Takatoku & Grip Bankid Ox (バンキッドオックス) 1976

2012 is nearly over and I thought poor Gabura needed some extra love.
Some people call him Poophead…not very nice!

For those who don’t know Gabura.
Gabura (ガブラ) is one of the Akumaizer 3 guys, a popular japanese
tokusatsu TV series from the mid 70ties. He is the strong, beefy, “the thing”
kinda guy of the three.

First I wanted to make a little photo review about the Bullmark large sofubi
and started to shot a few photos…

…but than I thought that Gabura is such a cool guy with so many “different” faces.
Let’s make a little “Gabura-family-photo-review”.

Here we go…The Gaburas.
Made by Bullmark, Takatoku, Grip, etc

…and the smallest of the gang. Gabura key-chain

…ok, he looks like a Poophead!

Mission Sea Shark accomplished!
Sounds like a top secret undercover operation. But nothing really secret here.
This is only the attempt to get a smile into this poor Jumbo Grip Denjin Zaboga’s face.

I bought a very nice nice Zaboga few years ago. Nice box, nice condition…everything was nice.
Nice, nice, nice…but wait! Something was missing. Something you don’t see normally.
Something stored in Zaboga’s back. Sea Shark!

Zaboga’s little jet that could fly and also could operate underwater like a submarine.
Sound like a gadget from Q for James Bond.

But it’s “only” a little red plastic jet…you can’t even see it…so…forget it.
I tried to forget this little missing detail. But it didn’t work.

A few days ago one of Zaboga’s brothers arrived in germany with a special gift.

Incomplete, battle damaged…but with sometging very special in his back.
Noooo…the Zabogas won’t do what YOU think…

Sea Shark

Years of scanning Yahoo auctions, nightmares, incomplete-depressions
come to an end, a happy end for 1000 Yen ;-)

Mission accomplished. Zaboga could smile again.

Firts I only wanted  to post a macro picture of Zaboga’s little jet.
But the Brog got out of control…sorry for that.

But it seems that this Brog is now a kind of Jumbo Grip Denjin Zaboga review.
A little bit ;-)

Here are a few more older fotos of Zaboga’s gimicks.
His “Jet Punch” (fist on chain), transformation into the motorcycle Machine Zaboga
and his back which could be opened for the Sea Shark.

more stuff in the BBS.
If you want more infos about the real Denjin Zaboga.
Check out this site.

Josh: Mason, Regan and I decide to get brunch, and then head back and open some packages that arrived earlier in the day from Japan.

You all know the feeling. It is that birthday or holiday come early half giddiness..

Two boxes sit on my bed. One slightly larger than the other. Kanji scrawled and exploding on the surface.

I realize one of them holds a number of items Regan purchased on Yahoo Japan in the past couple months. I sense her excitement . I first open the larger box and find waiting a Banso G5, A vinyl Bullmark reissue of a Ultra 7 Batt op, and a GA 51 first version that I bought on a whim.

Mason looks on with interest at the later, and it occurs to me he only lacks a first version of the GA51 in his Gaiking collection.

Handing the GA51 to Mason, I tell him to complete his set. He happily obliges me and takes the toy.

Regan is chomping at the bit and I hand the knife to her and let the madness ensue…

But I will let her (and the photos) tell you about that.

Regan: The first box I unwrapped was the die-cast Takatoku Umi-Bozu. Oh god, I love this dude. I love his Kewpie-doll arms, his blonde coiffure and his crazed (extendable!) stare. I love his seemingly dubious red…friend….thing and his completely inexplicable marble…projectile….thing. This toy is like the embodiment of my early 20s – I have no idea what’s going on but I know that it’s AWESOME. Next up were the Irutan pieces: the standard-sized Bullmark vinyl, Grip die-cast and plastic necklace of completely unknown origin. All I really want to say about these toys is that I have never seen anyone so thrilled to be a cowboy dolphin. I’m never going to let him watch The Cove. Next was, well, I have no idea what this toy is. Josh maintains that it looks like a Kure Kure Takora reject. I really just love the irony of a wind-up octopus dressed like a sushi chef. Did I mention he has feet? ‘Cause he does. Lastly was the orgy of Rockbat: the Blazer motorcycle vinyl, the 2 Rockbat mini vinyls and, of course, the disco version. These toys are amazing – particularly the sparkly charm of the latter. I can feel you rolling your eyes right now but you know what? I am still a girl and I will make squeaky noises at Rockbat all I want.

