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

..fucking rule! Garbin and Godsigma compliments of AY. LOVE. RAWK!

There are many robots. But there is only one Blazer.
Ok, not one Blazer…

Hope I get the Bullmark Big Blazer one time.
Uups, forgot one Blazer on the foto…sorry Blazer————————————–vv

Do I have a problem?

;-)

Have a nice weekend guys

SANJEEV SAYS:

“That was the Godfather,” I stated in a slow tone, lowering the phone from my ear.

“Alen?”, my girlfriend queried, already knowing the answer…and based on my expression, also knowing full well the weight of the proposal just put before me.

A metric ton of Japanese vinyl monster toys spanning nearly four decades of production waiting in Denver, Pennsylvania to be identified and evaluated. Character and non-character toys from Bullmark to Blobpus. Vintage Marusan to modern Marmit. And the assignment of wrangling these beasts was to fall onto my shoulders. After all, who else could accomplish such a herculean task but TBDX’s own Chief Glowologist? And who could even think of turning down such a toy-nerd dream? And most importantly, who could say “no” to the Godfather?

For a moment, I pondered who from the Boston unit would get to be Ryoma…me, Alen, or Josh. Hey, as long as I wasn’t Benkei, right? These are the general sort of thoughts that occupied my fevered otaku brain en route.

Upon arriving at Morphy’s however, such whimsy was set aside. I didn’t envy Mark, Josh, and Alen’s job of identifying the myriad robot toy bits and matching them to their boxes. But at the same time, the sheer volume of vinyl before me was awe-inspiring.

Over the next three days, I formed my own one-man Monster Attack Team, with Josh and Jim Maitland’s invaluable aid. But WOULD the kaiju be corralled in time?

JOSH SAYS:

The normal executive timbre in Alen’s voice was colored with an obvious undertone of fanboy excitement. I had spoken only the night before with Uncle Warren hypothetically about this, and in his usual fashion, Alen picked up the ball and ran with it. I knew this was going to be special in a way none of us could imagine.

There really was almost no reason to ask the question. Of course I was going to do this. Despite the magnitude of the task, this was something that all of us could not have fabricated in our wildest otaku drenched dreams.

Within a week of the conversation, details were laid out and tickets were purchased. Sanjeev on vinyl would work, but after some industrial math, we knew we were short. We would need another person — someone else to complete an East-Coast trinity. If only we knew of someone who could relentlessly crush like a machine, and fight like a solidier. A Machinesolider…

MARK SAYS:

As I pulled up to Morphy’s showroom, I could sense a vibration in the air. The energy… here was an entire warehouse full of gokin, less than an hour drive from my house.

I had seen a few advance pictures but that did not prepare me for the shock and awe of seeing it in person. Rows of tables, lined up end to end, on which hundreds, possibly thousands, of boxes were stacked. Popy. Takatoku. Takemi. Bandai. Unifive.

The boxes were mostly empty. Aisles of drawers, reaching almost to the ceiling, contained the loose toys and accessories that belonged within. Missiles and fists were everywhere. The task ahead of us was daunting to say the least.

We organized the boxes first, grouping by series and manufacturer. Once that was in order, we dug in to the drawers to gather the toys and their accessories, and put them with their boxes to create lots. Treasures were found, and it amazed me how mint these toys were. Most looked like they were taken out of the box when bought new, put on display, and have sat untouched ever since. A Voltes V was found in 5 separate pieces, which had never been combined; as well as a mint, unbroken Takemi Sandaio, and a Gardian with intact knees.

* * *

We honestly had no idea what was waiting for us. Before this was over, and after an intensive 72 hour marathon, the word “Morphy” would be burned into our skulls.

Yeah, we thought we were on a mission. But it was really a slice of hell on earth, and it was payment time for all our gokin sins. Manhandling the toys was just the first of the tasks. We had forgotten about a little something called “the LOTS…”

Mark Gradwell’s Photos are online. Check them out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8570113@N05/

((( Stay tuned for Part 2… )))

Today I want to hype Bullmark Burikin!
Hope you all have one? I warned you one week ago that I’ll gonna make a review
about this wonderful Bullmark Zinclon. Now it’s too late, prices will explode…    ;-)

I don’t know anything about the Robo Kid Beeton series, Burikin belongs to.
But I always loved his style, since I had seen him the first time…and he’s a Bullmark!
I bought this one here on ebay. Box is sunfaded and far away from C1o, but the robot
itself is complete and in very good shape. Lets start with the box.

My Burikin came with 2 different pairs of fists and 3 “propellers”.

