Gatchabert's blog of Toys, Games, and a little more

Mummy Mania!

2012-01-17T22:49:00.000-08:00

So, Super 7 is hosting a custom Mummy Boy show with a contest attached to it. Each entry will be for sale and both regular and pocket sized Mummy Boys will be up. It should be a great show and I'm pretty excited to see what others are going to do. Some have already finished their pieces. I've posted a teaser on flickr but I'm posting the actual piece here for you guys that read my blog. I based the colors on a vintage toy but tweaked the colors a bit. I'm happy with what I painted and I'd be glad to keep this guy in my collection.

The show will be at 6PM at Super 7 on January 28.
Super 7
1427 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117

Old RxH is new again

2011-11-26T00:15:00.000-08:00

Using a stripped Kozik Pickle Chaos, I decided to try out some new paint...which happens to be almost the same colors as the old Pickle Chaos...

Mori calls it vegetable color...hahahaha!!

In Living Kolor

2011-09-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

On October 8th in Boston, various monsters will invade Lot F Gallery. The show will feature people that use Monster Kolor paints. For the show, I painted 3 toys.

This one is from Maxtoy Co. It is their Drazoran, painted in a more traditional style. Painted with blue, green, silver, purple and some brown on milky/clear glitter vinyl. I had painted a Drazoran before but I didn't like how it turned out so after sitting around for a few years, I repainted it to this version which I think is much better. It will be on sale for $150.

This next one a mini walking Hedoran made by Gargamel. Silver base with some blue sprays and a black wash. Nice and simple for a classic toy. I've painted a few of these in the past but, I think this is my favorite one. It will sell for $80.

The next last one is Party Ball. The character is made by Paul Kaiju and produced by Super7. Painted with silver and brown with a wash of black, and some light blue. It will sell, also for $80.

I'm bummed to be missing this show. It would have been fun to go to Boston for the first time and meet up with some buddies that I've met through collecting toys. There will also be a few toys for people to paint and take home with them. It should be a fun night.

Entry for Restore's Debris Japan toy

2011-09-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing fancy with this one, just wanted to paint the toy into an Oni.

Sopt It! show at Munky King

2011-09-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

Super Cooper has invited me to participate in a show at Munky King called, Stop It! Cooper says "The art show is about school bullying and cyber-bullying. It is to raise awareness to stop bullying!" and will open on Sept 10th from 6pm-10pm. Part of the sales will go to GLIDE (Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality) and CHIME Institute. I wish I was able to make it to the show, at least I'll be there in Spirit :)

The drawing is a boy in a homemade superhero outfit holding a Stop sign as a shield. Other kids are behind him, cheering him on for standing up to others (with a bit of blue as a sign of hope). He doesn't look mean or menacing because rather than be harsh, he is calm and kind...but his stance is aggressive and he is ready for anything!..and yes, he wears a pink cape. The piece is 8"x10" mounted on an 11"x14" frame and will sell for $80. Anyway, click the link above for the show and check out that long list of artists. That is very impressive.

Toy Karma 3 at Rotofugi

2011-09-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

It's that time again for Toy Karma at Rotofugi curated by Mark Nagata of Max Toy Co. Knocked out 2 drawings for the show. Both are 8"x10" drawings. The first one is taken from the James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only.

The second is from a song by The Blue Hearts, Linda Linda Linda with Ultraman and a few characters.

Unfortunately, I won't be going to Chicago this year. Hope you guys like the drawings.

Drazorus heads to Chicago

2011-08-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year...well every other year...for Toy Karma 3 at Rotofugi, curated by Mark Nagata of Max Toy Co. This time the format is very different. Custom toys are only painted by the manufacturer or the creator of the toy and no one else. That means people like me can't send in custom painted toys. However, I am able to send in drawings or paintings that are kaiju themed/inspired. I'm kinda happy about that and thought about what to make. I wanted to have Mark's character, Lady Maxx in the drawing but wasn't sure what to do with her. Then it hit me...

I wonder where Lady Maxx is...

Himawari - the food place, not the song...

2011-06-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

So today I finally got to try Himawari in San Mateo during lunch time. We were pretty lucky when we got there and only waited for about 5 minutes for a table. Small place, I think Santa Ramen is bigger but bigger is not always better. I had tonkotsu with extra kakuni...what I like to call the pork medley. One thing to note before I go on. After we were sat down, we were given glasses of what I thought was water. As it turns out, it was barley tea...and cold. It was both odd and refreshing, and a few minutes after taking our order, my ramen arrives. You could see the fat glistening on the top of the soup and at the first sip, I knew this was going to be good and it was. Each sip had nice flavor and you could even get a hint of sake when you take a bite of the kakuni. That really makes me want to come back. The bowl itself seems to be a bit high in price at around $9...then you add .50cents-$3 more depending on what you add. The bbq pork was also good but no match for the kakuni's flavor and more sips of the soup and still no saltiness. The noodles were thin but had a nice bite to them. I like a bit thicker noodle but these did the job well enough that I wasn't missing the thicker ones. By the end of it all, I found no saltiness, some really good kakuni, and sweat from having my face near the bowl the whole time I was eating. I had to take off my hoodie. I need to bring some other friends so we can try the karaage as well as the other soups.

For granted

2011-05-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight it just struck me how we all take something like the internet for granted. A few years ago, there was nothing like the internet and the only way we could show someone on the other side of the world something, was to send them a picture. Now, it's almost instant...or can be instant depending on what you use to connect. It really struck me when I posted the pic below on twitter and tagged the owner of the company to show him the custom paint job I did on one of his toys. Here's the toy I painted:

...and here is a clip of the feed:

You can see when I posted mine and then about 8 minutes after my post, the owner chimes in to thank me and tell me that he likes it. Seventeen minutes later I thank him for making such a good toy and a minute after he responds with a smile. The things we take for granted...

Kibou prints

2011-04-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

I just received the Kibou prints from Monster Worship and they look great. They will go on sale soon for $35 and will be signed and numbered and all the sales will go to Japanese earthquake relief (like Japanese Red Cross ).
One note: the line work is rough because it is meant to be that way ;)

Somewhat work related...

2011-04-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

So I was asked by my former manager if I could make a little drawing for her. She was a great boss and I do owe her...but even if I didn't, I'd still help her out. Spring cleaning is coming up and she needed a small drawing of Pogo's mascot. At first I thought it was going to be a small poster but then she says it's going on her email. That's great cause then I can make a drawing on 8.5"x11" paper, scan it and then resize it smaller. With spring here, she just needed Spike doing some kind of cleaning chore...so, here is Spike :)

I did this mainly with colored pencil then scanned it in. Nothing too fancy but still a fun little project. It's a bit rough but then I did this in 1 sitting.

Globby contest concluded

2011-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

A contest from Grasshut just ended and the competition was top-notch. Bwana had posted some time ago that there would be a contest and the topic was Globby and our interpretation of the cute fella. Here are some of the entries:

By Jesse (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostandflower/)

By David (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcoffman/) - this was my favorite.

By cralya

and myself :)

There were a few others but they were not posted on the Grasshut forums. I didn't really think I'd win but they picked my pieces as the winner. I'm really excited to win as Globby has slowly become one of my favorite characters. It was fun making this piece and I will probably send it off to Bwana as soon as I get the address. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!! Thanks Grasshut gang!!

Super 7's One-Offs Show Part 2

2011-01-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well...since a friend of mine decided to take screencaps of my other submissions, I might as well show them. I had the pics set so only friends would see them. I can't do anything if friends ignore that setting.

I've been asked, along with a few others, to paint one more toy for the show on Jan 29th. Needless to say, I won't be posting a pic of it anywhere til the day of the show.

Super 7's One-Offs Show

2011-01-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

This is one of my pieces for the show this weekend. It is Gameppa by Gargamel, one of my favorite fight figures of Gargamel's line. There seems to only be a handful of people that collect fight figures and that sucks. Companies like Secret Base and Gargamel have just about stopped making their fight figures. Secret Base still does but releases are at a much slower pace. Oh well, no sense in supporting a dying market :(

Super7 "1 Offs" custom vinyl toy show
Over 30 artists premiere personal visions incorporating Super7 & Gargamel Toys.
Opening Sat. January 29th, • 6pm - 9’ish
Super7 Located at
1427 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415-409-4700 • info@super7store.com
Show is cash n’ carry so get there early!

