Toy designer, Sergey Safonov, dreamed of space travel all throughout his childhood in Russia. As a kid, Sergey was surrounded with space memorabilia: He had tons of space related-books and magazines, space food (tiny bricks of bread and space tubes) and April 12th was a family holiday. The only problem Sergey had with space toys was that all of them were replicas of spaceships and mechanisms, and he was looking for characters with which to play and tell stories. Now Sergey Safonov is grown up with a young son of his own, so he is trying to create his own space character: Luno the Moon Rover.

Support Safonov’s dream by visiting his Kickstarter page.

More looks at Luno and a short video after the jump.

From Lil Snob – “Have endless fun with the new Doodle-Track Car by Daydream Toy. Voted Best Toy of the Year by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, the little red or blue sports car will follow along any drawn line or printed raceway. Whether it be inspired by Formula 1 or just made up, your Doodle-Track Car racetrack will encourage kids to be creative and have fun.”

More images at Lil Snob.

Danish artist HuskMitNavn ends off his “Mikey Duck” series with this purple edition available in limited quantity through Studio Tokyo. The handmade figurines, produced in Belgium, receive a purple finish and are limited to just 12 pieces.

More images follow after the jump.

American artist Mike Leavitt is known for his toy sculptures of other famous artists. The latest one that he finished is the above Takashi Murakami 10 inch action figure, fusing the artist with one of his iconic designs. The sculpture can be purchased through Jonathan Levine Gallery.

Daily Icon reports on this simple toy with dark undertones – “Six business-attired figures, viewed from above in diagrammatic form, are passengers in a vehicle on a relaxing outing. However, one of the passengers is restrained. The trunk reveals various instruments and tools (length of rope, tape recorder, baseball bat, shovel, etc.). While each element in this scenario is individually innocuous, together they make up an undeniably sinister collection. The Committee exposes the risk to the potential of an idea when driven by a collective will — when the original motivation and criteria take a back seat to the impulsive decisions of individual committee members. You are the ultimate driver in this unfolding narrative of control.”

Available from Auditorium Toy Co.

More images after the jump.

Mark under, design with no real purpose. Let’s face it, few of us have a need for a slingshot. However, many of us still harbor some Dennis the Menace dreams and wouldn’t mind a somewhat menacing accent piece in the home. Christopher Jarratt’s handmade slingshots, available from Moss, fit the bill. They are produced of hand-carved beech and given one of five different paint jobs. Most interesting is that the sling shots are carved from natural wood forks, found on the grounds of Epping Forest. Each slingshot is finished with a leather handle.

A look at each color option for Jarratt’s fanciful weapons after the jump.

Fubiz turns us on to a cool new project. A series of toys decorated by a few of our favorite artists – including the always awesome SoMe. Called “Orange Paperquest,” the toy project is also part of a contest. Visitors who drop a comment on Fubiz through November 20, 2010 have an opportunity to win.

Check out all the toys after the jump.

Ducobi produces hand made art toys with a premium placed on material. Their artisan editions come in small runs (at most 100), and incorporate delicate mother of peal inlay. The companies desire is to create a truly collectible set of toys with great effort to insure the best quality and strict aesthetic standards.

Ducobi draws designers from Korea, Japan, and the United States.

If you are on the look out for some art based family holiday fun, look toward the offerings of Tools of the Trade. The company has thus far produced items based on the work of Jeremy Fish and Mike Giant (and more). Their latest item reproduces Ron English’s famed “Mandala” painting into puzzle form.

Set for release this Saturday, December 12, 2009. Medicine Agency is hosting an event on the day. Check the flier and view a video interview with Ron after the jump.

Lego has teamed with Japanese retailer Muji to produce a line of craft inspired toys for the domestic market. The toys marry traditional Lego bricks with colored paper that can be punched to fit into the traditional Lego construction. The result is a set of toys that opens up the imagination a touch more than normal. (via PSFK).

Secondary image of the Muji Lego set after the jump.