it got 2! Oh, they're also trying to remake the Birds!! That's definitely going too far. Hopefully this new film will tank and they'll go out of business before they get the chance to piss all ove that film too.

At least they're keeping the mask and not trying to tart it up...

There is the small chance that this film won't suck balls but the odds aren't in it's favour. I think that these remakes are the movie equivalent of when someone takes a cool old rock song and gets some crappy Emo-ish pop metal band to do a crappy slightly sped up version of it (like that shitty version of Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper by the shitty HIM tho that one's actually slowed down).

A journey and yet more faffing about...

2008-08-26T16:31:00.005+01:00

Tomorrow sees the commencement of the trusty minion's 2 week recharge in Canada, so for the next fortnight I'll be fending for myself, hopefully she won't return to be greeted with a sickly me all itchy and leaking with scurvy. I better stock up on oranges just to be safe....

I made a start on some custom characters in the Rock Band game, some are pretty sweet (IMHO) some not so much. Here's a lil look-see. It's kinda hard to make them look like the real people as there are only five different faces you can use, it's still fun though! :D

Jimi Hendrix; an obvious choice.

Prince

David Bowie in Ziggy Stardust stylee

John Frusciante

Curt Cobain

Flea (I know he should have a bass)

This is the trusty minions character "Fartflame" Based on herself (in name as well as style?)

A hairy John Frusciante

Go Tokyo!!!

2008-08-24T13:55:00.004+01:00

Super-fun-fantastic-food-eating-joy!

Well Nanakusa was awesome, not good but awesome. Even though I'd heard the hype and my expectations were high the food and service blew those expectations out of the water. The minion was super-fantastic-fresh and happy with the night out. I'll do a proper review with pics etc on the Fat Buddha Blog this Tuesday :D

Miss Chloe was round last night for drinks and chat and yes, the inevitable session on Rock Band. It's weird when introducing someone to my now favourite game, my friend Stu hated it when he tried it but Chlo was up for the challenge and much fun was had by all.

That's all for now, I'm wicked-busy! :D

Time flies!!

2008-08-22T15:12:00.007+01:00

Wow I can't believe that it's Friday already. A combination of getting things ready for the minion's birthday and finishing Rock Band on medium (when aforementioned minion isn't hogging it!) and working on defeating it on the hard setting. Rock band 2 is coming soon and apparently if you pay a small fee you can transfer all your RB1 songs onto your hard drive thus increasing the amount of playable tracks in RB2 without ever having to move your lardy arse off the sofa. Nice. I'll probably be getting some of the other instruments when the new versions of Rock Band and Guitar hero drop, in the meantime hopefully the wandering minion will snag me an extra guitar controller while she's in Canada cos they're around a third of the price over there.
People have been doing crazy stuff with the instruments for Guitar hero, from LED mods to actually making kits to convert perfectly good real guitars into controllers for the game (with a real string). All you need is a Dremel and a big dose of stupidity. This one is the plastic guitar (I think) with a real string instead of the strum bar, it seema a bit pointless...

Looks like crap and a stupid idea to boot.

On a brighter note, not all of these extreme real guitar-style mods are crappy, case in point the following Guitar Hero controller crafted by Joel Johnson was sold off in a charity auction and looks well spiffy.

Joel Johnson custom. Not crap, very cool.

Case modder Kneivel has even made an arcade-type cabinet for his game that looks like a Marshall stack. Another dude made a working controller out of Lego, that's totally geek-core and kinda cool, plus if you mess up a song you can smash the crap out of it and just rebuild it later.

Rock and/or roll

Lego Hero

All the fun and games are cool but as ever there are people who take the whole thing too seriously. Some people are even modding their controllers to constantly have the whammy switched on to pump up their scores. I thought it was supposed to be fun? Sad sad little peeps :(

Cheat your way to plastic guitar glory

The fake Mac ad is just for fun :D anyhoo enough about Guitar Hero/Rockband!!

There should be some new Resin Rising news on the horizon in the very near future so stay tuned for that. :D

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post it is indeed the birthday of the minion o' doom, so many many happy returns!! (not returns as in returning your gifts for store credit missy!!) Tonight celebrations will be held during dinner at Nanakusa so I'm looking forward to turning my attention to their lovely Japanese food.

I also got a box of goodness from October Toys via the postman today so I'll post a pic of the swag and maybe do a little review while I'm at it. I love getting the good stuff in the mail.

Doot! toot! toot! doot! News!!

2008-08-19T20:15:00.004+01:00

Just a quick update today. My Guitar hero habit is getting worse. If you've read my latest blog on Fat Buddha you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Well today I went out in the search for a Guitar Hero II disc and couldn't find it but as the Rock Band game is compatible with the Guitar Hero III guitar controller I opted to pick that up and so far I think I've made the right decision, it 's really great! I'm enjoying it even more than GH3. The bad thing is that I'll be "forced" to buy the latest version when it comes out in a couple of months. :D

P&B (but no J?) Sane at the time of writing.

Our friends Pete and Brook are headed off stateside tomorrow to rock out at Burning Man so bon voyage to the deadly duo. We'll see you soon. :D

Cottonpetal (the sane side of the minion o' doom) will be selling loads of top notch custom bags and plushes at Glasgow Craft Mafia's VA-Va-Vintage indie market on 24th of September and 3rd of December. More on this at a later date.

Fat Buddha blog

2008-08-19T12:00:00.002+01:00

Don't forget that every Tuesday I contribute over on the Fat Buddha Blog so if you want to read more of this nonsense (you poor 'lil masochist you) click on through to see what's happening today...

Ugh!!!

2008-08-18T18:58:00.007+01:00

Earlier this week I had a few free hours on my hands so decided to have some coffee relax and watch a movie. This is where things started to go wrong. I had no idea what to watch, I have a pretty huge DVD collection and having a lot of choice just makes for a lot of staring and not much actual choosing. In the end I opted for Resident Evil Extinction, strange choice you say? Well it has zombies in it and Milla Jovovich so for a popcorn movie it was off to a head start. Sadly it was all downhill from there.

I'd rather eat what she's holding than watch this again.

Basically there's the same old T-Virus storyline with the plot from George A Romero's Day of the dead grafted onto it (with a smattering of Mad Max 2 and a scene ripped from the birds). When I say grafted I mean crudely stuck onto it with packing tape and a comedy sized stapler. It's not clever and it's definitely not pretty.

If you're thinking of renting or buying this do yourself a favour and just don't. Take the ££ and go buy yourself Resident Evil 4 for your games console cos its good (good vs bad; always an easy decision). Remember, I watched this film in full on afternoon "anything'll do" mode and it still managed to stink the place out. As for the two reasons I watched it the first place, Jovovich was gorgeous as ever but the zombies were crap.

Count Gwinula and Toy Break

2008-08-16T11:27:00.004+01:00

George doing the "Hirsute Moses"; "let my Pheyden go!!"

First things first, the new Toy Break Episode 43 : We Survived SDCC is out (it has been for a few days) so get clicking to catch up with all the latest hands on reviews and news in the world o' toys!!

I was inspired by the talk of Count Duckula/Danger Mouse/Batfink on the show so I squeezed out a quick Count Gwinula Custom tribute. :D

Sadly the Atkins diet didn't do Squat for the count.

Kid Robot

2008-08-15T10:26:00.010+01:00

As you may (or may not) have read in my previous post I've had Kid Robot on my mind this week, well I've been thinking more about the way people seem to view (and criticise) the company and in particular the monthly releases.

Most of the comments seem to be things like "It'll be a cheap month for me!" or the more straightforward " KR are shit and I'm not buying any more of their crap!!" or even the more sombre "I've loved KR since the beginning and with the current standard of toy they're offering I'm never buying from them again." So now I'm going to give you my opinion on the "current state of KR blah blah blah etc" it's just a personal opinion but feel free to comment if you think I'm right or just some asshole with a keyboard typing with his head up his arse (a neat trick).

The fairest way to look at this (and easiest way to write about it) is to start at the very beginning and see how my opinion/point of view has changed so here we go...

Paul Budnitz is my dealer and the Dunny was my gateway drug but in no way am I a; "I've loved KR since I was 5" type of person, in fact the first time I encountered any KR product was when I was roaming around the shops and spotted the Gorillaz Black Edition set in the window of Forbidden Planet Glasgow. I was gob-smacked!! You see I've always loved action figures since I was a little spittling and these things were HUGE and the level of detail was truly amazing, add this to the fact that I think Jamie Hewlett is a truly genius illustrator and that I like the Gorillaz well, you have a major fan-gasm on your hands (or in your shorts...erm whatever). However the love affair was short-lived when I found out they were around £60 each. I had no clue about urban vinyl so I just thought that they were big expensive action figures. No that's not right, I thought they were really stupidly expensive action figures so I left the shop sans Gorillaz. That decision would come back to haunt me years later.

Gorillaz Black Edition; how I loved you :(

So we skip forward in time, I'd been out of art school for a couple of years and I hadn't really been painting or doing any art since graduation so I was looking to get my artistic juices flowing again when completely by accident I found out about the Munny by Kid Robot. During my time at art school I'd spent a few months painting on unusual objects so I was intrigued my this platform as it seemed that the possibilities were endless, character design, decorational and sculptural and I liked the fact that they were kinda like a big weird action figure. I had to get some. I went straight to the only place I could think of that might have them, you guessed it Forbidden Planet and bought out all 3 they had in stock but my brain was going crazy with ideas! I had to have more!! I asked one of the clerks but they had no idea if they'd even get them back in as they weren't regularly ordered. Bum. On the way home I spotted a poster on the tube for Fat Buddha store and on that poster there were two words that made me a little bit tingly....Kid. Robot.

