The issue is fur European customers as planes are not more allowed to fly over Russia. US customers should not be concerned by those restrictions, maybe they are just behind schedule...
Thank you @Mr Fox and @jl I will email them and see. I saw some people in Asia post photos but haven’t heard anything back about actual shipping
Yes, it appears Bear Model produced a red GID version in the standard pose (photo source): A gray version was released in collaboration with Medicom (photo source): The last that I know of was a blank pearlescent version sold at an event and direct through Bear Model (photo source): The new beam pose arms were cast exclusively for SHIMA-X. If anyone missed out who'd like to add one to their collection I have it on good authority we should be seeing another colorway in the near future.
A new Mazinger Z color Doba is up next! https://www.instagram.com/p/CoEmlXkLNnm https://www.instagram.com/p/CoEo2Qar1BN https://www.instagram.com/p/CoEwBocr4nF
I like (some) of what they are doing - specifically the large scale Shogun Warrior esque toys BUT paying them is a total pain and the fact they won’t accept PayPal is a big deterrent for me.
Yes, I agree. Unfortunately I've been told management at the company is very old fashioned and untrusting of PayPal for fear of potential chargebacks. I've definitely tried to promote the acceptance of alternative payment methods... perhaps in the future.
Well, just a little over a year after initial renderings were being generated they've recently announced the next jumbo villain, Genocider F9 from Mazinger Z. I was honored to model and manufacture the prototype for SHIMA-X. I'm hoping to help bring more interesting kikaiju to life in the future. https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0J-sKypfY https://www.instagram.com/p/Co0Ov0xyG-i
Well it's hard to believe we made it... Late last year I was given a new task. I was informed the license we were working with would be locked by Bandai until 2025 come July of this year. I was convinced it wasn't going to happen given the sheer scale of the project, but with hard work, determination, and cooperation we managed to push through. Working again with SHIMA-X I was honored to model and manufacture the prototype for this UFO Grendizer store display sofubi. Towering at 127cm or 50 inches tall, it is ultimately an homage to the Popy store displays of Mazinger and Great Mazinger that were produced in the '70s (you'll definitely find more influence of the latter in the overall style and proportions of the model). Two versions will be available for pre-order for a very limited time starting June 26. For anyone who might be interested, orders will go live here: https://shimax-lotterywon.stores.jp/ Price is 181,500yen, shipping and taxes included—the 94,017yen price tag displayed is for the initial deposit (50%). More information, history and product details can be found here: https://www.shima-x.com/toy Photos courtesy of SHIMA-X.
Heads up for any jumbo collectors! Glenghost C3 (aka "Green Ghost") is next in line and available to purchase through @animetoyslab on Instagram. I believe they're taking orders via DM so you'll want to get in touch with them if you'd like to get your hands on one. Sculpted by Bear Model and produced by SHIMA-X, it is very similar in form to the Popy jumbo but accurate to the original character with appropriate wrecking ball fists. The first colorway is a tribute to the old Machinder villain palette. Bear Model is also selling blanks in the same brown vinyl, though I believe ordering would require both a proxy address as well as the ability to issue payment by international bank transfer: http://www.bearmodel.com/tkxcgi/shop/goods_detail.cgi?CategoryID=000004&GoodsID=00000076
First of all, how cool that you've been working with this awesome company. The whole thing is rather fascinating, so I'd love to hear more about what it's been like to work with them, and if you have any knowledge on the history of the company itself. I just happened to stumble on the comic book version of Grendizer a couple of weeks ago, did the math (dollar per square inch of toy) and went for it. I have no idea where I'll put it. But I'll figure that out when the time comes. It seems like the pre-order has been open for quite a while, though. I hope it's still happening?
Some other releases of note since this was last updated in December. War of the Gargantuas. Fuck yeah. View this post on Instagram Shima-X x Maverick Oiwa Karakasa View this post on Instagram
I always thought this was a Bear Model off-shoot brand, and those do look a lot like the Bear Model versions looking at your pictures. Really wonderful, makes me want a set even more.
Sorry, just saw this! Working for Shima-X has been interesting to say the least. They are a multifaceted company—soft vinyl toys are just one of their many ventures and is a fairly recent addition to their business model. You can read about their history here: https://www.shima-x.com/ I only communicate and work with one of their members who oversees the soft vinyl production side of things. We connected for the first time back in 2019 over a shared interest in Jumbo Machinder villains, kaijin, kaiju and related media. I guess I could say I proved myself by modeling samples for them on a completely unrelated personal assignment, but that's a story for another day. After that I was given the opportunity to work on a few different projects over the last few years. Those which have come to fruition have been documented here: https://hbcstudios.com/rartoy/index.php Shima-X have a good relationship with Bear Model. They have released various works in collaboration with them in the past. The man behind Bear Model does have a number of pen names many people aren't familiar with, but I'm fairly certain every toy they've licensed to Shima-X carry the Bear Model name. Shima-X has some personal contacts and private contractors working for them (myself included) to produce toys like these under the Shima-X brand. I did not model the Gargantuas, but whoever is responsible did an awesome job! From what I know the design direction and style they were going for was a tribute to the Kingsaurus line of toys. Expect a lot more including some new killer indie sofubi from Shima-X in the near future.
