Clutter Magazine - Issue 21: Lost in Space

LOVE TOYS, LOVE CLUTTER

CLUTTERMAGAZINE.COM

SUMMER 2014

ISSUE 21

Clutter 19 | 1

6 | Clutter 19

WELCOME... to the 21st installment of Clutter Magazine. As always, thanks for reading!, While putting together this issue, H.R. Giger sadly passed away. He had a huge impact on the art world as a whole, and I'm sure that each of you reading this will have some connection to his artwork. Whether you loved it or hated it, his iconic imagery is undeniably powerful and he will be missed.

21

On a positive note, we have heard some fantastic news of late: 3D Retro is about to open its doors as physical location, and none other than Mr. Frank Kozik is setting up to open his own storefront! Even more eye candy for us toy nerds!

Hurrah! We wish them both luck.

We hope you enjoy the content of this issue, and, as always, thanks to everyone involved in putting this issue together.

Peace, love & vinyl fumes, Miranda

IN THIS ISSUE:

MARK NAGATA: MAX TOY COMPANY

SCRIBE X 40 THREADS

10

A LITTLE STRANGER

16

MR CLEMENT

20

DMS

25

TIM CLARKE

40

JON-PAUL KAISER

45

30

PLUS: KESHI 101

50

SEKURE D

58

H. R. GIGER REMEMBERED

06

KIDROBOT PREVIEW

62

TEAM

CONTRIBUTORS

SUBMISSIONS

CONTACT

Miranda O’Brien Editor-in-Chief miranda@cluttermagazine.com

Niall Anderson Contributor man-e-toys.com

Send review samples, toys, DVDs, etc. to:

info@cluttermagazine.com

Josh Kimberg Managing Editor josh@cluttermagazine.com

Marc DeAngelis Contributor marc.deangelis@gmail.com

@cluttermagazine

Nick Curtis Associate Editor nickcurtis@cluttermagazine.com

Barbara Pavone Contributor Twitter : @ThePavoneReport

Clutter Media Group, 163 Main St, Beacon, NY, 12508 USA.

Nick Carroll Art Director nick@cluttermagazine.com

Steve Strong Contributor steve@cluttermagazine.com

CREW

CONTRIBUTE

Jason Ryule Tech jason@tradeincool.com

We are always on the lookout for awesome new contributors and team members. To get involved please drop us a line at info@cluttermagazine.com with how and why you would like to be involved with what we do.

www.cluttermagazine.com

facebook.com/cluttermagazine (212) 255-2505 (Mon - Fri 10am - 6pm EST)

Lana Crooks Gallery Director lana@cluttergallery.com

LEGAL The content of the magazine (articles, reviews, advertising, features) reflect the opinions of the respective contributor, and not necessarily those of the publisher. All copyrights/rights to images (photographs, design) writing, and likeness are property of the respective owners, we assume no ownership. All other material is owned and copyrighted by Clutter Media Group and Trade in Cool. Nothing may be reproduced in part or whole without prior written consent from Clutter Media Group.

Printed in the USA.

Clutter 19 | 7

As this issue was being prepared for delivery to the printer, we received the sad news that Hans Rudolf Giger had passed away at the age of 74.

Born in 1940, the Swiss painter and sculptor best known as H. R. Giger had spent decades evolving his evocative 'biomechanical' vision, mainly comprised of airbrushed monochromatic works that some have described as "nightmarish dreamscapes." Many were introduced to this master artist's concepts through his design for the xenomorphic creature in the film Alien, though those willing to investigate further into Giger's curriculum vitae were rewarded with the breadth and uniqueness of his œuvre.

Giger died on May 12th, 2014 in a Zürich hospital of injuries sustained during a fall. What follows are a few words from those that were inspired by his pioneering artistic spirit, seeking their own voice while remaining influenced by his.

"So sad to hear of the passing of a truly unique voice in the world of art and design. H. R. Giger was a great influence on me and my work.

I purchased an airbrush when I was about 14 because of him. Early on, as I found my feet, I copied him outright, trying to understand how he did these things, these wonderful things, to try and grasp the beautiful, alien aesthetic that is repulsive and comforting at the same time. His influence can still be seen in my work here and there, if you look close. It will be a long time until the world sees the like of him again… Goodbye, Mr. G. , you will be missed."

Xenomorph illustration by SourBones

— Doktor A "While this may sound like blasphemy, I think the on-screen and 3D works of Giger were his best. No doubt was his unique point of view original and unlike any other, his painting always lacked a little bit of life that the 3D interpretations of his work seemed to have. From the Alien suit to the Giger Bars, the bio-mechanical world he created brought a new level of fear and dread mixed with an all too possible reality that struck very core fears in most people who saw his work.

Being scared never seemed so real."

— Brian Flynn of Super7 "Discovering Giger's work on Alien and Celtic Frost was a revelation for me as a kid. This one singular artistic vision bridged the gap between two genres I love: heavy metal and horror films. His dark, sexual occult themes and intricate designs pair perfectly with the heightened reality of extreme music. Giger's To Mega Therion cover, with its muted palette and bizarre mix of iconography and nightmare, enthralled me then and inspires me everyday to not compromise my vision. Do exactly what you are passionate about and people will be drawn to it."

— Mark Rudolph Background Image by Falk Lademann

"One of my earliest memories about my own personal creative direction was being 12 years old, standing in the local comic shop with my mother, where the new How to Draw books had come out, and wanting the Giger artbook behind the counter. My mother told me the artwork wasn't appropriate for me, and it baffled me to hear, because I didn't distinguish beauty as inappropriate. Making artwork that's both beautiful and horrific, visually or ideologically, has been on the forefront of my creative pursuits since."

— Tasha Zimich

"H. R. Giger was once quoted as saying that in his hometown of Chur, Switzerland 'the word “artist” is a term of abuse, combining drunkard, whore-monger, layabout, and simpleton in one!' Sadly, while I’ve mastered these fully, I have yet to experience even one infinitesimal increment of Giger's talent!! You will be missed, good sir!!!"

— Leecifer

"I had the pleasure of meeting Giger years ago when he visited my home for a studio visit. Having a creator who influenced me so profoundly, examine and admire my work, primarily my stop-motion films and models, was an awe-inspiring and magical moment I will never forget.

He had such a huge impact as an artist and creator of monsters; he single-handedly changed the face of science fiction and horror with his xenomorph Alien from the movie of the same name. His genius was seeing beauty and horror simultaneously in shapes that exist around us in nature: the carapacial segmentation of crustaceans, the interlocking vertebrae of a spine, the intrinsically compelling shapes of sexual organs… These shapes have existed all around us for centuries, but it — Rich Montanari was his eye that saw them intertwined and transformed of Mutant Vinyl Hardcore into a mesmerizing, seductive horror. From my first glance at a Giger painting as a child, I longed to create characters and worlds like his. I've imitated the man for decades — particularly in my Chi-chian universe — and, I imagine, I will "From a very early age, Giger's work made quite the impact continue to do so for many years to come." on me, beginning with Alien and the mystifying Space Jockey "I've been a horror and dark fantasy fan as far back as I can remember. H. R. Giger changed the face of both these genres before I was born, sculpting my nightmares before I even knew his name. Without Giger, many of us wouldn't be.

Thank the powers that be for creating such a brilliant specimen of artistic human life. You'll be missed, master Giger. The dark side of the moon awaits your return home."

creature, the famous ELP (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) album cover, and the Future-Kill VHS cover that mesmerized me every time I visited my local video store. Later, when I was about 11 or 12, I discovered who the genius behind all these fantastic images was. At the bookstore, I can recall reaching up to the top shelf to marvel at all the hardbound collections of Giger's work that were not meant for young eyes. To this day, I still feel as though I'm reaching for Giger."

— Voltaire

— Vincent X. Torres of Half-Human "I’ve been drawing since I can remember, but growing up I was always told that art was more of a hobby than a profession.

As a child, having been exposed to the Alien franchise, I was immediately hooked on the look and feel of the world created for it. Like a junky chasing the ultimate high, I couldn’t get enough. After learning H. R. Giger was the artist responsible for creating the designs for the original movie, my eyeballs needed to soak up everything he created. Luckily I had a mother who allowed me to buy all his art books and even play the games he worked on, Dark Seed I and II. I couldn’t wrap my head around how an artist could be so prolific, expansive, and influential to the world beyond a gallery. Although I’ve never met him, H. R. Giger was the first and most influential artist to spark my interest in pursuing art as a real career path. I owe him so much, he’ll be incredibly missed."

"I was in middle school when my friend brought in this giant oversized book that had a hauntingly twisted amalgam of mechanical and organic imagery on the cover. As I flipped though the book and tried to absorb what my eyes were seeing, all I knew is that I had never gazed upon anything more beautiful and macabre in my life. Giger's work in Necronomicon struck a chord in me that has yet to subside, a barometer in which I use to personally gauge the impact I hope to achieve with my own work. A true visionary of surrealism that led people away from the light so that they could embrace their inner dark, Giger will forever live on and on and on, one never-ending tendril of mechanical vertebrae for always..."

— J★RYU

"Before 1987, when I first saw Aliens on VHS, I'd watched things mostly geared towards children, with perhaps the Terror Dogs from Ghostbusters being the scariest. I was mesmerized by Aliens and the original film due to the beautiful and haunting design work of Giger. From the Xenomorph to the Space Jockey, Alien reflected the true and original vision of the artist without diluting or altering it into something else. That is rare and I can't imagine the films without his paramount contribution. It can be difficult to quantify the level of influence one's work has on your own, but I can thank Mr. Giger for my penchant for spines, ribs, prehensile tails that grasp like face hugging fingers, and the things that should not be."

— Nathan Hamill

"Giger’s Necronomicon was the very first non-comic ‘art book’ that I ever owned. I was nowhere near old enough fully grasp the extent of his grotesque visions and certainly too young to appreciate the sexual nightmares contained therein. I’ve revisited his world countless times since — David Chung then and remain in awe at his unique vision and the depths of his visual vocabulary."

"When I was in 8th grade, my friend — Andrew Bell Mike and I used to geek out on Giger’s paintings. Mike had a big hardcover book and we’d stare at it "As you can imagine, I had a goth/ for hours, at all the phallic columns industrial phase, so Giger played an and mysterious crevices. And then I’d important role in my upbringing. I think wander home in the dark and have I can honestly say the reason why I nightmares." never pursued 'dark arts' is because of

— Paul Budnitz

Giger. Why bother trying to do develop an aesthetic when someone else has already perfected it?"

— Luke Chueh "In the toy world, we are in the business of designing characters, and can you think of a character so uniquely bizarre and endlessly fascinating as the Xenomorph? H. R. Giger has influenced us all, and he has left a legacy we will be learning from for many years to come. Rest in peace."

— Hugh Rose Clutter 19 | 9

Scribe, in bunny suit by 40 Threads and him, spray painting a mural Photo: Phil Koenig

Immersed in the graffiti scene for many years now, Scribe's anthropomorphic cartoony animals litter the landscape of the world he travels. And let's not forget his ability to use a spray can to make perfectly groomed, yet also extremely manly, handlebar mustaches on his creatures. Known for expressing himself deeply through paint, Scribe's talent extends into the toy realm, creating awesome pieces with his sensibility for exaggerated expressions; he gives these plastic beasts life, or at least a semblance of it.

Where Spray Paint & Plush Meet: Steve Strong

Scribe & 40 Threads

But he is not alone on his artistic journey. His wife, known as 40 Threads, is figuratively by his side at all times, exploring similar avenues of creation as her husband. While Scribe's toys tend to solid pieces, 40 Threads medium tends to be on the softer side‌ plush, to be exact. Like a magician pulling off astonishing feats, she transforms fabrics of all nature into huggable and lovable critters for the world over to enjoy.

Like a modern day Bonnie and Clyde, this married duo travel worldwide, turning their original concepts from being strictly in their heads into tangible objects for people to see and feel.

Over the years you've created art on everything from paper to concrete walls, using a variety of pencils, pens, markers, brushes, paints, and spray paints to bring the pieces to life. Do you have a favorite combination of surface and creative tool you enjoy working with more than the others?

I think it would probably still have to be painting on walls with spray paint. It is sort of like meditation or prayer… I wish I could put it into words, but it honestly is when I feel the most like myself. The [graffiti] culture held me up when I was down in life, has supported me the most, and given me some of my best memories to date as a young adult before I had kids. Some of the friends I made [in the scene] I will probably know for the rest of my life, like how people might see being in a college fraternity or an army group… and, I think, I carry that with me every time I get the chance to paint. That and, when I get to paint by myself outside, it's like leaving a part of your history behind, which is partially how I came to use the name Scribe.

So how did you transition from the graffiti scene into the toy industry?

It's kind of funny how it was both a transition and my introduction to the toy industry. I had seen stuff like Kidrobot's Munny blanks, but had never really given it any thought because, honestly, I was more than broke and even though I thought it would be fun to make a character 3D, it just wasn't a priority like getting spray paint. I had no idea that people collected this stuff! At that time I was in a graff crew called ATT & DF that also had Dalek (James Marshall) in it, and he was branching out in a lot of different directions, including toys. It was really hard not to want to do the same thing, or just do it because he had success. It had to be a natural thing that happened in my opinion and not because anyone was helping me in the door.

What happened next was a lot more natural for me, I was approached because of their interest. Jamey [Brill, co-owner of Cardboard Spaceship] was originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and had seen my walls I painted there at a popular event called Scribble Jam. He contacted me through my website and asked me about doing a show at their shop in Santa Cruz, California and if I had ever considered painting some toys. Jamey and Nick [Glow] sent me a giant box of toys to paint on, exposed me to the Kidrobot boards — where I sheepishly started to show some of my work — and I was lucky to have a really successful show at their space. It was a game changer for me and put me in touch with a lot of other possibilities, like later when they produced my first series called The Resound Fields. I never knew that I would meet so many responsible and loyal collectors. That connection had a huge impact on my whole family.

