Canada has a host of homegrown talent who don’t get the recognition they deserve. JOEL COUNTRYMAN of TOXIC FUMES TOYS is one such artist; his unique homemade resin creations have their genesis in Cambridge, Ontario.
Joel uses a style all his own, which is somewhat time consuming but makes for a better figure overall. No bubbles here; I assure you Joel does his darnedest to create the figure to the specifications of his clientele.
The company’s releases include Money Manti$ (the consigliere to Don Dra-Goon and the third figure in the Dark Claw family line), Mystery Monsters (a blind bag containing three different and unique figures) and, finally, The Creature Teacher figure. This 3.5-inch resin figure has three points of magnetic articulation (arms and head) and can come made to order, so describe to Joel what you want and he’ll get into his lab to make it so. The most common versions available are a glow-in-the-dark version with UV activated colours and hand painted (at extra cost).
“The Creature Teacher came about after I had met a few different resin artists from Toronto, and had grown somewhat tired with collected mass-produced action figures,” Joel tells me. “One of my most prized collections is my variety of Creature from the Black Lagoon memorabilia, so I decided I would make something I would be proud to add to my own. After piecing together a body and suitable heads from repurposed and well-loved figures, I sought out help from a friend with knowledge (labmonkeynumber9). He gave me some solid lessons on quick sculpt additions, as well as taught me how to create one piece ‘dump’ molds using silicone.”
Toxic Fumes Toys offers some real killer resin figures with vibrant colours and originality. Items on the site run anywhere from $10 (Blind bag) to a few newer figures Creature Teacher 2029 ($18), Michael Manti$ ($25 ). Custom orders can be placed on website or Instagram.
Joel Countryman – a true gentleman and scholar.