Big year end thanks go out to Chris, Don, Jon and Mori for sending the latest Nibbler over here to play.

I'll always love this little bugger!

He made me wait until his food had digested to go back to the house, but not before posing numerous times on the dashboard.

The Nibbler clearly has his preferences...

Just in time to bring 2013 to a close, the Nibbler phases back from his latest adventure beyond reality.

Some information culled directly from the blog of the mysterious Tarantulas:


Seen here stalking the battlements of Fishtank Castle, Teleport Fade edition, will be released on New Years Eve, along with unpainted clear and a Fishtank Castle Annual 1983.5 (Digital Edition). My thanks as always to my legendary collaborators Matt, Mori-san, and Don the toy whisperer.
 
Inspired by a technique I remember Mori bringing to SDCC in 2010, I wanted to re-create the original colour scheme with the addition of a skull-like white head AND that vertical fade to clear. We weren't sure how creating this fade with masked spray operations was going to work out - but Jon M at Rampage took the challenge and nailed it. The effect is pretty amazing as you can see! Thanks again Jon :)


 'Auld Chompy' actually appeared in my kitchen earlier today, and decided to accompany me (I had no choice) to the grocery store. Apparently he wanted to pick up some American treats after all that Phasing around...

From the Tarantulas himself (this went live last night EDT):


 The (30 year?) wait is almost over !! From the lonely toll of midnight UK time (the not quite as lonely toll of 7pm EDT) Fishtank Castle will re-appear !!  

Pre-orders for 'Fishtank Castle Annual 1983' will remain open for 24 hours ONLY - after which it's gone FOREVER (unless you're at ToyCon UK next year - might have a few there..;) See you at 12 !

As you may have seen elsewhere I'll be taking pre-orders for these from Friday night - £25 each plus shipping and strictly limited to 24 hours.. 

Right now I'm applying finishing touches and it's tempting to post some of the content - but I want the first time you see this stuff to be in print - just like opening a brand new annual as a kid - so no previews sorry.  

Fishtank Castle SHOULD* open for business Friday night 30th Sept at 12pm Midnight UK time ( 7pm East Coast ).. The store has been updated with the new stuff at 'coming soon' status..

My thanks to Don & Mori for their skill & attention to detail in getting the Mechanibblers just right, to Ali at Morpheus for playing along with my crazy projects and above all to Matt without whose inspiration ol' Chompy would never have existed ( at least not in this dimension )..

Pls note the Fishtank Castle playsets are a Pre-Order open for one day only - pls allow 60 days for delivery. Pls also note the classic deco 'Action Nibblers' will be limited to one per customer - the Mechanibblers are unlimited.

See you on Nibbler Night !!

*I say should - because if my girlfriend goes into labour today or tomorrow ( a distinct possibility - we are overdue now ) I will postpone the release until some time next week.. Twitter will be the best channel to keep tabs..


Congratulations to our brother in the UK on his biggest Nibbler release to date! What a round, Chris!

A package addressed to The Tarantulas has arrived here in San Diego and the contents have been a long time in the making. Tomorrow morning, July 23rd, at 10:30 AM PDT, The Tarantulas will release his very first fully painted RealXNibbler here at the Con!

We have been waiting a while to roll out this triple collaboration!

Blending the DNA of three characters (Chaos, The Nibbler and Pheyden) into two crazy configurations, Armored Pheyaos and The Nibbler Reality Biter will be available tomorrow night, May 26th at 9PM EST.

Armored Pheyaos will be $40 USD and old Chompy (The Nibbler) will be $35 USD. Please limit one of each item per customer order.

Both figures are small edition runs produced by RealXHead Japan and feature a unique double paint wipe technique applied by the legendary Goto-san. All the parts can also be swapped between the figures- with a particularly funny "bridge" piece specifically used for the heads.

Be on the lookout for a possible surprise tomorrow night as well...