"The Getaway Plan"

I'm lucky, I think, because it was a pretty natural transition for my work to go 3D. I had worked on a style for years that some people had come to recognize and that gave some of those people a chance to sort of own something that was a lot like what I did on walls. The cool thing about the sculpting was that it later had a nice effect on my understanding of painting and light on the walls. Later I started to do collaboration work with my wife, Alisa, on pieces and that is one of the things that really brought our work together and showed us both a lot about what we could do.

Rumpus the rhino is by far one of your most well-known characters and appears to have a world all of his own. What's his origin, his story?

I hold him very dearly to my heart; if you are seeing him on a wall or in a piece, then you are getting a window into my personal life.

When I was asked to leave college because of some graffiti stuff in Kansas City, I was pretty lost as to what I was going to do with my life. My whole life I had dreamed of going to college and becoming an animator and now that was all gone and I didn't want to go home to live around my parents after they had worked so hard to get me there.

I remember one day grabbing a book of animals and flipping through it for inspiration. As a kid, I used to always draw

a lot of animals from stuff I had seen while moving to different places around the world with my family and I think I was looking to return to the stuff that made me happy with my art. I came across a rhino section and started reading about them… the fact that they were solitary and had vision issues, that really reminded me of myself since my future had become so fuzzy and out of focus.

So Rumpus is actually the closest thing to a self-portrait that you are going to get out of me. I just started drawing him all the time and poured a lot of myself into who he was.

I wanted him more than anything to be sort of a hero that showed real vulnerability and weakness, someone who made a lot of mistakes. I think that is part of why some people have connected with him as a character, because one day you see him charging like a real rhino and the next day he is on his knees asking for forgiveness.

In the last several months I have actually really started to write the whole story of the Resound Fields, which is the center of the island of Nisamehe, and how Rumpus ends up going there.

"Diamond-eyed Razorback (Bittersweet Plains)"

Let's talk music. Are you a Wu-Tang Clan fan, because you certainly seem to love the whole "killer bees" concept?

I would have to say I enjoy them to a degree, but lean more to De La Soul and Aesop Rock with how they paint pictures with words. And it's funny, I started drawing the

"Hammerhorse"

Clutter 19 | 13

"Bay City Brawler (AP)," a custom of Kidrobot's Dunny

Rumpus Rhino and Bees sketch

bees before Wu-Tang Clan came out, so when they hit big and were using that as a reference it seemed to make it even easier for people to connect with the concepts in some of my work. I was kind of lucky, I think, when that started to happen because, if you think about it, a bunch of bees chasing a rhino makes no sense at all!

Rumpus to give up and become a bee. When Bee Movie came out [in 2007], I was a little bummed on the similarity in concepts but I really enjoyed it, and I had to laugh it off when people that didn't know how long I had been painting them would say, "Oh, like that Bee Movie."

The bees came from a documentary I watched in 1994 on how they live and, when the queen did the dance, they all danced and followed orders, and what hit me hard was the pile of dead bees outside the hive door when they were done with their job and life.

I started drawing them as "peer pressures" on Rumpus and, the more I got focused on what I wanted to do with my life and art, the more they seemed to pop-up and tried to get

I've noticed a lot of your characters rock the classic handlebar mustache. Are you merely paying homage to the 19th century Wild West or do you simply have a handlebar mustache fetish?

I struggle with seeing the young hipsters rocking handlebar mustaches nowadays because, at the same time, I go, "I like them in my characters but am not brave enough to just have one in real life!" I think it would be fun, but I also don't handle having any focus on me and that is just too flashy; I'm more of a solitary, quiet rhino hiding behind the bush in the room. There is something just classic about the handlebar, like the old bad guys in cartoons and, yes, also the Western stuff.

I think it really came more from when, years ago, I started doing boxers and bare-knuckle fighters. At those times I felt like, and sometimes still do, I was fighting the neverending opponent in getting my work to be taken at least a little more seriously. I would paint these characters taking on emotional beating of sorts but, at the same time, never backing down, like that fighter that possibly wins because he just can't quit. When I am lucky enough to get a production toy with a company, I always paint a portion of my artist proofs with black eyes as a reminder that the fight for more artistic independence still continues even though it may seem like a success at that moment. Each time I set a goal — whether it was in graff, toys, gallery work, or generally providing for my family — I would work like I was getting ready for a fight. I don't ever want to get too comfortable and forget about my bigger dreams… I actually go out to my garage and punch a heavy bag on rough days.

Do you have any top secret toys in the works that you're willing to disclose?

I wish I could say some specifics but it seems like it is always hard to really announce, because I have had a lot of things never come to pass in the past. It's just a nature of the biz to have that kind of stuff happen, I guess. There is a chance of a 3-inch combo figure with my wife Alisa but, like I said before, you just never know and I don't want to create any expectations.

Scribe painting a mural 14 | Clutter 19

I do plan to try and sculpt some more this summer, to make some more of my own stuff.

I have done some pieces on my own before, but my hope would be to slow down a little and make sure I am making something I really want to do and not feeling like I need to release something by the next SomethingCon. My hopes would be to do more stuff related to the Resound Fields and another version of Rumpus. I also would like to figure out some more stuff that includes my wife Alisa and her great talents, because without her support over the last 20 years I don't think I would have made anything of myself and I think her gifts and talents need to be shared more.

"Strange Friends"

40 Threads What's it like being married to a worldrenowned graffiti artist?

Can I ask who you are referring to?

(Laughs). I don't think of him that way, he is just extremely talented and loves to spray paint. He was just beginning graffiti when we met, so I grew alongside it and dealt with its nature… the loud mouthed crewmates, late hours, paint on everything.

I've seen him do some amazing work over the years and, even after 21 years [together], I still enjoy hanging around a wall all day watching it come together. I'm cool like that.

How did you go from Alisa Ross to your sewing alias, 40 Threads?

During art school I worked as a waitress in a little pizza joint and, as time went on there, I gained the nickname "Ali," mostly because it was the only letters of my name that were shown on my tickets. But it quickly became a game between the cooks [to give me new nicknames]: Monday I was "Ali-Gator," Tuesday it was "Muhammed Ali," you get my drift. Well, the one that stuck was "Ali Baba," so I was that for the next… heck, I still get called it! Now jump ahead about six years, add two kids, and a thriving artist husband, who was beginning custom toys, and you get 'me' introduced to the plush & vinyl scene. It was an underground element to me, I had no idea what was truly out there, so as I started creating things that I felt worthy of displaying I had to have a name. Alisa was too… plain. Ali Baba

"The Pig God"

"Oh Deer, You Broke My Heart" Manos, Hula Girls, and Hula Boys

Photo: Kirby Kerr

was too… childish. So I brainstormed for awhile, saying the most random things to my Scribe to see his reaction; I blurted out that it would be funny to do something like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves but sewing related… Lightbulb moment! 40 Threads was born!

When it comes to creating things with needle and thread, what do you find to be the most challenging element?

Patterning! Figuring out the pattern is so incredibly frustrating for me, I feel like my brain just doesn't get it or it thinks it does then I mess up. Sometimes there will be four prototypes before I can get the kinks out… total bummer of time and fabrics! I give total props to Lana Crooks for being awesome at this.

My close runner-up is working through sore spots from needle pokes. I think somedays I have magnets under my nails, because the needle will just keep slipping under them. Then when I've hit that busy crunch time, my hands just hurt from all the pushing on the needles. No, I don't wear a thimble… It's like sewing with gloves on or obnoxious long nails; doesn't work for me!

Out of all the things you've made using your sewing machine and thread thus far, which one are you the most proud of and why?

That's a hard one. There have been thousands of creatures that've come out of my machine and hands, but I do have a few

favorites: I did a piece for a group show at Gallery 1988 based teen novels, so I designed mine off of a Goosebumps book called Monster Blood and the piece was a hamster expanding beyond his cage from some glowing green goo… I was very pleased with the crazy look I achieved in the hamster's face and I found some amazing materials for claws, which made the feet killer!

I am always very proud of my large life-size mounts. I do almost everything by hand and I enjoy the plush aspect being displayable art instead of a stuffed animal. And they're BIG! That's always fun.

Hawaiian Manos and Black-eyed Manos being assembled at 40 Threads' worktable

Can I pick one more? Scribe once bugged me to make him a bunny costume… I was in the middle of putting a solo show together and, needless to say, was not wanting to take on this task at all, but he really didn't care about that so he bought fabric and we started makeshifting this costume together. I was reluctant but it went amazingly smooth and he rocked a huge gray bunny suit at my gallery opening!

It was the funniest thing to see a bunny boogie through the room and creep people all night, not to mention that I just made a whole costume, full mask and all.

For more information on Scribe & 40 Threads, please visit:

www.scribeswalk.com

"Beautiful Guts"

Clutter 19 | 15

Stanway with two of her one-of-a-kind "Pink Creatures" from ToyCon UK 2014

alittlestranger Barbara Pavone Holly Stanway

A professional sculptor and model maker, London-based artist Holly Stanway creates beautiful custom works for both big-name clients, such as Disney and Hasbro, and herself under the A Little Stranger anonym.

First introduced to model making at the age of 15, when her school’s work placement scheme landed her on the front lines of a toy design and prototyping company, Stanway worked for a number of companies before launching her own business six years ago. “Now I prototype toys and products direct for end clients or work freelance for other studios,” she explains.

18 | Clutter 19

Armed with a degree in model making and special effects, Stanway has “worked on sculpting hard models and action figures from Sylvanian Families, South Park, Wallace and Gromit, Action Man, and the Doctor. Who lines,” but her specialty is “soft prototyping, which involves creating a pattern for a soft toy from 2D reference. The final stage of both hard and soft prototyping is making a full appearance model, a full color prototype version of the product.

The client can then send this to a manufacturer to show them exactly how the product needs to look.”

If you think that’s all Stanway does

though, think again. She has also made props for major films, like Star Wars, Dracula, and the upcoming World of Warcraft, designed stunning jewelry, and launched a highly sought after plush line.

“Cavey came to life from my love of my pet guinea pigs,” says Stanway.

“I’d already had the idea of creating a character that’s easy to carry around with you and take pictures of, the way I would do with my Blythe dolls. I wanted to recreate the friendly, pudgy appearance of my guinea pigs and I knew how I wanted the character to feel when you held it, but it took me

a while to translate that into the right form. The very first prototype Caveys were round, square, triangular, some had legs… In the end the simplicity won me over and after many, many variations of the simple round-y egg shape, Cavey was born.”

Launched as a plush in 2010, Cavey now also comes in vinyl form and new limited edition versions are lovingly handmade in a U.K. studio and released each month in small batches.

Not surprisingly, they sell out in the blink of an eye.

“Vinyl Cavey was actually sculpted

by my very first workshop manager who I’ve worked with at a number of studios,” says Stanway. “He really wanted to do it for me and it just felt right. The sculpt he did is beautiful and I wouldn’t change a thing about it — Vinyl Cavey has so much personality in his tiny little frame!” Just don’t expect to be told what exactly that personality is. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on one, it’ll be up to you to come up with a story for your Cavey.

“I made a conscious decision to keep Caveys neutral, that way their new owner can impart their personality onto him, so each release doesn’t carry a specific emotion or personality.

I’d say in general all Caveys are shy, curious, and friendly.”

With so many diverse projects filling her portfolio, picking a favorite is no easy feat, but Stanway gives it a shot. “I think my favorite is the Skeleton Cavey, one of the first ever Halloween ones,” she says. “They took forever to make because I was stitching on all the little individual bones, but I love fiddly work and it was totally worth it! My favorite commissioned pieces have been silver jewelry items,” she continues.

“I was commissioned to make a ring commemorating a client’s rabbit that had passed… I really enjoyed the challenge since it needed to look just like her reference.”

As for her fave plush commission, it was “a piece Giant Robot asked me to make for their Biennale 3 exhibition

at the Japanese American National Museum in L.A. The piece was called Monster of the Mariana Trench and started life as a David Horvath Flatwood vinyl. I created him a new face from phosphorescent polymer clay and hand-painted glass eyes.

I made him a set of wire legs and skinned the whole piece in soft polar fleece with iridescent stitching detail all over. His tentacles have glow-inthe-dark suckers." Grasped in the creature's tentacles is a submarine which was originally "a Giant Robot Big Boss Robot, [but] I removed his head and replaced it with a control panel made from scratch before adding lights and a weathered finish.

Monster of the Mariana Trench features phosphorescent and UV reactive elements and looked great displayed under a black light.”

In addition to an ever-growing list of projects, Stanway is also always evolving in the way she works and admits, “My natural impulse is to work on everything at once, which often leads to a chaotic studio and me feeling like I’m getting nothing finished, so now I like to work on one thing at once before moving onto the next.”

As for what that studio space looks like, “I have a big desk under a window where I sit and draw or paint. My industrial sewing machine sits to one side of my desk and a tall cutting out table sits on the other. I quite like to work standing up there, too.

Music-wise, it depends on what kind of work I’m doing, but mostly drum and bass with some podcasts thrown in. I love podcasts about history and science.”

Skeleton Cavey

So what’s next for this designer extraordinaire?

"Astro Bunny"

Bespoke Bunny Rabbit Ring

“I don’t have any plans for new characters in the Cavey universe, but I have been working on a new character called Usagi,” reveals Stanway. “Usagi is a bunny from space, made from dust from the moon. He orbits the earth learning about our planet and spreading happy, positive vibes.”

“I’m always looking to improve my skills in all areas of creativity,” she adds. “Since most of my work is spent on 3D projects for clients, in my free time I enjoy expanding my 2D skills. I spend at least an hour each day drawing, fitting it in where I can, through lunch or while watching TV. I’m one of those people who finds it hard to sit still — I’m happiest when I’m creating something.”

For more information on A Little Stranger and Cavey, please visit:

alittlestranger.com heycavey.com

Stanway in her studio Clutter 19 | 19

bonjour, monsieur clement Barbara Pavone mr clement

If you’ve come across mr clement’s work in the past, you already know that he is the epitome of a true artist. If you haven’t, get ready to fall in love with Petit Lapin and Ji Ja Bird, his best known characters, as we chat about inspiration, solo shows, and what kind of strange things can be found at his studio.

