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RUSSELL U. RICHARDS / T ADAS H I GOZU
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OPTIMUS PRIME PART3
T A K A R A ’S D O U G R A M
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TABLE OF C O N TE N TS
05
Editorial by Brian Flynn
07
M ag azin e Updates
11
M y Friend The M icron aut by Bwana Spoons
15 Yesterday & T od ay by Tim Brisko and M att Alt
17 T he Stran ge S tu ff Inside Designer Plushes by Chad Hensley
22
History of O ptim u s Prim e - Part III by Jack H u rw itz o fT fo rm e rs.co m
26
M o m o k o by Jing Bentley
30 A kum aizer-3 by C hristopher Beam ish
36
Booska by Koji Harmon
40 Takara's Dougram by Robert Duban and Roger Harkavy
46 M inya by M ike Johnson
48 G ary Basem an by Jim Craw ford of StrangeCo.com
55 A rt G allery w ith Russell U. Richards, Tadashi Gozu and Sunny Buick
61
Collectors Show case w ith Jim M aitland and Paul Kaiju
62
All Balloons Pop by Jim b o M attison
03
CRITTERBOX
topartas
j
©axe cmnfiffioxtoys iu nans i
W ell, w e ll, w e ll. H o w lo n g has it been? Does it seem like it has been a
year? W ell, by th e tim e y o u a c tu a lly g e t to re a d in g th is , it w ill be clo se r
to a year and a half, b u t th a t is n o t rea lly im p o rta n t.T h e real p o in t is to
celebrate a n d /o r d o c u m e n t th e p a ssing o f th e in a u g u ra l ye a r fo r S u p e r?
So break o u t th e b irth d a y cake and ch a m p a g n e , w e are n o w o ld e r, w is e r
and g o in g to p a rty like it's 1999.
But w h a t does th is m ean to yo u - th e lo ya l reader? W ell, a fe w th in g s .
First, y o u kn o w y o u r s u b s c rip tio n m o n e y d id n 't va n ish in to th in air, and
you can rest assured th a t several fu tu re issues are a lre a d y in th e w o rks
as w e speak. W e are also d a n g e ro u s ly close to a n n o u n c in g a m yria d o f
n ew e xclu sive to y s fro m Japan fro m a v a rie ty o f ch a ra cte rs yo u have
g ro w n to love. (B ut n o t yet, y o u 'll ju s t have to b u y th e n e xt issue to
kn o w fo r sure w h a t tricks w e have up o u r sle e ve s!) In th e m e a n tim e , w e
are proud to announce the firs t o fficia l Super7 to y set: The N eo-Kaiju p ro j­
ect! We are e x tre m e ly excite d a b o u t th is to y set, and h o p e fu lly yo u w ill
be too. Check o u t page 13 fo r a fu ll d e s c rip tio n o f th e set in all its g lo ry !
In a d d itio n to th e m agazine, to y sets, n e w e x clu sive s and o th e r tricks
w e have pla n n ed fo r y o u , w e are also p ro u d to a n n o u n ce th e n e xt g re a t
place to spend y o u r lunch m o n e y and se ve ra n ce ch e cks-T h e S uper7
retail sto re ! O p e ning J u n e 2004 in th e J a p a n to w n d is tric t o f San Fran­
cisco, it s h o u ld be e v e ry th in g yo u have w a n te d in a to y sto re and m uch,
m uch m ore. We are h o p in g a ll o f yo u sta rt p la n n in g y o u r trip s to th e
c ity now . M ore d e ta ils w ill be po sted on th e S uper7 w e b site as soon as
d e tails are released to th e p u b lic. S ta yT u ne d !
T ha t said, th e last y e a r has been an e x c itin g tim e fo r e ve ryo n e in vo lve d
in th e to y c o m m u n ity . T here has been a n e ve r e n d in g stre a m o f h ig h
q u a lity die-cast and v in y l to y s like n e ve r b e fo re in Japan. A d d itio n a lly ,
the d e s ig n e rto y m arke t, and e sp e cia lly th e A m e ric a n d e s ig n e r to y in flu ­
ence, has been pickin g up speed at a ra p id pace. W ith all o f th a t e x c ite ­
m ent, w e head s tra ig h t in to ....th e Cute & C u d d ly issue?
In a se e m in g ju m p fro m D e vilm a n , w e d e cid e d to head 180° and s h o w
o ff so m e o f th e g re a t s tu ff th a t has been g o in g on in th e states th is last
year th a t you d id n 't see in any Toy o f th e Year p o lls .T h e d e s ig n e r plush
article w ill b rin g yo u up to pace w ith th e co o le s t s o ft b u d d ie s yo u have
seen in years. O ur w e ll accessorized fe a tu re on M o m o k o w ill b rin g te a rs
to y o u r w ife 's eyes. Booska? He's p la in co o l, a nd d o n 't y o u h a rd co re
M across ju n k ie s even tr y and a rg u e a g a in st it. But, ju s t to keep you
m echa g u ys in check, R oger H a rkavy and R obert Duban w ill do th e ir
best to break d o w n D o u g ra m in to nice, bite-size pieces fo r yo u . Jack
fin ish e s o ff his 3 -p a rt o p u s on O p tim u s Prim e, and M ike Jo h n s o n has
th e G odzilla fa n s fe e lin g w a rm and fuzzy w ith his in -d e p th re c o u n tin g
o f M in ya's b a b y p h o to s. For o u r "o b s c u re h e ro o f th e issu e " se g m e n t,
C h ris to p h e r Beam ish gets cozy w ith th e w a cky (and s o m e tim e s lu m p y )
w o rld o f Akum aizer-3. R o u n d in g it all off, is o ne th e co o le s t p a in te rs and
illu s tra to rs o u t th e re , G a ry Basem an. F rom TV s h o w s and m o vie s, to
board gam es and a d v e rtis in g , th is g u y has d ra w n it all, and is n o t a fra id
to sh o w o f his in n e r kaiju. We are h o n ore d to have h im grace o u r pages.
W ith th a t said, here's to th e n e xt year, and all th e to p se cre t th in g s w e
have in store fo r y o u ! W e 'll h ope yo u keep re a d in g , and w e p ro m is e to
fill th e n e x t issue w ith e n o u g h ro b o ts and m o n s te rs to m ake up fo r the
sw eetness c o n ta in e d h e re in ! E njoy!
-brian
robot.
NYC STORE: 126 Prince St., SoHo
SF STORE: 1512 Haight St. @ Ashbury
www.kidrobot.com
Super7 M agazine, V o lu m e 2 Issue 1 - April 2004
S U B S C R IP T IO N S & B A C K IS S U E S
Publisher
S uper7 M e d ia , Inc.
Founders & Editors
M a rk N agata / B rian F lynn
Design
B rian F ly n n / G e o ff A lle n
H y b rid D e sign, Inc. / w w w .h y b rid -d e s ig n .c o m
Contributing Editor / Ad Sales
Chad H ensley
ch a d @ s u p e r7 m a g a z in e .c o m
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ISSUE 03 - LTD
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B eam ish, Jack H u rw itz , R e m y R odis, E lv in Pena, J in g
B e n tle y, K o ji H a rm o n , K in g R o ry, R ussell U. R ich a rds,
G ary B asem an, R oger H a rkavy, R o b e rt D u b a n , T a d a sh i
G ozu, S u n n y B uick, Paul K a iju , J im M a itla n d
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yo u w a itin g fo r? B esides th e la te st u p d a te s, w e o ffe r back issues, s u b ­
s c rip tio n s , a nd to y s . H o w co o l is th a t ?!! Be su re and check o u t th e
liv e ly d is c u s s io n s on o u r BBS, to o . G o to w w w .s u p e r7 m a g a z in e .c o m .
Legal
The a d v e rtis in g a nd a rtic le s a p p e a rin g w ith in th is p u b lic a tio n
re fle c t th e o p in io n s a nd a ttitu d e s o f th e ir re s p e c tiv e a u th o rs a nd
n o t n e c e s s a rily th o s e o f th e p u b lis h e r o r o th e r p e rs o n s a ffilia te d
w ith th is p u b lic a tio n . A ll rig h ts to th e p h o to g ra p h s , a rtw o rk a nd
a rtic le s c o n ta in e d in th is p u b lic a tio n a re c o p y rig h t o w n e d b y
th e ir re s p e c tiv e c re a to rs . A ll rig h ts to a n y c h a ra c te r n a m e s a n d /
o r likenesses are c o p y rig h t o w n e d b y th e ir re s p e c tiv e o w n e rs ,
a nd no a s s u m p tio n o f o w n e rs h ip is m a d e b y th is p u b lic a tio n .
E v e ry th in g else c o n ta in e d h e re in is © 2 0 0 3 S u p e r7 m a g a zin e ,
a nd m a y n o t be re p ro d u c e d in p a rt o r w h o le w ith o u t w ritte n
p e rm is s io n fro m S uper7 m a g a zin e as w e ll as a n y c o n trib u to rs if
a p p lic a b le . In th e end, it's a m a g a zin e a b o u t to y s - so re la x.
S u p e r7 c re w m e m b e rs w ill be a t th e fo llo w in g s h o w s in 2004. W e 'll
have back issu e s f o r sale, t-s h irts , to y s , a nd o rig in a l a rtw o rk fo r sale.
C o m e see us and sa y " h i. "
G F e st 2004 / w w w .g -fa n .c o m
M e e t th e S u p e r7 cre w , b u y m a g s and e x c lu s iv e to y s !
San D ie g o C o m ic Con 2004 / w w w .c o m ic -c o n .o rg
W e 'll all be here fo r th is o n e ...th e BIG o n e ! W e 'll have sp e cia l e ve n ts
to be a n n o u c e d , p lu s an e x c lu s iv e to y fo r sale! Look fo r us in th e In d e ­
p e n d e n t T o y G ro w e r se ctio n .
07
n
Q u n K t e f f io '^ d
u
n
i
m
i
IN-CROWD
di s t ri b u t e d by
ST R A N G E co
w w w .s t r a n g e c o .c o m
I III I
DREAM PETS
BY APPLAUSE
Do yo u re m e m b e r D re am Pets? A lo n g -s ta n d in g c u lt
fa v o rite in Ja p a n , A p p la u s e w ill be re in tro d u c in g th e
D re am Pets in A p ril 2004. S o o n , 24 o f th e se p e rs o n a lity fille d v e lv e te e n a n im a ls fro m th e 1950s and 60s w ill be
h ittin g th e sh e lve s. O rig in a lly m a n u fa c tu re d fro m 1957
th ro u g h th e e a rly 1980s, each n e w D ream Pet w ill be an
e xa ct re p lica o f its a n c e s to r - rig h t d o w n to th e hang
ta g w h ic h in c lu d e s its o rig in a l n a m e and stock n u m b e r.
N o w is y o u r chance to g e t th e se pets at a fra c tio n o f
th e c o lle c tib le co st. Check o u t w w w .d re a m p e ts .c o m
fo r m o re in fo rm a tio n .
A b o v e : M im i O c to p u s
L e ft (to p ro w ) : C la ra b e lle . H a w a iia n H o u n d , F ly in g T ig e r
( m id d le ro w ) : D o lly , H ip p o , P e tite P o o d le
(b o tto m r o w ) : F ish N C hip s, F lo q u e fo rt, P ancho
T O D D S C H O R R S E C R E T S E R P E N T V IN Y L F IG U R E
T his lim tie d e d itio n g lo w -in -th e -d a rk c o lo r v e rs io n is a v a ila b le ONLY
fro m S uper7 M a g a z in e !T h e 4 .5 " ta ll fig u re is m o ld e d in g lo w -in -th e dark v in y l w ith p a in te d d e ta ils .T h e s e fig u re s are lim ite d to one p e r
co u p o n and w ill sell o u t q u ickly. O n ly 150 fig u re s w ill be m ade.
Figures w ill be m a ile d im m e d ia te ly a fte r o rd e r is re ce ive d . C ut th is
co u p o n and m a il to : S e cre t S e rp e n t O ffer, S u p e r7 M a g a zin e , P.O.
Box 330235, San Francisco, CA 94133 USA. O rig in a l c o u p o n s o n ly.
No c o p ie s a ccepted. If y o u r m a ilin g in fo rm a tio n does n o t fit on th e
fo rm , please attach th e in fo rm a tio n to th e c o u p o n b e fo re m a ilin g .
Nam e
A d d re s s
E -m ail
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Phone (
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order in U.S. funds only. DO NOT SEND CASH! A ll California residents m ust include
8.5% sales tax on the price o f the to y before sh ip p in g costs. Paym ents made o u t to
"Super7 Magazine." For m ail ord e r sales in the U.S.A. and Canada only. No in te rn a ­
tional orders accepted.
09
A L L IE S O F T H E
R E V O L U T IO N
W W W .A L L IE S O F TH E R E V O L U TIO N .C O M
__
4 1 5 .2 2 7 .4 7 0 0 / IN FO @ A L L IE S O F T H E R E V O L U T IO N .C O M
M Y F R IE N D T H E M I C R O N A U T
BY BW ANA SPOO NS
T he P re sid e n t A c ro y e a r, a lso k n o w n as "T o ta l Ass K icker o f A ll A cro y e a rs " (at le a st in 1976), and a lso k n o w n as K aiser A cro y e a r.
P re sid e n t A c ro y e a r w a s th e th ird M ic ro m a n released in a lo n g lin e o f
e v ild o e rs , and th e fir s t la ckin g a d ie -ca st chest. B ut w h a t th e P re sid e n t
A c ro y e a r lacked in m e ta l, he m o re th a n m a d e up fo r w ith h a n d s o m e
ch a rm , a nd a nice p ile o f p a rts a nd fe a tu re s .
T h e re w e re th re e c o lo rs - A321 D e vil, A322 S atander, a nd A323 D em on.
A ll th re e ca m e in th e ir o w n b o x w ith p a rts to tu rn th e m in to a car, and
a w a n d s im ila r to th e m a rin e th e m e d A c ro y e a rs (T akoroyear), w ith a
m a g n e t on its tip to a c tiv a te th e ir se cre t s u p e r chest w e a p o n s : a m a g ­
n e tic b a ll in th e ch e st th a t w o u ld b lo w up a n y th in g in its w a y .T h a t's th e
idea at least. It's m o re like h a v in g a cu te ra ttle to p la y w ith .T h e a rm s
a n d head are re m o v a b le , a nd all have 5 m m pegs to in te rc h a n g e th e m
w ith a n y o f th e o th e r M ic ro m a n o r A c ro y e a r b u d d ie s , th e re are a d d i­
tio n a l 5 m m p o rts on th e back a nd h a n d s fo r m o re g o o d a ctio n .
T hese have n o t been re p ro d u c e d in to th o u s a n d s o f "e x c lu s iv e " c o l­
o rs o r sp e cia l th is o r th a t, w h ic h m akes th e m a prized tre a s u re in th e
M ic ro m a n w o rld . K a ise r A c ro y e a rs are s o m e o f th e se xie s t M ic ro m a n
e v e r m ade. T he b o d y is v e ry re m in is c e n t o f The C re a tu re F rom th e
Black L a g o o n , th e c o lo rs are g re a t, and th e heads are like a ch ro m e d
M a ya n S u n -G o d . I ch o o se P re sid e n t A c ro y e a r fo r m y leader.
A b o v e : B o x a rt fo r P re s id e n t A c ro y e a rs
L e ft a n d b e lo w : S h o w n h e re a re th e P re s id e n t A c ro y e a rs s w im m in g o u t o f th e ir
u n d e rw a te r c rib fo r m a s s iv e a tta cks u p o n a ll th e m e tro p o lita n c itie s o f th e earth.
11
Ggrrr. . . I am Titus, a member of the l.nsurgents
W.ilderness G.ruppo. Humans have f*cked with us
for far too long, and now, we're looking for a bit of
payback. As a result of genetic modifications from
an Alien race, I am smarter, faster, greener, and
stronger. I am an expert shot with my sniper rifle,
and hunt you humans. Not all of you, just the
assholes. Afterall, some of you come up with
awesome salmon rolls, which I have mad love for. . .
M
i i i i
319 E. 2nd St. #103 LA CA 90012
Tel & Fax: (213) 621-1661
Store Hours: 12:00pm~7:Q0pm E-mail: animejungle@animejungle.net
(Closed on Tuesday)
Website: www.animejungle.net
JUNGLE
THE
m u
N
z
O
- t&
j/ u
P R O JE C T
T he N e o -K a iju p ro je c t is a n e w to y se t p ro d u c e d b y S u p e r7 m ag a zin e a nd S trangeC o.
T h is p ro je c t is a se t o f 10 PVC fig u re s .T h e se t is m a d e up o f fiv e d iffe re n t a rtis ts w h ich
have d e s ig n e d tw o fig u re s each. T he a rtis ts fo r th is fir s t set are past S uper7 c o n ­
tr ib u to r s : T im B isku p , S eo n n a H o n g , G a ry B a s e m a n ,T o d d S ch o rr a nd K a th y S taicoS chorr. Each fig u re w ill be packaged in a tra n s lu c e n t egg, w h ic h has a lre a d y cracked
and is re a d y to hatch a t a n y m o m e n t!
T hese to y s w ill m ake th e ir re ta il d e b u t at th is s u m m e r's San D iego C o m ic-C on on
J u ly 22-25, and th e n w ill be a v a ila b le e v e ry w h e re and a n y w h e re q u a lity to y s are
s o ld ! Be su re to check o u t w w w .n e o k a iju .c o m fo r m o re in fo rm a tio n and up d ate s
a lo n g th e w ay. W e h o p e yo u like th e se to y s as m uch as w e d o !