Long story short (cos I've already told it on this here blog) that's how I met Leslie (FB kingpin) and that's how I discovered all the things KR actually made. I got a couple of Azteca Dunny that day, I think it was because of the Mocre dunny I still think it's really funky. A couple of days later I bought a few more and got these;

At the time I didn't know that the GID Beast Bros one in the pic was so rare, I mean I knew it was rarer than the others in the series but I really had no clue what a chase was or how insane collectors got over them, well until I posted that photo on the KR forum and my inbox got maxed out immediately. People were offering crazy amounts of moolah for it but I decided that If I was going to collect these things I may as well just trade it for the best offer I got. I didn't care about rarity I just wanted to kick-start my collection. One small bidding war later and a nice fellow on the forum got rid of a lot of doubles and I had started my addiction.

I met some nice helpful people on the KR forum in the process and quickly found my way into collecting urban vinyl. I went on the forum all the time and chatted with the other collectors and posted photos of my current customs. It was a very cool experience and it fueled my interest even further. (BTW I never got another GID BB so that's still a hole in my collection.)

This was when I started looking into what else KR had produced. I was amazed, there were so many cool things. I was especially enamoured by the vinyl Space Monkeys as I'd been a long-term fan of Dalek. So every day I scoured the B/S/T (as it was then) on the forum and tried to pick up everything I liked. I also started looking at the monthly releases and in the first week or so I bought my first 8" Dunny, that was the Obey release.

Now here is the big difference between then and now. At that time I was mainly buying up pieces that'd been released over the past few years so there was a huge amount of stuff I was after, even just the 8" Dunnys were numerous (these were my main focus) so the monthly releases were supplemental to my collecting. I bought the occasional thing and never missed a Dunny release. I was a very content shopper.

During this time I found new artists, companies and items to persue I was a very happy camper. There was always something on my "to buy" list. I was voracious and my collection grew day by day much to the displeasure of the postman and my poor minion who found herself living with a plague of "stupid plastic rabbits".

This carried on for a year and a half then I found myself amongst the "hmmm there's not much on offer this month" crowd. This is the point where this story comes to the present day and I really started to think about what was going on, has Kid Robot "jumped the shark"?

I think not. The thing is looking back carefully at the releases that have been out since I started collecting the quality and quantity of pieces I'm interested in has actually always been at a pretty similar level, the REAL difference is that I've bought up all of the other stuff I was hunting down, and when it comes to collecting it's that hunt for hard to find Space Monkeys and groovy bargains that gives you the geek-gasm high, not the monthly releases. The way I collect has changed but KR have been surprisingly consistent. I never managed to buy that Gorillaz Black Edition set but I got the red one and that's cool with me.

Red edition; Good enough for me.

So why does KR get all this stick every month? I think it's because they're probably one of the only companies out there that have such a robust and regular release schedule. People consistently wait for the announcement of the coming months releases and even bitch about it on the forums if it's out a day later than they think it should, and every month the coming releases get reviewed, revered or slated on the strength of a handful of 1" x 3" photos on a forum thread.

Another aspect is that people who collect in a serious manner like I did get to the stage rather quickly where they don't really get the same buzz from collecting because all the big game has been caught and mounted in our Deltofs and on our shelves. It's now rare for me to look on a "for sale" thread and actually find anything I'm interested in (at least that doesn't cost a kidney), shelf space is at a premium too so I don't just buy everything that takes my fancy.

But still every month I wait and in the greedy part of my brain I'm expecting a deluge of pieces that I just have to buy so when this very unrealistic expectation doesn't come to fruition I'm left feeling empty and disappointed. That's my own stupid fault.

As for the current releases there's always something I like and I'm especially stoked when I see something that totally takes me by surprise like the Masked Karimba by Paul Pope I mean who would've expected that!!! If you don't know who he is Google him and get some of his stuff, the man's work is a thing to behold!

Masked Karimba by Paul Pope

There's the upcoming TADO and Burgerman releases (previously mentioned on this blog)too so there's plenty for everyone. More importantly there's a great variety. KR have taken a lot of stick for making more kiddie orientated toys and some licensed lines like the Simpsons and Adult Swim lines. Why not? Why do people have such a problem with them? It's not like we're paying for a subscription and have to take everything that KR brings out. I'm sure that there are lots of Adult Swim or even Simpsons fans who'd love to buy the toys and are grateful for the chance.

Think back to the beginning of my story, I liked the Gorillaz toys because of Hewlett's art I'd never even heard of Kid Robot or urban vinyl. Not everyone is a "serious" collector. The whole incredibly fake elitist thing you see on the forums really makes me sick I mean seriously some people need to get a fucking life/hit puberty/move out of their parents basement (delete as applicable) The forums used to be a cool place full of really good people, now they seem to just attract the lowest of the low that the internet has to offer, it's the sort of crap that used to be pretty exclusive to the video game forums, (yet another place where the annoyingly vocal minority have devolved it into a habitat mainly suitable for trolls and scum).

I just think that if the highlight of your day is finding the best way you can to put people down or make them look stupid then you have real issues. Go see a shrink or something. I'm not saying that there's not still cool people on the forum cos they're still there there's just so much other crap on there now it's hardly worth the bother. I mostly stick to PM's nowadays. I find it really sad that people new to this scene will probably never have the kind of welcoming I got when I started, it must scare a lot of people off. It seems to have gone from "welcome to the boards" to "fu©k off stoopid noob". This indicates to me that there has been a significant shift in the type of collector in todays market, that must play its part in this thing too.

There are more people than ever dipping their toes into this scene so why not broaden what's on offer to encompass them too? That seems really healthy to me. These toys will sell or sit in the stockroom on their own merit. Some of it I love and some I hate but I appreciate the fact that I have a choice and I love the fact that some very cool surprises come out of left field like Pope's work. I never expected that.

Look at it this way, it's kind of like running a restaurant, you keep the faves but you have to keep changing up the menu to keep it interesting, to keep it vital. People's tastes change it's a basic fact of life. If your favourite place puts a new starter on their menu and you don't like it, do you accuse them of "jumping the shark"? Of course not you just buy something else.

When the discussions about new releases etc gets to the part where personal insults are coming out you definitely know it's gone too bloody far. At the end of the day whether you view these pieces as toys or art just remember they're supposed to be fun. Also remember that business is business and everyone has to pay the rent.

"You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time." (and some people are just assholes :D)

All in all to me Kid Robot are still cool, some stuff I love others I hate but each and every month I'm always interested in what's coming. That's a pretty cool feat in itself.

Paul Budnitz signs a deal with the DEVIL!!

2008-08-14T10:36:00.005+01:00

Paul Budnitz "Mwah ha ha!!!"

That's a lie, he did no such thing though if you were to read some recent board posts you'd be forgiven for getting that impression. The hullabaloo started when KR announced the upcoming release of its Simpsons mini-figure series.

The reaction was the typical knee-jerk reaction that comes as an everyday part of any and all online forums and I must admit I had a similar reaction to them myself, in fact in one thread I said;

"I like the fact that it has "collectible art" plastered over the ad. I'm really glad they did that, otherwise I'd've mistaken it for dime store shit." Nasty, shameful and more than a touch shortsighted not to mention unfair. I am a bad man.

Having read on Paul Budnitz' blog "I love plastic" that Matt Groening actually redesigned these figs based on existing KR products (Munny I think) and the fact that it's a bit of a fanboy moment for Paul to be working with him made me look at the release in a different light. I've also come to realise that my initial scathing "review" of the toys was unfair, I wasn't judging the actual toys at all I was simply reacting to seeing another set of Simpsons toys. I was only seeing a franchise that to me has been worn down to the ground and over pimped by poor quality Happy Meal cash-ins and endless re-runs on the foo box. I will hold judgement until I actually see them in the flesh. Who knows maybe they'll become something truly worthy of the licence, time will tell and then I'll tell you what I think. I'm still not digging the look of them but they might be charming when in hand.

BTW If anyone out there ever wants a product reviewed by myself for the crazy people who read this blog feel free to get in touch and we'll sort it out. Bribes are welcome but they'll bear no reflection to the review you'll get. Heh.

One thing is for certain, having the keyboard so close to your fingers and just spitting out insta-reactions can cause a lot stupid and possibly hurtful comments (like my quote above) and it's become par for the course these days. I don't have any excuse after all I'm (allegedly) reasonably intelligent. This is one of the reasons I really appreciate truthful reviews when I can find them (I'm talking about you Toy Breakers!!) rather than the usual "everything is sunshine" efforts you find in most publications or the " I hate all this crap! Toys were sooo much cooler in my day!" that seem to permeate the more amateur blogs etc. I think this argument is easily covered by the following pictorial explanation.

Toys "then"

Toys "now"

Back to the topic at hand.

This situation with the Simpsons toys has made me really ponder Kid Robot and what I think of them, their releases and the (perceived) direction they're heading.... Read more on this subject tomorrow.

Superfantastic hand-made Gwin goodness.

2008-08-12T22:18:00.005+01:00

Our friends over at October Toys created a new version of their groovy Gwin toy especially for this years SDCC and the good news is that there are still a few left up for grabs over on their forum. If you'd like to secure one of these hand-cast, hand-painted pieces of Kaiju goodness just pop over HERE and get clicking.

As you can see from this photo (stolen from gwinarmy.com) these pieces have the trademark attention to detail and great sculpting that October Toys are known for. Who knows what they'll come up with next but after the release of the Z.O.M.B.I.E.s and these Bandwa Gwins I can't wait to find out!!

For more info on the world of the mighty Gwin have a good root around at gwinarmy.com and see what takes your fancy (the 13" Mega-Gwins are very cool). In the store there are also monthly specials and you can pick up some Gwin designs for just $5, including a design by the ever popular Dok A!!

