| Space Insect Kaiju Gumoz [宇虫怪獣 グモーズ] is an original kaiju by Dream Rocket, and is part of Chapter 3 in the Monster File Series. This was the first sculpt released by Dream Rocket. "Gumoz" (or "Gumoze") is probably the most proper romanization of the name, although "Gumous," "Gumos" and "Gmohs" are also commonly seen. |
| BIO: [Translated from Dream Rocket's website.] "The Chrysalis of Gumoz" On Mars, a fossil was discovered underground and brought to Earth. However, a frozen chrysalis of the Space Insect Gumoz was discovered within. The chrysalis was exposed to radiation at the Space Science Center, awakening the space insect from its slumber. Quickly growing to 40 metres, Gumoz began to destroy the city... |
| STATS / ABILITIES: Height: 40 metres Weight: 10,000 tons - Gumoz captures prey with its six arms and tears them apart with its mandibles. - Steel-like claws on each arm are perfect for shredding. - Green poison can be discharged from the mouth. |
| ARTIST'S COMMENTS: This is Dream Rocket's debut figure! My heart is overflowing with happiness. Anyhow, I think the outstanding aspect of this sculpt is the six moveable arms. Unfortunately, this increased production costs beyond original expectations. But I do not want to forget the enthusiasm and spirit of this time. The original version of Gumoz was a creation in my notebook during 1st or 2nd year of elementary school. At that time, Gumoz was still a two-armed, wingless insect kaiju. After that, I kept drawing this figure in my middle school notebooks, on receipts at my part-time job and even in the margins of documents as a working adult, until it finally became the character seen here. Now that I think about it, this guy has been my companion for more than 30 years. I never dreamed that I would be able to make him into a soft vinyl toy. |
| RELEASE CATALOGUE: Releases are categorized by the base color of vinyl used in production. Dream Rocket also produced a number of artist customs (i.e., one-offs) of Gumoz, and these have been listed separately at the bottom of the page. |
--DARK BLUE VINYL--
1. Dark blue vinyl, unpainted (WHF Sofubi Matsuri lottery prize, Dec. 2006) Retail Price: Free / 5,000 yen. Note: These were probably sold alongside the painted releases as well as being used as a lottery prize at the Dec. 2006 Sofvi Matsuri. I have a bagged version with a price written on the header. |
| 2. Dark blue vinyl + metallic green and pink + red eye (Release information unknown) |
| 3. Dark blue vinyl + metallic green and pink + gold eye (mail-order, ??/20??) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. |
| 4. Dark blue vinyl + metallic green and silver + blue eye (Irisawa store excl., ??/20??) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. |
| 5. Dark blue vinyl + bright green spray on body + matte pink and yellow on wings (Super7 exclusive, July 2004) Retail Price: $55 Note: The paint scheme for this release was selected by Super7. Super7 logo stamped on foot in silver. |
6. Dark blue vinyl + metallic green and maroon + yellow eye (Release information unknown; most likely mail-order) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. |
7. Dark blue vinyl + matte purple, yellow and red (Superfestival 39 ltd., Apr. 2006) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. Note: The colors of this version are reminiscent of the vintage Aquarion Seijin vinyl by Ark. One of my favorite kaiju toys! |
--GLOW IN THE DARK VINYL--
| 8. GID vinyl, unpainted (Max Toy Co. excl., Mar. 2006 (6 ltd.) / WCC 22, June 2006) Retail Price: [Information needed.] Note: This one appears to have been released at two separate venues: the WCC release is bagged with a Dream Rocket header and the Max Toy version was sold bagged with a Max Toy Co. header and a point card tag. |
8-A. GID vinyl + dark pink, light grey, yellow and green (Max Toy Co. excl., Mar. 2006 (30 ltd.)) Retail Price: [Information needed.] Note: Header features original artwork by Mark Nagata. Each piece is also numbered in permanent marker on the header. |
9. GID vinyl + aqua, lavender and yellow (mail-order, ??/2006) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. My comments: One of my first purchases when I began collecting Japanese soft vinyl toys... check out an old, old review. |
| 10. GID vinyl + light red, aqua and yellow (mail order, ??/2006) Retail Price: 5,000 yen. |
| 11. GID vinyl + yellow, silver and green (2006 Patchi-Summit, sales method unknown) Retail Price: Unknown. |
| 12. GID vinyl + dark brick red, gold and aqua (artist custom, release information unknown) Retail Price: Unknown. |
--BRIGHT GREEN VINYL--
| 13. Bright green vinyl, unpainted (Max Toy Co. "Capt. Maxx Battle Pack" release / 2008 Wonderfestival Summer ltd., Aug. 2008) Retail Price: 7,500 yen. Note: Bagged with an unpainted flesh Capt. Maxx. |
