[RealxHead / リアルヘッド] Chaos Trooper

Future mutants from another universe! Since the tear in the space-time fabric caused by Pheyden’s exploration into the Mutant Zone, Phase-powered Chaos hybrids have streamed into the Glyos universe and back into the Mutant Zone. Are these peaceful brothers of Mutant Chaos or are they evil hybrid clones? And more importantly, who is behind the Chaos invasion??? The second crossover figure collaboration between RealxHead and Onell Design recently marched into the Mutant Zone- the Chaos Trooper [カオストルーパー]! Originally conceived as a Glyos-scale toy with custom urethane accessories, the Chaos Trooper has come full circle to be realized as a full-size RxH vinyl figure.

As fans of both Glyos and RxH will vividly recall, the Chaos Trooper originated in Glyos Custom Corps. 3.0 which merged RxH’s Mutant Chaos with Glyos-scale bodies. New Glyos-compatible parts were sculpted with the assistance of Lamour Supreme and resulted in two primary build types: the Chaos Soldier and Chaos Trooper. The Trooper features both a Chaos head and swivel-jointed probe arm on a Glyos body; the Soldier utilizes only the head.

The full-size Chaos Trooper recently debuted at Superfestival 56 in April of this year (2011) as a limited sale of unpainted beige-flesh vinyl versions (although this version would also see a release through Onell’s webstore in May 2011). This is the second version of the figure released, and the first painted version. Although it has only been around for a little more than a month, there are now at least 14 officially released versions of this figure!

The proportions of full-size RxH bodies are a perfect fit for the up-sized Trooper. While the details of the original Glyos figure are recognizable, they are also streamlined, which reminds me of adaptations made in the animation model for older cartoons. This toy uses nearly 100% new parts, which is very surprising given the cost of developing new molds. I believe even the head is a slightly resculpt from the original Chaos Man. Chaos Trooper introduces so many possibilities with a new probe arm part and a nearly full set of Glyos-style armor- I can’t wait to see what those mad scientists at Onell Design and RxH come up with next! Check out other Chaos variations at the Robot Loves Monster! database: http://robotxmonster.blogspot.com/2009/10/realxhead-chaos-family.html

[Glyapaedia] Dome Conversion Set

One of the best releases in the Glyos system came together at the beginning of June 2010 when Onell Designs and Rawshark Studios collaborated to produce a epic crossover battle between the power-hungry General Phanost and mercenary-of-questionable-motivations, Callgrim. The story of this crossover event manifested itself in several Onell blog posts (here, here, here and here) and two Passcode mini-games (Glyaxia: Armor of Fate and Attack on Altervoth). Toys, of course, were involved.

The Dome Conversion Set (also known as the DSR Dome / Dome Runner / Morphisar Conversion Set) was one of several toys released during the General Phanost crossover. In this photo is everything that you receive in the set, which was packed to bursting in a double-wide zip bag. Here's the technical run-down of the contents: 1 x Caliber Dome (reconfiguration of Callgrim / Order figure) 1 x Hybrid Sarvos head and torso 2 x Phase Arm sets (Pheyden blue) 1 x Phanost head (Pheyden blue) 1 x Phanost head (grey) 1 x Callgrim head (grey) 4 x Beanbot Spoon Racer wheels (clear smoke)

In the official story, the DSR Domes, Dome Runners and Morphisar clones are the result of Phanost's merging of Phase and Dome technology following his takeover of the Order's moon base. The Morphisar clone, is a modified Echo Morph with shape-changing abilities, so I imagine the other forms to be transformations of this base form. The Dome Conversion Set features the largest number of parts in any Glyos or Callgrim release to date. It also allowed newer collectors to buy the key parts for Hybrid Sarvos, originally sold and sold out in late 2009. All parts were cast in the lovely Mospeada-esque Pheyden Blue, further making the sets extremely versatile for builders. While this set may be long gone, check out the Elite Sentry Sarvos set (available now @ Callgrim webstore), which contains nearly all of the same parts in 'combat ace red' PVC!

[RealxHead / リアルヘッド] October 2010 Mutant Head

Latest addition to the Mutant Head database:

Shinto Gangu micro store release, Oct. 2010 In mid-October 2010, Mori released the spiritual counterpart to the fabled ME-L03 Mutant Evil. Being an in-store micro release, it was perhaps, only a little easier to acquire than said Evil. I didn't think much when I saw the first photo of this MH, as the photo was poorly lit on a dark background. Clear purple with minimalist paint applications. Ho hum. But a later, better photograph later revealed it to be an instant stunner. The metallic paint is sprayed over a cream-colored base color, which gives it additional definition against the clear purple vinyl. Spray is a little rougher than I care for, but a minor issue on a superb version. As we close out the first year of micro-run store exclusive RxH, it is good to see a few of these gems make themselves available to foreign collectors.

