Top 5 Toys - Benjamin Schultz

Ben from Brisbane sent in his Top 5 list full of some great 80s and video game characters.. his #1 pick has to be one of the coolest toys featured on this blog.. The likeness is uncanny!! Check out the comparison pic below..

5) MP-13 Soundwave (and the rest of my Masterpiece Transformers) by Takara

"Oh man, when I learnt of the existence of the Masterpiece line I needed a change of pants! It's like buying all the Transformers I never had as a kid only they're much more detailed and cost about 5 times as much! I've been a huge fan of Transformers since I can remember, from trying in vein to get my mum to watch with me ("You can watch transformers if you like but I don't want to because they use violence to solve their problems instead of words") to my first day of school where I met my first best friend because he had a Transformer (specifically G1 Hound). Even now I'll occasionally grab a bowl of cereal and pop on the classic cartoons. This edition of Soundwave comes with LazerBeak, Megatron in gun form and some energon cubes. Of all the masterpiece bots I own he's probably my fav if only because he's huge.”

4) Halo 2 Master Chief by Joyride Studios

"I got this guy when I picked up Halo 2 almost 10 years ago to the day. Super poseable with changeable hands and heaps of guns he's pretty cool."

3.Ghostbusters: Mr.Stay Puft Light-Up Mini-Statue by Diamond Select

"A dear friend got this for me when I was feeling down and I've got to say, it's one of the best random surprise gifts I've ever received. Limited to a run of 1984 (ha, get it) this guy sucks as a lamp but makes up for it by looking rad."

2.Vault Boy Bobblehead by Bethesda

"This Little guy is the corporate mascot for the fictional Vault-Tech from the Fallout video game universe. I really like the 50's 'Cold War' styling in this guy much like the game itself."

1. Lego 'Video Game Guy' AKA unlicensed Ben knock off by Lego

"Imagine my surprise when I see a Lego version of myself displayed on the box of collection 12 of the Lego minifig packs! And without my permission! I had to have one, so several failed blind sachet fondlings later I bought myself on eBay."

Top 5 Toys - Patrick Matanle

Patrick Matanle from Columbus Ohio has broken toy Top 5 drought and sent in a great list from out of nowhere!! You can see some photos of his art and toy collection right here. Here's a little introduction and bacckground information about Patrick's Top 5:

"As a collector, i tend to gravitate towards obscure, vintage toys that aren't exactly based on any existing licensed character. These odd toys from old, small companies really allow the creativity of the designer to show. Without a specific character to represent or a brand identity to uphold, lots of older companies cranked out loads of no-name, weirdo toys to sell to all the small town gift shops, party supplies stores and dollar stores. Searching for toys like these is a lot more fun than trying to complete a popular toy line where there is a known, finite number of items produced. With the weird obscure stuff, the hunt is literally never ending and involves a lot of stumbling around, both online and in the real world. You never know what undiscovered thing you've never seen will pop up, or where it might be."

"I spend a lot of time digging around at flea markets, combing through ebay auctions, and staring at pictures of other collectors' collections. So when I find something that i have never seen before, very it's exciting. To make this entry easier on myself, I selected my top 5 favorite toys that I have never seen anywhere else. Not at a toy show, not in a picture online, nowhere. Toys I can't find any info about. If you've ever seen these before or know anything about them, I'd love to hear from you!"

PS He also plays in the punk bands Puberty Wounds (pubertywounds.bandcamp.com) Splashin' Safari (splashinsafari.bandcamp.com) and Good Shade (http://goodshade.bandcamp.com/)

5) "Dinosaur" Hong Kong

"i've always loved the made-up creatures included in packs of dinosaurs. One of my earliest favorite toys was a Rust Monster I got in a pack of dinosaurs at Ames when I was about 4 years old. Many of these creatures made their way into D&D monster manuals, and in recent years they have (sort of annoyingly) been given the name "chinasaurs." As awesome as these toys are, there are basically only a handful of different ones, and most of them are easy enough to find. That's why when I found this one I was shocked. Not only is it very clearly not a classic dinosaur, it is also not a creature I have ever seen."

"Also, as you can see, it's a good deal larger than the normal sized dino-creatures, and is even bigger than the creatures that came in the tougher to find "Cretaceous Times" set."