Hailing from Hong Kong, mr clement eventually moved to London to complete a Master of Arts at the prestigious Royal College of Art and his beautiful highbrow-meetssubculture creations have since taken him around the world.

What inspired you to use an artistic pseudonym and how did you arrive at ‘mr clement’? Is there a real Mr. Clement?

My real name is difficult to pronounce, but even so, I had never had an English name until my very first trip to Nantes, France. When I was there, I stayed with an old lady and she couldn’t pronounce my name, not even my one-syllable nickname. I explained to her that my nickname means lucky, fortunate, and benevolent and, funny enough, she told me there is a French name carrying similar meanings, which is Clémentine.

"Clement is not bad," I thought, so I decided to take it as my moniker. As for why I put ‘mr’ before it, I prefer to be addressed formally… but then, all my friends feel it’s very hilarious.

You paint, draw comics, design toys — basically, you do it all! Why is it important for you to keep working with so many different mediums?

I’m interested in all kinds of mediums. I not only like painting and sculpture, but animation, etc. In the past decade, it looks like I’ve produced a lot of Lapin works, but for me, all kinds of mediums are unique and the messages I want to deliver from sculpture and painting are entirely different.

Is there one artistic outlet you prefer over the others?

Not really. It seems that I have been working with one or two mediums in past years, I may get bored sometime, then I will try to use another medium. In fact, while I’m working with one medium, it always inspires me to work with another kind. That’s why somehow I do paintings and sculptures alternately.

What first attracted you to Designer Toys?

I had been working on sculpture, but the sizes are too big. Although I like to make sculptures a lot, in a way, people need to go to museums or galleries in order to

22 | Clutter 19

Astrolapin (Chicago Edition)

"Dozy Tony (Pink Sleeping Egg)"

some important people, as well as some secrets of mine. All my creatures are developed from Petit Lapin. Somehow, I think Lapin has brought me around the world [to cities] such as Paris, London, Hong Kong, L.A., etc. And this time Lapin brought me to Chicago. It’s the tenth Lapin World Tour!

If we were to visit your studio, what would we find? Anything bizarre?

Ji Ja Bird (Yellow) & Ji Ja Bird (White)

"Astrolapin, B.I.G. brother, and Petit Dozy Tony"

see my works. If the size of my works are smaller, there are more possibilities to be displayed in other venues. In addition, it is relatively more affordable and easier for people to buy and bring them home.

I quite like the idea of having your own museum at home and, of course, having all my works on display at one’s place is a great idea.

Do you like to think about what kinds of personalities your characters will have as you’re designing them?

There are two kinds [of design processes]: One with the character first, which then brings me inspiration to develop the story, and some the other way round, but that’s rarely the case.

Have you ever had an idea that didn't at all turn out how you imagined?

It happens all the time. And most of my works have not turned out to be exactly how I imagined. Sometimes it’s worse, but sometimes better. Under certain circumstances, it could turn into something out of my expectation. This is probably the joy of creating artworks.

I have beer from different countries, like Korea, the U.S., Japan, etc. You are most welcome to have a drink with me. I like to work alone and, whenever I start and finish working, I like to clean up my stuff.

I feel that my task for the day is complete after cleaning up. I like to keep my space very empty and don’t like to display my works or posters in the studio.

What are some standout pieces in your personal collection?

Before I moved to London, I collected Superman, Batman, and some other American comic figures, but as I needed money to move to London, I sold them on eBay. There is still one I kept: a Clark Kent Super Powers figure. I didn’t buy it but won it from a lucky draw when I was a little kid.

You’ve kept your identity somewhat secret over the years — will we ever see the real mr clement?

I’m not keeping my identity secret — I just don’t like to take photos at all. I feel like I’m another person sometimes. In fact, you may see the truthful me in my works. All I can say is I am beautiful.

Finish this sentence, please: mr clement is…

Not a porn star.

What can we look forward to from mr clement in the remainder of 2014?

For more information on mr clement, please visit:

I am not sure yet, but it must be something fun. Let’s see which direction the wind blows me to.

Speaking of going places, congratulations on your recent solo show at Chicago’s Rotofugi Gallery! Looking back at all of your toy creations, which one has been the most special thus far?

mr clement in his studio

I think it’s Petit Lapin because it represents a lot about my past, my childhood memories, fantasy, my relationship with Clutter 19 | 23

N

estled between the Celtic Sea and the English Channel, the British peninsula of Cornwall harbors not only a lush landscape and carefree breeze but also a dark secret; for, as a warning emblem should read, Here there be Monsters… and Mecha. And yes, you read that correctly. With a short 15 minute jaunt from the seaside, you might find yourself in the small city of Truro, which is the home of DMS and Neese — a husband and wife team that use the label Monsters & Mecha for their solo and collaborative output.

Nick Curtis DMS

Allowing us a glimmer of insight into the inner workings of this studio, DMS — who has been designing and producing toys full-time since 2008 — discusses the many facets of his creative constructs…

What's your art background? Were you formally trained in art or are you selftaught?

I was into drawing as a kid and got into graffiti when I was eleven; I got a copy of the books Subway Art and Spraycan Art, and I have loved graffiti ever since! As far as education, I failed miserably at the two things that have been my passion ever since: art and music! Doing badly at school has never done me any harm, it just made me even more stubborn and determined to do what I wanted and ignore anyone who said it wasn’t going to happen!

Artistically speaking, what are your greatest obsessions, influences, and inspirations?

Mecha Skelevex

I’m obsessed with decay, weathering, robots, and mecha, and I was influenced by pretty much everything when I started!

Now in my fifth year as a full time artist, I try to do my own thing as much as possible.

I think the vehicles from Star Wars, like the Scout Walker (AT-ST) and AT-AT, are

probably the basic influence behind my mecha pieces. I’m still very much into graffiti and, other than that, I’m inspired by films, music, rusty metal, and messed-up dreams.

Are there any particular graffiti artists that you particularly respect?

The list is endless, I respect all real [graffiti] writers, I just love the ethics of graffiti. Whether it’s old school U.S. writers, like Seen, Duster, Dondi, Futura, and Cap, for the pure destruction! — or U.K. writers, like The Chome Angelz, Drax, Shok-1, Cheo, Snub, Hoakser, Lex, and Mimic — I love it all!

I'm actually surprised you haven't done a graffiti based piece yet given this obvious appreciation…

I’ve actually had plans for a graffiti-inspired mecha piece for over a year now, piloted

by Kidrobot’s FatCap figure among others.

It’s based on a resin-cast spray can for the body, with articulated arms and legs. I’m Clutter 19 | 27

Mini Skelevex (Green)

Overlord Supreme Dunny in Carbonite

Raar! (Midnight Blue)

"Android Mecha," a custom of Dyzplastic's Android

hoping to work on some custom designs with [graffiti] writers.

The mecha suit being piloted by a platform figure reminds me of your T42, which was a massive suit with a Mini Tea driver.

Where did such an outrageously great custom concept come from?

It started with my Cuppa Carbonite Mini Tea custom, which had recently been on the Mini Tea Tour (circa 2011). The figure just seemed perfect to be seated in a cockpit!

I’d wanted to create a mech suit for quite a while but solid resin wasn’t suitable, so I’d been working with styrene modelling plastic for the shell of the suit. Right now I’m working on a new version of it for 2014.

Very cool! And you mentioned your Carbonite series, which takes Designer Toys and makes them appear to be 'frozen' in a slab of carbonite (à la Han Solo from Star Wars). How did these come about?

What's the story behind them?

The Cuppa Carbonite Mini Tea figures, for the Mini Tea Tour, were actually the first Carbonite pieces I’d made. It was so 28 | Clutter 19

much fun to work on and got such a great response that I decided to play around with some other platform toys in the same style.

Being a huge Star Wars fan since I was around age six, the whole style and blister packaging really appealed to me. I recently made what is likely to be the final Carbonite piece, featuring The Sucklord.

work out how best I could produce it in resin. Finally we got the piece 3D printed and then my work on moulding and casting began.

More recently you've been collaborating with Alto on the Skelevex skulls, right?

3D printing is something I’ve started to get into more recently, but I like being able to switch between materials depending on which is most suitable for the project I’m working on. So I work in quite a few different ways, ranging from sculpting wax and clay to styrene scratch builds to, now, 3D printing.

Well, I originally wanted to do an angular resin skull around a year before I teamed up with Alto for the project. I was wrestling with creating the prototype from styrene modelling plastic and shelved the project, but then Alto approached me about producing — moulding and casting — his Evil Origami figures in resin and the angular style was exactly what I had in mind for the skulls, so we started collaborating on what became Skelevex.

The 3D model [for the Skelevex] was produced by Alto, who is a professional architect and amazing 3D modeler, and we bounced the design back-and-forth to

Historically you hand-sculpted or physically constructed your prototypes, but are you moving more into 3D printing them?

Speaking of projects, what's in the future for Monsters & Mecha?

Neese has recently released a new plush piece, Hoot the Owl, and has plans to create more characters alongside the ever popular Raar! I will be releasing the new version of the T42 later this year and I’m also developing a mecha system that will feature interchangeable and add-on pieces.

Another future Monsters & Mecha project will see me collaborating with myself! I'm not sure if that makes me schizophrenic or not, but it'll see my Captain Yampy alter ego drunkenly navigating the good ship Gert Biggun around a strange new land. It'll be a multimedia project focusing more on my unusual, childish side, with characters inspired by friends, acquaintances, dreams, and some fairly psychedelic experiences from my teenage years! It's purely a fun side project for my own amusement.

And now for the question on everyone's mind: What does DMS stand for?

DMS is really just my initials but, depending on how stupid I'm feeling, it can mean anything from Dead Monkey Syrup to Dope Marzipan Shoes.

For more information on DMS as well as Monsters & Mecha, please visit:

Mini Lady Darkness

MASKED MYSTERY MAN: CAPTAIN MAXX RETURNS Nick Curtis

On New Year's Eve in 1970, a live action television show titled Captain Maxx debuted on Japanese television, but extremely low ratings — and a drunken rampage by the lead actor — caused the immediate cancellation of the series. Several toy companies, anticipating the show's success, had planned on producing pieces based on the characters, but only one — Mactsu Toys — actually released a soft vinyl figure of the title character. Driven mad by the Captain Maxx toy's failure, the company's owner gathered up all the unsold figures and burned them… save one, which ended up in the hands of Mark Nagata almost 40 years later; a toy which he used as the basis for his initial Max Toy Company release. Or so the fictional account goes.

In truth, Nagata is an extremely talented artist who wants to share his passion for vintage Japanese toys with the world. But who exactly is the man? What's the true story behind Max Toy Co.? And where did he get all those fantastic toys?

Mark Nagata

Before we get to discussing the toys, let's talk about the man, Mark Nagata.

What's your art background? I know you were a freelance illustrator for years, but…

I've been drawing since about the age of 3, or so my mother has told me. Like a lot of artists, it's just something that I've always done and never feels like work to me. Although I took art classes in middle and high school, it wasn't until community college that an art teacher pulled me aside and said I should go to art school… No one had told me there was even such a thing as art school! So I enrolled in the Academy of Art in San Francisco with the hopes of pursuing commercial art as my focus.

Commercial art? You didn't have dreams of being a quote-unquote fine artist, exhibiting in galleries?

I wasn't interested in gallery work, which at the time — the mid '80s — wasn't really what it is today. I was influenced by realistic airbrush illustrators from the U.S. and Japan, and my goal was to do airbrush art for ad and design firms. After about 2½ years at the Academy, it was very clear to me that their focus at the time was to push artists to do more classical art; the airbrush was not welcomed by a lot of my teachers. I have

to say the one teacher that really influenced me was Kazuhiko Sano, who most would know from the various Star Wars posters he did, including the Return of the Jedi one-sheet. Anyway, Kazu allowed me to use the airbrush in his class and, even though his style was not similar, he was able to give me invaluable critiques. When I had a full portfolio ready, he agreed that it was time for me to leave school and start freelancing.

At the same time, my mom came down with breast cancer, so my dad said it was time to get out into the real world as well.

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. So what did you do?

Thanks. First off, my mom who is now 87 and is fine after the breast cancer. As for what I did, I took a trip to the Big Apple with a fellow school mate, having never ventured out of the California alone, in search of an artist's agent. Back in those days — before the internet! — you had agents that would take your work around for a commission of the job. Long story short, on the last day of the trip, we we're picked up by a father and son team, Lott Representives. So for the next 13 years, I did tons of commercial work that included doing covers for children horror books, like Give Yourself Goosebumps and Graveyard School. I actually burnt myself out by taking every single job that came Clutter 19 | 33

Nagata in his Studio

my way during this time period, since being freelance I just never knew when the next job would present itself. By the end, Photoshop had arrived and basically my work dried up while the new, hip computer guys took over at lower rates. I did take some computer classes at the time, but it just wasn't my thing.

Returning to something that is your thing then, how did you first get into toys, especially Japanese toys? Was that a childhood passion or something you found later in life?

I had an aunt who lived on a military base in Japan back in the mid '70s. One Christmas, she sent a huge box full of the most amazing toys I'd ever laid eyes on.

Back in those days, my toys consisted of original 12-inch G.I. Joes, Major Matt Mason, and Hot Wheels, all realistic types of toys and, besides the Hot Wheels, not too colorful. But, as I opened this box, what stood out for me was the vibrant colors and wild creatures within… Lion men wielding swords, spacemen fighting flaming creatures! I had no reference for any of this but I knew I liked it!

The toys were mostly bagged with a backing card and had a header card stapled to the top, and even though neither I nor my parents could read the Japanese on the packages, they all featured awesome art of the characters fighting and the sort. This made a huge impression on me that would eventually lead to what I do today.

From that point on, I'd notice these characters in bookstores in the Japantowns of Los Angeles and San Francisco and, for a short time, some of the toys would be sold there as well. But I was just a kid; I enjoyed the stuff but wasn't really a collector. That's something that wouldn't happen much later, during college.

I've gotta know about this shift you had towards being a collector…

As I said, it was during my college days that I pulled out those Japanese toys from my childhood and realized again how cool they were. I also started going to flea markets

34 | Clutter 19

Nagata's collection and studio space

and antique shows and would stumble on similar figures for cheap, so slowly I was collecting without really knowing it.

