Image via Complex Original
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Written by Gino Joukar, Owner of Toy Art Gallery.
When Complex asked me to come up with the 50 greatest designer toys, I was excited and thrilled at first. But, after reviewing all my options I realized that this was going to be more challenging than I thought. Since there are so many great designer toys out there, how do you narrow it down to just 50?
Going through all the designer toys out there and picking out the top 50 is harder than it seems, and I’m sure there’ll be lots of arguments over some of my choices here, but I tried to stay as non-judgmental about my choices and based my decisions on popularity, originality, rarity, impact in the scene, and overall great design.
I also didn’t narrow my choices to only western designer toys and I’ve included a few select kaiju toys here.
So without any further delay, and in no particular order, check out the 50 Greatest Designer Toys.
walrus
50. Walrus Rider
Created by Alex Pardee for Upper Playground and produced by The Loyal Subjects, this 11" figure sports “detailed gradient blends” and features a broken tooth that re-locks onto the walrus’ tooth and a C.H.U.D. rider with bendy arms.
mecor
49. Mechtorians
Created by Doktor A and produced by Mindstyle. Standing between 2.5" and 4", the toy was first released at the beginning of 2009. The Lucky Draw pieces were available to people who found a "lucky draw" card in their Series 1 box. The beautiful Verdigris editions are named after the green patina formed on weathered brass, copper or bronze are hand-painted – no two are exactly the same. An 8" Stephan Le Podd version was released from 2008/2009.
steventhebar
48. Steven the Bat
Created by Bwana Spoons, the regular Steven the Bat stands 5" tall. A special edition metal Steven the Bat was produced by Fully Visual in 2009. It came complete with a removable cap and ears to reveal a secret compartment. Limited to 99 Silver and 1 Gold chase. Also in 2009, a kaiju version of Steven the Bat was produced in conjunction with Brian Flynn of Super7.
knucklebear
47. Knuckle Bear
Knuckle Bear was Touma's first creation to be produced in vinyl form. The original design was an 8" figure produced by Toy2R, creators of the ever-popular platform toy Qee. Originally planned as a one-off figure, the original design featured a dark, greyish-brown bear with a white muzzle and tattoo on one paw. However the platform proved extremely popular and was shortly followed up with the 'Waver' design, now considered a classic Touma piece and highly sought after. The Waver design opened the path to many more Knucklebear variants, predominantly by Touma himself though a couple of other artists were also granted permission to work on the platform, namely Voltaire and Yoyamart. The popularity of Knuckle Bear led to it being given it's own Qee form, the Knuckle Qee. The Knuckle Qee featured the standard Qee body and legs but with a large Knuckle bear head and arms. Only 2 official series of Knuckle Qee were ever produced, although there were a few special editions and later an 'Elemental Set' was released. Series 2 also brought in two sculpted variants of the Knuckle Qee, the 'snarling' and 'closed mouth' heads.
kobito
46. Kobito
Created by Yoskay Yamamoto and produced by Munky King. Yoskay Yamamoto is a rising Japanese artist in the LA art scene. His varied work, spanning painting and sculpture balances his Asian heritage with urban pop art. Central to his work the Kobito is combination of apparently innocuous human characters with larger than life mystical forces and symbols. On a personal note, I just love this design by him because I see so much of myself in this figure and the piece talks to me, believe it or not, and again I consider it as one of my favorite art toys ever; alongside the Possessed and why I love the the toys produced by Patrick at Munky King.
popcup
45. Popcup
Created by Yoshitomo Nara and stands 9.5" tall. The charming PupCup™ whirls, twirls and spins about to the delight of all it passes. Combining the iconic images of Yoshitomo Nara's Lonesome Puppy (Dog From Your Childhood) and The Cup Kids, the PupCup™ head and body rotate in opposites directions creating a remarkable kinetic object.
salvink
44. Salvation Ink
Created by Usugrow and produced by Secret Base. Salvation Ink stands 6" tall and I just can’t say enough good things about this figure, it’s absolutely one of my favorite kaiju toys, again amongst thousands of kaiju figures that I’ve got in my collection.
sug
43. SUG
Created by Unkl brand and stands 12" tall. SUG was first released in 2005.
dunny
42. Dunny
Dunnys are strange bunny-like figures, designed by Tristan Eaton and Paul Budnitz, and produced by Kidrobot. They range in sizes, the main figures being either 3" and 8", special larger versions have been created. The blanks of these models have been a big hit for those who enjoy customising their own toys; not to mention that it’s one of the best platform toys out there, creating some of the coolest — like the Skullhead version by Huck Gee — and wildest designs — like the one by Jesse Hernandez and so forth. All in all, I just can’t talk to any art toy lover and not have the Dunny or Munny come up in our conversation, I just think the scene wouldn’t be as big if it was not for the success of Kidrobot with the main stream audience.