If you pick up any blanks be sure to post your creations on the forum, it's always great to see what people can come up with. Here's a pic of the Fett one I made a while back. :D

Clearout

2008-08-09T12:23:00.003+01:00

I've stuck a bunch of stuff up for sale on the October Toys Forum and the KR forum and I thought I'd put the links up here. Some of these have been seen on this blog before. If there's anything you'd like to buy drop me an email at sales@dinosauria.co.uk.
More details and pics HERE and HERE. If you're not a member of the October Toys forum do yourself a favour and sign up.

I also have a bunch of other stuff that'll be up for sale when I get them back. I'll keep you posted. :D

2008-08-08T10:12:00.009+01:00

I thought I'd do some comic/illustrator recommendations today. The main focus will be on one particular artist and I'll have some other honorable mentions at the end along with some of their work I'd def say is worth a look.

All-Star Superman

The main focus today will be Frank Quitely AKA local good guy and very talented artist Vincent Deighan. This guy is one of my all-time favourite illustrators, I first saw his work in 1993(ish) on "Missionary Man" in the “Judge Dredd Megazine.”

Missionary Man

I love the super flat style with a very 3d meaty feeling in his work, I always think of him as the western Katsuhiro Otomo (Domu, Akira, Memories).
Quitely has worked on a shed-load of comics from short stories for DC's Big Book line through to All-Star Superman via the amazing but not too well-known limited series Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery (written by Grant Morrison) and many more. Possibly best known for his work on The Authority and when he worked on the launch of The New X-Men, Quitely re-imagined the X-Men and actually made the franchise fresh and relevant again and he actually won the Wizard Magazine’s Best Artist of 2001 for his work on that title.

New X-Men

More recommended reading/viewing; Batman: The Scottish Connection, 20/20 Visions, We3, Shimura, missionary Man.

Shimura

Other cool recommended artists;

Steve Dillon; "Preacher", "Hellblazer", "Judge Dredd; Emerald Isle", "Punisher", "Rogue Trooper", "Judge Dredd"

2000ad

Philip Bond "Time Flies", Kill Your Boyfriend", "Hellblazer; Bad Blood", Vimanarama"

Jamie Hewlett; "deadline", "Tank Girl" (B&W version), "Hewligans Haircut", "Meet The Freebies"

Mike Allred; "Grafik Muzik", "Madman", "The Atomics", "Red Rocket 7", "X-Force/X-Statix"

That'll do for now but there's plenty more where these came from. Stay tuned!! :D

S.D.C.C. '08

2008-08-06T10:47:00.005+01:00

Ok so you've heard the rumours about the sweat, smells and madness that is the San Diego Comic Convention but you've never had the chance to experience it yourself? Neither have I but our friends over at October Toys were firmly ensconced in the battlefield that deodorant forgot and luckily for us they captured it on video for us in their latest episode 8.5.08 - Special Delivery 15 : SDCC 2008.

So did the guys need nose plugs? Was Matt brutally touched in "the wrong way" by crazy cosplay maniacs? Did Georges beard attain sentiency and take over the con in a " Beard from another world!!" 50s B-movie stylee? And just what does happen when thousands of comic collectors spend 4 nights sleeping in their cars sans sink and soap and then spend every day walking around a huge conference hall? Perhaps the most important question is was the air conditioning working?....Click the link and see for yourself.*

Be sure to check out http://www.toybreak.com/ regularly for all the latest news and reviews from the toy world (I'll do my best to remind you).

(* note: I've not watched this episode yet so I have no clue if any of this came true. I'm downloading it now :D)

Sale-a-go-go!!

2008-08-06T10:11:00.004+01:00

Something to look out for on Saturday the 9th of August, the lovely Mr Jon Burgerman is having a clearance Sale. There will be a little bit of everything up for grabs and it's a great chance to meet and support a great artist and grab some swag at the same time! Click on the links to be magically transported to the realm of said Burgerman and his dazzling creations. You'll find all the info you'll need there and some bonus nonsense guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart. :D

Here's a pic of some of the swag that will be on offer on the day. The pic was pilfered from Jon's Flickr. Lots of tasty Tees!! :D

3" mayhem is go!!!

2008-08-04T15:45:00.003+01:00

This week I'll be making a return to the 3" Dunny scene with a new bunch of customs. Work will commence on them tomorrow and I'll post up the results as they come. I'll also do a start to finish tutorial with one of them just to show how I work. I get lots of emails asking what methods I use so hopefully it'll help anyone who want to to try customizing for themselves. I already covered stenciling in one of my posts on the Fat Buddha Blog.

I'm keeping this short and sweet today as I was out in the middle of nowhere for a big 'ol party on Saturday and I only got home at 6:30 on Sunday so my brain needs another day to get back to "normal", but a great time was had by all and I met some new cool people so it was well worth a woolly brain!!

Gnaarrrr!!!

2008-08-02T12:09:00.006+01:00

Here is a pic of my addittion to the Z.O.M.B.I.E. card line. I couldn't get a very good pic of it (cos I'm too lazy to set up the shot properly) but you get the idea. I'm not sure how OctoberToys are distributing them, but Krakit said he got some in his order so you might get a little surprise when you place your next order!!

Here is a couple of bonus shots. One is an early 20 second sketch of the figure before I had the prototype and the other is a W.I.P. of the original art for the card. For the background I went for the darkest colour I could get without going black and to be honest it makes it difficult to get a good colour balance in photos so it was probably a pain to get onto the card (sorry guys!!) but I was stoked with the outcome. :D

Bored!!!!

2008-08-01T12:15:00.006+01:00

I'm bored. Not just a "hmm, what will I do today?.." kind of bored either it's a "I hate everything and there's nothing to do!!!!" version. Of course there is actually lots of things to do but at the moment I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive to fix my bath. Hopefully today he'll be able to cure my bath cos right now it keeps trying to gargle the national anthem (or something) and it's really pissing me off, especially as my Fu©kwit factor (building manager for US peeps) has managed to drag this out for eight months!!!!

Hmm let's see I could paint/draw or get out some musical gear, I could play a video game, read a book, make some lunch (kill the factor....oops) but I just can't relax. I think the bubbling anger that's just under the surface is poisoning this post, time for a change of tone.

Zombies!!! I love 'em! Films, comics figures the whole shebang!!! (ooft!! that is a change of tone)

Fresh from the S.D.C.C. our friends over at October Toys have the latest in their
Z.O.M.B.I.E. line up for sale in their shop.

The new additions to the Z.O.M.B.I.E. line come in four colours: Blue, Green, White and G.I.D. you can buy them for just $8 a set or $20 for the whole lot so they're crazy value for money too especially if you're buying from the UK etc. These figures have an amazing amount of detail especially for their size and they're the perfect accompaniment to the VTN special edition, Attendee (large picture) and Xmas Z.O.M.B.I.E.s that were released in the last year. Those ones are definitely worth trying to score too (I missed out on the X-mas one :( ).

For those of you that don't know October Toys are a great company run by the same fantastic people that bring you the Toy Break video podcast and run the friendliest forum around. Download the show and give 'em some love by showing your support and buy some of their groovy products. heck out the Gwins in the store too!!

I feel a bit better now. :D

Too much junk!!!!!

2008-07-31T00:10:00.002+01:00

Arrrrg!! It's all anarchy!!!! I've spent the last couple of days trying to sort out all my junk. Urban vinlyl collecting and painting and designing have one major drawback, that's right all the junk! The real problem is that it's not actually junk, it's doubles of 8" Dunnys, JLed Qees and future customs just waiting to be painted as well as the stuff I've actually collected. I can't bring myself to just throw anything out because it all has a monetary value and you don't just throw away money.

Kenzo and Invader black are watching you!!!(Gimme a buzz if you're looking for either of these)

This cull started a couple of months ago when I took down all of my 3" Qee (all 400 or so of them), swiftly followed by almost all of the rest of my mini-figures and yesterday even my 3" Dunny collection bit the dust!! (there's hundreds of them too), they've all been returned to their prospective series cases and they've been unceremoniously dumped into a cupboard. Yes this is a serious cull so only a few selected pieces will be staying out (and the ones that need customized). Some poor little pieces will be popped onto Evilbay cos it's be a poor show to blank some of the rarer stuff like my spare Kenzo Minami Dunny and black Oki-Ni Invader (I sold one of them today:D). Of course this will all be worth it when I eventually move and have a room I can put a proper set-up in I can have a full-blown geek-gasm and put them all out again!!

Jimbob, go get the shotgun....

2008-07-30T19:10:00.004+01:00

Yep it's getting to that time, old Yellar is about to shake off this mortal coil... Don't worry I don't have a dog, I'm talking about my computer. It's served me well but it's old and clunky and I'm afraid it has to go. I'm quite attached to it as it was a home built job and to be honest that's probably the reason it has actually lasted this long. It was built well and from the best parts from it's day and as such it has never given me a problem (apart from when the minion gets a hold of it!!). For a while now I've been using a laptop for all my writing and graphics stuff and now that this little workhorse is on it's way out too I really need to get a solution going on. I'm constantly backing stuff up because I have the fear that one day this laptop just won't turn on and my link to the online universe and this blog will fall silent....

Artists impression of my current rig.

I'm also trying to get back into music and that involves using my computer for recording etc but unfortunately my old compy just isn't up to running all the sweet software I want to use. I have plenty of "real" FX for my guitar etc but I'm not talking about gigging here. Recording is a completely different animal.

Anyhoo, I'm off to sell a kidney....I'll keep you posted,

:D

I have returned!!!!

2008-07-28T20:17:00.006+01:00

Well after spending the last couple of weeks being a bit ill and then recovering by doing as little as possible I finally made my triumphant return to the land of the living in an official capacity by stepping out for Optimo at the Sub Club last night. Even though I was taking a clean and healthy living approach to the evening I still had a great time.

