While scouring around Instagram looking at fellow action figure fans who specialize in figure photograph, I came across a great account with very constructive tips and a solid grasp of weight, movement and how motion can be created through poses. The Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/toyzology if you want to visit yourself (which I would highly recommend) and tell him we sent ya!
Here's are some breakdowns of the key takeaways:
Importance of Motion: Creating a sense of motion in your action figure photography is crucial for capturing attention. Even subtle movements can make your displays more dynamic and engaging.
Weight and Balance: Understanding how weight is distributed and how figures maintain balance is fundamental to achieving realistic poses.
Articulation is Key: The range of motion of your figures significantly impacts the types of poses you can achieve. Maximizing articulation allows for more dynamic and expressive poses.
Storytelling Through Poses: Effective posing can convey a narrative, whether it's a dramatic action scene or a more subtle character moment.
By studying and applying the principles of weight, movement, and articulation, you can elevate your action figure photography and create truly captivating displays.
Classic hyper flex Stickybones and lastly Toy NotchAstrobots Hypherion where only your imagination could hold you back. Couple shots. Big shots, small story. We are gearing up to start providing these figures to a wider audience. We hope you will join us at www.Youtube.com/robdimension
You remember My Pet Monster, right? The plush toy from the 80's designed for boys, that launched a made for TV movie, an animated series and an undying love for all things Monster! This week, join me as I look closer at My Pet Monster, the craze and how badly I NEED one!!
Greetings and welcome to the 1st edition of the Great Kaiju Hunt. My Wife, Kim and I decided to enjoy the near 90 degrees, hot summer day by riding around in a car, traveling over to New Jersey and visiting local nerdery toy stores and bringing you along for the fun.
Since we live in Pennsylvania, we figured we wouldn't drive out too far and would start relatively close. Our 1st destination would be House of Fun in Oaklyn, NJ.
I've actually been to House of Fun a few times and always seem to grab something. Obviously since this is the "Great Kaiju Hunt" we were looking for Kaiju, but they have TONS of everything. Vintage to new, Star Wars to Transformers, they have it all. I'm a fan of Tokusatsu, Sentai and Kaiju, so for me they have enough to keep me coming back, spending $30-50 a week for the next 5 years. The store is a collectors dream. They have one glass display that is specific to Kaiju with plenty of Godzilla, Ultraman and more.
Gamera I wanted :(
As soon as Kim walked in and I showed her the display, she instantly started to decide what to get..haha..it didn't take any time at all. I started to eye up a Gamera while she went for the S.H. Monster-Art 1995 Godzilla from Godzilla vs Destroyah. Recently, I've started to fall in love with Gamera, specifically the design from Gamera 3. The suit, the look, absolutely love the overall scheme of design. Sadly, we lack a Gamera presence here at the Ole' Dimension collectors bin so we are in need of some Gamera, but today, Kim had other plans.
They also have a great variety of T-shirts including Marvel, DC and my main man, Big G. Since I've been losing a little around the waistline, I need some new shirts and lucky, they had my size! Once Kim made up her mind on what to grab, we were all set and took a few new shirts and the 95' Godzilla home...sorry Gamera, you'll be mine....soon.
A small example of the madness!
Next we stopped for lunch, I opted for Salad Works while Kim continued to eat horrible...she's the devil when you're on trying to eat good. After about 30 mins on the road, we finally arrived to It's A Toy Store and it's overwhelming to say the least. As soon as you pull up, you realize it's something special.
You have to understand that this is literally a house full of toys. No room is empty, the entire house is filled to the brim of vintage to current toys, comics and collectibles. It's incredible for any toy fan. Again, you have to go slow, take your time and really look at everything or you will miss items. Kim and I took our time and probably spent and hour and half in this house. It's 2 levels of pure childhood happiness.
Sadly, they did lack Kaiju items (only a handful) but we did happen to find a small set of Godzilla figures that caught Kim's eye. These were similar to Gashapon but were from China and obviously a knock off. Most are translucent with a few highlighted colors with a few additional foes. It was a 10 piece set and well worth the $20 we paid. I've stopped collecting everything else besides an occasional Horror item or two and just seeing this place was well worth the trip. We are both so glad we went.
