Seductive Geisha

This is a seductive geisha I created for a lucky message board member who won one of the Most Wanted Series 1 raffle. This is actually a prototype I came up with for a future geisha set that I want to do. I'm just trying a couple of concepts and seeing if those ideas will take me somewhere. I kept the dunny ears but chopped off 3/4 of it and covered it with sculpey. The Kanji on the back is the character for "fortress" which is the literal translation of my last name. I've been reading tons and tons of fuedal era themed manga so I've got tons of research material. Keep a look out for what I have in store for this concept and theme. Thanks for looking!

Most Wanted Series 1

So the beginning of last year, A handful of talented artists and myself were asked to be part of something grand and monumental in the vinyl toy customization scene. We had to create our own production of 10 dunny customs with a various number of variants. My design was chosen and almost a year later these are born. Her mask is removable and the belt was hand braided. Accessory laden and blood hungry, these little female samurai warriors were shipped out all over the world to various custom dunny collectors as a blindboxed series with the other artists own production. They all came in their own box with vectorized pictures as well as artist cards. This was a monumental task, never before done by anyone in the history of the vinyl scene. We were featured on many other blogs, in fact it only took seconds for all of these to be sold. Big props to all the other artists involved as well as the KR Boardmembers who ran the logistics for this operation... mANNe, Igor, and Timself. This has been completed for some time, it's just that I barely had the time to post this up now. lol

Samurai with double bladed katana.

Here's my latest custom I've completed a couple of weeks ago for a patient Kidrobot Message Board Member. I changed the head/ topknot on this little bugger from my previous Samurai's for a more nostalgic feel. I'm happy with the way it turned out, in fact this is more similar to the actual sketch design I had for the Most Wanted Series 1 customs I created. Oh well, the double katana is the the result of reading tons and tons of Jidai themed Manga, mostly "Blade of the Immortal" manga. If you haven't read it, then you should! You'll definitely be seeing more of this theme in the future. Thanks for looking. : )

Fung Sheng Wu Chi aka the blind "Master of the Flying Guillotine"

Here is my first prototype for the "Most Wanted" Message Board Series 1. This was a colloboration of artists who produced their own series of customs exclusive to the Kidrobot message boards. This was one of my concepts which became an actual prototype, but I decided not to use it and opted to use the Samurai design instead. The guillotine is a product of a $.25 toy capsule that I picked up at some random supermarket. I felt the need to chop off the ears on this one because I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I've been commisioned to a much larger size of this in either 8" Dunny format or 7" Munny. Enjoy!

"Fat Martin" for Message Board Fatcap Trade

Here is my first Fatcap custom done for the Message Board Fatcap Trade. "Big Sarge" is a Fat Martin modeled off of Ashley Woods "Large Martin" from his World War Robot Comic Series. If you have never read it, definitely pick it up. I put a lot of hard work into this one, especially with all the articulation of the arms, waist, and legs. I'm glad it went to a good home in Jared Cain aka Nike Jerk who I've purchased customs from in the past. Unfortunately, I failed to finish strong with the painting. This I still suck at and need more experience in doing so. I didn't plan on doing this as I was stripping the fatcap. I let my hands just mold it into what it is now and am amazed at what I did. I'm currently planning a 7" version of this for the Montreal Munny show at the end of September, so look out for that one. Hopefully, my experience on this one will make that 7" a little bit better.

7" Chinese Dragon Munny

Been a while since I posted, just been really busy lately. Here is a munny Chinese Dragon I did for the Lift Detroit summer of munny show a couple of months ago. This was originally done for their winter show with a different color scheme, but I wasn't able to complete it in time. So it was saved for the summer with a new and fresh color scheme. Unfortunately, it was really damaged and broke into pieces during shipping so it never made it in the show. Sucks for me, lesson learned! I'm never gonna use DAS air dry clay for big projects like this again! That's probably why I took too long to post this.... all that hard work for nothing. Life goes on... so RIP Chinese Dragon Munny. Another will be made to replace you in the not so near future. : (

Agent 037 for the Dunny Trade

So this is a concept that I had drawn out over a year ago. I finally decided I had acquired the skills to pull this off faithfully, and quite frankly, I am very please with the results. I really took my time on this one so that everything would come out right. If you look real close, there is an actual piece of clear plastic for the goggles. The goggles are made of that foam material that cheapy visors are made of. I happened upon the fabric for the parachute at Joann's Fabrics. They sell 18" x 21" pieces of cloth with various colors and designs on them. I picked one up and used it for the chute of course. The Kanji on the back is the "Fortress" kanji, which in spanish is my last name... del Castillo. Not too much I changed from the original concept and design. I really like this and will probably make another just for myself. This is going out to a lucky message boarder in NYC. Enjoy!

