Okay, so there aren't Japanese vinyl, but I really appreciate them, and hopefully a couple others on here might enjoy them as well, so figured I might as well share them here. This really warrants a story, so for those not inclined, feel free to skip on down to the pics. In one of the most random finds of my life - and I mean that, this is right up there with some truly bizarre chance encounters - I stumbled across these fellas in a children's toy charity shop that is literally facing me right across the street from my house. [The place itself could warrant an entire page on its quirkiness.] I couldn't quite grasp it when I spied one jammed onto a shelf piled high with other stuff, and then after I gingerly picked him up, to see if it was indeed what I thought it was, my surprise was something. This was only furthered after I head to the back of the store (well, it is barely a room, to be accurate) and spied another sitting there thrown in a discarded fashion amongst the miscellany, which I, in all eagerness, rescued immediately. Imagine my bewilderment at finding not one, but TWO of these guys, decades old, still sealed, on a random visit to a literal backalley charity shop in a tiny, no traffic light village, in the middle of rural Ireland. Well, it gets better. As I - probably unsuccessfully - tried to contain my child-like giddiness and hide my amazement from the elderly volunteer running the shop, I headed up through the maze of piles to the 'counter' and, there, along the side of a shelf filled with other discarded childhood items and forgotten gifts, sat two more of them piled on one another. Okay, so needless to say, at this point I was feeling a bit out of sorts; in that odd way that something inexplicable has happened to you and you aren't really sure how to take it; whether someone, or just the universe is playing some kind of strange joke on you. Well, it seems it wasn't. This was just a truly random bit of circumstance that came together for any number of reasons, but resulted in fully making a very special occurrence and memorable day for me. Okay, so no, before I bring anyone's hope up to the precipice to have it come crashing down on the rocks below, I didn't stumble upon the rarest of grails, or something truly astounding. Not even valuable or sought after. But something that was really something special for me. And in the end, that I all I care about. So, while these may be simple toys that don't necessary float anyone's particular fancy, it was the experience of the event that I think, or at least hope, some toy lovers out there will appreciate. Without further ado, There you have it. Tonka's Supernaturals! Scary Cat, Weird Wolf, Mr. Lucky, and Hooter, to be precise. Well, I just loved these when I was a kid. And I always wanted them, and I am sure spent a good long time in the toy section playing with them in their package, twisting it back and forth to "see." But it wasn't until much later that I actually found some at garage sales. And yes, they were pretty cool looking toys, and I love the classic monster and horror aspect, but let's be honest, they aren't the most imaginative of things, and the little ghostling ones especially didn't allow for a whole lot of play value; but hey, what did I care? They looked cool, dammit! And they (along with Visionaries) were really way ahead of the whole lazer hologram phase that exploded in the '90s. So anyways, a fun toy line, one which checks a whole lot of boxes for me, and hell, looking at the images they used, someone with a creative mind was at least involved at some point. And did I mention they all had GID accessories?! So, while they remain a severely underappreciated toy line, not so by me. For nostalgia value alone, they are phenomenal, but even as toys, I still think they are pretty damn great. I am only sorry my photos can't do them more justice, you really need to see them in person and check our the holograms to get the full effect I think. (You can find a little write-up about them here, but a little googling will tell you all you need to know, and the larger figures as well). I don't know what kind of journey these fellas went on - though I honestly would love to - or how they came to be still sealed 30 years later (1986 for all you real youg'ns), but I am sure it makes for a far more fascinating story than I can write here. Whatever it was, I am happy that they did. They brightened up my life, and knowing that I rescued them from probably getting shortly tossed out with the overflow, I am thrilled to give them a new life, over the moon to be able to relive a little part of my childhood, and all around, just happy with these cool toys.
These are so crazy. And what a cool story (you used the word 'inexplicable' before i could). I'm into all manner of ghoulishness and even if they're not all that interactive, I would definitely want the one who turns into a "wise old owl". So, I guess you're going to leave them in their plastic prisons? I normally wouldn't advocate that, but given their limited play/poseability, it makes more sense to leave 'em in in this case, I guess. Also, I like that on Hooter he gets like an inner maroon cloak under his white cloak. He's clearly the prize from where I'm standing.
On the shelves at the back .. was there an old box ... with a mogwai inside? Great story and cool toys, I remember them and the awesomeness of the holograms, and 1up for finding them !
Wow, that was a blast from the past. Very cool score. I remember these . . . i did'nt have any myself, but i definitely remember them. I can totally understand your excitement, finding them on the card like that is really lucky!
Great score Steve on even finding them still in package. I remember those toys. Very neat toys and packaging. I am glad you included the story on your find. Gave me a chuckle and smile.
Steve, thanks for posting these. I love when people post info on toys that I owned as a child but had completely forgotten about. I believe I had the teenage wolf and the invisible man. I remember being totally enthralled with these as a kid.
