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Post by Edward28 on May 19, 2003 12:24:46 GMT -5
Does anyone collect Hensin Cyborg? Do you have any good pictures to share or sites? I would love to do more research on the subject. THanx in advance  -Ed |
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Post by shaxper on May 19, 2003 14:09:27 GMT -5
The only good pics I've been able to find have been from ebay auctions. I don't think I have any saved at the moment, though.
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Post by gavstar on Jan 5, 2004 18:29:54 GMT -5
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Post by hypnotator on May 14, 2004 8:55:10 GMT -5
I'm a British collector of British Cyborg. I loved these toys as a kid and never really grew out of them. I can even remeber the ads on the telly when they came out. British Cyborg is smaller than his Japanese counterpart and prices for the figures have gone through the roof in recent years, due to Japanese interest, mainly. I know of a few diehard collectors here in the UK, but it's a fairly elite thing. Three figures were produced: Cyborg, Muton and Android, along with three suits for Muton, three weapon sets for Cyborg, two weapon sets for Android and a flying saucer. The flying saucer had a flying chair/sled inside that was also sold separately.
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Post by spymagician on May 20, 2004 3:04:49 GMT -5
I loved that flying chair - when I was a kid I thought it was a toy of the Space Jockey chair from Alien?! I never made the cyborg connection. has anyone heard of the Hyper-Mook 09 book on takara henshin cyborg? saw it once on ebay - it looked AMAZING.
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Post by cybermuton on May 20, 2004 6:57:27 GMT -5
That Hyper Mook was brilliant. especially when you realised you had to read it from the back forwards...
Obviously Denys Fisher played fast and loose with the mythology when licensing the toys in the UK -
The Japanese Cyborg was built under water by a scientist whose son was killed, so he built the cyborg for him, or out of him, or something (someone help me here!), whereas the UK Cyborg was built to save earth by a team of the world's best scientists.
They obviously taught him to steal cars as well, because the flying bath chair that was 'developed by Earth's scientists for Cyborg' was originally the Japanese 9 inch Walder's transport. Hence it's more 'organic' design. And the big spaceship in which the chair sits was the UFO in which 12 inch Android sat originally -
All this was beatifully depicted on the sleeve of the Henshin Cyborg 7-inch single....("1,2,3,4, Yah!")
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Post by hypnotator on May 20, 2004 9:08:52 GMT -5
Okay, Cybermuton, I take back my statement about less than 20. Apparently Jonathan Ross is one of us, too.
In 1991, I befriended a chap at college who knew I collected toys and one day he announced that he had Cyborg, Android, all the Cybo-nators and the Cybo-invader (boxed with interceptor) left over from childhood and would I like to buy them. This was before the prices rocketed and I paid him £40 for the lot, which was being generous as he was a mate (so I thought at the time). I kept Android, but gave the rest to my brother as he had been the one who owned Cyborg as a kid and I had had the bad guys. I’m still in touch with my friend and he forgives me. I’ve since got my own Cyborg and ‘nators, but I do regret giving the invader away, although it’s still in the family.
The clothes shop Neo Henshin Cyborg was called Cyborg PPFM after the shop which is called Peyton Place for Men or something similar. I’d love to own one as he has an exclusive, bald outer head. I always thought Cyborg should have been bald rather than having that moulded fifties hairdo. Cyborg PPFM was intended to be displayed in his clothes, so his feet are black to look like shoes. He also has PPFM written on his inner brain. I’ve seen pictures of two types; one in a white box and one in a maroon box. I think the clothes are different. These are very rare, I believe, even in Japan.
I’d love to see that book.
One of the regular toy dealers at the NEC had a Cybo-invader for a while, priced at £500. It took him a couple of years but he sold it, to Jonathan Ross, he claims.
It sounds like your acquaintances have collections that put mine to shame. I’m not jealous. Grrrr.
Forgive me for correcting you, the Japanese Invader craft was not intended for King Walder (he is too big and the smaller Walder never existed in Japan until recently). It was intended for the Invader “Man from the Cosmos” figures, which were alien enemies for Shonen Cyborg (not to be confused with British Cyborg; same height but different design). I don’t know why Denys Fisher didn’t release the Invaders, they look cool and were the right size, instead of re-scaling and re-tooling Android. The “invader” logo on the side of the Cybo-invader, with the rainbow colours behind, is straight from the box of the “Man from the Cosmos” Invaders.
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Post by cybermuton on May 20, 2004 9:25:35 GMT -5
Excellent - I knew the craft was for an enemy - Obviously I got the wrong enemy!!
JR is a fan of this stuff for sure. I've had a few transactions with him in the past - although never on Cyborg/Muton stuff - but with his micronaut 'jones', it's not hard to figure the link!
