Another release in the "Soul Of A Otoko" line.

I managed to acquire this vinyl a very similar way to how I got the Piguduron to... in a lot. As I recall, I got it and the horrible Marmit Sanda for like $15 on Ebay. I can't remember if I bought them together, but I think I got them from the same seller at the same time at least. Either way, two toys I bought for no other reason than because they were cheap.

But unlike the Sanda, I don't regret this one. It's a quality vinyl.

I'm pretty sure this guy is also from one of the Getter Robo shows, but I'm not gonna speak with any authority about that for fear of being wrong like last time. Let me know if you know and I'll stick just to the toy.

At 11" tall, Gil Gil Gan is a little shorter than Piguduron and is different in other ways, too. For instance, obviously there is no clear, or glow, or any other gimmicky vinyl, here. Just straight up good old fashioned sofubi. Furthermore, there is MUCH more articulation on this toy. There are 14 points of articulation here. That's huge for a vinyl. Swivel joints are located at the shoulders, elbows, knees, ankless and waist, as well as all three tails and the two "blades" on the hips.

The vinyl is thick and strong and while the paint apps aren't particularly flashy, it's more than competent where it needs to be, on the face.

The design of the character is really sort of interesting, with solid "metal" depicted on the lower half, with a more rock-like surface for the torso. Add the fleshy looking tails and it's a real neat combination of different styles.

Really, much like Piguduron, I'm growing to like this toy more now than before, looong after I actually purchased it. In taking it out and handling and examining it, I'm realizing how much it reminds me of the cartoons I used to love as a kid, perhaps even more-so than the hero robots I've owned.

Clearly, I hadn't been paying close enough attention to my own toys to miss how cool this one is.... but I've done an "about face"!

It's probably been said before, but one of the great side effects of this gig is when you take toy off your shelf to photograph it and examine it to review and your appreciation of it grows as a result.

Pigudoron (ピグドロン) is an enemy of Getter Robo G and as such, I am assuming it's the work of Go Nagai. Please correct me if I'm wrong. This clear yellow soft vinyl of it is one of the few examples of a toy of this character. The only other one that I know of offhand is a silly zenmai toy by Robin.

So, I've been with CDX for quite a few years now and I'm sure no one reading this now is surprised that I've got a clear vinyl villain in my collection. But when I got this thing about 5 years or so ago, it wasn't exactly something I was interested in. I wasn't buying vinyls at all at the time and I had no particular love, or even knowledge, of the character. But y'see, a collector buddy of mine had run into some money trouble and decided to sell of his toys. I was doing well at the time so mostly to help him out, I decided to buy a whole lot of stuff and this toy was included in it. I stuck it on my shelf and more or less forgot about it.

But lately I feel like I've been running out of stuff to review so I dug deep and decided it was time to post something about this guy. And in so doing have realized it's a pretty dang cool piece.

Pigudoron stands approximately 13" tall with 5 points of articulation (hips, shoulders and waist). As not above, it is cast in clear yellow vinyl with red, green and black painted highlights. The colors looks great against one another and look unique compared to many other vinyls. The clear yellow has a way of almost enhancing the light that shines through it without being distracting.

The sculpt of the face is really neat too. The big wide grin with it's sharp teeth is creepy and the black black around the eyes almost suggest a mask (hiding something even more hideous!).

But you know what the coolest thing is? Something I never realized until I was photographing it for this review.....

You can see the face pretty clearly, through the vinyl, from the back...!

I have other clear vinyls but I don't recall seeing this effect before and I think it's just groovy. Looking at it from behind looks extra creepy. It probably works best here because of the simple shape of the head as it's nearly the same from both sides. I wonder if whoever designed the toy planned for that or if it's just a happy accident? Regardless, I find it very appealing. But now, do I display it on my shelf facing forward or back? :)

Pigudoran is probably the most popular of Romando's "Soul Of A Otoko" line of vinyls, which had only 3 entries. Each came bagged with a header card.

Man, Romando loves their Kinnikuman

Romando announces the G Muscle Kinnikuman line. 10 cm tall fully articulated Kinnikuman wrestlers. Included in the line will be:

G Muscle Kinnikuman (B Type)

G Muscle Warsman (A Type)

G Muscle Robin Mask (B Type)

G Muscle Buffaloman (A Type)

G Muscle Demon General (B Type)

Each is 2,000 yen and will be released in May 2009

Big size Sofubi at 43cm tall!

Due 12/08 for 8,925, made out of soft vinyl.

new vinyl from Romando's Super Spirits of OTOKO line.

Check it out, a 20cm tall vinyl of the combined final form of Gaiking from the Legend of Daiku-Maryu anime.

Due late March 2008 for 5,800 yen.

Thr return of the Tentacle Monsters, plus Perfect Change Gaiking, tons of Kaiju and a new Aoshima Diecast

Studio Half Eye Perfect Change Gaiking

Perfect Docking CV Gaiking Sky Set - 150mm high, due September to Late Fall. 29,400¥

Perfect Docking CV Gaiking Face Open Version - 150mm high, due September to Late Fall. 29,400¥ - LIMITED TO 50

Super Soul Series Dancouga Nova from Romando

All plastic, 20cm tall, 5,000¥ due September

Inju Sanrantai

We finally have a name to those tentacle monsters - Inju Sanrantai. This figure is made by Toys Works and is 1/8 scale (10cm x 25cm) made out of PVC. Due late November for 3,800¥, available in Hot Pink and dark violet versions. Toy Works makes it a point to mention that the girl figure is not included.

