Quest for the Gatchaman gashapon.
Just thought I'd share a recent acquisition. Some peoples' holy grails are the big things: the Bullmark DX Mekanda Robo, the Bandai Bronze Godzilla '64, etc. Usually I'm on a quest for the tiny unnoticed treasures that pop up here and there, like the Crystal Kaiju, and this Yujin capsule Godphoenix I've wanted since I saw it about five years ago.
Previously I've only seen the toy in really high-priced complete sets, but a mixed lot of gashapon that included it popped up on eBay recently. Better yet, the seller was in America and nobody else bid on it, so I was able to get it for a decent price.
I love the Godphoenix. During my childhood, countless orange crayons were sacrificed, realizing it on construction paper in its fiery form. I was never able to find toys of it, but even if I did come across the Grip and Popy versions of it, I probably would have been disappointed due to their inaccuracies (something I can excuse now, but probably not then).
Aside from this and the recent Uni-Five die-cast version (which was disappointing to me), there are only a couple of modern Godphoenix toys that aren't super-deformed, and none of them come with a fiery shell. This one, though, finally satisfies the toy lust from my childhood. Even though the wings are a wee bit bendy, it's nicely sculpted, it's small enough to fit on the shelf, and the super-pointy firey shell looks awesome.
Here's the Godphoenix and the fiery shell, separated:
Combined:
Blocking out the sun: