[Alen Yen's ToyboxDX]


    11.5.00-- 11.16.00
RUMBLE INDEX

11.16.00: Zoiks! Zoids!

From the rumor mill: The newly reissued ZOIDS will be appearing on American shelves in 2001, thanks to Hasbro. The TV show may also make an appearance along with them.
-- Roger
11.16.00: Mandarake On The Move!

When used-toy titan Mandarake, which is kind of like the Wal-Mart of used comics and toys in Japan, announced an IPO and expansion of American operations last year, US fans were thrilled. But the deafening silence in the wake of the press release left a lot of people scracthing their heads. It's been over a year now, and nothing, apparently, has happened. Will we ever see Mandarake stores stretching across the North American continent?

Maybe so, but things are going to take a bit longer than initially planned. According to the November 6th issue of the Nikkei Weekly, "Masuzo Furukawa, president of recycled comic book seller Manadarake Inc., realized he needed to make a more convincing business plan." Furukawa had proposed the construction of a mammoth, ten-billion-yen susperstore in Shinjuku, the heart of downtown Tokyo. But a cool reception of his initial IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange led to a massive shortfall of funds.

Furukawa had to quickly re-tool his plans, scaling down the Shinjuku building to a twenty-fifth of the size of the original plans. The kicker, though, is that he still plans to go through with a New York City launch in spring of 2001.

We can only hope that their selection of vintage Japanese toy and comic merchandise is as juicy as their outlets in Japan. Stay tuned for further developments...
-- Matt
11.15.00: GIANTO ROBOOoooo!

It's the Robo you've been waiting for, thanks to everyone's favorite diecast-Valkyrie distribution company, Yamato Toys. This time, they've shanghaied sculptor Billy Wong (the same dude responsible for both of Toycom's Macross Plus Valkyries) to create a diecast of none other than GIANT ROBO -- and we're not talking "Johnny Socko," we're talking Giant Robo as seen in his animated 1990s OVA incarnation. Yum!

It's 20cm (8 in.) tall and nearly as wide. Chunky -- but FUNKY. Look for it early next spring!
-- Matt
11.14.00: Zaku Later -- Kuuga Now

While you're waiting on your R/C Zaku, watch Kamen Rider Kuuga become King of the Road on his R/C Beet-Chaser 2000. Your horned hero will casually cruise at 10 mph -- at 1/8 scale, that's a scale speed of 84 mph! But livin' large don't last -- EZ rider needs a recharge after 20 minutes. It's by Bandai, baby.
-- Darren
11.14.00: Minna-san, Henkei!

Banpresto releases their new Super Robot Taisen offering, the Change Robo Collection, and Gimmick-Boy is there front and center!

Perhaps the first in a series, these SD versions of Combattra and Gundam feature kawaii transformations into Battle Jet and Core Fighter. These window-boxed, 4.5-inch plastic brickettes are plentiful! It's not too late to hock your diecast and load up on these.
-- Darren
11.13.00: Godzilla Theatrics!

In keeping with the hallowed tradition of selling "limited edition exclusive" figures in movie theatres, Bandai has announced that they're going to be hawking a pair for the latest Godzilla flick, "Godzilla vs. Megagiras." A two-figure set of the Godzilla and Megagiras should already be on shelves in Japan; these exclusives are re-colors of the figures sold in the set.

The Godzilla 2001 exclusive will be translucent-clear; the Megagiras will be solid black with additional paintwork and have a different look than the one sold in the set. The retail for each is 1,500 yen.

No word as to the actual production run of these suckers, but if they're anything like the exclusive for the last film, they'll be "limited" to tens of thousands of pieces each. Knock yerselves out.

(Unofficial word on the street is that the exclusives will be gold and silver-colored, respectively, so it's still unknown as to what form they're actually going to take.)
-- Matt
11.13.00: You're a Byg One, Mr. Zam

A few notes on Byg Assed Byg Zam. Zam emerges from a large, 14 x 12 x 9 inch box mostly complete. You insert his toes, antennae, and 32 guns around his waist. A helpful tool is included for this job. The gratis Core Booster's detail satisfies.

