It's almost Halloween, and while I don't have as many monster toys to review as you might think, I've still got plenty of ephemera. Come on in for a pic heavy look back at a lunchbox from our youth.

I'm sure this probably seems like the weirdest thing to "review", but I think most of us probably had these as kids so consider this more of a trip down memory lane than a review. I had a bunch of different Aladdin lunchboxes when I was little but I can't recall if I ever had this one or not. It's very familiar to me, but I don't remember bringing it to school. Perhaps one of my older brothers had one. But as an adult collector, it's one of the staple pieces of ephemera for the monster fan.

What makes it so great is the amazing artwork that depicts so many different monsters. A friend of mine owns two just to display both sides, something I should probably do eventually myself. It just looks great in a monster display.

Pic swiped from Mad Man Murphy's Mixed Up Monster Museum.

Even all the sides have great artwork and it's awesome to see lesser characters like the Metaluna Mutant and the Mole Man on it. It's been years since I've seen Tarantula (although I used to watch it all the time on 8mm film when I was little) and I don't remember the character shown in the last pic below.

Of course, the main monsters are also represented on the thermos, too.

Frankenstein

The Mummy

The Phantom and Dracula

The Wolf Man

The Gill Man

"The best type of thermos that you can buy."

You may see this lunchbox called rare, but it's really not. The trick is getting one in good condition. I got mine for $85 at the New York Comic Con this past February. Probably could have done better on Ebay but I wanted to be sure I was happy with the condition. Mine's not perfect, but is in really good shape. When I bought it, we had all got a kick out of the fact that you could still catch a faint whiff of old milk in the thermos. Strangely, we all agreed that this was a plus and not a minus. Weird crowd, huh?

Bryan Witt, if you're out there, I've got your lunchbox!

You can't have it back.

One of these things is not like the others.
Actually, two of these things are not like the others.
Aw hell, they're all different!

So I already told you about my first King Kong score, the large size Imperial (and it's pink counterpart). And I told you about my best King Kong score, the blow molded bank. But you know what was the one item that really got me interested in hunting down some King Kong stuff? It was a goofy figural piggy bank produced by the A. J. Renzi Corp. in the 1960s.

Renzi is a company based not terribly far from us in Leominster, MA and they are known for making a lot of cheap blow molded toys and banks. They made a lot of big, plastic cars and one of their most sought after releases among monster collectors today is a very rare car with four monsters (Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man) sitting in it.

The bank pictured above probably isn't technically King Kong, since it does not say so. But most collectors agree that most gorilla items are meant to represent Kong, regardless of whether or not they are labeled as such. It's pretty easy to bypass copyright when the character is question is just a big animal. No one had a copyright on gorillas, after all.

The bank is about 17" tall with minimal paint details applied. There is a slot in the top of the head to drop coins into and you need to cut out a hole in the bottom to retrieve them. There is no stopper.

I really liked the sculpt of this thing the very first time I saw it. It's primitive simplicity makes me think it might have been a statue sculpted by the inhabitants of Skull Island. This looks as much like an idol as it does a toy, at least to my imaginative eyes. It's face is somehow both goofy and menacing all at once.

When I first found out about it, I asked if it was hard to get/expensive and was told it was actually quite common. I got mine on Ebay not long afterward for less than $20 shipped. But then a month or two later, I found two more on Yahoo Japan of all places....and these ones were much smaller.

I asked my friend again about them and he had no idea what I was talking about. He'd been collecting monsters for years but said he had never seen a Renzi Kong in this size (11"). So, naturally, I bought them.

When they arrived, I noticed that they were not the same. Not only was one painted and the other unpainted, but the unpainted one did not have the Renzi copyright info on the bottom. Strange! Other than this, they appear to be exactly the same.

I don't know what the deal is with that, but I was glad to have some unusual variations, especially since I didn't pay much for any of them yet. Still, I thought it was funny that I had to have these shipped all the way back from Japan when the company that made them was so close to my house!