4" Paratrooper Mini For Mini-Munny Artist Trade #3

So here is a paratrooper mini-munny that I created for the Mini Munny Artist Trade #3 that I am actually hosting. This mini went to Mucky Mann who happens to hail from Nova Scotia, Canada. I don't know how long it will take for it to get there but I hope it does. This is actually the first mini-munny that I sculpted almost over a year ago but once again has been sitting on my shelf for something good to happen. I decided to finally use it for this. This is also the last custom I utilized cheap Applebarrel Acrylics on. It was still a little tacky after drying for so long, but what can you do. She (eyes tell it all) also comes with a non functional parachute, which I created after this picture. Hopefully Mucky Mann displays it with the functional parachute open. Enjoy!

8" Grill Dunny For Message Board Trade 10

Here is my 8" Grill Dunny that I had sitting on my shelf for some time. It's been sitting there waiting to be finished, but I guess I never finished it because there was nothing special for it to be finished for. Enter Message Board Dunny Trade #10, the last trade that eckotyper plans to run. It is because of these trades that I have improved what it is that I do and make contact with the many customizers out there to compare notes, processes, and ideas. This dunny went to long time collaborator and someone who I have always sought out for advice on customizing... Codedecoinc. I've purchased several customs from him in the past and have collaborated with him on a piece that went to the Coalesce Show in NYC. I know that my custom has arrived in a safe home. Enjoy!
Painting the silver on this thing was a bitch and took a lot of patience. If you notice I remembered to put grill marks on the dunny burger which I also had on the original Munny Grill.

3" Dunny Dunny with Toilet Terror Mini

Here's a 3" Dunny Dunny with Mini Toilet Terror for a Canadian Kidrobot Boardmember. Sykogrl also scored a free Geisha Dunny for my New Years Giveaway. I really like the linework I did with this custom. A lot cleaner than the previous incarnations of this idea. I've got one more in the works, than it will be strictly requests for anyone wanting these. Getting old in my book and I need to move on to bigger and better things. The one I'm working on will most likely go to my own private collection.

Samurai Dunnys For The New Year!!!

About fucking time I finished these up. I swear it seemed like forever that I'd get these done, but here they are now for your viewing pleasure!

Samurai Warlord and Geisha Dunny. I used a different process for the topknot on the Warlord. If you can see closely the topknot is actually two the ears sculpied together on the top of his head. I went for a different color pattern as well. Many kimonos in the Feudal Japan era are full of vibrant colors. I wanted to do the same put keep a neutral theme to it. As far as the Geisha is concerned, I'm pretty satisfied with it. Eventhough a lot of mixing of paints were involved to get the desired colors, I'm very happy with the results. I plan to make more with different hairstyle variations and of course wardrobe colors.

Armored Samurai Warrior Dunny. This by far is what kept me from finishing up the set. The additional headband and the armor were very tedious to create. Fortunately I came up with something that worked out. I just have to figure out how to ease the process the next time I make one of these. The spear is acutally historically correct in size for a Naginta. I had to do a lot of itsy bitsy detailing to get the effect. Hopefully my hardwork paid off. Two of these will go off to New Years Winners once the Kidrobot server gets back online. Whichever one that gets left over will be for sale. Enjoy!

Last Munny for 2008

So here is my last munny custom for 2008. As you can see from my previous posts, I've been on quite a fuedal Japan trip for the past couple of months. Quite fitting that I end the year with a Samurai custom utilizing the Munny platform. This was done for my bro-in-law who is an avid supporter and colleague in my vinyl addiction. Everything is sculpted as you can see. The katana is actually the accessory that came with my first munny. I finally found a purpose to use it. There will be more to come in this platform for the beginning of 09'. Look out for it. Enjoy!

Samurai Dunny Variants

Here are 3 more Samurai Dunny variants that I've just completed. Just playing around a bit more on the Samurai theme until I start my Samurai BlindBox set which should come out early January. I changed the top knot idea for the last two because not all Samurais had top knots. Enjoy!Samurai Spearman with blue uniform. I kept the traditional topknot for this one but added a mustache. His spear is different from the previous retainer's spears.

Here is Miyamoto Musashi with wooden sword fashioned from a boat oar. This was inspired by his duel with Sasaki Kojiro on the island of Ganryu. I watched Toshiro Mifune's portrayal of Musashi to help get inspiration.

Jubei Yagyu is the 3rd of this set. He has a sword guard for an eye patch. There were many Yagyu Jubei's that I drew inspiration from... Ninja Scroll, Ninja Re-incarnation, and Samurai Re-incarnation.

Royal Samurai Retainer Dunnys

Here is my two latest sword and spear wielding customs. Inspired by Grimsheep's ponytailed Hellboy from Messageboard Dunny Trade #9. I decided to change the dunny ears into a single topknot to form the head for these two Royal Samurai Retainers. Enjoyed my time customizing these, one for the Super Duper Dunny Trade and the other to sell to anyone on the boards. The only problem I had was that the shape of the head and how I did the eyes made them look like an older version of that character on The Family Guy.hahaha Both come accessorized and ready for battle with sword and spear. These are my test dunnys for an up and coming blind box series that I am planning... Samurai's, Ronin, and Ninja's! So be on the lookout for that one. Enjoy!

