"What Happened To Kidrobot? The Rise And Fall Of A Streetwear Brand" by Take Flight 214
"How many remember Kidrobot? In the early to mid 2000s, Kidrobot were among the leaders in a resurging trend that is collectable vinyl toys. But they were way more than just some toy company, Kidrobot had a whole streetwear wing as well. Popularized in the glory days of the genre, Kidrobot saw huge levels of success. But like so many others, they fell off over the years.
What exactly happened to cause this? Well let's find out. I'm Nate the great from takeflight214.com, and this is the rise and fall of Kidrobot."
twitter.com/takeflight214
youtube.com/@takeflight2142
The toy-memories are real, and I was thrust into the scene goshknowswhen in particular, having understood the context of "blind box" - from my non-sport hobby "trading card"-days, and BE@RBRICKS from Medicom Toy none too long before discovering Dunnys, and subsequently became both a source of buying frenzy (which fizzled out soon because I could not afford to continue), and as well content for the TOYSREVIL-blog.
My "knowledge" of Kidrobot were based on "self-education" by pouring toy-forums, and discovering a whole universe of toy-artists due to their designs for Dunnys and Munnys, IMHO. My basic memories of "Kidrobot" equates to "Dunny".
Maybe I'll go on further in the future, but for today, here are some commentary on my (personal) FB to share (I did not ask their permission to repost, sorryyyyyyy):
Tom Clement noted: "How much of it do we put down to Funko Pops competition? Or are the just less inspired people around?"
To which Robby Weiss (Illustrator @brownkidd) replied: "This. The pop culture boom and licensing were the death of art toys."
From the toy-scene to king inspirational, Toy and Visual Artist from Malaysia, Jefferson Ng (linktr.ee/jnjfspace) shared: "I started my toy because dunny and munny".
Head to the YouTube Video's comments section to share your toy-memories too.
Paul Budnitz has since gone on to create Super Plastic, where I continue ue still to selectively feature Kidrobot products, which includes Dunny toynews.
Meanwhile, here are some notable (at least for myself) "DUNNY"-features on TOYSREVIL through the years, cheers.
RECOGNIZING DUMMY DUNNYS WITH TOYSREVIL
UNBOXING A "BOOTLEG" DUNNY
TOYSREVIL'S TOP TEN TOYS FOR 2014: #7 MISHKA KEEP WATCH DUNNY
TOY-REVIEW: CUSTOM DUNNY BY LUNABEE
KAMEN RIDER CUSTOM DUNNY BY ASH
TOY-REVIEW: PIRATED TROOPER DUNNY BY QUICCS
CUSTOMS-SHOWCASE: DUNNYS BY JON-PAUL KAISER & ZAM
ABOUT MY CUSTOM 3" BLACK OPS DUNNY
