Something special for me. Been on a real 'dry' streak for the past while (argh!) due to life circumstances, so have had to shift all toy buying to the back burner for the foreseeable future. But I happened upon this fellow by chance some time back, and had to seize the opportunity. As a lover of loved toys, this fella was right up my alley, and I had to turn out the pockets to pick him up. The seller had this guy since he was a kid since, being given it 'by a Japanese lady' back in the 60s, and old Ultra has sure seen plenty of years of action fighting off other plastic monsters; but as I explained to him, I am very happy to give this guy a new loving home, and many more decades of enjoyment. Nothing super rare or lauded in the world of 'modern' sofubi collecting, but I couldn't be happier to have an original Ultraman to add to my family. And the fact that he came along at the time he did, in a fashion where it was actually possible for me to swing it, just makes this arrival extra special, and a nice treat to bring a needed smile.
@ultrakaiju Congratulations Steve for this great piece, to my taste one of the best sculptures of Ultraman, the face has something that always catches my attention. Also it is in very good condition and that you have found it near your place is even better. Best regards!
@ultrakaiju Hey Steve is that a 450 size vintage Ultraman? I have some Marusan reissues of that size but nothing as cool as this vintage one you snagged. Great score!
Congrats Steve. Man what a score at the price you payed. The battle damage shows a lot of love went in to playing with him.
@ultrakaiju - Echoing the above sentiments for your Ultraman, which are all very well-said. It's a stunning piece: the minimal elegance of the sculpt is perfect. Your dedication and focus is really inspiring. Congrats on this one. Looks like a treasure.
Thanks for all the kind words fellas, I really am appreciating this guy. Odd to think how long it takes some of us (myself included) to land such a standard figure, but such is the way it goes sometimes. A big fan of this guy's face too, no matter how many times I have seen it repro'd. Still want to eventually hunt the Marusan that eluded me, but ideally I'd also love to add an 'old man' face Ultra to the family. And yes, this is the 450 size figure, standing at just a little over 29cm tall. I'll post some more photos soon, but sadly my camera doesn't do such a good job of capturing macro detail.
Perfect pickup, Chris. What a delight. That one is just excellent, with really great, clear cyborg innards. Just goes to show that sometimes this place is just the best place to be, where simply sharing ones love and appreciation for amazing toys leads to even more happiness when excellent people agree and want to support that.
Mail call! Complete Bullmark Akumaizer 3 set. Swords and all. Been after this for some time. "" Bullmark Zaboger smaller-than medium set. Inked out price tags, charming as all hell. "" Been after all four installments of the Shonen King 1966 (Kaiju "boom" time!) "Mummy" story for a few years. This issue had a mini poster of all the Kaiju of the year's serial-type stories going at it in one GO-GO. Also got the final part of the story. Mummy returns all messed up to fight the "Big Majin of Kyoto" and brings a giant caveman pal and wields the GREAT CHINA WALL (NOT KIDDING!) as a weapon. He is defeated when he gets impaled by a barrage of missiles. Very bizarre story. The OG Batman Manga included in all these issues really jacked up the price. "" Obsessed with the work of Ishihara Goujin. He did the cover on this. Some killer Kaiju Anatomy in it as well as "western" monsters the Japanese can only make so much more interesting. "" Small waves of original Magazine paste-up art has be turning up. Some so-so and incomplete, others right up my alley. This is the "Animal eye" chart by Namayura Takayuki probably published in some weekly shonen. Having done paste-up graphics in high school occupational printing in the 80's I find these really inspiring and pretty invaluable. ""
I can easily see why you would be obsessed with Ishihara Goujin, that cover art is quite drool worthy. Lovely stuff up and down in this thread, really reminds me what I miss by not being around as much. Congrats @PK, @Steve, @Lixx! Very cool stuffs indeed!