First of all I popped along to The Stand comedy club where my co-conspirator Steve works. The Stand was a perfect start to the evening followed by a brief intermission of walking about with Steve (who had neglected to charge or bring his phone along) looking for some of his workmates (there was a leaving night out going down) after a couple of false starts we were off to meet up with the rest of the crew in Optimo. Strange mixes even stranger people and good times were the mode for the rest of the evening, by the time I headed home around 4am I was dog tired but seriously happy to finally be back on form.

I think I'll try to make it to Optimo more often, I used to go all the time way back when. It looks like it's time to return to the fold.

Sunday Soapbox

2008-07-27T14:58:00.007+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've posted about a couple of gigs I've been to and I thought I'd do some relaxed Sunday posts over the next few weeks recommending some bands/musicians that I think are really good, some you might have heard of and others might be new to you. I'll do my best to recommend an album or two from each pick too. Most people's CD collections throw up a few unexpected.... "treasures" Oh well there's no accounting for taste.

Here goes week one.....John Frusciante (also known for his work as the guitarist for the Chili Peppers, we'll be focusing on his solo work here though)

Anyone who knows me will not be surprised by my first choice. As a guitar player myself (debatable) Frusciante has always been one of my favourite musicians. What a lot of people don't know is that he is actually a very prolific solo artist in fact he has released 11 solo albums at retail plus one he released for free on the Internet along with a free acoustic AND demo version of his Shadows Collide With People album available to download from his website. An impressive catalogue indeed especially when compared to only 5 releases with the Peppers. Frusciante is also supportive of bootlegs of live shows and actually allows fans to bring recording gear along to gigs.
Due to the shifting focus of Frusciantes musical tastes and writing there are quite a few different "flavours" of music on offer from electronica (Sphere in the Heart of Silence) to Prog grunge rock (Ataxia and Ataxia II). I've narrowed my recommendations down to 3.

To record Only Water for Ten Days (2001): Regarded as his first "true" solo record. This is quite a bare recording which sees Frusciante use synths for the first time. Shades of Joy Division.
Standout track - Ramparts (Track 8).

Shadows Collide with People (2005): Uber polished and produced "studio" pop album. This was the first glimpse of where he would lead the Chili Peppers in the years to come.
Standout track - Wednesday's Song (Track 8).

Curtains (2005): Acoustic songwriting at it's best and probably the most universally appreciated of his solo work (everyone I've let (made) listen to it has fallen in love with this album.
Standout track - Hmm.... that's a really difficult choice! At a push I'd say... Anne (Track 3)

Three little useless factoids:

Frusciante has appeared as a guest musician on numerous artists albums including artists ranging from Tricky to Johnny Cash.

He's a total music gear freak and has 2 studio setups at home including an ancient analogue synthesizer. His synth collection includes a Doepfer A100 modular synthesizer, a Mellotron, a Minimoog, and a 1970 ARP 2500 and much more.

Frusciantes touring pedalboard (with the Peppers)

He always records on analogue equipment. apparently he prefers the natural vibe though he's not anti computer.

Here's a little taste from the Curtains album, it's the video for the first track "The Past Recedes". The video was shot in his house so you can check out some of his recording gear, guitars and record collection in a "through the keyhole" kinda fashion.

Big softies!!

2008-07-26T13:41:00.007+01:00

Plush by Cottonpetal

Somewhat overshadowed by the upsurge in the popularity of urban vinyl over the last few years the plush has managed to hold on and become a regular fixture in the collectible toy scene. I know Teddy bears et al have been around for a long time but these plush are different they range from the pro/Beanie baby style to the type that wallow in their handmade quality, wonky stitching and all. All the while taking on a vibe that's more akin to shabby chic custom clothes than cuddly toys.

Plush by Kuro-e

I like them myself (though I don't collect them for I am a man and all tough etc.) but they're really great to design and they have more of a fun vibe than regular custom toys (usually vinyl).

Plush by Maz

So why not go on a google hunt and check out some plush goodness? A couple of faves of mine are Cottonpetal, Maz and Kuro-e (you can also buy from this bunch so feel free to drop them an email via their sites). I prefer these home-brewed masterpieces to the mass produced efforts. Firm favourites like Peskimo, TADO, Jon Burgerman etc are out there waiting to be snapped up too.

Stop playing games!!!!

2008-07-20T11:27:00.004+01:00

Erm..... I can't. Last night I was up 'til 4am but it's not my fault - blame Hideo Kojima. Yes that's right, I'm playing Metal Gear Solid 4. I don't know why but I just can't put this game down and this is a weird sensation for me, I mean here I am even writing about it. I'll tell you a bit about my gaming life and it might make you understand this a little bit better.

(This will be spoiler-free for those of you that haven't played it yet)

I've always been into video games but I've never been one of those people who seem to sync up with them and kick pixelated ass. I am however a fairly consistent gamer. I really enjoy gaming and I have all the current consoles... so maybe the best way to put it is that I'm keen, but no star pupil. I didn't even get into Gears of War (one of the biggest titles from last year), I played a couple of hours of it and just never went back. For some reason, it just didn't hold my interest.

OK, so this brings us up to Metal Gear and my history with that series. I played a bit of the first game (Metal Gear Solid on PS1) but I don't think I ever finished it. I reckon I got quite far but can't remember the ending so something else probably came along and stole my attention.

I bought Metal Gear Solid 2 (Substance version) on the original Xbox. Once again I played it for a while but never finished it. Wow that's pretty bad, maybe what I meant by consistent gamer was that I consistently fail to finish a game before moving on to another one! :D

When MGS3 Snake Eater came out I didn't buy it. If I remember correctly I decided to wait for the second version of it to come out (like I did with Substance) as it would normally have additional content, VR Missioons etc. However by the time the revised version was released, guess what? I had moved on and lost interest and so my tenuous link to the MGS series was lost and to be honest I didn't even bat an eye. When MGS4 was announced for the Ps3 it didn't even register with me.

This all shows one thing; I am not a MGS fan boy (and there's plenty of them out there!!). Maybe now you can see why I'm so confused, I want to know why I love the fourth game in the series so much!! This is literally keeping me up at night!!! (though that's the game not the question that's to blame).

As a game MGS4 tutns itself completely inside out. Often obliterating the fourth wall, constantly self-referencing its own series and video games as a whole. It has lots of cringe-inducing scenes that remind me just how much cheesy anime is out there and why I hate it. The story is a bit of a mess and whenever the game is trying to tell you something about humanity, politics or the state of the world it abandons any form of subtlety and hits you over the head with its points (over and over again) until you just don't care (personal opinion folks). As far as cut scenes go this game takes the biscuit. They seem to happen every two minutes, and at some points in the game they actually do! They look cool but in no way are they cinematic experiences, they have that traditional Japanese hokey feel about them. Some of them are amazingly choreographed but rather than enjoying them I found myself thinking "this looks really cool but I'd rather be playing a part in this fight rather than sitting here watching it". I did buy a game after all, not a movie. Or it could be amazingly thought out and I am "waging war by proxy" and that brings up the whole essence of the "child soldiers" in this series. Arrrrgh!!! Is it madness, bad game design or pure genius conveying the true meaning behind the game by preventing us playing a part????? This is the kind of thing that most reviews and water cooler conversations about this game revolve around and it seems to be polarising opinion. I think I have the answer to this and it's so very simple. It doesn't matter.

Underneath the skin of the multi-limbed schizophrenic hulking colossus that is MGS4 there is a sleek polished skeletal structure. All the muscle, meat and clouds of esoteric thinking that cling to it mean as much or as little as you want them to. Marry this with an incredibly evolved playing mechanic and you unveil the true strength of this video game. You can play like a typical FPS fan and kill kill kill or carefully use the environment and help the militia push forward as a distraction while you sneak in round the back and meet your mission objective. In short you can use your brain and tackle any obstacle in a manner of different ways. This is the thing that keeps me coming back. It's exactly the same reason I love Bioshock.

Most triple-A games are a steak dinner, yeah it's tasty but it is what it is from start to finish and nothing else. Personally I love games that are a buffet, take what you want, a little bit of this and a lot of that, tailoring it to fit what you want with no compromises. If you add customization to characters and unlockables (I see these as condiments in my food obsessed comparison) you'll find me one satisfied customer.

I've just defeated the third "Beast" in the game and I've still not been spotted once. In fact I've only killed 14 people so far all together and I only killed them by accident on a vehicle shooting level. Next time round I'll be making sure I don't kill anyone and the time after that I'll be going on a killing rampage! I'm enjoying this game so much that it's actually making me better at playing it, crazy. It has that puzzle factor to it that I love especially if you're trying to play the game without being spotted or kill anyone (Full Spectrum Warrior is another game that has this puzzle solving in a 3d space element. It's on the old school Xbox so try it out). Just so you know, even though I am a bit of a MGS novice I'm playing it on "solid normal" difficulty which was the second hardest offered to me when I started the game. I expect there will be a harder selectable level when I finish my first run through.

Is MGS4 a great game? I don't know, I can tell you that my MGS4 is possibly one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences I have ever known. You'll have to have a taste yourself to find out if your MGS4 is as good as mine. That one thing is clear, most people will have a different experience with this game than their friend/workmate or Internet chum and that is a glorious thing. You can drown yourself in Metal Gear mythology or like me just let that stuff wash over you. Just remember all the long cut scenes and all the craziness are bonus content, the icing on an incredibly well made and tasty cake.

Join the Navy!!!

2008-07-19T13:04:00.004+01:00

Well, the Galactic Navy!!! That's right folks the dark side just got a little whiter and a whole lot bigger. This is my 18" Storm Trooper Mega Munny that I started a loooong time ago. Due to many various factors this guy got put on the back burner now he's all done (apart from the black gloves.