Josh: After the girl plays with her prizes I manage to find a few more gems hidden among the others myself. I unwrap a underrated Yonezawa Red baron wind up, a few Gaiking puzzles and a Godzilla v.s Megalon soundtrack 7 inch.

Mason leads us to the kitchen and opens up Gaiking. Putting him together, he flys him around and we all sit back in our chairs drunk with nostalgia and happiness. Watching the moments of relived childhood wash over others is a gift in itself. We as a community need that. It is what keeps the toy boomerang alive and well.

Today was a reminder for me, why this hobby keeps us coming back.

Fist firing mini diecast funk!

With my last parcel from japan this little toy arrived in germany.
It took quiet a long time to get this little sucker. Finally I could complete
my Akumaizer Grip collection. Zabitan, Gabura & Evil’s funky mothership.
Had been outbid a few times until I won this one on Yahoo Japan.
Holy shit, some of these little Grip got expensive.
Together with Zabitans Gari Bird, Zaidabeck is one of the bit “harder to get”
Akumaizer Grip toys I think. The 3 heroes & 2 Gariba bikes are very common.
Ok, enough talk…enjoy the fotos guys!

Hope you appreciate that I destroy the holy mintness of this toy, by open the blister
and shot it for you!
…just joking ;-)
But interesting question. How do you guys display your Grip toys?
I personally display them in their packaging.
More fotos etc in the BBS.

Nakajima Tekkaman Mini Size versus Eidai Grip Tekkaman.
Which Tekkaman is the better toy? I’m trying to find an answer today.
I know that any serious robot collector asked himself that question ;-)

Lets start with the Box.

The Nakajima Small Size version comes with a very beautiful box, same artwork style as
his bigger “standard” size brother. Ok, same artwork style as all Nakajima gokin boxes.
Nice combination of illustration-style on the front and foto elements on the other sides.

The Grip Tekkaman comes in the usual Grip “plastic-dome” box, with “instruction sheet art”
on the back and a nice colorful illustration inside.

Two different styles of packaging.

I really like the Grip “you-see-what-you-get” style, but the Nakajima box is a bit more “practical”
and the artwork is very nice…with “practical” I refer to the very small size of the box. Thats an
advantage when your display is cramped with robots ;-)
So I would say 1:0 for Nakajima.

Quality & Details

Both Tekkamans  are made nearly enirely out of metal. Only the heads and
the forearms of the Grip version are plastic. The build quality of them is
very good. Also they are both very movable, with all the joints they have.

Detailing is very nice too.

So, in this category there is no real winner. 1 point for both.
Nakajima still in front with 2:1.

Now Accessories & Action Features

The Nakajima Tekkaman comes with a yellow whip and a stylish golden stand.
Grip’s Tekkaman only with his silver spear and 2 plastic fists/forearms.

The stand is a nice feature for displaying Tekkaman…but the fists of the Grip
are worth one point! You could shoot them.

2:2, we have a tie.
Sounds like a happy end? Yes, why not.

So the question which one is the better toy is answered. If you like Tekkaman,
you have to buy them both. If you have another opinion, let me hear it  in the BBS.

First time I got in contact with Condorman was 1981, the Disney movie.
Loved that movie as the kid, specially the black Porsche’s of the villians.
But that movie had nothing to do with the Condorman…

…of the japanese tokuatsu series from 1975. Created by Kohan Kawauchi (aka Yasunori Kawauchi),
who also created the  first japanese superhero television show in 1958 , Moonlight Mask (Gekko Kamen).

Lets start with the little Grip Condorman!

Condorman comes in the typical Grip stype packaging. The one I bought
only came with a small Grip catalog. There are 2 more Condorman toys
made by Grip. The Mach Condor (Condorman’s cool Datsun) and the
Condorman Base.

He’s made out of diecast and his head is soft vinyl. The quality of this little
toy is great. Arms & legs are movable and he has many nice details.

That’s it for the little Condorman.
You still could get him for small money…go and get one!

More fotos in the BBS.

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 .