I also subscribed to a magazine called Toy Shop that had tons of black-and-white ads with all kinds of toys. But, in particular, I started corresponding with a couple of dealers in Japan via the mail. I would send them photocopies from books of various toys and they would go search for them, mark down the prices, and mail back the sheet to me, then I'd have to select what I wanted, send it back with a postal money order, and hope the figures were still instock. After a few years of this, the fax machine arrived, so the back-and-forth was quicker and, of course, email and eBay soon followed.

Once email and eBay arrived, my collection exploded!

Speaking of your collection, you're known for having a massive Ultraman collection, purportedly one of the biggest in the world…

You know, this has become an urban myth! I do have a massive Ultraman collection, but it's not the largest in the world.

(Laughs) Well, regardless, what is it about Ultraman that makes you so passionate about him?

I think it has to do with my personality, which is positive and upbeat. In addition, the overall design of Ultraman and his brothers really appealed to me. When I finally saw Ultraman on TV during the '70s, it was really the highlight of my childhood.

So as I collected the figures, I just made tracking down the hero figures my goal.

I would buy some kaiju, but for me the appeal was and is the heroes.

Also every toy collector I know has a tale of at least one piece that has an intricate backstory to how they acquired it…

What's your best story?

Yes, I have several of these stories! Well, I guess the best one is the tale of my red vinyl Ultraman, which is my 'Holy Grail' Japanese toy. In the early days of amassing my collection, I learned about a very rare

version of a Bullmark made Ultraman vinyl figure during the early '70s. In an attempt to capture the girl's toy market, Bullmark made some of their Ultraman figures in a red vinyl color, I guess thinking that this would appeal to girls. Well, it didn't work and they stopped making them almost as soon as they started.

While on a trip to Japan I found a red Ultraman, but the price was $5,000.

Despite my fellow toy buddies willing to loan me money on the spot, I had to decline as this was way to much money for me to afford. Of course, being an obessesed collector, the rest of the trip and all the way home that red Ultraman was all I could think about. Once home, I looked around my collection and figured if I could sell some stuff, I could actually afford the figure.

So with that I started selling items left and right, not even knowing if the figure was still for sale. Once I got the money secured, I contacted a person in Japan, sent off a bunch of money orders, and waited. Several days later I got the good news that the figure was still for sale and was on hold for me! So, at this point, I asked the person to please pack the figure securely and to insure it to the full value of $5000. I didn't mind paying whatever the postal fees were. About a week later, the mailman shows up holding a tennis shoe box with a few pieces of tape around it and something rattling around inside. I sign for the box and think to my self, "I hope this isn't my 'Holy Grail' rattling around in here!" I didn't even have to cut the tape, as it barely held the box closed!

I open it and there's the red Ultraman with a few pieces of tissue paper barely covering it. I was in shock but picked up the figure to make sure there was no damage. The figure was fine and I breathed a sigh of relief! As I set the box down, I notice to my horror that the figure was insured for $5 and not the $5000 I had requested!! All I could do was think about if this piece were lost in transit, I would have gotten $5 for its loss and not $5000! It's funny because, after all these years, I still have nightmares about this story!

did that start for you with Super7 Magazine?

Yes, probably that would be it. Although at the time I don't think we were thinking of it as a professional thing, at least I wasn't at first. It was created more from a love of the toys and wanting to get whatever info we could find put into a English language, full-color magazine. I have to say that credit goes to artist Jimbo Matison, author of the So Crazy Japanese Toys! book, for suggesting that we think outside the box and not just create a black-and-white zine but shoot for a full-color magazine with

Shifting form being a collector to a professional in the Japanese toys market,

After four years, you left Super7 to start your own toy venture, Max Toy Company. What was the impetus for that?

A common theme in my life is that I tend to throw myself fully into what I'm doing, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. I'm a self-starter and work best being on my own. At the time, Super7 was all-consuming for me and, in hindsight, was not a healthy environment for me. The direction of the magazine was changing, as it needed to,

and I had simply become a micro-manager to our employees and had no time for my first love, which is art. After parting ways, I knew exactly what I would do next: Max Toy Company, which is named after my son, Max.

Now I tend to remember that before Max Toy launched, there was a whole faux TV show viral marketing campaign…

Yes! I already had the first round of characters planned out and in production when I started the company, so I had created a web site (CaptainMaxx.com) hosted by the Phantom Collector — which was me — and posted a fake story that a vintage hero figure was found but no one knew what it was from. So the story goes that, while researching, we find out that there was a live action TV show called Captain Maxx in Japan in the '60s, but it was taken off the air after only one showing and the toy only saw limited distribution.

To reinforce the '60s vintage aspects of it, I made fake boxes of tin Captain Maxx toys that were never produced, plus fake header cards, toy catalog pages, and lots more… all to make it seem like this series was real, which led up to Max Toy actually releasing a real Captain Maxx soft vinyl figure. The funny thing is that some collectors didn't really get that it was a fake story and thought that I was remaking an original Japanese toy from the '60s. I actually still get a few emails from newer collectors who still think that Captain Maxx was a real TV show!

What was your biggest inspiration for those early figures? Was it those vintage Japanese TV shows?

Yes! While I created my own toy line with heroes and kaiju all influenced by my childhood toys, combining my love of Japanese toys with the fairly new Art Toy movement, the inspiration was really any and all of the classic Japanese shows from the '60s and '70s. I grew up, amongst other shows in the '70s, watching Ultraman, Android Kikaida, and Giant Robo. Captain Maxx is a homage to these shows, but with my Japanese American upbringing and influence. Each time we add a new character to the universe, I always want to make sure that the design could have been used as an actual rubber suit in a TV show; I want to be able to see the man inside, it if that makes sense.

So is that your favorite piece in your collection?

You know, I've been collecting for 30 years now and you'd think I'd have a easy time to answer this question but… Yes, for sure, the red vinyl Ultraman is up there on my list, but I also covet the original artwork I have and the original Ultraman stage show suit.

My work room houses my Ultraman, raygun, and art collections, so I keep trying to clear more space for work but — of course — manage to fill it back up again with toys.

While the toys are always an inspiration to me, to be honest the original Japanese artwork I have of Ultraman and friends is by far what I look at the most. I have artwork from original toy boxes from the '70s and the skill is quite impressive. Most of the art is not signed, so the artists are unknown, which for that time period is not unusual.

Really I could keep picking out favorites, it's impossible to just name one!

distribution to all the book and comic stores.

So the original idea was to only make toys related to the Captain Maxx universe?

Drazoran

Well, the plan was to offer a mix of original and licensed characters each year going forward. Mind you, this was the early days of Art Toys, so making quantities of 1000+ pieces was the norm and I could actually move a large amount. I guess this was also one of the pitfalls of making toys in China, that they required a high minimum quantity to order.

Clutter 19 | 35

Wait, you made your toys in China in the beginning?

The first couple of years worth of Max Toys were made with Kim Fung, of ThreeZero toys, in China; so those would include Captain Maxx, Alien Xam, Eyezon, TriPus, Boy Karma, and Alien Xam Finger Puppets, in addition to a few licensed characters, like Kikaida (from Android Kikaider) and Booska (from Kaiju Booska). In fact, the first vinyl factory I visited was Kim's factory in China, which was just when China was emerging as a powerhouse in manufacturing for the world. I still love what Kim did for me and look back fondly, but I wanted to make toys in Japan. But to do that, you had to have a good connection to the factories.

I know you now make your toys in Japan, so you must've made that connection at some point…

Yes. Eventually, I made what really was the greatest connection and friendship with Yo Miyamoto in Japan. With Yo's help, I've been able to establish my production line fully in Japan, using the same guys who made the toys I had when I was child!

Believe me, standing there and watching them make my toys, while talking about making those classic '60s and '70s toys in the same spot, really sends a chill up my spine! I have to pinch myself sometimes and think about the journey I've taken to this point in my life, everything I've done and grew-up with has made it possible to be a sofubi toy company and artist.

What's the process most Max Toy releases go through? Where does it all start?

So every figure starts with an idea that's generated from either myself or Yo in Japan.

From there we think about which sculptor will best fit the style of the design as well as any deadlines. If it's not a licensed project, we can move fairly quickly and forgo any sketches and simply have the sculptor start.

If it's a licensed project, we do have to submit turnaround drawings for approval from the client. On a side note, I don't have much interest in licensed characters, mostly because it's a hassle to have to go through the approval process and, of course, they cost more. I'm much happier simply creating my own stuff and this can happen much quicker.

So once the sculpt is done, what happens next?

It moves onto the wax stage. The wax figure is generated from the original sculpt and is used to make the iron molds, which are made at a factory that specializes in this process. If all goes well, the molds are done in about two weeks and are sent to the vinyl pouring factory, run by Shimizu-san.

Several test shots are poured and pulled to make sure there are no problems with the new molds.

If we need paint masks made for a figure, then we'll have several vinyl pieces made and sent to the paint mask factory so they can make the masks. Once those paint masks are made they are sent to our paint factory, the Maruyama Brothers, where 36 | Clutter 19

Kaiju Zanga

we send the unpainted vinyl figures to be painted.

On my side, the header cards for packaging and supporting advertising materials are made for the toy. Once everything is done and ready to sell, we do releases in Japan, U.S., and worldwide.

Wow, there's a lot of people involved in the process!

Absolutely. Each step of the way someone has to do their part and without it the toy can be flawed. It would be silly for me to sit here and say it's all mine or I did everything. Yo plays a key roll in handling in person the coordination of this production process, as I only get to see these craftsmen once or twice a year in person when I travel to Japan and, I have to say, it's always a highlight for me.

Whenever a toy is manufactured, it's a collaboration between the artist and the factory. And not just the vinyl pouring

factory, but actually you can add in the molds production and paint mask factories too, as all these components have to come together to produce a successful toy. I've always been aware that the toy making process is hand work and, even the toys made in China by a hundred people, are made by people.

Since we're talking about collaborations, how about working with — and releasing projects by — other artists?

When did that become something you were interested in doing?

I've always enjoyed collaborations with fellow artists. While my main focus is on my own creations, I do enjoy having other artists paint my figures in their style and I get as much enjoyment seeing other's creations turned into toys as with my own figures. I think this cross pollination is important to me as an artist and creator and keeps me engaged. When an artist's style catches my eye, we'll approach them with making a toy, the common thread for who we work with

being a love of and influence from Japanese culture.

One of your most recent collaborations was the Gangsta Eyezon with Javier Jimenez, which is a pretty radical reinterpretation of your figure…

And it is one of my favorite versions of the Eyezon! The Eyezon is the most popular character out of all the Max Toy figures and, when I approached Javier about doing a Max Toy show poster, I knew he could take Eyezon into a direction I could never. I love his interpretation of Eyezon in his cartoon vector style, he has such flare and a love for cartoons that I think comes through in his art. And while we have a resin version of the figure, I hope at some point to make a smaller vinyl version down the road.

What other artist collaborations have you done in the past?

We have an ongoing series of kaiju designed and sculpted by Yuichi Yamashita

have the Kaiju Soap series. How'd these fantastic, functional pieces come about?

The Kaiju Soap actually started off as Kaiju Candy. After painting so many see-thru clear vinyl figures, everyone kept saying they looked like gummies or candy. I thought that would be a cool thing to make clear candy, but — after looking into it — there was simply too much paperwork and liability involved. So the idea turned into soap after looking at Etsy and seeing all these amazing soap creations. I also thought that perhaps the toy collector would like to stay clean using Kaiju Soap! I've found most who buy them don't use them and just display them by the sink, though I do encourage them to use the soap to smell good!

Since you just mentioned painting figures, why don't we jump on over to that topic. When did you begin painting the figures yourself? What inspired you to make that shift?

Kaiju Negora

of Nakayoushi Toys; he's done Kaiju Zanga, Kaiju Dualos, and Mini Drazoran, to name a few. But, I guess, the most popular Max Toy collaboration would be the first cat Kaiju Negora release with artist Konatsu.

The Kaiju Negora is definitely well known. How'd collaborating with Konatsu come about?

Yo is always looking out for artists in Japan and he suggested to me that we approach Konatsu to do a toy collaboration. We came up with the idea of a Kaiju Cat and she designed it. From there the sculptor we work with the most, Yoshihiko Makino of TTToys, took her design and added his flavor to it in his sculpt. The result is a true collaboration between all three of us.

Mecha Nekoran MkIII

38 | Clutter 19

You recently released the Kaiju Tank which works modularly with the Kaiju Negora, letting you plug the top half of the feline in place of the main turret. You even released a Cat Weapons pack to make the transition more seamless. Tell us about these amazing things!

part of the Monster Boogie line, right?

What is that?

The Kaiju Tank actually works with Negora and mini-sized Eyezon, plus you can plug the micros into the back portion, where the guns are, too. The Cat Weapons and even small buildings we've released are all parts of the play or display experience. It's just the extra details we like to see in toys we collect, so I hope others like that added dimension as well.

Think of Monster Boogie as an imprint of Max Toys. We created this as a way for Yo and Makino-san in Japan to make nonCaptain Maxx characters. While some of the toys can crossover to the Maxx universe, this line is wide open in terms of subject matter and ideas. A good example are the various Cat characters we make, like Nekoron, Nyagira, and Mecha Nekoron.

Also we've got the Dog Kaiju Poodra designed by TOUMA and a line of cute fruit animals as well. While they are all Max Toys, they can be of most anything they think of.

Those small buildings you mentioned are

On the other side of the Max Toy lines we

I guess custom painting figures sort of happened out of necessity. With moving production to Japan, the up front cost is more but the minimum production quantities are much lower, so if I wanted to make a short run of a figure then it was easier for me to paint up say 20 of them myself.

While we still do Japan factory painted figures, I will paint my own runs for the U.S. and, again, it's usually because there's not enough time to order them. Also, making one-offs, or customs, has become another revenue stream as well. So really it's a blend of factory paints, releases I paint, and customs.

Wow, that's a lot of work you're doing.

