Greetings all!
About 10 years ago, I "discovered" a hitherto unknown vinyl kaiju figure of the Wolf Man sold in Japan in a very limited run. It was in a header card with a bag and featured great artwork. It was very similar to the Gamera stuff coming out from X-Plus at the time, and this company's logo "8-Plus" seemed to be a bootleg of that. The figure appeared licensed and had the blood-splash artwork of the late 90s.
What was interesting was that the body was a re-tooled re-use of the Imperial Wolfman, with a new head sculpt. I have since learned that 8-Plus was a Japanese subsidiary of that quintessential 1970s fly-by-night toy company, Mage Toys.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/13705085425_bc3eebae13_b.jpg)
Now, ten years later, have been able to locate 2 other vinyl figures from this elusive line. I am very delighted to present them here. They are Frankenstein and the Mummy. Two lovely Karloff figures with great sculpts. The Imperial bodies again appear to have been bootlegged... you know how things are over seas ;)
I love the card art, especially on the Mummy which uses art from the RealArt re-release poster
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/13705378034_7992a62a10_h.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/13705035013_b9f691baed_b.jpg)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5228/13705030915_5909b7796a_c.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/13705032665_f0f98a6e14_c.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/13705432624_3d9e6b01bc_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/13705434534_aee0d6a81f_c.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/13705438834_4cf9b463fc_b.jpg)
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/13705613054_8a4cf11aa9_c.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/13705268743_e483cb6343_c.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3709/13705617544_c853a86902_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/13705270365_6446d0856a_b.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3810/13705622754_cf695610f6_b.jpg)
The sculptor listed on the header card, "Tsuburaya Siodmaka" I have ever been able to find anything about... regardless, he's apparently a bit of a plagiarist, because the Mummy and Frankenstein heads are clearly re-tooled from the old GeoMetric kits by William Paquet... for shame, Mage toys! Lovely airbrushing detail, though.
For me, these figures are more evocative of why I love Monster Toys, than anything actually made domestically around this period. And, thank heavens, Frankenstein does not have that annoying green jacket!
I am hoping to one day find a Dracula from this series... When I do, I will be sure to post it. In the meantime, thanks for looking at this latest Mage Toys discovery.
Best,
Matt
These are awesome!
thm
Those heads are nice!!!
Ya, "Sculptor" is a bit of a loose description.
Take body A, stick on head B.... I SCULPTED!!!!
But regardless, neat items!!!
Weird!
VERY cool. I really like that header card art as well.
;D I'm enjoying this Matt! ;)
Shawn
Yeah, me too.
Siodmaka = Siodmak. Hmmm........a nom de plume possibly.
Are the figures a soft rubbery material or a harder vinyl material like a lot of Kaiju figures coming out of Japan?
Very cool looking!
Isn't it a little late for April Fool's pranks? ;)
Quote from: ramsey37 on May 14, 2014, 09:02:20 AM
Isn't it a little late for April Fool's pranks? ;)
Or perhaps early?
These remind me of the vinyl yokai figures that were planned by Trendmasters in the 90s. They were sculpted by Honda Ulmero. Maybe the same sculptor working under a pseudonym? They were never officially released, but a small quantity of bagged figures somehow wound up in the hands of street vendors in Mexico City. The header cards were in Japanese, creating customer confusion. A complete set turned up last year on the UK version of Antiques Roadshow. The owner said he found them in a flea market while on vacation in Argentina.
The fine print on the back of the header card says "Subsidiary of MJ Toys LTD" . That wouldn't be Matt Jaycox toys, would it? ;)
Who knows? MAGE toys, being shady, had many satellite tax shelters--er, mean, toy companies, yeah...
I like 'em, too... ;)
wow, that wolfman is amazing! (as are the rest, i just really love Wolfman)
nice collection!
Awesome stuff.