Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

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zilla-x
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by zilla-x »

Petezilla wrote: It isn't true anyways. However, it may easily be ones favorite Godzilla toyline (it's mine, too), although it still has a little too many gaps for my taste. There may be more complete lineups by other companies, character-wise.
Well technically if you count ALL of the toys Bandai has done not just the 6in or 8in then they've done pretty much all the monsters.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by RedZillaKing »

I suppose but its important to have compatability between figures. In the main line there's no Manda, Varan, Gargantuas, Yog Trio, Kumonga, Ebirah, Giant Condor, etc. I'm sure that's what Pete meant by gaps. And tbh, some of my favorite monsters are on that list.

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Petezilla
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Petezilla »

Exactly. It might not be a problem or letdown for many collectors, but for me as a scale-lover, it certainly is. On the other hand... is there even any other company, that made a complete set of characters of at least just one entire era in the same line/scale...? I for one can't think about it by now...
Image
Size DOES matter!

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62JackC
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by 62JackC »

Here are a few figures from my collection.
Image
Image
My favorite Mem. box figure.
Image
Image
A few others I like and G'68 is really growing on me.
Image
TK's Resident Destoroyah Fanboy
Legion1979 wrote:
bearijuana wrote: Lol, I dress up like that at parties alot, and my cousin will dress up as Harley Quinn when I dress up as him ;)
And I'm assuming after that you two get it on? Or does her brother have first dibs?

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Creature22
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Creature22 »

I have a lot of Bandai figures from when I was a kid. I remember having the 6 inch figures and some of the 8 inch figures that were released in conjunction with the movies every year (remember those days?). Speaking of which, that leads me to a question about one of mine;
I have a standard 1992 Godzilla, but I'm not sure which release he is. I'll have to post a picture of it when I can. It's very hard vinyl, and the fins seem like they could have a blue luster but almost don't. I'm thinking it's a 1993 release but can't be too sure.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Plexton »

It is a very nice Gorosaurus.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by RedZillaKing »

That Gorosaurus is really nice. Especially for an almost 20 year old figure.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Mr. X »

I've been on the hunt for a Gorosaurus since... God only knows. Can't seem to find one in my price range 'cause I'm cheap. And I'm also looking for that Showa Ghidorah.

Haven't gotten any regular Bandai's in a while. I'm still trying to get 'em all.
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Mr. X »

Jomei wrote:
Mr. X wrote:I've been on the hunt for a Gorosaurus since... God only knows. Can't seem to find one in my price range 'cause I'm cheap. And I'm also looking for that Showa Ghidorah.

Haven't gotten any regular Bandai's in a while. I'm still trying to get 'em all.
I helped another TK person score a Goro for around $50 recently, and Ghidorah closes on eBay for around $70 lately. Not cheap figures by any means, but it's not a bad time to be in the market for them, either.
Hey, I'll glady spend $50 to get a Goro. But not at the current time. Once December hits, I'll have money again.
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by zilla-x »

Jomei wrote:No reason for this thread to be dead, since it's easily the most popular line, save Monsterarts for the moment.
Im sorry but huh? Are you trying to imply MonsterArts are not popular? With all due respect you would be wrong big time. The only people that MonsterArts are Not popular with are the older collectors on here.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Mr. X »

Cimmerian Dragon wrote:^ Uh...that sentence blatantly states that the MonsterArts figures are MORE POPULAR than the Bandai vinyl line. :eh:
Yeah... I don't know where Jomei said they weren't popular...

And yeah, I think Bandai's still much more poular. They've been making Godzilla vinyls for nearly 30 years now. The Monsterarts have been around for... a year.
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2004Zilla wrote:May God have mercy on this site.
He's given up
2009MECHAGODZILLA wrote:
G2000 wrote:What about leeks? Can we post leeks?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 3/Leek.jpg
http://orig02.deviantart.net/f900/f/201 ... 9nqjrv.png

zilla-x
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by zilla-x »

Then my apologies i mis-read it

But i just assume MonsterArts to be part of Bandai as well.

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Rody
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Rody »

I dearly want to expand my collection, and more Bandai Japan figures would be the most affordable way. Right now, however, I can't even seem to afford that much! :-(

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Mr. X »

Jomei wrote:Image
Two Kongs? Oh, fancy!
Legion1979 wrote:Anyway...Bandai vinyls. Even when the MAs are all over and done the vinyl line will probably still be known as the most popular and most collected Godzilla line of all time.
This. They've been around for nearly three decades.
They will always remain the most popular Godzilla toy line.
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2004Zilla wrote:May God have mercy on this site.
He's given up
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G2000 wrote:What about leeks? Can we post leeks?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 3/Leek.jpg
http://orig02.deviantart.net/f900/f/201 ... 9nqjrv.png

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Captain Aktion »

^Who're you trying to convince? I don't think many people would disagree with the things you're saying about Bandai vinyls, but why's this got to be a straw-man thing against the MA's? You could've made all of your points without even mentioning them. They're completely different types of figures, as you point out, so why use them in this manner? I could say all of the same things about the X-Plus line, though I wouldn't use it as a comparison, as you have also pointed out; they're completely different figures that will defy a fair comparison.
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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Plexton »

I remember years ago surfing through all the Bandai figures on Vinylmadness, and being impressed by how extensive the figure list was:

http://www.vinylmaddness.com/

I was still learning about the history of the Godzilla franchise back then, and I marveled at the amount of merchandise the big G had in figure form. In terms of variety and numbers, the Bandai vinyl line can't be beat, and today you can find cheap affordable Bandai Godzilla figures in lots of places, offline or online. Moreover, despite the flak the line receives about screen accuracy, the sculpts and paint jobs have only improved with time.