qee
41. Qee
Qee, pronounced as ‘key’, is a registered design patent from Hong Kong and created by founder and President of Toy2r, Dr. Raymond Choy. Qee was introduced in 2002 causing hype amongst toy collectors worldwide. Soon after, the toy caught the attention and imagination of art lovers, graphic designers and the world’s youth alike. It has since taken the world by storm. Toy2r has eighteen Qee base characters to date and these mini figures stand 2.5 inches tall. They are used as a fashionable accessory (keychain), decor and/or designer/art toy collectable. They come in ‘blind’ boxes to conceal their identities to add excitement in the collecting process. You never know what figure you will get. And if you find that you have duplicates you could always work a trade; a true classic designer toy.
ape
40. Da Ape
Created by Tim Tsui. Bling Ape stands 8" tall, and comes packaged in a cloth bag, with cigar, sunglasses and skull and crossbones chain. Kong stands approximately 7" tall and Penny approximately 6" tall.
helper
39. Helper
Created by Tim Biskup and produced by Critterbox. Helper stands 8" tall and comes with a 4" mini-Helper. Released in 2004.
rangeas
38. Rangeas
T9G and Mographixx collaborated to create Rangeas — a new reptilian monster figure. While Mographixx illustrated the creature, T9G's touch can be seen in his signature round "doll" eyeballs found in almost all of his figures. First released in 2007 and stands 8". A later mold was collaboration with Tim Biskup. In 2010 a smaller 6" original Rangeas was released; secret has it that a lifesize version of it is in the works!
bootedcat
37. Booted Glamour Cat
Introducing felis nigripes, commonly known at the Booted Glamour Cat. The first figure based on “The Late Fauna of Early North America”, a series of paintings by artist Scott Musgrove. The Booted Glamour Cat is from the StrangeCo x Wootini collaborative series.
skullbee
38. Skull Bee
Skull Bee is a kaiju figure by Secret Base. The regular figures stand 5" tall and there are also some larger 12" figures. Not the only great kaiju by Secretbase, they’ve got so many great figures, but certainly one of my favorite ones by one of the leading Japanese Kaiju toy companies out there; basically one of the pioneers in the field.
fatima
35. Fatima
Fatima is an elegant vinyl large-handed lady created by Sam Flores and produced by Upper Playground. She stands 8" tall and was first released in 2006. Fatima is the ominously beautiful female character in Sam Flores’ paintings. I consider toys by Sam Flores some of my favorite ones in my collection of thousands of toys, there’s just something uniquely his and it carries across all his toys, like the Tiger Baby or Dragon Kid, on a side note coming out soon by Loyal Subjects as a lifesize fiberglass version, but Fatima truly captures Sam Flores artwork in a beautiful vinyl toy; and if you’ve got any that you ever want to sell please email me at gino@dvwarehouse.com so I can feature it and showcase it in my art toy museum.
mcusper
34. McSupersized
Created by Ron English and produced by Secretbase as a Kaiju and others as a Western designer figure. The McSupersized will be a classic design by Ron English, hopefully as technology allows for new mediums to be produced, carrying his propaganda message in a 3D vinyl format. It’s like holding one of his characters in your hand and experiencing his art in a whole new realm. I’m always first in line with each and ever new colorway, medium, and any new version that revitalize this classic design. It’s also now available as a porcelain figure by K.Olin,, Ron English is one of the greatest living artists, in my humble opinion, and the McSupersized captures his art form in a great vinyl figure.
orlax
33. Van Orlax
Designed by Pete Fowler and produced by StrangeCo. A giant vinyl figure, Van Orlax is a new addition to the Monsterism Island series, stands 20 inches tall, and was extremely limited. There were only 20 of this color available in the United States.
carrion
32. Boss Carrion
Created and produced by Paul Kaiju, the Boss Carrion stands approximately 9” tall and is one of the hardest vinyl toys to find in the marketplace. The figure is one of the best that we’ve seen by Paul Kaiju and certainly helped establish Paul as one of the leading artists producing Japanese Kaiju toys.
scarygirl
31. Scary Girl
Created by Nathan Jurevicius, produced by Flying Cat, Kidrobot, and Bigshot Toyworks. Scarygirl is based on a comic book series by Nathan and first released back in 2004.
gardener
30. Gardener
Created by Michael Lau, most Gardner figures are released in limited quantities. The mini series stand around 6" tall and come with a collector card and removable accessories such as hats, as well as interchangeable hands. The larger Gardeners stand around 12.5" tall, some slightly smaller, some slightly larger, again with removable accessories including clothing. All, of course, based on the Gardener comic by Michael Lau.
