Each of the Gardeners represents a happy-go-lucky ("Crazysmiles" according to Michael) character, yet the same universe is occupied by a gang known as Lazymuthafucka. The LMF Group is based on the musician friends of Michael. The actual L.M.F. band members are Davy (BigFly), Screw, Wah, Kit, Jimmy, Kee, Kevin, Prodip, Phat, N.T., Anodize, MC Yan and DJ Tommy. Some LMF band members are also figures in the Gardenergala series.

Michael was first asked to pursue his figure work by his professional musician friend Jan Lam. He would sell Lam Dog figures at his concerts. To the right is a picture of one of the original Lam Dog figures. Both the dog and Jan Lam figures had the same angry expression (and snaggletooth). Michael's work became wildly popular thanks to the figures he made for his friend Lam and the figures he produced for the covers of LMF Albums. LMF and Lam fans demanded that Michael produce the same figures he would show on the album covers. The rest as they say is history...

You can see that Michael even designed the box for the figures in matching colors and even produced a backdrop for the figures featuring a comic look at a toy store.

Each of these figures was produced in limited quantities. Getting a complete set of all the possible colors is very difficult.

Michael even produced a four-figure variant of Lam and Lam Dog that wore the colors and makeup of the rock and roll band KISS.

Jan Lam, like Michael and his friends, is a big fan of football / soccer. An alternate version of Run Dog came with a complete football kit and piece of felt turf. For more information about Michael's football-themed projects be sure to visit the Crossover Projects page.

Images courtesy of ToyTokyo.

Images courtesy of CrazyToyzLife.com

The LMF gang is the yin to the Gardener yang. LMF is a dark, intimidating presence but ultimately Lazy. That is to say the LMF is nonviolent. Michael himself is too positive and clean-cut to be an active member of the LMF band but his friends did extend him that invite. Michael is an official Lazymuthafucka.

Many, but not all Gardeners are members of the LMF and vice versa for the LMF members. The way you can distinguish the two in figure form is by the color of their skin. If a character has skin tone then they are a Gardener. If the character is rendered in black and white, with a number tattoo on their left hand then they are LMF.

To the right is a comparison of Maxx and Lazy Maxx. As you can tell the Lazy version looks like a photo negative of the regular Gardener. The expression on the face of the Lazy version also changes from neutral to angry.

Instead of the rounded corners and smooth style that the Davy Fireball suit had in the previous LMF album cover, this smaller suit was very rough with sharp edges. It should be noted that inspiration for the original Fireball suit and the latest Sci-Fi robot are drawn from the wildly popular Maschinen Krieger series of figures, models and illustrations in magazines like Hobby Japan.

This new style of work that Michael has been producing has not gone over well with some of his fans. His previous work has been stylized but also aesthetically pleasing.

True collectors see this as a learning phase for Michael. He is pushing the envelope in a genre he has created. In order for his work to progress Michael has to take risks. The prototype sci-fi figure is an example of a well thought-out risk.

Michael produced a series of small 2.5" LMF band figures and even created 3" robots in matching colors.

The tops of the robots are removable. You can place the head of the figure inside the machine to create the illusion that they are wearing the mechanical suit.

Now it is evident that the style and idea behind the prototype sci-fi suit has come full circle with the release of the complete band. Once again Michael was hailed as an innovator.