4) Flocked Bootleg 'Outer Terrestrial Creatures' Ornament

"i first learned about Outer Terrestrial Creatures a little over 6 years ago through the excellent Weirdo Toys site, and they quickly became one of my favorite lines. I have loose examples of every color variation of the figures and packaged examples of every quantity variation (1, 3 and 6 packs) and almost every series name variation (Outer Terrestrial Creatures, Ugg Family, Lil Gremlin Monsters...the only one that I know of that i'm missing is the Fuzzy Wuzzies 6 pack.) Let's just say I went a little overboard. So there I was, sitting on this collection for a couple years, thinking i'd seen it all. When all of a sudden an ebay listing pops up with a very familiar looking alien. Only this time, he's a bit larger, made of hollow plastic, flocked magenta, has sticker eyes and has a gold cord for hanging on your christmas tree. A bootleg, flocked octopus alien tree ornament. This is what toy dreams are made of! I can only dream that the other 5 creatures were also made in this fashion, and are out there waiting to be reunited with this little guy."

"Here he is next to Okky, his inspiration. I am still shocked that the process of turning this random bendy alien toy into a flocked ornament ever happened."

3) Unknown Rubber Monster

"I picked this little guy up at a toy show a few years back. Made of the same soft vinyl as Glo Friends toys and about the same size, but of course has no markings, not even a "Made in China." To me, he looks like the perfect mash-up of My Pet Monster and Mantenna from Masters of the Universe. Not only have I never seen this toy before, but i've never even seen another toy that is similar enough to possibly be from the same series."

2) Cell Phone Mouse

"I got this round little squeaky mouse as a freebie in a trade years ago. I had no idea I was getting it, i've never seen it before or since, and I don't even know exactly why i love it so much. Just something about a fat red mouse gabbing away on a cell phone makes me happy I guess. Holding his hand up like he's just having a normal conversation, explaining something. Maybe I love him because he reminds me of all of the bootleg, cheap squeak toys i would toss around in the yard and send down creeks when I was little. The cell-phone just steps up the comedy and brings him straight into Banjo-Kazooie character territory for me. Most people don't understand why I love this guy so much. I just know that he's one of my favorite toys."

1) Banthrico Monster Bank

"Banthrico is a company that is well-known for making metal coin banks of old-timey cars, buildings and animals, NOT vinyl banks of colorful, awesome monsters! When i saw this my eyes popped out. It was amazing to find a monster bank I had never seen or heard of, and especially one that is so clearly modeled after the muppets. Vintage licensed foreign, obscure, and bootlegs muppets stuff is one of my favorite things to collect. It's not a huge bank (about 6 inches tall) but it's pretty wide. Basically, just a perfect sculpt, perfect color, perfect size. No markings besides "Banthrico-Chicago," so I have no reason to believe it's based off of a licensed character. Just an amazing toy I feel lucky to have in my collection."

Top 5 Toys - Zach Taylor

Zach Taylor from Triple Crown Tattoo sent in his mixed bag of vintage, sofubi and dollar bin goodies all the way from Austin, Texas for the latest Top 5 Toys list!!

5) Rambo weapons pack by Coleco

"Although Rambo could probably annihilate bad guys with only his bare hands, these make his life a little easier."

4) The Real Ghostbusters by Kenner

"The entire line of TRG was amazing but these 2 were always my favorite as a kid and are part of the last remaining Ghostbusters that I actually owned as a child. I even went as far as to beg my parents to have a Ghostbusters themed birthday party. Hands down the most obsessive I have been over a particular toy series in childhood. Although I've obtained many since, the old, smoke stained, well played remainders will always be in the front row of any shelf they're on."

3) Podima by Flyover

"This toy caught my eye immediately for what I feel are obvious reasons. It's not everyones cup of tea, but the shape and overall feel are pretty insane and it has the largest header/packing of any standard size figure I've seen in person. It took a bit of patience on my part to find one and luckily while visiting Chicago within the past year, a friend tipped me off that rotofugi had one leftover in store from an art show. I rushed over and was able to purchase one only to find how truly difficult it would be make room for Podima in a tiny suitcase."

2) Alien Series by Funtime

"I love most toys depicting a "realistic" likeness of supposed extraterrestrials. I don't know much about this company or if there are more to the series but i sure hope so. Made in China and distributed Funtime products."

