Ever have one of those evenings...

...when you are cleaning or reorganizing or something, take a mental inventory of all the stuff you have accumulated in a given amount of time...

...and completely feel overwhelmed and disconnected from it all?

I posted some photos the other day on skullbrain after starting to reorganize my Detolf of the hideous mess I had created in our bonus room.

I beared down and started cleaning up this clutter. I moved shelves around, finshed the installation of lights, decided what went where.

There is still more to do even now, but when I look at my space and my things, i am feeling burnt out, broke, and overwhelmed by too much still.

What is it in me that keeps me buying this stuff when i am going to look at it in a few months and not feel good about it? It was like this before toys came back into the picture, and it probably will be if they ever go away.

The feeling is on and off with me. I have had it before. When a lot of bills are due, it brings it on for instance. There are other times I will look at the toys one by one and I really like them... and it is hard to let go. I feel like something should change though. Something fun shouldn't stress me out like this.

One thing I have found is that my stupid little photo stories make me enjoy my toys in a new way. They are like the grown up version of playing with them I suppose. This blog too.

While buying the toys feeds some weird anxiety in me that constantly opens my wallet, arranging them, photographing, telling stories, and those sorts of things provide a creative outlet. I really like the feedback I get on them... having people laugh and look forward to more... or compliment me on a setup or a story... validates it all.

It's a constant seesaw with this hobby I have found so far. I am still looking for that proper balance.

Adding Kanji

I am going to try to add kanji to the Japanese toys I discuss here from now on to assist anyone who may be looking for it. I want to go back and add it to past reviews.

Just a heads up for all my loyal fans.

Oh, and I totally stole this idea from the Omni-Monster blog. His kanji has come in handy for me quite a few times.

Dirty Hippie Zag

Or maybe it should be called Arts and Crafts Time Zag. All it is missing is potpourri and popsicle sticks.

My second entry for the Super7 Contest.

It is a rainbowed clear v-color hodge podge... red around the clear center belly, radiating out... blue and purple on his back

A little white on teeth and eye to make them stand out a bit.

Silk flowers stuffed inside! And of course the strategically placed daisies in the belly and face behind the eye.

The first shot is of the figure before I painted it but had the flowers in already.

Bizarro Zag

This is my first entry for the Super7 Zag Contest.

The DC character Bizarro was the inspiration, although all along the plan wasn't to have it look just like Bizarro. It's more like the negative image of a black and white Zag I guess.

I used a white paint pen to outline all the cracks on the figure... that step took quite awhile. It gave sort of a cool, 3D helix look to the figure with the clear vinyl. I was going to use clear smoke paint, but my bottle was all dried up from Kaiju-Taro :( so instead I used light coats of black inside the figure along the back, hips, shoulders, and head... so the outside stays nice and shiny and the black behind the white really makes the white cracks pop. I left the belly clear also

At first I had left the teeth unpainted, but on good advice, I painted them white.Unfortunately my brush skills suck. Oh well.

I'm back!

I hate that when I say that, I instantly think of that annoying Aerosmith song "Back in the Saddle." I have been lazy for FAR too long with my blog here. It has been a nice creative outlet for me in for almost the past year now, but I let it slide amongst other things. So I suppose this is my jump back in. Since I left, I did manage to get married somehow to an incredible lady who manages to put up with my toy collecting, blogging ang silly photostories. The wedding went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to have a really great time. I smoked cigars... danced... ate macaroni and cheese. (yep... we had fancy mac and cheese at our wedding!) We honeymooned in mostly sunny Costa Rica. A Gargamel Microman came along for the journey as well. You can see our photos in my flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hiflex/sets/72157604667619615/

That was my first time out of the country!

We flew into San Jose, then were driven to the Arenal region where we stayed at a hot springs resort at the foot of a volcano. Very cool... except for the ride down when I got about as car sick as I have ever been. From there we went to the beach for 3 days and roasted ourselves. We battled insects and wild animals there... and the fact that we had no air conditioning! YIKES.

But it was a fun trip and wedding experience overall... and I even came home to a horrid sinus infection that lasted me almost three weeks! Yay!

Anyway, I am writing this after I have posted some, but I guess all you loyal fans didn't need to know that. I am going to try to be back on here talking about my stuff and rambling as usual hopefully.

Thanks for reading!

Clear Coating the Dako

On the recommendation of LASH, applied a rather heavy coat of clear coat to gloss up the Dako. I think it came out looking a lot better... more finished.

Flash Dako

I took my Hogan Dako and painted like crazy! The inspiration was the Dako from the flash movies on AnrakuAnsaku's site.

I used the flourescent paint that glows in black light.

This is still a work in progress, as I am touching up and adding a glossy clear coat. I wasn't in love with this end result, the clear coat was recommended by LASH on skullbrain.org, and I think a glossy surface will really help my opinion of it.

Kentucky Fried Goga

I painted my clear orange Gogamejiras last night.

I had fun painting this one - the highly textured surface is really forgiving with any imperfections in my paint application... and I'm sure there are tons of those! :)

I used a red/black/gold mix for the darker areas... the back of his head, his chest, hips, forearms

Metallic gold alone for highlights, nose, eyeballs, fingers, toes

then black to accent some of the darker areas... a small bit on his chest, the back of his head, the very edge of the forearms.

I used a tiny brush for the silver teeth and a paint pen for the black pupils.

Someone on skullbrain said it looked like fried chicken, hence the name of it.

