ULTRAMAN TARO: GREAT MONSTER THE 30 (Bandai, 1991)

 

Here is an item that took me by surprise.  You may recall that we reviewed both the ULTRAMAN and ULTRASEVEN "Great Monster the 30" figure sets, a while back, but I didn't know this existed!

So these are 30-figure sets that are basically "keshi," a category of soft rubber, gashapon-type Japanese figures (sometimes even including erasers). Each set includes the hero Ultra, and 29 kaiju from his series.

To American eyes, these are highly reminiscent of the awesome M.U.S.C.L.E. 28-packs that we had over here (and hey, those were connected to Bandai too, so there you go):

Back to our set at hand, here is the back of the box:

While the previous two sets included a die and a colorful game board, enabling you to play a board game with the figures (because Japan), this one does not, and instead gives you a heavy sheet of die-cut labels:

Interestingly, there isn't very much "Taro" content in the stickers...in fact, all of the kaiju pictured are from other shows.  There is good reason for this, because by this point in the lineage, the shows were beginning to show some fatigue, and the enemy designs were starting to suffer.  There were still some high points, but some were just forgettable. Lots of feathers and dangly things.

Here are the contents of the set.  How many can you name? The answer for me is, "precious few." And I will admit it!

After puzzling over these, I went to the booklet for the blu-rays, and then realized lots of the spellings are pretty knackered up, so I resorted to correcting as many of these as I could via online sources...so here are the names:

So my main take-away from this is:  does this mean there is a RETURN OF ULTRAMAN set (Jack, that is) that exists somewhere? If so, sign me up.  The first three shows were the best. It makes me wonder how many of the classic shows had sets in this line.  It's extremely hard to find any information online about these, but I am digging away.

As you can probably tell, I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the last few classic Ultra shows.  They tend to be hit-and-miss sometimes.  With Taro, it seems like he is always having to be rescued by his mama. I was still very happy to discover this one, though.  I will always take more classic Ultra!

A Journey To The Center Of The Earth (Leo The Lion Records, 19xx) Rare LP!

 

Here is A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, with no Rick Wakeman to be found anywhere.  This is another classic from Leo the Lion Records, which was MGM's kid record label from the mid-60's until the mid-70's.  Among the usual kiddie fare in their library are some real gems, including "The Official Adventures Of..." records, which include Superman, Batman (x2), The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, and more, as well as the super-cool DINOSAURS! LP with Basil Rathbone that you can enjoy at this post. 

This LP is actually much more than the title implies, containing dramatic condensations of 4 different classics, rounded out with THE TIME MACHINE, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, and WAR OF THE WORLDS....oddly enough, despite Jules Verne getting the title of the entire record, 75 percent of the stories were by H.G. Wells! All four of the books had been turned into movies by this point, too, so why elevate one above the others? You'd think the LP would've had a generic title like "THE GREATEST STORIES OF SCI-FI" or something...well, it was the 60's, so maybe THE GROOVIEST STORIES OF SCI-FI? ...No? Okay.

Apparently this is a rare one, because it's not on the YouTubes, or even on Ebay in the last seeable months.  I found this while out of state at a flea market, and luckily picked it up.  Enjoy!

LINK:  A JOURNEY TO THE (not Rick Wakeman) CENTER OF THE EARTH

Movie Monsters Figures (Palmer, c.1964)

 

Let's start October off right, by taking a look at some classic, vintage monster toys! These awesome figures were made by Palmer Plastics around 1964 (some sources say the date is unknown, while some state 1964 as the year they were made--there are no markings or years on any of them), and they stand about 3 inches tall.  These are what some people call "dimestore" toys, but they were also sold in packs of 10, which we will see in a moment.  They were available in red, yellow, green, and even a rare blue color, which is the hardest to find.  Somehow, all of mine are the red and yellow varieties (red on yellow, kill a fellow), but I'm planning to acquire some examples of the other colors next.

 

Here is a look at each figure; there are some surprising choices in this set!

Dracula - This one works pretty well, and you know right away who it is. He kind of has a Count Chocula stance!

Cyclops - This one is a curve ball--this is actually Ray Harryhausen's Cyclops from 1958's THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD! I didn't see that coming.  Of course, there is rather a scale problem here, but the coolness makes up for it.

Frankenstein('s Monster) - This one works very well, and is a lot of fun.  Imagine a world where the first Universal movie was titled FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, and maybe everyone would be referring to the creature by the correct name, all these years later.

