giants of vinyl. 2.

giants second class is ready for graduation. once again we pay tribute to the artists that love to get fiberglass threads buried in the fingers and fill their heads with toxic plastic fumes. we've gone even bigger this time around, reaching ridiculous heights and girths. and both in some cases... #bramble# #cough#

the starting team [left to right]

elizabeth by kathie olivas : qee by toy2r : smokestack by mars-1

jaws by coarsetoys : manute bol as himself : daft punk bearbricks

dissected by kaws : bramble by ashley wood : van orlax and snorse by pete fowler

mc supersized by ron english : helper by tim biskup

zliks by andrew bell : grin by ron english

click it. it gets bigger.

this is the stage of addiction where sadness reigns supreme. sadness because we don't have thousands of extra dollars to blow on sweet shit like giant robots. but there's light at the end of the tunnel... most of these killer behemoths come in shelf size. let's explore.

inkslinger by kathie olivas and brandt peters

pic from vinylpulse

it was a tossup between inky and pinky as to who would appear in the giant lineup. pinky got the nod, so inky gets the breakout love. both were recently for sale at the incredible shared show. which means some lucky child gets to cry themselves to sleep every night while staring at those big noggins. for shelf size, you can always substitute the beautiful hazel...

formerly blank qee by jonpaulkaiser

pic from jon

since there may only be one giant blank qee, i got to choose a killer custom to showcase. this snarling dog with creepy man hands works perfectly. he can let himself outside and still piss on your tires.

smokestack by mars-1

pic from smokebelch

and we've got our first true miniaturized version. this tiny by comparison poison factory hails from the invisible plan series. creepy old man face is pretty much standard. the big daddy is from the nuclear mystic show at the jonathan levine gallery last year.

jaws by coarsetoys

pic from tetedelard

ah, the desolate noop. so emo. so shirtless. the giant fiberglass version was the crown jewel of the noop show at rotofugi, which rocked. basically coarse teased all of their coolest shit almost two years ago, and now they're slowly producing a chosen few. the big guy was a one off, but you can own one of the eleventy different flavors of regular sized jaws, which are not tiny by any means. you can not however own the completely awesome "it hurts" version... yet.

manute bol

pic from hsupreme

made the list because he looks completely impossible.

plus you can't beat a bol/muggsy combo pic.

daft punk bearbricks by toy2r

pic from eric..

the big ones rule because of the helmets. but the little ones have those adorable bear ears... either way da funk will rock your face off. so shiny! i'm admittedly not a big bearbrick guy, but i'd sell a toe for the 1000% duo. (with nail polish)

dissected by kaws

pic from kush images

the alpha and the omega. everyone loves dissected, especially awash in 90s dayglo. the midgets routinely fetch a g in the aftermarket. the big one is a steal at about 4-5 times that. both more than most can pay for some divinely sculpted guts. this goes on the lottery list.

bramble by ashley wood

pic from twobags

oh bramble. how i love thee. the key to my lock. the icing to my cake. the heroin to my addict. you can't begin to understand the level of cool until you hold one in your hand. or in the case of the 1:1; hold its hand. i'm lucky enough to own one of the big little guys, and maybe someday i'll get close enough to just sniff the giant, but probably not. he will continue to tease me from across the interwebs. and i'm ok with that.

van orlax by pete fowler

pic from s2ok

just a horny little bastard with opposable toes. there are no little van orlaxi running around. which is a shame because he looks like he'd be a responsible father. on second thought, he does look a little high... and his hands are buried in the eye sockets of a skull... and that might be leprosy on his face... but other than that... totally responsible.

snorse by pete fowler

pic from expectmohr

the nosy steed takes flight! snorse just flat out rules. this little dude showed up in the blind box monsterism series 3, along with a ton of other classics... fun fact: for the longest time i thought his nostrils were eyes.

