Onto the general show floor: Brothersfree occupied their now regular spot near the entrance to the hall. Their display is as impressive as ever, featuring a big and spooky diorama-stage for the forthcoming figure "Brothersanger." The new figure appears to be a straight-jacked bound 1/6 scale manifestation of Brothersfree's id, anxiety and nightmare. A smaller adjacent display held another iteration of the Brothersanger character, but in front of an artistically concealed video monitor mounted on its side. An long loop of animation played behind the character, seeming to reflect the demons that haunted the poor fellow. A sinister shadow-creature twitched and writhed before a flaming red animated background. Every 15 minutes or so, he would bust into action in synch with a metal soundtrack. Probably the simplest Brothersfree display to date in terms of construction, but incredibly well executed with a strong emotional impact.
The newest members of the venerable Brothersworker family could be found around the corner. A new black and white version of Storm, limited to 400 pieces, was for sale. This is the same character that was previously sold as a color version in a two-pack with his brother, Must. A weathered sepia version of Tank-Hood was available as well, although limited to 50 pieces. A cute 1/6 scale child version of previously released (and all growed up) Tank.
Finally, two color variants of the newest Brothersjoker, BJ Bowl were previewed a few more steps down. BJ Bowl is a rotocast (soft vinyl) interpretation of of the the series of scratch-built Brothersjoker figures premiered at Plug In Toys in April 2002. A nice follow-up to 2003's vinyl BJ Hammer.
FLYING CAT
The Flying Cat booth had only one entirely new product on display: an early prototype of Tree Dweller from Nathan Jurevicius's Scarygirl range. She is the character from both the promotional artwork of Nathan's exhibition in Melbourne earlier this year, as well as from the new series of Scarygirl comic strip. Very creepy and cute, Tree Dweller sits atop a nest on a branch. The unpainted sample looks great, and if the most recent Scarygirl vinyl Chihoohoo is any indication of the quality, it will be a must-have for Scarygirl fans. Related, Flying Cat also premiered painted prototypes of the forthcoming Mini Scarygirl (aka Scarygirl Petite) series. Production issues have postponed the release of the first 4 characters until at least mid-May, but these look great as well.
STRANGEco's own MARS-1 figure was scheduled to be on sale at the Flying Cat booth, but we aren't immune to the production hiccups, either. Last minute packaging problems have delayed the final ship date just enough to miss Toycon. The figure should be available in N. American and European retailers late April/Early May, and as soon as 1 week in Asia.
FC also debuted the Noupa box set from Ugly Dolls designer David Horvath. The Noupa line is available in 3 different head sculpts with a blind box assortment to follow later this spring. Noupa looks like it will be Flying Cat's "platform" line, with countless paint variations and customizations.
Speaking of another platform toy, the KidRobot Dunny debuted at the Flying Cat booth as well. Actually, 3 colors of the limited Plug In Hollywood version Dunnys were given away free with a purchase of Noupa sets. Dunny designer Tristan Eaton was on hand to customize and autograph his vinyl varmints. Additionally, several 2.5" and 8" Dunny variants were also on view.
Finally, painted prototypes of Haven and Hell were displayed. These are created by southern California based illustrator and toy designer Pedro Astudillo. Also will be available in late spring/early summer.
JASON SIU
Resident Toycon hip hop enthusiast Jason Siu offered up another version of vinyl figure/speakers. And guess what— these ones actually sound pretty decent! The N-3B (apparently named after the camo trench coat the character wears) have 3 drivers and reportedly can handle 150 watts of power. In ultra-limited Toycon version (30 pieces), and plain old limited, uh, limited version.
IT RANGERS
The ITRangers booth was dedicated entirely to CI Boys... and beer. In celebration of the birth of the 6th CI Boy, "MIGU," IT Rangers and their promotional partner San Miguel were giving out free cans of San Miguel beer to anyone of drinking age. As IT Rangers proprietor said, "today we are not focused on sales. Today we are focused on getting people drunk." And their clever scheme seemed to be working indeed. At any rate, Migu's supporting cast included the latest CI Boys, Series 4 "Trendy and Music." 10 new designs packaged in blind box assortment - 5 with baseball caps, 5 without.
IT Rangers also had a small preview of their spoof art show, the White Destroyer Show. Artists and civilians alike may enter the contest by customizing a plain white CI Boys Destroyer and returning it to the ITR HQ by April 15th. The best of the submissions will be shown at a special exhibition in HK next month. And one lucky winner will take HK$1000 and a Sony digital camera home with them. Break out those sharpies!
POP SALUTE
A Toycon newcomer making a big splash was Popsalute, a Hong Kong-based specialty internet retailer that has jumped into the licensed figure game, big time. Popsalute was pre-selling 12" figures from 2003 block-buster, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and from seminal Hong Kong Martial Arts Cinema film, "One Armed Swordsman." The sculpting quality and detail on all the pieces were exceptional for licensed figures. The T-101 was so realistic, I had a California Recall Election flashback! IT comes complete with 2 heads (one damaged, one not), a gaggle of automatic weapons, and a 1/6 scale coffin. The T-X comes with human and robotic arm, form fitting clothes and that unmistakable comb-over.
Two characters from "One Armed Swordsman" will undoubtedly top the wish list of any serious Kung Fu movie or HK Cinema afficianado. Both come with traditional dress and weapons. Apparently, the licenses are for Asia only, but I am sure the gray market will see that some pieces make it into Europe and the Americas.
Popsalute is also now the HK distributor for Armory's Dust series of toys and figures by Paolo Parente. Dust is set in a fantastic future war world - a mixture of authentic WWII uniform and weaponry, mobile armored suits and S & M erotica. Crazy stuff. High-detail/small-scale scenic kits were available along with 1/6 scale figures and accessories.
A 12" Ronaldo soccer figure was on display as well, but only as a preview. A bit of a teaser for a Nike license, perhaps? The clothing and shoes are clearly not poor imitation swoosh stripes.
Finally, a cryptic-sounding art project called "Thought Experiment" left booth attendees curious. I am told we will have to wait and see what comes of it. All in all a very promising debut.
More tomorrow from the custom Levis display and show floor.
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