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

5,475 days later…

“You should take a look at some of the tins I put up Josh”. “The Kamen Rider might be of interest to you”.

The term “shock and awe” did not ring truer when I did exactly that.

Collecting can be stressful, as we all know…when we get the bug, and need the fix, many times the “hunt” takes us away from our daily grind. Our partners can roll their eyes at our constant searches on YJ and Ebay on our lap-tops before we go to bed. I found that if you think of the process in reverse, and, think that the right toys will find you, then the sense of urgency falls away, and you can quietly save away your pennies and live your life more normally. Your significant other will thank you ;-)

Now as presumptuous and over the top that sounds, It is a lesson I take from another passion of mine, whose intensity keeps me only on the threshold of peon knowledge even after 6 plus years of study: Antique Nihonto, or Japanese swords.
My first collector friend/ teacher in the hobby told me the sword comes to you. You study and pay the dues for the next piece to eventually arrive when your ready. It seemed like an overly intense/overly mythological way to look at it , and I took it with a grain of salt, but found in time that the events of my evolving acquisitions took an almost serendipitous stance, and ultimately I feel that way of thinking was a good one for me to adhere to.

I had for the better part of 5 years been focusing my collecting on a few things. But Popy and Bullmark zenmai was on the very top of that short list. They were the only part of my collection, that the almost fascist-like neurosis of c10 boxes did not wield it’s full power. The toys were just too beautiful and encompassing of all the funk and soul that this absurd hobby had to offer me. I knew it was something of a full circle process. My collection had gone through tabula rasa many times, for me to get laser-like focus on what it was that I wanted out of my acquisitions. This item was the personification of that goal. “Grail” was not a word I used often, as it had been thrown around too often as a placeholder for something that was rare and cool, but attainable if you watched the auction sites for the better part of 6 months to a year. This toy took 15 years to get to me, and for that I am grateful. It felt like it waited until I was actually ready to appreciate it.

The Kamen rider tins hold a special place for me. They are toys I had not known about for many years of my tin collecting years. I had originally started off with non character 50’s and 60’s robots in the early 90’s, when the Robot boom of the 80’s was slowly tapering down. Like the late 90s for us Chogokin collectors, it was a time when astronomical prices were being shelled out by cash safe and nostalgic buisnesmen.

I first encountered my first KR tin in photos of the Teruhisa Kitahara collection. It was the Battery Op made by Bullmark, which I would not see again until years later in a friend’s collection MIB for the infamous 2006 Morphey Auction. I had purchased a couple Zenmai from the collector in person and he showed it to me. It was deadstock, and I had never seen the box before. I tried to figure a way to sell my car in the next 24 hours after seeing it. Needless to say it was well beyond my means, and went for a healthy price.

The windup however was a different story. I had first seen most of the character tins in the pre internet/ebay days of Toy Shop magazine. For those of you who remember, It was a toy collector monthly periodical that sent many a collector into a phone call frenzy to get the latest dealer finds from the land of the rising sun.

On a page of the Fall 94’ catalog, next to a MIB Popy Voltus 5 zenmai, was something I had never seen before or would again for some time. A Kamen Rider tin in a wider than usual minty box, with what appears to be the most beautiful box art I have ever seen. The box art alone inspires my already growing interest in packaging design and eventual “fall” into c10 boxes.

I contact the dealer, a well known dealer by the name of Ray Rohr, whose photocopy catalogs, stapled, and sent to his mailing list buyers, is the closest thing to heaven a young enthusiast like myself could hope for. I used to pour over his pictures and daydream about having the means to play with the big boys. But this was too much, and I contact him from work to see what the damage will be.

Obviously it is long gone. Like those who are teased by the blurry and tiny Magic Box adds of yesteryear, the high end stuff is always long gone.

So I dream, and wait.

