Great video, interesting to see - love the JDM Mazda RX7 as well on the way to the studio.

In the photos as well, Ricky has some choice OG RxH pieces on the shelf! O_O

I love seeing the manufacturing in action. It blows my mind that the vinyl can deform to pop out of the molds and just about snap right back. I've always imagined that there are sculptural possibilities in soft vinyl that just aren't feasible using other materials. Thanks for the write up and the video!

The votes are in - we have a tie for THREAD OF THE WEEK!

Right on Thanks for that - and for linking to the the 'Holy Grail' thread! Super cool stuff to check out over there.

@Darky - Yes - the Fort is jam PACKED with toys that many of us could only dream of amassing in a single space! And a lot of them are piled in tubs!!! Many of them are waiting for paint, so there are blanks for some figures that might never be released as blanks - sooo fun to see! Kind of like this:

Oh, so that's where my Ojisan is Love to see more of that Alien hiding in the corner too!

Just realized it's my new figure that Ricky is holding and Doji is on the bench

Your coverage is great !

And thats where my Bog is !

Haha! Yeah, there were plenty of dusty and half painted figures that I would have been happy to offer a nice new home

Rich - yep, the day I was hanging out with these guys was the same day Ricky received you box full of sculpts . I was there when he was unpacking the whole bundle!

awesome coverage!! gives me great insight on how our collections are made. Really liking the unpainted skinner piece in the pic and all the grody shogun heads in the vid.

Love the mom and pop feel.... that this couple is producing some of my most favorite toys... and seeing those casts... amazing.

Seriously, this is why I got into kaiju in the first place. It's that handmade, personal touch going on. The foreign-vibe, the process, it's all just inspiring, amazing, and exciting.

Great post Ramp!

Thank you! Really, for me, making a vinyl figure in Japan just made sense! I had been making handcast resin figures for a couple years, and moving to Japan, I wasn't sure if I'd have a good space/set-up to keep casting - and then I started realizing that these 'factories' make things AT LEAST as much 'by hand' as I ever did! After i found all that out,I was sold! If it weren't for the 200deg C Toluene and the liquid vinyl, the Takahashi's workshop would be just like a bakery! I wouldn't mind getting up early to go get some fresh vinyl

Awesome post and video coverage, man. Thanks for sharing!

That would definitely be the way to get up !

There is nothing that smells as good as fresh vinyl

I'm on a bus leaving Tokyo - after 2 amazing weeks! I just wrapped up a show at Studio Uamou in Akihabara, and I was fortunate to meet and hang out with lots of really amazing toy people - including Mori-san (RxH head honcho). Today Mori brought me to visit Gotto-san - who some of you undoubtedly are familiar with. Gotto-san has been painting Sofubi for over 60 years ( that isn't a typo!), and it was an amazing experience to watch him paint a few of my figures, and to just hang out in the shanty that is the epicenter of so much of the kaiju/Sofubi painting that we all love.

Anyway, I'll make a proper post on my blog once I edit together the mass amount of video that I took. I'll also get some decent photos of the figures Gotto painted ( with a hand or two from Mori and myself at points . Hopefully I'll manage the video over the next week! For now, here's a glimpse into Gotto-san's workspace - with Mori getting started on a Skull Toys X RxH release for Shinto Gangu. More soon!

Looks like a fun trip. Look forward to seeing the video.

That's awesome! I really enjoyed the blog and video you posted the first time around, so can't wait to see more of this trip along with Goto-San and his studio.

wow! sounds like a wonderful experience! those nextmen are looking badass. thanks for posting!

Also stoked for the video, the first one was a nice insight into the factory processes. Sounds like an amazing trip.

This is goin to begin watching the next video

Hopefully this will satisfy my hunger till ToyPunks Vol.2 comes out!

thanks for sharing!
very informative
much love to Ricky and Luke

Thank you for sharing your experiences and the video. I especially enjoyed watching the figures being pulled from the mold, and hearing that *pop* sound.

Eek! Are all of those vats of liquid really toluene?
http://scorecard.goodguide.com/chemical ... d3#hazards

I know this is a dumb question, but I'm curious to know why vinyl toys aren't produced in a similiar DIY manner in the states? Not enough skilled crafts people? Too expensive? Equipment not available? Safety hazards? Please enlighten me.

First of all, thanks for the comments everyone. I'm having a first look at the video footage tonight, and hope to have it pulled together in the next few days. Thing is, I have just about 3 weeks to paint EVERYTHING for Sufes and Design Festa, so I have to budget my time.



Yup - gnarly. But the thing I take heart in is that these people are not being forced to work with these materials. These are families/couples/companies (blurs the lines really) that are hardworking and producing an AMAZINGLY high quality hand-made product - and doing it in small workshops that are often off-shoots of their own home! These aren't some underpaid laborers in a factory somewhere. When I left Gotto's the other day, he had the biggest smile on his face, and glitter all over himself. Such an amazing experience!

Factories and/or DIY start-ups in the states? There was one. They couldn't deliver product, never provided much in the way of examples of their work, and have neglected their (as far as I know) only real customer - who is one of the commmunity's most enthusiastic and talented artists. I don't think America lacks the skill, money or equipment - it comes down to this: no one has done it (yet). Personally I don't mind if Sofubi comes from Japan forever, but I'm sure it could be made elsewhere as well.

Thanks so much for the awesome coverage. Really engaging stuff.