Designer Toys!

[acekieffer]

So I just recently got into designer toys such as dunnys, bearbricks, etc.

Curious if anyone else on here is into toys like these...

Here is what I have so far. These little things are addicting!

Ace.

[poly800rock]

i kind of am. i have/had a bunch of kaws stuff. the older stuff i keep and the newer stuff i buy and sell. labbits i like, got the collete x labbit a few months back. really like it. will take pics later.

[ruach]

I don't have anything, but I really want Marimekko Bearbrick..

[tangerine]

Sho-po plop fo life, yo.

Also picked up the Sam Flores Fatima set.

[acekieffer]

Yeah, I really like all the kaws stuff but I havent been able to get myself to spend the money on any of it yet.

[mike lowrey]

I got into the stuff a couple of years back, I still have some Michael Lau stuff etc but they're all sitting in the closet

[ericdw]

but they're all sitting in the closet

yeah, that's why I haven't let myself get into that... it would be a waste of money for me, i'd look at them for a week or two (what else can you do with them?) and then forget i have them.

[kidicarus]

Yeah, I have some. I got into Qees, Amos and SAFS figures about five years ago, but it seems kind of silly to me overall. Having 65 vinyl toys sitting around the apartment (or worse, the studio) just kind of pushed the geek meter into the red for me. I can't stand to have more than 3 or 4 around at a given time, and they have to be pretty special. I never liked the shape of Bearbricks, for instance. I still look at some websites and buy something every once in a while, but like Mike, the old ones just end up in the closet.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

yeah, i got some kubrick/bearbrick/qee, most purchased at a deep discount; the hobby requires a lot of disposable income, and i am directing that $$$ elsewhere; i got family working at giant robot, and i don't even take advantage.

[lms]

You must have a lot of money. I never understood the appeal.

[Superstar]

i have got two TO-FU OYAKO figures that i got free thru a caliroots order... kinda lame..

[Guest Berget__]

I'll probably get a bunch of them when I get my own place. I think a couple of 1000% bearbricks would be too cool in a small apartment.

[transactionfee]

i dont know if i would call them toys, do you play with them? no? thought so.

i would call them one of the biggest cons going on right now of the hypebeast generation; although some may hold my interest for a minute to look at. the dissected kaws is nice but whats the point of owning one? i dont find any more value in these collectables (what they make you believe) than toys you find in mcdonalds happy meals. end.

[Kasper]

i've been wanting to buy some for like maybe 5 or 6 years, but it seems i never had enough disposable income to start buying yet... anyway, i (stupidly) spent so much money in my youth buying star wars toys that are now sitting in boxes somewhere that i feel maybe it's best if i direct my $$$ somewhere a little more productive.

[acekieffer]

crappy pics but I got some more today..

[poly800rock]

yeah, i got some kubrick/bearbrick/qee, most purchased at a deep discount; the hobby requires a lot of disposable income, and i am directing that $$$ elsewhere; i got family working at giant robot, and i don't even take advantage.

tell them to remake the giant robot fighting society shirts..

[Icarus]

i dont know if i would call them toys, do you play with them? no? thought so.

i would call them one of the biggest cons going on right now of the hypebeast generation; although some may hold my interest for a minute to look at. the dissected kaws is nice but whats the point of owning one? i dont find any more value in these collectables (what they make you believe) than toys you find in mcdonalds happy meals. end.

I don't think you fully understand what these "toys" are. First, you can't think about them as "toys" in the traditional sense of the word. They're an extension of contemporary character design manifested in the form of an action figure. You can think of them as either blanks for design in repetition, or as freestanding pieces.

As contemporary character design (a form of graphic design with roots in animation and pop art) is a 2-D form (even if it's rendered as 3-D it's sill flat) it's relatively abstract in that it's a 2-D design made to imitate a 3-D character. The action figure takes that 2-D design and puts it into its 3-D context. In the process new dimensions are opened by the transposition and another visual style is created.

At the end of the day, as you've hinted at, they're a commodity. That's totally correct, that's why they exist. Pictoplasma 2 says on action figures, "The point is simply to own them, they are a material version of something that has so far tended to be virtual, and have no practical use value." It states earlier, "They are precise, claean, usually slick and painted, destined for the home showcase," (page 107). I'd say that this is also the purpose of most modern decorative art (remembering that art is the very essence of collectible). So, stemming from their representation of an artistic abstracation and their own role as an art or pseudo-art piece, I'd say that they were intended to be something other than toys.

This is all recognizing that character design is a modern art form which, I think, is a completely subjective recognization. My argument stems from such a recognization.

This is going on a little long, but I'd like to contend the use of "hypebeast generation." There's no such thing. "Hypebeasting" is a socioeconomically limited subculture that is a far cry from a social phenomenon. In no way could it ever come to define a generation, even in the limited sense of geography, age, or race. It's prevalent here because we bash it, and thinly spread in North America and Japan.

That's enough.

[artificialsky]

this kills all your designer toys

[cultpop 0217]

i'll match your 20th anniversary prime and raise you a medicom 12" batman and a small sampling of mine (and my son's) collection.

[TragicBliss]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source

toy (toi) Pronunciation Key

n.

1. An object for children to play with.
   
2. Something of little importance; a trifle.

[drgitlin]

I suppose a shelf of Star Wars Lego counts.

[cultpop 0217]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source

toy (toi) Pronunciation Key

n.

1. An object for children to play with.
   
2. Something of little importance; a trifle.

just to clarify, are you saying that these are not in fact not toys because the dictionary says so or that those that collect such objects are immature and wasting their time with useless junk?

[TragicBliss]

just to clarify, are you saying that these are not in fact not toys because the dictionary says so or that those that collect such objects are immature and wasting their time with useless junk?

The post about not being able to call these toys is what made me look up the definition. And we all collect useless junk of some sort, so who am I to hate? I have a bunch of G.I. Joe's in a trunk somewhere around here so...

[cultpop 0217]

The post about not being able to call these toys is what made me look up the definition. And we all collect useless junk of some sort, so who am I to hate? I have a bunch of G.I. Joe's in a trunk somewhere around here so...

cool. how have you been btw?

[transactionfee]

thats for the insight icarus, i probaly meant more hb subculture than generation, i used the incorrect word. i guess some people get hardons for gloified beanie babies while i might get one for something you might find equally as drab.

[ge0ffzilla]

I'll be at Kid Robot SF on the 11th for the MF doom toy!

[jonglover]

I really love the idea of vinyl and art toys. It's a medium which brings a vision to the masses in the same manner as a print. However, it's just so incredibly stagnant. Most vinyl is just so cheesy and hideous. It crosses the line from kitsch to ridiculous.

My friend produced (he's still on the fence, I believe) vinyl for awhile under the moniker Android 8. He did Brendan Monroe's Sours (which were astounding; I'm lucky to have a set) and he was doing a project with Nakamura Motomichi, but I'm not sure if that's still a go. The problem with the market is the collectability vs. aesthetic factor. People go ga-ga over a lot of junk simply because a big-name artist is associated with it, and I think that will be the killing blow for the medium down the line.

[lilfan]

dunnys are gay be@rbricks.

[poly800rock]

collete x labbit signed by kozik

[xcoldricex]

all i have are the original 1000% kaws bearbick and the 300 or whatever % the other one was.