Raid Redemption

If you've never heard of The Raid Redemption...well, here ya go. The Raid is a martial arts film made in Indonesia and features the  indigenous fighting style of the country — Penchak Silat. I'm a big fan of really good marital arts films dating back to my love of Bruce Lee and this one definitely does not disappoint. The basic plot of the film is a swat team infiltrates a building in search of a crime lord... but the entire building is inhabited by other nasty types and criminals. Things go seriously wrong right away and the fight begins. At first there are alot of gun fights which are kinda cool on their own but the good stuff begins when they're all out of bullets and everyone starts fighting with knives, machetes and their bare hands. I think it's tough to directly compare fight sequences between films and try and say which is better but I'd have to say the fight choreography in The Raid is absolutely fantastic. I watched it twice in the same night. If you like martial arts films you have to go and check this out. 

On a side note I will be posting some new customs I just finished this week as well as the updated list of what's currently being worked on.

Weekend Update

Had a busy weekend. Got alot of work done as Amanda had to go to a baby shower and left me to my own devices... meaning I sat and did work all afternoon with no distractions. Except my kittens.

I'm extremely close to finishing my Gundam Samurai and damn he looks good. The arms and the weapons are the final things and I should be able to finish tonight. When you see him you'll know why it took so long. So much sculpting and intricate painting.

I'm nearly finished with my 2nd Snybora custom. It's another paint application but this time I'm painting tiny little scales over his entire body so I've been working on that on and off for over 2 months now. He's really bright. My friend Greg and I talked and felt they could take the paint apps a lot further on the production Snyboras so I went ahead and did one myself.

The Mad Robber Mutation is just about done as well. The head is done and I just have the arms and body to complete. He's looking good.

I started a custom that has been a while coming, the 7" Box Hero Hulk Munny. If anyone is familiar with the box hero suits that I've made, my friend who is Hulk shot our engagement photos and I owe him this custom. It's been almost 2 years so I need to get to work on it :). The torso and arms with have non removable box parts affixed to it, and the head will have a removable box head with a portrait underneath. I'm just about done with the mini box suit.

My new box suit is about done too — Martian Manhunter. I got into a groove this weekend and just kept working on it. All the base colors are done and I just have the black details to do. The torso is nearly done, the head is done, and I have 1 leg done. Considering it typically takes me weeks to finish one I'm ahead of schedule.

I went and saw the Expendables 2 this weekend. A friend of mine was super stoked for it so we went and it was hilarious... and I think it was intended to be incredibly kitsch and self referential. I was so excited each time one of the new aging stars came out especially Van Damme and Chuck Norris. It was super gory and it seemed like the bad guys had an unlimited supply of bad guys because they were constantly getting mowed down by an equally unlimited amount of ammunition. After the reception of the first film Stallone had to have seen how people took it and just decided to embrace it and go with the flow. It'll never win an Oscar but I loved the movie. People were clapping at the end as if it were The Dark Knight Rising or the first time I saw Fellowship of the Ring. It was kinda epic.

I also Red Boxed 2 movies — Meloncholia and Gone.

Meloncholia was a bit too artistic for me. For the most part I love indie films but this film had a combination of things that didn't do it for me. Pace was a bit too slow, I don't particularly like Kirsten Dunst and the fact that she is clinically depressed throughout the whole movie, and there's not a whole lot of payoff in the end. For me, the movie kinda expresses how trivial most things are in life... because in the end we could all just get obliterated. But who wants to live like that?? Not me.

Gone was entertaining. Amanda Seyfried is kinda cute now that she's a little older, but in all it was just another movie to watch while I was working. I really wanted to get The Raid but it was sold out...so I'm hoping it will be there tonight.

Death of Kings Typography

Here is the picture that I used to create the title for the new gig poster I'm working on. I'm continually searching for appropriate typefaces for my work and often times there just isn't anything suitable... and that's when you make your own typography. Not only will it be completely original but you can also cater it more to fit your design.

