(Bootleg) Toys by Dano Brown on VICE
Dano Brown is profiled for a piece on (Bootleg) Toys (from 15:07 mark in), and is described as "...a 36-year-old warehouse stocker from Victorville, CA. When he gets home from work, he makes fake action figures that auction on eBay for more money than he makes in a entire week at his day-job." = Which I constantly find "interesting", because it is essentially how folks outside of our toy-culture both describes, and (could) understand what these collectibles are.
Certainly we might certainly be "well-versed" since we dwell and revel in it daily (not to sound arrogant, I insist) . but the reality is they both Dano's Insta @dano_brown and @deathbytoys have over 30K followers each, quite literally shows the ("exposure") power of 80's nostalgia & pop culture of the genre, doesn't it? "Bootleg" and/or "Appropriation" notwithstanding LOL
At the same time, his process is more "kitbash", than multiple recasts seen in the lowbrow toy culture, which is cool by me ... although I can hardly claim to know or understanding the craft/effort involved (Alto I'm a kitbasher in 1/6th myself, and this is how I custom my toys as well, less of a sculptor :p) ... and would "Joe/Jane Public" know the difference of the make? Does it matter to the masses?
This entire video/episode is for VICE News on HBO, dated February 19, 2019.
