July 1999 | Ramble Index | May 1999

6/30/99: Momo Ramblette!

Check the Linkorama for additional store listings, thanks to a flurry of contributions. We'll be adding maps and directions as soon as possible.

Also: apologies to all who are waiting for email from me. I am now officially two weeks backlogged, with no end in sight. Please be patient! Thanks...

(At left, a blurry X-file shot that circulated during Monday's Cafe Chogokin Chat from Masato Shono of the impending Marmit Liger. Raiger. Laiger. Lager.)

Finally, check back tommorow for some travel announcement Ramble!

AN ODE TO MOMO-RANGER: A Feminist Manifesto By Secret Press Agent Hiroko "As you probably already know, Goranger was the first Sentai show in my country, Japan. Goranger was so cool, so breathtaking, that it immediately became popular among Japanese kids. I was only five years old when Goranger first aired on T.V. My memories of that time are kind of blurred because I was so young, but I vividly remember being amazed by the coolness of these handsome adults fighting in the name of 'justice and peace.' "The really popular thing at my kindergarten during that time was to take wooden crates (which seemed huge to us then, but I bet would look really small now) and recreate the five motorcycles of the Gorangers. Five kids sat on those wooden-crate motorcycles, chanting 'the power of five becomes one: GORANGER!' just as our heroes did in the show. (Needless to say, we also had to do the accompanying Sentai hand-motion disco thing as well. The adults must have thought we were totally insane.) "The only problem with this is that there was only one spot for a girl -- Momo-Ranger, whereas there were four for boys. Because of this, there were always fights among the girls as to who would get to take Momo-Ranger's precious seat. Unfairly enough, I remember that the boys were the ones who always made the final call as to which girl would get the privilege of becoming their Momo-ranger. Of course, the girl who got this coveted crown was always the cutest in the class -- their kindergarten sweetheart -- and sure enough, it was NEVER me! "The more I engaged in fighting with the other girls, the more I began to question, 'why is there only one spot for a girl and four spots for boys?' and 'why do BOYS always made the final decision over the GIRL's part?' Sounds like the questions asked about the role of women in society today...I guess one can conclude that these questions regarding my heroine, Momo-Ranger, were in fact my first experiences about feminism!" -- Hiroko

Sean Bonner on the infamous Nuevo Robot Nacoral "Got the Spanish Bootleg Gaiking (Nuevo Robot Nacoral) last night so here's some pics. I'm not even gonna write a Ramble, just a quick Rant. As you can tell from the pics it's the body of Gaiking, with the Legs of Mazinga. "The leg stance is a little tighter and shorting making the Nacoral measure in about a half inch shorter than the American version, but it's a good deal heavier. Weighty spanish sand? "The biggest plus to this guy is that both his fist launch! "Weirdisms include the screwed on missle clips that wont let you put in missles on the leg, gold stickers and red spray paint on his head instead of detailed painting, and what seems like much thicker plastic. But the box has a pic of the Mattel version! "Alright I gotta go back to work. Enjoy!" -- Sean

Mechaman Roger Harkavy with "Stupid Drumlo Under Glass Tricks" "At a recent garage sale I found this neat little wood and glass display stand which was originally intended for pocket watches. "Being the pack rat that I am, I scarfed up this goodie for a measly two bucks and put it to good use on my desk at work. Now it houses that phat bastid Drumlo from my collection of Gashapon EX Aura Battler figures, lending a touch of class to a cubicle normally renowned thoughout the company for it's squalid geekery. "Maybe you can title it 'Drumlo Under Glass' or 'Stupid Drumlo Tricks'" - Roger

