Monday, 9 November 2015

Shipping update & Variants info



Universe of Violence - Chaos Dimension Wave two has had a great reception so far, and I thank you all for jumping on board and making it a success. 
Its been a blast!

SHIPPING

Sorry for the delay, I didn't get around to posting yesterday but just a quick update on shipping.
As of yesterday, all current orders have been shipped!

All current U.S orders have been sent to Ironhaus Productions USA where Jimmy Rommel will be dispatching orders locally. I sent the US orders via International Priority Express, with tracking. It should arrive within 4-6 days so hopefully by the end of this week.
I imagine early next week, orders will start arriving at your door. You can track the voyage from Oz to US quoting the article ID # EQ037518460AU on the Australia Post website under tracking [HERE].



Anyone in EU including UK, Germany & Finland should have their orders in the next 6-9 days.
If you want your individual Article numbers for tracking, please contact me and I'd be happy to give you it.

Australian orders should start arriving today!


VARIANTS INFO

As mentioned earlier in the UOV-CD Wave Two Breakdown post from earlier, this release will contain many variants. 
The regular colour options have variants (scented) figures mixed in at a ratio of 1:3 whereas the blind figures have a ratio of 2:3, and include many more variants than the regular colours. 
If you ordered any bind figures, upon arrival you should try the following. Just saying.

1. Check it's colour. There are metallics, clears, glitters as well as reflective variants.
2. Smell the figure. There are 5 scents in total.
3. Put it under a light and see if it glows in the dark.
4. Place it in hot water and see if it changes colour


Well, that's it for now! I look forward to seeing everyone who paced an order start getting theirs very soon. Thanks again everyone who ordered, and to my two homeboys Eric Nilla & Jimmy Rommel for making this a possibility.

Will be back with more news soon. I think it's almost time for another contest to win some free minis..


MM.

Monday, 2 November 2015

UOV:CD WAVE TWO figures on sale NOW!!

The debut release of Universe of Violence: Chaos Dimension Wave Two is now live at the Ironhaus Productions Oz STORE
There's also a fresh batch of Wave One figures available too, for one last time.
Take advantage of our new cheap shipping to U.S, as well as some debut specials like discount prices and freebies.
As usual, you can find me on LittleRubberGuys forum so if you have any questions either post there or here on the blog.
Hope to see you at the store!







MM.

Sunday, 1 November 2015

UOV - DEATHMATCH! RULES - 暴力の宇宙 - デスマッチ! - ルール


I have added the new Universe of Violence: Chaos Dimension Deathmatch! RULES to the Ironhaus OZ blog in both English & Japanese. Both are now available for view online or as a PDF file for print-and-play, and can be found under the 'Ironhaus Productions OZ links' section.

Or, you can just download the PDF files right here.





UOV - Deathmatch! is a card, keshi & dice-duelling game where monsters get to slug it out to see who is the reigning supreme champion of Chaos Dimension!

The game is in it's bare beginnings, so bear with me. I've been play-testing it for a while and I feel it should hold together okay. I welcome any feedback and suggestions you may have, so dont be shy. 

The Japanese version is very basic and I translated it online myself, so it's bound to be full of mistakes. 
If anyone wants to make any improvements, I would be very much grateful and would credit you for your contribution.

I will continually update the Deathmatch! RULES along the way, making any needed adjustments as I go.

Hope you guys like it! 

_

 暴力の宇宙 - デスマッチ! ・ ルール
ケシモンスターカードバトルゲーム!!
プリント・アンド・プレイのための無料ダウンロードできるようになりましルール.
ごめんなさい!私の日本語はひどいです。私の言葉遣い&文法を改善する助けてください。ありがとう!
楽しみます!



MM

Monday, 26 October 2015

UNIVERSE OF VIOLENCE : CHAOS DIMENSION ~ WAVE TWO RELEASE BREAKDOWN


Ok, I've been MIA for way too long but while I've been away I've been busy at work here at Ironhaus Oz, moulding and casting up the latest UOV figures on offer.
The time has finally come to get the ball rolling on the UOV:CD Wave Two release! There's a lot of info to go over, so best get right into it.
I will be adding the new figures into the STORE over the next few days, but before that I need to breakdown what's on offer, as things will be a little different this time round.

