Hensin Cyborg

[spymagician]

thanks for that link, Hypnotator.- I can really see all the syd mead styling - all those 'golden section' curves and clean lines (especially on the gun) You can really see his auto-designer past. Never use more than 5 lines to describe a profile- it's also a rule that star wars designers stick to.

I'm actually a graphic designer- and I'm trying to design my own toy line- It should appeal to people who like Henshins, Microman, Kubriks and Ed Roth - I've said too much!!

Anyone have any idea how to pitch a new toy concept?

(this board is really eating into my time!)

[spymagician]

Cybermuton - on a recent trip to japan - I bought something called a Bandai GA-09R is this anything to do with the Daiku Maryu you were talking about, that's the blue dragon right? The only other English word is 'Refine' on the back of the box.

[cybermuton]

Well.....here goes.

The GA09R is a Raydeen reissue.
So.
The first Popy Chogokins were the GA series - including a GA09 Raydeen (AKA Reideen and other spellings). These were fairly clunky toys - some of which were released by Mattel as Shogun Warriors.
Then there was the GA09R - the reissue of the original GA09 - so as you well know - a clunky and pretty darned cool figure.
Then there is the GT06 - A lovely scaled down replica (including the box) of the GA09.
These are great - and really cheap!

The SOC series are prefixed 'GX' and are more like re-rendered than reissued designs. I'm no SOC expert - Like I say, I've got a few, and I pick up ones when I see them. I don't think there is an SOC Raideen - although I'm quite probably wrong.

Anyway, I do know that the GA09R is a reissue GA09. OK? Good.

As for pitching the new toy - first of all, it has to be made of metal and transparent plastic. That's a given. Then, of course it has to have a glowing brain. Its fists must fire, and it should have an aeroplane lanching from its stomach. Its foot should house a small car, and its head a small spaceship. Its chest should open to reveal a command center, in which magnetic glowing transparent miniature figures work. Its eyes should light up, and it should speak.

Seriously....my only experience of toy concepts is that I once dealt with someone who dealt with a Hong Kong-based designer, who had designed some new figures. He initially designed them as carricatures of his friends/contacts (all of whom were handily famous), and then simply moulded them in soft plastic and made them into keyrings. These stylized figures are now everywhere, and have allowed him to make larger, articulated figures.
I think the point is that he started making a popular, if cult-ish figure, and making it very simply and cheaply. These weren't even Kubrick-quality at the time...

Then he moved onto the bigger and better things.

On the other hand, I'm sure you could just pitch a prototype at Macfarlane. They appear to make figures of any and everyone at the drop of a hat. I'm sure there's one of me somewhere.

[spymagician]

Yeah- the whole 'cool toy' market looks completely saturated.

I'm still gonna give it a shot, though.

Thanks for telling me about GA09.

[hypnotator]

Cybermuton, I enjoyed your brief for the perfect toy, but would you really want it to talk, like a Furby or something? What if you couldn’t shut it up? What if all your toys started demanding equal rights or if they wanted to watch something on the other channel when your favourite programme was on? Or what if they were evil and armed themselves with scalpels like Herbert Lom’s doll in the film Asylum?

If I had access to a toy factory facility I’d produce endless Cyborg variations. How about Microman size Cyborg characters but fully articulated exactly like the big ones? Or magnetic Cyborgs. How about a magnetic King Walder with die cast Skeleton King parts that snap on using magnemo 8 system? He might be a bit top heavy so he could come with a stand and a spare pair of oversize feet. Or maybe a Chojin Super A Android with metal parts instead of chrome plastic. Chest engines for Cyborg and Android that do things, light up or convert to vehicles or smaller figures. King Walder with removable guts that transform into a guts figure. Transparent animals for Cyborg and Walder with machinery or guts: a horse, a dog, etc. These aren’t serious suggestions, Spymagician, I’m just fantasizing, and I’m sure you have a clear idea of your own design anyway.

You mention Philip K., Spymagician; have you read “The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch”? Certainly one of his best, if not the best, and they have toys they can transfer their minds into.

[spymagician]

Is that the one with th 'Perky Pat' system? I could never visualise what the HELL was going on with that one (John Lennon's favourite, actually - I think he was looking into making a film of it- think how that would have turned out!) Were they like dolls or toys in a miniature world? My favoutite is MITHC I also like VALIS - a later- semiautobiographical one when he was really going mad in the most creative way! There's a great film by Richard Linklater called 'Waking Life' where they talk about 'Flow my Tears...'

