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April 1999
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Ramble Index
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February 1999
3/26/99: Blazer!
Oh man! I rewarded myself this week with a special treat from
Day-Old Antiques
: Bullmark's classic Blazer Robo diecast!
(Talk about "day-old!" I've been staring at this particular object for over 2 years now.
Wednesday night was the first time I allowed myself to actually touch it.
As soon as Mike opened the case, I could smell the sweet waft of lust
billowing from its tiny bod. Yikes!)
Blazer is all Bullmark: solid and heavy, but intricate
in design. Deadly toe missiles, hidden gut launcher
and shooting robot claws are all part of his mighty arsenal. Then check it out:
his head and torso pop off to make a detachable car! This is one of
the coolest pieces in the universe. Worth the wait!
Matt Alt
with a Bandai press report:
"Bandai has announced that the Combattler V Soul of Chogokin will be
released in mid-May. Sorry, kids, but you've got a few months to go.
"They've also released shadowy test-shots of the prototype SOC Grandizer.
This looks like it's going to be a winner...Check out the sharp detail
on the Spacer! Apparently, it even closes up when Grandizer's not riding
in it..."
"Meanwhile: love it or hate it, the flaming nostalgia-fest that is 'Burn! Robocon'
just can't be quenched. Up next are Bandai's newest additions to the
'Slotroid' series: Robo Boss, Robo Bin, Robo Kero, and Robo Mogu (note
the similarities to the old Robocon characters.)
Unfortunately, it
seems as though these all-plastic Slotroids are the future of cute-robot toys.
With the exception of the 1974 Robocon Reissue Chogokin, there's
not a hint of metal in the bunch. At least they're cheap: at 2000 yen
a piece (retail), you can't really go wrong...!" -- Matt
"Finally, a newsflash from the 'I need a Coke' dept..."
"Bandai has announced that they are releasing a super-huge vinyl toy of none
other than the friend of all Japanese children, Gamera. The toy will
undoubtedly be a portrayal of Gamera as seen in his latest film, 'Gamera 3,'
and it's expected to be jumbo-machinder sized. UNBELIEVABLE! Is this great
or what?
"Sales of Bandai's new Gamera Memorial Box set, which contains seven Gamera
monster vinyl figures, have been reported to be brisk as well. Although the
seven figures are done in the same 'old fashioned' style of the early-1990s
Bandai Gamera vinyls, they are NOT re-issues -- they're all new (and
slightly smaller than the standard six-inch monster vinyl size. The box art
is spectacular. Get 'em while ya can!"
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Meanwhile: if you haven't been to the
LEGO Purist's
site, then you haven't seen Randall E. Barker's insane, articulated LEGO Gundam!
(What are you waiting for?
Go there!)
3/21/99: Popy Hardcore Blitz!
Nimble-fingered Roger Seto spent an entire weekend
digitizing the Popy toy commercials videocassette for us.
Jump to the
Info Library
and check out the additional 25 AVI's
just added to the Popy Hardcore Cinema!
New additions include Raydeen, God Lightan, Gatchaman, Starzingers, Combattra and
a slew of others.
Especially bizarre are the Voltes V spots which
nimble-eared Matt Alt will be translating shortly. Thanks Rog!
Meanwhile, Big Science Dr. Evil has implemented a first pass at a
web browser interface for the New ToyboxDX BBS!
Jump now to the Forums
to try it out. (Please send him your questions or comments:
dr.evil@alenyen.ne.mediaone.net...)
Mechaman Roger Harkavy updates the High Complete-Model checklist
in the Info Library.
Thanks to all who have continued to contribute and share...!
Fanboy Matt Alt surfs the web:
"I've just checked the Bandai Town site, and although they list the
release dates of the re-issue Robocon toy (mid-March) and the newest DX
Chogokin ('Victory Robo'), there's still no sign of the Soul of Chogokin
Combattler. As it was originally stated to be for a 'spring release,' we
may have a few weeks to wait yet..."
"For those interested in checking out pics and info for themselves,
Bandai Japan's new-toy release schedule is at
www.bandai.co.jp/shohin/index.html.
"It's all Japanese, of course, but Robocon is #30 and Victory Robo is #34.