Jamestown Fundraiser

2011-01-23T02:04:00.000-08:00

So I was going through some events listed in my Facebook tabs and clicked on the All Hands On Deck show. It's a fundraiser and proceeds go the building a skate park in Jamestown NY. Click, click, click and all of a sudden I see the skate deck I painted for the show on the front of the webpage:

That is my Shibaraku skate deck that I painted about 3-4 months ago. I'm glad I'm part of the show and thanks to Active Artists Alliance, Arts Council For Chautauqua County and Suburban Blend for letting me be a part of this show. It was only the 2nd skate deck I've painted and I like it. I hope they have a successful fundraiser.
Here's the skate deck in case people missed the original post:

Just a quick drawing

2011-01-15T00:04:00.000-08:00

On one of the forums I browse through, there was a posting to make your version of Bwana Spoons' Globby character. Globby is a cute little guy and I am hungry for something sweet so...I made Globby wanting some taiyaki (YUM!!!). Sadly there is no place open at midnight that has taiyaki.

Pics from Dragatomi's Monster Party

2011-01-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

January 8th, 2011. The first show for us in the new year. Thanks to Dragatomi for putting the show together and just being awesome people, and thanks to everyone that came up to check out the show.

Pics from my flickr: Dragatomi Monster Party

Close ups of my stuff:

Ajisen Ramen

2010-12-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

So I finally got to try Ajisen Ramen and while I wasn't expecting much, I wasn't disappointed...but maybe cause I wasn't expecting much. I got the house ramen...Ajisen Ramen for $7.50. From what I could see and taste (cause there wasn't much description in the menu), it had seaweed, half and egg, shreds of lettuce and some...well, a but more than some, garlic in tonkotsu broth, and some pieces of pork. The ramen itself wasn't bad. Thin noodles with a bit of bite to it. The broth was ok but the garlic was a bit too much. The lettuce...well...it didn't add to the ramen so why was it even there? The pork wasn't too bad. Just dry enough to sop up some of the broth and some nice bit of flavor. I like that this place is downtown so if I ever find myself there, I know there's a ramen place I can go to. Overall, it was a good bowl for the price and I would probably go here over the highly overrated ramen place that is also downtown on Geary :P. Service was a bit lacking. I went with my brother and we waited almost 10min for the server to take our order. After we had ordered, my brother got his before me...which is odd cause he got tonkatsu. Really? You can fry a pork cutlet faster than you can make ramen? I didn't know that was possible.

Monster Party @ Dragatomi

2010-12-31T17:43:00.000-08:00

Dragatomi will be hosting Monster Party, a custom toy and art show featuring Mark Nagata, Lil Japan, D-Lux and myself.

Monster Party - January 8, 2011

Dragatomi

2317 J Street (Btwn 23rd and 24th St.)

Sacramento CA 95816

916-706-0535

...and more.

Love Movement

2010-11-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Come join us on December 11th 2010 for Love Movement at New People's Superfrog gallery in San Francisco.

http://www.newpeopleworld.com/arts/love-movement

Thanks to www.jeremyriad.com for curating

Shibaraku skatedeck

2010-11-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

So I managed to get into a fundraiser show in Jamestown NY. Here's a blurb about the show on the Active Artists Alliance webpage:

"All Decks on Hand" AAAlliance X Suburban Blend X Arts Council Fundraiser Show / Auction of skateboard decks, designed and hand-painted by local, regional, and national artists. 100% of the proceeds from this show will go towards the new Public Skatepark Project in Jamestown, NY. This show will hang for the months of January & February.

Rather than prep the skateboard, I painted directly on to it...sort of how Kabuki make-up is. You can still see some of the board through the paint and the lines are a little imperfect, but from a bit of a distance, it looks more crisp.

and a detail shot...

You can see a bit of the metallic paint I used in the face, just enough to catch some light and make it stick out a bit.

Ramen Club

2010-11-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

I got to try Ramen Club out in Burlingame a couple of days ago. It was okay. People have said that it is hit or miss and I guess we were right in the middle. I ordered the Stewed Pork Ramen and didn't ask what the soup flavor was. They have 3 kinds, shio, shoyu, and miso. The bowl came and had the stewed pork, about 3-4 pieces of a decent size each, half a hard boiled egg, and seaweed. The pork was ok. Nice and tender but not as much flavor as Santa Ramen or Saiwaii's stewed pork. The noodles were okay. They had a nice bite to them. The soup...well, it had nice flavor to it but it was more the flavor of the stewed pork. Not sure if that's suppose to be but if it wasn't for the pork sitting in the broth, I don't think I would have ordered it. There was also a bit of sourness in the soup. I'm not one to try a place and never go back if I didn't like it or think much of it...unless it is absolutely terrible. I'll give Ramen Club another shot someday and try the shoyu or shio ramen. For now, it's just okay. There was really nothing special about their ramen, nothing memorable but at least it wasn't terrible.

Perfect egg?

2010-10-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Some one was complaining on yelp that the egg she got in her ramen was raw. Really?!?!

I'd say that egg was perfect. I had this a few weeks ago at Saiwaii Ramen. I usually don't like Shio broth because most places just make it way too salty but this was really good. This time I had the pork cheeks instead of the belly. While the cheeks were good, the belly is just so much better....at least for me. My friend liked the cheeks better. I didn't finish my bowl, but that's because I ate lunch kinda late and dinner was way too soon afterward. Their Shio broth was great. It felt really light and wasn't overly salty like most places...and I felt...refreshed after eating what I could.

15th Anniversay Qee Show

2010-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

So I finally finished my Qee for the upcoming show at Dragatomi. It took me a while to figure out what to do. Originally it was going to be more elaborate but I went simple and stuck to my Filipino theme.

Hala bira! Qee

Skate This Art show

2010-09-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

I finished working on my piece for the Skate This Art show at Art Space here in San Francisco. It's the first time I've done art on a skate deck and not too sure how I like it. I am pretty happy with what I came up with.

The show will be at 2183 Mission Street @ 18th Street.

Joy Boy!!

2010-08-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

So...the last toy for the Red Carpet Kaiju show at TAG is now out. It was Zollmen's Nazi Boy...until I filed down the swastika and replaced it with a pink heart. When the news about Prop8 being unconstitutional and then some idiot says that gay marriage is still not allowed. I won't really get into it but the look on the Nazi Boy's face seemed appropriate for the whole issue and so I turned this guy into something else. I filed down the swastika (not very successfully) and sprayed the whole thing black. Placed down some silver accents and some pink and fluorescent pink details. Finished him off with a coat of pearl finish to give him some glitter and Joy Boy was born. Joy Boy doesn't care for Prop8 and wants to just go around spreading love to all in his glittery outfit. He still wears the helmet to keep his head safe...cause all guys need to wear helmets from time to time. ;)

and here is what the Nazi Boy looks like (the toy nerds call him that because of the swastika on his chest). Don't run Nazi Boy, Joy Boy just wants to hug you.

Could I get more noodles?

2010-08-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, I actually asked for another bowl of noodles. Today was a turning point in my ramen adventures. I found out about this place from reading an article on SFWeekly's foodie blog. I didn't even read the whole thing. All I caught before seeing the hours for Saiwaii was ramen, tonkotsu, and buta kakuni. What more do I need to read. Oh...maybe I need to know where it is...that was a big help. For being where it is, parking was fairly easy. I walked in and there were only 2 other table occupied. Staff was friendly and the menu was nice and brief. I glanced at it and noticed that buta kakuni is NOT on the menu but rather a special. I found out later that they are still wondering if they should make it permanent or just have it once in a while. They better make it permanent. While I won't be able to tell the difference between Santa, and Saiwaii's (why do they all begin with S?) buta kakuni, I think it just tells you how good it is. I was also asked by the waitress what I thought of the ramen. Well, I thought that by ordering another bowl, that meant something. Actually, when I ordered the extra noodles, the staff looked a bit confused. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've asked for extra noodles anywhere. The broth was really good. Lots of flavor and from what I've heard, was the big problem in the beginning when they opened about 2 weeks ago. People were saying the broth was a little light on flavor but this had really good flavor all the way through the meal. My biggest problem with Sozai was the really salty after taste. No such thing at Saiwaii. The only difference with the end of the bowl was the flavor of the buta kakuni (because I leave a piece or 2 at the end). Just about everything was as it should be. The ramen was cooked well (both times), the broth was flavorful, the chashu also had a good flavor that stood on it's own, the only thing missing is that ever elusive gooey egg yolk. Dare I say...the best ramen in San Francisco? I am definitely going back to try the shoyu, miso, and shio ramen...and hope they'll still have buta kakuni.

