DC Universe Classics - Kalibak

Okay, its been a while since I last posted. Sorry to all yourso I've decided its finally time to finish off my review of the 6th wave of Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures. The final figure to be reviewed for this series is the collect and connect figure Kalibak.


Kalibak is big, but not as big as some recent collect and connect figures. He stands about 7.25 inches tall. Basically as tall as DCSH Darkseid, but much thicker.




The sculpt itself is pretty good. Plenty of detail in the face and his costume.




As far as paint goes, its good but not stellar. There are a lot of small areas on my figure where the paint bleeds a little. One area is around the mount where Kalibak's skin color bleeds on to his teeth. There are a few other similar spots here in there but for the most part, its a very good job.

Some C&C figures don't come with accessories but Kalibak does come with a giant mace. It only fits in one of his hands as the other is a closed fist however, there is a spot on his costume where the mace can click on to if you don't want him holding it.

Kalibak's articulation is generally the same as most DCUC action figures. Joints include the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles.

Overall, Kalibak is what we've come to expect from this toy line. No surprises here, generally a good action figure which will fit well with the rest of your DC Universe Classics collection.

Sculpt - 9, Paint, 7.5, Accessories, 7, Articulation - 9, Fun - 9
Overall score : 8.5/10

If you want to buy DCUC Kalibak but don't want the other action figures from wave 6, then the best thing for you to do is check out ebay. You may find him in the 30-50 range on his own. Otherwise, spend the 70-80 bucks plus shipping and buy the complete set.
To Find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Kalibak on eBay, click here
To Find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Wave 6 on eBay, click here
Wave 7 is out now and wave 8 is not too far behind. Hopefully I'll be able to get to more posts shortly.

Day 103: Sluggo Smith





Sluggo Smith is a comic strip character from the Nancy comic strip. Sluggo is Nancy's best friend. He is Nancy's age and is a poor ragamuffin-type from the wrong side of the tracks. There are strips that appear to place Sluggo as Nancy's boyfriend. He is portrayed as lazy, and his favorite pastime seems to be napping.

Download the PDF file here and make your own Sluggo toy! You can also get the blank template from our Facebook group and design your own toy!

Craftstravaganza 2009



Boy did I wake up to a delightful surprise this morning. I had completely forgot about the Fox 9 News segment that was airing this morning about Craftstravaganza. With only five minutes left of the show I managed to catch the last segment featuring the event. Much to my surprise a little mushie of mine was being admired by a cute baby. Look at her sweet smile! Thanks Andy for bringing along the mushroom! If you live in the area make sure to check it out this Saturday May 2, 9-5 at the State Fair Grounds. See you there!

Day 102: Nancy (comic strip)



Nancy is an American daily and Sunday comic strip originally written and drawn by Ernie Bushmiller.

The character of Nancy, a precocious little girl (eight years old, according to an October 2005 strip), first appeared in the strip Fritzi Ritz about the airheaded flapper title character. After Larry Whittington began Fritzi Ritz in 1922, it was taken over by Bushmiller three years later. In 1933, Bushmiller introduced Fritzi's niece, Nancy. Soon she dominated the strip, retitled Nancy in 1938. Fritzi Ritz continued as a Sunday feature into the 1960s. At its peak in the 1970s, Nancy ran in more than 880 newspapers.

Download the PDF file here and make your own Nancy toy! You can also get the blank template from our Facebook group and design your own toy!

Update: New template now available





The new "no-glue-required" blank template is now available for download via the Toy-A-Day Facebook group.

Also watch out for our 2nd "Design Your Own Toy" contest soon! Meanwhile you can take a look at the entries from the first contest and the 9 finalists.

Day 101: Stephen Hawking





Stephen William Hawking, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. He is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and the distinguished research chair at Waterloo's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. He has also achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include the runaway bestseller A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking has a neuromuscular dystrophy that is related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed.

Download the PDF file here and make your own Stephen Hawking toy! Join us on Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Day 100: Wolverine



Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe. Wolverine later joined the X-Men's "All New, All Different" roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975).

In May 2008, Wolverine was ranked #1 out of "Wizard Magazine's Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time".