1) Joe by Coolzone

"I love the look and approach of this toy and feel it was ahead of its time. I've only found one other figure to exist (hopefully I am mistaken) and only a couple colorways of the each. It is a great example of keeping it simple and making sure that the toys' design does not stamp out what came before it, but instead pays homage to and uses design as a stepping stone to a modern idea. I feel too many toys are starting to become quite distant from their original influences and with the growing amount of independent licensing (comics, books, cartoons, "art") being rehashed into vinyl toy form, it is becoming harder and harder to find toys for the sake of toys."

Bullmark History Box DVD

If you've ever wondered about how these great monster toys are made here's an extra special treat for you! SB board member spacemonkey66 sent me a copy of the Bullmark History box DVD earlier this week and now here it is online for everybody to watch! 30 minute tour of the Bullmark factory from around 2001. Currently untranslated but if anybody would like to do subtitles for this video please get in touch!

Top 5 Toys - jcat

jcat from Tucson Arizona sent in his hand-picked Top 5 Toys list.. not an easy feat considering his Flickr account has over 6000 photos of toys in there!!

5) Ensorcelled Man by Luke Rook (Grody Shogun)

"Luke (Grody) is the one that got me into toy collecting. I’ve known him since he opened the first Lulubell location in Tucson. It’s been great to see him progress into producing his own toys in Japan and Lulu, under the guidance of Amy, become a successful business in Mesa. My favorite release of Grody's is the Ensorcelled Man - the face is so expressive and can portray many different emotions depending on how the figure is posed."

4) Jumbo Garada K7 by Unifive

"This hefty chunk of vinyl brings back fond memories of visiting my grandparents in the Philippines for the first and only time. I was hooked on Mazinger and it seemed like every place we went in Manila had the giant robots and mechanical beasts from the show. As a kid I couldn't buy any large toys back them, so now I'm excited to have this in my collection."

3) Puppet Seijin by Elegab

"Elegab is another favorite toy company of mine. It’s refreshing to see Nari’s unique and creative designs released in the world of sofubi. Puppet Seijin is alluring…the sly facial expression of the puppet master is dark yet comedic and the puppets are in some sort of goofy trance. The colorful paint scheme really stands out on this blue vinyl release."

2) Custom Zyurai Asu by Cronic

"Cronic definitely had a mastery of color and painting…it’s unfortunate that he does not produce toys anymore. His Zyurai is one of the coolest sculpts I’ve seen and his releases with their colors, paint application and pinstriping showcase his skills. It's also a very photogenic toy!"

1) Poseidon by Shikaruna Koubo

"I absolutely love the toys Shikaruna Koubo produce. The company makes some of the best around with its awesome kaiju designs and creative and colorful paint applications. Of the Shikaruna in my collection, I am particularly fond of this Poseidon release. I had been hunting for it for years and happened to be at the right place and time to score it. His firm stance and tough look are executed well."

Top 5 Toys - Josh G.

Sydney based Art Whore blog mastermind and Brain Zaps punk rocker Josh G. sent in his vinyl-specific Top 5 list!

"Well first, I’ve cheated. These are my top 5 soft vinyl toys, not my top 5 toys of all time. I’m OCD as all hell, and can’t just lump all toys in together you know! What about genre, labels, regular release or one off, medium... all those things us collectors stupidly obsess over!!! GAHHHHHHH! Stay tuned for my upcoming top 5 regular release toys, then my top 5 resin toys, etc. IF Glenn will have me back! ;) In the meantime here's my Top 5 sofubi toys.."

5) Yusei Majin by Longneck

"This is one of those toys that not only looks amazing – giant odd tentacled moon men are a yes in my book, but also has a really interesting back tale. If ya don’t know, it’s a tribute to the Ooze It figure from the 1980s, but given a glorious. This version is really soft squishy vinyl. Pink vinyl base with a damn brilliant paint job. Really fun toy to pour slime over..."

4) Mecha Cadaver Kid by Splurrt (painted by Rampage Toys)

"This vinyl toy led to an obsession. Introduced me to the master Joe of ‘Splurrt’ toys, which is a favorite company of mine. Plus it’s painted by a man I call a master of the craft, Jon of ‘Rampage Toys’... I can still remember the moment it arrived in my letter box in deep dark Convict Town: The smell. The feel of it in hand. My brain boggling at a new world I had just discovered.."