The Morphey auction 12 years later had in addition to the god-like batt op, another Kamen walker. This one however did not have a removable mask, and the lithography was completely different. Even so I was again filled with lust for its badass simplicity. Oddly enough it was also my first introduction to the company Angel. Angel had as I later learned been the manufacturer of both the first and second version Kamen windups after Bullmark closed, and proved to be an interesting transitional time between Bullmark and Ark. As far as I know ( and I do hope to be proved wrong) these were the only two character zenmai Angel tins manufactured. The first version being the non removable mask, the second being the removable mask. The first showed up from time to time, and although rare was not impossible to find. The second version, perhaps due to its later manufacture date, seemed to be made in much less numbers. So far this is the only one I know of. But as with all of these toys, there have to be others out there.

At the time though, the first version went well above what I had /would spend on a windup, and I had put my money on a much “cheaper” Zaboga and Moonlight mask. Fast forward a few years and I finally find another Non removable mask version windup, and do my best to secure it. But as luck would have it, I get played by a certain Hong Kong seller and the original agreed price got bumped up to twice of what it was worth.

There is a well known collector out there who’s advice when finding the grails at auction…bid what your maximum is, and then double it.

I should have taken the advice that day, and soon after regret my choice to pass, but still pissed off due to the shady dealings of the dealer.

About a week later , thinking, like the Ultraman Leo, It was just a walker I was not meant to have, I contact a fellow collector/dealer regarding a couple run of the mill, but nice zenmais he has listed on ebay. I ask if he has any others and await a reply. Any tin zenmai showing up gives me a moment of excitement, and I lose myself in thoughts of finding the few coma inducing characters I have spent years looking for.

Now we come full circle.

After a few emails and a couple drinks to calm my nerves, I manage to secure a buy it now price from the seller. We talk on the phone, and he tells me about how he found it on the Toyshop advertisement, and as he speaks over the phone ( I am at work again) I am transferred back 15 years to the beginning of my career, and collecting. I don’t tell him I was after the same toy all those years ago, and somehow it does not seem needed. Somehow it would ruin the synchronicity.

We come to an agreement, and I sit quietly at work for a few moments after getting off the phone, being both in a state of excitement and financial stress.

Now came the hard part. Shipping.

Needless to say, and for those that know me from this site, I am the shipping nazi. I will forgo all acceptable level of reasonable requests to ensure the box stays the way it should. This box was not perfect, but pretty damn close, and certainly worth half of my final offer. The seller seemed to sense my nature and did a great job. It was a stressful 24 hours waiting, but once I got it, I took my time and even documented the whole process. It seemed fitting after waiting all this time

Eventually it sits on my shelf, and I sit back and look at it. If I smoked anymore, this would have been a perfect time as any to do so.

Toy karma can be a hard won ally. But when the pieces all fit and the universe decides to throw you a bone, it feels really, really good.

Now does anybody have a mint Ultraman Leo walker they want to part with? ;-)

-Josh F

If you’ve been following CM’s Corporation’s Patlabor sofubi releases, you should be familiar with the drill by now – ‘Same scale’ as the main Brave Gohkin figures (approx. 1/46) with ample detail but limited articulation. And of course a limited run: MPL96 blue TV ver. (700pcs); MPL96 white OVA ver. (500pcs); SSL96 standard ver. (300pcs). In my case, I opted for the ‘standard’ and ‘TV’ versions because I’d already invested a small fortune to recreate the TV-edition Ingram team.

‘Official history’ tells us that the MPL96 Taisyo was the Mobile Police’s first operational labor, hastily adapted from the Asuka-SSL96 Taisyo, an existing construction model. The front view shows the obvious similarities, but at the same time, I was pleased to see that CM’s used quite a number of different parts to create the two models; the only common parts are part of the upper arms and most of the lower body and legs. The shoulders are different molds, as are the upper bodies, forearms and shins. From the back, you can appreciate the details even more. The MPL in particular has quite a bit of tampo printing for the SV2 emblem, as well as the tiny ‘license plate’ on the left hip.

