Cap'n-Merica

I would bet you could never guess what I finally watched last night?

I love the smell...

...of minty Bat Dolly in the morning. It smells like victory!

Ah, excuse me...

These guys were wandering around the EHQ (Eclectorama Headquarters) this morning, asking for directions to a detention block or something. It seemed sorta fishy to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it, like maybe they were a little short for Stormtroopers... anyway, they were way off so I gave then directions and went on with my morning routine.

Swing on by

Click the Boy Wonder above or click here to see what's happening over at BTAT Blog!

Batman Year One

Straight from the Doodle Book to the Blog, in Bat-tastic-color!



Oh, and if you bothered to read this, you can buy Batman:Year One on iTunes and some other services ahead of the release date TODAY ONLY! You're welcome.

The hardest part is letting them go

file photo of Chunky B

I still consider myself a collector, even as I am going through one of the largest toy purges in my toy collecting career. I guess largest isn't the right word, how about hardest. Just last tonight I decided it was time to let go of some more things I never thought I would part with, I guess the catalyst was I was sorting through a tote of Star Trek toys and I looked over at the stack of totes I still need to go through and I thought, why am I storing some of this stuff. I mean I enjoy my collection, but some stuff I think I am just storing for no reason. I don't plan on opening some of it and I really don't plan on displaying it, so why am I holding on to it?

I couldn't answer that question really, so right then I decided it was time to make the cuts that hurt the most. I knew there were some loose toys and some packaged toys that I was holding onto out of some weird collector obligation, I gathered them up, reluctantly at first, and shot pictures of them and posted them at really good prices. I say really good because of my first round of stuff, eight auctions with low buy it now prices, five lots sold just as fast as I could post them. I was actually posting one and went back to revise it when I got two notifications that it sold to two different people. Don't ask me how that happens. I got it all sorted out though.

At first I was kind of disappointed, not that they sold or sold so fast, but that when I was ready to write this post I would only have three auctions going and undoubtably all my die hard toy collecting brothers would look at them and think "yeah, wow! Really letting some stuff go". My plan was to put lots up in groupings of ten or so, or for that matter as many as I could before I got tired of posting them. I plan on making some more cuts. If you remember this picture...

There were about 24 totes there and a couple boxes of toys. I can say that two of those totes is miscellaneous items that are not toys, so subtract those and that leaves lets say 22 totes. Probably most of my fellow collectors out there could easily double this number, but I used to work at UPS in college so I can pack a tote. That picture was taken around 2007, so the number of totes have fluctuated over time, emptying a few, refilling a few. This year I started a few little purges, maybe loosing a couple of totes here and there bringing the number down to around 19 totes, but recently I really doubled my efforts to clean house. My recent efforts have emptied 7 totes off that number. So I am sitting at 12 totes now, plus you have to take into account those little shelving units I am sorting into, those are probably where my first few totes of things went, which I am going to say have been a life saver sorting things to sell. It's so easy to pull a drawer and get a quick view of what i want to keep and what i want to thin out.

I still have a long way to go, I want to get that number of totes down to maybe 6 or eight, almost half of what I have now. Also I want to get the little shelf units to a more manageable point to store my keepers. So why all of a sudden this great purge? The purge to end all purges? A few reasons.

My Focus and thoughts on collecting have changed.

1) While there are a few Items I think I will always keep in their original packages, for the most part I am opening up things that I don't have already opened and enjoying them.

2) Loose items I have that are in great condition and can find another home I am letting go, as with some of the packed stuff that I can tell myself to let go.

3) The reason I say I am still a collector, I am planing on picking up a few great pieces for my collection, and also a few select pieces for my focuses; Batman, Stormtroopers, Classic Trek (Spock!), Vintage Star Wars, and a couple others I don't want to reveal at this time.

What does all this mean? Hopefully a more streamlined collection, better judgement on future purchases (which I doubt), and maybe help fill some holes in other peoples collections. So as long as this little Jawa is hanging around on the blog...

Click HERE for the Utini!

