TTC Beard
Ok better late than never, right? The TTC Beard’s ‘Rock Out with his Cock Out’ 2016 Review is now up & ready. Most of which may be written under the influence of alcohol, over the course of three weeks. I stand by EVERYTHING I’ve written though. Anyways, it is often portrayed that 2016 was a shit year. In some ways they are correct. That isn’t, however, the case in the Designer Toy world. Nope. If you take a step back for a second, and look at ALLLLL the awesome releases over the course of two thousand and sixteen you’ll see that it was indeed a great year for Designer Toys, and the artists & collectors within this community we all love. The TTC Beard, aka G @ the TTC, takes a look back at the releases over the course of the past 12 months…
January
It’s hard to believe that 12 months have passed since the first release of Jon-Paul Kaiser’s The Woodsman. JPK worked with Evan Morgan to create a resin series of workmen throughout 2016, but The Woodsman was up first. The Woodsman with his grisly beard and awesome axe, he was always going to find a home at TTC HQ.
Other highlights in January 2016 included the Estrella Amado AKA Beloved Star by RXSE7EN, which used the Kidrobot Dunny platform as a base but was waaaay so much more than that. RX really did an outstanding sculpting job on this release.
Production-wise we saw actual images & details released regarding the Bjornik Production Kidrobot Shah Mat Dunny Chess Set, as well as the Mishka x Kidrobot Dunny Series too. Both looked to be a great start to the year for Kidrobot.
Other Notable Releases in January 2016 that caught my eye (click on each image for their story)…
You can take a look at all the other posts from January 2016 HERE.
February
February brought us a breath of fresh air to the TTC ranks. We found our shining star. We found a friend, a brother for life. Pedro joined TTC at the end of February, and honestly he made 2016 an absolutely stellar year for us. Great to have him on board. Pedro is worth a million Nick Andrews. Honest & hard working. We love you, Pedro!
Anyways, in terms of releases, one of my favourite musical artists got captured in resin. Mr. Scroobius Pip was given the ‘bootleg’ style figure release by RYCA and we absolutely fucking loved this release. We missed the release, so don’t own our very own Pip. YET. He’s definitely on our grail list.
February also saw the launch of the much-loved Luna by The Bots x Urban Vinyl Daily via Kickstarter (spoiler alert: it got funded and is fucking fantastic! We reviewed it HERE with an interview with The Bots too. Go read!) Such a great production release, and a well run Kickstarter too. We actually own the Kickstarter Green Luna, and it sits by our desk. We love what these guys did with this figure.
Other Notable Releases in February 2016 that caught my eye (click on each image for their story)…
You can also check out all our TTC post from February 2016 HERE.
March
March saw the birth of something old, yet new from Kidrobot. Whilst the birth of the 5inch Dunny was teased earlier in 2016, the actual images of the Sekure D ‘Codename Unknown’ Dunny were released in March 2016. Some may think that the 5 inch Dunny is old news, but we at TTC loved this new lease of life in the Dunny format. Especially when it was giving new artists a chance at that Production Dunny grail. Artists such as Sekure D, Dolly Oblong and Twelve Dot have all seen their art transposed on the new 5inch Dunny during 2016. Long may this new platform continue.
As artists approach March they’ve got their eyes firmly on the prize. That prize is the UK’s only dedicated designer toy convention – ToyConUK. We’ll talk much more about ToyConUK during April, but one announcement The Toy Chronicle made during March was the appearance of Huck Gee on our booth during the ToyConUK weekend. A massive coup for TTC, and the UK too. Huck is one of the leading lights in the Designer Toy scene. Having him attend in the UK will hopefully open the door to other global artists descending on London during April for TCUK. Huck wasn’t coming empty handed either, we announced in March that Huck would be bringing a new colourway of his Skullhead Blank too. Pink! Yes, it did make the boys wink.