That is a pretty incredible mail call, Paul. I share your love for that Akumaizer set. Single figures might pop up on occasion, but so rarely have I seen all three, and honestly, to get the accessories for them all is frankly amazing me. Just look at the condition of those swords, and that swinging ball and chain - talk about original, all other 'current' wannabes chew on your lower lip, because that is a thing of beauty. These characters are just great because they combine that bizarre rubber-suited hero (when tokusatsu stuff was getting really weird, even for Japan) with hand-to-hand combat, yet still in a 'child-friendly' approachable and fun way. Very excellent nabs on the smaller-than-medium (definitely stealing this one for future reference ) Zaborger set too. Again, completion here is a sign of dedication to the great toys. Love them. Gorgeous artwork, Paul! The Mummy splash page is doing everything for me, and then some. The mix of characters, the detail, the action, it's all lovely. Plus the story you have described sounds mind-altering. [And bonus point for the short grumpy Canadian bombing the action scene] As you have been collecting a lot of great shonen-related pieces, can I ask if you are planning a display for all these, or putting some together for a larger project? I was also bidding on a trade mag yesterday too that had a spread like that which I really loved, but was a bit curious as to how it might come out framed. Sadly I didn't win anyways, so I won't get to try, but if I see it on someone's wall here, I'll still be happy.
The short grumpy Canadian is the vengeful Mummy's Caveman pal who's flesh gets dissolved by the breath of the Majin's trusty giant Foo dog. It's the most craziest story I have ever seen. I have a feeling Shonen King wanted something up to par with Gargantuas which was released around the same time. These same "splash page" type Illustrations by Mizuki Ryuyoshi would spawn the design of Toho's Gigan! So this is all deeply ingrained in the Kaiju we love. Mizuki Ryuyoshi- Actually It's taken a bunch of research and translating to find out about all these artists such as Shoji Ohtomo (Who mysteriously died at 37 in January 27, 1973. Pretty young!). It's taken me years to peel apart the year/issue and "what is on the cover" to actually own it. Shonen Kings stack up fast and you can't judge a book by it's cover, so the trick is peeling away the fat, and selecting the prime while dropping the siverfish baits. There's been many reprints albeit printed too tiny to enjoy, which made me seek out the original published works. Plus the feel and that vintage smell makes it oh so much better. The original works showing up at a reasonable price just added fuel to the fire. Funnyara of Astrozombies has been a great help in learning all the illustrators involved in this era. He has quite a breathtaking collection of original art himself. I think one day I would like to organize an exhibit based on all my Showa inspirations combined with the new toy movement. We shall see!
Amazing artwork and backstory, Paul. Thanks for sharing. This tiny joy was waiting for me when I got home this afternoon. One of my favorites from the bullmark mini line.
I could post this in like 5 different threads (clean, outdoors, mail day, devilman.....) but I'll post it here. Thanks @bryce_r Now I just need vintage removable masks (both this and dogface), dark blue patchi mini, and Takatoku green mini.
@Paulkaiju - Incredible mail day (that Akumaizer set!) and such an informative forum post. I really appreciate you taking the time to post all the artwork and toys. I would be very interested in a Showa artwork exhibit. I feel that is worthy of trip to any locale. @gazpacho - Zach, nice action shot -- it looks like he is leaping at the camera. What character is that? @Lixx - Ungodly Devilman, nice grab! I really like all the dark colors. That is one of my favorites. I have been waiting for a Marusan Minya to really catch my eye, and this bizarre, dirty-looking pug was finally the one: It seems to have survived a harsh environment over the decades, but I really like how the brown tarnish works with the green vinyl and the heavy metallic blue sprays. I think it's a perfect match for my well-loved Bullmark giant as well. Also, a tiny moth flew out of the package when I opened it:
@deafmetal Great score Mark, beautiful Minya love that green tone, by the way need one of those giant bullmark Gojis any color.
Love the wabi sabi on the minya. Beautiful colors. Your giant goji also seems to have excellent blue paint on the spines, very nice. To top it all off, the bullmark keshi mothra is darling. The mini I posted above is gamakujira. The full size is also a really fun toy, but easier to find than the mini I believe. @deafmetal
That's where that beautiful little Mothra flew off to . Nice new additions everyone, love that mini gamakujira and devilman boot is a very intense figure.
Great to come back to the board for some nice stuff for a change. Excellent hauls, one and all! @Lixx, glad if I couldn't take home that Devilman, someone did who will really love it just as much. That's a sale I won't be forgetting soon. @gazpacho Wonderful mini! I need to find this size too. One of the few Bullmark minis that doesn't have a standard pose. The larger size is definitely a great toy as well, but he misses his little buddy. @deafmetal Really wonderful ageing on that Minya, makes him so unique and a warm feeling you could never re-create. And I adore that Mothra mini; such fine paint work on such a miniature lassie. And she looks even better perched on Goji's red arm like that. Really nice stuff!
