Holy moly, Lee! That is as impressive as Roger's Lion Maru post. For the dedication (not to mention investment) I know that such a lineup takes. I am actually aghast. Very, very nice.
So cool! Not an easy task to complete that set. Ive been getting a lot of different minis and mid size lately also.
Thanks gents. Have to be honest though, I caught the whole set on YJA for a pretty good price (the villains going for well below what I’ve seen them listed at before), so it was wasn’t a long arduous process of tracking them all down. Although that is not the hero that came with the auction lot. Pretty rare to see the group listed like that altogether. My JP middleman contacted the seller after the auction ended with no bids and got a small price reduction as well. This one just went under the radar. I was expecting Mandarake buyers to bid and then split the lot up or something. Very happy with the bunch-they are certainly some of the most charismatic villains in the kaijuverse.
@deafmetal Wow Mark, that Chibi Goji it’s the definition of perfection. The amount of silver spray is simply adequate, the paint of the eyes and mouth is in magnificent condition. I feel very happy for you Mark that you could add this beautiful piece to your collection. Thanks for sharing those photos.
Those look amazing Mark. Oh no! The horn is broken off the Baragon! Now put them to the test and blow up some balloons!
Hi Michael, they are Marusan mid-size “balloon blowers”. The sculpts are stupidly cute with articulation at the head similar to the mid-size Bear Model gojis. They were made with very soft vinyl and a unique novelty feature that would inflate an attached balloon when you squeezed them. Goji has a tube in his mouth and Barry at his missing center horn which is where the balloons attached. I think it might have been the idea to simulate the atomic breath or special attack with a balloon. I have heard that these old balloons did not survive from the late 60’s, and the toys are all very rare. The goji was reissued by Marusan in 2002 without a balloon. There is also a Guilala version. Here is a photo of one with an original bag and header:
Thankee kindly. I was aware of the Guilala version (and have ogled it many a time) but ignorant of the other two. I agree with Roger, everything about the goji is perfect.
@fosa comun - Do you have any photos of the vintage Gamera balloon blower? I have seen the reissue, but not an original.
Very nice find @scobot. These are quite nice, I really dig their sculpting, midway there to chibi-esque, but still retaining that delightful kaiju nature. The perfect bit of whimsy for a child to sport on the end of their finger. Hopefully you can track down the others in the set too.
Spoiler No idea if this was an actual toy set, but these small resin Marusan bootlegs fit in the boat surprisingly well: I am so excited to find a green resin goji, and his paints are delightfully garish. Anybody have more info on this decal or set?
@deafmetal Great pickup Mark, It is simply a delight to be able to see this Goji boat, if I remember correctly this is the first one I see complete.
@deafmetal really an interesting find. This is part of what I love about collecting vintage toys from this era. There's just so much weird shit out there that people dont really know about.