I heard the nazi's, south sea cannibals and used car salesman are NOT fans of smogun. But thats just the word on the street. lol

Feed these heathens to the Bemons! No, worse yet ... feed them to KidRobot!

I did NOT say that.

oh, no. I am a car salesman, that is why I like the smogun... No joke///

From the pictures on yja I see ©1970:

Maybe Hukkokudo actually has the license and Gargamel doesnt?

heh - I belive Iv heard you say that before - nice - lol

From what I head, there is no copyright on Zagora, so no license is required. It's one of many "pachi kaiju" or bootleg monster figures. I think Hukkokudo (Marmit) just got "permission" to re-release the figure from the original maker. If there really was a copyright, I think Gargamel would have been in court a long time ago.

At least hukkokudo do it the proper way (even it may imply more overhead cost)

Is there a "proper way" to make a bootleg? The original figures themselves were bootlegs. The only reason Marmit is re-releasing all this IKB stuff is because Gargamel made it popular and they can easily cash in. Ride those coattails.

Hukkokudo = Marmit ?

It's supposed to be a secret (shhh!), but yes.

Woo, Top Secret !

ikb vs. gargamel -
some pics for comparison.



still love the old one - priceless.

damn I want an IKB version!! thanks for the cool pictures!!

Looks like someone left it in the AZ sun for to long!

I also heard the original IKB's were hollow underneath.

i know that the "crawling" version IKB is hollow underneath,,,but it is actually called the "flying" version by IKB,,

the hole is there to put your hand in like a puppet & fly around....

I'm not 100% sure if this is the correct info, but I heard that Hukokudo has bought the rights to these OG characters. Basically buying the rights meaning that they have also hands on the molds and everything. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure about this info. I will try and get more info on this cause I am really curious. If this info is true what will happen to Gargamel figs? I'm sure everyone will like this to be cleared up. I will get back to you guys once I get the info.

An interesting debate for sure. Derivative and non-licensed characters from the 70's made by people wanting to make characters, but were short licenses got a)creative or b)stole the ideas. Later on, a company comes out of the woodwork championing these obscure "Death vinyls", builds a succesful collector base by reinterpreting (rather closely) the original fakes (no pun intended). Then the original manufacturer either grants a license or sells the rights to their now vintage, but still questionable designs. Who is in the right, or is everybody wrong?

It seems that Hokkudai/Marmit will probably continue to make "original reproductions" and I am sure Gargamel will continue to make their own versions of these that were made before the Hokkudai product came about. The Bemon and Heater Robot can fall into the same category, as both are based on old drawings of toys/characters never released.

So, the real question is, would anyone know or care about the originals if Gargamel had not remade them? Years ago, you could by an IKB for $25+/-, and I paid $150 for my bagged flying version, which was considered insane. The Smogun has always been highly sought after by really obscure toy hunters, so I can't say what it's prior going rate was. I know IKB Hedoran prices jumped first by Hedorah completists, and then by people introduced to it by the Gargamel figures. As for Zagorah, I don't remember anyone looking or caring before Gargamel, much like the original 9" Mightin figures just a few months ago.

If you can answer that question, then I think you can answer the question about what is going on now with the repros. At least that is what I think.

As a gross generalization, my guess is that the answer is "no." Successful revivals in any field generate renewed interest in original sources. I'd imagine for example that some people may be motivated to learn more about the histories of the Spartans and ancient Persians as the result of a certain current fantasy movie.

Hedoran would be an exception as the figure was already popular before the existance of Gargamel, although I'm sure their versions have broadened interest and appeal. However, I suspect that like myself, many people had never heard of Mightin before Gargamel's version. I do remember having seen the original Smogun but that's circumstantial ... my younger bro was a kaiju nut in the '70s and we made frequent trips to Japan Center in SF for toys, so perhaps I saw it back in the day.

Anyway, I think it's very clear that Gargamel's remakes have generated interest in figures that would have been generally forgotten to history otherwise. Props to them all the way for that, even if it serves to make vintage kaiju more expensive.



Not intended but soooo funny in a triple-meaning sort of way. I'm sure Michelin and Disney would understand, although perhaps they wouldn't be amused.

I certainly wouldnt complain if they got a hold of the original bemon molds (if they existed) and made those, do we even really know what its bottom half looks like? The only negative I could see to this whole thing is if Gargamel decides they dont need to waste their time with a full sized smogun since its already being made, which would be a shame since I want to see what they would do with it!

any idea when these smogun's will be release, i want a full size smogun...

http://navy.ap.teacup.com/hukkokudo/
The site has a picture up of their reprint of the Mightin. It looks cool but this is getting out of hand! I wonder if gargamel is pissed?

once again I'll make the comparison to records.
bands covering what were once obscure bands and giving them new life. A band like antidote(nyc)...come the mid-late 90s a record that was once a 60 dollar record is fetching $500. This due in part to bands covering the shit out of them live and on records. once again I can't say if alot people really care for the OG and really just like the band covering the song but it brings alot more people to the table looking for said vinyl..

what was my point? I'm not sure. but I do agree about someone needing to make mini-bemons!

Whew! Good thing I have that Antidote 7"! Now I just need the Urban Waste and Abused 7" to match.......

I've never understood the whole Bemon thing to be honest, like he was on the header for the original Smogun, but he was never made as a toy until MR. Bemon created the current incarnation, is that right?

Was he even ever in any shows or movies or anything back in the day, or was his whole existance based on the header image for the original Smogun?

I'm glad someone is re-issuing a full size Smogun though, if Gargamel had done it that would have been cool, but since they haven't I'll take what I can get, and I can't get an original!