.*•
• •
..
13
What isthat?
I don't know, but..
It's most amazing.
e sell Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, and other figures, toys,
books, posters, mini posters, highgrades, hyper figures, plush toys,
, candy toys and THEATER EXCLUSIVE ITEMS.Kaiju collectors serving
collectors, Tom and Diane lived in Japan for six years! They know the country
and they know the Kaiju! Vintage toys or new toys, toys for all budgets, they
have the largest Godzilla inventory in the USA!
W eb site: http://w ww .clawm arktoys.com
—
E-mail: clawmarktoys2000@yahoo.com
C law m ark Toys
1308 Tour Drive
Gulf Breeze, Florida 3 2 5 6 3
Phone: (850) 916 -4 517
WICA 0
—
m
V,SA^
. . . V ™ *
MASTERCARD
ACCEPTED
m u
YESTERDAY AND TODAY
8 Y T IM B R IS K O A N D M A T T A L T
Above: 2004 B andai die -ca st M e cha G o d zilla fly in g pose
Fads c o m e a nd g o , b u t s o m e ro b o ts ju s t n e ve r go o u t o f s tyle . M e-
B elow : 2004 Bandai die -ca st M e cha G o d zilla vs. v in ta g e B u llm a rk M e cha G o d zilla
c h a G o d zilla is one o f th e m . I m ean G o d zilla is g re a t. B ut a g ia n t m etal
v e rs io n th a t s h o o ts m is s ile s fro m its fin g e rtip s , lasers fro m its chest,
and s p in s its head like a to rn a d o ? Even b e tte r.
A p p a re n tly , I'm n o t th e o n ly o n e w h o th in k s so. M e c h a G o d z illa 's been
a h it w ith fa n s and to y m ake rs a like sin ce his d e b u t w a y back in 1974.
N o less th a n th re e m a jo r c o m p a n ie s -- B u llm a rk , Popy, and n o w B an­
dai — have c h a lle n g e d th e d e s ig n in th e w a y it's a lw a y s been in te n d e d :
s o lid m e ta l. S u re , th e v in y l v e rs io n s o f th e c h a ra c te r are nice. B ut even
d ie -h a rd v in y l c o lle c to rs h ave to a d m it th a t w h e n it co m e s to a g ia n t,
ro b o tic v e rs io n o f G o d zilla , th e m o re m e ta l th e m e rrie r.
N o t o n ly are th e v a rio u s M e c h a G o d z illa d ie -ca st to y s g re a t in th e ir
o w n rig h t, th e y 're w o n d e rfu l m irro rs o f ju s t h o w m u ch th e Ja p a ne se
to y in d u s try has ch a n g e d o v e r th e ye a rs. J u s t ta ke a lo o k fo r y o u rs e lf.
On th e o n e h a n d, th e re 's th e h u m b le , p rim itiv e , y e t s a tis fy in g ly g re ­
n a d e -like s c u lp t o f th e B u llm a rk " Z in c lo n " se ries d ie -c a s t to y . On th e
o th e r, th e re 's B a n d a i's s ta rtlin g ly a ccu ra te re n d itio n , e n g in e e re d u sin g
e v e ry te c h n iq u e 21st c e n tu ry to y te c h n o lo g y has to o ffe r. Each is a
b e a u tifu l to y in its o w n rig h t. B oth are u n d e n ia b le classics. T he g re a t­
e st th in g a b o u t M e c h a G o d z illa to y s is th a t th e re 's a little s o m e th in g fo r
e v e ry o n e — v in ta g e fie n d o r d ie -h a rd n e w -to y m a n ia c, y o u 're s u re to
fin d at least o ne v e rs io n th a t sa tisfie s.
15
Characters & Names are
Experience M echabot.com !
rM & © 2004. All Rights R eserved.
213.620.8787
Mechabot & All Related
441 G in Ling Way, Los Angeles, CA 90012
w w w .m unkyking .com
THE STRANGE STUFF INSIDE DESIGNER
PLUSHGS
TEXT / CHAD HENSLEY
> For m ost people, plush toys are just "stuffed anim als" However, a handful
of young artists are pushing plushes to the next level.Think quirky stuffed
characters stitched together about the size o f a small pillow . These artists
turned toy designers hawk th e ir handmade plushes over the internet and in
toy boutiques in big cities like NewYork, San Francisco, London, andTokyo.
Largely still underground, nevertheless these wacky art toys continue to
gain popularity, as do the personalities behind them .
PHOTOS / TIM BRISKO
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p ro o f suits) have picked Earth to cu ltiva te a special crop, Japan has th e perfect clim ate
fo r raisin g S o ftie s - creatures th a t g ro w like plants b u t have vib ran t-co lo re d , m am m al-like
fur. Once fu lly ripe, S oftys co m e in five , fu n lo v in g fo rm s: Fuzzo, Cozy, Cooter, Pinky, and
W inky. S om e S oftys have furry, p h a llic eyestalks th a t can be p u lle d o u t o f th e ir bodies
w h ile th e sin g le o rb o f a one-eyed S ofty is a rem ovable, m in i bean bag.
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The d e m e n te d cre a tio n o f 3 2 -ye a r-o ld D a vid H o rvath a nd his 27-yea r-old fiancee SunM in K im l, U g ly d o ll w a s b o rn in 2000. The v e ry fir s t U g ly d o ll w a s sew n to g e th e r b y K im l
as a g ift fo r H o rva th . T h is w as W a g e - a s m a ll, cu s h io n y o ra n g e m o n s te r w ith fa n gs
and a re m o v a b le a p ro n . N o w , th e re 's o v e r h a lf a dozen o f th e little beasties in c lu d in g
th re e -e ye d C inko (an a q u a tic U g ly d o ll w h o c a n 't s w im ), th e b lu e Ice Bat (frozen b u t
h e a rtw a rm in g ), and T a rg e t (the o n e -e ye d g ra n d p a w ith fa cia l h a ir and m u ltip le arm s).
T h is year, an U g ly d o ll g a lle ry s h o w in H ong K o n g w ill fe a tu re a 6 -fo o t ta ll h a n dm a d e
U g ly d o ll a lo n g w ith o th e r o n e -o f-a -kin d U g ly d o lls and o rig in a l p a in tin g s by H orvath
a nd K im l. T he to y c o m p a n y C ritte rb o x w ill be relea sin g a line o f U g ly d o ll v in y l fig u re s.
O th e r U g ly d o ll ite m s set to a p p ea r in c lu d e ca psule to ys, t-s h irts , backpacks and m in i­
p lu sh key ch a in s. H o n e st E n te rta in m e n t is c u rre n tly p ro d u c in g an U g ly d o ll a n im a te d
series fo r A m e ric a n te le v is io n . In th e m e a n tim e , a lim ite d e d itio n o f Ice Bat in a " lo s t his
c o o l'' v e rs io n is c u rre n tly a v a ila b le as a G ia n t R o b o t sto re exclu sive .
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W h a t b e g an as a little p ro je c t in a s m a ll a p a rtm e n t in
S to c k h o lm , S w e d e n has g ro w n in to a s m a ll c o m p a n y in
C a lifo rn ia . F ro m th e im a g in a tio n o f M a rk G ig lio co m e s
th e w o r ld o f S u p e rfu n fu n . G ig lio 's p lu s h e s are lo v e a b le
ic o n ic ch a ra cte rs, h a n d m a d e to e n su re u n iq u e n e s s ,
100% P olyester, a n d 13 to 15 in ches ta ll.
TORST
CHOMP
L I T T L E N IN J
M ee t Little N in j and C hom p, a ninja and d og p rotecting
th e last cherry tree in th e Black W oods. Bo and M o are tw o
w o o d la n d creatures th a t live nearby in th e Land o f Oak.
W h ile th e ir frie n d Po is a h o t lava m onster. N o t to o far
away, D o n u t B o y and his buddyT oast are citizens o f Donutville w h e re th e y run a b u rg e r stand. S u p e rfu n fu n plushes
are seasonable so s u m m e r sh o u ld see a ne w batch o f zany
characters fresh fro m G iglio's se w n in g machine.
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F rie n d s w ith You are m ic ro o rg a n is m s e n la rg e d one b il­
lio n tim e s . Take M r. TTT, a to o th y w o rm w h o s e b rig h t
c o lo re d b o d y can se p a ra te in to th re e s tu ffe d , s e g m e n t­
ed pieces. F rie n d s w ith You c la im to liv e in y o u r bre a th
a n d th e p a rt o f y o u r b ra in u se d fo r w is h in g .T h e ir m ag ic
p o w e rs are e ve n p u rp o rte d to im p ro v e th e w e ll be in g
o f th e ir o w n e rs .
F ou n d e d b y th re e frie n d s in th e s u m m e r o f 2002,
F rie n d s w ith You are 27-ye a r-o ld d e s ig n e r A rtu ro "T u ry "
S a n d o v a l, 2 4 -ye a r-o ld c o m p u te r a n im a to r Sam Sorkso n , a n d 27-ye a r-o ld M e lo d y U s m a n , a d ire c t de sce n ­
d a n t o f C a p ta in Lee K a r l- th e s c ie n tis t w h o fir s t d is c o v ­
e re d th e m ic ro b e th e o r y used to d e v e lo p F riends w ith
You. W h ile th e tr io c o n tin u e s to cra n k o u t m o re p lu sh
o d d itie s u s in g th e ir s c ie n tific fo rm u la , a fuzzy p o p -u p
b o o k is a lso in th e w o rks.
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AR M LESS K IC K Y
In sp ire d by stu ffe d a n im a ls o f Ja p a ne se ca rto o n ch a ra cte rs, S h a w n
S m ith 's S h a w n im a ls sp ra n g to liv e in th e s u m m e r o f 2001. S ta rtin g w ith
sim p le b u t c o m p e llin g shapes, S m ith began s e w in g to g e th e r crea tu re s
fro m his d ra w in g s . W h ile m a n y o f S m ith 's e a rly p lu sh e s are o n e -o f-akind, n o w th e y 're u s u a lly m ad e in sm a ll batches w ith p astel c o lo rs like
th e W ee D em ons, W ee D evils, and W id e Fuzzys. Besides s e llin g plushes,
th e S h a w n im a ls w e b site fe a tu re s a b i-w e e k ly c o m ic . Recently, S m ith
hosted a d o -it-y o u rs e lf p lu sh to y w o rk s h o p in C hicago.
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T he G ru n io n s are a w h im s ic a l race o f fe lt m o n s te rs crea te d by Berkeley,
C a lifo rn ia b o rn a rtis t Katie A a b e rg .T h e se c a re fu lly cra fte d crea tu re s are
lite ra lly fo u n d e v e ry w h e re - fro m m a n m a d e g a rb a g e d u m p s to deep
fo re s ts and even in th e b o d ie s o f p e o p le ! O f co u rse , e ve ry G ru n io n has
a s to ry to te ll fro m P e n g lo r th e tw o -h e a d e d P enguin fro m o u te r space to
D a n g le r th e o n e -e ye d , fly in g b a t th in g . In a d d itio n to m a kin g G run io n s,
A a b e rg is w o rk in g on a series o f fib e r a rt p ictu re s, a G ru n io n s p h o to ­
c o m ic series, a nd th e c o m ic b o o k T h e A d v e n tu re s o f Pipu.
K R JU
LENN Y
OARGANEL
P O TTY
PU FFY
TRANS
FORMERS
THE HISTORY
OF OPTIMUS PRIME
PART 03
By Jack Hurwitz
If y o u w e re to s ta rt c o lle c tin g O p tim u s P rim e to d a y , y o u w o u ld be p re tty
b u s y w ith ju s t w h a t has been a v a ila b le in th e last year. Check o u t y o u r
lo ca l to y and d e p a rtm e n t sto re s. P rim e s till re ig n s s u p re m e w ith m ore
in c a rn a tio n s o f h im on th e sh e lve s th a n eve r. B e tw e e n A rm a d a , U n ive rse,
E n e rg o n , th e H a sb ro & T akara G1 reissue s, M y c lo n e , PVCs and th e ju s t
relea se d M a s te r Piece C o n v o y th e re are at le a st T W E N T Y d iffe re n t O p ti­
m u s P rim e to y s a v a ila b le in re ta il p ro d u c tio n to d a y . T h a t is an a s to u n d in g
n u m b e r w h e n yo u c o n s id e r th e re are e n tire a ctio n fig u re lin e s w ith less
INTRO /
to y s th a t in a g iv e n ye a r.
W ith th is b e in g th e 2 0 th A n n iv e rs a ry o f th e T ra n s fo rm e rs , T akara has c h o ­
sen n o n e o th e r th a n C o n v o y (O p tim u s P rim e) to release as th e ir M aste r
Piece c o m m e m o ra tio n e d itio n . T h e fig u re is tr u ly a m a s te rp ie c e . T he a t­
te n tio n to d e ta il a nd d e g re e to w h ic h m u ch o f th e ch a ra c te r w a s realized
is an e x q u is ite d is p la y o f th e ir re g a rd fo r O p tim u s Prim e.
LEFT (left to right)
C onvoy, G rand C on vo y, S u p er M o de C onvoy
ARMADA/
MICRONDENSETSU
2002-2003
BELOW
B ELOW
N em esis Prim e TV M agazine
C rystal C o n vo y TV M agazine
lim ited e ditio n o f 5000 pieces
lim ite d e d itio n o f 5000 pie ce s
W h ile RID a ire d in A m e ric a , th e Ja p a n e se p ro d u c tio n c o m p a n y th a t c re a t­
ed th e Beast W a rs II and Neo c a rto o n s , A e o n , w e re b u sy p re p a rin g s o m e ­
th in g to ta lly n e w - A rm a d a . U n fo rtu n a te ly A rm a d a tu rn e d o u t to be ju s t
a n o th e r la c k lu s te r m o d e rn d a y fo rm u la ic 2 0 -m in u te to y a d v e rtis e m e n t.
F o rtu n a te ly th e A rm a d a , a nd e s p e c ia lly M ic ro n D e n s e ts u , series d id tu rn
o u t to be a g o o d v e h ic le fo r so m e n e w T ra n s fo rm e rs to y s .
A s usu a l, th e P rim e s a b o u n d w ith at least a dozen d is tin c t e d itio n s m ade
b e tw e e n th e U S A and J a p a n in less th a n 18 m o n th s . P rim e o nce again is
th e sh o w ca se fig u re in th e s e rie s fe a tu rin g a u n iq u e ro b o t base th a t w o u ld
re m o te ly a u to -tra n s fo rm w h e n his tru c k cab w a s tra n s fo rm e d . H o w e ve r,
m a n y an a c tio n fig u re c o n n o is s e u r w o u ld a rg u e th a t th e real g e m in se­
ries w a s th e S u p e rc o n O p tim u s P rim e fig u re . D u b b e d " B e n d y " P rim e, th e
s u p e r-p o s ib le fiv e in ch ta ll fig u re w a s h ig h ly d e ta ile d and a p u re jo y to
p la y w ith in c o n tra s t to th e S u p e r M o d e O p tim u s P rim e w ith its m ore
lim ite d a rtic u la tio n a nd e le c tro n ic g im m ic k s .
Techie/Artist/W riter Jack H urw itz is a Cyborg w ho lives in t
collects humans for fun and profit. He can often be found |
iisco Bay Area. He
j his Transformers
news W eb site at http://TFormers.com
Artist/Coilector/Photographer Rem y Rodis lives in Hong k
intains one of the
biggest Optim us Prime toy collections around. See more c
y collection on his
W eb site at http://TFKenKon.com
Collector/Techie Elvin Pena lives in N ew York City. He main
he m ost complete
Optim us Prime collections around. Forever on the prowl
check out more o f Elvin's collection and more info about
t Primes, you can
ne at h ttp ://w w w .
geocities.com/elvinpena2000/
Many thanks to Jason Hollinger o f CosmicRust.com for the
BELOW (top to bottom )
B E LO W (top to bo ttom )
/ Japanese Je tfire Prim e and A m e rica n Je tfire Prim e
/ B ase m o d e o f S u p er Base O p tim u s
M agna DX C on vo y set
/ C a b ro b o t A rm a da P rim e in S u p e r C ab m o de (left)
P rim e w ith C o ro n a s p a rk plug
(Toys ‘FT US exclusive)
/ A rm ada O p tim u s Prim e in S u p er m o de (right)
/ B e n dy Prim e
B ELOW
I lf
In th e s u m m e r o f 2003, a new s series w a s announced as a fo llo w -u p to A r­
ENERGON /
SUPER LINK
m ada. Hasbro spoke o f characters based on G eneration 1 and a m ore adult
o rien te d focus. I d o n 't w h a t th e y w ere th in kin g , but w h e n the to ys w ere
revealed th e real d isa p p o in tm e n t w as none o th er than O ptim us Prime.
L o o k in g like a c ro ss b e tw e e n a M e g a zo rd a nd Fat A lb e rt. P rim e w as
s h o w in g his age h a v in g p u t on c o n s id e ra b le w e ig h t and w ith a h id ­
e o u s m o n th (no d o u b t so he c o u ld eat a ll th e tim e ) ca rve d in to th e
fa c e p la te . T he fa n s w e re in shock. H o w c o u ld th e y do th a t to Prim e?
