5. Last but not least, Be careful when dealing with drama queens, unknown quantities and fuckin' bandwagon jumpers!
I talked to a couple people recently about these toys. I don't think that they are real Japanese made sofubi... I mean after having one in my hand, the vinyl is really off. It's very hard and not soft like you'd expect it to be. How sure are we that they are actually made in Japan and not China?
That's a fair point. Nothing is stopping an artist from saying "made on the fucking moon", technically speaking. If it is later discovered that his work isn't made in Japan but he says it is, the entire community should blacklist him and this includes other artists.
Smacks of the Funko scenario awhile back . . . Japanese vinyl pulled in China! *cough* bullSHIT! *cough*
Would be cool if tan came out and said his side of the story Does anyone know who is the other person behind unoblab?
I wonder how all of this is going to affect the shows that Rich has scheduled at Death's Vault for 2017.
Glad I opened up the discussion. This kind of shit sGould to haplen in our community that is rather small to begin with
This is all pretty disheartening to hear. All this drama really sucks, because the toys are actually really rad. Having seen a PigPigMan in person, the sculpt is fantastic and super creepy. All this bullshit happening really takes the appeal out of both Unoblab's and Tan's work, for me at least.
I'm pretty sure it's Papa Lemon/Creation777. On Facebook he made some post and later deleted it apologizing for airing out drama. Now he's re-sharing the unoblab post. Yeah, Tan is insanely talented. I got a mimi and a pigpigman and although I think the price on both are cartoonishly high, I was able to justify it because I only have 1. If he is holding toys people already paid for, he can go fuck himself. Don't punish your paying customers because of a bad business decision unrelated to the people handing you literally THOUSANDS of dollars.
I'm sad to hear of this drama and I hope everyone gets what they won, ordered, and paid for. I recently bought a PigPigMan from a fellow Boardie. I agree that the vinyl is harder to the touch than typical Japanese vinyl. But I'll tell you this--it's absolutely one of the best paint applications I've ever seen, and it's a standout in my collection no matter where it was made! Hopefully this will all get resolved quickly so these toys can be judged for their great craftsmanship and not for the "paranoia" they've created.
I was just thinking about the fact that your showing both of these guys today. I wonder what will develop with all of this. I like both sculpts but the price tag has been keeping me away. Also (probably more important than price) my girlfriend finds the sculpts scary and does't want them in the house.
I can promise you all one thing, I won't tolerate that insane price tag. I don't know what these guys are thinking but nope, i'm not gonna go for it. So if they think they will be asking these prices at my gallery it's not gonna happen. When I asked both these makers to do shows they seemed like good up and coming makers whose toys I enjoy. As a maker myself I don't have time to focus on their selling habits. Now that i'm going back to prep for shows and i'm seeing this it's making me second guess them. Once I know more, I will post it here. This goes for what's going on and why. I'd like to separate the art from the artist as much as possible. I'd love to showcase some cool toys. But if they think they can take advantage of buyers and start acting out of line I will be cancelling their shows.
I will say this, from what I have known. Unoblab and Tan are two different people. Tan had another artist ( who is also a Chinese maker) Sculpt ( or partly sculpt ) his pig man toy. Tan and that artist had a falling out because the sculptor feels he wasn't be credited, Tan still denies he did much work. Unoblab ( who also is a collector who goes by another name on instagram) and Tan were a team. They however had totally different ideas on how they wanted to run their toy brands. This seems to have been the beginning crack. Now it seems they also have had a falling out, not sure exactly why yet. Im waiting to hear back from both of them on this subject. Im also gonna ask what the hell was that price tag about. Because it seems very odd. Uno has already told me that until they resolve the issue the telebobo is on hold for any releases. Now once I hear more I will tell you all. If it feels fishy, I reconsider hosting them. I only hold a few shows a year and I dont want to start out my gallery with this drama.
The TLDR version from the unoblab IG convo is: Tan was selling figures "under the table" without "jcaktopz's" knowledge then jcaktopz had a secret sale with blanks for $555 aka "a lover's quarrel" personally I'd rather have a Kiyoka custom than any of these polished turds...just my opinion