There is a dedicated Fireman Talker thread but no generalized Fireman thread so hopefully Jim won't mind me starting this one... Anyhow been looking for a larger sized Fireman for quite some time. I have a Popy mini and a Popy clear mini but it seems only the Popy clear mini is truly easy to find. Every larger version I've seen goes for a mint it seems. I stumbled upon this bootleg for a decent price and had to have it. It was sealed in the bag and some of the close ups I took hastily make the mask look rugged but it's just air bubbles. The toy is pretty minty (especially the head/hair) except for the weird browning of the right arm. That was the part that held the clear mask in the bag. They must have used some crazy chemicals back in the 70's because the red vinyl of the arm did not react well with the clear vinyl surrounding it for 30+ years. Mask came out unscathed though. I love it because with the removable mask toys I always debate whether I want to display the head or with the cool mask on. This is the best of both worlds. Enough of my chatter here is one of the coolest toys I've ever owned... P1020616 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr P1020617 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr P1020618 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr P1020619 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr P1020620 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr P1020607 by Beautification Syndrome, on Flickr I hope other people post their Fireman toys....
Beautiful toy for sure! Scrolled through the pics before reading your post and was wondering about that arm. Pretty crazy that the mask affected the arm like that. I wonder if it will affect the head in the same way if displayed "on" for a long time... Congrats on the score- and nice shots. Hastily taken or not.
Well he'll just get a tan after awhile I guess I'm not too worried. I'm sure it had something to do with the bag being sealed for 30 years. I did wash out the mask before putting it on the head though.
Such a sweet find. I can't get over how awesome a clear mask is on one of these, like you pointed out, definitely the best of both worlds. I have not seen any others like it, but no doubt there are probably similar ones for other heroes too. I especially love the metallic paints on the mask, totally brings it all together. I definitely wouldn't worry too much over further discolouration now that it is opened to air and out of direct sunlight. Congrats on an awesome figure and continuing an amazing vintage collection.
could it be the helmet's short distance off-gassing that's affected the arm? doesn't look like the helmet was tightly wrapped around the arm, so it might not have been just physical contact. i guess we'll know a few decades from now.
Great toy indeed, looks stunning with the mask on! But if that were some sort of chemical reaction, wouldn't it most likely also have affected the silver bits on the arm? Besides, the lower left arm looks brown even on the header..?
In S7 #4 there is an article by Mark Nagata on clear/cyborg vintage vinyl. Not sure of any others with just a clear mask but I would not doubt it if there were. I think that's just shadows on the header...but hey he is Fireman, maybe he burned himself!
Yea, this thing rules. Love the colors on the mask, and the air bubbles give it a really neat look. Great score Lixx!
We did an article on Fireman in issue 15 as well. Off the top of my head: 15" Talker 14" Giant Size removable Mask 12" Standard Size removable mask 12" Standard Size bootleg with removable clear mask 9" Swimming toy 7" Popy 6" bootleg 6" Pencil Topper style vinyl 5" Cyborg Popy 5" Regular Popy 3.5" Pendant vinyl Tricycle Mid size motorcycle with nose cone small size motorcycle with nose cone Newer items: laser disk set of 5 SD green unpainted figures SD figure from hero set pvc figure candy toy 7" articulated suit figure and more.....
That's pretty wild that the helmet (probably) discolored the arm. I can't think of any other examples of actual vinyl discoloration, aside from exposure to sunlight. But this may be due to the general lack of vintage toys that use both clear and solid vinyl parts. On the upside, it looks like the arm's paint survived relatively unscathed. The head looks like it is fully painted as well, so it may not be affected by the helmet. This is an incredible toy and a great find. It's like someone took the Henshin Cyborg aesthetic and applied it to a vinyl toy- possible, since the HC line was in stores at around the same time that Fireman was on the air. Even though it is an unlicensed product, it gives you something that you cannot find in the licensed figures, which is what really makes a bootleg cool in my view.