And that's it - PPFM. You REALLY know your stuff!
I always quite liked that hairdo on the figures - even Walder's is funky - in a Ray Reardon way...but bald would have been cool too.
I was less keen when the reissues came out wearing shoes, I have to say. But those magnetic shoulders and shoulderblades more than made up for it in 2000.
All this reminiscing makes me kinda wish I still had some more of these guys, but I moved into MicroChange, early Diaclone, and that of course led squarely into Jumbos (Great Robot Base & Mazinger can almost square up to one another), which in turn led to chogokins..
This doesn't seem an unusual path - Tim Brisko's excellent photos of Henshins share his site with some equally excellent shots of another personal favourite of mine - the Ark Gokins...
Still - there are more cyborgs in my future. I feel it in my bones.
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Post by hypnotator on May 20, 2004 9:32:50 GMT -5
I always though Muton's afro could pass as a big brain like the Mekon's.
I fancy some of those Soul of chogokin; shame about the prices but I've got my eyes peeled for a bargain on Ebay. Good job I've never seen the manga or it would probably put me off.
What on earth is "Micronaut Jones"?
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Post by cybermuton on May 20, 2004 12:00:03 GMT -5
haha - like that Afroborg!
Whoops - 'Jones' meaning 'addiction'...as in 'Basketball Jones'
The SOC's are sweet - and have more engineering and articulation than you would believe possible - almost at any price!!
I'm more into the vintage chogokins - Arks, Popy, Bullmark, Nakajima, etc. but anything diecast will do. But I bought an SOC Mazinger GX 07 accidentially once, and they are truly amazing.
Think Muton versus Walder 2000 - similar difference.
If you've got a spare £70 ish, buy an SOC Daiku Maryu - you'll be astounded...
Back to cyborgs - how about Action Man/GI Joe Atomic Man? I know he was a 6M$ Man rival, but there's that lovely clear plastic in him... Mine's even got a semi-afro!
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Post by hypnotator on May 21, 2004 8:42:44 GMT -5
Yes, I will have to indulge in one of those SOCs when I feel sufficiently extravagant. I fancy Poseidon the most, as I don’t have any other versions of him. Grandizer looks nice, but what a price! I like the way his cuffs turn inside out, but are they cloth? It looks like it in some pictures. Daiku Maryu is that Dragon thing with a mini Gaiking, isn’t it? Don’t fancy that much but would like a full sized Gaiking if they ever do one.
While we are on the subject, have you got the Ultra Chogokin Ultraseven and/or Ultraman? They look nice and are presumably diecast, but there are bad reports of them on the Chgokin page on this site.
I wanted to post some pictures today but it’s more involved than I thought. Although I don’t have a digital camera, I have lots of other people’s pictures saved from the net, including some close ups of Invader J.
My brother had Atomic Man when we were kids and I remember him well. I’m not big on Action Man and sold what I had in order to buy the Neo Henshin Cyborgs when they first came out. Those were poverty stricken days. He beats the Six Million Dollar Man figures but they are risible, to put it politely. A friend of mine got a vintage Henshin Cyborg whose leg had been replaced with an Atomic Man’s, but he managed to sell it on, fortunately. The “signalling eye” idea was copied on Cyborg 99. How is he supposed to run fast with only one bionic leg? Or does he hop?
I still don’t get the Jones joke. I haven’t heard of “Basketball Jones” either. Am I being dumb?
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Post by spymagician on May 23, 2004 10:10:07 GMT -5
'Jones' means a 'longing' or 'itching' for something.
As in 'I'm really Jonesing for a cigarette'
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Post by hypnotator on May 24, 2004 2:34:05 GMT -5
Thanks for putting me straight. "Cyborg Jones" would have been a good handle.
