I was wondering if someone can provide some clarification. I was looking at possibly purchasing a vintage Baltan (Marusan or Bullmark), but I find it hard distinguishing between what is truly a vintage piece as opposed to a more recent reissue (particularly the 1992-ish Bandai reissue of the Bullmark piece). From what I can tell, the 1992 reissue has a lot more silver on the chest, but I am not sure if this is the norm for all reissues or just some of them. I assume the B-Club one would have black markings on the feet. But overall, I am very leery of picking up an old Baltan for fear of not getting the real deal and significantly overpaying. Thanks.
The 1992 repros have a lot more silver, and would only have a sticker on the feet. Considering you can get a Bullmark Baltan Seijin for $85-150 based on condition, I wouldn't sweat it too much. The figure is one of the most popular, then and now, so much like Godzilla, they are very affordable. The chances are, if it looks vintage, it probably is. You shouldn't have to spend much to get a real one. A Marusan will set you back about $75-100 more, but the paint is nearly identical. Only the Marusan Baltan with the blue vinyl is expensive.
Yeah, I was not so sure that the paint schemes on all the 1992 reissues were the same. And I was afraid people might remove the sticker. Thanks for the help.
Here are a couple of photos Miles. Also worth mentioning is the blue paint is a bright metallic blue, as opposed to the non-metallic of the OG. marusan and bullmark 89 re-issue on left (this was some sort of special edition I guess) 91 re-issue on right B-club- most of these will have a different base vinyl color, also has the bandai バンダイ stamp in black I believe.
My 2 cents: go with the original Marusan. It has history as one of the first vinyl toys produced and I do not think the Marusan stamp appears on any of the reissues.
The 89 and 91 reissues are almost identical in most cases except for the tags, but a few have different spray patterns. There are vintage Bullmarks with metallic blue spray, but most have the light blue spray. The allover silver is what really makes the 89/91 repels stand out.
