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Steampunk Guns: Cosplay Fire Power
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 24, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Designed by neoelegance these two steampunk prop guns are available on Etsy. Shown above is the DG-4450 Blaster and below is the Subsonic Immolator. Both weapons are issued to officers on airships in Her Majesty’s Royal Zeppelin Corps and are useful for defending against sky pirates. Read more… Meito Air in Choco: Strawberry Fish Forever!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 23, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Being a vegetarian I had seconds thoughts before buying this fish shaped snack treat (called Meito Air in Choco), but the strawberry flavor theme intrigued me no end. The faux fish is very similar to a light weight wafer cookie and the guts of the fish had a creamy light filling. Although one side of faux fish was slightly damaged I managed to get a good scan of the flip side: Read more… Shigekikkusu: Super Sour and Sweet Gummy Candy
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 22, 2009 in Design, Hobbies and Collections
At my local Korean food mart I came across these devastatingly sour and sweet candies from Japan called Shigekikkusu (シゲキックス) which are produced by UHA Mikakuto. I picked up two flavors, the first (shown above) was soda flavored and the second was cola flavored (shown below). The candies were small but packed a punch — the outside was coated with a light dusting of super sour dust, after a few seconds this wears off and you can taste the very sweet inside of of jelly like candy. Read more… Japanese Animal Crackers: Learning English with Flavor
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 20, 2009 in Design, Hobbies and Collections
Recently I was wandering through a Korean food mart and I came across this very cute package design for Japanese animal crackers: Aside from the captivating colorful characters the first thing that blew me away was that the crackers are actually teaching kids to understand English, not Japanese! I started to suspect that this was something just done for the American market, but the package actually comes from Japan (produced by Ginbis). The back of the box even had a cute mini-dictionary of animal names (my favorite touch are the cartoons of each creature next to the name): Read more… Tentai Senshi Sunred’s Cyborg Bunny Wuvs You!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 20, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Every character in the Nendoroid series of action figures always picks up that extra bit of moe that makes you want to take it home and adopt it: And in this case this Usakottsu cyborg bunny looks as cute as can be! Our demon clawed rabbit friend is from the light comedy anime series Tentai Senshi Sunred (天体戦士サンレッド). Usakottsu is available from entertainmentearth.com and sports interchangeable parts including demon claws. Here are the opening titles from Tentai Senshi Sunred although sadly our cyborg bunny friend isn’t in them: Read more… Blingvaders: Street Cred for Fanboys
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 14, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames
Nothing says 80s more than oversized hip hop jewelry — of course if you want to take it to the next step having your bling as a homage to Reagan era videogames will give you that nice extra touch of bling! And that’s where Blingvaders comes in: They’re oversized jewelry based based on the sprites from Space Invaders: Read more… To Boldly Go Where No Kokeshi Doll Has Gone Before
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 5, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Trek
Kokeshi are traditional Japanese wooden dolls, and in this case artist Craig Galentine has given us his Star Trek twist on this beloved toy. Both Captain Kirk and Spock are available for your further perusal on Etsy along with Galentine’s other amazing goodies. Read more… The Eagles are Back! The Spacecraft not the Rock Band…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 4, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Television
 Nick Tate as Captain Alan Carter As a child of the 70s I loved the Eagles — no not the infamous rock band (although I do like the Twilight Zone plot to Hotel California) but the de-facto spaceship from Space:1999. The focus of the show was Moonbase Alpha of course, but the Eagle was the real workhorse of the show. Unlike Star Trek the poor Alphans didn’t have any transporter technology so the Eagle was vital for everything from visiting planets to moving about radioactive waste material. The industrial design of the craft was nothing short of brilliant a the mid-section could be swapped for modules that transported people or radioactive waste containers. Even better yet the head of the craft could be separated in case of emergencies. Read more… How to Get that Haruhi Hairstyle
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 3, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
You go to anime con after anime con and you always see the same thing: Many cosplay artists try so hard to pull off the Suzumiya Haruhi look and so many fail. The sailor outfit part is pretty easy, but the secret to Haruhi success is that her hair has to look just right with the bow perfectly in place. By the way bows are a hard fashion accessory to pull off, the last time I saw it done well was when Madonna was doing it in the mid-80s. But fret not! As of August of this year for a small budget anybody can now purchase an authentic Suzumiya Haruhi Cosplay Wig for about $30. Transformers: More to This Mouse Than Meets the Eye
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 2, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
As a geek from the 80s I take it as my personal vindication that the Care Bears aren’t enjoying the resurgence that’s being seen with Transformers right now (of course a major Hollywood film didn’t hurt either). This Trypticon Transforming Laser Mouse is made by Takara and available for pre-order at bigbadtoystore. This USB mouse works with both Windows and Mac, but frankly my bet is that if you’re a real fanboy (or fangurl) that you won’t want to take it out of the packaging for fear of ruining the collectibility value. Read more… Full Metal Alchemist Coin Bank: For Penny Pinching Anime Fans
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 24, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
What makes this pair of Full Metal Alchemist Coin Banks so interesting is that when you put a coin in, it will trigger a cute low resolution digital animation on the front panel. One coin bank features Edward Elric while the other is themed with Roy Mustang. Here’s a full description: Read more… The Transformers: More USB Than Meets the Eye
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 19, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