As you probably know, I have amalgamated my MetalMonkey brand with my good friend and talented toy artist, Jimmy Rommel's Ironhaus Productions (U.S.A) to form the Australian division "Ironhaus Oz'.  It's been an exciting time for me, slowly learning how to mould and cast!
I am using Task 16 Urethane to cast, the same stuff that Eric Nilla has been using (he kindly hooked me up with some amazing silicone & rubber. Thanks bud!).
I made all sorts of mistakes along the way. Huge learning curve. Im fortunate that i've have had so much great advice from friends in the know, that I wouldn't have got where I am without their help.
For instance, I got the ratio a bit off when mixing the urethane, and the figures have turned out a bit firmer than regular rubber figures you may be used to. Not a bad thing really.
As this Wave two release coincides with the establishment of Ironhaus OZ, as well as me being equipped to finally mould & cast, I've taken on board some of the feedback I got last time, and I hope to make this release a bit more fun. And of course that means more toys, cheaper. Not to mention freebies. Did I mention those?

Anyways, on with the figures already! Yeesh.


So, for Wave two we have 5 figures on offer.

2 returning figures from Wave One: Satyrant & Maneater, in what will most likely be their final release ever. These guys have had a good run. Up until now, they've been available in my store here in OZ, in Eric's store in the U.S, they had a small release in this years Clutter Gallery InActionFigures3 toy show  (Again, thanks to the AWESOME Eric Nilla), and here they are for one last round. As usual, these guys have been cast in Task 16 rubber by Eric Nilla in the U.S and will be sold blind-bagged and in random assortment of colours.
There are the standard variants mixed in for good measure, including thermal reactive figures & Glow-in-the-Dark. (With a little help from the magic sprites at SolarColorDust.com).




3 ALL NEW figures making their debut for Wave Two: West Nile, Deadface II & Hell Chicken!


Sculpted by the amazing Jimmy Rommel of Ironhaus USA, and cast right here in Ironhaus Oz in a non-toxic firm rubber thats been UV treated against fading. These guys are prety badass, and add a whole new threat to Chaos Dimension. Hell Chicken is the first BOSS figure for UOV:CD, and introduces some new elements which we'll get to later.

These guys will be done two ways; first, we have an official roster of colours that will become the staple for future figures here at Ironhaus Oz.
These 12 colours will be available by selecting your colour choice from a list, as as such these figures will be available in multiples of each colour.
They will be a recurring thing, so those figures will most likely be made again so don't sweat it if you miss your favourite colour.The 12 colours are, what I feel, some of the more classic and fun colour-ways you would expect your favourite mono-minis or keshi figures to be found in, so hopefully sit right at home in your collection.



Black
Flesh
GITD
Pine (Dark Green)
Grape (Dark Purple)
Magenta (Neon Pink)
Neon Orange
Cyan (Neon Blue)

Neon Yellow
Neon Red
Neon Green
Neon Purple

Secondly, there will also be some Blind-bagged Wave Two figures available.
These figures are one-offs and most likely never be made in that particular colour again. 

To spice things up, there are a heap of variants scattered randomly throughout both the 12 regular colours & the blind-bagged one-offs, including many scented figures, Glow-In-the-Dark, Thermal reactive & Glitter. There are even some translucent figures in both rubber and resin too, but extremely limited in numbers. The regular 12 roster only has scented figures mixed in, and since GITD (green) is an official Ironhaus OZ colour, that doesn't count. Most variants will be found in the blind-bagged packs. Go figure.


Speaking of packs, all UOV:CD figures will come packaged in a custom art header and include one battle card.

New UOV:CD headers. 

 The cards all have stats on their backs, and people have been wondering what this is for. As some of you guessed, its for a simple turn-based battle game named Death Match! The cards for both Satyrant & Venus Maneater underwent a few balance tweaks, as well as being printed on slightly larger cards with larger images, with added Japanese text.
Also, anyone who got in on Wave One figures earlier, let me now and I'll throw in some free replacement cards for you in your next order.

Comparison of new (L) and old (R) Death match cards.
The free Print-and-Play RULES for Death Match! will be uplaoaded here in the coming days, and will be available in both English & Japanese.(Note: I translated the Japanese RULES myself, so consider it the beta version. If anyone wants a crack at improving upon them, be my guest. Of course, you would get credited for your work too. ) 


Since this is Ironhaus OZ's debut and I'm only new to casting, I will be dropping the prices on my figures for a while. The figures are far from perfect, and may have the odd air-bubble or flashing, or be a bit tipsy on their feet and have troble standing but overall they are pretty good. 

Cost: All figures are sold in USD.