RE toys: I know exactly what you mead- I consider the Henshins such a perfect aesthetic concept- that it's almost not worth doing anything else. I think your cyborg ideas sound superb - I would buy those in an instant!!

[hypnotator]

Yes, it’s the one with Perky Pat. I love the ones where he takes it far beyond comprehension and you just let him take you wherever he’s going. I recently re-read this one and was no clearer, really, but yes, they take a drug which transfers their minds into what are effectively Barbie and Ken dolls and they have a group experience. They spend money on accessories for the dolls so they can have more fun when they are being them. I didn’t know Lennon read PKD but it doesn’t surprise me. He was a pretty caustic chap but he had some great tastes; Stockhausen and Beefheart for starters.

Man in the High Castle (it took me a few seconds to work out the acronym) disappointed me as his only Hugo winner. Okay but not his best. Valis is very good but depressing, even more so than his other works. Have you read Philip Jose Farmer? Early K. W. Jeter?
Kurt Vonnegut? Alfred Bester? Roger Zelazny?

We will alienate Cybermuton and everyone else at this rate. Let’s get back to toys. The next Memorabilia at the NEC is 14th/15th August. It’s very unlikely that I will be there. I will probably be at the one after, which is usually in November, and it would be fun to meet up and compare toys with either of you.

[spymagician]

Yeah- maybe we should move it to a PKD board for all this - cos there's a lot to talk about concerning that cheeky monkey.

Are there any upcoming conventions in London that the 3 of us could get together? November seems far away.

What do you reckon, cybermuton?

[cybermuton]

Hey ho -

The last book I read was Iceberg Slim's 'Pimp'. So that kinda leaves me out of the literary discussions.....

re talking robots - they only should talk if you press a button. I've got some plastic battery-powered 70's 'bot my wife & son bought me that has a hastily added-on voice that says in a real Kenneth More voice 'Hey kids, let's work together for World Peace'.
Of course, he's also totin' some serious missiles.

But he's funny anyway.

I too thought he August NEC would be a bit too close to the last one - so I'll probably miss it in lieu of the November one.

And there seems to be NOTHING South-East based. I did go to the one at Epsom last year - but it was useless. OK for trains and Corgi toys, but that was about it.
Except for the OOP Muton that my pal bought. But even that was a desperate purchase - he could easily have got it cheaper on ebay...

BTW - what do you think of the gashapon cyborgs? I had the set once, and have been half-consuidering getting another one, but I'm heavily selling at the moment (see my cybermuton ebay auctions) - partly for my upcoming emigration, and partly to buy less numerous but more expensive stuff.

There will be more to come, but it's mainly gonna be TF stuff. You don't want a Captain Action Dr Evil reissue do you?
He's almost a Cyborg sideline.....

[spymagician]

HEY!- I really like those Cadillac tail-lights!

What country are you moving to?

I had a quick look at that SOC Poseidon - I 'm starting to see the attraction with those BANDAI things...

[hypnotator]

Cybermuton, are you sure your Kenneth More robot doesn’t contain the disembodied mind of a politican? At least he doesn’t use the word “democracy”.

I agree with Cybermuton, none of the London fairs I know of are worth attending. I did the London Expo two years running; what a disappointment. I shall be visiting the big smoke at some point this summer, though, and we could meet up at Forbidden Planet or Comet Miniatures, my favourite haunts.

I might be able to persuade another Cybo-acquaintance to come along too. If you are selling your Cyborg Gashapons, Cybermuton, I know he is looking for them. He asked me if I would sell mine, and my verdict on them is they are worth keeping…. just. I liked the tiny Time Travellers more.

I want the SOC Poseidon; is there one for sale that I missed?

[RMC]

Hey guys,

Seeing you talk about the NEC memorobillia events I'm wondering if they're worth attending if your interests are pretty much exclusively Japanese toys? My limited experience of collectors fairs over here is the occasional one run on a Sunday in Reading... Seems ok if you like Star Wars or McFarlane toys, but even then was usually pretty dead. The experience pretty much put me off bothering attending any of the bigger events. So am I mistaken, am I likely to find much of interest?

[hypnotator]

So, RMC, you are here in the UK too. And I was hoping to meet some Japanese Cybo-entusiasts on this site. Nice to know I’m not as alone as I thought, though.

I went to some of those fairs in Reading, if it’s the Showmaster ones at the Rivermead you’re talking about. I found a nice little tokusatsu at the first one that I’ve never seen before or since. He’s mostly coppery chrome with a die cast torso and a funny shoulder cape thing and you get a rubbery alien too that sticks if you throw him at the wall.