This nifty looking Transforming USB Flash Memory Device is due to come out in September. Designed by Takara this robot lion will hold 2 gigs of your digital files including your collection of screenshots from the original 80s cartoon. Read more… With This iPhone You Won’t Get Your Fingerprints on the Screen
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 15, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
From Spain comes this amazing hand made felt iPhone. This bit of craftwork seems to be a one-of-a-kind object, but as with most gems that you find on Etsy if you see something that’s sold out you can always ask if the artist might create a similar piece on commission. What makes this iPhone work so well to me is that the artist went the extra mile to sew together every little icon on the screen, I just love those geeky details: Read more… The Alien Action Figure in Action
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 10, 2009 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections
I won’t give away my age but at the time I couldn’t see Alien because i was an R rated movie and i was too young — so what funny about this commercial was that they had a toy for the film which was clearly aimed a kids. It should be noted that a bit after the film came out that it was very popular in the early days of cable television, along with other R rated science fiction films I discovered from that era like Mad Max and the Warriors. Read more… Mickey Mouse as Tron
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 9, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Taking him into the maze! Of course being a mouse playing a maze game is second nature when you kit bash Mickey Mouse and Tron. This Tron Mickey Mouse Vinyl Collectible Doll is available for preorder at National Console Support, here’s their description: Read more… Playing Hookey with Kidrobot
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 7, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
As I’m lucky to love what I do for a living I don’t often get a chance to cut out of work early, but yesterday I was feeling pretty dead so I made an early exit from my studio. I’m also lucky as my office is just a few blocks north of SoHo here in NYC, so taking advantage of the daylight I made a stop at Kidrobot which is located at 118 Prince Street to have a look around. On the off chance you don’t know it Kidrobot is THE store in NYC to see urban toys, it’s a small shop but what it lacks in scale it makes up for in spirit (in fact i always feel inspired after visiting the place). Here’s a glimpse of this designer toy oasis: Read more… A Rube Goldberg by Any Other Name…
In this article New York based artists Nick Kent gives us a riveting world tour of all things Rube Goldberg: I was browsing Japanese DVDs at a bookstore the other day when between the anime and live concert discs I spotted strange wooden contraptions on the covers of a pair of DVDs. This Mystic Seer Predicts a Lack of Royalties for Bill Shatner
Poor William Shatner! He creates the character of Captain Kirk and doesn’t even get a damn cameo in the upcoming Star Trek film which will no doubt generate millions of dollars worth of merchandise. But if that isn’t enough now they’re cashing in on his Twilight Zone work as well! Shown above is the Twilight Zone Mystic Seer Bobble Head which is based on the classic 1960 Twilight Zone episode Nick of Time which featured a ‘mystic seer’ fortune-telling device. The episode opens with this stunning narration by Rod Serling: Read more… Well Blow Me Down: A Popeye Shipwreck Game!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2009 in Comic Books, Hobbies and Collections
While walking to work every so often I’ll pass an antique store which is on the corner of Houston and Elizabeth Street — this week I came across an amazing find: A framed vintage 1933 Popeye the Sailor Shipwreck Game published by Funland Books and Games. I only had my iPhone camera on me so the detail in these shots is limited, but the artwork looked just amazing (click to see at full size): Read more… Adorable Aliens Up for Adoption
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 16, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Speck and Spock is a conjoined alien created by Lindsey Banker — I really love the sense of humor in her work, I’d love to see these creatures turned into puppets. Her store on Etsy is called Adopt An Alien, and each of Lindsey’s critters comes with a birth certificate: Read more… Star Wars Kokeshi Dolls
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 14, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars
These Star Wars Kokeshi dolls touched my heart as they perfectly combine the timelessness of Star Wars with the charm of Japanese craftsmanship. For those of you not in the know Kokeshi are traditional dolls from northern Japan — what makes them unique is that they’re made out of wood and always lack arms or legs, and they’re always hand painted. The artist behind these cute goodies is Muluc whose store on Etsy is called temple7e. Shown above is Princess Leia and below is Han Solo: Read more… Found on Ebay: A Collection of Freaks, Celebrities and Conceptual Art
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 13, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections
Found on Ebay is a delicious collection of “freaks, celebrities, conceptual art, and high concept sellers. plus stuff I was too cheap to buy!” curated by digital archivist olga-saglo. This kitsch themed virtual museum has informal focus on femme icons from the 60s and 70s and what’s interesting is that through dolls you can see how the idea of role model changed in just two decades: Read more… Animation Serigraph Cels are Dishonest at Best (and at Worst a Fraud)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 8, 2009 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Being an animation fan from time-to-time I’ll see an ad for a “serigraph cel” from a favorite animated film or TV show. As most fans of animation know old school cartoons were made with hand painted animation cels — which is a piece of acetate inked on one side and with the color painted on the opposite side. These animation cels are always punched so they can be registered, and it takes a mind numbing number of these to make an animated film which is shot at 24 frames per second (although most animation is done by limiting this 12 cels per second or less which is known as “shooting in twos”). Read more… Crocheted Cthulhu Cap is Too Cute!
No self respecting fangurl can be seen at the Mountains of Madness without the proper millinery and this 100% original crochet toque designed by Lesley A. Karpiuk does just the trick! With handmade tentacles and wings soft worsted weight yarn mere mortals will fear your every move. Frankly zombies are so last year — real fashion forward folks in-the-know know that Cthulhu is set for a huge comeback this season… Read more… |
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