I thought I would post some pictures of some of the Hawaii Bullmarks that used to be in my collection. First up is Twin Tail. At first glance, it looks just like the common Japanese version, but when you turn the head, it exposes the flesh vinyl. This Zetton is in excellent condition, and if not for the minor paint rubs on the feet, it would be difficult to tell this was made from flesh vinyl. More to come later ...
kaiwi, I read your stories about the Bullmarks in the other thread, these are amazing! Please keep posting photos when you can. And just think: there are probably only a handfull of people in Japan who now own all of the Bullmarks you have, much less seen them with their own eyes. And you just picked them up at the drug store as a kid. Awesome.
this is the brocken that i have and i was told by a collector in japan that it is an hawaii version . just cant find anyone in hawaii who has ever had this vinyl . which 6 six vinyls do you have left kaiwi ? would love to see that eleking again ! those little vinyls that you posted earlier i have seen before and of all places a boxed set of them on e bay .
I don't know of anyone who has had that Brocken either. As for the ones I still have: Eleking, Garamon, Taigan, MechaGodzilla, Big Eye, and the pink Hedorah. I'll post a picture of the Eleking soon. The pics I have available now were taken a couple of years ago. I'll try to take the new pictures tomorrow.
More flesh vinyl Bullmarks: Takkong - This version looks just like the common one made from red vinyl, but one look at the feet clearly shows the flesh vinyl base. Gyango - Looks just like the fairly common version that is made from orange vinyl. Metron - Like Takkong and Gyango, this is painted to resemble a common version.
So what is the story behind flesh Bullmarks? Were they ultra limited runs or used for test paints or something?
I don't believe so. There are more than a few of the regularly-issued Bullmark vinyls that were done in flesh-colored vinyl. I think there may have been a tendency to rely on flesh for the base color because that's the material their manufacturer had the most of on-hand. The majority of Marusan and Bullmark's vinyl toys were made at Mommy Doll, a spin-off company that primarily made baby dolls for other companies. Many of the manufacturers who make the current crop of kaiju toys, like Obitsu, also make dollies, so you see flesh vinyl being used in contemporary test shots, too.
More Hawaii Bullmarks: Gaigan - This version is generally considered a Hawaii release. Black King - This version has the same vinyl color as the more common version. I've heard conflicting reports about the use of the metallic colors. Some say it was reserved for Hawaii releases, while another has said that the metallic sprays were also available for sale in Japan. Bemstar - Another example of metallic spray, this time on flesh vinyl.
I love threads like this. That Gigan is my favorite of the bunch. I have the softest spot of my heart dedicated to him. The only Godzilla movie I ever owned as a little kid was Godzilla vs. Gigan -- So, naturally, he'll always be my favorite of the G kaiju. (Now I just have to keep fighting the urge to buy up all the Gigan shit at S7)
These are all amazing pieces, I really don't know what to say as I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Yeah, they were all made by Bullmark in the early to mid-70s. If I remember correctly, they sold at the store for about $5 each.
Red King - This figure is painted with gold spray on flesh vinyl. Gorosaurus - This one looks like a common version that is made from light blue vinyl. King Ghidorah - Another Bullmark that is painted to resemble a common Japanese release. I have been told that flesh vinyl was readily available at the time, perhaps because of the reasons Roger spoke of earlier. In fact, most of the Mirrorman and Ultraman Leo kaiju were made from flesh vinyl. I know that all the Ultraman series were airing in Hawaii after they had started to wane in popularity in Japan. This is only speculation, but maybe so many "Hawaii" versions were made from flesh because it was less expensive to manufacture. This would help explain why certain figures are more common than others too. If the colored vinyl figures sold out in Japan, it might have been easier just to make more from the flesh vinyl that was already at hand. Then they would just need to be painted to resemble the previous releases. If they didn't sell out, they would just use what was left of the vinyl to make the export versions. Again, this is only speculation, as I have no way of verifying it. But here are some very common export Bullmarks that are made from colored vinyl (Gandar, Giradoras, Ikarus, and Mikuras).
Baltan - This figure is in excellent condition with just a few paint rubs revealing the flesh vinyl underneath. Earthtron - This was sold to a collector who had been searching for it for about eight years.
