8-Bit Flames (link roundup)

Prius with 8-Bit Flames. As you can see in these photos, the flames were made with small square magnets. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Illustration of a guy holding Optimus Prime's rifle.

2. My new favorite accessory - - the "utility garter." Via.

3. Taheen spotted in the Moscow Subway. (If you don't know what a Taheen is, then you should stop reading Super Punch, and go read the Dark Tower series. And I don't mean that garbage comic book.)

*Previously: Optimus Picante t-shirt.

*Buy items signed by Stephen King at eBay.

Justin Parpan's Monster prints (and so much more)

A few of Justin Parpan's new monster illustrations. Available as $15 prints. And the Black Lagoonish creature is available as a magnetic toy.

They reminded me of one of my favorite toys as a child. A little Googling (actually, a lot of Googling) tells me that they were called "fashion plates." You'd take various plates (one for the head, one for the torso, and one for the legs), snap them into place, put paper on top, and then rub carbon (?) to create a monster. I also had one that was car-themed called "Little Van Go." They were perfect for me since I wanted to create art, but had no drawing skill.

Apparently they're still being made. I spotted one featuring Urkel:



And there are a few on sale at eBay and Amazon.




(None of the monster kits, alas.)


But I digress. Back to Justin's prints. One features Hipster Bigfoot:



And coincidentally, this week I spotted a papercraft hipster:



You can download the hipster in skinny jeans here.

Finally, speaking of skinny jeans, here's a funny article about a reporter testing out skinny jeans. Via.

UPDATE: Adam found the exact two kits I was talking about.

*Previously: Hipster Bigfoot paper toy.

*Buy Bigfoot toys at eBay.

Steamcroween Poster, Misery Machine, Winged Bears

Ah, I love Halloween. Not even halfway through September, and there's already too much wonderful art to keep up with.


Poster celebrating Steamcroween at Red Hot Robot. Here's the Steam Crow webstore.




Almost finished Misery Machine t-shirt design by Travis Pitts.





A stork tries to run a gauntlet of winged monsters in a t-shirt design by Ivan T. You can vote for it by clicking on the voting widget:



*Previously: Curiously-winged monkey.

*Buy Scooby Doo toys at eBay.

Chihuanhas - - half dog, half piranha, all teeth

Poster and concept art for the movie Chihuanhas. Via.

*Previously: Piranha Plant Underwear.

*Buy vintage horror posters at eBay.

Tentacle monster by Chris Ryniak (link roundup)

Chris Ryniak's "Freyja" sculpture, available for $85 at Dragon Con.

And a few more links:

1. Sounds like people working for the ACLU followed believed CIA agents, photographed them, and then showed the photos to prisoners at Guantanomo Bay to see if the photographs depicted people who had interrogated the prisoners. Via.

2. Need some clothing for your TV news anchor job?

TVNewsCloset.com is an online clothing consignment boutique designed for newscasters and other TV broadcasters. Whether you are an anchor, reporter, meteorologist, sportscaster, or host, you can make money and save money with TVNewsCloset.com.

In our virtual closet you'll find clothes previously worn on the air by some of the top broadcasters in the business. Building your wardrobe as you build your career? Have trouble finding broadcast-appropriate clothes in the stores in your market? Save time and money by shopping with us!

You can read about the site here. Via.

3. Rough year - - LeAnn Rimes was questioned by police officers after she was accused of a misdemeanor hit-and-run in Los Angeles.

*Previously: The ACLU does good work in New Orleans.

*Buy Chris Ryniak art at eBay.

Origami Owlbear

Origami Owlbear by Joseph Wu for a Owlbear redesign contest.

Go here to see the results of the previous Mindflayer art contest.

*Previously: Owl Man.

*Buy Owlbears at eBay.

Lego mech with extra armor (link roundup)

Lego armored mech by Cole Blaq.

And a few more links:

1. "Ducktor Strange" illustration.

2. Blinged-out gnome desktop pattern.

3. Polar bear plus parakeet equals Polarkeet.

*Previously: Black Mages cosplay.

*Buy Final Fantasy toys at eBay.

Japanese bathtub monster (link roundup)

Japanese bathtub monster by Martin Wittig. See also: Spider barber. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Google explains how to use Twitterfeed, which automatically updates Twitter with each new blog post. I'm pretty convinced Twitter's not for me, although I did dabble in microblogging when Blogger was down yesterday.

2. Longtime MLB catcher Rick Dempsey sold a script about his days playing little league - - his coach was a serial bank robber. Via.

3. At Toycutter: Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Munnys.

*Previously: If the Morton's Salt girl was one of The Endless.

*Buy Sandman toys at eBay.

Impressive promotional materials

Some of the work on display at OneMannBand. The comments to the decorated gauntlet say:

2008 New Business mailer sent to the Royal Armouries.
The carving in the wooden box reads "Are you up for the challenge?" When opened, the box reveals a rather unique paper gauntlet and a scroll, both sitting carefully on a red velvet cushion. The gauntlet reads "Pit OneMannBrand against your current creative and see who comes out on top. The gauntlet, though made of paper, is constructed with pins that allow it to move exactly as a real gauntlet would. Its engineering took some time and a couple of test dummies to get right but everyone who has seen it thus far has been impressed.

The comments to the tentacled monster posters say:

A shameless self promotion set of posters showing work done with colleague Ian Harding.

You can find dragons, monsters, and samurai on display at the OneMannBand site.

*Previously: Thanos with Infinity Gauntlet papercraft.

*Buy samurai armor at eBay.

Papercraft "Grograsaurus Rex" (link roundup)

I'm not sure what a "Grograsaurus Rex" is, but you can download the paper toy here.

And a few more links:

1. The type of swimsuits used in the last Olympics (to much controversy) have been banned for international competition. Via.

