THUNDERBIRDS...are go! Thunderbird 2 is made of die cast and high quality plastic manufactured by Aoshima. It is has nice paint works, metal stilt legs, and removable container car.

THUNDERBIRDS...are go! Thunderbird 2 is made of die cast and high quality plastic manufactured by Aoshima. It is has nice paint works, metal stilt legs, and removable container car.The weathering version comes with the mole vehicle.

TB2 is around 15 inches long top to bottom and has nice solid feel.

The outside edge of the craft is all die cast, the tail section, container and front cone are all plastic. The front cone has plastic windows and you can see little seats inside.

The vehicle has metal stilts that do not collapse or retract, they are solid metal that you put in peg holes allowing you to push out container and have that classic "Thunderbirds are go" scene.

TB2 was a long crazy arduous journey for me to find and after finally buying one (which is why I am writing this)...it was like Dickens Tale of Two Cites...it is the best of chogokin and the worst of chogokin...TB2 looks incredible...the paint, the detail are great

However, it is not a toy, it is definitely just a showpiece (similar to the Anderson Space 1999 die cast collectibles), because it really does not "do" anything. The Aoshima TB1 had moving wings, trap doors, little accessories...but TB2 has none of these attributes. The other major flaw in my estimation was when ever you push out the container (I closely followed the directions), it creates a rub mark.

I carefully own and take care of everything...I even wear gloves...so you can feel my pain when at first I thought it was green paint from the container on the silver not the silver being rubbed down to the green plastic below. Therefore, the only one thing you can really do with the vehicle is the same thing that damages the paint. You may have notice the little die cast vehicles spotted around TB2, you can actually buy the three sets, sold through Hot wheels (they are actually listed on side of TB2 box). Not all the figures are correct to scale (most are but the Tracy figures would be like 15 feet tall!!!), however, they are cool and add nice display touches.

One word of caution so you don't get annoyed, the vehicles Aoshima include with either version of TB2 have better detail (like rubber treads) than the hot wheels ones(plastic treads with wheels)...but they look the same, are die cast, and do have nice feel and articulation.

There are two versions, the weathering DX (this one) and normal version, weathering comes with the mole, regular comes with the sub, I have never seen but saw pics of regular version with a different vehicle. I got so annoyed one how little it does ( I like switching gadgets, posing, etc..) that I almost sold it... but it just looks so darn cool, I had to keep it. Mine was extremely hard to find, a toy dealer told me they were everywhere two years ago marked down to like 90 USD. Me, I paid a WHOLE lot more. I recommend you buy an extra container or two and get the Hot Wheels set, a guy on eBay is selling the 3 hot wheels sets (each set contains a different Tracy) for like 26 USD plus shipping, so those are easy to get.

Bottom line is if you want a great looking piece, large, imposing, and well crafted - track one down. If you want something that you can fiddle with, pose, use many accessories, then Thunderbird Two is NOT a go for you. Maybe get one of the all plastic versions that rise up, make sounds or something like that.

Terminator 2 Judgment Day - 1/6 Scale T-800 made by Aoshima; and like its ventures into Thunderbirds and Getter Robo, the Chogokin is well crafted and full of die cast.

Terminator 2 Judgment Day - 1/6 Scale T-800 Is made by Aoshima, and like its ventures into Thunderbirds and Getter Robo, the Chogokin is well-crafted and full of diecast.

The Terminator figure is big, similar in size to Masterpiece Convoy/Optimus Prime by Takara. It has impressive metal content and is very heavy upon holding the figure. It has tons of pistons and joints that work and some that are just plastic for show. The figure comes with a stand that clamps onto the back of the figure to provide stability when posing (he is top heavy).

The Terminator poses pretty well but nothing too extreme; the head just tilts and arms and legs pump but no real side to side. The figure is nice and great for cool menacing looks (the red eyes of skull-like face are right on). There are only two flaws and, while annoying, okay if you pose with care. The pistons can bend if you move legs or arms too quickly (one of mine did) and at the top of the arms are the two spring-type wires...

