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Mark Nagata has been a busy man in recent months, as the owner and operator of Max Toy Co. (among other occupations), releasing new collaborative works nearly every other month, it seems. This includes not only the periodic Max Toy Club (MTC) releases, but also a bevy of pieces sold at the San Diego Comic Con, and the exclusive items currently offered at the opening weekend of the "Toy Karma" exhibit in Chicago (technically, these are not Max Toy Co. collaborations, but Nagata is curating the exhibit).
This week, we have part I of a three-part series of reviews, looking at a few of the recent Max Toy Co. releases, and other related items. Part I features The Rumble Monsters' 2007 collaborative release with Max Toy Co. and 2005 collaborative release with artist Rockin' Jelly Bean.
A long, long time ago- a long time in 'vinyl' years, that is- company Inazuma-Go began producing a line of soft vinyl toys under the name of "The Rumble Monsters" (TRM). One of its first characters was a burly, tusked dinosaur-like beast named "Pharaohs." From what I understand, the concept of the Pharaohs' design was a joint effort between Inazuma-Go and Rockin' Jelly Bean (interesting fact: RJB is responsible for the artwork in Velvet Revolver's music video for "Dirty Little Thing"; in fact, if you watch carefully, you can see the Pharaohs pop up in the video). The first colorway was a dark green base with silver teeth/tusks, red nails and a yellow eye (dubbed [GL-GR]). This colorway would be replicated in a later 'reissue' [GL-GR'] which is nearly identical, sans a blob of spray on the tail spike. Believe it or not, people will pay very good money for that little blob of spray.
As one of its earlier releases, TRM put out a set of two Pharaohs as a limited release sold exclusively at Erostika's shop. The first, [RJB-Custom 1st], was sold in May 2005 and cast in vivid orange vinyl, with bright blue accents, gold tusks/teeth and a painted white eye. This version always reminds me of the later Thrash-Out Pharaohs, although the two look nothing alike side-by-side. The second, [RJB-Custom 2nd] (featured here) was sold in November 2005, and cast in robin's egg blue vinyl, with purple highlights, yellow tusks/teeth and a white eye. I have always suspected, though have not been able to confirm, that the two RJB-Custom Pharaohs were actually hand-painted by RJB himself. The apparently low production numbers, combined with the uneven look of the spray and paint on the teeth and eyes, suggest a hand-paint, but I could be wrong (and often am). Pretending that I bought a hand-paint helps to justify the amount I paid for it.
I am probably, at best, a casual TRM collector, but the colors on the RJB Custom 2nd Pharaohs are outstanding. The combination of the blue vinyl and purple spray reminds me of those malted eggs sold by the carton at Easter, and all other manner of happy springtime things. I am always surprised at how compact the sculpt of the Pharaohs is when I hold it in my hands. On screen, it has the tendency to appear a bit chunky, but it is a very tight, if muscular, sculpt in person. Those really are two words that should not be used together in a sentence about toys. The vinyl is also very solid and glossy, which feels nice in my hands. OKAY. Moving on.
In June of 2007, Max Toy Co. announced its first club exclusive collaboration with TRM: a red Pharaohs with iridescent sprays. I receive the e-mail on a slow, balmy afternoon and hesitate for a bit- red really isn't my color. But I am ultimately swept away by the moment- and perhaps the $30 I just forked over for my club membership- and I place my order for one of the Pharaohs.
One of the cool things about any MTC exclusive is the huge glossy header that tops off the toy. Although I forgot to photograph the header this time, you can see it on the Max's Brain blog- it features a drawing of the Sphinx (not the stoic character from 'Gone in 60 Seconds'- Sphinx like in Egypt) with a Pharaohs' head. Clever. Although Nagata is probably best known among toy circles for Max Toy Co. and his immense Ultraman collection, he also is an accomplished artist. His resume includes, in addition to toy-themed art (featured originally in Super7 magazine!), many notable examples of commercial work, ranging from the covers of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series to the cardbacks for Batman toys. Batman toy card art! Surely that is ample qualification to illustrate sofubi headers.
What then makes the MTC Pharaohs such an interesting toy is that every one of the 70 pieces sold was hand-sprayed by Nagata himself. Painstakingly so, if you read the extended account of the production process on geozilla's blog. There's just something indescribably awesome about owning a toy that was hand-painted by an artist. And this Pharaohs is really something special. As a perfect contrast to the bright blue RJB Custom Pharaohs, it is cast in a deep, peppery red. The iridescent sprays were layered by Nagata, who laid down golds and silvers first, and covered those with a metallic blue. The effect is a sort of an oily sheen- somewhat like the M1Go Pharaohs released a few months back- and plays off the traditional "Max Toy" colors well. The thing that makes this one a real keeper in my book, however, is the way it pairs up with the RJB Custom Pharaohs, which pairing is almost reminiscent of Tim Biskup's hot-and-cold Big Pollards.