March also saw The Toy Chronicle introduce to you our new enamel pin. The TTC GLOWINTHEFREAKINGDARK Pin dropped early March, and if you missed the original release we happen to have the last few somewhere dotted around TTC HQ. If you’re interested in purchasing one before they’re gone forever, you should email [email protected] 🙂
Other notable releases in March 2016 can be found below. Click on the image to head to the story…
All the posts from March 2016 can be found on The Toy Chronicle HERE.
April
April is always the month where our eyes (and wallets) look to ToyConUK. 2016 was no different. TCUK 2016 was a huge success. Not just for all those lucky punters who purchased tickets, but for The Toy Chronicle. Not only did we have one huge star in Huck Gee signing on our booth, we also snuck in Nathan Hamill too for a signing sesh.
When you invite Huck Gee anyway, you always have to make sure he brings something special to the party, and Mr Gee did not disappoint. Oh no. Huck brought not one, not two BUT THREE different colourways of his Skullhead Blank to ToyConUK. The TTC Blue colourway was sold at a special ToyConUK afterparty in Bethnal Green, hosted by ourselves. Which by all accounts was a wild success. Free beer was drunk. TTC Huck Gee Blanks were bought and smiley faces were seen.
The Toy Chronicle were also instrumental in ensuring that each & every ticket holder at ToyConUK walked away with an extra special souvenir. We commissioned five artists that were attending TCUK to produce a laminate design given out when you entered ToyConUK. Massive thanks to RXSE7EN, ibreaktoys, Huck Gee, JPK and Hugh Rose for your efforts in make this endeavour a huge success. You can read our TTC Recap of ToyConUK 2016 HERE.
Other notable releases in April 2016 can be found below. Click on the image to head to the story…
You can read all the other posts from April on The Toy Chronicle HERE.
May
With a spring in our step, we are already in May, the sunshine has started to break through the clouds and we’ve built up a hunger. A hunger for something holy. As holy as Cheesus Crust! Cheesus Crust was the GLOW IN THE DARK release by Butch-o-Vision x Pizzaboyzzz and we couldn’t get enough of this almighty collaboration.
If Cheesus Crust didn’t fill a massive carb-hole in your life, my next highlight from May 2016 was Breadcat by Rato Kim. Bread and Cats! What’s not to love! This loveable resin Breadcats definitely caught the imagination of the Designer Toy community. Selling out on all occasions. With the upcoming Boxcat Custom Show in South Korea next week, there is no signs of the Boxcat craze slowing down.
Other notable but non-edible highlights during May 2016 included the following…
If you want to read what else went down in the TTC during May 2016, you can catch up HERE.
June
As we start slipping into the Summer months it’s time for something slightly different. Over the course of Early 2016, we start to see a different way for artists to communicate with their fans. Through the artform of podcasts. In June we saw the beginning of something beautiful. One of our close compadres, Rob Lumino began working on a new podcast with ChrisRWK (Robots Will Kill) as part of the Blind Box Network. With some great guests over the past seven months, Rob & Chris gave us joy when they started For the Masses Podcast. You should defo check it out HERE.
When we weren’t spending our time listening to Rob & ChrisRWK, we were grail hunting. You’ve probably been there. Everyone has that one grail piece that they hope they get their hands on at some point in their lives. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes not so much. However, June 2016 saw something great happen. I’d got wind of a new release by Coarse Toys in May as part of Thailand Toy Expo, but June confirmed our suspicions. Coarse were bringing a new False Friends release to the market, and not only that but this will be the False Friends Re-Ignited! Many Coarse fans rejoiced. The Coarse False Friends are some of the most sought after Coarse pieces. You’re looking at crazy $$$ to get your hands on the False Friends Blackout edition, for example. So with Coarse announcing a limited run (123) of their False Friends Re-Ignited Monochrome edition, we pounced on our chance to own a special piece of Coarse history.
Other notable releases in June 2016 included… (click on the image for the full story)
You can read all the posts from June 2016 on The Toy Chronicle HERE.
