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Post by moop on Jul 4, 2011 22:06:09 GMT -5
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Post by moop on Jul 5, 2011 22:19:50 GMT -5
So, I was looking at reprinting the rocket decals on my own. I'm just looking for someone who has the rocket with the decals who may be able to help me. I'd also like to get some measurements on his nose or maybe a tracing as it looks like I'll just have to have one manufactured in a machine shop. Buying some of the replacement parts isn't really financially feasible at the moment as the quotes for his red rockets and stuff seem pretty far fetched.
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Post by diceone on Jul 6, 2011 10:35:18 GMT -5
Congrats on your score.
The chokinzoku is a beautiful piece.
Getting a nose made, and for that matter missiles, isn't that hard. But isn't going to be a bargain shopping experience...
Missiles can be easily cast in resin from a small silicone mold.
But you'd need originals.
Same thing with a nose.
Shapeways is a 3D output printer and has a vast number of members who could help you. You may want to look into reaching out to some of the people over at the shapeways message boards.
Mike Deconnic, who reproduced the Mach Baron car that fits in the foot of the Jumbo version of the toy, is a VERY skilled 3D modeler. He is a forum member here, and shapeways user.
I can provide images and measurements on the nose.
If you do get a mold made or use 3D output, it's not crazy expensive, but it's not $5 either.
As the owner of a very rare, and valuable piece of toy history, restoration is more about quality and accuracy and not as much about price.
While I will admit some people on various boards overcharge... I'd be prepared to spend upwards of $100 to make this happen.
modeling and casting and output are all skills of a professional level and require expertise, respect and therefore proper compensation.
Just a friendly FYI.
Getting silicone and making molds by itself is $50 in raw materials.
As the idea is to make a run of a piece. or a single piece of art. Which may be perfect for you to get a full run of missiles... even I could use a full set...
There probably isn't a demand for tetsujin noses... so it's a special project for anyone who takes it on... I hope this sets realistic expectations for you.
For cleaning the oxidation you have on your metal, I also need to do some research. I have the same issue on a small area of my Skyzel from Kyodain.
I'm pretty sure it's nickel plated zinc.
I'm running my piece by Osa Koyama, the designer and sculptor at Complete Technique. I'm sure he can offer a simple and clear solution.
I'll share my info accordingly.
As for stickers, I'd bet Ed, the admin here has a sheet in one of his treasures... Maybe Ed would scan it for you?
He is Admin1 on the boards, and a really nice guy. Wouldn't hurt to ask.
How did you score this piece?
Tell us the story.
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Post by moop on Jul 6, 2011 19:50:04 GMT -5
I'm glad to relay the epic journey of acquiring this amazing toy. I live in Los Angeles, where there is an abundance of flea markets for Sunday shoppers. I woke up a little late on Sunday and had no intentions of going to any of the flea markets (isn't that usually the way?). I decided to hit one up at the last minute and made my way there.
I keep an eye out for the more pop culture type stuff like vintage toys (70's and 80's being my idea of vintage) and collectibles as well as video games and some types of mid century modern furniture and household stuff.
I flip a lot of what I find for a living so I'm always keeping my eye out.
I had already purchased a complete in box vintage LEGO rail set for a steal and also got what looked to be brand new TOMY Ki Ku Zo (Verbot) robot and hadn't really spent much of my money.
I was passing this one dealer who I see at a lot of these events. He has the usual assortment of unopened Star Wars figures with an array of opened action figures from comics, video games, and Saturday morning cartoons splayed out on his blankets on the ground. It's always fun to carefully step through these wares as you have to avoid crushing any while also keeping an eye out for any treasures.
In the middle, at the front of these various toys is the Tetsujin 28 SG-01 (Gigantor to me at that point). He's towering over the other figures next to him. I remember some sort of R2-D2, a big Christian Bale Batman with no cape and some packaged newer stuff that I've kind of learned to half gloss over unless it's something really collectible.
As everyone knows, this thing is f**king huge. It just stands out and even more so when it's next to lesser toys.