2. Marvel has acquired the rights to Marvelman. I have a few of the old trade paperbacks. They really are fantastic.

3. "What's wrong with my snake?"

*Previously: Danica Patrick's tattoo airbrushed out in SI Swimsuit Issue.

*Buy Miracleman comics at eBay.

Many-eyed sculptures (link roundup)

Resin statue of Travis Louie's indomitable "Uncle Six Eyes" sculpted by Scott Wetterschneider.



Resin statue sculpted by Wetterschneider and based on Chris Ryniak and Jonathan "Johnny Crap" Bergeron's pair of hapless wanderers. Both statues coming soon from Bigshot Toyworks.

And a few more links:

1. One clever way to resist the urge to spend - - When considering a purchase, picture someone offering you the cash value of the purchase or the item in question. Which is of greater value to you? (I use this test to resist the urge to buy blind box toys, which are almost never worth the purchase price.) Via.

2. Baseball stats expert points out the obvious: 100 years from now, everyone will be using steroids and other body enhancements.

3. Apparently not a joke, but a new Food Network show is "What Would Brian Boitano Make?" Via.

4. Frankenstein stops to smell the flowers. Via.

*Previously: Frankenstein paper toy.

*Buy Frankenstein toys at eBay.

Cerberus chases the mail man (link roundup)

Cerberus chases the mail man in this image by Mikeatron. See also, Dorothy Gale as a storm goddess. And here's his currently empty Etsy shop.

And a few more links:

1. Rebekah Montgomery of the Army National Guard has been selected as the Military Chaplain Association's Chaplain of the Year, but this article doesn't even hint as to what she did that was so special.

2. The Stitch wars items that haven't yet sold are on sale here.

3. Buzzsaw used as a canvas.

4. A hand puppet with a hand puppet.

*Previously: Buzzsaw-equipped Lego submarine.

*Buy cerberus toys at eBay.

Boba Fett's design looks good on everything (link roundup)

kaNO's Hi-DeF robot DJ vinyl figure combined with Boba Fett's colors - - 150 of the figures will be on sale along with some other special items at ToyQube's booth at Comicon. Relatedly, you can find out why he's called kaNO in this interview.

And a few more links:

1. Julia Child was less than impressed with the blog that inspired the new Julie and Julia movie. Via these sites.

2. Clever revision of Japan's flag.

3. If you have Magic the Gathering cards illustrated by Terese Nielsen, send them to her and she'll sign and return them

4. Serpent sage.

*Previously: Steampunk Boba Fett.

*Buy Magic cards at eBay.

Marvel Select Abomination figure looks great (link roundup)

The new Marvel Select Abomination figure looks great. Via.

And a few more links:

1. On the positive side, a Transportation Security Administration officer was caught on film stealing items from a suitcase that was a trap set by the TSA and Delta Air Lines. On the other hand, such theft is apparently enough of a problem that the trap was set.

2. Remember all the fuss out about car dealerships being closed (and the disproven claim that Republican dealerships were targeted)? More than 240 House members have signed onto a bill that would reinstate the dealerships. Via.

3. Lego Palaptine starts a dead battery with Sith Lightning. Via.

4. Michael Luongo wrote a book called "Gay Travels in the Muslim World." The version translated into Arabic has a title equating gays with "perverts." Via.

*Previously: The character of John Constantine was created because the artists wanted to draw Sting.

*Find Marvel Select action figures at eBay.

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Tauntaun?

As far as I can tell, an elf riding Rudolf the Red-Nosed Tauntaun - - found at Jonas Springborg's website. His site is full of impressive concept art including this shadow monster from an abandoned game called Shadow Hunter:




And this gas mask-wearing gunslinger from a game called Faith and a .45:



*Previously: Steampunk gas mask.

*Buy gas masks at eBay.

The Ultimate Scooby-Doo villain (link roundup)

Marco Friedersdorf's entry to the Villains of Scooby-Doo art contest is the ultimate villain - - an old man with a mask. Marco has a great blog called Mind's Delight.

And a few more links:

1. The Las Vegas District Attorney charged former NBA star Antoine Walker with three felony counts in passing $1 million in bad checks while taking out the markers at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort.

2. Wampa toy by Katie Cook.

3. I didn't know artichokes turned into pretty purple flowers.

4. 30% off at newly redesigned t-shirt shop LaFraise with the code REBIRTH.

*Previously: Wampa nose art.

*Buy wampas at eBay.

Chimera toy (link roundup)

Painted version of the vinyl toy based on Melita Curphy's design. $52 at Patch Together. Relatedly, over at Toycutter, I've posted a large gallery of custom Mez-Itz by artists including Curphy that will be displayed at Comic Con.

And a few more links:

1. Online-only Concord Law School made it to the finals of a law competition that included top schools such as Michigan, Duke, and Berkeley, before losing to Stanford.

2. Big Bad Toy Store has concept art for a Donald Duck/Bumblebee Transformer.

3. I'm giving away a couple of lenticular Coraline cups at Evil Buttons.

4. The chibi Kingdom Hearts phone charm I mentioned previously is $11 at Entertainment Earth.

*Previously: Kingdom Hearts amigurumi.

*Buy Kingdom Hearts toys and collectibles at eBay.

Victorian Ghostbusters, Were-Crocodiles and other steampunk miniatures

A small sampling of the Steampunk miniatures based on Smog on sale here. Alas, they're sold unpainted and unassembled. I believe they're all sculpted by Victor Martins and Gregory Clavilier and painted by Sebastien Picque. Here's the company's companion blog.

OK, one more:



"Panzerjunker U-Bot" from a different world called Mauser Earth.

*At Toycutter: Bioshock-themed pirate warband.

*Buy wargaming miniatures at eBay.