July
Whilst the nights were long in July, The Toy Chronicle only longed for the dark. So dark that our new ‘Boy Soldier’ Toy by Schoony would light up our lives. They did just that. We’ve been a long time fan of Schoony, so was excited to see that he was moving into the Designer Toy world with his Boy Soldier release. If you missed out, our friends Tenacious Toys have them available HERE for $35/£29 (we also have a Tenacious Toys discount code that you can find on our Discount Codes page HERE).
July also saw Huck Gee grow his Skullhead Blank army. Huck introduced us to the 15inch Blank in neon-green.
Other notable releases in July 2016 included… (click on the image for the full story)
You can also take a look at all the July 2016 posts HERE.
August
August got The Toy Chronicle. Ok, plenty of awesome releases which we’ll cover shortly, but Clutter Magazine announced the Five Points Festival to take place in May 2017. The Five Points Festival is a collision of toys, comics, and counterculture curated by Clutter Magazine and presented by Midtown Comics. A designer toy and comic convention in New York’s Lower East Side, Five Points is two days and nights of comic artists and writers, vinyl and plastic toys, original art, resin, plush, blind boxes, graphic novels, indie comics, blanks, minis, kaiju, Japanese vinyl, posters, prints, apparel, food trucks, and craft breweries – capped off by the 2017 Designer Toy Awards. Yup, you read that right! The 2017 DTA will take place in May, rather than at NYCC in October. TTC will be in attendance at Five Points Fest. What more could we hope for – Designer Toys, Craft Beers and the DTA show! Hopefully see you there! You can buy tickets HERE if you are interested in attending.
It wasn’t all about new Designer Toy conventions being announced in August, oh no! If we ever did wear socks, they would have been truly blown off by the new release from Colus. Colus announced Jumper in Mid-August and our jaws hit the floor when we saw this wood/resin sculpture. The design & finish of Jumper is true beauty. Colus knocked it out of the park! Home run!
Other things that caught my attention in August 2016…
If you’re interested to see what else The Toy Chronicle posted in August, well HERE is your chance!
September
In September we huffed, and puffed but we couldn’t blow the house down. Lisa Rae ‘ibreaktoys’ Hansen could, though. In preparation for NYCC next month, Lisa Rae took on the Yoii x Wetworks Kidzilla figure with her Wolf custom. Wolf was part of the Martian Toys Kidzilla custom show at New York Comic Con. An excellent custom piece from Lisa! We love the simplicity of the Wolf design. Lisa done good.
September is all about NYCC preparation. That was the case for RXSE7EN too when he showed us details of Frail & Desolate. A new resin sculpture from RX that was finished off and sold at NYCC in early October. A solid sculpture from RX. Huge success during NYCC on the Martian Toys booth! Great to see.
There were other releases that were great in September 2016,
September had a huge amount of posts, with NYCC approaching. Read them all HERE.
October
October saw a release announced that definitely piqued the interest of the Designer Toy community. KAWS revealed that he would be working with Medicom to release an Open Edition of his very popular Companion figures. Open Edition meaning that there was no limit to the number to be made. We’ve seen since October several releases and each release you can see the clamour for these figures. Rightly so. They’re a fantastic design. It has somewhat divided the KAWS community. But having the ability for KAWS and Designer Toy fans to be able to get their hands on this iconic figure without having to drop serious $$$ is a win in our book. Only problem we have seen is the amount of folks trying to flip this Open Edition Companion. Come on guys, we know it’s part & parcel of this game we play but knock it off. Fuck flippers.
As we mentioned in my September review, NYCC took place in October and it was another opportunity for The Toy Chronicle to hit up the east coast of the US and see all our beautiful friends in NYC. One of our highlights of the weekend was meeting up with the kind soul that is Kevin Nam AKA Inami Toys! We absolutely love Kevin’s Tumble Tops. Was great to see these in action at the myplasticheart NYCC booth. It was even better to grab some time to chat with Kevin – we had an interview with Inami Toys HERE. Worth a read. In October Inami Toys dropped their halloween colourways of Tumble Tops!
