October 1998 | Ramble Index | August 1998

9/30/98: Mazinger Reissue!

Many of us have been bouncing the report of the GA01 re-release back and forth. Matt Alt steps up and hogs the ball:

"First things first: it seems to be of the 1st generation Mazinger Z with the shooters on the shoulders, and at first glance it seems very close to the original release. It will be made by Bandai/Banpresto, just as the recent Gundam was, and will have no wing, as far as I can tell. (The very first editions of the toy, as Nagai mentioned in his interview, didn't come with a wing anyway.) [RIGHT: Matt's vintage GA01 --- NOT the reissue!]

"Here's the deal: you have to buy three SONY Playstation games, take the tickets out, and send them in after you've gotten all three. The first game, the October one, will come with the special base sheet. If you're one of the lucky 5000 it'll be black. If you happen to get one, you're eligible for the all-black version of the toy. (This is interesting in and of itself, because a black version was never released of the piece in the first place.) People who get a black Mazinger aren't eligible to get a standard one.

The second game and third games each come with a sticker. You affix the stickers to the special base sheet that comes with the first game, enclose a 600Yen Japanese postal coupon, and send it in. Bandai says to allow up to two months for processing.

The games are:

• Zen Super Robot Taisen Denshin DaiHyakka
  (Total Super-Robot War Encyclopedia)
  Release Date: 10/29/98
• Super Robot Taisen F
  (Super Robot Wars F)
  Release Date: December 1998
• Super Robot Taisen F Kanzenron
  (Super Robot Wars F Complete)
  Release Date: March 1999

"As you can see, nobody's getting their Mazingers anytime soon.

"This information came from Bandai Japan's website. Straight from the horse's mouth. But before you get all hot and bothered, bear in mind that Bandai Japan NEVER ships to America. Never has, never will. And besides, you need that 600 postal coupon, remember? Your best bet is to cultivate buddies in Japan and have THEM send the tickets in for you. I mean, you're going to need a Japanese address to have Bandai ship the piece to. Just be sure you choose wisely lest you get jacked for your diecast by your newfound "friends." :)"

In under half a year, we've slotted over 35MB worth of pure Robot love. Response has been so awesome that I've blown the money on expanded server space and a top-level DNS of our own. We deserve it!

What's powering the great vibe around the site? Pure and unadulterated enthusiasm, baby. It's the efforts and cooperation of the all the great collectors on the net who are making this a privilege and a pleasure to drive.

The name change is just a start. Check the site in the coming weeks for some major content and interface overhauls. And keep your pics and emails coming...!

[Above, Secret Project Grieg moves slowly but steadily towards realization...]

To the left, butt-whuping renders of Ted's Great Mazinger 3d model. To the right a tremendous photo of the young Ted who writes:

"Its a black and white photogragh taken by my grandfather at my 6th birthday (1977). It shows me, on a picnic bench, building a huge Space 1999 Eagle toy with my uncle (where did all these toys go?!?!). My friend Jon and my sister are looking on. But best of all, standing patiently by my side is my 24" Great Mazinga! I went nuts when I saw this photo... It looks like growing up in the NJ burbs, I also had some spiffy looking clothes."

Thanks for sharing!

And as always, thanks for the letters and support. As Roger likes to write, keep the faith...!

9/20/98: Lotsa Update

Thursday night I got a call from a drunk and rambling Chogokin collector (you know who you are) who pumped me up for a round of updates. So check it out:

Check out Alessio's entry in the World Collector Gallery.

"Takara re-released it's entire 1:24 line in mid-1997; nobody seems to have heard anything about it. It's a shame, since the Votoms toys are among the most desirable pieces out there right now. The re-issues are in a slightly different plastic-coloration and color-scheme, but are otherwise physically identical to the 1980s originals...."

Thanks to Kimono-My-House and Adam C for arranging for new Dougram pics for the list. Thanks to Dave Morton for contributing as well.

