Sculpted
art concepts by James Hakola.
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Sculpted
art concepts by James Hakola.
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DANDY BRANDS
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2-21-06 I'm now using out MySpace for posting my blog-ttype stuff. For the latest news, go to the link above!
1-26-06 Hey, what happened to 2005?? Contrary to the lack of evidence of life around here lately, I AM still alive, and still sculpting. Thanks for all your kind, curious emails about MrDandy! Actually been kinda busy on the commissions front, but there's not much I can post to show for the last year really. Some projects are still pending announcement by my client companies, so I cannot yet show them. Some others were cancelled outright, meaning they might never see the light. Still other things are of a more industrial nature, and not really that exciting to show here... but maybe at some point when I get a chance. No matter what though, if you do the best sculpting you can, and get paid a worthwhile amount for it, that's about as much as you can ask for. As far as my "personal" projects, I have actually been working on a battle boardgame for the last 6 months or so (off and on). Still not sure what to do with it exactly, but when something happens you'll hear about it here first. But on to something real... Check out Jiggybot! This is something I have been formulating for awhile now... a mechanical lady doll you can pose any way you want! There are some surprises to her, you'll find out more when the final version is ready for unveiling. You will be able to get your very own Jiggybot by Summer or late Spring. I also have taken back to my resin-kit roots, and am readying the long, long awaited "true" version of the Wicked Eye. The one you see here is the old version, the new one features an all new base, costume, sabre and cape. She's ten times more wicked than before! As I had mentioned, Wicked Eye was rushed to finish for a show back in the late 90's, and never reaching her full potential. Thus only a few castings were made (I would estimate 30). Also in development is a new version of Ballistic Rose, incorporating all the knowhow I have gained since the original was sculptd 10 years ago... There will also even be a larger, 1/4 scale bust of her as well. For all these these new models, expect to see some features that you've never seen in a resin kit. 9-10-04 I have finally added for purchase all the stuff I unveiled at the Classic Game Expo-- StickHeads and GV Plaques. Let me know what you think! T-Shirts will also be available shortly (they're hand-stencilled and really neet!) You may have noticed we have switched to the Paypal shopping cart for all payment. Next week the Sikk at the Circus figures will FINALLY be ready for online purchase. Thanks so much for your patience! Forgot to mention, my StickHeads were included in last week's episode of Pulse on G4/TechTV! They were shown in the segment covering the Classic Game Expo. On a related note, did any of you catch the premier of The Apprentice last night? Several of my old Mattel design buddies got their mugs on TV... neat! Included were Mark T., Mike S. Jim E., Ruben M. and Manson C.! I just wish they would have gotten more air time (since they did all the real work for that challenge as far as I could tell). My old boss said I probably would have been included if I hadn't left the company like the week before they shot the scene! It would have been worth it for one of those bottles of Dom Perrignon the contestants got ^_^ In sculpting news... working on a new piece for Sideshow... can't say any more just yet! More soon, JH
8-27-04 Ah, so much to tell since the last time... where to begin?? So we did San Diego Comiccon, (Mrs. Dandy and I) which was a rousing success. We met lots of you... and jeez is that thing getting huge! Saturday was supposed to have been like 80,000 attendees, I still can't fathom that. I didn't even want to leave the booth it was so crowded. Somebody told me there was a Super 8 motel somewhere in town trying to charge like $500 a night for late walk-ins, maybe they could get it, but I think that's gotta hurt their PR to be so opportunistic with the rates. We happened to stay there at a Super 8, and trust me, for $500 they should give you 3 months.
Then we took a little vacation to Seattle and then Victoria, Canada... the British epicenter of British Columbia. I love the Canadians, so damned friendly... they actually stop when they see you entering a crosswalk (try THAT in LA). There was a town project where lots of guest artists did custom paints on these killer whale sculptures that were all over town... somebody did one in low-res pixel style! Too cool.
Then it was off to the Classic Game Expo in San Jose. As you might have guessed from my Graphic-Violence line, I am a retro-game freak. It might only be a small coincidence that I was born the same year as Pong... but I digress. At the show, we introduced 2 new lines of primitive game stuff, hot off the presses! Stickheads and Graphic-Violence Wall Plaques, plus GV T-Shirts! Here's me at the booth, looking extra-nerdy. Check out the band 8-Bit Weapon! These guys played the whole show, making their most of their music with Gameboy and Commodore 64 hardware! And it doesn't hurt that the drummer resembles Jamie Gertz from Square Pegs. After the show we went to the Technology Museum in downtown SJ. Lots of learning-type science stuff for the kids (a little watered down for grownups maybe, but still fun). The funniest thing was they actually had a piece of mine on display! It was the Rock'em Sock'em "Blasto The Clown" I sculpted for Mattel. It was part of a little display which questioned the influence of these violent war toys. WOO HOO!! I am part of a debate. Come on people, of course it's a bad influence. Little boys need bad influences, otherwise how do you expect to have any cops or soldiers or CEOs in the future? *smirk* Besides, all the dangerous pointy parts always get worn down to a nub in production.