The figure is plastic, and does not feel like a typical MSiA toy. He actually feels more like a Playmates Star Trek ship. Sorry, that's the best analogy I could find. He's hollow, but something might've been loaded inside his body to increase his weight. It's hard to tell without dis-assembly.

There's great articulation in the hips (two-axis detents and axial rotation), knees (detents), ankles (firm ball-joint), and toes. The legs are hollow, hard plastic -- two half-shells glued together. The verniers between his legs and main gun offer some poseability. His wings are hard rubber, and afford some flex.

Some of you may protest he feels a bit cheap -- but keep in mind this is a 14-inch MSiA figure! He strikes me as cool and amazingly detailed. Zam is a study of curves and contour; being able to examine him from all sides is a treat! The contrast of scale against a normal MSiA figure is impressive.

Recommended for Gundam and/or MSiA nuts.
-- Darren
11.12.00: Gundam Turkey Wing

Bandai of America will finally release the transforming 12" DX Wing Gundam toy the day after Thanksgiving (November 24th-- "Black Friday"). This toy was originally released in Japan back in 1995 with electronic light-up chest and shoulder cannons, and engine/weapon sound effects. In 1997, a Hong Kong edition was released with the electronic innards cruelly ripped out and discarded. Guess which version the kind-hearted folks at BoA decided to release on these shores?

That's right! For generations to come, the children of America will regale one another with conspiracy theories about the mysterious battery cover that refuses to open, the creepy functionless button on the back, the unnerving feeling that something's missing... spooky! Anyway, it'll retail for only $40, so we shouldn't complain, should we?
-- Yappy
11.12.00: Ride of the Avatar!

As a kid, I thrilled to the obsessive attention to detail that Reiji Matsumoto lavished on the spacecraft for the "Space Cruiser Yamato" series. Toy-portrayals of anything but the Yamato itself were all but impossible to find, however.

Until now. Time House has unveiled a fully-painted, large-scale soft vinyl toy of one of the coolest (and most obscure) ships from the entire series: Captain Avatar's Flagship from the very first episode. Details are scarce, but it seems to be over a foot long, intricately painted and detailed, and even features a detachable battery-powered propeller unit that allows you to take the Flagship on sorties in your local kiddie pool or bathtub. Shiver me timbers!

A figure of the good captain himself is set to be released simultaneously as well. Release date is still up in the air, but looks to be the end of this year or very early next. Stay tuned for further info!
-- Matt "" Alt
11.12.00: Hoard Them Kitty Sticks!

Bandai's hot seller of 1986 was the elegantly designed and engineered Kitty Stick. Which means in five or ten years, the Kitty Stick nostalgia market will explode. All you early Kitty Stick adopters are sitting on potential goldmines. And for all you newcomers, it's not too late to start hoarding those beloved toys. Trust us. We're toy experts.

That nugget of info, along with the much less relevant ENTIRE HISTORY OF BANDAI, is now up (in investor-friendly, easy-to-read English) on the Bandai of Japan website. There's some pablum about the origins of Popy, Bandai's aquisitions, the birth of Chogokin, etc., but really-- who cares about anything other than the trend-setting Kitty Stick?
-- Darren & Yappy
11.12.00: Armored Corpse

I do some work for Agetec (furthering my overdeveloped Armored Core obsession) and as such, already have one of the Armored Core 2 High-End Action Models, and put a review up on my site, www.masterforce.org. Although I have to admit being let down...
-- Ginrai
11.8.00: Shin Again

Aoshima's Miracle House has released a special "Original Image Colors" edition Shin Seiki Gokin Shin Getta One. The figure comes with the Tomahawk Lancer and is available only from Toys R Us Japan. What? You knew there would be a torrent of these re-colors, didn't you?
-- Darren
11.8.00: Getta Gasha

The Shin Getta Robo Gashapon EX recolor set is out today! The set of five figures includes Shin Getta 1, 2, 3, and the mighty Tomahawk Lancer!
-- Darren
11.8.00: Mikazuki Madness

Mikazuki is a six-episode miniseries, directed by designer Keita Amamiya, the same guy responsible for the live-action "Zeram," "Zeram 2," and "Mechanical Violator Hakaider."