TAG's Red Carpet Kaiju show drawing

2010-08-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

So, I made a drawing for the coming TAG show. It's at the printers right now (hope they do a good job) but here is what the final looks like.

Thanks to Rich at Mutant Vinyl Hardcore for allowing me to make the drawing. It will be a run of 25 giclee prints, signed and numbered. On sale at TAG the night of the show for $50. It is about 12"x9".

TAG Kaiju show

2010-08-22T01:05:00.000-07:00

The Toy Art Gallery or, TAG, will be hosting the Red Carpet Kaiju show on September 4th. I'm pretty happy to be part of this show and was asked to do between 5-10 pieces. Sadly, I am only able to put out 5 pieces due to time constraints. So far I've finished 3 out of 5 and the last 2 are just about done. Here's a peek at what I'm sending out.

First up, Gargamess from Gargamel. Gargamess is one of my all time favorite fight figures. In this one, I just kept it simple with a silver base with blue and florecent red sprays.

Next is a relatively new fight figure also from Gargamel. The Oozebat. Another one of my favorites, Oozebat is also on a silver base with smoke, blue, florecent red, and purple sprays. This one is my favorite of the bunch that I painted for the show.

Last of the 3 is Deathra. Yes, another Gargamel toy and another one of my favorites from them (I seem to love a lot of Gargamel toys). This guy has a monster green base with some flesh, florecent red, black and gold sprays...there might also be some florecent orange in there.

The final 2 pieces are a bit of a surprise. One of them is a drawing of the Sludge Demon toy by Mutant Vinyl Hardcore. I love both the Doji-san and Sludge Demon that Rich has made and always ask him if I can do a drawing for a show. At first, I was thinking this was going to be a straight black and white piece like I usually do. But then I found myself grabbing my colored pencils and adding some color to it.

...and wait...what's this? If anyone can guess before the day of the show, I'll send them a little mini Chaos that hasn't been painted yet. ;)

SiF - gig poster

2010-08-14T02:01:00.000-07:00

Been working on this one for the past couple of weeks. Thanks again to Abe Lincoln Jr for giving me that chance to work on these Fugue State Record gig posters.

some toys

2010-08-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

I've been finishing up a few toys lately...
First up is a Betadron from Sunguts. This was clear yellow vinyl and I poured in GID paint. Metallic purple, clear blue and clear red sprays.

Next is an M1 giant sized Namegon. This was red vinyl with a silver base. Clear blue, purple and a few various colors for the dots on it's back.

Finally, one of my favorite sculpts. Real x Head's Mutant head. White vinyl with a monster green rub, pink and silver sprays.

This is the duo. The Mutant Evil is a blue rub with green, purple, yellow orange, and purple sprays. There might be one more to add to this to make it a trio.

Sozai's tonkotsu

2010-08-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Some friends and I went to Izakaya Sozai the other day. This was my first time at Sozai and won't be my last. They don't have shoyu ramen so, I had their tonkotsu which is what I prefer. Where to start...well for one, the egg was pretty good. Usually, all you ever get here is a hard-boiled egg. Theirs was a great surprise. The yolk was still a bit runny!! I've only been to one other place in the US that serves their ramen with a slightly runny egg yolk and it's not in San Francisco or in California. There were a couple things I didn't like. First is the huge piece of nori. I'm not much of a fan of nori so seeing this giant piece...well...it was the first thing I ate just so I could get it out of the way. The chashu was nice. You only get 1 piece and I thought that was fine for a bowl of it's size. It was really good. Nice flavor, not dry, and it was a thick piece. I kinda like that. I also got the buta kakuni with my ramen. It was really good. Not the best I've had but really well cooked and very tender. There were some moments while I was eating the I found myself just looking into space. It was pretty damn good and put a smile on my face knowing there's ramen that's this good in SF. The soup was full of flavor. I enjoyed almost every sip of it. The noodles, a bit soft for my taste but still better than other ramen places. Everything just went well...til I got to the end of the bowl. After gulping down the last drop, I found it to be a bit salty. Quite the contrast from how it was all throughout the meal. I was a little bummed about that but I would definitely eat it again, and again. Aside from the saltiness, it is by far the best tonkotsu ramen I've had in SF. Some people complain that it's too small, but I don't think it's meant to be eaten as a single meal. For me, it's a great size because it leaves a little room to order some of the other dishes. One other thing, I hate when people complain that they don't get tea when other Asian restaurants give you tea for free. Well, when I was in Japan, I never got tea at any of the places I ate at, only in Hong Kong.

Tanpopo

2010-08-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Tanpopo has always been a decent, if not good, ramen place...and after eating at the others, it was a welcome change. I used to get their wonton ramen. It was good and I liked the fact that after I ate all the ramen, there was still the wontons swimming in the soup. I've never had any problems with Tanpopo. The ramen is always the same no matter what time of the day I go. I've since switched to their chicken shoyu ramen. Much better than the wonton and the chicken is fried. The whole time I thought it wasn't fried but a friend of mine ordered it and there it was. I think having the karaage added a bit more richness to the soup. Their chicken is pretty good on it's own and having them in the soup just adds to the whole meal. Overall, it's a good meal...not the greatest, and not the worst.

Best ramen in San Francisco?

2010-08-01T03:13:00.000-07:00

Really? I don't understand how people think Katana-ya is the best ramen in San Francisco. It really wasn't that good. First of all, you have a choice of soup and a choice of light or rich. While I was asked what flavor I wanted, I've never been asked if I want light or rich, and the only reason I know the difference is because I went with my brother one time and ordered the richer one. From what I remember, the rich one didn't have much flavor. There was a hint, but just not enough, otherwise it would have been okay. Their karaage was okay. It was definitely better than Suzu's karaage. The noodles...not bad...but not that great either. The menma was bad. It was super salty and a couple of them were even cold. I can't even imagine how it can be cold in the hot soup. Speaking of the soup...while it had more flavor than ordering the rich version, it seemed like I might as well be eating a bowl of noodles in soy sauce. If you are going to try Katana-ya, I would go with the rich version or leave with a salty taste in your mouth like I did. If you do go, I would get the katsu-curry. It seems to be the most consistent dish in most Japanese restaurants. Over all, Katana-ya is just ok. Best of San Francisco...well...not really. Would I eat here again? Maybe. Maybe I'd eat at Suzu again...but I really won't be going to Sapporo-ya again.

Inconsistent at best

2010-07-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

So...Suzu Noodle House is one of those places that I wish I liked. There's just always something wrong. I've been to Suzu 4 times and at best, they are an ok ramen place...but just barely. The first time I went was really bad. The soup was just terrible and tasted like dish water (not that I go around tasting dish water). The noodles were forgetful which is sad for a place that claims to be a noodle house. The second time I went, it was decent...but maybe it's because I went with a friend after toy shopping. The third time I went, I don't even remember much of it except that I saw some friends of mine come in but they were way too late and ended up, in all places, at Sapporo-ya (probably the worst ramen I've had...ever). Oh wait, I do remember. The noodles were stuck together at some places and not cooked well. They were chewy at some places and under cooked at some. How they managed that is a feat in itself...and I still wonder. Do they really make their own noodles? This last time I went (I ordered karaage ramen) was one of those "Meh...they're ok but there's still something wrong..." The soup was ok. I got a little hint of some nice flavor at the end...way at the end. The noodles, while still suspect, were ok. Oh...the karaage...hmmm...how long do I need to let it sit in the soup in order for the chicken to have some flavor. The answer, til the end when it has soaked up a fair amount of the soup. Maybe this is why the soup was a little better in the end. They looked good but it doesn't seem like they marinate their chicken before hand. It had a kind of floury taste that stayed half way through. FAIL!! On a side note, On the Bridge has some tasty karaage. If I had any kind of star-rating or as someone suggested, a monster-rating with one being the low end of the scale, Suzu would probably get 2...barely. At least the noodles were cooked well this time.

