Toy OTD: Celluloid Wind-Up Dancing Couple (Occupied Japan, 1948)

I was working on Toy Story when another toy-related movie came out: Barry Levinson's follow-up to his wildly successful Rain Man, Toys. The production design was wonderful, and that stylized world was filled with oversized replicas of classic toys from the late forties up through the mid-sixties. Gorgeous stuff!

One of the playthings that particularly stuck in my mind was a wind-up couple, dressed in formal wear and molded into a dancing pose. It was featured prominently in production stills, and eventually I realized that it was based on an actual toy. I started seeing it here and there at toy shows until my resistance (not generally robust to begin with) crumbled!

This is a very simple toy - a clockwork mechanism propels the couple (via wheels on the dress' base) in circles across the floor. The main body of the dancers is made of celluloid, one of the earliest forms of plastic. The production technology and execution are primitive by today's standards, yet I think this piece has considerable charm.

First, the dancers are young children dressed a bit beyond their years - there's a sweetness to this tiny couple. Maybe the simplicity of the sculpted pose and the babyish quality of the color palette helps reinforce the innocent feeling of the toy.

I know it's a bit of a contradiction of my usual taste, but I love the primitive quality of the paint here. The crisp areas seem appropriate for cleaner paint work (such as the suit, or the upper area of the dress), and the sprayed areas are great choices to convey a softer feeling (like the hair of the couple, or the train of the dress). These figures aren't trying to look 'real', and as a result are successful in a cute, doll-sort of way.

As you can see, I've found a couple of box designs for this toy. I suppose these could simply be different panels for the same package, but I'm going to stick with my assumption that these are different boxes. They're both good designs - the top view of the couple is an interesting idea, and the more traditional full-length drawing has a charming retro feeling. I imagine the interlocking circles are simply period motifs, but they unwittingly create a Lawrence Welk Show vibe!

This toy must have been either mass-produced in large numbers, or manufactured for quite some time (or both), since they're still not tough to find after sixty-two years. You can buy one right now at rubylane.com for $78.00 + shipping, which is about the same amount that I paid for mine. Since celluloid is thin and fragile, you may want to consider waiting until you can pick one up in person - note how the lady's neck is a bit crumpled on mine. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Bandai Dragonball Mecha Collection 1: Lunch On Cycle, Grandpa Son Gohan On Scargo Capsule Bike, Yamcha & Pu'ar In Auto (2004)

These mini-figures and vehicles are really terrific examples of the blind-boxed genre. The sculpts are wonderful, the paint work is quite tight for their size, and there's multiple types of plastic used to good effect! Even though the toys are packaged in pieces, they're fairly easy to build - some even come with simple stands for display purposes.

There's six vehicles in series 1, and since my blog header can only be so long, I'll review three of them here. All three are quite nice, for the reasons I've already stated - they really capture the spirit and fun of the original manga. It's also rarer to find merchandise from the first Dragonball series - the lion's share of DB toys seem to focus on the subsequent Dragonball Z books.

Fortunately, Toriyama-san's artwork is very dimensional, so to some degree sculpting is a bit less of a challenge here (though any stylization here is very well interpreted). The colors are lively, and the vehicle choices seem appropriate for each character. An extra bonus is that most of the 'drivers' are nicely posed - many domestic manufacturers tend to wind up with an unpainted, lifeless-looking driver when populating cartoon vehicles.

These toys are a good scale - not so small that they'll seem lost on a shelf, but not so big that they're too expensive and gobble up too much real estate. I'm not if there's more than one 'pure' Dragonball series or not - the only series 2 set that I can find has some Dragonball Z characters in it.

The packaging is sharp-looking, both on the individual boxes and the larger case. It's not particularly innovative, but the designs are simple and eye-catching. Bandai was also merciful by including a picture of all the series 1 toys on the back of each blind-box. That's increasingly rare there days!

Originally, each blind box cost about $8.00 each, but expect to pay more since they've been discontinued for five years. Of course, it'll be tougher to get specific characters/vehicles if they're still mint, so rarer items may cost even more. You can get all of series 1 on eBay right now, but it'll cost you $140.00!

Granted, trying to buy all of them piecemeal would probably cost more than $50.00 to begin with, but you may want to comparison shop, or narrow your focus to your favorite in the line. Series 2 will cost you $52.00 on eBay, so I guess they weren't as popular, or were produced in greater numbers.