The kaiju are called "Idea-monsters," and take the form of everything from your standard fleshy monsters to enormous, mutating airborne wedges of watermelon. Seriously. Mikazuki's plot revolves around alien invaders having the ability to bring thought/imagination to actual physical reality using a biomechanical organism called "Uterus." Yikes!

The good guys are a pastiche of tokusatsu cliches. Kazeo, generic hot-pants wearing kid, finds and controls the titular ten billion year old robot. He fights alongside the sentai-ish AIT-- the (we're not making this up) "Annihilate Idea-Monster Tacklers". Of course, they've got two anti-Idea-Monster assault robots, the hilariously retro Gekko-ki ("Moonlight Machine") Units 1 and 2.

What does all this wackiness mean for toy fans? Well, Takara's making a rare foray into vinyl with the late November release of ultra-kaiju-sized vinyls (980Y retail), smaller PVC figurines (480Y retail), and giant DX vinyls of standard and powered-up Mikazuki (4980Y each). The biomechanical look and feel of the designs is sure to be a hit with fans of the newer Gamera films or the Evangelion series.

Hair-Metal Footnote: The Mikazuki theme features Paul Gilbert (from "supergroup" Mr. Big) on guitar backing the vocals of Don Dokken (like you need to ask). If that ain't enough, the all-mighty SLAYER might also be on the soundtrack...
-- Matt & Yappy
11.7.00: Speaking of the Yamato ...

The partial gimmick list for Bandai's Soul of Popynica Yamato is known. The ship will be 43 centimeters long and will feature retractable wings, rotating and adjustable main gun turrents, opening forward torpedo doors, opening hatch on the 3rd (nadir) bridge section, and extending rocket anchors. Finally, battery operation will power the illuminated, rotating Wave Engine, housed in a display compartment.

This is not a complete gimmick list. No warranty is expressed or implied. Your toy may vary. The launch of the SoP toy will be timed with the release of new plastic models and a special DVD of the Yamato anime.
-- Darren
11.7.00: Yamato's Yamato

Yamato's Triple Cast Yamato DX re-issue and new Andromeda DX, previously announced here, are now shipping. The Yamato DX retails for 7,000 yen, the Andromeda for 7,800 yen.
-- Darren
11.6.00: Gundam Wing Action Figures Suck

But the Mobile Suit in Action Gundam Wing figures are damn fine. It's not just a matter of semantics; the Bandai of America "Gundam Wing Action Figures" are absolutely laughable compared to the true-blue Hong Kong toys. "Wait... Hong Kong?" you ask? Confused? Here's a quick recap: from the start, the MSIA line has been the brainchild of Bandai HK (with minimal editorial input from Japan).

For the Wing line, the hometeam finally receives the best versions of these toys (the Japanese also got sloppy seconds with their sole Wing Gundam figure). The HK MSIAs sport intricate detail lines, additional paintwork, additional parts, a nifty metallic ochre to replace the garish lemon yellow of the Japanese and American versions. The plastic on the HK toys is noticably tougher than that of the American releases. The differences might be mostly cosmetic, but they add up. The HK MSIAs scream "QUALITY! DISPLAY ME!" while the American toys whimper "quaint toy fad of 2000."

Many have talked about modifying their existing figs to look like the HK versions. Spend the money, Monty! These are only inexpensive toys ($12-$15 in your local Chinatown)! Get the real thing!

Besides, you'll only acheive the right effect if you paint in panel lines AFTER repainting the entire figure with decent colors. Then, you still end up with the inferior plastic. Worth it? Nah. Enough blabber, judge for yourself:
-- Yappy & Darren
11.6.00: SUPER-SIZE It!

Or JUMBO-size, as the case might be. Japanese toy-store Inukuma proves that, in the end, size DOES matter.

After releasing huge, six-foot, 398,000-yen fiberglass statues of Mazinger and Tetsujin 28 (with Great Mazinger and Grandizer to follow), they've started releasing enormous vinyl Booskas (60 honkin' centimeters tall) and life-sized fiberglas statues of not only Tetsuwan Atomu/Astro Boy, but also Leo/Kimba, the main character from Osamu Tezuka's "Jungle Emperor Leo."