		It's 6:00 AM and I've got the shakes. No -- it's not from the high-octane coffee I'm pouring down my throat. It's from fear and giddiness over the sheer power and and and TANGBILITY of what has become for me the ultimate of all possible reissues: I'm warning you now: if you got into this for "the markut," GET OUT NOW. I'm serious. Close this window, jump to ebay, hock your wares, and dig out your "long-saber" variants. Bandai's ability to shrug one of these off on demand is as if the Shroud of Turin were nothing more than a rug sample. This is an ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE reissue, down to the foil sticker on the box. A quick comparison with photos of the original yield minor (and deliberate) minute differences in packaging. Who cares -- they nailed it. Will this devalue the original? Not one whit. But it clearly shows where the bar is in capability, and GA01's "rair" lesser cousins are in for a reckoning. Let me publicly express my etarnal gratitude to Steve Chang of Nostalgic Anime Toys who handled the difficult task of accruing the Playstation discs and [masterfully] orchestrating the transaction. He is a true gentleman. More anaylsis and closeups of this in the Gallery of Love coming later...

6/20/99: Linkorama!

After 9 months of promising a Linkorama overhaul, I've resorted and reorganized our massive pile of URLs. It's now officially New & Improved!

In addition, due to [ahem] increasing peer "suggestions" on the BBS, I've added a new Stores Index. Maps, directions, and a ton of new listings are on the way. If you've got favorites of your own, or general useability feedback, send it in!

Finally, Mr. Harkavy recently sent me this ravishing pic of the one and only Gekiganger III. Apparently, alchohal, as well as the power of passion, were involved...

Matt Alt with a Takara Newsdive "With all the excitement surrounding the Uni-Five Jumbo Machines and Bandai Combattler, it's easy to forget about that little toy company that could, Takara. Things have been quiet for the past few months, but Takara's just announced a bunch of additions to their Henshin Cyborg and Microman lines. "First up is a new version of Henshin Cyborg 99, complete with metallic blue 'internal organs.' It'll be out at the end of June. "On the Microman front, Takara will be releasing three vehicles in a new 'Zenmine' series. These are tiny wind-up vehicles that transform into animal-themed robots. The first three will be 'Kero Charge,' a frog; 'Mogu-Launcher,' a mole; and 'Kama-Claw,' a praying mantis. They've got a very retro 'Diaclone' feel to them; check out the shots for yourself at Takara's Site "Look for them at the end of June as well. At a mere 780 yen ($7) a pop, how can you resist?" -- Matt

Grumpy old COOP sez "I know you may be sick of this toy by now, but..." "Just got the SOC CombattlerV! The design is pretty amazing, in that it manages to 'work' in both modes, and the intricate workings of the joints and mechanisms are very cool. That being said, it lacks something that the original Popy toy has in spades: SOUL. Pretty funny, since this IS the 'Soul of Chogokin,' but it's just not the same. The SOC Mazinger Z & SOC Great Mazinger worked better, I think because the Popy originals, while being very cool, are still of the early, ultra-primitive style. The Popy CombattlerV, on the other hand, was (in all three sizes) a beautiful TOY, made for kids to play with, while still having plenty of clever features to please discriminating nerds like us. I can't imagine this new one would stand up to an actual kid banging it around. Of course, it wasn't made for the kids, but for 20-30-somethings like myself, and so perhaps it shouldn't be expected to survive being buried in the sandbox. "Perhaps I'm being too hard on the poor thing. In fact, in looking at it while I type, it has started to win me over a little more. Like the SOCs that have come before, it perfectly captures the scale and dimensions of the animated CombattlerV, and can be transformed into all the permutations seen in the series. It's also a fairly substantial hunk of metal, though not as skull-smashingly heavy as the Popy DX version. The Popy/Godaikin-style stryofoam box, with each component laid out in its own little socket, also provides a Proustian wave of nostalgia for us members of 'Generation S' (Shogun!) "In closing, I guess that I don't have to tell anyone to go buy this; I'm sure mosta you either have one on the way, or you've got it in yer hot little hands right now. You shouldn't be disappointed; in fact, he's really pretty neat, and I'm realizing that my earlier dissatisfaction may just be the first signs of my encroaching grumpy-old-man status. Enjoy, whippersnappers!! " -- Ol'COOP

6/18/99: Marquee Ramble

About a million years ago, when I was running Toybox ST, I hocked my very own Godaikin Gardian to some kid named "Matt Alt" [ $23.00 shipping included.]