I will be in a continuous house cleaning frame of mind. Rest assured I have a few things coming in the mail I can't wait to get my hands on and shoot pictures of.

Doodle Book: 1

Yesterday after work I had to run to the bookstore with my wife. She picked up a little photo album for a project she is working on and I picked up a three pack of those little moleskin sketch books. I went small and cheap for these as it was going to be an experiment. Surprisingly I do like the feel of the paper for drawing on, I can see why people suggest these.

Anyway, I decided I needed to keep a more concentrated Doodle Book, you know not so many bits and pieces of paper everywhere. Though I was happy to see a little flap in the back of each book that could hold pieces of paper : )

I want to try to put something in it everyday with hopes I will post the drawings from time to time. I have kept sketchbooks in the past, but much larger than these 3.5" x 5.5" pages. I thought the smaller size would force me to carry it with me more often than not. So all that said, here''s my first group from the Doodle Book.







Obviously they all can't be winners, looking at that Captain America I don't know what I was thinking on that one. I also need to take it with me when I am out and about as I did get the comment from my wife that "I always draw cartoons!" I guess I need to put all of those semesters of life drawing to good use.

RIP Steve

Outgoing and Incoming

Earlier in the week Reis at Hey! Look at my toys! sent out a call for some trades. So, while I was getting an envelope ready for the two I had on hand, a few of my other minifigs decided to show them the door. I don't blame these two for jumping ship now.



Wow that whip has to sting! That's the last time I give my security team a week off. Okay, so, while those two were leaving the EHQ (Eclectorama Headquarters) here is some incoming post.

First is a printed invite I had drawn up for my Niece's baby shower. I included my Niece, her cat and her husband. I tried to personalize it a bit, she likes to shop and he works in the sound and lighting industry. Hope they like it. I had these printed at Faulkenberg Printing Company and I couldn't be happier.



Then there are these sets of awesomeness! In the package from Faulkenberg was a few packs of the first ever Eclectorama Trading Cards! I must have a fan at Faulkenberg, it's really kinda of cool seeing artwork you worked on in a format you never thought you would see artwork you worked on. Don't get me wrong I have had stuff printed both in my day job and as a freelancer, some for Star Wars Kids Magazine back in the day. But this is artwork I just did for fun.



I was sent five packs, I of course I am keeping the one I opened, but was told that all the packs had the same cards... oh and one sticker. So that means I have a few to giveaway! Should I have a contest, a drawing, or just send them at random. Hmmm decisions, decisions. Let me think on it and I will make an announcement next week. I think I will even do a few artist's sketch cards to sweeten the deal. What does everyone think?





Have a cool weekend and thanks again to everyone at Faulkenberg Printing Company, especially the Eclectorama Fan ; )

Star Wars Vignette

As if it wasn't obvious without the text. Was bored, these were on my desk, had camera phone.

Problem Solved

That last comment in my last post got me thinking. When I got this Robin home today I looked at it and the first thing I said was "Robin does not have a cape!"

For a split second I thought it must either be a mistake on the toy or a safety thing since he is packed with a motorcycle. I mean I wouldn't get on a bike with a cape. But hey Batman does it, Then I thought it couldn't be a cycle thing he has no Helmet. Surely the Boy Wonder would wear a helmet. Looking on the back of the packages I noticed the picture had a Robin with no cape. Are they all like this? I could have sworn I gave one of my Nephews a Batcave and it had a Robin with a cape, I could be wrong.

I knew exactly what to do though. I found some scrap black fabric and some yellow felt. In hindsight yellow fabric would be much better, but felt is what i had. I grabbed some of that fusing material from my wife's sewing kit and heated up the iron. I fused a small swatch of the two materials together, let it cool and trimmed it into what I believed was a decent Robin cape (slow evening here in Texas folks).

I gently pulled and twisted Robin's head until it popped off. It's on there pretty tight. It might help to run it under a hot tap first. The base of the neck has what looks like a plastic collar where a cape should be so it works perfect to help hide where the cape slips over the peg. Cut a hole and slide it over the peg then pop the head back on and done!

Here's the results...





