I get really bummed out when I think about the work I used to do, and what I'm not doing now.
Of all the toy companies I worked with, the one I was always stoked to work with, and the one I still miss the most, is Tokyo's
Medicom Toy Company. For what it's worth, they remain
masters of the blind box platform toy. They're still putting out amazing 1:6 scale and 1:12 scale figures. If you want to know what sofubi are, and where you can cop some, then Medicom has them for you. I'd never buy a Supreme t-shirt, and I couldn't give a fuck about Yeezys, but I'll stan for Medicom.
It dawned on me that the 40th series of Be@rbrick is coming up in a few months, so I decided now was the time to see what I've been missing out on. It's been a lot. Here's what stood out to me:
Be@rbrick Series 40 releases right around the corner in June. While we won't get the full lineup until late May, it looks like a pretty...
interesting list of licenses and artists right now:
- Parisian graphic designer Nathalie Lete
- James Gunn's Brightburn
- Japanese artist Hakuro's Ocean Exploration Robot Denshitako No.3
- Designer Kae Tanaka
- Wonder Woman '84
- Peanuts
...plus the standard Basic, Jellybean, Pattern, Flag, and a f-ton of cool Artist pieces. In case you're not familiar with the Be@rbrick concept, each mini-figure stands 70mm (2.75") tall, comes packaged in a blind box, and is shaped like a bear. These retail in Japan for 450¥; these should run around $6.00 from your more reputable American sources. I'm a sucker for these, and in more halcyon days, I'd buy a case of 24, just to ensure I copped some of the variants that inevitably show up.
Harley Quinn from Birds Of Prey was the Villain Be@rbrick from Series 39. That design is getting expanded into a 400% Be@rbrick this September. That means it's four times bigger than the standard Be@rbrick. I love this format; they always come in a really sharp-looking full-color box, and they display really well. This one's listing at 10,800¥, so expect to spend around $120 for this.
I had no clue that Medicom and the NBA were releasing Be@rbricks based on retired players until I hopped on the website recently. The first one I saw? The Hick from French Lick himself, Hall of Famer Larry Bird. You get a twofer here, with a 100% AND 400% #33 in Be@rbrick form. Hell, he even sports his late 80s dirt-stache. This is fantastic, even at 13,000¥/$150. It comes out in Japan in August.
Last, but definitely the one I'll be working to pick up, is the fifth
Jean-Michel Basquiat/Medicom collaboration. This, like the Larry Bird release, is a dual 100%/400% Be@rbrick release. What I love about this (and the other artist collabos Medicom makes) is that it makes art attainable. I got turned onto Basquiat via the 1996 Julian Schnabel film (killer cast, great soundtrack...that'll be a topic for another post), and have been a fan ever since. This is probably the only way I'll ever get to pick up one of his pieces, albeit adapted for a modern medium. But at 12,000¥/$150, I think this totally worth it. This'll come out in Japan.
If you want to check out more Be@rbrick new releases, or check out the monster list of releases from the past 20 years, go to
www.bearbrick.com. To pre-order...check in with your local comic shop, who should be able to get each of these via their distributor.
