That's exactly what got me too. I haven't seen anything like this before, maybe a vintage repackage that was done by the toy shop due to a clear out of old stock, display, or maybe replacing a damaged/open OG header. Cool to see, but any Ultra Saturn is a simply astounding toy, and I am not surprised commanded a good sale price. Love that guy.

Vintage Triton of the Sea Gerupesu Nakajima Seisakusho
It is the first one that I see in bag, I think the price is not so bad compared to the crazy prices today.
Went for: 150,000 yen

Wow. Incredible.

Vintage Marusan Bakula
It is not strange, but it looks in excellent condition.
Went for: 120,000 yen

Vintage Masudaya Tiger seven talker
I do not know what is more strange, the price or the figure
Went for:232,000 yen

Well it is a very nice figure, and given the prices of even the regular Tiger-7s these days, I can see it. Personally I would just love to have one, and if it is in great working order, I can see the price being justified. Expensive yes, and probably not something most average collectors could afford, but not overly outrageous. I think you have to keep in mind with a lot of these things too, that the market (of available toys) is only getting smaller, and for serious collectors waiting for that one piece to come up that they are missing in their collection, it is a joy to even have a shot. And what with the greater exposure these days to even more buyers, bidding is always going to end up going a bit high; rare is the time anymore (if it once was) on the internet you will a vintage gem will go unnoticed or for a 'steal.'

Thank you very much for giving your opinion ultrakaiju, eloquent as always.
Best regards!

Giant m1 tetsujin 28
Went for: 85,000¥
For me the most rare it´s the size and the flesh color.

Wow! What a killer adoption fee! Beautiful kittee, although I didn't expect it to go that high! I forgot to bookmark the link when I first saw it , thanks for sharing the photos and the ending price. Do you remember if it's talking mechanism was working or not? What a stunner!

This is what is written in the sale, I hope to be helpful:
It is Pipuro Talking of time thing.
Pulling the cord, it will be several types of lines.

Not super rare but hefty prices for these Pachi Mazingers ..

I also saw these auctions, but I do not know what happens lately that most vintage figures auctions end with some crazy prices even incomplete or broken figures. It is as if suddenly everyone wants all the vintage stuff or this hobby haves a collectors boom. I'm almost new in this, but I know there are some members who have ten or more years collecting and maybe they can give us a better view, because if things continue like this, the next name of this thread will be strange or crazy prices on yahoo auctions.

The Tiger7 auction has a few things working for it, the biggest of which is that talking vinyls are really super expensive now. They are oversized (most start at 13" tall and go up to almost 16") and usually the largest vinyl ever made of the particular character. Because of their size, mechanism and original higher retail price, just about all the talkers are rare. They were considered second tier "gimmick" vinyls for a long time, and heavily ignored by most collectors in Japan, which made it easier for people like or Jim/vintagevinyl or myself to go out and find them. Like many lines, that perspective shifted over time, and about 6 years ago, a collector put one of almost every vintage talker up on yahoo at the same time. Once people saw them in a line together and could get multiple at once, the prices of those auctions tripled/quadrupled the previous sales for those characters. I put in what I considered to be preposterus bids on a few I needed, figuring I was going crazy on a couple, but whatever, no one would ever pay what I would for them. I was wrong, and I lost every auction I bid on by a large amount. That pulled what remaining stock was out there out of the woodwork, and then the supply was gone. Since then, prices on the talking vinyls have been going up and up. The market for vintage has become higher and higher, and the larger and more unique items are more and more desirable, and some of these items rarely turn up, maybe only once a year or less. Quite honestly, it may have been two years since I saw a Tiger7 talker for sale. When the stock is that sparse, the prices get crazy!

As for the Mazingers, anything super robot s white hot right now, and those clear bootlegs with the Z on the front have always been cool. The price astounds me, but nothing surprises me in the vintage world these days. Granted, I bought mine in the late 90s, but they were only about $20 each in bags back then!

I think this is the most upsetting issue in terms of vintage toy auctions. In particular, I've watched Jumbo Machinder listings religiously and seen prices soar over the past 6 years or so to discouraging heights. Granted, by my studies I understand these robots haven't been what many would consider cheap to come by since the turn of the century. However, there's been a huge jump in the market value for certain bots over such little time that is preposterous. I'm talking serious jumps every 6-8 months. What's worse, as Alberije has noted, I see an increase of listings sporting outrageous asking prices for some serious fixer uppers. Now, I know it is not uncommon for Jumbo collectors to settle for lower grade specimens with the intention of replacing a few parts/decals, but $800.00 for a fucking head is just silly.

