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 10.16.01-- 10.24.01 |
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RUMBLE INDEX |
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10.24.01:Light Cycles O' Love
Can't wait for more juicy tidbits on the new Medicom RAH 100 Tron Light Cycles?
Wait no more! Check out the latest pics of these beauties. It appears each light cycle set will come packaged with one figure that can mount his digital steed. There are four sets, each will retail for 4800 yen a pop. Oh my!
--Tim
10.23.01:The Unusual Suspects
More news from the world of Mr. Facets! Diamond is offering up the New Metal Gear Solid 2 line of Kubriks from Medicom. These guys will come in a random assortment and individually packaged with accessories. Pictured above are (left to right):
- Solid Snake
- Hal Emmerich
- Revolver Oceleot
- Olga
- Gurlukovich Soldier in Woodland Camo,
- Gurlukovich Soldier in Tiger Camo
--Tim
10.23.01:'Battle-Action' ScopedogDiamond Comics is now soliciting orders for the the Kaiyodo Scopedog 2000, err... I mean 'Battle Action' Scopedog figure.
Votoms fans were eagerly awaiting this figure for a late 2000, early 2001 release, but the figure was delayed. It sports multiple points of articulation, stands about 5" tall, and last I heard it was rumored, yes I said rumored, to have diecast joints.
You can find this 'bad motha' in the November issue of Previews, to find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-COMIC BOOK or Diamond's Comic Shop Locator. Big props to Mr. Facets for the heads up.
UPDATE: Mr. Facets writes in with the following information. There are two versions of the toy, regular and 'Battle Damaged'. Regarding the metal content, it is as follows:
- antenna
- springs on flaps on back of calf
- shoulder joints
--Tim
10.23.01:Heavy Metal Gundam
Like Gundam? Crave the feel of solid metal? Then it's a virtual certainty you're gonna love this.
Bandai unveiled the following item at the "2001 All-Japan Plastic Model and R/C Show," held in Japan several weeks ago.
Heavy Metal Gundam
Here's what Bandai had to say to us about the item, which is dubbed the Metal Grade Series Gundam. It's currently only in the concept phase, and Bandai's still considering whether or not to go into full production. But it's everything the name implies: a kit made out of solid metal rather than plastic. If they decide to go ahead with production, there will be a Char's Zaku as well. Stay tuned for more info...
--Matt
10.22.01:APOLLON PROJECT
Okay, that's it. I can't take any more. After seeing rumble after juicy rumble of everyone else's new acquisitions, I realize it's time to uncloak the power of my most recent score. The newest member of my vinyl "shelf of shame." The MEKA MACHINE APOLLON HEADER.
Die-hards may remember Apollon Header as one of the three robots that forms the "mighty" football-loving robot Diapollon. The hands-down most popular Diapollon toys remain Bullmark's spectacularly weighty deluxe diecasts. (C'mon, you remember 'em from the Raging Bullmark Datafile. Right? Right?) But in a desperately intense flurry of activity just prior to their demise in the late '70s, Bullmark produced some swingin' vinyl renditions of the characters as well. Some fire missiles. Some don't do much at all. And a very few do THIS.
Why Bullmark felt the need to add these "Gog"-style extensible arms to a robot that never had them in the first place, I'll probably never know. What I DO know, however, is that I love this damn thing.
Everything from the box to the silly football theme is executed in perfect, trademark Bullmark style. Sure, Bullmark's vinyl kaiju will always be more famous, and their diecast robots more popular. Perhaps that's why I can't control myself around their most nutty creations, the vinyl robots. I can't think of any more incogruous material to use for a robot than soft,flesh-like vinyl. Talk about having the deck stacked against 'em from the start. Yet somehow they work. I've always been a sucker for the underdog.
Curious about the story behind the Diapolon toys? Check it out here.
--Matt
10.21.01:Vintage American Gokin
For as long as I can remember I've had this little die-cast robot with a jewel-like cyclopean eye and a neat scissor-jack kinda mechanism built into him. He was battered, much loved and a complete mystery... More!
--Keith
10.20.01:Acrobunch Week!
The Poplar Datafile not enough Acrobunch for you? Then check Masterforce.org out, because we have enough Acrobunch to choke you to death.