I love this figure, the imposing stares, the large size, and the cool positions and gear type look. All the pictures are of the normal version; there is a also a weathered version that comes with different gun.

I bought from Statue Toys for 130USD not including shipping; not a cheap chogokin, but not extreme like the Fewture line. Overall a nice piece for chogokin fans or Terminator fans alike.

It is the same toy as the original Japanese DX Hishou Henkei Tenkujin, but about $30 cheaper!

Includes Video review!

The secret Wind Ninja Academy near Blue Bay Harbor, CA has been attacked in an unprovoked strike by the evil Lothor and his army of space ninjas! Though the administrator Sensei Watanabe put up a gallant fight, he was unable to prevent the school from being destroyed, all of its students and teachers from being kidnapped & held within Lothor’s orbiting insect-like asteroid base, and himself from being forcibly transformed into a guinea pig! The only hope of victory and justice now lies in the hands of three less-than-average students from the Academy who were fortunate to escape capture because they skipped their lessons that day. With his son, Cameron, providing the technical expertise & know-how behind the scenes, Sensei instructs the students in how to become the Earth’s greatest defenders- the legendary Wind Power Rangers!

The illusion-creating monster Madtropolis has drained the Wind and Thunder Rangers of their powers, leaving them severely weakened and nearly defenseless. In a desperate plan, Cam- against his guinea pig father’s wishes- uses the risky Scroll of Time to travel into the past to seek out a new power. There, he encounters his father- a young man named Kanoi who is just a student in the Wind Ninja Academy himself- and his mother for the first time in his life (having died shortly after Cam was born). Both do not recognize him because he comes from the future. But Cam also learns of the existence of Kanoi’s twin brother, a dark figure named Kiya who likes to use his ninja skills to play dirty tricks on the other students. With time running out for Cam, he discovers that the amulet that his future-mother is wearing seems to contain mystical powers that someone in the future is fated to own. When Kiya tries to steal it for himself and frames Cam, the time traveler is held before the administration of the Academy. Kanoi learns of this and exposes Kiya as the real culprit, and then Kiya engages Cam in a fight for revenge. During this time, the Samurai Amulet finally expresses its hidden power, allowing Cam to get the upper hand. Seeing Kiya for what he really is, the administration banishes Kiya into space forever. But as the ex-student is being thrown into the air, he swears revenge on them all, and announces that he is changing his name to that of the ancient warrior of evil... Lothor! Returning to 2003, Cam then uses the powers of the Samurai Morpher amulet to become the Green Samurai Ranger, additionally gaining access to the agile and versatile Samurai Star Megazord.

. . .

The term “Lightning” in the name does not carry over into the series. Bandai America put it in there to imply that the Deluxe version of the Samurai Star Megazord is in a made-up class similar to the Deluxe Storm Lightning Megazord, which does appear with that name in the series. The Storm Lightning Megazord is a reduced-armored version of the Storm Megazord, and thus is thinner than expected, so by adding the term “lightning” to this toy (since it is also smaller/thinner than expected), this is an attempt to put it into a special Deluxe-class sub-category. The Deluxe Ninjakon repaint also is considered a “Lightning”-type Megazord, but it is not listed specifically. The way these three Deluxe “Lightning”-class sets were released is so that you can obtain more than one Power Sphere at a time. (That’s BA’s marketing strategists for ya...)

The Samurai Star Chopper (back) is the first real helicopter Zord to appear in a Power Rangers series, and it mixes that up with a touch of falcon. (The Aero Rescue-3 Rescuezord from “PR Lightspeed Rescue” (2000) may have been the first V-TOL-capable Zord, but it used jet engines for flight, not the rotors of a ‘copter, ‘kay?) Around and below the cockpit are a beak & eyes, and on either side are small talon-like shapes. Behind the nose section on either side are paired sets of laser cannons (nine per). Because of different TV regulations here in the US, the original Japanese footage of the Samurai Star Chopper was modified to shoot lasers, as opposed to the original's missile launchers. Above are the large rotor blades, each with an angled red tip. The rotor assembly may be thicker than need-be, but that’s because it incorporates a button & latch system within (which I’ll get into later). Stretching out behind are two long booms ending in paired turbofan engines for forward motion. Beneath the nose and turbofans are small landing wheels; the front two able to retract.