The ‘frog eyes’ on the SSL96 are very kawaii, and the only quibble I had was the painted-on ‘holes’ on the calves. I mean, they DID mold the holes on the shoulders… Otherwise, that’s it. They look nice on the shelves but they do absolutely NOTHING ELSE. Sure, they’ve got a waist joint but seriously, I was expecting the arms to at least rotate at the shoulders! As the ‘worker’ Taisyo is going to be a pretty rare find in days to come, I decided to leave it be in the company of the other laborers.

Now the MPL96 is a whole ‘nother matter to me. No way could I be satisfied with a ‘Patlabor’ that couldn’t even look like it’s going to arrest a wayward labor. So after a quick examination, I took the plunge and did some surgery to it… and Voila! My MPL96 is now able to carry a battle staff for riot duty.

To begin, I detached both shoulders, carefully prising them away from the body. As expected, the parts are assembled with ‘superglue’, so you will need a tool like a flat screwdriver, and quite a bit of force. Once taken apart, I noticed that the original mold had already included a convenient circular depression right where a joint would go. I pierced it and shoved a spare ballpoint pen shaft through to serve as a simple ‘axel’. Do note that the bit of extra ‘shroud’ hugging the bottom of the hollows are in fact originally part of the shoulders, cut-off and re-attached here.

One of the tricky things about customising sofubi is that the casting is never exactly the same for each figure, and even less consistent from one hollow part to another. Just look at the shoulder cavities for example: The one on the right has plenty of excess PVC around the joint, so that even after slicing the ‘shroud’ to create a rounder cross-section (for easier turning), the joint is still pretty solid. However, the one on the left is a lot more ‘airy’; while slicing the shroud, I managed to cut into the hollow and had to patch it back with putty.

Lastly, I cut apart the arms at the elbows and inserted a custom joint using Kotobukiya’s M.S.G. (Modeling Support Goods – rolleyes) ‘Poly Unit Double Joint D-113B‘. Although the part is a double joint, I simply left out the mid-section to create a ‘single joint’. I also had to carve out a bit of the forearm’s attachment point to accept the thicker pegs, but ultimately it was a pretty simple job. I couldn’t do anything about the wimpy hands, but if you twist them in just the right angle, they CAN exert enough grip to handle a 6.5″ length of plastic rod.

So there you have it, after 2 hours’ work: from what was once a limited edition figure with limited functionality… to one with a bit more displayability…

Well, I did say it had limited appeal, right? ;-)

Even as a kid I could tell that most Clover toys ‘sucked’ when compared to the better efforts of Takara, Popy and Takatoku. Dunbine? Insect! Gundam? Shiny nonsense! Xabungle? Hmm… No matter their shortcomings, Yoshiyuki Takani‘s oil painted box art definitely resonated well with Xabungle’s trio of realistically designed mecha; and the most desirable, of course, was Irongear… not that I could afford to have one then.

Well, I finally got my hands on a Henkei DX Irongear (See Matt’s original Rumble from ’02) around ’99-’00. It may have been practically all-plastic, but the toy was true to the romantic notion of massive ‘landships’ that bristled with armaments and ‘sailed’ the desert with impunity. The tiny afterthought of Xabungle on the box art, dwarfed by this Mother-of-all-Landships added immensely to the sense of scale and drama. For a Clover toy, it was darn close to perfect: Painless transformation, elevating cannons everywhere, nice molded details and even gimmick compartments. Despite the senseless need to detach the fists, the Henkei DX was absolutely satisfying as a true toy experience. You could lift it in one hand to fly it into battle, or roll it on the metal wheels concealed under the split-halves of its legs.