King Kong - Here is one of my very favorites.  This is such a well-done figure.  Lots of people don't know this, but this figure actually came with a tiny Fay Wray, who was attached by a sprue when you purchased Kong. You can actually put her in his hand! But, as you would imagine, she was very easily lost....and as a result, a complete figure can be several hundred dollars.  Still, though, I gotta get me one of those someday:

Werewolf - To me, this is one of the least-effectively-executed sculpts in this line, because it's not super easy to tell what's going on.  At first glance it looks like an old-fashioned zombie.  It also reminds me of Bela's Ygor with the broken neck in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN! However, the name given on the multi-pack is "Werewolf," so that is the final answer.  

It! The Terror From Beyond Space - On the header card for the 10-pack of figures, this figure is called "It Came From Outer Space," which is the wrong movie (which was 3-D and from 1953).  This is actually the alien from IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (which I believe is a Martian?), from 1958, which lots of people cite as the blueprint for ALIEN, etc.  Another unusual choice for this line!

Gorgo - YES! Freaking GORGO! Well, let's be fair, this could also be an Ogra figure (his mama)....but the package says Gorgo.  Somehow, the title monster from this 1961 British attempt at a kaiju film was included in this great line.  This is my favorite figure in this set.  I am a gargantuan GORGO fan and even own the original one-sheet poster.  (I will also be the first to admit to you that, in the interest of fairness, the movie has too much reliance on military stock footage, which does bog it down...but otherwise it is a damn fine movie, and I will cut a man who says otherwise.) Sorry, I got a little carried away, there...come to think of it, I need to get this figure in green.

Creature From The Black Lagoon - This is another one that is hard to see, at a glance...it almost looks skeletal, but when you zoom in, it dawns on you what's going on (this one would also work better in green).  

This is a spectacular set of figures, with loads of personality and charm...and oddly enough, NO Mummy to be seen anywhere!  I do wish there could have been a second series.  That would've been fun.

Lastly, here is the photo of an unopened 10-pack that goes around (I think it came from Pinterest, but I do not know the origin of this photo, or I would give the appropriate credit--it's not mine):

One thing to point out is that technically, the proper name of these figures should probably be "Unbreakable Movie Monsters"...? 

Also, check out the artwork on the header card, showing a groovy Frankenstein's monster leading Gorgo around on a chain! 

One last thing that jumps out at me.....is that you could buy 10 of these for 98 cents! What a deal!

More Vintage Menko Cards (part two)

 

And now, the conclusion of the treasure trove of vintage menko cards that I recently acquired.  This first group has the same manufacturer (and backing style) that our entire last post had, except these cards are super-thick, which you'd expect from menko cards. Right off the bat, we see Gamera, Godzilla, and Gappa...although I have to admit I am stumped on the bird-headed hero in a couple of the cards, and I haven't been able to discern his identity, so please leave a comment and let me know! Oh, don't miss GOLDAR from SPACE GIANTS sneaking into the bottom row! This is an all-star group for sure.

And here are the card backs!

This next group is super cool, beginning with King Ghidorah, and moving on to Bemular and Antlar from the first year of ULTRAMAN, and finally, a very cool Mechagodzilla, who apparently has sunk the Titanic.  The lizard at the end of the top row would make an awesome album cover.

All of these cards are super thick, too, but apparently have different manufacturers.  All menko cards seem to incorporate Rock/Paper/Scissors, but some even feature playing cards on their backs.  The ones at bottom left seem to want you to draw your own artwork in the space provided--which seems like a missed opportunity--while the last group actually features SPECTREMAN of all things!

Lastly, we return to some old friends, and even the "umbrella yokai," which was a surprise.  The "Godzilla vs. UFOs" card is awesome, and the Ghidorah card at bottom left is not a repeat, because this time the art is overprinted with metallic gold ink, which unfortunately doesn't show up in the scan very well.  The back is completely different, too.  I was going to say something about Ultraman fighting Godzilla again, when I finally realized the other monster was Daigoro from DAIGORO vs. GOLIATH! Holy crap! Next we have an awesome, almost tribal Ghidorah image, then a card obviously based on ULTRA Q, and finally, our bird-headed friend again.

Here are the backs, which are much more varied than earlier styles we have seen.  The "TV" ones are pretty funny (note Zorro in the upper-left....Zorro?) Also note the military hardware--early menko cards were heavy on this sort of thing, before tokusatsu and kaiju films gave them a higher calling and true purpose for their artwork.  

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these awesome cards. As you can tell, I love these things.  The kaiju-based ones don't come up very often anymore, so you have to wait for a good deal.  But, they are out there.

More Vintage Menko Cards (part one)

We have looked at cool vintage menko cards on this site in the past, which were Godzilla-themed ones that used photographs, but now here is a large lot of vintage kaiju-related ones featuring paintings!

Just in case you don't know, menko is a very old game played in Japan (with variants all over the world), where the objective is to flip over your opponent's cards by skillfully throwing yours at them (then you get to keep your winnings)! 

