I wish this forum had more new and exciting stuff, so here goes nothing- KOTORIMARK - new toy maker out of Tokyo. He makes amazing toys in the vein of old style mascots and vintage stuff. One of my favorite current makers. ive also had the privilege of collaborating with him- i did the cutout illustration for him and he based the colorway on that.
I’ve yet to go after one of his toys, but he definitely has somethin’ really fun happenin’ here. Dolphin Army immediately makes me think of Irutan, but in a whole new light of playability with its military aesthetic. Kotorimark is a huge, huge vintage collector, and I think that love is perfectly translated with Dolphin Army. He(among with many other friends/associates) is also a big fan of hardcore, which is just a fun factoid for me. Also, the cutout illustration is awesome, Michael! Very cool of him to have made a release that took after your artwork!
So I got a hold of my first Dolphin Army and this is a really, really cool toy in hand. A lot smaller than I thought it’d be. The sculpt itself is insanely smooth and very readable. The expression of the dolphin itself is pretty existential, but I find that funny. I think the rocket pack on its back should be painted, as should the bullet belt across the chest and belt around the waist, but that’s nitpicking. The traditional sprays take nothing away! Spoiler
@xSuicide Squadx Awesome photos, as always!! Love Kotorimark stuff! I've had this cool little Octopus riding a UFO for a little while, it's such a fun toy. Looks great hanging out next to my Kure Kure Takora toys too!
@grosspustule Thank you!!! Your outdoor shots of the Taco Adamsky are fantastic! I love the saturation! That’s another one I’ve yet to see in hand, but I certainly wouldn’t mind obtaining one at some point! I think this red one is the best version released so far. Hopefully we’ll see another soon!
Have ypu guys seen the illo that Dolphin is based on. It's truly awesome. Maybe Michael has a copy? Should be posted here for its radness.
Holy hell, I didn’t know there was direct source inspiration! I assumed Irutan and that was it! That shit is hilarious and AWESOME!!!
Thanks Michael. I wonder who has the original art for that magic. It's one of the weirdest most awesome pieces of art I've ever seen.
Google translated "Sci-Fi dolphins with guns" into Japanese and came up with this: Apparently it's from a children's picture book published by Shogakukan in the 1970s, the title Google-translates to "Why the Mystery of the Body". The illustrations would serve to answer a simple question like "what if dolphins were smarter than man, would dolphins be good?" and the answer being something like "some say that if dolphins were smarter than humans they would treat humans the way we treat dolphins". Edit: corrected spelling
From what I’ve been able to find it’s an illustration by Shigeru Komatsuzaki, and was a part of a children’s picture magazine. Found these indie figures and an alternate rendition of the art that’s in the same magazine issue. But @C E pretty much summed up everything else I was gonna type out!
Thanks for posting all this info, I have a new appreciation for that Army Dolphin figure now! All I found when looking up more info on human dolphins was this:
I want to get ready for the dolphin apocalypse, and I have some questions. Are those dolphins wielding shotguns, laser guns, or flame throwers? Are they wearing oxygen tanks? Or is that some kind of super-killer-mind control gas, like the Sardaukar in David Lynch's Dune? Those tails look unprotected? Should I start investing in bear traps for my home and office?
I love the Kotorimark dinosaur playset, great concept and the sculpts look very cool. Does anyone have a comparison shot of the size of the dinosaurs next to Marugacha figures?
I have the Dino play set that was released for DCon and it’s really awesome, but it is really tiny! I can snap a photo of it next to the kotorimark octopus UFO if that’s be helpful.
Thanks, but I don't have anything by Kotorimark so I wouldn't be able to judge the size. Someone somewhere said Marugacha and Kotorimark dinos were similar in size, I was just curious. They're definitely pricey on the aftermarket, there's a set of unpainted clear ones on Mandarake for 14,000.
Here is a quick photo of these lil' guys next to a Marusan toy, hopefully that gives you a better idea of the size! They are super fun, I just wish this DCon version had iris's painted on the eyes like other versions released.
You mean this guy on the left? This is an older sculpt he did with very limited amounts going out I'm not sure why so few but it's an awesome sculpt. Happy to see an official release of it now.