Toys & Art: Plaseebo's 'Astronot'

Plaseebo / Bob Conge will once again be exhibiting at the TAG in Hollywood, CA. This time one of their latest creepy creations, the skeletal space explorer, 'ASTRONOT' will be included as part of the Kaiju Show, which opens on July 8th.

Art & Toys: Plaseebo / Bob Conge - Contemporary Figurative Modifications 6 Man Group Show

Bob Conge of Plaseebo will once again be exhibiting his monster creations and customisations at the TAG in Hollywood, California. The six man group show will also include work from the other talented modifiers Brent Nolasco, Jim Koch, Leecifer, Taskone and NervisWr3k, and runs from April 2nd - April 30th.

You can see photos of some of the work Plaseebo will exhibit on the Plaseebo website, or after the cut below!↓ Thank you to Bob Conge for letting us use the photos♪

Music & How-To Guides : Custom Doll Head Theremins

Some time ago I came across these fantastic doll head theremins by XLPC and got 2, which I subsequently named Samedi and Dead Boy. I also painted them and added some little details, using epoxy putty, so that they looked more to my taste. When it arrives, each theremin comes looking something like the photos below (though the face shapes and expressions vary) and has red LED lights in its eyes, which you can turn on and off via the red button.

Photo from XLPC Theremin, LEDs off

My two theremins, unpainted, in the dark with LEDs on

The theremin's extra large photo cell reacts to any type of light - light bulb, natural light, flashlight, laserpointer, TV etc. - and then you can control the volume and pitch by moving your hands over the cell. You will need to use it with an amplifier though and distortion units are recommended to get the most interesting sound out of the instruments. There are also no jack leads included, so you'll need to get one yourself. However, the uniqueness of XLPC's products far outweighs those minor details and I highly recommend them!

After customising them, using epoxy putty and model paint, this is what mine looked like:


Samedi and Dead Boy

   Theremin Specs
The XLPC Theremin:

• 8 ohm speaker (very small, low volume, hence the need for an amp)
• Red On/Off Switch (for the LEDs)
• Silver pitch/volume knob 
• Extra large photo cell 
• 1/4" Output jack (amp. cable not included)
• 1 C Battery
• Doll head and heavy duty plastic case

Customisation

 1. After lightly going over each theremin with fine sandpaper and making sure the surface was free of dust, I then added lips and fang details to Dead Boy, using epoxy modelling putty (from Games Workshop)

 2. I left the putty to dry completely and become hard (I used Green Stuff rather than polymer clay as it air sets and I didn't want to put the theremin in the oven!) and painted Dead Boy. I used model paint from Games Workshop, since there's a store in my town and their paint goes on very smoothly and evenly, but any good-quality acrylic paint will do and it can be found at most craft/art supply stores.

3. I painted Samedi. When painting, be really careful not to get paint on the photo cell on top of the head as it needs light and won't function correctly if covered

4. Using matte, clear varnish (also from Games Workshop), I then covered the whole of both heads (excluding the photo cells) with two coats, leaving them to dry between the first and second

Obviously you can customise the theremins however you like. I chose to make Dead Boy a vampire baby and Samedi has symbols, which are loosely based on his namesake Baron Samedi's veves, on his face.

Toys & Art: Plaseebo "in cahoots with" Daniel Goffin

Plaseebo's new custom Night Gamers collaboration run with Daniel Goffin

Those of you who read our feature on and interview with artist/toy customiser Bob Conge will already be familiar with his studio, Plaseebo. For those of you who aren't, Plaseebo is a creative studio, through which Bob Conge makes and sells unique and limited figures and collaborates on customs with other artists. Monday, January 24th sees the release of the studio's most recent collaboration; a limited run of customs based on Bob's 'Night Gamers' series, with German customiser Daniel Goffin. As with all Plaseebo figures, the set is based on one of Bob's stories, part 2 of 'Night Gamers'.

"NIGHT GAMERS" Chapter 2 copyright bob Conge 2006



Illustration by John Kastner copyright 2006



Those arriving here during daylight hours quickly realized their delicate pink skin would not tolerate the more intense infrared rays of the Sun in our Universe. While the NIGHT GAMERS had no need of clothing, as we know it, in their parallel Universe, it became clear they would need some sort of protection while here.

