Friday, January 8, 2010

Pheyaotic!!!

A few days before Christmas I received a package in the mail from my good friend Matt Doughty, the founder and owner of Onell Design. He's one of the most creative people I know, and he freely shares his creativity and creations with his friends and fans. Along with a bunch of stuff that I had missed out on due to other pressing financial obligations, Matt sent me the one toy I had wanted to get this whole year; he sent me Pheyaos. Holy crap. Pheyaos.

Merry Doodlydoodlin Christmas!!!



So... who is Pheyaos? Lemme splain:

I was drooling over this guy waaaaaay back when Matt first posted over on his blog about a collaboration with RealxHead's Mori Katsura. Matt kinda got me into RealxHead when he first posted about a Mini Hone Borg that he had hacked up and added articulation to. You see, RealxHead figures have limited articulation-- they are done in a style that harkens back to the old, rotocast vinyl toys that companies like Bullmark, Marmit, and Bandai made in the 60's and 70's. Those toys emphasized crazy sculpts and paintjobs over articulation. Mori's designs perfectly reflect and add richly to that design aesthetic. I was already nuts about Matt's work on the Glyos toys, and when I saw he was working with Mori to make a hybrid character I just about pooped myself.

Pheyden is Matt's key character in the Glyos universe. Chaos is one of Mori's lead characters in his Mutant Zone line of figures. From what I have gathered, in the story Chaos absorbs part of Pheyden's essence and the resulting creature is called Pheyaos.

So that is who Pheyaos is. Now on to the toy:

Holy Screaming Ninja Turds!!! This is a COOL TOY!!!









He is cast in black vinyl with a white painted base coat, a black paint rub (an artist slaps on a coat of paint and wipes it away so that the paint adheres to the lower areas), and paint sprays of red and gold on the chest. He has the doll eye that is typical of almost all Chaos figures. The red Pheyden eye is hand painted by brush. The paint job is, as usual, outstanding! One of the cool thing about kaiju toys is the fact that they are usually hand painted by a select few artists, so you know you are holding a true piece of art in your hands. Each one is slightly different. I've seen several images of this particular figure and each one looks different. It's the same sculpt and all, but the paint applications give each one a unique look.

The sculpt is outstanding! It's a perfect blend of Matt's Glyos designs mixed in with Mori's. Each side has its own distinct look, but is married together so well that it doesn't look forced. The right side is Pheyden with his armored arms and chest and the skull-like face and helmet. The left side is Chaos with his bubbling skin, horned protuberances, and bizarre probe arm. If you look at the other reviews I've done of RxH toys, you'll see that the figure shares several traits with those figures as well.

This is the first RxH figure I own that has the doll eye. That thing follows you as you move around. The pupil is distorted through the plastic of the lens and gives the impression of movement as you turn the figure. It's really kinda creepy.

This is a RealxHead mini figure with articulated arms... that's never been done before as far as I know. I know a lot of RxH fans are probably happy to see that (I know I am!).

He stands a hair under 4 inches tall from the bottom of his feet to the tip of his biggest horn. He's taller and bulkier than the Glyos figures, but he fits right in with them. You can tell he was made to fit in with either line, but I display him with my RealxHead stuff. He just looks right with them.


Winner of the award for Ugliest Family Of The Year!


Crazy stuff. These guys aren't available from Onell just yet, but Matt will be releasing them VERY soon, so keep an eye on his blog for updates. I cannot possibly recommend this figure enough if you like Glyos, RealxHead, or just creepy looking monster guys in general.

Thanks, Matt! You're the best, man!

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