Good luck!

Photos and text ©2009 Jeff Pidgeon.

Toy OTD: Fewture Artstorm Hajime Ningen Gyatoruzu Vinyl Figures: Piko, The Hinemoguras

I was intrigued by these odd designs several years ago, and still haven't learned very much about the source manga (or anime), Gon the Stone Age Boy (aka はじめ人間　ゴン, Gyatoruzu, Giatrus The First Man or First Human Gon). The characters are very appealing - sort of a cross between The Simpsons and The Flintstones. At some point, I'd like to watch an episode or two, if there's any available with English subtitles!

Considering how stylized these drawings are, I think Fewture Artstorm did a fine job realizing them as toys. When I first bought the Hinemogura couple I assumed they were monkeys, but upon seeing the source drawings now, I'm not as sure. I'd like to see the sculpts get pushed even further, emphasizing the chubby limbs, wonky proportions and tilted feet. Still, they're good compromises, working well on their own!

There's only a few point of articulation (in fact the Hinemoguras have none at all), but the paint work is decent, and the colors are sharp-looking. The bright side of a more conservative sculpt is that there's fewer balance issues. Display stands are always a good idea, but they're hardly needed here.

It's been quite a while since I've seen the packaging for either of these figures. Here's a box for another toy in the line, and I seem to remember the box design being fairly similar. Nothing spectacular, but at least it's decorated with logos and drawings from the show!

I can't remember whether nor not these characters were packed together or not. Information about the manga/anime/merchandising (at least, info in English) is spotty and scattered all over the place. You may want to try searching here (at http://goods.ruten.com.tw/) periodically, as they do have a couple of other figures from this line for sale right now. I can't find much of anything else for sale online, so your best bets are an eBay favorite search, or a Japanese toy search service. I'd expect to pay at least $40-$60 for each toy. Good luck!

PS - If you'd like to watch a(n annoyingly dubbed) episode of the anime, click here, then click on the "screening" link.

Toy OTD: Young Epoch Ltd. Disney Wind-Up Toy: Minnie Mouse

There's a lot of retro Disney toys coming out of Japan, and this plastic wind-up is another great example! This piece take the 20's stylization even further, removing flowers, bloomer frills, even fingers, yet it still retains the original's charm.

It's impressive how someone can make a simple wind-up toy look so good! Most of the black paint has a matte finish for that extra-classy touch, and there's an awesome mix of paint and dyed plastic to support it. The color palette is limited, and cheery but not too bright. There's the rare glitch, but in general the paint apps are excellent.

The sculpt is incredibly tight, especially considering how graphic the design is. It's tempting to believe that it was modeled on a computer, but I think a good sculptor could do it. The proportions have strayed from the cartoon, but it still looks nice.

The winding mechanics work great, and there's no real balance issues, since it's a walking toy.

It's been quite a while since I've seen the packaging, but I remember it being tasteful and suitably retro - a white and sepia design, like old-fashioned wallpaper. I think there was a clamshell interior, with a plastic window on one of the sides. Nice, but nothing you'd be tempted to keep.

I can't find one of these for sale online anywhere, so you'll have to set up an eBay favorite search, or contact your trusty toy hunting service. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Horikawa Rotate-O-Matic Tin Robot (Mid-To-Late '60s)

This is another childhood toy - its back story isn't as involved as the one for my Snoopy music box, but it still sounds a little like something out of The Velveteen Rabbit. Well, if The Velveteen Rabbit were sealed in a tin space suit with machine guns on his chest, anyway.

One of my father's co-workers had a son of his own, and that little boy was this toy's original owner. It seems that the robot had stopped working at some point, but by the time that my dad's friend had repaired it, his son had outgrown the toy. So my dad's friend gave it to my dad, and my dad gave it to me. It's a little sad, thinking about this toy just sitting around waiting to be played with again. Still, it got a new owner, and I can only anthropomorphize toys so much before I start to realize that I have one the biggest toy jails in the country...

Regardless, this is a beautiful toy! There's a lot of bright, colorful detail in the lithos, and the bulk of the robot is solidly constructed. I like the nifty 'astronaut' illustration in the head, and the plastic visor really makes it feel like a helmet. The sunken 'gauges' along the beltline are also awesome-looking. The main body shapes are suitably blocky and mechanical - in fact, they were re-used on several other models!