* Deadface II - $6
* West Nile - $8
* Hell Chicken - $8
* Satyrant - $10
* Venus Maneater - $10


SHIPPING NEWS: One of the bigger hindrances of UOV:CD Wave One that fans found prohibitive were the expensive shipping rates that the Australia Post charge for their services. Unfortunately, I cant help that but having said that, Ironhaus U.S.A will redistribute any orders placed here at Ironhaus OZ. This means, I will cover the initial cost to send collated orders to the states for distribution, but you guys in the states will only pay a local flat rate for your orders! I will find out exactly how much and *update this part soon* but expect it to be a fraction of what it would cost normally.
We would rather get more of these toys to you, and help you keep costs low.
After all, we are toy collectors too and know how it is. More money for toys is always a good thing! 


Finally, as an added incentive all orders will receive freebies *while stock last!

There are some postcard sized magnets, some stickers, free upgraded Wave One Cards (for anyone who ordered before) and even some extra rubber goodies! I'm including some Norwegian Vikings that I practised moulding/casting on. They will be randomly distributed amongst orders until they run out. There are some ...other rubber monstery-goodies that may make their way into early orders too.. I've been practicing a whole lot, and they're kinda rough around the edges. But, FREE toys people. 

Free stuff
Iron Vikings: free with every order while stocks last.


Last but not least, I will have a bunch of miscasts up for grabs for USD $2 each, sold blind-bagged. These are only sold on the provision that they are not to be resold again. Seriously. If you buy any of these and dont want them, give them away. If you cant agree to this, please dont buy them.


~


Phew. I think that covers everything. I hope you guys like whats on offer!
Any questions or whatever, post here or you can reach me at LittleRubberGuys toy forum under the username: MetalMonkey or you can usually find me on Facebook. Laters.


MM.









Wednesday, 20 May 2015

News + UOV wave two preview


Hi Horde, Metal Monkey here. 

Just a quick heads up that Metal Monkey Studios has undergone some changes of late and will henceforth be known as Ironhaus Productions Oz, the Australian branch of Ironhaus Pro.
The reasons will become apparent in time, but ultimately its to save our customers some cash as we can distribute international orders via the US & Oz now. So, if you live in the US and order from the Oz store (or vice versa), you will get the option of having the order shipped to a dispatch centre locally and only pay local standard shipping as oppose to the more expensive international option! 

The new Ironhaus Oz BLOG & STORE can be found here.

Also don't forget to check out the new Ironhaus Instagram!


Onto some exciting news! Universe of Violence (UoV) Chaos Dimension Wave Two release is fast approaching and the time has come to reveal the figures that will be on offer. 
I have recently been casting up a storm and I will be handling the production of these figures for wave two. They're cast in Task 16 rubber, much like Monster In My Pocket, and the very same amazing material that my good bud Eric Nilla casts his figures from and put me onto (thanks dude!).

There will be 3 all-NEW figures sculpted by the living-machine Jimmy Rommel including Deadface II, West Nile & the much anticipated Hell Chicken! Our new boss figure.




There will also be 2 returning characters sculpted by me (Metal Monkey) Satyrant & Venus Maneater in all-new colours, but rest assured I will have some more new figures on offer soon in Wave Three.


Let's have a closer look at the new figures on offer.

West Nile: The blood-sucking desert vampire!

DeadfaceII: The King of the Cannibals returns!

Hell Chicken: The beast from Hell's Barnyard!

I hope you guys like what we have in store for UoV!

For a full release breakdown, stay tuned for an upcoming blog post including colours & prices in the next few days.


MM.

Monday, 13 April 2015

..so what's new? Ironhaus news + ROTB series 2 sneak peek


I've been a bit quiet on the blog front lately, though you'll usually catch me on Facebook. Sorry about that, my plate's been pretty full changing jobs after a crappy workplace injury earlier this year. Hopefully, smooth sailing form here on out.

I have a new Instagram account HERE where I'll be adding a lot more pics of toys I like, and stuff that I've been up to - mostly Ironhaus stuff I'm sculpting, assembling, painting or casting. As always, I'll stray and add anything toy-related I think is worth noting.

As you probably know, I'm now an official Ironhaus member (woot!) and as such I'll be mostly lurking around the Ironhaus blog but will still be back at my old blog from time to time... for now anyways.


Things are moving ahead with a few projects, and soon we can start to show off some more of what's in store from us. For now at least, here are some more imminent stuff.

Here's a mini kiaju I made for an upcoming line of monster figures by Ironhaus. Based somewhat on Rhan Tegoth, and stands about 1" tall. The MUSCLE figures give you a better idea of scale. He still needs a bit of a sanding.