Swimming in a sea of blandness

2010-07-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked me to write about the ramen places I've been to here in San Francisco. The good part about doing this is that I get to go eat at the ramen places that I like. Of course the bad part is going back to those that I don't...but being optimistic and hoping that they've gotten better. Well, as luck would have it, this was not the case. I was going to go to Suzu since it is near by but they were closed. I was a bit disappointed because it is one of those places that I would like to see get better. Instead I went to Sapporo-ya. Ummm...yeah...luck was really not with me today. I walk in and there is maybe 3-5 other people either eating or just finished. I do come in a bit late for lunch so it wasn't too surprising to see so little people. I sit down and order their shoyu ramen and eagerly await my lunch. The bowl arrived and I just thought to myself "Omg...what a sad looking bowl of ramen..." It was a big bowl with some spinach, menma, chashu, and half a hard-boiled egg. At first I thought it was nice to have some spinach in the ramen but why was it so bitter? Where ever it was, it made the noodles a bit bitter...which might have been a good thing cause the noodles didn't have much of any flavor. Texture wise they weren't bad and they were cooked well...but they seemed to be missing something, just like the soup. Even water has some kind of flavor. Well...enough about the soup. Time for some pork! Hmmm...why does the slices of pork look so dry. It's because they were...and if I've ever eaten cardboard, I think it would be very similar to the pieces of pork in my ramen. This has to be the first bowl of ramen that I did not finish. I barely ate half of it just waiting for some kind of flavor to come out of the soup. Well...at least the menma had some flavor...

More SDCC 2010 goodies

2010-07-21T01:39:00.000-07:00

Few more drawings done. These are rough drawings...almost like sketches but with a bit of color added.

Blobpus custom

2010-07-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

I was asked to paint a Blobpus. This is my third one and it just doesn't get easier. It sat for a few weeks and was told that it should be dark. Well...it's kinda dark, and it glows in the dark. After weeks of sitting and color variations, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...especially the glowie skull. It's a good mix of light and dark...and when the lights go out...

SDCC 2010 pt - 3

2010-07-19T01:18:00.000-07:00

Couple more for SDCC 2010

SDCC 2010 pt - 2

2010-07-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Not sure how many I'll get done but here's one of a couple that I've already finished. Good old Hedora on 9" x 6" watercolor paper. Nothing too fancy and all drawings will probably be between $10-$15.

SDCC 2010

2010-07-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

I might have some small sized art work with me at SDCC 2010. They're roughly 9"x6" and I'll be carrying them with me. They'll be drawings of various kaiju and yokai...for sale. I'm thinking $10 each, black and white and maybe one other color.

Sif - work in progress

2010-07-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well...by some miracle, I got my crappy camera fixed. I've been sketching a bit and finally came upon something for the next gigposter. It brings in my Art Nouveau side which has been rather lacking in past work. I still need to figure out the background but so far, I'm pretty happy with what's coming along.

In color

2010-05-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

WIP pics....

2010-05-28T01:33:00.000-07:00

Well...ok, so it's a little further in progress than what most people do when they take progress pics. There are for the show at Lulubell Toy Bodega in AZ on June 5th.

This first one is a pic of Real x Head's Mutant Evil vs Mutant Head. It will be a pretty simple piece with not much color...unlike the piece below.

Gargamel's Zokki Kaiju series. Missing from the drawing are the Beralgon, Mightin, and a few others. I love these guys as much as some of the Real x Head toys.

At first I was going to do something totally different from these 2. I was going to do a huge drawing of Voltes V since there was an incident in the Philippines concerning the anime. Then I thought to do a couple of companies that I really like now and some of the toys that I collect.

There will be no customs by me to be sold at this show.

For sale...

2010-05-15T23:08:00.000-07:00

Putting these 2 guys up for sale. $130 + shipping each. Hit me up on SB or FB is anyone wants them.

Mutant Head. White base with red and yellow-orange spray.

Mutant Evil. Pink vinyl with flesh and emerald green spray.

Monsters in the Mangrove

2010-05-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is Super 7 Florida's Monsters in the Mangrove show. I'll have 3 pieces for the show...2 customs and 1 drawing. I'm really glad to be part of this show with some pretty big names in the artist world. I wish I could make it out to FL...maybe next time.

Here are the pieces for the show:

First one is a Hedorah. It's about 5"-6" tall and will sell for $80

Next is an Odoron from Gargamel - character by Toshikazu Nozaka. Also about 6" tall and will sell for $80

Finally, the drawing. Since the show is called Monsters in the Mangrove, I first thought of having some big kaiju with some mangroves in the background terrorizing people. The more I thought about what to draw, the more I decided to make something else. So I made up the Coconut King. He is a Coconut/Robber Crab and has decided to terrorize the FL population. This is 18"x12" ink on watercolor paper and will sell for $150.

BUY MY STUFF!! Thanks for looking :)

Not Vinyl show this Saturday

2010-05-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy that I haven't posted about Dragatomi's Not Vinyl art show. This Saturday, May 8th.

Here is my piece: Phoenix - made of sheets of laminated bristol with marker and metallic ink: Sold during preview night

The artists participating include:

Plaseebo, Paul Kaiju , Leecifer , TaskOne, Phoneticontrol, Betso, Lysol 13, DrilOne, Jay222, Blamo Toys, Argonaut Resins, Quan Vu, Spanky Stokes, Motorbot, Rsin, Mandark, Jahsocky, C!nder, Jared Konopitski, Daniel Goffin, Okkle, Cris Rose, Eckotyper, J*ryu, Josh Herbolsheimer, LilJapan, Gatchabert,Jenny Wolf, Ian Ziobrowski,Chris Grannillo, Shane Saw, Brian Colin, Sucklord, WeKillYou, Apocalypse Popsicle , Brent Nolasco, NervisWr3ks, KillGraffiti,Cliff & Sean of Monstrehero, Nemo,
More artists to be announced…

Hope to see you all there!!

Couple more for Sweet Breams show

2010-04-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Mini Mutant Chaos will be priced at $65 and Bump will be $40...both at Sweet Breams

Kaiju characters eating taiyaki :)

2010-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sweet Breams in San Mateo will be having a small show on April 24th to July 3rd. Here are 2 pieces I'll have in the show. Both are 6" squares and will go for $75 each. Metallic inks, and marker on canvas.

SWEET BREAMS
220 2nd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401

T 650.347.3509
E sweetbreams@gmail.com

BUSINESS HOURS.

Mon + Tues: closed

Wed: 12.30P-8P

Thu, Fri, Sat: 12.30P-10P

Sun: 12.30P-8P

Just some sketches for a show....

2010-03-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

These are rough sketches for an art show at a place in San Mateo called Sweet Breams. Just gotta figure out the colors I want to use.

Unwanted toys...

2010-03-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

There are always toys that end up becoming rather unpopular. Sometimes they end up in lot sales and people try to resell them with no luck. Here is one of those that I got in a trade from a guy that was trying to resell with no luck.
Ichiban Boshi's Mikazuki Joe. The vinyl is a gold lamé with black rubbed paint and, red and metallic blue spary. Nothing too fancy with this...just had to mask out the bones and moon on the face.

Oh how I wish I was in Japan...

2010-02-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Kaiju / Musume @ Schatz Kiste

Yeah...there are no places like this here in the US :(

Customs, customs, customs....

2010-02-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

Just finished a couple of customs, M1 baby Peguila, and a Real x Head Mutant Head.
First one is M1's baby Peguila. Originally an unpainted flesh color, I decided to go with a bright red base. It was going to be mostly metallic purple but decided to go with some ivory highlights. Nice and simple...they way kaiju sprays have always been.