mc supersized by ron english

pic from vtss vince

as american as crocs and elastic waist pants, mc supersized smiles lovingly at your exponentially expanding waistline. the sick little bastard knows what makes you drool. give him what he wants.

helper by tim biskup

pic from espritmentheaction

ah, the classic helper: like a cross between bender and a rancid hotdog. just as happy to help you off a cliff as across the street. the super giant version towers over your insecurities and still manages to tickle your soul. he looks so intense, but maybe he's just really in need of eye drops.

zliks by andrew bell

pic from joe marinaro

attention all zlik owners! the government has ordered that all zliks be released back into the gulf of mexico to eat their way through some sort of oil spill. probably no big deal, they should be back by dinner.

grin by ron english

pic from **shifty**

charlie may look cute, but he's got a devil inside just like everyone else. his just happens to be working its way out. keep stretching that skin skully, you'll be strangling lucy before you know it.

so there you go. the second round of giants already released to do their worst on the wallets of you and i. there's just too much talent floating around, which is good. the wanting is what makes it fun. so it's back to the lottery tickets. someday...

here's the original giants post for more big love.

class pic again by me, the mastodon. created with images stolen from these fine chaps. qee. smokestack. jaws. manute. daft punk. bramble. van orlax. snorse. mc supersized. helper. zlik.

the space between.

right now there is a portal, cut by a subtle knife, between two worlds. two worlds which are not ours, but instead are sandwiched between. the portal is here at gallery 1988. they only have the technology to hold the connection for another week or two, so you have to hurry if you want a glimpse. in one world lives the supercouple, kathie olivas and brandt peters. and in the other world... magic. they must have a private portal in their basement or something, because they both continue to kidnap incredible creatures from the other side.

there were a few new faces debuting at the show. all of which are pretty amazing. lizzie and junior standing 25.5" high. a few elizabeths at a massive 36". and a bunch of customs of brandts latest the skelve.

lizzie and junior

all creepy little girls need tentacled friends.

and rubber ink-resistant bear hats.

elizabeths

my what big craniums you have.

three inches is a very good height indeed!

some cuckoos eat souls. like maybe this one.

skelves!

they don't need arms to gnaw your bones.

you can run, but there is definitely nowhere to hide.

there is such a thing as too much fiber in your diet...

i'm floored by how much work was in this show. you guys are amazing and the work looks incredible. there are still some pieces available if you look here. don't snooze, they're disappearing fast.

blinded by the night.

weeping emotion. little miss misery has entered a world beneath ours, not soon to emerge. who knows what unspeakable act she had to commit to obtain the skull of a demon, attach a strap and wear it proudly. she's for real. there are few things creepier than a little girl who can blend with grandma's decor and then eat your soul while you sleep.

don't ask or it'll happen to you.

like i said...

the colors, the atmosphere. fantastic. it's the first kathie olivas custom i've seen that maintained the same emotional wonderland and yet defined a style within the same universe. you've done a brilliant job. brought to life by jeremy regan. hazel will never be the same.

and now i want frosted flakes...

file this under: things i wish were mine

so damn awesome. released a few years ago, but no less fresh today.

tiger baby by sam flores.

from pata

don't fuck with the man in the tiger suit.

from pata

especially if he's been watching the ring.

...as long as his head doesn't swivel 360, we'll be cool.

from pata

emo tiger is listening to depeche mode.

from espritmenthe

anybody up for a round of bloody knuckles? no? anybody?

from fuuuuuunk

for a tiger, those are some bitch-ass teeth.

