The collection that started CollectionDX finds a new home.

As anyone who collects toys knows, your collection will go through a lot of changes over the years. Maybe you change focus, maybe you decide to downsize, or maybe you have to pack it all up and move it.

I really liked my old setup in my old house. It was quiet, isolated, and had lots of shelving. I re-did that basement by hand, and it was full of love.

But when you have four kids like i do your small 3 bedroom house no longer can accommodate the rapidly growing family. A change of venue was in order, and in October we bought a new house. of course, while I was house hunting, one of my requirements was that the new house have a place for the office/collection.

We found a new place about 15 minutes from our old house. It didn't have an office, but it had a downstairs kitchen that would convert nicely

First we gutted the room - sold the appliances and re-did all the drywall.

Around Christmas time, drywall was done, walls were primed

Shelves were installed - all from Ikea

Finally, the first few toys were added

Now, a month later, things are starting to take shape.

The shelves above the desk are starting to fill in, but placement on things is not final. Half the collection is still packed up, so many more things are to be added.

I think I have my themes set out though:

Top shelf will be Voltron / Dairugger. Next shelf will be Abegas and Golion, and maybe others... depends on how much space Abegas and Golion take up.

Top shelf here will be all things Mazinger. May include Grendizer, not sure yet. Second shelf will be Getter Robo, and maybe Gaiking. I doubt Gaiking will fit though, I have a lot of that. Bottom shelf is Real Robots, specifically Patlabor and Dougram.

Both these shelves will be nothing but Raideen

The shelves on the right, from the top down will be various robots, Orguss/Votoms, Action Figures then Sofubi.

Festival masks over the door

The right column will have in order from the top down Macross/Mospeada, 80s robots, Transformers and Machine Robo, TBD, TBD

The bookcase houses a bunch of random mini figures as well as reference books and other crap.

Of course, toys aren't limited to my office. My large glass display case that will house most of the vintage stuff will be in the game room:

Godzilla Sofubi watch over the DVD's

The collection will even greet you when you come in the door.

So yeah, things are in a state of transition. I just thought it would be cool for you to see things as they are now, maybe to compare them when i finally have everything set up. Thats why most of these images are on Flickr - I don't want them to be part of the permanent record of my collection. Consider it a snapshot of a work in progress.

Thanks for indulging me!

~Josh

Four Categories, Four winners. Who emerged Victorious? Read on to find out...

Toy of the Year

Thanks to all that voted in the first CollectionDX Toy of the Year vote. It was an interesting experiment for sure. We broke out the toys into four main categories and some really interesting choices got a lot of attention. Transformers sites, Vinyl toy sites and others rallied their troops to sway the votes.

Toy of the Year ($100 +)

Ex Gokin Mazinger-Z 1969

You can't deny that this is an amazing toy. Even if you didn't own one, you could just tell this thing was killer. Its weight literally crushed the competition with 24% of the vote.

Runner Up: Soul of Chogokin Ideon

This mammoth Bandai diecast captured the hearts of chogokin lovers everywhere with its intricate transformation and good looks.

Second Runner Up: Wave SDF-1 Macross

Despite the small size and fiddly transformation, fans really dug this version of the Macross. Perhaps because its the first toy of the DYRL version?

Toy of the Year ($25 - $100)

Transformers Masterpiece Megatron

If one thing became clear from the TOTY vote this year, it is that Transformers RULED 2007. In fact, if we had reviewed one that cost over $100 I bet it would have won that category too. The Masterpiece Megatron looked awesome but issues about safety concerns kept it out of hands of a lot of fans.

Runner Up: Transformers Optimus Prime (Leader Class)

In my opinion this should have taken the vote, but people just LOVE Megatron. This is one of the best transformers to come out in years.

Second Runner Up: Eyezon

Vinyl toy fans rallied behind this mutant potato and enemy of Captain Max, and rightly so, this thing is frickin awesome. We will definitely have more vinyl on CDX in 2008.