On th e T ra n s fo rm e rs 2 0 th A n n iv e rs a ry n o n e th e less! F o rtu n a te ly ,
w h e n T akara a n n o u n c e d th e S u p e r Link se ries, E n e rg on in Ja p a n , th e ir
G ran d C o n v o y w a s b rig h te r, had real c h ro m e and no m o u th ! W h a t a
re lie f. W ill th e re be a n o th e r P rim e in th is line? I am a fra id to ask.
R IG H T TOP
D etail o f m outh
R IG H T B O TTO M (left to right)
v-.
« ■ ■'
/ Energon O p tim u s Prim e
/ S u p erlink O p tim u s Prim e
fl
B ELO W
G rand C o n vo y Supa M o de -O H
Open b a c k w ith b o ts tra ile r
BELOW
T ru ck m o de Energon S u p er Link
O p tim u s Prim e
SUPER COLLECTION
FIGURES
In 2000, T akara in tro d u c e d th e S u p e r C o lle c tio n F ig u re (SCF) lin e . T he
th re e -in c h s e m i-p o s ib le (n o n -tra n s fo rm in g ) fig u re w a s m ad e a fte r c h a r­
a cte rs fro m th e m a n y T ra n s fo rm e rs c a rto o n s . T he to y s w e re released in
s e rie s ' o f s ix fig u re s c a lle d ACTs. W h ile s m a ll in size, th e fig u re s w e re
b ig on d e ta il a nd d e p ic te d th e T ra n s fo rm e rs in s trik in g poses th a t re a lly
b ro u g h t th e m to life . A lm o s t e ve ry ACT released had o ne v e rs io n , som e
tw o , o f O p itm u s in a set o f six fig u re s . W ith 10 ACTs and se ve ra l chase and
c o n v e n tio n sp e cia l fig u re s issu e d , th e re is a v e rs io n o f ju s t a b o u t e ve ry
P rim e w ith a lm o s t e v e ry w e a p o n fro m G e n e ra tio n 1 to A rm a d a .
L a te r on T akara relea se d M eg a SCF PVC se rie s th a t o ffe r ta lle r s ix inch
fig u re s w ith e x te n d e d a rtic u la tio n and a b e vy o f a ccessories. C on sid e re d
to be th e m o s t s h o w a ccu ra te fig u re s e v e r m ade, fa n s w e re all o v e r th e
C a rto o n , M e ta llic a nd B a ttle D a m ag e d v e rs io n o f P rim e th a t w a s released.
T he n th e re w e re th e T im e H o use fig u re s , 12" ta ll v e rs io n o f c a rto o n and
m e ta llic c o lo re d O p tim u s P rim e s. B oth w e re e x tre m e ly lim ite d in release
a nd are s till h ig h ly p rize d by c o lle c to rs th a t are w illin g to pay at least $200
fo r o n e o f th e o rig in a ls to d a y .
LEFT
T im e ho u se Prim e
R IG H T
W o n d e r Fest e xclu sive
M e ta llic C o n vo y and Tra ile r
MASTER PIECE
CONVOY
20 Years on and here w e are. Y ou are rea d in g th is a rticle in re c o g n itio n
o f th a t. Takara, in all its w is d o m chose to recognize th e occasion in a
w a y th a t m a n y a n ticip a te d , b u t fe w c o u ld im a g in e possible. The M aster
Piece C o n vo y is tr u ly th a t. M ad e o f die -ca st and p la stic th e fig u re
in at n e a rly th re e p o u nd s. The a tte n tio n to d e ta il is b re a th ta k in g
a lly hard to d e scrib e . F rom th e e xte n sive a rtic u la tio n to e x tre m e
even g iv in g th e fig u re a m o u th th a t is h id d e n by his face s h ie ld ,
dorn't have ro o m to co ve r it all in th is a rticle . Get one o f these. It
o u t q u e s tio n , th e g re a te st T ra n s fo rm e r e ve r m ade.
20th A nniversary O p tim u s Prim e (H asbro U.S. release)
w e ig h s
and re­
details,
w e ju s t
is w ith ­
M a ste r P iece C on vo y
i
Hi
^
“
T o p row (left to right): G1 Battle Damaged
W onder Festival vs. Set / Star Convoy
A C T -8 / M a ste r P iece C on vo y Truck
ll
m o de
I '. I k
S econd row (left to right): G1 M etallic with
Hr
Energy Axe ACT-1 chase / G od Ginrai
ACT-1 / M icron Norm al m ode ACT_9 /
M ega SCF STD Convoy
Third row (left to right): G1 Battle Dam ­
aged AC T-3 chase / Ginrai ACT-5 / M icron
C ybertron ver. A C T-9 chase / M icron
S uper M ode A C T -1 0
'/
t
TEXT
J I NG B E N T L E Y
PHOTOS
M A R K NAGATA
3 I NG B E N T L E Y
i SF J
m
iSiBk
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WMB'l J F
,-mm
m
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IF C R E A T I V E D I R E C T O R N A M I E M A N A B E
AND T H E R E S T OF T H E P E T W O R K S DOLL
DI VI SI ON H A V E IT T H E I R W A Y
BIG
THING
IN
ACTUALLY BE
FASHION
WELL
THE NEXT
DOLLS
WOULD
LITTLE
Last N o v e m b e r, as I sa t a cro ss fro m M a n a b e -sa n in th e
PetW ORKs o ffic e , she h e ld up a s m a ll v in y l fig u re th a t w a s
ro u g h ly no m o re th a n 9 0 m m ta ll (a p p ro x . 3 1 /2 "). W ith its
b ig a lm o n d -s h a p e d eyes and h ip s te r c lo th in g , it w a s th e ir
w e ll-k n o w n and w ild ly s o u g h t a fte r 1:6 scale M o m o k o ,
"R eal F ashion D oll," in e s s e n tia lly SD (s u p e rd e fo rm e d )
fo rm .T h e re on th e ta b le b e tw e e n us w e re a lso a n o th e r h a lf
dozen o r so o th e r " m a m e m o m o k o " d o lls ("m a m e " lite ra lly
m e a n in g th e w o rd "b e a n ," is o fte n used to d e scrib e th in g s
o f s m a ll scale) la id a b o u t. Each fig u re w a s fitte d in a v a rie ty
o f dress, fro m s tre e t casual to "c o s p la y ." In p a rtic u la r, th e re
w a s one th a t c a u g h t m y eye. D ressed in w h a t w a s b a s ic a lly
a M o n c h ic h i1 p a ja m a set, it had re m in d e d m e o f th e lead
ch a ra cte r o f th e p o p u la r a n im e se ries, S e ria l E x p e rim e n ts :
La in .T h e p ro ta g o n is t o f th e s h o w had a p a ir o f fu ll size bear
p a ja m a s c u t ju s t like it.
But th e one d o ll M an abe-san h e ld in her h ands w a s s o m e ­
th in g all to g e th e r m o re fa m ilia r on m y tr ip to Tokyo; it w as
dressed s im p ly in a g ra y h o o d e d sw e a ts h irt, d a rk rin se jeans,
a m in ia tu re h a n db a g m o d e le d a fte r th e p o p u la r P orter b rand,
and, o f co u rse , th e e ve r esse n tial " k e ita i" (cell p hone). I w as
struck at h o w s tro n g ly it c o n ju re d th o u g h ts o f th e n u m e ro u s
y o u n g w o m e n I had e n c o u n te re d in tre n d y s h o p p in g d is tric ts
like S h ib u y a o r H arajuku. A n d it's ju s t th is , th e s u b tle y e t su ­
perb a tte n tio n to d e ta il and ch a ra cte r th a t has e n d ea re d m e
and o th e r p e o ple a ro u n d th e w o rld o f th e M o m o k o d o ll in
such a s h o rt a m o u n t o f tim e . M o m o k o , w ith her s a vvy sense
o f " re a l-tim e " fa s h io n , a llu re (Look at th o s e e y e s lT h e p o u ty
m o u th !), and p re t-a -p o rte r a ccessories in re a listic 1:6 scale
(or s m a lle r) re n d e rin g , has m ad e it v irtu a lly im p o s s ib le fo r
a c o lle c to r at h eart to ig n o re her. A n d , m o re o fte n th a n not,
her appeal has beckoned even th e m o s t casual o f o b se rve rs.
But w h a t M a n a b e -san a nd her c re w at PetW O R K s4 have on
th e ir h a n ds is no m ere fa s h io n d o ll.
W h ile w e c a s u a lly a rra n g e th e m a m e m o m o k o s a ro u n d th e
ta b le , tr y in g m y h a rd e s t n o t to p la y w ith th e m r ig h t th e n
and th e re , I ask M a n a b e -sa n w h y she w o u ld c re a te such an
u n u s u a lly d e ta ile d o b je c t such as th e 1:6 scale M o m o k o . I
o ffe r up m y o w n c o n c e rn s on h o w th e d o ll m a y ju s t be seen
as a s im p le p la y th in g , re g a rd le s s o f its c ra fts m a n s h ip . It is
th e n th a t M a n a b e -sa n lo o ks up at m e, d o lls in h a n d, and ex­
p la in s to m e th e c o n c e p t o f " ry o u s a n " (m a s s -p ro d u c e d ) art:
"I u s u a lly use th is te rm 'ry o u s a n ' a rt fo r th is kin d o f q u e s tio n .
O fte n w ith a rt, y o u can p u t a ll y o u r e ffo rt in to o ne piece, but,
in th e en d , o n ly o n e p e rs o n can o w n it. B ut fo r e x a m p le , if w e
p ro d u c e 500, th e n 500 p e o p le can o w n it. A ls o , w h e n I w as
b o rn , Ja p a n w a s a lre a d y p ro s p e ro u s a nd w e a lth y , a s o c ie ty o f
m ass p ro d u c tio n . I'm s u re th is is th e sa m e as it is in th e US,
b u t y o u 'd be a b le to w a lk in to sto re s and see a ll th is p ro d u c t
lin e d up. S e e in g a ll th is la id o u t, ro w s o f th e sa m e ite m s , I
w a s p a rt o f th e g e n e ra tio n th a t th o u g h t th is w a s b e a u tifu l. I'm
d o in g th is w ith d o lls , o n ly w ith v e ry h ig h s ta n d a rd s o f q u a lity .
W e ll, th e p rice is h ig h , b u t it's n o t ju s t fo r a s in g le cu sto m e r,
it's s o m e th in g th a t can be sh a re d b y e v e ry o n e . I can say th e
sa m e a b o u t PostP et [PetW O R K s's m a in p ro d u c t] as w e ll."
“Girls Be Am bitious!"
But ju s t h o w M o m o k o (tra n s la tin g ro u g h ly to "p e a ch g ir l"
in Ja p a ne se ) a nd h e r m a m e o ffs p rin g ca m e to be is th ro u g h
e q u a l p a rts te n a c ity a nd h a rd w o rk on M a n a b e -sa n 's part.
B e in g th e a vid d o ll e n th u s ia s t th a t she is, M a n a b e -sa n par­
tic ip a te d in h o b b y g ro u p s th a t c u s to m iz e d and m ad e o r ig i­
nal c lo th in g fo r d o lls , such asTakara's L icca 2 and J e n n y 3 p la y
lin e s. She had e ven g o n e so fa r as s ta rtin g a nd m o d e ra tin g
o ne o f th e fir s t Ja p a ne se e -m a il lis ts a p p ro p ria te ly na m e d
"D O LLF IE A D " fo r th o s e w ith th e ir "h e a d s fu ll o f d o lls " and
s im ila r in te re s ts . Yet w ith a ll th a t, M a n a b e -sa n fe lt th e re w as
s o m e th in g s o re ly lackin g in th e w o r ld o f fa s h io n d o lls . It w as
th e n a b o u t th a t tim e , 3 y e a rs ago, she had set u p o n m a kin g
he r o w n v is io n o f a d o ll, o n e th a t w o u ld tr y to fa ith fu lly re p ­
re se n t c u rre n t tre n d s in fa s h io n as w e ll as th e life s ty le o f a
y o u n g w o m a n liv in g o n T o k y o tim e , a re a lity.
T aking to h e a rt th e idea o f DIY (d o -it-y o u rs e lf), M an a b e -san
e n lis te d th e a id o f w e ll k n o w n s c u lp to r K eisuke Saw ada, th e
a b ilitie s o f h o b b y g ro u p LW DOLLS, a nd th a t o f her o w n e m ­
p lo y e r PetW ORKs fo r fin a n c ia l b a ckin g , she w a s able to see
h e r c o n c e p t th ro u g h to c o m p le tio n . In A u g u s t o f 2001, th e
fir s t p a ir o f 1:6 scale M o m o k o d o lls m a d e th e ir d e b u t a t an
e x h ib itio n n a m e d a fte r M a n a b e -sa n 's g ro u p , DO LLFIEAD.The
VER
03AN
VER
One o f tw o dolls released for the
second anniversary of Momoko
in the late sum m er o f 2003.The
theme that year being Working
Girls Power!, she is the first Momoko to be featured w ith a no
nonsense straight forw ard gaze.
03SSBL
One o f three dolls in the SpringSum m er collection o f 2003.
She debuted in a them ed show
called Tohkon, which featured
M om oko in Far Eastern settings
rem iniscent o f the hey-day of
colonial Hong Kong.
FINAL HO M E
VER
A collaborative effort between PW and the
fashion brand Final Home. The doll was
dressed in the brand's signature zip jacket/
hom e environm ent piece and outfitted w ith
1/6 scale replicas o f other FH items. Only 80
dolls were produced - distributed and sold ex­
clusively through tw o Final Home gift shops.
A striking departure fro m the
asiatic styled M om okos. She
is described as a Scandinavian
g irl delighted in the w in try chill
by Petworks English Doll site.
04NY
d e b u t, w h ic h a p p ro p ria te ly to o k p la ce in o n e o f H a ra ju ku 's
tre n d ie s t fa s h io n m a lls , LaForet, s a w th e fir s t e d itio n s o f
M o m o k o , a to ta l o f 250 d o lls (tw o v e rs io n s at 125 d o lls each)
c o m p le te ly sell o u t in re co rd tim e .T h e d o lls th e n , as th e y do
n o w , fe a tu re an o rig in a l head m o ld c o n c e iv e d b y M a n a b e san and realized by S a w a d a -san in v in y l, b u t th e b o d ie s,
d u e to fin a n c ia l c o n s tric tio n s , are th o s e o fT a k a ra 's S u p e r
A c tio n J e n n y (SAJ fo r s h o rt). She w a s a b le to g e tT a ka ra 's
p e rm is s io n fo r th e ir use as a fa v o r fo r h e r w o rk w ith T a k a ra
on th e ir M o m o Licca d o lls (the c o n c e p t b e in g Licca w a s a
M o m o k o has s tirre d in v a rio u s c o m m u n itie s fro m a rtis tic to
c o m m e rc ia l. M a g a zin e e d ito rs h ave used h e r as an e ffo rt­
less m o d e l to s h o w o ff g o o d s in fa s h io n sp re a d s. Coca-Cola
had th e d o ll, d re sse d as an " o ffic e lady," to p ro m o te a bever­
age by th e n a m e o f "F ru it L a b o " in p rin t and on te le v is io n .
A n d M o m o k o has been fre q u e n tly in v ite d and e x h ib ite d in a
n u m b e r o f ve n u e s in Ja p a n in c lu d in g a fe a tu re d s tin t in th e
p re s tig io u s Hara M u s e u m o f C o n te m p o ra ry A rt in 2002 and
s u p e r-fa n o f PostPet).
"W h e re w a s e v e ry o n e e lse ? "
A t fir s t g la n ce , M o m o k o 's fa cia l fe a tu re s are m o s t d e fin ite ly
A s ia tic b u t th e re is a h in t o f h o m a g e in h e r e y e s .T h e y lo o k
le ft, s lig h tly m is c h ie v o u s and coy, as if M o m o k o has s o m e ­
th in g up h e r s ty lis h sle e ve . A n d fo r th o s e n o t in th e fa s h io n
d o ll lo o p , it is a lo o k th a t is a n od to B a rb ie 's 'M o d 'e rn c o u s ­
in, F ra n cie a n d T a k a ra 's o w n Licca, tw o d o lls w ith s im ila r
T he u n fo rtu n a te re a lity o f s m a ll p ro d u c tio n n u m b e rs and
h ig h q u a lity d e ta ilin g , w h ic h had p u t th e d o ll in g o o d graces
w ith c o lle c to rs o f to y s and p o p art, had b ro u g h t on a h e fty
p rice ta g w ith to o h ig h o f a d e m a n d . It le ft th e g e n e ra l p u b ­
lic (e v e ry o n e b u t c o lle c to rs ) n o t b o th e rin g to g iv e th e d o ll
a se co n d lo o k. As w e ta lk o f th is s itu a tio n th a t has arisen,
M a n a b e -sa n sets a d o ll d o w n c a re fu lly on a to y s o fa , p o n ­
d e rin g , and th e n th o u g h tfu lly b e g in s to m u s e on p a rt o f her
p la n to ch a n ge th a t: " W ith d o lls , fa s h io n d o lls in p a rtic u la r,
m a k in g th e m p o p u la r is o n e o f m y p rin c ip le a m b itio n s . For
gazes th a t are fa v o rite s o f M a n a b e -sa n h e rse lf.
