SPROGS by Cris Rose

I had the honor of receiving SPROGS by UK-creator Cris Rose during my stay in hospital in end-2010 recovering from my Stroke - with three custom painted by Cris himself, and another 3 figurines a commissioned gift (also painted by Cris) from 3A-boardie "J3D1" (Shown below / you ROCK, Paul!):



One set had dark red and black for the color-scheme (mirroring my blog-logo colors) and the other in rusted shades, with flocked greens at select surfaces. I remember distinctively opening up the box in hospital bed, and not know what to expect within the box, and I was so elated, it literally brought a tear to my eye, I shit you not. Now one of my prized possessions, these resin figurines were immaculately detailed and the exquisite grooves belie the fact that they were hand-casted in resin by Cris himself, and painted as such.

It did not bother me one iota that the figurines possess zero articulation, because at this size, I do not require them, nor feel they needed any. Articulation can be over-rated sometimes, and have in lieu of not-as-awesome sculpting or quality of form, IMHO.


Fast forward to the now, I first gawked at Cris' BITS-N-BYTES Sprogs when he released them in three-packs not too long ago, in varied yummy colored-resins, which means the figurines retain the pastel colors, and that they are not painted or sprayed on. The size was irresistibly adorable.

Then I had the good fortune to procure a limited number to be made available via my Go-Gashapon-Power-Go capsules - with the aim to launch them circa Anime Festival Asia 2011, where I had a small table-space at Artists Alley. I realized I did not keep any for myself and had them all up for sale (some still available HERE on my online store), but has since rectified that 'error', with these pulled out of circulation and now firmly in my own collection :)



It has always bugged me silly that Cris's resin robots are not as embraced as I had hoped the international market might have, but perhaps they are and my notion of what is "popular" may somewhat be addled and jaded thru the years.

Would SPROGS made mass in vinyl, and possess a single articulation (perhaps revolving head?) be something more agreeable to the general public? Somehow I am fearful of that. Somehow the weight and feel of a resin figurine such as it is now is perfect for the form, if not an actual metal-made figurine, which I feel is where SPROGS need to be going now, IMHO - but hey, that's just me. All I wish is some one to make an actual life-sized SPROG out of metal/iron/steel, and I'll be utterly happy to see that happen.



Nevertheless, go grab yourself a resin robot from Cris when you can, with current orders of Valentine's Pink for February going fast (if not sold out already) and upcoming Green colorway to be released in March. And yes, these are the larger-sized SPROGS compared to the Bits-n-Bytes versions - with a size comparison shown above for clarity and reference. Mondo more images of SPROGS posted HERE on my Facebook-album!

Check out his Twitter @crisr for updates, or subscribe to his newsletter (subs gets first dibs!). Also check out THIS flickr-group to see what other folks do with their toys from Cris, joining in it as a regular contest. One day, when I get a better camera, I'll happily snap some swell pics and proudly join in too! Thanks for the awesomeness, Cris!