Massive thanks go out to Mori sensei, Mr. Chris and Don "Riplock" Kratzer for pulling all of this together with us. Also special thanks to GI Ralph in advance for what he has cooking for this mash up!

Some mutations of our favorite "Meatball". More blank editions are definitely a must for this sculpt! With just a few chops and pokes (sounds gross) the Real Nibbler can alter how he rolls.

After cooking behind the scenes since the last SDCC, the Nibbler finally debuts his new form- The Real X Nibbler! This vinyl meatball is the product of a triple collaboration between the Tarantulas, Mori and myself. Based on the original Nibbler design and then sent through the Real X Head Genesis Machine, this version is entirely produced in Japan by Real X Head.

Being a part of such a fun project has been very exciting and satisfying. Chris and Mori are both incredibly unique artists with truly original ideas, to see their minds come together and create this new version of the Nibbler is a rare thing to witness. No big egos, just the collective desire to make something fun to share.

I remember on our last trip to Japan, Jesse, Don, Mori and I shared a dinner together and we ended up working on the Nibbler design right at the table (as usual). Through email and the little camera on my iPod, we were able to communicate with Chris and make alterations to the core design as we ate! It was a classic working dinner between a bunch of serious toy geeks.

Chris is releasing the very first style of the Real X Nibbler this Friday over at his Fishtank Castle. From Chris via ToyBot Studios:

"Real x Nibbler is a triple collab between Onell Design, Real x Head & The Tarantulas. The original design by Chris was interpreted into RxH style by Mori and sculpted / manufactured in Japan by Real x Head.

This is the first vinyl version of The Nibbler - the debut release being unpainted with vinyl cut eye decals. Real x Nibbler stands 10.5cm tall (4 1/4") and has articulated Head, Arms & Waist. Colours in this wave are Molten Pink with White eyes (Mutagenesis #1) & Anti-Matter Black with Mirror eyes (Mutagenesis #2). Price will be £25 plus shipping.

This wave will be sold exclusively at The Tarantulas Big Cartel store - 'Fishtank Castle' - thetarantulas.bigcartel.com on Friday 25th February GMT PM - exact time TBC - check www.the-tarantulas.blogspot.com."

My deepest congratulations to Chris for sticking with this and seeing it through, it can be an intense roller coaster getting this stuff made! Thank you for including us in your universe Chris, it is an awesome place that I look forward to exploring even more!

I want to thank Don "Datadub" Kratzer for being the perpetual man behind the scenes. Don is a very generous person with his time, energy and dedication. There would be no Japanese collaborations without his involvement. I bow to The Governor!

Ultimate thanks as always to the true Master - Mori Katsura. It can never be said enough times, they do not make better men than Mori.

I hope you guys have fun tracking down the first release of the Real X Nibbler this Friday, and get ready for more teeth crunching craziness in late March!

The Knight of Darkness is also proud of his nephew...

Last night's launch was super solid thanks to all of you guys! Each time we put out new stuff, there is never a guarantee that it will be met with a positive response, so I am deeply grateful for the strong turn out for this wave. I must apologize for not having more Silver parts available. All the supply numbers across the board were even, Silver just went faster (followed closely by the Infection Clear Red). Silver will return in the next round for certain, and not only in the styles you have seen, but in all new figures as well (from all new molds).

We'll continue to keep the most popular colors in full rotation with each launch and whenever restock arrives from overseas. After doing this for a number of years there are definite colors that always seem to move at a steady clip. Black, Clear Colorless, Silver, Gray and GITD Green have always performed really well with White gaining in popularity over the past year.

I'm personally psyched for the upcoming months because of the different plans in the works, especially getting to work with Ralph again on more comics (sneak above)!

March should be fun for those of you who dig the RXH crossover project. Pheyaos will return in a couple of different ways, and we will also see the appearance of a chompy overlord from across the pond.