So what has the SOC to offer that the Clover doesn’t? In a word: Articulation. The older toy was obviously a brick, and not having watched the show, I could even convince myself that the actual design never ‘walked’. Boy, was I wrong! The hobby mag photos had already revealed most of the gimmicks, but I was still pleasantly surpised by the heft of the package. SOC Irongear packs serious steel in key areas such as the chest, groin, thighs, rear lower legs and connecting hinge. However, the real ouerve by Bandai’s team of toy engineers is in giving back to Irongear the magic of poseability: There are no less than 19 points of articulation on the SOC, including firm detented joints in the hips and knees.

Without further ado, let’s have a rundown of Old Iron versus New Metal:

:: 01 :: BOW SECTION
	No doubt about it, the SOC’s bow section looks nicer than the Clover’s. From the independently elevating main cannons to the detailed bulkheads, the SOC impressess with its gritty realism. My first surprise: the rotation of the SOC’s bow tips are synchronised as they are joined by a peg between the halves. Clover’s saving grace are the spring-loaded launchers for the mini-vehicles.

:: 02 :: FORWARD SECTION

The SOC’s forward section sports even more molded detail in the form of rivets, grills and 2 x 4 opening panels that reveal the mechanical guts of Irongear, ala PG Gundam kits. The Clover isn’t too shabby, but relies more on stickers to add visual contrast. An interesting note: the two midship gun emplacements are fixed on the SOC, but are free to rotate on the Clover. Bandai is probably more ‘accurate’ but I prefer Clover’s tactical embellishment.

:: 03 :: MID SECTION

The Clover’s mid roundel is a sturdy affair held together by two pegs on both extending sides. It is only slightly marred by the patch of light gray from the rear half of the thighs. Bandai managed to achieve perfect homogenity and even included a pop-up ‘Potan Cannon’ on the left side of the roundel. Owners of the Clover should take care to read the SOC’s instructions BEFORE transferring the torso / bridge to the aft section. It requires an extra step of separating the rear legs in order to insert the 2-part metal hinge, unlike the simpler (but limited) mechanism of the Clover. If you are hasty in transforming the SOC to either mode, you may risk paint chips on the white thighs or even breaking a plastic peg or two.

:: 04 :: MAIN DECK & BRIDGE

One major difference between the two is that Bandai has provided optional parts to depict a refitted Irongear in the later episodes. This includes a nifty flag that attaches to the left antenna mast, a new ‘jaw piece’ and also a ‘head-wrap’ that I haven’t shown here. The Clover sports some gold trimming around the opaque deck windows, while Bandai has opted for green-tinted clear plastics. A nice touch is the SOC’s flip-top head that reveals the bridge.

:: 05 :: THE HANGAR

Taking a closer look, the contrast between old and new is really stark. The Clover’s one-color Xabungle miniature and plain empty hold was pretty much par for the course in those days; The SOC pushes the envelope with a full-color PVC Xabungle (and Walker Galliar), plus a richly detailed interior; even the hatch features slide-out access ramps. To top it off, the rear wall of the hangar comes in 2 flavors: 1. A curved, functional piece that allows the neck to fully retract (at the cost of room for a miniature), OR 2. A flatter decorative piece that gives the illusion of a roomy hangar (but prevents the neck from retracting).

:: 06 :: AFT SECTION
	For the purpose of comparision, I have folded-up the wings. Where the Clover clumsily resorts to removable fists, Bandai has done the ship justice with properly retracting ones. In addition, the main rocket thrusters on the SOC feature opening hatches as well. Needless to say the molded details on the SOC’s nozzles clearly blow away Clover’s minimal efforts.

:: 07 :: UNDERCARRIAGE

Taking a peek below, I am reminded of the pleasant surprise I had on discovering that the Clover toy actually put in quite a bit of detail for the many hover nozzles. The best thing about the Clover toy is the inclusion of rolling metal wheels… afterall, such kiddy niceties were de rigueur. The SOC follows suit in a similar fashion, with the biggest improvement seen in the cluster of physical funnels for the mid roundel; otherwise, I feel the loss of wheels rather sharply. Another price to pay for all that hardware: you cannot expect to safely hold the SOC in one hand for actual play. It has to be supported by both hands. Sigh.

