Madelon
Time flies by when you’re having fun and ToyCon UK was definitely over before I knew it! Thankfully I took plenty of photos to show you all the wonderful artists and designer toy shops that were at ToyCon UK 2022. So make yourself comfortable and enjoy the ride because there are a lot of great designer toys to check out.
Mike Strick
After working at a natural history museum and learning all about dinosaurs, it was hard not to like the huge Triceratops at Mike Strick‘s booth. There were a lot of cool details to be discovered and although it seems quite the challenge, I would love to grab my Triceratops instead of my bike to get around. A girl can dream right?
Besides my favourite dinosaur, you could also get your hands on several pop culture icons like Captain America, another very cool big piece with great colours and an amazing shield, or smaller figures like Frodocop, Vyv, Neal, Rick and Mick. Don’t forget to check out The Wicked man either; a new piece that Mike worked on and was available at ToyCon UK.
Doktor A
Over the years more and more Mechtorians have seen the light in all kinds of sizes, shapes and materials. Thankfully there were a bunch of new Mechtorians ready to be picked up at ToyCon UK, because Doktor A‘s customs are amazing.
Some of my favourites were the custom Dunnys. I found The Futurist especially cool and I also really liked Sherman Smoothbore. Fire in the hole! There’s no denying that the other customs, including Trikkys and Jankys like The Connoisseur and Le Gastronaute, looked great too.
If you weren’t after a custom Mechtorian, you still had plenty of amazing toys and 2D options to choose from. My personal favourite was a sofubi Thomas Nosuke with an inner mechanism that lights up its brain when you shake it, but there was a great assortment of other toys and prints as well.
Okkle
Something I always enjoy about the work of Okkle, is the colourfulness and cuteness of all the characters. This year was the first time you could get your hands on a Candle Goblin and I thought they were adorable. The little candles on top of their heads are a really great touch.
Of course there were many other cute characters to be found at Okkle’s booth including Runts, Gobs and other cool creatures with fun names. I also liked the ceramic pieces a lot. It’s not a type of material you come across often in the designer toy world, but it works really well with Okkle’s work. Though size doesn’t matter, obviously, I do like the big ceramic character the most. Look at those puffy cheeks!
Sunguts
One of the fun things of ToyCon UK, is that there are amazing artists from all over the world showing their work. Sunguts was one of the international exhibitors and I was very happy to see him again. I absolutely love being able to meet artists from different countries and get to know their art.
My favourite piece from Sunguts this year was a gorgeous red and black shark. I normally collect cute designer toys, but every now and then a slightly less cute piece really stands out to me. Megalodon simply has amazing details, the colours pop and I really like his scales and overall shape.
Besides this rough and tough shark, Sunguts brought many more cool designer toys to ToyCon UK this year. How about these wonderful Ancient Girls, Shark Boy Friends, Kaiju and Building Boys, or Kannon, a beautiful blue Buddha inspired piece? Whether you liked big or small(er), colourful or less boldly coloured designer toys, Sunguts had it all.
Ko-Re Ko-Re
Another booth with a great range of designer toys was Ko-Re Ko-Re. I guess I’m into sea creatures at the moment because my favourite piece from Ko-Re Ko-Re was this beautiful pink squid whose name apparently is Chef Squidiano. Well Mr. Squidiano, you’ve got style!
Another favourite of mine was a lovely cream coloured version of Morris (hiding in the back) by Hinatique with flowers inside. It’s super pretty! Ko-Re Ko-Re also had a lot of other designer toys from artists I didn’t know yet so I still learn something new while trying not to buy everything I see.
Unbox Industries
Unbox Industries makes a lot of cool designer toys. With the current summer heat, I’m not sure being a frosty Rhino Beetle is an advantage or a disadvantage though!
Besides this cool yet cute frosty friend, there were quite a few more creepy looking fellows at the Unbox Industries booth as well including the frostbite version of Suffer. If you like something in between, Unbox had you covered too with designer toys like Bad Meaw Puck and Slimer. With a great mix of different styles, I think every collector can find a piece they love at Unbox Industries. Looking forward to seeing more exclusive pieces next year!
Mister Mistry Custom Art
If you like toys that glow, Mister Mistry‘s booth was the place to be! With graffity spray cans featuring all kinds of well known characters that light up under UV light and a large vinyl Pikachu lamp with custom mandala details, Mister Mistry brought some dazzling designer toys.
Besides fun pieces to display, Mister Mistry also had a wide range of wearable art available. The colours really popped and it was fun to browse through all the different designs. While I don’t often buy clothing, it can be a great way to support artists so don’t forget to add a lovely piece of wearable art to your collection every now and then.
Original Rezinz
Head of Kett was one of the characters Original Rezinz brought to life and was available at ToyCon UK 2022. Created by an ancient clan, this super advanced exoskeleton only requires the sacrifice of one’s body and soul. No biggie, right?
I always enjoy a good background story so it was great to hear more about the Head of Kett from Original Rezinz. Perhaps there will be more things to learn about the Head of Kett universe next year?
Besides our green friends, Original Rezinz brought several cool Power Ranger pieces. Dragonzord and Lord Drakkon were my favourites. They took me back to the good ol’ days and that’s what I love about artists, they always manage to put a smile on my face.
Muffinman
Muffinman was one of the artists for whom people started queing at an ungodly hour this year. To be fair, there is no surprise there because Muffinman’s work always looks amazing and if you were able to visit his booth at ToyCon UK this year you had a good chance to add a one-off to your collection. Thankfully I was able to take some photos before all the birds left their nest.
There were a lot of colourful Robins, Jays and a few Jumbos, Ungummy Bears and some other rare pieces to be found. The red glitter pieces were among my favourites, but then again, I liked all the glittery goodness.
If you prefered some darker pieces, there was a nice selection of black Odd Ones as well. Can’t wait to see the next flock!
PJ Constable
The amount of details PJ Constable puts in his work is insane and he definitely brought some of his best work to ToyCon UK again. If you like beautiful, colourful custom designer toys, you had plenty of amazing options to choose from.
My favourite was the custom Young Jay, a truly gorgeous kingfisher with several sculpted additions including his beak and pretty flower crown. But the kingfisher wasn’t the only great piece. I thought Mammoss was absolutely adorable and the other creatures from PJ Constable’s world looked fantastic too.
PJ Constable brought a cute frog family as well and if you wanted to give customising a try, you could also grab yourself a DIY. Having said that, I don’t think my frogs would look this good!
Did you spot all these artists and their amazing art at ToyCon 2022? Some things sold out quickly so it wasn’t easy to add them to your collection or for me to get photos of them all haha. But I’m glad I can share all these wonderful designer toys with you this way. I’m not done sharing yet though, so keep your eyes out for more ToyCon UK blogs.
Don’t forget to like, comment on and share this blog so we can spread some designer toy love!
Check out my other ToyCon UK blog here: I.