I know that Jesse has a killer Callgrim Custom Corps cooking and almost ready to go that really showcases his painting and building skills. I can't wait for him to roll them out! Thanks again to all of you for allowing us to keep this going for a little longer, I'm thankful for all the things you each share with us every single day.

We are on track to release a new round of stuff this Friday, February 18th at 9PM EST. This is a follow up to the Henshin Wave, featuring some clear color styles that fill in a few more spaces of the rainbow! Here is the list of what's dropping:

-Clear Red Buildman Gendrone
-Clear Red Echo Morph w/Phase Arm and Gobon Blaster
-Clear Red Axis Joints
-Clear Blue Exellis w/Govurom head
-Clear Blue Axis Joints
-Clear Orange Pheyden w/Govurom head
-Clear Orange Axis Joints
-GITD Green Pheyden w/Govurom head
-Argen MK II
-Silver Axis Joints
-Silver Phase Arm Set SINGLES (one Phase Arm and one Gobon Blaster per package instead of two -trying something new with the method of release)
-GITD Green Rig

This is the whole assortment for Henshin Wave 2!

On the horizon we have 3 upcoming releases for the RXH crossover series with Mori, featuring some new Pheyaos action and a very special triple joint project that has some bite (ha!).

Some brand new parts are also being made that should open up even more building potential. I can safely say that my eyes have nearly fallen out from sculpting this new batch of stuff. Without Ron to keep the balance I would literally be running around the frozen woods in pure madness! Thank you Yoda! I hope you guys are ready to meet the all new Glyanauts around April...

On one last note, The Beanbot will be returning to its roots here at Onell and will be renamed in the process. Next assortment will see the debut of the Phaseon Gendrones! It's good to have the little guy back where he belongs.

It has been a bit of a whirlwind since we returned home from our recent trip overseas. Jesse ad I both had an awesome time and covered a lot of ground (literally) in both China and Japan. A proper wrap up of the journey will pop up next week, but for now we turn our attentions towards NYCC 2010.

This year we have a new location and will be set up at booth 2780 in the Cultyard section of the floor. Special thanks go out to Boris of Banimon fame for taking care of us on the NYCC circuit for the last few years. Make sure to stop in at booth #652 and see what he's up to and pick up his all new Banimon issue 3!

The new area we are in is a grouping of companies that are hovering around a similar sun. Seeing the usual suspects will be great! We hope that those who are going get a chance to come over to our low tech table and catch up in person. Just look for the group of bearded fools shuffling some plastic around.

As far as what we'll have for the show, there will be a couple of kind of neat things from our side, the main one being a preview set of the new joints. These sets are extra unique because they contain a part that has now been modified for the upcoming full production run. The part is the small disc, which has had its diameter increased for more building options. So this show will be the only place to get the "proto disc" in its original form. Also, something else is inside each joint pack, but that will remain a surprise until things get rolling on the floor.We will also have a very small quantity of Black Rigs available as well.

Jesse will have something really cool for you guys in the form of a brand new Callgrim color, but with a twist that neither of us have ever tried before. Those of you who are fans of Tron should particularly dig the new Callgrim...

The thing we are personally the most excited for are the special guests appearing at the booth throughout the show. You will be able to meet Paul Kaiju, The Godbeast, the always unpredictable Sucklord, NiStuff, Ralph Niese, the ghost of the Tarantulas (well at least a few of his Nibblers) and some super talented members of the October Toys Forum who will have examples of their custom work on display at different times during the event. It should be a great mash up of different talents.

We are rolling out of here in a few minutes to make our way down to NYC, so in the meantime check out some possibilities the new joints allow. See some of you guys soon!

SDCC was really fun this year. The Crossover theme brought many creative minds together and some wild work popped out as a result. Getting a chance to meet some of you highlighted the craziness that is the Con. It was great to talk in person and share some time discussing all kinds of topics, especially with the super creative people who keep us going through their dedicated support. I hope my grizzly looks didn't scare you guys too much!