Next is a Real x Head Mutant Head. This was a commissioned piece. The guy wanted Ultraman but there have been 2 Ultraman paint jobs already. I spent some time looking at a variety of Ultraman characters and finally decided on Ultraman 80. It's not an exact spray pattern but if you know your Ultraman characters, it should be evident that this is Ultraman 80.

Bonus...this guy's been sitting around and I finally got a clear coat on him. Gargamel goodness in gunmetal, pink, ivory, and red.

Custom Super 7 Rose Vampire

2010-02-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

So...I was commissioned to do another Rose Vampire. The guy wanted cherry blossoms but making a cherry blossom out of a rose...well...I'm no magician. I sent out a teaser and he liked it so I went ahead with it. I like how it turned out but it doesn't really say cherry blossom.

Talking about Japanese vinyl...with a non-Japanese guy??

2010-02-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

So...a buddy of mine was interviewed for an article in Metropolis, an online magazine based in Japan but written in English (thank God...it exists). I've read the magazine on and off for a couple of years now but one day, someone had pointed out that my friend, Ricky was featured in an article. It is kinda interesting that they say the Japanese figure industry spawns a thriving subculture. I don't really think of them as Designer Toys, more like toys that are not in high demand but are cooler than most of what is being made now-a-days...but if that's what makes them designer then so be it. Anyway...here is the article on Metropolis:

http://metropolis.co.jp/arts/pop-life/designer-vinyl/
and here are pics of Ricky's characters from his flickr page:

Larvagon

Bechigon

Chinese New Year's sprays

2010-02-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

Up for sale are 2 Bechigons and 2 Smoking Stars. Each one is $50 + shipping ($5 in the US...$15 International). All are done in New Year's colors of gold, bright red, and green. Contact me via email, pm, IM, Facebook, cellphone...or whatever, for details.

Bechigon 1

Bechigon 2

Smoking Star 1

Smoking Star 2

Septuagenarian gig poster # 2

2010-02-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

Finished the gig poster for Fugue State Records band, Septuagenarian. I had asked my friend at MVH if I could use one of his characters, and he said I could. This one seemed to be a lot easier than Asspanther...not sure if it's because I already had a character in mind or not. One more gig poster to go...

Chinese New Year's Bechigon

2010-02-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

So...I might have some toys painted up for Chinese New Year (incidentally is on Valentine's Day). Not yet sure what toys they will be. It might be Bechigons and Smoking Stars, it might be more...but the first on painted is a Bechigon:

Gold, orange, bright red and green sprays

Septuagenarian gig poster # 1

2010-02-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

First sketch for Fugue State Record's band, Septuagenarian. Masked character, Doji-san, created by Rich Montanari Jr (thanks buddy!!). It feels a bit unbalanced with a lot of white on the right side so I gotta fix it somehow.

Asspanther gig poster # 4

2010-01-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

They say 3rd time's a charm but I never finished number 3 and went on to number 4. The original drawing is a bit different from the final poster. Here is the original sketch:

and the final with copy added:

One down and 2 more gig posters to go!!

Nekosaur Z

2010-01-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

With the arrival of my Incubot Nekosaur also saw the arrival of one extra clear without inserts. Mazinger Z immediately came to mind. A few days past and after going through how I should approach the paint job, I finally did it. I told a friend of mine what I was going to do and he said he also wanted one so this one goes to him, and I get his clear one to paint for me :)

In the detail shot, you can kinda see that the red was painted on the inside and not on the outside along with the slight glitter finish. I also added pipecleaners...cause what clear figure would be complete without some kind of insert.

In other news...Coop has marked this guy as a favorite on flickr. Holy cow!! I love Coop's work and have been looking at it for years and years...to have him mark something I've done as a favorite in any place is a real honor.

Asspanther gig poster # 2

2010-01-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well...finished the 2rd gig poster. There are elements in the first and second one that I like so...time to combine the 2 and make the final one. You know the saying....3rd time's a charm :)

Asspanther gig poster # 1

2010-01-22T18:13:00.000-08:00

Turned out ok. Gonna try a something a little different for #2 and then figure out which of the 2 I'm gonna submit to Fugue State.

girls

2010-01-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

Pen, ink, and brush...proportions are getting there but there's still something I'm not too sure about...

It Came From Skullbrain 2

2010-01-17T03:09:00.000-08:00

And so ends the night of the show. It was nice to see some friends from outside the forums show up...and of course it's always nice to see the forum buddies and some new faces. I had a couple other customs that I brought to the show. One was the Real x Head Mutant Evil that I trade with Kirkland and the other was this Secret Base Skullwing for Nate and Maddie.

Nate had said that he wanted to have a good amount of vinyl showing but didn't tell me if there were colors that either him or Maddie had wanted. So, I just painted it knowing that they would be at the show and if they didn't like the colors, I could just strip it down and repaint it. As luck would have it, they did want something blue. Secret Base toys are kinda nice to paint because of their size but it just doesn't compare to painting Real x Head. There is just something about RxH sculpts that makes it more enjoyable to paint.

As for the show itself....there were some cool pieces but it is a lot smaller than last year's show. There are lots of pics from the show so rather than post them up, I'm just gonna link them below. Here are my pieces:

Smoking Star and Hedoran are painted in the classic Tokyo colorway. The Mummy Boy is actually a tribute to a friend that didn't make the show. My buddy, Rich, has been painting for a few years and since he wasn't going to be in the show, I decided to take part of his style to one of his favorite figures. I kinda overdid the spraying...ok...I got carried away...but a fair amount of people liked it. Anyway...here are links..and thank you to the people that came to the show and to those that bought pieces:

Sales: http://super7store.com/art/custom-toys.html

Pics:

Fiends Ain't Family: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiendsaintfamily/sets/72157623226023404/

Zincsaucier: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34295608@N02/sets/72157623101325713/

Again...thanks to all that came, to all the bought (my piece and other pieces), and to Super 7 for hosting once again.

girls...well, just one girl for now

2010-01-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

I've been sketching a few girls. This one is pen and ink on bristol. Proportions are still way off. I think I just need a table to work on :(

TBS Mutant Evil

2010-01-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

So I finally snagged a set of the first Real x Head mini fortune cats from my friend, toybotstudios. It only took a year of convincing but he finally gave in. In return, he wanted the blue Mutant Head that I painted. I wasn't going to trade it to him because Mutant Head is my favorite Real x Head sculpt so instead, I did a Mutant Evil for him. Here's a pic of the Mutant Evil:

Pretty simple Real x Head style...clear blue vinyl with sky blue, pink, and gold spray...and here is a pic of the Mutant Head and Mutant Evil together:

3 for 3

2010-01-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of the toy sitting around, I finally painted the 3rd piece for the It Came From Skullbrain 2 show at Super 7. The show is this Saturday, January 16th at 7pm at Super 7. I'm not too sure about this one. There are some things that I am happy with but a bit more that I am not. As I told one friend, I think my subscription to the Less is More school of thought has expired. I think this guy will be called the Needs Less More Mummy Boy.

2 down 1 to go...

2010-01-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

So today I knocked out 2 customs for the coming It Came From Skullbrain 2 show on January 16th.

This first one is something I've done before but a slightly different pattern. Gargamel's mini Hedoran in a classic Tokyo colorway. The pattern is a bit closer to the vintage Hedora but using some metallic colors.

This next one is also done in the Tokyo colorway variation. This is Killer J's Smoking Star. Killer J had also made the Smoking Star in the Tokyo colorway but on solid colored vinyl and not the clear yellow. The red is a bit off but I'm still pretty pleased with the results.

One more toy to paint...what will it be........

Bounty x Hunter's Skull-kun DX

2009-12-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting a long time to get a hold on one of these guys. Many have slipped by but I finally got one and it is awesome, Bounty x Hunter's Skull-kun DX. This toy comes in clear blue vinyl with chrome and black painted guts insited and the King Walder style helmet. This is definitely one of the best toys ever and the second best toy I've scored this year, 2009. The first being the Giant Baragon I got on my trip to Japan and found him at Ichiban-boshi. The only thing that would make me happier is if I had gotten the GID version.

Couple new drawings

2009-12-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

I guess when I'm feeling something pretty strong, I can turn out a few drawings in almost no time.