The walking movement looks great, with the extra bonus of a periodic pause, the chest doors popping open (moving the inner weapons forward), and a body spin as the machine guns noisily open fire, blinking red all the while! Clearly not a great toy for cat owners.

It's not a particularly rare item, but it's old enough and popular enough that it won't be cheap to buy. Here's one for sale on eBay for $165.00 + $11.62 shipping. Enjoy!

Toy OTD: Artstorm Hajime Ningen Gyatoruzu Vinyl Figure: Kachan

I've owned more than a couple of these toys for some time, but it's taken me until now to figure out who they were (and what comic/animation they were from)!

This figure comes from the anime (and I presume, manga) series Hajime Ningen Gyatoruzu, aka Hajime Ningen Gon, aka Hajime Ningen Gyators, aka Gon, The Stone Age Boy. This character is Gon's mother, Kachan.

It may not be quite as stylized as some of the anime drawings, but it's still pretty faithful to the original design. The figure is appealing, with a nicely sculpted pose, and the paint work is also good, especially where it counts in the facial area.

There's hardly any articulation at all - just in the shoulders. Even for a vinyl toy, this is pretty minimal - it's just a step away from being a one-piece rubber-duckie-style figure. At least the toy balances well, especially considering the tippy-toe positioning of the feet!

I bought this quite some time ago, so it's sold out, unfortunately. I've had the toughest time digging up any infomation about this show/comic at all - you may want to set up several eBay searches for this one. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Mega House Panda-Z Figure: Hamugear (Yellow Version, 2004)

Here's another figure from Mega House's Panda-Z line - I've never seen the anime, but the character designs look great! I fell in love with the minute I first saw them. Cute animals driving cute-animal-robots! What more do you want?

Overall, these are great toys - the sculpts and paint work are very strong. The minimalistic details are captured well, and the execution doesn't compromise the design work one bit! There's not a lot of articulation here, but it's not a big deal to me - these designs can only pose so much to begin with, I imagine.

The packaging is a blister on a back card - functional but not exceptionally striking. The biggest minus of these toys is the construction - the legs often warp, which doesn't affect how they display in the blister, but can render the occasional figure wobbly (I have at least two or three from the line that aren't as stable as they could be).

As far as variants go, there's a gray version and a yellow one. The gray variant seems to be cheaper, so I'm assuming it's more common (or less desired, or both).

Originally, I think I bought this figures at Super 7 for less than $20. The price seems to have skyrocketed on eBay for some reason ($225!!), so you'll want to hunt around for better prices. Good luck and be patient - try giving Super 7 a call...

Toy OTD: '90s Bandai (?) Shokupanman Vinyl Squeak Toy

I bought this toy fifteen years ago (easily), when I was still living in southern California. I can't remember where I picked it up down there - I bought it knowing nothing about the Anpanman manga or anime. I just thought it was funny to have a little superhero with a slice of bread for a head!

I still don't know much about the source material - I haven't been able to find any of the manga translated into English. It's mainly about the designs for me, anyway - they're very simple and super-cute!

The execution of this toy isn't spectacular, but it's just fine for what it needs to be: three points of articulation, a nice sculpt, and adequate paint work. I don't remember how much I paid for it - I think it was less than ten dollars, which makes the toy quality even better.

Since this is an older toy, you won't be able to go out and buy this exact item, but since Anpanman is still so popular, you'll probably be able to find a similar toy of this character cheaply and easily! Granted, I can't find anything online right now, but if you add favorite searches for "anpanman" and "shokupanman" to your eBay account, I'm sure something will turn up in short order... good luck!

UPDATE: Here's a set of figures on Amazon.jp that look very similar to the ones I own. You can buy them for ¥ 2,855 ($29.60 USD)+ tax and shipping. Thanks to my Flickr buddy HNishinomaru for the tip!

Toy OTD: Asunarosya 3age Figure: Hulk

To celebrate the release of The Incredible Hulk this weekend, here's a neat figure that came out in late 2006. It's part of a series of super-deformed Marvel heroes, and they all turned out really great (at least, if you like that kind of stylization in the first place)!