Judging by the style and content of his writing, and by the fact the he wanted the toy "sent to his mother" I figured he was maybe 9 years old.

About a million years later, Alt-san's skillset and enthusiasm have contributed an invaluable sense of usefulness and professionalism [gasp] to our site. More importantly, he's refined his ability to spaz over a good toy and write sparkles doing it. In gratitude, we have a new homepage logo.

So take a moment to thank him for his work before I strap the rickshaw back onto his ass and beat him into some Ramble. "Bumping into you on the web" indeed!

Dr. COOP on the expansive Nostalgic Heroes Kikaider "My experiments are a success! I've been tinkering with this little gadget, I call it a Expando Ray. Well, I finally got all the bugs outta the prototype, and I decided to try it on a test subject. Since my Chogo display case is down here in the lab,I opened it up and selected my brand-new Nostalgic Heroes reissue of the first-version Kikaider motorcycle and sidecar. It's a terrific toy, by the way, just too tiny. "I set the toy down on the slab, adjusted the dials and gizmos on my Expando Ray, threw the switch, and, BBBZZZZZAAPP!!! I waited for the smoke to clear, removed my goggles, and 'Eureka!!' There,on the table, was the Kikaider moto, only now greatly increased in size! After consulting my trusty slide rule, I determined that the Expando Ray had enlarged the toy to about TWICE the size of the original, or about 1/16 scale. WOW! All the detail was there too,even more! I could see the numbers on the gauges, the circuits on Kikaider's head,everything! My experiment was a complete success! "The next day, I went to the local Tuxedo shop,because the Nobel Prize Awards Commitee expect you to dress formally when you show up in Switzerland. Next door to the tuxedo shop was a toy store. Well, being a devoted Toy Junkie,I HAD to go inside! Not much caught my eye, till I saw, in a cabinet of Japanese toys, MY 1/16 SCALE KIKAIDER MOTORCYCLE!! Damn! Those guys at Nostalgic Heroes had released a scaled-up version of that damned toy! Curses! Now I would be a called a charlatan, a fraud!! CURSES!! "Needless to say, I bought the toy. I'm so f***ing pathetic. Oh well, back to the ol' drawing board..." -- COOP

Matt Alt on Bandai Action Get ready for ACTION! "Look for Bandai's line of fully-articluated Gundam action figures later this month. The new series, dubbed 'Mobile Suits In Action,' will retail for an astoundingly low 1,000 yen a pop, and the first three characters will be RX-78 Gundam, Char's Zaku, and Zaku Standard Type. Just check out the detail: these lil' guys look like they're ready to do more before 9 A.M. than I do all day. (Not very difficult, believe me.)" Dragon-Slayer! "Check out Bandai's new 'Dekkai Robocon Series'! First up: Robocon (shown) and New Robocon. Word on the street is that these bad boys are designed to strike terror into the heart of Dragon, which up until now was the only company with a large-scale Robocon toy up for grabs. Not anymore. They're 50cm tall, they're 5,000 yen a pop, they're vinyl and plastic, and they're cute as hell. Buy 'em before they rip your lungs out. 'Dekkai' means 'big,' by the way. "Look for them in late June or early July." -- Matt

6/17/99: U5-K7

Matt Alt greets the Army of Machine-Monsters! "It's finally here! The first promo shots of the Garada K-7 Jumbo Machine have just been released, and the toy looks GREAT. Just LOOK at those squat, evil-looking proportions! Words fail me, so I'll turn the mike over to Uni-Five's orgasmic ad-copy: "First Mazinger Z, then Great Mazinger, and now here comes the Kikaiju Gundan (Army of Machine-Monsters)! More specifically, a piece that's only been seen up to now on the original Jumbo Villains packaging! An ethereal ghost that's been haunting collectors, it can truly be said that up to now almost nobody's ever seen the real thing. FINALLY, Garada K7 makes an appearance!" "Not all's well in Jumbo-land, however: as you can see from the photo, Garada seems to have been stripped of any kind of missile-firing mechanism! But who're you kidding -- you KNOW this 'ethereal ghost' is going to end up on your shelf, you toy-geek!" -- Matt

6/14/99: Foreign Exchange!