What's your work space look like?

My actual art work space is very small, probably 2½ feet across by 2 feet wide on

Kibunadon

a drafting table. For computer work I have a Mac set-up as well, though all of my art starts from a traditional drawing or painting and I only use the computer to make header cards and web images. If I need to paint or customize toys though, I do this outside in our backyard. I use Monster Kolor and V-Color paints, which are very toxic so it's best to spray these outside.

Changing gears a bit, at the end of last year you held an online voting contest called Kaiju Gals, which selected one female artist out of seven that you would work with next. What spurred this fantastic concept?

Gangsta Eyezon

I don't think its a secret that in the kaiju world there's not many women creators.

Both Yo and I like to push the boundaries of what Kaiju can look like and both of us feel that women artists bring a different view point. While the contest could have been open to women artists outside of Japan, I felt that the focus of Max Toys should be on Japanese creators. I think everyone involved submitted really cool and unique ideas. I wish I could have made everyone's designs into toys.

And maybe you will eventually make them all, but Kaiju Gals was won by Teresa Chiba with her Kibunadon design.

Can you tell us a bit about her and her piece? Is this going to be her first toy release?

Teresa Chiba is a multi-talented artist living and teaching in Tokyo, Japan. We've actually worked with her on other Max Toy events, like our 5th Anniversary and Beauty & the Kaiju shows. I think it was fitting that the fans chose her Fish Kaiju Kibunadon as the top vote getter, since Japan has such an affinity for sea creatures. This will be her first figure and we're really exicted about the pending release as well! If early fan reaction is any gauge, I think it will be a top seller too.

Speaking of women making kaiju, you're working with Candie Bolton on a project, right?

Candie has designed a very cool Kitsune, or Fox, figure for us, which is being sculpted

by Pico Pico in Japan. I actually was not too familiar with the Kitsune folklore in Japan, but it's quite fascinating and, while not a kaiju, certainly will fit right into the types of figures we make. Her Kitsune figure should be ready for SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) 2014, plus we hope to announce another

figure designed by Candie as well. Candie has a great love and passion for all things Japanese and I think that will translate well into her toy designs and artwork.

What else is in the future for Max Toy? I can say we have other new figures coming out this summer that will also plug into our Kaiju Tank tops! And, coming up, we have new toys in production from artists Javier Jimenez and Jay222.

For more information on Mark Nagata & Max Toy Company, please visit: www.maxtoyco.com

Clutter 19 | 39

Beginning with his work at The Jim Henson Company on The Dark Crystal, Clarke is a 30 year veteran of the toy industry who has recently begun work within the Designer Toy movement. Fueling our fondest '80s nostalgia, he is responsible for some of the most memorable 'weird' toys that decade produced: the monsterous Boglins and the symbiotic Sectaurs. Working with the Los Angeles based Toy Art Gallery, Clarke has recently released his stackable and interchangeable Totims, which are did you first get started down this steeped in mythology and iconography. While he How artistic path? was a toy designer that influenced a generation, I went to the Pratt Institute and I was in Kermit Loves class; he’s the guy who can he now become an artist that inspires and developed Big Bird and Snuffleupagus [for innovates in the Art Toy scene?

Sesame Street]. His class was incredibly popular so I didn’t get into it until my senior year and, when I finished, he asked, "What are you doing after you graduate?" I was planning on teaching, my major was in sculpture, but he said, "Why don’t you come work for me?" and that sounded great to me! Kermit actually started in the theatrical business, working more on ballets… He designed costumes for [George] Balanchine and [Robert] Joffrey, you know, major companies. We were doing the costumes for Parade, interpreting Picasso's costuming on Joffrey's dancers and, for the New York City Ballet, we created 24-foot high marionettes for Don Quixote.

And how did you begin working with Jim Henson?

Clarke in his studio Clarke in his studio

42 | Clutter 19

Since Kermit's work was sporadic, I would

Josh Kimberg Miranda O'Brien Tim Clarke Gino Joukar

sit around and make stuff in his shop. So when Kermit introduced me to Jim Henson, I showed him my work and he hired me on the spot to start working on the creatures for The Dark Crystal. After the movie was finished, we started making models for toys from the film, until Hasbro realized the movie was way too scary for little kids and they never produced the toys. I have copies in my studio of the prototypes, I think there are all of twelve of them in existence, maybe twenty at the most; they weren’t made to last, and my kids played with them, so they are starting to fall apart.

Did you make any toys with Henson?

After Dark Crystal, I went to work on Fraggle Rock and I said to Jim that we should start a toy division at Muppets. A lot of times they would just take a ride-on vehicle, like a three-wheeler, and stick some Big Bird stickers on it and call it a Sesame Street car.

I said to Jim, "We’re doing such innovative things, we should be making our own toy products," and he just said, “Tim, it's a great idea, but I just don’t want to do it.” (Laughs)

Clarke in his studio

I always said it was the best kick in the pants I ever got. Jim loved being creative, he just didn’t like running a business. And that’s why he was working on selling the Muppets to Disney, because he didn’t want to run this huge business, he just wanted to do creative projects.

so I called them to say I had some ideas, but they weren’t interested. Then I said I used to work for the Muppets and they said, "Oh, you should come in!"

The Sectaurs were your first produced original property. Where did they originate from?

So this had an impact on you?

Clarke's private collection

Oh yes. He taught me that you can just have a vision of what you want to do, that you don’t have to have all these business ties, in show business or anything else. You can just have a dream and get out there and do it and make it happen. That was his major influence on my approach to life: just try things that are different… I’m amazed at my life sometimes because of what I learned. He was a great guy and a character. His death was heart-wrenching.

How did you transition into the mainstream toy industry?

Clarke's private collection

When Fraggle Rock finished, the Muppets couldn’t sell another property, they were just treading water, so most of the staff was all put on freelance and I didn’t want to just sit around waiting for more work, so I started fooling around with the idea of combining my hand puppets and my own toys. I went to Toy Fair — it must have been 1982 — and I got a trade mag in which I saw an ad for Seven Towns, the guys who represented Ernõ Rubik [creator of the Rubik's Cube]. They were English but they had an office in New York,

(Laughs) I had made this realistic fly hand puppet when I worked for Kermit and had spare time. Jim Henson always had these really elaborate costume parties for Halloween, and I hated wearing masks because you can't eat or drink, so I bring this hand puppet, and I would just go around while people were drinking… and stick the proboscis into their drink or sit the fly on their shoulder and people loved it! One day I was meeting with my agent, I showed him the fly hand puppet, and he loved it. He said we should put an action figure on its back, so Maureen Trotto and I started designing all the Sectaurs — insect glove puppets with action figures on their backs. The first company Seven Towns showed it to was Coleco, who bought the property outright.

Wait, who's Maureen Trotto?

I was working doing toy sculpting and someone introduced us, we hit it off, and worked together for many years after that. We were both coming up with toy concepts and bringing them to Seven Towns; sometimes we worked together, sometimes independently. She had a lot to do with Clutter 19 | 43

Clarke, with a Boglin, at Toy Art Gallery's Idol Worship gallery show opening

King Toofus prototype and "Red Devil," from the Idol Worship exhibit

Totims block prints

she did most of it [the backstory]. Maureen's more from a theatre background, she still directs plays and that kind of stuff, so when we went to California to shoot the movie, [screenwriter] Larry Brody was working with her on the script.

So what happened with the Sectaurs movie?

Well, Universal had put up $10 million to make the movie and Coleco had to put up their $10 million, so we were in the film's pre-production for six weeks, making models and giant insects — the whole world of Symbion — when Coleco got cold feet.

They had lost so much money on the Adam [home] computer and the Vietnam War inspired Rambo toys misfire, they couldn’t pull it together.

How'd the Sectaurs do otherwise? They're so cool!

The Sectaurs did really well in the first year, there were comic books and commercials…

The TV commercials were cool, done in segments, so over the course of six weeks there was a serial TV commercial that told a story. I think that was the first time that was done and I don't think anyone has done it since. But the Sectaurs were only around for two years, the second year being 1983, when Coleco dumped Sectaurs, so they didn't do Boglins either…

So how did Boglins come to life?

The Boglins were visual for me, inspired by Olmec heads and pre-Columbian cultures.

I had the idea for foam latex hand puppets 44 | Clutter 19

and I'd learned all about foam latex from Dick Smith, the Hollywood make-up artist who did The Exorcist, while I was at Muppets; so I sculpted and made the Boglin prototypes myself out of foam latex in my studio.

Maureen's husband, Duane Langenwalter, designed the box, the cage, that we used when we went to present the product to Coleco, who looked at them first, but they closed soon after. It was for the best as I don’t think they really understood the idea.

Mattel said, as soon as they saw them, they were going to be a success, so they picked up Boglins and started making them in 1986.

Do you have a favorite Boglin? There was so many different ones…

(Laughs) I don't even know the complete listing of all the Boglins made, I never even got samples of most of them, even though I was contractually obligated to get samples of everything. I mean, there were even Boglins in toilet bowls… I had an early concept to do them in slime but they made it into a toilet bowl! (Laughs) Though the one that looks the most like the one I made initially was Dwork.

So how did the Boglins do?

The Boglins were only out in the U.S. for two years. In the second year, Mattel had $7 million in orders when they dumped the line, as that’s just not that much money to Mattel. So Seven Towns took the line and sold it to Ideal in England, where it became huge… Boglins, Mini Boglins, Baby Boglins with eggs, there was variant line after variant line all over Europe. These never came to the States and still have never been released here.

King Toofus arm prototypes

King Tofu head prototype

Clark with his Totims at the Idol Worship opening reception Clarke's private collection, in his studio "Small Totims Painting B" and "Krackatoa," from the Idol Worship exhibit

Grizlli Atom, Tim Clarke, Connell Little, Brian Flynn, and Gina Joukar at he Idol Worship opening reception

Was it because of the Boglins that you were called the King of Gross?

No, that's what Jerry Houle, the head of licensing at the Muppets, used to call me. He would introduce me to people that way!

How did you start working in the Designer Toy scene?

My daughter had been telling me to get into Designer Toys for a couple of years and my response had always been, "How can you make any money from 30 pieces?" I stopped thinking about it until, when visiting family in Los Angeles, I saw the TAG (Toy Art Gallery) store. I went by and spoke to Gino [Jakour, owner of TAG], who said, "Send me some sketches," and I said, "What the hell, I’ll try it!" My life has always been a flow of being creative, so I don’t prejudge any opportunity, I just do the work and see what happens. I don’t care if I sell one or ten or a hundred, I’m finally getting to make what I want without restriction, which is an amazing thing.

So you feel more freedom with Designer Toys?

Yes. There’s no safety issues, there's no age issue, there’s no limitations. It's a little hard for me to break that barrier, because it's been ingrained in me for 30 years. I’ve always found that people create these artificial

barriers and, as soon as you do, you are limiting the possibility of the project. Though the first product I spoke to Gino about he said was too complicated.

But you did work with Gino to make the Totims. Where did the design come from?

What does it mean to you? I see an Aztec influence myself.

I freely admit that I am influenced by Aztec designs, but the influences are vast. It's also Indonesian, it's Chinese, everything that goes into my subconscious and how it comes back out. I love the idea of creating my own mythology and I don’t want to define it, I want the interpretation to be from the person who is seeing it. And the great thing about the Totims is it has such a wide expanse of what it means. A lot of people think of totem poles, but any object that was a mixture of animal and human form was a totem, it's just something that people held sacred.

We have separated ourselves from those primitive icons and I think it would be so cool to give society a new set of contemporary icons. I had this idea that they would be interchangeable and people could collect and create their own – that’s what I wanted, for people to be able to make it their own.

How have the Totims been received so far?

The response has been relatively good, but I think the Totims are a little bit out of the

Clarke's studio

mainstream of these kind of toy concepts.

Even though it's figurative, it's not a figure.

What do you think about the mainstream toy industry today?

The industry used to be open to new concepts and ideas, all the toy innovations from Mr. Potato Head to the Cabbage Patch Dolls, were from outside designers; we were making the designer toys of our time. Even many of the action figure lines were created by outside designers! But now everything is an an extension of the entertainment business and independents have been pushed out, original ideas are now just extensions of existing properties.

The toy business has always been rather incestuous… It’s like the moldable sand thing from Toy Fair two years ago, one company made some so now 50 companies have moldable sand. Is that the best they can do? I like to say that the executives are like a bunch of penguins, standing there shivering on the ice, waiting and staring at the freezing sea, until one jumps in and then they all follow.

"Fire God Alaz Khan"

the artistic integrity to do something new and different and you’ll get rewarded for it.

What’s your current take on the Designer Toy scene?

The things that bothers me the most about this genre is that people are copying way too much. If you don’t have an original thought in your head, then – come on – you’re not even making the effort to think it out. Have

Check out more of Tim's work here:

timclarketoys.tumblr.com Clutter 19 | 45

An Interview with Jon-Paul Kaiser Marc DeAngelis Justin Allfree

Jon-Paul Kaiser has a staggeringly large portfolio of custom and production toys, but his claim to fame isn’t simply based on his sheer volume of output, it comes down to the fact that the majority of these toys use only two colors: black and white. "untitled," a hand-painted deer skull

While his monochromatic palette might remind one of the past, the only things old-timey about Kaiser are his love for history and his appreciation of past art movements. Using a blend of a fine art techniques, design coherence, and an everyman’s love of pop culture, Kaiser creates a body of deceptively complex work. So what makes the Ansel Adams of toy design tick…

Was there a particular moment of realization that you knew you wanted to be a designer?

doing and was doing well enough to not have to sponge off them financially. They’ve become incredibly supportive!

I think it was just something I was always drawn to. I loved to while away hours drawing robots, imagining their backgrounds and stories, designing the world around them… I was also pretty keen on being Indiana Jones, but that didn’t seem too realistic.

Did you end up going to school for art, or was it more something you did on the side? How'd you get into 3D design?

Was your artistic side fostered by your family?

