Episode 001 of The Plastic Podcast is now up for your listening (dis)pleasure. It's available via SoundCloud and will hopefully be available via iTunes once approved. In Episode 001, I chat with Mike Slobot of Slobots.com about his artwork and creative process.
Today, we are releasing our first pin from the Plastic and Plush Pin Project. The pin is based on The Sweetz - the trio of game streamers and sometime professional wrestlers. Dilly, Corbs, and Breezus are all represented in The Three Stooges style (greyscale) in the 2-inch pin. It's pretty massive...and has two pin backs.
The Sweetz Stooges pin is available to purchase for $15.00 (shipping included - add $5.00 for international shipping). A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this pin will go to The Sweetz and the South Lake Animal League.
The Sweetz Twitch
The Sweetz Mixer
Above is what our first pin release will look like. The Sweetz Stooges, featuring the streaming trio of Shawn Spears (aka Tye Dillinger), Baron Corbin, and Tyler Breeze, will be available beginning on the morning of Monday April 8th 2019.
The greyscale pin measures 2 inches (trust me...it's a pretty big pin) and will feature and additional art card (one that doesn't have pinholes through it).
You'll be able to order these through PayPal for $15.00 shipped in the US ($20.00 for international order). Only 100 pieces were produced....and less than that will be available.
So pins are all the rage right now...correct? Well I have self-produced a pin based on my artwork for The Sweetz - the online gaming trio of modern day "sports entertainers": Shawn Spears (aka Tye Dillinger), Baron Corbin, and Tyler Breeze.
The Sweetz Stooges pin, which I will show off a little later in the week, is based on the image below, featuring the streamers as The Three Stooges.
You'll be able to pick it up here at PlasticandPlush.com. The pin is a limited edition run of 100 pieces. They will sell for $15.00 each with US shipping included (add an extra $5.00 for international shipping). The release starts on Monday April 8th 2019.
A portion of the proceeds will go to The Sweetz and their efforts with the South Lake Animal League Animal Rescue.
So...I have set up the Plastic and Plush YouTube Channel, where I will be posting up toy review videos. If you get a chance, please head on over there and smash subscribe. There are a number of artist videos - from 10 years ago - still available to view. You can check out ESC-Toy, The Sucklord, and many more. Maybe we will do some more of those as well. The sky's the limit!
Hey...Plastic and Plush needs to generate some sort of cash to survive, right? So that's why I have started a Tee Public Shop to sell some of my wacky designs on various products. It's mostly weird mashups of 1970's, 80's, and 90's pop culture (as you can see from When Sally Met Harry... pictured above). You'll be helping keep the site going with every purchase. Thanks!
Plastic and Plush is now on Instagram...sorta. I am on Instagram and will be posting various toy photos and illustrations I do in my free time. Also, if you’re into seeing videos of soccer, hockey, or my kids playing...feel free to give me a follow. Check me out here: https://www.instagram.com/mister.slivka/
So I go and relaunch my site as The Award-Losing Plastic and Plush and the next day someone has to go and give the site a Toy Blogging Award. The folks from RankedBlogs.com sent word that we were chosen as one of their Top 100 Toy Blogs. I have no idea as to the credibility or the validity of this ranking...but I'm appreciative nonetheless.
It's Cyber Monday. Are you looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? Well, we are bringing you our 12 Collectibles of Christmas holiday gift guide. These are some of my personal favorites. And you can pick them up for that special someone (yourself, of course).
1. 5-inch tall Krampus Dunny from Scott Tolleson and Kidrobot ($75.00)
Nothing says "The Holidays" like a part goat, part human demon that comes around and beats naughty kids with sticks and then throws 'em into a backpack basket. Remember, kids, Krampusnacht is celebrated on December 5th every year.
2. Dragonfly 2.0 from Eric Nocella Diaz and Argonaut Resins ($40.00)
Eric's latest creation - the Dragonfly 2.0 - is available in multiple colors (GID, DIY, and various painted versions). Oh...and, of course, I chose the above photo with the Dragonfly 2.0 sporting a horn bump rather than a horn on its head.