T he fir s t e d itio n s o f M o m o k o are s o m e th in g o f a "H o ly
G ra il" in M o m o k o c o lle c tin g c ircle s. O u ts id e o f e x h ib itio n s ,
th e o n ly w a y to g lim p s e e ith e r o f th e fir s t tw o d o lls , M o ­
m o k o v e rs io n DHEXI (th e DHEX s ta n d in g fo r "D O L LH E A D
E X H IB IT IO N " and th e " I ” s ta n d in g fo r lo n g h a ir) and ve r­
s io n DHEXs ( " s " fo r s h o rt h a ir) is b y v is itin g th e o ffic ia l PetW O RKs D o ll D iv is io n s ite o r on a s m a ll h a n d fu l o f c o lle c to rs '
w e b s ite s . For th e v e ry lu cky fe w , e a rly o n , th e d o lls c o u ld be
fo u n d in rare in sta n ce s th ro u g h s e c o n d a ry m a rk e ts such as
Y a h o o ! A u c tio n s Ja p a n. The d o lls w e n t to th e h ig h e s t b id ­
d e r fo r p rice s I w ill n o t m e n tio n in re sp e ct to th o s e w h o are
fa in t o f heart.
"Equal Opportunity Fashion Idol"
D e sp ite b e in g h a p p y w ith M o m o k o 's success a nd s te a d y
rise in p o p u la rity , M a n a b e -sa n c u rre n tly fe e ls th a t she
h a s n 't q u ite h it h e r m a rk as o f ye t. T h e re is no d e n y in g th a t
she a nd PetW ORKs have c a p tu re d th e c o lle c to rs ' a tte n tio n s
(and th e ir w a lle ts ). P ra c tic a lly all o f th e la st 20 (as o f D e ce m ­
b e r 2003) e d itio n s o f M o m o k o have so ld o u t th ro u g h th e ir
p rim a ry re ta il o u tle ts . T h e re is a lso no h id in g th e in te re s t
even s ta te s id e in th e C o m p a c t-im p a c t s h o w a tT K N Y in N ew
York. Yet re g a rd le ss o f th a t, M a n a b e -sa n s tiil asked h e rse lf:
th a t to h a p p e n th o u g h , I had to fir s t c re a te a "fa c e " and fa s h ­
io n s th a t o th e r p e o p le w o u ld a c tu a lly th in k is cute. B ut o f
co u rse , it w a s v e ry e x p e n s iv e . To p o p u la riz e fa s h io n d o lls
c o m b in e d w ith p u ttin g o u t an ideal fa ce and sense o f s ty le
p e o p le w o u ld u n d e rs ta n d , th e re w a s an im b a la n c e to it all.
To a c tu a lly g e t th e y o u n g e r a u d ie n c e th a t I w a n te d to spread
th is m e ssa g e to w a s q u ite d iffic u lt - su re , th e re had been
p h o to s , a n d p h o to sp re a d s in m a g a zin e s -- so to g e t a ro u n d
th is s itu a tio n , th e re had to be a re a lly a ffo rd a b le p ric e to ju s t
g e t th a t essence [o f M o m o k o ] d is trib u te d on a la rg e r scale,
and I w a s th in k in g th is m ig h t be g o o d ." She g e s tu re s th e n to
th e set o f m a m e m o m o k o s b e fo re us. "E ve n at th is size," she
says, " y o u can s till ch a n g e th e clo th e s."
I n o d a nd e x p la in to M a n a b e -sa n th e n , th a t b e fo re she had
a rriv e d , h e r c o -w o rk e r H a ya sh i-sa n had le t us in on th e fa ct
th a t th e m a m e m o m o k o s can sh a re c lo th e s w ith th e a n th ro ­
p o m o rp h ic a n im a l fig u re s k n o w n as "S y lv a n ia n F am ilies." It
is a v e ry w e lc o m e fa c t, c o n s id e rin g it increa se s th e m am e -
VER
03AWNV
The first o f tw o doits in the W in ­
ter 2003 collection. Her o u tfit is a
whim sical ladylike take on Sun­
day Clothes, com plete w ith sun
bonnet. She is the third doll to be
produced w ith a straight gaze.
VER
VER
03AWYL
She is dressed in a Chanel in­
spired A-Line dress and comes
w ith accessories such as a 1/6
scale fu r muff, attached by a
m iniature gold chain. This doll
was te ntatively produced in the
largest run yet fo r Petworks, a
w hopping 1400 pieces each.
m o m o k o 's p la y a b ility and ch o ice s to "e x p re s s " th e m s e lv e s
w ith . I am h a n de d a c o lo r p rin to u t o f a w e b ad a n n o u n c ­
in g th e v e n tu re , w h ic h , o u ts id e o f c o n c e p tu a l w o rk by PetW ORKs, is to be p ro d u c e d c o m p le te ly b y th e to y c o m p a n y
S e kig u ch i; a s u rp ris in g fa c t c o n s id e rin g th a t M o m o k o s are
in d iv id u a lly q u a lity checked b y th e s m a ll h a n d fu l o f D oll
D iv is io n s ta ff m e m b e rs .
"With her eyes forward, looking toward the Future"
W ith th is a m p le o p p o rtu n ity , b e in g in th e o ffice /w o rksp a ce
th a t M o m o k o d o lls are a ctu a lly con ce ive d a nd th e person
w h o is b a sica lly M om o ko 's m o th e r in fro n t o f m e, I press
on g e n tly a b o u t w h a t M anabe-san's plans are fo r M o m o ko .
She a n sw e rs back va g u ely, in te rm s th a t co u ld be c o n s id ­
ered s o m e w h a t g u a rd e d : "B a sica lly, I have a ye a r in advance
pla n n ed out. But a fte r th a t, p ra c tic a lly speaking, I w a it to hear
feedback a b o u t w h a t sells and th e n I plan o u t th e n e xt year."
For a b rie f m o m e n t, I c o n s id e r p ro d d in g h e r fo r m o re in fo
b u t it is th e n th a t Flayashi-san re -e n te rs th e ro o m . In her
ha n ds, she c a rrie s th e tw o la te st v e rs io n s o f M o m o k o
m ad e fo r th a t N o v e m b e r. W ith m uch fa n fa re , th e se d o lls
had been m ad e a v a ila b le th e w e e k p re v io u s to m y a rriv a l
in T o k y o .T h e PetW O RKs D o ll D iv is io n w o rk s on a se a so na l
release sch e d u le and th e se are th e d o lls fo r th e W in te r o f
2003. M a n a b e -sa n reaches a cro ss th e ta b le to p and h a n ds
m e th e d o lls to in sp e ct. As usu a l, I am am azed b y th e m in u ­
tia e o f th e ir s ty lin g and acce sso rie s. O ne d o ll, ve r.0 3 A W yl,
is s ty le d w ith lo n g fla t black hair, h e r b a n gs h a n d -c u t at an
angle. S he has on a m o d w in te r e n se m b le , c o m p le te w ith
m u ff on g o ld ch a in , w h ic h re m in d s m e o f v in ta g e C hanel.
T he d o ll e xu d e s th e a ir o f s o m e th in g fa s h io n a b ly tim e ­
less. In th e back o f m y head, I s e c re tly w is h I had an o u tfit
like it. T he o th e r fig u re , k n o w n as ve r.0 3 A W nv, has a h u g e
c o m b e d -o u t black m an e a nd is w e a rin g one o f th e c u te st
fitte d n a v y b lu e pea c o a t/k n ic k e rs sets I have e ve r seen. But
th e re 's s o m e th in g d ra m a tic a lly d iffe re n t a b o u t th is M o m o ­
ko: her eyes lo o k d e fia n tly fo rw a rd . She is a c tu a lly n o t th e
fir s t b u t th e th ird d o ll in th e p a st ye a r th a t has s tra y e d a w a y
fro m th e o rig in a l M o m o k o look.
03RD
An exclusive design fo r "R&D
Fashion Dolls and Collectibles"
inTaiwan and part o f the Spring/
S um m er 2003 collection. R&D
Dolls is Petworks official over­
seas distrib u to r o f M om oko out­
side o f Japan and Korea.
VER
02PL
Or Peach Lady Mom oko as she is
m ore fam iliarly known. The doll
concept is said to be inspired
by the original It girl and silent
film star, Clara Bow.The doll was
actually produced w ith a more
busty doll body in order to fill
out its baby doll nightie better.
M a n a b e -sa n in tu itiv e ly senses w h a t I’ m th in k in g and e xp la in s
h e r d e c is io n to p ro d u c e th e se n e w faces: "T o be lo o k in g
s tra ig h t a h ead w a s m y th o u g h t. In its se co n d ye a r [o f p ro ­
d u c tio n ], I w a s th in k in g a b o u t w h a t d ire c tio n I w a s g o in g to
ta ke M o m o k o in .T h e s id e -lo o k in g eyes w ith th a t s w e e t s m ile
is a ty p ic a l cu te lo o k a n d I d id n 't w a n t s o m e th in g like th a t,
in ste a d m o re o f a c o llis io n h e a d -o n , fro m th e fro n t. M o m o k o
is a g irl th a t has a s tro n g w ill and th a t w a s a fa c t I w a n te d to
s h o w [fro m th e s ta rt].Y e s, th e re are tim e s w h e n she's s m ilin g
sw e e tly , b u t th e re are o th e r tim e s w h e n she's lo o k in g ahead,
d e te rm in e d . T h a t's th e fa ce I w a n te d to crea te , th a t th e m e is
e v id e n t ju s t b y lo o k in g a t her. A lo o k o f c o n fro n tin g th e f u ­
tu re , d ire ctly."
F eeling a su d d e n u rg e to be b o ld , I ask th e n if th e fu tu re m ay
c o n ta in a m a le c o m p a n io n to M o m o k o . A fa s h io n a b le b o y ­
frie n d p e rh a p s ... W ith o u t m is s in g a beat, M a n a b e -san rep lies:
"I h a v e n 't th o u g h t a b o u t it m uch . She can s u rv iv e w ith o u t
one. She's p ro b a b ly to o b u sy th in k in g a b o u t fa s h io n a nd her­
self." I b rin g up th e idea o f p la y in g m a tc h m a k e r w ith fig u re s
a lre a d y on th e m a rk e t a n d M a n a b e -sa n p la ys a lo n g w ith a
la u g h to h e r a n s w e r: "I ra th e r like In o u e S anta's (a c o m ic a rtis t
m o s t w e ll k n o w n f o r h is, m a n g a T o k y o T rib e 2) fig u re s p u t o u t
by M e d ic o m T o y ; I th in k th e y m ig h t be a g o o d m a tch .T h e level
o f a b s tra c tio n o f th e fa ce is s im ila r to M o m o k o . A n d th e y lo o k
like th e y are g o o d fig h te rs ."
I h a n d th a t p a rtic u la r d o ll back to M a n a b e -sa n , w h ic h she
g iv e s a g o o d once over, s m o o th in g o u t a n y lo o se h a irs on
its head. I n od in c o n firm a tio n , k n o w in g h o w it is w h e n yo u
have a d o ll lik e th a t in y o u r h a n d s a nd w a tch as she se ts th e
d o ll s ta n d in g , s ta rin g d ire c tly at m e. "W e 'll be re le a sin g bo th
[v a ria tio n s o f th e d o ll] fro m n o w on. W e 've also been c o n ­
s id e rin g la te ly, a fte r e s ta b lis h in g th a t M o m o k o has a s tro n g
w ill, is a s tro n g w ille d g irl, th a t w e m ig h t ju s t release a m o re
're la x e d ' kin d o f g irl. It also d e p e n d s on w h a t g o e s best w ith a
p a rtic u la r fa s h io n . Like w ith th e la st tw o d o lls , o ne is lo o k in g
fo rw a rd a nd th e o th e r is lo o k in g s h y ly to th e side."
Go Go M om oko was made es­
pecially fo r Yahoo. M embers of
the group had the opportunity to
help choose the doll's features.
The results were then realized to
help create the 4th M om oko doll
in production. It was lim ited to a
run o f only 300 dolls.
Released on the first anniversay
o f M om oko in 2002, she is con­
ceptualized and styled by Hitomi
M iyam oto o f the Cool Dolls. M i­
yam oto is also part o f the collec­
tive LW Dolls that helped usher
M om oko into existence.
One o f the m ore popular First
A nniversary dolls, the doll was
produced w ith conceptual w ork
done by Korisu Factory founder
Mika Okada, another w ell known
doll clothier and m em ber o f the
LW Dolls collective.
"Momoko takes a Long Holiday"
A s m y tim e w ith M a n a b e -sa n c o m e s to an en d , she o ffe rs
s o m e fin a l th o u g h ts on w h a t's c ru c ia l to th e fu tu re o f M o ­
m o k o : "A fte r its release, if th is guy,” she m o tio n s to o n e o f
th e m a m e m o m o k o s , "b e c o m e s p o p u la r a nd c o m e s in to
c o n ta c t w ith e v e ry o n e , a nd s o m e h o w w e 're a b le to g e t th e
fu n d in g rig h t, th e n o ff to th e sid e I can c o n tin u e to s e c re tly
p ro d u c e 500 o f th e s e [M o m o k o s ] e s p e c ia lly fo r th e d ie h a rd s .
T h a t w o u ld be th e id e a l. T hese guys," she th e n m o tio n s to
th e M o m o k o s , "a re a lo t o f w o rk . J u s t b ecause th e y 're ex­
p e n s iv e , d o e s n 't m ean w e m ake a lo t o f m o n e y fro m th e m ,
m o re like b re a kin g even. To c o n tin u e p ro d u c in g M o m o k o s
th e re re a lly ne e ds to be m o re o f a ba la n ce, so th e se [m a m ­
e m o m o k o s ] need to be su cce ssful." I n o d in a g re e m e n t,
s y m p a th e tic to th e fa c t th a t e ven th e p u re s t o f a m b itio n s
need to be te m p e re d b y fin a n c ia l re a litie s . A n d as o f press
tim e th e PetW ORKs D o ll D iv is io n s ite has a n n o u n c e d th a t,
w h ile M o m o k o w ill c o n tin u e h e r w o rk in th e p u b lic eye as a
s p o k e s m o d e l/a d v e rtis in g ch a ra cte r, she w ill be in a p ro d u c ­
tio n h ia tu s as o f S e p te m b e r 2004 fo r an in d e fin ite p e rio d o f
tim e o r in th e ir w o rd s : "a lo n g h o lid a y ."T h e y c ite th re e m a in
rea so n s: to c o n c e n tra te on th e n e w ly relea se d m a m e m o ­
m o k o s ; th e w o rk lo a d b ro u g h t on by a n o th e r m a jo r s o ftw a re
release fo r PetW O RKs; a nd fin a lly , a fte r h e r th re e y e a r a n n i­
ve rs a ry, a re c o n s id e ra tio n on w h a t M o m o k o s h o u ld be.
1. M onchichi, as som e people w ho g re w up in the 1980s m ay
rem em ber, were the an th ro p o m o rp h ic s tu ffe d a n im a l m o n ­
keys w ho had penchants fo r sucking th e ir thumbs.
2. Licca, an 11-year-old g irl o f a doll, was in tro d u ce d in 1967
and continues to be one o f the m o st p o p u la r toys in Japan,
com m a nd ing her ow n section in m ost de pa rtm e nt stores.
She is often com pared to M attel's Skipper.
3. Jen ny is a d o ll w ith an o rig in a l face m o ld th a t had started
o u t as M attel's Japanese m arket "B a rb ie " in the 1980s b u t
was renam ed once M attel w e nt elsew here w ith production.
4. PetWORKs is m o st w e ll know n fo r p ro d u cin g an e-m ail
pro gra m by the nam e o f "PostPet." It features the mascot, a
p in k and w h ite p a w e d bear “ M o m o " and o th e r fe llo w a n i­
m al friends w ho are m ore than ha pp y to "d e liv e r" e-m a il to
one's PC o r cell phone.
One o f the six inaugural dolls
in the m ini M om oko doll line
produced by the Petworks Doll
Division and popular to y com ­
pany, Sekiguchi.
h otaro Ish in o m o ri was the creator o f som e o f the m ost o rig in a l and bizarre Tokusatsu
series ever produced. If y o u 're n o t fa m ilia r w ith his name, perhaps you kn o w som e of
his crea tio n s like Kam en Rider, Kikaida, Inazum an, R obot Detective (Keiji K), the
G oR angers o r A kum aizer-3? Even m ore s u rp ris in g is th a t th e m a jo rity o f these
Japanese TV show s all appeared fro m 1970 to 1980. A nd, since all o f his creations
resulted in n u m e ro u s to ys, Ish in o m o ri co u ld ve ry w e ll be the patron saint o f Super-7.
M ost co lle cto rs m ay be aw are o f to ys fro m Kikaida and Kamen Rider, but w h a t o f Akum aizer-3?
T his obscure sh o w ran fo r 38 episodes and spaw ned a sequel, C hojin Bibyun. But w h a t makes
Akum aizer-3 such a great show ? W ild costum es, crazy kaiju, insane vehicles and o u t o f co n tro l fig h t
sequences, along w ith an u n fo rg e tta b le th e m e song and a g e n u in e ly in te re stin g sto ry line.
Eons ago, Earth was still in the e arly stages o f d e ve lo pm e n t. In these in h o sp ita b le co n d itio ns,
m ankind was born. The harsh e n v iro n m e n t forced h u m a n ity to retreat u n d erg rou n d fo r pro te ctio n .