yhwh
29. YHWH
Created by Mark Nagata and produced by Necessaries toy. From a vinyl standpoint, I’ll be honest, It is kind of hard to put it against the other great artists out there. However, as an art piece it definitely has charm. Not only does it have the cool abstract shape and the ever so cute, yet random, bunny ears, but it has some fantastic eyes. YHWH is made up of entirely pink vinyl with light paint application on the ears. The eyes seem to be what makes it or breaks it for most people. They look extremely realistic. Sure, they say that they are acrylic, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that they were stolen from the heads of babies and then shellacked with an epoxy. You can actually spend a decent amount of time looking into the eyes. It feels like they look back. If you think that is awesome, then you’ll want to buy this one. If not, stay away.
bearbrick
28. Bearbrick
Bearbrick are cute little bears made by Medicom, in the style of their Kubrick series. Most of the designs are by Medicom, although with each series there are usually one or two designs from artists outside of Medicom including H R Giger and Nathan Jurevicius. Every 2" series has the following figures designed by Medicom — Basic, Cute, Horror, Pattern, Flag, Jellybean, Animal, SF, and chase figures by guest artists. As well as the regular series, there have been many crossovers to film, cartoon, clothing and corporate companies, including Nike and Spiderman. There are increasing numbers of sets incorporating both Bearbrick and their Kubrick cousins. Some of the more expensive and sought after Bearbricks have been released in larger sizes such as 400% (8") figures. These are often released in extremely limited numbers. The 1000% (20") figures are released in even more limited numbers, and sometimes only one offs.
mars1
27. Mars-1 Figure
Created by MARS-1 produced by StrangeCo in conjunction with Recon and Three Zero, stands 6" tall.
eyezon
26. Eyezon
Created by Mark Nagata of Max Toy Co. Captain Maxx now must battle this mutant potato called Kaiju Eyezon! Standing 10.5" tall with an arm span of 10.5" this is a big hunk of kaiju-style soft vinyl. Comes bagged with header card and backing card artwork by Mark Nagata.
madl
25. MAD*L 5” Figures
Created by MAD of SOLID Industries, each figure stands 5" tall. These have been a popular platform for customisers, and a 20" blank (limited to 55 pieces) was created for the MAD*L 2k5 show. There is currently a whole new wave of MAD*L products in production, being manufactured by MAD's new company SOLID Industries, Inc. The next set of 5" figures "Phase:3" was released Spring '08 along with an all new open run 10" Blank DIY MAD*L. Other products in the works are a line of blind boxed "MAD*L Minis" and a line of plush lifestyle products.
poss
24. Possessed
Created by Luke Chueh and produced by Munky King. Based on Luke's original painting, "Possessed", this much-anticipated MK production was released on May 18th, 2007 at Munky King Melrose. Sculpted by Dave Bondi and first shown at SDCC 05, Possessed created a feeding frenzy among collectors that continues to this day. This figure carries one of the highest resale values for a vinyl toy. If you don’t believe me, just check the prices for its black & gold version on eBay.
ollie
23. Ollie
Created by Richard Montonari Jr. aka LASH of the Mutant Vinyl Hardcore. I love the size on this figure, most Kaiju style toys are not of this scale, so the Ollie trumps a lot of the vinyl toys with its shear size, ugly looks, and great colorways. The Ollie is extremely popular and hard to find since Lash does not produce many of each colorway.
mongol
22. Mongolian
Created by L’ Amour Supreme, Cosmo Liquid and Super7. Mongolion stands 5" tall and was first released 2009.
companion
21. Companion
Created by Kaws and produced by Original Fake. Companions stand from 2" to 96" tall and I love each every one of them, starting with the original ’99 companion.
scav
20. Scavengers
Created by Kathie Olivas and produced by Mindstyle. First released June 2008. Each figure stands approximately 3" tall and one of the coolest mini figure sets out there.
mrbunny
19. Mr. Bunny
Created by Joe Ledbetter and produced by Wheaty Wheat Studios. Thick black lines outline all of the corners and curves of the figure. Mr. Bunny is made up of 7 separate pieces, so it’s very delicate. The body, head, two feet, two ears and tail are all joined to create this figure. I would stay away from picking it up by the ears or the tail. The artwork on the vinyl Mr. Bunny is also full of intricate shading. Mr. Bunny (the yellow one) is limited to 400 pieces and the Snow Bunny (the blue one) is only a run of 100 figures; plus the black lava edition which is the hardest one to find since I believe it was an edition of only 50 or so pieces.
squiare
18. Squire
Created by Jermaine Rogers and produced by StrangeCo. I would say it’s in my personal top 5 favorite toys of all times. The Squire is one of the dark powers, the diabolical counsel to pharaohs and monarchs throughout the ages. Beware the pig-bodied tempter. Squire in Blue was released in 2006 in an edition of 400, StrangeCo also produced its Black colorway, but Jermaine has put out a few other colorways since then. I believe there are some 8 or 9 colorways in all.