Other than the landing gear, the two red turbofans in back can spin freely, and are actually slightly tilted individually to the point that they actually spin if you blow on them! But the larger feature is the main rotor. The rotor tips are PVC and they are also jointed, so if it hits something, they’ll fold backwards a bit to prevent/reduce damage to themselves or anything else. The rotor can spin freely counter-clockwise. However, if you turn it clockwise, an internal spring mechanism inside the chassis of the Samurai Star Chopper will begin to wind up. And then when it clicks loudly, you can press the gold-painted button at the center of the rotor, and it’ll spin all by itself for a few moments!

(With mine, I’ve found that the rotor mechanism can be rather troublesome when you want to use that wind-up feature. To understand what I mean, please watch the video at the end of this review.)

The Samurai Star Megazord (back) seems a little disjointed in this form, but there are a few reasons for this. In the series, the megazord can remove the rotor from its torso, and then throw it like a giant boomerang or shuriken [aka a ‘throwing star’]. (Unlike the series, however, the Deluxe toy is not designed to grip the rotor; it’s too heavy.) The head has a black and gold visor not unlike the one on Green Ranger’s own helmet. (That giant cowlick sticking out of its forehead is strictly used as filler for when the chest armor is in place. I know it looks bad, but...what can ya do?) Without the chest armor/rotor in place, additional stars can be seen on its torso and on the shoulder armor. The arms snap at every 45º all the way around. However, because of how it transforms, the arms can also point outwards a bit, and when pointed forwards, they can also point inwards a little; mostly due to how it transforms. In the series, the gauntlet-like forearm shields can be used at melee-range for both cutting & blocking. Even though the legs always angle away from each other because of spring joints in the hips, the ankles also have joints that allow them to lock in a certain position in order to let them lay flat on the ground. (Great!) Yeah- there is a knee joint, but that’s only used for later combinations with other sets, and it only just balances when one is bent.

With the main rotor/giant shuriken/chest armor removed, you have full access to the arms’ range of motion. However, once it goes back on, you can only twist them backwards and side-to-side. (If, like me, you find this entirely unacceptable and even kinda old school, you can carefully nudge the armor one-way-or-the-other and slip an arm up one notch. However, to do this, you have to also adjust the light gray arms that connect the chest armor to that jester’s hat it has...)

Like the Deluxe Storm Power Megazord and Deluxe Thunder Power Megazord before it, each hand on the Deluxe Samurai Star Lightning Megazord can also open and close to accept most of the weapons found in Power Spheres. The hands will easily accept-

• Power Sphere #02 - Ram Hammer
• Power Sphere #09 - (not named or released in the PRNS line)
• Power Sphere #10 - Bee Spinner
• Power Sphere #12 - (not named or released in the PRNS line)

To accommodate the others that clip on, there is a tab on the outside of either forearm shield which can then accept-

• Power Sphere #06 - Lion Laser
• Power Sphere #11 - Sting Blaster

One thing that is different, though, is that since the Samurai Star Megazord is smaller than either the Storm Megazord or Thunder Megazord, it cannot deploy Power Spheres from an internal compartment. (In the series, when summoned, Power Spheres materialize out of thin air from between its hands... kinda like this.)

For those of you wondering what the differences are between the DX Samurai Star Lightning Megazord from “Power Rangers Ninja Storm” (2003), and its original Japanese counterpart- the DX Hishou Henkei Tenkujin from “Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger” (2002)- there are few, but noticeable:

• The Tenkujin originally came with Karakuri Ball #10- Spin Bee, but it was not included in the Samurai Star Megazord. However, it is included in the Special Edition DX Storm Lighting Megazord set, and is renamed Power Sphere #10- Bee Spinner. (Power Sphere #09- Sting Blaster is also included in that set.)
• Karakuri Ball Set #03- Tri-Condor, originally sold as a separate set in Japan, is included in this set; now called the Ninja Firebird. However, the individual Balls have no names, unlike their Japanese counterparts.
• The arm-attachment joint on the back of the Megazord has not been painted silver, and retains the normal plastic’s green color.