...hope you like pudding, tiger.

from fuuuuuunk

lining up for a birdie putt.

from fuuuuuunk

no teeth AND no claws?

do you work for siegfried or roy?

from pstarr

now THAT is a fucking tiger.

despite his lack of deadly weapons and the fact that the boy inside the tiger is possessed by at least three kinds of demons... i still really want one. tiger baby, one day you will be a man.

billy bronze

from hello-d

working the floor at the mime convention.

i couldn't talk about sam without also tossing out some of the amazing customs that have been made from his main lady. fatima.

from betso

long dresses are great for hiding extreme cankle cases.

from betso

is she on his head? or is he in her butt?

what say you mr. betso?

from the motor

motorbot brings the pain with the iron maiden.

from kathie

kathie olivas can always make the creepy, creepier.

from kathie

this white rabbit would've eaten alice.

and last but not least on this illogical journey is the newest addition to the flores family...

dragonboy.

dragon's with no eyelids always win staring contests.

love the double knuckle action.

dboy pics from montreal vinyl

dragonboy was already up for preorder, but has yet to see the light of day. there is also a purple colorway, with plenty more to follow i'm sure. keep checking upper playground for any updates.

now back to the tiger hunt.

giants of vinyl.

here's to the pillars. the bold who have stepped beyond. experimenting with toys that could crush a child. toys that bring a tear to a grown man's eye... giants of vinyl.

click to explode. (in size)

class picture. [salari ika by frank kozik] [tom cruise] [pain by coarsetoys] [dissected by kaws] [dunny by kathie olivas] [large martin by ashley wood] [giant squire by jermaine rogers]

the eeriness goes up by at least 36% when you take a creepy-ass figure and inflate it to nightmare proportions. the awesomeness however, also goes up by 36%, so i guess it's a wash. i wanted to shed a little light on these rarely seen behemoths, as most of them end up in the houses of people who are cooler than you. so here they are. from smallest to biggest.

large martin by ashley wood and 3A toys

also comes in chocolate and vanilla.

image from 3A catalog

large martin has been touching down on doorsteps over the past couple of weeks. retailed at $300 and stands an impressive 20" high. seriously, pull out a ruler. 20" is way bigger than you think. there were 5 different variants, all of which rule. thank you mr. wood. you have done it again.

giant squire by jermaine rogers

needs proactiv... look at that sheen!

image from now where art

one of the most quietly disturbing sculpts ever. rumored to gobble souls while you sleep, the giant squire was released last year. only 30 were made, which means you can't have one. but don't give up hope, it's important to have dreams. or night terrors.

dissected by kaws.

[regular sized mono version shown below]

image from clovis!

the classic. enlarged to epic proportions. adding to the army of non-dissected kaws companions. the newest 4-footer just dropped for anyone with about $4000 burning a hole in their jordaches. in my opinion, the coolest piece of vinyl kaws has released so far. word is, that the mono and black dissecteds will also make the leap to foster-child size. fingers crossed.

giant dunny by kathie olivas

sweet and terrifying. you will get bit.

image from kidrobot

not actually released to the public. this 4-foot dunny was done as part of a live painting demonstration at krny. miss kathie was kind and brave enough to show off her talents in front of the drooling masses. i doubt you can buy it. or fit it through your front door. too bad, it's awesome.

salari ika from frank kozik.

...less threatening on a dolly.

sdcc09 saw this guy sneak in the back door. 5'6" tall. he'll run you about $4k and might actually still be available due to his newness. but for 4k, i'd like him to fill in at work for me. which won't happen until his mothership lands.

tiny tom cruise action figure!

comes with real mini-bike!

image from cathy g1

an official 5'7" or so. unofficially an alien midget. he is actually for sale, but you have to agree to sit in on "auditing" sessions to reach a "state of clear" in the land of buttholes, or some other equally worthwhile activities.

1:1 pain by coarsetoys

still fucking awesome.

image from coarsetoys blog

already covered this badboy, but how can you not give bloody a little more love? standing a legit 6 foot, he will happily invite you into his world of pain. mark it 8 smokey.

so what have we learned here today? simple math.

start with awesome + make it bigger = mind numbing awesome.

if you're really lucky, santa might drop one of these in your living room one year. but don't hold your breath.

class picture done by mastodon. with images taken from these nice people. not that they had a choice. salari ika. pain. dunny. dissected. large martin. squire.