BLOG HAS MOVED TO TOYPUNKS.COM

Please visit Toypunks.com for all future news, videos and products from Toypunks, and please bookmark the site. All posts are archived there, so if you're new to the blog, catch up on what's been happening since we released our first film in late 2007-'08. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, too, please. Thanx very much!

NEW TEASER VIDEO UP AT TOYPUNKS.COM

BIG YO

A pic from a meet-up in Tokyo with the mighty Yo Miyamoto. Yo helps many, many small-batch toy makers and artists in Tokyo and the U.S. and is one of the hardest-working dudes in the kaiju world. He's also fluent in English and has played a massive role in translating Volume 2. We've heard Lamour Supreme call him the "toy whisperer," and we're stoked to call him an honorary Toypunk. Yo rules.

We also brought with us the raw sculpture of Toypunks mascot, based on Mike Giant's illustration, to show Yo. Here's a pic of the parts, neatly placed inside of a foam-padded hardcase!

FRESH-PULLED VINYL: SPACE TROOPER TEST SHOT

This is a pic of the Death Climax Space Troopers samples that we got to pull from the iron molds at Obitsu factory while filming in Tokyo.You'll see how vinyl toys are made in Vol. 2. Huge thanks go to Kajimoto-San and Obitsu-San for this rare opportunity. We look forward to seeing you again!



The mold for the head of the toy. So rad!

SECRET BASE + WHIZ LTD

Hiddy Kinoshita of Secret Base and Hiroaki Shitano of Whiz Ltd. relax after a shoot for Toypunks Vol. 2, in which the two discuss fashion, toys and their collaborative releases. This was shot at the Whiz showroom in Tokyo in late '08. Check it in Vol. 2, coming this October!

FOR THE BXH FANS

We'd like to thank Nikolai Stankiewicz of Club Bounch for the recent interview. In his questions, he mentioned a Bounty Hunter one-off vinyl that was spotted in Toypunks Vol. 1. Here's the still for the fans! This was taken inside of Hiddy Kinoshita's office during a shoot in 2008. Thank you, Nikolai.
www.clubbounch.wordpress.com

Goto-San Teaser on Toypunks' Youtube Channel: Vol. 2

Filmed in October 2008 at the master painter Hiroshi Goto's tiny home-workspace in Tokyo. In our film, we will show the connections and differences between the master craftsmen of Goto's generation with artists and designers from the modern street scene. A very special thanks to Mr. Mark Nagata and Yo Miyamoto for helping to set up this particular shoot.
youtube.com/user/Toypunks

Toypunks Vol. 2: Obitsu Translation Day

Toypunks' translator Carl Wormley gets scholarly on our iterview with the president of Obitsu toy factory in Japan. On screen: Mr. Obitsu drops science on why his factory's craftsmen are the best on Earth. It was later that same day in late 2008 in Tokyo that we were shown how to mix vinyl and pull toys from iron molds--a half-century-old tradition in Japan that may fade away after Obitsu's generation of toy makers are gone.

TOYPUNKS MASCOT TOY: UNPAINTED SAMPLE REVEALED!

Based on the illustration by Mike Giant. Made in Japan. For the scoop, check our toy company's site: Recklesstoys.com.


Sculpted by Scott Wetterschneider of Bigshot Toy Works.

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HIDDY OF SECRET BASE

A fun shot of our good friend Hiddy, owner of Secret Base toys, taken at Club Wire in Tokyo during filming of Toypunks Vol. 2! www.secret-b.com

ENDO OF DEVILOCK

Here's a shot of creative director, Endo Noriaki, of Tokyo fashion brand Devilock at the unveiling of last spring's line in Tokyo. Thank you very much, Endo! Look out for footage from the show and a full interview with Endo in Toypunks Vol. 2!

A VISIT WITH DOARAT: TOYPUNKS VOL. 2

Tokyo street-fashion brand Doarat has been doing it for a decade-plus, killing it with designs born from owner Kenji-san's wild imagination. On a walk through Harajuku's back alleys, guided by Secret Base owner Hiddy Kinoshita, the Toypunks crew caught up with Kenji at his office to talk vinyl and gear. Check it in Toypunks Vol. 2!

Kenji is mad cool and was a great host. Thank you, Kenji and Hiddy!

RUMBLE MONSTERS IN TOYPUNKS VOL. 2

Undergound Japanese toy maker Rumble Monsters is interviewed in Toypunks Vol. 2, which we are now back to editing after getting several toy projects off the ground via Reckless. Owner and creator Wakahara-san talks inspiration -- 50s rock and roll and the subversiveness of monsters -- at Tokyo art gallery, The Ghetto. Thank you, Wakahara-san!

TOYPUNKS VOL.2 UPDATE: PLUS, INTRODUCING RECKLESS TOYS

Editing on Toypunks Vol. 2 continues and the footage is looking amazing. This volume is focused largely on the process of creating vinyl toys -- from illustration to sculpt, iron molds to mixing the liquid soft vinyl, to pouring, pulling and handpainting the toys. From old Japanese masters to American punk and street icons, the artists that participate in the modern Japanese street toy scene are either legendary or worthy of being deemed so, and we're proud to be documenting them -- many of them for the first time ever by a U.S. film crew.