Our loot!!
After all was said and done, we gathered our loot, only to come home to a few more items we had ordered, so the day was topped off by my Robocon shirt I ordered from Thailand, the BluRays of Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl and Samurai Princess (to keep up with my current viewing trend). Needless to say Kim and I are both super happy with our purchases and as soon as we finished with the v-log, Kim tore open the 95' Godzilla...haha..such a kid at heart.
Enjoy the v-log, please subscribe and spread the goodness. We will start doing this more often! Happy hunting!!
The trailer for the newest entry into the Star wars universe, The Force Awakens, has now been released and I was floored by the amount of responses I saw within a short period of time. What really shocked me (yes, it still shocks me) was the negativity. Now granted, I may be bias as I am a HUGE Star Wars nerd; starting in 1978 when SW came to my local theater and at the tender age of 8, I was immediately hooked. I was instantly taken to a galaxy far, far away.
This is where I start to speak the truth about Star Wars, so buckle up as we jump to light speed. It's gonna be a bumpy ride rides.
My love for Star Wars is over 35 yrs long and tons and tons of money deep. From countless viewings, opening night toy runs, multiple copies of VHS, DVD's and Blu Rays purchases. Yes, I feel like I have a problem. What I don't have a problem with though; knowing that Star Wars is aimed at children. As I grew older, the series stayed aimed at the same audience. My inner child was still there but I started to see the writing on the wall.
Kids love this asshole
From Ewoks to Jar Jar Binks, all aimed for kids, not me. Light sabers, space ships, creatures...yep, all for kids...again, not me. We have to remember, we all fell in love with Star Wars as a child. I would love to be selfish and think "Lucas was making the movies for me"...but sadly, he wasn't. To me, this isn't negative...this is the charm of Star Wars.
When I became a father and The Phantom Menace came out, I immediately thought, "Midnight showing with my kids!!" Was I happy with that movie? It was ok (ok, my least favorite of the series)...it was not what I fell in love with but then it dawned on me, as my kids were asking for Jar Jar Binks toys...wait, this isn't MY Star Wars...its bigger than that. THEY loved it. Know why? Because they aren't a 26 yr old fanboy who grew up on it that shits on every possible flaw that we, as adults don't feel fits into OUR Star Wars memories. We have emotion attachment, based on various feelings we all had when we saw or had our 1st experience.
The film and universe isn't for us...its for our kids!! Sitting and bitching about how the 90 sec teaser looks, is just silly. First, how can you judge anything in 90 secs...unless you're a guy getting your first experience of vagina, its hard to achieve pleasure in 90 secs. Well, even then, its one sided. In todays world, Disney knows YOU are going go see the movie, regardless of how much you bitch. Bitching does NOTHING. The flashy droid, the cool speeder...all aimed at kids. The new Light saber design? You guessed it...for toy sales. Once you start to accept it, its much easier to just relax and enjoy.
Ok, maybe the lens flare is for me ;)
Will it be good? Who knows. Will I be there? Of course...with my wife and kids too. I will (probably) also buying toys I don't need and more Star Wars nonsense that will continue to clutter my house. I'm not saying we have to enjoy the thought of Jar Jar making decisions that could foil the galaxy or even the thought that Chewbacca needing to get home for Earth Day, we just have to realize, we are fans, but its our inner child that has a connection. Its time for a new generation to know what becoming a fan of the series is and making that connection. The series beginning to restart again makes me happy. Knowing we will see some of the main trilogy characters, again, makes me excited. JJ Abrams is a fanboy just like us...if anyone could make a fantastic film, it's him. Have faith boys and girls.
Be more positive, be better for tomorrows fan...and may the force be with you.....always.
Back in the mid 90's I was big into the toy market. It was booming, I was a profitable toy seller. More importantly, I was a collector and loving it!! It was the best time to hunt for your favorite Star Wars, Transformers, GI Joe and Spawn were in toy stores and at local toy shows around the country.
Todd McFarlane had little notoriety before he unleashed hell upon the toy and comic world. A writer and artist had an idea that would change the toy collecting, marketing and manufacturing world, forever. Tying an independent comic label to a highly successful juggernaut toy line, Television series and blockbuster movie.
