I saw this on one of his 2009 flickr pics. It's from is studio.
I enlarged it to the max but lost some focus.
Can you figure out what those blanks are ? The cat is ferg's.

Uh,oh. Anybody want to do a quick betting pool as to when the "Opera stars" pop up?!

Sarumon?

Sure looks like it. I have my doubts tho as to this or Frank showing up here.

sure would like Kozik back. Hell, I want all the OG members back. I miss some of them.

I'd certainly be curious to see what he does with as straightforward of a kaiju figure as the Sarumon. I don't know how well his paint style lends itself to all of the texture on the big guy, but I'm still interested in seeing what happens.

Someone should just call Frank and ask him if you are curious. Since those Sarumon are white, I'm betting they were suposed to be part of the custom lucky bag set. And don't worry: if Frank cannot paint them then Hiro or someone else will, if this has not happened already.

I saw a "toys are stupid" and "the future is stupid" tshirts today on a clothing site.
I didn't realize he was considered to have left the "scene."
Guess this is the opera.

He left the skullbrain scene where he was one of the first. I don't think he left the Western vinyl scene. I stopped in at the Kidorbot store on Haight Street a couple weeks ago and my 9-year-old son begged me to buy one of his Labbit plushes with a functional a-hole. So he is around.

He learned alot after his painting mishap with the glow zags in 2006. I am sure if he paints these the work will be excellent, although his theme may not suit everyone. Blood splattered Sarumon with an anarchy symbol? Who knows. . .

I think he's pretty much active on both scenes. I seem to recall reading somewhere that allot of the small run customs goes to his subscribers. I'm really curious to see how the Sarumons turn out weather it's Frank or Hiro behind the Iwatas.

I always thought he did a pretty good job on these...




images from toybot studios

not to be an ass or anything, but did he actually paint those himself, or did he "direct" the paint?

They are quite cool, regardless. Thanks for the heads-up, Plastichunter!

+1, thank you Connell and Kirkland for the wonderfull pics. I only wish Frank did a custom run of the standard Marmit Baruzasu instead of the big fiberglass Bigazz--->(too big and expensive fo me)

I asked Frank about the Sarumon and he said that the project didn't work out.

^ Thanks for the info. It's just to bad he won't do them.
I'm positive that they would have turned out better that
DYBBUKIM's Spooky Parade unlucky bag !

They look like the same vinyl as the ones for the sarumun custom show. These were probably intended for that.

Be nice to have Frank back. It was great to have the insight of a professional artist making a living. Honestly I'd just be happy to get rid of the two or three self professed haters we have so when a new artist shows up they're not immediately driven off by one of our talentless hater hacks. Hey where'd this soapbox come from??

I think Frank imposed his own exile after he screwed over people here and bragged about how much easy cash he was making from the "kaiju" toys over on gig posters.

I love the hater hacks. But I like toys and don't want art.

I don't want it to sound like I was championing some of the stuff that went down w/ Frank. There's two sides to every story there and I've only heard one, but I know he offered money back for the longest time. I take issue w/ new artists dropping on the board for the first time only to be attacked. But hey it's status qua around here and you don't need artists to make toys right? Any hack can make a toy right? Funny but the few Japanese toy dudes I've been fortunate to meet consider themselves artists. Yeah art sucks! What was I thinking.

I see two different responses to "artists" on this board, and I will let that term be interpreted very broadly. There are people who are part of the community who then make things or paint things etc. Then there are people who just want to use this board to promote their stuff without any other reason to be here. I personally don't see the need to have the second people around.

But then there are people that will use any thread to self promote themselves anyway so...

Whatever the second side is bad business seems to follow frank around...

I find myself nodding as I read audio's posts these days...I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I don't think he's wrong. I've seen the cash posts by Kozik even if I wasn't around way back then, but that attitude is shitty (and while, like I said, I only know about Kozik from hearsay, there are definitely other people with that attitude).

@ Opera stars = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hUy9ePyo6Q

No, I'm not telling you to be silent.(although god knows it would be heaven). but instead remember that there can be no Simon & Garfunkel without,,,,,, Art

I'm nodding along with Lee's sarcasm. With regard to Frank (and I wasn't here way back when whatever happened happened), it's not like he's trying to camouflage that he's looking to make cash and art. Seems worse to me if the person is pretending to be conversational and is really looking to sell stuff. Frank's pretty out in the open, right?

I like all the comments that are prefaced by, "Well I wasn't here when that happened, but I'm going to give my two cents anyway."

The only artists that get blasted over here are the ones that show up out of the blue with dollar signs in their eyes. What exactly is wrong with that? I don't come here looking for advertisements (unless they are for Super7).