The look of Kamen Rider ZO foreshadows the popular SIC line that would come many years later.

Kamen Rider ZO (仮面ライダーＺＯ) comse from the less-popular movie of the same name, 1993's Kamen Rider ZO. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of love for this rider, as evidenced by the overall lack of merchandise and it's low-key place in the rider panthenon. The rider has a grasshopper-like appearance, looking more insectoid overall than some of the previous riders.

The look of Kamen Rider ZO foreshadows the popular SIC line that would come many years later.

This toy is your typical Rider Hero series vinyl. Its about 6" tall, and features articulation at the arms and waist. Originally this figure would have come window boxed, but sadly, the box was thrown away years ago by some young Japanese child.

King Saurus's full name literally translates to "Ancient monster meteor kick zaurus King III"

King Saurus the third (or III)(キングザウルス三世) is an Ultra Kaiju - meaning he is a Kaiju (monster) from the Ultraman series of TV shows. In particular, King Saurus is first seen in the 1971 series "Return of Ultraman" (帰ってきたウルトラマン).

King Zaurus's full name literally translates to "Ancient monster meteor kick zaurus King III" (古代怪獣キングザウルス三世). He first appeared in Episode 4 of Return of Ultraman, dated 1971/4/23.

There have been many reissues of this toy over the years. This first release came out in 1989, followed by 1991, 1995 and 1998, Reisses can be marked by different colored vinyl. The original is in grey, followed by a purple-ish release.

As a special bonus...

I tried to find video of King Saurus III in action, but instead i came across this.

Daicon Film's Return of Ultraman, from 1983, an Ultraman parody film written/directed/starring Hidaeki Anno (you know, that Evangelion guy). It's pure otaku goodness. Long, but worth it.

This is going to be one of those reviews that isn't so much of a review, rather a placeholder to say that this toy exists.

This is going to be one of those reviews that isn't so much of a review, rather a placeholder to say that this toy exists. I got this toy in a big box of toys that had been obviously played with by a Japanese kid sometime in the early 90s. With each piece there is kind of a feeling of history - these were toys that a child played with - possibly loved.

Kamen Rider BLACK RX (仮面ライダーＢＬＡＣＫ　ＲＸ) comes from the show of the same name, which aired on Japanese television from 1988 - 1989. The notable thing about this show, as far as the US is concerned, is that SABAN imported this series as Masked Rider in the USA. Unfortunately, the show was a flop.

This is just one in a series of low-cost toys bandai issues in the Rider Hero series. Each toy has similar packaging and proportions, making for a nice collection if you get a lot of them. Articulation is limited to the shoulders and waist.

This toy obviously has a lot of play wear, and the antenna are broken off, but that's the price you pay for play.

A highly desirable toy for the rare monster collectors who don't know how to build models...

My dad was born in the late 1940s and although he grew up loving the classic monster movies, eventually helping pass that love on to me, by the time the real monster craze of the 1960s hit, he was already out of school and working, later in the army and starting to raise our family. Suffice to say, building monster model kits was not how he ever spent his spare time.

For myself, I hit the scene in 1975 and although I do vaguely remember seeing monster models in stores and even had some of the plaster casting kits, by the time I was old enough to actively want my own toys, Star Wars had been released and action figures were the new thing. So I never learned how to assemble and paint models, either on my own or as a hobby passed down from my dad. And the more I get into monster collecting, the more it becomes apparent how ingrained this activity is into the lives of the "Monster Kids".

But, what does that have to do with the toy reviewed here? Well, in late 1964 the famous model company Aurora released one of the all time classic monster kits, the Gigantic Frankenstein. Unfortunately, the kit didn't sell well (I've read that it was due to it's whopping $4.98 price tag) and unlike many of the other kits in the line, was never re-released, therefore making it a holy grail of monster collecting. Last time I saw an unbuilt Gigantic Frankenstein kit on Ebay, it sold for well over $3000.

Fortunately, if you can't get an original and/or don't know how to build models, an unknown Japanese company made this soft vinyl recast several years ago. I'm not sure of the exact release date, but I think it was late 90s/early 2000s.

At 18" tall, Big Frankie stands slightly smaller than the original completed kit and is a significant piece for your monster collection. He is articulated at the shoulders only, allowing you to raise and lower the arms.

Big Frankie also includes replicas of the chain and stone that came with the original kit. Perhaps the only way it does not live up to it's predecessor is in the paint application, which is a little bit dull here compared to some of the truly beautiful paint jobs I've seen on vintage build-ups. Naturally how nice a built up Gigantic Frankenstein looks depends on the skill of the painter and I suppose if you were so inclined, you could also repaint this vinyl to your liking, too.

The Big Frankie pictured here came in a brown cardboard box with the image of Frankenstein from the original kit's box printed on the front in black. I've heard that it was also sold in another box with a die-cut window, but I have not seen that one. I've also heard that some were sold with no box at all. So if you get a loose one, it doesn't necessarily mean it's "incomplete", although naturally for me, I preferred waiting until I could find a boxed version.