And finally, in my last update I had mentioned another figure I would be debuting at Comiccon... well it turns out we were not quite ready by showtime to unveil it. Better to take the time and make it the best it can be... so she will be unveiled very soon. 7-19-04 We're almost ready for San Diego Comiccon! My space is Dealer Table D-9, which is to the right of the small press area. I'm somewherez in the middle of all those folks. In addition to all the stuff on my site, you can see my newest project, which I am protoyping as we speak (my hands are still slick with silicone)! What is it? It's a "she" and she does anything you want. Well sort of. Curious? Photos and details to follow soon! Also I will have pix from comiccon up shortly after the show. See ya! 7-8-04 Hope everybody had a wonderful 4th of July! I did. There is a great fireworks show I can see right from my backyard, it's a neat thing. Anime Expo was cut short for me (actually chopped off at the neck). There was a family emergency I had to attend to, so I do apologize to anyone I missed at the show. BTW, the thing that happened is fine now (for those of you who knew), thanks for asking. Now I'm getting ready for San Diego Comiccon, looking forward to my first one after the new reformation of the MrDandy label. You may want to check out the Sideshow Collectibles booth when you're there, I just did a thing for them they will be unveiling at the show. A nice big sculpt, the type of stuff I was dying to do again. Can't wait to show it to you!
6-30-04 Announcing the MrDandy Summer Convention Product Giveaway Spectacular!!! This summer, at each event we attend, we will be giving away some MrDandy merchandise to a lucky winner who joins our mailing list. The winner is drawn at random at the end of the show from those who joined the mailing list. On Sunday, at the Shrine Comic Convention we picked our first winner.... W. Wright from Los Angeles! That's right Mr. Wright, you've won a full set of Graphic-Violence pendants just for joining the MrDandy mailing list (they're on their way as we speak). For those of you who can't make it out to these shows but would still like to join the mailing list, just drop me a line! By the way, your info is only for our use ONLY, we will NEVER sell or give your info to anybody else, who would try to sell you vacuum cleaners or vitamins or other useless stuff like that. 6-28-04 Hey! So I just did my first show under the newly rechristened MrDandy banner... at the Shrine Comic show. Always fun to see your old pals, I hadn't been there in quite a while. It's really dark in that place. Sorry I have gotten behind in adding the shopping cart for the Sikk at the Circus figures, thanks a lot for all your email requests. For now I can always take Paypal no problem, will get it together in the coming week. In related news, my Sikk at the Circus will be featured in the August issue of the Previews (the Diamond Distributors catalog). Also, the Ringmeister figure was chosen for the annual Spectrum art anthology! That book is such a class act, I can hardly believe it when they accept my stuff (I had my Ballistic Rose in there several years ago). I thought they only put REAL artists in that thing ^_~ And finally... for right now please DON'T use the email address listed on my packaging and business cards. I have had several reports that my LAME-O server is losing lots of my email. I will be switching VERY soon, but for the meantime, please direct all email to mrdandy@earthlink.net
5-8-04 OK, my products are finally UP! Sorry for the delay of a
few days. Graphic-Violence is here,
pendants are ready for immediate ordering and shipment. Be sure to check
out the other stuff there too! The Sikk at the Circus page is also up, you should be able to place orders by June 1.
4-27-04 My newly updated portfolio is finally ready! Hope you like it. Sorry if you have had trouble sending me email, I think there was a problem with a few of my mail links, but they should all work now.
4-21-04 Man, what a busy day... running all around town and such.
4-19-04 It's true! I have risen from the dead to come back with some new crud for your minimal enjoyment. Why was I gone so long? Truth is, I wasn't really gone at all. Sure, MrDandy didn't make any new products, and sadly I hadn't updated the website, but I was always here... dutifully filling orders for my 2 remaining products, answering the occasional email, running a few eBay auctions whenever I had the time. For those of you still keeping score... I was chiefly known for a couple of well-received sculptures back in the LATE NINETIES under the banner of G-ZERO Model Art. I released The Ballistic Rose resin kit, and The Goddess in Alloy as both a resin kit and statue. I was a veteran of Streamline Modelworks / Avatar Creations in the mid-nineties, and also did freelance sculpting, mainly for Jakks, and a little for Moore Creations, Palisades and a couple others. There was also some low budget movie and prop stuff in there somewherez. I stopped making new stuff back in 2000 because I landed a fulltime, in-house sculpting gig at the world's largest toy company in El Segundo, CA. I had a great time there, made a ton of friends and got to hone my skills quite a bit I think. However after a long day, plus a couple hours commute time, you don't have a lot of time or energy to make your own things 'on the side'. That's how french fries are served, not your own personal works of art. Still... I did what I could Last week, I decided to forge out on my own and fire up MrDandy again. I really have missed the fun of just thinking up something, making it, and then seeing who wants it! I also missed having contact with the people who actually buy my stuff. And I also missed the opportunity to work freelance for these small, independent companies with wacky, offbeat product designs. My updated portfolio will be available later this week. For now you can see a few new things just for starters. Getting it sorted has been a huge task, it really added up. It will run the spectrum of my career, from my art-school days to the present. Some of it will be very old and embarrassing! So be it. And finally... my NEW top-secret products will be online May 1!!! After all this time, I hope somebody's still interested in this stuff. If not... I can always go gack to Straw Hat Pizza ^_^ JH
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CURRENT and UPCOMING Aphrodisia Spectrum
11 Sideshow
Collectibles |
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All content ©1997-2006 James Hakola. All rights reserved.
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