Kamen Rider series

While I have always been a loyal Ultraman-fan, the upgraded action, costumes, and music of the 70s really brought something great in Kamen Rider. And heck, they kicked ass and drove around on motorbikes! What really made the show though was the creatively designed villains. They set the bar for so many things to come, and a strong reason why they are still be used for great vinyl inspiration from some of the best makers out there.

Let's start it off with a bunch of minis I have been grabbing whenever I can (and could afford them). While unposeable, the action of the arms makes these figures much beloved and more playable than static figures with their limbs at their sides. Some of these guys can fetch a pretty penny on the market (something I was introduced to through a Japanese collector), but others, like mine, are a very affordable alternative to the full size (or giant sized) villains. I will try and maybe scan an article from one of my kaiju books that shows the series.

Here are few I have picked up, but I apologise to the stragglers that somehow managed to escape this photo shoot. I'll sneak you in there yet. [Damn, just realised when I uploaded the photo that it is totally blurred. FU to me and my shaky hands and crappy camera. Oh well, enjoy anyways.]

 

[aside - I think it is probably cool to post that, in light of the number of players on here who can bring it to that kind of game. Might want to check with the mods.

Mind = blown. There goes any hope of completing my PhD. A lifetime of collecting all in one batch. I am not sure they will realise that price, but given the scope of completion and their condition, nothing would surprise me. Thanks for compiling the pics to your blog Marta. Amazing auction, I really love these figures.

 

Your great scores from Operation Kobe continue to tickle my jelly bone, Steve - call me crazy, but I personally find the minis to be the most appealing thing about the entire Kamen phenomenon. Nice finds in my book, and I'm an unrepentant Tsuburaya snot!

 

Truly impressive. I had this big plan to come away from Japan with a few of these two from a local store, but it never materialised. The sole guy I managed was the giant Cobraman. I had my eyes on the giant ant at a Mandarake for ages too, have to post a picture of that guy.

 

Yeah. That's the one I was after as well. I am not sure if there may or may not have been one or two others. I know I snapped some shots of the ones I saw in store (it was pretty comprehesive), so I will try and track those down. If anyone is interested in knowing, despite their large size, these actually came bagged with a header and backing.

 

Aside from the 6 giant size villains, there are a few versions of giant size riders as well. While the Giant size kaiju are very undervalued (in my opinion), they can all be had for under 30,000yen usually. The giant riders are another story all together, and some are affordable (V3) but most of them get pretty expensive.

The giant Cobraman also has a very subtle paint variation, as most have yellow waists with blue chests, but some have additional red spray detailing all the sculpt lines around the waist. The mini size figures have several spray variations on many of the figures also, and the variations are not well documented. The flying pose mini size are extremely difficult and expensive to find, and I agree, are some of the best versions of these characters. For standard size, the bee-girl and dinosaur are the most expensive characters. Supposedly early versions of the bee had wings, and later did not, but I sort of think that is just used to help sell wingless versions of the figure.