Take Cover x 'Power of the Synth': KIDULT's Weekly Wonder
Twenty-three toy photographers. One theme: take cover. Stevan Nikolic (@kidult_1983) opens the Weekly Wonder collab with his own Punisher frame — and scores the whole firefight with Epic Toy Sound.
Photo: @kidult_1983
The Story Behind the Shot
Some posts are a single frame. This one is a whole community taking cover at once. Posted October 11 on Instagram (view the original post), @kidult_1983's carousel carries this week's Weekly Wonder theme — Take Cover — and it opens with his own work: the Punisher in black tactical gear, crouched behind a wooden crate — taking cover, literally — firing across it as Black Mask returns fire, orange muzzle flashes popping in the blue-lit dark. That's the cover shot, literally and figuratively: a photographer leading from the front of his own collab.
From there the carousel widens. A second staged gunfight in a dim office. A title-card montage that runs through dozens of setups — heroes, troopers, monsters and mechs all diving behind whatever cover they can find. Then grid after grid of contributions: 23 photographers in all, each one answering the same brief in a completely different world. The theme even rippled across the family the same afternoon — @sebokscenes posted his own Take Cover entry, a Bad Batch trooper pinned down by Droideka fire, hours earlier.
KIDULT's framing for the week says everything about how he runs these: survival isn't always about fighting — sometimes it's knowing when to take cover. Every submission got its moment. Zero ego, all family — the same instinct behind his "Out of the Fog" community roundup earlier this month.
The Track: "Power of the Synth"
The audio under the collab is "Power of the Synth" by Epic Toy Sound — a synth-pop retro soundtrack built for creators shooting neon-soaked, retro-world toy photography. Caption credit is simple: Music by @epictoysound. Twenty-three photographers, one score — that's the Epic Toy Sound model working exactly as designed: the catalog as the family's shared soundtrack.
The track is a released catalog single — out July 14, 2026 via DistroKid (ISRC QT6F62607141), registered with TuneRegistry — and it's in the store right now as a digital download for $2.99, tagged for exactly this lane: kidult, synthwave, retro toy photography. KIDULT's own collaboration shelf sits right beside it: "Scale to Fit" by Epic Toy Sound & KIDULT, $1.99.
Produced by @myboyronnied of @zillioninstrumentals.
The Arc: A Community Post, Standing on Its Own
Not every spotlight traces a post-to-cover-to-release arc — and this one doesn't, and that's fine. The Take Cover carousel did not become cover art for a release (the October cover batch was checked: no Take Cover or "Power of the Synth" cover), and it isn't an exclusive release. It's a community moment: a weekly theme, a family score, and a photographer using his own platform to put 22 other shooters in the light with him. Those posts are the glue between the releases.
Photographer Spotlight: @kidult_1983
Stevan Nikolic is the ETS family's retro specialist and one of its most generous curators. His bio says it plain: toy photography and diorama builds, BTS and tutorials, Creative Partner @EpicToySound. He builds his worlds by hand, posts the behind-the-scenes right alongside the finished frames, and — as this carousel proves — spends as much energy lifting other photographers as he does on his own shots.
His credits run deep in the catalog: featured on "Nebula Rides" from Cosmic Panda's Mesmerized, featured on "Apocalyptic" from Toys and Beats Vol. 1, and his photography runs every lane, from cinematic frames to horror to the cartoons and toys that raised a generation. This is his third spotlight of the month, and each one has been a different job: solo artist (Bert), solo diorama builder (Skeletor's dark-magic ritual, scored with this same track), and now community host. That's range.
Why This Post Was Picked
Freshness, rotation, and a real track. Posted yesterday afternoon, it's the freshest roster post in the last 48 hours scored with an Epic Toy Sound track that rotation allows — yesterday's spotlight was @darc_reign's Madara, and KIDULT last headlined on October 10. The track is a released, registered, shoppable single. And the post itself is the daily amplification formula in action: community work, family music, everybody credited.
NYCC wrapped yesterday at Booth 1771 — the family is home, and the daily spotlight keeps rolling: one collaborator, one story, every day.
Credits:
Photography & curation: KIDULT (@kidult_1983) — Stevan Nikolic
Weekly Wonder contributors (23): @benyaminadam, @forgottenworlds27, @marvelousactionfigures_, @chopindra, @toymagination, @toyboxpix, @kevinmask78, @bonatoyphotos, @pokekhali, @bonielassie, @myherotoys25, @kidult_1983, @rezsokempny, @jurassic_jesse, @collector_next_door_91, @klin.pics, @tims_toy_box, @ultimateactionfigureslad, @opt975, @blkseriesnaturallight, @sneakyfigures, @ropers_room, @sebokscenes
Track: "Power of the Synth" by Epic Toy Sound — digital download, $2.99
Also on KIDULT's shelf: "Scale to Fit" — Epic Toy Sound & KIDULT, $1.99
Produced by @myboyronnied of @zillioninstrumentals
Shop the catalog: toysandbeats.com · @zillionmarketplace