Late Late Late Late Late Late Night Candy Battle... rolling nuggets all over the floor, as they commenced launching sugar boulders at each other Kiss and Make up The photo doesn't do it justice, but the Goji/Iguanodon critter has the most wonderful pearlized sheen Thank you @Johnny Black , for two wonderful new adoptions!
@deafmetal Love the thick red stripe on the back of that Gorosaurus, looks great. Combination of a few recentish mail days.
Nice varied lot! I am really starting to dig those hand puppets as of late. "@deafmetal Love the thick red stripe on the back of that Gorosaurus, looks great." Agreed - looks minty fresh.
@ultrakaiju @djkemp @Kingboy D @Geekabilly - Thanks all, I have been hunting for a Marusan or Bullmark Gorosaurus for quite a while now. I have passed on dozens of them until this one caught my eye with that perfect red stripe down the back. It has a lovely fade into the blue giving it a purple ombré effect! There seems to be quite a lot of variance in the paint styles on these standard versions, especially in the coverage area of the blue and red sprays. I have seen full-cover blue to minimal blue, and some tiny red stripes barely covering the spine, etc. I was hoping to spot a Bullmark Hawaiian or flesh vinyl version some day, but I have not seen one turn up anywhere. The Marusan cream-bellied example on YJA haunts my dreams though... The doll I received has been very tedious to clean though, as it has quite a lot of tiny air holes in the nooks and crannies with dirt trapped inside (e.g. looks like "mold" at a glance). Is that typical of this sculpt, or did I just get lucky? Also, this dino must have fought countless battles against other kaiju as his tiny forearms are shredded down to the bone, haha.
Gorosaurus looks like he knows how to bathe in the blood of his enemies, huh? I've always felt that the Marusan Gorosaurus sculpt was underrated. There are so many interesting variations in the paint, too. I was lucky enough to have scored a cream-belly some time ago...but what I didn't know at the time was that the green paint actually has a metallic sheen to it! Absolutely stunning in person. But, yeah, I've definitely had Gorosaurus specimens with bubbles in the vinyl at the surface. That dirt's there to stay!
I agree, the Gorosaurus is such a great sculpt, though I wouldn't say it is so underrated. The variations are great, and always fun to chase a particular one that grabs you fancy. [But look who I am talking to, the guy who might well be the king of the '66 Goji variants! ^_^] The differences in the belly, striping, and even on the back fins, too. There are some Hawaiian versions out there, but I am not sure how rare they might be. Another thing which makes it a challenge in hunting these (as with a lot of the vintage) is judging these variations in paint and vinyl colour from the terrible photos and lighting that seem to plague vintage toy listings. Seriously, why don't sellers want to showcase how great their example is (or, as I often doubt, maybe this is why)? I haven't handled enough of these to have a say on the bubbling, though I do know some toys are very prone to it (the Miuras are notorious, for example). It is more on the cheaper toys and bootlegs, so I am surprised to hear that about the Marusan Gorosaurii. But generally, yeah, if there is dirt or staining inside bubbled or cracked vinyl, it is very difficult to remove. You probably could do better with some harsher treatments - I have seen incredible restorations on Star Wars toys for instance - but I would never really put my sofubi through that, unless it was really just for an experiment.
Some things rolled in over the past few weeks. Nothing too crazy. I never really saw that Marusan original flying turtle thingie much - only the reissue. So when this came up, I jumped at the chance. The Jeeg MFV is in poor shape (missing fists and missiles, marker, etc.), but this is as good as I can get without breaking the bank. IMG_4586 (2)
@Kingboy D - Myles, I'm stoked you grabbed that Marusan Bameru. I looked to be in really excellent condition considering the age of the toy. Very nice lot overall -- and a Marusan Ebirah? @Sanjeev - There is something magical about those vintage metallic paints. Both of the Bullmark Hawaiian Gorosaurus also look to have metallic paints. I dream of a long line-up of gorgeous gorosaurii. I think the green Marusan is my top pick though. Now if the seller on YJA would just drop their asking price significantly... @ultrakaiju - Steve, amen on the poor quality photos. It feels like you have to be a forensic detective to discern some of these listings. I have spent some serious time cross-referencing dark or poorly-lit photos. Interesting take that it could be more malicious than just being lazy, and I know there are recent examples of that affecting forum members here, which is the worst possible outcome. re: vinyl quality - Just my personal experience, but many of my standard-size Bullmark kaiju feel much more firm/brittle than older Marusan dolls. There are some exceptions to that rule (Bullmark Giant and one random goji), but that has been my experience. The two Bullmark Hawaiians I have are the firmest vinyl dolls in my collection. Any loremasters have time to expound on this topic?
I've never heard anything specific but there were several different factories involved in the production of Marusan and Bullmark's products. Mommy Doll, Ark, and Orange to name at least three, there were certainly more. They may have all been using different vinyl sources and there may have been slight variations in their casting methods.[ There's a similar thing that happens with Star Wars figures, some specimens age well and others don't, and you can sometimes find trends when you look at the country of origin marks (Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc.), but you still don't know exactly which factory produced them.
@Roger - Great info, thank you. It is interesting to consider multiple factories and how they fit into the overall time period, especially the transition period between the companies. This Marusan is slowly cleaning up nicely. Still needs a few more sessions: All-over green paint on blue/green vinyl with some nice silver highlighting: Spoiler: more photos The mix of paint colors on the blue/green vinyl gives it a nice sheen under light. Bonus points for the vertical pupils and the double foot stamps:
@deafmetal great score Mark, thanks for sharing photos of this beautiful double stamp Marusan specimen. @Roger Thanks for so much interesting information, I had no idea that Marusan and Bullmark would subcontract other companies to make their products, I thought they did everything in their own workshops. I imagine that the companies you mention were established in Japan?
"" Been trying to track this Mach Trigger down as most I've seen are bashed and smashed. Surprised to see this was NEVER removed from the package as ratty as the box looks.Everything is there.
Nice Mark, those cleaning sessions are paying off, he is coming along nicely. I need to really dedicate some hardcore toy bathtime, one of these days. WOW Paul, that is just incredible! Congratulations on such a lovely find. It is a real winner, even for Condorman toys. I don't know, to me that box looks in pretty good shape actually, relative to most toys like this (e.g. non-chogokins) which don't come with innner supports or styrofoam. I'd be driving myself crazy to remove him, so best on a personal level to restrict the hunting to the loose versions, but such a great toy. Really happy for you that you could finally cross it off the dream wishlist.
@ultrakaiju Thanks, from the YJP pics I assumed it was removable from the box. But the whole inner slides out and the clear window is stapled to that. So it's not coming out probably ever. Yeah usually they are missing everything and badly cracked, I think I have all or most of the Mach triggers. But you know how that song goes!