14. Bright green vinyl + yellow and red  (Max Toy Co. "Capt. Maxx Battle Pack" release / 2008 Wonderfestival Summer ltd., Aug. 2008) Retail Price: 9,500 yen. Note: Bagged with a painted brown, gold and green Capt. Maxx. |
| 15-A. Bright green vinyl + various metallic sprays (Max Toy Co. "Capt. Maxx Battle Pack" release / 2008 Wonderfestival Summer ltd., August 2008) Retail Price: 12,000 yen Note: One-off sets of Captain Maxx and Gumoz could be purchased instead of the production version. |
| 15-B. Bright green vinyl + various metallic sprays (Max Toy Co. "Capt. Maxx Battle Pack" release / Tokyo 1-Week magazine excl.) Retail Price: 14,500 yen. Note: The Tokyo 1-week versions of the Battle Pack set were sold around the same time as the Wonderfestival sets. I believe these could be purchased only in Japan by mail-away order through the magazine. Although painted in the same style as the one-off Battle Pack sets, there seemed to have been multiple sets available with the buyer able to choose between two types of Gumoz and two types of Target Earth's Gameldon available, each of which would be packed with a special version red and green version of Capt. Maxx. I have never seen one of these sets outside of the magazine solicitation. |
16. Bright green vinyl + light green, silver and red (2008 Fall Patchi-Summit lottery prize, Nov. 2008) Retail Price: Free (with purchase of drink). Note: One-off given away by raffle at the Patchi-Summit event. From what I am told, you are given a raffle ticket whenever you buy a drink. |
--BLACK VINYL--
| 17. Black vinyl, unpainted (2009 Summer Patchi-Summit lottery prize, June 2009 / Kaiju Invades SF / Beikokuten ltd., Dec. 2009) Retail Price: Free / $60. Note: Some given away as raffle prizes at Patchi-Summit events, a handful were also sold at the Beikokuten event. |
18. Black vinyl + silver and red (Rumble Monsters mail-order, Aug. 2009) Retail Price: 6,500 yen. Notes: "It is a shape of destruction that he imagined in his childhood..." |
19. Black vinyl + various metallic sprays  ("Insect" version; mail-order, Sept. 2009) Retail Price: 6,500 yen. |
19-X. Black vinyl + silver and gold  (2005 Spring Patchi-Summit, Apr. 2005) Retail Price: Unknown. Note: This item was purchased from a Japan online auction posted by a well-known toy dealer in the process of closing down his online store operations. The listing indicated that it was released from the first Patchi-Summit event, held in April 2005. At the time, however, Dream Rocket had not produced a Gumoz in black vinyl. There was a Gazura cast in black vinyl that was sold at the same event. As such, I suspect that this Gumoz was probably pulled from excess stock of black vinyl used for the Gazura run. |
--OTHER--
20. Orange vinyl, unpainted (Release information unknown) Retail Price: Unknown. Note: This color of vinyl was never used for a production version Gumoz. I purchased it second-hand and without packaging. |
21. Cronic x Dream Rocket One-off HP (Black vinyl + various metallic colors) (Cronic DM sale, July 2009) Retail Price: 18,000 yen. Note: 4 pieces total sold through direct sales and lottery sales. Toy sold loose w/ bubble wrap in cardboard box with printed sticker. These items are painted by Cronic. |
--ARTIST CUSTOMS--
22. Beikokuten 1 (Black vinyl + metallic green and gold + hand-brushed details)  (Kaiju Invades SF / Beikokuten, Dec. 2009) Retail Price: Let's talk about something else... Note: Originally displayed at Kaiju Invades NYC in April 2008, this piece was made available for purchase at Kaiju Invades SF / Beikokuten in December 2009. The bottom of the right foot is signed in Japanese by Yajima Junichi; the bottom of the left foot appears to be dated "12/2009," but could also be 12/2007. |
23. Beikokuten 2 (Black vinyl + metallic red and green + glitter on carapace) (Kaiju Invades SF / Beikokuten, Dec. 2009) |
24. One-Up Sale 2010-06-1 (Black vinyl + metallic red, green and gold)  (One-up.org excl. artist custom, June 2010) Retail Price: 7,000 yen. Note: Two customs were dropped off by Yajima at One-Up in June 2010 and sold for barely above normal Gumoz retail. In a time where people seem to triple prices for artist customs, it is good to see someone that still offers fair prices to collectors. |
| 25. One-Up Sale 2010-06-2 (Black vinyl + metallic blue, gold, purple and pink) (One-up.org excl. artist custom, June 2010) Retail Price: 7,000 yen. Note: See above for 2010-06-1 artist custom. |
And that's the end of the story for now! Gumoz is perhaps the most interesting sculpt in the Dream Rocket arsenal because of its personal ties to the artist. I find it hard to believe that there have been only 3 (edit: or 4) colors of vinyl used in its production over a span of 3-4 years.