Lava-Cat Press Release:
Los Angeles, CA, May 1, 2015. Artist and toy maker Joe Ledbetter is thrilled to release his latest designer toy, Lava-Cat. Standing 11-inches tall, Lava-Cat is a limited edition of just 100. Period. Over-seeing every step of the process, Lava-Cat is designed, produced, and released by the artist himself.  UPDATE: Lava-Cat is has completely sold out!

Here’s the specs:

• Produced and designed by Joe Ledbetter
• Stands almost 11-inches tall
• Limited edition of 100
• 5 points of articulation
• Only available directly from the artist
  
• In stock and ready to ship worldwide
• $115 (+shipping)

Legend of the Lava-Cat:
Born of volcanoes and sculpted by magma, Lava-Cats lurk in the hottest places on Earth. More of a geologic anomaly than organic life-form, this igneous cat slurps molten rock for breakfast and burps black flame so hot it vaporizes anything it its path.

Behind the Lava-Cat:
There’s a primal part of me (and I think all of us) that loves to destroy things. It’s cathartic, therapeutic and can often lead to new beginnings. Like the Hawaiian goddess Pele, lord of the volcanoes and creator of the Hawaiian Islands, she is both a jealous destroyer and passionate maker. It’s her unstoppable lava flows that destroy villages and everything in its path. Of course, that same molten rock hardens to create new landmasses, and provide nutrients for plant life, animals and humans to thrive. I’ve always found this dichotomy totally fascinating. Sometimes, in order to create you must destroy. Tear it all down and start anew. That’s what my “Lava” characters have always symbolized to me.

My first “Lava” character was created back in 2005; Lava Bunny (my very first original toy release). It all came about because Kidrobot wanted a special color variant of my upcoming Mr. Bunny toy. I instinctively knew it had to be black. I just loved black vinyl (and not only because I was a big Bounty Hunter fan). It just seemed so natural and “correct” for vinyl to be black, like a vinyl record, or even petroleum – where it ultimately comes from.

I was lucky enough to be visiting the Big Island of Hawaii when Kidrobot approached me via email. On the Big Island, there are these vast lava-rock fields that just had me mesmerized. Really captured my imagination. They take up huge swaths of the island: a black, jagged, formidable wasteland – as far as the eye can see. I had never seen anything like that! It was there, in that aftermath of Pele’s destruction that Lava Bunny was born.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, I proposed another toy for them, Lava-Cat (a similar variant on my upcoming Fire-Cat toy release). But ultimately they passed, and Lava-Cat would have to wait 10 years to be born in vinyl form. Which leads us to today: Lava-Cat is here and it’s ready to wreak havoc.