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

This is what happens when the Chairman can’t make his own board meeting…

Live from the East Coast Summit 2009.

The Grip Jumbo G5.

The sentence itself makes me smile.

Alen is right. This toy is perfection. From the classically painted artwork to the understated details and lack of any superfluous decoration… It has been written about far better and more thoroughly than I am able, so I will simply say, there are few times Popy got it wrong. This is one of those times for me.

If you are going to buy a Gatcha Phoenix, this is the only one you need consider. When given the choice buy the Bently, not the Chystler 300 .

My first, and still my favorite Popy Zenmai. If you have been thinking of getting your feet wet in the hellish world that is tin walkers, here is a good place to start. You won’t be disappointed.

I purchased my first Popy tin from Mike Z. He always knew before I did what drug I would pick next. But like any good dealer, they don’t let you know you are hooked until you arrive at the conclusion first.

Getta G was what I grew up with, but something about Getta 1 seduced my Western centric mind. Maybe the realization that my favorite Go Nagai creation, was not in fact the original incarnation. Like a child realizing later in life, they were not the first person to have awareness, I was stunned and excited by the simplicity and comparatively frugal horned ancestor to my childhood hero…the idea he was the first born and still relatively alien to me. Maybe even the idea that G1 and I were the same age… both constructed and introduced in 1974, appealed to my budding narcissistic tendencies. Mazinga was too old, Getta G too young. This porridge was just right

So began my subsequent pursuit of the perfect totem representation of this icon.

It started and ended with this toy. In my opinion, A sublime construct of color , balance and composition. A walking bit of Pop(y) art distilled and hidden for decades until Mike takes him out of the glass case and stuck a new thorn in my heart.

Wait for it.
Here it comes…

Obsessive desire to collect them all.

(Cue a decade long case of financial ruin and late night post auction stress disorder)

*twitch twitch*

Made by Bullmark, this Ultraman Leo trike has a disarming and disturbing power of cute that would easily bitchslap Hello Kitty off her pedestal.

Another new cell in the Gaiking arsenal.

In the spirit of Matt’s amazing and wonderful work of art, I was inspired to add my little creation from about 2 years ago.

The concept I drew was for a shoe company mascot. While working as a freelance design director in Hong Kong, we had a client who wanted to create a memorable icon for their new children’s footwear line. WIRA means “Hero” in Malaysian. In my deranged biased mind, what better represented this than a chubby waddling robot?

So after creating the concept and most of the shoes ( picture Asics Tigers meets Accupuncture cupsole skate shoes.) , we had the fun task of creating some of the Point of Purchase displays. The iconic image of Mazinga Z’s and Tetsuwan atom’s cross section placed itself firmly in mind, and soon we found a manufacturer/modeling company who could make it out of the materials we wanted, complete with light up eye.

Meet WIRA!

Love him.
Like Gamera, he is the friend of children everywhere.

We eventually also made a non transparent free standing version PVC “machinder”.

A 3d animated commercial was also made in house. I had a whole family of Wira’s ready to go.

This was one of the most gratifying projects I had the pleasure of executing. It was one of the first times that I got to be a kid again and incorporate it into my day job. Making one’s own toys, as many of us can attest is indeed the best drug on earth.

I have recently been picking up a few Gaiking cells here and there. This one in particular makes me smile every time I look at it. I am a sucker for Bazolar’s dumb angry face.

The arrival of a Danguard zenmai a week ago made me reflective.

I know your dad didn’t love you. I am sorry for that. Even your stoic emotionless face betrays your sadness Danny boy.

Maybe he was ashamed and never wanted to admit you were his creation. You were jealous of his other children who were more popular at school than you.

Sometimes the other super robots maybe made fun of your manchild lips.
Even Raideen smirked at them behind your back.

And it took me a while to understand why we saw you so late in the anime…How many training sessions did we have to go through? Why did we have to suffer through Patti’s terrible accent?
I was admitingly disapointed when your Force five day rolled around on Monday. Even Spackateers was more exciting in a car crash kind of way. I mean we all knew Captain Mask ( Captain Dan) was Windstar’s (Takuma Ichimonji) dad pretty early on, and what was up with his trumpet solos on the bridge at susnet at ends of episodes?

But eventually as I got older and more sentimental, like an abused spouse, I decided to remember your good points years after our relationship ended. I wear rose colored glasses now. I warmed up to you. And as time went on, I began to see your appeal.

Even your lips did not seem so disagreeable.

(*Dan Kobayashi actually designed Danguard, but Matsumoto was the creator of the series.)

Martial arts has been part of my life for about a decade. I have a sifu whom I owe much to. Someone who has shown me a path to better myself, and how to interact with others.

There is another though, that has simply through his consistent goodness and never ending exuberance, shown me the way.

Boomerang in T minus 10…9…8

“Uncle” Warren, the bright eyed, platnium curl and pepper haired, captain of the perverbial ship of gokin, vinyl, and tin.
The silent, spiritual sentinal who blazed a path from which our toy DNA spirals outward and onward, talks with a quiet and steady cadence.

“Josh, hold up, I have something for you”.

You can’t fake this, buy it, or manufacture it.

Warren Schwartz’s grace is not in how large his collection is, or how long he has been acquiring. Likely more than any of us on both counts anyway.
It is in the kindness of a heart that wishes to not only share his love and knowledge of the Japanese toy foodgroups, and ultimately the care and respect he shows his fellow collector.

Warren runs upstairs and reappears with a Popy box in hand. He seems almost child-like in his excitement. It is a thing I had lusted for when first seeing it not an hour previous. One I know all too well. One up until this point, I never thought I would ever have.

…7…6…5

My first meeting with Warren was the fateful week that Day Old Antiques had closed its doors for the final time.

Like my first meeting with Alen, I was not only impressed by Warren’s nature but the resulting feeling I had known him for years.
Deciding that another meet up should be in the works, we met for sushi and then took a trip to his house to see the famed collection.

It has been written about before, so I certainly will not go into detail, but suffice to say I was speechless at the magnitude and the care in which he quietly stored everything. Row upon row of brown paper bags and boxes, complete with hand written description cards of each one’s content. Each one describing entire runs of toys.

This is Zen. This is what love looks like physically condensed.

…4…3…2

When at Day Old, I had with me one of the many custom containers used for transporting Popy GA 51’s. Shyly I spoke to my new acquaintance about my goofy desire in locating the perfect box one day.

Um, your OCD is showing.

Ironically, up until that point, I only had a Shogun Warrior box, that would be worthy of such a container, as it seemed that in the early days of seeking out these treasures, A Popy version seemed few and far between in any condition above a c8.

Warren hands me the Ark. It is gem mint. It has a sheen and a glow I rarely see on vintage.
I don’t get truly emotional over toys, but this was a moment where choking up a bit did not seem unwarranted.

…1

“I think you should have this. Just when you get a chance, send me your box in the mail.”

I nod.

What do you say in such a moment?

I look up, throat tight, and a sting at the corner of each eye.

Hold steady son.

Warren stands there, his Buddha smile seems to clarify everything for me. A thought begins to crystalize. I have a boomerang in my back pocket and a desire to throw it hard.

My heart is beating fast, and I realize I am in the presence of true benevolence.

Thank you sifu.