New Medicom

The last two AM5 figures were announced and should be up for preorder soon. Just curious how many others are picking up this entire line (I am committed, but I hate preordering another two after not even receiving any of the prior four). At the end of it all, the entire line will run close to a grand! Ugh.

Try searching for years to find the originals, paying WAY more than a grand just to have nice ass complete repros show up. I'm glad others will be able to enjoy what I consider the pinnacle of my toy collection but it doesn't come without a certain sting that's for sure.

The last two AM5 figures were announced and should be up for preorder soon. Just curious how many others are picking up this entire line (I am committed, but I hate preordering another two after not even receiving any of the prior four). At the end of it all, the entire line will run close to a grand! Ugh.

Try searching for years to find the originals, paying WAY more than a grand just to have nice ass complete repros show up. I'm glad others will be able to enjoy what I consider the pinnacle of my toy collection but it doesn't come without a certain sting that's for sure.

Yeah I talked to my uncle about this exact thing. He wasn't phased, he did mention a Jumbo though..

I've thought about picking them up just for the gloves and weapons.

The last two AM5 figures were announced and should be up for preorder soon. Just curious how many others are picking up this entire line (I am committed, but I hate preordering another two after not even receiving any of the prior four). At the end of it all, the entire line will run close to a grand! Ugh.

Try searching for years to find the originals, paying WAY more than a grand just to have nice ass complete repros show up. I'm glad others will be able to enjoy what I consider the pinnacle of my toy collection but it doesn't come without a certain sting that's for sure.

It's funn--I often *pray* the rarest, most sought-after toys in my collection (and I got some shit, yo ) get reproed. In fact, I think the HARDER to track down--took the most years or the craziest circumstances--the more I'd love an exact reproduction. Would that drive down the monetary value of this stuff? I guess. But after devoting so much research, time, patience, and yes, money to getting some of these things, I tend to be a bit restrained when I play with them! But, I mean, ya GOTTA play with them...at least a little...right?! LOL

So having a reproduction that's 1) relatively easy and affordable to obtain, 2) in *new* condition and working order, just like when they were first enjoyed back in the day, and 3) can--and should--be played with the way they were originally intended...is fucking dope! I respect your perspective, of course, but I personally just love the idea of being able to look up at my "grails" on the shelf, while getting down on the floor with my repros!

I put off pre-ordering the earlier AM5 releases hoping they would be out by now & I could verify the quality. Guess that strategy is not working as it appears the last pre-order will be over before the first wave is released.

CopASquatToys, I completely understand your point of view. I am predominantly a vintage collector (of both vinyl, diecast, jumbos, etc.), so your point is well made. But there are just some vintage items I know I will never own, due to rarity or price. It is nice to be able to own representations of these toys, though. The Marusan original creation Gosura is a perfect example. These AM5 bobbleheads are another. Aside from the rarity and price, these are almost all damaged by now (the common cracked crotch). So to have a decent example that I can actually put inside my Capsule Robo jumbo machinder is a blessing.

And in terms of lasting toys, on the diecast side, it is widely known that many toys simply crumble from age (Popy's brittle blue plastic that they used is a common example). So to drop several hundred or thousand on a toy that might be broken, despite not even ever handling it, is a real dilemma to many collectors. To be able to have an affordable alternative that might actually last is a welcome option.

Sanjeev makes a great point too.

Finally, keep in mind that many vinyl toys (and diecast too) have been reissued countless times over the years by the same manufacturers (or their subsidiaries or successors), and I don't just mean the recent issues like the current Bullmarks. I mean the older Bandai early 1990s toys (and 1980s in the case of diecast). So this is a common practice. Fortunately, there are often distinguishing features that will prevent any nonsense. With regards to these AM5 toys, it seems that most feature fixed masks.

But I completely understand the frustration of having searched for years, only to see this happen. Its easy to see both sides of the coin.

Don't get me wrong I'm glad others will be able to enjoy them now, I just wish I had that money back and a nice new complete set. I haven't ordered any yet but I'll probably end up getting them all at some point.

It is of course entirely possible that the new repros will drive up the price of the originals. The new ones make more people aware of them at all, and some of those people will now simply need an original.

Not a great analogy, but think of Shelby Cobras. All the reproductions on the road certainly haven't hurt the value of the originals. I know this isn't a new topic, but these repros aren't like an explosion of fakes which are nearly indistinguishable -- That does hurt values of originals.

NB - I love this place because this counts as a name-drop.

my Capsule Robo jumbo machinder

Yeah I talked to my uncle about this exact thing. He wasn't phased, he did mention a Jumbo though..

Just curious, "wasn't phased" means didn't care?

and, do you mean the Jumbo is in the works?