McFarlane had brought his Spawn comic book characters to life for all of the world to witness. Spawn, our anti-hero...the Clown, the evil henchman of the Devil named Malebolgia became household names. They were bigger and badder than the other toys. The characters were based on hell...they were evil and stores like Kaybee Toys started carrying them! They had playlets including Spawn Alley, the Spawn Air Cycle and the Spawn Mobile (like a dragster). They started out as an underground movement under the banner of Todd's Toys before it was McFarlane Toys, selectively carried by only a small amount of comic shops.
Everything was different about these toys. They ranged in size, had amazing details but not just the figures..the clamshell packaging changed the way figures were packaged. The box art on the larger two pack were colorful and screamed "Buy me!" They came in all shapes and sizes. It was an easy sell and I believe that Todd single handedly reignited the collecting movement and made toy collecting cool. Countless wanna be's and look a like action figures came along soon after. Some were winners like Moore Action Collectibles and their Lady Death line, yet lower quality figures like Warrior Nun Areala just clogged the pegs at comic shops. Us nerds were flying high and thinking awful thoughts about the lusty, sexy female 7 inches of plastic in our grubby little hands.
What happened next is also a result of Todd McFarlane...as fast as the market became on fire...it burst into a fiery ball, crashing and burning and our money was gone along with it.
(Granted..this is only my opinion and the way it looked like from my point of view)
Todd was great at introducing the "chase" figure or the "exclusive" and this was where the problems started. I mentioned Warrior Nun for instance, they released TONS of variants from a Leather Jacket to alternate paint schemes all claiming more collectibility and rareness than the last. McFarlane launched his line to mainstream stores like Kaybee Toys and exposed the general public to the variant Gold version, which were awful by the way...but they garnered a lot of "put away for my kids college fund" attention and the prices inflated to HUGE amounts. Star Wars got into the action by releasing the Theater Jedi Luke figure along with the rerelease of the Trilogy. (These are particularly tough to find in mint shape, as they were given out at theaters prior to seeing the movie, so it had to survive a 2 hour flick). All companies that had a license for a toy line, was churning out whatever "rare" toy they could.
I can share a story - when the Spawn film hit theaters, the action figure line that accompanied the release were so hot. We were vending at a show in Nevada and Kim and I couldn't get the toys out of the cases fast enough. For a mall show, we grabbed about $3,000 back in 97. These were insane times and the height of the market.
Because everyone jumped on the variants and exclusive market, the toy market eventually, crashed. We nerds only have so much money. Scalping these toys (similar to what happened to Beanie Babies) resulted in most of these toys losing some to all of their value. The birth of eBay no longer allowed for figures to be "rare"..if you had a computer, you could get the figure. McFarlane had a Collectors Club still working hard to make those most wanted figures only available to select outlets. As the internet grew, the toy market did not. Sure there are still some rare variants out there that go for top dollars but most as just dust collectors. But think about this...should a toy, mint in mint package sell for less than it retailed for after nearly 20 years? I guess for those who are late to collecting, that's a good thing. For me, I miss the hunt.
Now, before you say "Rob, Todd is still making toys..he gave us the Walking Dead figures!" I appreciate that, trust me..I do. It's not a matter of what he creates now...what about that time period where left let us to make Baseball figures, basically taking over the Starting Line Up line? He is now utilizing what he learned from us to tackle that market and has been for years. Chase figures in every case...color variants...you name it..it's there.
Am I bitter? No...just sad that they toy market has changed. It's another part of change we have to accept. Time moves on and things continue. I still love Spawn, even though the comic series has really lost it's heart. I still find myself watching the animated series...which if you never have, you should check it out. I even go back and watch the Spawn movie..while not great, I still have a special spot in my heart for it. In closing, Todd McFarlane walked away from what made him famous to pursue a life of baseball toys (ok, probably not, but I can pout and be a mad nerd fan boy if I want)...by doing so, he has let other companies like NECA and Amok Time Toys shine through. Horrific images that can sit on our shelves and we can relive that movie anytime we want. I know Todd will continue to make kick ass products, especially the Walking Dead stuff he is working on...but, this is the internet and I can want more and complain until I get it. My name is Rob Dimension and I survived the toy market crash.