Other than that attachment joint on the back not being painted silver, and accessory weapons aside, the Samurai Star Megazord is perfectly identical to the Tenkujin! Even though there is considerate amounts of die-cast metal in the DX Ninpuu Gattai Senpuujin (Chogokin #GD-42) and DX Ikazuchi Gattai Gouraijin (Chogokin #GD-43) but not in their PRNS-counterparts (Deluxe Storm Power Megazord and Deluxe Thunder Power Megazord, respectively), there was no die-cast metal included in the DX Tenkujin, so there is also none in the Samurai Star Megazord.

This is a toy that has a lot asked of it, so going in, you kinda expect that some sacrifices will need to be made. The torso is very short and barely large enough to accommodate the rotor-spinning feature and the limbs’ joint points; even the head is spun in half when in vehicle mode to make room. (I also thought that weird forehead projection could also have been shorter. Bleech!) Since Shurikenger (the sixth Hurricanger, aka the Green Samurai Ranger) was a lighthearted master of disguise but equally a very-skilled fighter, it would make a little bit of sense for the Tenkujin to have that pointed jester’s hat, and then have an ridiculously-huge shuriken that it could throw around. But during the Americanization process which changes a Super Sentai series into a season of Power Rangers, most of that meaning gets lost, so it ends up just looking strange here. But what is universally understood and agreed upon is that it is really annoying when you put shoulder joints on a toy, and then promptly can’t use them because that toy gets in the way of itself! It is nice, however, that it can accept a good share of the Power Sphere weapons. But, again, that chest armor just gets in the way so you can’t pose with any of them! Additionally, the hands are hard to work because of the position of those forearm shields wrapped around them. In Chopper mode, I found the joints for the two front wheels really hard to turn, almost breaking fingernails on them when they suddenly snap! But my biggest gripe is how that rotor system frequently- umm... ‘misfires’. Now whether this is a problem with the Japanese version, or just mine by chance, I don’t know. (To see what I mean by that, you’ll just have to watch the video review below to find out!) By itself it’s a little clumsy, but you can see the aesthetics trying to push their way through the toy. But its greatest value lies in when you put it together with the other Deluxe-sized Megazords in the line. Additionally, it is the same toy as the original Japanese DX Tenkujin, but about $30 cheaper! And so, I recommend getting the Deluxe Samurai Star Lighting Megazord; it is definitely worth it.

The three Power Spheres included in this set that make up the Ninja Firebird are reviewed separately here also on CollectionDX!

[Author’s Note: I will be covering the Hurricane Megazord - or rather the original Japanese version from “Hurricanger”, the Gingachouetsu Sanjin Gattai Tenrai-Senpuujin (trnslt: “Galactic-transcendental Three-god Combination Tenrai-Senpuujin”) – at a later time.]

Cute little bounty hunters - Does it get any better?

As has been shown previously, I have an unnatural love of 4-LOM. That insectoid bounty hunter who gets only .002 second of screen time but has lasted a lifetime in my heart. You can take your C-3P0, your EV-9D9 - Give me 4-LOM.

This little bugger came out as part of Medicom's Star Wars Series 1 Kubrick Line.

4-LOM even comes with a cute little blaster rifle.

Not too much else to say about this guy - what an adorable robotic death messenger!

"I DON'T WANT TO GROW ANYMORE!!!!!"

Actually, that line happened in the original "Amazing Colossal Man" movie. But I've always loved it and I love this figure from X-Plus, too..