Here m ankind su rvived , adapted and evolved using ancient and arcane te ch n o lo g y th a t a llow ed
th e m to tra n s fo rm in to m ystical cyborgs. One clan w o u ld am ass great pow er. C alling them selves
th e A kum a Zoku (Dem on Clan), th e y w e n t deep in to th e bow els o f th e earth to carve o u t th e ir ow n
e m p ire w h ich th e y called D ow n W o rld . E ventually, the A kum a shed th e ir hum an guises and
adopted p o w e rfu l, non -h u m an fo rm s. They also g re w to hate th e ir brethren w h o had begun settling
on the pla n e t's surface. T h ro u g h o u t histo ry, th e y w o u ld send "G host Pirate S hips" to the surface on
quests to capture and enslave hum ans. H ow ever, not all d e m o n s hated hum ans. One o f these was
Zabitan, th e bastard ch ild o f a hum an and Dem on. Zabitan fled D ow n W o rld to the surface to serve
as p ro te cto r o f the hum an race. The leader o f th e Akum a, M ega Lord, in fu ria te d by Zabitan's
actions, sent tw o assassins, Ebiru and G abura, to kill the tra ito r. Swayed by Z ab ita n 's pure and
courageous sp irit, Ebiru and G abura decided to jo in him . V o w in g an oath o f h onor, th e y fo rm e d the
K nights o f Justice: A kum aizer-3, in the hope o f b rin g in g peace betw een th e ir tw o w a rrin g w orlds.
TEXT & PHO TOS
CHRISTOPHER BEAMISH
THANKS TO
J . M a ra y u m a + J. C o u to - w w w .ja p a n h e r o .c o m
E x c e rp ts A k u m a iz e r 3 E n c y c lo p e d ia
12" B u ll m a rk m is s ile fir in g
Z a b ita n , G a b u ra, a n d E b iru (le ft to rig h t)
Zabitan is red, black a n d w h ite , w ith e n o rm o u s e a r-lik e
p ro je c tio n s ju ttin g fr o m th e s id e s o f h is head. H is e yes
are a n o d d s ty liz e d b a t-lik e fo rm . T w o la rg e w h ite shapes
a p p ro x im a te a m o u th , h is ch e s t p ie ce a sty liz e d d e s ig n .
Ebiru is b r ig h t y e llo w , re d a n d b la c k . B a t-lik e w in g s
e x te n d fro m th e side s o f his h ea d . O va l re d eyes a n d red
s trip e s e n d in a red h o rn -lik e p ro je c tio n a t th e to p o f his
h ead. S ty liz e d b at d e s ig n s s e rve as a c h e s t p ie ce a n d b e lt.
Gabura a lm o s t d e fie s e x p la n a tio n . A s o ft se rve ice c re am
o f a head, a tta ch e d to an e n o rm o u s b lu e b o d y , a sp ike d
m e ta l b a ll p e rp e tu a lly a t h is side .
I
jU
l l
Y
X
T
X i
M a n y to y c o lle c to rs h ave n o d o u b t seen fig u re s fro m A k u m a iz e r-3
w ith o u t k n o w in g th e ir TV o rig in s . T h e m o s t s trik in g fe a tu re s o f th e se
to y s a re th e w ild c o s tu m e s o f th e c h a ra c te rs . T h e th re e m a jo r
A k u m a iz e r-3 c h a ra c te rs are a v a ila b le in a w id e v a rie ty o f sizes a nd
s u b tle v a ria tio n s . O ne w o n d e rs ju s t h o w m a n y d iffe re n t m o ld s w e re
m a de to p ro d u c e th e se th re e v in y l hero e s.
D u ra n ia , Z a b ita n 's g irlfrie n d , re s e m b le s an e lf o r fa iry p rin c e s s in g re e n a ttire . She
m akes h e r to y a p p e a ra n ce in fo u r d iffe re n t fo rm s : tw o in b lis te r p a cka g e d sets, a th ir d
in a v in y l bag set th a t in c lu d e s th e u b iq u ito u s T o k y o to w e r, and a fo u rth s e t th a t c o m e s
in a h ard p la s tic c a rry in g case. A la rg e sized v in y l o f th is ch a ra c te r w o u ld have been
nice as th e re are to o fe w J a p a n e se h e ro fe m a le fig u re s p ro d u c e d in a n y to y fo rm .
W h ile th e re se em s to be n o end to th e v a ria tio n s o f th e th re e h e ro fig u re s , v e ry fe w
K aiju have b een m a d e fro m th is se rie s; a s h a m e s in ce m a n y o f th e D e m o n c h a ra c te rs
are a m a z in g ly w a c k y in d e s ig n . F o u r K a iju c h a ra c te rs are k n o w n to e x is t, th e m o s t
c o m m o n b e in g D e m o n K ing G a lve r, a g e n u in e ly c re e p y K a iju . G a lv e r is c lo th e d and
caped e n tire ly in b lu e w ith tw o la rg e h o rn s p ro tru d in g fro m th e to p o f h is head. He is
b lu e sk in n e d , fa n g e d a nd has a c le a r face s h ie ld p ro te c tin g a b iza rre a rra y o f lig h ts and
m echa re m in is c e n t o f K ika id a 's d e sig n . G a lv e r is a v a ila b le in th re e d iffe re n t sizes w ith a
larg e 10 inch v e rs io n ru m o re d to e xist.
T akatoku C y b o rg Z a b ita n m is s ile -firin g
fig u re (o u t o f th e b o x )
A b o v e ( le ft to rig h t): 4 " D e m o n K in g G a lv e r B u llm a rk,
5 " T akatoku, 4 " B u llm a rk fro m p la s tic case
5 " B u llm a rk D u rin a
Ta ka to ku C y b o rg Z a b ita n
m is s ile - fir in g fig u re (w ith b o x )
The la rg e s t o f th e A k u m a iz e r-3 fig u re s are th e B u llm a rk m is s ile s h o o tin g v in y ls . M e a s u rin g
12 in c h e s in h e ig h t, th e se a re tr u ly b ig to y s in b rig h t p rim a ry c o lo r fin is h e s . T h e m o s t
im p o s in g fig u re is G a b u ra w ith h is h ug e b a rre l ch e s t a rm e d w ith tw o m is s ile s and his
tra d e m a rk d e n b u ru (sp ike d b all) d a n g lin g fro m a real c h a in . Z a b ita n a n d E biru w e re also
released as m is s ile s h o o tin g v in y ls . D is p la y e d to g e th e r, th e tr io is v e ry im p o s in g . Each cam e
p ackaged in a w in d o w b o x w ith tru s ty s a be rs a n d a m is s ile s h o o tin g g u n m a de o f v in y l.
A n o d d a d d itio n to th e m is s ile fir in g to y s is th e T a k a to k u C y b o rg Z a b ita n , fe a tu rin g a hard
s ty re n e b o d y w ith p o ly e th y le n e h ead and a rm s . T h e leg s are s p rin g -lo a d e d a n d h is ch est
p a n e l p o p s o p e n w h e n h is b uckle is p u s h e d to re vea l tw in m is s ile la u n c h e rs . A ls o in c lu d e d
is th e s a m e m is s ile s h o o te r th a t a c c o m p a n ie s th e la rg e m is s ile s h o o tin g Z a b ita n . A
s ta n d -a lo n e p iece, it a p p e a rs th a t n o su ch to y w a s p ro d u c e d fo r E b iru o r G a b u ra.
10" B u llm a rk /T a k a to k u G a b u ra a n d E b iru w ith b ag s
8 " B u llm a rk /T a k a to k u G a b u ra, E b iru a n d Z a b ita n in b ag s
N e x t u p a re th e in d iv id u a lly b a g g e d B u llm a rk Taka to ku 10 inch a nd 8 inch
fig u re s . T h e s e a re n ic e h e fty sizes, w e ll p r o p o r tio n e d a n d a c c ura te
re p re s e n ta tio n s . G re a t p a c k a g in g o n th e se ; each fig u re is b a g g e d w ith a
h e a v y , tw o -s id e d illu s tra te d ca rd. T h e re is v ir tu a lly no d iffe re n c e in th e
s c u lp tin g b e tw e e n th e s e 8 inch a n d 10 inch fig u re s .
T h e re a re tw o b lis te r pack B u llm a rk sets th a t c o n ta in a 7 inch Z a b ita n
a c c o m p a n ie d w ith a 4 inch fig u re o f e ith e r E b iru o r G a b u ra. B u llm a rk also
p ro d u c e d a 5 inch v in y l s e t o f Z a b ita n , E b iru , G a b u ra, D aru n ia , and D em on
K in g G a lv e r th a t is b lis te r packed o n y e t a n o th e r b e a u tifu lly illu s tra te d
b a c k in g ca rd.
T h e T a k a to k u 5 inch v in y ls c o m e in d iv id u a lly b a g g e d w ith a p h o to h ea d e r
ca rd ra th e r th a n an a r tis t's re n d e rin g a nd in c lu d e fig u re s o f G a b u ra, E biru,
Z a b ita n , a n d D e m o n K in g G a lver.
10" B u llm a rk /T a k a to k u
G a b u ra a n d Z a b ita n lo o se
s e t o f 5 " B u llm a rk fig u re s
fro m b lis te r p a c k
B u llm a rk c a rd e d s e t w ith
7 " Z a b ita n a n d 4 " G a b u ra
(
B u llm a rk c a rd e d s e t w ith
3 o f th e 4 " fig u re s
5 " Taka to ku G a b u ra, E b iru a n d Z a b ita n in bags
4 " B u ll m a rk fig u re s lo o se , s a m e as p la s tic
case w ith s lig h tly d iffe re n t p a in t
4 " B u ll m a rk fig u re s in p la s tic case
*
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j WF
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4
■ U
W
Bk A
rS
4 ' B u llm a rk fig u re s
o u t o f b a g w ith
T o kyo to w e r
3 “ m in i-G rip d ie -c a s t Z a b ita n
3 " m in i-G rip d ie -c a s t G a b u ra
W h ile th e m a jo rity o f A k u m a iz e r-3 to y s are v in y l fig u re s , a h a n d fu l o f d ie -c a s t to y s w e re a ls o p ro d u c e d . Taka to ku
rele a se d a to ta l o f 6 b o x e d d ie -c a s t to y s (3 fig u re s and 3 v e h ic le s ) w h ile G rip Edai re le a se d 7 m in i d ie -ca sts. The
p a c ka g in g o f G rip 's to y s w a s s im p le y e t e ffe c tiv e -- each d ie -c a s t to y e n c lo s e d in a c le a r d is p la y case w ith a p rin te d
b acke r and base c re a tin g a d im in u tiv e d io ra m a . T h e s m a ll d ie -c a s t o f Z a b ita n has h im r id in g o n a c ity fre e w a y w h ile th e
Z id a b e k (A k u m a iz e r-3 's fly in g s h ip ) is ris in g fro m its c a v e rn o u s ic y lair.
Q u ite p o s s ib ly th e m o s t in v e n tiv e d e s ig n fo r a v e h ic le , th e Z id a b e k is a h u g e fly in g fo r tr e s s w h ic h h o u s e s th e
A k u m a iz e r-3 te a m . In its n o rm a l fo rm th e Z id a b e k re s e m b le s a g h o s tly S p a n is h g a lle o n b u t, a t th e p u s h o f a b u tto n fro m
p ilo t Z a b ita n , th e g a lle o n 's s a ils ro ll up, th e w o o d e n s id e s s lid e a w a y to re ve a l a re d, w h ite a nd b lu e s ta r s p a n g le d g ia n t
p u ffe r fis h , a nd g ia n t s p in n in g fa n b la d e s p ro v id e p ro p u ls io n . T h e Z id a b e k has a h u g e to o th e d m a w in its h u ll th a t serves
as a h a n g e r b a y a n d it is fro m th e re th a t o u r h e ro e s d is e m b a rk . T h e T a k a to k u Z id a b e k is e a s ily th e m o s t s o u g h t a fte r
d ie -ca st p ie ce fro m th is se rie s. T h e v e h ic le is a h e fty p iece o f m e ta l and a fa ith fu l r e n d itio n to th e tr u ly b iz a rre fly in g c ra ft,
rig h t d o w n to th e c le a r c o c k p it w in d o w . T h is d ie -c a s t a lso in c lu d e s a c h ro m e d m is s ile la u n c h e r a n d c h ro m e d fa n b lades.
A h ard p ie ce to fin d in a n y c o n d itio n , m o s t s u rv iv in g loo se e x a m p le s o f th is v e h ic le u s u a lly h ave b ro k e n fa n b la d e s. The
s a m e can be s a id fo r G rip 's m in i v e rs io n , an e q u a lly h a rd to fin d to y . T h e G rip Z id a b e k in c lu d e s a p u s h b u tto n fe a tu re
w h ic h o p e n s th e la u n ch b a y d o o r re v e a lin g a tin y c h ro m e d G a rib a rd (A k u m a iz e r-3 ’s th re e -s e a t m o to rc y c le ).
5 " Toka ta ku d ie -c a s t Z a b ita n , E b iru a n d G a b u ra
3 " m in i-G rip d ie -c a s t E b iru
by Koji Harrr
" K a iju B o o s k a " w as originally a T su b u raya produced black and white,
live action television series that aired in the late 1960s. Though not as
popular as Ultraman, Booska was a well-know n character at the time.
Judging by the am ount o f Booska m erchandise released, the cute and
cuddly m onster m ust have been a familiar face in m ost households in
Japan.
In the late 1990s, interest in the furry m onster reappeared and Booska
was back. The new “Booska Booska" television series began produc­
tion, Booska Land opened, several exclusive Booska boutiques popped
up around Tokyo, and various Booska toys and accessories became
available. A toyshop called "Inu Kuma" had the rights to release many
items, and produced som e very cute stuffed, vinyl, and re-issue dolls.
There w as even an exclusive Booska guitar with Booska guitar picks.
People everywhere w h o had not even known of Booska's existence
began to em brace the obscure character. The past few years, however,
has seen the Booska revival die dow n. Booska Land and all o f the
Booska shops closed, and, besides the occasional crane game Booska
prizes, Booska is nowhere to be seen.
Booska is an iguana created by a young boy named Daisaku Tonda in
his hom e laboratory. Daisaku was a kid genius and scientist. One of his
m ost successful inventions was a form ula called “Kuropara". Kuropara
m ade things g ro w to enorm ous sizes. Daisuke's idea was to create a
huge m onster, m uch bigger and stronger that Godzilla. He used a baby
iguana for his experim ent. This iguana resulted in Booska's birth.
W hen Booska was born, he measured only about 50 centimeters. He
has since grow n to human size. Though a monster, Booska is very
human in nature. He is nice and caring, has a sense o f humor, and can
get mad o r sad like anybody else. Booska is always willing to lend a
helping hand. Som e o f his special powers include the ability to fly, the
ability to becom e invisible, and the ability to eat 30 bowls o f ramen in a
single meal. Booska lives with his creator Daisaku, and spends the days
with his friends.
top to bottom: A variety o f shots from Booska Land,: .showing Booska and
Chamegon in a variety o f different settings, jand even some photos with our
pn-loeation reporter Koji Harmon!) In the top right comer is a flyer from the
Booska musical.
The "Boo C rown" is the spiked thing on Booska's head, w hich bares resem ­
blance to an iguana's back. Believe it or not, the Boo Crown is removable. In
fact, it is his source o f energy. If the Boo Crown ever falls off B ooska's head,
he's history. W ithout it, his m ind is like Jell-O. The Boo Crown is heat
sensitive, and if it ever warm s up, Booska becom es a genius. The Boo Crown
is also responsible for his ability to fly.
Booska's eyes are similar to those of cats. He can see extrem ely well in the
dark, and like Superman, he has the special ability of seeing through things.
Like a d o g ’s, Booska's nose is super sensitive. It is especially sensitive to
ramen, his favorite food. He can smell a bowl o f ramen from a kilom eter
away. He can and does eat about 30 bowls in a single meal. Booska is pretty
stubborn when it com es to food. If he is hungry, d o n 't ask him to do
anything; he w o n 't budge.
Cham egon is B ooska's naughty little brother. He looks a lot like a squirrel.
This is no coincidence, as Cham egon w as originally a furry rodent. Booska
g o t the idea for a brother when he was denied entry into a three-legged race.
This particular race required contestants to be related. When Booska was
rejected, he w as furious. It w as then that Daisaku decided to create a brother
for Booska. Booska originally had wanted to get an iguana sibling but was
unable to afford the iguana. W hen a squirrel becam e available, Booska and
his kid pals jum ped at the chance, They placed the squirrel in Daisaku's
transform ation device and out p o pped Chamegon.
Booska's ears are like radar dishes. He is able to hear a pin drop w ithin a 10
kilometer radius. Booska has a super outy belly button, and it is extra
sensitive to tickles. If it is ever pressed, Booska will go nuts and w o n 't stop
laughing. Booska has a retractable tail that can extend to about 5 meters.
His tail is very strong and can be used as a rescue device.
Cham egon is an elite m onster. He is warm -hearted, sentimental, and
fashionable. He loves music. C ham egon is always willing to help out his older
brother. Cham egon is able to run at super speeds, reaching a distance of
100 m eters in about 15 seconds. W alnuts give Cham egon the ability to turn
into anything, including humans, animals, vehicles, even army tanks!
C ham egon does not require oxygen to live. He can live anywhere w ithout it.
C ham egon has an electric tail that can be used as a w eapon, electrocuting
anyone w h o com es in co n ta ct with it. Located right on to p o f his head,
C ham egon's antenna acts as radar. Touching his antenna causes Chame­
gon to becom e extrem ely irritable.
For those of you w ho think Booska is a wim p, think again. He has the pow er
to lift 100 tons and can turn invisible at any given m om ent by saying th e
simple phrase "Nai Nai No Pa". Booska also has the ability to fly, like Ultraman.
