Strangeco and Max Toy Company reveal Comic-Con plans

Max Toy Company is the brainchild of Mark Nagata, a local San Francisco artist, toy collector and designer. He's been releasing some of the most innovative stuff in the tradition of classic Japanese character toys. This year at comic con, Mark has created a whole series of limited releases, most of them that he hand-painted himself. Details and pictures are below.

1. TRIPASU - Cronic x Max Toy Company
Cronic is a Japanese workshop run by Naoki Koiwa, who has made a name for himself by sculpting and producing super limited run kaiju designs. Tripasu sculpted and produced in Japan by Cronic, based on Mark's design, and hand-painted by Mark. Only 15 have been painted for the show.

2. PHAROAHS (SDCC edition) - Rumble Monsters (hand-painted by Mark Nagata)
Another super limited edition figure by Japanese DIY toy company Rumble Monsters - Pharoahs is a classic toy mold, which is hand-painted by Mark and is limited to an edition of 5.

3. EYEZON - Max Toy Company (hand-painted by Mark Nagata)
Eyezon is a mutant potato monster, fully designed and produced by Max Toy Co. Mark has hand-painted 16 Eyezons in this very cool gold color version. It's a clear figure with visible guts.

4. BOOSKA - GLOW IN THE DARK - Max Toy Company, designed by Martin Ontiveros
Booska is one of the most iconic characters from the golden age of Japanese television - this version has been re-interpreted by Portland artist Martin Ontiveros for Max Toy Company. Only 40 pieces available during Comic Con.

5. BOY KARMA (Glow in the Dark and Solid Black editions) - Mark Nagata
Boy Karma is the mascot of Max Toy Company; 30 pieces each of these two special editions will be available during the show.

For my money, this is the best of the Max Toy Co. Alien Xam colorways and a worthy addition to any kaiju collector's shelf.

Alien Xam is an enemy of Captain Maxx and, like all vinyls, has been released in a variety of colors. I have to admit that when Xam and his partner in crime, Kaiju Eyezon were released, I wasn't blown away by the colors of either one. So I decided to hold off on buying them. Fortunately, last summer both were released in exclusive versions for the San Diego Comic Con in colors I liked MUCH more than before. One of the benefits of being a Max Toy Club member is that you often get first crack at exclusives like this so even though I was unable to attend SDCC, I had these bad boys pre-ordered and set aside for me even before the show started!

I really think these two vinyls go together beautifully, with the way the red of Xam contrasts with the yellow of Eyezon. Plus this was a good opportunity to get one that glows and one that doesn't. Unlike some collectors who shall remain nameless, I like to mix and match my vinyls. Some glow, some regular, some clear, etc.. I think it makes for a better display to have that variety.

Anyway, enough about my collecting habits, how is this Xam? Well, first off, it's bigger than you'd think at nearly 11" tall. It's articulated at the neck, hips, shoulders ankles and claws. Most of the joints are very tight, with the exception of the claws which have a tendency to flop open a bit. But that's only if they are not fully closed. Otherwise, they stay in position fine. And the claws are a really neat feature that I don't recall seeing on any other kaiju toy. Mark really knows how to design a toy that pays homage to the old school aesthetic while still offering something unique for the modern collector.

The paint job on Xam is really good, but not quite perfect. There's a bit of scuffing on the left claw of mine, but everything else is of very high quality. I probably just got a bit of a lemon. Something like this might add fuel to the argument that these toys should be made in Japan instead of China, but it doesn't bother me enough to overcome the fact that these toys are so affordable. You're still getting a great product for roughly half of what other companies charge. But you're mileage, as they say, may vary...

Alien Xam comes in a bag with header card and backing board, all featuring art by Mark Nagata himself. Mark's a great artist and his love for this subject matter always shines through on his projects.

Backing board front

Backing board back

Complementing the Purple Guts Edition of Eyezon, comes Mark Nagata's glowie version of the potato-kaiju!

More giant mutant potato action!

How awesome is this!?

After reading Josh's review of the translucent purple "guts" edition of Eyezon, I knew I had to throw down and rep for the glowies! And here it is!

