Headlock Studio is so far from being new in toys, dating back to at least 2002(that I know of) but really only now do I think Ken, Headlock’s...head, is hitting people’s radar. Hell, even I didn’t know the name until I got hold of a Spumpkin figure recently that I’d seen a decade ago. The two figures I think he’s most known for, or possibly could be known for, here specifically, are the aforementioned Spumpkin and the Sick Boy Billy, both of which are contained in the spoiler. He’s also known for working closely, and often, with Shelterbank, not long ago releasing the Gadaya, which is HUGE, and also the Daruma pair, one of which can be seen in the “Shelterbanking” thread. However, recently, he’s been gaining fast notoriety for his newest figure, Lil’ Franky, designed by hot rod culture and Ed Roth inspired Japanese artist Knuckle(of Little Chop Design). Franky debuted at Taipei Toy Festival in a two - tone blue blank, and made his newest appearance at DCon 2018, in a painted version of said two tone blue, and a grey/black blank. Stands about 8” tall, six points of articulation, and has a cute, Fink - ish, childlike Herman Munster quality to his appearance. I love the batteries in his neck, as opposed to traditional bolts, and the belly pokin’ from his sweater is fun, as are his little sneakers. Just has an overall punky, greaser kind of vibe. My apologies for the annoyingly extensive intro! I just really enjoy Ken’s toys and the artists he produces with, and this Lil’ Franky hits all the right spots for me!!! Spoiler Blue Franky blank, Gadaya, Spumpkin and Sick Boy Billy: Spoiler
So glad you made a thread for these guys, wish I had seen them at DCON. Rad I saw one of those Gadaya at a Mandarake but didn’t know what the hell it was, other than it was huge and wondered if it would fit in my suitcase.
I came across them at DCON this year and it was my first time ever seeing them. I'm so glad I happened upon them because I really like the Franky sculpt. The protruding belly and batteries really make it fun and lighthearted. I hope I get the chance to see more from them in the future!
@IronPaw His booth was the first one I had to hunt down as soon as I got to the convention center. I walked up and down a couple isles, only to realize his booth was with Bwana, directly across from our Lulubell booth. Getting to meet Ken was awesome, and he expressed bein’ a fan of my photos, which was really cool to hear. @Bill Luckily, Ken did say that there will be a painted version of the grey/black blank coming, though he didn’t say when, or if there’d be overseas sales.
So happy to see Headlock make a return to making toys. And thank you Robert for ensuring I got one of the little Frankies at D-con, it was the highlight of my haul. I also have all the Spumpkins, I always felt it probably inspired the cure boogie man. I would agree those figures along with the SIckboy Billies and the highlights of his older work, but I think another old standout are the Wonderful Man figures.
The new Frankie is great, also love that header. @JoeMan Always loved the Wonderful Man figures they've managed to elude me all these years despite how many colorways + variations I've seen! Anyone actually know the story behind them?
@JoeMan After back collecting a good handful of Headlock’s toys, I’m pretty excited about him being active again as well. And I do remember you mentioning the Spumpkin potentially inspiring the Cure Toy Boogie, which I do agree with. I really enjoy Knuckle’s design and artistry, too. I had a chance at two Wonderful Man figures, but when I read the description they were goddamn huge. Somethin’ like 17” or 18” tall? I thought he only made them in 10” versions! That characters a lot of fun, though. He looks like an average dude, dressed as a super hero of sorts, but very mundane.
they come in different sizes, the ones that look like bounty hunter rotocast vinyl Are smaller, probably the same size as a bounty hunter toy. I had one of the larger shiny ones at one point that looked more like slush cast, it was very big, i can't remember the exact height, but it had a crack in the vinyl.
@JoeMan Yeah, I think I saw an 8”’or 10” version photographed next to one of the huge ones. Different faces on ‘em, too. It might be cool to have one of the large ones for posterity, but obviously the regular sized versions would be ideal. The variety in style of Ken’s toys is pretty interesting. The Mikey mascot and Spunk are so different from each other aesthetically, and design. Then the visuals separate even more between characters like Hazu and Sick Boy Billy.
Knuckle - Kun!!! Headlock Studio is already releasing the next/new version of his Lil' Franky toy, which is actually a head sculpted after the artist that designed the Lil' Franky himself, Knuckle! This first version of Knuckle - Kun is unfortunately only going to be available via a customs hot rod show in Hong Kong. View this post on Instagram
The chin strap beard and hair are pretty spot on, which is funny ‘cause that’s all that’s changed on this head sculpt. The face is the same as Lil’ Franky. So now I’m wondering if Knuckle designed the initial toy after himself!
It would be interesting to see how these were sculpted since the face and ears seem pretty much identical.
@animator My first guess would be the head was sculpted, and then two separate hair pieces and the beard were sculpted as attachments to the head/face for production.
New Lil' Franky looks amazing. It'll be available at Toy Soul in Hong Kong this weekend, so I'm sincerely hoping I can find someone to lend me a hand with pickin' one up. The sweater color, like a forest green/turquoise green, with the grey skin and black pants is so awesome. View this post on Instagram
^^^ I like it but I love the blue headed one. That version resonates with me. There also is a Knuckle - Kun version I've seen on instagram where the "S" is in green and and the logo on the back is green. I think everything else is the same. Actually looks like the s is also yellow/red.
Ah, yes! Thank you for pointing out the Knuckle Kun and reminding me, Bryce! This version has the same ears, eyes, smile and body, but the hair and beard are obviously different, as is Knuckle - San's hat he tends to wear to conventions(mostly custom hot rod shows). It's pretty rad that the Knuckle Kun actually looks like the artist himself that designed Lil' Franky, which makes me wonder if Lil' Franky was intentionally designed to loosely resemble Knuckle. Hopefully I can manage this version without killin' the wallet at some point. View this post on Instagram
@JoeMan It really is. There's one on the back, too. Though I don't think the full run has the airbrush swirls, rather just the ones from this past hot rod show they debuted at. Even still, swirl or not, I would love to add one alongside the Lil' Franky I'm lucky to have.
@JORDAN23 That’s awesome! I’ve only seen one come up for sale once, but it was insanely priced. I’d love to find one of the Hazu figures. Or the Adidas edition of Ray the Aerosol.
that gray skin lil’ franky is awesome!!! will have to look up more info on this dude. love knuckle and what he does. the random keychains by knuckle (i think it’s knuckle) i find on instagram are always great.