Boosko is said to be Booska's girlfriend. No one knows exactly w here she
cam e from . Boosko looks like a pink version o f Booska with charm ing long
eyelashes.
left to right a scale model o f the lab that Booska was created In. An illustration from
the Booska story book. A verity o f Booska items, above that photo is a picture from
one o f the Booska records, bottom left to right; Nostalgic Heroes Booska vinyl. Four
different Bcioska records.
All photos and toys on these two plages are courtesy ofKoji Harmon,
BOOSKA LINGO
“Barasa Barasa” are w o rds often heard when Booska is happy. Som e­
tim es the short version, "Barasa" is used. "Shio Shio No Pa" is said
whenever Booska is sad, worried, or confused. "Puri Puri No Kiririnko” is
heard when Booska is angry or upset. “Kuru Kuru No Chon" is a magic
phrase that m akes Booska grow. It is used sim ultaneously with a closed
fist, circling his chest. “Kaiguri Kaiguri No Chon" is similar to the expression
above but these w o rds m ake Booska shrink. Also spoken with a circling
fist action on the chest, but circling in the opposite direction. "Nai Nai No
Pa" is a sim ple phrase that turns Booska invisible.
BOOSKA TV
"Kaiju Booska" w as the title o f the original Booska television series that ran
from 1966 to 1967, lasting 47 episodes. All episodes were in black and
white, running 25 m inutes each. These were broadcast during kids' prime
tim e, from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm on W ednesday evenings. For hardcore
Booska fans, there is a Booska DVD box set featuring all 47 episodes with
extra features. This box set includes 8 discs and a 40-page book.
The television series “Booska! Booska!" aired from 1999 until 2000 on
Saturday m ornings at 7:00 am. These also ran 25 minutes each. This new
series introduced a revam ped storyline and even featured a couple of all
new characters. The show is also available on DVD, each disk containing
4 episodes.
top to bottom: Masudaya Booska an&Ctiahegon reproductions, in §iow vinyl,
Nostalgic Heroes 18" figures in metallic gold and glow vmyf. The hacking card
far the Booska hand puppet. Ail three colors of the original 'hand puppet by :
tnamsar. A variety o f newer small Booska.figures. Ah Original: Marusan and
new Mdtusan Booska keychain. (they are near impossible iddaii apart:)
BOOSKA LAND
COLLECTING BOOSKA
Collecting Booska is easy and affordable. Many new Booska toys and
related items have been released in the past couple o f years. These can be
found easily at m ost collector shops in Japan and internet auctions. Vintage
Booska, however, is a com pletely different story. "Inu Kum a" is a small
vintage toyshop located ju st outside of Tokyo. The ow ners are big Booska
fans. The store released several Tsuburaya licensed Booska figures of all
sizes, including reissue toys. They are also responsible for m aking a big,
colorful 15-inch Booska vinyl figure. Along w ith Inu Kuma, several other
com panies have produced Booska g oods o f all types including bicycle
locks, telephone straps, pajamas, and neckties. The list goes on and on.
More recently, all sorts o f Booska items have been released through “UFO
Catcher" crane games at video arcades. These item s are "arcade only"
releases making them hard to get, but also very affordable.
Booska was one of the m ost popular characters o f his tim e. O f course, a
large variety o f figures and dolls were produced, including soft vinyl figures of
all sizes, puppets, and w ind-ups. Booska 7 inch record storybooks and
picture disks were also popular featuring short Booska adventure stories
with Booska songs. A few plastic m odel kits were also m ade as well as funky
items like Booska chocolate and Booska furikake (fish flake rice topping). All
vintage Booska items are considered rare, w ith the 7-inch vinyl records
being m ost easily found. D on 't be surprised to find som e o f the vintage
Booska figures or plastic m odels w ith $ 1 000 price tags.
telt to fight: Bxifpmeiy Rare Tin Wmd4JpRempn Bating.andWalking-Bapska by
U m is m . R»ip M m ^ n C fjk m g Q n with origimftmtt. Thme original standard size
Booska vinyls: a 1st version brown Marusan with stlvm mouth, "fate" version
Mamsanpirikyihyl, 2n d version fightbrown M arusahM h white teeth. Not show n2nd version Marusan wUhgm ptm th, or 3rd version M am a n in orange vihyi.
Located about 30 m inutes outside of Tokyo, M ukogaokayuen is unfortu­
nately no longer. This am usem ent park had a long history, lasting decades.
It finally closed its doors in 2003, and, along with it w ent Booska Land.
O pening in 1997, Booska Land w as a kid s’ playground fantasy, featuring
m onkey bars, slides, ropes, and bridges. W ithin the small area, kids could
see a life-size Booska and all his pals in various scenes and poses. In one
spot, Booska stood w atching the children. In another, Booska could be seen
napping with C ham egon o r taking a w alk with Boosko. On weekends, kids
could actually meet, shake hands, and take pictures with the hero himself.
Circling Booska Land from above w as a tw o-person, peddle-pow ered
m onorail. From the monorail, passengers could view everything within
Booska Land, and catch a closer look at a napping Booska. Booska Land
w o u ld n 't be com plete w ithout a Booska shop, and M ukogaokayuen's
Booska shop w as one of the best around, featuring the full line of Booska
g o o ds as well as som e exclusive items like a Booska business card machine.
For a couple hundred yen, you could design your own cards featuring a
selection o f Booska graphics.
THE BOOSKA EXHIBIT
The height of B ooska's co m e b a ck popularity was probably about 4 or 5
years ago. A round this tim e, Booska Land opened, exclusive Booska shops
began business in Tokyo, various books about Booska were published, and
a special Booska exhibit w as featured in Parco departm ent store in Shibuya.
The exhibit featured everything Booska including video m onitors showing
television episodes and com m ercials, photographs, vintage Booska toys,
figures, and m odels. There were som e extremely rare vinyl figures and plastic
m odel kits on display, as well as som e records and storybooks from that era.
People g o t a chance to see w hat Booska was all about, and see just how big
a character he w as during his tim e.
□
Bomktt hand puppet, two smalt SO figures of Booska and Chamegon.
AH Booska toysgn these two pagks am courtesy o f the King Ftory collection.
R O BER T D UBAN
Ik
%
T IM B R I S K O I M A T T A L T
Fa n g o f th e S u n D o u g ra m w a s c o n c e iv e d w h e n b ig th in g s w e re
h a p p e n in g w ith g ia n t ro b o t-th e m e d TV s h o w s . A lth o u g h Japanese
fa n s p ro b a b ly w e r e n 't fu lly a w a re o f it a t th e tim e , th e d e b u t o f
x
r
>
M o b ile S u it G u n d a m in 1979 w a s a h u g e tu rn in g p o in t in a nim e . The
d e a th k n e li h a d b ee n s o u n d e d fo r th e "s u p e r ro b o t" s h o w s like
M a z in g e r Z a n d D a ike n g o , w h e re th e h e ro e s a n d th e ir b o ld ly c o lo re d
i
g ia n t
ro b o ts
v a n q u is h e d
p h y s ic s - d e fy in g
th e
s u p e rp o w e rs
m o n s te r
and
of
th e
w eek
e n th u s ia s tic a lly
w ith
announced
fig h tin g m o v e s . T h e y w e re g iv in g w a y to th e c o n c e p t o f th e "real
ro b o t," o r "m e c h a " (s h o rt fo r "m e c h a n is m "), a g ia n t ro b o t th a t w as
m a s s -p ro d u c e d a n d p ilo te d like a n y o th e r m ilita r y v e h ic le . A lth o u g h
th e r o b o t d e s ig n s had s o m e o f th e v is u a l tra p p in g s o f th e s u p e r
ro b o ts , su ch as s a m u ra i-s ty le d h e lm e ts , a rc h a ic w e a p o n s like s w o rd s
and
axes,
and
c o m b in in g
v e h ic le
c o m p o n e n ts ,
G undam
w as
d is tin c tly d iffe re n t fro m th e s h o w s th a t c a m e b e fo re it because o f its
i
re a lis m .
E ven th o u g h th e la n d s c a p e w a s c h a n g in g fo r a n im e ro b o ts , th e
u
c o m m e rc ia l re a litie s sta y e d th e sa m e. G u n d a m , like all o f th e ro b o t
s h o w s b e fo re it, w a s p r im a r ily a v e h ic le to p ro m o te ro b o t to y s . The
m a s s -p ro d u c e d n a tu re o f G u n d a m ’s ro b o ts , c o u p le d w ith its ta rg e t
a u d ie n c e (b o y s in th e ir e a rly te e n s ) re s u lte d in an u np re c e d e n te d
d e m a n d fo r m o d e l k its , w h ic h c o u ld be c u s to m iz e d a n d p a in te d a ny
w ay
th e
b u ild e r
d e s ire d .
K id s
w a n te d
to
c re a te
th e
ro b o ts
th e m s e lv e s , th e w a y th e fic tio n a l m e cha fa c to rie s d id . D em a n d fo r
th e s e k its w a s so in te n s e th a t o n o n e o c c a s io n , se ve ra l c h ild re n w ere
in ju re d in a r io t a t a d e p a rtm e n t s to re th a t s o ld th e m .
It w a s a t th is tim e th a t to y m a k e r T a ka ra (Ja pa n e se fo r "tre asu re ")
d e c id e d it w a s tim e to e n te r th e real ro b o t race, a n d s ta rte d w o rk in g
on c o n c e p ts fo r a n e w a n im e s h o w . R yosuke T a ka h ash i, an a n im e
1 /1 4 4 D O U G R A M
p ro d u c e r, w a s ch o s e n to h ead th e series, and began s c rip tin g a tale
a b o u t th e c o lo n y w o r ld D e lo y e r w a g in g a w a r o f in d e p e n d e n c e fro m
th e E a rth F e d e ra tio n . In th e o p e n in g e p is o d e s , a g ro u p o f D e lo y e r
g u e rilla s k n o w n as th e Fang o f th e S u h ste a l a p ro to ty p e "c o m b a t
a rm o r" ro b o t c a lle d D o u g ra m , a n d use it in g u e rrilla w a rfa re a g a in s t
th e ir a g g re s s o rs . A d m itte d ly , th e s to ry lin e w a s s im ila r to G u n d a m 's ,
b u t th e re w a s a h e a v y fo c u s o n th e p o litic a l a spe cts o f th e c o n flic t,
s o m e th in g th a t w o u ld a p p e a l to th e s h o w 's m o re s o p h is tic a te d
ta rg e t a u d ie n c e .
K u n io O ka w ara , th e m e c h a n ic a l d e s ig n e r re s p o n s ib le fo r c re a tin g
G u n d a m 's ro b o ts , w a s h ire d and g iv e n s im p le d ire c tiv e s : firs t, th e
ro b o ts s h o u ld lo o k m o re lik e m ilita r y h a rd w a re th a n G u n d a m .
S e co n d , th e ro b o ts w o u ld be s m a lle r, a b o u t te n m e te rs ta ll, so th a t
Takara c o u ld se ll a ffo rd a b le D o u g ra m m e rc h a n d is e in scales p o p u la r
w ith m ilita r y m o d e le rs .
1
*
1
1
"S in c e th e m a in G u n d a m ta n s w e re a re la tiv e ly o ld e r ta rg e t a u d ie nce ,"
1
A s a h in a Y o s h ik a z u , a p ro d u c t d e s ig n e r at T a ka ra d u rin g th e 1980s
re la te s, "I th in k it w a s in e v ita b le th a t re a lis m b eca m e th e m a in design
fo c u s . I re m e m b e r th e m
u s in g ide a s su c h as 'm a k e th e heads th e
c o c k p its ' in an a tte m p t to e m p h a s iz e th e re a lis m o f th e ir d e s ig n and
d iffe re n tia te th e m fr o m G u n d a m ."
T h e to y s and m o d e l k its w e re p ro d u c e d in 3 scales: 1/144, 1/72, and 1/48.
N o t c o in c id e n ta lly , th e s e w e re th e sa m e scales as m a n y m ilita ry m o de ls,
a n d T akara w a s b a n k in g o n th e idea th a t m ilita r y m o d e le rs w o u ld b uy
D o u g ra m ite m s to d is p la y w ith th e ir e x is tin g re a l-life kits. Takara helped
th is a lo n g b y re is s u in g k its o f re a l-life m ilita r y v e h ic le s and s o ld ie rs in
th e s e scales, as w e ll as d io ra m a bases, a ll u n d e r th e D o u g ra m bran d
n am e .
S ig n ific a n tly , T akara w a s c a llin g th e 1/72 and 1/48 to y s "D ual M o d e ls ".
The [D ual M o d e l n am e w a s] created to d iffe re n tia te th e m as a n ew typ e o f
m o de l, as c o m p a re d to th e w id e ly kn o w n w o rd 'p la m o d e l', th e Ja panese
c o n tra c tio n fo r 'p la s tic m o d e l,' “ Y o s h ik a z u says. T o d riv e th e p o in t
h o m e th a t th e se w e re n o t o n ly c o m p le te to y s , b u t s o m e th in g c o u ld also
be p a in te d like a m o d e l kit, m o s t o f th e D ual M o d e l b o x a rt fe a tu re d
v e rs io n s o f th e to y s th a t had b een e x te n s iv e ly d e ta ile d w ith p a in t and
deca ls. T h e c a ta lo g fo r th e s m a lle r 1/144 fig u re s also fe a tu re d a h e a v ily
c u s to m iz e d v e rs io n o f th e D o u g ra m in a d e s e rt c a m o u fla g e schem e.
T h e 1/144 fig u re s in c lu d e d a g o o d a m o u n t o f d ie -c a s t m e ta l and , at 3"
ta ll, w e re ide a l fo r c h ild re n w h o liv e d in a c o u n try w h e re space w a s a t a
p re m iu m . Fiftee n d iffe re n t to y s w e re released in th is scale, re p re s e n tin g
n e a rly e v e ry ro b o t d e s ig n in th e TV s h o w and in c lu d in g th re e large
.EH
ym
~v; Y,
m u lti-le g g e d "G u n n e r" to y s . T h re e "C o lle c tio n S ets" w e re also released,
th e fir s t o f w h ic h in c lu d e d th re e fig u re s p lu s a d io ra m a base. The
re m a in in g tw o C o lle c tio n S ets are th e D o u g ra m a n d S o ltic H8 w ith th e ir
d e liv e ry v e h ic le s , a tr a n s p o r t tru c k and a h e lic o p te r, re s p e c tiv e ly .
1
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T h e 1/72 a n d 1/48 D ual M o d e ls fe a tu re d a d ie -c a s t m e ta l s k e le to n , c o m p le te w ith
s p r in g -lo a d e d s h o c k a b s o rb e rs in th e le g s , a n d a fu ll s e t o f s n a p -o n a r m o r and
a c c e s s o rie s . T h re e 1/72 D ual M o d e ls w e re re le a s e d : D o u g ra m , S o ltic H8, and th e
A b ita te T-10B, a ls o k n o w n as th e "B lo c k h e a d ." T h e fir s t tw o are e x c e p tio n a l m echa to y s ,
b u t th e B lockh e a d is th e c ro w n je w e l o f th e se rie s. It's 7 1/2 " ta ll (m a k in g it s ig n ific a n tly
ta lle r th a n o v e r th e 5" D o u g ra m a n d S o ltic ), a n d it c o m e s w ith tw o sets o f a rm o r: a
n o rm a l m a ro o n c o lo re d v e rs io n , a n d a tra n s lu c e n t s e t th a t s h o w s o ff th e ro b o t's
d e ta ile d m e c h a n ic a l ske le to n .
O n ly one 1/48 scale Dual M o de l w as m ade, th e D ougram . Fully assem bled, at 8" it is the
m o s t m assive to y in th e series. Libe ra ting th is beh e m o th fro m th e S tyro fo a m tra y and
a s sem b lin g it fro m a pile o f parts to m ake a co m p le te , fu lly arm ed ro b o t vehicle is a tru ly
m e m o ra b le e xperience. The feel o f cre a tin g th e ro b o t y o u rs e lf is e xactly w h a t Takara
intended.
C om pared to th e garish s u pe r ro b o t to y boxes o f th e 1970s, all o f th e D ougram to ys have
m uch m o re subd u e d packaging. The 1/72 Dual M o de ls w ere packaged in tw o part slipcover
boxes w ith a te x tu re d fin is h re m in isce n t o f a leather-bound book, fu rth e r re in fo rcin g the
idea th a t these w ere s o m e th in g m ore th a n ju s t to ys. The 1/72 D ougram and S oltic w ere also
so ld in boxes fe a tu rin g p a in tin g s b y O kaw ara, a lth o u g h it seem s th a t these "a rt box"
e d itio n s w ere released in a m o re lim ite d q ua n tity. The 1/48 Dual M odel D ougram had som e
o f th e m o st ela b o rate packaging a ro b o t to y had ever been sold in: a p ortfolio-like box th a t
sealed shut w ith a m etal snap.
One o d d ity in Takara's D o u g ra m lin e u p is th e M a g n e ty p e D o u g ra m , w hich relies on
m a gn e tic jo in ts to h old th e fig u re to g e th er. Som e sm a ll ru bb e r ve rsio n s o f the enem y
ro bo ts are inclu d ed as accessories, and it's clear th e to y m akers added these fo r children to
knock d o w n w ith th e D ougram 's sp rin g -lo a d ed m issiles. S m all, crude v in y l fig ure s o f the
D ougram and S o ltic H8 w ere also sold in bags w ith header cards. A large 14" unpainted
v in y l D ougram fig u re w as also m ade, b u t th is w as p ro b a b ly a store d is p la y item only
prod u ce d in v e ry sm a ll q ua n titie s fo r retailers.