I did this one first. I already had a good notion of how I wanted this to turn out. It didn't go as smooth as I had hoped but it's not too bad. There's always some room for improvement. It might be kind of difficult to see the cherry blossoms in the small pic.

I did this one right after the colored Hannya. It's just straight black ink. It's a bigger drawing than the colored one and is a more traditional Hannya.

Both drawings are done on 9"x12" bristol.

Cool find

2009-12-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

It's surprising what you can sometimes stumble into at shops. I found this lovely couple on Haight street. I don't think the clerk knew anything about them. They're definitely not expensive and nor are they vintage toys but I was still happy to find these. Peko-chan has always brought us the awesome Milky candy and all it's different candies and I'm happy to have them in my collection.

Poko-chan and Peko-chan

One pretty good weekend

2009-12-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the Kaiju Invades San Francisco show at Double Punch. This was a show featuring Sunguts Honpo, Dream Rocket, Dead Presidents, and MaxToy. Even though I only buy a few of their toys, I still went to the show to show support and see friends. It all started Friday night with a trip to Mark Nagata's place to hang out. Mark and his family were very gracious and everyone had a great time. We got to see Mark's collection which was really awesome. I may not have taken pics but a couple of my friends did.

picture from Friends Ain't Family's flickr

Ichimiya-san of Sunguts Honpo and Yajima-san of Dream Rocket

Our gracious host for the night.

There are a ton more pics on my friend's flickr page.

The next day was the night of the show. During the show, Matt Walker of Dead Presidents Design did some pin-stripping for us to watch. It was really great to see pin-stripping done live. Impressive pieces all around from everyone.

Mark Nagata, Ichimiya-san, Yajima-san, Matt Walker

I wish I could speak Japanese so I could converse Ichimiya-san and Yajima-san. They seemed to be very full of energy...especially Yajima-san.

Suiko by Sunguts Honpo

Matt pin-stripping a Ganguro Suiko

Toybot Studios with Boy Karma

Dead Presidents does Real x Head

Ganguro style Uraname by Sunguts Honpo

KISF Exclusive Girozun by Dream Rocket

Max Toy TriPus by Mark Nagata

Dream Rocket

Sunguts Honpo

Max Toy

Dead Presidents Design

More Real x Head...

2009-12-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, I painted another Real x Head Mutant Head. This time, I stripped down at production piece. Something I haven't done in a long time. While the process was a bit messy, the outcome was satisfactory.

This was done on a clear blue base with a silver pour. Pink, light blue and gold sprays....with a scarf and glitter finish.

Girls....

2009-11-30T00:13:00.000-08:00

Just some sketches...

I like the bottom drawing better. I think if I had an actual table to draw on, it would be much better :(

Vintage score!!!

2009-11-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to get a hold of one vintage piece that I have been eyeing for a long time but just never pulled the trigger on it....

This beautiful Marusan Baragon (1966)...now rests at home with his other Baragon brothers and eagerly awaits for the others.

Baby pics...

2009-11-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

Baby pics of Gomess. Another rather traditional spray on flesh vinyl with metallic green and pink. I think this guy might be my new travel buddy.

My Buddy Abe Lincoln Jr....at GRSF???

2009-11-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

So I was at Giant Robot SF (and one of the cutest girls was working today) and was just looking around. Strolled into the gallery space and when I was going to leave the gallery, I noticed something in their sticker vending machine. I chuckled and called my buddy Hiro to come over and see something. I pointed at the vending machine and he also chuckled a bit (as much as he does).

The second group of stickers from the right is my buddy Abe Lincoln Jr's stickers!! Two dollars later, Hiro and I are proud owners of very appropriate stickers by Abe Lincoln Jr. My sticker says Fuck and Hiro's says Fuck Everything...kinda how we are at the moment.

Update on TBDX sofuvi mascot toy

2009-11-18T20:22:00.000-08:00

OMG...guts!!!

(pic from toybotstudios' flickr)

I really enjoy painting RxH

2009-11-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

I do really enjoy painting Real x Head toys. They're a good size and very easy to work with. Did this one in a very old school style with a lot of the base vinyl showing.

How I wish...

2009-11-14T00:45:00.000-08:00

If only that was true...

GargaNeko!!

2009-11-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

I was really surprised to hear about this project and to see it coming to life. This is the vinyl version of the ToyBoxDX website. I've also been asked by a founding member of TBDX if I would like to help out. Now I just wait for approval from other founding memebers. Either way, I am really hoping to get my hands on one of these guys. GargaNeko stands at about 6" tall...but no news yet on when it will be released. Judging from the pics, it will be very soon.
Picks from TBDX flickr page:
Character Design: Alen Yen
Sculpt/Production: Kiyoka Ikeda
Production Direction: Matt Alt

More toys!!

2009-11-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

So I found the time to paint a couple of my favorite toy sculpts. M1go's Godzilla and Baragon. Both just happen to be red vinyl and I'm pretty happy with how they came out.

Red vinyl Godzilla with monster blue, gold, and bright red spray

Red vinyl Baragon with monster green, brown, and gold spray

Blog contest prize

2009-11-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

So...I had a little contest that no one could guess. This was the contest prize Thrashman:

Winner: nobody...so I guess he's staying with me. The answer is: Mazinger Z and Voltes V.

I got new toys!!

2009-11-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

Toys playing with toys...

Go Baragon, go!!!

Thanks Ayako!! :)

Woohoo...gift has arrived safely in Japan :)

2009-10-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Uamou Blog

I'm so happy that my custom arrived safely to the Uamou studio!!

It's a MF contest!!

2009-10-28T20:28:00.001-07:00

NFS!! These are mine. I've painted a bunch of toys and just about all of them are for other people...so there's are mine :)
Can you figure out who these are (as in where did I draw inspiration for the colorway)? It should be fairly easy. Winner gets a Thrashman keychain. Ends on Saturday 10/31. Leave your answers as a comment...and a way for me to contact you. You must get both correct. First one to get it right wins.

Halloween Smoking Star

2009-10-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is an unofficial Smoking Star release. I have a few of these painted in flo-orange, black, flo-green, and a bit of red. Contact me for details.

This is now SOLD OUT. Thanks to all the ordered. I will contact you when they ship.

Uamou for Uamou

2009-10-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

I was asked to paint Uamou by Ayako Takagi. Do you think I'd say no to the person that created Uamou? Now that I'm done painting Uamou, it is time for the worst part...shipping. Bye bye Uamou. I hope you have a safe trip back to Japan and I hope Ayako likes what I did.

Silver, blue and flo-pink

Narita - The Final Day

2009-10-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought nothing strange would come after the week in Tokyo, I spied a guy wearing an Erostika hoodie and looked awefully familiar. After a few minutes, it hit me. It was Hossy from Popsoda!! We chatted for a bit before boarding the plane. What a strange way to end my trip....oh, pics? I'm not that much of a fan-boy to take pics. I only took them because my friend was belligerent on me taking some. At least I remembered about 30% of the time to take pics ;)