Look for 'em later this month!" -- Matt
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Meanwhile, Lester (one of the nicest collectors I've had the
pleasure of meeting) shared an all too-familiar sounding moment. (I spilled
my coffee reading this):
"On Thursday, I had to put some
sales materials into a three ring binder. I asked everyone in the office
if they knew where the three hole punch was. Nobody knew, so I kept
looking. Ten minutes later, when I finally did find it, I was so
excited, I raised the object of my search above my head and yelled
'THREE-HOLE-PUNCH!!!!!'
in the super robot fashion of announcing the
weapon you are about to unleash on some bad guy. The office was silent.
Everyone was staring at me as though I had three heads. Oh well, such is
my life." -- Lester
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Dont' forget: Cafe Chogokin chat tommorow night at 10 EST. Seeya there!
3/16/99: Jumbo Updates
Marvin sent in the pics of his tricked out
UNI-Five Jumbo Machine and writes:
"Here is the pic I promised you of all the custom detailing I did to the Jumbo
Mazinger Z pilder. I know this may be sacrilege to some but I LIKE IT
and I guess in the end that's all that matters." -- Marvin
He also writes that
"a little plug for
ComicStripNetwork.com
would be nice..." Marvin, thanks for the great pics;
consider thy site plugged! And check back later this week
for some of Marvin's cool models...
Go Go Marc Raley!. The animator/cinematographer extrordinaire
launches
MarcRaley.com,
featuring the bladder wrenching exploits of
Henshin Compact. If you only visit one site today --
I mean one other site today -- hit this one. It's
glorious to see such talent at work...
ToyboxDX Chief Press Agent Hiroko has used her feminine
wiles and buttery voice to break the Uni-Five code of silence:
"The ever-inscrutable folks at Uni-Five have reversed course and now
inform us that they do plan to produce wings and accessory fists for
their 'Jumbo Machine' Mazinger-Z repro. They state that they are 'in the planning
stage' with no release date set."
"We will post information as it comes...!" -- Hiroko
Rejoice! My Mazinger DEMANDS his wings...! -- A.Y.
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Finally, ToyboxDX Big Science Dr. Evil has completed his first pass of the
BBS Overhaul! Help us test the new Usenet-style BBS forum.
Try it out and let us know what you think!
3/13/99: BBS/Alt: Hosed/Unhosed
Getta tall bottle of hooch and a long straw: August Ragone checks in with
a massive installment of his Super Robot Pantheon Report!
[now LIVE in the Info Library.]
The esteemed publisher of
Henshin! Online
has finished meticulously digesting this month's harvest of Japanese periodicals.
You'll want to print this out and grab yer hilighter:
August has, like, compiled a book...!
You ask: who's the Great One at left towering over SOC Z? It's the 13"
Max Factory vinyl kit, assembled and painted by my friend
Gregory at
Kitworks!
Gregory's a meticulous craftsman and model artist, with an insane body of work.
Drop him a line right now. Why? Because you're NEVER going to finish that
stack of kits on your own. Never...[!]
Meanwhile,
Matt Alt sez:
"HOSE ME DOWN! Fang of the Sun Dougram has finally been released in its
entirety on laserdisc in Japan. It is being sold in three LD boxes (each box
retails for 36,000 yen -- about $300. Ouch!)"
On the webfront: Alt and I were checking out
the japanese site
Diaclone WWW.
Here's Matt's "government-grade" translation:
"This site features checklists, photos, background info,
and even a BBS. It's 90% Japanese-language, but the author has
some 'subtitles' here and there to
help English readers out."
"My favorite? The Oath of Diaclone (or The Three
Vows of Diaclone if you prefer):
- Do what you believe is right with brave heart
- Don't forget peaceful heart
- Fight with WARUDER TROOP!
"On some pages, rather than showing pictures of the toys,
the author's done marker-rendered B&W watercolors of the pieces! They're
REALLY cool! Check it out!" -- Matt
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Finally: thanks to everyone who checked in about the
BBS being hosed. The service
should be unhosed from here-on in, and is slated for a major overhaul.
More on this later and thanks for writing...!
3/08/99: Double Impact?
Well, I just finished working on the two figures
from my Bandai Rockman X Double Impact Mega Armor Series.