Download the PDF file here and make your own Wolverine toy! Join us on Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Update

The PDF file for my Pikachu toy is now available for download here. Also watch out for the new Toy-A-Day blank template soon!

Celebrities & Stuffed Toys


From Top Left to Right: Scarlett Johansson & Pig. Hayden Panettiere, Wentworth Miller with bears. Megan Fox & Teddy. Blake Lively & Duck. Venessa Hudgens, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, Teri Hatcher, Drew Barrymore, Keira Knightley, Liv Tyler, Kate Moss with Teddies. Mark Walberg & seal. Megan Fox (again with teddy). Penelope Cruz & Tiger.



Karl Lagerfeld and his Steiff Bear, made in his likeness! ;)


Sources:TMZ.com, popoholic.com, http://www.zealus.org/index.php?showtopic=11377&mode=threaded, mrsgrapevine.com, gossipgirlinsider.com

Local Retailers Carrying RAMPAGE TOYS!

Hey TOY People!


So, the newset development from the world of Rampage Toys is an increase in retail availability. In other words: RAMPAGE TOYS are out in stores now!

Check out the following shops in Seattle where you can get all sorts of rad stuff including RAMPAGE TOYS.

Schmancy Toys - Downtown Seattle
http://www.schmancytoy.com/
206-728-8008

Gifted - Ballard
Check them out at: http://www.yelp.com/biz/gifted-seattle
206-781-0882

Atomic Boys - West Seattle
http://atomicboys.net/ (this site is under construction)
206-938-3255

This first edition of the Rampage line is super limited. There will be less than 40 total of the rampaging snack-food monsters anywhere IN THE WHOLE WORLD! So, snatch 'em up and put them on the shelf next to whatever other awesomeness you're currently collecting. E-mail me for direct requests! rampage.toys@yahoo.com



Day 99: Pikachu (Pokémon)



Pikachu is one of the fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar Pokémon media franchise — a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fights other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series. Pikachu is widely considered the most popular Pokémon, and is regarded as the official mascot of the Pokémon franchise.

Download the PDF file here and make your own Pikachu toy!

Under Spotlight - Apr 09

Michi was shopping online for clothes and whatnots when she discovered a link to I Heart Guts, a US-based store that sells plushies in the shapes of internal organs (hearts, kidney, lungs, liver, etc), with cute positive smiley faces to boot! The Guts stuffed toys were covered in many blogs and news sites such as the consumerist and wired! We think these geeky toys are not only educational for kids, they're perfect fund-raiser gifts for health awareness campaigns (anti-smoking, cervical cancer) and charity organisations (Singapore Heart Foundation) as well~


We so want these crazy organs to join our stuffed toy land family!




The innards go on vacation! Much like the ToyVoyagers concept. ;)


Heart Plush - I Got the Beat! A personal favourite. Awww, why didn't we have these (instead of some cow heart or something?) during our biology lessons?


Kidney Plush - When Urine Love. Uhh... I imagined the Singapore ministers whipping this out when debating how organ donors can be 'reimbursed' under the HOTA act..


Cool organ graphic designs

These toys also reminded us of the GiantMicrobes website, which offers a series of plush toys based on tiny micro-organisms (viruses, bacteri,cells etc..) Notable plush toys include The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, E. coli, Ulcer, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, Bed Bug, Mad Cow, Anthrax, Chicken Pox, Malaria.. you name it.











Not very sure whether some of these makes good gifts though....

Craft Fair Season is Beginning


My favorite thing about Spring and Summer is that the craft show season goes into full swing. This season I've been invited to the indie craft show Craftstravaganza and my biggest show to date the Powder Horn Art Fair. Expect to see my Spring collection of fawns, owls, mushroom cottages, gnomes, and mushies.

Craftstravaganza!

Saturday, May 2, 9am to 5pm

Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Fine Arts Building


Powderhorn Art Fair 2009

Saturday, August 8, 10am to 6pm

Sunday, August 9, 10am to 5pm


Some of the plush that will be available at my shows.

Reader's submission: South Park by Andrey and Katya



These South Park paper toys are sent to me by Andrey and Katya from Russia, which they made using the Toy-A-Day template. You can download the PDF files from their website.

You can also get the blank template from the Toy-A-Day Facebook group to make your own toys.