Here’s a little for fun item available now in the PRHI Shapeways Shop. I had a request to make a version of my Gonk Droid toy in 25 mm scale for gaming. The mini Gonk is available in Shapeways’ high-detail plastics for use with your minis, but you can also order a teensy weensy baby Gonk in Stainless Steel! Shown above with a vintage Kenner 3 3/4″ Jawa. The detail came out far better than I was expecting, and it makes for a delightful little bit of hand-gokin. Pick up one today from the shop!
When Armored Trooper VOTOMS was released, there were toys in a number of different sizes and formats, including the 1/60 scale AT Collection Series diecast minis, which were similar in vein to the 1/144 Dougram figures and the Takatoku 1/144 Macross Destroids. These little guys are sharply molded, nicely detailed, and had a good heft due to the diecast parts. They stand around 3″ tall. Unlike the Dougram and Macross minis, the VOTOMS figures did not feature painted much detail, since the idea was that you would paint them up and apply the stickers yourself, in that classic 80s Dual Model style. I made a few mods to this guy and painted him up. You can see an unpainted out of the box version in Veef’s review on CollectionDX.
Reorganized some shelves while waiting for new arrivals. Here’s my 1/60 scale mecha lineup, featuring Macross, Dougram, Dorvack, Patlabor, Votoms, Gundam, and Mospeada. Basically, all of my favorite things. Click the top image for a bigger panorama.
Fang of the Sun Dougram is one of my favorite mecha series, and the old toys are fantastic. The 1/144 series manages to strike a great balance of diecast, solid construction, and sharp details into a small size that allows for army building and some nice Real Robot diorama action. Here’s an Earth Federation patrol on maneuvers in the desert.
Recently I have been getting back into the Takara ‘SF Land’ lines, Henshin Cyborg, Microman, Diaclone, and, the redheaded stepchild, Blockman. I love the interconnectedness of the 5mm-compatible lines, and how they all exist as sort of different scales of the same world. Henshin Cyborg is all about detailed character toys, Diaclone is about the interaction between little men and their massive transforming war machines, and Microman is sort of the happy medium.
What’s funny is that Blockman, a line of build-able simple robot figures that serve as both building block and robot toy, are secretly also in Diaclone scale. The little chrome pilots that fit into Blockman cockpits are nothing more than non-posable Diaclone drivers. Awesome.
I also got this fantastic resin figure from Sharkfist Design through the Kaiju for Japan sale. This Nurikabe is a wall oni, stalwart stone defender. It is also fantastically sculpted, painted, and features a glow in the dark scar.
I finally completed a little project that has taken way too long. I got a set of resin wings and Counter Crosses for my play-worn GA-51 a while back. They fit and worked perfectly, but there were a couple air bubbles. I always told myself I’d refinish the parts, and then my Gaiking would be bumped up a notch.
This weekend was the East Coast Chogokin Summit, the gathering of CollectionDX and ToyBoxDX members, both local and from afar. Many homegrown efforts were shown alongside vintage and modern toy trades, including Incubot‘s Nekosaursus vinyl, Nekobot USBs, and the unofficial debut of the Voltron Lion Force USB figure; a peak at what Sanjeev’s Brown Noize Productions is working on; and of course, Killer Culture’s first wave of E.killer resin figures. The first wave successfully sold out at the show,so check this spot for news on what’s coming next!
Just messing around with some new acquisitions… Takara’s 1/72 dual-model Dougram figures. Die-cast skeletons with plastic armor parts and fantastic articulation and detail make for a win in my book.
Two of my pickups from the awesome East Coast Chogokin Summit this weekend! Onda Jeeg is an elusive and funky cheapie figure, and the Magnemo Acroyear is part of a massive Magnemo set that was a gift from the gracious host.
Pics of my shelves seem to have become pretty popular, so here’s an update including much better pics of my vinyl shelves, and the bottom shelf totally redone with my TF big-guns in anticipation of some new stuff coming! Right now I’m loving the Max Toy Co and glow display on my nightstand.
Prometheus Rising Studios 