Mark Nagata, owner of Max Toy Company and all-around helluva guy, is putting out some gorgeous original and exclusive/collaborative vinyls. Eyezon is an all-new evil kaiju creation based on the "Captain Maxx" universe, a home-grown cast of characters centered around the hero, Captain Maxx, a tokusatsu-style protagonist inspired by Mark's son, Max!

So is this an "urban" or "designer" vinyl? It is a non-character toy--an original creation, not based on any pre-existing media. Well, I'm not one for splitting hairs. It's pretty clear where the inspiration for this toy comes from. If you check Mark's collecting habits, you can tell that Eyezon, Captain Maxx, and the rest of the gang actually do have a pretty impressive pedigree.

In this reviewer's mind, it doesn't matter that this is an all-new toy envisioned in a contemporary artist's mind, as opposed to a representation of some long-standing character that has existed in numerous forms in numerous media for decades. This is pure toy, folks. Its roots--the very soul of such urban/designer vinyl kaiju--lie in Japan, as Mark tells us. They're sculpted with a sincere reverence to the Japanese kaiju character toys of yesteryear. This sincerity shows in Mark's work.

Attack of the Killer Potatoes!

Attack of the Killer Potatoes!

Eyezon is a mutant potato and enemy of Captain Maxx. He is the second enemy Kaiju rolled out by Max Toy Company.

Eyezon is cast in soft vinyl and is HUGE. He was originally cast in Yellow but what you see here is another edition – CLEAR PURPLE with GUTS. That’s right, inside of Eyezon are multiple pieces of kaiju innards. Each arm and leg also has a solid plastic insert inside it, giving Eyezon an X-Ray appearance.

Created by Mark Nagata, Eyezon is a fantastic Homage to Japanese monsters. Although it is manufactured in China, it feels like a Japanese toy. At 10.5 inches tall, it is a monster in every sense of the word.

Comes bagged with header card and backing card artwork by Mark Nagata.

Suprisingly, I found this toy at a local Newbury Comics store, no doubt due to Max Toy Company’s distribution deal with StrangeCo.

http://www.maxtoyco.com/Shop_item.php?id=147&cat=2&sub=0

STRANGEco is proud to announce that it is now the exclusive distributor of Max Toy Company, the brainchild of obsessive toy collector, magazine founder and artist Mark Nagata. Max Toy Company creates high quality vinyl figures in the tradition of classic Japanese character toys, with exclusive designs by Nagata, Bwana Spoons and others, as well as premier licenses from the golden age of Japanese kaiju.

STRANGEco is proud to announce that it is now the exclusive distributor of Max Toy Company, the brainchild of obsessive toy collector, magazine founder and artist Mark Nagata. Max Toy Company creates high quality vinyl figures in the tradition of classic Japanese character toys, with exclusive designs by Nagata, Bwana Spoons and others, as well as premier licenses from the golden age of Japanese kaiju.

Ask anyone who knows Mark Nagata to describe him and the two things that will come up are toys and art.

After attending the Academy of Art College in San Francisco during the late 80's and picking up a New York artist's rep, Mark embarked on a 10-year plus journey as a freelance commercial illustrator. Churning out hundreds of assignments over the years, coupled with deadlines from hell took a toll, both mentally and physically. "I had to reassess what was important in my life and refocus my abilities towards a new goal. " said Nagata.

"I'd been collecting Japanese toys all along, and suddenly realized it would be cool to have a magazine of some type devoted to them." So it's no surprise that Mark ended up creating and co- publishing Super7 Magazine. After successfully building the Super7 brand for nearly 4 years, it was time to move on. "I wasn't able to paint as much as I wanted, and I realized that the part of Super7 I enjoyed the most was creating toys and artwork, " reflects Nagata.

Thus was born Mark's new venture called Max Toy Company, named after his son, Max. With a nod to the Golden Age of Japanese toys, Max Toy Co. will continue the tradition of offering classic Japanese character toys by all the best toy companies. Max Toy Co. produces its own exclusive toys, both licensed and original.

In addition, Mark writes about Japanese Toys and is the toy editor for the bi monthly magazine called Otaku USA, available at all major bookstores. Now Mark has teamed up with StrangeCo to help wholesale and distribute its product to a much wider audience.

"StrangeCo is the leader in distributing Art Toys and really curate their offerings with care while expanding the brands identity. I think Japanese inspired toys is a growing aspect of the Art Toy market and I'd like to expand Max Toy Company products to these collectors. I'm looking forward to have Max Toy Company as a part of their select group of offerings."