Tiny Toilet Terror Dunny

So here is a custom dunny I just completed for a private trade with Felix Jackson. Tiny toilet terror dunny with roll of teepee, filthy plunger, and detachable poopie friend. I like this black colorway because it makes the white designs stand out. Also, the hinging job on this one is a lot better than the first toilet dunny I made. I had weighted this little guy with 8 peices of lead sinkers in hopes that he may stand on his own. Sorry to say that he still tips over once the head is fully open.
In exchange for this fella, I will be getting a custom MF Doom Dunny made by Felix, along with a couple of Obama stickers he made. What a deal! On another note, this is my last custom that I will be using Applebarrel paints. From now own I will only use liquitex acryilic paints! I am slowly evolving! hahaha Enjoy!

Dragon Dunny Customs

Finally dusted these guys off the shelf and completed them today. They still reek of clear coat as of picture time. These little miscreants are the result of experimentation which resulted in the creation of my Message Board Custom #9 Chinese Dragon. It was very pleasing creating and experimenting with these because not a lot of thought went into the process and development. My mind sort of went auto-pilot and my hands sculpted and pieced the pieces together to end up with the final results. They weren't originally going to go to some owners but a couple of nice board members needed a friend to go their way. Blue is going to Felix Jackson because he got forgotten in Message Board Trade #9, Green will go to Shujing-Fantasy for correctly guessing the subject of my custom for Mini-Munny Trade #2, and Black will go to SoldierPnoy as a commission. Enjoy!

Simian Samurai

So here is my first MadL custom. I call him Simian Samurai and he was customized especially for the Delicious Drips Me MadL Custom Show coming up this friday. He stands in his glorious 10inches of grandeur with katana in hand and a tail to match. Not only is this my first MadL, it is also my first time using liquitex acrylic paint for a multi-color project. Though it was a pain to apply and use for my first time, I'm quite happy with the experience and plan on practicing on some unsuspecting 3" dunnys to perfect my craft. I researched several classical samurai paintings to help get the idea for the armor and color. Even though there are a bunch of things that could be improved, I enjoyed creating this because it was fun and I was able to take my customizing to a new direction! Enjoy!

Toilet Terror!

This is my recent custom made especially for the Montreal Munny-Monster Invasion Show set for this weekend of October the 25th. I sent in a munny version of the toilet customs I do, and dunny (with ears cut off) friend that comes out. Yes the plunger is filthy. The swirl designs are supposed to be like the skeleton as with the black and white color option. The hinge job is a different change from what I've done in the past. It seems a lot cleaner even with the protrusion at the back of the head. Also this marks the first time I'm using professional acrylic paints. It seemed a lot easier to do the fine lines once I got the hang of it.
I was scared of a lot of things when I was growing up. The most I was scared of was that little toilet demon from the movie "Ghoulies". You remember that, if not look it up on google, it came out sometime mid 80's. That's what this custom pays homage to, our young imaginations and the images and thoughts that play with our heads during that time. Enjoy!

Dunny Dunny

This should have been posted over a month ago, but I don't know why I waited. Here's my 8 inch Dunny Dunny custom for the Coalesce New York show, which premiered at the beginning of September. This was a collab piece with Brian Colin aka Codedecoinc. He completed his part by creating the monster that emerges from the toilet shown in the picture on the bottom. Great job Brian and thanks!!! He's on sale here for $250 if anyone is interested....www.coalescecustomvinylshow.blogspot.com.
The hingework delayed me a bit when creating this custom but I made it work. Also the toilet seat is too thin, which I'll have to fix that for the next time I do a custom like this. Overall, I enjoyed doing this custom. It was easier doing all the lines as opposed to the original 3 inch custom I did. Look out in the future when I do a munny version of this for the the Montreal Munny Monster show with my own monster emerging from the bowl!

Message Board Custom Trade Series 9

Message Board Custom Dunny Trade Series 9 is here.  I'm not supposed to post pics of my piece until my tradee receives it but oh well.  It's not really showing it on the message boards though.  Anyone who wants a sneak peek would have to look at this blog.  Well, I ended up doing a dragon this time.  Came out really well.  I know that the sculpting doesn't look all that clean, but I was trying to go for the woodcut look.  Much thanks go out to my photographer sister-in-law who took these professional pics of the piece.  Makes it look a lot better than the iphone camera or old digital camera that I have.  A couple of things... I was going to extend the neck but held out for the next time.  I will be making a larger version of this for the Premier Vinyl Customs Show (PVC) coming up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Make sure you look out for that one.  I'm also planning to make a custom scroll box for this before I send it out next monday.  I'll post pics of that once I'm done!  Enjoy!