Tokyo: Day 6 - Meeting one of the greatest men in the toy world

2009-09-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day...a trip out to Shinto Gangu, home of Real x Head. Saving the best for last as they say. So this last day was the day to do last minute shopping and find stuff for my friend. She had asked me to get something very Japanese and so I thought of Sato-chan. I had already gotten myself a set so it was just a matter of going back to that same store and getting another one. Easier said than done.
My first stop was back to Thrashout to drop off my Teleporting set as a gift to Gargamel. Naoya was there so I gave them to him. Ikeda-san arrived just before I was going to leave so he got to hank me for them just as I was leaving. It was now time to check out Ichiban-boshi but first...lunch!! Thanks to Naoya, I had some awesome katsu-curry. The walk to Ichiban-boshi wasn't too bad. I crossed a street that had a bunch of shops and thought I'd check it out since I had time before Ichiban-boshi would be open. It was pretty cool. Lots of shops. I think my friend would like this. Time has passed and it is off to Ichiban-boshi. What a great store. Tons of awesome kaiju toys along with some that I have been looking for (bad news). As I was walking up and down the isles...all 2 of them...I had to ask 2 questions. Do they take credit cards and can he ship to the US (cause I don't have the bag space). He asks if what I am buying is big, and it is. Truely awesome giant Baragon. It was really one of the toys I was planning on buying while in Japan and there is was. He takes it out, goes to the back with an EMS form, and I say, "Oh...I also want......" In total, I picked up 4 items and he threw in a 5th for free. Nothing fancy but a free toy is a free toy. It was time to head back and rest for the final trip of the day. The pilgrimage to Shinto Gangu. Where everyone tells me I will never find it if I go on my own.
I meet up with Ayako to visit her studio. I love visiting other artist's studios...and her's was cool. All the different Uamous and Buuts Buuts. I snapped a few pics and then we were off to Shinto Gangu. The train ride was a bit long but worth it. As we walk down the street, my buddy says "Look down the end, Bert..." Ah yes, the light at the end of the tunnel. How special was this trip? Shinto Gangu is usually closed on Monday and Tuesday, and it was Tuesday night. I don't think Katsura-san would open up for just anybody so I was extremely thankful. This means that I have made a good impression. The shop was great. Seeing a lot of what I don't have and a lot that I have only seen in pics. We chatted a bit and I made my purchase...off to yakitori!! This was a great place. I was told that it usually has a few more people but this was fine. Apparently Katsura-san comes here a lot so our food is extra delicious. What more could you ask for, finger foods, foods on a skewer, and a nice cold beverage. Talks about toys and people and people asking me to translate cause everyone thinks I speak Japanese...it was a great way to end my trip. Just sitting and hanging out with new friends, food, and drinks.
Congrats to Katsura-san...RxH 6yrs!!

Tokyo: Day 5 - right place, right time...until later that day

2009-09-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

So today I made a trip out to Koenji to check out Gargamel and Ichiban-boshi. Not that hard to get to and you could actually miss Gargamel since the store is on the 2nd level and there was not signage out front. If I didn't know what the door looked like, I would have passed it and thought "Oh great...lost again..." I walk in and Ikeda-san was working. There was also an older gentleman and a younger guy. I look around (Ikeda-san was talking to the older gentleman) and see a couple of things that I want to pick up. I wait a bit thinking the other 2 customers will leave and I can introduce myself to Ikeda-san again. Well...that didn't go the way I was thinking and the older gentleman kept talking to Ikeda-san. I interrupted their conversation so I can make my purchase and as Ikeda-san was ringing me up, I asked him if he remembers me from SDCC08. He does remember the situation of how we met after I told him I gave him a couple of gifts. Ikeda-san pulls them out of his case for me to sign and the older gentleman asks me what my name is. I say "Bert..." as we shake hands he says "Just Bert....not like Gatchabert?"
Me: Oh...that's me. Gatchabert
Nagoya-san: Oh!! I am the one who bought your Zagoran from the Toy Karma show.
Me: OMG...really!! (deep bow) Arigatou!!
Nagoya-san: I am Yasu Nagoya and I collect hand painted Zagorans from many people.
Nagoya-san starts to list all the other HP Zags he has and it's an all-star line up with PK, Le Merde, Martin Ontiveros, Bwana, the list goes on. It was a really strange and surreal time. This man had purchased a toy I painted for a show in Chicago...and here I am in Japan chatting with him and Ikeda-san about San Francisco, Zags, and in the end, food. In the end, I asked Nagoya-san if he can recommend a place to eat since I was getting hungry. Nagoya-san pointed me to a ramen place that he loves to go to. he marks it off in my book and I'm off to Nakano. I managed to spot a few things for purchase and find a great gem. So far, it's been a great day. I start looking for this one store to pick up a little gift and after walking around feverishly, I realize it might be closed today....after another half hour, I decided that he is closed and all the other stores I check just don't have what I'm looking for. Oh well...time for dinner at Aoba Ramen (Nagoya-san's pick). Delicious!! I ate everything and drank up the soup!!..and happily marked it in my book. As I was leaving Nakano I realized my dumb-ass forgot to bring Ikeda-san my gifts so I have to make the trip out to Koenji again. Stopping at Nakano...again. I hope this time I won't be buying too much since I'm only looking for something specific.
I go back to the hotel and rest for a trip out to Itabashi to meet Komatsu-san at Monstock. Well...I laid down and fell asleep, only to wake up too late. Of course I got lost trying to find the place but in the end, I did...excpet it was closed. So ends a great day with a sad ride back to the hotel. At least I found some Calpis soda. We don't get that anymore back in the US.

Tokyo: Day 4 - SuperFest50!!

2009-09-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day...Super Festival 50. I really didn't know what to expect in SuperFest. I managed to get in early, thanks to some friends that got me a dealer's pass. I put on my badge, walked in, and started looking around. While it didn't hit me til opening time, this Fest out-weighs SDCC for me. It had everything I could ever want in one roof. It had vintage toys of all values (one of the best pickups I got was a vintage mini Aka Ranger with a chain loop on it's head for 500yen...in almost mint condition). I spent a lot of money and would have spent a lot more if I had the cash or was able to get more cash (thank god they don't take plastic at the Fest...or maybe they do and I just didn't ask). There were a lot of great moments from my friend hovering over the Yamomark table to Ayako Takagi handing me an ice cream filled Uamou...with extra ice cream!! At the end of the day, we all went out for dinner. We played with some of the toys, and I got signatures and some sketches from people that were at the Fest. All in all..a great day and to cap it off, I had ramen with another friend. The ramen was excellent but I was still a bit full from the previous meal that I couldn't finish :(. If I had to go home tomorrow, at least I would be going home happy.

Tokyo: Day 3 - The Longest Day

2009-09-26T07:27:00.001-07:00

Today was the longest I've been out since arriving in Tokyo. As usual, I was up at 4am...but then laid back down after having a fruit cup and ibuprofen for breakfast. Up again a couple of hours later and my day finally started a little after 10am. The first stop was Kaiju Blue. It is a really small corner in the Marui One department store with a little gallery space. Nice little stop. I spotted a really cheesey Spiderman squirt gun that I pointed out to my friend since he has some little ones back home. This was probably the best thing any of us would buy for this day. We head out of the store and make our way to Nakano to visit Mandarake. What a building! As you walk to the main building, the alleyway is roofed. You still have the stores along the way to the main building. As we walk along, my friend points out a bakery, telling me that I have to try it. So, I'm thinking I'll pick something up on the way out. In we go to Mandarake...3 floor of awesome shopping. Tons of toys everywhere, music stores, a sneaker shop, a couple of barber shops, places to eat, it's all packed in there. I picked up a few goodies here like my first M1go Hedora in the Tokyo colorway and a set of M1go baby Ultra Q characters. There might be one more toy that I'll have to go back for...along with some Sato toys (who doesn't love Sato Healthcare Innovation's mascot). On the way out, I stop into Moda Yu Q te. Totally cramped store with a lot of really cool toys. It was here that I found the missing piece to my small GoRangers set. Sadly it was a rather beat up Momo Ranger but I had to have it. There was no telling if I would ever see this toy again. In my mind, I am thinking that this would be the set that I would restore...with no plans of selling it afterwards...but first I'd have to really clean up the toys. Alas, it was time to head out to Akihabara's Mandarake and Yodobashi (yes...more Mandarake). On the way out, we stop by the bakery. I pick up 3 items and my goodness, if I go back to Nakano, I am definitely going back to that bakery as well. Everything was fresh, tasty, and inexpensive. What more could you want!! We arrive at Akiba and head on to Mandarake. Oh the toys in this place. I was saddened when the Baragons at Nakano were not in the greatest of conditions...but my eyes lit up when we got to Akiba and I saw the giant sized Baragon that I must have. If only my credit card wasn't blocked (thank you Wells Fargo for saying that it was no longer blocked when it still is). Oh Baragon...you elude me once more. After going through Yodobashi for some DS accessories, my friend catches his second wind and we head out to Cosmo Knight Alpha. We catch Yoda-san in a good mood. There was a small street fair going on but he let us in the shop anyway. More vintage awesomeness. I was glad not to find anything in the kaiju cases but I saw something just as good. It was a vinyl set of J.A.K.Q. figures...in great condition. Yoda-san let my use my credit card only to find out that the block still hasn't been lifted. I bow in shame and apologize with a bow that was slightly more than 45 degrees. Knowing what was left in my wallet, I ask Yoda-san for the Getta-Robo mini vinyl. To my surprise, it was a set of all 3 robots for a good price. Yoda-san takes them out for me to inspect and while I am sure he has a cleaner set, I stuck with this one. I bow again thanking Yoda-san. All in all, a great day....only to get even better. We head out to Nippori to meet up with other friends. We meet up, and grab a table and the best part, I found out the Mori Katsura and Ayako Takagi are joining us. Well...it's a good thing I brought my custom figures because they were painted as a gift to Katsura-san. It was my first time meeting both Katsura-san and Ayako so I was pretty nervous. We eat, drink, and laugh the night away and soon, it was time to go home. I got some drawings from Katsura-san and Ayako as well. We make plans for meeting up tomorrow for SuperFest50 and it's off to the trains for our way home.