Toy of the Year ($10-$25)

Transformers Ironhide (Voyager-class)

This big black beast of a truck was not seen nearly enough in the Transformers movie, but thankfully the toy delivered. Ironhide is another solid Transformer that is way fun to play with.

Runner Up: Revoltech VF-1S Strike Valkyrie

Are you seeing a trend here? This Revoltech really captured the anime likeness without getting bogged down with over-engineering. VF-1S + Strike Armor = awesome.

Second Runner Up: Revoltech Yotsuba

Fans apparently could not resist the cuteness of little Yotsuba. CDX readers aren't just interested in robots, and Yotsuba's strong showing supports that claim. Having a bad day? Just play with Yotsuba and Enjoy Everything!

Toy of the Year (Under $10)

Transformers Bumblebee (Concept Camaro)

One of the hardest toys to find this past Christmas was the Concept Camaro Bumblebee. Arguably the star of the Transformers movie, Bumble stole the hearts of both transformer fans and normal folks. Bumblebee turned in the strongest vote of any nominee in any category.

Runner Up: Glyos Series Space Traveler Pheyden

Onell Design's futuristic action figures were a big hit with Japanese toy fans, with tons of playability and an affordable price tag. Each one feels like love in your hands, and with more on the way in 2008 there will be plenty of love to go around.

Second Runner Up: Revoltech Miniature EVA-01

With the Rebuild of Evangelion movie release, love for EVA-01 was in the air. In an odd upset, the miniature version got more votes than the full size version! We'd love to see more Revoltech Miniatures, but the line seems to be dead.

The Big Losers

The following toys got almost NO VOTES during the TOTY VOTE. Shame on you.

• Revoltech Gaiking (Face Open Version) - Fans never really warmed up to the new version of Gaiking, and this powered up version didn't have a lot of draw with american fans. Most had no idea what this version was all about.
• Fantastic Four Fantasticar - A neat toy, but a bit too off topic for the CollectionDX audience. Duly noted.
• Romance of Three Kingdoms Guan Yu - This was an amazing 12" figure from Chinese mythology, but once again, I think it's a cultural thing.
• Sideshow Leia as Boushh - This was shocking. I loved this toy. Whats wrong with you people?
• Lego Shadow Crawler - I think our Lego audience is limited anyway.
• Revoltech Eva-02 Production Model (Movie Ver) - It was a fantastic Revoltech release, but I think the public is suffering from Eva Overdose. The other EVAs just don't have the same draw as the unit 01.
• Revoltech GR-2 - This is another one I was shocked at. How long have we wanted toys of the Giant Robo enemies? This may be backlash because you had to buy GR-2 to get the bazooka for Giant Robo.
• Revoltech Inoue Toro - People just had no idea who this was. Obscure Japanese pop culture only goes so far in the US.
• Revoltech Oper. Yashima Set Rebuild of Evangelion Ver. - A weapons set for two figures that didnt gather that many votes anyway.
• Transforms Nike Free feat. Convoy - I'm sorry, these Nike Transformers were just hideous.
• Transformers Payload - If it wasnt in the movie, people don't seem to care about it.
• Transformers Swindle - See above.
• Transformers Final Battle Jazz - People generally don't like repaints, and lack of any votes for this proves it. This one just looked like a dog chewed on it.

Well, that's it. Thanks again for voting. Let us know your thoughts. Did you agree or disagree with the votes? Anything we could have done better? Let us know.

CollectionDX toy of the year voting has begun - read inside for the method behind the madness!

The votes are in and it is unanimous - we are having a TOTY contest. We're going to do things a bit differently this year. This time we are having categories:

• Best Toy under $10
• Best toy $10-$25
• Best Toy $25-$100
• Best Toy over $100

THE RULES

• Only toys reviewed on CDX can qualify
• Open to ALL toys released in 2007
• Each category will be open for one week
• Anyone can vote - PLEASE no ballot stuffing! If it looks like we are being gamed I will restrict to members only.
• Feel free to discuss YOUR TOTY in the comments section. We will take suggestions from the comments and have a "Readers Choice" for toys NOT reviewed on CDX

What are you waiting for - VOTE NOW! You can read our reviews of all toys released in 2007 here.

