My Fatcap and Dunny Adventures

We stayed overnight at FM and J’s house in Terengganu and then went to the beach house at Mengabang Telipot the next day. It’s an old house which they transported and rebuilt at the beach front. So shabby chic. Really nice.

I just tried to forget and had fun that weekend. I really pushed myself. So I just talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed. Ah #@&% it! *whatever* Snap out of it.

I brought this dunny by Travis Lampe from the 2011 series. I needed a bad ass looking one for reinforcement. He’s my lightsaber. 

I like a lot from this 2011 series. There were the Huck Gee zombies, MAD Zombie bikers, Laika Aya Kakeda,  Nature Spirits 64 Colors, and the Gumball by Mr. Frames. I remember going after the Gumball in 2012 since Secret Fresh and Tutto Domani was sold out then. I found an eBay seller and just wanted the regular one. I told KE about it and he bought the pair. His idea was that, well, it’s available and might as well get both. *duh*. So yeah, I have the chase. I really miss talking about my collection with KE. He encouraged me to build a strong collection - even though it was getting quite expensive already. *lol!* I asked him to start collecting dunnys too but he did not want to. He told me he has other stuff to hoard. *lol!* 

Argh! I miss my bruder. He was the only person that I can tell stuff about. He understood me. Oh well. 

Went back to travelling for work as soon as I arrived from my birthday week with T. *ugh!* It will be a tight schedule as F and I will just visit an artist for two days at Terengganu, Malaysia to invite him for an exhibition. I was quite happy to meet a new artist and it was a good respite from the humdrums of the local art scene. It is always a pleasure to hear about other artist’s lives and experiences. Makes you realise that the scene is not as small as we would have believed.  

I was still going back and forth between being okay and crazy in the head at that time. I was getting impatient with myself already (until now). I don’t know what to do anymore. Why is it so hard to let go? What is wrong with me? I know I am stronger than this. $@#%!

Aaaah! Let’s jump!

Last stop for our Negros epic trip! Hello Bacolod! 

We met with our cousins - they were staying for several days too because M was finishing a movie in the area. B got a van for us - and I brought T to the old houses around Silay and Bacolod. After that we went back to The Ruins and watched them finish the shooting for the day. Gasp! Star struck galore! We loved hanging out with the stars. *lol!*

The next day we went to Victorias to visit our relatives. T finally got to visit the Angry Christ church, and the other old houses in the area. He also took pictures of the workers in the machine shop - he was in his element. Trabaho lang folder coming up! We had a grand time with Uncle J, Manong J, and Tito B. 

This travel was epic. I needed it. It might take a lot more time before I can recover from all the events I went through the past year and months but I know I will eventually get there. Let us take it a step at a time. In the meantime, let us just keep on travelling and in time we will forget and all wounds will heal.

It’s just like those smoke stacks at the background - it’s bad for you but you can’t do anything about it. Or if you do, it will take all patience and resources to fight it. In time it will transform itself and hopefully something better will come out of it. *whatever* I am rambling. Trying to make sense of all those chaos in my head.

Asta la vista.

Arrived at Siquijor from Dumaguete last September 26 *my burtdey!* and stayed at Coco Grove Resort. It was a beautiful resort but mobile signal sucked big time! I had to fix some problems at work and had to go to the shore just to get a signal *argh!* hashtag thirdworldpromblems. *lol!* Seriously, if I did not have an emergency situation at work I would have been fine not having cellphone for a couple of day. Oh-oh! And before I forget - the trike rides were so overpriced, as in 9x the regular rates in Manila, and the most crazy thing about it is that you have no other choice but to hire them! Oh well.

I loved it that T and I were able to travel again and what an adventure! We went spelunking at Cantabon cave, went up Cambugahay falls (or was it go down? haha), visited old churches and convents - St. Francis de Assisi Church, Lazi Convent and St. Isidore de Labrador Church, and spent time dipping our feet in the pool beneath the old Balete tree. Unfortunately it was still rainy during our stay that we were not able to go diving *boohoo!* Then every evening we would hang out at Baha Ba’r - best laswa soup *yum* and listen to the live music. Very cool bar. 

Aaaah what a life.

Brought this Chato dunny by Jose Leandro Cordova Lucas. I like the smoke effect on the accessory and also the hat. It’s been a long time since Kidrobot did this kind of accessory - I think this Azteca series was it. Hmmm...maybe they still had funds during that time. Am so mean. I love KR!!! lol! 

Here's Chato spending time with me at the beach, just lounging, trying to clear the cobwebs in the head...ladeeda!

Traveled through Negros during my birthday week with T! This is also a time for us to spend time together before I leave for Europe for three weeks. I am going to miss my boys!!!

First stop is Dumaguete where we went  around Siliman University, rode the trike through the town (it was raining all throughout our stay!!!), and dolphin watching in Bais. Well, more like going after the dolphins *haha!* It was still raining when we went to Bais that the dolphins were not playing around. Maybe they got cold too? *bummer* But we still had a good time riding the banca, despite the freezing cold, and also stopped over at Manjuyod white sand bar. Oh, and on our first day, we watched Heneral Luna at the mall’s cinema - can you believe it??? If people would ask us, what did you do in Dumaguete -- we went to watch a movie. *hahaha! suckers!* The movie was really good. We should have more like that.