3) MOTUKO by Lamour Supreme x Shamrock Arrow (painted by Forces Of Dorkness)

"Is there community in the art toy scene? Yes and this toy to me is a visual representation of that fact. Why? Well here goes... I ended up with a black blank MOTUKO. Naked vinyl scares me though... So I wanted to get it painted... I was chatting with a toy friend from the Sucklord forum who told me about an artist I should check out, Scott Kinnebrew of ‘F.O.D’ fame. Well dear god was I blown away by Scott’s custom work. The man is a master. So I hit him up... The man offered to custom the toy for bloody free! I was blown away. Since then Scott and I have become firm toy-friends. JOY! OCD notes on the custom work by Scott:

(i) the base is wood covered in leather

(ii) Scott added magnets to the vinyl toy and the base for support – sadly all the MOTUKO’s have balance issues.

(iii) hand cut and painted leather cape added

(iv) chain and minion added – the minion is resin"

2) Miclas by Bullmark

"My sis got me this when she was in Japan. It represents 2 things for me: 1) my families reluctant acceptance of my horrible horrible addiction & 2) my very first and thus far ONLY vintage vinyl. I want more now!"

1) NagNagNag by Shigeru (silly additions by Josh G.)

"The disgusting hunk of vinyl that introduced me to the world of art toys about 4 years ago. So lucky to have had my good friend St John grab it for me straight from the hands of Shig himself! Could not resist adding the additions – jacket from an old Master P talking doll, mini ramen from Daiso, and an old sock for a beanie – to create.... *drum roll*.. VietNamVetNag!"

Top 5 Toys - David DeGrand

Super rad comic artist David DeGrand has taken some time out away from his drawing desk to share his Top 5 Toys list with us!

5) Edward Scissorhands Tin Toy by Medicom

"I love this Edward robot mainly for the odd juxtaposition of the retro Japanese robot style and Tim Burton's gothic fairy tale character. Edward Scissorhands was a childhood staple and I've always been struck by his striking appearance. There are tons of other Edward toys but this is just the best."

4) Slimer Shampoo Bottle

"I've been obsessed with Slimer since I was like 5 years old, he's still my favorite ghost of all time. I have lots of Slimer figures but this one's my favorite as it's one of the few from the animated series. Plus his expression perfectly captures his goofy, gross and playful demeanor. I think this was from a shampoo bottle or something like that, making it even weirder."

3) Godzilla by HG Toys

"Now I'm a MASSIVE Godzilla fan and have tons of Godzilla toys, but this bizarre figure from the HG Toys playset from 1979 is my favorite for several reasons: the atomic lime green color, the off-model but killer reptilian design, and his bumpy skin texture make for one awesome tribute to the King of the Monsters."

2) Psycho (Toxic Crusaders) by Playmates

"This dude is from the Toxic Crusaders line and is just an awesome figure design, he has influenced my art also. The green skin, bionic limbs, cyberpunk goggles, multiple chins dripping with God knows what, he's simply a work of art. Another figure I don't think would have been approved for today's youth."

1) Mutagen Man (TMNT) by Playmates

"This is my favorite action figure of all time, and has influenced my art many times. A sentient tank full of floating guts with rotting flesh on his arms, there's no way they would release this toy for kids today. There were tons of amazing Ninja Turtle villain toys (Pizzaface is another favorite), but Mutagen Man is the most crazy and bizarre toy by far. I love it!"

Top 5 Toys - Beukhoven Sloopwerk

Beukhoven Sloopwerk from The Netherlands sent through a nice selection of 5 of his favourite toys!

"It's hard for me to choose my favourites because I collect many toys. Every now and than a toy catches my eyes and make me go "Wow!" so here's five of them.."

5) Gorgonzola by Yamomark x Blobpus

"I'm a big fan of both Yamomark and Blobpus so when these guys team up something beautiful must be created. And here it is: a lusciously painted lump of glowing Japanese vinyl. One of the Grails in my collection!"

4) Mecha Azteca by Jesse Hernandez/Raje Toys

"A few months ago, when in Amsterdam, I visited my friend Jeroen Krom of Outland Store and while we were chatting this white "thing" caught my eye. It was this white unpainted Mecha Azteca designed by Jesse Hernandez. Although being mainly a Japanese toys collector I do like Mr. Hernandez' style a lot. I already was the proud owner of a Mecha Azteca (jungle version) and a Death Serpent but then this one appeared... I've never seen any info about this one so I gather it is something special."