Burikin’s body is diecast. His head, arms and legs are plastic.
He has 2 buttons and a “wind up ” wheel on his back.

Now I show you some of Burikin’s awesome action features.
Lets start with his spring-loaded-head-pop-up-feature…wow.
Push the button under his neck and the head pops up.

Next feature: The good old Bullmark-propeller-action. We all know it, we all love it.
Don’t need to describe it I think.
My personal Burikin still has his rubber protection cap on the “propeller connection”.
Sorry I’m a stupid german, don’t know the right technical expression for the piece of metal
where you put the propellers on. But I love the rubber cap   ;-)

…and sure he could fire his fits. Burikin has a pair normal fists and hammer fists. Bang!

Thats it guys, this is Burikin!
Lets end this “review” with foot markings and a comparison of sizes with a Popy Gaiking.
…oooo noo…SORRY all feet-fetishists…no markings on his feet.  ;-)

You also have one? You like him? More in the BBS section:  http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?4,204269

Ever feel the need to get organized? Of course you do. Well, I spent the last week or so, a few trivial minutes at a time, organizing my poison. It’s like playing Jenga. Like playing Jenga after drinking absinthe.

One piece at a time. Slowly but surely assembling them into their catacomb like legos.. It kills me to see them slumbering in their boxes, carefully wrapped in cellophane and then shoved away into a case where their aesthetic brilliance lies dormant.. Worthless? HELL NO!!

Box art, to me is an equal part of the DNA. I will let you, the reader be the judge. Tell me this Great Wall Of Popy doesn’t look absolutely gorgeous?!? Either way.. If due to the confines of space, these awesome toys get stacked and shelved, then I say this is the next best thing to actually displaying them.. Right?? Right..

I admit, I’m just trying to convince myself. So? What do you think? Tell me all about it here:

Discuss on BBS

 

Finally!

I have waited 31 years to own this toy.

Mine is missing it’s “MECHGODZILLA” waist sticker and the little yellow sticker for the chest. I’ll have to fix that up.

Love this toy!

Soul of Chogokin: Project Z is out, and like its predecessors, is filled with juicy shots of customized Soul of Chogokin diecasts. This time, the focus is on the newest animated Mazinger series, “Shin Mazinger Shogeki Z.” Those who send in the reply card (plus 5800 yen, natch) get a Soul of Chogokin “Proto Energer.” (You can see a little pic in the lower right hand corner of the cover; it looks like Mazinger minus the chest plates and head.)

Anyway, I happened to get a review copy of the book from series mecha designer Tsuyoshi Nonaka –the guy responsible for making Mazinger transform into a huge-ass fist — and he wanted me to deliver this personal message to ToyboxDX readers.

Mazinger Z is the eternal hero of Japanese men aged 35 – 45. And how can we forget the kikaiju that fought so viciously against Z? In the new TV anime “Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z Hen” more than fifty robots redesigned to respect creator Go Nagai’s original comic book illustrations appear. Among them are major characters from other Nagai works, such as Groizer X, who appears as an enemy in the new series.

I very much want American fans to enjoy the incredibly high-impact battle scenes unfolding like nothing they’ve ever seen before!

Bullmark mathematics: BP-24 + BP-25 + BP-23 = one of the coolest bots ever!

The holidays are over and autumn has come. Autumn means: mostly shitty weather in germany.
Time for a new BROG, now 590 pixels wide. Thanks to the new TBDX site design. Great job guys!

Forgive me that I make a monster brog about this banal chogokin.
No Bullmark Robo Kress, no Takemi Pegas…just a “cheap” Popy GA-45 Kagestar.
Kagestar still underrated. But that’s ok for me, not every cool vintage toy has to cost >1K$.
Lets start with the show.

The Popy Kagestar chogokin (aka Za Kage Sutaa or The Shadow Star)
based on the 1976 NET/Toei TV show. Togeter with his female sidekick Belle Star
he kicks massive ass in the TV show.

Here you could see him fresh out-of-the-box. Kagestar comes with a plastic stand,
a mini catalog, plastic gun, projectiles, etc

Now I show you Kagestar’s special action feature.
You could put 2 batteries into the plastic stand and connect Kagestar
via a “power socket” on his back with the stand. Great feature!
Zakuramans blinking action is nothing ;-)

Kagestar has a cover on his chest you could open. When he’s connected to the stand
he starts to blink and you could see Belle Star on his chest monitor.

Every cool superhero has a motorbike.
Certainly Kagestar has one too, PA-65 Kage Roller.

Thats it guys, hope you like it.

cheers

More stuff in the BBS section and foot markings for Matt.

http://toyboxdx.com/phorum/read.php?4,203620