3. Back to the Future Part II Vinimates from Diamond Select Toys ($9.99 each)
DST's Vinimates line - the bigger (less-articulated) brother of their Minimates line - is available in a multitude of licenses. One of our favorites? Back to the Future Part II. If you're more of an original film fan...they have Marty McFly and Doc Brown from the first film as well.
4. BattleBots Rival - Minotaur and Beta from HEXBUG ($49.99)
One of those excellent summer shows I missed this past year (because it didn't air) was BattleBots. I've watched BattleBots (as well as the British Robot Wars) for years, so I was excited to see HEXBUG grab the license to produce mini versions of some of the most popular bots. And they are fun to play with...
5. Classicbot by Philip Lee and playsometoys ($27.00)
This was one of my favorite all around figures to review this past year. Based on an Apple Macintosh Classic computer, the figure features magnetic pieces so you can display in bot or computer form. Plus, there's a special Tron version available ($31.00).
6. The Dude Bust from Christopher Genovese and FreakShop Gallery ($200.00)
Who wouldn't want to have Jeff Bridges from The Big Lebowski staring at you day and night? This 1/2 scale bust is one character in a number of available busts from Christopher Genovese.
7. Star Wars Forces of Destiny Endor Adventure Multipack from Hasbro and shopDisney.com ($34.99)
It's nice to see Disney and Hasbro combine to create a girl-centric line (Forces of Destiny) of Star Wars collectibles. Because girls can like Star Wars too! And these stylized collectibles might be my favorite of the new Star Wars toys.
8. Joel Embiid Bleacher Creature from Bleacher Creatures ($19.99)
Trust the Plush Process! Bleacher Creatures' Joel Embiid stands a little shorter than the actual player (10 inches vs 7 feet), but he's still as cuddly...maybe. Who doesn't love a collectible, displayable plush.
9. Lobo 1/6th scale figure from Sideshow Collectibles ($249.99)
Lobo was one of the first comic books I purchased as a kid...and I was in for a world of weird. And while the intergalactic bounty-hunter has never received the respect he's deserved, Sideshow has released the ultimate 1/6th scale version of Lobo for fans.
10. Tuptim Lil' pOtbellie Ellie from Charles Stephan and Charles Creature Cabinet ($211.11)
This might be my favorite creation from Charles Creature Cabinet, and Charles has produced a whole bunch of ball-jointed collectibles. This tiny ball-jointed elephant is super cute and doesn't scare my children like some of CCC's faeries do.
11. Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot Robots from Bob Bukoski and MST3KBots.com (Servo - $275.00; Crow - $450.00)
I love MST3K, so I might be slightly biased. But I did shell out to purchase both of these bots. I sort of like having Tom Servo and Crow hang out in my man cave, helping me riff on cheesy 80's flicks. Oh...and they full size replicas and function just like their on-screen counterparts. Basically, they're big awesome puppets.
12. Sartorial Creatures from Monique Motil ($150.00 - $550.00)
The taxidermied creatures that inspired characters in Christopher Moore's Secondhand Souls, Monique's Sartorial Creatures are creepy, cute, and everything in between. Featuring parts from various types of animals, she takes character creation and art to a completely different place. (Oh...and she now has Game of Thrones inspired creatures available)
I like to keep readers updated on my decisions here at the site.
Lately, I've noticed that most of my output and effort with Plastic and Plush goes into reformatting and reposting press releases. While that's all great and it clearly helps gets the news from companies to readers, there are all sorts of outfits slinging in press release regurgitation. I'd prefer to bring something to the table that other sites don't...
So, in the upcoming weeks, I will be focusing on covering a broader swath of "pop culture-dom". There will be more effort put towards regularly posting toy reviews. Expanding content to film reviews. I might even do impromptu mobile posts and use my cell phone for more than just an expensive email machine. So there will be changes. I will likely be working on the overall look of the site. And I will ask for feedback.
As far as toy news. I will be grouping a lot of those press releases/info/images into single posts, sometimes grouped by company or license or subject (pre-order, release, etc).
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to shoot me an email at brian@plasticandplush.com
