What the hell is Ramble?

“According to one observer on the scene, KTT’s credit-card system went on the fritz, forcing peeved and Jumbo-crazed consumers to go on the hunt for cash-machines in the sparsely populated wilds of Chiba City. Riot police have been called and the scene is looking grim. Just kidding. These are unarmed otaku we’re talking about here, and fortunately Jumbo Machines aren’t heavy enough to shatter glass or hurl at police officers.”

“I bought it mint in box, but I opened it to put in my exhibit in my room. A cool ‘Old School’ toy.” — Rafael

Subj:	 RAMBLE: Chiller.

Date:	11/1/99 10:53:44 PM Eastern Standard Time

From:	mogomra@yahoo.com (Roger Harkavy)

To:	alenyendx@aol.com

“Ah, Halloween. The only holiday that ever meant anything to me. If I only knew that the

Chiller Theatre convention was being held right in my back yard every October, I’d probably be living in a spacious cardboard box lined with vinyl monster toys.

“Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) this past weekend I only had a couple of hours to spend there. Within minutes of arriving I successfully hooked up with Trans-Baron Alex, but despite searching high and low we could not spy the U.N. Spacy jacket of Matt Alt.

“Some highlights:
– Meeting the good folks at M-1 and seeing their work in progress: another retro-style version of The Big G! Unfortunately, they didn’t allow us to take pictures.

– Seeing the humongous “pile o’ vinyl” at Club Daikaiju’s table. THAT we got a great picture of.

– Catching up with Mike G. from Outer Limits and asking him to call Matt Alt a ‘bitch-ass trick’ when he saw him. He happily complied.

“The rest of our time was spent in the bar, downing overpriced drinks and undercooked quesadillas, and ogling girls clad in outfits reserved only for horror conventions and Coop’s paintings. Was it fun? Definitely. I’ll be there again next year.

“And here it is, in all of its glory: the brand-new Godzilla 2000 vinyl, undoubtedly the hottest item at the show. Get yours today!” — Roger

“Light up eyes, dual built in missile launchers on all the lions, and additional snap on missile launchers for the lions, and it even has little tiny caltrop like bombs to drop out the red and green lions, a guaranteed take away by concerned parents. And big bombs for the legs, plus the usual sword and shield. Anybody else see a pattern coming from Trendmasters, first the ultimate iron giant and now this ‘Extra Large Stealth Voltron?’
“Note the ‘Extra large.’ If Trendmasters follows thier practice with the classic lions, there may be multiple sizes of this toy. Could Trendmasters be trying to start to make thier own JM typed toys in the US? HMMMMMMM…”
— Mike

Subj:	Igarashi Interview

Date:	11/9/99 11:21:23 AM Eastern Standard Time

From:	Gojira@ix.netcom.com (Alt, Matthew)

To:	alenyendx@aol.com (‘alenyendx@aol.com’)

“Igarashi has been a serious toy scholar for years, and his writing has stoked the flames of collector enthusiasm to unheard-of heights. I was lucky enough to get the chance to corner Igarashi and pick his brains about the toy scene at a squalid Tokyo karaoke joint. For best results, read the interview after downing a beer or five.”
— Matt

So, let’s discuss some of the differences between the originals and reissues. Like the Banpresto GA-01 Mazinger Z, the Robocon, or the Jumbo Machines, for example.
“As for the GA-01, I loaned Banpresto my original. I’ve also heard that Banpresto paid collector Kazunori Saito 700,000 yen (about $6600) for one as well (and this was confirmed by a representative of Banpresto), but his was actually the second version of the piece, and his box was only a battered color-copy of the original. Because of this, around August of last year I was asked to loan Banpresto my GA-01, which enabled them to accurately reproduce the package and inserts. I also requested that Banpresto produce and include a set of normal rocket punch fists as well. Actually, by that point, they had already been running the molds, but they went out of their way to modify them. As for differences between the Banpresto version and the original, the marks on the bottom of the feet and the chest rocket firing levers are totally different. This is due to the fact that they made the molds for the lever without taking a look at my original first.

“As for the Robocon reissue, the facial area looks like it has been slightly changes. Completely new molds were made for both the GA-01 and the Robocon. And because the recent Raideen reissue was made using old molds, you can see a little breakdown in the molding.
“With regards to the Jumbo Machine Mazinger Z, the wheel-trucks on the bottom of the feet and the stickers on the Hover-Pilder are different from the original Jumbo Machinder. And the Garada is completely different from the original. It’s a total sham.”

So, are you planning on brining out a new version of your Green Arrow “Encyclopedia of Chogokin and Popinika”?

“Actually, up until a few days ago, I’d been working on writing for a new book, the Takara SF-Land Collection, which is going to be released by Kodansha on November 11th. It’s a book that covers Henshin Cyborg, Microman, the Magnemo series, and Diaclone. It’s got over 1500 photos, and we included a CD-ROM that contains the complete original commercials as well. Please take a look when you have a chance.
“I’m planning to begin work on a new version of the Encyclopedia of Chogokin and Popinika at the end of the year.”

Do you have any plans to bring out a book about minor toymakers like Takemi or Ark?
“Not right now. The fact is that there’s just not enough commercial interest. It’s difficult to sell toy-books in Japan right now.”

Is this due to the recent increase in toy-related magazines? Does the large amount of magazines make it more difficult to publish books?

“Actually, I think the large number of magazines makes it easier to publish things. Magazines don’t negatively impact the production of good books — it’s just that there aren’t high sales expectations for books.”

In closing, have you heard any juicy toy-rumors lately?
“Well, the Soul of Chogokin Grandizer will be out in February. And the Soul of Popinika series will be starting up soon. The first release will be the Hover Pilder, and the second will be Kamen Rider’s Cyclone motorcycle.”

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us!

“If you thought that it ain’t chogokin unless it’s made in Japan, think again. This is 100% chogokin and it’s a worthy addition to any collection.”

— Alex

“In the late eighties/ early nineties, Bandai produced a series of ‘real-type’ toys based on their relatively popular SD Musha Cloth series (see Maestro Alt’s article in Annals of the Disrespected). The first three were the Musha Cloth Gundams — retooled versions of older 1/100 scale Gundam Mark 2, Zeta and Double Zeta toys that came with removable Samurai armor. The fourth was the Knight Gundam, a freaky purple Gundam Mark 3 (an obscure Gundam that only appeared in a Manga) that had (duh!) a suit of medieval armor.

“But Bandai’s designers saved the strangest for last. Unlike the other ‘Cloth’ Gundams, the Command Gundam is the only Gundam design that never appeared in animation or print beforehand. Decked out in Olive drab and armed to the teeth, the Command G’s the G.I. Joe of Gundams. It’s even got a Votoms style missile pod! With six removable missiles! And hand grenades! Gadzooks!
“The only drawback to the toy? It’s one of ’em Bandai semi-kits, so a bunch of minor armor parts have to be snapped off sprues. Which kinda sucks if you paid a premium price for a MIB piece. But collector neuroses aside, It’s simply the uber-mecha-iest of all mecha toys.” — Yappy