The Japanese Big Frankie toy is a great alternative for collectors like me not interested in traditional plastic model kits. But if model building is your thing, fear not. At long last, the original Aurora Gigantic Frankenstein model kit is set to be re-released this summer from Moebius Models (at a significant markup from $4.98 though..). So now there is no reason for you not to own a Big Frankie!

Here's a rarity, a soft vinyl toy of a Korean kaiju.

There may be no better example of my tendency to gravitate towards the unique and unusual than Marmit's Pulgasari toy. It's a fine toy unto itself, but it holds a real attraction for me simply because it is based on a Korean monster instead of a Japanese one. Therefore it's something different and exotic and even though I haven't actually seen* the movie it comes from, I just decided I had to have it.

The ornate design of the scales along with the gold coloring really lends a sort of royal look to the monster. Without seeing the movie, I get the impression that this is the sort of monster that would be feared and worshipped, instead of just being a target for the military. More of a god-like creature than a monster. I'm sure the film is nothing like that, though.

Part of the Vinyl Paradise line of toys, Pulgasari stands 9.5" tall and has 7 points of articulation, including at the elbows, which is pretty unusual for a vinyl kaiju toy. I certainly can't think of another one offhand that has this feature. I think it gives the toy a little more character than you usually see.

I think this is a really cool toy. The sculpt is nice and the vinyl is solid. The paint is just a little bit sloppy on the arms (notice how the gold from the outside of the forearms bleeds into the red in the picture above) but the overall look is quite eye-catching. Pulgasari was sold in a bag with a header card and was released in this color scheme as well as a black version and a gold exclusive version. Also look for a giant size version of the character that was sold in a box, as well as a baby Pulgasari that released in the Vinyl Para-Baby line.

*Hey, look. I just found out that the entire film is on Google Video. I guess I'll get to watch it now...

Following right on the heels of the final yokai review, comes the final Motion-ette review...the elusive Mummy!

It's not often that I lose my composure and make a purchase without reading the specifics of an auction, but the Telco Mummy Motion-ette made me do just that. I remember crawling out of bed on a lazy Sunday morning one day and heading on over to Ebay as usual. It was one week after I had already passed on a Dracula Motion-ette and I had been feeling a little bit of remorse about it. So even though I traditionally did not search for these items frequently, they were on my mind at the time. So I looked...and there it was. The Mummy.

Despite not having much experience in monster collecting, I remembered reading at the Gallery Of Monster Toys that the Mummy was "nearly impossible to find". And the fact that it was absent from nearly all the monster collections I'd seen to that point seemed to confirm the notion. And yet, there it was staring me in the face. And with a $35 Buy It Now, no less! "Click", "Confirm", "Bought". Now, time to read the item description!

Fortunately, there was nothing alarming about the auction and the seller was cool. In fact, he also had the Dracula I had passed on the week before, AND a set of Frankenstein and his bride. All 4 Motion-ettes I needed, including the rarest, all in one fell swoop to complete the set!

Like the rest of the previously reviewed Motion-ettes, The Mummy here is 17" from the bottom of the base to the tip of the head. Like the Creature, The Mummy is made mostly out of vinyl. Actual cloth wrappings might have been better, but I like the way this looks, too. Nothing new as far as features is concerned. Moving head and arms compliment the light and sound effects.

The Mummy was released in the second wave of 17" Motion-ettes, presumably in very small numbers. There was also a 24" version released and I think that is even rarer. He came packaged in the same box as the rest, with a clear cellophane window on the front. Although considered rare, I'd bet that this is exactly the kind of item that is out there, waiting to be found at a flea market or a yard sale of someone who doesn't know what they have. Keep your eyes open!

The fifth, final and rarest of the Nitto Yokai Monsters!

Shortly after returning home from Japan with my four other yokai toys, I was informed that there was one more that I needed to get to complete the set. That toy was Ikkaku Daioh, commonly referred to as the "Blue Demon", although according to Club Tokyo, the term actually means "One Horned King".

Like most of the others in the series, Ikkaku Daioh features only one single point of articulation, that being at the waist. His arms are permanently in a fixed upright pose. He looks like he might be casting, or warding off, a spell.

Although he is roughly the same height as the Abura Sumashi and Hitotsume-Kozou toys, he looks smaller since it is his horn is nearly one inch tall. His appeal lies mainly in his dark blue color which is nicely contrasted by the bright yellow of his clothing. Some brown and red round out the color scheme.

Two other factors may make Ikkaku Daioh appealing to the yokai collector. First, he's probably the rarest of the Nitto Yokai toys, so one might enjoy hunting for him and treasuring the toy more once it's acquired. However, even though he's the hardest to find, he does turn up. It took me nearly one year to get one, and even in that time I passed on at least two specimens while waiting for one at a price I liked.

Secondly, this is the only character in the set that does not originate in traditional Japanese folklore. Daiei Studios created this character specifically for their late 1960s series of yokai movies.