The bootleg is a bit taller than the standard size. I bought my standard Fireman off ebay years ago from Chad, but it was missing the mask. Took a trip to Japan not long afterwards and came accross the bootleg with the mask. Originally i thought the bootleg Fireman was the real deal untill i couldnt find any maker marks. Yeah, at the time i was pissed, but at least i found the mask to complete the real one. Love to find a clear mask to complete my other one, because seeing the Fireman that Lixx has makes me very envious!
^^^Well Jim if it makes you feel any better, I have a Jumbo Bandai Thundermask I came across and bought a few months back for the absurdly low price of 4000 yen BUT is missing the mask. As much as I love the size and face of that toy, every day I'm reminded of it and how hard it will be just to find a jumbo mask lying around Knowing you need a clear Fireman mask and I know ultrakaiju needs a jumbo Iron King mask I'll keep my eyes peeled though. Thanks for posting that pic, it's nice to see the size difference btw the boot and licensed release. Daniel now that you mentioned it, another bootleg removable mask toy I own is a Thundermask. The head is painted also. Maybe the bootleg manufacturer is the same? Never know. I'm happy the paint was not affected on the arm because it sort of reassures me that maybe the head paint will be safe. I agree with what you said about the Henshin influence. The designer was either ahead of the curve doing something so simple but very effective aesthetically, or maybe it wasn't even intentional? They could have also been influenced by some of the Bullmark Cyborg vinyls but for whatever reason, cost/supplies available etc they could only do the helmet like that? For whatever reason we are left with a great toy!
the hip joints on the bootleg look much nicer than the original. i assume the joint angles wouldn't allow for a sitting position, but i like that it's less barbie.
Fantastic find Chris! I think this is the first time I've seen a bootleg copy a Bullmark human head so closely. Really crazy effect on face with mask on! Love it!
Before I got into sofubi I went into a store in chinatown Sydney (12 years back) and it was full of vintage Ultraman and "other" toys that I'm only just starting to recognise as Mirrorman toys and others from Lixx's and others threads. Feel pretty stupid now that I breezed through it and since I've been back it's not there now.
I am pretty sure these bootlegs all have real mold or overstock Bullmark heads attached. They were always done perfectly, and often more matte than the rest of the vinyl. (making me think they were overstock heads.)
i'm so pleased you started this thread Lixx! that's an awsome looking bootleg! here's my one and only fireman figure, the Bandai standard size:
spacemonkey that Fireman is in great shape! Almost looks like it came right off the line. I've received a few 'bagged' bootleg removable mask toys and even though they are still in the bag there is always some sort of dirt, yellowing, or like above- browning. I've never seen one this clean.
got this one from YJA in 2006. yes, it's exceptionally clean and glossy looking. as you would be aware, the silver paint on these types of figures is the first to show signs of wear but here it looks close to factory finish. I'm guessing it was kept in the bag for most of it's life. when I bought it it was in the bag with the header attached. i can't remember if it was double stapled, meaning that at some point it may have been removed from the bag (which i guess is most likely) and then put back in. next to BAROM1 it's my fave removable mask figure!
HI there i know this is an old threat but I was just able to pick up a Bandai Fireman with a mask, found it Kyoto ( the toy hunt was great on that day) However, I am trying to figure out when the toy was made? and properly understand where it belongs in the line of Fireman toys that were made at the time. I am getting confused, did Bandai used the Bullmark sculpt ? My point of reference is super 7 mag and there is no reference of a Bandai Fireman, but there is a picture of a Fireman that I got but not sure who made it. Can a brother get some help?
I got an exciting (to me) ebay score recently, and it was a pair of small Fireman figures. The ebay listing listed them as store samples, and had Popy and Bandai in the title listing, but I think that was just for listing hits. I was curious if anyone had ever run across these before? Both of the figs are identical, have some paint wear, and the same markings on the figs. The back says "BP. CHINA" and down the leg says "NOT FOR SALE". I know next to nothing about kanji, but there is a stamp on the back with the copyright logo, and a separate one on the foot. If it wasn't for the copyright symbol, I'd guess it was some sort of bootleg, but IDK. Any insight or info on what I've actually got here would be appreciated! Next to a Bullmark mini Ultraman Jack for scale.
