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

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!

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.