•COMBAT ARMOR.
COMBAT ARMOR
COMBAT ARMOR
p M S IY ~tTR 62
Fang o f th e S u n D o u g ra m , Ja p a n 's se co n d m e cha TV s h o w , p re m ie re d on
O c to b e r 23, 1981 a n d e n d e d o n M a rch 25, 1983. A t 75 e p is o d e s , a v e ry
re sp e cta b le ru n , th e s e rie s w a s o v e r 20 e p is o d e s lo n g e r th a n G u n d a m . It w a s
fo llo w e d b y a th e a tric a l m o v ie c a lle d D o c u m e n ta ry o n th e Fa n g o f th e S un
D o u g ra m , w h ic h w a s a c o n d e n s e d e d it o f th e TV se rie s. A s h o rt c a rto o n c a lle d
C h o ro -Q D o u g ra m w a s a ls o s h o w n
b e fo re th e m o v ie , fe a tu r in g
a c u te
s q u a s h e d v e rs io n o f th e m echa a n d h is p ilo t, C rin n C ash im . Takara p ro d u c e d a
s p e c ia l to y to tie in w ith th is m in i-fe a tu re , an SD D o u g ra m to y th a t w a s
b ra n d e d u n d e r th e ir "C h o ro -Q " s e rie s o f p u llb a c k ra c in g cars.
D o u g ra m to y s w e re im p o rte d in to A m e ric a in larg e n u m b e rs , m a k in g th e ir
w a y to n a tio n a l re ta il o u tle ts like Toys R Us a n d Kay Bee. T h e to y s im p o rte d
w e re c o m p le te ly id e n tic a l to th e Ja pa n e se v e rs io n s , b u t th e re w e re s o m e
s lig h t ch an g e s m a d e to th e p a cka g in g . T h e 1/72 and 1/48 D ual M o d e ls s im p ly
had a la rg e sticke r p aste d o n th e fro n ts w ith E n g lish te x t, a n d th e 1/144 to y s
w e re g iv e n
m o d ifie d
b o x e s w ith
p eg h a n g e rs . E n g lis h v e rs io n s o f th e
in s tru c tio n sh ee ts w e re in c lu d e d , c o m p le te w ith th e b o ld D e lo y e r d e c la ra tio n s
th a t p ro b a b ly le ft m o re th a n a fe w A m e ric a n k id s s c ra tc h in g th e ir heads.
D u rin g th e ro b o t to y g lu t o f th e 1980s, a n d w ith n o s h o w on A m e ric a n TV to
p ro m o te it, m a n y D o u g ra m to y s ju s t g a th e re d d u s t o n th e to y s to re s ' s h elve s,
a nd e v e n tu a lly th e se e n d e d u p in th e c le a ra n ce bins.
Because o f th is, m o s t v in ta g e D o u g ra m d ie -ca st to y s are re a d ily a va ila b le
in A m e ric a , a n d q u ite a ffo rd a b le . T h e
B lockhead
u s u a lly
fe tch
th e
h ig h e s t
1/48 D o u g ra m a n d th e
p ric e s ,
a lth o u g h
th e y
1/72
a re n 't
p a rtic u la rly hard to fin d . The M a g n e ty p e D o u g ra m is n o t seen o fte n , and
c o lle c to rs have n o tice d th a t m a n y o f th e se s u ffe r fro m a d e te rio ra tio n o f
th e
S ty ro fo a m
tra y
th a t s o m e tim e s
a ffe c ts th e
to y ,
m a k in g
m in t
s p ecim e n s d iffic u lt to o b ta in . T h e v in y l D o u g ra m s a nd S o ltics are p o s s ib ly
th e
h a rd e s t D o u g ra m
ite m s to
fin d
d u e to
th e ir n a tu re
as ch ea p
d isp o sa ble ite m s th a t w e re g iv e n to y o u n g e r ch ild re n . N o t m a n y o f th e m
s u rv iv e d th e 1980s.
D u rin g th e late 1990s, th e re w a s a b rie f re su rg e n ce o f in te re s t in D o u g ra m
a lo n g w ith o th e r s h o w s fro m th e tim e p e rio d . Takara re issu e d th e 1/72
S o ltic D ual M o d e l, b u t in e x p lic a b ly , its scale s ib lin g s th e D o u g ra m and
Blockhead n e ve r re -ap p e are d . It's b e lie v e d th a t Takara w a s u n a b le to
locate th e m o ld s fo r th e o th e r D o u g ra m to y s , a lth o u g h sales o f th e S o ltic
n
smrnm
w e re re p o rte d ly so lo w th a t p ro d u c in g a n y o th e r re issu e s p ro b a b ly
w o u ld n 't h ave b een w o rth
it. T h e D o u g ra m
C h o ro -Q to y w a s also
.
reissued in a fo u r pack w ith th e C ho ro -Q S co p e d o g , G ia n t G o rg and
G alient, b u t even a lim ite d tra n s lu c e n t ve rs io n o f th is se t d id n 't se ll all
th a t w ell.
S till, D o u g ra m had its d a y in th e su n , and c o lle c to rs in Ja p a n and b e yo n d
____
s till a pp re ciate th e to y s th e series gave us. M a n y o f th e co n ce p ts Takara
d e v e lo p e d fo r D o u g ra m w e re re -a p p lie d once th e y g o t th e ir VO TO M S
to y s u nd e rw ay, b u t th a t's a n o th e r s to ry ...
I
LEFT 1 /7 2 D U A L M O D E L
A BITATE T-10B B LO C K H E A D
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■ «■
.. . ■ • •
» * i
Marusan was the first company to release a Miny;
which they did in 1967. The vinyl to y stands a little <
TEXT / MIKE JOHNSON
PHOTOS / MARK NAGATA
inches tali, which is much sm aller than the other s
Toho figures by Marusan. The figure is nicely seal
the giant Godzilla that w ould be released later by B
There are tw o m ajor variations-- one is on red vini
the other is on a lig h t green vinyl. The red vinyl vari
much harder to find. There is also a small differ
paint on the green vinyl. One version has a silv
spray. When Marusan resurfaced in the late 199C
w o u ld re-reiease this fig u re in three different va
The firs t was a lig h t blue version, which was followe
unpainted flesh version, and then an alm ost identic
scheme to vintage green vinyl version was sold e
w ith a Marusan standard Godzilla reissue.
In 1969, Marusan planned to release a new stands
vin yl fig u re in scale w ith the rest o f the ti
Unfortunately, M arusan was dissolved before the
could be released. One o f the owners w ould lat
Bullm ark and release this vinyl under the monike
new company. The toy can be found w ith the Marus.
BIRTH /
1 9 67
HEIG HT / 13 meters
W E IG H T /
1 8 0 0 tons
M O VIE APPEARANCES
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1S
Godzilla's Revenge
{19i
9 " M l reproduction - g old spray w / bo;
9 " M l reproduction - blue spray
mm
9 " M l reproduction - blue spray
9 " 1991 bandai reproduction - green virl
9 " O rig in a l M arusan - d a rk blue spray
6 .5 " O rig in a l Marusan - green vinyl
6 .5 " Lucky Bag Marusan repro - flesh no
6 ,5 " O rig in a l Marusan - red vinyl no pij
Penguin copyright stamped on the b ottom o f its foot
(because M arusan had m ade the o rig in a l m old),
however, this figure exists w ith a Bullm ark stam p as
w e ll, b u t is much harder to fin d . The basic fig u re
comes in a red vinyl w ith one sm all p aint variation—
one version features a blue m etallic spray on a silver
base and the other is a darker blue/black w ith no silver.
In 1992, Bandai w o u ld re-release the m old in green
vrnyl w ith the Bullm ark stamp as part o f th e ir Toho
Kaiju series. The series features ten other Bullm ark
standard figures. Later in 2002, M l released three
different glow-in-the-dark variations o f the M inya m old.
The firs t one bore a blue spray sim ilar to the m ythical
g lo w /iv o ry version th a t B ullm ark produced as a
sample. A sim ilar version w ith a m etallic green spray
F l C o lle c tio n o f c a n d y a n d c a p s u le to y s
H Z M a r m it P ara B a b y fig u re w ith Z o ru
G i M a r m it P ara B a b y G o rU ilia 6 7 w ith b a b y M in y a 12003}
I / B a n d a i fig u r e f 1392>
follow ed shortly. The last version had gold spray and a
w o o d base, sold at the Old C haracter's Toy M useum
In 1992, Bandai released th e ir rendition o f Minya. The
vinyl figure featured the Bandai standard Destroy All
M onsters tag attached to the back o f the toy. An alm ost
identical bootleg can be found from tim e to tim e. The
m
S m
m
m ain differences between th e tw o figures are the lack o f a co p yrig h t on the bootleg's
fo o t and the way the eyes are painted. Bandai also released several candy to y and
capsule set variations. The m ost notably being the clear HG (high grade) grade 6
version lim ited to a hundred sets and had to be w on in a m aii-away drawing.
Tsuburaya C om m unication, now Yamanaya, released a special anniversary box set in
2001 that came w ith M inya, Godzilla 64 and a flyin g Ultra Seven figure. The figure
stands roughly six inches tall and bears a silly grin.
M arm it firs t introduced Minya at the end of th e ir Vinyl Paradise toy line in 1999. The
figure was much shorter then the other figures in the series. The initial release was blue
w ith green spray. A special pink vinyl gallery version was also produced. As part o f their
Parababy line, three different Minya variations were released. In 2003, the most notable
was a fu ll size version around 4 1/2 inches that came w ith a Zoruge base accessory. The
other tw o versions came w ith accessories fo r other standard Parababy figures. A small
M inya came w ith the 67 Godzilla sculpted so th a t he can rest on Godzilla's shoulder. An
even sm aller M inya, hatching from an egg, came w ith Kumonga.
Baremodel released a stand-alone vinyl M inya in 2003, roughly four inches tall. The
fig u re was fo llo w e d by a special dioram a set that was com m issioned by a Japanese
toyshop called ichiban-Boshi. The set was lim ited to 80 and sold at the store. The
dioram a is done to represent a snow scene. The se t contains the 67 Godzilla, Minya
and the iceberg. The iceberg was an accessory o rig in a lly released w ith the fu ll size 62
Godzilla. Both figures are painted as though they are covered w ith snow.
■■
W h e th e r y o u k n o w it o r n o t, y o u 're fa m ilia r w ith th e w o rk o f G a ry B asem an, His d i­
ve rs e e x p o s u re has in c lu d e d e d ito ria l illu s tra tio n fo r e v e ry th in g fro m th e N e w Y o rk
T im e s a nd R o llin g S to n e to ad c a m p a ig n s fo r M e rce d e s Benz a nd AO L. His d e s ig n fo r
th e p o p u la r C ra n iu m b o a rd g a m e has m a d e h is a rtw o rk im m e d ia te ly re co g n iza b le
in m illio n s o f h o u s e h o ld s . His p a in tin g s are p a rt o f th e p e rm a n e n t c o lle c tio n a t th e
N a tio n a l P o rtra it G a lle ry in W a s h in g to n , DC a n d th e M u s e u m o f M o d e rn A r t in Rom e,
a nd he has h ad a n u m b e r o f g a lle ry e x h ib itio n s w o r ld w id e in c lu d in g la s t y e a r's H ap­
p y Id io t s h o w at th e Earl M cG ra th G a lle ry in N e w Y o rk. M o s t v is ib ly , Basem an is th e
c re a to r o f T e a c h e r's Pet, an E m m y a w a rd -w in n in g a n im a te d te le v is io n s h o w a b o u t a
d o g w h o d is g u is e s h im s e lf as a b o y to a tte n d s c h o o l w ith his m a ste r. T e a c h e r's Pet is
n o w a s u cce ssfu l fe a tu re film fro m D isn e y, fe a tu rin g th e v o ic e ta le n ts o f N a th a n Lane,
Paul R eubens, K e lse y G ra m m a r and W a lla c e S h a w n .
O ve r th e p a st ye a r, B a se m a n has e n te re d th e w o r ld o f to y d e s ig n w ith a lim ite d
e d itio n v in y l fig u re fr o m C ritte rb o x T o ys a n d th e D unces, a g ro u p o f fiv e m in i-fig u re s fo r S o n y C re a tiv e 's V a n im a l Z o o se ries. He is also a c o n trib u to r to S uper7 and
S tra n g e C o 's u p c o m in g N e o K a iju P ro je ct, a lo n g w ith T im B isku p , S eo n n a H ong and
T o d d S c h o rr a n d K a th y S ta ic o -S c h o rr.
L a s t s p re a d : "C a tch o f th e D a y " - fro m th e N Y C s o lo s h o w
" H a p p y I d io t " a n d o th e r p a in tin g s a b o u t U n a tta in a b le B e a u ty
2 3 " x 2 9 " (a c ry lic o n w o o d p a n e l)
T o p o f p a g e : " I A m Y o u r P ih a ta ” - 21 " x 2 7 " (a c ry lic o n ca n v a s )
A b o v e : B a se m a n in h is s tu d io - p h o to g r a p h e d b y G re g P re sto n
B asem an is a rare a rtis t th a t can tra v e rs e th e se v a rie d m e d iu m s w h ile m a in ta in in g a
u n ifie d s p ir it th ro u g h o u t his w o rk . T h is su cce ssfu l b a la n c in g a ct has led h im to create
his o w n d e s c rip tiv e te rm : P e rva sive A rt. "T h e n o tio n ," B asem an e x p la in s , " is th a t as
lo n g as yo u sta y tru e to y o u r a e s th e tic a n d have a s tro n g sense o f m e a n in g , th e n th e
w o rk y o u do can be a p p ro p ria te fo r a lm o s t a n y m e d iu m — fro m p rin t to TV to film to
p a in tin g s to c o m m e rc e ."
B a se m a n's w o rk as an a rtis t b e g an in e d ito ria l illu s tra tio n , h is fir s t b re a k w ith th e
N e w Y o rk T im e s B o o k R e vie w . T h e n e d ito r, S te ve H e lle r o ffe re d h im th e o p p o r tu n ity
to create th e c o v e r a n d a ll im a g e s fo r an e n tire issu e , w h ic h h e lp e d la u n c h B a se m a n 's
career. R e lo c a tin g fro m Los A n g e le s to N e w Y o rk, he c o n tin u e d w o rk in g re g u la rly
th ro u g h o u t th e n in e tie s ( "p e o p le w o u ld h ire m e w h e n th e y w e re d e s p e ra te ," he h a lfjo k in g ly c o m m e n ts ) a n d b u ilt an im p re s s iv e p o rtfo lio o f a rtw o rk and c lie n ts . " Illu s tr a ­
tio n is a w o n d e rfu l e d u c a tio n in b e in g a v is u a l m essa g e m a k e r," B a se m a n co n c lu d e s .
" I t te a che s y o u h o w to ta k e an im a g e a n d c o n c e p t a nd m a ke p e o p le th in k — d a y in
and d a y o u t."
W h ile w o rk in g in N e w Y o rk, Basem an s ta rte d to e xp a n d h is reach in to fin e a rt, a n im a ­
tio n a nd o th e r areas. He h e ld h is fir s t g a lle ry s h o w . N e rv o u s T w itc h e s at N e w Y o rk 's
n o w -d e fu n c t Illu s tra tio n G a lle ry, and d e v e lo p e d his fir s t te le v is io n p ilo t fo r N icke lo d e ­
on: Louie L ouie, a b o u t a c h a m e le o n a n d a h a m s te r- " tw o se co n d -ra te p e ts ''- w h o are
fo rc e d to liv e in th e sam e cage. W h e n a ch a n g e o f c o n tro l at th e n e tw o rk sh e lve d th e
p ro je c t. Basem an hea de d w e s t to p u rsu e a rt a n d a n im a tio n a n e w in Los A n g e le s.
T he re tu rn to C a lifo rn ia p ro v e d fr u itfu l, w ith th e s u cce ssfu l d e v e lo p m e n t o f T e a c h e r's
Pet and a s e rie s o f o n e -m a n e x h ib itio n s . H is firs t, 1999's D u m b Luck a t th e M e n d e n h a l
G a lle ry , g a v e B a se m a n th e o p p o r tu n ity to d e v e lo p his g a lle ry fo rm a t— an e n tire ly
n e w b o d y o f w o rk fo llo w in g a d is tin c t th e m e , w ith a 3D o b je c t as its ce n te rp ie c e .
D u m b Luck in c lu d e d a p e w te r s ta tu e o f th e d u m b lu ck ra b b it. 2 0 0 2 's I a m Y o u r P in a ta
e x h ib it fe a tu re d a se ries o f B a s e m a n -d e s ig n e d p in a ta s . A n d 2 0 0 3 's H a p p y Id io t c o n ­
ta in e d a c e ra m ic s ta tu e o f th e m a in ch a ra cte r.