For this guy I used the sketch style I'm fond of. I really like this style because you can do your "version" of a character without having to go for a direct copy and with this custom I've kept it chunky and bold with the minimal highlight details and a little bit of text on the back of his massive domed head. If you're thinking of buying this guy drop me a line, be warned though the price reflects his stature.

It's Tuesday night you're sick as a dog, what are you going to do?*

2008-07-18T12:42:00.006+01:00

(*the events portrayed within took place on Tuesday this week)

This is the question I asked myself this Tuesday. I was deep in the depths of illness and there was no sign of the light at the end of the tunnel. Thing is I really want to go to this gig, it's not necessarily that Santogold is my favourite band/singer but it had already been cancelled last month because she had lost her voice so I wasn't going to miss out again! (I'm kind of stubborn that way)

We jumped on the subway (I won't bother to tell you about the joys of traveling on the tube with an illness that hates movement, luckily my trusty minion was there to look after me). We got to the sub club and met up with four of our friends and got settled in waiting for the band to begin. As this was a Tuesday night the Sub club wouldn't normally be on but they'd transplanted the Kinky Afro night in it's entirety so it was pretty packed.

Around 9 o'clock Santogold took the stage, well their DJ did. He played some mixed Dub, Reggae etc...it was a bit... obvious and dull and even worse not very interesting (I hate seeing a DJ pander to the crowd, it's almost like he asked what kind of night they were playing at and then just picked out the first ten tunes that fitted the genre. This became insignificant when Santogold actually hit the stage. For those of you that don't know the "band" consists of Santi “Santogold” White (you've probably heard her on Mark Ronson’s July 2007 album ‘Version’, on the track called ‘Pretty Green’) two dancers/"singers" and a macbook wielding DJ. (the actual recording version of Santogold features an eclectic mix of artists/producers/DJs etc.) The minimal stage crew doesn't take anything away from the gig though, her singing is beautiful and I actually prefer the live less "produced" sound. The set was understandably short as you'd expect from an artist with just one album but it was amazingly sweet. This is def one to put on your watch list and if you get the chance go see her live. It's great to see something effortlessly cool in such an intimate setting.

Anytime I danced during the set I felt REALLY ill so after the gig I went straight home even though Kinky Afro was in full swing and I would have loved to stay, I just wasn't up to it (as was proven by my immediate visit to the large white telephone when I got home). It was worth the effort though and I'm glad I made myself go. Check out the links above to see when Santogold is playing near you and take the time to go check them out. It's worth the effort. :D

Breaking news!!! (triple threat blog post for you!!)

2008-07-18T11:46:00.004+01:00

Sick sick sick.
Sickly old me went to the doctors yesterday to find out what flavour of plague I actually have. Well folks the verdict is in. I have a bad middle ear infection. This basically makes me feel like i have severe vertigo ALL THE TIME!!!! It's vom-tastic let me tell you!!! This is a weird kind of illness because it's not like I feel "sick". No shakes, sweats or aches my brain just thinks that it's got vertigo and zooming around on the worlds biggest roller coaster.
Anyhoo, I have miracle pills and I should be repaired within the week!! :D

Blah blah blog!
From now on if you pop over to the Fat Buddha Blog you'll be greeted with posts from various people connected to the shop, myself included. I will be posting every Tuesday so pop on over and have a look. My first post was actually earlier this week, but I never got a chance to pimp it as I was at the peak of my sickness at the time. Feel free to go back and take a look if you want to read the ravings of an unwell young man.
With the current roster of writers over there you're going to be guaranteed a new article at least every day. Mark has a very interesting book review up today so do yourself a favour and get reading.

Resin Rising just a little bit higher!!
As I've already spilled elsewhere on the net Peskimo have joined our merry band of mentalists and the will be the fourth and final release in the RRE season one. I will be nattering more about this over the next couple of weeks, but for now let me just say that there design is awesome and is sure to sell out in no time at all!! :D

Stay tuned for further details.

Return of the (barely) living dead

2008-07-17T09:42:00.005+01:00

This is just a quick update as I've been notably absent due to the fact that I'm currently sick as a dog and even looking at the laptop screen makes my stomach twitch. However I will be queuing up some posts tonight with the help of my evil minion. I'll whimper in the corner as she types out said whimpers. :D

Look out for;

SDCC news (The con is happening July 23rd (preview night) to the 27th)

A Resin Rising update

Notes on Tuesday nights Santogold gig

Plus some recommendations, news etc etc. All that good stuff.

In the meantime here is a Thursday top five list of sick day entertainment.

1. Nintendo DSLite.

Space Invaders Extreme and puzzle games are keeping me sane (ish).

2. TV series on DVD.

Just about any one will do. I'm currently recommending; Kolchak, X-Files, Hammer House of Horror (series not films) and British comedy. Horror movie box sets are good for this too.

3. A cat to stroke.

This is surprisingly therapeutic and when you feel a touch better you can slip into Bond villain mode for a few minutes before the next wave of plague hits you.

4. Daytime TV

......What? Don't believe me? Look at it this way, you're ill, you feel like crap, you look like the troll/man from the P.O. ads (on a bad day) what better way to cheer yourself up than to tune into the Jeremy (tiny nazi) Kyle show or Trisha? It'll have you feeling like a champion in no time! These defective troglodyte denizens of snooker halls and out on bail telly appearances are today's P.C. version of the olde fashioned freak show/carnival people. Seriously next time you're ill give it a go, have a gander and a giggle.

*(Left Jeremy now and on the right in his younger days)

5. Last but not least, A helpful minion.

Yes indeed a crazy assistant will help your sick days pass much easier, well if you can handle the thinly veiled evil stares. I'd say it's worth it for that lovely cup of herbal tea or the sketch book you really need to scribble a fever induced picture of your cat in a Batman cape on that you can't get up to fetch yourself because vomitus may ensue.

If you have any sense left in your sickly little brain you'll train 'em up to protect you in your weakened state.

*(Like any good villain I have trained my minion in the art of Box Fu)

2008-07-14T14:56:00.004+01:00

Well I just got in early this morning after an amazing night at Optimo in the Sub Club. It's been quite a while since my last Optimo night out but I've always loved it and last night was no exception! This brings me to the reason I got off my bum and went along last night, there was a band called Chrome Hoof playing live. When I heard they were playing I popped onto the interwebs to see what I could find out about them.....Metal....Electro doom......funk... Ok, that wasn't much help they seem to be categorized differently by every other reviewer but hey that's usually a good sign, it indicates that this might actually be "proper" music and not just another indie rock clone tassel haired twat band (they seem to be everywhere these days).

Anyway, onwards and upwards. All I'd really managed to pick up from the Internet was that they were asked to play at ATP last year by Portishead and that they always deliver the goods when they put on a live show and that was good enough for me!

Sometime around midnight the band hit the stage, goodness knows how they all fit on there cos the stage at Optimo is tiny and there's about 12 mentalist instramentalists in CH! Right from the off the crowd were grooving like crazy and from the reaction of many clubbers I'd say they were having the same problem as many of the interweb reviewers, they were saying things like "this is amazing it's like....but no it's... this is amazing!!". I'm not gonna tell you any more than that well apart from the fact that it was one of the best gigs I've ever been to. The standard of musicianship, stage presence and performance were top notch. This is what live music is supposed to be like. Plus the band all stayed on to groove with all the rest of us after their set which is always nice.

Even if you listen to some of their music and might not think it's for you If you ever have the chance to pop along and see Chrome Hoof do so, and take some friends trust me they'll thank you for it. It's like.......Well just go see for yourself. :D

Oooopdate!!

2008-07-05T10:54:00.002+01:00

Here's the current numbers on my T design. Big thanks to everyone who voted, now I'm just waiting to see what the average score will be!!!
If you get your T printed part of the prize is $500 of free swag from threadless. I looove T-shirts so it'd be amazing to snag that!!! Woop!

Dinosauria for president!!! (well...vote for my T-shirt)

2008-07-01T23:56:00.003+01:00

OK, I'd greatly appreciate if any of you would click on the above image and vote for my T-shirt to get put into production (if you get your friends to do it too I'll be extra grateful!! :D)

If you have the time a comment would be sweet too.

T :D

Time for a break...

2008-07-01T19:06:00.004+01:00

A Toy Break that is!!! The new episode is up (6.30.08 - Episode 41 : Disrespect of Cornboy) so skip along to this little link: http://www.toybreak.com/ There's plenty to keep you occupied including a special delivery from the mayor of Nadtown for the 3 toysketeers and there's even a mention of the Resin Rising project in there too so big props to the guys for supporting us!! :D

Roll up!! Roll up!!

2008-06-30T19:15:00.005+01:00

My shop's now up on Big Cartel right HERE

Feel free to pop on over and see if there's anything that takes your fancy. I've just put up the free version right now, I might upgrade later if there's the demand. I really should just get around to putting a shop section on mt website. I'll put it on my "to do" list. :D

There's a few things on there right now including some items from the Dunny a day features.

Dunny Of The Dead!!!!

2008-06-29T17:14:00.001+01:00

This is Ded Hed an 8" Dunny of the Dead. The face on this grisly ghoul was designed to look like 2 completely different zombies if you hid one half of the face. Give it a try and you'll see what I mean! The left side is a lot more messed up than the right but I guess that's a risk you run when you're an urban vinyl zombie!! :D

Got the horn?

2008-06-28T17:08:00.000+01:00

Well this little Dunny certainly has, for a nose that is!!!!!! This fella has 43% more love included than the average Dunny. I wonder just what it loves..... probably EVERYTHING!!! :D

Shibuya Terminal Bubblegum Girls

2008-06-27T17:58:00.001+01:00

The Dunny of the day today is a throwback to the first J-Series Dunny I made with Kuro-e. This Dunny also sees the return of matte black alongside gloss black style that I used to really like before it started popping up all over the place. Look out for the matching little sisters, they'll be coming soon...