Growing up in Massachusetts, many of us here spent our Saturday afternoons watching "Creature Double Feature", a matinee of back to back classic monster movies. I'm sure each of us has our own fond memories of specific movies, but two films really stuck in my mind. "The Amazing Colossal Man" from 1957 and it's sequel "War of the Colossal Beast" from the following year had a strange hold on me as a kid. It was easy to dismiss many of the other films as pure fantasy, and while I never believed a man could grow to such enormous size, it was the characters mental breakdown as he tried to deal with his unfortunate circumstance that I found chilling. A deterioration of the mind is far more frightening than the growth of the flesh.

Of course, in this day and age, it's harder to take the films seriously since the special effects are laughable in comparison to what we see now. But back then it must have been remarkable, considering that director Bert I. Gordon seems to have made himself a career consisting largely of films about normal creatures grown to tremendous size.

This figure is the last of the "AMC Monsterfest" line from X-Plus that I managed to snag. For some reason, I hesitated on buying it when it first came out and for awhile I didn't see one. But due to the magic of Ebay, I finally got one a couple months backs, and for less than retail, too.

The figure is pretty well done, in my opinion. I think it was a great decision to have him holding the bus above his head. A colossal man is only colossal if you've got something to show scale, after all.

There's been some dissatisfaction with the sculpt of the face, but I think it looks fine. I do think it looks better when viewed from a low angle, but it's not bad overall either.

The base is a great addition, just like it was with the previous entries, The She Creature and Marty, the 3 Eyed Mutant.

But do you notice anything? How about that ad line? "See a sixty foot giant destroyed.....IN COLOR!" Did you see any color in the trailer above? I sure didn't. The fact is, only the ending (which is given away in the tag-line, of course) is in color. Less than 1 minute. Ahhh, I'd say I miss the 1950's and it's cheap marketing gimmicks, except of course, I never lived it. I'm forced to live it vicariously through these toys. On the bright side, kids in 1958 didn't have Colossal Man toys so I guess I can't complain, can I?

Here is another blast from my past and a character any robot collector worth a darn should have in their collection. It's Robocon!

For those that do not know, I grew up in Hawaii between 1977 and 1986. 1977 was a good summer, I moved to Hawaii; saw Star Wars for the first time and I discovered Channel 13. Shortly after we arrived and got settled Dad and I where channel surfing and we landed on Channel 13. I believe it was a full blown action scene from GoRanger. I was floored; I had never seen anything quite like it. Soon I would become intimately familiar with Channel 13 and its roster of wild, vivid Japanese super heroes.

From Wikipedia:
“Not to be confused with the current KIKU, the market's original KIKU broadcast on channel 13. It started out as KTRG-TV in 1962. Its first broadcast aired on July 4, 1962. The TV station was sold in 1966, changing its call letters to KIKU.”

“The original KIKU was quite popular with Hawaii's children throughout the 1970s, televising several Japanese tokusatsu shows, including Kamen Rider V3, Kikaida, Rainbow Man, Ganbare Robocon, and Sentai Go Ranger.”

Robocon was the brain child of Shôtarô Ishinomori who has been responsible for much of what is considered “classic” Tokusatsu. Shows like Kamen Rider, Robotto Keiji, Kikaida and Kikaida 01, Super Robot Mach Baron, Himitsu Sentai Gorenjâ, Akumaizer 3, J.A.K.Q. Dengeki Tai and of course the star of this review, Ganbare Robocon! Basically he was responsible for everything I thought was cool as a young kid with the exception of Star Wars.

Robocon was a cute robot show aimed at younger kids in particular and families in general. In the show, the robots went to school to learn to do their prospective functions better and then hijinks would ensue. When your 5 years old, you love hijinks. I did not see much of the show as it was at the end of its run by the time my father and I discovered it. What little I did, vividly ingrained the lead character Robocon into my subconscious and the toys of the character would litter the playgrounds of my childhood for years to come.

This particular Robocon came courtesy of Angolz.com and is from the 2003 series by Bandai called THE Chogokin. Basically it’s a line of re-issues of classic Popy chogokin in 3/4th the size and featuring all the same gimmicks and accessories of their 1970 counterparts.