When I told my friend about these smaller ones, he did mention that he had seen another unusual variation years ago... a pink colored one! He said he thought it was goofy and didn't bid, but later regretted it. Well, when one popped up just a couple of weeks ago, I was not about to make the same mistake.

When I got it in the mail, I noticed that there was more to it than just being a different color. It's actually a very slightly different sculpt than the regular black version. Notice that the waist is wider, the arms are lower and the butt-crack is more pronounced on the pink than the black.

It seems that this pink version is particularly rare, having only been seen (that I know of) the one other time. But it might not be the rarest one. One friend told me he thought he remembered seeing a lime green one in a book one time. But it may be false memory or something that wasn't produced. But you can bet I'll be keeping my eye out just in case! Always room for one more in the Kong collection.

Action Figure Displays

Action Figure Displays are the brainchild of Dan and Jeff Phillips and can be found at http://www.actionfiguredisplays.com/. It's a pretty interesting idea as a way to display your figures.

These Action Figure Displays are made out of a high-quality foamcore (much better than you would find in a craft store) and have printed on graphics with a wide variety of themes.

Each set has a base and a backdrop and the only assembly you have to do is remove some tape and stick the two together. The adhesive is high-quality 3M adhesive, so the parts stay together firmly. Once attached, they don't appear to be removable.

Each part is 13.5" x 7.75". Newer versions of the stands are taller, at 10.5 inches wide, rectifying one of the only issues I had with the set.

When assembled, the base is tall enough for most action figures, but larger vehicles and things will poke out the top. Also, if using the base for photography, you are limited in what angles you can shoot from.

One thing you have to realize about these sets is that they are just display backdrops - not stands. You will need to get your own stands to ensure your figures do not fall over. Perhaps someday they will come out with a version that has pegs in the floor. (hint hint)

We got two versions - Space #1 and City. Both inspired me to get creative with my figures and well, you can look at the pictures to see where it led.

I think this is a pretty cool product, and I see a lot of opportunity here. How about one that looks like a Japanese Classroom? How about larger ones that look like an aircraft hanger? How about one that looks like a Tron game grid? The options are endless.

Action Figure Displays are available at http://www.actionfiguredisplays.com/

Another rare Kong unearthed!

Despite it's initially repulsive looking appearance, this might be one of the more interesting pieces in my collection. I found this on Ebay one day while just doing a generic search for King Kong. It's size (19") and material (polyethylene) naturally appealed to me as a Jumbo Machinder collector and since I was in the midst of a big monster collecting period, I figured I'd try to get it even though I really didn't know much about it.

Before continuing, let me finish up with the "just the facts" part of the review. Although it's assumed to be intended to represent King Kong, there are no markings to that effect anywhere on it nor do I have any packaging for it. It might just be a standard ape. Furthermore, although it's arms can be raised and lowered, it's not really a toy per se. It's actually a piggy bank. There is a slot on the top of the head and a hole cut out of the back. The hole is pretty rudimentary and looks like someone manually cut it out with a knife. I have no stopper for it. The poly is entirely yellow with black paint covering it and red highlights painted into the eyes, nose and mouth. Much of the paint has flaked off as you can see.

When I got it, it was filthy. Just filthy. Still is really. It seems like no matter how much I clean it, the dirt just keeps coming back. Anyway, I asked around about it to see what it's story was. The only real concrete information that anyone had was that there is a similar Frankenstein bank out there. (In fact, in looking at the style of the jacket on the Frankenstein, it's assumed to have been inspired by the Big Frankie.) That one is also 19" tall and in a similar style, however it is known to have been made in all yellow and also in black with painted yellow highlights. There's some debate even about the Frankenstein's origin, though. Some think it's Mexican, some think it's American and it's even been speculated to have been a carnival prize. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there seems to be only a handful of Frankenstein's known to exist and I don't know of any other Kongs besides mine. (There are 7 known Frankensteins which would make this Kong....THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!! ...ahem.. ) None have packaging so it's all speculation at this point, it seems*.