New Gig Poster: Death of Kings

Will be printing this tomorrow.

2 color on black paper.

Silver and white.

Noir de Plume

Weekend Update

Before I get into customs from this weekend we finally got the link to the preview page for our wedding photos and they are awesome. Our photographer was amazing...so personable and did a great job and here is 1 photo a ripped from her site. It has a barely noticeable watermark on it but we are getting the hi res finals on a disc any day now

So this weekend I worked on a couple things. I'm gonna try and be a bit more specific on what I'm working on so I don't mislead anyone about when their pieces are coming. I am definitely behind on everything but am doing my best to remedy that. 

I am a few days from finishing my Samurai Gundam 3" Dunny. I had the sculpting done for a while but couldn't get to the painting but once things calmed down I was able to make great headway on it. The head and body are about done and because of the length of the weapons that I made for him I had to make custom arms so he could hold them with the arms of the weapons behind him. Those just need to be painted and finish up the weapons and he is DONE. 

I'm also very close to finishing my first 8" Mutation of a 2011 SDCC Mad Robber. I snuck a peek at him a while back and has a Day of the Dead design. It is gonna be all black and white on the skull and I'm still deciding if there will be any color on his outfit. All in all the fact that the base was almost all black worked out great. AND...still contemplating if I should incorporate any of his accessories or just lose them. Still not sure how any of them would fit into the Mutation.

I also just started my new Box Hero suit for Dragon Con. We're all doing DC characters and I am Martian Manhunter. Admittedly the DC characters are less known to me but the suits are looking awesome. Some of the other characters being made are Green Arrow, Superman, Wonder Woman, Death Strike, The Flash, Harlequin, Penguin, Black Canary, Scarecrow, Aqua Man, and Batman and Robin are already finished from another event. 

The next immediate things on my desk are going to be:

Repairs: I have at least 3 old figures to fix. I promise to get them done ASAP.

REALLY old projects: Jaws, 10" MAD-L, Desert Punk Mini Munny.

Slightly less urgent projects: Thor/Captain/Iron Man Combo piece, Clash of the Dunny's

I know there are tons of other things to get to, I promise they're in queue.

Back In The Swing of Things

I've been back for over a week now and am very much enjoying working on customs and projects again but I just can't seem to shake what it was like to be in Hawai'i. It's not just the fact that it is an amazing place all in itself but even more so it is the fact that my family is tied to the islands and has been for a very long time. This was the 2nd time that we have attended the family reunion and this time round it was impressed upon me even more how connected we really are. My grandmother had 13 siblings and almost all of them had children who now have children who in some cases also have children. They live all over the state of Hawai'i and across the main land as well. Seeing where my father came from and thus where I came from struck home and though I am still struggling to actually see myself living there and accomplishing all the same things I intend to here I still can't keep my mind from thinking about this....

The sunsets from Kona on the Big Island are spectacular...awe inspiring. Made me think about what I'm doing with my life professionally and how or what I could do different to make more of a difference. Or at least do something more worth while then pushing Soda. That doesn't mean I'm gonna do anything about it. The truth about life is you need to make ends meet and you make the bes tof your opportunities and I'm grateful for what I have and who I have to share that with...but you sometimes wonder if there is more and how to get there.

Anyway... I've got some exciting things in the works right now. I've got all the commissions that have been backing up because of that stupid wedding I was involved in ;) plus I have a couple other cool things in the works. My first production piece is currently being designed. It's not a Dunny but it will be part of an upcoming series by another company that is doing some pretty great things right now. I recently got a few blanks from them and they're actually very cool. I'm also part of a custom series that just happens to be on the same platforms but those won't be dropping til next year. There is also a group show I'm working on a piece for that will be at Gunzo in September... I think. If you liked my Super Mario pieces from a few years ago then you'll definitely dig what I have in the works.

I know I'm behind everyone and I can't thank you enough for being patient while I got married. From here on out I do not see any reason your pieces will not be flying out my door so just wait a little bit longer and I promise it'll be worth the wait.