Feeble Questions

I consulted the Google but couldn't find a die-cast FAQ somewhere on the intertubez.

Therefore, I have to embarrass myself by asking some feeble questions:

Die-cast originally pertained to metal but with Japanese toys it includes both metal and/or plastic, yes?
Would Astro-Mu figures be considered die-cast?

Are there specific die-cast periods?
i.e. when did the Japanese start producing die-cast?
Did quality suffer during certain years or decades?

Overall, are die-cast toys considered significantly more expensive than standard vinyl toys?
If so, what contributes to this cost? Demand? Moving parts? Intricate design?

Are there specific sub categories of die-cast?

Aside from age or quality or rarity, what defines a stellar die-cast toy?
Those that have a storyline or TV show? Produced by certain toy companies?

Wow....feeble, my ass.

Let's see....diecast in Japanese toys refers to a toy that has some diecast or zinc in the toy. They started in the 70's and as they got into the 80's less and less metal was being used. Some vintage diecast goes fairly high, but in my experience, vintage vinyl goes alot higher. Popy is considered the most prolific in putting out diecast toys, but there were other companies. Here's a good place to start:
http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/

They definitely seem to be seperated into 70's "Super Robot" style, and 80's "Mecha/Real Robot" style. Matt/Alen/Robert/Tim/Sjoen's book "Super #1 Robot" has lots of pics and is semi categorized.

As far as stellar...it all depends...do you like the 70's solid funk or the 80's "realistic" style....

My personal faves....Popy King Joe, Popy and Bullmark MechaGodzillas, and the Popy Meisaku Kamen Rider (though I don't own that particular pricey beaut, yet).

Last edited by hillsy11 on Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.

"Die-cast" is shorthand for die-cast metal. If a toy has a substantial degree of metal in it, it's usually referred to as a die-cast. Dinky toys, Hot Wheels cars, Star Wars Titanium toys, etc., you could call all of these die-casts. They all have some degree of plastic parts in them.

The word you hear the most when referring to Japanese die-cast toys is "gokin," which is a shortening of "Chogokin." The word literally means "super alloy," and it's the word Go Nagai coined to describe what Mazinger-Z was made out of. In the 70s, Popy adopted Chogokin as a brand name for their die-cast toys, and today other companies use the "gokin" part of the word in their brand names (Aoshima's New Gokin, CM's Corporation's Brave Gokin, etc.).

A lot of people feel that the 70s and 80s toys, which were made in Japan, have a much higher degree of consistent quality than modern toys (which are now made in China, with a couple of rare exceptions).

Prices for new die-cast toys are relatively high compared to new vinyl toys due to their complexity (most of a toy's cost is based in labor), but compared to aftermarket prices of some Secret Base and Real Head toys you can get a lot of bang for your buck.

Vintage Die-casts that command high prices usually do so due to rarity, either because the company didn't make many, or sometimes they have fatal flaws which make them easily breakable and hard to locate pristine specimens of. Packaging is key for die-casts: most collectors expect to have the box and all parts for them, preferably on the original sprues.

Character is key, too. If a character was popular in Japan and the US, then twice as many people will be looking for toys of it. Voltes V is hugely popular in the Philippines among Gen X'ers due to the show being banned by Marcos in the 80s.

A good place to find out more are the books Super #1 Robot and Inside the Robot Kingdom, and of course the TBDX Data Files:

http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/

Imagine that...Roger and I pimping the same sources.

>Would Astro-Mu figures be considered die-cast?

There are no Astro Mu toys that are made of metal, so no.

It might just be historical coincidence but the original rise of diecast came after, and I believe to some extent, caused the downfall of vinyl toys. Super robot and transforming robot shows became popular as live action tokasatsu shows were declining and the diecast toys better represented those shows. I have heard a lot of people blame the end of vinyl toys popularity in the late 70s on the oil crisis of that time, but I think kids tastes changed and the shows and their respective toys echoed that. A lot of vintage vinyl collectors tend to be older than diecast collectors. Now that the folks who grew up on super/transforming robot shows are getting older and have disposable income, I think you are going to see vintage diecast increase in demand and cost, especially for favorite characters and rare pieces.

My personal faves....Popy King Joe, Popy and Bullmark MechaGodzillas, and the Popy Meisaku Kamen Rider (though I don't own that particular pricey beaut, yet).



Yeah tell me about it. I saw one MIB about 4 months agao and got outbid at about 1700 usd

I fucking love that toy...it has to be one of the most difficult to find MIB IMHO

Very informative!

I've heard the oil crisis cited as a reason for the decline of vinyl toys, too, but I think there was something about that original Chogokin concept that hit kids square between the eyes. The idea that the toy you were buying was made out of that same mythical material that the hero on TV was.

I think the price boom for vintage vinyl and die-cast has passed, though...

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I think there was something about that original Chogokin concept that hit kids square between the eyes.

A spring loaded fist?

I think there was something about that original Chogokin concept that hit kids square between the eyes.

A spring loaded fist?

...and Missle firing as well (I guess spring loaded fists are a form of Missle firing). The really bummed me out when I got a Viper and Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica and when I hit the button to shoot the missle, all it did was pop out about half an inch. I was so bummed...especially with the Viper...that I got a screwdriver, took it apart, took the missle out and put it all back together again. After that, I found a way to sand down the flange of the missle so it would shoot properly (and properly lost the missle). I was also going to do it to the Cylon but decided not to since I already lost the missle to the Viper.

Those BSG missiles originally came from a Chogokin toy:

http://toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/popy ... a/ga12.htm