Meanwhile, it happened: Tom the Greek finally got his Takara 1:72 Blockhead and shares the experience:

"The glorious 1/72 Blockhead arrived today and I must say god bless the Japanese. They are the best toymakers in the world. This thing is totally awsome!!!! The best Dougram toy made in my opinion. The diecast skeleton is huge. Equal to the 1/48 Dougram. It comes with a seperate parts box manual and stickers. This one is totally mint. Looks to have been never opened. Bags still sealed. I made some quick scans of the box and contents. Enjoy."

I think I may have finally processed the archived Ramble content into something vaguely browsable. See that nav bar at the top? Try it out sometime and lemme know what you think...

Anyway, that's alotta text. I'm going to go drink more coffee and, uh, play with my toys. Have a good rest of the weekend, y'all... 9/15/98: Louis Throws a Punch!

TOYBOX DX regular contributor and over-all nice guy Chi Wah Louis Law finally crosses the line. He's sent in so many cool pics at this point that he's forced the creation of new page in the World Collector Gallery. Aside from the usual cools toys, this time he's included killer images of model kits he's built. Louis, thanks for sharing!

Also: Check out Carlos' awesome website, La Maquina Z/The Z Machine! It's a thoroughly enjoyable bi-lingual review of the legend of Mazinger Z, complete with pics, AV and links...

As always, the TOYBOX is dedicated to spreading the faith of Super Robot coolness! Send in your URLs and links, and share the wealth!

9/12/98: GA-Morning

11:07: EDT: I am padding around the kitchen, sipping cold coffee and funking out. My primary thought this morning is that -- gasp -- it may be impossible to achieve a state of genuine happiness through the acquisition of material objects. The doorbell rings and truncates the thought: it's the US Postguy!

A quick tear down the stairs and we're in transaction: wordlessly, he passes the yellow card. Without missing a beat, I'm already scratching my dirty scrawl by the X; in fact, to expidite the exchange, I have brought my own pen. Less than a second later I'm vaulting back up the stairs with corrugated treasure: the spanking new Popy GA-100 RX78!

A debate has surrounded this toy since it's appearance on ebay a few chats ago. On the one side, a brutal and scathing verdict of ugly! On the other, a sheepish admittance to a propensity for toy dorkiness. To help soldify opinion, I've dropped a huge scan in the Collection Narrative. My two cents? I'm feeling pretty good this morning about my...habit.

9/10/98: Duncan Rocks! Check it out! Robot-collecting 3d-smith Duncan Hsu shares a render of his work in progress -- Great Mazinger! (Some of you may remember his initial test animation from the Day-Old Antiques site...) Thanks Dunc! Also: check the cafe section for a new International Cafe Chogokin chat! In addition to our 10PM Monday night tupperwarish gathering, we're hooking up with Giorgio and other Italian collectors at 12PM fridays as well. So pop-in -- your boss ain't looking!

9/8/98: Dougram! Have you sensed the recent cloud of lust wafting about Takara Dougram? Matt Alt carves through the fumes with another lucid and articulate expose, this time on Fang of the Sun Dougram! Thanks to help from magic elves Tom the Greek and Roger Harkavy, a nice checklist has materialized and needs to be completed. As with the Bandai HCM List, any info or pics you have are appreciated! "Write Matt, write! We never approve your indecency of the Toybox!" Also: Thanks to the Anime Web Turnpike for picking TOYBOX DX as a Site of the Week! It's always nice to be appreciated...

Also also: Ryo sent in images of his Bandai Neo-China Gundam and sez: "During the chat, a number of us were talking about Gundam stuff. I was saying that the newer G Gundam stuff was almost as nice as the HCM stuff. Not quite as posable and doesn't have a trigger finger, but they stand up quite well next to the HCM Char/Zaku that I have. And they're bigger too!" On a last note, I'm currently getting dozens of emails a day just regarding TOYBOX DX. If I don't reply within a few days, please email me again and type "INSENSITIVE LOUT" in the subject heading... Happy Toy Hunting!

October 1998 | Ramble Index | August 1998