B a se m a n 's th e m e s o fte n e x p lo re th e c o n flic t b e tw e e n d e s ire a nd th e in e v ita b le price
to s a tis fy it. T he p la y fu ln e s s o f h is c a rto o n -in flu e n c e d s ty le v is u a lly d is a rm s w h ile
th e s u b je c t m a tte r packs a v e ry m a tu re p u n c h . F or e x a m p le , th e H a p p y Id io t (the title
c h a ra c te r fro m his re c e n t g a lle ry s h o w in N e w Y o rk) is a s w e e t-lo o k in g th re e -tie re d
s n o w m a n th a t h a p p ily m e lts h im s e lf to a llo w a b e lo v e d m e rm a id life in his b o d y
o f w a te r. M o re e x p lic it is L u cky fro m th e D u m b Luck s h o w — a s m ilin g , p e g -le g g e d
ra b b it th a t is th rille d to h ave its o w n lu c k y ra b b it's fo o t c h a rm . B asem an c la im s th a t
th e se are o fte n " p e rs o n a l a n a lo g ie s ," re fle c tin g h is p e rc e p tio n s o f life , d e s ire , and
success— a nd th e in e v ita b le c o n s e q u e n c e s fo r a tta in in g th e m .
W h a te v e r th e tra d e -o ffs , B a se m a n c o n tin u e s to p ro d u c e in te re s tin g a n d v a rie d w o rk .
W ith th e release o f T e a c h e r's Pet u n d e r his b e lt, he has been c o n c e n tra tin g o n b o th
p a in tin g s a nd p ro d u c ts . In e a rly F e b ru a ry , La Luz de Je su s G a lle ry in Los A n g e le s
h o s te d a n o th e r B a se m a n o n e -m a n g a lle ry s h o w w ith th e D unces as its th e m e , and
th e G e tty M u s e u m has c o m m is s io n e d h im to crea te a c h ild re n 's b o o k a b o u t th e G reek
m y th o f H erakles. He has a lso b een w o rk in g w ith C h ro n ic le B o o ks on D u m b Luck, a
3 5 2 -p a g e re tro s p e c tiv e b o o k o f h is w o rk a n d in flu e n c e s — fro m illu s tr a tio n w o rk to
his p e rs o n a l c o lle c tio n o f v in ta g e to y s a n d p h o to g ra p h s .
T o p : " S h in e r " - 2 T 'x 2 5 “ a c ry lic o n w o o d p a n e l
M id d le r o w ( le ft to r ig h t) : " E n te r ta in e r o f th e Y e a r" - o r ig in a lly c o m m is s io n e d b y E n te rta in m e n t
W e e k ly m a g a z in e , c o v e r o f b o o k " D u m b L uck, th e A r t o f G a ry B a s e m a n ," “ E v il G e n iu s " - 2 9 " x 2 3 "
fr o m H a p p y I d io t s h o w , " H a p p y I d io t " s c u lp tu re - 2 7 " ta ll (c e ra m ic )
B o tto m : " M a n ife s ta tio n s o f D e s ir e " - 1 4 . 5 " x l7 .5 " fr o m H a p p y Id io t s h o w
B a se m a n's n o to rie ty as an in d iv id u a l is fin a lly c a tc h in g up
w ith th a t o f h is w o rk . His s ty le re m a in s b o th p e rs o n a l and
id e n tifia b le , tr u ly p e rv a d in g m u ltip le le ve ls o f a rt, c o m m e rc e
and e n te rta in m e n t. W h e th e r p ro d u c in g fo r th e a rt g a lle ry o r
th e b ig scree n , B asem an a lw a y s su cce e ds in m a in ta in in g th e
in te g rity o f his a e s th e tic— b o th v is u a lly a nd c o n c e p tu a lly .
The re s u lt has been a q u ie t, p e rm e a tin g in filtr a tio n in to th e
h o u s e h o ld s and m in d s o f p e o p le w o rld w id e .
T ) jjN c E S
a
flig h t: "R e -T a rd y " a n d " G o o d y 2 S h o e s " - lim ite d e d itio n s e rig ra p h
p r in ts fr o m D u n c e s h o w
B e lo w : “ S w e e t S u rre n d e r A " - 2 5 " x 2 5 " (a rc y lic o n w o o d p a n e l)
R e T A *D V
•J * - T 4 -
BASEM AN & TOYS
O ve r th e p a st ye a r, B a se m a n has e x p a n d e d his ra n g e to in c lu d e to y d e sig n .
B e g in n in g w ith LA -b a sed C ritte rb o x T o ys a nd J a p a n 's S o n y C re ative , he has
d e v e lo p e d a se rie s o f b o th ro to c a s t v in y l a nd PVC m in i fig u re s th a t show case
his d is tin c t c h a ra c te r style .
Toys seem to be a major inspiration for you.
Y eah. I lo ve to y s . I have a c o lle c tio n o f o ld a d v e rtis in g fig u re s — th e M ic h e lin
M an , R eddy K ilo w a tt, o ld F elix th e Cat to y s as w e ll. I d o n 't see th e m as to ys,
b u t as s c u lp tu re . T h e y 're w o rk s o f a rt th a t h a p p e n e d to be cre a te d in th e '20s
a nd '30s and '40s. Pete th e Pup fro m th e '30s is a n o th e r o b se ssio n o f m in e . I
d o n 't th in k he e v e r had a c a rto o n , so I see h im as a fa ile d c a rto o n ch a ra c te r
a nd use h im as a p e rso n a l a n a lo g y . I o w n like 14 o r 15 o f th e se g u ys. A n y tim e
I can fin d th e m , I w ill b u y th e m .
How did you get started w ith toy m aking?
I've been p la y in g a ro u n d w ith to y d e s ig n fo re v e r, even w h e n I w a s in c o l­
lege. S in ce m y n o to rie ty s ta rte d g ro w in g , I'v e been fo rtu n a te to have p e o ple
co m e to m e. C ritte rb o x T o ys w a s th e firs t. T h e y 're p ro d u c in g th e ra b b it fro m
D u m b Luck, w h ic h s h o u ld be a v a ila b le e a rly th is y e a r. I th e n s ig n e d on to S o n y
C re a tiv e 's V a n im a l Z o o se rie s w h ile tra v e lin g in Ja p a n fo r a g ro u p s h o w w ith
fe llo w a rtis ts M a rk Ryden a nd T im B iskup. M y in itia l idea w a s to p ro d u c e a
se rie s o f fig u re s based on a se cre t so c ie ty , b u t it tu rn e d o u t I m is u n d e rs to o d
th e o rig in a l c o n c e p t b e h in d th e V a n im a ls (w h ic h c o n s is ts o f fo u r ch a ra c te rs o f
e x a c tly th e sa m e sh a p e p a in te d d iffe re n tly a nd a fifth c h a ra c te r th a t is to ta lly
d iffe re n t). I c h a n g e d co u rse and ca m e o u t w ith th e Dunces.
Can you describe the idea behind the Dunces?
It's an im a g e th a t I re a lly c o n n e c t w ith . I like th e idea o f th e c lo w n , th e id io t,
th e s e lf-d e p re c a tin g fo o l. I use th e D unce c h a ra c te r in m y a rt, a lth o u g h he's
u s u a lly sta b b e d in th e back. F or th e to y s , I re sh a p e d th e c h a ra c te rs fro m fo o ls
fo r lo ve a nd re je c tio n to o b e d ie n c e s c h o o l d ro p o u ts . I'm a c tu a lly in d is c u s ­
sio n s n o w to tu rn th e D unce c h a ra c te rs — as th e y have been p ro d u c e d fo r th e
to y s e rie s— in to a m e d ia p ro p e rty .
H ow do you see toys fitting in with the rest of your body of w ork?
T h e y 're a p e rfe c t fit. I w a n t to p ro d u c e ite m s th a t p e o p le w ill fin d as little
g e m s, w h e th e r th e y 're to y s , a p p a re l, bo o ks, etc. A s lo n g as th e y are s m a rt
and fu n n y , to y s are an e s s e n tia l w a y to g e t im a g e s and id e a s o u t th e re .
T o p le ft: “ D u m b L u c k " - lim ite d e d itio n a r t to y , p ro d u c e d b y C r itte r B o x
L e ft: " F o r M y M o m " - M o th e r's D a y c o v e r fo r T h e N e w Y o rk e r M a g a z in e
B e lo w : " R e -T a rd y ," "C o p y C a t" a n d " D u n c e s "
R ig h t: "S w e e t S u rre n d e r B " - 2 5 " x 2 5 " (a c ry lic o n w o o d p a n e l), “ F a m ily a n d
F rie n d s " - 2 1 " x 2 1 " (a c ry lic o n c a n va s) fro m D u m b L u ck g a lle ry s h o w
B e lo w (c lo c k w is e fro m to p l e f t ) : " 1 3 " - o r ig in a lly p u b lis h e d in B la b (a c ry lic o n
canvas), "D a m n y o u a ll. In m e m o r y o f S tu b b y " - 2 1 " x 2 7 " fr o m th e “ I A m Y o u r
P ihata s h o w , “ S le e p w a lk e r" 2 3 " x 2 9 “ a c ry lic o n w o o d p a n e l, "O p e n W o u n d s " 14,5 x 17 5 " (a c ry lic o n w o o d p a n e l) fro m O p e n W o u n d s s h o w a t O X -O P g a lle ry
m u
A R T B Y R U S S E L L U. R IC H A R D S
Russell U. R ich a rds is a fin e a rtis t w ith a s tu d io at th e M c G u ffe y A rt
C e n te r in C h a rlo tte s v ille , VA, His fo c u s is on p rin t m e d ia like lith o g ­
ra p h y and e tc h in g , b u t he has a lso been cre a tin g p la s tic to y s as art
p ieces sin ce 1998.
Russell s c u lp ts , m o ld s , a nd ca sts his to y s by h a n d. The to y s are ac­
c o m p a n ie d b y a s im p le package d e sig n th a t he c o n s id e rs to be in te ­
g ra l to th e piece. E d itio n s are lim ite d by th e n u m b e r Russell can m ake,
a lth o u g h he w o u ld be d e lig h te d to h ave th e m m a n u fa c tu re d by so m e
s m a rt to y c o m p a n y !
w w w .ru s s e llric h a rd s .c o m
C ounter-clockw ise fro m to p left:
P h o be / four-color etching, I " x 6 "
A p r il F o o l's D ay / four-color etching, 4 " x 6 "
Evan / fo u r-colo r lithograph, J " x 6 ”
L il'Z illa a n d T in y T o k y o T o w e r / c a s t plastic, 3 " ta ll
C h ild re n (d e ta il!/ four-color etching, 4 1/4" x 6 "
55
PAN R O B O T
ARMLESS KICKY
PROFESSIONAL FLUSH KICKER
WWW.ROBOT-JAPAN COM
W W W .S H R W W in R L S ,
IfljjULil
W h o le s a l e a r e w e lc o m e
D a J o in t D is tr ib u to r s
w w w .YesAnim e.com
Tel: 6 5 0 -5 8 3 -1 6 2 3 Fax: 6 5 0 -5 8 3 -1 8 9 7
A R T B Y TA D A S H I G OZU
T adashi Gozu w a s b o rn in N a g a n o, Ja p a n in 1970. In
1995, Gozu g ra d u a te d fro m th e T a m a A rt U n iv e rs ity sp e ­
c ia liz in g in g ra p h ic d e s ig n . In 1996,s Gozu w o n th e T a tsu ya Ish ii prize fro m th e a rt b u sin e ss d iv is io n o f Sony.
The n e x t year, G ozu w o n th e Ja p a n V isual A rt E x h ib i­
tio n a nd th e G akken a rt prize fo r th e 24th G e n d a id o u g a
E x h ib itio n p u b lic a tio n s p o n s o re d by th e U eno T okyo
M u s e u m o f A rt. G ozu p a rtic ip a te d in th e 2000 V ehicle
T o k y o ra m a E x h ib itio n a t th e S u m id a k u C o n te m p o ra ry
A rt F a cto ry and th e 2003 Ja paga K o ro m o e E x h ib itio n
at Cafe G a lle ry Y o im a c h ig u s a . Fie is also a m e m b e r o f
th e M o d e rn N a ive A rt o f Ja p a n and an in s tru c to r at th e
T okyo P o lyte ch n ic U n iv e rs ity .
w w w .ja p a g a .c o m
C lo ckw ise fro m to p le ft:
J a p a g a Q -T w in s / J a p a g a D o ll / Ja p a g a 43 /F u s u m a
57
toys
v iim r s posters
3-D House of Collectible Toys
"The to y s ta re th a t scares c h ild re n !''
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2 9 5 3 COLLEGE, BERKELEY, C A 9 4 7 0 5 . W ED -S U N 1 1 -7 pm . 5 1 0 -8 4 1 -1 6 8 0
Top le ft: R ob o t
S u n n y Buick is a ta tto o a rtis t fro m San F ra n cisco , n o w liv in g in Paris, France. Her
B o tto m le ft: R o b o t Love
Ja p a n e se to y in te re s t sta rte d w ith G o d zilla a nd d e v e lo p e d m o re re c e n tly in to tin ro ­
b o ts, n o w it's a P an d o ra 's b o x. S he p re fe rs to w a tch G o d zilla m o v ie s in th e o rig in a l
v e rs io n w ith s u b title s . S he cite s S u p e r7 as o n e o f h e r b ig g e s t a rt in s p ira tio n s to d ay.
L ook fo r m o re Ja p a n e se to y s /m o n s te rs re la te d w o rk in th e fu tu re . S u n n y c u ra te d th e
Sci Fi W e ste rn a rt s h o w at 111 M in n a G a lle ry in San F ra n cisco w ith o v e r 100 a rtists.
Top righ t: G o d z illa Rocks
B o tto m righ t: L ove M a ch in e
w w w .s u n n y b u ic k .c o m
59
ANIME TOYS, ACTION FIGURES, VINYLS
KITS, BOOKS COMICS POSTERS, CD’S more
Buy, Sell, Trade. Pb./ Fax 510-524 2529
On line at http://www.toycotoys.com
E-MAIL at toycotoys@sbcglobal.net
O ff line at 634 San Pablo Ave, Albany Ca. 94706
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C O LLEC TO R S SHOW CASE
P A U L K A IJ U
I sta rte d c o lle c tin g to y s in 1972. S o m e n e ig h b o rs b ro u g h t m e back a B u llm a rk v in y l
fro m th e ir tr ip to H a w a ii. It w a s an a lie n Pegassa fr o m U ltra S even. F rom th e re I w as
h o o ked ! I sta rte d w a tc h in g local Ja p a ne se p ro g ra m m in g on UHF on S a tu rd a y s and
S u n d a ys. I w o u ld d o ch o re s and save m y m o n e y in a n tic ip a tio n fo r th e tr ip to little
T okyo in L.A. I w o u ld g e t to th e to y s to re a nd m y head w o u ld sp in at a ll th e g re a t
stu ff. I th o u g h t I w o u ld pass o u t! M y c o lle c tio n co n s is ts o f a b it o f e v e ry th in g . V in y l,
die-cast, and ch eapo p la s tic . J u s t lik e th e g o o d o ld to y s to re s used to have. I th in k it
all looks g re a t to g e th e r. T he re 's s till a lo t o f kid in m e. I like to in v e n t m y o w n K aiju
m o n s te rs s till, it h e lp s m e deal w ith a ll th e "a g e a p p ro p ria te " a n x ie tie s . I th in k w e
w o u ld all like to see th e s e m o n s te rs g e t a g o o d b e a tin g a nd th e n b a n is h e d to th e
m o n s te r g ra v e y a rd in space!
The Z in c lo n G a ra m o n w a s a w e e ke n d e n d e a vo r. It's m o re o r less a p a ro d y. A lo t o f
p e o ple d o n 't u n d e rs ta n d its in te n t so th e y p o o -p o o and bad m o u th it. G a ra m o n o b v i­
o u s ly m akes a te rrib le s u b je c t fo r a d ie -ca st, b u t I w a n te d to see h o w it w o u ld w o rk .
He's an a q u a tic base c o m p le te w ith a s u b m a rin e ! Heck, Z in c lo n G o d zilla has a je t and
a ta n k ! I th in k o n ly th e d ie -h a rd c o lle c to rs re a lly g e t it, G od b le ss 'e m !
J IM M A I T L A N D
C o lle c tin g v in y ls sta rte d in 1989, w h e n at a c o m ic b o o k c o n v e n tio n I ca m e a cro ss
a ta g g e d B andai Rodan. A ll o f a su d d e n , all th o s e su p p re s s e d fe e lin g s I had fro m
w a tc h in g G o d zilla vs th e S m o g M o n s te r w h e n I w a s a little kid ca m e b a ck.T h e kid in
th e m o v ie had a ll th o s e c o o l v in y ls lT o y ka rm a so o n to o k e ffe c t a nd I fo u n d H eroes in
San F rancisco and n o t lo n g a fte r K im o n o M y H ouse in E m e ry v ille . M y B andai c o lle c ­
tio n g re w and p re tty s o o n I had m o re M o th ra la rva e th a n a n y sane m an c o u ld w a n t.
M y fir s t tr ip to Japan w a s re a lly an e y e -o p e n e r fo r m e as fa r as v in ta g e v in y l. A n in ­
c re d ib ly nice d e a le r to o k m e to a to n o f to y s h o p s even th o u g h he had been to m o s t
o f th e m e a rlie r in th e w eek. I d o n 't th in k I w ill e ve r fo rg e t th e fe e lin g o f w a lk in g in to
th o se sh o p s a nd se e in g d is p la y case a fte r d is p la y case fu ll o f v in ta g e Ja p a n e se to y s .
Soon a fte r I sta rte d lo s in g in te re s t in B andai a nd m o re a nd m o re w a n te d to create
th a t fe e lin g o f w a lk in g in to a to y sh o p .
61
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