Hirota Saigansho: Gorilla-ju, Mecha Gorilla-ju, & Others

Thanks Roger, I actually searched for a thread on that maker too and got nothing.

 

That's because they're unknown. ;P

 

I have seven Tiger 7's, and if I had deep pockets, I'd try for a whole army to fill an entire TALL Milbos case, I'm just greedy that way . You are more than welcome to shed the same amount of blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and moolah to get your own toys!
p.s. I don't adopt hype toys either, but they have become hype toys

 

Your collection is the quintessential definition of awesome, fun and a passion for an aesthetic. Love it, and love seeing pics of it.

 

@JMRampage , awwwwwww! That is high praise indeed, thank you!

 

Haven't seen any photos pop up here yet from this show. Love the Gigan. (this is just 1 colorway of what looks like 10 others, but I won't bother posting all of them, because 1. they aren't my photos anyway 2. I'm not sure anyone here even cares as most already saw them on instagram.)




Also, these mega-size gallery displays are NUTS. I can't imagine who ends up with these. Unless they are required to be destroyed or something.

 

I’m so far removed from any of this, but if that’s a Hirota Gigan it’s the first toy he’s made that I’m actually into.

 

I kinda get what you mean. I like Hirota's stuff a lot. I actually get the hype *up to a point*. But, over the last few years, I've been gradually less interested in what I see. So, this Gigan is a bit of a surprise. I'd love to see him tackle some other Toho kaiju.

Anguirus?
Mothra?
Jet Jaguire?
Hedorah?

Funny, the only Hirota I actually wish I could own are the really weird ones. Like the stretch aliens, or the Kraken Chief Beast.

 

Reminds me of Nakajima's Triton of the Sea Demora

Except that Demora is an A-cup, while the one above is a D-cup

 

Please don't hesitate to post as many pics as you want! That's largely what keeps me coming back. Some of us don't have IG, and have Zuckerberg-blockers added to our browsers so that FB/IG posts won't even show up when linked to. SB should be a place for both pictures and discussion, not just a place to talk about pictures you see elsewhere.

 

Oh, certainly more than reminiscent of- I’d say absolutely the inspiration for! That little kink in the neck is pretty unique.

wow, that’s a great one. The flappy arms and legs

 

Wish I had the income to throw down an offer. Hope someone here with the means can maybe get their hands on a pair.

 

I put out an offer but I couldn't go that high. (Already thought twice.). If his Gorillas are reaching 6k on e-bay, I don't think I really have a chance. It would be cool if he did a few open runs on things but really even when that's happened via medicom, I feel the stuff that was put out lost the charm of his small vinyl runs. The thing that sucks is I don't care as much about 1-offs. I would just love a collection of production work.

 

Also what really grinds my gears is seeing stuff that's still in the gallery hop up to auction, when "fans" who want to buy things at retail are out there. (Me, I'm fans). There was obviously enough to go around.

 

Based on prices from Mandarake and other sites I’m sure his one-off offers go at least 8-10K+ so my guess is a set of one offs is at least 15K+? Crazy times…

 

Yeah I mean I can’t be mad at him at all. It makes me happy to see any artist anywhere commanding prices like that for their work. Everyone wants an Andy Warhol though.

 

To be honest, HxS doesn’t appeal to my collection sense, but there have been a few sculpts I find visually interesting. I respect the tastes of my fellow collectors, and understand what a huge disappointment it is, not to be able to adopt one. At the price level required to be considered eligible for obtaining one (let alone the sheer difficulty in nabbing a very limited run), it’s hard for me to see them as toys. I wouldn’t be burying them in the snow, or floating them in a pond, or scattering them on grass covered hills, or popping off their heads and jamming them on to other toy bodies (yes, I’m looking at you toothaction, you really know how to play with your butas, and you’ve given us some fantastic photos and fun laughs over the years). They’d probably stay behind a case or pedestal of some sort. There are so many great toys and art out there. I’ve reached a point where if something is on an “impossible” level to obtain, that I’m not willing to go crazy to chase it down, whether it be a toy, painting, ceramic pot, etc… The toy market has reached insane levels in pricing for vintage as well as neo. If money were no object, perhaps I wouldn’t care about spending levels, but there are so many great toys, with new artists releasing some great stuff, right around the corner. Plus, if I had those deep pockets, I’d look to vintage. If we are talking about collecting toys, there are a few boardies here with absolutely astounding vintage collections, which I can honestly say makes me go all gah gah when I see these amazing original toys!