The sculpts are very simple, ditto the paint job, but everything supports the basic, childlike idea just fine. There's almost no articulation or posing, but the symmetry is appropriate for the Hello Kitty approach that's been taken with these toys. Wisely, Asunarosya included a display stand with each figure, and showed collectors mercy by not making this a blind-boxed line.

These are tough to get now, but the Hulk is one of the more affordable characters. They originally cost eight to ten dollars each, but I'd expect to spend at least fifteen to twenty-five for this Hulk now. Crank up that eBay Favorite Search, and good luck!

PS - If you missed out last time, series three is on its way! Collectors who have series one and two might not bite, as the 'new' figures are all repaints of those characters. So the trade-off is: a more expensive Hulk with purple pants, or a cheaper one with pink pants! You make the call.

Toy OTD: Medicom Toucan Sam Vinyl Figure (2004)

I can't exactly remember where I got this toy from - I think it was Hobby Link Japan - but it was before Dark Horse began to distribute them (at a much lower price) to comic shops. D'oh!

Regardless, this is a great figure through and through! The idea to make vinyl toys of '60s Kellogg cereal mascots is terrific, the sculpt is wonderful and the construction is subtle but solid. Last but not least, the paint apps - not trivial on this toy - are (for the most part) accurate and crisp. It's just a joy to behold!

Toucan Sam was one of three cereal characters in this line - Medicom also made Sugar Pops Pete and Cornelius the (Corn Flakes) Rooster. They're cool too, but Sam is the best of them if you're on a budget, and have to prioritize.

Since the only difference between the Japanese (I think I paid around thirty or forty dollars originally) and domestic releases is the packaging, the latter is still easily available. In fact, it's on sale over at Things From Another World for $5.99 + shipping! Wow - snap it up!

Toy OTD: '90s Doraemon Vinyl Squeeze Toy

Thanks to my buddy Bill Presing, I was finally able to read some of the Doraemon manga in English! He found some collections in San Francisco's Japantown - they're bilingual so that young Japanese-speaking children can learn English.

The drawings are really fun, and the stories are short and simple - Nobita will have a problem (doing his homework too slowly, wanting more toys, etc.), and Doraemon will produce something from his his fourth-dimensional pocket (like Felix the Cat's bag of tricks) to help out. The helper gadget usually comes with a rule that Nobita winds up breaking, and hilarity ensues. Gadgets might include pills to make you quicker or slower (!), a black belt that hurls anyone you touch away from you, animal picture books that produce real animals, and so on. Super cute stuff!

Anyway, I've been a big fan of Doraemon's design long before I knew anything about him. This isn't the most elaborate or well-executed toy, but it's pretty faithful to its source, and that goes a long way. Even though the pose is very symmetrical, the design is still charming because its intrinsic variety of shapes is strong.

It's a simple toy, but its one feature is also true to its source. Doraemon has a propeller that will pop out of his head so he can fly around (like Inspector Gadget). Thus toy has a hollow propeller with vents on the sides of the rotors (you can see one on the left rotor). If you squeeze the toy, air is forced out of the vents, and the prop spins. Very clever!

I bought this over ten years ago, so getting this exact toy might be very difficult. I can't find it on eBay or Google, but if you're stubborn and put a very open term like "doraemon" in one of those search engines and dig like crazy, it might turn up. If you can find it, at least it shouldn't be all that expensive - I think mine cost under twelve dollars. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Alice (In Wonderland)

Another toy touchdown from Medicom! Alice isn't one of my favorite Disney films, but it's hard to resist another wonderful sculpt. The pose is a bit symmetrical, but I love how simply the shapes are executed. They also do a great job of combining different colors of vinyl rather than painting, which looks really awesome (it inspired me when I was designing my toy).

Even though there's not much paint on this figure, the factory really did a nice job. Check out that face! Granted, the expression's a little cold, but it's very tight paint work.

It's not pictured here, but the figure does come with its own display stand. Big points (as usual) for that!

This figure's been out for a while, so it'll be a little tougher to get. You can buy one right now from eBay for $29.80 + $27.80 shipping. Usually, these toys cost around $20-$40, so that's not a lot of markup. Happy shopping!

Toy OTD: Gargamel Vinyl Figure: Smogun

I don't have a lot of old-school Japanese vinyl - it was an acquired taste for me. Initially, I was turned off by the soft sculpting and airbrush over-spray painting style - they looked like toys you should be able to get at a gas station for five dollars or something. Little by little, I grew to like that aesthetic, and started to buy both vintage and modern pieces. This is an example of current artists echoing that retro style (I think Gargamel is a group of artists, but I'm not positive).