My family despaired about me at times. I wasn’t interested in anything else apart from art and design and I had a bit of an attitude about that. It took my parents quite a while to come around to the idea that being an artist or designer could be a real career, though they could see I was happy with what I was

It was both. I took extra art night classes alongside my GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education) so I could learn more, practice my craft with some great tutoring, and improve my key skills. I think I always planned my designs in three-dimensions, and thought about how the drawings I did would sit in a 3D world, so I went on to study design, animation, and 3D design at college, then onto university where I did a Higher National Diploma in Model-Making & Visual Effects.

Who and what are your biggest artistic

inspirations?

Oh man, there are loads. Most pop culture, obviously; I think that's a given for any artist in this scene. Films, film noir aesthetic, walks, graphic novels, history, military vehicle design, Star Wars, Japanese art, fine art, and my wife. As for artists, I've always been inspired by fine artists like Francis Bacon, [Francisco] Goya, and [Pablo] Picasso, and more contemporary artists like Jake & Dinos Chapman and Ron Mueck. As for artists within this scene, there are always the godfathers to look up to: Huck Gee, Frank Kozik, Jeremy Fish, Sam Flores, and Tristan Eaton. And I'm also inspired by artists a little closer to home, like Mr. Lister, A Little Stranger, MAp-MAp, and Rich Page (UME Toys), as we're often in touch and spur each other on a little.

You mention Japanese art in there and I've heard before that your aesthetic has Clutter 19 | 47

been inspired by their woodblock prints.

A lot of toy designers are influenced

by Japanese pop culture, but you particularly mention art from 200 to 400 years ago.

While I’m also inspired by modern Japanese pop-culture, I’m a MASSIVE history geek and there’s a certain romanticism around that [Edo period] era: the clothes, culture, armor… The simplicity and minimalism of the prints is a great influence when trying to keep a design as concise as possible.

Did you start customizing before or after the Ozzel, the first production toy you worked on?

"Judge Dredd," a custom of Kidrobot's Munny

It was after the Ozzel, which is a bit weird I guess. After chatting with Porl [Paul Burke, co-founder of Porlzilla] and, going through his sketches, we decided that we would produce the Ozzel between us. It was after that when I got invited to participate in the Show Me The (Mini) Munny custom show at Go-Go Plastic in Birmingham [in England] and I decided to do my own thing, rather than something Porlzilla styled.

Were those first customs in your signature black-and-white style?

Those first three Mini Munnys were blackand-white, and though my style and lines have tightened over the years, they're still definitely recognizable as my work. It’s the way I’ve always drawn and painted, with that heavy over-exposed light and shadow contrast.

You do a lot of customs on Munnys. Is that your favorite platform to customize?

"Dressed in Death Fatima," a custom of Sam Flores & Upper Playground's Fatima

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Munny. It's just a perfect design; the lines and angles are really clever, especially when you look at it in profile. For a stationary object, it looks pretty dynamic. It also has the right balance of character and blank canvas to it. Usugrow figures are always a delight to paint as well — so clean and well sculpted, detailed but not messy or cluttered.

You have a very healthy mix of production toys and customs, which is a balance that a lot of artists have a hard time striking. How did you pull that off?

Do you think your showing at exhibits brings attention from vinyl producers?

Early on, I realized the starkness of my pieces really made them easy to pick out and identify in group shots of shows, but I don’t think exhibiting at shows helped gain me any ground when approaching or working with potential producers. Though I think that’s a personal thing, as I tend to do few shows and more commissions.

Production toys allow a good idea or design to reach people that might never have heard of you, gain new fans, and raise your profile. With custom toys you can explore less commercial ideas as you have only two people to please — the customer and yourself — which allows you to experiment more and try new things.

In my opinion, a make-or-break attribute of a great customizer is his or her ability to use a platform in a clever way, which your Ugly Bee and Admiral Ackbar Munny are great examples of. How do you get into that mindset where you can view a platform from a fresh perspective?

This is going to sound slightly lame or odd, but I sand the old paint down, prime it in white, then sit there and stare at it for a long time. Sometimes it’ll be hours! I look at the shapes, the curves on the surface, and think about what would fit in there, how the design would work with the shape. I’m also keen on trying to keep the figure in its original form if possible, to use as little sculpting as possible and let the paint transform [the toy].

Which you certainly do! You’ve got a firm grasp on making negative space as striking as possible, which takes a good eye and a lot of skill. You’re able to force the eye to focus on the important parts of the piece and disregard the rest of it.

Yeah, I use the contrast of black-and-white as an optical illusion; the black, as well as being shadow, becomes an invisible area and the eye evades this negative space. It’s a trick I use quite a lot.

You crank out several customs per month and you have a day job. Do you sleep?

Ah, this is my day job now! I was burning myself out. I’d go into work an hour early to paint, then paint again through my lunch hour, and then more painting in the evening after work. It became too much to cope with and, fortunately, I’d gotten to the point where my sideline was large enough to support me and I was able to quit my job and work on my own toys full-time.

What’s your secret weapon?

My wife, she’s my muse and an absolute anchor!

For more information on Jon-Paul Kaiser visit:

www.jonpaulkaiser.com

When I began customizing, one of my main aims was that I wanted my customs to look like they were production pieces: perfect finish, no bad lines, emulating a printed look to them. I think this translated well when it came to designing characters for production, as it was something I was already trying to achieve.

I think that it’s also important to balance between the two different ‘mediums.’

"Bubo," a custom of Coarse's Omen 48 | Clutter 19

Clutter 19 | 49

8" TALL DIY BEAR HEADS COMING SOON

#lukechueh #clutterstudios

KESHI-GOMU… An alien term to most I’m sure, but chances are that if you’re reading this magazine and are over the age of 20, you would’ve had more than a few of these little rubber guys pass through your hands at some point or another. Emerging from Japan in the 1970s and quickly taking over many a toy collection in the West throughout the '80s and '90s, these monochromatic “eraser” or, as we will refer to them, “pocket” mini figures have received a massive injection in popularity after a near two decade slump. In recent years, mass-produced lines — such as OMFG, S.U.C.K.L.E., and Unbox Industries’ Greasebat & Friends Gummi Playset — as well as a number of indie outfits — such as Zoomoth, Nama Niku, and The Disarticulators — have all helped to reignite the passion in these super-collectible, highly playable, and, above all, fun little toys. Steeped in a similarly rich history and culture as the ever-evolving kaiju scene, through this article we plan to take you on a guided, introductory tour of some of the keshi industry’s most important and influential highlights, finishing up with a little look at the various facets the contemporary scene currently has to offer. So sit back and get ready to enjoy the weird and wonderful world of keshi-gomu…

Born out of a desire for smaller, cheaper, and

These parodies of popular chōjin (superhero)

popular soft vinyl kaiju of the mid-1970s, the

mingled with a very much in-vogue wrestling

more collectible alternatives to the increasingly pocket-sized “eraser” figures known as keshi

took no time at all to establish a long standing place in the Japanese toy industry. With their simple, monochromatic appearance, tactile

feel, huge selection of color options, and heavy reliance on tokusatu (special effects laden

live action film), anime, and manga licensing,

they naturally appealed to hobbyist painters,

completists, and diehard show fans alike. Initial distribution techniques further heightened

popularity and scope, with gashapon (capsule)

vending machines, ¥100 boxes, fast food meal premiums, and, later, carded packs, quickly setting the industry standard for well over three decades.

While early on Bandai predominantly produced lines such as Ultraman, GeGeGe no Kitarō, and

aesthetic, would have, by the time of the

original series’ close in 1988, a breathtaking collection of 418 unique designs in total.

Initially only made available in the industry

standard setting flesh-toned rubber to keep production costs low, popularity in the line

soon spawned almost limitless color variations, re-packagings, accessories, and even official fan-designed additions, marking a huge

change in the way mini figures, and toys in

general, were marketed in both the East and West.

With Kinnikuman bolstering popularity

throughout Japan in the mid-'80s, the scope of keshi became increasingly diversified. Joining new licenses in the world of video games,

including Capcom’s Makaimura (Ghosts ‘n

High School! Kimengumi, all of which helped

Goblins) and Nintendo’s The Hyrule Fantasy:

any documentation of the initial wave of keshi

and the arrival of more ambitious intellectual

to solidify the little figures’ ongoing success, wouldn’t be complete without mentioning

easily the most influential and iconic line of all: the legendary Kinkeshi. Based on the

hugely popular manga serial Kinnikuman by Yudetamago, the pen name of creative duo

Takashi Shimada (writer) and Yoshinori Nakai (artist), the first wave of figures made their debut alongside an anime series in 1983.

52 | Clutter 19

staples, such as Ultraman and Superman,

Zelda no Densetsu (The Legend of Zelda),

properties, like Bandai’s incredible Spiral Zone, the almost undying appeal of these figures

paved the way for several completely original

series too, the most important arguably being 1988's Neclos Fortress. Released by Asian

confectionary company Lotte, the Dungeons &

Dragons inspired line offered a unique playable element rarely seen in keshi before, with each

An assortment of vintage keshi figures

figure coming packed in a box with candy and

Europe certainly wasn’t the only place being

really come until 1979, as Bandai, realizing

Cranium Creature, just barely negating any

influence on the many Western lines to spew

was sweeping the world at the time. While

out a new line entitled Can Full of Monsters.

massive hit upon release, the full cast of

an RPG-style game card. Obviously a huge

forth after its release, Neclos soon became famed for its wonderfully diverse selection of mythical creatures (over 320 in total),

beautifully detailed sculpts, layered narratives and story arcs, and — a new staple for keshi in the late '80s — “special feature” rubber, including thermal color changing, metallic, pearlescent, and clear finishes.

So, what about the pocket mini figure scene

in the West? Well, strangely enough, France is widely regarded as the first known country to have imported and distributed keshi outside of Asia. Randomly inserted into boxes of

Procter & Gamble’s BONUX washing powder, marketed as “cadeaux BONUX” (Bonux

presents), the brand used numerous different pocket mini figure lines throughout the late '70s, the most recognizable coming in the

form of Japan’s first successfully exported anime, Koichi Sekiguchi’s Monchihichi.

Originally limited to 10 designs based on the iconic little monkey, the chibi (mini keshi)

figures were recast for BONUX in a number of different colors and materials, with many

collectors reporting to own a variety of both hard and soft variations.

exposed to the new mini figure craze that

companies in the States had been using a

similar “premium” style distribution as P&G

for a number of hard plastic minis, including Ralston’s iconic Freakies cereal toys in the

'70s, America’s first real exposure to keshi

predominantly came from the growing 25¢

gumball industry. Largely shielded from the usual copyright laws of mainstream toys at the time, parts of Northern and Southern America quickly became saturated with

knock-off lines originating from properties

the potential of the Stateside market, brought Featuring a total of 15 designs recycled from Tsubraya/Bandai’s original Ultraman keshi

series, the micro-sized 1.5” rubber figures

came randomly packed in plastic trash canstyle containers with a total of 4 different colors up for grabs. Helping to cement

are said to have come in a huge selection of materials and finishes, including hard PVC

plastics and keshi-style rubbers, alongside

reduced micro-keychain versions as well as

some of the earliest examples of kit-bashing (a term used to describe the melding of

elements from different figures to create a new character).

The West’s first “official” taste of keshi didn’t

number of new color options, a marketing practice that is still widely used today.

mid- '80s, it wasn’t until knock-off Kinnikuman

few years later, M.U.S.C.L.E.

introducing a number of new keshi-styled

Similar to the cadeaux BONUX figures, these

a more faithful eraser-style rubber with a

the form of 1981’s Monster Toss and, just a

Beasts, and, more prominently, Kinnikuman

kinkeshi, M.U.S.C.L.E., reached U.S. shores!).

blister carded retail edition, produced in

With rubber mini figures slowly but surely

the series would eventually lead to a sequel in

Aside from the Japanese imports, companies

(a whole two years before the Americanized

figures were soon resurrected for a special

interest for licensed (albeit repurposed) keshi,

in both the East and West, including

miniaturized Masters of the Universe, Battle

possible copyright issues. Proving to be a

such as Diener Industries were also

lines onto the market at around the same

time. Originally teaming up with McDonald’s

to release monochromatic rubber mini figures through their Happy Meal promotions, the partnership lead to a number of different

series, including the Jungle Creatures, Sea Creatures, Space Raiders, and, the most fondly remembered, Space Creatures.

Limited to a total of 8 different designs (as

was customary in these series), each of the figures were loosely based on a creature from B-Movie horror, with unimaginative

names, such as Gill Face Creature and Veined

gaining momentum throughout the early to

lines such as Musclemania moved from the gumball machines into the toy stores that

Bandai decided to act and finally Americanize their flagship kinkeshi brand with the help of Mattel. The first (and probably only)

truly successful keshi export from Japan, the extensive series took a total of 236

designs from the original line, recast them

in a harder, more durable PVC rubber, and

packaged them in a mix of blistered 4-packs, trash can-style 10-pack containers (clear

plastic versions of those from Can Full of Monsters!), and window boxed 28-packs.

Opting for a new Good vs. Evil narrative that was only really hinted at on the back of the bigger window boxes, the Western take on

Kinnikuman did closely mirror the Japanese release in a number of other aspects,

An assortment of Monster in My Pocket figures

Clutter 19 | 53

including a total of 10 different colors across

on the bandwagon at the time, and while its

food premium promotional variants, and a

dissolve in water to reveal a figure — worked

both U.S. and European territories, various

staggering selection of additional accessories and merchandise, including board games,

videogames, wrestling rings, and belts. Laying the foundations for a huge explosion of mini figures in the West for nearly a decade to

come following its 1985 debut, M.U.S.C.L.E.’s relatively short, three year run betrays its monumental influence on the scene.