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Post by cybermuton on May 24, 2004 4:04:07 GMT -5
Yes, I will have to indulge in one of those SOCs when I feel sufficiently extravagant. I fancy Poseidon the most, as I don’t have any other versions of him. Grandizer looks nice, but what a price! I like the way his cuffs turn inside out, but are they cloth? It looks like it in some pictures. Daiku Maryu is that Dragon thing with a mini Gaiking, isn’t it? Don’t fancy that much but would like a full sized Gaiking if they ever do one. While we are on the subject, have you got the Ultra Chogokin Ultraseven and/or Ultraman? They look nice and are presumably diecast, but there are bad reports of them on the Chgokin page on this site. I wanted to post some pictures today but it’s more involved than I thought. Although I don’t have a digital camera, I have lots of other people’s pictures saved from the net, including some close ups of Invader J. My brother had Atomic Man when we were kids and I remember him well. I’m not big on Action Man and sold what I had in order to buy the Neo Henshin Cyborgs when they first came out. Those were poverty stricken days. He beats the Six Million Dollar Man figures but they are risible, to put it politely. A friend of mine got a vintage Henshin Cyborg whose leg had been replaced with an Atomic Man’s, but he managed to sell it on, fortunately. The “signalling eye” idea was copied on Cyborg 99. How is he supposed to run fast with only one bionic leg? Or does he hop? I still don’t get the Jones joke. I haven’t heard of “Basketball Jones” either. Am I being dumb? I always though Atomic Man was a bit weak too - why did he need that pacemaker? To keep up with his strange hopping gait? He reminds me of someone I swear I once saw in a Safeway store. This guy had a false arm... AND A REAL HAND. I swear saw it. And at the time, I thought - Atomic Man! As for the SOCs - I don't know them THAT well - like I say, I'm more vintage than new, but the ones I have, and ther ones I've seen lead me to believing that they are all pretty cool.. I haven't got the SOC Grendizer, but it does look impressive. The cuffs on my Jumbo are pretty frilly though, so maybe they are cloth on the SOC. I was recommending the Daiku because it's fairly priced, and is such an amazingly well engineered, heavy and dangerous piece of metal. And it has magnets and spikes. I don't have the Ultramen you mention - Again - vintage is my real thing, but they do look pretty good. Their knee joints are a darned sight better than mine. I wonder if any of your photos are of my old stuff? I had a few pix on Ron Pringle's old Micropola site... |
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Post by spymagician on May 24, 2004 4:58:15 GMT -5
I'm still trying to peice together a uk20.
I just won a bid on ebay for a re-issue Shonen Cyborg from another Uk guy (Damond)
Waitaminute- maybe one of you is 'Damond'.
It's getting all too Philip K thingy...
I'm going to check out those other toys you are talking about -
I reamember when i was a kid seeing a beautifil die-cast little Phoenix spaceship (Gatchaman) in a French petrol station! It was metallic blue metal with firing red plastic parts. I begged my parents to buy it for me- but no.
I've never since seen it on the net or anywhere. Has anyone seen a picture of this?
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Post by hypnotator on May 24, 2004 6:40:38 GMT -5
Oh yes, the pacemaker; a sort of bionic nipple. Stress relief for kids by pressing it. I remember comic strip ads for new GI Joe stuff used to appear in Marvel comics; we would see these before the toys came out here. Atomic Man didn’t have his afro in the strip; in fact he looked nothing like himself. It showed him running with one leg on a treadmill (somehow they made it look feasible).
I’ll never forget the dialogue in the Bullet Man one:
“Hey! You smashed through that mountain like a human bullet!”
“Yes, that’s why they call me Bullet Man, the Human Bullet!”
But I digress.
That guy in the supermarket, did his hand spin to operate a hand-held helicopter?
I almost took a buy it now option on SOC Poseidon the other day. Now it’s gone. It was $80; I don’t suppose I’ll find one cheaper. I found a site with good pics of the SOC but the text isn’t English. Mazinga’s arms appear to fold back at the elbow to expose a sort of camera aperture thingy. I don’t know what it does but I like little doors and opening things. I assume that they are mostly die cast with very little plastic.
I got a bargain at the NEC a couple of years back, I think he’s called New Material Gundam or something, designed by Syd Mead the “futurist” artist. Only cost me £20. This has eight tiny metal doors in his chest which open for missiles, and loads of other features. I though he was incomplete when I bought him, but it turned out he was partially assembled and the guy brought the rest of the box out after I paid. When I got him back to the car I got a proper look and only then realised how intricate he is. I think he usually costs more.
What vintage Chogokin do you collect? I’m aware of the Mattel ones but otherwise I’m a bit of a newcomer.
I have a few pictures from Micropola, on paper mostly, from when I didn’t have a PC and printed everything at work. A good site; is it still there? Nice larger-than-life pics, I seem to remember, with the ones we all want, Titans etc. I have one UFO Titan I paid through the nose for and a New (crab mode) Acroyear. Everything else I have is Micronauts or reissue. What exciting vintage stuff was yours?
Oops, I missed the second page and your message, Spymagician. Count me in on the UK20. I'm in Wltshire, near Bath. We could hold a convention in my garden shed (only joking).
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Post by cybermuton on May 24, 2004 7:07:59 GMT -5
Oh how I wish Mazinger's elbow concealed a camera...It would be so much better than an Ixus.
