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So, as an old school anime fan that got my start in the 1980s when literally nothing was available outside of japan, long before i got into miniature wargaming i started rabidly collecting the fantastic toys and figures from japan (and some gundam kits of course) between that and a few random US toys i have amassed something of a large collection over the years

this case is mostly dnd related with some anime items




this is my gundam cabinet (and tachikomas...because reasons)




more anime figures and models-



More of the same with lots of macross stuff



behind the seikima II figures




some of my B5 stuff and more figures

[/img]

even more



and to top it all off my gen1/beast wars transformers





So who else has the toy/figure collecting addiction? got any rare/hard to find items?

I have seen toys for the galaxy rangers (love the show still have it all on various media) line but they never went into full production and are incredibly rare.

I've got a couple Gunpla around. Psycho Zaku and Full Armor Gundam are my favorites, but I've also got Tallgeese II, Green Unicorn, and one Zone of the Enders model (Anubis, obviously!).

I love anime, but all I have to show for it is a Cu-poche of Darjeeling from Girls und Panzer:



I gave my girlfriend one of those along with an Orange Pekoe and a Mika the year after. Lovely models, but a bit too expensive to be collecting like some folks do.

I also have a bootleg Megumin of dubious quality that I got from my girlfriend when she discovered that the real deal, especially when out of production, goes for insane money.

LordofHats wrote:I've got a couple Gunpla around. Psycho Zaku and Full Armor Gundam are my favorites, but I've also got Tallgeese II, Green Unicorn, and one Zone of the Enders model (Anubis, obviously!).

So did you just build them or did you do any custom paintjobs on them?
I find a full repaint is necessary if you want them to look right. It also allowed me to play around with some interesting patterns and color combos.

BrookM wrote:I love anime, but all I have to show for it is a Cu-poche of Darjeeling from Girls und Panzer:



I gave my girlfriend one of those along with an Orange Pekoe and a Mika the year after. Lovely models, but a bit too expensive to be collecting like some folks do.

I also have a bootleg Megumin of dubious quality that I got from my girlfriend when she discovered that the real deal, especially when out of production, goes for insane money.

Don't worry you can't stop at one , i started in the mid 80s when i was still a kid and i am still at it, but at a slower pace......damn mini gaming eats up a lot of budget.


I have quite a few i was really lucky/happy to get a hold of like the hoihoi -san anti-pest robot....such a fun little one shot wonder anime/manga

I wish I could, but space is at a premium. I have a rather large Transformers collection, but that has taken second seat to chasing down WFB models.


If I were to have ANYTHING I'd have a Star Trek ship shelf and maybe a single solitary shrine to random anime stuff. Deathscythe Hell Custom next to Voltron next to Big O.

 aphyon wrote:
I have quite a few i was really lucky/happy to get a hold of like the hoihoi -san anti-pest robot....such a fun little one shot wonder anime/manga

Nice! But sadly without the "pouty face" and "sake bottle" weapon.

I still have a few I've picked up over the years, but I haven't brought any in ages, it got too expensive plus I'm just not that into anime anymore.

 aphyon wrote:
So did you just build them or did you do any custom paintjobs on them?
I find a full repaint is necessary if you want them to look right. It also allowed me to play around with some interesting patterns and color combos.

Ashamed to say that I found the assembly process the funnest part XD

I have mostly video games/Star Trek for mine sadly, but i do have some Posters(Or i did until my room had to get redone)
I ordered some simple anime figurines to display in my new redone room. Along with Kotobiyo MLP stuff done in an anime style.
I really want to get into gundam, but i never watched a single one, so im not big on knowing the models, but i find them cool.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I have mostly video games/Star Trek for mine sadly, but i do have some Posters(Or i did until my room had to get redone)
I ordered some simple anime figurines to display in my new redone room. Along with Kotobiyo MLP stuff done in an anime style.
I really want to get into gundam, but i never watched a single one, so im not big on knowing the models, but i find them cool.

Fist off-this site is a godsend-they have tons of stuff other sites don't. it is fan supported so join up(they have an anti-bot filter), start watching and support them if you can.
https://otaku-streamers.com/anime/

When it comes to gundam i am hardcore universal century timeline. it is the original. it was a war story, both sides are corrupt so it follows the struggles of individuals in the universe. gundams at the time were meant to be a design break from the super hero robot anime that was popular in the 1970s in japan. making them more on par with normal military equipment like tanks.

