Thanks, Coop, for bringing some credibility to collecting these things. Now I can log on without shame. The paint variations are key, I just can't believe you've hung on to all of them! When you start cutting these loose, I need a U-tom.

I don't know why anybody should be embarrassed by these. Is a vinyl only cool if you paid too much for it on ebay, or won the right to purchase it in some crazy lottery?

I'm just saying this aspect of vinyl toy collecting doesn't get enough respect, often for the same ridiculous reasons mentioned above.

toys are toys. it doesnt matter where you buy them from or who made them.

some of the most awesome and craziest toys i have seen on here people have found at random garage sales or digging through boxes at flea markets.

if i like a toy (and i can afford it) i will buy it. i don't discriminate. some old advertising toys or mcdonalds toys are just as awesome to me as some of the crazy kaiju stuff. at the end of the day, the only person who really needs to like the toys you buy is YOU (and maybe your significant other since you have to share the same space)

aside from that, your collection and pictures are quite awesome Coop. and i agree, that U-Tom is amazing.

Are you kidding me? Haahaahahahaaaha...I don't mean to be a dick, but dude, have you read the posts on this board...ever?

It's true that in the past, I've shown little to no respect for what I call "cheapie Bandai vinyls"...but at Roger's insistence and Coop's awesome pics, I'm starting to come around. I never really saw each figure for its own individual coolness...I only ever saw these toys in a huge pile or in a box...or photographed horribly in mass liquidation auctions. Hell, even well-shot collection photos with millions of them on a nice shelf do nothing for me (and to be honest, shelf shots of high-end vinyls do little for me either)...but individually, I gotta admit, they're not too bad...

A toy geek with beautiful naked ladies hanging around. How often does that happen!

I bet Coop doesn't always drink beer but when he does he prefers Dos Equis.

Keep an eye open for the first generation ones - they are very similar to the popy standard stuff that they replaced. Same colors, same hard vinyl, little more refined sculpts, but still toy-like. Best of all, they're still so cheap! Total toy crack.

And I do prefer Dos Equis...

> I've shown little to no respect for what I call "cheapie Bandai vinyls"...
blasphemer!

you know the crazy thing, i have somehow managed to be a member on this board for 4.5 years but i have never read a single post. yours was actually the first that i had read. kidding, of course.

also, i think i phrased it wrong when i wrote it earlier. i was leaning more towards the view of wherever you buy them from doesn't matter (garage sales, ebay, craigslist, from a real sweaty guy at a sketchy booth at SDCC, etc). but in all honesty, if i like something i am buying it whether it be western, eastern, middle eastern, or burger king.

Word up.

Look, I'm not trying to front like I don't struggle with various areas of snobbery in my life. Like, I utterly despise Dikrobot--everything they make and everything they stand for. Despite having my reasons (which *I* think are rational), I've been guilty of dismissing individuals who claim they like their stuff (which is decidedly irrational behavior) and, in general, marginalizing their fandom.

So, I feel what Materialist Zen said. I've shitted on Bandai vinyls before...but like I said, Roger's been gaining traction in bitch-slapping that bullshit outta me. Hey, why discriminate among kaiju, huh?

The first wave of bandai ultra Kaiju came out in '82 or '83, almost thirty years ago - they're vintage sofubi now!

Now that you mention it, Sanjeev, you ARE a rat bastard!

Hey man, it's cool. I know these things don't glow. At least we'll always have our shared, deep seeded hatred for KR collectors.

Quite true. I always forget that...which is ironic because I have so many Bandai chogokin from that era!

It's so easy for me to lose sight of that when I have trouble distinguishing these from Bandai's more recent vinyls (same size and roughly same paint quality)...and I just can't stand the new shit. It's all so...realistic...and soulless...



Hey man--hate the game, not the player.

...

Nah, fuck it...hate the player, too!

Ho.
Ly.
Shit.

Amazing collection and pics, Coop!

Ha! But I only joke in part. Last time I was in NYC I got turned around and couldn't find Toy Tokyo. I saw a guy with a KR bag and thought he might help me out but he just looked at me like I was an asshole. He was clueless, and I probably inadvertantly directed him to this board. It's likely he's been here for two weeks and is already a "Post-Pimp" talking down to me. And that's far enough of topic for now.

Back to sofubi, I love it all. It's the only current production toy category that hasn't devolved into junk. The newer soft vinyl is an improvement, if you're interested in toys as objects to be brutalized by children. The soft stuff has a tactile quality that I like, and can achieve more accurate scuplts. It all just oozes "suitmation." Would anyone really love vinyl kaiju without the tv and movies?

Hey Coop, you got any Juspian kaiju you feel like sharing? These are some great pics.

^^ Hilarious! ^^




Well, I agree that mass-produced Bandai vinyl is absolutely suitable for kids, and in my opinion, that puts them miles ahead of a lot of other shit out there...including stuff I've seen on this board. There are other modern toys out there that don't suck, though, right? I mean, some modern Transformers are hot. The Mega Bloks Iron Man 2 movie toys are off the hook. Those fucking Nerf foam swords kick MUCH ass. I could go on...and we haven't even gotten to Japan yet...

As for the "suitmation" aspects of modern Bandai sofubi, I agree--they definitely capture the *literal* sense of the suits, but I think they newer stuff that's hyper-realistic just misses all the charm. Again, just my opinion. But in regard to your question about folks enjoying these toys without the media, I would *assume* that the primary people enjoying these things are little kids...and I further assume that most of them are not being exposed to showa-era kaiju eiga...

I remember walking into the toy section of a dept. store in Tokyo in 1995 and seeing the rich variety of Bandai vinyl. I had no idea before than how many ultraman/godzilla/etc. toys were manufactured. I really loved Twin Tail's head-on-the-bottom design. I wanted to buy a suitcase-full right then...it definitely planted the seed for my collecting, although I didn't start until just a few years ago.

I think it's also part of the reason I don't really buy licensed characters...I figure if ever I want those I can buy Bandai for much less (though the recent Toygraph Gojis have been tempting).

Update: We went to a friend's house a few weeks ago for their 5-year-old's birthday party. We had forgotten to get a present, so I grabbed a couple of doubles from one of my tubs of Bandai ultra kaiju, and found a double of a Bandai Booska for his little sister. (you know how younger siblings feel left out on a birthday...) Needless to say, our presents were a hit, and he ignored his other stuff to play with the cheap sofubi!

A couple of weeks later, I went back over, and saw the toys sitting on a high shelf. Dad had taken them away, worried that the kids would "ruin" such valuable toys! I told him not to worry, and give 'em back to the kids.

I was planning on writing the exact same thing as I was reading through the thread. This collection is ridiculous and should be released from those hoarder crates. Line all your walls with shelves!

And yes, a book or two should be produced.

The walls are already lined with shelves full of toys!

I had the same experience. Gave a couple to my nephew, and he literally clear out one shelf waiting for my next visit.

This brings back sweet memories of living in Hayes Valley and using Gandar as my "stash box". Somehow I put $300 in him once and forgot it was there!!!

$300? I'm checking mine when I get to the studio!