If so, that raises all sorts of questions...

But, I mean, ya GOTTA play with them...at least a little...right?! LOL

So having a reproduction that's 1) relatively easy and affordable to obtain, 2) in *new* condition and working order, just like when they were first enjoyed back in the day, and 3) can--and should--be played with the way they were originally intended...is fucking dope! I respect your perspective, of course, but I personally just love the idea of being able to look up at my "grails" on the shelf, while getting down on the floor with my repros!

Could not agree more.

We have had this conversation more than a few times up here, and it is always going to keep coming up. I can appreciate both sides of things, as a collector of vintage toys and things, and new stuff. I can totally see why some people might take it as a slight to them and their vintage collection when repro stuff comes available, particularly if it is openly available. I mean, sure, you have put a lot of time, effort, and money into building that collection, and so you should be proud of it. But I don't think that you should view it as repros taking anything away from that. At all. Vintage will always be vintage, no matter how many times they recycle or remake the molds. Nothing will lessen your toy. And when done correctly, reproductions will always be discernible, particularly to anyone with an eye for these things, which ultimately is what matters anyhow. I don't think anyone will go mistaking or misrepresenting one for the other, at least not for getting called out on it. Sometimes there might be some 'gray' area, like with the Marmit Alien stuff, but generally it is very clear, and I think repros ultimately serve a very important purpose in the modern market. For all the issue raised already, such as aging, availability, affordability, playability ( !) etc., I am thrilled to have access to some of these toys. I am happy with my vintage Bullmarks/Marusan standing right alongside my M1s and B-Clubs. Medicom especially is doing such a good thing the last couple years by not only offering to fulfill a lot of collectors dreams with toys they couldn't own (and giving them minty copies of them to boot), but also expanding the line to improve on vintage stuff and even offer whole new character lines done in a vintage style that were never made.

Anyway, there is a lot of stuff brought up here that we have just touched upon, and I could go on and on, but it is probably just left to another day or another topic. Suffice it to say everyone's got their own feelings about it, and we respect them all. I feel sorry if some people aren't very happy with great toys being [re]made, but unfortunately that is just something that is going to be a factor in this hobby. You are not wrong for feeling that way, but might as well just enjoy the toys for what they are and be very impressed and proud to your originals.

TL;DR - they are making a jumbo possibly? Hell...YES.

I could go on and on . . .

'could'?

I know, Andy, and I apologise, but being cooped up in my folks' basement and subsisting on a steady diet of monster munch and powerthirst does tend to leave one prone to explosions of interwebs-vomit.

But I honestly could rant on and on here for pages at a time about nerd minutiae (and that is without any beer in me), or I could just add the usual "+1"s and "SIIIIICCKKKK"s to the board. So I kind of see this as a happy medium.

Wait--I think I missed something here. There's a Jumbo in the works? Does that mean a reissue of Capsule Robo G?

Hahaha, yeah, I am sure all of our excitement over that one is pretty peaked, but we may just be jumping the gun a little. I haven't seen any news about it - though I think it would follow a logical step, and be such a huge thing to do - but that was just from leili's uncle, so him either speaking on what he had heard about in development, or maybe just what he (and us all I am sure) wished for.

Yeah I talked to my uncle about this exact thing. He wasn't phased, he did mention a Jumbo though..

Just curious, "wasn't phased" means didn't care?

and, do you mean the Jumbo is in the works?

If so, that raises all sorts of questions...

Ahh well he probably said something like "oh cool, I have those already" and then "I also have a jumbo they fit in" or something like that.

Basically he didn't seem worried about getting them as reissues.. No hidden meanings, no conspiracy theories. My uncle is a collector of mostly vintage stuff, he's just not around on the board is all.

TLDR: no confirmed or even hinted jumbo in the works, sorry lol.

NOooooooooo!! You couldn't just let me have my dream, could you man?

I'm not crying, you're crying!

[runs off and cowers in corner in the fetal position]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pVT_mvvZLo

The annual preview exhibit is on in a couple of weeks.. Any predictions on what will be displayed there? Last year they dropped the Anraku bomb on all of us.. could there be something just as mind-blowing?

Drunk Boy. More GEEK! Minotaur. Stuff and things!
Those are my guesses.

Anraku is old news.
Would be great to see Medicom breaking new frontiers with open run HxS, SVHC, NNN

I've been seeing Unbox post pictures of G1 Transformers in soft vinyl.. Could these be the 2017 version of the retro Marvel/Star Wars lines for Medicom? I could be completely wrong and they might be for another company although I did read on one of the posts that several characters are being planned for the line. Seems like something a company on the scale of Medicom could handle.

Does anyone know how to place orders on the new medicom toy plus?