Thanks, definitely Majin Sai (skull face guy). The others are getting hard to find also though.

Congratulations on completing the set! No small accomplishment, and what a nice group of toys. A very suitable birthday present. Now you need a battle show with the hero.

So, are we going to dredge up that 'weapons' thread again now?

Excellent, Jonathan. I still need 3 of those villains myself.

AWESOME completion, Jonathan! Congrats...definitely a very fulfilling line-up.

They look super VivaH .. well done

Thanks a lot guys. Sanjeev- that photo you posted in 09 after the morphy auction had a lot to do with this sickness

LOL

Teh Jerk strikes again!

Double Fantasy

Standard Ninja Arashi
Bootleg vs Bandai
(for some reason the helmet of this bootleg don't have hair)

Ha^ That's the pair I have as well. I swear quality control was all over the place on any bootleg of any character from the 70's. I think it's part of the charm. My Bootleg Arashi has hair and the scabbard for the sword is bright red, also the scarf is a light lavender color. I do like the bootleg much more than the Bandai version.

Very nice set indeed. It is hard for me to pick a favourite between the two of them; there are aspects of each I like. Congrats on getting a pair in such nice condition. It's too bad there aren't more bootleg villains in these toy lines to match the heroes.

I always assumed they were the same size. Nice to see the comparison shot. Thanks!

Thank you guys, I glad that you enjoy the photo.
I think that the two Ninja Arashi that Lixx have are Bootlegs. One is almost identical that the Bandai and the other bootleg is like this. But like Lixx say they are some differences between them; the Lixx one have two stars on his robe and in the shoulder level ending in spikes.
I agree with Ultrakaiju, I will love to see some villains bootleg at less the Majin Sai.

Best regards!

Very cool Roger. I think I like the body sculpt on the bootleg better also. He scales better with the villains than the bandai. I've seen probably a dozen different variants: different swords/colors, colored scarves, etc.

Man school is making my toy memory fade, only so much hard drive space in this brain! I completely forgot my other Ninja Arashi is a bootleg and not Bandai. Doh!

Thank you XVivaHateX, Kingboy D!
I've also seen about five variants of the bootleg, I hope to have the opportunity to catch more.

A couple more bootlegs. Similar, but subtle differences in material, colors, etc.



Comparison next to licensed Arashi:

Nice to see them all together like that. The similarities are striking. Without being able to hold one in hand and examine it (e.g. as most of us have to rely on, via the internet/auctions/etc.) it is quite difficult to know for sure. Without the belt or accessories, you are hard pressed to ID one from another.

I hear what you're saying. If you were to see them separately at different times, you might think they were the same. But from the pics you can see the many small differences, including the paint, the material used for the tunic (is that a tunic?), the vinyl color, and even the hair color!

Actually I think the belts and figures are the same. So my take is these may have been made by the same factory at different times, and they used what they had on hand each time to produce the figures.

Thanks for sharing this nice Ninja Arashi comparison photo Andy.
This variation of bootleg it's very similar to the Bandai, it's like one who Lixx have except for the bell this two have a chain. Even the header card in some of this bootlegs are a copy of the Bandai.
Best regards!

I'm happy to have scored this giant Majin Sai, it's my first Ninja Arashi villain and also my first giant size figure.
Some body know if this version originally came with some weapon?

Oh wow, that's a gorgeous toy! It looks to be in great shape and I love the blue highlights. I think it originally came with some sort of weapon. There was some discussion on it before I know.

Thank you Lixx, after the bath I gave him emerge more the blue color, in general it's in good shape, but it have some paint scratches and the hair don't looks to shiny, need some treatment or a transplant jajaja.

Best regards!

Wow, what a beautiful figure. Congratulations on winning him! Hope you didn't have to sacrifice too much, but I am sure he is worth it. It is really nice to see the extra blue paint on the giant size, as Lixx pointed out. Even with some paint scratches I think he looks in lovely shape, and for such a hard to come by giant sized, I would be thrilled to have him. Excellent pickup, I look forward to seeing him towering on your shelf in a collection shot.

The discussion on NA weapons thread was located here. I don't know that we either got full confirmation one way or another about an accessory for the giant sized Majin Sai, but I expect he did not, based on the size and the overall impression of how his right hand is sculpted. I wouldn't mind at all to be proven wrong though. But, weapon or no, I love that villainous dude. Congrats again!

I really appreciate your kind words, because I know you and Lixx have more knowledge about the vintage figures than me.
At the same time I was following a couple of vintage figures, but when I saw the Majin Sai, I stop following the other auctions and decided to try to catch him. In fact I always was trying to find the standard size, but only saw a pair of it and always ended too high. But when I saw this, like Lixx says it was like a perfect storm things were fitting to the way I can catch it. But now I'll have to be in sofubi pieces diet for a while, but I think worth it.
I was thinking in take some group photos too, as soon take some I share them with you.
Thanks again for your comments!