:: 08 :: HENKEI

This mid-transformation posture is not officially supported, but I thought it would be cool to see anyway. The transformation from Landship to Walker Machine is basically the same for both, but the SOC’s innovative use of joints means it is slightly more complicated than the Clover. On the SOC, the most fidgety part is when attaching the waist to the roundel. The fit of the parts is quite tight and I had to use more force than I expected to get them secured properly.

:: 08 :: WALKER MACHINE MODE
	Here’s the SOC doing its best imitation of the Clover Henkei DX! Although both toys have the same height of about 30cm, you can see that the SOC has slightly different body proportions, with the most obvious being the higher-mounted shoulders.

:: 09 :: DYNAMIC POSING

This is where the SOC really shines. Although the high level of detailing on the SOC’s Landship mode is simply outstanding, in terms of fuss-free enjoyment, the Clover’s lightweight landship doesn’t lose out by much. In Walker Machine mode, however, the Clover is really just a brick with a pair of arms. I can’t begin to describe how impressed I am with Bandai’s ingenious solution for the tricky feat of not only separating the legs, but also designing the requisite joints to allow a truly humanoid range of motion. The hips may have ‘only’ 1 stop forward or backward, and the knees ‘just’ 1 stop back, BUT that is already 2 whole magnitudes of freedom over the original toy. Best of all, the joints are made of metal for durability and the toy is actually able to make use of the potential without losing its balance. Then there is the WAIST JOINT. Wow. Just Wow. :D And not to mention, the double-jointed elbows that allow greater than 90-degree bends. Or the ability to turn and even raise the head… a very important nuance that adds greatly to the SOC’s human-likeness. I think there are few other new or vintage robot toys in my collection that can challenge the SOC Irongear for sheer engineering brilliance. Kudos once again to the team at Bandai! I do believe the SOC Irongear absolutely triumphs over the old stalwart that is the Clover Henkei DX.

:: 10 :: ACCESSORIES
	In line with bonus Walker Machines that come with each Xabungle-series SOC, Bandai has generously provided fully painted miniatures of Xabungle (in vehicular, new and damaged modes), Walker Galliar (separated vehicles, standard and bazooka poses), plus a nifty ‘Goven Class’ Buffalo Landship. More dubious, however, are the DIY ‘kits’ for 6 types of miscellaneous WMs. The problem is that the parts are molded in two colors only – dark gray and light tan, which means painting is a must if you want to achieve the gorgeous ‘anime accurate’ color schemes shown in the booklet. Unless you’re commited to using the right painting brushes in a patient manner, it can degenerate into an awful mess real quick. My own attempts with Gundam Markers are at best adequate… let me tell you: making ‘orange’ by smudging yellow over red paint is not fun at all! Nevertheless, I managed to complete 8 mini WMs (there are enough parts to make 2 of each type in either gray or tan), including 2 with my own color schemes. Seeing the little gang ‘in action’ around the foot of Irongear, ‘trading cargo’ and what-not is an absolute blast. All hail the new heavyweight champion, SOC Irongear!

The reason I say “THE” Curricula Machine is because going forward, ANY ‘merican boys/girls that get into gokin WILL buy Super #1 Robot.

Well, boys and girls, my Curricular Machine is “THE” Curricular Machine featured in the mighty Super #1. The book that is.. Buy it here: http://www.timbrisko.com/super1/

Keep in mind, I did absolutely nothing other than host a photo studio in my garage and hang out with the bros for a week playing with the collection. CM and I are, at the least, honored..

So, what about the toy itself? Honestly, there is not much to say but FUNK. It’s so creepy looking it even freaks me out. I can’t imagine some little Japanese kid watching the show and not losing it. Mister Alt said it was like “Sesame Street directed by Terry Gilliam”, so watch out!

