Ha, what a fantastic magazine, thanks for digging that up. Oddly enough, although TE's figure is just excellent as a toy, the 'original' Hackberry ticks all the boxes for me that I felt were a little lacking in the sculpt, such as the arm-to-torso ratio and relative sizing. It just kind felt it needed a bit more, but I think for capturing that goofiness and toy aspect of it, TE did the perfect job. Hackberry is my favourite of the trio, and seeing this little 'secret' background just puts it that much more greater now.
I really like the bald golem, wish I had got on that when I had the chance. It's got a very strong yokai vibe to it.
Haha they are relentless!! It's pretty funny to see these bootlegs come out so soon. TE is like the Porn Parody company of sofubi. Is it just seen as a little harmless joke amongst toymakers or do artists get annoyed that they are riding shotgun on other people's success?
Considering this is already based on something else (i.e. a legitimate character) are we entering into the rip-off of a rip-off.... errr, I mean homage, territory? Whatever the reasons or reception of these, I can at least appreciate the 'thumbing his nose' at the ridiculous aspects of this hobby. I would like to see original sculpts, and I think TE is still doing great stuff, but I hate to see this devolve to the point where the satire itself becomes the joke it is making fun of. And, I think, if this is indeed a dig/reference at Amapro as well - which it sure looks to be - that is kind of taking on a whole other kettle of fish, in a below-the-belt type fashion.
And yet we ignore Psycho Tank and Jap Bug? Where's PA John when we need him? The auto-translation of the text about the Machine Gorilla reveals the words 'Cooperation and Amapuro,' and they even have a nice, big pic of the "original" down at the bottom of the blog entry. So there's that.
Ah, okay, retracted then. Would have been smart of me to check out the blog first. If this is a collab between the two then I am completely down with it, and like it even more than I did. Robotic ape? Sign me up! Two great toy companies? Just take my money already. Tokyo Tower? Aggghhh, why are you making this so painful?!
Wait a second.. what does Amapro have to do with the Machine Gorilla bootleg? How is it a dig towards him? I thought the most recent release was by Longneck/Zollmen.. What's the connection with Amapro?
Yeah, but that is just it, Amapro did it first. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39574 Of course, as I mentioned this is all going back to the original Capt. Ultra Garuban, but I appreciate the tribute to a vintage toy. 'Mimicking' the concept, and reusing the claw hands and even the 'diamond' eyes, well I dunno what to say about that. While the TE figure is clearly a KO of the Longneck Megagorilla (which is itself claimed to be based off of a vintage Maurshin toy), the connection to the earlier Amapro iteration remains. Adding to this is that the other version of the LN character is also a very close 'translation' of the Robocon character. Anyways, suffice it to say in this discussion that they are all great toys, and I appreciate drawing on the history of the past when its done well.
Ahhh ok - thanks for the info. I remember seeing a more similar (almost exact) version to the Longneck in an issue of Super7, I'll try and track down more information by flipping through the issues at home. At least Amapro's has his own elements thrown in like the head and fingers added to the claws. The timeline I can remember as far as this particular TE version goes "??? (from Super7 magazine) -- Longneck -- Target Earth" all with pretty much zero changes made to the sculpt other than what is a result of their sculpting techniques. But you're right - these all boil down to the original Gabaron. I wonder if those B-club reissues will start to get hyped??
Sure, no worries. I know since they are not hyped or whatever, these other independent companies get ignored. I just like to shed light (and credit) where it is due. For clarification of other not following the discussion, here are the Longneck figures being referenced (I wasn't going to post them as it is a TE thread, but seems like it might help now, so I will post small thumbnails). The 'Megagorilla' with its supposed 'bootleg' (which is just the vintage Marushin Garuban modified I think - but still excellent) and the Zollbots, Anyhow, more robot apes for everyone I say! I have plenty of love to go around for these.
Took a little while to track down (I started thinking I had dreamed of it when the Longnecks came out) - bottom right corner. Even has diamonds in the eyes from the looks of it and apparently had magnets as connectors for the arms and head. Would be a cool feature for these new figures to have.
No apologies - I'd kill a nun dead for that Kemular. And now back to your regularly scheduled TE bashing... John! John!!! John?
Yeah, we are getting off-topic a bit here, but the vintage toy is just excellent. Not that it needs any more hyping, or getting people to chase after it, but I guess for people not familiar the vintage side of things, it comes as new. I would love to have one, or the Garuban for that matter. But hey, I'd also be happy with a newer vinyl take on him too. You can see some more pics of the original toy and its connection here: http://robotjapan.proboards.com/thread/ ... ban-review
Very cool link! Thanks for posting that and I think it's still on topic.. if I was unfamiliar with Target Earth or had just joined the boards, seeing discussion about the influences for these toys would be welcome to see in the thread I think. This is the kind of thread I come to Skullbrain for.. packed full of toy information and a little bit of jabbing here and there.
I've been a very big fan of TE stuff for years, pretty much since I started getting into sofubi. His toys were amongst the first I ever collected. These two most recent rips (on Zollbot and Brutal Ace) are just way too much, and I would never consider buying them. I like them. The sculpts are great. I would just kind of feel odd owning a toy that is a very direct inspiration of another sofubi maker's toy. I don't get it, and I honestly wish he'd just stick to original creations, and stop with these.
True that - something like Hackberry is cool, but to produce pretty much a straight copy (maybe some proportions are a bit goofy) of something like Brutal Ace - a toy that has been out for less than a year - is kind of a dodgy decision. But hey, it's got us talking about them at length - which I'm pretty sure was a big reason why he decided to produce such a thing.
Can't blame the dude for providing a cheaper "alternative" to toys that have ridiculous after market prices though. In 10 years or so these will be accepted into the toy community through the bootleg sub culture.
Given the fact that the Zollbots, uh, "original" is already being marketed as a "BOOTLEG TOY!!!!!", shouldn't this make the universe implode or sth..? It's all a bit baffling. Gotta give the man credit for making such a drastic statement, though; at least that's what I consider these to be until someone can provide more insight than google translation.
Half the problem is just the timing of the releases when you think about it....Amapro did their take of the mecha Gorilla before Yoda, and Yoda waited the presumably requisite amount of time to release his toy to not to be an issue. Sato is obviously riding the coat tails of today's "hot" trends or whatever...I don't know, the whole argument is ridiculous like most arguments on this board. Just remember none of these guys are making a killing selling this stuff. Yoda's runs are so small, it's obvious to anyone who understands basic economics it's about the love of toys and not the money for him. Even with a steep retail price. It is the same with Sato on many levels regardless of the copycat factor. And his prices are always affordable. TE's versions are often such direct and blatant rips of newly released versions of toys that it really makes you do a double-take. Part of the charm and part of the reason to pass on some of his toys, all at the same time depending on your viewpoint.
