bear & brit in battle gear

For toy collectors like me, the biggest battle is trying to resist all the other designer toys out there.

I, myself, have surrendered. Apart from wonderfully-designed Bearbricks, I also collect Hot Toys military action figures from Hong Kong. These are incredibly-detailed 12-inch models of men in uniform.

Right now, retailers are pre-selling Hot Toys' British Army Tank Commander (featured below), coming out in late September. Doesn't it look real from afar?

But what's even more amazing is the fact that it's the spitting image of HRH Prince William of Britain (who once trained with the Royal Army) – down to the receding hairline! Okay, perhaps a slightly more mature version. (Note the trendy keffiyeh scarf!)

When it comes to workmanship, these collectible military figures are 5-star. Those unnamed Chinese toy sculptors deserve medals.

(Check out the Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer Air Force look-alikes at the Hot Toys website. You'll be amazed.)

(Top) The military-themed 'Born To Kill' Bearbrick was created by Medicom for Montage, the Japanese fashion brand with shops in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Sendai. It also comes in yellow, but I prefer the original olive version which I won at a bidding on eBay.

Pic of Hot Toys British Army Tank Commander 12" Action Figure from ABC Express on eBay. / Prince William pic from The Evil Beet / Missile test background pic of Montage Bearbrick from www.naitazi.com

be@rbrick makeover

What you see on the LEFT is the original 100% Molly Bearbrick. I think it's a good adaptation of Kenny Wong's Molly character (shown below at the 2008 Taipei Toy Festival) EXCEPT that it has a rather oversized logo on its chest.

Which I hate.

So the obsessive-compulsive artist in me decided to perform an unsolicited makeover with Photoshop. The result is the bear on the RIGHT. I've erased the logo completely and replaced it with dot/dash/zigzag patterns similar to the ones on its hands, feet and ears. What'ya think? ;-)

To the guys at Medicom: Bearbrick collectors love design, not logos. We collect pop art, not promo items. We prefer quality to rarity. Capisce?

Info and Mollympics pic from www.kennyswork.com

delicious by design

One of the best-designed bears I've seen is the Watermelon Bearbrick (above), a collaboration between Levi's Jeans and Clot, Inc., the hip clothing company owned by the controversial Hong Kong celebrity Edison Chen (who supposedly loves watermelons).

The design is quite tasteful. A hard-sell logo is dispensed with in favor of witty graphics. (The seeds form the eyes!)

Speaking of cleverness, aren't square watermelons ingenious? These manually engineered fruits won't roll off a farm truck or slide off the picnic table. Best of all, they'll save space inside refrigerators, just like Tupperware.

According to reports, an 84-year old Japanese farmer started to grow them inside boxes about 30 years ago (!) and now holds a patent for the containers.

Only in Japan... :-D

Square watermelon pics from www.picdit.com / Info from www.oneinpunch.net, www.hypebeast.com

and the lucky winner is...

Glenng87 from Singapore!

Congratulations, Glen! Just email me (acomia@pldtdsl.net) your postal address so I can send your free Darth Maul Bearbrick right away. :-D