01/10/99: Shigoto Hajime!

Matt here, fresh from my two-week-jaunt to the saucy yet decadent toy-hole that is Tokyo. Ah, New Year's. A time for new year's resolutions, for shigoto hajime (year-opening) toy sales, and a time for upcoming releases sure to boil the blood of all but the most jaded toy-fetishist. [At left, some new immigrants from the land of the Rising Sun.]

First and foremost, the hydra-esque toy-conglomerate Bandai/Banpresto/Uni-five has has announced the opening of Kong Tong Town, an oddly-named but long-overdue mail-order outlet store for nostalgia toy reissues. (And no, I have absolutely no idea where they dug that name up.) January/February releases include a second wave of the formerly-limited-edition Popy-style Gundam, a black version of the Uni-Five Mekabuton, and the limited-run Uni-Five Mazinger Z Jumbo Machine. (On a related note, true to the report of the esteemed August Ragone, the side of the Mazinger Z box features pictures of upcoming Uni-Five Jumbo Arm Attachments.) Kong Tong Town is both a mail-order and walk-in establishment, but is only offering its services within Japan at this time.

In other news, Bandai has announced the release of an ultra-detailed chogokin of none other than the RX-78 Gundam. Jointed to an almost unbelievable degree and complete with an array of sinster-looking weapons, the 1:144 scale diecast puts the Banpresto/Popy piece to shame and is something along the lines of a metal High Complete Model. Look for it in late spring or early summer at a planned retail of just over 12,000 yen ($100).

Speaking of Gundam, Bandai also announced in the Februrary 1999 issue of Hobby Japan that they are investigating the feasibilty of releasing a 1:48 Perfect Grade Gundam kit. Their previous 1:60 scale Perfect Grade Gundam set a new standard for detail in plastic robot models; the 1:48 version would be almost a quarter again as large as the already-massive 1:60 kit.

That's all for now, kids! Expect a detailed "State of the Toy Union" report in the coming weeks!

--M.A.