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

Daily money shots!

Thank you Uncle Warren!!

1977 rules baby! Grendizer (the tail end of the series, thank you Duban) for starters, which Gingaizer no doubt Nippon Animation’s answer to.. What is there to say about a standard sized vinyl? Two points of articulation and an AWESOME backer and header card! A very rare sight indeed. It pisses me that these are not more of these standard guys available. I have a very hard time believing that they were / are popular as the show sucked ass so bad….

The other two standard sofubi continue to elude me for now, but I will hopefully finish the trifecta of Granfighter, Spinlancer and Bullgator soon.

Reigning Looney in partnership with Fewture have released some modern representations here, but have yet to deliver.

Head over to the BBS and discuss HERE!

Pictured:

One of the 7 “pinky” prototypes holding an S7 raffle prize Star Wars Stormtrooper collectible. Rebel scum…..

Sadly, these and other “Rumbles” like it are not available in our archive anymore. This little love letter is just one of many I’ll hopefully be posting for us all to brush up on in the near future. ENJOY!

– Sjoen

The Power of Gecki
Erik Sjoen
12.03.01

I was consumed by a toy made for collectors by a collector. The Hobby Project Gekiganger complements of Kanzen Hentaro. Let me start off by saying that Josh Fraser RULES! This guy noticed my random BBS posts every month stating “I NEED A GEKIGANGER”, and he remembered them. Maybe, because he knows that feeling of desperation we all feel when one of the pieces of our collective puzzle is missing and we can’t find it.

It’s people like Josh Fraser that makes this site as cool as it is. Geki RULES!

OK. So here is one of the BEST early “BANDAI” standard sized removable mask Bandai Kamen Rider sofubi. 10 inches tall and sporting child bearing hips, this piece is sick!

More pics to come. A PACKED house at Super 7 San Francisco tonight!

Let it be said that man lives a good part of life in his memory. A vast discombobulated account of his time here on this planet, and a questionable recollection of said time past at best. I mean, seriously, where were you in June 1978 at 7:25pm on a school night? You really want to know? I’ll tell you. You’re sitting in the bathtub succumbing to Mommy’s orders, a 4 inch black and white figure clasp inside your little bitty hand while drowning Greedo in haste.. You don’t want to get out of the tub as you’re kicking some rebel scum ass (not realy), but alas the deed is done. “Get OUT! Drop the Stormtooper!” she screams, and it’s over…

Fast forward 30 years.

Sitting in the Hybrid Design conference room at 10:25am on a Tuesday to discuss the progress of a bigger than life Stormtrooper. Enter Super7 visionary Brian Flynn with a handful of what looks like junk, sporting a shit eating grin.. Upon closer inspection, he’s holding geek gold in his arms. The odds and ends of what were to become the stumbling blocks to a real “Picaso” so to speak. A true crossover of two totally different toy families. The Japanese giant Jumbo Machinders and George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise… Dude.. Seriously?

Well, the rest is history now, isn’t it?

Yep. It’s not like it’s news. This hype has been going on for quite sometime. BUT, honestly this project must be given the respect it deserves. This project, will, without a doubt be the catalyst for something far bigger. I for one certainly hope so.

OK, so on to some behind the scenes highlights!

Check out this prototype wax head:

This was one of countless incarnations of what was to become the “Super Shogun”. It’s really always been about the details with this thing. For example the helmet on this wax prototype was 1/8 inch to far forward and was like clockwork rejected much like the countless others that were to follow.. Honestly though, this project was a true labor of love and these small set backs were exactly what brought this masterpiece to fruition.

Stickers and Jumbo Machinders are a torrid match. Don’t get me wrong here. I LOVE the vintage feel and aesthetics of stickers, but let’s face it, they do fade over time. The PINK rubber in this picture is actually a prototype of the black that appears on the finished product replacing the need for stickers. This is two fold, as the actual Stormtroopers sport rubber suits under their armor and long term, as any JUMBO aficionado knows, stickers die..

Below are an army of prototype PINK Stormtrooper Jumbos awaiting the call to participate in the next “race for the cure”. They only run for breast cancer though..

Alas.. I could talk all day about the wonder of this magnificant piece and why you should buy it, BUT… I really feel you need to see it for yourself. It just so happens we are throwing a party this weekend in its honor. Come on down to Super 7 if you can and see it for yourself this Saturday, June 12th at 6pm clickity CLICK HERE for details. Be there or be rebel scum…

In closing I give you these awesome shots to wet your whistle with.. May the force be with us all.

[Disclaimer: The pictures featured below consist of the actual creative process involved in producing this piece and are in NO WAY a definitive representation of the actual finished product that will be for sale.]