I don’t begrudge the artist making money either, but I can’t bring myself to spend that much on a piece of vinyl (believe me, my sis is stupified by the concept of toys costing more than $50) and as many have expressed, we all have real life expenses, so we have to be realistic about collecting. Best of luck to all of the HxS collectors, I can live vicariously through your photos

 

At least with vintage you could classify it more as an “artifact”. Sure, it was likely never created as "art". But, whatever its original purpose once was, the current price level is due to so few surviving and what they represent to us from a bygone cultural moment.

I agree with @ultrakaiju that seeing them presented as in-gallery fine art, comes off a bit more strange when they are licensed properties, as opposed to original creations. Like, I know Toho keeps a tight grip on some of these licenses, limiting sales to a single day, event, and/or quantity. Who knows what they work out for HxS to use their IP? Funny, am I the only one who was maybe most surprised by him doing a Legendary King Kong a few years ago?

Though, even when Hirota was doing more original designs, they often seemed to be making strong references/homages to obscure characters found in vintage books, menko cards, or some random toys sorta like every maker. Art is such a gooey thing to define. Ultimately, It's just sort of a bummer that even if I did somehow magically come to own one, I'd likely feel almost guilty knowing I had at least 5k just sitting on a shelf

All that being said, the continuing discussion seems to warrant images of the "DM me your best offer" sales for those who might not have seen them yet:


Which wow, what a way to sell stuff. You think people make these blind bids as though they are wagering on Jeopardy?

$6500 and 1¢ !!!

 

I personally think a lot of people are shielding assets buying toys, (same as glass bongs, gold, etc) or speculating on future price action. It's a weird Hedge against inflation. I also think that after Covid, and the potential of WW3 has people buying things out of desperation that they might never have that chance again. We are in another 2007 right now heading into 2008 soon and acting like it's 2030 it's a really weird time in history. I put in a bid of 250,000 It didn't get opened, I'm fine with not spending that much on 2 toys, but from what I've seen Godzilla and Ultra (especially licensed) toys hold their purchase value.

 

I just want that damn movie poster Harry Hausen Cyclops.

***Shakes fist at sky. Yells about selling me a thing at a reasonable price.***

 

Theirin lies the rub!

I originally started selling 'em off to see us through COVID as our main clients were in travel and hospitality - both instantly nixed from the get-go, rather than eat into our savings, not knowing how long we would be affected.

At that time it was more out of necessity, but once the 'unburdening' started and bridges were burnt, it was pretty easy to carry on.

I didn't feel guilty . . . more a) WORRIED what would happen if there was an accident and a cabinet of 'em got wiped out (I can just see a UK Insurance assessors face when some guy says 'These blobs of melted plastic were worth £3-4k apiece'). b) WARY of the bubble bursting (and it will) and c) DUMB for hanging onto 'em, when the shelves could easily be restocked with older/sentimental stuff from storage (from the early days of my collecting), and absolutely no one, other than you nerds , would ever even notice a difference . . . all with £££ in the bank to travel and live a better life before its too late!

I'm hearing from a few sources that a bunch of collectors are feeling the same way. Whether through age (gotta love the Swedish Death Cleaning), boredom, or simply feeling the squeeze of failing economies. #eatthrich

I still love toys and will collect random crap until I shuffle off, but the HxS sales methodology, demographic and even output (other than the Cyclops Wiggums) isn't what it was 12 years ago and definitely doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies that a 'fun' hobby should.

 

My wife says the same thing in the past 20+ years. I need to start selling so that it’s not too late to be not dumb but somehow I never did and remained dumb

 

Ha!

To put things in perspective, with the sales of this one show, you could finance at least half the amount of purchasing a home in some states of the USA...
https://homebuyer.com/learn/cheapest-state-to-buy-a-house

@SpectralNight I like the thought of vintage toys being an Artifact! Never thought of it that way. All the more reason to turn to vintage! @ultrakaiju I also am thinking along the same lines you mentioned. If you are consistently selling to an inner circle, at some point the rest of your fans are going to become disillusioned at best, if not downright resentful. The enthusiasm and support fades away, and perhaps brings on the beanie babies syndrome at some point. Better start selling now!