Topps trading card brand was the first to

make any real change in the industry postM.U.S.C.L.E. Based on Topps’ successful

Garbage Pail Kids (GPK), a gross-out Cabbage Patch Dolls parody which was in its third

extension of the idea — offering bags that on paper, the slightly random, repurposed nature of the actual toys featured offered

no real lasting appeal. Obviously garnering at least some success in Europe, the line was

quickly followed up by the infinitely more fun and collectible Bad Eggz Bunch, which were once again marketed entirely around the

packaging: a thin, breakable plastic egg filled

with ooze. The Bad Eggz Bunch's oddball lineup of figures offered a certain charm lacking

in the Trash Bag Bunch, with the loose sculpts and monochromatic colored rubber thankfully harkening back to the earlier keshi aesthetic.

series at the time, the controversial Cheap

While the likes of M.U.S.C.L.E. and GPK

1986. Featuring a total of 10 designs taken

part of the '80s, it took the minds of two

Toys were introduced onto the market in

from the first three GPK card runs, the tiny 1” sculpts were produced in a similar high quality PVC to M.U.S.C.L.E., with 4 base colors in the standard U.S. release and

additional region specific versions for both Canada and the U.K. in the years to follow.

Tapping into a huge market populated with similar risqué properties, including both

Madballs and Weird Balls (which, funnily enough, spawned two mini series of its

own), Cheap Toys were an instant success.

This popularity was, in at least some part, due to the super-cheap 25¢ cost — the

same price as a pack of GPK cards — and

the series’ strangely engaging packaging, a

mini dark green garbage bag with a pack of

self-proclaimed “Crummy Candy” and figure checklist. This extra attention to detail was more than enough to draw in the kids who

had been raised on boring gumball capsules,

and was a gimmick extensively drawn upon in the pocket mini figure industry for years to come. Galoob Toys’ 1991 series, Trash Bag Bunch, was one of the many that jumped

were a huge success throughout the later ex-Mattel employees, Joe Morrison and John

Photo: Todd Franklin/neatocoolville.com - Space Creatures in original blister packaging

Weems, to finally establish the West’s first truly original pocket mini figure series: the

epic Monsters in My Pocket (MIMP), making

— to encompass insects, dinosaurs, aliens,

a rarity in Japanese gashapon machines and

of Matchbox. Featuring many of the very

edition, partially painted cereal premiums.

being produced in China. And it wasn’t just

its first appearance in early 1990 courtesy same mythical beasts as Lotte’s Neclos

and, later, wrestlers and sportstars as limited

Fortress series, the iconic MIMP line of mini

Having had such a massive impact on the

Monsterdom, ranging from Greek mythology,

Monsters in My Pocket would become one

figures spanned the length and breadth of cult horror classics, and even, to quite

some controversy, religious divinities and

“monsters.” Although lacking the game card of Neclos, MIMP did feature a similar RPG

mechanic of sorts: points marked on each

figure’s back, which initially ranged from 5 to 25. A strange addition, but one that, along

with the huge variety of colors and figures offered, kept kids collecting right through

the majority of the '90s. Eventually spanning 11 series with over 200 original sculpts, the

monster theme was quickly broadened after the fourth run — largely due to the outcry

of the inclusion of yet more religious figures

scene for nearly a decade, it's shocking that of the last major pocket mini figure series in the West for over 20 years. That is not to say that the industry completely died

off; many new lines were introduced in the

stores, due to more and more figures were the medium that was changing either; we

had been indulged throughout the '70s and

'80s with sculpts full of charm and character, but the new wave of PVC minis adopted

either hyper-realistic or derivative SD (Super Deformed) aesthetics, leaving many diehard collectors out in the cold.

following years, with highlights including

Luckily for us, this most certainly didn’t mean

who some of you may now know as Doktor

been some interesting new developments

P.E.T Aliens (co-sculpted by Bruce Attley,

A!), Fistful of Power, and the aforementioned Monster Wrestlers in My Pocket. With the

move to cheaper, harder plastic and crude

factory paint jobs becoming more common,

the West's original passion in these toys was fading fast while, around the same time, the true “eraser” keshi platform was becoming

the end for keshi; far from it, as there have over the past decade and a half that have

very much kept the spirit of the pocket mini figure alive. With such a deep and diverse

past, the vintage collectors market has always remained very healthy in the East, with the

likes of retailer Mandarake’s world-renowned Microkan store, known for stocking some of the rarest (and cheapest!) figures around,

holding regular community Keshi Days, and keeping the medium alive in print with their

famous publication, コンプREX. As you'll see

over the next couple of pages, production of new figures in the East is also still prevalent, albeit on a slightly more intimate scale. The

likes of Bandai have unfortunately dropped

off the radar completely in recent years, but

fueled by a strong base of loyal fans hungry for new rubber figures, a number of new

artists and producers have begun to emerge, including Zoomoth, Newtervision, and Mokyu, with recent releases ranging from licensed products, original figures, and, of course,

pachi (bootlegs).

Similar trends have also been seen in the West in recent years too. While

the vintage scene has just a small but

extremely dedicated group of followers and collectors keeping traditional keshi

and pocket mini figures alive, the real heart of the scene can be found in the ever-

growing indie community. Pioneered by

Marty “Godbeast” Hansen through his early Super-Rare M.U.S.C.L.E. re-castings and,

later, with the classic Jason Frailey sculpted Clawshine mash-up, these soon lead to a

huge resurgence in the scene. Alongside

Godbeast's output, the likes of Rampage Toys

and Nama Niku’s early bootlegs encouraged a huge swell of new artists in just a little over 6 years, many of whom we’ll be taking a closer look at in issues to come!

A display inside Mandarake's Microkan store - Photo: Nama Niku

54 | Clutter 19

Inevitably, the revived interest in pocket mini

figures has also lead to some very interesting mass-produced lines too. Skirting on the

feature in the art toy industry for quite some time to come.

edge of designer toy, mainstream, and pocket

So that’s it, the near 40 year history of the

October Toys’ community-based line OMFG as

in to little over 2,500 words. If we have

mini scenes, these have been popularized by well as their earlier Z.O.M.B.I.E.s, with recent contributions coming in the form of Jeff

Lamm’s Greasebat & Friends Gummi Playset and the soon-to-be-revealed Disarticulator

set, both produced by Unbox Industries. Very much in the spirit of M.U.S.C.L.E. and MIMP,

using similar materials and packaging, plus an all-important low price point, these nostalgiatinged little guys will hopefully remain a

keshi/pocket mini figure tightly crammed

managed to pique your interest, then you may be keen to know a little more about

the different facets of the contemporary scene, and, more importantly, where and

how you can start collecting it! By splitting up the different areas in this section, we

hope to cover all of the many, many areas of interest, the first coming in the form of the

aforementioned mass-produced 'indie' lines...

Assortments of kinkeshi figures - Photo: Nama Niku

With OMFG setting the standard back in

store exclusives, and repackaged editions

industry has seen continual growth over the

price point (around $2 a figure)!

2011, the mass-produced pocket mini figure past couple of years, with the likes of Unbox

offered for each series, and the extremely low

Industries, Fantastic Plastic, and even The

Aside from the slightly more indie side of

classic monochromatic 2” figures. Although

mass-produced lines currently available

Super Sucklord offering up their takes on the the most prominent and easy to collect of the current wave of minis in the West, the

“mass-produced” moniker is perhaps a little

unfair when you consider the comparatively small nature of runs, with colorways often running between 80-200 rather than into

the thousands produced. Largely drawing

inspiration from the Americanized keshi of the mid- to late '80s both in terms of style and presentation, the majority of recent

releases have been produced in China using

a similar hard PVC as the original M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, almost always coming packed on a blister card or in a Bandai-style trash can for added authenticity. Relatively easy to

locate in your local art toy store and online,

this type of pocket mini is currently denoted by two major factors, both of which make

them perfect fodder for pretty much any toy

collector out there: the huge variety of colors,

the industry, there are a number of “real”

that do still hold some credibility amongst

hardened mini figure collectors too. Joining the likes of Jakks Pacific’s S.L.U.G Zombies

and Moose’s Trash Pack, the most important of note has got to be the recent reboot of

Garbage Pail Kids. Released last year under the new Minikins moniker, the adamantly fan-petitioned series featured a total of

26 designs from across both new and old

GPK trading card series, each standing at a

wonderfully squishy sub-1” and coming in a standard painted colorway alongside rarer,

monochromatic versions in red, blue, green,

yellow, and, most recently discovered, black.

One of the most successful mass-produced series in recent years, word has it that

another 26 of these little chaps will be hitting the market soon.

Current mass-produced lines to check

out: Greasebat & Friends Gummi Playset

(Unbox Industries), Minikins (Topps), Mystical An assortment of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures with original can packaging

Warriors of the Ring (Fantastic Plastic), OMFG (October Toys), OTMFG (October Toys), and

S.U.C.K.L.E. (The Super Sucklord & DKE Toys).

An assortment of Mystical Warriors of the Ring, S.U.C.K.L.E., and OMFG Series 2 figures

Clutter 19 | 55

As with the mass-produced lines, keshi and

usually larger production runs, Japanese indie

has lead to an explosion of talent in the

Western collector, with most releases being

pocket mini figures’ increase in popularity indie scene as well. Unlike the previously

mentioned series though, the self-produced

creations tend to rely heavily on the original Eastern keshi culture, largely characterized by their soft rubbery feel over the hard,

American-style PVC. Brought to the forefront in the West by the likes of Ironmask, Eric

Nilla, and, recently, Metal Monkey’s Universe

relegated to the country's regular shows and festivals, often meaning coughing up big

bucks on the secondary market. With retail

usually running anywhere between $10-$35 for both Eastern and Western figures, you

can expect that to at least double when they hit the likes of Yahoo Auctions Japan.

of Violence (UoV) series — as well as a steady

Current self-produced lines/figures to check

including the recent debut of Atomic

M.A.S.H (Newtervision), Moqkeshi (Mokyu),

flow of releases from The Disarticulators,

Uchuujin — the small, but dedicated scene continues to flourish alongside its bigger

(and uglier!) brother. Not surprisingly, the

East has an even healthier indie community,

An assortment of pieces from Nerdone and Newtvision

keshi tends to be the hardest to locate as a

out: Atomic Uchuujin (The Disarticulators),

M.O.T.U.L.O.S Playset (Nerdone), Onion Fights (Onion Fights), and UoV: Chaos Dimension (Metal Monkey & Eric Nilla).

with outfits and brands such as Onion

Fights, Newtervision, Moqkeshi, and Nerdone pushing the boundaries in terms of both

creativity and authenticity of production,

blending traditional style with unconventional mediums, including soft vinyl and hard resin,

Figures from Universe of Violence: Chaos Dimension

to dazzling effect.

Now in terms of availability, self-produced

figures can often prove very hard to locate, especially when looking for out-of-cast releases. Limited to runs of anywhere

between 10-200 pieces, dependent on the choice of either hand-cast or sub-factoryled production, these types of figures are very rarely found in usual retail locations, but are likely to pop-up in dedicated web

stores, gallery shows, and cons. Even with the

An assortment of pachi figures

Briefly touched upon during our 101, pachi/

B.A.S.T.A.R.Ds, and, of course, Buff Monster's

Similar to the indie/self-produced figures,

most expensive, keshi on the planet. Yahoo

keshi scene since day one. Now some of

from these resin produced figures with their

to come by if you’ve missed a particular

Microkan are the best places to go and look,

bootlegs have played a huge part in the

the most collectible of vintage keshi, sought

after lines such as the infamous Horror Mario and Kinnikuman super rares can command upwards of $600 a figure. Whilst none of the contemporary entries can ever hope

to obtain such cult status, the community now spans a worldwide roster of A-list

artists, ranging from Healeymade and his

conceptual M.U.S.C.L.E. & M.A.S.K. mash-ups, Triclops with their wholly bootleg-embracing

56 | Clutter 19

recent Melty Misfit take on Cheap Toys. Aside art toy leanings, there are still a number of artists staying true to the original medium,

with the likes of Nama Niku and Eric Nilla’s

recently released Pachi Man, Brown Noize's Ashurashine, and my own [Tru:Tek’s] 2012

released H.U.S.T.L.E line evoking the feeling of old through kit-bashed keshi, original

sculpting, rubber casting, and a plethora of authentic colors.

pachi can unfortunately be pretty hard

release. Usually limited to around 10-20 figures per run, new pachi will generally set you back around $10-$20 a figure,

with aftermarket rates varying wildly. Often

Auctions Japan and, of course, Mandarake’s although be warned that some of the most

highly sought after figures will set you back the price of a second-hand car!

limited to web store and con/festival drops,

Current pachi lines/figures to check out:

usually be the only way to secure a popular

Things), H.U.S.T.L.E (Tru:Tek), Mask/Muscle

following particular artists and brands will

release. Those looking to spend big will be

glad to know that the vintage pachi market is awash with some of the craziest, albeit

B.A.S.T.A.R.Ds (Triclops), B.U.F.F (Muscle

(Healeymade), Melty Misfit Cheap Toys (Buff

Monster), and NNWA (Nama Niku & Eric Nilla).

An assortment of the Horror Mario figures Photo: Katsushi from Zoomoth

Easily the most highly regarded of all indie

Unfortunately, the whole premise behind

figures are sold exclusively at toy festivals

it very hard to collect these toys in the

keshi right now, these fully licensed rubber in Japan and have just one restriction: all

stock must be sold on the day of the event!

Spearheaded by Zoomoth with their securing of various Capcom, Nintendo, and Konami

licenses, including Metroid and Castlevania, the practice has since boomed in the East, with the likes of Mokyu, Shamrock Arrow,

Outer Rim, and CMP taking on a variety of manga, anime and TV show properties in beautiful keshi form.

the one-day licensing obviously makes

West. Usually factory produced in numbers between 100-200 per color, these high

piece counts unfortunately don’t equate to

cheaper aftermarket prices, with most colors commanding twice the rate at around $60 each, and over triple for flesh colored at a

staggering $100 apiece. Again, another one for serious collectors only…

Current one-day licenses to check out: Castlevania (Zoomoth), Lupin III (Outer

Rim), Mikey Fantastic (CMP), Moqkeshi

Part 2: Retto (Mokyu), and Splatterhouse 2 (Zoomoth).

