Top 5 Toys - Michael Skattum

Portland artist Michael Skattum shares his super rad Top 5 with us today!

(Psssttt sometimes if you're lucky you can spot his Slimebat toy over at Monster Worship)

"I don't really have an insane collection, but I chose to go the route of "top 5 toys under 6 inches." It was fun to break out the camera and revisit some of these weirdos. I like all of my toys, and buy them specifically because I enjoy them and/or get inspired by them, so consider this list to be all #1's when it comes down to it."

5) Ghosts n Goblins by Gargamel (Wonderfestival '06)

"I really appreciate Gargamel's toys when it comes to tradition, paint application, and sculpt. These blank toys are one of my all time favourites. The sculpts are flawless, the characters are from one of my favourite games, and the box art/packaging is an amazing tribute to the actual Famicom box that the game came in. I'm also a sucker for videogame related toys. I randomly messaged a guy on flickr who had these a couple years ago, and got these for retail."

4) Popy Okozeruge

"Barom-1 has some of the craziest kaijin designs when it comes to hero shows, and this scorpionfish demon is no exception. These midsize popy figures are tough to come by, and I had the chance to trade Bwana Spoons a toy and some cash for this guy recently. I've never really had the money to snatch up any vintage Barom-1 toys when I saw them, so I had to jump at the opportunity to get this guy for my collection. Great classic paint, vintage play wear, and a perfect size in my opinion."

3) Jinmen-ju by Uzumark

"Came upon this toy in a trade for an older Ilu Ilu toy. This toy has great texture, wonderful packaging, and a fun size to boot. 5 stars across the board."

2) Musasabian by Bullmark

"This is a midsize Bullmark villain from Lion-Maru. He may look like an orange peel monster, but he is actually a flying squirrel kaijin. I love his minimal paint and sculpt, the demon grin always make me laugh."

1) MA-BA Zombies

"Kind of cheating, but this whole line of toys is my favourite. I only have one complete set from series 2, and one toy from series 1, but these are the coolest things to me. Crazy sculpts, minimal and effective paint, keshi accessories that were supposed to ooze out of openings in the toys, amazing packaging, and nice 90s ooze/monster/gross out stuff. These nearly 2 inch toys pack a punch."

Top 5 Toys - drone207A

5) Android Mini Collectible (Artist MAD) by Dyzplastic

"Love technology, love gear. I have a gaming PC and many gadgets and consoles. I have a Android phone... why?... Cause I know my shit! This little guy combines my love of technology and street art. He's dope!"

4) Joker (Clown Leader) by McFarlane Toys

"AKIRA has to be one of, if not the best Japanese manga ever written/drawn. The Joker is in the anime briefly, but plays a much larger role in the Manga. Whilst I have many other AKIRA figures and statues I absolutely love this one the most."

3) TMNT (Eastman & Laird style) by NECA

"Loved TMNT as long as I can remember... but especially the Eastman and Laird black and white comics. Back then the only time you would see the Turtles in colour was on the cover of the comics where they all wore a red bandanna. The different colours were introduced later on to make them easier to separate and market. Hence the Michelangelo wearing red."

2) WWR MK2 BRAMBLE by 3A

"Ashley Wood is an amazing artist and Australian to boot. His art for Metal Gear Solid is fantastic and his toy line 3A is even better. Although usually out of my price range, couldn't stop myself from picking this up at Nakano Broadway in Tokyo."

1) UNKLE Kubrick by Medicom

"This guy guards my desk. His watchful red eyes ward off evil! Been a fan of Futura for some time. Love this figure."

Top 5 Toys - GoldenArmKid

GoldenArmKid is a graphic designer from Auckland, New Zealand. He took some time out to take some great photos and share some stories about his favourite sofubi pieces below:

5) Devilman by Secret Base

"As a 10 year old kid I would visit our local video store and head straight for the martial arts section which was right next to the manga section. This was where I discovered anime through the Devilman dubbed OVA's which is what first spurred my interest in Japanese culture. For me this is the toy I would have gone crazy for as a kid. I love that it also pays homage to the vintage bootleg colours."

4) Zudon by Zollmen

"Zollmen are in my opinion the most creative toy company out there. I really love all their toys but Zudon is extra special because it's the only toy in my collection that my girlfriend actually likes and appreciates it so much that she's practically claimed all the Zudons as her own. Being able to share appreciation for this toy with her makes it that much more special."

