Hilary is the collab artist IG @instahilary The name of the toy is something like Draco or something like that
Well, I revisited after several years, thinking maybe Real Head prices had come down a bit--turns out the opposite happened. Personally, I'm still disappointed he stopped making the original size figures. I still don't like the "new style" as well, although looking at the newer sculpts, there's a lot to like. There doesn't seem to be much interest in the old-style figures these days if Manadarake is any indication.
Prices have been steadily climbing on some of them. Certain cats, anything using the mini sumo body, Cyclomagnon and Shinto-san (the latter probably because he's a similar size to the adult figs). But you're right, the interest in, and the difference in prices between old school toys and the newer adult sized is huge.
I am happy that it stays this way. Hot money in new stuff and no interest in classic oldies. Best is if the oldies continue to go under/at retail.
I agree in terms of price, but at a glance it seems like very little is circulating. I suppose that makes sense. Maybe there are more sitting around on YJA or something (but I had a few bad experiences with YJA years ago). I was a big fan of the less popular fight figs like Hone Borg...the Maniyon are nice but not $400-800 nice. He abandoned the fight format altogether but still makes the adult Chaosman on a regular basis, 12 years later! Puzzling. The adult-sized releases are all over the place. Some of the details, like the cracks in Chaosman's pants and the sinewy chest, remind me too much of my sketchbooks when I was 11 or 12 (although there are a lot of great Chaosman releases). It's hard to explain but it's such a fine line between his releases that strike me as fantastic or just don't appeal at all. Hard to think of another designer like that. But I'm glad he still has a lot of supporters and is trying new things. I'll probably be back in Japan next year and would love to visit the shop again (or new shop, it seems) if I can figure out when to go. Edit: Just found the adult Hone Borgs from a few years ago...very nice.
I really do not understand how these pieces are released at all. Seems like everything goes directly through Mandarake. Pieces go up every night and usually sell quickly. Even the highest priced ones. Hard to even evaluate the range of prices on most of these. The prices I see elsewhere are
@Radin Mori does releases each week at his shop at the same incredibly affordable prices. I guess because of the high frequency of releases and chance to 10x your money on a collab, some of the people buying pretty much go directly to Mandarake with their scores (or the shop has people wait in line; who knows). That said I think plenty of Japanese die-hards are continuing to make the trip and pick up new releases, some of them every week.
New releases are every Monday, unless it’s changed since 2018. He definitely gets a huge, huge line of physical bodied lotto entries every week, and some do indeed flee to Mandarake right after their pickup. Same thing will happen after every Wonder/Super Fest. Manda’ themselves don’t have anyone waiting in line, I’d wager. They wouldn’t have to with how many organically come in to sell. But Mori’s output every week is pretty impressive. When I went in I was allowed one adult, one fighter and two minis.
@bryce_r It was great! I actually got to visit his shop on a closed day to hang a bit and chat prior to the release day. Very kind, hospitable dude. And being able to comb over his shop and a lot of the toyography(?) of his releases a second time was a treat. Watching an actual drop happen in real time with fans was awesome, as well as the experience itself.
I was hoping this Sun's Father from last week would pop up somewhere, but no luck yet. If by any chance someone can help me track it down I would be forever in your debt.
What is the deal with that drop on Instagram. None of the web stores I know of go anywhere. I feel like a moron
oh yeah... i saw that. After a drunk night at the pub last night i didnt tie the two things together in the my head...maybe I am a moron
Missed them driving from home. Both are ridiculously nice - I hope there are more than two of each so I have a chance finding one in the future!
Dang. Bummer missing out on these two. Jinxman is the only jinx sculpt I’m missing. So hard to find love the metallic colors in the wet one.
On Instagram, Paul confirmed they were backstock he got permission to paint. Unfortunately it was only 2 of each colorway, but there's hope that they revisit and maybe do a run in the future!
