Grody Shogun - New Stuff

Discussion in 'Japan Toys' started by FaustX2, Jul 2, 2011.

  1. sumatra71

    sumatra71 Super Deformed

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    bloody fuck to the no it wasn't me.... I'm at work and busting my ass... I can't keep up with all this super secret helicopter drop off in the woods shit....

    :evil:
     
  2. brobles

    brobles S7 Royalty

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    ^^what did I miss?? Another lulu drop?
     
  3. Daimyo

    Daimyo Side Dealer

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    They just had a single Grody Doku from the preorder. I checked right after seeing the tweet and it was already gone.
     
  4. brobles

    brobles S7 Royalty

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    Pic? :mrgreen:
     
  5. sbbenhcs

    sbbenhcs Line of Credit

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    from about 4 pages ago... i know this thread moves fast, so try to keep up. ;)
     
  6. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    Here follows a long rant, a sort of open letter to Lixx. I've typed similar opinions elsewhere, and it's just my reaction as an individual enthusiast, so feel free to skip it, y'all...

    edit: I'd also like to add that my net went out when I was about to send this, but figured I'd just leave it as is without revising to address whatever has been said since. Pretend it's 4:36pm, EST.
    ----------
    I'm someone that until very recently ONLY collected licensed creatures from the Tsuba, Toho, Daiei, et al realm. I dig a lot of the stuff that comes from that world that Huk/TE, Amapro etc mines, but generally speaking don't start picking up unless I've first seen the beastie lumbering around a set of miniatures, all baggy, tear-able and most likely complete with a very sweaty small man inside underneath hundreds of pounds of rubber. Before Grody I picked up exactly two toys that fall out of the realm of the golden age of toku, both by Chris and Ainsley. Both struck me as being very personal and were rendered with an obvious amount of love. Ilith kind of rules.

    To address my relationship to the companies that you put Luke's stuff in the same bed as, I'm personally unmoved by the S7 roster; and as far as Nag goes I have no desire to have one for myself, but it is kind of funny to watch those who do. When it comes to tier upon tier of the exact same toy all lined up, with only a spectrum shift to distinguish them, I don't "get" that exact appeal myself, but if ever I find myself getting judgy, or becoming depressed by the myopic nature of such collections, I only have to look at how many different sculpt of the same monster I have, or the number of M1 Dadas I've brought into the house to understand the basic compulsion. Look to your line of Marmit Woos and you should probably see what I mean

    When the first picture of Karakuri popped up here I had a similar reaction to when I met Ilith, but WAY stronger. It was crude and chunky and almost didn't feel done, but in that it was still exquisite and seemed to span directly back to per-lingual mythology. Seriously, it seemed less a toy than an evocation. That hyperbole aside, watching Luke's stuff over these past few months I've only grown more and more impressed. Every aspect of these feels personal yet with a total understanding of what makes toys the sorts of object that we used to play with and still should be playing with. I like a showcase paint-job as as much as the next guy, but it's so great to see evocative sprays that look neither rarefied or untouchable, that are crude but not lazy or sloppy, that hit the right accent points without taking away from the sculpt. The characterizations, the craft, the playability are all top-notch to my eyes. They hit on a historical ideal, the way we felt about toys, the idea of the Universal monsters, rather than a photo realistic or purely imitative one.
    Maybe I'm wrong but all of the above seems rare and commendable, and the way the toys are being offered up is so very attainable to anyone that puts in the effort.

    I don't really know what the KR thing is, particularly. I can guess, sure, and have made enough assumptions that I don't go over there to hang out, but a line in the sand just isn't necessary for me to draw. And hype? Sure people are excited about these toys and I'm no one to judge why each individual wants one or all of them, I just know from what I see in them I can understand the fuss. When it was suggested by a boardie here that Grody Shogun was only liked by the most tasteless among us, I strongly disagreed. As I said then, I think Grody Shogun unites the factions. We of the growing crowd see something we like, from Anraku-heads to Bemon exclusivists to Tonka toy lovers and those crying little kids at the GR2 opening.
    .
    They're the first toys that strike me as being akin to the pop music that fell under the punk banner in the later '70s. The Undertones, the Television Personalities, Wire... The list is long but all made arguably simple music, crude and rough around the edges compared to the pop that came before it, but with a hook and an enthusiasm that spoke to the ears. Some would call it disposable, but we wouldn't be talking about it today if that were true. It was hand-made music and the packaging that encased it reflected that ideology.

    Grody toys make me feel like classic bubblegum pop - toss Chewy, Chewy by the Ohio Express on the phonograph, plop down on the rug and make your Monsters fight!
     
  7. Prometheum5

    Prometheum5 Post Pimp

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    I totally get where you're coming from. My problem is, I think your logic only applies to the first couple of releases, and somewhere along the lines we've already fallen off into the same old stale hype-spiral, which is why they are getting compared more and more to Nags.

    When the first Oji and Kara releases, and the blank Monsters came out, the whole shtick was that they were cheap, easy to score, and had a really great traditional feel. They were made with love, had tangible classic influences, and the whole model felt really respectful to the customers. Come three months later, and we've seen cookie-cutter, rapid fire, no-notice releases every week or two, seemingly trying to grab as many of those sweet, sweet bandwagon sales as quickly as possible. With the porno-clipping headers, and secret surprise drops, these already feel like a Mishka joint.