Tokyo Underground is your treasure map to toy stores in Japan! a Co-Production between Super7 and CollectionDX. Read inside for more information and a chance to win your own autographed copy.

I co-wrote a book.

Tokyo Underground: Toy and Design Culture in Tokyo (128 pp, hc, $19.99)

Probably the #1 subject for emails to CollectionDX is "Where can I find good toy shops in Tokyo?". I had a small guide I created after my 2003 trip, and that was really popular, but not comprehensive. When I went back to Tokyo in 2006, I took notes and pictures. With my good friend Dave's help, I had the start of the ultimate Japanese toy guide.

Originally this was meant to be an e-book - a pdf that you could print and bring with you. But I lacked the time to compile it and format it properly. I pitched the idea to Brian Flynn of Super7, and he thought why not take it further, and make it a real book?

Brian put his design house, Hybrid-Design, on the job of making the book look great. Brian combined his maps of the vinyl scene with my maps of the vintage scene and added extra information. The end result is what you see here, a real, honest-to-good actual book.

The book is published by Super7 and distributed by Ginko Press. The book should be available in funkier book shops around the country.

TOKYO UNDERGROUND digs deep and unearths Toy and design culture in the land of the rising sun.

September 24, 2007 - Buried deep down back alleys of Tokyo’s hippest neighborhoods are the secret places. For years, toy collectors would keep maps of these stores to themselves, lest another collector find out one of his hunting spots. As toy and design culture collide and become mainstream, these locations can no longer be kept secret!

Tokyo Underground: Toy and Design Culture in Tokyo (128 pp, hc, $19.99) is the ultimate guide to Otaku nirvana. From the trendy Harajuku shops to the Mecca of Japanese nerd culture - Akihabara, Tokyo Underground tells you how to get there, what you’ll find, and what to do when you get bored of the toys (if that is even possible).

Each neighborhood in Tokyo is mapped out in detail, with the locations of each store, what you can find there, and even the contact information! Not only the shops, but find out what to do from the time you step into the Narita Airport. This book covers everything from currency exchange, train rides, toy shops, and how to figure out how to say “How much?” in Japanese.

Meet the characters that inhabit this world, from the designers to the eclectic toy shop owners. Find out where to eat and how to round out your toy purchases with the coolest in books, magazines, designer t-shirts, sneakers, music and more.

This guidebook includes stunning photography, well thought out maps, and a specialized lexicon of terms and phrases to help you along on your tour of this fun and fascinating culture.

Tokyo Underground: Toy and Design Culture in Tokyo is a collaboration between Brian Flynn (Super7 Magazine) and Joshua Bernard (CollectionDX) with photography by Jeff Dey.

ISBN: 0-9796678-0-1
ISBN 13: 978-0-9796678-0-0

Amazon

Also available at: Super7 Barnes and Noble Borders Last Gasp Kinokuniya (Japanese) Giant Robot Google Product Search

CONTEST

Win your own copy of TOKYO UNDERGROUND signed by co-author and CollectionDX founder JoshB. The winner will also get a XL CollectionDX T-Shirt! All you have to do is be a CollectionDX member and leave a comment below. One winner will be pulled at random from the comments October 31, 2007.

Images shot by Alan Light at the 1982 San Diego Comic Con of the Pony Toy Go-Round dealers table.

Check out these cool images by Alan Light from the 1982 San Diego Comic Con. Most images are of comic book royalty at the time, but hidden in the set are a few choice photos of the Pony Toy Go-Round dealers table! Awesome!

Check out the full set here.

Be sure to right click and "view image" to see these full size!