I'll admit I troll their BST peddling some western stuff.... but hadn't checked out the rest in awhile... but I had to see what was up on the other side of the fence..

btw pray you never have to lay your eyes on mr cartoons new figure...

"Posted: Thu 15 Feb, 2007 5:50 am Gargamel/ Secret Base
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OK Maybe I'm just a bit cynical and to each their own (meaning people like what they like) but I can't understand this phenomenom with Gargamel/ Secret Base. I mean to me personally the toys look like cheap japanese toys you'd get out of the vending machine in the 70's (albeit bigger). I'm sure I got a few back then- I'm 38. I mean alot of them are just bagged in a plastic bag with a label stapled on top. Are they really worth the 50- 60 clams people shell out for them? Just my 2 cents- I'm sure Gargamel lovers will flame me.
Chris "

He has valid points about the packaging and pricing. A lot of the toys don't look that impressive, especially the unpainted ones, and although the packaging is intended to evoke the style of vinyl toys of the 60s and 70s, it is cheap looking.

At least the guy asked people to explain to him why they think the figures are cool.

maybe I read that wrong but saying they look cheap and asking if theyre really worth it wasnt really asking to explain.

I think most people can understand substance over style.

i used to think the same thing when i saw my first unpainted sb fig...hmmmmmm?

I can see the thought, but you don't really know until you own I guess. Plus Gargamel makes way more then fight figures, look at their Hedorahs! Those things are massive and have amazing paint schemes, same with Zg and Bakos.

oh my god.. he's right.. these are just cheap plastic toys... what have I done???
I have spent all my money on cheap plastic toys.. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
the humanity!!!!!

(sarcasm by the way)

It's an each to his own situation. Some of the packaging of the KR/western vinyl actually blows away what's inside!!! I love the simplicity of a cool header card stapled to a bag. But I also really like kick ass graphics cleverly displayed on a toy box.

I for one think that the header bag is much better as it focus on the toy more than the packaging. The header is just a bouns when they are cool.

Like mentioned it seems like more though goes into the box than the toys.

just like others, had the same feelings until I saw it in person.

I don't want to get all philosophical like some sort of toy monk but I think Japanese toys have more soul...

Uh oh. Did you see one "in person" or something?

They were at the NYCC

So what's not to like about that?

hey , no flame here . like you said to each his own . i will agree with paul that i like the wierd gumball machine look of certain toys . some of my favorite toys growing up were my creepy crawler maker and some dime store plastic or rubber monsters . this type of look still resonates with me today . gargamel , to me , fuses a lot of these looks together and does it well . i would be interested to see what you collect as a bases for your opinion .

Yeah, some of the Western packaging is cool like Woodring's Mr. Bumper.
But I really don't miss having to deal with boxes.
Headers and bags lay flat and take up virtually no space versus boxes.

pleeease re-read that post.. im sorry if its not clear that I did not write that..

[expletive deleted] seem very cheap looking to me

I don't understand why people base their opinions of the figures on the packaging. This criticism comes up over and over again. Didn't someone once say, "Don't judge a book ..." blah blah blah? I don't get it. I'm not stupid enough to think icebots are cool because I like the packaging.

I seriously didn't get the appeal of Secret Base / Gargamel until I had one on my desk for a few days. Then, like magic, they all started to appear!

hehe, i'm happy to say that JP toys were an instant fit for me.

they put everything into focus, they are everything i was looking for, but couldn't find elsewhere! i love them ^^

my whole point of posting that quote..was to remind that one mans shit is still another mans gold...and that alot of what we collect is still going(will always) over the heads of most people... even if they collect vinyl....

for those who wont understand this analogy.just know its a compliment but I really think of Super 7/supporters as:


Kid robo.t:

It goes both ways, though. As you noted in your original post, there are things the KR people collect that you think look like crap. And obviously you think that what we collect here is better than what they collect because it goes "over the heads" of those people.

There are also people who pay hundreds of dollars for hand-carved wooden ducks who look down at people who buy mass-produced plastic items. It's all subjective, and who's to say that one group is right and the other is wrong?

if Ultraman fought a hand carved wooden duck, I'd buy one

LOL!!!! Post of the year!!!

heeheehee