    I love the GS I have, but I have already lost pretty much all of my enthusiasm towards trying to deal with the rat race to get any more. The web-eaters and Monsters are great toys, and I totally get the appeal of the physical objects, but what started out as a hugely refreshing change of pace seems like it has already fallen into the same pitfalls that make most 'designer' vinyl unappealing. I'll stick to kaiju and robots.
     
  8. animator

    animator Mr. Freshly Smacked Ass Staff Member

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    I don't have time to read these paragraphs, I might miss the next Grody drop!!! :lol:
     
  9. melek_taus

    melek_taus Mini Boss

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    Jaded much?

    I think the point of the rapid fire releases was to get the toys into as many of the fans hands as possible. Not to cash in on hype as fast as possible. In fact, it seems Luke is taking steps to try and dissuade the exaggerated excitement.

    For me, the porno clipping headers are WAY more Luke Rook than Mishka. Not seeing any in-crowds, secret handshakes or the like with GS.

    I guess you can't make everyone happy. Which is how it should be.
     
  10. EBIII

    EBIII Addicted

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    :roll:
     
  11. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    Promethium 5 ---
    I get where you're coming from too, and the long-view may yet prove you right, but I'm content in feeling that my logic stands even in the face of certain quick sell-out releases -- It's still balanced out by made-to-order releases, and is reflective of current interest, not the run-size of the original Monsters and O&J. They never would have lasted as long as they did if everyone who's interested now had those magic glasses that lets you see into the past. The Nag thread started with a picture, a question, and a great quote from Withnail & I...
    I don't think hand-made headers are a crime, either. Who wouldn't put their porn collection to work if they could? :D

    I think it was all put really well a few days ago, so I'll hand the mike over to HBCoffin:
    Maybe it's not for everyone, but I think Ensorcelled Man is going to be amazing to have, adding nicely to Luke's growing output of wonderfully original toys. I said it before and I'll say it again, ELBOWS! HB put in some words about that, too:
    Complain to me again when Ojisan comes with a hand-knitted sweater, has a production run of 3 and costs $900 before eBay ;)

    PS
    Right on, melek_taus!
     
  12. EBIII

    EBIII Addicted

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    Can we please move this thread to the KR Jr. section. thx
     
  13. I Am The Fourth

    I Am The Fourth Post Pimp

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    A Grody Army!!!!!!

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
  14. EBIII

    EBIII Addicted

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  15. ¡DEECO!

    ¡DEECO! Addicted

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    Brilliant!

     
  16. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    Did you mean "F" for friendly or "F" for FUN?
     
  17. cheapo

    cheapo Toy Prince

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    Grody is playable, cheap, funky and cool, everything a toy should be, having these in my hands brings me into child mode than the compulsive adult collector mode ha!

    Luke's furious drops I think are meant to dissuade completists and encourage people to enjoy them as toys. He could have made more monies by just upping the price and doing the ltd ed stuff. Just enjoy what you have and there'll be more down the road im sure :D
     
  18. Lixx

    Lixx Mr. Grumpy™

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    My original point was not about resale inflated value (guess nag was a bad example) it was just how easy you guys are to market to. To each their own, carry on...
     
  19. EBIII

    EBIII Addicted

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    Haha it doesn't make an f on my computer but it does on my phone. Im just saying theyre just toys....
     
  20. TiredChildren

    TiredChildren Administrator Staff Member

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    I'm sure you realize this, but that kind of comes off as "I'm better than you." Of course I have no room to talk since I'm relatively new around here. Just wanted to say that it's kind of not cool to come into a thread where people are pumped about something and then to tell them that they're naive or ignorant for liking what they like. Especially when it's a toy nerd picking on other toy nerds for not being as toy nerdy as they are.

    Not trying to start fights, especially with people who clearly know more than I do about this stuff. Like I said in bonemask's sales thread, this board makes my head swim with shame at not knowing what 98% of the stuff around here is. I'm just pointing out that it's a little bit pretentious to demean us by saying that we're "easy to market to," like we're mindless sheep.
     
  21. Lixx

    Lixx Mr. Grumpy™

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    Actually I don't think I'm better than anyone really. Look if you like Grody cool man, sorry if I pissed on your parade. I tend to think out loud and just get slightly annoyed with "Grody this Grody that" in every forum on this board. Can't go anywhere on this board without hearing about it. Everyone can have an opinion. It's a reciprocal thing here and a new toy comes along, and well you know how it goes...
     
  22. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    It's a lot pretentious, actually.

    I'm not saying my taste is the most refined in the world, but if you can knock a dyed-in-the-wool collector of only so called "real kaiju" off my happy path you must be doing something unique. Plenty of toys I could talk shit about, but what would make me think that anyone would care? My love of Keronia and Baltan and dismissal of Galtan never made me a better person, it just made me a person who liked Keronia and Baltan.
     
  23. Lixx

    Lixx Mr. Grumpy™

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    Wait I forgot who you were tooth. I actually hate your obnoxious annoying nooob ass. Is that pretentious enough for you? Clear enough for you? Every post you make makes me cringe. You sound like a complete moron when you post. Good enough for ya? Now I just remembered that I forgot to put you on ignore so I never have to read your posts again. Don't bother replying because I won't see it.
     
  24. Kevlo9

    Kevlo9 Super Deformed

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    Why so serious guys...it's toys :)

    Fun, cool, cheap toys!

    Play with your Grody and drink a beer! :twisted:
     
  25. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    Not that my BFF will see this...

    My open letter was meant to be friendly :D

    My later talk of pretension was meant to sound like it sounded :razz:

    Anyone who would like to step in and offer me some life-coaching feel free to PM!
     

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