Fanmode faves

Fanmode presents a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for July ‘08.

Jack Walsh’s All My L’il Ninjas.
Over six minutes of ninjas. Can it get any more awesome than that? We submit that it could not. (Episode 2.)

Don Figueroa’s scratch-built mecha.
He’s better known for his Transformers art but he first came to prominence with scratch-built Transformers for his Macromasters series. This is a stunning example of his current work. (More.)

Ghosts episode 11.
Justin Bell’s G.I. Joe photocomic is remarkable on multiple levels. The story is engaging and the work he puts into creating the sets necessary for the scenes is impressive.

Onua drill tank.
A brutal-looking transforming Bionicle MOC by kawazu1120. (More.)

Best laid plans.
A Lego diorama inspired by The Far Side.

The Battle for Classic Castle Kingdom.
Incredible Lego dioramas by dabolt. (More.)

Henkei Microchange.
This Transformers Henkei Megatron fanmode by misodrill is both a clever bit of out-of-the-box thinking and a reminder of the character’s Microman origins.

“Can you break a twenty?”
The tin robot’s eyes make this Liz Page photo especially hilarious. (More from this series.)

Talent only goes so far.
You also need the right tools as this amusing photo by ricko shows. (On the other hand, in the right hands, even awkward tools can produce fantastic art.)

Big Toy Industry Panel.
“… nine of the industry’s biggest names … waxing poetic about the state of the industry, their influences and what they’re excited about in the future of toys, action figures and statues, as well as the very real challenges now facing the industry.”

Fanmode faves

Fanmode presents a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for June ‘08.

Lady Roses Coral.
Bike transformers are tough to pull off. We consider the Gobots Throttle to be the best of the 80s and Transformers Animated Prowl to be the cream of the crop in modern times. That is, until we saw Basil’s 12,000 yen 1/18-scale garage kit. Takara Tomy, get this man a job.

Sonic Diver Rei-jin in action.
Tamaki’s Little Treasure may update infrequently but we still check the site almost daily because the new digirama is always a treat.

Barricade Girl.
A remarkable Transformers-inspired custom figure by shibamura_prime. (See also.)

What’s this?
Plamoo’s stop-motion toy videos are typically brilliant and nigh incomprehensible.

Cobraganda.
Wars are not won with ninja commandos alone. Chris Sims takes a look at G.I. Joe’s efforts to win hearts and minds.

The Meat.
We’ve seen some strange toys over the years but this accessory set from the JAKKS Pacific Rocky line was completely unexpected.

Cosmo Crusher, Gaia and God Mars (Lego-style).
Johnny Tang’s Lego reproductions of classic super robots are always link-worthy.

Gizmodo goes to Lego.
Learn what Lego calls its pieces, why both “Lego” or “Legos” are wrong, how many pieces have been produced since 1958, why Lego sets are expensive and what the best-selling set is among other things.

Cutar.
This isn’t the most intricate of Lego MOCs but we simply love the fact izzo was inspired by his son’s drawing. (More.)

Lego Darth Vader.
He’s more Lego than man now.

Fanmode favourites

Fanmode presents a few hundred toy-related links every month and it’s possible a few may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for May ‘08.

Bumblebee beats Optimus.
A smooth stop-motion video by Patrick Boivin. (See also.)

Iron Monger diorama.
A phenomenal piece by Passion Designs.

Trans Scanning Minerva.
If this had been a straightforward repaint of Trans Scanning Bumblebee, it would have been impressive enough but Pisuwo kicked it up a notch by incorporating the Headmaster gimmick as well. (See also.)

Lego Action Comics # 1.
It’s been 70 years since Superman’s debut and Lego fan levork decided to mark the occasion with a Lego version of that classic comic cover.

Robot-Models Transformers sculptures.
It’s good to know somewhere in this world there exists a 2-metre-tall Optimus Prime metal sculpture weighing 250 kilogrammes and costing almost five grand.

Classics Devastator.
Ptitvite finally completed his homage to the original Transformers combiner and what a stunning piece of work it is. The individual Constructicons look wonderful and Devastator is a thing of beauty.

Kamen Rider Garren King Form.
Kamen Rider Garren never received a King Form power-up so we’re glad to see figure customiser kenosyokutaku put his imagination and tools to good use.

My Little Godzilla.
The king of monsters, cutesy-style.

Toy packaging: then and now.
It’s not a topic usually covered or even considered so this article was welcome.

Yujin’s capsule toys.
PingMag talks to the folks at Yujin about the craftmanship and design of their 100 yen toys.

Fanmode faves

Fanmode presents about 400 toy-related links every month and it’s likely some of them may have slipped your attention. Here are ten of our favourites for April ‘08.

Zombie Zombie. [via]
An absolutely brilliant stop-motion video featuring G.I. Joe figures paying homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing. Snow Job and Outback were born made to play MacReady.

The Toys! Exhibition. [via]
The site takes forever to load thanks to all the images but it’s worth it. Enjoy the toy-inspired art, gasp at the prices.

The Scream.
ANVRecife trumps Edvard Munch.

Kojun’s Al Pacino.
Stunning detail work by a Korean 1/6 scale figure customiser.

My Little Alien.
An amusing combination of cute and terrifying by Mari Kasurinen.

All right ramblers, let’s get rambling.
A custom Quentin Tarantino figure by Kyle Robinson.

Battle Convoy.
The Transformers Classics are fantastic homages to classic characters but one anonymous Japanese toy fan thought the subline could be improved. (Click on the image for a slightly larger version.)

Saving Private Lego.
More Lego movie posters.

Misery loves company.
The Microman Material Force figures have featureless faces but as these four panels demonstrate, the superbly-articulated figures are adept at conveying emotion through body language. (Click on the thumbnail image for a better view.)

CustomCon 19.
“… CustomCon is a ‘fake’ convention, whereby customizers present their latest creations and recipes as if unveiling a new line of real toys to retailers.” The Great Pulp Heroes and Cohen the Barbarian customs are especially neat.