Yellow unpainted Frankenstein

Black painted Frankenstein

The general school of thought seems to be that the yellow Frankenstein was meant to be painted by a child while the other one was more likely factory painted and therefore that the paint on this yellow Kong may not be a factory job, either. It is pretty messy, but in my experience with Mexican toys (if this even is from Mexico), often the factory job looks like it was done by a child anyway! (I'm looking at you, Mazinger Z!)

Regardless of who made it or where it was distributed, the one thing that seems undisputed is that these two pieces are related and both are super hard to find (and I'd kill to get one of those Frankensteins!)

The only other thing I can say about this isn't really about the toy at all. But in May of 2006, I actually had a dream that there existed a never before seen King Kong machinder. I know this certainly can't be truly labeled as such, but I think it's probably the closest we'll ever get. At any rate, my Shogun Warrior Godzilla now has another foe to deal with besides Rodan!

*Frankenstein pics and info gathered from the Universal Monster Army.

The Gaiking Necklace is the new must-have fashion accessory for 1977.

This Gaiking Necklace is another piece of the Joshua C-10 Fraser collection. He wore it to the 2008 Summit, and it was left behind to be documented...

It's a basic Popy soft vinyl robot figure with a brass ring in the head and arms up in the air. The only point of articulation is at the waist.

The brass ring is attached to a long metal chain.

The Necklace was sold in a plastic capsule, similar to todays UFO Capsule toys.

The Attache Case toy set was a common sight in Japan in the 70s

Moonlight Mask Attache Case is a really unique collectors item.

Back in the early 70s, Bandai made a bunch of Attache Case sets for a lot of the live action shows at time. Shows like Ultraman and Ultraseven got these briefcases full of all the accessories one might need to pretend he himself was the hero.

Moonlight Mask Is Japan's first Television superhero, predating the Ultra and Sentai series. Wikipedia says this about Moonlight Mask:

"Moonlight Mask (月光仮面, Gekk? Kamen) is a fictional superhero that has appeared in Japanese tokusatsu and anime television shows and movies since his TV debut in 1958. Created by writer K?han Kawauchi, Moonlight Mask is best described as Japan's answer to The Lone Ranger and Batman.

Whereas Super Giant is Japan's first celluloid superhero (only he had debuted in movies), it was Moonlight Mask who set the standard as Japan's first live-action TV superhero, and was a huge success with children. Television was already new in Japan, so many children that didn't have a TV set were gathered around to watch it at a friend or neighbor's house. Children also bought toy capes, sunglasses, masks and pistols and played Moonlight Mask in schoolyards and backyards."

This toy looks to have come from the 1972 Moonlight Mask anime series, due to the art used on the package.

The plastic case is sealed shut by a metal clasp on either side the handle. Inside the case is a cardboard print of Moonlight Mask battling a character that is reminiscent of Devilman.

The bottom of the case features a styrofoam tray, sealed in plastic.

36 years; still sealed in plastic. Josh Fraser was not about to let me open it.

From what we can see inside, the set includes a variety of gear, including:

- Moonlight Mask Glasses
- Pistol
- Cards
- Belt
- Soft Vinyl figure
- Manga booklet.

Actually, it looks pretty fun indeed.

Its interesting to note that this was actually made by Bandai in 1972 - not Popy, at a time where Popy was really dominating in character toys. Note the retro Bandai logo.

This thing is so cool, I am sorely tempted to start a collection of character toy Attache Cases...

Hot on the heels of their amazing Cosmo Dragoon replica, Taito brings us another Leiji-verse weapon, the Gravity Saber.

Depending on which Matsumoto series you watch, it's pretty safe to say that the Gravity Saber was the most prominent weapon used. The basic principle of the weapon is fairly simple and straight forward, a long laser gun modeled after a classic early cutlass, giving you both a long range blast weapon as well as a melee weapon for close quarters swashbuckling action.