turtlecmaper
17. Turtlecamper
Created by Jeremy Fish and produced by StrangeCo. The Turtlecamper lives inside its head and has traveled the world at a slow and steady pace. Six points of articulation with ball-joint appendages, and packaged in a pet carrier window box also designed by Jeremy Fish. The Bone edition was released in 2006 in an edition of 1,000.
skullbud
16. Skullbud
Created by Ferg of Jamungo, Skullbud stands 3.75" tall. I just love toys with skull in them, especially one in bubble capsule of some kind.
incrowd
15. In-Crowd
In-Crowd was created by James Jarvis of Amos Toys. The In-Crowd is a collection of plastic figures plundered from deep in the very psyche of modern civilization. They are born from our dreams, our aspirations, and our nightmares. With no end to their effortless cool, they roam the wastelands of popular culture. There’s just something about James Jarvis work, I can’t put my finger on it, but it has an enduring classic look , and I guess that’s what makes the In-Crowd so cool and distinguishable.
dumbluck
14. Dumb Luck
Created by Gary Baseman and produced by Critterbox, another great production company that’s dearly missed, Dumb Luck figures were available in two sizes and first released in 2006. One of my favorite designs by Gary Baseman, I wish he would make more toys like it.
zagoran
13. Zagoran
Created and produced by Gargamel, this toy generally stands around 4.5" tall, but some figures are larger. Released in limited numbers and while the shape is maintained, this character has been produced in several different molds.
labbit
12. Labbit
Created by Frank Kozik and produced by Kidrobot. The non-Smorkin Labbits were released as 5" figures, and each came with a selection of accessories for them to hold in their otherwise-smorkin mouth.
squadt
11. Squadt
Created by Ferg of Jumango and produced by Threezero, Squadt stands 6" tall. Each figure comes with a range of accessories and clothing. I believe Brandt Peters had a hand in it as well.
brain
10. Jumping Brain
Created by Emilio Garcia and produced by Toy2r, Jumping Brain was originally a 3" hand made resin figure produced in very limited editions.
uglydoll
9. Uglydoll
Uglydoll is a brand that began as a collection of plush toys created by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. Launched in January 2001, they are distinguished by an aesthetic that balances traditional cuteness with perceived ugliness. In 2006, Uglydolls were awarded the Specialty Toy of the Year award by the Toy Industry of America, rather fitting for a figure that had such an impact outside the scene.
paw
8. PAW
Created and produced by Coarse. Paw comes in one of the best package I’d seen for a designer toy, a velvet lined bag and foam letters that spell out COARSE. the figure stands 12" tall and was released back in 2008. The crew at Coarse make superior figures with a meticulous, almost unheard of level of quality control. Designed by Mark & Mike at Coarse.
slajpapuy
7. Slap-Happy! and Mr. Muggles
Created by Brandt Peters, produced by MindStyle, these guys stand 8.5" and 6" tall respectively. They've released in the following numbers; Solid Black - 300 pieces, Blue - 200 pieces, Red/White, SDCC '07 Mono limited to 200 pieces, and the 3D Retro Exclusive limited to only 77 pieces.
kidhunter
6. Kid Hunter
Considered the first vinyl figure in the designer toy movement. Created by Bounty Hunter in Japan in 1997, based on a t-shirt BxH created back in 1995 in Japan. Stands 9" tall.
luey
5. Luey
Created by Bob Dob and produced by Strange Co., and released back in 2007. Luey is one of many minions in Satan’s army. Luey's do the devil's dirty work and like to raise hell on their own time, and this toy is one of my all-time favorite characters and I love having all of them in my collection.
bigfoot
4. Big Foot
The signature character from reknowned SF artist Bigfoot One, produced by StrangeCo, in collaboration with Fifty24SF Gallery. A true classic and extremely hard to find.
nom
3. NOM Commanders
Created by Ashley Wood and produced by Three A, the 1:6 N.O.M. Commanders are two commanding officers of N.O.M., Commander Post Fire and Commander Thrice Naut. I’m just a sucker when it comes to toys with gas masks, quality outfits, beautiful paint jobs, with lots of cool weapons to accessorize them.
elephant
2. Pink Elephant
Created by Amanda Visell and produced by Munky King, one of my favorite production companies, Pink Elepahnt released in 2007. The figure stands 6" tall, featuring a removable magnetic Drunky McSkunky. The elephant has a wood-like texture, paying homage to the wood sculptures prevalent to Amanda's work (it was Amanda's first vinyl toy).
teddytrooper
1. Teddy Trooper
Created by Flying Fortress and produced by Adfunture in 2004, Teddy Trooper is a true classic and one of the first few designer toys I ever bought. Many great artists have put their own twist on it, making the figure a continued collectable.