Check it out: ToyboxDX studs Matt Alt and Roger Harkavy crash onto the print scene in this month's ToyFare 24!

In their rapier-sharp wordbomb "Foreign Exchange," the dynamic duo desperately try to educate the victimized action-figure public on the manifest destiny of Japanese Toys. Did it work? Only time will tell.

In the meanwhile, pick it up and drop our fearless missionaries a pat on the back. Nice going guys!

Info Boy Matt Alt on the SOC Combattler "The SOC Combattler seems to be a hit for Bandai: the first wave is all but sold out in Tokyo, although there seem to be reserves of it in outerlying areas. (Don't worry: an additional run is on the way.) The verdict? If the readership of the Kong Tong Town BBS can be taken as any indication, the reviews are mixed. Recent comments ranged from 'holding this piece in my hand made me feel like a five-year-old again,' to 'I can't reconcile the price with the build-quality. I'd recommend buying two Mazingers instead' (!) "Apparently you can't have your cake and eat it too. Although the obsessive transformation-gimmicks Bandai managed to cram into the toy are amazing, they lower the overall solidity and posability of the piece. C'est la vie." -- Matt

Darren adds his two cents on Combattler, as well as the Bandai Grand Liner DX "About Combattler: the quality on this toy is so high, I'm afraid to take it out of the box and assemble it. Soon, the insanity of leaving him in the box will get the best of me, and I'll have no choice. I'm afraid other reviewers must've gotten bad picks. My earthmover blades are fine -- no ankle problems, either. "I picked up a Grand Liner DX, too. (Sentai robots tide me over between Chogokin re-issues!) It's all plastic, which is to be expected for a toy of this size -- and it is BIG. "I didn't realize that the train cars can transport the components of the DX Victory Robo. Way cool! "Aside from the usual giant robot transformation, the cars link together to form a 1.3M long train." -- Darren

Sean Bonner with the skinny on Ron Meloni's Repro Stickers! "A few months back Ron Meloni sent me an email asking my opinion on his plans for making replacement stickers for his Jumbo Machinder and if I thought others would be interested and most of all what, if there was anything he could do, to prevent people from passing them off as the originals. I told him I thought it was pretty cool, although I do like my Jumbos with a little 'battle wear' to add character, I've had ones come though my hands that were beyond a little beaten with stickers totally missing or destroyed beyond any possible usage and for those situations it could make a toy a hell of a lot more displayable. "So he did it, and made them and varied them just slightly enough that anyone who knows what to look for won't be tricked into buying something that isn't what they think. My least favorite of all my American Jumbos (any Jumbos for that matter) is Mattel Gaiking, maybe it's because I know how much better the Popy version is, or maybe I know how retarded the Mattel version is, but it has always taken last billing in my book. The one I have was kinda messed up but nothing enough to make me want to buy a new one, so with the Uni5 reissue of the badass popy version a few short months away, when Ron asked if I'd check them out for him Gaiking stepped up to the plate. I don't think I need to fix all the stickers because some of them still look pretty cool, but the legs and sides of the mouth have taken their share of skuff and are in need of fixin'. "Step one, removing the old stickers. Not as easy as it sounds. I guess there's some strange Jumbo god that likes to play tricks on people by making stickers fall off easily when left alone on a shelf but when you try and actually pull them off, forget it, the ultra adhesive kicks in. A squirt of Windex, a few drops of Clorox, some Dawn dish detergent, and mountains of elbow grease later they were 'most of the way' gone. That's gonna have to do because I'm just not that patient. I suppose I could have gone to the store and bought some kind of actual adheisve remover but the store is blocks away and it's hot outside and I just got AC today so this is going to have to work. "Step two, new sticker application. Peel 'em, stick 'em. "Step three, put that bad boy back on the shelf. "My final opinion? They are alright. Like I said early on, I think a few skaratches makes the average Jumbo look tougher than a pampered pansy pristene version (of course if I had all deadmint versions my feelings would be completely opposite) but if you have some trashed Jumbos, these things can really help their self esteem. "Price-wise, you could probably make them yourself if you spent the hours Ron must have measuring out each one, making a template and trying to convince your local sticker/signmaker you weren't nuts and that would probably save you a few bucks, but if you don't want to deal with it, like I wouldn't, these things might do the trick for you..." -- Sean