What's in a name?

2008-06-26T17:52:00.001+01:00

This is todays Custom Dunny; Untitled #33. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with this little guy. I guess time will tell...

T-shirt shmee-shirt!!

2008-06-26T01:13:00.002+01:00

Today I submitted my first T-shirt design to Threadless. Hopefully it'll get picked to go into the running for selection. It's my Retro/Future? Bolan dinosaur design.
Fingers crossed! :D

Is it a bird? A plane? A...Lime?!!!

2008-06-25T17:31:00.001+01:00

Gerry Limebrarian AKA The Green Squinter

OK as superheroes go the Green Squinter isn't exactly top tier, he's not gonna get Batman thinking about retiring!! At least he's trying to do his best and make the world a better place. A mild mannered worker in the Fruit Street book lenders by day and out to save the world straight after tea time!! He's a true green Eco warrior, so keep your eyes peeled for more of him in the future and keep recycling!!!!

You're so two faced!!!

2008-06-24T17:22:00.000+01:00

This is King Lurch. He has a bit of a split personality, on one hand he's a stumpy wriggly laughing monarch with a giant crown and on the other he's a hulking robotic armed behemoth!!

This custom was made using the recent Mighty Muggs platform.

Midnight Gold

2008-06-23T22:18:00.004+01:00

This is Midnight Gold, no it's not a brand of organic chocolate it's a custom 8" Dunny. I sprayed this fella a while ago but only got around to starting to paint it today.

More customs coming soon.....

BT, still bad to the bone!!

2008-06-23T01:40:00.003+01:00

OK as a follow up to the post on BT and their dodgy "Free gift promotion (2)" I got a new email from BT offering the SAME DEAL that ran out on the 1st of June!!! It seems that as far as BT are concerned their "typos" have started sending out emails too now... It's exactly the same deal the terms and conditions are totally different on each page. Tsk tsk.

(2) free gift is not available, it's a scam.

Happy shopper!!!

2008-06-22T11:57:00.006+01:00

I had a happy delivery the other day, my James Marshall (Dalek) print arrived courtesy of George (thanks!). It features the iconic Space Monkey image. This print was on sale for a crazy price from Metropark in the US. To be honest I just don't think that anyone knew they sold them because as soon as someone posted about this one one of the forums they sold out in a flash!! I'm a huge fan of screen prints, every one is slightly different. It sure is a beautiful piece, I'll have to get it framed up soon and get it on the wall.

These have sold out online but rumour has it that if you pop into your local store you might still be able to pick one up....

If like me you love great art then pop over to the current exhibition at the Irvine Contemporary it'll blow your socks off. There's also a video from the opening night. Click here for the video. :D

Yet another BT rip off..... BT buyer beware!!

2008-06-19T12:29:00.006+01:00

Over the past few months I've had a series of unsolicited calls from BT asking me to renew my broadband contract with them. Over time I've been offered numerous "free" bonuses all of which include services most people (myself included) would never use, free Wi-fi minutes on the move is one example even though I actually already get this as part of my existing package... All of these efforts have been started by BT in response to the campaign by Channel 5s the Gadget Show to get people a fair deal on their broadband, as most people were paying for a certain speed and on the most part they were only getting a fraction of that.

The latest kick in the balls from BT hit my mat this morning. It was a pamphlet with the latest "renew your broadband" offer, but what's this? they were actually offering something? and not only that, something I didn't have included in my package? Wow.

The offer was as follows, the choice of a free canon printer/scanner, 2GB MP3 player or digital photo frame AND £4 off a month.... sounded too good to be true so I checked the small print. Nope, that was all fine offer ends 30th of June.

One of the "typos" (PLEASE BE QUICK! and don't read the small print)

So I popped online and set to getting the free MP3 player (the evil assistant wanted one for jogging duties) so I filled in the online form and double checked the terms and conditi.... oi, hang on a minute! It said that the offer ended on the 1st of June!!! So I popped on the phone to check on the offer....

Screen cap of "actual" terms and conditions. Spot the difference?(https://www.secureorder.bt.com/broadband/renew/?s_cid=con_FURL_broadbandthankyou2)

Initially I got through to a nice call center lady who despite her best efforts was losing the battle to speak English and kept calling me Mr Grlxpx or something. Eventually she mumbled something and put me through to the sales team, the person I got was English and as such had a good grasp of the language (it's weird how only the only time you'll get to speak to a person from your own country is when they want to sell you something.....)

Anyhoo, I asked the gentlemen what the deal was and he confirmed that the offer did indeed end on June 1st! I told him that I had the offer in my hand and he said that it must have been a "typo".... I asked him " A typo on the terms small print AND on in the main text in bold?!" (See pic) and he actually laughed!!! and said "yeah a typo it must have been delayed getting to you". I then suggested that this was a blatant effort to get people to go to their site and sign up for an offer that was already over and if they didn't RE-CHECK the terms and conditions they'd be getting absolutely nothing apart from the usual terrible BT system low download speeds.
At this point he changed tact and decided to ignore my question and try to sell me BT live vision at a special offer, thing is I had actually looked into getting this service before and the "special offer" was actually the standard deal you get anyway. Talk about adding insult to injury!!!

Basically look out for this and any other offer from BT and take it with a grain of salt. Chances are it's a rip off. Here's a basic run down of this whole deal:

Offered a special offer that had actually ended 18 days ago.

The £4 off offer was a lie to0. The discounted rate is actually what I'm paying anyway. Saving = £0.00

They've basically done a bogus, fraudulent mail drop on nice thick paper stock and in a thick envelope (these are standard fair when a company wants to give you the feeling you're special. "ooh look at the nice paper!!") so they're basically adding to the wastage problem big style, face facts they've probably sent thousands of these out. I'm into recycling and that REALLY gets my goat.
The Typo explanation would be easy to believe if not for the fact that it's the typos (plural), late country wide mail drop(over 2 weeks late?) and the fact that such a big company still has a web page active that's showing an offer that's almost 3 weeks old and no longer valid is a little harder to swallow = blatant effort to confuse and take advantage of loyal customers.
The free gift isn't the issue it's the underhanded tactics of BT.

Hahahahaha!! Priceless.

Don't fear the Reaper

2008-06-18T11:32:00.006+01:00

What's this.... Giant box... from the US....what could it be....WOOP!!!

It's my paint from Reaper Miniatures!!!

Yes today I took delivery of a whopping 325 paints plus 4 carry boxes (a necessity when you have over even 20 paints) from Reaper Miniatures. These paints are a complete set of both the Master series and Pro series paints. The Master series come in bottles and the Pro come in little paint tubs. I'll be doing a start to finish custom toy guide soon so keep your eyes peeled for that! Don't forget to stock up on your Reaper Paints in preperation. :D

Tuesday Top Ten

2008-06-17T19:23:00.003+01:00

Okay Tuesday is gonna be a day for a little top ten action. These serve no purpose, they're just for fun. As I'm a horror movie fan I'm going to do this weeks list on my horror top ten, so it'll be a mix of media and not just my fave movie raves from beyond the grave. OK, here we go...

1. George A. Romero: Legendary zombie king who is more responsible than anyone else for shaping the perception of what makes a "zombie", well before Mike "Jesus Juice" Jackson and John Landis made them dance and ruined it for everyone. Landis gets a pass though for bringing so many classics to the silver screen, including the excellent American Werewolf in London. No pardon for Jacko though.

Recommended Romero; Dawn of the Dead (1978) Go for the directors cut released in the Netherlands if you can get it. It's the most uncut version (I think)

2. Evil Dead series by Sam Raimi. Demons, slapstick and Bruce Campbell. Raimi follows this simple formula and comes up with cult gold.

Evil Dead 2 (basically a bigger budget version of the first film) is the best of the bunch. Noted for best backwards acting ever by Campbell.

3. The walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (comic). Now up to issue 50 TWD continues to set the bar for Z-horror comics high, much higher in fact than just about anything that's ever been released. The luscious black and white art beats the brains out of the competition and sets off the story of a group of survivors struggling to stay alive post zombie apocalypse perfectly.

Buy the trades :D

4. Deadworld (comic) Started off by Vince Locke who later went on to became an artist for Batman and Sandman. This was an indie printed by caliber comics. This is one of the better indie/low budget books.

Snag issue 1-12 if you can find them. It gets a bit squiffy after that.

5. Z.O.M.B.I.E.S. from October Toys. These have been produced as small limited releases so far but keep an eye out for the series coming soon. These are amazingly detailed sculpts especially considering their diminuative stature. I'll be posting an update on these when they drop.

Try and track down the previous releases (and if you get the Santa one send it to me!!)

6. Dario Argento. Italian horror maestro Argento has made some visually stunning pictures. A must see in the genre.

Give Profondo Rosso (deep red), Suspiria or Bird with the crystal Plumage a viewing.

7. Braindead/Dead Alive and Bad Taste. 2 amazingly fun pictures from the twisted mind of Peter Jackson. Braindead actually manages to out evil dead Evil Dead.

8. The horror franchise. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St and all the other popcorn horor flicks. They might not be art but you can't go wrong with a horror date movie!!

9. Tom Savini. One of the pioneers of special effects. Savini has worked on some of the genre giants, Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th etc etc. Savini incorporates a mixture of amazing FX and misdirection to attain some groundbreaking set pieces. Often mimicked, but never bettered.

