toyboxdx toy blog brog: is graceful art of daily expressing japanese toy  

This robot is such a nice guy. Nearly everybody likes him. But why?
Because he’s a bit fatty, has a very long nose and is blue?
Well maybe its a combination of everything. So what…I like him too.

This one here is the ca. 6,6” (17 cm) Missile Firing Sofubi from Nakajima.
I call him “small MFV” because there also is the big MFV-Talker.
Let’s start with the Box. Not so spectacular from the front, but specially
the back is very nice illustrated.
Mr.Fraser “rediscover” the good old animated Gif…so I MUST HAVE one here too ;-)

Sorry, the Gif is ca.500 kb big…but quality needs a frew kb’s.

Here the box “non-animated”.

Pegas comes with 3 missiles, a few cardboard targets and little vinyl “friend”.
Sorry I’m a cretin…is this little “friend” really friend.? What’s his name?
Please tell me the whole story in the BBS.

Here’s Mr.Pegas. Isn’t he cute…

Some close-up’s of his missile launchers.

BANG, BAAAANG…Gansta Pegas.

That’s it for today. More stuff as usual in the BBS.
Don’t forget to tell my how the name of his little alien friend is.

A long weekend, a bunch of Astekaizers and ready is a Brog
about this funky japanese wrestler from the 70ties.
The TV show Pro Wrestling Star Astekaizer was premiered
in 1976 and was a mix of live action and animation, created by Go Nagai.
Yonezawa made a few Astekaizer toys. I focus on Astekaizer himself today.

Lets start with the big sofubi (No.14).

The size is ca. 8,3 inches (21cm). He only has a very simple action feature.
He could turn his arms around and you could remove his rubber-forearm-blades.
I’m not sure if you really could call this is an “action feature”  ;-)
These rubber parts are very loose attached…thats why most loose specimen are incomplete.

I really love the box of this guy. To be precise, I love all the Astekaizer boxes!
…and now you have the answer why this sucker is so expensive these days:
because of the diamond in his forehead!

Here are some detail shots of his rubber forearms and chest plate.

Lets continue with the “Standard” Diecast Astekaizer (No.1).
Again great box art and this time Astekaizer has some real action features.
There are two variations of the No.1 Astekaizer. The boxes look nearly the same,
but inside, one is packed in styrofoam and the other in foamed material.

They also have a different switches for the blade pop out mechanism on
their wrists/forearms and the illustration for this mechanism differ on
the back of the box.

Astekaizer has 3 action features. Removable chest plate (!), pop out chrome blades and
one of the best features ever: Missile firing feet!

Now its time for the mini Astekaizer (No.2). Also diecast with movable
blades in his forearms.

Here is the small sofubi Astekaizer. He comes in a plastic bag with cardboard header.

Thats it for today. More stuff as usual in the BBS.

Back of the header card.

Lets wrestle!

Another reason to not drink the water. Nekro Dave sends in this AWESOME header card from a Mexican boot.

Unfortunately, it’s not all that often that I get blown away by a new toy. Especially Japanese vinyl these days.

But right now, I’m blown away.

When Marusan first announced its M-Pop Rainbow Series, it definitely seemed like an interesting experiment to me. I mean, they’ve been pushing the barriers of licensed (character) kaiju vinyl for some time now with lines like the iridescent foil-filled “Crystal Kaiju” series and other cool, creative shit like that. The M-Pop Rainbow sets seemed like a nice way to return to a certain simplicity. No clear vinyl. No glitter. No glow. No crazy inserts. Just seven unpainted figures of some of their most venerable Toho and Tsuburaya sculpts…cast in opaque ROYGBIV (rainbow) colors.

Neat…but I never thought I’d actually get a set for myself. I mean, I respect Marusan and I kept up with news of the series, but it just didn’t seem my thing. I kinda figured the series wouldn’t last seeing as how the vinyl market’s in retreat. And what “hardcore” Japanese vinyl collector’s gonna plunk down $200 for something as un-kewl as licensed kaiju toys when there are so many “hot” designer toys out now (bitter, table for one?)???

But, yo, honestly each release tempted me. The original Marusan Goji sculpt was tough enough to pass up. Hard to get more iconic than that. Then they go and drop a gorgeous Mothra set…that’s basically perfect in rainbow colors. The Ultraman ones were intense. Hedorah almost broke me. And, yes, believe it or not, fucking Guilala–one of my favorite all-time underdog kaiju–had me on the fence!

