i was pretty much into the first 2 colorways - but with the new ones above its easy to save the $ for s.th. else ...like the long awaited skullbrain galtan.
nice fotos pickleloaf!!! ...that green is my favorite too. also there is this unpainted one - so guess there is 5 colorways til now.
I just got my own Hukkokudo Zagora, the green one with the red eye and gold teeth. Taking it out of the bag now. Pleasantly tall. A little bowlegged, but this is fixable. Vinyl is a tad thin, but I know that with old molds there is difficulty making figures with the kind of thickness that M1GO figures sport. There's some weirdness where if the tail rests on the ground and the feet are flat, he looks up into the sky. So if you want him to stand normally, the tail hangs in midair. A little bit of balancing work. Love the vinyl color. So far, I like it.
I liked the first colourway the best and picked that up. Won't be getting any others as they're big and I'd rather get some of the other Hukkokudo releases like the Smog and Hedorahs.
DAMN! Of course the flesh one is the one I really want. Any blues out there for me at a reasonable price?
What's with Hukkokudo's blog? There's only one entry there now and I remember seeing a bunch of them a couple of weeks ago, some even with pictures.
btw where are the blue zags available? EDIT: Im guessing thats what Ramos is talking abou tin the other thread on the preorders?
I think hukkokudo huffs mad donkey balls. The company is just taking advantage of the success that gargamel has had with the 'bootlegs.' Yeah, they're the 'original' sculpts and all, but these reissues wouldn't have happened at all without Gargamel paving the way. And it gets even more atrocious when hukko out and out bites gargamel's paint schemes like in the case of the clear blue mightin. Gargamel did these toys because they're totally into the aesthetic of the old toys. They took a lot of chances doing their own sculpts and risking cash on marketing these. Hukkokudo has done nothing to deserve any accolades or praise for such an unoriginal product. It's clear the way that they're pricing them that they're just capitalizing on gargamel and people thinking that these are the king's balls. So many people are saying 'this is as close as I'll come to owning an original...' and that poor justification. Save your pennies for a while and be very patient; the originals aren't entirely out of your grasp. These reissues only serve an immediate and impulsive need whereas waiting for an original could actually be an accomplishment to be proud of. I'm no writing this to sway anyone, but I feel like there is a lack on integrity and what they're doing and I have to express that. Fuck hukkokudo and they'll never see one dollar from me.
Gotta agree with everything bryanarchy said, it is pretty shameless, but at the same time they're making a product that I want. I'm not the type of person who would pay more for something just because it's vintage and this way I can get the toys in new condition for far cheaper. If gargamel makes a full sized smogun Im sure it'll be 100 times more awesome, but even selling my whole collection wouldn't get me enough pennies for the IKB version so I'll make due with what I can get, even if it leaves me feeling slightly dirty.
I grok what you guys are saying, but ask yourself this: if Gargamel was the company selling the reissues, would you feel differently? Which leads to the next question: Why didn't Gargamel do the reissues? I wonder about that. Personally, I don't have anything emotionally invested in it, I'm just playing devil's advocate here and I think it's great that both Gargamel and Hukkokudo are doing what they're doing. I'd really like to find out more about the provenance of the characters and toys, and which company went through which steps to make their products. It may seem trivial to some here, but in Japan, situations involving licensing and intellectual property carry much more weight these days. I just noticed something about my Zagora last night: there's no maker's mark on the foot, or on the tail, anywhere. Between that, the black and white header card, and that really sparse web site, Marmit is doing a good job of making Hukkokudo look like a fly-by-night operation. Maybe that's the point.
meary- we've all been raised to be consumers but that doesn't mean we can't fight the 'need' to own something when it's origins are less that upstanding. roger- If gargamel made these reissues, i would be less inclined to get pissed about this. I don't know the gargamel dudes, but I really sense a love and enthusiasm for toys but also approach it with a characteristic creativity and innovation. In my opinion, the toys they've made are more interpretations of old toys rather than direct rip offs so I don't think would ever make direct reissues. The fact that Marmit is trying to appear 'underground' is even more galling. They see the writing on the wall; that these upstart companies are really making an impact on the toy scene. They just wanna cash in. This scene has gotten big enough for people or companies to attempt to capitalize on the boom and the march of toys moving from being collectibles to commodities is well on its way.
Gargamel figs are from original scuplts. Hokkokudo figs might or might not be from vintage molds. It's just as likely that the figs are from molds cast from vintage figs, not the actual vintage molds themselves. That said, the figs are cool looking. I don't have tons of dough, so when I spend money (on toys or whatever), I try to get good deals, buy things I love or really "need", and I prefer to do business with folks I'm stoked to do business with.