... no more cape-less Boy Wonder!

FINALLY!!!

I had pretty much given up on this one and the kicker, I have pretty much given all my other Transformers away, now I have one!



Also as a stroke of luck I spied these and snagged them both. Toy budget 0, Charles 3.

For the Superfans

I can't say I am the world's largest Superman fan, but I do loves me some Max Fleischer's Superman.

More for the Garage Sale!

Just a quick post, if you know of anyone looking for cool stuff I dropped some new things up for auction.

Click HERE to see that evil little Jawa's wares!

Spread the word! Thanks, I now return you to your regular scheduled blog... okay, so it's not so regular, promise I will post something more this week.

So, tell me...

Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?
I ask this of all victims, I just like the sound of it.

Anyhoo, I felt like I owed myself a drawing, and I do like Batman so I drew me a Batman...



Then a friend told me I forgot the Keaton Lips, ha ha, so I fixed the drawing...



I dug it so much I made myself some wallpaper...



Then I thought I would share and so I made you people some wallpaper...

click it to get it biggie, batty size and get jiggy with it!
(sorry I scaled it for my monitor, hey what do you want for free!)

Oh, I have been thinking of doing commissions... anyone interested?


EDIT:
A little re-color ala Kenner...

Pay Day

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted. This time of year always seems like my most hectic at work and that carries over to home life as well as we are always trying to finish up house projects. I am almost done with some major ones (well what I consider major, I'm sure they are minor). Anyhoos, this is something I have been meaning to post for some time, actually it's been several weeks.

This is what I like to call Pay Day. See I have this arrangement with Tate's I do a bunch of stickers and stuff and instead of paying me freelance they send me the occasional care package. This is actually the second one this year, the first contained Galactus and a ton of other goodies that have popped up on the blog. Tate's are always good to me and they really keep up with what I am into, they make sure I have a Batman, Stormtrooper (or other Star Wars thing), some Marvel and as in this case some Hellboy. This is also when they send me a ton of the stickers I helped in creating. I can't say it enough I love Tate's and all the people there and I always look forward to doing more drawing for them. To be honest I did purchase one item in this box, but the rest was earned with blood, sweat, and digital ink. Hope you enjoy.

An over view of all the cool swag!

The stickers and cool Tate's Spiderman cover.

Lil' Marvel Dudes! My son already claimed the Iron Man.

This is the one I bought, sweet vinyl cape Jawa!

The Jabba Dark Horse Comic Bag (I helped with the illustration ; ) and a sweet Batman and Robin Pennant from the Sixties.

This was a total surprise for my son and I to share... I knew Mike Mignola signed a sticker for me, but...

...this was above and beyond my expectations!

That's it! I received this package about three weeks back and still amazed at how well they know me and all the cool stuff in there. Big thanks again to Tate and his Family,the staff and all! I received another package from a fellow blogger this past weekend, that one you have to tune in later in the week to see.

Hopefully I will get back on some sort of schedule and as soon as my wife clears out her shoes from the closet, ha ha, I will be putting some more stuff up for sale on eBay (have to make room for that Jawa).

It's Crwazy, Crwazy Gungan's Garage Sale!

That's right I decided to clear some stuff out of the collection and man that Jar Jar (how I hate him) is gutting my collection and cutting the prices deep to the bone! That's the last time I leave him the keys to the Eclectorama Vault!

Messa Hasen Stuff for Sale!

Right now I just have stuff listed for sale to U.S. only, sorry the shipping overseas is outrageous, but if you say you saw it on the blog here when you win something I will throw in a little something, something (I promise no Jar Jar, he's going to the hounds!)

Why all the cool stuff for sale, well that's a big surprise! Let's just say it has something to do with my collecting focus(es)!

Don't bring a blaster to a lightsaber fight

As an old friend of mine used to say "HERE"S SOMETHING FOR YOUR EYE!" which usually had me ducking because it was followed up with some sort of attack like Cato Fong in the Pink Panther movies. In this case it's some more artwork, sketches, doodles whatever you want to call it. These are done for fun.