The version here is the one that appeared in the 1978 Harlock tv series and the Galaxy Express 999 movies. There is another version used by Captain Harlock that appears in Arcadia of my Youth. The biggest difference is that the hand guard on that one is molded in the shape of a skull face. Here's to Taito coming out with that version as well down the road. Now, on to the review...

Like the Cosmo Dragoon, we're given a great replica that's amazingly well crafted given the price. When I first heard that this was coming out, I was worried that Taito might fiddle with the size to cut the price, but fortunately they didn't. From cocking lever to muzzle it measures a full 36 inches. That's a machinder and a half!

The Gravity Saber comes in 3 pieces that need to be assembled, consisting of the handle and 2 barrel sections. The connection points are very tight and surprisingly strong. The peg that attaches the barrel to the grip extends roughly an inch and a half into the grip. I was able to swing this thing around quite a bit with nothing slipping or snapping. The overall construction is fairly well executed.

There are a few seam lines that are slightly misaligned but overall it's nothing I can't forgive. Taito did an impressive job on the paint job. The weathering is very realistic and well executed, not too much and not too little. Being a simple weapon, there isn't too much that this thing can do. The trigger is spring loaded but like the Cosmo Dragoon the cocking handle doesn't move. One cool detail it does have is a small Leiji Matsumoto circular computer display screen inside the hand guard.

Overall the execution and details on this are superb. While there are a few small QC issues with this versus the Cosmo Dragoon, they're nothing that would make me not recommend this to anybody who's into Leiji Matsumoto or fantasy weapons in general. With the Cosmo Dragoon being based on a real pistol, different import laws made it very hard to get one from most major online shops. The Gravity saber is much easier to get. The one that was reviewed here was purchased through Hobby Link Japan and while it is currently listed as back ordered there is another release scheduled later in the year with the added detail of a skull and crossbones marking on the hand guard.

“You’re holding the only Cosmo gun that can kill machine men”
-Boss Antares to Hoshino Tetsuro, Grape Valley Titan

In the Leiji Matsumoto universe, few items inspire the kind of awe and fear as the Cosmo Dragoon. Simple versions of this weapon appeared in the Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga and tv series, but it wasn’t until Galaxy Express 999 that this particular gun took on a mystical aura. The Cosmo Dragoon pistols were designed and built by the legendary engineer Oyama Tochiro, best friend of the space pirate Captain Harlock. The exact origins of how he came up with the design of the weapon is never revealed, though it is stated that their outward appearance was inspired by the 6 shooters of the old west. In the Leiji-verse there are 4 of these guns produced, each with it’s own “serial number” and owner. They are as follows:

Serial #1: Owned by Oyama Tochiro
Serial #2: Owned by Tochiro’s mother, later given to Tetsuro Hoshino on Titan.
Serial #3: Owned by Captain Harlock
Serial #4: Owned by Pirate Emeraldas

As mentioned before, the gun gains most of it’s notoriety in Galaxy Express 999. It first shows up when Tochiro happens to meet Tochiro’s aging mother on the planet Titan. She gives it to Tetsuro saying it’s a gun that will protect you. The sheer awesome power of the gun is plainly seen when, upon first firing it, Tetsuro is hurled backwards several feet from the sheer recoil of it after shooting down a small fighter plane. As the galaxy express 999 story continues, the gun plays several key roles in the storyline and overall plot of the GE999 Universe.

Having said all that, it’s obvious that there are several different toys and replicas of this gun out there right? Wrong... As a tie in with the Galaxy Express 999 film there was a cap gun toy of the gun made by the Marushin company, but it is woefully lacking in detail or accuracy. Over the years there have been about half a dozen or so garage kit resin replicas made, but these are hard to find, expensive (ranging from roughly $100 up to over $300), require a certain amount of skill to assemble and paint, and the end result is little more than a display piece. There was a very high quality metal and wood licenced replica released a few years back, but at a sticker price of over $800 it wasn’t really something most folk could afford. Skip ahead to 2007 and Taito corp., known for making small UFO Catcher crane game prizes comes out with the item I’m reviewing here. This really came up way under the radar. I only happened upon an auction for one of these doing a random search on yahoojp. After I got over my initial “huh, wha?” I had one coming to me via a proxy service.

