Japan Landing

Jesse and I were met by Mori and Don after landing in Japan and proceeded to chow down at the local izakaya near our hotel in Nippori.

Both Don and Mori are working on some great new projects, with Mori actually bringing some of that fresh RXH goodness to NYCC in just a few short weeks!

A Night with Nightow

For the last few trips to Japan we have had the absolute honor of spending some time with Yasuhiro Nightow, best known for creating Trigun, Gungrave and more recently as a third of the design team (which also boasts the genius talents of Yutaka Minowa and Noriyuki Jinguji) behind one of the absolute coolest lines out there today, Assemble Borg (if you haven't discovered Assemble Borg take the time to check it out, it's like our much cooler Uncle who has his act together).

In what has quickly become a tradition, Nightow san took us out for some okonomiyaki (like a Japanese pancake/pizza) at a spot near Nakano close to where his studio is. The food was awesome as usual, even if we were without the company of Jinguji san this year (but he did send something special in his place -more in a moment).

On top of buying everyone dinner, Nightow showed us the latest installment of his wild manga, called Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront under Darkhorse here in the states) and gave us the scoop on upcoming Assemble Borg projects. A total class act all the way.

The most shocking element of the night though, was when Nightow san whipped out an original sketch done by Jinguji san that nearly made me and Jesse's heads explode. According to Nightow, Jinguji had become interested in the Rig that I had given him last September, and after analyzing it for a while, decided that Callgrim should have a Rig type vehicle as well. So he designed one. One of the main mech designers for Assemble Borg made Callgrim a Rig. Suffice it to say it was a golden moment for both Jesse and I (Jesse is going to frame the original).

Deep thanks from Jesse and I go out to Nightow san and Jinguiji san for an unforgettable night.

I also want to send out an extra special thanks to Don "Datadub" Kratzer for getting us all together and also for once again looking out for us during our time in Japan. You know everybody D! Thanks a million for taking the time to shuffle our ragged frames around wonderland, it was a blast as always.

RealXHead X Tarantulas X Onell Triple Attack Release

We have been waiting a while to roll out this triple collaboration!

Blending the DNA of three characters (Chaos, The Nibbler and Pheyden) into two crazy configurations, Armored Pheyaos and The Nibbler Reality Biter will be available tomorrow night, May 26th at 9PM EST.

Armored Pheyaos will be $40 USD and old Chompy (The Nibbler) will be $35 USD. Please limit one of each item per customer order.

Both figures are small edition runs produced by RealXHead Japan and feature a unique double paint wipe technique applied by the legendary Goto-san. All the parts can also be swapped between the figures- with a particularly funny "bridge" piece specifically used for the heads.

Be on the lookout for a possible surprise tomorrow night as well...

Massive thanks go out to Mori sensei, Mr. Chris and Don "Riplock" Kratzer for pulling all of this together with us. Also special thanks to GI Ralph in advance for what he has cooking for this mash up!

The Real X Nibbler

After cooking behind the scenes since the last SDCC, the Nibbler finally debuts his new form- The Real X Nibbler! This vinyl meatball is the product of a triple collaboration between the Tarantulas, Mori and myself. Based on the original Nibbler design and then sent through the Real X Head Genesis Machine, this version is entirely produced in Japan by Real X Head.

Being a part of such a fun project has been very exciting and satisfying. Chris and Mori are both incredibly unique artists with truly original ideas, to see their minds come together and create this new version of the Nibbler is a rare thing to witness. No big egos, just the collective desire to make something fun to share.

I remember on our last trip to Japan, Jesse, Don, Mori and I shared a dinner together and we ended up working on the Nibbler design right at the table (as usual). Through email and the little camera on my iPod, we were able to communicate with Chris and make alterations to the core design as we ate! It was a classic working dinner between a bunch of serious toy geeks.

Chris is releasing the very first style of the Real X Nibbler this Friday over at his Fishtank Castle. From Chris via ToyBot Studios:

"Real x Nibbler is a triple collab between Onell Design, Real x Head & The Tarantulas. The original design by Chris was interpreted into RxH style by Mori and sculpted / manufactured in Japan by Real x Head.

This is the first vinyl version of The Nibbler - the debut release being unpainted with vinyl cut eye decals. Real x Nibbler stands 10.5cm tall (4 1/4") and has articulated Head, Arms & Waist. Colours in this wave are Molten Pink with White eyes (Mutagenesis #1) & Anti-Matter Black with Mirror eyes (Mutagenesis #2). Price will be £25 plus shipping.

This wave will be sold exclusively at The Tarantulas Big Cartel store - 'Fishtank Castle' - thetarantulas.bigcartel.com on Friday 25th February GMT PM - exact time TBC - check www.the-tarantulas.blogspot.com."

My deepest congratulations to Chris for sticking with this and seeing it through, it can be an intense roller coaster getting this stuff made! Thank you for including us in your universe Chris, it is an awesome place that I look forward to exploring even more!

I want to thank Don "Datadub" Kratzer for being the perpetual man behind the scenes. Don is a very generous person with his time, energy and dedication. There would be no Japanese collaborations without his involvement. I bow to The Governor!

Ultimate thanks as always to the true Master - Mori Katsura. It can never be said enough times, they do not make better men than Mori.

I hope you guys have fun tracking down the first release of the Real X Nibbler this Friday, and get ready for more teeth crunching craziness in late March!

The Knight of Darkness is also proud of his nephew...

SDCC Non-Con Solaris Wave

Coming to you straight from booth #4937, the SDCC Non-Con 2010 Solaris Wave is here! If you're attending the convention please stop by, say hi, and check out the crossover madness of the Global Figure Symposium! For all of you at home, this new launch features 2 Non-Con exclusives: the Solaris Echo Morph set and the Solaris Buildman Gendrone! Check out the full line up here: http://www.onelldesign.com/sdcc2010

We're also excited to launch a new hub for the Glyos Archives! You can now check out more of our past releases, including the very first Custom Corps as well as the latest batch of Dead Presidents' Armodocs! The archives are forever a work in progress, but we hope you guys enjoy what has been added so far.

More sneak peeks to come throughout the show!

SDCC 09 Booth #4937

Onell Design is at the Con! I (Marc) will not be attending, as my band finishes up our tour, but stop by booth 4937 to check in with Matt, Jesse, and the rest of the crew. Our booth is officially the Global Figure Symposium, and we'll be joined by likes of RawShark, Real x Head, Suckadelic, LAMOUR Supreme, Dead Presidents, Fig-lab and much more! There are a ton of great things happening throughout the show- check the release & links below for the full scoop.

PRESS: The GLOBAL FIGURE SYMPOSIUM will be a 5-day session with a variety of panels and presentations. GSF2009 is graciously hosted by Onell Design and Callgrim at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC#4937) . Don 'Datadub' Kratzer - Director of the International Figure Research Laboratory - will be giving the keynote and holding daily morning sessions on recent trends in figure culture from the far east. Afternoon sessions will feature many illustrious guest speakers and special exhibit. The final day will be an open day workshop to recap everything that was covered during the Symposium.

Visit gfs2009.com for the complete schedule!


I am truly bummed to not be in San Diego- but I guess it does give me more time to work on the Passcode continuation...