KURMUDGEON

Discussion in 'Japan Toys' started by kichigai, Dec 7, 2016.

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  1. kichigai

    kichigai Removed by request

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    KURMUDGEON
    First, I am not posting this thread to promote, and no sales will be offered via this message board.

    Really just wanted to share a project that I have been working on with Jun Masaru for a while now.

    Jun did the vintage styled pachi kaiju card artwork of a prototype I made called Kurmudgeon:

    "Kurmudgeon Rising"[​IMG]
    Prototype from 2013 (cigarettes are bad, please don't smoke!)
    [​IMG]
    Finally going into production in Japan after a couple major obstacles were overcome, wax is done:
    [​IMG]
    Kurmudgeon will have 6 joints, skull will not move but instead lower part of tail will get the extra joint.
    [​IMG]

    Dedicated to my Dad, though inspired by years of pachi kaiju influence, this Sofvi is HO:Scale and rather
    than popping out endless runs we are choosing to do only four standard colors over a four year period.

    Making this for myself most of all, but do hope that a few others will also enjoy the results.

    To all those who inspired and have help see this project through- Domo Arigatou!
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  2. Michael Beverage

    Michael Beverage Line of Credit

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    Nice work John. Original sculpt, nice to see toys not riding the coat tails of popular trends. I hope you do a blank run as well. Looks like a fun toy!
     
  3. Waterbear

    Waterbear Line of Credit

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    Beautiful.

    I'm sure I've said this before but sculpts that don't remind me of anything are always my favorite and to my uneducated eyes this thing looks very original but still feels like an old pachi monster.

    Well done.
     
  4. topher

    topher Addicted

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    Love it!
    Looks like a cool little size, all the articulation sounds really fun and feet are overrated on toys anyway... No where for punk ass customizers to put a signature :)
     
  5. coma21

    coma21 Mini Boss

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    this is pretty killer Duder I has a creepy vibe to it i can get behind.
     
  6. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    From my earliest days of trolling Y!JP: a plastic monster posed with a pack of American cigarettes is as Japanese a thing as I can think of!

    So happy that you've finally shared this joint-creation of yours in public, John!

    The propatchiganda that proceeded this reveal has been fueling my dreams :
    [​IMG]
     
  7. patrickvaz

    patrickvaz Addicted

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    Love everything about this guy! Still as excited about this as the first time I saw it. Such a fun size and just FULL of character. Can't wait to get one of these!
     
  8. JoeMan

    JoeMan Mini Boss

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    Congrats Jon. Memories of scooping crawdads out of the creek as a kid flooding back.
     
  9. ungawa222

    ungawa222 Mini Boss

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    Nice, John!
    Love that pic of the waxtastic tails. Look forward to seeing the lower anatomy revealed!
     
  10. kichigai

    kichigai Removed by request

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    Well thanks folks, I know pachi kaiju is not the flavor of the day but I look forward to these.

    @Joe I wish I could go back to that time man, every day was a new adventure!

    If anyone here wants a free postcard of the art Jun did, just PM I have them in hand now.
     
  11. boon velvet

    boon velvet Post Pimp

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    Very nice. Congratulations. This is such an interesting sculpt. I'm especially a fan of the arms and the unconventional tail body.

    Kurmudgeon is to Galtan what the 2nd form is to the 4th form of Shin Godzilla.

    I look forward to seeing more angles.
     
  12. spatula007

    spatula007 Comment King

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    This looks good.

    The texture on the claws unnerves me a little. It's very organic. Good job!
     
  13. BrickBat

    BrickBat Addicted

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    Congrats John! This curmudgeon likes that kurmudgeon! Its always fun to see a good board member make a cool toy!
     
  14. Fedhai

    Fedhai Toy Prince

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    This toy sweat the passion, congratulation !
     
  15. MonstaIslandCzar

    MonstaIslandCzar Comment King

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    This looks like a really fun pocket toy to carry around and play with! Thinking of an unpainted release? Congrats, John!
     
  16. xSuicide Squadx

    xSuicide Squadx Super Deformed

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    Congratulations, John! The wax looks great, as does the toy itself. I love the personal reasons and ties this has to you, as a person and collector. Very much lookin' forward to its progress over time, as well as hoping to add one to the shelves!
     