The original series is so old it may be hard to watch because the art/style is poor by todays standards.
in chronological order in the timeline (one year war/zeta/double zeta/chars counter attack/unicorn)

.gundam the origin-retelling of the rise of char and the events that led to the one year war-done in the original art style but a newer series
.the original series(i recommend you skip it you hear enough about it in other series)
.gundam thunderbolt-one year war side story
.MS igloo-CG one year war short story collection
.08th ms team-takes place during the last couple months of the war
.0080 war in the pocket-takes place in the last 2 weeks of the war
.0083-3 years after the war it is the bridge from the roiginal story to the zeta story.
.zeta gundam-takes place several years after 0083. starts out kind of weak but gets very good. animation in mid 80s.
.double zeta gundam. takes place months after zeta. zeta was so dark they tried to make this one a bit to bright and happy. even though i love some of the well known voice talents in it, it was a struggle for me to watch so i just caught some highlights and moved on.
.chars counter attack-movie that ends the original struggle between the 2 main characters of the one year war (char VS amuro )
.gundam unicorn/UC 0096-takes place 3 years after the movie and puts a final cap on the UC timeline

Other UC series of note
.turn A gundam-a weird combination of alternate timelines. although it was made by the original gundam creator to be part of the UC timeline it is generally not considered to be and is not very popular
.gundam F-91. basically suffers the same as TURN-A-a one off movie spin off of the F-90 comics
.Victory gundam-mid 90s TV series supposedly decades later in the timeline, ok animation quality but largely forgotten by the fans.
.gaiagear-serialized novels that ran in newtype magazine for many year. supposedly a far distant story in the UC timeline-like a hundred years on or so. it has since been retconned out of existance.

-alternate universes
.gundam wing-super hero robot gundam like the 1970s series it was supposed to counter. marketed heavily to female fans in japan-if the super group of pretty boys didn't already give that away
.X gundam-post apocalyptic solar system war, where they used massed gundams
.gundam seed/gundam 00-both alternate takes on the original story set in thier own universes with many of the well known troupes
.gundam orphens-weird kind of mad max gundam story didn't interest me.

Did somebody say posters?

This is one shot of my studio apartment from the late 90s

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I really want to get into gundam, but i never watched a single one, so im not big on knowing the models, but i find them cool.

I wrote up a rough guide for the Gundam Franchise over on Space Battles; Link.

We're getting a lot of official dubs of late due to the immense popularity Gundam OO had when it released, and the massive success of Iron-Blooded Orphans in the west. If you have Netflix, you can watch Gundam Unicorn and Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans. If you have Hulu you can also watch, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed Remastered, 8th MS Team, Gundam OO, and Gundam The Origin. Bandai also hosts a YouTube channel called Gundam Info that cycles various animes in and out for anyone to view. Crunchy Roll hosts several series. Really the hardest ones to find legally (without buying DVDs) are many of the older Universal Century entries, including 0079, Zeta, ZZ, and Char's Counterattack and some of the least popular entries like G-RECO and Gundam Age.

I'd suggest Gundam OO or Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans right now as good entry points for the series. They're recent, well animated with strong stories, and have some kick ass mobile suits (such as Gundam Exia and Gundam Barbatos)

Hmm, ok. I actually watched but couldn't get into it, mostly it's the models that get me going

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Hmm, ok. I actually watched but couldn't get into it, mostly it's the models that get me going

I think alot of the newer stuff really draws you in better. i was kind of the same way as you originally. i had some kits but the old shows just didn't draw my attention enough.
then 0080 came out and it was in an updated animation style and set the groundwork for what became a new standard.

i absolutely love 0083. still my favorite series by far. many of the gundam pilots were pilots by accident.

amuro was an engineering student who happened to jump into the RX 78 in a moment of need. cammille from zeta's father helped design the MKII so he has some experience with it but was basically a civilian high schooler. similar kind of thing with double zeta.


Where as 0080 christina mckenzie was a test pilot, as was kou uraki from 0083 both with military training and experience, 08th MS was actual about a front line combat unit, same with thunderbolt.

with the improved graphics and more believable settings i actually rate watchability for story/graphics in this order-

.0083


.thunderbolt


.unicorn


.ms igloo


.08th ms team


.0080

I saw some Macross and Gundam there. Any VOTOMS love? Also, nice dragons. I regret not getting that big red one as I was buying a ton of D&D minis at the time for the two campaigns I was a part of.

Finally, which Nebula variant is that? Circular dish or Triangular? The view is from below so I couldn't see.

 warboss wrote:
I saw some Macross and Gundam there. Any VOTOMS love? Also, nice dragons. I regret not getting that big red one as I was buying a ton of D&D minis at the time for the two campaigns I was a part of.

Finally, which Nebula variant is that? Circular dish or Triangular? The view is from below so I couldn't see.

No votoms, but i do have mospeada as well as an orguss, yeah i am really sad they stopped making those dragons. i never got the white one, i was hoping for all of them. but i got the blue which is my favorite.

The large star trek collectible ships are from the Japanese furuta company




Oh on a side note.....i am only missing claes from the gunslinger girl collection. >_<

A couple things i forgot to add if your looking for toys, models and figure straight from japan

this is a great company for new items-

hobby link japan-

https://www.hlj.com/

Mandarake-this store is both a curse and a blessing. i went into one when i was in tokyo. i think my eyes spent several thousand dollars my bank account didn't have.


https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/?lang=en


They specialize on used goods. in japan everything has a 2 year production run on average. after that it is no longer made.

Mandarake deals with everything related to the anime/manga/toy/figure/modeling hobby you want a 1.1 scale full motion doll of your favoreite character? they got those. a limited print run fan dojinshi comic, yep got those as well. a toy or figure thats out of print? they buy and sell so yeah put your request in and they will notify you if they get one in stock.


you can hate me later

I'ma droppa this here.