I'm pretty picky about this type of toy - they have to appeal specifically to me, because I don't have any nostalgia for the style or the characters. I like this one mainly for the character - I just think it's cool that someone designed a monster made of tires and garbage, with wrecked cars for its head and feet. The colors are striking to me, too, and the faux-naive sculpt/paint work combine with its diminutive size (six inches) to make it cute and charming - at least, in a kaiju sort of way!

I think I paid $40 for this at last spring's Vinyl Toy Network. It's available in several different colorways, but you can still get this one for $43.00 + shipping from giantrobot.com. You can get a green version at ningyoushi.com for $40 + shipping, and Super 7 has the green version, and a pink colorway as well, both for $40 each. Use Google Image Search if you want to know what other versions are out there!

Toy OTD: Ghibli Vinyl Totoro Bank: The Cat Bus

Studio Ghibli merchandise is always charming and well-made - I'd buy it even if I'd never heard of the films. Of course, having such strong sources to work from is a plus!

The cat bus character is pretty stylized to begin with, but it's been simplified a little further in the sculpt. It looks great! Some of the paint passes are a little ragged (by Japanese painting standards, anyway), but it doesn't detract from the overall appeal of the piece.

There's no real features to speak of - just the coin slot and the plug underneath - but it's worth mentioning again that there's nothing unnecessary added to the figure, either. No logos, slogans or branding, no clumped-on characters or landscaping. The design is very stable by nature, so there's no balance issues.

The sole weakness of this item is that it's made of vinyl - a material that isn't particularly good for banks. While I haven't tried filling this one in particular, I've had some trouble with sagging in other vinyl banks, once they're sufficiently filled with coins. If you're aiming for a display piece, (which is what most collectors do anyway) then that's not a problem.

The biggest problem is finding merchandise like this on the secondary market, once it's sold out. I missed out on some Princess Mononoke nodders, and they still haven't turned up! I can't find this anywhere online, so it's going to take some serious digging at toy shows, and on eBay. Japanese toy hunting services are another option - pricey, but effective. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Toy Tokyo, Medicom Monster Cereal Kubrick Figures: Count Chocula, Frankenberry

Many designer toy retailers make their own toys as well, and Toy Tokyo is no exception. One of their projects was to make the monster cereal mascots into Kubrick figures! I'm a sucker for almost anything made of these guys, so I snapped them up at Comic-Con this past summer.

Some characters emerge from the Kubrick template with a little awkwardness, but two out the three monsters look fine (sorry fans, no Fruit Brute or Yummy Mummy). Personally, I thought Boo Berry looked chunky and stiff, so even though he was my favorite as a kid, I passed on the Kubrick version. The Count looks especially good!

You can get Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry at panikstoybox.com for $14.99 + shipping (each). If you're interested, there's glow-in-the-dark variants of each of them, too, and they cost $19.99 + shipping (each).

Toy OTD: Japanese Muttley Bank

I imagine I've mentioned before that Wacky Races merchandise is still fairly common in Japan. Aside from the cars themselves, Muttley is a very popular character in any WR toy line, maybe because he was a cartoon survivor, going from Wacky Races to Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines and other Hanna-Barbera shows later on. Plus, he's a cute cuddly dog - it's not super-tough marketing math!

I picked up this vinyl bank about eight or nine years ago from eBay, when that was the easiest way to get Japanese toys. It's still one of my favorite H-B/WR pieces. It's a great sculpt, capturing the iconic pose really well. It's not marked up with any unnecessary branding or logos, and the coin slot is handily out of sight when viewed from the front. The paint work is limited and simple, but well-executed. The colors may not be perfectly on-model, but they're bright and appealing. I'm not sure who the manufacturer is - there doesn't seem to be any markings on it anywhere.

Even though I bought this quite a while ago, two eBay auctions popped right up on the first try. You can buy one for $22.00 + $7.61 shipping (or best offer) right now from SHE_WOLF DOG TOYS - enjoy!