Rhan showing off his cute little turtle shell.
This guy was a lot of fun to make!

Here are the test pulls for Medusa the Gorgon & Barbella the scorpion girl, who are both making their debut in Universe of Violence : Chaos Dimension sometime very soon!
Designed by me (MM) sculpted by Bryan Fulk (Ed gein) and cast by none other than Eric Nilla in his amazing & addictive keshi-like rubber! Expect to see some sweet colours & one offs the for the first drop, which as always will be rather limited.
Stay tuned for more info here!


Another couple of guys who'll be making their entry into UOV around the same time as Medusa & Barbella are these two guys which I sculpted around this time last year. 
I know, I'm a bit slow to get pics up.. But at least it won't be long before these will be available too.
Both are somewhat smaller than previous figures like Satyrant & Venus Maneater, and that will be explained soon via the new print & play rules for UOV : Deathmatch!
A simple, fast turn-based game where monsters duel and the victor is crowned champion.
All in time.

Plasmorph


Necrofungus

I will post more news as things draw closer, but I hope you guys like some of what's in store from us here at Ironhaus Pro. Keep an eye on our blog, the Ironhaus Facebook page, and new instagram for more news & pics to follow.

-

Meanwhile, some exciting news has unfolded at Little Rubber Guys
Their awesome line of PVC figures Rise of the Beasts has just had series 2 sculpts revealed in the form of 3D prints.. and wow do they look impressive!

Photo's and text taken directly from LRG and their ROTB kickstarter.

'Asayid, our Lion character and homage to White Leo/Pirate Lion from the original Battle Beasts series.' 
'Khabasat. A horned lizard. We recently added a tail to this guy (thanks to suggestions from fans!).'
'Guwrah, another Battle Beasts homage. This time to the ever popular Gargantuan Gorilla.'

'No name for this guy yet. He is our wicked cool ant character. We had to thicken up the antennae on his head. The original ones broke off during the cleaning of the 3d print. They were just too thin.'

'A new (old) head for our Scorpion character.'


Group shot of the ROTB series 1 & 2 figures!


As you can see, these are off the hook!!
I'm super excited for these new guys, and cant wait to get some nice weapons for these figures so I can display them with my Battle Beasts & beast Saga figures.
Hopefully they become available soon.

In the meantime, why not pick up some series one figures form the LRG store?
The prices are excellent and the figures are just awesome.


That's all for now.

MM.








Friday, 27 February 2015

Present - DOOM Götter REVIEW


Oh Meine DOOM Götter!


Metal Monkey here, back (finally!) with a review of an exciting new line of mini-figures called DOOM Götter (or Doom gods) by Imperfecz Toys and Ironhaus Prods.

And let me tell you, these figures are nothing short of amazing!

Here we have some background on the story behind DOOM Götter, sourced directly from the Imperfecz store.


‘In another dimension, all the creatures of mythology, ghosts, monsters, spirits from this world exist as monolithic kaiju-like creatures. Massive, building destroying, creatures battling within the city!
This first release dips into Yokai lore’


So, Doom Götter essentially is a blend between Japanese Yokai folklore & the Dai Kaiju creatures from films and TV with mini-figures much like Keshigomu in Japan. We get the hint that future series may not be based on Yokai creatures, but the Dai Kaiju theme seems to be the predominant feature of this line.


First up, we have two figures on offer, namely Akaname & Bake-Kujira.

The contents of two individual packs, Akaname & Bake-Kujira with come with 2 buildings included per pack.

The figures themselves are cast of a pliable rubber, somewhat softer than even Monster In My Pocket, and have a very nice feel to them.
The buildings are cast of a more sturdier resin and seem to have a much more inorganic feel to them then the figures do, which is a really nice idea and contrasts perfectly with the figures themselves.


Bake-Kujira – Standing in around 1” tall and sculpted by none other than Jimmy Rommel of Ironhaus Prods. Bake-Kujira is a monstrous whale kaiju that looks decayed, with his skeleton clearly visible. Bake or Bakemono (化物) is the Japanese word for 'Ghost' and Kujira (クジラ) translates as 'whale', so we get Ghost-Whale; a reanimated skeletal specter of a deceased whale.

Back view of the two figures.