Thank you Japan. Thanks for everything...

For me the life changing event was trips to FAO Schwartz and Forbidden Planet in NY around about 1984.

As Aphyon said there was nothing available at that time, even Robotech and the Transformers were still a year away so discovering the hidden world of awesome toys was a revelation. For my birthday I got a Godaikin (or God Du Kan as I called it) God Mars and Sun Vulcan which must have been a fortune for my parents. But I never looked back.

Back in the day (late 80s, early 90s) there was a shop that was technically a newsagents in a nearby town.

What adult me now understands is that whoever was in charge of their toys and games was sourcing stuff from some really unusual places for the period. I'm guessing it was some sort of discount distributor that hoovered up the stuff that didn't sell, but boy was there a wide variety of odd stuff I accumulated.

Pertinent to this thread and something I'd love to track down a contemporary version of to level my adult modelling skills were some giant robot kits. Not Gundam, at least as I understand Gundam, these were more like Battlemechs, stood about 12" high when finished and built like an Airfix kit.

If anyone has any ideas what they were, let me know.

Mandarake is a chain of 2nd hand shops across Japan that also sells online. Huge eclectic selection and non-usurious prices.

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/?lang=en

One oddity worth noting they sell stuff based on which store it's in, so you might see the same item listed with a bunch of odd names that make no sense unless you're up on the location of different Manarake branches

Book Off is a larger chain but focused on books.

https://www.bookoff.co.jp/inbound/taxfreeshop201712/en/

Haven't tried them for international mail order.

They also have a US site.

https://www.bookoffusa.com/

I have a few things from the McFarlane anime era. The one I'm most attached to is the Vash from that line, though the Keneda is pretty cool too. A couple of Gunpla: Freedom and Destiny not out of any love for the actual show but I just like the designs. I've also got a few odd figures from when the US started getting stuff before there was a proper market for high end collectibles. Some cheap Goku/Frieza kinda stuff. Oh, and a quite nice for its cost EVA-01 I really love. It's one of the few things I've ever bought with a ton of optional heads and hands and stuff and I remember it not being anything crazy cost wise.

Back in the day (late 80s, early 90s) there was a shop that was technically a newsagents in a nearby town.

What adult me now understands is that whoever was in charge of their toys and games was sourcing stuff from some really unusual places for the period. I'm guessing it was some sort of discount distributor that hoovered up the stuff that didn't sell, but boy was there a wide variety of odd stuff I accumulated.

back in my teens in the 1980s there was a toy store that was some distance away from my house that would get a shipment in from japan a couple times a year. i used to love going there but by the time i got my own drivers licence so i could actually go there myself and buy stuff they had gone out of business.

I remember coming in and seeing mospeada and orguss toys and swore that some day i would have them.....it took nearly 10 years later but i finally got them.

Anyone here knowledgeable about Dragon Ball Z action figures?

I just bought a big lot and I'm trying to match accessories to figures but I have zero knowledge about Dragon Ball Z. If so, let me know and I'll post the pics here.

Sorry man cannot help you, you have stumbled across one series i avoid like the plague.. keep in mind i was watching anime when the original dragon ball series was new to japan. as such i saw it follow the same formula kids show troupes targeting 5-12 year old Japanese boys so i had zero interest in it as my anime tastes were directed towards the far more serious shows, probably because my introduction was in that direction with space battleship yamato being my gateway drug.

As popular as it is in the rest of the world though i am sure there are online sites dedicated to the toys.

 aphyon wrote:

this is my gundam cabinet (and tachikomas...because reasons)

Are those 1/400 scale of the White Base, Musai, Zanzibar & Dendrobium? I regret not picking up the 1/400 scale ships when they came out, the resale price on those are exceptional nowadays.

Yes it was the 0083 toy set released in the USA, as a HUGE 0083 fan i had to have them all, just wish they made more ships from the series in that scale.
i want a
.gwadan (zeta)
.reloowla (CCA) (well a bigger one, i recently added a small 3d printed one and the toy of the nahel argama from unicorn to my collection)
.tivvay(0080)
I also really like the angular special forces musai as well
.squid(V gundam)

I managed to grab the Albion at that scale at a yard sale once but yeah I'm with you I would have loved to have gotten more of the 1/400 scale for UC ships as well as the 00 Ptolemeios.

I do have several kits I picked up when the wife and I visited Japan for Musai, Salamis & Gaw carrier but they're a smaller 1:1200 scale and its an old kit from the 80s so it requires quite a bit of glue. Still they make for nice set pieces!

MegaHouse Cosmo Fleet has been releasing action figure ships somewhat recently. I have an Argama version of those, I believe they have a Rewoola too but they're hard to come by and the people who import them have put a considerable price tag on them.

Yeah my nahel argama was over $100

It is really nice quality of course but i was hoping it would be bigger for that price.

Likewise, it's a beautiful figure and I don't have to worry about it getting damaged when I move but it's certainly on the smaller side.

I'm not sure why but it seems like Bandai hasn't been interested in doing large size ships for quite a while. Perhaps they didn't sell like hotcakes when they were released.