Gamilus High-speed Aircraft Carrier

From B-Club comes this 1/2100 scale unassembled resin kit of this vehicle from Space Cruiser Yamato. Due October for 7,800¥. 80mm long

Tyrant (New Production Version)

Also from B-Club is a 200mm tall Soft Vinyl Tyrant from Ultraman. Due October for 5,400¥.

TRANSFORMERS Music Label Sound Wave

comes in 2 versions (Blue and Black), due mid december for 10,000¥ by TakaraTomy. Plays MP3's!

New Yamanaya Vinyls!

Iron 2nd from Mirrorman - Late October 5,500¥ 22cm tall

Cool Senjin (Yellow) from Ultraseven - Late October 5,500¥ 23cm tall

Neronga (Gray) - Late October 5,500¥ 19cm tall

Aoshima Shin Getter 2 Gokin!

From Aoshima / Miracle House it's Choshingokin Shin Getter 2! expect this to retail for 13,440¥

Sofubi Asuka (OVA Color)

OVA color version of the Mobile Suit Patlabor mecha. Retails for around 5,000¥

Released by Romando, Jumborg A was the first entry in the "Tsuburaya Prod. Tokusatsu Collection Series".

Released by Romando, Jumborg A was the first entry in the "Tsuburaya Prod. Tokusatsu Collection Series".

Designed to accurately recreate the likenesses of some of the more popular live action super heroes of 1970s Japanese TV, these toys feature hard plastic heads and torsos with the limbs utilising a rubber outer covering to mimic the style of the suits worn by the actors. The accuracy of the toys is in some ways their downfall. They look too detailed to fit in with vintage vinyl portrayals of the characters, yet too retro to display well with more modern toys.

Jumborg 9 in particular doesn't seem to like to hold his pose while the head on this character is severely limited in it's poseability. It will only tip side to side, giving the toy a rather quizzical look to it, like he doesn't quite understand what's happening. On the plus side, his suit does feature shoulders which do a much better job than Jumborg A of hiding the joints underneath when in a pose.

Also standing 6" tall, the accessory ship that comes with Jumborg 9 stands on it's own better than the one that comes with Jumborg A.

Each figure comes in an unneccessarily oversized window box. I wouldn't go out of my way to track these down, but they aren't a bad addition if you stumble across them on clearance somewhere.

Designed to accurately recreate the likenesses of some of the more popular live action super heroes of 1970s Japanese TV, these toys feature hard plastic heads and torsos with the limbs utilising a rubber outer covering to mimic the style of the suits worn by the actors.

Released by Romando, Jumborg A was the first entry in the "Tsuburaya Prod. Tokusatsu Collection Series".

Designed to accurately recreate the likenesses of some of the more popular live action super heroes of 1970s Japanese TV, these toys feature hard plastic heads and torsos with the limbs utilising a rubber outer covering to mimic the style of the suits worn by the actors. The accuracy of the toys is in some ways their downfall. They look too detailed to fit in with vintage vinyl portrayals of the characters, yet too retro to display well with more modern toys.

They have ample articulation, but it's often hindered by the rubber suits. For instance, while Jumborg A's arms have a wide range of motion, to utilise it fully would cause the rubber suit to pull away from the shoulder joint, causing the plastic underneath to show. Other times the tightness of the rubber will slowly straighten out whatever limb you are attempting to pose.

The toy stands approximately 6" tall and includes one accessory; a wing which seems to combine with the accessory for Jumborg 9 to create a ship.

Each figure comes in an unneccessarily oversized window box. I wouldnt' go out of my way to track these down, but they aren't a bad addition if you stumble across them on clearance somewhere.

It is number 2 in Romando's Mechanical Romance Series, or Mecha Roman for short. Each figure is made of vinyl and plastic, and is fully articulated. It has limited articulation at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles.

The paint job is astounding, with subtle changes in color, and a fantastic attention to detail.

The main flaw of the figure is durability; the joints are very fragile. The soft plastic will break if you try to put into an extreme pose. The joints have limited range, and one has to wonder why the put foam between the elbow joints.

This figure is not a good value at the original retail price of ¥3300, but you can find them all over the USA at clearance prices.
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It is number 3 in Romando's Mechanical Romance Series, or Mecha Roman for short. Each figure is made of vinyl and plastic, and is fully articulated. The neck has a unique joint that allows for a variety of cool poses. It has limited articulation at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. It even features a waist joint.

Shin Getter 1 features large black devil wings that can fold up and down on ball joints. The paint job is astounding, with subtle changes in color, and a fantastic attention to detail.

The main flaw of the figure is durability; the wings and the joints are very fragile. The soft plastic will break if you try to put into an extreme pose. During this photo shoot, I broke a wing, and I broke off the lower right arm.

This figure is not a good value at the original retail price of ¥3300, but you can find them all over the USA at clearance prices.