Read up more about this Yokai creature from Japanese folklore HERE - 


Akaname – weighing in at 1.5” tall and sculpted by Luke Harris of Imperfecz Toys, Akaname (あかなめ) translates to mean ‘filth licker’ and upon reading of this creature for the first time, one can’t help but cringe at what one learns. It has a gaping tongue that it uses to consume slime, mold, human waste… yep, this thing is gross and that’s what makes it really awesome! Its naked, and has a mop of hair from the top of it’s head with no eyes visible, making it rely on using it’s tongue to navigate. Creepy, and yet so good at the same time!

Read up more about this Yokai creature from Japanese folklore  HERE


Buildings - In addition to these two mini-figures, there are buildings available for purchase separately in either 5 or 10-packs, perfect for building your own little city for these (and even other) awesome minis to play around in or display.

10-pack of buildings.

I picked up a 10-pack and it did not disappoint! This is a really original and novel way of making mini-figures even more fun, and really adds the neat element of representing the mini-figures as Dai Kaiju, or monolithic, collosal beasts! The proportions are really spot-on, and immediately one gets a real proportionate sense of their size simply by to the buildings surrounding them.
What’s great about these is that some of the buildings are intact, whereas others have been crushed/smashed by the Dai Kaiju in battle, and have a ruined, dilapidated look to them. You would have to be out of your mind not to appreciate having a mini semi-destroyed cityscape diorama for your mini-figures. It’s just such a good idea, and adds a lot of fun!

Packaging for individual figure packs.

PackagingExactly what you would expect from this sort of thing, the figures come individually bagged, as do the 2 buildings that come included with each figure (Brilliant!) complete with a header card. The header card itself is quite simplistic, and has a fair bit of punch as the colors make it pleasing to the eye.
Works well.

Pricing – This is where it gets good, toy people. The pricing on these guys is really modest and affordable, so you can pick up figures in multiple colors and/or some extra buildings to add to your city.

Bake-Kujira retails for $10 per-pack, Akaname costs $12 each. (USD)

Buildings are available in 5-packs for $10 ea, and 10-packs for $18 each. (USD)

Another added feature to the figures, is that for an additional $1 per figure you can give your mini-figures a makeover with a BLACK WASH to really bring out all the amazing details from each figure. I’m so glad I chose this option, as the figures themselves look incredible with the two-tone effect as you can see by the pics.


Shipping – I live in Australia, and these figures are made in the US. I’ve often paid exorbitant prices on shipping for items to and from Oz from ebay and some online stores but Doom Götter ships at a really nice low flat-rate internationally, so I was stoked to be able to get more buildings as it cost me less to have it shipped here. I could only imagine local shipping to be even less! Excellent.


Sculpts- The sculpts themselves are really clean, and overall very nice! The textures are what you would expect for bones, skin, teeth and hair, etc. and really bring the figures to life. They aren’t saturated in too much detail and there seems to be a good balance of detail/simplicity. The proportions are fun and in the end these figures are quite charming, regardless of being creepy creatures.


Two colossal beasts meet in battle amid a ruined city 

TowPlayability/DisplayBonus points for playability! The added buildings that make up the mini cityscape diorama really add a HUGE amount of fun for these figures. Whereas stand-alone figures display okay on their own, these have much more playability value to them. They also add more playability to your other mini-figures, as you’ll want to take your favorite figure to take a stroll downtown and lay waste to both the city and anyone foolish enough to get in your way! (Insert random monster noises here).
Needless to say, they display great! You can custom build your own city based on how much display space you have, which is useful if you’ve got little space available.


AvailabilityThese have been available for a few weeks as of writing this blog review. Some colors are completely sold out, but there are still a nice variety to choose form. Check out the Imperfecz online store HERE! The only place you can pick these up as of now.


Who will walk away the victor?

ConclusionSimply awesome!! DOOM Götter has practically instantly shot up to being one of my favourite indie toy lines ever, possibly rivaling Universe of Violence for my top spot, which is no easy feat. As a huge fan of the Dai Kaiju genre and folklore/mythology, as well as mini-figures in general, this just ticks all the boxes for me! I’m giving it an overall 9.5/10 and two HUGE thumbs up.
If you're into mini-figures then show some support by picking up some Doom Götter figures! You won't be disappointed, I promise you, and by getting behind this amazing new line we can expect to get more future releases of these badass beasties! 

I would love to see some tiny Ships, Trucks, Tanks, hell even a railway made available in future releases, in addition to other new monstrous creatures of course!

Excited to see where DOOM Götter goes from here, watch this space for future news and reviews.



That’s all from me, for now Toy People! Thanks for reading.

MM.