First up is poor old Ponda Baba. What if the whole run in with Luke and Ben in the Cantina was a mistake, then this poor guy got the short end of the stick... wait didn't his buddy get killed? Now I have to go watch the movie one more time, damn you feeble memory! Still to loose and arm while trying to relax in a bar, right?



I have to say I am pretty excited that this guy is getting a new version in the Hasbro Star Wars Vintage line, complete with stump.

Next Jboypacman asked in some earlier comments if I ever drew monsters... you know I haven't in a long time. I did a set way when I first started working in toys for some basketballs, I will have to see if I can dig those up from an archive. So, I drew up this guy up for him.



Why he is offering up a flower is beyond me, just seemed to be a good thing for him to hold. Again I am thinking this was a scene in the movie right before someone drowned...Great! Now I have to go re watch that movie!

I ended up taking this one and setting up a little sticker for my favorite comic shop, if you dropped by from the shops facebook page welcome and hope you enjoy the sneak peek. Jboy if I get it made I will send ya some.

I have been feeling like doing a DC sticker for the shop and I have it narrowed down to two characters. Hawkman and Aquaman. I will end up sooner or later doing both, but I want to see a show of hands for which one should be first. So leave a comment and vote for one, or you could offer up another suggestion, but you better be prepared to work I will need a tag line too. What's is in it for you... um bragging rights? I don't know I will think of something.

Helluv a Week!

I really meant for this to be a weekend post, but one thing led to another and on and on. So with that said here's something I thought was pretty sweet. As you may know I make these little illustrations that a great little comic shop down in Florida then prints up for stickers. The shop of course is Tate's, the illustrations vary from hero to hero and are pretty much just what ever I feel like sketching up at the time. I do get requests from the team at Tate's for special events, only on occasion and for something they need quick. It's a pretty sweet little gig and the pay is awesome!

Anyway a few weekends back Tate's hosted a Dark Horse Day and of course I had already did a sweet little Hellboy illustration months ago. I thought they might use it, but was not sure. Turns out they did. Do you rember the one,here it is in case you need a refresher.



Okay the part that I thought was sweet was that Mike Mignola was present at the event. Surely you know that he created Hellboy right? I am somewhat a fan of his artwork, and by somewhat I am totally a fan of his artwork. You would think being a Batman fan I would have known more about Mr. Mignola's other hero, but my son was actually the person that introduced me to the wonderful world of Hellboy, which I fell for hook, line and sinker. Comics, movies and toys, I loves me some Hellboy. Plus it's a cool thing that my son and I share, because lets face it a lot of times us parents are lame and do not follow all the anime our children are into and they do not always love the heroes we are into. That's all okay, but it is even cooler when there is that one that just clicks. Now, I can't say I have every comic or toy, but I think I have enough to satisfy my desire for the character. With that said here are a few of my favorites that I picked up over time.

First up is the Graffiti Designs Hellboy. This one actually sat for a really long time in our local comic shop before I picked it up. I used to get a chuckle out of the description on the package every time I went. It said something like "Comes with a Big Ass Gun!", loved it. I really like the simple style of the figure. It's pretty honking big, but not too big that he couldn't sort of fit in with some of the other figures on the shelf. I can't peg the scale, but he stands about eight to nine inches tall and could go as a big player in the Batman the Animated Series Universe, though he would tower over even the Clayface figure.



Next, and years later, I picked up this one from Mezco. Hands down one of my all time favorite toys. This thing screams Mignola's style. It is like they reached into one of his comic books and ripped it right off the page. I actually have a couple of these. this one and one with his trench coat that came with a group of Vampire Heads. Plus there is one out there I have yet to get, the Rocket Pack version... well that and the large version. Still I am constantly on the look out to score a good deal on either.



Rounding out this post is this little bad boy. He came packed with a Best Buy release of the animated feature Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron. Talk about a bonus, how cool was it to kill two birds with one stone?An awesome little animated movie and a sweet figure. This animated Hellboy is from Gentle Giant, actually my first toy from the company and what a toy it is. I love it just as much as the other two. He came with a couple alternate hands, though the open right hand of doom is my favorite.