Regarding habits of repair, though many are upfront about such modifications, I often question the honesty of sellers and whether or not a robot is all original. This makes it harder to accept or even flirt with the idea of paying so much for these toys. Much more alarming (and I'm not sure many collectors were fully aware) was a minor epidemic of bootleg villains floating around the market just a few years ago. I think one of these still turn up from time to time, and it's hard to verify authenticity when you only have a few low grade images on Y!JA to rely on and compare to limited reputable photographs online or within the encyclopedia.

As Brian noted, Super Robots are hot right now. In the case of Jumbos it seems certain robots become a top priority for collectors, peak, then see a minor decline, but they rarely go back down to a "reasonable" price.

Ugh. I remember counting all the rivets...

Thanks for the info and the history, Brian! Alas, I still wish I had a way-back machine . You and Jim are very fortunate to have talkers in your collection. Seeing a complete line-up must be unreal these days. I wonder if there is a way of telling the vintage from the repro editions? Does anyone know who made the re-issues? I think I saw them up on the "local auction" site, a long time ago. Anywhoo, beautiful toy for sure!

It was Masudaya who did the repro talkers, though Tiger Seven was not reissued.
Here's a thread with a good listing of them: Jumbo [reissued] talkers

As a general rule, the reissues are a hair bit smaller, and quite honestly, are resculpted (but look identical). The easiest way to tell, is that the reissues have a green talk box in the back and the originals have a flesh talk box.

Space Ironmen Kyodyne Guranzeru
oversized 45㎝
Went for: 167,000 yen

Though he's in pretty good shape, seems a bit high for a smaller jumbo (3/4 size) and an incomplete specimen. No rocket firing belt? No thank you.

Here's a good reference to determine what's missing:

Thank you very much HBCoffin for sharing the image with the information, I think a Jumbo Machinder can be a great addition for any toy collection. I've been tempted to acquire one, but really do not have much knowledge about these pieces, I prefer the vintage ones but for now I think I would be more than happy with one of the Unifive Garada-K7 (any color).

Vintage Bandai dead stock
4 vintage Bandai figure, but I have my doubts with the Kamen Rider V-3 I´m sure that it´s vintage, but I think can be a bootleg or a Popy version .
Went for: 350,000 yen

No problem... that was the most complete specimen I was able to find record of after a brief search. I believe the additional bits allow for the robot to be deconstructed and reassembled into a vehicle of sorts. This photo featuring artwork from the original instruction manual (potentially a copy/reprint) was taken from another board courtesy of a dedicated collector in Hong Kong:



I have all 3 of the Garada K7 jumbos by Unifive. These were some of the first jumbos I acquired, along with Mazinger Z and Gaiking from the same line. Fortunately you can still find these at a fair price from time to time. It's a shame Unifive wouldn't continue to make more robots due to poor sales. I believe Unifive's efforts, though honorable, were about a decade too early... perhaps they may have been more successful had the project been pursued at later time.

Vintage (Japanese) jumbos are hard to come by ("cheap"). Also, the market is very unpredictable. A robot previously "easy" to track down may skyrocket in price at a moment's notice. Personally, I hypothesize the chaotic market to be the result of a variety of factors...

First, I am often suspicious of shill bidding–I believe auctions for such high price/priority items are more susceptible to foul play. Second, new collectors are introduced to the world of jumbos all the time; all it takes is the enthusiasm of a steadfast neophyte with deep pockets to further hinder collecting these toys. Third, longtime collectors are always looking to fill holes in their collections or swap out a lesser quality specimen for a more favorable candidate. Finally, I have seen two jumbos I've sold appear back on the market after a short period of time for 3-4 times the price I sold them for (the exact model... I can tell from scratch marks, imperfections, and peeling decals), so we have at least a few people taking advantage of the situation, buying low and selling high, treating these toys like stock market shares.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings... if you want to learn more about Jumbo Machinders, CollectionDX is a good place to start.

Thanks for the DX link an the imagen HBCoffin, I browsed the DX site in a couple of occasions and they have a lot of good articles and photos, I really enjoy all specially the Jumbo bootlegs post.
I totally agree with your comments about the market for Jumbo Machinder, I think with a little patience I will be able score one in the future .

Best regards and good day!