  17. devilboy

    devilboy Mini Boss

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    Always great to see something original with a story behind it. Congratulations...I know that feeling of seeing pics of wax. It's the best!
     
  18. kichigai

    kichigai Removed by request

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    To address and answer a few questions:

    From my earliest memories I have been fascinated by Sea Monsters,
    old Hallowe'en Skeletons and stories by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne

    Along with Poe, Lovecraft and many others I spent much of my youth
    reading books and learning about hidden mysteries of the unknown

    Kurmudgeon in many ways was there in the shadows keeping me
    company all along the journey. I have drawings of it from age five

    It never had a name nor did it need one, but once I reached back
    to my early memories I related to what it all was... a curmudgeon

    Originally I made the prototype to serve as reference towards doing it
    as a standard size Sofvi with one of my favorite Japanese companies

    After choosing a different, yet still very personal doll to have made
    by Target Earth there was still a desire to have Kurmudgeon done

    Unpainted blacks dubbed "Black Tar" will be the only unpainted offering
    and not part of the 4 standard colors being pulled for the Kurmudgeon

    We just wanted to make this fun thing that would be available and
    not stupid hard to get nor exploited by folks getting them to resell

    Paints will also not be overdone, just simply sprays and accents
    to keep within the vintage atmosphere of old time monster toys

    As for package, we are working on vintage style boxes rather than
    doing standard header cards and bags except for "Black Tar" run

    Reason behind doing the boxes is the doll can be put back into
    the box while one can not put it back into a bag once opened

    Well that is about it for now, thanks again
     
  19. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

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    Very happy you have decided to share this here John. If there is anything I can really appreciate, it is a true passion project. And as something that you have carried with you since childhood, I can only imagine what it means to you, and feels like now to have it finally being realised in a permanent physical form. I think the positive reaction here is a direct response to the honesty and 'purity' of the work.

    Loving the pachi monster design, definitely classic inspiration there. I also quite appreciate the points of influence from vintage action figures in both design and sculpting. The wax looks really good man, you've executed a really nice balance of detail, without being overly textured. Will the body of the final version have similar proportions to the prototype? While I don't usually go in for skull designs, there are a few cases where it works (like Skullmask) and this is one of them. Perfect for the pachi card weirdness we love from Japanese kaiju. I also think the choice in size is just perfect. I have often lamented the dearth of smaller scaled toys, and especially now, people seem so focused on larger and just....MOAR. Sigh. This is clearly thought out, and fills a huge void in the market (if such a thing exists). In fact, a whole series of these scaled pachi monsters done in a sweet checklist/collect-em style would be marvelous. Secondly, I think that the packaging option you went with is brilliant, and just perfect for this type of figure. Reminds me so much of what it should be; similar to the vintage Popy-packed Star Wars guys, boxed die-casts, and general novelty toys that came packaged this way. I am really excited about that, almost as much as the toy; and it just fits with what you are setting to achieve here.

    But all of that is neither here nor there, because what is important here is that this guy is what you want. Whether there is more to come from it, or it leads to a great response is all secondary to having realised a lifelong dream, so for that I offer a firm shake and a tip of the hat. The fact it came out so great is just happenstance. I can imagine how having this guy in plastic will really be something special, and somewhere, sometime, little John is grinning with glee and pleasure at the monstrous adventures he is going to have with Kurmudgeon.

    Anyway, congratulations on it, thanks to you and Masaru-san for the work, and big :thumbsup: .
     
  20. evom

    evom Mini Boss

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    Amazing work John. I'm really admiring the sculpting on this. Fully thought out textures and refined crudeness. Very refreshing to see this. The claws and tail are soo well done dude..

    never overcook lobster guys
     
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  21. truslithers

    truslithers Toy Prince

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    interesting work!
     
  22. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

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    The way it should be!
     
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  23. TattooDougHardy

    TattooDougHardy Comment King

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    I love everything about this toy and thread.
     
  24. MisterYuck

    MisterYuck Comment King

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    Shit's supah fresh, ked!
     
  25. gazpacho

    gazpacho Comment King

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    Really cool. Concept, artwork, and sculpt are all awesome to me. I've always admired John's artistic sensibilities. Excited to see more progress shots when they show up
     

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