Digressing slightly, don't you think that serious things should be designed more funnily - eg cameras that were actually styled after Mazinger's arm, and even better - if real missile installations were designed to look like super robots,- and the missiles designed to look like fly off fists. Real-Life Atomic Punches.
There'd be no planning permission wrangles if they did that. Who would object to a row of 400 foot Grendizers built at the bottom of their garden? Not me.
My Micropola pix were all of my Invader/Interceptor and cyborgs. That site was an oasis of Microstuff in the old days. That and the Arden.co.jp one. Happy Days.
The Micropola site is no more. the url just points to some boring computer thing.
Back to SOCs - they are pretty much all metal, and they have some good gimmicks. Any female robot with spring-loaded fly-off breasts has got to be worth twenty quid...
As for vintage chogokin - I'll buy anything - Popy, Bullmark, Nakajima, Ark, Clover, Seven....you name it. Anything Super Robot will do!
And Spymagician - don't you just hate not knowing who all these people really are?
You're probably sitting at the desk behind me right now.
Funnily enough, there was a Gatchaman advert on Sky One last night...they've UK-re-released the series on DVD apparently. Doesn't help you with your Phoenix, but it's vaguely relevant.
BOTP/Gatchaman turns up pretty regularly on ebay.fr and ebay.it. You'll get it in the end.
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Post by spymagician on May 24, 2004 7:31:34 GMT -5
I am such an amateur.
Everytime I read a posting- I'm rushing to the web to find out what these toys are!
Syd Mead designed a robot toy!! NO WAY
I've got 3 syd mead books- I love the guy! I've even got all 4 ERTLE bladerunner cars- and the Hotwheels sentinal Limo.
Still can't believe I won that shonen cyborg! - there were only about 3 bids.
Can you point me to a picture of that Syd mead bot?
Oh- I use my spymagician name on ebay. I like to keep it all consistent.
I can't believe this board won't let me type Philip K ---
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Post by hypnotator on May 24, 2004 8:50:52 GMT -5
Don’t wish for it, Cybermuton, it might come true. One of these days our ruthless, war-mongering politicians will probably transfer their brains into super robots for the ultimate power kick and go on a Godzilla spree. Maybe it’s already happened. I remember a site that had the Cybo-invader box scanned in full size; was that yours? I can’t remember if it was on Micropola. Arden’s net was a good site too. I’m glad my wife’s breasts don’t double up as missiles. That would add a new dimension to feeding the baby. Seriously, at the last NEC there was one of the lady SOCs, the one with moulded hair. I discovered it after I had spent all my money; I swear they didn’t have it out the first time I made my way round. Only £20 with a rather beat up box. It wouldn’t be my first choice of SOC anyway. Do you collect the vinyls too, then? I could never get into those. I thought the vinyl Walder monsters and Invaders were horrible. Bought ‘em blind and sold them on very quickly. Spymagician, I’ve found a page with the Syd Mead Gundam; unfortunately he’s sold out, but there are some good pics of all his chest doors. Each one of these is metal and opens separately. Click on the pics to enlarge. www.tisinc99.com/newmatmodtur.htmlHe’s called “Turn A Gundam”; it appears there are a lot of New Material Gundams. Finding this at the price I did was one of my lucky moments. A friend paid £60 for one. The guy on the stall actually had two at the time. When I met my lift back at the car, he was very jealous, but he had spent all his money so there was no point in going back. Does this convince you to attend the NEC? I just looked at your Shonen Cyborg on Ebay. You were very lucky to get him at that price: I paid about £50 each for my Shonens and KWJrs by the time I paid for postage. That was pre-ordering them. I didn’t realise Mead designer the Spinner. I’m not into Blade Runner much but I love Philip K. second only to Philip Jose Farmer. In the book they don’t fall in love; she chucks his goat off the roof! Marvelous! Cybermuton, what's an Ixus? |
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Post by cybermuton on May 24, 2004 8:59:03 GMT -5
Ixus - Canon's compact (and digital) camera...
I think that's the SOC I bought at the NEC - I paid £18 for it....And it's great!
What else can you get for £18? I bought it and the SOC 2003 MechaGodzilla togather - although the MG is probably the least good of all that series (IMHO).
The current Godzilla spree would be more bearable if it were an actual-size Godzilla doing it...
And no - I don't really like vinyls. I've got a few jumbos (They're polyethylene) but I can't get excited over those squeezy cheesy vinyls. I agree entirely about the vinyl walders too. every now and then I'll see one advertised, and click on it only to find a vinyl. The boxes were good though.....
I don't think that was my box - full size scanned. Mine was a decent full-on picture, but taken with a camera. I guess it could have been scaled up...but on Ron's old site, it was clearly a picture, not a scan if you see what I mean.
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