I could say that these are some of my favorites from 2018, but at the same time, there are other figures that should be here, especially some beautiful Kumon that came out this year. I would like to have added more vintage figures this year, but I can not complain I was lucky to catch a pair what I had on my wish list. Happy Holidays to all!!
As far as collecting goes, I slowed down A LOT in 2018. Partly because I was more focused on creating than collecting, which was a lot of fun. Also, because I was aiming for quality over quantity. #1 View this post on Instagram I thought a painted Berserker was just a fantasy but luck and location helped make it a reality at Death's Vault. #2 and #3 View this post on Instagram I wanted both of these but never bothered to add them to my Wanted list because I wasn't sure how to obtain them or if it was even realistic. Timing was key and I was able to snag both simultaneously via Vintage Vinyl Club, a very pleasant surprise. #4 View this post on Instagram Berserker Mace AKA "Grendel" by Death Cat Toys (wayyyy in the back of my Five Points haul). #5 View this post on Instagram I knocked off almost every Quackula from my Wanted list this year. You can see a few here. Haven't displayed or photographed them yet but it was definitely a highlight of my year collecting.
I think I only bought about five toys this year, but hands down the winner was this HP Exohead custom Maza. With the pricing skyrocketing on a lot of the Zollmen stuff I couldn't believe I got this for close to cost. Next up would be the classic LB Goga. Ahhh...Zollmen's Frankenstein. This is a great sculpt, but I really only like this version. The Big Moon Aiz line continues to move forward nicely with their newest sculpt. The Xenomorph inspired Dragon-X towers over the first two figures in the line. I'm looking forward to what the company will do in the future. Not pictured is iluilu's Atlas Alpha that I traded with a board member for.
@phantomfauna those Zollmen Monster Parade minis are spectacular! They have a beautiful luminescent sheen to the surface paint. Are they by chance GID? Can you please tell me what version they are? Thank you! From Lixx's Zollmen Database: Monster Parade Sets: Blue Pink Garimpo original colors PK Set KingBee GID Garimpo Blank Green Ichibanboshi GID Set A Ichibanboshi GID Set B Ichibanboshi GID Blank Garimpo Clear painted
Geez Mr. H, not only are those all scarcer than the proverbial Hen's Teeth (possible companion line to Pig's Nose) but they are wonderful and beautiful!
@poysntixels Thank you! As you know, I was super lucky enough to adopt some graily grail butas this year Thanks again to all of the wonderful SB'ers for your kindness @phantomfauna thank you for the info! You are so lucky to have that set, I can't take my eyes off it!
It’s super hard for me to pick a top 5. Mainly because I have a narrow vision down the Shirahama Toy Coradoor so needless to say any time I can pic up a new piece by the master it automatically goes straight to the top so as a treat I’m going to show you my top 5 pick ups specificly from my most favorite toy maker and then a top 5 round up excluding my favorite toy maker. Here we go. 5) the prototype house Ki Kun by Chanomagangu toy, produced by Shirahama Toy 4) Sour Lemon Mascott Prototype mashup from The Sour Lemon x Shirahama Toy 3) Lucky Bag Gold glitter bomb Nekomata 2) my first set of kumon and Neko Micros in peach Glow 1) a grail Version of kumon from around 2014 ( I believe 2 of these were poured with a 3 color double pour. One was painted and one was blank. This being the later. Incredible find and I am much appreciative to have it in my collection. Now a top 5 outside my focus group 5) the ever so cool COUCH the Sofubi sofa! By Neil Ewing 4) the Witch Dr. Kaduku by automica exotica 3) 4/D bog dweller by the Bogy Squad! 2) micro run Flying freak DX by MVH from Black Sabbath 3 x Deaths Vault one of the best show experiences one can partake in. So many awesome collectors uniting and getting in on some amazing toys by one of the best. 1) Grail Ollie by the one and only MVH. This specific version has been in my wants list for 4 years. 2012 NYCC “Candy Corn” Ollie micro run of 7 Thank you for taking a look and sorry for the absurdly large pics. ( I know this upsets at least one of you )
@HardDragon I had not seen that sour lemon dude before. That expression is hilarious. What a character!
That’s also what I love about it. The expression of the puckers lips is so funny. It’s a great little mashup and I hope they do more!
Amazing year! It was hard to narrow it down to 5 but not THAT hard. A lot of these were ones I had been dying to get a hold of for a while.
I genuinely got A LOT of really cool stuff this year, mostly because I purged myself of the old, and replaced it with anew. Much of it was coming back to a certain focus, while others were current focus, but all is a privilege. That being said, I couldn’t just narrow it to five toys, but instead five artists/makers. A GID pair of my obsession, Cinema Monster and Krono, by @JoeMan, aka Splurrt/Secretoy. The Gyochō, which is one half tied for sculpt of 2018 for me, and the Machine Gun Ghost, the rebirth of a mascot toy! By none other than @Paulkaiju! The holy grail of my first, but secondary obsession, the Santa Obake Dog! Accompanied by my holy grail Whiz76 release, and Obake Kaws mashup by Hiddy of Secret Base himself. A focus that was shelved in place of Obake Dogs and Secretoy, but picked back up with MASSIVE traction. A six year hunt for both Skull Kun and Kid Hunter, the OG’est of OG! Bounty Hunter boi. The Spumpkin, a toy I’d first seen a decade ago, with zero knowledge, finally lands its place in my home. And a gracious and cherished gift of the Sick Boy Billy from a great friend. Headlock Studio on the rise in 2019. Honorable mentions are Target Earth and @Shirahama Toy Kumon! The TE I just couldn’t fit into the box to take with, and the Kumon are currently in transit! It’s been a great year for me collecting, personally. I couldn’t be more appreciative for what I consider to be my place in this community.