10. Scary Video games. I couldn't cut this down to one game (I am weak). Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Condemned, Dead Rising are all worth a look though the cream of the crop probably has to be Resident Evil 4. It fixes most of the problems with the previous installments of the series (like an awful camera and control system) Honorable mention goes to Dead Rising for being a Dawn of the Dead simulator. :D

Resin Rising; Sneak peek

2008-06-15T17:35:00.006+01:00

OK, here we have a sneak peek at my toy for the Resin Rising project. This is just a first cast prototype, but you can get the general idea from this sneak. There are various things that'll be different on the finished toy for example, the teeth will be smaller on the actual toy and other bits and pieces need to be revised and finished off. The eye lines don't show up too well in the pic but they're nice and shallow for all you DIY people.

Bolan the dinosaur is articulated and can be displayed in a standing or seated position. :D

Web site slave demands higher wage!!!

2008-06-15T17:20:00.005+01:00

Well after having my Saturday stolen from me by CottonPetal I'm done making her website. I now officially never want to EVER make another site. I'm hoping that my vigor will be replenished with the aid of tea and ginger nuts (that's a flavor of cookie over here in the UK and does not refer to the dangly parts of Mick "uglybaby" Hucknall)

Anyhoo pop over to the new CottonPetal site and have a poke around, it's got hand made plush, bags and prints. :D

Resin Rising; The 4th dimension

2008-06-13T20:49:00.005+01:00

I am happy to reveal that there has been another addition to the Resin Rising experiment season one. Thing is, that's all I'm going to reveal for now. Sometime in the coming week the official announcement will be made and everyone who's interested in the project will be very happy indeed!!!

This brings the first part of the project to a close, now Graeme will be locked into the sculpting process in full on Dr Frankenstein mode to bring this experiment, this monster ever closer to completion!!!

Shit, does that make me Igor?......

OK, so you want a hint..... Hmm, well you might have a production piece by this artist that has been released in the last six months. That's all you're getting for now.

Grrrrrrr!

2008-06-13T11:52:00.003+01:00

Angry dinosaur TT custom

This is a pretty simple little custom. I like the spray effect so I didn't want to cover it up with too many details. During my time painting these little Teddy Troops I hoped that I'd find a design to put on my 10" blank version but alas inspiration has yet to strike...

Evolve or die!!!

2008-06-12T03:35:00.006+01:00

All right, die might be a bit of an exaggeration but after some gentle prodding from Mr JOnes I finally got around to it....you guessed it the new Web site is actually up now. I've gone for a hand drawn style, it reflects what I'm about a bit better than the old formal yawnathon site. I put this together really quickly so expect some changes very soon as I get tweaking (and JOnes gives me feedback :D).
Come on over to http://www.dinosauria.co.uk/ for a look. If it makes your eyes bleed, don't blame me!

In their element

2008-06-10T23:25:00.007+01:00

Just a quick update of the Teddy Troop customs I painted today. They are themed Earth, Fire, Water and Wind. I always like just freehanding on a piece zoning out and letting my mind and my paint brush wander, it's good for clearing out the cobwebs!! :D

Anyhoo here they are......

Sneak peek; TT Beta team GO! GO! GO!

2008-06-10T09:46:00.003+01:00

This is just a little update on my previous Teddy Troop post. As you can see from the picture the sun stayed out the other day and I managed to get the initial under spray done. Each Trooper has a 3 stage spray coat that will serve as the background to the finished designs.

This set will be my second series of TT (not counting all the individual ones I've made along the way). I'll post some updates when they've moved forward a bit. Hopefully it won't be too long, i'm still focusing on the new website at the moment.

Thrifty Cent

2008-06-09T13:13:00.007+01:00

Another weekend with all its fun and rituals has come and gone. One of said rituals in my house is the Saturday charity shop run. I'm the kind of person that roots through the toy section looking for something cool to paint on, and I'm also a book buyer so I tend to spend most of my time in that section. These shops are especially great for buying the kind of books that I want to read but I'd never pay £8-£10 for (cos I'm cheap). I like charity shop hopping but I'm no expert on this thrifty pastime so today
CottonPetal is going to give you the low down on her methods and some handy hints to help make your next visit a raging (and cheap) success!!

CottonPetal On Charity shops

I’ve been a charity shop type of girl for a few years now, so the area I live in at the moment is an ideal hunting ground for me. The west end of Glasgow, especially Dumbarton Road, is full of all types of charity shops, ranging from the more commercial, chain-types like Salvation Army and Barnado’s, to the little old lady types (my favourite kind), which are one-offs. Over the years, I’ve learnt a few things about charity shop shopping. Here are some tips:

• Check the clothes rail a couple of sizes down from your actual dress size. I’ve found some gems from US stores in the size 6 section, which were actually a US 6, which is a UK 10. Clothes from Gap are often ‘misfiled’ like this.

• Always check the book section. Many people buy bestsellers, read them and then give them away to charity shops immediately; saves space for them and pennies for us! Look out for titles which have recently been adapted to film. Atonement is a current example which I’ve spotted over and over again recently. Readers bought it when the film, and the new printing of the book, appeared. Enough time has passed for them to be popping up all over the place in charity shop land. Aside from all of this, books are pretty pricey to buy new. Charity shops allow you to indulge like crazy without feeling like you’ve been on a wild spending spree. Nice!

• Make sure to check out the little old lady charity shops. These are the ones with names you won’t recognize (non-chains), usually called something along the lines of ‘St. Someone-or-other’s Hospice’. The staff will generally be long past retirement age, and may resemble characters from Royston Vasey (the town in British TV sitcom The League of Gentlemen). This is where you find the real gems! The old dears aren’t up on the (high) Oxfam style of pricing and keep to the quickly disappearing 10–50 pence range. You’ll find cheap paperbacks galore! Also, the old folks won’t recognize clothes shop labels like Topshop and therefore won’t be able to raise prices accordingly. I’ve found beautiful, near-new Topshop pieces for £1.50 in places like this.

• Take a root around in the belt basket. You can find great quality leather belts in good condition. Remember, people often give things away because they don’t like them, not necessarily because they’re worn out.

• Finally, remember to take your shopping totes with you. As well as being enviro-friendly, many charity shops will only have crumpled second hand plastic bags anyway. You’ll save yourself having a split-bag disaster half way through your charity shop jaunt.
Happy shopping!

I hope you get some good buys off the back of that, thanks to CottonPetal for taking the time to write that up. :D Check back next week for some more Thrifty Cent tips.

Don't fear the beard!

2008-06-07T21:31:00.008+01:00

Facial hair.....Hmm I like it. My lady friend on the other hand cannot stand it (as she tells me, often and with vigor). Some girls just don't get it, facial hair is fun!! It's the bodily equivalent of the Play Doh - Buzz Cuts Mop Top set, you cut it into any shape you want, keep it for as long as you want then just chop it off whenever you want to, be that 3 minutes or 3 years later.
If I have a good weeks growth on my chin I can hack up to 5 different styles out of it in one session at the shaving mirror. Sometimes I'll go for the old school biker/Paul Snr style, the Abe or sometimes the 60's English Spiv basically just whatever takes my fancy. All that fun and how much does it cost?....IT'S FREE!!!!! Now that's value for money right there folks. Although I must admit that in the past the "creativity" has sneaked above the ears and to the hair proper, strange it may have been but hey, no-one died.

I've never gone for the full beard myself, the hair bugs me after it gets to a certain length. Luckily the world is full of braver men than me. Take George from October Toys and the fun yet informative Toy Break, he is currently growing his full beard for the 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships. If you want to keep up to date with the meanderings of his beard as it continues its journey downward and outward drop in on the October Toys forums and search out the thread (It's a toy forum so don't worry it's not just a refuge for hairy hairy men).

George (McBeardsly) Gaspar: Healthy, Hairy and Happy.

Who knows what fate awaits the beard after the championships, my guess would be an orgy of violence involving some industrial barber tools (wielded by George's missus) a 3 day hair clean up operation and maybe a minutes silence at the passing of the friendly face warmer.

The beard love has even spread all the way to toyland. In the new Peskimo BambooZoo minifig series there is a figure that come with 3 interchangable beards!!! His name is Papa Bamboo and if you want to check out what you'd look like in a fetching beard like his (or if you want to put one on your cat) You cas down load the cut out and keep beard!!!

2008-06-06T16:26:00.007+01:00

Ho hum, it's a real pain trying to make a new website when you don't have a clear vision. At the moment I'm just pumping out a bunch of images and seeing if any catch my attention.

On a more productive note, while tidying up my work area today (an area of mess radiating out for about 1.5 metres from where i sit typing this...)I found 7 Teddy Troops that I'd forgotten about! That's all kinds of awesome!! I've just blanked and primed them all in preparation for some colourful spraying tomorrow. Hopefully the good weather will hold out until tomorrow so I can go out with my assistant and get the spraying done in one big hit.

E.L.E.

2008-06-05T23:51:00.003+01:00

Well.... today this Dinoauria was almost on the extinction list. While sitting at the computer minding my own business, drinking coffee and "working" my Digi box decided to end it all by exploding itself and tottering off down the path to the big electrical equipment graveyard in the sky.
After I'd recovered from having 99% of my little life scared out of me I put on the anxious face and went to check on the carnage. The Digi box was roasty hot and had that familiar sh!tted right up ozone aroma. I put on a brave face and tried to revive it, the unplug-replug, I replaced the fuse but I should've known better, it was a no go. I bet the ghost of the Digi box was looking down at me, laughing it's little spectral buttons off (doubtless tickled by the childlike stupidity of my hopefulness). It's good to be an optimist, but everyone gets one in the balls eventually.... hmm, that's a touch pessimistic... Oh well.

Sad as the passing of any piece of electrical gear is if I'm being honest I was a bit relieved when i discovered that Digib*ll*cks was the victim, when I heard that terminal bang and the TV went blank I feared the worst, face facts the last thing anyone wants to do is drop a ton of cash buying a new LCD TV. Luckily the TV was fine it'd just gone off because the little lemming Digi box's swan song had tripped the mains fuse switch. Phew!!!

