Top 5 Toys - Kirkland Jue

Kirkland Jue is based in San Francisco and runs Toybot Studios - a toy blog full of show reports and features and an online store for his custom pieces. He has been around the scene for a while however he chose to highlight some recent releases for his Top 5 Toys list. As collectors we all change our favourites constantly so this is a good solution for people who are struggling to pick a Top 5 - treat your Top 5 list as a little time capsule of what you're into at this particular time of the year! Here's some comments from Kirkland to kick off his selection of sofubi:

"Finally got around to busting out the DSLR and shooting these new toys. it felt good to get behind the camera and take these shots. It's been too long but it reminded me of what really got me into collecting vinyl toys in the first place, so thank you. I can't say these are my all-time top five toys, but these are my top five toys right now."

5) Camo Space Mode Man by Itokin Park (Vinyl Pulse 10th Anniversary edition)

"I was very fortunate and grateful to score this guy. I am a huge fan of Itokin Park and I have never been able to get my hands on these little space men until now. They are smaller than I thought they would be. Just over 3 inches tall which is the perfect size. The clean Play Mobil aesthetic with the futuristic design and camo paint job makes this little guy an instant classic."

4) Gobo King by Paul Kaiju

"The stars were aligned for this one as I won the recent raffle for the first edition Gobo King in black vinyl with metallic paints. Holy smokes is this thing a beast! 12 inches tall, 7 points of articulation and get this: a removable helmet. The details on this guy with the tank treads, chest gatling gun, disc blade, wooden back door and chain are amazing."

3) Skull Hevi by PUSHEAD x Secret Base

"It had been several years since PUSHEAD came out with a new toy. When he busted this guy out a couple of years ago completely taking San Diego Comic Con by surprise, I was floored and beyond excited. Both the Astro Zombies Skullwing and Kaws vs Pushead Companion were two of the original toys that got me into this hobby. This particular version is complete with the new Hevi arms in a marbled translucent orange with turquoise vinyl."

2) Domino Jack by Paul Kaiju

"This toy absolutely is one of my all-time favorite toys. For me, this toy has it all. It's a robot with a nod to 70's Popy design. I love the rocket fist and the Giant Robot-esque missile-tipped fingers. This particular version is from DCON 2014 and features clear vinyl painted in my favorite colors with plastic jacks and wires as guts and brains. It's perfection."

1) Doublethink by Takahiro Komuro x TAG (painted by Mutant Vinyl Hardcore)

"Several years ago, I saw this picture of this Doublethink character in fiberglass with white hair. I think it was 3 or 4 foot tall. It was amazing and aside from wanting the original sculpture, I longed for a smaller vinyl version. Luckily Gino from Toy Art Gallery helped make this possible produced the Doublethink vinyl toy. A custom toy show was held at TAG and I was lucky enough to score this version painted by a good friend and amazing artist and toy designer in his own right, Mutant Vinyl Hardcore."