TERRY's NEW JOE 90 COLLECTABLES FROM JAPAN

Blog friend and Anderson fan Terry H has kindly sent me pictures of a small pocket notebook and a jigsaw puzzle he's recently got from Japan for his collection.

Hope you like them.

RISING FUN: VINTAGE JAPANESE TOY ADVERTS

This is fun, Skullbrain's huge online scroll of old Japanese toy ads from magazines and comics. So many Kaiju and cool things. 

What would you like in your Christmas stocking? 

http://skullbrain.org/bb/index.php?threads/revenge-of-the-retro-japanese-toy-adverts.48572/

More up to date, this whistle candy rang a bell. I love the little boxed premiums that came with it!

https://www.tofucute.com/coris-ramune-whistle-candy-with-strawberry~p12396.html

G U N S T A

 I'm unsure what this Japanese toy or kit is but it looks amazing! Is it Lego?

https://gumpla.jp/other/1071398

THUNDERBALL WEAPONS SET FROM JAPAN

This is an interesting set I saw online from Japan. It appears to be a gadget set inspired by the 1961 James Bond movie Thunderball.

The gadgets seem to a small cigarette lighter, a wristwatch and a penknife, all weaponised.

Its a basic looking set but I like it. You?

For Sofubi Dollars More Part 2 by Lewis, Oz Base

..... Part 2,

Well, here is the basic process of how to make Sofubi style soft vinyl toys in your own garage. Believe me, this was a "suck it and see" painful (and costly) learning process for me.

I spent just under $AU 1500 on setting up all the equipment needed, but a good investment, right?

THIS REALLY IS THE LONG STORY SHORT VERSION!

First you need the original piece. Here I'm making Besset's Junk Yard safety gear, a repurposed World War 1 German Helmet! It's sculpted in Polyclay, baked hard, sanded, details added and puttied smooth.

When you've got the piece as good as it can be, you make a silicone rubber mould and cast it in wax. Tedious Technical Note: Wax drastically shrinks while cooling from it's molten state, so you need to let it set inside a pressure pot at 125 PSI until it's absolutely cold. -just so you know...

The prepared wax pieces then have to be smoothed and coated with a very expensive Electroconductive paint. Once they've had this applied with an airbrush, they MUST NOT be touched -or the oils from your fingers will ruin the surface before you've even got it into the plating bath...

So here we are, immersed in our expensive Copper Sulphate plating solution. Wax has a tendency to float, so I had to develop a system to lock it to the floor of the tank. Plates of raw copper are then hung from the aluminium support rails using stainless steel hooks. The solution needs to be warmed to operate properly and power must flow for at least 24 hours (more likely 48 or even more) to build up an unbroken film of pure copper of usable thickness. Hmmm, warm acid + wax = what could possibly go wrong?

Oh well done! You've got a mould of sufficient thickness and you've welded a thick wire support cage and high temperature soldered it in place. Interesting fact, the hot oil bath you will need to bake your PVC liquid will be only 20 degrees Celsius below the solder melting point!

Anyway, put your mould in a dedicated oven and melt out that nasty wax so you can reuse it!

Hey, that's a nice mould there, Son! You gonna stick it in the oil now?

Hmmmm, see my pot of boiling oil on the left? See that weird whitish bloom in it? That's leaked liquid PVC that has formed a big slimy jellyfish in my now ruined oil. Seems there was a pin hole in my copper mould and it leaked. Go directly back to the Start, do not collect $200. (in fact, pay $200 or whatever it costs to repeat the process!)

Hey Look! My first soft vinyl moulding! Sadly I was using Hard Grade Fishing Lure PVC and the end result is still too wobbly for toy use!

Oh well, start again...

For SOFUBI Dollars More Part 1

Hello Moonbasers! 

Recently, Scott Kellogg deftly defined the meaning of SOFUBI, which Woodsy thought might be an acronym!

If it was, it would be Suffering Overconfident Failures Utterly Beyond Imagination!

Like fellow Moonbaser Richard Dixon, I have a self created comic story I want to build as models and bring into the real world! I wanted to make Japanese style Soft (B)Vinyl figures and my main character seemed to be a perfect subject...

Meet Peregrine Besset, a time-travelling Ancient Egyptian Astronaut! Inspired by an actual alabaster statue of a dwarf Steerswoman found in Tutankhamun's tomb. I wrote a series of self published comics about her adventures in the late 1990's and she is still forever in my thoughts!

...and yes, she actually IS a real trademark, for online comics, and animated films.

So I wanted to make Garage style vinyl toys. How difficult could that be? It turned out there wasn't a lot of hard information out there to guide me. The Japanese tend to keep their secrets closely and even the name "Sofubi" is the equivalent of French Champagne, no bloke making sparkling wine in Pontefract can use that name! The basic porcess is to have a hollow metal mould that you fill with liquid PVC and cook in an oil bath until a thin skin forms against the inside of the mould. Then you empty out the unset PVC, cook it again to set the skin completely and pop it out of the mould with a theatrical flourish.

You can see clips of a Japanese Master who has spent his entire life making these these toys here...

Japanese soft vinyl (sofubi) toy factory

Eventually I worked out all the talk about "Iron" moulds was a smokescreen. The moulds may have looked like rusty old iron, but in fact they were ELECTROFORMED COPPER!!! I knew this was possible to do in your garage, so I spent several hundred dollars buying a home electroplating outfit!

Now it was time to turn my character into a toy. It took a very long time to get just the right level of stylisation on what is essentially an imaginary person! I did try sculpting a fully realistic face several times but ultimately I was happier with a Thunderbirds style than a Captain Scarlet type character!