Toy OTD: Kurimu Panda (aka Cream Panda) Vinyl Figure

Here's another cast member from the Anpanman manga/anime series - I bought this figure when I was still living in southern California. Like many of the characters, he's based on a food or pastry. It's a really appealing, simple design - the sculpt preserves the cute proportions and the punchy color scheme makes it an eye-catcher! The paint work isn't perfect, but it is very good for such a mass-produced item. It's not an expensive toy - I'm sure this cost between ten and fifteen dollars.

I don't imagine you could find this exact figure today, but I know Apanman toys are still very cheap and plentiful. I can't find any for sale online right now, but it shouldn't be too hard to uncover a Kurimu Panda toy if you're persistent! Try checking with Super 7 - they usually have some of the characters in stock. Or drop a line to this Flickr group - I'm sure someone there can help you out. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Medicom Real Action Heroes Matrix Figure: Trinity (2004)

Like a lot of Matrix fans, Trinity is my favorite character (I still think she'd make a great Wonder Woman). There was a fair amount of good merchandise for the film, but this is by far my favorite Trinity figure. The likeness is great, the paint work is tight, and the costume detail is simply phenomenal!

As usual, Medicom doesn't forget about display - it comes with a really nice stand that fits the figure perfectly. Granted, this version has almost no articulation, and what little it has is restricted by the costume. Still, you'd be hard-pressed to find better Matrix swag!

This has been sold out for a while, so you'll probably have to pay between $200-$300 to get one now. The best bargain I found was an eBay auction for both the Trinity and Neo RAH figures starting at $200 + shipping. Looks like it's favorite search time!

Toy OTD: Japanese Toy Story 2 Squeak Toy: Wheezy (Signed)

A toy doesn't necessarily have to be flashy or complicated, as long as it's done well. This is easily my favorite toy of Wheezy, mainly because the sculpt and paint job really capture the character beautifully. It's just like the toy in the film (but the manufacturer did give it a squeaker for a little extra play value). It's the difference between simple and easy - making this toy on-model is a simple idea, but it's far from easy.

There's nothing but a cryptic "PPW" on the feet, so I have no idea who produced this figure. I'm not sure how much it cost originally, or how much it'd cost to get one now. A Tomy Wheezy is for sale right now on eBay, but if you look closely, the proportions of the face (especially the size of the beak) seem different. You can get that one for about $94.00 USD, including shipping. Ouch! You'll have to set up an eBay favorite search if you want to try for a better price.

On a whim, and since Joe was always around at the studio, I got this toy signed soon after I got it. I don't have any of Joe's drawings or many pictures of him, so needless to say, I'm glad that I have this now as a nice memento of Joe and that time that I got to work with him.

Toy OTD: Modern Pets Wind-Up Baton Poodle

This is a tricky item to research - I'm not sure if Modern Pets is the name of both the manufacturer and the line, or just the line. At any rate, this is the current Japanese equivalent of the Dakin Dream Pets toy line, consisting of a completely different series of animal designs.

This character is called "Baton Poodle", and it's somewhat unique - while there are many plushes and some vinyl figures of the various designs, this is the only wind-up toy in the line (that I'm aware of). As you'd expect, it shakes its batons about when wound up.

I bought mine for around $18 or so at Super 7 in San Francisco, but they don't have them in stock any longer. If you can read Japanese, you can buy a wind-up Baton Poodle here for 1,344 Yen (or $11.59 USD) + shipping.

Toy OTD: Medicom Vinyl Collectible Dolls: Minnie Mouse From 'Two-Gun Mickey' (2004)

Once again, Medicom hits it out of the park with this fantastic retro Disney figure! A gorgeous sculpt, a strong pose, and an appropriately monochromatic color scheme. The only thing that keeps this toy from being utterly perfect is the lack of a dispaly base, but it does stand well on its own. It's a lovely piece of work.

Minnie wasn't as popular a seller as the Two-Gun Mickey was, so you might be able to find one for sale outside of eBay, even though it came out three years ago. Hobby Link Japan might be able to get you one for about $32.00 + shipping, and Toy Tokyo is selling it for $44.99 + shipping.

Neat Toys For Sale (If You Can Read Japanese)

What a neat combination of futuristic designs and old-fashioned materials! There's six different Moebius-like toys here at take-g.com - they've got other cool toys there, as well. I'm not sure if these are kits that need assembly, or if they're pre-built. If you can read Japanese, or have a buddy overseas, you can pick 'em up at this online store!