And because you didn't come here to watch me wax poetic on the winning qualities of my toys- seriously guys, this is hard work- here are more pictures for your enjoyment!
Good things come in small packages. I'm sure that all of my male readers would agree.
But things in Japan are getting small in another way- mini-figures. Now, the miniaturization of toys is nothing new to the Japan toy scene: trading figures have become extremely popular in recent years, replacing the perennial favorite, gashapon figures, and even in some cases, supplanting larger scale figures. The motivation for this shift in the toy production model has been explained as recognition of the limited space available to most Japan residents (however, there is also a trend towards ultra-high-end, large-scale toys that would beg to differ). I believe that Gargamel was the first of the neo-kaiju companies to create a dedicated line of mini figures in its Zokki Kaiju line. Following in its wake, there have been more and more neo-kaiju companies dabbling in the mini-figure game.
Here tonight, I have selected a few of the latest neo-kaiju minis, proving that, no matter what that girl last weekend told you, good things DO come in small packages.
Inazuma-Go x Frank Kozik / Rumble Babies
These were something that I stupidly passed on the first time that it was offered up to patrons of the mighty RFSO. At the time, I was copping the first tentative feel in what would become a full blown love affair with neo-kaiju, and I would still shy away from the "high" prices of some of the smaller figures. Now, of course, I have grown balls of titanium when it comes to buying these, and I think I am working on the first coat of adamantium. At any rate, I was lucky enough to grab these (Rumble) babies on the second go-round when they were sold at a board member's personal fire sale (or perhaps more accurately, the "ohshittaxesarenextmonth" sale).
The initial run of Rumble Babies, consisting of the clear blue and GID pink versions, were done as a custom job by Mr. Frank Kozik, veteran skullbrainer and toymaker extraordinaire. For those of you not familiar with the name, Mr. Kozik is perhaps better known for his line of Smorkin' blind box figures, which consist of rabbits, grenades and bananas, all with trademark cigarette and/or five-'o-clock stubble. Even I own a couple of these- the OG smorkin' labbit was my first vinyl purchase, and I was unable to resist the charms of the 5" Labbit. How can you say "no" to those beady little bunny eyes? But what the much of the world may not know is that Mr. Kozik is also a neo-kaiju afficionado, who owned, at one point, one of the sickest vinyl collections around (before he sold a bunch of it) and who has has produced the "Murder" colorway of select neo-kaijus, including a Pharaos, Damnedron and Mutant Evil.
These Rumble Babies are precisely what their name suggests: baby Rumble Monsters. More specifically, they are baby Pharaoses...es. The GID pink Baby makes perfect sense in this light: it is the larval form of the GW-Sakura Pharaos (GID w/ pink spray). However, the clear blue Baby remains a mystery with no corresponding adult. Perhaps this is a hint of things to come- summer surf Pharaos anyone? In the end, Inazuma-Go went on to produce one final colorway of the Rumble Baby in the original Pharaos green and yellow. These can still be found at retail prices with minimal effort.
Anyway, I don't think there's much more that can be said about these critters than has already been said. They make a great 'baby' form for a bigger toy, are easily displayed on a desktop, and are even fairly affordable as underground sofubi goes- that is, if you can find them.
Charactics / Mini-Gezora
Charactics is another one of those toymakers that, like Dream Rocket, Amapro, and the like, blurs the boundaries between traditional and neo-kaiju. Unlike the 'creative bootleg' method used by other companies, I believe Charactics might actually purchase a one-day license from the owner of the character's likeness (e.g., Takara, Bandai) to produce and sell a toy for a single day or weekend at a character/toy show. For example, if you look at the header for Charactics' Walder set, it actually bears the copyright stamp of Takara as well. From what I know, this also is the method used by Sakamoto Showten to produce his show-exclusive Votoms vinyl toys. As a result, Charactics has produced its take on various classic kaiju- in both mini and mid-size- including Gezora, Hedorah, Matango, Biollante and Majin Bander.
Sadly, I do not know much about Gezora, other than that he is associated with Godzilla. I bought this one for the sole reason that I love octopus/squid toys. Most of these were released before I started seriously collecting vinyl kaiju, but I would have to assume that the majority, if not all, were released at a -fest or matsuri or convention, via the method described above.
He's a cute little fella, and I hope we see more colorways from Charactics in the future. A mid-size version would be nice, as well.
Gachamon / Medorome & Berippus
At last winter's Sofubi Matsuri, several of the major manufacturers of modern sofubi kaiju collaborated to produce a series of trading figures called Gachamon. Reportedly the stock of about 1000 pieces sold out in minutes, leaving many of us on this side of the ocean high and dry. To make it even more hair-pulling-ly difficult to collect, the 13 Gachamon came in an unpainted clear red, unpainted glittery 'rame' red, and painted full-color versions. The full-color versions were supposedly limited to 10 pieces each... total. Nonetheless, a few industrious folks were able to cobble a full set together through the magic of YJA. I had to resort to Mandarake's stock to grab a couple of the more common red colorways.