This year was hard to choose only 5. I scored a few long term wants and a lot of new great toys were released. These made it to the top. Individual pics on Instagram.
With 2018 having been my first year getting seriously into the hobby (and being at a point in my career where I could actually afford a thing or two), I decided to do a top 10 split in two; top 5 first hand pickups and top 5 second hand. This group spans so many shows and lotteries throughout the whole year, all the way from Taste of the Orient last February where I picked up this 1 off ck beta, to the Christmas day Bog Dweller drop where I was so lucky to snag this beauty. But this group is special to me for so many reasons. The toxic meats was my amazing prize from this year's suicide prevention raffle, and almost everything else you see here was a gift or a great deal from a friend. It's been a hell of a year and I can't want to see what 2019 brings my way.
View this post on Instagram A little late but better than never, here are my top 5 toys of 2018, in no order. 1. Yellow Sunshine: a beast of a toy in what to me is the essential color. 2. Blobpus Kai Hammer: a beauty, and a one-off paint, to my surprise! 3. Topheroy Custom Deathra: one of my favorite toys, painted up in a way I've dreamed about for five years. Thank you. 4 Mishka Mummy: slept on it when released, and after it ever since. Mine forever. 5. Marbled Bobo: my favorite mini, almost always one stuffed in my pocket or backpack. This specific marble is absolutely incredible, and I wish I had bought an army!
It's been a busy first year, so it took me a long time to think about these. Here goes, in no real order Gamaotoko #10 I wasn't sure how to feel when I got this guy at first. I entered because I liked the colours the most of any Gama release so far (shout out to Skeletor), but I'd thought the Gama sculpt was too ugly for me. When it took it out of the box, my ambivalence deepened; it was much wider than I expected, with weird proportions. And then I got playing around with it, running my hands over the tiny details in the sculpt, and quickly began to love it. Now I'm so attached to this stupid thing, I sometimes put it on the couch next to me while I watch TV, like a weird slimy kid I'm babysitting Sakura Pink Kumon My first Shirahama win and still, gun to my head, my favourite Kumon. The palette choices are vibrant but totally harmonious so it soothes my eye while attracting attention. Each colour placement suits the sculpt perfectly, and even in a relatively simple paint there's complexity hidden away, like the little gold flare around the eye, and the coffee-brown eyeholes of the skull, which could easy have been plain black. Naoya one-off Deathra Painted in 2011, still looking sharp enough to kill more than eight years later. At first I wished it had guts, but when I got it in-hand I realised this one is far better without. Simple, striking palette, executed masterfully. Plus it's just the right size to grab it with your whole hand and wave it around the room making monster noises! Ghost Cider Next - Necromol This one genuinely shocked me when I opened it. There's so much intricacy hidden away in a simple black and grey colour scheme, with each section painted and shaded to imply texture and light as much as just look badass. It's a small thing, but I love the obvious brushstrokes running up its mohawk on all sides, which make that whole section really look like hair or, just as easily, demonic horn. This was the first toy I saw that blended hand-brushing and airbrushing with absolutely perfect execution in both. Pepy, Vinydum and Villat Call it cheating, but these three have to appear together. When I first saw them I expected finding just one would take me years--and then a board member offered me all three, at a price that meant I could actually enjoy swapping all the parts, taking them outside, and setting up risky photos. I've gushed about these enough this year, but I'll just say every time I play with them, I get that childlike sense of wonder and discovery. And they're special not just because they're great toys, but because they remind me how much of a difference it makes to look out for other collectors. I can't wish for anything more from my toys. Aaaand that's all. Looking forward to reading these from other latecomers to the thread, and I'll see you all next year!
I cannot think of what 5 would be my favorites of the year, but I do know my number 1 pick. ^ This last picture is Red King in his jerk face tantrum pose. ... There’s also the M1 Painted GID “War of the Gargantuas” set (sorry there’s no picture, my set is currently & unfortunately packed up ). Fantastic sculpts but the paint and glow factor immediately made it my favorite version of that set. It was also 1 of the last things Lixx and I talked about.
The Bullmark clear Red King is absolutely gorgeous. Killer toy that flew under the radar for the most part. Overall, the new Bullmark reissues have been excellent with Mr. Nishimura involved in production... in my mind, they are essentially M1s sold under the Bullmark banner.
Here are my 5: That Black and Yellow Skullwing has been my white whale for 8 years. and also my runners up 5:
@hellopike Jesus, dude. Congrats on Captain Ahab’ing that Skull Wing! Eight years is a goddamn hunt!!!
Of course any wing from the Osaka event is but also that other one which I think was released this year (somewhat secretly) is