As a kid in the 90s, purchasing Bandai vinyls was pretty tricky; I had to go to import stores or comic shops, and even then there would probably be only one or two figures available. Internet shopping was still coming into its own, and since I didn't have a credit card I had to pay for everything with expensive money orders. Given the limited selection and daunting task of acquiring them, I never really became enamored with the vinyl line. I actually preferred collecting the HG gashapon figures, as I could buy whole sets and quickly acquire a decent range of Godzilla characters.

I don't play with toys anymore (they are far too valuable to play with! Big kids only!), but I have purchased more Bandai vinyls, and quite enjoy having them around. There are, however, a few things which prevent me from going fully "Gung-Ho" for this line:

1) I'll never finish. I know that if I start collecting seriously, I'll probably want to have them all, or at least one of every sculpt. This is a huge commitment of funds that I can't in good conscience make, and I certainly don't have space for all those figures, despite how cool they are.

2) Vinyl is a bit of a 'funny' material. While Bandai vinyls will take punishment from kids far better than, say, the Monsterarts would, they are also far harder to repair if they break. I've read testimonies of collectors lamenting their ultimately futile attempts to fix vinyl figures, which isn't as much of an issue with more 'solid' toys; if Monsterarts Ghidorah's wing breaks off, you can at least glue it back on and have nobody be the wiser, but if the wings on a Bandai Ghidorah should snap or be torn off, there are very few methods of repair available. Granted, this isn't usually going to happen, especially with a collectors, but it does occasionally.

The other 'funny' thing about vinyl is that paint can come off easily on certain types of figures. Again, not really an issue for collectors, but it pays to be careful with them; paint deterioration is so common on the smooth-surfaced Ultraman figures that it's practically a plot point in the movie Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light!

3) They're a different kind of toy from what I usually collect. Typically I collect statues, action figures, or mini figures, and my Bandai figures are a bit like oranges in my barrel of apples. When I'm displaying my collection, I prefer to put Godzilla toys like the Monsterarts, Revoltechs, Chogokins, etc. on display with the action figures, and have the Bandais kind of off in their own shelf universe. I actually have a pretty extensive collection of Ultraman vinyls, and I love them, but they just don't look 'right' when mixed in with the others. Maybe I just haven't found the right display, who knows?

I'll definitely continue to casually collect Bandai vinyls, and I hope the line continues to enjoy success for many years to come. I doubt I'll ever be a huge fan of the line, but there's no question that they are the most affordable Godzilla figures in their scale.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Plexton »

Certainly, some figures have more issues than others concerning 'breakage'; it's not really something that happens with modern vinyl figures, but certain figures have been prone to problems in the past. Probably the most famous breakable figure is the "Great Monster Series King Ghidrah", which is well documented for having fragile wings:

http://www.vinylmaddness.com/largescale.html

Of course, that figure came out back in 1984, and the design of vinyl figures has improved since then.

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Creature22 »

I couldn't agree more with Plexton. The Bandai line is great, but there are a ton of different variations out there, and it is difficult and expensive to acquire all of them. In terms of damage, I'd think "tear" is the best word for anything severe that could be done to a Bandai figure, but for the most part they are basically indestructible. :lol:

I also remember the magical, wondrous, irreplaceable fun of money orders, and having to wait a good week or so before being told your item was just shipped out or that in the time you mailed your check the item was out of stock and you had to wait longer for the next shipment. I seriously thought I'd get cheated when GMK came out (then oblivious to me, I didn't even know it existed until I saw a picture of "the new Godzilla"). I was really little, and the only computers were at my cousin's house, or my dad's, at his office. He came home with a printout photo of the new Godzilla design/ toy figure, (the picture here, actually http://www.historyvortex.org/GodzillaToyPhoto31.jpg) and I nearly passed out. I thought it would be sold out forever, it looked so cool.
I don't think I've gotten as excited over a new Godzilla design since that day. Good times. :lol:

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Mr. X »

My goal of trying to get every 6"- 8" Bandai figure is kind of a lie. I'm not gonna get exclusives, nor will I be getting repaints/reissues. It's a big enough challenge as it is...
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G2000 wrote:What about leeks? Can we post leeks?

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Re: Official Bandai (Japan) Thread 2.0

Post by Plexton »

@Creature22
Ah, those were the days all right. Items being out of stock before my order could be processed was a common issue with my purchases as well.

And then we got Paypal, and that was the end of all that. 8-)

@Mr.X
Yes, I certainly think attempting to collect every Bandai figure that has been released in that scale is a daunting enough task without worrying about all the reissues.

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