Good news: they take credit cards. What's a little consumer debt for the chance to own a six-foot giant robot statue? Check out Inukuma's website at www.inukuma.com.
-- Matt
11.6.00: Bow Wow Wow Yippy Yo Yippy Yay

To combat the communist menace of Sushi-Azarashi, mascot merchandiser San-X introduces its greatest creation, Afro Inu, the mighty AFRO DOG. Moreso than banal diecast robots, vinyl monsters, or oversized shampoo bottles, this John 3:16 wigged pup represents Japanese design at its purest-- the sublime fusion of the cute and the questionable.

Expect a barrage of Afro Dog toys before end of the year, including intricately detailed and phenomenally complex plushes with interchangeable, velcro-ed 'fros. If you don't track down those hard-to-find limited edition variant hairpieces now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

Japanese toy expert Matt "Professionalism" Alt says, "Afro Dog is the best. I'd gladly trade all my Ponies for just one of 'em."

UPDATE 11.6.00!!!: Behold AFRO DOG in all its three-dimensional glory!
-- Yappy
11.6.00: Treasure Island Mazinger

Japanese toy-shop Takarajima ("Treasure Island"), whom you may recall from one of our very first Rumbles as planning to release a vinyl toy of Mazinger Z's Photon Energy Research Institute, is at it again! Check it out: up next will be the "Scientific Fortress" from Great Mazinger.

These are prototype shots. 200 Photon Institute pieces will be sold at the upcoming Character Convention in Tokyo on the 26th of this month, with 300 more to follow for sale via mail-order. (That's a grand total of 500 for all you math wizards out there.) The release date of the Scientific Fortress is still undecided.
-- Matt
11.6.00: The Rumors of My Death ...

Microman 2000 ain't dead yet! Three new LED Powers Series toys will be out at the end of the year. L-27 through L-29 Perfect Shining Zed, Solomon, and Shakunetsu all will come with a rainbow assortment of translucent Tector armor. Fight, Microman!
-- Darren
11.5.00: Whole Lotta Stuff Goin' On

It's about time! You've been wondering when we'd have something in our Stuff page. We've got plenty of stuff now, and more to come in the future. Toybox rocks. Check out our stuff. And remember, by supporting Toybox, you're helping us bring better stuff to you in the future.
-- The Rumble Staff
11.5.00: The Marc Raley Collection

The enigmatic Marc Raley launches a virtual tour of his incredible gokin collection in the Toybox DX World Collector Hall Gallery. Prepare to be stunned and amazed, and be sure to check back often -- this is a growing work in progress.
-- The Rumble Staff
11.5.00: Samba De Nagai!

The recent eBay purchase of the mysterious, and butt ugly, Mexican Machinder, got me thinking about a bizarre purchase I made a month or so ago. I was at a particularly sleazy toy show in Baltimore when I spied this display box filled with whacked-out Spanish Mazinger toy premiums. They came with some sort of candy, which was absent, and were made by Chupa Chups, the same company that makes those horrid coffee-flavored lollipops. According to the box, these puppies originated from Barcelona -- It looks like the Spanish speaking world is quickly catching up with Italy as a premier source of twisted, pseudo-Japanese toys!

[ Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3 | Picture 4 ]
-- Marc Raley
11.5.00: Advanced Valkyrie!

Macross fans will thrill to the latest update at macrossworld.com: a translation of an old interview with Shoji Kawamori, the designer of the Valkyries, detailing his plans for the "Advanced Valkyrie" series.

What, never heard of "Advanced Valkyrie"? Join the club. Although it was announced with much fanfare in the wake of the 1984 Macross movie, it never actually saw production for a variety of reasons. However, the basic plotline -- which centered around a group of test-pilots working on the latest Valkyrie prototypes -- might sound a bit familar to fans of the Macross Plus series.
-- Matt
11.5.00: You'd Be Brave, Too ...

... If you were the size of a city. Brave Maximus arrived from Robozone, and I thought I'd serve up my unsolicited two cents on the long-awaited Transformer ... MORE!
-- Darren


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