The toy itself is solid die cast with the exception of the stomach, arms, ears and antennae, which are plastic. ARK style plastic just so you know. Eyes move if you turn the ears. Odd #s on the right and evens on the left. Obviously created for a limited attention span. The legs can be pushed forward in a sitting position which reveals wheels on the back of the legs allowing the toy to roll. Maybe he’s Hachan’s Daddy? Who knows.

Either way, it’s an awsome, funky ass, die cast toy worth owning. Yahoo Japan this badboy.

One last thing.. ROGER!! UPLOAD THIS SHOW!

I have a dilemma. With each limited release of CM’s Corp’s soft-vinyl Patlabor figures, I find myself slowly but surely being sucked down into another dimension… the Lair of Sofubi Addiction! Just what is it about these gimmickless, imprecise and exploitingly expensive figures that could appeal to a collector who grew up playing with Super Real High-Technology by Takatoku Toys? In a word: Obscurity.

If all you have ever hungered for as a Patlabor fan was to own some incarnation of the Ingrams, Type-Zero, Griffon and maybe some of the featured enemies by Schaft Enterprises, you could get a quick fix if you don’t mind settling for Bandai’s 1/60 scale model kits. But for true blue toys of those wonderful blue-collar worker labors, you’re out of luck unless you have the skills to tackle soft-vinyl or resin kits. I guess that’s why I’m all over these sofubi labors, even though they really can’t do much except sit pretty.

My Pickel-Kun is the ‘Red OVA version’ (limited to 1,000 pieces); the rarer ‘Brown TV version’ only had a run of 500 pieces. So far, the colors of the actual toys have been slightly inaccurate compared to the online publicity photos. Overall, I find the colors to be duller than expected… my ‘red’ Pickel was actually ‘reddish brown’ (which makes me wonder what the ‘brown’ Pickel really looks like!) The toy has a grand total of just 1 (ONE) movable joint… and that’s the main turret. Those three clawed legs are fixed pieces – the beautifuly detailed pistons cry out to be customised into real working parts. Even the deep-grooved wheels tucked away in the midst of each set of claws are just a molded detail. Poseability is effectively zero, but then again, it looks fabulous when paired with the resolute Ingram.

So, is it worth more than 5,000 yen each? I certainly enjoyed having both sofubi labors within easy reach around my desk… They are relatively well-detailed and molded, and best of all, they are almost indestructible – a quality I have come to cherish more and more when so many contemporary mecha ‘collectibles’ simply fall apart because of over-ambitious product design. These sofubis? They’re made to last. :-)

Feedback and comments are welcome at the regular CM’s Corp Patlabor BBS thread.

Well, this isn’t intended to be a full-fledged review but since Bandai (and its minions) has been testing the waters with new L-Gaim products, I thought it would be nice to revisit these two classic toys from the 90s. Back in the day, HCMs were a real toy oddity, mostly because the relatively refined packaging and prohibitive prices were targeted at a market segment that wouldn’t mature for another decade: The adult toy collector. I recall being highly irate when as a teenager I came across the HCMs in local shops… “Are they crazy? $50 (local money) for such a small toy?”

Eventually, close-out sales at the local Yaohan in ’97 brought prices down to reasonable levels and amongst the first I snapped up was the L-Gaim Mk-II. For less than 8 USD it seemed a good deal but then again, I got the large 1/100 Hi-Metal L-Gaim for just 15 USD at Isetan! It was only in 2000 that I finally tracked down a HCM L-Gaim for the princely sum of 125 USD. Such is the price of r@rity on Ebay!

What more can I say about Mamoru Nagano’s designs? Fans have long noted the lineage of L-Gaim’s Heavy Metals with his later baroque and opulent mecha for Five Star Stories, but even with the relatively clean and elegant outlines of the two L-Gaims, hidden complexities are just waiting to frustrate the casual collector.

