Nobody knew quite what to expect when Kidrobot announced they were making a super mini-series with Jeremyville. And yet, that is exactly what this is. These teeny 3D characters look as though they lept out of one of the Aussie artist’s sketchbooks. They’re cute and they’re colorful, and if you’re a fan of Jeremyville, you won’t be disappointed. There are 20 different figures, and you could probably put them on a psych chair and analyze them (as we did). If you’re looking for capsule toys, these aren’t exactly them. Instead, imagine zipper pulls without hardware. We opened up 5 boxes and got 5 different figures. [Unsubstantiated] rumor is that there’s a full series in every case, but besides the 5 different pulls we got, we can’t confirm that. We can confirm that they’re fun though. You can get them by the case or as individual 1-inch figures. And yes, the chair’s for sale too.

Fire and Ice Eyezon by Mark Nagata & Custom Edward the Gator by Bwana Spoons

I love a toy show with a theme. I’m especially excited about Melt Down, the first group show at SOYAL, the Scottsdale gallery co-owned by Artizona artists Emmett Potter and Spencer Hibert. The show came about as a way to create a cool art space for desert-dwellers. “It’s hard to get people out to shows, because they just don’t want to leave the nice AC of their houses,” said Emmett. “We wanted to create an environment that would be comfortable and fun to be at for people that made the effort to come out.”

Bomb Pop Parade by Emmett Potter

The show’s title, Melt Down, is a double entendre: “We wanted the feel of a winter storm meets the brutal AZ heat,” Emmet said. “Plus we all kind of have a meltdown in the summer out here.” Here in the Bay Area, it’s not even that hot, but just looking at these images makes me feel cooler. (Time to take off my nerd glasses…)

Fire and Ice by The Sucklord

SOYAL is certain to be a new force in the Scottsdale art scene, and Emmett hopes Melt Down will provide a “broad range of what to expect from SOYAL in the future”.

Yeti Jr. by Andrew Hadle

As for the fantastic artist roster, Emmett puts it: “Spencer and I are really lucky to have so many super rad friends and artists that are in the show. It’s going to be a blast!” A blast of cold air?

Mini Wolves by Cupco

Ready for the lineup? Bwana Spoons, Le Merde, David Horvath, Sucklord, Martin Ontiveros, Koji Harmon, Andrew Hadle, Grease Bat, Brian Flynn, Josh Herbolsheimer, Oliver Hibert, Spencer Hibert, Jeremyville, COPE 2, Mark Nagata, Bigfoot, CUPCO, John Black, Naoshi, Kristin Bauer, Emmett Potter, Piper Ferguson, Tara Logson, MonstreHero, Miss Lotion, KILL, Grant Wiggins, Tripper Dungan, Steve Agin, Mykil Zep and Beak.

Snowbird Return Ceremony by Bigfoot

There are a lot of snowy treasures in this show for sure. The guys are all really stoked about this original handmade Cousin Flatwoodsey by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim. It looks like Cousin’s riding Reverse Ugly on a Killer! (And that’s a sentence you need to really know your toys to understand…)

Cousin Flatwoodsey original handmade UGLYDOLL

I seriously wish I could teleport to this show, which kicks off at 7PM tonight as part of Scottsdale’s Art Walk.  There are over 30 artists working in multiple mediums all united under the Melt Down concept. Besides being among cool artwork, SOYAL is keeping it chilly with snowcones, ice sculptures, drinks and food. And oh yeah, the work will be available online here after 10PM tonight. Big ups to SOYAL and all of the artists involved in the show!

EKL Bear by Tara Logsdon & Matter Cruncher by Le Merde

If you’re reading this and you have a blog or a Facebook page or you Tweet or whatever, please spread the word about this show!

If you’re dating, married to or secretly admiring someone a little quirky, eccentric or alternatively adorable, consider the gift of plastic, plush, paper or vinyl for Valentine’s Day this year. Neon Monster’s got toys, records and comics for your special someone. If your tastes lean toward the macabre, try a limited edition rotocast vinyl Specimen 129 by Jermaine Rogers ($60) a 2-foot long bloody Gloomy Bear claw that you can actually put your own arm inside ($50) or this big, dead drumstick from Argentinian collective, DOMA ($42). Need your cute and cuddly fix sans blood and gore? For you, we’ve saved a few Love Bunnies by Jeremyville ($29.95).

Whatever your pleasure, take 10% off the list price of anything in the store with the coupon code “XOXO” at checkout. Order today or you’ll be in the doghouse on V-day.

Obviously, we’re partial to pink all year round, but if you’re looking for some pink vinyl for Valentine’s Day, may we suggest:

• Daniel Johnston’s Jeremiah The Innocent 12″ in pink (limited to 150 pieces) – $120
• Anton Ginzburg’s 3″ Totem Doppelganger Set – $49.95
• Gary Baseman’s 7″ pink Hot Cha Cha Cha (limited to 500 pieces) – $70
• Bubi Au Young’s 8″ pink Treeson (limited to 500 pieces) – $85

Depending on when you read this post, you may still have a few more hours to enter our Twitter contest to win the above pair of 14-inch eco-friendly super-soft Neon Monster exclusive Mitch plushes. If you can’t wait or it’s too late, you can buy them for $75 here.

Neon Monster is proud to stock a full array of plush Sweet Meats by local artist, Lauren Venell. The vegetarian-friendly toys range in price from $18-50.

If you’re feeling like a baller this V-day, and you want to drop coin on some bling that isn’t ice (wow, did I just write that?), consider this gigantic fiberglass human-size Smorkin’ Labbit stool by Frank Kozik in an edition of only 50 pieces for a cool $1,250. For half the price, you can be even more exclusive with a ruby jewel-tone resin Psnail created for Art Basel by Neon Monster, Reuben Rude and Pretty in Plastic.

Don’t forget: discount code “XOXO” saves you 10% off at checkout. Happy Valentine’s Day.

16" Love Bunny Plush by Jeremyville

Some of our customers have recently told us they struck out at finding the Jeremyville Love Bunny Plush (and other items) at Kidrobot on Haight Street and online. We wanted to highlight some of the toys that are sold out at Kidrobot that we currently have in stock. If you’re looking for any of these, check the website for availability, give us a call or come on in and say hi!

10" Vinyl 1984 and Polka Dot Smorkin' Labbits by Frank Kozik

Lots of Labbits by Frank Kozik here.

Munnyworld DIY toys by Kidrobot

It’s a Munny Munny Munny World here.

6" Vinyl Ralph Wiggum & Kang & Kodos

Aliens here. “My cat’s breath smells like cat food” here.

6" Rotocasted Vinyl Sculptures by Mars-1, STRANGEco and Friends

Mars-1 Observers by STRANGEco: an in-house/local favorite here.

Blind-boxed Mini-figures by Brandt Peters and MINDstyle

Brandt’s Bunny is sold out, but what about all these Serv-O-matics?