After spending the afternoon in the shade of a hollow tree, the two NIGHT GAMERS went in search of food as night fell and stopped to drink from a garden of morning glories that had been coaxed open by the full moon. Nectar was the only food source they had ever known and having no need to consume any living plant or animal served to reenforce their Buddhist view of life as they moved through the environment disturbing as little as possible with the belief they should encounter all things in the order that life experience would present them.



Illustration by John Kastner copyright 2006



The pair left the garden fully fueled with faces covered in bright yellow pollen and found their way that first moon lit night to a toy factory in the outskirts of a small town located in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York.

As luck or faith would have it, this toy factory was known throughout the country for its Teddy Bears and upon gliding through an open second story window, the pair could see illuminated in the cool lunar light these furry creatures in various stages of completion lying on the long wooden assembly tables.

 

Hov­er­ing above a sec­tion of the wide table they looked down at the flat furry, yet to be filled brown suits. Slip­ping into their new duds they found the bears eye cov­ers had yet to be painted allow­ing them to see per­fectly through the clear lenses. They had only to retract their probes for a per­fect fit.

Hav­ing been a rather event­ful day and night they curled up in a very comfy half full box of fin­ished Teddy Bears and soon drifted off into dreams of their home­land Earth."

 

Each of these hand-painted/stiched gorgeous little monsters is $375 and has impact activated LEDs installed inside.To learn more about Daniel Goffin's customisation process, check out his posts on the Monster Kolor forum.

As always, a big thank you to Bob Conge for the photos and information.

Night Gamers full backstory
Plaseebo

More photos after the cut↓

Art & Toys: New Custom from Bob Conge

The artist/customiser behind Plaseebo, Bob Conge, has recently finished a new custom piece, called 'Make Love Not War', for the 'Love Movement' exhibition at the SUPERFROG Gallery in San Francisco. The show starts on December 11th and will feature numerous items from creators from all over the world, as well as appearences by some of the artists themselves.

For more information, please visit: http://www.jeremyriad.com/

More images after the cut below↓

Toys & Art: Plaseebo / Bob Conge

Creating pieces in various forms, including illustrations, figures and 3D art, American customiser and artist, Bob Conge, began exhibiting his work both in the US and internationally in 1985. Since that time, he has had his work shown at events and museums/galleries such as the Lahti VIII Poster Biennale (Lahti, Finland), Musee de la Publicite (Paris, France),  9th Colorado International Poster Invitational (Colorado, USA), Imiri Invitational / Kaiju Blue Gallery (Tokyo, Japan) and many more. As an illustrator, he has also worked for many well-known clients such as EMI Records, IBM, the Wall Street Journal and Sony Records, to name but a few.




Portrait illustration of Franz Kafka



A shrine art piece



 



In 2004, he started Plaseebo, which is a "shop ded­i­cated to cre­at­ing unique one of a kind col­lec­table fig­ures and design­ing orig­i­nal fig­ures for Ultra Lim­ited edi­tions". The focus of these figures is often kaiju, a Japanese word meaning 'strange beast' or 'monster', frequently used to describe characters such as Godzilla, King Kong, Gamera and even Frankenstein's Monster in movies.

A group of Plaseebo figures



Each figure is extremely detailed and many have backstories, giving them all their own unique character and adding to their charm. Some also have LED lights installed inside, giving them a glowing effect when in the dark, which looks quite stunning. The combination of the grinning features and unusual looks of figures such as 'War' and 'Skulloctopus' also make them extremely endearing characters, even if the subject matter might be a serious one. 

'Skulloctopus Rex' with LED switched on, in a dark room

If you like Conge's work, you can see his newly finished pieces 'Think Tank', which will be limited to 5 or 10 and, unique item 'War Monger', at the 'Contemporary Figure Modification' show. The event will be held in April 2011 at the TAG in Hollywood, California.



'War Monger'



'Think Tank'



You can also find out more information and keep up to date with news and future activities by visiting the following websites:

Plaseebo

Bob Conge's Official Site

Bob Conge Illustration Page

Thank you to Bob Conge for permission to use the pictures and information.
More images after the cut below↓