fuck that is cool. I really dig the big gorilla ju. nice collection

Great shot GAK! Looks like you still need a mecha gorilla 1.5 in there.

I wish he'd release a new 1.5 and that I'd win of course.

So anyone else watch this auction?:

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/161701416




I guess we established a long time ago Gorilla Ju was based off some older smaller sculpt (from that one pic posted on CKA) but I never saw one come up for auction. Just happen to stumble across it last night with 20 bids and only at 5300...I knew that would not last though! I wonder who made the original toy?

I wondered who made it too. Any additional info would be awesome. Despite it's condition and smaller size, still seems more "worth it" at that price than brand new ones going for nearly double that in some cases.

I also wonder how much it would have went for if there was no Gorilla Ju? I mean it's vintage and cool, but hype and demand is a hell of a thing. Not worth thinking too much about though.

Damn, that is nuts. Talk about hypebeast at work. I mean, yeah it is a cool monkey, but near 1k$ for a mini figure, a not great paint job on it, and a bootleg (or so it appears) - wow. Admittedly we don't know the backstory on these but that is a hefty committment from my point of view. Sheebus.

I just like to see 'the roots' of any new sofubi. Since getting into vintage I've noticed just about anything new has roots in something old. Whether it be the paint application, sculpt, etc. I have to say Hirota did a great job expanding on the original and making it standard sized figure Then expanding the toy line (Mecha Ju etc). I'd love to hear who made this original though! Looks like some bootleg.

I didn't know you could bootleg a gorilla???

This is just an example of hype at its best. IMO the Gorilla Ju is one of the most overrated toys out there. And it isnt worth a third of the prices people pay at auction for it. I personally like the original sculpt better. It's a little cruder; which to me is way cooler. But whoever paid 63000 yen is crazy!!

I was at least the 1st & high bidder for awhile at 1000 yen. Hahaha..

So is Gorilla Ju a bootleg ?

cka once told me that GJ is bootleg/remake of a bootleg king kong, hence og maker is little known.
i think that is why when the 1st few GJs were released, very little or nearly nothing was known about hxs, maybe to emulate the og bootleg maker. back then, many thought GJ was from svhc, maker of bemon.
in the past, the og mini pops up once in a while in mandarake bins, those that u have to dig very deep and hard, among the heap of "junks" and not in the nice display cases. if you have been to mandarake u will know what i mean. there were very very cheap too! think 3150yen or even less when u are lucky. until of course after the upsized remakes from hxs, a couple came and went for around 25k on yja. now it has rocketed to an unreachable 63k-yen even though the paint condition is not good!

Interesting thanks Joe

I think that og bootleg is brilliant when the paint is good. And I love what HxS has done with it. But as always I think the current market is crazy. One day I'd like to own the bootleg as well as the og stretch monster and alien. For the right price of course.

To anyone who doesn't get why gorilla jus are so popular. To me its a complete package. The vintage feel of the sculpts. Brilliant omakes. Awesome 'movie' posters. Much like iluilu it sorts of creates a world where these things are still toys for children.

I believe this is a Hirota GJ done up all scuffed and "vintage" style.

^ That's the new hot thing. I put my toys in a bag with some rocks and throw it down a flight of stairs. I tried letting them tumble around in the dryer but it was too noisy.

Next time you buy from me I'll pack it really shitty. It should turn out the same way.

i was thinking to really do this.

Didn't Tim Biskup do something similar for the Burgerbuns show? I think he shipped the Burgerbuns in a box full of nails or something?

That's right. It was supposed to scratch off all the paint in transit but failed miserably.

Yeah haha.

If only G would do like everyone else and make his versions. But after some talks he won't unless he gets permission from the original makers. So these sculpts are just for fun and the hell of it.

I've tried to produce his stuff, and these are why he won't make them.

Personally his BEMON style sculpt and Gorilla Ju style sculpts and incredible.

Does anyone know if the Tyranno is directly based off of anything? Both Gorilla Ju (that bootleg) and the original Mecha Gorilla Ju (battle pic below seems to be the DIRECT influence, aside from all of the general "Mecha Kong" toys) are, just didn't know if there was a base for the Tyranno.

I've always been curious about that. I just assumed it was loosely based on the T-Rex from the original King Kong. Giant Apes fight giant Lizards.

^^ this.

The toy is a King Kong boot, so lets assume everything revolves around that. This explosives the natives etc...

Also the helmet for Mecha Gorilla 2 looks based on the design for the robot in "King Kong Escapes"...




Note...Another big Lizard.

The stuff that doesn't fit in the "Kong World" is the Stretch Monster and Alien.