Also, you may have noticed a lull in updates here on the Toypunks blog and at toypunks.com: Well, there's big news in our world. In addition to toiling away on the edit of Vol. 2, we have launched a toy company. www.recklesstoys.com. Already -- with three announced vinyl figures in production by Mike Sutfin, Lamour Supreme, and Mike Giant -- Reckless is our way to give life to toys by artists whom we deeply respect and are covering via our documentary work. Reckless is the 3D equivalent of our video work. For collectors, by collectors who are passionately documenting the scene. Check it. www.recklesstoys.com

PUSHEAD PAINTS IN TOYPUNKS VOLUME 2!

In addition to visiting Obitsu factory and original Marusan painter Goto-san, the Toypunks crew was fortunate to film with legendary punk artist Pushead as he hand-painted an array of his own original toys as well as a handful of figures by Rumble Monsters. In this unprecedented footage, Pushead shares some (but certainly not all) of his process with the camera, offering compelling insight into the nature of creating vinyl toys in both the Japanese and
modern underground tradition. Please look forward to it in Toypunks Vol 2, coming in winter 2009!

TOYPUNKS VOL.2 PHOTO SESSIONS: BXH, INDIANS AND TUXEDOS!

We have so many random, killer images from our last trip to Japan that it would be waste not to share more of them on the blog. Going forward, we'll be dropping photo posts in between regular updates on the progress and interviews for Toypunks Vol. 2.

All images by Toypunks'  Chris Nelson.

Check 'em, from top down: Bounty Hunter's Venom Scum-kun (Keep that dream, BXH heads!) with a Mekaru-kun on the right.

Second,  look at this ill Indian  with the 7Stars Design sticker on the frame. Nice.

Next up: This was a daytime look for these dudes. Pretty rad.

Fourth down: From S.F. to Japan, Thrasher 'til death!

Finally, Japan Unity.

MIKE GIANT IN TOYPUNKS VOL. 2!

Last month, the Toypunks crew hit San Francisco to film for Volume 2. On our first day, we caught up with legendary artist Mike Giant. With a career that spans graffiti, skateboard graphics, tattoo, fashion and fine art, Mike is an inspiration--openminded, outsider, disciplined and spiritual.

We met up with him at the warehouse where he and his business partner, Joshy D, run fashion label Rebel8. The interview was pretty rad, as Giant shared his perspectives on art, music, punk rock, the environment, skateboarding, Buddhism and childhood toys.

Mike drew the Toypunks mascot character for us in 2007 and hand-drew our logo, so we were stoked to interview him for the second film.

Then, two days later, we got to interview Joshy of Rebel8 at Mike's house, which we'll be posting about soon. Look out for it.

HIROAKI SHITANO OF WHIZ LTD IN TOYPUNKS VOL. 2!

Last time the Toypunks crew was in Japan, we chatted with Hiroaki Shitano of Whiz Ltd fashion brand, thanks to our good friend Hiddy Kinoshita of Secret Base toys. Whiz is one of the premier fashion labels among 20 to 30 somethings in Japan, and it's easy to see why. Strictly a fashion house, they've collaborated in recent past with Secret Base toys on the release of 1/1 Skull and dropped Be@rbricks with Medicom. Sick. In volume 2, we chat with Shitano and Hiddy about their collaborative process. Look out for it in Toypunks Vol 2. Check it! www.whiz.jp

SECRET BASE SHOW IN TAIWAN!

Hiddy Kinoshita, our good friend and owner of Secret Base toys in Tokyo, dropped us a line this morning letting us know about his upcoming exhibition in Taiwan, from April 24 through May 3. Held at shop Paradise and titled "House of Secret," the show will feature every single Secret Base figure that has ever been produced! Exclusive figures also will be for sale. Hit this up if you're in Taiwan! This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see the totality of dope vinyl that Secret Base has dropped over the years.

Toypunks Vol. 2: Meet Master Painter, Hiroshi Goto!

Of the myriad amazing people we've met while making Toypunks, none have inspired as much awe as Hiroshi Goto, a.k.a. Goto-san. A master artist who's been painting Japanese toys for over 60 years, Goto-san is a largely unsung, behind-the-scenes progenitor of the vinyl toy world. He began painting toys at age 6, the skill and family business passed down from his mother and father during postwar Japan. At that time, certain aspects of toy production were farmed out from the factories to families living in nearby neighborhoods. Working in the same small space out of his family home all of these years, he's meticulously painted millions of Japanese toys, from classic vintage companies such as Bullmark to mass market fare such as San Rio, all the way up through modern street pieces, such as Real Head. In Toypunks Vol 2, Goto-san will share his story while painting in front of the camera. A special thanks go to Yo Miyamoto, Mark Nagata and Yajima-san of Dream Rockets (who will also appear in Vol. 2!) for arranging this special shoot.