For example, both toys feature double-jointed knees, but the range of movement is woefully limited especially when compared with the DX Hi-Metal (or any modern MSiA for the matter)… So, no ‘kneeling’ poses. The feet do have some flexibility in the jointed heels, which helps greatly with balancing. However, most troubling to me is the retarded design of the elbows, and it has to be said out loud:

ROBOTS WITH SHIELDS OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO USE THEM PROPERLY! (Grrr!!!)

Both HCMs simply can’t be posed convincingly in a ‘hunkered down’ shielded pose, and similarly, the number of ways L-Gaim can position its single blue cannon is severely limited.

On the other hand, Mk-II’s buster launcher comes with several possible ‘handles’ that allows for pretty convincing 2-handed firing stances. The foldable bipod is a nice detail, although not being familiar with the manga or anime, I’m not too sure how a 100-feet tall robot would feel about imitating a human sniper lying on the floor.

As for WAIST JOINTS, you’ll be glad to know both HCMs come with this highly coveted feature. However, it’s still a mixed blessing at best: The L-Gaim has greater range of movement but underneath the rubber shroud, the joint is easily loosened and can hardly hold its pose. The Mk-II’s waist rotates securely but only in one axis… and more frustratingly, its head cannot turn left or right, only up or down. I suppose ‘up/down’ was given priority because of its flight mode, but it’s really galling when you’ve wrestled the launcher into a cool pose and the robot can’t even see where it’s aiming!

Other than these design foibles, the HCM L-Gaims are really beautiful to look at, especially when you observe them up close. While the ‘Mk-I’ doesn’t have the opening leg hatches or winged-binder of the über-expensive Super HCM, it does sport a detachable helmet that lets you peek at its mechanized noggin. The Mk-II’s head is not removeable, but still features some wonderfully detailed ‘hair strands’ visible from the back.

By the way, I did say they are a ‘mess’? That’s all thanks to the super fiddly ‘power cables’ – the L-Gaim comes with a single black coated metal wire, while the Mk-II has 3 loose and snaking rubber tubes that are guaranteed to try your patience. So, while the HCMs still make handsome display pieces on any collector’s shelf, I am seriously looking forward to Bandai releasing something more substantial than a R3 kit or PVC ‘In Action’ figure (SOC? SPEC?). Hopefully, they’ll also remember to address the poseability issues when the day comes.

You can [Talk about it in the BBS]

Alright-y… what’s green, 8 meters tall, weighs over 12 tons and ships in a plastic bag for 5,000 yen? The answer is none other than CM’s Corporation’s soft-vinyl figure of the slightly goofy but oh-so-nicely-designed Tyrant 2000 worker labor as featured in the Patlabor anime. Made to be ‘in-scale’ with its recent Brave Gohkin Patlabor, the lovable green hulk was releasd as a limited edition of 1000 pieces, with a smaller run of 500 pieces for a brown-colored variant. Even at a relatively steep price of 5,000 yen (steep to the sofubi-uninitiated), it must have sold pretty well because CM’s has just announced another run of 500 unpainted Tyrants at the same price. No doubt customisers will have a field day with it, adding working joints and cloth shrouds, etc.

For myself, the Tyrant is a first of sorts: I was compelled to buy my first modern sofubi mainly because I had so enjoyed the diecast rendition of the Ingram, I simply had to give it a shelf companion. Afterall, who knows if a diecast Griffon or Zero will ever be released? The Tyrant indeed shipped in a barebones plastic bag with a printed cardboard topper. I was aware of such minimalist ‘packaging’ for even the rarest hobby-show sofubis, so I wasn’t in the least shocked. Being soft and pliable, the toy is very unlikely to become damaged even if the shipping box gets mangled enroute.