There's my REVIEWOTRON 6000 colum reviewing the Acrobunch DX toy with LOTS OF PICTURES, my The Knock-Off Ninja article revealing the whole sordid tale of me, the Japanese robot toy gray market, Chinatown, Acrobunch, and everything that happened to me in 1987 related to that, also with LOTS OF PICTURES, including pictures of some strange and rare Japanese robot toys.
Finally, our Acrobunch spotlight spews some more random Acrobunch stuff at you including the only sites on the Internet with any decent Acrobunch content on them, and pictures showing Acrobunch DX's scale by comparing it to a Great Mazinger Jumbo, a 1/55 Valkyrie, and a Diaclone toy. Our Acrobunch shrine also just went up, including pics of Acrobunch toys (yes, even a neato Acrobunch bootleg) and
--Ginrai
10.20.01:Ultraseven: Our little friend!
After nearly six years of looking, I scored a very hard to find Popy Ultraseven store display vinyl. Ultraseven stands fifty inches tall and was originally used in Japanese toy stores to promote the various vinyl Popy Ultramen for sale. It's basically a scaled up version of the Popy seven inch vinyl toy. I'd date this piece to around 1975-76. Now my set is complete!
Special thanks to Masato Shono for his Yahoo Japan help! Please be sure to hop over to The Ultraman Toy Collection.
--Mark
10.20.01:Terror of the mecha midget
Damn diecast kaiju. It has become an obsession. Shortly following some lovely Ark aquisitions , I find myself mid transaction in a Bullmark deal - Mecha Godzilla , MG2.
I have some vinyl kaiju, but nothing captures the soul of these monsters better than metal for me. I know the vast majority of kaiju fans would disagree, especially with some of the great pieces Marmit and M-1 are pumping out, not to mention the Bandai Soul of Bullmark vinyls......but there is just something about a solid chunk of really heavy metal with a monster face that just makes my heart sing!
MG2 is definately solid. Almost 100% gokin, the only plastic on the toy is the flip down hatch for the missle launcher, the fists and the upper portion of the tail. The tail is the only thing that concerns me, it is a piece of rubbery plastic that in order to provide for some flexibility, is quite thin in some places.
MG2 doesn't offer much in the way of articulation, but he definately makes up for it in style . He has the standard fare of shooting fist and missle gimmicks, and boasts a chomping mouth as you rotate his head.
--Tim
10.19.01:Gundam Gets Ready
10/26/2001. That's the official release date for the 20-inch, 16,000 yen ($130), fully-built-up Jumbo Grade Gundam we've all been craving. Check out the newest batch of official shots from Bandai to whet your appetite.
--Matt
10.17.01:Pet Semetary! Those robot-pet-crazed Japanese engineers are up to their antics again. This time, Omron Corp has unveiled Necoro, their feline rival for the attention currently lavished on Sony's Aibo's.
It's not really a toy; priced at over 180,000 yen, this kitty's nearly the same price as Bandai's 1:12 scale Hybrid Model Zaku. Soft and silky artificial fur, or cold plastic mobile suit action? You make the call.
Necoro is packed full of cutting-edge A.I. and servomotor technology and is undoubtedly "smart" enough to give Aibo a run for his money. If you can get around the fact that it looks like something out of the Re-Animator , that is. Judge for yourself... You can hop to their photo index for more pictures.
--Matt
It should be known that the 'keeper' of the rumble is a total doof-bag and correctly spelled Cemetery earlier...totally missing the author's reference.
--Tim
10.16.01:Rubber Warriors! I am your God!
I just received my RX-78 ver.2 MSIA from the good folks at Hobby Link Japan. Lets just say I have really mixed feelings about tis toy. Admittedly, I am not a huge MSIA fan, but I did love the RX-79(g). This is a fun piece of hand candy, it sports all kinds of funky articulation and tons of accessories. Unfortunately, all the accessories suffer from the dreaded gashapon disease and the articulation isn't nearly as fluid as the Kado-Senshi Gundam Chogokin. Not even a bath of boiling water could fix the crooked hyper bazooka. The paint work is rather sloppy in many areas and overall the toy has a rubbery feel.
It seems to me that Bandai bit off more than they could chew here. With the sheer amount of accessories, the incredible engineering, and a really low price point, something had to give, and in this case it was the production quaility.
Additional Images:
--Tim
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