*EDIT* Looking at this event a day later I think that I just might know what happened, lets look at the facts. The crapfest that is Big (look at me please!!! Please??....hello) Brother started up again last night and the few things I actually watch on TV have finished out their seasons so what did my Digibox have to look forward to? I'm sure that faced with the possibility of pumping weeks of that garbage through it's guts hara-kiri seemed like the sensible option!

Anyhoo, back to work... :D

TV love (not that kind. Be nice!!)

Jurassic Lark

2008-06-04T16:06:00.004+01:00

2-Faced Dinosaur/Monster Mini Munny

I've been working some more on my (still unnamed) dinosaur character, I've been sticking to a more sketchy style as I really tink it siuts the character on these platforms. Here's some pics of a new Teddy Troop and mini munny version. I've always been fond of this character and I've been making versions of it for years, there are even a couple of old 3" Dunnys out in the world somewhere sporting his funny little features(pictured below) and I also have an 8" Dunny on the table based on him that I'll post up soon. In the meantime here are the new Dinosauria dinosaur minis. Mini Munny above and Teddy troop below. :D

3" Dinosaur Teddy Troop

I dunno why but I seem to have a thing for green at the moment. It was messing around with green paint that got started me making my Joker custom (pictured below). I'm looking forward to getting a proper start on my Limebrarian custom Mellow tomorrow. In the meantime I've got a lot of drawing to do to move the reboot of my website forward.

3" Dinosaur Dunny (Traditional)

3" Dinosaur Dunny (Faces varient)

The Joker: Gorillaz 2D Custom

I heart.........

2008-06-03T18:47:00.002+01:00

This is a sneak peek at the next 8" Dunny on the table, it's called "I heart..." This piece is mainly all about the colour. I'm very happy with the quality of the spraying, I managed to totally avoid any spattering (the death of spray coated customs IMHO). This is early in the painting process, I'll post more pictures as this little guy progresses but for tonight it's on hold because there's a Teddy Troop that needs my attention first. :D

The Resin Rising Experiment update

2008-06-02T23:32:00.002+01:00

Well, I've had a look at the first sizing promo for my design and I'm VERY happy with it. It's so exciting to be on the verge of having my own toy, not a design on an existing platform but an actual play with it 'til it breaks honest to goodness TOY!! As soon as we have a proto that's in more of finished state I'll post a pic.

Until then here's a sneak peek of the design from EL Gato Chimney. What a way to start the project!! Straight in with a heavy design jam packed with artsy goodness!! G's sculpt of this birdy really pops in the flesh and I think we'll see some great paintwork applied to these when they go on sale. I'm certainly looking forward to getting my hands on one!!

My design is completely different, much more of a classic toy/figure. After seeing EL Gato Chimney's design I made extra effort to go as far from that style as possible with my release, mainly in an effort to get as much diversification in the project as we possibly can, this went down well with G (EGO) so everyone's happy. I'm being constantly surprised by G's work, he's a sculpting genius!!!

Enjoy the sneak peek of EL Gato Chimney's design, and stay tuned... :D

If you go down to the woods today......

2008-06-02T16:20:00.003+01:00

Thanks to the big L at Fat Buddha Store I recieved my 3 bears Dunny set from Kid Robot. All 3 Dunny come with a slew of accessories.

Tea Bear by Jon Burgerman (comes with Teacup and saucer, nibbled bun and honey pot)

As ever with KR merch I opened the box hoping that the QC gremlins hadn't been partying on shift when my batch of Dunnys were painted and...... Well they were perfect!!! The Burgerman design is especially crisp despite the intricate doodleravings of JB. This was the biggest relief to me as I've been waiting a long time for an 8" Burgerman design. This little guy is classic Burgerman with a twist.

Zulu Mong Bear By ilovedust (comes with skull ear caps and witch doctor staff)

The ILoveDust effort is also on par with the best Dunny designs and is a great debut for them on the platform. I'm especially digging the accessories packaged with this one, the sculpting is very chunky and matches the figure perfectly.

Uncle Bucky Bear by TADO (comes with hat, pipe and fishing rod inc fish!!)

This brings me to the last of the bunch by the tenacious M+K aka TADO. Now this is a Dunny that a lot of people have been waiting for. Ever since the series 2 3" and the series 3 Golden Ticket 8" Dunny fans have waited (im)patiently for their next next Dunny. The duo have made a triumplant return to the platform, hopefully we'll be seeing more of all of these artists in the upcoming series 5 which is due to drop in any day now.

Keep your eyes peeled for the new series of minifigs by Jon Burgerman also released by KR.

If you haven't picked these up yet I'd definately recommend them. They're great individually and blow the roof of as a set.

The artists even have a blog about the project: We Three Bears

If you're interested in other work from these artists clickety-click!!

Jon Burgerman
ilovedust
TADO

Spray Day A Go-Go!!!

2008-06-02T15:52:00.001+01:00

Well I took advantage of the nice weather yesterday and got some spraying done (with the help of my lovely assistant)

It was a tad blustery but I'm very happy with the results and I managed to lay the foundation for 4 new 8" Dunny and a Mellow custom.

I also managed to sqeeze in a new version of the J-Series Dunny from last year, this time taking a more painterly approach instead of the meticulous uber neat approach I utilised in it's previous incarnation.

2008-06-01T13:38:00.002+01:00

I'm happy to announce that I have a new sponsor. I will still be stocking up on vinyl and spray paint at Fat Buddha store but I will no longer be using Citadel paints from GW.
My new paint sponsor is Reaper Miniatures!!! They make the best paint in the widest array of colours so they were the obvious choice for me, in fact I like 'em so much I'll be pimping them from now on!! :lol:

Seriously though, it's great to have an opportunity like this to be involved with a such cool company and to be able to recommend paints with 100% confidence, as I always get asked what paint I use. I will be trying to run a little competition/promotion with them in the near future for a lovely prize, I'll keep you posted as and when I iron out the details.

There will be a permanent link to their site added to my sidebar, but in the meantime check out their amazing paint lines (and miniatures) right here: www.reapermini.com/Paints/pro

At the moment these paints are stocked all over world and I'm trying to get a new supply sorted in the UK via the fantastic Fat Buddha Store. :D

Reaper Miniatures store locator: http://www.reapermini.com/StoreLocator

The Resin Rising Experiment

2008-05-30T19:16:00.001+01:00

This is the new Project I'm working on right now. The final artist has been added to the roster, so it's a big hello to Matt JOnes aka Lunartik. So the final lineup is EL Gato Chimney, Lunartik and Dinosauria.

For an idea of what you might have coming check out the artists sites by clicking on the links above. Take some time to have a little look into the world of Mr JOnes, pop on over to his site for some full on tea fueled funk!! After topping up your tea tank and while you're on the browse take the interweb express over to Milan to peruse the works of of our very own cool EL Gato. :D

Here is the blurb about the project:

The Resin Rising Experiment

Collaborating with 3 up and coming artists in the urban art scene Ego Studios have asked them to take part in Resin Rising giving them free rein to explore ideas and experiment with concepts of creating 3D work from their art. Generating individual ranges of limited models and designer toys that will appeal to the independent culture of designer toys, these collections will be hand sculpted and produced in a high detail PU resin. Releasing one artist range a month from July.

Stay tuned!! :D

Something to look out for....

2008-05-28T15:27:00.001+01:00

Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead #50 is coming soon.

It's a pleasant surprise that this B&W horror comic has stuck around long enough to reach the big 5-0, despite schehule slips and old school indie feel. If you've let this one sneak by you, treat yourself and pick up the trades. You won't regret it!

Upcoming Event - SOLE ELEMENTS @C 28th & 29th June.

2008-05-28T00:14:00.001+01:00

I'm showing as part of the M8 Collective in Leicester on the 28th & 29th of June. Pop along if you're in the area. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to the event, but there'll be plenty of cool stuff there to entertain you. :D

For more info check out the M8 MySpace page here:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=370371593

Toy Break Episode 37 : In A Row?

2008-05-27T23:22:00.001+01:00

The latest episode of the best toy/urban vinyl video podcast is out now. Featuring news, reviews and an all new use for the beard.....

Check it out right here: http://www.toybreak.com/

Be sure to pop onto the forum for the latest contest and chat @ http://octobertoys.com/forum/index.php

New interview up at Revenant - #1 for zombies on the interwebs

2008-05-27T22:19:00.001+01:00

It's no secret that I have a thing for old horror movies, especially flicks featuring those pesky undead zombie types and so it's really no surprise that these influences have leaked into my work. I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Geoff Bough, the head ghoul at Revenant Magazine (the premiere zombie magazine) after releasing my last set of Gorillaz repaints. Click on the link if you'd like to get the skinny.

http://www.revenantmagazine.com/Dinosauriainterview.htm

Dinosauria limited ed toy is a go!!

2008-05-27T21:04:00.001+01:00

Well I had a meeting with GP from EGO Studios today and I'm happy to announce that my first ever mass-produced toy is a go! Well, it's not factory produced but it will be lovingly crafted and available in full colour and also in a limited edition DIY version. The toy will be based on my cute (though still unnamed) Little Dinosaur character. Final run numbers have yet to be decided (cos I'm useless), 'though I think it'll be an open run with a possible colour variant to follow if it proves popular enough. The figure will be around 3.5-4 inches tall and will come with a slew of fun accessories the exact details of which are....you guessed it, yet to be confirmed. Todays meeting was just to iron out the last few details on the design before the proto gets underway. More news as and when it surfaces.

Hopefully this latest endevour will be a proactive part of the seperation between my custom toy painting and a more creator-centric body of work.

I had a sneak peek at the first toy in the series by EL Gato Chimney and it looks phenomenal (I'll post pics when I have them). I'm hoping this project develops into an ongoing thing....

Excitement rating is currently levelled out at 100%