Orders closed a few days ago for Zollmen's licensed Super Robot Taekwon V. The big boy stands 35cm tall, costs ¥20,000 plus shipping, and will ship out some time this year. Unclear whether this was a lottery or open preorder, but with no real delivery window I'd guess at the latter. Here are the promo photos: The style is chunkier than the original animation, but I expected something a bit wackier from the maker who pachified Red Baron. I guess you could argue this is already a Korean bootleg of Mazinger Z, though.
There were probably limits on what they could do, given that it appears to be a licensed item. I wonder if there was interest in this figure from Korean collectors.
Zollmen seems to have released an entirely new line a few months ago, entitled "Roadkillers". First release was sold by lotto on September 20th: Two more in quick succession, the first at dcon: And a second, with fresh parts, at the Mandarake Cocoo opening on December 14th: There will also be releases of Taekwon V, giant Mad Baron and Mecha Gorilla at Cocoo. Edit: I'm seeing a few of these on YJA, as of November 24th, so some must have been released early. Tokyo Comic Con is a possibility, but interestingly some of the listings say "Parco", and huge new one just opened in Shibuya. Sorry for the stock photos with Instagram photo numbers right on them. You can remedy the situation by posting better shots if you own one of these.
I'm always so delighted whenever I see one of those, er, monster hats in vintage listings, so it's an extra kick to see that bit of sofubistory represented in my favorite sofubish subcategory; toys of toys!
Quick Taekwon V thoughts. It's a well-made toy with 8 points of articulation, the surprise joints being rotation at the waist and fists. Everything moves smoothly and he stands well, which is a must for a toy that large. There is also a hidden missile/cannon detail underneath the fists, which are thin enough that they can be removed with minimal hairdryer time. That touch and the beautiful printed box with branded shipper mark it as a Zollmen toy, but in that illustrious heritage it's not a design that automatically stands out. I think it could really sing with some clear elements or weirder paint. All in all a fun toy that I'd like to see more of in future, but this first release isn't the one for me.
Could not resist photographing these guys before I passed them along. They are so pretty. IMHO this is Zollmen at the top of their game. These are from a limited collaboration with Beams Tokyo Cultuart.
It's said pre-order may be better chance to got one. ZOLLMEN DIECAST SUPER ROBOT MADBARON 現已接受預訂中！！！ Pre-orders are now being accepted ！！！ View this post on Instagram
The stop motion they made for it is really cool too, I'm not a Zollmen collector either, but damn they make it hard not to be. I have a real Fomo for missing the lottery, but I'm holding out for a blue or purple release.
I have long since sold all my Zollmen toys, but I applied immediately and am more excited for this than I have been for any toy this year My issue with Mad Baron was that, as a sofvi toy with bendy legs, it never seemed to stand straight. Die-cast should ensure the toy stands properly, plus the styling makes him perfect for the medium imo--the Mad Baron sofvi even has firing pins sculpted into it, if I remember right. Although there's no indication the fists on this one actually shoot--that's just my hope. The price is also a relative bargain. I've lost track of the Zollmen aftermarket but sofvi MBs were selling for north of $1500 last time I checked, so $250 for this (potentially superior) version seems like a steal. Now if only I could feel confident about winning I do hope they are being produced as a large run.
I haven't bought a toy in ages, but the right colorway could probably get me to throw my hat in the ring. To "pre-order" do you just use the "Contact" page on the Omocp website? Or does one have to have IG to order Zollmen?
As a die-cast, it is more expensive than regular market. but Zollmen/ Madbaron at 36,900yen pre-order sounds more reasonable than all show or shop releases nowadays. It's IG DM / message for Instagram lottery sale as exceeds the schedule number of releases. Shipping End of October. Due to the large number of orders received, zollmen.omo and otakicks order period has ended M3Capsule Co. is now available. View this post on Instagram
That's a pretty good facsimile of the vintage Popy Chogokin pens: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224568026139 The diecast itself feels like a miss, though. It has almost the same pose and pudginess of the Mad Baron sofubi. I would expect the straight lines and stiff pose of a Chogokin:
I think the 'shooting' piece from the video is just the pen being held off-camera. But maybe it attaches to the arm or something cool like that. I am very hopeful! @---NT--- preorders through Zollmen themselves have ended just now, but this account is still accepting international orders. Best of luck! https://www.instagram.com/m3capsule/
Looks like winning messages were sent out for the international lottery via the Zollmen account. I agree with @zindabad, Diecast sure does seem like the perfect medium for this particular toy. I'm also very excited for the Mad Baron/Zollmen pen! Going to use it to draw some weird mutants I do wish the box design was a little more fun, but the "recommended for ages 30 years and up" had me cracking up.
So what do you guys think, does the spiked fist unscrew from the pen and then swap with the regular fist on the MB?
Just an FYI M3 capsule has some international Mad Baron's right now on their web site... Get them before the flippers do..