It’s really an awesome piece. For a cheap UFO prize, the sculpt, the details, everything is dead spot on with this replica. The packaging is pretty good for a crane prize. It features a nice image of the gun on the back with a brief description of it, as well as a punch out Galaxy Express pass. The front has a plastic window that shows the entire gun inside. The main reason for the window is so that you can check the serial # on the gun. Taito is releasing the 4 different serial numbered Cosmo Dragoons from the GE999 universe. It’s little more than a small number engraved on the gun’s cylinder, but it really is a nice touch. The gun is enclosed in a simple vacu-formed plastic tray and comes with a simple, but effective cardboard display stand and a license card “signed” by Leiji Matsumoto and printed with the gun’s serial number. I’m not too sure if this means they’re only making this in limited numbers, but it’s a nice touch regardless. The gun is held pretty tightly in the tray, mine got a bit scuffed up removing it so care should be taken removing it.

The paint job is very well executed, with a nice realistic weathered effect. On mine there wasn’t really any over spray or horrific blemishes. The woodgrain pattern for the grip seems to vary from gun to gun. I’ve seen pictures of some that look like fake 80's rumpus room wood paneling, and others that are very realistic (mine luckily is the later). The sculpt of the Jolly Roger in the grip is crisp and well painted. Besides the serial number, the gun is printed with the Tochiro patent date and location on the top strap and sides as seen in original artwork. Luckily there are no other trademarks on the gun. The entire piece is hollow styrene and features snap assembly. Looking it over, every little screw location, panel line and component location is as it should be. I’m really shocked at the details I found on an item such as this.

When I first saw this I had hoped that it would have an anime accurate firing action with a working cocking lever, maybe even light and sound action. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. The only features of this piece are a rotating cylinder and working trigger. Overall this is really a neat item and I give it a 9 out of 10. My only gripes about it are the lack of heft and the lack of the working action. The weight issue could be solved by simply opening it up and adding material, and being a relatively cheap, mass produced item, you don’t need to worry about spinning it on your finger and tossing it around.

Being a realistic looking gun with no orange barrel cap, HLJ and other online importers won’t be importing these due to US toy gun laws, though that might change if there’s demand for them. There are a few popping up on ebay right now, but your best bet would be to find one on yahoojp and have a middle man get it to you. At an average price of a little bit above $15 before fees and shipping, this is a great buy for anybody who collects sci-fi/ anime weapon replicas, and for any fan of Leiji Matsumoto, it’s really a MUST to pick up one of these. Hopefully Taito will continue this series and release more 1/1 scale guns from other Matsumoto series.

It was only after I had made my purchase that the realization hit me:

How am I going to get this thing home?

This is another find from the 2006 Tokyo trip with Nekrodave. We were hitting all the stores in Akihabara and one of our last stops was Toys GoldenAge.

It was there that I found this Raideen Kite. With my Raideen obsession in full swing, I couldn’t pass it up. Sure the box was a little beat, but it was only 1,500 yen! It was only after I had made my purchase that the realization hit me:

How am I going to get this thing home?

Turns out I had to hand-carry it onto the airplane and store it in the overhead compartment. Customs even put a sticker on it. It was such a pain to carry around, but now I consider it well worth it.

First off, the box art is simply gorgeous. The pink background with the sunburst just screams 70s. There is a small die-cut window at the top that allows you to see the attached figure.

The kite itself is similar in design to a Tahara fighting kite. The rectangular kite is supported by 2 tubes on the top and bottom and one running down the center. A metal frame is attached to which you hang the small Raideen toy who then acts as if he is “Hang Gliding”.

I could never get my sofubi Raideen to attach to the kite, and just this year I found out why – the toy included with my kite was the wrong one! No wonder it was only $15 bucks. The following images are from a Yahoo Japan auction and show the proper toy.

I’ve never actually flown the kite, but maybe next summer I will…