I got a lot of messages on Flickr for the RxH toys I have for a while, but it's stopped now. Lots of 'sale to me, bro' from Chinese collectors. Some would be persistent, to the point of being rude. As for buying toys to lever trades, if you have almost unlimited money, it's no big deal to buy a bunch of toys you don't personally want to swap for toys people aren't initially willing to part with. Like the guy I did a trade with recently, his Bear Model collection is insane. He just seems to have endless money to buy toys!
Sure, I get that money is easier earned . . . it doesn't make it any less of a dick move! Especially when the shit I was hunting wasn't a hype toy and 'off the radar' of most collectors.[/QUOTE]
I agree it's a dick move, and similar to stalking, in a way. Quite creepy. But I think some people would just see it as being 'proactive', just utilising another angle.
I get annoyed with bandwagoning when it comes to toy design. One two-headed thing hits and suddenly there are thousands of two-headed things. One successful gross out vinyl and in 2 weeks you get the fugly thread. Everyone has a dinosaur because those were and still are hot. And when an already established big creator jumps on board or mods previous work to jump on that trend, it feels like a bag tag to their creative integrity. I get that it's difficult to be original in a landscape where everything has been done before. At least try to do something clever than slap a second head on it or copy a pachi dinosaur.
Kinda disappointed this thread has turned into ripping apart all the same things we have ripped apart in every other toy discussion. It's more interesting to hear about the personal stuff you don't like, like mixed parts or certain marbling, than these generalities. For those who don't like unpainted flesh vinyl, I think unpainted glow and Black are a lot less interesting. They barely show the sculpt details...and they're 2 of the most produced unpainted toys. I love unpainted in many shades of blue, bubblegum pink, and orange. Halloween toys are awesome, but I don't like orange and black marbled toys. Most look like a stripy/streaky mess because they don't want the colors to mix and make a mostly brown toy. Can we decide that orange and purple marbled makes a much better toy and fits the Halloween theme too.
Outside of some aspects (e.g. red and white marbling), I do kind of see what David is saying; I am assuming that the intent of this thread is less about toy gripes than actually saying something more 'controversial' (or perceived to be, at any rate). Maybe it would be easier as just 'opinions about toys' but then, isn't that 99.98% of Skullbrain already?
I hate black glitter in a mix. It looks like pepper on a scrambled egg. I have one Pushead/Usugrow Rebel Captain and a Nekomata that both use a dark glitter in the mix. Kinda kills it for me.
I don’t like soft vinyl toys that have to ride the bus; if they don’t have their own wheels, I deem them to be inferior to those who can cruise under their own steam.
This. 100 times this! One of my all time, favorite marble toys (that I don’t own but one day maybe) is purple and orange and it’s a stunner!
On the glitter topic. I love gold glitter, buuuut it needs to be dense. This half committed shit can fly a kite, haha. No commentary on the toys themselves, just the glitter / finish; I just grabbed two quick things from a GIS search. Bueno! No bueno! A lightish / midblue (not sky blue) is the best blank color. Also, black blanks look rad under lighting, and blanks are cool because they're like artist proofs. Edit, and since I'm not sure if those opinions are unpopular or not... I'll reiterate that the Hawaii colorway is super overrated. Flesh blanks are the worst color. Hawaii over flesh may be the worst combo of all. Fuckin' adore these toys, but get out with that flesh color!
Yeah, just like the unpopular opinions subreddit, this has just turned into a thread where people complain about things most of us agree on. My previous contribution was pretty weak. So here's one from the heart: I think the NagNagNag Boryouku Genjin was one of the worst things that happened to the world of sofubi collecting. It was both physically and morally ugly and ended up bringing out the worst in makers and collectors alike.
Boom. I back this. While I can’t deny the artistic prowess of Shig, I think what the Nag came to represent and still does to this day is the current running detriment to this hobby. It makes for good stories and lore, I can’t lie that I appreciate things like that in real world instances, but Nags are the sole impetus for pretty much everything I can’t stand about this hobby in negative light with both collectors and artists. But I do think they make for interesting social commentary in the space of sofubi collecting across the board.
With risk of further derailing this thread, I do think it's an interesting discussion to have. I would not lay everything at the Boryouku Genjin's ugly feet, but certainly it's an interesting debate to have about what were the major influencing factors in the massive change in the market - for better or worse - and to reflect on the hypothetical way things might have developed in the absence of these. I honestly don't know, and it's all speculative; but we've seen both positive and negative effects on the hobby of the growth of designer/artist vinyl. Again, my own opinion is it's supposition at this point, and it is what it is. Much like life experiences, as much as we might like to have a time machine to go back and undo things in our lives (some of us might carry a heavy tome of such events), [without getting into the whole time-paradox thing] making those changes is entirely going to change who we are today. And it is rarely one single event or factor that was the seed for something; it requires the right growth environment and cultivation to become a crop.
3 things 1) Nagnagnag with Greg’s involvement was the first thing to really ruin and disrupt this scene it was the real foundation of the clout collector so forever boo 2) pus ruined unpainted toys for me. Ruined. Aside from friends and my own stuff I honestly have zero interest in unpainted toys and loathe marbles. I rarely produce marbles and treat unpainteds as rare for supportive collectors and the occasional combo breaker but as someone who has a big case of pus and most of it is just gobs of color I have pretty much lost interest in unpainted toys. I want the paints to portray different aspects of the toys personality or range. 3) in Pus defense no one does mix parts better. I hate them with a passion and see them as only an opportunity to hunt unmixing them. But at least with pus he themes them or tries to coordinate an aesthetic. That said I’ve remixed a few just because the color blocking was all wrong. But still Patchwerks at least keep me interested in the core concept where as most mixes just bore or frustrate me
In hindsight the Mishka NYC days- hanging out with Greg and Lamour, Skinner, Shig and the rest of the old NYC gang was the most fun I ever had collecting toys and if I could go back in time and relive it I would 100 times.
A lot has been said about Shig, and people have their opinions. But at least he always had a very defined artistic direction and was very methodical in his product. He didn’t really sell a lot, and a lot of his sales were done through venues where he could hang out. He wasn’t a full time maker until medicom picked him up. A lot of people took his pricing principals and tried to apply it towards making maximum money to make a living off toys. And I think there is a big difference beteeen someone like Shig who may have made 50 toys a year at 800 dollars vs someone who tries to make that money in a month. I Think people point the finger at him for raising prices, but they don’t defend him for a calculated limited practice where he created the best product he could. I think before medicom saw a cash cow and made million dollar shows, with Shig it was more about the work, not the money. And if collectors did the math and looked at the number of toys he made a year instead of just the number attached to them, they might have had a very different perspective on him.
I was reminded today of how much I hate black/white marbling. Black/GID marbling is chef’s kiss though
The silver lining is we have an *over abundance* of copy cat trash vinyl that'll be forgotten in a couple years and that allows the really creative and skilled makers to shine in the long term.
With you on this! Surnia from Owltoy gets a pass though. I'm not sure how unpopular this is anymore and I used to be guilty of narrowmindedness as well but I don't care where vinyl toys are being produced anymore. It used to be Japan or its a wannabe for me. As long as they being produced with the quality and care we've come to expect from Japan I'm good if its Chinese, Mexican or American. Am I missing any other regional producers? Guess my meat opinion wasn't so unpopular after all! I'm liking some of the offbeat opinions I'm seeing. Keep em coming, some really good discussion going on in here.
