that looks great unpainted!!! I think no masks would be better for painting.. just something about a little overspray that gives these toys the right look

aw never mind

Agreed. I never pictured this using masks to paint. Unpainted black release would be sweet!

I wish I had gone to a spencers gifts before because I have no clue what that reference is all about.

I'm into metal, not into this. I agree with H-M-S, I said it before, that skull is kind of cool, the rest is meh. If someone likes it, great, good, but it looks like it should be cast in a fake-granite material and have holes in the spikes to hold my incense.

The thing that makes this feel "Spencers" ish is the "bad-ass-eXtreme" vibe going on. If it pulled back just a smidge I might see being more interested. It's just overly complicated for my tastes and too forward with it's intended genre/"target audience." That's not to discount Mike's talent, but I feel like this is lesser than other designs I've seen by him.

...move to berlin!

Think hot topic but for metal heads and pot heads in the late 80s/90s.
They still exist but haven't been in one in ages so I'm not sure its the same kind of thing.
Dragon and skull necklaces, black lights, incense holders and "toys" and statutes that kind of looked like this, the whole skull/metal/etc thing.

They also carry a ton of gag-gifts, fart machines, "funny" bumper stickers and greeting cards, racey gifts like edible underwear, crappy hair dye, crummy earings/noserings/etc.-rings, a lot of UFC stuff for some reason now, McFarlane crap all over, lots of horror movie junk (new remake horror mainly) and an insane amount of KISS garbage.

It's really more for "frat boy" types than metal heads, the "metal" junk they have is always nu-metal Slipknot trash anyway. I stop in one anytime I go to a mall for giggles, not laughing with, but at.

I was speaking past tense, it used to be all dragon necklaces and metallica and slayer shirts.
oh god nu metal, that still exists?

Psh, Metallica IS nu-metal NOW! Yeah, they still have Slayer shirts I guess, Slayer, Metallica, Pantera (well, they USED to) Sabbath, anything the nu-metal kids want to buy to prove their "cred."

I dunno about nu-metal, maybe it's called something else now? I'm sure it's still around just called something else. Still lots of dragon-crap, but I associate dragon stuff with LOTR pot-head types more than metal anymore. But there's always Dragonforce to remind me.

you two are hilarious

i think you forgot to associate this with figures that you find in fishtanks and hot topic...

i think it is funny how you go on and on about spencers like skull figures while your own skull "Sculpts" were bought at Toys R US at one point.
why the negativity?

you like it? great, if you don't say hey it is not my thing and move the fuck along
i am sure that you would not like it if someone gave you shit about your skeletor recasts
I think those He man things you do are awesome and fun, I am always stoked to see people making stuff.
are you really that empty that you take time out of your day to put doen other peoples work?
Really? Why be a dork and rag on and on about other peoples hard work?
This is clearly not a design for everyone but many people like it and many that saw it in person were really impressed even though it was not something that they would collect.
blooby sculpey globs that look like they were melted with a heat gun are not for everyone either but there is an audience for all of that.
so why be a prick? nothing else to do today?

Have fun

Why so defensive?
Someone declares it toy of the year.
We don't agree.
I'm not calling someone an idiot for liking it or anything,
its just not that original or groundbreaking, and I don't like it.
If you like it buy 1, buy 10, but don't pull some crap of we shouldn't comment negatively.

'We'?

toy of the year? i am not sure of that one myself.
there is some pretty cool shit still in the wings
I ma not really defensive I have a pretty thick skin
I just find the Spencers Gifts comments a bit off target since i doubt you even had a chance to see this in person to make such a statement
and negative comments are great, personally i like feedback that helps
with moving the industry forward good or bad

and in regards to spencers as a sculptor I have to say that there are always interesting
and unique things that are available there if you look hard
but again that stuff is not for everyone's taste

I will now only refer to myself in the plural.


Read up Andy, he said you two.

Re toy of the year, thats what TOTY stands for as my understanding.

My bad . . . I was thinking the bipolar issue had peaked! Just waiting for you to start talkin' about yerself in the third person . . . 'you can't phase the audio . . . '

Before getting so defensive about it. Take the comment for what it's worth. Anything with skulls and crossbones fits into those stores. I can even visualize pushead pirates behind the counter at Halloween time. (And the pirates rule.) But it's just a fact that those stores sell goblins and statues and things with swords etc.
It doesn't cheapen it at all but a generalization of what those stores sell. If those stores didn't exist...then there wouldn't be a comparision.

If you walk into those stores you can probably see why someone would make that comment.
Now when this thing has paint on it...one offs are down and they become produced I'm sure they will sell like no other.

I'm late to the party. Is this an Orc?
Sorry, not TOTY, not TOTM, not TOTD...

"You can't phaser the audio."

Chill out, jeeze! What's wrong with some critisism. It's not blind like "fuck this shit man it's fucking retarded!*" or something. Anyone in this thread who doesn't like this isn't making hateful and ignorant posts.

It's cool if you like it or if someone else does, people bash toys I like, I calmy might argue a point here and there ("I disagree, here's why... cool you don't dig it though, more for me" or "The reason you hate it is why I like it, no big deal though") but it's no reason to get defensive.

IMO, the type of toys sold at Spencers, generally, suck, they lack spirit, imagination, creativity and only seem to exist for the sake of marketing. I don't feel THAT harshly on this figure, but it just seems too blatant in what it is. If that makes sense?

The Pushead Skull Pirate, for example for something that might be compared to this, is more subtle in it's delivery of a "skeleton pirate." The sculpt's very detailed and specific, but it's also very organic and doesn't go TOO far, for example it doesn't have an "evil grin" or a mo-hawk or something. It's well balanced. I don't feel this sculpt is.

BUT whatever, I'm just stating what I find negative about this in a thread discussing the figure. No hate. It's OK to do that, it makes for interesting conversation. I'm bored at work, so sue me!




*(only used to mock those who use the word to describe things they don't like, not used to actually mock things by me, for the sake of argument only.)

All of the political correctness gets old. I hate it when people won't voice criticism.
I collect alot of stuff that gets hammered on the boards or never discussed cause people don't like it.

I have spent many a afternoon in art critiques where everyone pins up their work on the wall, and one by one the class reviews each work. Now that is brutal but it helps one develop a thick skin and be able to defend one's work.

Not a fan, but maybe a painted version will change my mind.

How tall is this figure?

page one of very same thread:

I don't think Toyxboy (or whatever his name is) is actually complaining about criticism. the problem in this thread is the relentlessness of the spencer gifts references.
These become boring and kind of devalue themselves over time.
Saying something looks like it came from spencer or hot topic is NOT constructive criticism, maybe, and I do mean maybe it is the first time, but that wad was blown with Dr Mortality. It's time to come up with a new song boys.

I am a huge fan of Mike's, I love my Dragons, no doubt. That said, I understand the reservations voiced here, but there has been plenty of empty bullshit opinions spewed about under the guise of constructive. It hasn't been til ToyBoy (or whatever) threw a tanty that anyone said anything of any worth.

Regardless - we all can sit at the edge of our seats waiting for this, masked or not, or not be fussed. I reckon Mike will pull out something I like, but I am biased.
equally, there's a chance I wont like it, it is a fence sitting piece, at the moment, I'm hopeful.

Meanwhile, I'll go back to quietly disliking several things that lovingly cure so many here.

I think my drug-out explanations of WHAT makes it Spencers-ish was constructive, I wrote like 4 paragraphs on it!