This is almost an exact copy of the original toy with two main differences. The original limbs are gold colored and this reissue is silver colored (which is more show accurate) and the eyes are in a slightly different pose than its original 1970 counterpart.

Robocon was a useful robot, much like R2-D2 he featured gimmicks and gadgets to be used in different circumstances. This toy has his helicopter blades that can be attached and spun, the legs can be swapped out to turn into his “car” mode and his chest opens to show his gears and wires as well as the ever useful TV.

He doesn’t feature a lot of articulation but his legs do move forward and back and his feet do pivot forward and back as well. His arms go up and out from his sides and the hands do open at the thumbs but other than the chest opening, that’s it.

Also packed in the box are some rubber cockroaches. Robocon, if I remember correctly, was deathly afraid of them so now you too can reenact Robocon’s most terrifying scenes!

The toy and its parts are packed in a classic Styrofoam tray and cardboard box and I do believe the box is almost an exact copy of the original 1970’s Popy release. I of course have shot a quick video that includes the first un-boxing.

Either you know him and you love him or don’t and you should but I like this little re-release. It has a nice heavy weight to it even for its tiny size and is fun to play with and if you don’t own a Robocon you should. You can get yours as well as others in the THE Chogokin line at Angolz.com.

Yamato has been known to make some very fine, anime accurate collectibles over the last few years and in that time I have wanted a 1/48th scale Valkyrie from Macross. Can you believe the hype or is it overrated? Read on to find out. VIDEO included.

Yamato has been known to make some very fine, anime accurate collectibles over the last few years and in that time I have wanted a 1/48th scale Valkyrie from Macross. Thanks to a trade with Sanjeev I finally got my hands on one. Can you believe the hype or is it overrated? Read on to find out.

So the 1/48th scale Valkyries have been out for a few years and finally broke down and got my hands on one this summer.

This is the Max Genius (or Max Sterling for you Robotech fans) Macross: Do You Remember Love version of the VF-1A.

At 1/48th scale this guy is big. In Fighter mode from tip to tail it measures just over 12 inches long, in Battroid mode it stands just over 10 inches tall. The figure comes with some nice accessories. There is no denying its impressive scale on the self.

Included in the package are:

• 1 Removable seated pilot (this one is painted like Max of course)
• 1 Gunpod
• 4 Larger Missle pods
• 4 Smaller scale missle pods
• 2 Vent covers
• 1 Sticker sheet

The Valkyrie fully transforms between all three modes, Fighter, Gerwalk and Battroid and looks great in all those modes. This toy doesn’t favor one mode over the other as far as proportions go. It looks great no matter which mode you choose to display it in.

The toy is almost all plastic, with the exceptions of the landing gear doors under the nose, shoulder joints, swing bar underneath for the legs. Those are all die cast.

But it is the transformation that ends up being the downside to this toy. You see being as accurate to the show and design as it is makes for a fairly complex transformation and when you’re about midway thru from Gerwalk to Battroid it becomes quite a floppy mess. If you are not careful you could easily break things off if you’re not aware of the whole toy the entire time you are transforming it. This has been the downside to having it, as much as I like it, I rarely feel the urge to pick it up and transform it, not like my old classic Bandai Valkyrie.

I have two other complaints for this toy. First the stickers are pretty shabby. Any sticker that goes over a curved piece on the toy has already started to roll off. Any sticker on a flat surface has stayed put. To be honest Yamato has addressed this issue with some of it’s newer Macross Zero Valkyries by printing most of the major details right on the toy. Second, my Valkyrie has loose knees in Battloid mode, it still poses fine but there is about half an inch of slack there. This doesn’t appear to be a common complaint for most and seems I just got the luck of the draw.

At $125 to $150 I shouldn’t be afraid to transform it and for that price I shouldn’t run the risk of getting a bum one (Loose knee joints). So this is a mixed bag to recommend to our readers.