I should say that I am what you would call a fairweather collector. I like toys. I like to display them. Right now I have some LEGO Star Wars sets out and a myriad of Optimus Primes and other doodads and odds and ends. I don't really collect any one thing but do like certain stuff. In fact I had half-heartedly looked at getting some sort of Tetsujin action figure at one point but was turned off pretty early in my searching when I saw the hefty price they command. I wasn't completely aware of this guys real value though but that's how I knew this fella was important.
Unfortunately, I didn't think important enough to get right away.
I walked over to it and picked it up. It's weight was what I noticed first. This guy is heavy. I really liked that. I was looking him over because I know that the bane of collecting is an incomplete battle damaged toy. Sometimes it's cool to see how "badly" a toy got played with as you know some kid had a blast with him. This one looked pretty good.
The seller came over and immediately told me how collectible the Tetsujin was. This was verified by the round white sticker on it's chest plate that had a price of $125 on it with the words "Very Collectible" underneath in chicken scrawl. Like I said before, I didn't have any idea of how valuable this was.
I was in a sort of dilemma at that point because the seller was all over me and I don't like to flaunt that I may be researching something on my trusty iPhone.
I agreed with him that it was very collectible. I did notice that the awesome looking needle nose was missing as the big gaping hole was evident. I pointed this out to the dealer in anticipation of my beloved haggling. I then turned it over to look underneath the foot. It amazes me how many things you have to turn over, to see what they may be.
The feet were both marked with Japnese kanji, 28, DX, and Popy. At this point I had no idea what any of this meant.
I set it down and walked away pulling out my phone to do some searching. My knowledge was very limited about this and those phrases weren't enough to give me an idea of value when looking on eBay. It turned out that they weren't good enough to find this rare piece.
I decided to keep wandering around and mull it over as buying this for the seller's asking price would have cut my budget quickly and I still had over half the event to look over. There is nothing worse than busting your money load early in the days shopping and then coming across that killer piece like a sealed Stadium Events for the NES and not having enough money and worrying about the seller holding it for you.
I walked around for the next 20-30 minutes not really paying a lot of attention to the wares around me as I kept thinking about the massive robot I had just passed up. I like to think to myself that if it's still there when I go back then it was meant to be bought which is kind of cheesy but somewhat satisfying if the piece is gone and I didn't get it.
I realized with this one that I did not want that to happen at all. I walked back to the sellers booth and the Tetsujin was still there. I knew at this point that I was going to buy it even if the seller didn't come down on the price at all. I walked up to it and feigned my disinterest which probably looks absurd as the moment you ask about something or pick it up you are interested in it.
I asked the seller what his bottom line on it was. He said $90. I looked it over checked it out and said, "How about $80?" That was it cuz faster than I could respond he said, "Alright." Dammit. I knew I should have gone lower. So, I walked away with it at $80. I finished up looking around and didn't get anything else.
When I got home and did the real research on a decent computer and internet I found all the info I needed on it from you guys and ToyBoxDX and CollectionDX. I got really excited with the words "Holy Grail" being thrown around. I had intentions of selling it before I knew its real value, but it's so danged cool that for right now I'm gonna keep it.
It really is like a piece of sculptured art and puts my other toys to shame (don't worry custom Plush Lion-O. I still love you.) I'll even admit that I've flown it around a little bit (no pew-pewing though. Alright maybe once or twice, but that's it. I swear.)
So there you have it. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed the journey like me.
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Post by diceone on Jul 6, 2011 21:42:45 GMT -5
Talk about a steal.
I would have dropped $125 on it so fast that guys head would of spun around.
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Post by diceone on Jul 6, 2011 22:05:20 GMT -5
Oh and just a quick heads up, MikeDeco is the user on here with the serious 3D skills. Check out his website - freetimetoys.blogspot.com/ |
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 1:28:43 GMT -5
Thanks, I'll follow some of leads. Just out of curiosity, is the head crest from the same mold as the axes? I'm not so concerned about the handle of the axe but it may be possible to cast from my toys headcrest to make the axes if they are the same.
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Post by bourno on Jul 7, 2011 8:03:32 GMT -5
That! is a sweet find! I haven't gotten much into the machinder die-casts, so... how big or tall is the bot exactly? It is very cool how some of the plating can come off and see inside mechanical detailing. Great find.