[Secret Base / シークレットベース] Pump It Up

Secret Base [シークレットベース] fight figures- love them or hate them- embody the essence of Japan's new soft vinyl toys. While simply constructed with minimal articulation, SB toys combine high-quality soft vinyl with multiple layers of nostalgia, toy history and pop culture to create a truly enjoyable product. Their universal themes (Halloween, music, sports, Henshin Cyborg, Astro-Mu 5) make the toys accessible to nearly all adult collectors. I still don't really get the whole fighting thing, but it's ok. SB's Pumpkin Brain was the first JP vinyl toy that really caught my attention when I began collecting in 2006. As an aficionado of Halloween TV specials and consumer products since my formative years, the idea of limited-run Halloween boutique toys made in Japan proved irresistible to my toy collector instincts. I can only assume that owner of SB shares my affection for the holiday.

The above two Pumpkins are the original releases from Halloween 2003; the orange was available at Secret Base's shop and the GID at TWIM's shop. Both were sold as unassembled figures in the plastic pumpkin container. (New collectors take note- the bubble wrap in the pumpkin is part of the original packaging; don't throw it away!) These are among the older SB toys, predating the popularization of Japanese vinyl, causing them to be highly coveted, top shelf material a few years back.

And I guess patience paid off, as I was able to purchase these recently for around original retail. Not U.S. retail. JAPAN retail. Crazy rolling googly eyes. The GID Pumpkin had been on my list of wants since I first began my collection, but as mentioned above, it was virtually unavailable at the time. I think this ranks among the best toys produced by SB; the clear head piece over a GID vinyl body is a nod to its SB predecessors and Henshin Cyborg lineage. The eyes and foot-wraps have just the right amount of subtle overspray from the airbrush. A surprise to me, the head piece is made of extremely rubbery vinyl, much like the old outer brains for the Skull Brain. Newer Pumpkins feature vinyl of the same consistency as the rest of the body (as do modern Skull Brains). That is not to say that the orange Pumpkin is at all unremarkable by comparison. This is a solid classic SB release. Just the right amount of overspray is present here as well, which contrasts nicely with the clean lines of the trunks and chest. But key to the orange Pumpkin is its amazing clean, glossy orange vinyl. I truly believe that the uncompromising quality of their vinyl material is what sets apart companies like Bounty Hunter, Secret Base and Gargamel from their compatriots. It's like cooking with good ingredients.

I also picked up this black Pumpkin Brain, which was sold two years after the above pair, as part of Super7's first Halloween collaboration with SB in 2005. Interestingly, the S7 black Pumpkin is a color-swap of the orange Pumpkin. There is a second black Pumpkin as well (a SB Fan Club release in 2005) which has black trunks and gloves instead of orange.

While it may be true that the numbers of fight figure collectors are dwindling down to a dedicated handful, the Pumpkin Brain- and really any of Secret Base's lineup from the past 9 years- is definitely worth a purchase if you have an interest in JP vinyl.

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- Credit and thanks to Super 7-The Book, vol. 5, issue 1 (2007) for release dates and information.

[Microman / ミクロマン] Amazon Acroyear

While this definitely deserves a thorough photo shoot, I am too jazzed about finding one of these to finagle with things like f-stops and QUALITY at the moment. Micro-nuts will immediately recognize this jungle-dwelling duo as the blue Amazon Acroyear set from the 1979 lineup of Rescue Microman. (For those wondering, the popular Kamen Rider Amazon series was long gone by then, having aired nearly 4-5 years prior.) While I am not much of a Microman guy (only a few boxes of those), the Amazon Acroyear has pretty much everything you could want in a toy. Mechanical parts and chrome. Yep. Clear bits? Yes, and AMAZING head sculpt that makes me want to roll it on the table for a saving throw. There's even a little vinyl monster henchman in the set to satisfy the sofvi heads.

In the box... and all the parts on the table. When you find one, be certain that the little plug bit is in the box. It is very easy to miss and without it, the back fan will not attach to the Acroyear figure. Unfortunately, whether or not the plug is in the box is not visible from the outside (but if the seller shows the figure with the back fan attached, you're good).

Great manga-style box art.

One side of the box has the name and catalogue no. of each Amazon Acroyear and its henchman monster: A371 Blue Amazon President [ブルーアマゾン総統] - Mushikeller [ムシケラー] A372 Red Amazon President [レッドアマゾン総統] - Tokageras [トカゲラス] A373 Green Amazon President [グリーンアマゾン総統] - Urokoman [ウロコマン] Of interest is the President ('Soutou') designation- Amazon shares body parts with its forerunner, the President Acroyear. I don't know what the official relation is between the two.

Another side of the box has a neat cutaway drawing of Amazon with some specs: Head --> Crystal Head [クリスタルヘッド] Spear --> Mad Spear [マッドスピア] Left chest --> Amazon Kaiser [アマゾンカイザー] (I will never understand the Japanese fascination with this word.) Chest --> Some sort of condenser device (Shukoushi souchi)? [集光子装置] (Someone help me with the proper terminology.) Back fan --> Cutter Wing [カッターウイング] Crotch --> Deathmad Transmitter [デスマッド発信器] Hand --> Punch Booster [パンチ倍力装置] I didn't get any of the paperwork with this one.