Being able to pick up whatever I was after from his booth put a huge smile on my face. Almost zero flipper interest as far as I saw; they were all chasing the Toxic Cyclops from Chokehazrd and shooting for the Skulltoys lottos. Stock was still mostly clear by the end of day one though, which was heartening to see. I hope plenty of other collectors came out as happy as I was. Definitely a fan of bigger runs and lower prices, as long as the production constraints they present don't drive the artist crazy. Anyway, here's a shot of the man himself
@chimply.kaiju True. $40 was high end of the spectrum. Majority I've picked up from retailers run low 30's (after EMS factored in). 5Points pricing was most surprising in comparison with last year's Dcon. Wrong Gallery had a small selection of Sunguts minis for sale... at $50 each. Of course vendors are entitled to their cut, but that's a steep mark-up. Stateside presence with 5P is a much-appreciated breath of fresh air . Would be great to see a dedicated booth at Dcon in the future... fingers crossed
@zindabad - Great photo, thank you! I have both versions, and I feel that the solid red looks more like a vintage doll, and also displays brighter in indirect or low light. The clear flesh really shines in direct light though, especially when you get that transparent vinyl effect with the glitter. The very minimal paint on the clear flesh is a nice touch, and overall it might feel a bit more modern to me. Tough choice as to which one I prefer.
@Roger- The original figure is supposed to be Meiolania, an extinct giant turtle. Sunguts has been producing a series of toys based on prehistoric animals. I think the ability of Sunguts to reuse and swap parts of his figures contributes to his ability to keep prices down overall, since he needs fewer molds and the costs of current molds can be recovered more quickly.
Looking it up, looks like they've done a lot of different color versions of that. The green one looks great. Thanks for the info!
Thanks! I agree I'm having a tough choice deciding. At a glance I like the red one more, especially the face, but the longer I look at the flesh the more I prefer it. Appreciate the breakdown.
Yes As well as the reasons already mentioned: I can't remember the details, but I think Sunguts keeps costs down by doing some stages of the production process (that other makers are assigning to the factory) by himself. Plus he seems to prioritize making more and more toys over recouping his outlay on previous ones.
Haha, OK - so I should of written 'sculpter working in Sofubi'. Those are pretty amazing photos on that link. Nice.
Dawned on me after writing that Sunguts at Dcon is likely wishful thinking, considering that Fall Design Festa typically runs arounds the same time. C'est la vie.
As long as he sends some toys out I'd rather pay the vendor prices than some of the ones listed on EBay just to get ahold of them. Im particularly fond of his female characters.
New shin versions, great to have a shot at only slightly different variations, the big guy is the most different and even then it's only dark blue up from black. Guess I'm buying a plane ticket to Kentucky!
Big blue! I am glad to see some other colors being pulled for the 4th Form ShinGoji. I can't really tell from the photo, but the vinyl on all of these looks to be slightly translucent. It could just be the lighting though. Please post any other photos that could be found.
As far as I know he can only sell them at events like Wonderfest because he's required to get a festival license for each release from Toho. I didn't see him bringing them to 5 points. I'm going to February '19 Wonderfest and I'm hoping he has a release there because I seriously want a set.
Also: he's really funny and can sleep ANYWHERE. I swear to god he could nap in the middle of a war zone.
Makes sense, I’ve seen the big boy being bagged with the “Vinyl Wars” header too. I’m not a big fan of the movie but I really love the designs of the forms. Dang well I hope you score one!
Sounds like a really cool guy! lol. I’ve never met any toy designers but hope to someday. If it’s anything like meeting a celeb I can garantee I’m going to be awkward af..
@Max Rodriguez - I believe the Godzilla Vinyl Wars version you are describing is a Medicom/Marmit release. Btw, I really like this new head sculpt: View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram
I can't say for "big blue" but the other 2 are indeed translucent. I share your excitement in another color for his 4th form. I prefer this blue version to the original.