These cards are all from the 60's and 70's, and many are most likely unauthorized, and can therefore be a little dodgy in their depictions of characters. As you can see in this first group, it's heavy on ULTRA Q and the first ULTRAMAN (and maybe AGON THE ATOMIC DRAGON there in the lower left corner?).

Here are the backs of this first group.  I've tried to group all of the cards together with similar reverse artwork, since I have no way of telling you anything about their manufacturers.  I can tell you that all of these we will see in this first part are thinner than the normal menko cards, these being about as thick as the backing cardboard on a note pad.  Also, it seems to be a tradition for nearly all menko cards to include "Paper/Rock/Scissors" on their backs...I always figured it was the way that kids determined who took the first turn!

What I can't figure out, or find information about anywhere, is the significance of the string of numbers on the backs of most cards.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment!

This second group is interesting.  It starts off with a pseudo-MARINE BOY, then goes back to Ultra-kaiju (by the way, the Gomora in the bottom left is the same artwork from the first group, but has a completely different back as we will see), then gives us GAPPA, and for some reason,...IT CONQUERED THE WORLD!

And here are the backs. To say these are crudely cut is almost an understatement!

And here is the last of this group.  Once again the duplicate cards have completely different backs.   

Next time we will look at another great batch of menko cards, by a variety of manufacturers, featuring even more guest stars, from Gamera to Goldar!

ULTRASEVEN: GREAT MONSTER THE 30 (Bandai, 1990)

 

So here is the OTHER of the two Bandai boxed sets, and it follows the exact same path as the Ultraman one:  30 figures, a die, and a gameboard, all in a box of awesomeness.

The back of the box is more accurate this time as well (the last one showed enemies that weren't in the set)

ULTRASEVEN is, without a doubt, a magical high point in the long lineage of Tsuburaya's flagship franchise.  We could discuss why all day, but every time I revisit it, I am overwhelmed by the feeling that something special was going on, and everybody involved was aware of it.  I have a particular fondness for the third series (THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN, later to be named JACK), but somewhere in the middle--or possibly just after--it, the original golden age of Ultra concluded.  You could argue that the limit should be extended all the way to the more natural original ending point of ULTRAMAN TARO, but admittedly by then the series was in a major repetitive rut (not to mention the many outside forces affecting the quality and production of the show, such as oil crises and kaiju falling out of fashion).

But back to our boxed set--the show gave us many innovative creature designs, and several that have stood the test of time.  How many enemies can you name?

Once again, I pretty much failed and had to cheat, so here are the answers:

Like last time, there were some major favorites that didn't make the cut, such as:

Crazygon, the giant car-eating robot (who's probably hard to make a figure of), Miclas (who is not a foe, but actually a helper to Ultraseven), and--the design of all designs--my hero, DINOSAUR TANK.  

Bandai doesn't appear to have continued these boxed sets, which is really too bad, as there was definitely more ground to cover.  

MUCH LATER EDIT: In re-reading this post, I realized I left out the gameboard that is included with this set! Here it is, in all its glory:

M.U.S.C.L.E. (Mattel/Bandai, 1985-87)

I didn't know it way back in the day, but yet another of my favorite toy lines also came from Japan (doesn't everything?).  Back then, the whole line was shrouded in mystery, but today, we know its complete origins.

In 1985, completely out of nowhere and in the middle of a toy world dominated by 4-inch action figures, Mattel suddenly launched packages of 2-inch, flesh-colored, non-posable rubber wrestling figures, and a new toy line was born.  They christened it "M.U.S.C.L.E.," and went so far as to make it an acronym, standing for "Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere." Their permutations seemed endless, as did the amount of different figures available.  After all, they said "Millions" right there in the title! 

As it turned out, Mattel had entered into a partnership with Bandai (which wasn't their first) to bring figures from a popular Japanese franchise, Kinnikuman, to America.  Kinnikuman encompassed comics, animated series(es), toys, and much more, and had run for years (and still does).  Every figure had a name, and was a character from the long-running series' universe.  But instead of adopting the property, they simply dumped the figures on the toy-buying public.  They did bother to change the lead character to "Muscleman," and rename a character "Terri-Bull" to serve as the bad guy, but everything else, including the allegiance of each character, was up to you.  And you know what? It worked.

Like many folks, I prefer adaptations that are as accurate as possible for Japanese properties brought over here, but the lack of any information with this line really sparked kids' imaginations. You made your own teams; it was wide open for interpretation.  "Hey, this guy is a light bulb; this guy is made of bricks!" (One guy was actually a urinal, but we didn't know that at the time, and neither did Mattel, I'm sure.) One thing that Mattel/Bandai did right was to make the figures harder rubber, and much more durable.  In Japan, they were part of the "keshi" craze; soft rubber, eraser-like figures that come out of gashapon machines [see this post for an awesome Godzilla keshi set].