Great find Steve! And thanks for sharing the story. I remember these toys too. I didn't have any either but thought they were really cool. They look great in the packaging!
Congratulations, Steve! This was a favorite of mine from childhood as well, along with the hologram having Visionaries line (don't have any of those yet tho since being a dult). You and I are the same age, so we probably share a lot of the same toy memories in relation to how old we were. Maybe four years back, I obtained a nice lot of complete ghostlings and warriors, some still carded including the Indian chief (with eagle hologram morph), the eyeball guy, and the Egyptian cobra fella, which were some of my favorites. I've been looking forward to displaying them in a nicely lit area conducive to the holograms' clarity, and now that we're finally moving next month, I'll get to. Can't wait to have all my toys back on display around me! They are very cool and what a fun way to come across them! Sounds very dreamlike indeed.
My Condorman collection as of recent. Have a few more pieces on the way. Most notably a bagged standard size. Still on the lookout for one villain though. Have yet to tackle some Grip pieces and other ephemera. Big thanks to Mr. Flynn for the hookup on the talker (and the large missile firing! some time back!). Definitely gave me fuel to continue. ""
I was able to score the giant baltan and the midsize one for very good prices...patience does pays off View this post on Instagram
...is one fancy man I would not f*ck with. @fosa comun Really nice Baltan family! Baltan is easily my favorite kaiju. I remember being really impressed/fascinated when seeing a version of him, long before I knew from kaiju (similar thing happened with Garamon, actually. I created a minor meme with a pic of a Garamon toy, again, long before I discovered the actual hobby. funny how things come full circle sometimes). I actually just bought a Toph painted B-Club version of that giant Baltan (my first Baltan). I was going to post a pic but it's to big to fit on my pic takin' shelf Not the worst problem to have, by any means. I'll have venture outside at some point I'd never actually seen the original til now. Oh and you have some massively borked coding going on up there along with the same photo being posted twice and, I think, one not posting at all.
@Paulkaiju jealous of all those Condorman. What a great gathering of cool toys. @fosa comun Love that Bullmark Giant Baltan. Been wanting to get one myself.
Excellent collection of some hard to get figures Paul ... in great condition too ! I would love to get the large missile firing one.
Superb Condorman collection you have built up there, Paul. Very respectable, for anyone with the eye to recognise it. A delightful character, and one that it is becoming even more harder to track down toys for. You have some beautiful examples, pristine too; I just love it. The missile-firing especially is such a delight for me. Wonderful, wonderful toys Paul. Sincere congratulations on them.
@Odibex and @chimply.kaiju Thanks guys! Regarding the double pics I try several times but couldn't figure it out sorry guys. What I can't find a picture of is the blue marusan...
The Missile firing is by far my favorite. Swap-able fists and the doll eyes. I'm trying to stick to Condorman, Mach Baron, and Tekkaman. AlthoughI am glad nobody made a Jumbo of Condorman, I would be in grave trouble. Even though I've "limited" myself to those three, it's hard not being ripped apart free falling through 3 rabbit holes simultaneously! New stuff keeps turning up. You can always wake up and be shocked by what you've never seen before. I love this hobby.
Wow love that Condorman assortment. Who is more complete with Condorman- you, Viva, or Flynn? Seems like all three of you have really impressive collections.
View this post on Instagram thanks to kichigai for giving me a great deal on these. need to bust out the nice camera and get some good pictures of these.
@scobot Oh, I like the orangish-brown/blue guy towards the lower right. Very cool colors and design! I'm not a vintage toy person, so I'm probably overlooking the more obvious wins here.
I appreciate the whole pile, but the Booska pendant is the winner for me. I'm resisting the urge to go off about them all, actually, but I do have to ask for some info about that VTOL; a toy that I doubt I'd be able to leave in its blister long enough for me to photograph!
@Odibex That is a bullmark enemy of Denjin Zaboga, tricky fellow to hunt down! @toothaction The Booska pendant is relativity recent release by Ichiko, I think you could track one down pretty cheap, I also bought one packaged (i'll send you a pic).. The VTOL is by a Bandai subsidiary called Yutaka they made a whole bunch of cheaper toys, alot of them are very cool I think. This toy from 1996 has lights and sounds and has pull back and go action! WOO! Cheers
Hahaha, you said "little!" Wonderful stuff there @scobot. A great mix of fantastic toys, I love 'em all. I know this is the 'vintage' thread, but man, is that Yujimade Nise a real, real beauty. That is a great soakie/bubble bath robot, too. But I really need to also highlight those tiny pachi fellas (one looks like a Telusudon). Are they from one of those target-type games maybe? You rarely see such small toys with that amount of detail, and I love the sculpts on top of that; the fact that they are painted in addition to this is just incredible. Love their action poses, and just about everything about them. Superb haul!