As can be seen, the Tyrant is a hulking piece of machinery, at least a head taller and twice as massive as the sleeker Ingram. The Tyrant is molded in a pleasant shade of medium green, although nowhere near as solid looking as the publicity photos. The level of molded details is pretty good; panel lines, rivets and mechanical parts appear crisp and well defined. Painted details are neat enough but some areas do appear slightly sloppily applied, especially on the white band surrounding the body. One of the grey windows on my toy had a definite fingerprint on it. Not too noticeable anyway.

In the TV and first movie, when a Tyrant runs amok (whether because of a wayward operator or the virulent Hyper Operating System), it can be quite a handful. Typical engagements require at least 2 Ingrams working in concert to subdue the beast. As usual, Ohta provides the muscle while Izumi gives the coup de grace with the stun stick. That is, if the labor doesn’t rear its head again while under the sinister control of HOS.

With its limited, single-plane articulation (shoulders, elbows and hips), the real appeal of the figure is probably its realistic industrial design – a brilliant aesthetic touch seen throughout the lot of Labors created by Yutaka Izubuchi and the Headgear team. One wonders about what could have been if only Bandai had made and sold affordable sofubi figures of these strangely likable work site creatures back when the series was going strong. Today, the realisation of this dream would mean either miniscule gashapons… or more 5,000 yen rarities. I guess I ‘ll just have to take what I can get.

Discuss on the bbs…

Well, I’m sure I can’t be the only crazy fool but I have definitely fallen hook, line and sinker for CM’s Corporation’s Brave Gohkin Patlabors. You know the drill by now: They being ‘small toy companies catering to a specialised collector market’, will always find a way to maximise profits either through repaints and variants (rare or otherwise). In the case of these gorgeous Ingrams, it’s all in the head… literally.

First, CM’s released the Movie Ver. in early March where each set contained one (1!) body with the optional parts for either Izumi’s No. 1 head, or Ohta’s No. 2 head. Then just before April, the TV Ver. comes out with options for either No.1 or No. 3 heads. Hard to understand? Not if you’re a Patlabor fan, it isn’t…

Fans of the first movie will probably buy 2 of the Movie Ver. sets to own both No. 1 and No. 2. However, I suspect many more Patlabor fans love the TV and OVA series even more and would want to have the expanded line-up of all three Ingrams. With the cunning switcheroo on the TV-edition set, a fan will have to somehow acquire a No. 2 head from the Movie-edition, plus another TV-edition set to have the ‘anime correct’ shield emblem and stun-baton. Unless you have a buddy to exchange parts with, you may very well end up buying 4 sets in total. Like me!

Anyway, no regrets. The toy is really wonderfully realised with an abundance of diecast content and more than sufficient poseability in the cloth-shrouded joints. The inclusion of working patrol lights, opening cockpit hatches, slide-up seat and hatch-actuated revolver-cannon compartment are everything I have hoped for in a DX Patlabor toy.

I could never have as much satisfaction with any of the old Bandai toys from the 90s… Not with the brick-like 1/32 ‘lights & sound’ Ingram, and certainly not with the frustratingly pose-limited 1/60 Cloth-Gear series. The current Patlabor output from Kaiyodo’s Revoltech is mighty sweet for action figures, but with the CM’s Ingram I have found an ‘SOC worthy’ incarnation of one of my favorite Yutaka Izubuchi mecha designs.

What else is on the horizon from CM’s Corp? Well, I have already been induced to purchase my very first sofubi because of the excellence displayed in the Ingram: The limited edition ‘in-scale’ Tyrant 2000 worker labor.

Judging from the multiple re-stockings of the Ingram here in Singapore, I certainly hope CM’s continues with a Brave Gohkin of the badass Griffon. That’s the version with the wings right? Or the underwater one? I’ll take ’em all, thank you!

[Talk about it in the BBS…]

There was a failed experiment, “American Otaku”

Has it really been almost four years?

Juicy Eva Spread 1

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Dan Cover

Juicy Dan Spread 1

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