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 10:21:50 GMT -5
That! is a sweet find! I haven't gotten much into the machinder die-casts, so... how big or tall is the bot exactly? It is very cool how some of the plating can come off and see inside mechanical detailing. Great find. It looks even better in person. He's about 16" tall. |
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Post by admin1 aka Ed on Jul 7, 2011 12:19:35 GMT -5
-Got in touch about stickers. I don't "think" Tetsujin was ever shipped with unapplied stickers. That said I'm working on a picture or two as printer/repro fodder.
Someone should let me know if they were ever unapplied and on sheets.
Ed
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 15:04:29 GMT -5
-Got in touch about stickers. I don't "think" Tetsujin was ever shipped with unapplied stickers. That said I'm working on a picture or two as printer/repro fodder. Someone should let me know if they were ever unapplied and on sheets. Ed Thanks a bunch. |
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Post by Dragonclaw on Jul 7, 2011 15:17:42 GMT -5
None of the GoDaiKins had sticker sheets if I remember correctly, at least the early stuff all had their stickers applied before I ever openned the boxes.
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 15:27:49 GMT -5
None of the GoDaiKins had sticker sheets if I remember correctly, at least the early stuff all had their stickers applied before I ever openned the boxes. That was my general impression from seeing all of the boxed ones in pics. The sticker shouldn't be too hard to repro as the 28 is the same but slightly flattened version on the arm from what I can see. In fact a measurement of the sticker on someone's rocket would help me get that more complete. |
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Post by Dragonclaw on Jul 7, 2011 18:54:44 GMT -5
I'll see what I can do when I get home from work...will post tomorrow if nobody beats me to it  |
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 19:14:48 GMT -5
I'll see what I can do when I get home from work...will post tomorrow if nobody beats me to it Thanks my man. BTW, if you could just hold up its axe to its headcrest to see if the mold matches, that would be killer too. If that matches up, repro'ing the axes should be simple at that point. Something tells me that cutting corners in manufacturing toys has always existed and having to the use the same mold would have been appealing to Popy. |
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Post by Dragonclaw on Jul 7, 2011 20:39:02 GMT -5
The head "hatchet" and hand hatchets *ARE* the same size. I used to compare them when I first got mine as a kid  |
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Post by moop on Jul 7, 2011 21:02:59 GMT -5
The head "hatchet" and hand hatchets *ARE* the same size. I used to compare them when I first got mine as a kid Nice! One semi-hurdle down, a whole metric ton to go. I'm even more impressed that you have your childhood toy as a piece. That's pretty awesome. Have you ever posted pics of it? |
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Post by diceone on Jul 8, 2011 1:05:35 GMT -5
I wasn't sure if some of the earlier Japanese Boxed pieces shipped with sticker sheets. I don't own any japanese DX sized chogokin. But some of my other toys from Popy had sticker sheets. Like my ganchan. Maybe he is a rarity. Jeez Ed... I figured you'd have Popy factory molds and sticker sheets and the factory art in your collection. -Got in touch about stickers. I don't "think" Tetsujin was ever shipped with unapplied stickers. That said I'm working on a picture or two as printer/repro fodder. Someone should let me know if they were ever unapplied and on sheets. Ed |
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Post by diceone on Jul 8, 2011 1:08:23 GMT -5
In other news... does anyone have any advice on removing the nose from Tetsujin?
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Post by moop on Jul 8, 2011 2:15:57 GMT -5
In other news... does anyone have any advice on removing the nose from Tetsujin? Well, it may be a bit complicated. For this one, I heard something rattling around inside it and narrowed it down to the head. I was hoping (somewhat unbelievably) that the nose was inside the head. A stupid hope as it turned out to be some sort of tiny screw. I was able to easily disassemble the back which lead to the head mount (2 screws flanking the base of the head bracket) from there I didn't try to completely remove it as I was able to get the screw out by slightly separating the base of the head. It wasn't really hard to get to that part, but actually removing the two halves I never tried. I'll be trying it again soon to get the head crest info I need. If that's too much for you, I totally understand so don't worry about the measurements if that's the case. If anything a great macro shot of the nose would be good for reference as I'm in touch with my custom toy guy and hoping he can cast the piece for me as I'd rather have it done that way instead of 3D printed. |
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