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Act 1: Bull Solid

Comments

8 comments posted
I really love these toys

Yes! I didn't know that the show was based on these great toys! I wish I had one.

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 2 July, 2008 - 07:26
These toys are getting rarer

These toys are getting rarer and more expensive every year. While they can be found for cheap sometimes, this is more due to the fragile nature of the figures, and the fact that there are very few truely MISB C10 condition examples, like the rotting rubber parts, the fragile old plastic, and the original figure becoming discolored.

I would warn anyone purchasing SZ figures to be careful. Many unscrupulous sellers offer these as mint figures, when they are missing parts, the rubber is rotten and useless, or the original figure is replaced with a reproduction.

The Big R's picture
Posted by The Big R on 2 July, 2008 - 13:00
I remember stumbling across

I remember stumbling across these at Pony Toy Go Round sometime in 1984. But considering the price, I was much happier getting Mospeada and Macross toys for the same amount. I never forgot about them though and tried every few years to track some down to no avail. I gave up a few years ago trying to acquire some of these. The price, rarity, fragility and lack of communication with Yahoo Japan sellers just makes it too risky. They are practically non-existent outside Japan, and if you do find some, they're either crap, overpriced, or overpriced crap. Unless you don't mind some rot on them, getting one in perfect shape is almost impossible. But if you enjoy hunting down stuff and are willing to pay a premium for it when you find one, it's right up your alley.

The line has an interesting history and is one of those where the unreleased stuff that was planned is heartbreaking when you see what never came to be. I always hope one day Bandai will revive the line, since it's right along the style of SIC and all the Kamen Rider stuff they do.

I was one of the few kids into the Tonka ones, which were pretty damn good considering it took these fragile model kits and redesigned them them for kids, you just can't make something so fragile for a 6-10 year-old boy.

duke togo's picture
Posted by duke togo on 2 July, 2008 - 14:56
Bull Session

Both of you have good points when collecting Spiral Zone toys. One stunt that I see often is when they subsitute an original Spiral Zone figure with a Yutaka figure. The arm and knee pads are the worst offenders as they are usually missing from auctions. The rubber on the boots is good, but what happened is that they had a chemical reaction with the styrofoam and melted in the tray. I did buy an NOS Setinal Bear for my DX review that was untouched but the boots had melted through the tray like a hot knife through butter. I suggest pulling the boot sout and putting them into a baggie. Dealers also love to overprice Spiral Zone toys just because it's a spiral zone toy.

Luckly I bought most of my Spiral Zone toys when they came out at Pony Toy Go Around in little Tokyo in downtown LA. I'm now only missing 4 of the 12 toys.

When the Tonka release came out I absolutely hated them, it was just another example of American toy companies and their lawyers taking all the fun out of Japanese toys. keep in mind that the American Spiral Zone was a completely brand new figure and only had a concept relationship with the original spiral zone toys.

Years later I changed my mind on that view. for those that don't know about the original Japanese SZ toys and compared to other American toys at the time it was a well made line. I like the grey spliter camo on the Tonka Spiral Zone and I can now see why kids liked the figure at the time. But having known about the Japanese line I was disappointed at the time.

Cheers!
LF

We'll fight them on the Beaches!

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 2 July, 2008 - 21:47
Please review the rest, man.

Please review the rest, man. I've only seen & handled this one in person, and I'd love to know more about this line, it's like a great mystery for me and many others in the US/English world too.

The Big R's picture
Posted by The Big R on 3 July, 2008 - 13:36
Sentinel Bear

Thanks, I plan to review all the figures and accessories I own. Click On "Spiral Zone" in the header and check out all the other Spiral Zone related figures including my review of Act 3: Sentinel Bear and kamen Rider Black.

Cheers
LF

We'll fight them on the Beaches!

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 3 July, 2008 - 16:02
Couldn't help myself...




--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 7 July, 2008 - 17:25
Zoners?!

...I just can't get into that...I'd rather watch the Bionic Six!

We'll fight them on the Beaches!

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 8 July, 2008 - 10:52