I recently got both of these from a board member and was curious if anyone had any info whatsoever on them, but I'm doubtful. I am guessing they're kind of older, but I have no real way of telling as there isn't a single marking on either of them. They are obviously loose interpretations of Kanegon and Eleking, but aside from that, I'm lost. Since they're clearly from the same sculptor, I am left wondering if there are any others from whatever company did these. Any help is appreciated! Pachi Friends! by bansheebot, on Flickr
I've got a few myself. They are quite common in Japan, most shops will have at least a couple, but I never did pick up any of the details on them. Here are a few more from the set. Some are more dinosaur-like while others have a distinct kaiju rip-off feel.
Oh, heavens to Betsy. I want all of them! I do recall seeing the furry, big-eared dude on the right on YJA before. The Red King one is great! They're ALL great! UGH.
Oops. Sorry, the Red King snuck in there unbeknownst. He is actually a pendant sofubi that some child decided should be played with rather than worn.
that red king looks like the pendant version sculpt these are cool little monsters WHOA time warp post at the same time??
Haha, gotcha re: Red King. Still, thank you for the photo. It's nice to know there are others out there to be tracked down!
Thought this recent Mercari listing was interesting. IN BAG!!!! Still no maker markings to be seen. ウルトラ怪獣シリーズ (Ultra Kaiju Series) is so funny, as it sounds like just straight Ultraman! Anyway, I coincidentally grabbed the blue and the red (My absolute favs) for about $15 recently. Extremely filthy and full of crud. Cleaned most of it off with boiling water, dish soap, and disinfectant. Still dark bits caught it the surface due to micro bubbles holding onto the grime. Maybe overpaid considering the condition. But, nice having some toys that I don't need to worry about leaving on my desk.
Any guesses on which monsters the three guys in the front are based on? I'm thinking: Green: Chamelking (although no wings, probably not right) Red: Icarus Brown: Red King I agree with bansheebot in the first post that the teal guy is Kanegon and the purple Eleking.
That's interesting, the turquoise snailien always reminded me of Gandar. View this post on Instagram Kanegon works too, though, definitely a more well-known kaiju than Gandar. Do we know when these pachi guys came out? The other ones are based on 1960s designs, but if the green guy is Chamelking, his episode didn't air until 1972.
There is some discussion here on the bootleg thread about these, but the blog linked to is no longer there and also not in the Wayback Machine dammit. http://skullbrain.org/bb/index.php?threads/bootleg-thread.46080/page-10#post-873726
That actually seems possible, considering the dramatic "creative license" taken on all the other interpretations. Chamelking losing his wings, nose horn, and chest saw doesn't seem any crazier than whatever caused Kanegon to get that strange little hairdo and grow ears. Unless of course Roger is right ... About those dates. Maybe these are newer and pop up in the mid 70s? Curious...
Had to share this find. I've never seen it amongst these other nameless pachi minis before. But, it fits in like a long lost sibling. Probably another monster based on a Diatryma. Funny, in this color, it slightly has Woodstock vibes.
Someone has tried to do some commendable research on this. Here is some more info on the bird specifically. You can find some of his friends, including cute ads, in this article, and this article as well. No specific maker identified.
Ooooh, wow, great discovery! I knew some of the others were made into pendants, but I hadn't seen some of these others on chains before (In fact, I've barely seen them on their own). I want that mini Triceratops!!! I think it's interesting there was (what seem) like the original 5 slightly more crude sculpts based on Ultra monsters. At some point more dinosaur-like range was made. Then many of them converted to pendents (with the blue Kanegon-esque thing getting a full resculpt). However, from these small diagrams, it almost seems like the originals (without pendent holes) could have been intended as "targets" for little suction dart or pellets guns!!!??? Maybe the pack I posted above was like an "expansion" to add more monsters to your target practice?