October was a fun month, but I’ve picked four other releases that captured my heart…
Yeah so October was written all about HERE on TTC. With NYCC releases and upcoming DCon releases, it’s always worth a recap!
November
As most of the Designer Toy world had their eyes & wallets zoned in on DCon, we actually had our eyes already on 2017 with the reveal of the JPK designs of the upcoming Arcane Divination Kidrobot x J*RYU Dunny series. This awesome multi-artist series is going to drop later this Spring and we cannot fucking wait. So far the pictures/vectors/teases have been nothing sort of sensational. Having JPK part of this Arcane Divination series is beautiful. Looking at the three JPK designs, we know we are in for something truly special when this series drops. Hold on tight!
November saw The Toy Chronicle expand in to a new section – The GID Chronicle – and we kicked off The GID Chronicle series with a look at some glow-in-the-dark Kidrobot releases from past & present to see how well they glow. We’ve since had a Part Two of The GID Chronicle, and Part Three is in the works. It’s fair to say that I love my GID. So having the ability to look at glow-in-the-dark releases, is something special to me. GID resin releases are under the GID microscope in Part Three, so keep you eyes on TTC for this. If you want to check out the past two parts of The GID Chronicle, you can do so HERE.
What else caught my attention in November, well here are four that defo did…
November still a ton of other posts that deserve your attention, you can read them all HERE.
December
Ok, the final month of 2016 is upon us. So what happened in December 2016 you ask. I’ll tell you. It was a damn busy month, considering it was the Christmas month. Lots of strong finishes to the year. Which is always great to see. Set up 2017 well. Kidrobot did just that with the newly announced multi-artists Dunny series with The Designer Toy Awards – The Dunny Show! It’s so great to see artists get their first production Dunny in this series! Can’t wait to see what 2017 brings with this series. Congrats to DTA and Kidrobot for going ahead with this one!
Remember back in the February chapter when I talked about the Luna release from The Bots x UVD? Well in December we received our Kickstarter backed Luna! We were so thrilled! Luna was pretty awesome, we wrote some nice words about Luna HERE. Go check it out.
Another tease for 2017 appeared in December, with the reveal that Playsometoys will be releasing Macinbot in March. A classic take on the Apple Mac from back in the day! We can’t wait to see Macinbot in the next couple of months. Anything Apple related is going to tick my boxes!
As I said, December was a pretty decent month when you look back at all the awesome releases and news pieces. I’ve included a few posts that definitely got me excited!
The rest of the December posts can be found HERE. Defo go check them out. December was a good month!
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed my review of 2016. It was never easy to pick only a select few posts from 2016 that inspired me, as so many pieces this past year was great. In conclusion, whether you’re into Vinyl, Resin, Sofubi, Plush there have been hundreds (if not thousands) of awesome releases this year. TTC wrote over 2600 posts during the 12 months of 2016. Each one is written with love (as well as hope that a million eyes will read it). It’s not always a million eyes, it’s not always a thousand eyes but we know that even if one new set of eyes takes a secondary glance at a new (or established) artists then our job here is good. For us personally, it was always going to be difficult to beat 2015. Winning a DTA award was pretty special. Yet despite no award in 2016, we truly believe that 2016 was an incredible year for The Toy Chronicle – probably more so than 2015. The volume of traffic has grown 55% since 31/12/2015. The number of unique visitors to TTC has grown 98% too. We’ve increased our Social Media presence through hard work and a great message. We’ll continue to grow & build The Toy Chronicle in 2017 too. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Designer Toy world. We have great hopes & expectations based on the sneak peeks we’ve seen at the back end of 2016. We say a fond farewell to 2016, and say a massive ‘Ello to 2017! Lets kick 2017 in the nuts and see what it fights back with!
Viva la TTC!
xx