Tokyo: Day 2 - The Afternoon

2009-09-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

So the afternoon part of day 2 finds me in Harajuku. As one friend put is, "I don't like this place because there's too many kids." Well, kids aside, it is where you will find Bounty x Hunter, Secret Base, and the most awesome, Erostika store. I hit a small wall when I realized, I had forgotten how to take the train here in Japan. So after talking to a girl at the information counter, and then the guy at the information counter, I get my refund and buy the correct ticket. Two stops later, I'm in Harajuku, home of the Rococo inspired Lolita fashion...minus the girdle of torture. I make my way through Takeshita Dori without stopping at one store...well...there was one sneaker store I stopped at but that didn't last long. Through Takeshita Dori to Harajuku Street all the way to the end and about a block up the hill to the building that is home to BxH, Secret Base, and Erostika. My first stop, Erostika, home to Rocking Jelly Bean's posters and t-shirts. I look around the store and am greeted by the clerk who is behind a cage with an opening...sort of like a go-go dancer's cage...but with a couple of bars missing. What an awesome store!! It was tough to decide what to get and is really one of 2 stores that I was really planning on getting something. Should I get a hoodie, a tshirt, a poster...it's like a kid in a candy store because after figuring out what to get, I also had to figure out which design to get. I ended up with a shirt. I pick up the light blue version of the "Return of the Bikini Snatch Monster"...and it really was a tough decision. I could have stayed for an hour but I had other stores to check out. Finally, my first purchase, other than food or a train ticket, in Japan!! Now it is on to Secret Base. I step in and see a girl working the counter. I've met Yumi at SDCC08 so I was thinking this time I might meet Chika...or Hiddy. I walk in and there is a girl working the counter. It's not Yumi so I say "Chika?" She looks at me with that "Who are you and how do you know my name?" look on her face "Ah...Hiro from San Francisco..." So I tell her "My name is Bert. I'm a friend of Hiro's..." and her face lights up. I probably spent 30-45min at Secret Base with about 10 of it looking at the stuff they have (a lot of it I will never have) and the rest of the time chatting with Chika. I snap a few pics of the store and make a motion to snap a pic of Chika but find out that she is camera shy. What...a camera shy Japanese person?? That's like a filipino that doesn't do karaoke!! Yes, they do exist. I leave Secret Base inviting Chika to visit San Francisco and hoping that I will be back before I leave to make a purchase. I head back in to Erostika and ask if I can take some pics. The guy was really cool and said "Sure!" so I took a couple and said goodbye. On to Bounty x Hunter. Mmmmm...BxH...lots of cool shirts, jackets, and hats. Some of the stuff was really great but over $70 for a shirt and almost $80 for a hat...I was sad. I really wanted to pick up something from BxH but it will have to wait. If I could, I probably would have picked up a couple of hats and a couple tshirts...but then I probably would have bought 5-6 Erostika items first. A quick walk around Harajuku and I'm back on the train to Shinjuku...hoping to find the right exit to the hotel. So far, it hasn't been too bad. I was sort of lost in the morning but the afternoon made it worth it...and can I say that every ramen dish that I've had so far has really delicious pork. What the hell am I eating in the US...

Tokyo: Day 2 - The Morning

2009-09-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

Woke up today and had a plan. Then I went back to sleep cause it was 4am. Four hours later I had the same plan and decided to get ready. I leave the hotel close to 10am and was going to check out a few stores that were listed in the Tokyo Underground book. It might have helped if I had looked on google maps or something to see where I was in relation to the stores...but no. Where is the sense of adventure in that....where indeed. At the end of all the walking, I had realized 2 things. I should have looked online on google maps...and maybe I should have asked someone. Oh well, if I did, I probably would have saved myself a few hours of walking in circles but I did find a nice katsu-curry for lunch. Yes...I was lost but I eventually figured it all out and like I said, it would have saved me a few hours...along with finding myself in Kabukicho and thinking "This would not be the place to ask for directions..."...adventure indeed. Tired from the heat and wanting to change my shirt, I make my way back to the hotel to find out, a 4 hour walk could have been a 2 hour walk. Oh well, maybe next time I'll look up the place before I leave the room....or maybe not. Adventure...here I come!!

Tokyo: Day 1

2009-09-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

Well...I made it. Here I am, sitting in my room with the TV off (mainly cause I can't get it to turn on), but at least I got an internet connection. The flight itself wasn't too bad. We had 2 meals + 1 snack and the food...as far as airplane food goes...was at least, tasty. I get through Immigration and Customs without a hitch and make my way to exchange some currency. I fill out the paper work and look to see at what the rate is at and well...they got me by the balls cause if I went somewhere else, it would have been worse...1-88..WTF!! but it was better than exchanging it at the hotel where it is 1-82...honestly..WTF!!!!
This time I decide to take the bus to the hotel instead of the train. At 6000yen for a round trip ticket plus a 2day pass on any Tokyo Metro Line, it seemed like a great deal. It was nice taking the bus. I got to see the outdoors more than if I were in the train...but I swear those seats where made for someone like Yao Ming. No matter how I sat in it, the curve of the chair's back was off. Oh well, enjoy the ride and hope all goes well. One of my favorite things about visiting other countries is seeing the cars that we don't get in the US. The Japanese seem to love their mini-vans cause there was a lot of them on the expressway. I saw one GT-R and a few Honda Life cars (think of it as a small Fit. I want one!!). Again, so far so good. All that's left now is to check into the hotel. The bus stops, I get my bags, walk in and turn right to information and ask where I check in. The clerk looks up my name and tells me there are 2 check in areas and points me to the right place. As I step out of the elevator, I realize...oh yes, I am in a business hotel. The small lobby has a bunch of guys in suits checking in...and then there's me with my jeans and long hair. No really...I'm here on business. The usual thing occurs. the clerk fumbles with my name but is nice and polite. He hands me my roomkey and I'm off to my room. I step off the elevator, walk down the hall and suddenly realize...these doors a freakin small. If I was Andrew Zimmern in Japan staying in this hotel, I don't know how I'd get through the door.
I am, what will be, home for the next few days. The bed is huge for a business hotel, everything seems in place, and as I sit here in my complimentary yukata and constantly bang my knee on the hairdryer (conveniently located under the desk...next to the fridge), I am happy to know that I am in Japan again. Home for the next few days.

Dokuro for Monstock's Halloween show

2009-09-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Finished my drawing early for the Halloween show at Monstock in Japan. I decided to draw a well-known and very recognizable yokai called O-dokuro...basically a big skeletal monster. Done in mettalic blue with blank and white ink for the drawing itself on 6"x9" watercolor paper. Trying to capture the metallic ink is really hard. It comes out as either too dark or too light and in this case, it's a bit too light.

Here's a detail:

Custom Monstock Burogogons

2009-09-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

I was asked to be in a show in Japan...a Halloween show at Monstock. I managed to finish the toys so now all I have to work on is the drawings. Hopefully I'll get them done so I can bring them with me and not have to ship them. At first I thought I like he little one more than the big one...but after having them and painting them, I like both of them equally.

SuperFest50 = Bechigon50

2009-09-11T16:03:00.001-07:00

Bechigon50 will be released during SuperFest50 in Japan at Velocitron's booth. The colors are monster green, florecent pink, emerald green and gold on GID vinyl as seen on the other post.
Header:

Final colorway:

Close-up