2016 has been a wild and wonderful year in the world of designer toys, and with a short month left ticking before we flip the last digit The Astronaut by Alex Pardee still stands the tallest as our #1 fave of the entire year. Our exhilarated review should have been perfectly clear as we discussed the sublime original version in pinks and yellows, based on the original painting. We are thankful to the folks at ToyQube for bringing this lovely to light, and for their subsequent second variation, the Abominable Edition in mostly grayscale with a touch of red. That version didn't really float our boat so much, though here comes Tomenosuke, the self-professed "most powerful gallery-shop for urban designer toys in Japan". We've seen some wonderful things from them before, like the stylish 'Tiva' based on La Planete Sauvage. And this is being rolled out for December's Tokyo Comic Con which should be amazing if you are on the other side of the globe and plan to be in attendance. This version of The Astronaut is being made available in a very small edition of only 40 pieces (20 for the 'con). The oceanic colors are serene and peculiar but looks more like a 8-bit gaming version of the character than the more sinister predecessors. You gotta love the variations of green-blue throughout, it's spectacularly painted judging from the promo shots. Either way, we are delighted to see another fine rendition of an otherwise perfect figure from a brilliant artist.
