There is a GLOWIE???
WOOT!

Hmmm. I hear ya on the NagNagNag thread Sanjeev. Plenty of hype and too much exclusivity there for me. But I can also see the side where the guy paints all the figs himself and maybe can't handle more than small runs of 13 or so. I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

But somewhat back on topic... I feel dumb for not realizing that Puppet Seijin could "wear" all those different puppets. Just saw it on Redyoda's blog. Now, must find one.

Haha....sorry, Linda! I mean, I wish there were a glowie! And believe me, I'm wishing REAL hard!

melek, you raise a question I've had for the longest time regarding run sizes: why is it that NagNagNag (or many other "benign" toy makers like Anraku) figures are made so fucking few at a time? I mean, I realize M1, Marusan, and Marmit are "bigger" companies...but they're still just a handful of people. It's still usually just Shimizu-san casting the parts and it's still just Goto-san spraying them.

Is it really so different for designer vinyl makers? I mean, they don't even have to contend with licensing. Artificial scarcity, anyone?

I think some of that depends on the painter. Both examples you mention hand paint all their own stuff. Lots do, some use 'factory' painters. What 1 guy can deal w/painting another may not. 1 person may be cool to run down 50 another 25 and some 10.

Oh, also some of these dudes this IS their career. Others it's not, it's a side deal. They may just be getting done what they can and still lead their normal lives. Lots of different factors. Not like they make a ton of $. They're not the flippers (except for Bemon I guess, who flips 1-2 of the run straight up.)

I'm not at all saying the hype or whatever is condoned. I'm just saying I understand why 1 toy maker would just feel like/could do 10 vs. another making 50-100. I don't paint toys though so I dunno about all this, just saying what I think about it.

All I'm going to say is M1 reissues a lot of old Bullmark molds and I love em'! I guess you could make a case that Bullmark never really made that many GID figures and Yuji does a spectacular job painting them.....

A little surprised there's no chatter about the brown vinyl Tonneran that Nari has up for order right now. Not lottery, filling as many orders as he gets from what I understand. About a week left to get your order in.

I just don't like the brown vinyl.

^ I kept thinking someone else would post about them, so I didn't (lazy!)

i'm too tight on $ to go for it. I think I'd get down on the black w/ blue spray one if I could swing it. I really wish he painted the road a darkish grey color on them though. If he did, I'd probably go for the green spray one if I could. I think the others (yellow & green) are kind of plain, but I do like the green.

really looking forward to the made-to-order Puppet Seijin shipping out next month.

the brown tonn w/"red-black" spray is freakin fantastic. Definitely ties with the glitter for best release. I'm having a hard time holding off on it, even though I don't even have the glitter in hand yet!

oh man, that clear is purdy

great pics! I am so happy finally having this guy in hand. Although I think there are some shortcomings to the sculpt (mainly that from the back it has no points of interest), it is a really great piece, and the glitter goes perfectly with the bright sprays.

King Smog!

always amazing concept art. really dig the smoke stacks & classic eyes.

*more on the blog

does that mean we might get two new sculpts in the next six months!?! hope so.

I like the updated version a lot more. love his drawings.

What a wonderfully awkward pose! I just hope one of the smog hands will be a claw. I like how all of Nari's standard size figure can hold Dokuro Tarou or one of the minis.

The new monster looks great. I assume we'll get a claw, since interactivity seems to be a staple trend on the big figures. I scratched up the paint on my Dokuro Taro fighting the Tunneler, though

At least it was in good fun. I ignored all the diagrams and warnings about using a hairdryer to remove his helmet, and it split up the back. Doh!

I hope we see more of the Dokuro dudes. I need one.

I love this King Smog! The Smog body coming out of smokestack/factory feet is brilliant and the face is perfect. I really hope the pose stays the same too when this guy is translated to vinyl; the pose seems to reflect the smoke nature of the smog. Hope to see this in vinyl soon. I'd definitely pick this up.

My mto Puppet Seijin arrived today!
Guess which spray version I got?!?

I also received a Flesh unpainted Ghali Ben, with separate bag/header... anybody know what this is about; maybe some "leftover" vinyl? I'll post pics soon.

Oooh yeah! King Smog will make an awesome vinyl.
Please keep the head leaning to the side.

I dunno how I feel about the claws on the feet...my initial impression is that I don't like the legs, but I think it might just be the claws. The rest of the drawing is great though! And I could see it's right arm having a "smoke-claw" where it's sculpted to still look like smoke, but it has the ability to hold things...kinda looks like a "thumb" is there in the drawing.
Also, might like to see the tail get chopped from the figure...tails make things so difficult to display with other toys.

When you put the old Smog King next to the new one, the improvements really stand out. For one thing, the new guy has less of a puppy face and more of a pained, disturbed look. Awesome! The newer version has much more of a cloud texture all over, instead of the oil drips crawling up the body. I like the simplification of the texture to get across that this guy is made of smokestack exhaust. However, I also like the odd detail on the chest of the new guy. Hope that appears in the sculpt. I agree that the foot claws could go and I wouldn't miss them.

Very cool!