Oh. But then Marusan done did it. They brought the mechanized noise. Set #8: Mechagodzilla. Now, how in the hell was I supposed to resist this?? Nah, it was on now. I previously didn’t have any figures of this sculpt, and at 2313 yen per figure (plus shipping, of course), I’d be pretty fucking stupid NOT to throw down.

And am I pleased with my purchase? Oh hell yeah.

For real, these things are killer. So much fun. They look amazing…in pretty much any display. As long as you can fit ’em all on your shelf, of course.

Honestly, the part I like about them the best is how much they take me back to my childhood, playing with erasers. Yup. Roger definitely blew up the spot with his tongue-in-cheek passion for keshigomu. When I was little, all I knew was that they were not for erasing! As long as they were tiny, detailed, solid-colored (and cheap enough for my mom to buy me), they were plenty for my imagination to take off to unknown worlds…

And like every good boy, I was an inexplicably huge fan of dinosaurs. Just like many of you I’m sure, I had an almost terrifyingly encyclopedic knowledge of the creatures…and, of course, I salivated over any and all dino-related toys. For whatever reason, solid-colored dinosaurs–erasers or not–were super-popular in the 80’s. I didn’t have a ton, but the few I had, I loved the shit outta.

Which brings me back to these guys.

Fantastic. These figures are simply a joy. Sure, I love the fact that it’s fucking Mechagodzilla…but just the solid, unpainted colors makes them a blast to mess around with. For real, taking these pictures in my backyard was the most fun I’ve had with modern toys in a while! Totally took me back…

Mechagodzillas. They’re here. They’re cybernetic. Get used to it.

Pro-taku Patrick Macias dropped by the Mancave to check out some killer sofubi. Film of the carnage is right here.

What can I say about Warren Schwartz that hasn’t already been said? How about, we are lucky as Hell to have a guy as hardcore yet so effortlessly generous among us. This little story starts here:

http://toyboxdx.dsri.xyz/brog/?p=6738

As usual, I’m floored by the sheer density of super rare, high quality stuff Warren possesses. Pretty much every pic is a work of art and Josh, of course, does a stellar job describing an experience many only dream about. This time however, I’m a bit *more* excited than usual because of this one little unassuming photo:

http://toyboxdx.dsri.xyz/brog/wp-content/uploads/2009/mechamachine-zaboga-loose1.jpg

Today, with the Mecha Machine-Zoboga parts I already had, this lovely creature is now in it’s full-glory existence once again. Thanks to really great fellow collector, Warren Schwartz.

We arrive at Walker’s at 9:27 and wait for him a few minutes to show. He drives up in his truck and greetings are exchanged. He has that awesome gregarious good nature that makes picking up a conversation, even when it has been a while since you last talked, seem like no time at all. Matt is a guy with a lot on his plate, yet always makes you feel welcome.

Dave, Sanjeev, Regan and I prepare for sensory overload, and we are not disappointed.
The room smells of fresh paint, paint thinner and insanity. The machines hum, the air is thick with creativity and toys in various states of drying.

Matt takes us upstairs and unloads a bin of toys for sale. A few of us pick through and acquire some gems to add to collections and gladly see some new projects sitting in the office.
Regan is enchanted by a Weta space gun and it occurs to us all, how perfect the outfit she wore was for the occasion. Steampunk meets 50’s sci fi chic.
Matt shows some of his new acquisitions and the smell of Bullmarks is both familiar and comforting. A collective buzz soon gives way to a realization we have things to do and projects to finish.

Walker puts us to work, in helping him bag and prep some projects. We readily agree and all enjoy the quiet repetition of bag, header card, toy , staple, repeat.
I help him label and bag some Monster Color orders while Dave and Sanjeez rub some kaiju out… um yeah anyway.

Dave makes a discovery of a variation on the jumbo Raideen fist, and gives the night a level of historical jumbo significance.

In the meantime personal projects are discussed and timelines figured out, and jokes made in good nature at one’s another’s expense. Much like the community here, ball busting is a favored pastime.

With the work done late that night, we take our leave and promise to be sure the next visit is sooner than later. Matt thanks us and Regan and I are amused at the almost twisted Santa’s workshop nature of it all. Matt Walker is the mad hatter genius of our toy making community and we are all better off for it.

Visit Matt at his website and check out some of the cool things he is working on:

http://deadpresidentsdesigns.blogspot.com/

Matt Walker of Dead Pre$idents showed the love to this Incubot Nekosaur something fierce!!!