Max Toy Co is a synthesis of toys and art ... both of Mark Nagata's life long passions.

For more information visit:

www.STRANGEco.com



CLICK HERE to visit the Max Toys Catalogue Page

ABOUT STRANGEco

Based in San Francisco, CA but catering to the world at large, STRANGEco is a dynamic force behind the growing phenomenon of the designer art toy movement.

After developing the successful online designer toy retailer, Kid Robot in 2002, co-founders Gregory Blum and Jim Crawford left in order channel their creative efforts in a different direction. Their hard work resulted shortly afterward with STRANGEco.

Working closely with artists they admire, the STRANGEco staff helps to develop character designs often only seen in two dimensions. The end results are beautiful original art pieces in three-glorious dimensions which fans can actually afford and collect. Notable artists STRANGEco has worked with include Mars-1, Jim Woodring, Friend With You, tokidoki, Nathan Jurevicius and many others.

Alien Xam Finger Puppet hand painted by Mark Nagata!

When I was out in San Francisco a few months ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Mark Nagata, creator of Captain Max and owner of Max Toy Company. It was really great to meet Mark in person, and to see where all the magic happens. Mark’s ultraman collection is truly insane.

As we were leaving, Mark gave us these hand-painted Alien Xam finger puppets as a gift. You could get the regular version through the Max Toy Company store, but this version is only available from Mark himself.

Alien Xam is made out of vinyl and comes bagged with a header card featuring Mark’s original artwork. The Xam finger puppet is hollow on the inside, so yes, you can actually put him on your finger.

Thanks Mark! It was good to meet you, and to get a chance to sign the giant Mirrorman!

...Balboobo...Balboa...Bubba-Gump...

Aww, c'mon--it's Mark Nagata's collaboration with Dream Rocket: Balbagon!

Balba-who???

Balbagon, that's who!

Mark Nagata, owner of Max Toy Company--and all-around helluva guy--has put out some gorgeous vinyls thus far in the young life of his son-inspired company. Some are all-new creations based on his killer "Captain Maxx" character. Some are collaborations with other companies to make Max Toy Co-exclusive variants of existing figures. Balbagon is among the latter. This glowie Balbagon represents a partnership between Max Toy Co and Dream Rocket, a vinyl kaiju company known for ferocious sculpts of non-character toy monsters (original non-media-based characters). The color scheme Mark came up with here is puuurrrre LOVE!

.

Now, I'm no urban vinyl/designer toy aficionado...but I ain't stupid. I know slammin' kaiju when I see 'em! This is slammin' kaiju. And that's all I need to know...

...oh, and the fact that it glows in the dark sure doesn't hurt! ;)

And it doesn't matter that this is an all-new toy envisioned in some contemporary artist's mind, as opposed to a representation of some long-standing character that has existed in numerous forms in numerous media for decades. This is pure toy, folks. The roots--the very soul of these urban/designer vinyl kaiju--lie in Japan, as Mark tells us. They're sculpted with a sincere reverence to the Japanese kaiju character toys of yesteryear. This sincerity shows.

They stand of the shoulders of giants (giant kaiju, that is). Word is bond.

Now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the pics!

San Francisco based Max Toy Company announces the upcoming collectible soft vinyl figure release of the Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd. character, Booska. Max Toy Company president, Mark Nagata is pleased to be working with Tsuburaya Productions on this special project.

San Francisco based Max Toy Company announces the upcoming collectible soft vinyl figure release of the Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd. character, Booska. Max Toy Company president, Mark Nagata is pleased to be working with Tsuburaya Productions on this special project.

Booska is a cute and lovable kaiju (“monster” in Japanese), who first appeared on Japanese television in 1966. In the years since, Booska spawned another TV series in the 90's, as well as numerous toys and merchandise.

Max Toy Company is partnering with multi-talented artist Martin Ontiveros to create a unique version of Booska. The highly talented Kiyoka Ikeda (of the Japanese toy company Gargamel) will sculpt the Booska figure based on Martin’s design.

Max Toy Company expects to release Booska in the second quarter of 2007.

For more information on this project and others, please contact Mark Nagata at the email below.

Wholesale will be available from Max Toy Company, as well as through Diamonds Previews.

