Kikaider Figure (Popy, 1970s)

A few years ago, I got into Japanese vinyl toys in a big way. I was specifically drawn to the character Kikaider, a cyborg super hero who liked to strum the guitar when he wasn't using karate to beat the hell out of a variety of weird, mutant monsters. He starred in his own show in the Seventies, and the episodes I've seen here in the States are a lot of fun.

I had a pretty good collection of vinyl Kikaider figures going, but I ultimately decided, for a variety of reasons, to divest myself of my vinyl collection. I never regretted it -- the money bought me a couple amazing vintage robots ray guns -- but I always did wish I'd hung on to a few of the Kikaiders.




I most missed this odd version made by Popy, at the time a division of Bandai in Japan. So when one popped up not too long ago on eBay, I had to bid. Toy Karma was on my side, and I was able to return the figure to my collection.

I love the transparent -- okay, translucent with age -- vinyl, and all the cardboard inserts. Look, technology! Sort of!



The tinsel in the head is great, too. It makes absolutely no sense, but it looks so awesome. Vibrant, shiny colors are never wrong.



I don't feel much need to get any of the other Kikaiders in my past collection. I mean, okay, there's a little itch in the back of my head -- I am a collector, after all -- but I'm pretty cool with just this guy. He's not the rarest, but I always considered him the jewel of my collection on account of how fun he looks. I was definitely grinning when I opened the package the day he arrived.

I actually won the baggy, header card, and insert with this toy as well, but stupid me, I forgot to take photos. If I get around to it, I'll update this post. The artwork's not too complicated, but it's still really neat.

Die-cast C-3PO (Takara, 1978)

If Star Wars had been created by the Japanese, it would have lasted only a few minutes. Because as soon as Darth Vader stepped onto the rebel blockade runner -- wham! -- he'd have gotten a face full of missile, compliments of everyone's favorite golden protocol droid, C-3PO.

At least, that's how it'd have played out if the 3PO in the movie matched Takara's amazing interpretation of the character.



Standing an imposing 6.5 inches tall, this heavy, plastic-and-metal figure features a bad-ass missile launcher smack in the center of his torso rings. 3PO is fully articulated at the shoulders, elbows, and knees, and there's a small handle at the back of his neck that turns the head from side to side.






When you think about it, that handle is kind of weird. I mean, it's right below the back of 3PO's head. If you're fingers are already there, why not just grab the head itself? Why add such an unnecessary bit of mechanics to the toy?

Because the Japanese toy makers were awesome, that's why, and they never missed an opportunity to give something just a bit more play value. This won't be the last time I point out that Japanese toys, whether they're vintage robots from the Fifties or die-cast toys from the Seventies, kick total ass.


Note the small handle just underneath the head. And below the screw in his back you can see the black button that fires the missile.


A red-eyed 3PO is not a happy 3PO. Duck!

C-3PO comes packaged in a wonderful box. Like most Japanese die-cast toys, he fits inside a styrofoam bed, along with his small, plastic base, two missiles, and the requisite Takara catalog of toys.

I love the box art, with its killer portrait of 3PO and small photos from the movie. I can't read Japanese, so the writing takes on a neat, graphical quality that helps the packaging stand out with a weirdly exotic quality. It really straddles both U.S. and Japanese cultures, which is a lot of fun.

Takara boxes were collector friendly. No staples, glue, or tape to keep them shut.

Cool. I can't read a word of it, but cool.

The catalog advertised Takara's line of Star Wars toys.

This 3PO is one of my favorite Star Wars toys. It's really detailed -- dig that shine! -- and full of play value. It's also compellingly tactile, thanks to the cool (as in temperature) and heavy (as in it's freakin' heavy) metal construction. This is one solid toy. Which means it'd nicely double as a weapon if any schoolyard bully tried to take it from you.

Just sayin'.

Post Numero Uno!

Hiya, kids! Welcome to Galactic Awesome!, a blog I've started to showcase and talk about my various collections of vintage science fiction toys.

I know, I know... some of you are grumbling that I already have a blog to showcase and talk about my various collections of vintage science fiction toys. And you're right, I do. It's called Doc Atomic's Attic of Astounding Artifacts, and it's located right here. But that blog is for the really vintage toys, the robots and ray guns from the 1930s through 1960s. 

Galactic Awesome!, on the other hand, is for all the other toys I collect. (And yep, the exclamation point is part of the name... at least until I get annoyed by it.) Here's where you'll find original Star Wars figures; old Ahi Star Trek and Lost In Space toys; Japanese die-cast figures (also known as chogokin) and vinyl kaiju; and whatever else ends up in my collection. Yeah, most of these toys are from the late Sixties through the Eighties, but I'll also be tossing in some new stuff now and again. Hey, a cool toy is a cool toy! 

On top of all that, I'll be writing about the culture surrounding these toys, from the movies, TV shows, books, and comics that inspired them to the marketing ploys that got us to buy them to the different ways we actually played with them back in the day. (And by "back in the day," I sometimes mean... ahem... last week.) In fact, I'll probably branch out even more -- perhaps beyond even toys. Who knows? I sure as hell don't.

While The Attic of Astounding Artifacts is more of an encyclopedic endeavor, Galactic Awesome! will be a little looser. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know as much about these toys as I do about the ones in that other blog, so this will be a bit heavier on the enthusiasm and a little lighter on the scholar-ism. But I hope this opens the door for discussion in the comments section. If you've got some intel on a toy that I've posted, by all means, school me. School me hard.

So with that, I'll say "Stay tuned." I've got some nifty posts coming up this week, and from there, we'll see where things take us. In the meantime, here's a Japanese wind up R2-D2 from Takara. More on this little guy later on...