Really hoping you guys can help me out on this... Rainbow put out this villain figure from Inazuman named 'Itsutsu-banbara' around December of last year. S7 had it up for pre-order and I pulled a stupid..."oh I'll pick it up down the road when I have more $$$" ...and of course I've never seen it again... I'm really into this character and would love to find one...but I'm kind of questioning if it was actually produced??? I haven't seen one pictured anywhere since the S7 pre-order. I do not have the kanji for 'Itsutsu-banbara', but have done quite a few searches for Inazuman & Rainbow sofubi with no luck. I searched SB too...dead end thread found showing the prototype... http://www.skullbrain.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23643&hilit='Itsutsu+banbara&start=100 Anyone know anything about this Rainbow, own one, or has actually seen one for sale???? Or do I just keep missing it???? from the show...
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I own one. Believe they went on sale last December 2008. I never see them in the after markets, and I look for Inazuman figures semi-regularly. You might try emailing Brian Flynn as he is really into Inazuman and might be able to help you out or give you more info. I say email cause I think S7 disabled PMs to S7 on the board. Might even have one at the brick/mortar store, but not in the web store, you never know.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Yeah, I sat out the pre-order last December. You got one huh...great pick up as these are rare indeed! I was really starting to wonder if they were actually produced or not. Hopefully one of the guys that work at the store will let me know if they have one in stock. I was going to post in the 'wanted' section but like I said...I was unsure of it's production. Thanks for your help!
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I seem to recall KT having these on presell as well a couple of years ago. If you where on their emailing list you might have seen it.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Might also have been made-to-order (from the pre-sale) which might explain why so few have surfaced.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Would love to see this guy made by Medicom with all the rings in his arm and the outfit.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! That's a good bet. I think my finding this toy is going to require much patience.... Ha! That would be sweet!
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Wow you just made my day.This takes me back to when I hadnt been on the board long and I was having my head blown off by images like this most weeks.Stunning. I wanted this at the time but couldnt afford it.Rather than flooding the market with so many different colourways of the same toy it seemed a larger variety of toys were being produced but then the recession hit. Im pretty sure KT emailed me about it. Seeing this image made me feel like I did in 1978 as an 8 year old visiting Hong Kong.Buying Popy diecasts and not knowing what the hell they were were but buying some anyway because of how they made me feel.I spent all my saved up pocket money intended for Star Wars on the unknown Popy.Id spend all my pocket money again on this if it wasnt so hard to find!!! Good luck RY.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Thanks OA! So many times I've passed on toys for whatever reason over the years and kick myself for not trusting my instincts. Really wish I still had a lot of my toys from that era...I hope you still have some of those you picked up! I only have 2 Mazinger diecasts from that time...that I actually did buy new. I posted this once before here a while back, but I kept getting reminded of this Rainbow vinyl by a Helmet 45 in my collection from 1993...
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! ...Oh and if you wanna see him in action... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibuCVy3BiI
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Sadly my Dad threw away all my vintage toys.He also threw away the first pair of Air Jordans from 1985. I never wore them preferring Vans.They were mint.A "scratched" Eric Dressen skate deck from 87 and over 1000 HXC flyers and fanzines that were in a box.Ive never forgiven him to this day!!! My Mum on the other hand managed to keep absolutely every piece of worthless crap I ever owned.Miami Dolphins trashcan from 1976 Florida trip.Smurf figures from 1981.Madness 7"s - nine of them!! Thats divorced parents for you.No consistency!!
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I still don't understand how Rainbow can make a profit on this. Unlike other companies, it invests in a completely new sculpt, but only issues one colourway (or paint or whatever they're called) unlike other companies that flood the market with multiple colourways. I know some of the other Rainbow figures have a second colourway, and I'm not complaining about just one for the Itsutsu-banbara, but still seems strange to invest so much for just one release.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! or maybe it really doesnt cost sooo much like some people say it does.. to make these toys
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I was lucky enough to pick this one up in a rare moment where I had the cash...I will say that the blue on the actual figure is a lot darker than what is shown on the test. It doesn't ruin the figure but I was a little disappointed because I love that color combination so much I think the worst thing about Rainbow figures is waiting for them to come in. It's like when I was a kid waiting for Xmas; it seems to take forever...
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! this toy definitely was produced, although it doesnt seem to be as large of a production as some other rainbow vinyls. i believe some of the rainbow releases are made roughly to order (which is why they tend to take like a thousand years to arrive), and some are a more general release. it may take awhile, but one will pop up eventually.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but Rainbow can afford to do these vinyls because they are not primarily a toy company (cottage or otherwise); they are a long-established prop and costume fabrication company for film and television, founded by Norio Maezawa in 1981. After the dissolution of Ekisu Productions (founded by former employees of Toho Studios, under Eiji Tsuburaya), which had created monsters and costumes for dozens of movies and television shows (including BAROM-1 and INAZUMAN), several of the principals of Ekisu Productions formed their own companies, such as Cosmo Productions and Rainbow. Maezawa was able to snag the major contracts from Toei for all of their series produced in the 1980s, and continues to dominate the field today. These vinyl figures, as well as previously released prop replicas and other commercial products, are just a side business for Maezawa's company. Rainbow Zoukei Kikaku (or "Rainbow Fabrication Planning Co., Ltd."). Hope this sheds some light on this company and their business.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! So you gotta figure they are doing the sculpting inhouse and thats 60% of the cost right there, if you dont have a million paint masks that is!
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! I don't think they are making much if any money on these toys. If they are I would love to peek at their books! Not all of the sculpts they put out are winner but they release 4 or 5 figures a year that just kick ass. It still amazes me people get crazy over all kinds of junk while Rainbow releases amazing stuff with little fanfare.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! Thank you very much August for this little history on Rainbow. I still don't understand why a company would bother releasing toys if they don't make a little money with ?
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! You're welcome, guys! Rainbow's vinyl figure lines are really a pet project for them, and as I stated above, the company's main income is from fabrication for motion pictures and television. I'm sure they are at least making a marginal profit on their investment for them to continue to release new additions. Plus, with all of their equipment being in-house (I imagine), their overhead wouldn't be much -- the exception being in licensing the characters from Toei. Now, since they have had such a long and mutual business arrangement with Toei, they probably brokered a sweet deal. One of the reasons they do this, which is the same with Yuji Nishimura's M-Ichigo, is that they want to make these retro-style figures, because they weren't made back in the day. And like Mr. Nishimura, they can afford to do it.
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! i agree. you don't see this type of honest fan-based dedication all that often, it needs to be praised! also, the "in the dark" way that rainbow releases stuff and the fact that little is known about the company (until now) and that no exact "database" has been collected on what is out, you would think that this line would be a solid love for those who continually mention that the "new, fresh, scarce, and always on the hunt" feeling has disappeared from this "scene." i love rainbow and all the barom-1 baddies!
Re: Rainbow HELP!!! So happy for this info August! Thank you!! I was never able to find a link for a Rainbow website...do you know if anything exists??? Any kind of blog or ??? Totally love Rainbow's licensing/character choices and admire their commitment to making these toys available...now if I could just find this Itsutsu-Banbara. Probably going to be harder now that I've drawn more attention to it Here's a better pic of the final version...quite a bit darker in color from the proto... Who made these guys?...