Like most of these vintage yokai toys, Ikkaku Daioh is best enjoyed when displayed with the others. Unfortunately, there are only the 5 vintage yokai vinyls. Some more recent toys have been released, but not many. Perhaps the most notable recent yokai toys are the Daimon standard size vinyl by M1 and several smaller yokai vinyls from companies such as M1, Tomy and Bear Model. There is also a very nice doll of Abura Sumashi by Tsukuda Hobby, but overall the yokai seem to have gone somewhat neglected in toy form, which is a crying shame, in my opinion.

If you are interested in learning more about traditional Yokai monsters, be sure to check out the upcoming book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. It's available this summer in Japan and later this year in both the US and the UK. The book is written by good friend Matt Alt (of ToyboxDX fame) and his wife Hiroko Yoda, both stars of the "Great Yokai War".

Perfect for soft vinyl or Ultra monsters fans

It started on a very rainy day.

That day, a friend of mine called me and said that he had some toys at very low price that he want to sell. When office hours ended, I stormed through the rain (literally) to meet my friend and his toys. Turns out they were soft vinyl Ultra Monsters. When he told me that they’re only 50 cents a piece, I snagged a whole lot of them. Now, I’m going to review my favorite of the bunch. Everybody’s favorite Spaceman, Baltan Seijin.

They Toy is bagged with a header card. The header itself had a lot of pictures of Ultraman foes. Nothing really special. It’s just meant to be opened I guess.

They toy itself is made of soft vinyl. Almost like today’s soft vinyl figures, only it’s a bit softer, probably due to the age of the toy. But after all these years, it pretty much stands the test of time.

The sculpt is very crisp, considering its age (although it is 1995 release, its based on the 1983 molding). His face is perfectly sculpted right to the, eh, limbs in his face. Anyhow, it’s Baltan we all love to see. The paint itself is probably the best bits. It’s very clean with very little paint slop, and on some parts it’s being weathered. Very-very cool. I forgot if it is show accurate, but I think it is.

The toy is 6 inches tall. Considering the material it is very light.

It has limited poseability. Only his hands, wrists and waist moves, so it’s just your basic soft vinyl figure. But, soft vinyl is not famous for their range of movement, right? Limited as it is, Baltan still can do the standard action pose.

I’ve got nothing to say anymore. This is good quality, cheap toy but it is getting hard to find in these days. Baltan Seijin is perfect for soft vinyl or Ultra monster fans.

No series of Halloween decorations would be complete without the lord of the vampires!

Despite having a friendlier than normal look for a vampire, I like the Dracula Motion-ette. It might be one of my favorite Dracula items in my collection so far (next to my 42" lawn ornament of course!). In fact, I like it much better than the more popular 24" Dracula/Vampire motionettes that were released by Telco and other copycat companies. The costume is simple but elegant and does not restrict movement of the arms, which can be posed by bending the interior wire armature.

The hands seem a bit over-sized and each finger has black, pointy fingernails. The head sculpt is nice and there is a subtle touch of red on the otherwise purple lips. Perhaps his slight grin is a result of contentment after feeding.

Dracula actually measures about a half inch short of 17", making him the shortest of the smaller series of Motion-ettes. But it's a minor difference. Speaking of minor differences, I think the color of the skin is slightly different, more blue-ish, from the first release to the next. But I only have this series two specimen and haven't seen a series one up close. Either way, they are nearly identical and I can't say one looks better than the other.

As with all the 17" Motion-ettes, Dracula has a small compartment in the base that takes two C-size batteries and he features movement, light and sound.

As my appreciation for Ushi-Oni grew, Hitotsume Kozou came to be my least favorite yokai toy. With the exception of his cyclopean appearance, there's really nothing else monstrous or frightening about the character. He's just a one-eyed bald kid who likes to taunt people, hence the outstretched tongue.

Perhaps the most appealing thing about the toy is it's colors. Featuring a caucasian flesh tone with white and black clothes, he provides a nice visual contrast to the rest of the characters in the set.

But taken on it's own, this one doesn't really offer much. It is just a hair over 6.5" tall. (Ok, maybe not a hair, but a pointy cranium.) There is just one point of articulation as you can turn the head side to side. Everything else is molded in place. The paint job is a bit sloppy on this one, too, with black overlapping over onto the bottom of the hands and some white blending into the forearms. That doesn't bother me too much though. It just makes it feel a bit more like an old knick-knack instead of a toy.

Mine even has a few spots of brown paint on the head and shoulders. No idea where that came from.

Perhaps because it's arguably the least desirable of the Nitto yokai toys, Hitotsume Kozou is probably the most common and inexpensive of the bunch.

If you are interested in learning more about traditional Yokai monsters, be sure to check out the upcoming book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. It's available this month in Japan and later this year in both the US and the UK. The book is written by good friend Matt Alt (of ToyboxDX fame) and his wife Hiroko Yoda, both stars of the The Great Yokai War.