Hold that thought about me being happy, I was about to enter a world of pain beyond anything I had attempted before! ...

To be continued

The Smallest FAB1's?

 I've got a thing for FAB1 at the mo.

Remember this Pizza Hut cup lid from the early 90's. I had them all back then. Our daughter was 9 back then so we ate a lot of Pizza and Ice Cream from the Factory!

This FAB lid is from an old auction. Anyone got any more?

The little Rolls above isn't one I had. From Yujin, a Japanese make that released gorgeous miniature gumball-style Thunderbirds toys. Other companies did the same. Have you got any?

BONSAI BOXCAR

 Once more the minute work of the Japanese mesmerises me. Look at this gorgeous miniature train layout on top of a wooden box! What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nwsjx9ndG0

TURNING JAPANESE

 For sheer locomotive creativity I think You Tube's 8atelier get's my top vote.

Perfection on tracks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmaE1pn-lKE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRtBsVoXVoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf0h4afDxN4

Ed's Tin: Boeing 727 TWA: 'A' Japanese Mystery Plane

Here's a nice little entry from Japan which is part of several smaller tin airliners I have. It only measures 10 1/2" (26cm) L x 8 3/8" (21.3cm) WS x 2 3/4" (7cm) H.

 I've had a problem identifying the manufacturer of this one. When looking at the logo on the aircraft I'm pretty certain it's not really an 'A' but a Japanese character. 

After visiting several good websites with many toy manufacturer logos, this one is simply not mentioned or shown.

Anyone know what it is?

From Vegas Air Field

Ed B

SAT WAITING

To be honest, I don't know what these are. they're in my photo archive from browsing Japanese toys and marked SAT car.

Very UFO, any ideas readers?

The Future was Clear

I think I'm in love with this Linemar toy car.

Curved cool.  That dome's like an Xmas bauble!

There appear to be male and female versions.

Do you like it?

JAMES IN JAPAN

 

As mentioned before on MC the online toys Japanese ads section of the Skullbrain site is a regular wormhole for toy fabs like us.

This old Japanese ad for Gilbert's James Bond dolls and outfits caught my boomer's eye. I just love all those accessories like the spear gun!

The four outfits bottom left seem unfamiliar to me. Where they available outside Japan?

PS. if you see any Project SWORD ads on Skullbrain please do let me know!

JAPANESE TIN TOYS IN A SPANISH CATALOGUE

I love this Spanish catalogue page of old Japanese tin toys.

Amazingly I found two of these toys, the top two, in an old box in a street around 1982, which was an amazing find. They both worked too, simply chucked out among old furniture waiting for the bin men.

The rest of the toys here are just fabulous. Anyone got any of these?

IN THE VACUUM OF JAPAN'S PLASTIC

Hi Woodsie as warned, the Skullbrain Vintage Japanese Adverts blog is an irresistible force and I've quickly slipped over the Event Horizon!

As I hurtle towards the singularity of Japanese Popular culture I can still send messages back to you in the real world.

This page is interesting, vacuum formed masks of various Anime characters-but wait! I think I recognise that mouse!

Cheers, 

Looey!

Oz

REVENGE OF THE JAPANESE TOY ADVERTS! BEWARE!

I've been slowly browsing The Moog's vast Skullbrain Forum archive of Japanese toy catalogue pages and I'm officially addicted. I can't stop. I need to eat though!

I shall hand over to you readers, 76 pages of Japan's finest. Be warned, you may never stop!

http://skullbrain.org/bb/index.php?threads/revenge-of-the-retro-japanese-toy-adverts.48572/

What do you think!

DUCK! ITS THE MICKEY MOUSE FIRE ENGINE

I was interested to see this Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Fire Engine on the Hanson's auction site

https://hansonslive.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk/images/lot/1034/10342_0.jpg?1570361642

TM brand. Is that Modern Toys?

It looks exactly like the same design as the Tarheel Fire Engine.

The design must have done the rounds!

THE MATSUSHIRO SECRET 07 SPY GUN

Regarding the post on Matsushiro toys last year, I spotted one interesting looking item. The Secret 07 spy gun. The one with a boy dressed as James Bond on the box top.

The gun is clearly modelled on the WW2 US M3 sub-machine gun, which used .45 calibre pistol ammunition. It has the same telescoping wire shoulder stock, although the magazine is shorter. 

The bar just ahead of the trigger guard is the cocking handle on the real thing. The toy has this on both sides, but the real M3 had it only on the right side. This was eliminated from the M3A1 version.

RARE JAMES BOND 007 SECRET 07 HARD PLASTIC MACHINE GUN MATSUSHIRO BOX JAPAN TOY | #1851287627 (worthpoint.com)

RARE Vtg late 60s Japan Matsushiro Toy Gun Secret 07 KO James Bond 007 | #3776008307 (worthpoint.com)

The real M3, on Wikipedia

M3 submachine gun - Wikipedia

Photographs from Worthpoint and Wikipedia.

Anyone got one? The Secret 07?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

JAPAN'S INFLATABLE VINYL TOY MOON BUS AND FRIENDS

These are new to the blog, Inflatable Vinyl Toys by AM from Japan.

There were three to choose from:

The wonderful Moon Bus.

The Navy plane.

and the puppy car.

I still don't know what a tab toy is. Do you?

here are some modern inflatable bullet trains by Bandai. How cool are those?

KAN KOBA CAN DO THUNDERBIRDS PROPER!

Check out Japan's master modeller Kan Koba's amazing moving Thunderbird 2 hangar and which bots do what!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCtarNdt0M