Big Box Stores Set Their Designs on DIY Toys

Well, this was bound to happen. RoseArt, a name no doubt familiar to those of you with kids, has added a line of “Color Blanks” to its range of “family-friendly value” art products. As I’m not often in ToysRUs (where the Color Blanks retail for $5.99 single and $10.99 double with markers), I credit Eric Nocella Diaz and Kill! for the head’s up via Twitter.

Painting on blank anthropomorphic forms is nothing new. Places with clever names like “Puttin’ on the Bisque” have been providing ceramics for children to uglify since I was a kid.

In the last few years, there’s been an inundation of DIY toys on the market. Due to smart marketing, versatility, crossover placement and celebrity adoption (Rosie, Martha), Kidrobot’s Munny emerged as the leader of this genre. Unfortunately, KR violated two rules with their recent introduction of Munnyworld:

1. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
2. Lessons learned from CSI: Nobody gave a shit about CSI NY and everybody hates David Caruso. Or, to say it in other words: Don’t be greedy; it weakens your core product.

Now there’s a new Cat in town. Are Color Blanks competition for DIY art toys? This depends on your perspective. Here’s mine: There are things I will buy generically (cotton balls) and things I will not (Band Aids). I know that some people wear Levis and some people wear Diesel, but I can’t always tell the difference.  I will pay more for certain brands of T-shirts than others because I prefer the fit. I like the idea of patronizing mom and pop shops and independent companies. I also see the appeal of a good deal at a big box store that saves me some money.

Kill! has reported that the Color Blanks (which can be had for $3.99 at Target) are vinyl and feature articulation at the arms and head. He said: “As good as a mini munny any day or better.” Toy blogger, John “Spanky” Stokes’ initial thought is that the presence of these newcomers “won’t affect our scene.” I wonder. Kill! is already working on a custom Color Blank, which you can see (in progress) below. If the purpose of a blank DIY toy is to transform it entirely, does it matter what the initial “platform” is? Certainly, there are folks who collect Dunnys or Qees or Trexis who will want to buy customs done on their platform of choice. But there are also artists who are egalitarian in their pursuits and will utilize any platform or production toy they can get their hands on. I, personally, think it’s interesting to see an artist transform a range of toys. Lee “Leecifer” Gajda comes to mind.

I’m not seeing the likes of  Color Blanks as a competition for art multiples or toy art. Let’s be real. There have been some well-intentioned efforts to show that we don’t need expensive platforms to make great toy art (shout out to Benny and the Rollie Show), but at the end of the day, we’re all really pretty snobby. That said, I think cheaper DIY toys make sense for parents. With Kidrobot recently appearing to focus on the “kid” aspect of their name, I think a commercially available DIY toy could put a dent in their Munny’s money.

What do YOU think?