On strength of this purchase I returned to Reading a couple more times, but it was disappointing. I ended up buying some Star Wars rubbish just for the sake of making a purchase, then of course I saw it later at a fraction the price.

Reading was usually 200 tables and the NEC is 1,000, so you are more likely to find something you like. There are usually one or two tables with some Japanese stuff, but it’s mainly Beast Wars. All I can say is that it’s the best fair I know of in the UK, which isn’t saying much. A couple of years back the NEC ones weren’t so good, but these days I always spend all my money. You have to trawl through loads and loads and be pretty sharp eyed. All I can say is, give it a go.

[cybermuton]

Really, everyone needs a set of Caddy taillights...

I don't have the Gashapons any more, but I know a man who does...I actually bought them blind and couldn't believe they were so small...I expected a whole loada 8 inchers.

At the last NEC I picked up a nice jumbo Grendizer and some Popy GA series Gao Rangers, plus the SOC Venus and MechaGodzilla...

In the past, I've had a Unifive jumbo Gaiking, and I did also get a Bullmark Daibaron - with one fist, but no accessories. I paid the princely sum of nothing for him, a Takatoku Dai X, and a Bullmark Gojira.
It's all been a bit overpriced (not he Daibaron!) but at least you get to take it home there and then!!

And there's always a few cyborgs around...

[RMC]

Yeah, I'm another UK collector. Only been into it for the past couple of years and tending to get more modern stuff, but always interested in Japanese toys. Know next to nothing about Henshin Cyborg stuff to be honest, except for the article in an earlier Super 7. They have some appeal to me, but I've yet to really look into picking up anything.

The Rivermead fairs are the ones I'm talking about, tey seem to be down to about 50 tables now though and quite pitiful to attend. My Star Wars collecting days are long over so I've no real interest in going to them anymore.

From what people are saying here I'm going to have to visit the NEC at some point, sounds like it has more potential than I'd expected.

[spymagician]

OK RMC- you're in the uk20.

When is the next Reading toy-fare?- I live really close to Reading and have never been there. Is there a web site?

I've been looking through this notice board - and researching toy sites in some depth now, and trying to figure out why we are so passionate about these toys.

I think it's something to do with there being a whole cross-referencing system that people (mostly males) find hard to resist. I have a few 'muso' friends who are so into music in such a hardcore way that I always feel left out when talking to them - It's so much more than simply 'liking' the music - it's about knowing that a particular New York Dolls album was produced by Todd Rundgren - who also produced Rick Derringer- who played as a session man for blah, blah - and this starts to form a network of things which become like ideas that you need to know about so you can peice together a concept that is so much more than the sum of it's parts. And I think that this is where the attraction is - it's being on that higher plane where it's no longer about the individual things- but a kind of overriding and very individual concept of what is 'right'. I mean which thoys a 'right' to like. There are definately some that are wrong (like all Mcfarlane toys)

Does anyone like Ulysses 2031?
Does anyone know any girls who collect japanese robots?

[RMC]

Can't actually tell you when the next toy-fare is. They used to be run by Showmasters, but not anymore and I've no idea if they've a website now. I might have a look out for flyers next time I'm in Reading. I'd not really recommend a visit unless you're into modern Star Wars action figures and if you are I'm sure you could do better elsewhere.

Passion for toys? For a lot of people these toys capture something of their youth, certainly was a powerful component when I started collecting. Of course it goes beyond that, the toys I buy now often bear no relation to what I was playing with as a kid. There's a kind of positive feedback loop each toy I get or read about sends me off in new directions. Right now my collecting is increasingly focused on Kamen Rider, not something I expected a year ago. As for researching and cross-referencing - I think we all like the feeling of being knowledgable in our interests. It's satisfying to be able to advise others on something you know about.

Ulysses 2031 - loved the show. Getting the DVDs that are coming out.
Girls who collect Japanese robots? They're a myth aren't they. Seriously I've not encountered any in real life or online yet, but there's at least one with a collection listed on CDX - www.collectiondx.com/collection.asp?ID=7

[actarina]

I'm real baby

you can ask my bf "mattingaz" here on BBS

Chogokins rules!!! ;D

And girls too ;D

[spymagician]

Cool.

You don't want to buy a set of cadillac tail-lights, by any chance? I know a man who has some.

Why aren't there any henshin Cyborgs in your collection, actarina?

[actarina]

Soon they will be...I love all the Takara Microman related toys...but I got interested and I found out that they're REALLY EXPENSIVE!

Anyway after buying my Volt-in-box 1° version I'm not scared of anything anymore...

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D