Word out is that a second run of the Gachamon is planned for the May 5th Sofubi Matsuri. The full color versions will supposedly be more plentiful; I'm not sure what the color the unpainted versions will be at this point. Collect 'em all! Lose your mind!
TTToy / "Night Sakura" Prodon
The Prodon is the mini counterpart of TTToys' bread-and-butter- the Grus. The name, despite its common mistranslation as "Prototype Don" or something similar, is correctly "Mutant Covert Agent Kaiju: Prodon." Prodons have been produced in a variety of colorways, including the frosted blue 1st color, clear pink and green, and GID spray versions. This most recent "Night Sakura" colorway was released in connection with the clear pink "Cherry Glow" Prodon at the February Winter Wonderfest. According to TTToy's blog, only 10 pieces of this version were produced in total!
Although I've picked up a number of the Grus and other TTToy sculpts, I've had the damnedest time in trying to track down Prodons. This is my first one. I have to say, I'm fairly impressed; for such a simple sculpt, it is clean and elegant in this simplicity. The piece is a lot heavier than you would expect, and it feels really good in your hand. The bright pink spray on an off-white GID base vinyl has a very pleasing look that will always remind me of fishcake. This is particularly striking when the GID is charged- the pink spray fluoresces an orange color! (Note: Upon editing this article, I realize that I forgot the picture of the GID effect. Whoops.)
Touma / Baby Skuttles
One of Japanese artist, Touma's, more popular creations is the Skuttle, a spiky, humanoid turtle that is vaguely reminiscent of the Koopas from Mario Bros. I've never been into most of Touma's sculpts- Knuckle Bear, Goon, etc.- but I find the Skuttle especially cool, even if I do have a inexplicable urge to stomp on it and kick it around. The unfortunate part is that there are also a large number of people that feel similarly, as the Skuttle can hit crazy stoopid prices on the aftermarket. So, my Skuttle collection thus far consists of zero pieces, which I may remedy soon with the release of the clear DIY Skuttle sets, budget permitting.
Skuttles have been released in a couple of forms, including the original and 'primitive' alpha-type. Touma's newest version is the Skuttle-X, which is even spikier than its predecessors and features a cool Jolly Roger on its chest. To test these turtle-infested waters, however, I began with a couple of Baby Skuttles in clear and green vinyl. Based on the feel and appearance of the clear vinyl, I'm going to guess that these are produced by the same factory that does Wonderwall's stuff. Similar to the "Kaiju for Grow-Ups" toys, the Baby Skuttles are made of a very firm and smooth vinyl with virtually no trapped bubbles. While most clear pieces have visible bubbles to some degree, these are cleanly done, and resemble glass figurines at first glance. The big let-down, however, is that the Baby Skuttles are hollow with a hole at the bottom, meaning that you cannot fill them with beads, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, as many of us are wont to do. My disappointment is mitigated somewhat by the pretty clear vinyl.
Whew. So there's my smorgasbord review of mini sofubi toys. None of these are more than $20, and are a great way to get sucked into the vast financial sinkhole of Japanese neo-kaiju collecting.
It took me three tries to get this title right. Bill Watterson and my dog-eared copy of AOTDMKMSG are ashamed of me.
So let's dispense with the chit chat. This is a review of Rumble Monster's Snow Damnedron and Pharaos.
Rumble Monsters is another one of a myriad of small Japanese companies that produce high-end vinyl figures. Many of their works are collaborations with other artists/groups, such as Erostika, Rockin' Jelly Bean, and the smorkin' Frank Kozik. Most recently, they decided to do a seasonal series. Like the good addict that I am, I snapped up the Christmas releases immediately.
Beats the hell out of me where RM picked up these designs. For the most part, RM has two basic sculpts (well, three, if you count the headcrab baby Pharaos; four, if you count the Pharaos and Pharaon separately), and they couldn't be more different. The Damnedron (actually pronounced Damn-dron) is a gloppy Hedorah-esque creature; Pharaos/Pharaon is a bulky Stygian kaiju-thing.
Some people have commented on the similarity of the vinyl color to another sticky white substance. Yep, coconut syrup for sho'.
One of the weird QC issues showed up with the Pharaos. Notice all the little bubbly things embedded in the vinyl? Apparently, those are not supposed to be there. When I first opened this guy up, I was all, "Oh damn! That's genius- they used the bubbles to make it look like SNOW!" And then I found out that some people had received the Pharaos with no bubbles or lots of bubbles in random places on the figure's body. Intentional or not, it makes it look less... fluid-like, which is probably a good thing.
These have proven to be some of the most widely available RMs to date. I didn't have any problem getting my mitts on either. The most I would pay at this point is about $80 a piece.
Weird fact: Rockin' Jelly Bean did the artwork for Velvet Revolver's new video, Dirty Little Thing. Watch closely and play "Spot the Pharaos."
