Many thanks Steve! I agree with you, what I like most is the medieval armour style and the evil face. I wish he had longer hair, but it makes me happy just as it is, I think I'll put him to fight with one of the Ninja Arashi
@Alebrije that is a great toy...love the face the skull looking face makes this toy real cool and I also like the size....makes it stand out.
Roger- fantastic score! Looks to be in really nice shape also. Good luck with your quest for the others. Its no easy task. That one took me years to find.
Thank you @fosa comun! Thank you @XVivaHateX , I know it will not be easy and I think it is getting harder to catch them.
Long time no contribute to this thread: Been after this for a long long time. I just love this bootleg and his head is so cat-like to me for some reason. This one popped up on Mandarake and I won a white-headed version on YJA the next day. So two long wants off the list (I needed to shore up vintage Barom One in my collection).
I got the Gabara in the middle yesterday What's special about him though is that he has a Bullmark stamp! (I moved him to the right in this pic, I should have kept them in the same position for less confusion. Oh well lol)
Congrats Chis! Can you please post both versions side by side when the white-headed one arrives? @AWMGodzilla62 , I forgot the name of the brand that his a chick as a logo (the gabara on the far left, in the lower photo), can you please remind me? Also, who made the version in the middle, in the lower photo? How can you tell the three brothers apart? Aside from the foot logo, they all look identical! Nice adoptions! Love seeing more than one side by side!
Coming back with a fury @Lixx, what a great guy to arrive for mail day. I agree, this is a wonderful version of Barom One, the boots always seem to have such wonderful and/or weird character imparted upon them. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be a kid with all these toys hanging in shops (of course, then, you probably would have only been happy with the 'name brand' fellers, and I am sure loads of kids not-so-effectively hid faces of grump disappointment when grandparents came bearing gifts of bootleg character toys on their visits). Grace, the 'chick' logo belongs to the Shimada Toy company (島田トーイに) , who was the vinyl manufacturer for both Marusan and Bullmark during their heyday in the '60s and '70s . That is why you often see their stamp on toys from both companies covering the 'transition' period (sometimes wiped out/scratched from the mold on later toys). for reference pic borrowed from the ever amazing and resourceful Amazing Toy blog It actually has a fascinating story, and you can read a really great interview with Mr. Shimada himself, published on the Sofvi Tokyo blog last year (in Japanese) where he details [some of] the history of the company, how it was founded and got into monster toys, and even a little on the production process. I find it really interesting anyways. And to think of the wealth of knowledge that must be out there for things like this, only a small part of which is documented. And soon, it is sad to say, much of this history could be lost I fear. So I am eternally grateful for even small efforts like this to keep the stories alive. I would love there to be a history of sofubi manufacturing, and in relation to kaiju and tokusatsu toys, book where all of these could be detailed across the great landscape that it includes. If I was young again (or had time and money disposably), I would seriously reconsider my field of study. Spoiler: Some extra cursory-related info Since I mentioned it, there is another equally fantastic interview conducted and published on the Sofvi Tokyo as part of the same series commemorating the 45th Anniversary of Bullmark. Again, it is fully in Japanese, so you will have to judge for yourself the content translation-wise, but a wealth of stuff there. It appears as if the Masaburo Suzuki featured as biography at the end of the article is the the subject doing the answers in this case, who has worked at the various iterations of Marusan and Bullmark through to the current company re-design. A pretty stellar job history and report from someone who has seen it all. How much do I want this magazine?! Read full interview here. And if you are interested, do check out the entire series of interviews. I almost think we need a full-on translator/cataloguer here for our own 'records.'
If you don't michael I can always bring him down to Philly for a visit- since well I live right outside it now. Really cool figure, it is almost dimensionally like a shrunken version of the bigger toy.
Epic score chris!. That is such a difficult one to find. Ive resigned myself to just not getting one with the prices they have been getting lately. Congrats!
Major congratulations on having such a wonderful toy arrive on your doorstep Lixx. The dogface boot is high on a list of all time favourites, and I am so happy you were able to score him and at a wonderful price too. So worth every Yen. He will be very welcome in your impressive vintage family, and I only wish these fellas would pop up more often - heck even an army of them, and I wouldn't love them any ounce less - so that more of us could adopt the crazy fellow. A heavy hitter for a mini toy, and I am going to sit back and stare at these pics now for some time to come I am sure.
I read before that the chick mark belonged to the Shimada Toy Company, but I thank you so much all history on them ultrakaiju! I picked a unique green and red spray variant of the Bullmark Kameba A comparison picture next to the more standard spray version
^Agreed. Although the Hawaiian is beautiful for this one as well. Christmas Kameba! I think it's cool so many variants were made for this figure, considering Kameba is not obscure but not exactly an "A" list Kaiju either, just occurring in one movie. Four variants I think? Beautiful score.
Damn, that is a really lovely Kameba. I think I prefer it to the Hawaii too, though my personal preference (if I was absolutely forced to pick a favourite) goes out to the lovable brown fellow, somehow I just love my monsters dirty. What an excellent guy to pick up, and the two are wonderful together.
Actually...I think Kameba shows up (as a corpse) in Tokyo S.O.S., too, right? Anyway, I have the more plain dark grey version with purple accents to match his other Yog-mates.
Catching up on the last few pages: @AWMGodzilla62 - The Marusan Giant Gorilla is stunning! Even through the sealed plastic, the colors look quite remarkable. I would imagine it's an absolute delight in the hand: header, bag, and forever(?) trapped pristine giant gorilla. Probably one of the best bagged pieces I've seen in a while, and totally inspiring. You continue to set the bar high with your ever-growing collection, and I love it. Great work. Also, that Kameba! Unreal. @chimply.kaiju - The light grey/light blue spray Bullmark Mechanikong looks badass with killer colors. A new favorite color scheme for me. I still have yet to land a Mechanikong, but some day... I try to limit my vintage collecting to only specific characters, but the great apes are calling to me. Also, you take excellent photos. Kudos! @gazpacho - It's always great to see vintage Bullmark figures, especially any Godzilla and other Toho kaiju, which are my favorite. Your new family looks wonderful in the sunlight. This is my favorite thread on SB. Great to see all the unearthed treasures from all over the world.
Happy Mail Day; another Ninja Arashi villain for the gang (Nekomandara), I think it looks a bit yellowish on the clothes, but overall it's fine.
Ah, very nice Roger! I still need that fella too (well, and a whole lot more ). I really love his outfit, and the yellowing is very minor, and just adds a but to the nice 'warm' feel you get with vintage toys. One of my favourite things about this guy though - and all the NA guys really - is how rough and crude their heads are sculpted. It contrasts so nicely with the other parts, and really is a spectacular touch. Few other toys achieve this, let alone do it so well, as the Ninja Arashi villains. And even aside from the texturing, his face and character are wonderful. Congratulations Roger, he will look so nice in your collection next to the other guys.