I never did pick up any of the small Movie Hellboy figures, not because I didn't want to, just they were always sold out every where I looked at the time. I guess I am lacking that scale in the collection. Still I have enough different sizes to keep me happy.



I have a few of the other characters that I will post about in the future, plus a few little figurines that came in another DVD bundle as well. till then I'm leaving you with the sweet part of the whole comic book shop arc of this post. This here is Mr. Mignola at the Tate's Dark Horse Day event...

photo courtesy of Tate's Comics, photo by A. Pants

How cool is that?

Hey it's a Birthday!

So I was mistaken my second post for the week will not be toy related. It's my little Basset Hound Squee's Birthday today. Catching up to our larger Basset, Squee is turning seven today. We are the type of people that will bake them a little plain cake and give them a slice (no worries it will not have any chocolate in it) and we do wrap them presents, because the Bassets love to rip open presents. Christmas time is pretty hectic around here we have to keep the presents put up until the big day or they would both unwrap them all... found that out the hard way one year.

This year they are getting matching collars. I say they because the Birthday girl (all our puppies are ladies) will get a present as well as all their "sisters", that way they are all covered, no favorites.

Here's a picture of Squee the morning before her big day. She must be day dreaming of travel and exotic foods. She could be watching the squirrels playing in the front yard too.



Oh, she caught me!



Not to leave you hanging on the toy front. My recent purge unearthed these two gems. I actually have a small collection of carded Batman the Animated Series figures and I also have a small collection of loose Batman the Animated Series figures. I knew I had each of these carded and I had actually been on the prowl on eBay for some cheap loose versions. Well as I was going through some totes for that care package the other day I turned up an extra carded set. My only guess is I must have acquired them in a lot and did not think I had them carded at the time so they got stored away. It was like a little good toy karma. I now have them setting on the shelves watching over the sort and keeping an eye out for more finds.



Actually sort of embarrassed that I didn't know I had these, I usually am pretty good at keeping track of this sort of thing. Oh well two more for me to detail on the ole' Batman the Animated Toy blog. Enjoy your day.

Red Five Standing by

Okay, I decided to try this. I am going to try and post a couple times during the week and possibly a little post on the weekend. It's not that I am tired of posting stuff, I just want you to have some quality stuff. I will try an artwork post and a toy post and I am not sure what on the weekend maybe an art toy post : )

This will be the art post for the week. I love reading other artist's blogs where they show a little behind the curtain, a sketch, a technique here and there. I have been trying a few things out, trying to nail down some processes. This one is not going to be that in depth, mater of fact you might think "big deal" but none the less it is something I tried and was pretty happy with the results.

I have come across an iPad and while we mainly use it to look up recipes or watch YouTube videos of Basset Hounds and Bulldogs doing crazy stuff, I did load Sketchbook Pro on it for the occasional doodle. I haven't had that much luck doing wonderful sketches on it. To be honest the last time I did a finger painting I was a wee little lad, but one Sunday morning over coffee I did whip up this little colored sketch.



I am pretty proud of it. As drawings go it's not high quality or a rush it to press type drawing, but it does beat my usual scribble all to hell. I even tried out the layers to add some colors. Then I thought hey! Let's take it and email it to the main machine and finish it up in Illustrator! Sketchbook even exported with all my layers intact and in a PSD file format, sweet.

So here is what I did in illustrator.
edit: The shading was done back in Photoshop.



Like I said, no ground breaking tips or tricks, more of a "hey I can use this thing to draw with my fingers and then clean it up later" sort of thing. I usually use Photoshop to sketch out ideas when I am near a computer, when I am away from one any scrap piece of paper I can get my hands on will do. I will then take the image, either JPG or PSD straight form Photoshop (or a scan from the paper) and digital ink it in illustrator. This iPad thing just gives me another option for sketching.

I will try to remember to take some screen shots of a drawing in progress if anyone cares to see stuff like that. I do have one where I saved the rough sketch and the line work before coloring it... maybe next week.