So how many figures were there? In that first year, a mail-order promotion began appearing, allowing you to order your own poster checklist, which revealed that there were 233 figures.  However, this wasn't the whole story, because the Wrestling Ring playset included 2 exclusive figures, and there is also one rare non-poster figure that somehow got in (and in recent years has been proven to exist in sealed packages), setting the officially-accepted count for a complete flesh-colored set at 236.

And, an entire set of 236 fits in an "oversized-shoebox" size archival box! We should do a post on everything we've learned about how to store things safely long-term (yes, they are all individually bagged, but don't buy your ziploc bags at Michaels or Wal-Mart. You want polypropylene, NOT polyethylene. 

[3/2024 UPDATE: And here is what a complete set looks like on display--turns out it takes up quite a bit of room to display 236 figures:]

After the first year, Mattel could've kept adding new figures, but instead the decision was made to re-issue existing figures in new colors.  Sometime during that second year, kids' interest waned, and the line folded and blew away in the wind.  It would've been interesting to see the animated series adapted and new figures issued, but it wasn't meant to be.

There is quite a bit of confusion over the colored figures; for example, not every figure is available in every color (in fact, far from it). Also, counting the original flesh color, there are ten different colors available, as can be seen below:

The light purple color is mega-rare, because only five figures were made that way, which we will get to in a moment.  First, let's talk about the ways that the M.U.S.C.L.E. (I hate typing that) figures were sold.

Four-packs were the most popular, because they were the cheapest, AND you could see what you were getting.  Much allowance was scrounged and maximized to buy as many four-packs as possible. Yards were mowed.

10-packs were sold in an opaque garbage can.  I never cared for these as a kid, because I couldn't see the figures I was purchasing (especially with the wrapper on).  The trash can may seem random, but it's actually another Bandai carry-over.  In Japan, assortments of keshi figures (usually Ultraman enemies, from what I've seen) were sold this way.

There were four different 28-packs, and they were the top of the line, and obviously the most expensive.  Unlike the other sizes, they were not randomly packed, and included figures you could get nowhere else.  This is a second-year example that included colored figures:

While the back of the 4-packs sets up the hero and villain, it was the back of the 28-packs that gave us the closest thing to a backstory, with an included comic strip! I suppose no other item in the line had enough room on its packaging:

Speaking of Bandai and keshi, the 28-packs always remind me of their awesome Ultraman sets (which are sets of 30 figures):

Every great toy line needs a playset, and the crown jewel of the M.U.S.C.L.E. toy line was what every fan wanted:  the wrestling ring.

It wasn't even that large of a playset, but the concept of joysticks to move your figures and make them fight was brilliant.  On paper. Unfortunately, it's probably for the best that I didn't get one that Christmas, as they are pretty fragile.  The plastic clips that hold the figures tended to break easily (intact examples usually have white stress marks, at the very least).  But that wasn't all:  the orange cardstock that served as the floor tended to get scratched up quickly, AND the elastic bands that made up the ropes around the ring were prone to breaking or getting lost.  

Bandai produced this item themselves for Mattel.  Notice that the back of the box shows a prototype version of the playset with different joysticks, and, most notably, different clips to hold the figures! Too bad we ended up with the fragile ones. (They really should've been metal.)

We mentioned the rare light-purple color.  There was also a board game, which included ten figures.  What's important here is that, while light green was already an existing color, the five lavender-colored figures in the game are the only ones ever produced that way.  Because of this, complete examples of the game can be tough to come by.

We have already mentioned the mail-away poster, but for completeness, there was also an NES game, a FREE figure in select jars of Nestle Quik (that was awesome), and something called the "Battlin' Belt" that was the Kenner Chewbacca Bandolier Strap of the M.U.S.C.L.E. line.  I see what they were going for, but I thought it was dumb, even as a kid.  However, these are the types of items that always end up worth a fortune, because fewer people bought them originally.  

All in all, one thing you can definitely say about this toy line is that it causes hardcore nostalgia.  It's certainly one of my favorites from the 1980's.  Discovering its origins and finally getting questions answered through some great websites (links below) has been extremely rewarding over the years.  I've noticed in recent years that you just don't run into the figures like you used to.  It used to be commonplace to see a couple in a random bag of toys in a thrift store, but that never happens to me anymore.  I'm sure they are being hoarded, because prices have been climbing! 

If you are interested in learning more--much more--about M.U.S.C.L.E., here are some places you should go:

The University of M.U.S.C.L.E. - This is the definitive website on the subject.  Do you want to know which figures were available in which colors? Are you curious which figures make up the different 28-packs? They have the answers.

Nathan's M.U.S.C.L.E. Blog - Jump to each figure by number, and see exactly how and where it was available! Great in-depth info also on each type of item in the line.