(You can tell I was excited by this X-Mas gift because it only
took two months to pull out of the closet.)
And it was work. Not quite models, and not quite toys,
I'm not sure what the hell they are. While the plastic parts were well-painted
and molded, they had none of the intricate
machinations of Bandai's Gundam kits. And since no glue was involved,
I pocketed my sand paper, then shot
the hobby knife back into my boot.
After an hour of squinting at the instructions, and nimbly pasting the teeny stickers,
I had two decent looking, extremely poseable little dudes. In fact, they
were almost as nice as any action figures I might have bought
at Toys R Us. But then I wouldn't have had the fun of building them.
Which was about as much fun as
"building" the chopsticks you get with sushi.
Incidentally, the chopsticks not only have clearer instructions,
they turn out to be sturdier and more poseable too. In fact, the wrapper notes
that "now I can pick up anything!" I tested the action
by picking up these little Rockmen
and dropping them into the kitchen drawer. Viola! they've joined my collection of rubber bands,
lint, and suspect batteries.
I love the Rockman character designs (really!) and hate to dis these toys,
but I think I'll stick to diecast from now on...
Checking the press, Matt Alt reports:
"Hyper Hobby has just published photographs of
Bandai's new Robocon chogokin
re-issue. Although the text says that the toy is merely a "faithful
reproduction with a few modern features thrown in for good measure," it
seems to be a DEAD RINGER for the first edition Popy Robocon -- and it's an
unbelievable 3,500 yen! That's THIRTY BUCKS! Just as with the original, the
toy will come complete with a set of wheels for Robocon's
car-transformation, a few rubber cockroaches, and a sheet of heart stickers.
Release date: mid-March 1999."
"In other news, Marusan has released a vinyl of Ultra Earth from everyone's
favorite psychedelic series, Astro-Mu Five. Although the toy features the
traditional Nakajima clear-limbs-and-sparkly-pipe-cleaner gimmick, it is a
totally updated (and kinda soul-less, if you ask me) resculpt. Your mileage
may vary. It's on sale now for 4800 yen. "
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Meanwhile, Louis, who's usually quite prolific,
sent me a one-line email and some pics. He simply says:
"i'm sooooo happy with that time meka boton."
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Finally: didja check the Info Library
recently? We've just added the Glossary DX. Feel free to send in your
own suggestions for entries.
And don't forget: it's chat tonight at the
Cafe Chogokin
at 10PM EDT! Seeya there...
3/05/99: Updates!
Jerome sent in the pic at left and sez:
"Since you did a feature of Robocon by Dragon in your last Ramble, here's
a picture of the new Gantsu Sensei toy from the upcoming 'Burning
Robocon' live action TV show."
Ouch. Another cool-looking, must-have to help break the bank. Thanks Jerome!
Meanwhile, patron-saint of the
Info Library
Matt Alt produces Number 4 in the ever-popular
Annals of the Unrespected!
In this latest installment
"Turtle Power", Alt deftly expounds on the virtues of
Nakajima's fascinating but oft-neglected masterpiece
Capsule Robo G. Much thanks to Roy Ng
of Grace Oriental
for the generous use of his spectacular images!
And speaking of Matt, he reports on the final results of the
Dengeki Hobby's
Readers' Poll.
"Several months
ago, Dengeki Hobby asked readers to fill out a survey regarding which robots
they'd like to see next in the Soul of Chogokin line. Although these results
don't guarantee anything, it's a pretty safe bet that they mirror the
requests sent to Bandai. They are, in order: Grandizer, Getta Robo, and
(somewhat unbelievably) a TIE between Gaiking and DANCOUGAR!
"Most Americans
wouldn't even think to put Dancougar in the same league as the classic hero
robots that make up the Soul Of Chogokin line, but the show enjoyed (and
still enjoys) a cult following in Japan despite being one of the most
derivative, tedious shows ever to air in the history of robot anime. Perhaps
a future SOC Dancougar will make up for the fact that the old DX piece was
one of the lumpiest, plasticky, out-of-proportion robots in the entire
chogokin line-up." -- Matt
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3/01/99: Gazillions Served!
It's 12:54 AM, and I'm a little stunned. It's not the freaky
little Robocon
sitting on my monitor and glaring at me; it's these hefty numbers
scrolling down the screen.