Suggested Retail Price: $45.00
Material Soft Vinyl
Packaged in classic Japanese toy style with artwork on the header card and backing cards.

Standing aprox 9 inches tall

web site : http://www.maxtoyco.com

email: mark@maxtoyco.com

Booska is ©1966 Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd.

Max Toy Company releases their first original toy based on an existing Japanese character.

Following on the heels of the success of their original character Captain Maxx, Max Toy Company releases their first original toy based on an existing Japanese character, Kikaida. The toy comes bagged with a colorful header card with a cardboard insert, both painted by Max Toy Co. founder, Mark Nagata.

Two versions of the toy are currently being sold. The first features Kikaida's traditional colors, those shown on the insert above. This review covers the second version, the "Mechanical" version. This one is cast in clear vinyl and features paper inserts on the inside, depicting the mechanical inner workings of the character. The artwork was again done by Mark Nagata and was inspired by his love of Jack Kirby's mechanical drawings.

There have been plenty of clear vinyl toys on the market lately, but I think this one truly stands out simply because the vinyl isn't colored at all. It really looks as though the toy is made of glass. You can get a real good look at the paper inserts as a result. When I received the toy, one of the inserts in the leg had come loose and was twisted to the side. I simply popped off the leg, re-adjusted it and popped the leg back on. Heating the vinyl was not necessary at all. The leg went off and on very easily, but still holds firm in it's socket, with no floppiness or anything like that.

Kikaida stands approximately 9 inches tall and has five points of articulation. The joints are at the hips, shoulders and neck. A clear plastic stand is included, even though it really doesn't seem to be needed. The toy stands solidly without it.

There's alot to like about this toy, including the price. Many collector vinyls from Japan can cost as much as $80 or more, but this is available in the United States for just $40 from maxtoyco.com

Who is Captain Maxx? We review the new vinyl figure from Max Toy Company.

Captain Maxx is a new vinyl figure from Max Toy Company. For those of you who don't know, Max Toy Co is really Mark Nagata, one of the founders of Super7 magazine. Mark left Super7 a while back, and started Max Toy Co, named after his son, Max.

I know Mark is an insane Ultraman collector. He has probably the biggest Ultraman collection in the world. I can understand his passion for toys. As a collector, the ultimate dream is eventually to be able to create your own toy, and Mark has fulfilled that dream with Captain Maxx. It's the ultimate tribute to Ultraman and other characters in the Tokusatsu genre.

The toy comes bagged with a header card and insert card. All of the artwork is done by Mark, and is done in a very retro style that is very appropriate for the character. I carefully removed the staples on the header card, so to not damage the art. The bag is actually sealed together beneath the card, a departure from vintage vinyl. I had to cut the bag open to free the figure, but that's no big deal for me. Captain Maxx came packed with him holding his helmet AND with his helmet on. The assortment is random, and one version is not rarer than the other.

Captain Maxx is 9.75 inches tall and made out of soft vinyl. It's articulated at the head, shoulders, waist and hips. The toy is molded in BEAUTIFUL red vinyl, with the details painted on. I was surprised to learn that this toy was actually made in China, due to the high quality. I am not generally a vinyl collector, but I was impressed. The paint details are nice and clean '“ this is high quality work. The only thing I'm not sure I like is the paint on the head. The paint on the head is done in flat colors, where the rest of the toy is glossy. I think I would have preferred the whole toy to have the same finish. Another concern with the head is the fit of the helmet. It takes a LOT of work to get the helmet on and off. Heating the helmet helps a lot, but I am afraid of paint damage if you remove the helmet often enough. This can probably be remedied by increasing the slit on the back of the helmet.

What really sells Captain Maxx for me is the style in which it was done. It is such a great homage to the classic Japanese hero vinyl. Mark clearly loves this genre, and it shows with the attention to detail in Captain Maxx. What is also really impressive is the fact that he can put out such a quality toy for under $40. Most limited run vinyl toys from Japan are much more expensive.

This red version of Captain Maxx is limited to 150 pieces, but there appears to be a black version and a white or glow version in the works, according to an image on some of the promotional material that was sent with my order.

Max Toy Company is releasing a licensed Kikaida toy soon. Based on Captain Maxx, I am definitely going to check it out.