New Years Resolutions - 2008

Everyone has these... and they are so often complete bullshit. But I have started on a couple for myself and I hope to hold onto them for a change. The secret - I made them attainable so they would be easier to hold myself to!

1) Control my spending on stuff I don't really need. Reign in those costs!

That includes toys! Not much to say here... I've had trouble with my spending habits for years, and this was a particularly bad one. It's more an anxiety thing than anything, so I need to focus my energies on creative outlets instead of pulling out the credit card whenever I get bored/down/etc.

2) Keep a sketchbook/journal.

I've tried this one before with little success. But the approach is different this time. Using Chris Ware's Acme Datebooks as inspiration, I want to write and draw in the same book. One problem may have been that I tried to write one place and draw in another. If they happen together, they can feed off one another even. This will help keep my creativity flowing hopefully. I do have a separate sketchbook for all monster/toy related things such as photo stories and whatever, as well as a sketchbook for design stuff I need to work on. This is for me

I already bought a sketchbook with drawing paper inside and a couple drawing pens (Don't worry, I bought them before the New Year, so Resolution #1 can still apply)... which leads to resolution 3.

3) When sketching/writing, stop erasing so goddamn much!

A problem with things I have kept in the past is my need for perfection... or as close as I can get to it. I have to realize that no one is going to see these things unless I want them to, so I should draw and write for ME... not with anyone else in mind. So if I like the new Britney Spears album and want to gush about it in my journal with a shitty doodle of a My Little Pony, then I need to just do it. Working in pen I hope will help this constant tweaking on things that are only personal.

4) Work on more art.

I need to get back into painting and photography. I have the supplies... I just haven't had the drive.

5) Lose 15 pounds.

A more common one obviously. I broke 200 lbs for the first time a couple months ago, and I'm not thrilled about it. Time for more sit ups (more could be 1 a day at this point!) and less candy.

6) Become a big brother in Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

I have wanted to do this for a few years now, but I haven't lived in one place long enough to do so. When you move every 12 months or less, it's not really good for a mentor type position.

7) Take a martial arts class.

This probably won't happen, so I put it last. For one I don't think I need the added expense such a class will bring, and two I am lazy and have games to play/things to draw and photograph/toys to paint. I want to take one more to learn self discipline, control, etc. more than learning fighting techniques.

Anyway, I guess I will update in a year and see which ones of these actually happened!

Happy New Year!

Toypunks vol. 1

http://www.toypunks.com/

I was finally able to sit down and watch this new DVD recently, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. At a runtime of about 45 minutes, it is full of clipped interviews from various influential figures in the street fashion and vinyl toy industry.

There is a lot with Hikaru Iwanaga, the founder of Bounty Hunter, which is fitting as it was his toy, the Kid Hunter, that essentially started the designer toy surge way back in 1997. There is a lot of interesting insight from the different interviews about their influences from overseas, old cartoons, etc.

I enjoyed seeing the bits with various collectors too... hearing why people like certain toys and why they collect the things they do. Seeing the sweet collections was nice too.

One thing that bothered me about the movie was not actually something with the movie, but rather with Frank Kozik's interview clips in the extra features about the "underground"... or in his opinion the lack thereof. I don't know exactly what to think about underground artwork, toys, etc., but in this clip, Frank says that if you are out there to sell toys then it is no longer underground.

Most likely, this comes down to semantics, but the thing that bothered me was the attitude about it all that came across in his interview. I'm no pie in the sky artsy guy bemoaning the death of the underground art world, but it seemed Frank's opinion is that it is all black or white. He said he has no trouble with Wal Mart and entities like that, and for some reason it felt a little disappointing to me. I'm not sure exactly why.

I will be the first to admit that what I do for a living (graphic design) is pretty much selling out artistically speaking, and I have no problem with someone wanting to make a living with their craft, but the attitude that Kozik seemed to express here is one of embracing the selling out and the lack of an underground. It's hard to explain for me, but it waters down Kozik's work to me... like there is less feeling put into the things he puts out maybe... like it cheapens it all in a way.

Shit, what do I know? I'm just a loser on a crappy blog who will most likely never make money on toys or art.

I'm not great at reviewing movies and stuff like that, but this little film serves as a great primer into vinyl toy collecting, design, etc., and I look forward to volume two.

Great job, guys!

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On an aside, another thing I thought was awesome about this flick was seeing my Bounty Hunter photography in there! I don't like to toot my own horn, but I was really excited when Justin from the toypunks crew contacted me about the photography I display on this little blog. It was very cool sitting here watching the movie, seeing my photographs alongside the others with the punk music and interviews, and then seeing my name in the credits.

The toypunks guys were really cool and considerate in asking to use my photos, and this copy of the movie i watched was complimentary for their use. I am proud that these photos became a part of the project.

My first custom paint job

I'm moving this article from late November until now to better match up with my Hedoro Kun blog

I tried out the new Iwata airbrush on a vinyl toy for the first time on this toy. It's nothing special by any means... I took a my purple Hedoro Kun by Bounty Hunter and made it gloss black.

I like how it turned out - I decided not to try anything else since the solid color looks like a Bounty Hunter style color scheme anyway.

This was mainly a chance for me to see how the airbrush works on a 3-dimensional surface and to see how v-color paint lays down and dries and stuff like that.

Angel Sanda round 2 - I shook up the gold!

Before then after shots.

thanks to LASH for the assist

A thorough shaking to the gold made it a completely different paint. The gold looks so much better now.

I went back and added to the original yellow layer and gave a light misting to the brick looking areas of his skin for a very pale yellow and the hint of glitter