I brought Sicario with me because I thought I could set it up like he’s catching a dolphin or something *gasp!!! sacré bleu!*  Oh well, always fun to have a wide-eyed crazy looking dunny with you when travelling *haha!* Hmmm...I never really liked the Azteca series. I have always passed it up whenever someone would offer me their collection. But when I saw these with the collector who sold me the Huck Gold Life series, I thought it was a funny looking dunny. Also, I got some from the dunny lot old series that I got. So might as well right? *hehe*

Te a matar!

Oops! To add: When we went back to Dumaguete from Siquijor, we went to Valencia and rode the ATV to the Filipino-Japanese Amity Memorial Shrine. It was the best!!! Weird that wiki states that the shrine is where the Filipino and American troops fought the Japanese army during WWII. It did not say that it used to be a Japanese army camp because the spot was a big advantage to them. They were able to scout the whole island and plan their attacks. Oh well...

Haha! Kidrobot featured me. hahaha!

Some people were asking me about the pictures so here they are with the captions. *lol!*

Last year I was super lucky to have been given an old series collection by B. He wanted to change his collection so he asked me to come over his place and check out his Dunny collection. *drool*

Here I am worshipping his collection. *looool!*

The lot ready to be packed and going to a new home. *mine all mine! bwahahahaha!*

I had to clean the dunnys one by one. See? The reason why I don’t like them displayed. *lol!* I had to order the Mr. Clean sponges from the U. S. They’re great for cleaning toys!!! I had to place them in zip locks too because they don’t have boxes. B throws them away! *why?! why?!*

Lucky me!!! This rare fatcap!!! *wooohoooo!* Finally completed my Fatcaps!

Then here are my pics which I post here and in my Instagram (maryadem)

Nope. Haven’t posted this one yet. Soon!!! Too much backlog!

Once in a while my travel companions (D most of the time) takes a picture of me taking a picture *lol!* Here I am at Charle’s Bridge in Vienna, Austria. Nope. Am not the one begging. Am the one at the background in the orange jacket. *haha!*

Goodbye Malaysia said the old English man and the spray can.

The day after the opening of the exhibition we got on the early morning bus to Georgetown, Penang. The usual 5-hour trip took us more than 6 hours because our bus broke down and we needed to wait for the next available bus. In the middle of the highway!!! *haha!* 

Georgetown got it’s name from King George III is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its mix of colonial and Chinese architecture. It’s very fascinating and full of surprises. We found out that they had a street art project so we got a map and looked for them one by one. It was a good way to interact and engage with the city. Tiring but fun!

And OMG! The food! Char Kuay Teow in the morning, Assam Laksa for lunch,  Teochew Chendul for snacks, and anything the hawkers center offered for dinner. *drool* Am getting hungry as I type this. Penang food is really the best!

ilovedust from the Ye Olde English series travelled with me and MTN94. He brought his binoculars because he was thinking of invading Penang. What do you think? Or was it Penang who conquered him with it’s charm. Ah. Would love to go back there with T. 

I think this ilovedust would have been better if it got a real hat and moustache or the monocle? What do you think? 

Travelled to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia last July for a group exhibition of young artists. The last time I was in Malaysia was in 2003 (If I remember correctly) and was just there overnight. During that visit, I hated that we wasted time going to Genting Highlands. I did not know then that it was just a casino area. *argh!* We arrived in the night and was not able to go around the area - not even able to ride the cable car! What a waste! *shucks!* 

This time, we stayed around Chinatown and I found the area very interesting. I liked the shops and the old buildings. We were not able to go around KL since we were busy with the installation and attending the opening exhibition. It was a pleasant event and after the opening we went to V’s house and had some cocktails. What a fun way to end our stay.

I don’t understand this MTN 94 Fatcap from series 3. I know that the designs are by graffiti artists or that Montana Colors of Spain curated the first Fatcap series. But is there a Montana Colors artists? Isn’t it a spray paint company? Why would Kidrobot ask a company to design? Who is the real artist of this Fatcap? 

This design was also *blah* for me. It’s too plain compared to the other figures in the set. Why even try when you cannot give an exciting figure? 

{Photo taken at the NAIA 1, Pasay City, Philippines,  31 July 2015}

Ah Moment. Finally!: Here’s an article I read in urbanvinydaily.com about the figure:

REVIEW: KIDROBOT FATCAPS SERIES 3 MTN

This rather simple 1/40 design for FatCaps series 3 was provided by graffiti giant Montana Colors (MTN). This iconic spray paint company has been influencing artists in the global graffiti scene since 1994.There is a good chance that many of the artists featured in this series have used a Montana Colors product at some pont in their career.

The design is clearly inspired by their iconic spray can design. The simple branding is an exact toy representation of the MTN 94 line that debuted in 2006. The MTN 94 line was created in order to create a product that was superior to any other paint on the market. One of the coolest things about this line of paint is the fact that when you spray it has a vanilla scent instead of the normal spray paint smell.

As for the figure itself while it is cool that this iconic can is now represented in toy form, it’s really not that exciting of a figure in the series. I feel like in past lines of the FatCaps series this would have been a stand out figure. But, in series 3 KidRobot really stepped up their quality and pushed the limits and I feel his design kind of gets lost in the shuffle. I also think one way that this design could have been improved is if they would have made it have a vanilla scent. Doing so would of really tied into the brand and make it stand out in the series.