Thought you guys would get a kick out of my gushing over foot writing on the ToyboxDX blog: http://toyboxdx.com/brog/?p=7604 Usually you see kids' names written on the feet of vinyl, but when I finally found the right Moguera for me, it actually has 'Moguera' written on the foot. Who knows the story behind it, but it makes the toy that much more special to know that there probably IS some lost story behind it.
Some Mom back in the day wrote it on there to stop her child's incessant questions - Mommy, who is this? Of course this is nullified by the fact the child probably couldn't read at the time.
I think that is why I favor collecting vintage vinyl, each piece has a history. It's cool to think that these toys were being played with some 30 - 40+ years ago. I love the fact that the original owners name is forever marked on them. Marker pen names and damage to these pieces just make them more interesting to me (Things like missing horns and spines are just 'battle damage' right?). I wonder if those children, now adults in there 40's and 50's are still kaiju fans...
Well, obviously *you'd* say that...you're a Time Lord, afterall! I would have to assume so...even huge toy companies like Bandai are pumping out showa-era kaiju toys en masse. Someone must be buying them! ... Anyway, yeah, I tend to agree with the whole sentiment of this thread. I forget if I mentioned this elsewhere, but a bunch of us have been having this ongoing discussion about condition and vintage toy collecting. I mainly come from a Japanese robot toy collecting background (Popy chogokin and the like). Now, every collector is different, obviously, but there's definitely a tendency among robot guys to go after the absolute best condition possible. It's not just that robots tend to be more plentiful than vintage vinyl...it's something about how intricate most robot toys are (and how condition factors into the gimmicks--which is more critical a factor than for vinyls, obviously). And further, there's just *something* about a flawless hard gloss paintjob--free of scratches, stains, blemishes, etc.--on a chogokin. Chrome, translucent parts, foil stickers...we tend to hold out for the nicest specimens available. But not for vinyl. Vinyl is glorious. It's rich. Each scratch and blemish has a story...even if we can't fathom what it is. The melted crayon smell...the grime stuck in the corner (that we, of course, refuse to clean!). Now, I personally prefer to snag vintage vinyl figures that don't have actually damaged vinyl. I don't like busted-off horns, cracks, creased plugs or whatever. I have no problem with writing on the feet, but I prefer no big marker stains or writing on the rest of the figure. And if there are a few specimens of a particular sculpt available, I'm probably going to gravitate towards the one in best condition (as long as it's not absurdly more expensive than a more-worn one that's available). But other than that, I don't mind a little faded paint, rubs, or scratches. It's funny how that works. When I pick up a robot toy with even a little flaw that many wouldn't notice...just because *I* know it's there, it'll nag me in the back of my mind. But with vinyl, it's just more reason to revere the piece and enjoy it as a little slice of pop culture history, as well as as a toy.