Evan got a Getta Record! "I work at the Newbury Comics warehouse. I was pulling together a 7" record order and this was one of them. Pretty cool. My record player doesn't even work but it was only $2.50. Anyway, that's all. Carry on. Regards," -- Evan

6/12/99: SOC Quick Pic!

A quick Ramble to post this cool image kindly sent in by Darren, who writes:

"I'm sure you've already seen too much of this -- but I'm so happy with mine, I can't help but share . . . :)"

6/09/99: NY/Toy Crack Ramble!

A quick shot down to NYC, and I'm back with a pile of crap!

I spent this weekend buying some of the tawdry knock-off junk that's been sneaking onto ebay in the dead of night. Nefarious imposters include: Super Robotic Rangers, Aircraft Warrior 2-in-1, and the Iron Eagle Crusaders.

Guess what? They don't suck!

Actually, let me qualify that "statement." Maybe these guys do suck, but they suck in a cool way! Every one of the kooky pieces I picked up had a bizarre resonance to the parallel universe of, um, actual good stuff that we love.

Check out the Iron Eagle dudes: Sentai squad colors with Robocopish skulls. Each comes with a pile of guns and blades, as well as (I kid you not) diecast hips and feets! (The diecast in question is some bizarre alloy -- almost like waxy plastic, and barely recognizable as "metal." But hey -- at least they tried!)

Now take a moment to admire the Mego-esque Super Robotic Ranger way up above. Standing a bold 8" tall, this limber dude has sweeeet wrist articulation! Yellow Ranger has that totemistic quality found only in the really old -- or really fake -- stuff. Kind of cool that he's "USAF" too!

Finally, my favorite: the Gundam-y "Aircraft Warrior!" If you look closely, you'll notice that 1) he jacked Voltron's Shield 2) he's also a Decepticon! and 3) he's got a rockin' M16 for a weapon! And talk about Graphic Design and branding: what an AWESOME LOGO for a mech!

The great thing about this crap was just how totally fun it was to hang at the corner of 14th Street and 7th, digging through cardboard boxes filled with weasel balls and flip flops in the attempt to uncover some robot rubbish. Ain't no collectibles here -- just toys!

Finally, the fierce haggling rocked: I had to talk the guy down from $4 to get the Super Robotic Ranger for a hefty $3! Total cost of the above items: $9. In a day and age when we've become accustomed to paying more for the tax on a toy, it's nice to see stuff true [truish?] to faith that kids can actually afford...!

Mathew Z sends a 1st-time Ramble on the new SOC Combattra! "GX-03 Combattra V has arrived, a giant on my toy shelf. At twice the height and double the mass of GX-01, has my Mazinger Z met his match? I don't think so. "Sure, there's lots to like here: fine engineering and finish, excellent individual vehicle detail, and superb transformability and range of motion. However, upon closer inspection my enthusiam dims: the right ankle joint shows play, the BattleMarine/BattleTank combination threatens an inadvertent solo flight for the BattleTank (Ouch!), and the BattleTank earthmover blades are very difficult to extend or retract. I almost certainly damaged mine extending them, and stowing them required the use of my leatherman pliers. "From a playability aspect, wassup with no projectiles? Surely a piece this size could shoot something, right? Don't get me wrong, this is a sweet toy, from the slick spring-loaded faceplate on the Battlejet's belly to the twin whip antennae and rotating tread on the Battletank. Heck, I even dig the earthmover blades! I'm just not quite ready for the arthroscopic I'll be performing for his ankle, or the exploratory I'll perform because of the earthmover blades. Don't get me wrong, I recommend this toy, I'm just a little hard to please after 13,440 yen after taxes for this piece." -- Mathew Z Accessories: BattleJet with detachable side rotors BattleCrasher with detachable landing gear, tailcones, yoyo halves BattleTank with retractable whip antennae, extendable earthmover blades, rotating rubber tread BattleMarine with retracting fins, removable yoyo halves on hips BattleCraft with retractable drills AtomicBurner attachments ChoDenki Spin attachment ChoDenki YoYo's TwinLancer blades Display Stand Fittings for BattleMarine/BattleTank unit and Grandasher modes (Box is double the size of GX-01 box!)

