Chronicles of a Young Toy Junkie

Okkle.

Zack Baker — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:35:30 +0000

I have been a huge fan of Oliver Klinkenberg since I first started collecting vinyl. It all started with a custom Teeter I happened upon while browsing the Kidrobot forums. I hadn’t really been a big fan of the “cuter” things I had been seeing, but for whatever reason, I became obsessed with his work. Something about how simple his pieces were, while still making a toy his own was fascinating to me.

The one that started it all. (Pics courtesy of Okkle's flickr)

Naturally, when I heard Okkle was making his own toy, I got super excited. The Birdlett, Okkle’s first original sculpt, was produced in a 15 piece resin run. Uber-cool, but they went fast. Too fast. I unfortunately missed out, and they became the bane of my existence. Okkle’s style is cute, simple, and fantastic. The way he can take any toy and turn it into his own creature definitely sets him apart from a majority of customizers out there.

Okkle's Production toy collab with PatchTogether, Skonk.

Okkle currently is releasing a limited run of his Skonk figure in collaboration with PatchTogether, and you can find exclusive colorways at Vinyl Fallout and Rivet Gallery. Okkle also has a few pieces available in the Uber Cute group show currently on display at Rivet Gallery, and you can find them here.

Toy Break Ep. 107

Zack Baker — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:44:14 +0000

The fine folks over at Octobertoys (makers of the Gwin) run an awesome video podcast on vinyl toys. This show is called Toy Break and you should all be watching it. If you aren’t, episode 107 is up on the site right now. Time for some delicious copypasta about the episode!

Show Notes – Tune in for Tummie Friends, Copperhead Squadt, a WoW figure, and much more! Bake up some chocolate chip cookies and join us for a Toy Break!

Go watch it now!

Bioshock 2

Zack Baker — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:07:17 +0000

Now, you may be wondering, “Baker, isn’t this a blog about designer toys?” My answer to you would be a swift punch to the head and a two weeks grounding. Now that you’ve learned to “respect mah autoritay” as a certain fat young cartoon lad from Colorado would put it, I kindly answer no. This is my blog and I’ll do what I please with it, thank you very much.

Back to the subject at hand. Bioshock is a fantastic video-game. Atmosphere, a fantastically developed environment, and one of the most surprising plot twists ever put it in the running for one of my favorite games of all time. Bioshock 2 promises only to improve on its predecessor. Oh, and you get to be one of those badass dudes with a drill for a hand.

Fantastic Bio-inspired piece by the immortal Jhonen V.

Bioshock takes place in the former-utopia of Rapture, Andrew Ryan’s undersea metropolis. This game takes place a good 10 years after the events of the first game, and as I referenced before, you are now a Big Daddy. Yes, that does mean you get your very own Little Sister (the horrifying children depicted in Mr. Vasquez’s piece above), and you get to fulfill all your wildest dreams from the first game. Did you dream of shredding up Splicer’s with Rosie’s Rivet gun (just noticed the connection with Rosie the Riveter!)? Yep, dream fulfilled. Did you fantasize about goring Adam-infested denizens with that huge drill? You get to do that too! This game looks like it’s shaping up to be everything the first game made you long for and more.

The game comes out Tuesday, and I intend to waste a good week or two of my life in the deep-sea paradise of Rapture.

Welcome, one and all!

Zack Baker — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:39:06 +0000

Greetings, everyone. Come, have a seat. Comfortable? Good.

This here is where I’ll be posting up written reviews, toy news, and links to my soon to be restarted video reviews (editing sucks, kiddies). Exciting stuff I know, I can hardly contain myself. Anyhow, you want to link to me or be linked from here, shoot me an email. There should be a link somewhere around here.

Let the shenanigans begin!