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

A Yonezawa sparkler makes its way onto my shelf due to the kindness of a fellow collector.
Despite the insanity of recent prices and the fierce competition among bidders as of late, it is acts like this which keep my faith alive, that the child-like love is what fuels us at all the core.

Throw the boomerang hard next time you can. It will always come back.

He is waiting.
The back room kept company. It is filled with heat and overhead lights. Tinnitus soundtrack. Ringing cut back by the staccato of the auctioneer outside. Ultraman is in the building.

Your mind is racing. Only a few more. Looking around. They end before you can think clearly. Animalistic response takes over where forethought was the driver not seconds before.

Can you afford it? Probably not. None of us are doing this for sanity. The inner voice is telling you to pull the trigger, press the gas pedal and meet your instant gratification with arms wide open.

The hammer falls, the book sweaty and the page gloss smells so much stronger.

“Sold”

And this was only one of many more to come.

The back room waits, the air conditioning thunders, and the cardboard permeates.

Ultraman is in the building tonight.

This is what happens when you have about 8,000 photos on your desktop and you forget there was a whole Morphey “roll” left hidden in a folder.

Looking through these makes me want it to happen all over again. One of the finest couple days with my toy brothers ever.

Photos shown in the order they were taken.

( All photos are property of TBDX)

I have a problem. I know it all too well. Luckily I have a supportive network made up of like minded souls, who know how to serve as a catalyst to my foolish brain.

I parted ways with a Gekko Kaman a little over a year ago. I regretted it, even though the condition of the toy and the box especially was not to my usual standard. Purchased at the 2006 Morphey auction, for what I thought at the time was a good deal, I sold it for the same price to finance a purchase, and to remove what was basically the only vintage batt op in my exclusively “walker” collection. Somehow it did not fit into the plan of holding out for the best conditioned toys and boxes I could locate.

When the “bug” gets you, it gets you, and there is not a lot you can do about it. There was a constant knawing feeling at the back of my mind anytime I looked at older photos of my toy case and saw The Gekko happily standing there next to his Osaka reissue brothers. I knew I had to bit the bullet and replace him.

This week I did just that to the detriment of my wallet once again. But it is a stress I don’t believe I will ever regret. The toy is mint and the box, although not “perfect” is good enough for me to not lose sleep over. It is an instance where love of the toy trumps whatever unresolved issues I have for sub par packaging.

Gekko will be home again … for good. ;-)

Excuse me while I pontificate a moment and try not to spill my internal melodrama on you.

There has been a focus for me lately.

After the madhouse that was Morphey’s I began to reevaluate my priorities in terms of what it was that I wanted to collect. What it was that my collection would reflect about me , and how I would feel when I looked at it.

I reached a point where the financial burden of my purchases impacted my day to day, and even the old joke about eating ramen for a few months began to wear thin when in fact I found myself doing exactly that. Heh

So I began to slowly set up in my mind a list of items that did not fit the overall “theme” of my collecting habits, and I had to decide if it is rarity , or if it is the love of the toy that won out. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the two in my mind, because there is a definite thrill in finding that particular toy and getting the support and congrats from your peers. Those of us who say that is “superficial” and not part of the proper process, are either far more mature than I will ever be, or simply kidding themselves. Perhaps A little of both.

So what are you willing to sacrifice for the love? I am finding more and more my affection to be on the simplicity and purity of a standard tin walker. Bullmark, Popy, Angel, Takara…it does not really matter which family it comes from. My shelves are the haven for both the popular kids and the misfits. It is not what you look like, but what your made of little zenmai, that gets my heart pumping.

I watch my friends and peers trip over themselves for the Vinyl food group, and I feel the pull. It is a strong desire to jump on board and get the most badass of MFV or Talker I can find. Why wouldn’t I ? They are beautiful and as close to perfection as one could want.
But my tins look at me like I am going on a weekend getaway with a hot friend. They know I will flirt, but always come home to the older but meaningful relationship. They know they don’t have any real reason to get jealous. They know I will always come home at the end, drunk with the smell of polyethylene and zinc on my collar, but never need beer goggles for the screen printed paper thin steel goodness they truly possess.

So I watch the screen hum, the auctions end, the bid not made. Friends send me auctions and I covet and admire with quiet awe over the intensity in which they sell. I wait and plan more carefully, because my bank account has become more finite. A need of focus, and spending time with the toys that bring me only the purest form of joy and sense of balance and contentment.

Distill, wash repeat.

zen…mai.

Meet the heavyweight of my collection, weighing in at only 3.5 kg. That’s all.. It must be muscle weight as he’s totally buff:

I’m assuming, the sculpt is very similar to Marmit’s fierce super robot vinyl series much like the Maz and the Grendizer, aside from the screws of course:

Between the sheer heft and ALL the sharp edges, this thing is more a weapon than a toy. Honestly, it really doesn’t do much but sit there and look all menacing and cool, but that’s enough for me. Knowing is half the battle, and knowing I have an 8 pound 17 inch diecast sitting in front of me does wonders. I’ll have to pull out my Mazinger Z Dai Gokin (pictured in Super #1 Robot) and do a side by side at some point but it just seemed like to tall of a task tonight (har har). I’m willing to bet this piece is at least an inch or so taller.

This piece has really helped me understand the phrase “feel the love”. I would have loved to see Marmit do more in this line. A Dangard or Jeeg would have been phenomenal.

Thank you Marc Solondz and Dan Morphy auctions for this killer addition to my collection! Over and out.

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