If you are a HUGE Macross/Robotech fan I do feel you owe it to yourself to get at least one, it looks great on the shelf and really is the nicest “looking” Valkyrie made to date, it just fails the “toy” aspect in my opinion. If you want your stuff to be highly playable and “sturdy” this is a pass for anyone that is not enamored by the transforming jet.

If any of our readers know how to “fix” the loose knees (I can’t find how to un-attach the lower part of the lower leg. I can get the top screw out at the knee that is it.) Please feel free to drop a comment here or send me an email.

And for those that really want to go deep diving on the transformation on the toy be sure to check the videos below. These are only for the highly nerdy… you have been warned.

Not really a good toy at all.

The Yujin Master Action Getter Robo 1 (Comic Version) (Final) (マスターアクション 原作版 ゲッター１ Ver.2（後期Ver.) came out in February of 2003. I have a stupid attachment to this toy, as I remember seeing it in every store during my first trip to Tokyo.

In theory, this looks like a great toy. Its 20 cm tall, includes an attachable Getter Wing, 2 Getter Tomahawks, Getter Missile Machine Gun and 5 extra hands. And just looking at it, it looks great, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, all hope is lost when you start playing with it. The joints get loose easily and won’t stand up well at all. The cape is actually flimsy vinyl that looks like crap. And even worse, the cape attaches to two pegs on the back which only secure when the shoulder cowl is pressed down firmly. That cowl? It doesn’t stay on.

The hands don’t like to stay on, and getting it to hold the gun is such a pain in the ass. You actually have to remove the front handle from the gun and kind of thread the handle through one of the hands.

I’d stay away from this unless you are a getter nut and have to have each and every getter toy out there. There have been far better renditions of the character released, don’t bother with this one. It’s no surprise that Yujin cancelled the line.

This is actually the second version of the toy, called the “Final Version”. The original version had different elbows and other subtle differences. Also issued was a Training color version Getter 1.

Quite possibly the least intimidating name for a monster ever.....Marty.

Another entry in X-Plus' excellent, but sadly short-lived series of AMC Monsterfest toys, "Marty", the 3 Eyed Mutant hails from the 1956 Roger Corman film "The Day The World Ended".

I haven't seen this movie yet, but judging by the trailer, it looks like the monster looks better as represented by this figure than it really did in the movie. Much like the She Creature toy from this line, this is a really nicely detailed figure, which is more of a statue than a toy. It has no articulation and no gimmicks. The figure appears to be made of a very solid PVC with a beautiful base that I think is resin. It's very nicely done, but not as interesting as the She Creature one.

"Marty" (no, I have no idea why he's called this) comes in the same box as the others in the series, but is packaged in it's own unique plastic try and his name on the UPC code on the back. The box is nicely compact at 12" tall and 7" wide and has some nice artwork of various monsters on the back. Unfortunately, of these monsters, only Marty, The She-Creature and the Amazing Colossal Man were ever released.

Front

Back

The display base comes in three parts with the title of the film engraved on the front, and separate pieces for the film's tagline ("The screen's new high in NAKED SHRIEKING TERROR!") and the advertisement for "SUPER SCOPE".

The detail on this guy is fantastic and it makes a truly amazing display piece. I really like these figures and regret that it hasn't continued.

Maybe it is those weepy eyes, maybe it is the ecological threat that it represents, but Hedorah is clearly my favorite Kaiju baddy.

What is it about Hedorah toys and why can I not stop buying them? No other Kaiju does to me what Hedorah does

Maybe it is those weepy eyes, maybe it is the ecological threat that it represents, but Hedorah is clearly my favorite Kaiju baddy. I found this guy on sale at the Super7 store and grabbed him up right away.

The toy is called "candy case" because there is a little plug in the bottom that you can remove and fill with candy! Just like in the old days (if you grew up in Japan in the 70s).

My particular Hedorah is cast in pink vinyl and has green spray whit yellow eyes. This toy was issued in 8 different color schemes. The toy is about 6" tall and has 2 points or articulation (the arms).

Candy case Hedorah comes bagged with a header card.