Alen Yen's Toybox DX

Words: Matt Alt
Graphics: Robert Duban
Special thanks to Todd Stadtman
Addtional thanks

September 2000

Updated: 12.31.04

rip. The mere mention of the name sends shivers down any true toy-completist's spine. Not only are there literally hundreds of the little bastards, but they're small -- real small. Small enough to give even the most die-hard collector pause when reaching for their wallet. Japanese diecast toy fetishists are used to laying down big bucks for tiny chunks of robot-shaped metal, but the Eidai corporation's legendary Grip series of toys is LITERALLY grip-sized. Like "Hot Wheels" cars, the vast majority of them can fit on the palm of a hand with ample room to spare.

But then again, that's their charm. Near as anyone can tell, the Grip Character Series of toys, as they're officially known, were created by Eidai in the wake of the success of the Popinika series of small diecast sci-fi vehicles. But the Grip toys take the concept to an extreme by miniaturizing the designs even further. Does size matter? Maybe. But the sting of being physically puny sure is reduced when you're provided with rocket punches, spring-loaded missiles, and insane combination mechanisms. Unlike MOST mini-sized toys, these little guys are packed full of juicy gimmicks.

Eidai's real genius, however, was their "bottom-feeding" license-buying scheme. By making their toys smaller and cheaper than anyone else's, they were able to secure the rights to all sorts of characters that'd already been scooped up by bigger companies. Companies like Popy, Bullmark, and Takatoku made most of their toys within two standardized scales, "standard" and "deluxe." Eidai focused most of their energies on souped-up mini-sized diecasts, a market share all but ignored by the big boys, and as such they managed to work without much direct competition at all. In fact, their concept of miniaturizing without losing attention to detail makes their toys total stand-outs even today.

Starting with plastic models based on vehicles from the Gatchaman and Thunderbirds shows and then branching out into diecast toys, Eidai slowly but surely built one of the largest single character toy-catalogs of the 1970's. Unfortunately for modern-day collectors, what they DIDN'T build is much of a standardized numbering system. Some pieces feature a unique numbering system based on the given series they're in. Some simply make use of a number derived from the overall Grip Character numbering scheme. And some, amusingly enough, make use of BOTH. Good luck trying to figure it out.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Eidai didn't limit themselves to character toys. Not only did they produce a huge number of "normal" diecast cars, but also a series of miniature tractors and other industrial equipment dubbed the "Grip Zecchin Series." ("Zecchin" seems to be a mis-romanization of the word "zekken," which means "racing number.") And who could forget the misleadingly named "Jumbo Grip" toys? Clocking in at roughly five inches in height, they aren't actually "jumbo" except in relationship to the original Grip pieces themselves.

And finally, the icing on the cake: not only did Grip produce an entire universe of oddly-numbered and thematically disparate toys, they sold many of the same pieces in a variety of different colors and box-variations. Whether this was done to stoke the flames of collector enthusiasm or just because they'd run out of paint and printing supplies, we'll never know. But it adds yet more flavor to the never-ending, masochistic collecting nightmare that is known as Grip Character Diecast. Bring the pain!

Update 05.09.01: further notes regarding Eidai's box variations

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