An assortment of one-day license figures from Zoomoth, Shamrock Arrow, CMP, and Outer Rim

Now packed with the knowledge of a near-keshi guru, you’ll Originally produced in a plain monochromatic

from specialist toy blogs such as my own

artists regularly posting their work, so be sure

fanatics alike to paint their figures, it comes

find out more about the custom scene is to

amazing talent when you have the time.

rubber to encourage hobbyists and miniature as no real surprise that the custom keshi/

mini community is still thriving today. With

the likes of Monsterforge, Ersico, and Plastic Playhouse producing some of the most

interesting pieces in the West, customs from

Man-E-Toys (man-e-toys.com), the best way to hit up the various online forums available. The

to head on over and check out some of the

likes of Little Rubber Guys (littlerubberguys.

Current custom keshi/mini figure artists to

have a whole host of warm and welcoming

Monsterforge, and Plastic Playhouse.

com) and October Toys (octobertoys.com)

these guys can range from straight-up mini

check out: Clawfreak, Corey Webb, Ersico,

be glad to know that we’ll

be returning soon with even more in-depth coverage of

the current mini figure scene, including exclusive interviews and articles on the many

areas we’ve briefly touched

upon here. In the meantime, interested parties can keep track of current releases

figure re-paints to one-off kit-bashes to even

via Man-E-Toys (man-e-toys.

wholly re-sculpted figures, with themes often

com), and head on over to

borrowed heavily from the pop culture of the

dedicated pocket mini blogs,

'80s and '90s.

like MinifiguresXD (minifigures. blogspot.com) and Little

Relatively easy to obtain, custom figures

Weirdos (littleweirdos.net), for

generally find their way into artist’s web

a deeper look into many of the

stores on a pretty regular basis. Most

figures and series mentioned in

customizers will also take commissions as

this guide…

well, so if you’re after a particular style or

theme and have the figure for them to work

Until next time, guys, keep it

with, they’re usually just an e-mail away from

rubbery!

making it happen. Regardless of the size and complexity of the custom, pieces on

Special thanks to MinifiguresXD

amount of work put in, often ranging from

that made up a good portion of

the whole are very modest for the average

for the huge chunks of info

just $10-$40 each.

So, where can you find these guys? Aside

this article, and to Nama Niku, "Nama King" Photo: Nama Niku

Neato Coolville, and Zoomoth

Clutter 19 | 57

Nick Curtis Sekure D

With a hint of Fantastic Four member The Thing's rock hide here and allusions to muck monster Swamp Thing's textured skin there, the meticulously precise paint applications of Matt Fabris have taken the Designer Toy scene by storm. Working under the nom de guerre of Sekure D, the Melbourne-based artist might be best known to Art Toy fanatics by his bounty of one-of-a-kind pieces built upon the Kidrobot produced Dunny, Munny, and Mascot platforms, but — in a more mainstream manner — he is known as, according to Sneaker Freaker, "one of the top sneaker customisers [sic] in the world." The intricate, detail-oriented style of Fabris has rapidly garnered him a significant fanbase, but much about the man himself remains shrouded in an aire of mystery…

60 | Clutter 19

Let's begin with the question everyone must want to know the answer to: Where did the name Sekure D come from?

It's a long story, but I will try to keep it brief for you… When I was about 14, I was with my friends at a two-level cinema complex with balconies that overlooked the ground floor and shops below. From where we were sitting on the balcony, there was a CD store below us and Naughty by Nature were about to do a signing. I was, however, watching the big screen behind us that was showing trailers for upcoming movies because, well, I loved cinema slightly more than I loved Naughty by Nature.

series and communicating with Bill via email, he actually drew a portrait of me as Prowler and sent it to me as a gift. It is framed in my studio and one of my prized possessions.

Seriously, how awesome is that?!

[pieces], so I don't call myself a graffiti artist, plus I don't paint much anymore. I always say I am going to get back into it, but I am slack when it comes to leaving the house at 2 a.m.

You mentioned doing graffiti, what kind of graffiti did you do? Tags? throw ups? pieces?

Who or what do you consider your greatest artistic influences and inspirations?

I pretty much exclusively did pieces and a few years of doing graffiti is the only real art education I have. I only did a few hundred

Wow, this is really a hard one! I always respond to this question with anything to do with cinema, comics, and graffiti, but I will try and pick a few artists. Off the top of my head, it would be Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky, Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, KAWS (Brian Donnelly), Craola (Greg Simkins), Jeff Soto, Doze Green, Todd McFarlane, or anyone painting [graffiti] on the Blackburn or Glen Waverley lines (both in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) from about 1997 onwards. This doesn't even include my friends and peers in the vinyl world; that would be a long, long list of names.

Little did I know that one of my friends had passed his Coke bottle to one of the other boys and they accidentally dropped it over the edge of the balcony right as Naughty by Nature walked out for their signing. From below, I am sure it looked intentional and, apparently, the bottle only just missed the band! And remember, this was 14 years ago when those bottles were still glass!

My friends ran and, since I was watching the big screen with my back to this, I was totally oblivious until I hear, "MATT! Security!

Security!", and then I turn to see two huge security guards running at me, and we escaped through a fire exit. When I started to do graffiti, the in-joke of yelling security at me was shortened down to Sekure and then, when I registered my business, became Sekure D — which sounds like 'security.'

In the greater scheme of things, you're best known for your painted sneaker pieces.

How did you get into that?

And, for years, your official portrait was that of you wearing a Deadpool mask. Is there a particular reason for this? How did it start?

Slight correction: the character is Prowler, whose first appearance was in The Amazing Spider-Man #78 from 1969. I have always really liked this character and related to parts of his personality, plus, well, his costume is just plain awesome. I used to wear a generic Spawn inspired wrestling mask for interviews, so I was 'unidentified' for years when I was doing graffiti because I was really skinny and young and if I got arrested for it then… you fill in the blanks.

"S Rogers," a custom pair of Nike's Air Max 1990 sneakers

In 2009, I was in Japan and was invited to this crazy New Balance party where I met a guy who professionally makes wrestling masks and I figured it was time for me to get my very own, original, one-of-a-kind mask made. Obviously, I chose Prowler — as Earthworm Jim was going to be way too hard — so I sent over my head measurements and, months later, received the mask in the mail.

Sneakers were my first passion. I started collecting and really paying attention to them about 14 years ago, when I was obsessed with basketball and Michael Jordan. I still remember working as a janitor in a bakery from the age of 13 to save up and buy sneakers. Like anything 'underground,' it eventually became more and more mainstream and things changed from where you were able to get limited releases days after they dropped to a point where people were lining up at shops overnight and prices were going gangbusters on the resale market for shoes that had, say, 20,000+ pairs in circulation.

By this point I had realized, "Why sleep out for something that so many other people would have if, with a bit of my own hard work, I could create a custom sneaker that nobody else in the world would have?" That's how it all began.

Have you ever made a matching custom toy and sneaker set? Do you find a lot of crossover from your fans in both markets?

Yes, a few times actually. This doesn't happen as much as I would like, but it does happen. I recently made a graffiti themed 4" Munny and Jordan X set, but maybe the most popular set so far was made for the Swamp Thing. The groups of collectors

Since that point I have been collecting all things Prowler. There actually isn't a lot of Prowler products out there, as he isn't one of the big Spider-Man characters, so I started to collect original Prowler comic book art, the original hand-drawn pages from the comics. In 1994, Marvel Comics gave Prowler his own four-issue comic spin-off series illustrated by Bill Reinhold and, after buying about 8 pages from this "Donatello," a custom pair of Nike's Air Force 1 sneakers Clutter 19 | 61

definitely crossover, but not so much here in Australia — I think it's much more prevalent in the U.S. and Asia.

Do you see a difference between handpainting a pair of sneakers versus a custom toy? Or are both equal forms of artistic expression for you?

Well, there are a few important differences: the paneling in a shoe gives you upper and lower ground, which are immediate points of contrast and a good starting point for any design. Often sneakers really come down to pattern design and, as the panels are so small, it's very important to get the composition right. With vinyl, I am really focused on giving each piece a personality, something you don't do with sneakers. My Codename Unknown style, when applied to vinyl, requires quite a lot of symmetry, something that's a little less important on the sneakers. Overall, I get different things from each: I love creating a character and having him in a tangible 3D form, but with the sneakers it's also a lot of fun to breakdown what a character represents, what makes him iconic, and translate that into patterns and a design you could envision someone wearing.

You mentioned your Codename Unknown style. What exactly is that? What's the unifying factor?

I would say the foundation of my style is strong color use plus clean lines and patterns. When I was starting out, the biggest compliments I ever got were that my linework looked like they came from a factory, or that my customs looked manufactured and not painted, almost like a robot had done them.

"Minion," a custom pair of Nike's Jordan V sneakers

And where did the name Codename Unknown come from?

Oh wow, where on Earth to begin? A lot of people might not realize that I have actually had three solo art exhibitions along the way and, when starting out on canvas, I made the conscious decision to plan out my style for the future. I wrote a story that included a lot of the things I am passionate about, essentially going into full Willy Wonka mode and building a universe in my head, from which I can pull from for any job.

The world consists of a planet where the

'Codename Unknown' artificially intelligent robot allegiance have all but eradicated mankind but are now left bereft of meaning and purpose, a regrettable shortcoming of A.I. Seeking something greater, they had turned to imitating the great and iconic characters of humanity's past until recently, when it was realized that a byproduct of their manufacturing spawned a new race, the Blobs, solely concerned with consuming organic mass that must be stopped for the sake of the planet. Finally, the robots have a new fight.

The bold style faces I create for my characters are the replaceable face plates for the robots, and often my customs represent them taking the form of something I currently follow or loved growing up, much like the 1996 [Chicago] Bulls and a range of comic characters. I don't think I will ever actually complete the Codename Unknown story, it will continue to evolve as I need it to and as such we won't likely ever see it published.

You're also one of the coordinators behind the Battle of the Mascots blind boxed custom series. How'd that come about? Why focus so intently upon the Kidrobot Mascot platform?

I love robots, so the Mascot has always appealed to me. In fact, I actually own every Mascot and Bot, except for the Kidbomber Shinjuku and Red KidRobber Mascots — which I mention in case someone wants to hook me up! (Laughs) When the Bots came out, I saw it as a chance to do something different and I believe I made the first custom blind box series of them to be available online and they sold out instantly, as did my Series 2. After this, I got to talking to Don P and together we came up with the idea to expand upon this and get some of our friends involved. Don P was in charge of running the blog and social media while I took care of the logistics and payments.

We did two series and, in total, sold around 100 custom Bots! It was great to see the

"Ultimate Avenger," a custom of Coarse's Paw 62 | Clutter 19

community back our project. While on the topic, I would love to see Kidrobot get back into the numbered Mascots, using the old silhouette; I have been campaigning for this in-person and online for ages and, once this happens, you might see us kick off a Series 3.

With the level of intricate line work you do on your customs, how long does it take for you to complete the average piece?

Longer than it should but I am a stickler for detail. It varies for each piece and size but, as a rule of thumb, I almost never finish anything in only one day, and a 7" takes two to three days. Sometimes I look at guys who can punch out multiple customs in a day with jealousy, but if I was to try and do that with my style then it would look half-assed.

You've done textured sculpting on customs in the past, but nothing in your background hints at an experience in sculpting. Is this a talent that you learned and mastered just for custom toy work?

It sure is, learn't by reading tutorials and forum posts by other toy designers. I am still a novice compared to some of my friends but I try. I have a decent amount of patience when it comes to my work, so I think that helps me get the pieces where they need to be.

At the beginning of the year you 'invaded' Kidrobot, having custom pieces in every store location plus some online. How'd that come about? It must've been very exciting for you!

Kidrobot and I have a good relationship. Ever since I did my big tour of the U.S., back at the end of 2012, we have been in constant communication and when they asked me to do this, I jumped onboard. It was a ton of work, making that many vinyl pieces straight, focusing on making them different, and producing a range for each store was as much planning as it was painting. I burnt

myself out on that job, but to see them all together and do so well was very rewarding. It won't be the last thing you see from us!

I know due to contracts you can't answer this, but are you implying that there's more coming from you and Kidrobot? Like perhaps a production piece? A Dunny or, dare I guess it, a Mascot?

You know, you're right, I do love Willy Wonka. (Laughs) Okay, I get it, you can't answer me. So, Willy Wonka?

The Gene Wilder portrayal specifically, not the 'other' one. He is basically my idol!

People laugh at me for saying that, but I cannot for the life of me understand why.

Wonka has essentially created his own world, encapsulated within the factory, a world filled with imagination, excitement, and surprises… Is this too much for me to ask for? Sure, I do not want to have a slave race of scary little men or sing "Anything you want to, do it" while rubbing Mike Teavee on the head, but having my own huge space to work out of filled with art, sneakers, toys, pinball machines, and the sort sounds pretty amazing to me.

"Codename Unknown Munny," a custom of Kidrobot's Munny

"Kid Codename Blob," a custom of Kidrobot's Mascot

Wonka lives his passion while obviously being financially rewarded for doing so, and isn't that the aim of any artist? It is for this reason that I have a Willy Wonka tattoo on my leg, so that anytime I get down or tired and drop my head then I see it — if my shorts are small enough — and use it to help motivate myself back to work.

What's next from you? What can our readers look forward to from the mind of Sekure D? I have a lot going on at the moment! To begin with there are a few collaboration projects, which is very exciting. I am also starting a web series based on sneakers which I am really pumped about; we are in pre-production right now and have just begun shooting scenes for the pilot episode. On top of this there will, of course, be a lot of customs going on and I am planning on coming back to the U.S. for some events around the end of the year, so keep an eye out for me and come say "Hi!"

"Seconds Please," a custom pair of Nike's Jordan V sneakers

To find out more about Sekure D and view his archive of custom sneakers and toys, please visit:

"Air Smash," a custom pair of Nike's Jordan V sneakers

Clutter 19 | 63

KIDROBOT

PREVIEW

ORANGE DROP 20" Dunny by Andrew Bell 64 | Clutter 19

BLUEBERRY

by Yury Ustsinau for Kidrobot Black Clutter 19 | 65

CARLOS ENRIQUEZ GONZALEZ THE

EROTOPHANY

A FIGURE WITH INTERCHANGEABLE BOOTS

COMING SOON FROM CLUTTER STUDIOS