3) Dualos by Max Toy Co

"A fun thing about the clear monsters by Mark Nagata's Max Toy Co is that in daylight sun they look like icesculptures. This double headed monster fits nicely on the shelf next to clear versions of Drazoran, Drazorus, Dragigus and Axron. Now I have to find a clear Zanga but that will be a mission impossible."

2) Fly Trap Guy by Dream Rocket

"Despite all awesome designs of monsters this one I think is ingenious. Besides that the paintwork by Junichi Yajima is dazzling! I was lucky enough to meet Junichi in person and about everybody who did too will admit this is an awesome toy by an awesome guy."

1) Devil Man by - RealxHead & Mirock

"I saw this one passing by in a posting on the infamous kaijukorner blog and was silenced by it's design. The split open face with the other one inside got me and still does everytime when I look at it. Awesome sculpt by Mirock."

Top 5 Toys - Akiba Masahiro

Akiba Masahiro of Gumliens has sent through his awesome Top 5 list! A couple of toys that I have never seen before in here, I definitely want to learn more about them!! Thanks Akiba!

5) Coijyarus by One up. (13th Ver.by Takepico - Noriya Takeyama x Pico Pico)

"Monster collaboration of writer of cool two people. The idea was to visualize a monster Japanese carp (koi) that is the best. There are colour variations of various carp(koi), an upscale pet. These look great as a full arrangement. Colouring to GID base of Mount Kobo I like in particular."

4) Mummy Kaiju Pharaos by Imiri Sakabashira

"The colouring Mount Kobo that is taken care of in gumtaro kaiju soft vinyl. It's thought I'd burned the eyes from when I saw once, but it did not help but buy to see the real thing in the exhibition venue. I think it's a exquisite cartoon monster underground and ultra monster such as fused."

3) Nauga by Uniroyal

"Nauga monster of Orange. It was a little expensive, but I look forward to buy. Presence that can not fade forever. I do not know how much was healed in this smile. I will think of this colouring Nauga my best thing. Doting parent."

2) Wooden Cat by Nekonoko & Kenzi Murabayashi

"Collaboration work of two artists. Both personality also I love the style, of course, buy. Colour, shape, while simple, deep, tickled the mind. By the way, in the planning at this time, Gumliens has collaborated with Konatsu http://konatsuya.ko-natsu.jp/ maker of Negora."

1) Frog by Sekiguchi

"Stuffed frog that I picked up in a toy wholesaler in Asakusabashi before 23 years. We called this as "Pakeru". I have never seen a toy frog as cute as him ever. Color, texture, looks all are fantastic! I love him."

Top 5 Toys - Josh Thorsen

Josh comes out of Brisbane, Australia and is the head of Teens On Acid, a streetwear brand and artist collective. Here are his Top 5 picks!!

5) Tim Biskup X T9G Rangeas (TXT Movie Version)

"I only just found out (as I was typing) this was limited to 50 pieces..what the fuck. I should not have been able to buy this piece for what I did. I just shit the bed. I'm not even in a bed, but there's poo everywhere in a bed..somewhere...best figure I own. that's it. that's all."

4) One Piece Big Chopper Figure

"uuuuggghhh i'm still ...just 50 of that Biskup Rangeas? I found this Chopper on my last Nakano Mall visit. A 20cm happy as shit Chopper for $15AU? gimme."

3) Big Hasheem by Santastic Gangu

"a random Nakano Mall cabinet pickup. A favorite character of mine that i had already obtained a vinyl figure of (6 inch). But there he was, in the back of a cabinet stuck between gasha in Nakano Mall. It amazes me how certain characters sell and others don't. There are 3 inch random packaged Kidrobot figures selling for 3 times as much as this guy at any given store, and why? I just don't understand it. Oh yea, he's over 20cm tall. Most people would know him from that KAWS crossover..i guess. Unless they watched Tokyo Tribes 2 in 2006."

2) Astro Boy by Billiken

"my tallest figure. my vinyl son."

1) Dr Slump Arale PVC Bootleg

"amazing bootleg of Toriyama's Dr Slump character, Arale. About 40cm tall, and as much as the Biskup Rangeas consumes me, i think this is my FAVORITE piece. She may not be official but she is huge, she is perfect and I'll destroy anyone who tries to take her away from me."