Mathew Alt with the K-7 411 "Interesting info on the upcoming Garada K-7 Jumbo Machine, due for release June 12 from Uni-Five. In response to a pointed question asking just what the Garada toy was based on, Kong Tong Town management had this to say: "Because all that remains of the original release are photographs, it was necessary to approach Nagai Go and his staff for actual data regarding the original. Although the molds used are all new, the utmost care was taken to keep the design and dimensions as close as possible to the original, so we think it can safely be called a 'reissue.'" -- Matt

If you hadn't noticed, there's a new Mechaman update by Roger Harkavy. Check it out now in the Info Library or just click here...

6/02/99: HCM Update

Check it out: the High Complete Model list has been updated in the Info Library.

Robert Curlee sent in some new scans and writes:

"Here are scans of a Bandai HCM brochure I was recently given. It settles some of the debate as whether Bandai sold the Sling Panniers as separate items or not. It's also cool to see all the detailed images of the Super HCM L-Gaim Mk-I. Notice on the back page, the two Sling Panniers are listed for 500 yen a piece..."

Thanks Robert!

C.W. Louis on the Takara Cybercops "i just picked up a set of these guys. they are called cybercops or zac. after examing these 5 cool dudes, i feel that the are indeed underrated. made by takara, japan (this is not the version sold at kaybees), these fully posable, weapon up the ass action figures are about the size of a henshin cyborg (ahh...same makers right?). "each comes with its own unique weapons pack (or could be bought seperately.) they also have interchangeable armors...it's kinda fun to mix and match them. "i love these toys because of there armament as well as it's poseability. i'm hoping to get the bike soon....very soon!" -- cw louis law

Mechaman Roger Harkavy was Waiting for Godog "A couple of months ago, I was throwing fits on the BBS and in the Cafe about the wait for my my Kaiyodo Red Shoulder Custom action figure (click here for audio.) What can I say, I lust for VOTOMS toys the way grade-schoolers crave Pokemon. "Originally, I only ordered one of these from Kaiyodo using their own pre-order service. The previous figure I had ordered this way was the LED Mirage, which not only came a mere three days after its release date, but on a Sunday. As March dragged on, however, I grew increasingly impatient. The idea for this little consumer report struck me , and on April 1, I placed orders for the same item with two additional sources. The dog race was on... "I'm providing details regarding each order on how many days processing and shipping took, and on shipping costs in Japanese and US amounts. (The amounts were converted from Japanese Yen to US Dollars via the Universal Currency Convertor on 04/17/99 and rounded to the nearest nickel. The retail price for the Scopedog RSC figure was 2980 yen, or $25.30 US.) "Since I originally did this comparison, a couple of things have occurred that will probably affect these numbers. Hobbylink Japan has added a new ordering system that promises to reduce order processing time, and on June 30, Kaiyodo will shut down its international toy and model sales. "Take this information and do with it what you will. I'm not about to recommend one service over the others. That part is up to you..." -- Roger

Matt Alt on Uni5 Fistin'! "Uni-Five's 'U5-A Rocket Punch Units' accessory set, which contains a pair of Jumbo-mountable Rocket Punch Units, will go on sale this Saturday, April 5, at Kong Tong Town. The price? 4,000 yen ($35 or so.)" -- Matt

Marc Raley with some Music Appreciation So I'm listenin' to the Phantom Surfers today and I notice they just say 'Gaiking' in the middle of this song 'No Go Diggy D.' (I don't know if he actually says Gaiking or even knows who he is, but it sure sounds like it...) -- Marc

July 1999 | Ramble Index | May 1999