ToyboxDX roared into March, shattering our old monthly records.
In the short 28 days of February,
we not only met our anticipated target of 800,000 hits;
we burst it with a record for the month:
Our number of user sessions
is doubling every 8 weeks, and I'm oscillating between grateful, and
just plain shocked!
(I just ran into the Collection Room to
fire off the double nipple-blades on my Ark King Kong
for a six-round, twin-edged, DX salut!)
So if you've been telling your friends, or passing the link around, thank you.
This dinky site that we've all worked on together has really matured into
a mighty Web Force for Good!
On the toy front: I just picked up
Dragon's new Robocon diecast from MikeZ
at Day-Old Antiques.
At first glance, it's discreet and plasticky-looking.
On first fondle, however, your fingers perk up
at the grenade like weighting: this thing is solid metal!
On 2nd glance and closer inspection, the
articulating chest and exposed machinations are meticulously engineered
and detailed. This thing's another little treasure...and
I don't even LIKE these dorky robots!
... and then Matt Alt grabs the mike:
"As a proud survivor of many a late-night booze-soaked tape-watching
session, I can unequivocally state that this is an EXACT portrayal of the
live-action Robocon. At least, I THINK so, anyway - I was usually
out of my mind on gin at the time. (How ELSE would I make it
through sixteen episodes of the most
demented live-action robot show of all time?)
"I mean, it's kind of
FRIGHTENING (the toy, I mean, not my penchant for self-destructive
behavior.) Dragon's engineers actually managed to put a tiny articulated
endoskeleton within those tiny, fleshy, vinyl-covered appendages, and the
effect is Frankensteinian. Never in my wildest alcoholic
fantasies could I ever have imagined the Warhol-esque box art, the heavy
body, the weighted feet, the squeezably-soft arms and legs. And well under $100!
Pinch me, I'm dreaming!
"And by the way: no, your Robocon isn't incomplete. For some reason, Dragon
made a decision to ship the toy without Robocon's helicopter blade
accessory, even though they made an indentation for it in the styrofoam..."
-- Matt
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Meanwhile, Roger Harkavy sez:
"They say bootleg toys are like cheap wines: sometimes they taste
horrible, but you can still get some kind of buzz off of 'em.
"Okay, I'll admit it, I've never heard anyone say that, but for
me it's an apt metaphor. There's always going to be a special
place in my heart (and on my shelf) for bootlegs, and when I saw
this monstrosity in Matt Alt's Annals of the Unrespected
[see Library] I knew I
had to own one.
"This behemoth is made by Academy, a Korean company well-known
for their bootlegs of Gundam models. Until I encountered this
item, I'd never heard of them making toys before. Apparently,
they scaled Bandai's original 1/100 Gundam Mark 2 to 17
inches. The scale cited on the box is misleading, and after
doing the math it's really more like 1/43 (yes, I am
a nitpicker).
"Unfortunately, the particular Gundam Mark 2 they chose to
duplicate is the one that was included with the 'Musha'
armor, so the eyesores (peg holes, slots for armor, etc.) that
Bandai built into that one have been perfectly replicated here.
Academy, exercising their creative license, has covered up a few
of the nastier-looking areas with high-tech stickers. An
additional sticker sheet (with thoughtful 'MADE IN
KOREA' labels) is included to cover up the remaining
holes.
"The strangest thing about this bootleg is the fact that
there are improvements. The sickly green
base color of the original has been replaced by light grey
(correctly representing the robot's color in the cartoon), and
all ten fingers are articulated. On the flip side, the
'shock absorber' feature of the lower legs is gone, and
the beam saber holders don't have the same poseability of the
original.
"One last thing that sticks out is Gundam Mark 2's, uh,
'endowment', but as Steve Chang shows on his Nostalgic Anime Toys Page,
the toy was also sold with bootlegged Musha Armor, of which this
is a remnant.
"For more bootleg mayhem, check out The Island of Bootleg Toys..."
-- Roger
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Don't forget: it's Cafe Chogokin chat night. Check this week
for a new Glossary Section and revised Link-o-rama
layout. Seeya!
April 1999
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Ramble Index
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February 1999
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