Death By Toys – the custom action figures, 80s memorabilia and monetised life musings of vintage toy collector and movie buff Dan Polidoris.
Category Archives: Design
Incredibly detailed architectures by artist Benjamin Sack – surreal geometries and labyrinths rendered in pencil and pen, many inspired by cosmological symbols and what the artist describes as his own ‘fear of blank spaces’.
Sack’s work ‘Labyrinths’ exhibits at the Direktorenhaus Museum in Berlin until next January, if you’re passing.
Lights Out
at
A rather ingenious self-extinguishing candle holder designed by Lars Beller Fietland. To wit:
As the flame slowly makes its way towards the bottom of the candle, the suspense builds.
Hot Wheels
at
Behold: the 2015 Jaguar C-X75. But not just any old Jaguar C-X75.
This was the vehicle driven by Dave Bautista’s villainous Mr Hinx in the 2015 Bond movie ‘Spectre’. Well, one of four anyway. After filming, the car was fully serviced by the Williams Formula One team which collaborated in its manufacture, touring the world as a press car for the movie. It was also driven by Williams F1 driver Felipe Massa before the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix.
An ultra rare Jag and a piece of film history, it’s up for auction at the end of the month for €720,000+.
Chess sets designed by architects Chris Prosser and Ian Flood.
Careful now, you’ll have someone’s Dubai out with that last one.
Hot Wheels
at
Behold: the 1985 Lamborghini Countach QV Downdraft Coupe – a 5 litre V12 455bhp sportscar named for its six Weber downdraft carbs and something of a ‘Holy Grail’ among Lambos.
Only 544 of these were ever built and this was the showcar – the subject of the brochure handed out at the 1985 Geneva Salon. A €270,000 restoration includes all log books and documentation along with period-correct Pirelli P7 tires and Ansa Sports exhaust.
All this, and only 14,500km on the clock.
Hot Wheels
at
Behold: the Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70 – the culmination of 40 years of Lotus Seven emulating design by the Dutch sports car designer, released in honour of founder Joop Donkervoort’s 70th birthday,
Powered by a 415bhp turbocharged Audi inline-five and weighing less than 680kg, the JD70 will do 100km/h in less than 3 seconds which – along with advanced braking and handling – puts it in the top rank of supercars.
Only seventy will be made (naturally) and yours will cost €162,000.
Hot Wheels
at
Behold: the 1983 Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser – one of the last of the original Land Cruisers (a design so successful it remained virtually unchanged for 30 years).
Restored (with a full engine rebuild) to Concours condition with period-correct brown leather interior and green paint, this pickup – possibly the best surviving example of its type – goes up for auction this weekend.
Mecum Auctions in Chicago, if you’re passing.
The nighttime LED glow emanating from vast greenhouses in the Netherlands, as documented by German photographer Tom Hegen.
Irie.