3) Keronia by Butanohana

"It's quite tricky to describe how much I love Butanohana and picking a favourite was not easy either so I've gone with the first I scored. I've always loved Godzilla but being from a younger generation this was not something I grew up with as a kid. Discovering Toho and Tsuburaya as an adult definitely added an extra layer of appreciation for these toys. For me Butanohana have a rough yet refined aesthetic that is difficult to describe. These little guys just have so much personality you can't help but smile when you look at them."

2) Gorilla Ju by Hirota Saigansho

"This toy was my first grail. Something which I never thought I would be able to obtain. At the time Gorilla Ju were only released through a small shop in Tokyo and aftermarket prices were way out of my range. I was very lucky to be offered this guy for a fair price and being my favourite version I couldn't say no. Since then my Hirota Saigansho collection has grown but even with all the new HS toys this Gorilla Ju is still my favourite. The little blue native takes this toy to another level with his comical expression. It really is the perfect addition to an already amazing toy."

1) Zagoran by Gargamel

"The first vinyl toy that got my collection started was a Crouching Zagoran in plane. From then I was hooked and started to collect any Zags I could get my hands on. I was lucky enough to purchase this custom standard Zag by Kiyoka Ikeda from Gargamel at the Thrash Out Show in 2010. This toy will most likely always be number 1. It has so many great memories attached to it from my trip to Japan and my journey collecting to get there."

Top 5 Toys - Luke Ramsey

Canadian illustrator Luke Ramsey sent in a batch of cool toys that most people would pass over without thinking twice. Luke explains why these pieces belong in his Top 5 list below:

5) Spider-Man (bootleg)

"I love how poorly made this toy is. It must be a knock-off. It's super rubbery and moves like jello. The eyes are too small, and why would Spidey be putting his hands up? Isn't that what the crooks do? Not sure when this was made, but it's old and awesome."

4) Ghostling Rags by Tonka

"It's hard to pick a classic 80s action figure. I love my Pantro Thundercat with nunchucks, Hot Rod Transformer with stickers still on, He-Man with sword and chest plate, but for me these classics don't compare with Super Naturals. These toys were messed up. This one with a freaky mummy hologram inside a hooded cloak with gnarly hands. It's a grim keeper."

3) Cosmobile by Matchbox

"This toy car was made in England, which is pretty cool. I grew up in England in the 80s and I remember Matchbox cars being very popular. Their wheels were always solid and the quality was top notch.I love this one because it's old future and the name sums it up. The colours are great, the shape is funny and the two large horns on top are ridiculous. The orange windows are a nice touch too."

2) Car by Kinder

"I'm not sure if this is a Kinder toy. I like to think it is. Kinder is genius for putting toys inside chocolate eggs. Their toys used to be so elaborate and amazing. I love this lil' car. It's simple and the face is really nice for how small it is. I found this inside a tree at a local disc golf course. At the time I gave it to my nephew and he didn't care about it, so he gave it back. He has a lot of cool toys."

1) Cyclops by Toybiz

"I've never been a huge fan of X-MEN and the Cyclops character. Of all the supper powers out there, shooting a laser out of your eyes doesn't seem that great to me.. O.K., maybe it's cool. This toy is from 1991. The toy makers didn't have to go the effort to put a switch in the back that lights up his eyes, but they did! It still works 23 years later. The arms and legs bend too, which adds more quality."

Top 5 Toys - Chiisaw

Ashleigh from Brisbane sent in her Top 5 list with toys spanning her entire lifetime (almost)!

5) Rusty Venture (Venture Bros.) by Bif Bang Pow!

"Huge fan of the show, and in keeping with the shows close relation with the past these toys feel like something from long ago. With shitty joints, limbs falling out and cloth apparel keeping them in, these are great!"

4) Meltdown Dunny 8″ by Chris Ryniak/Kid Robot

"On a city adventure with a friend I saw this guy from the street inside Laced. I fogged up the glass and the shop attended came over and informed me of the price, I became hesitant until he mentioned it glowed in the dark and it was an instabuy. Quickest I'd ever spent $90 but I love this guy, no regrets."

3) Ponyo by Moving Music Box

"A huge fan of Ghibli since my encounter with Spirited Away at a slumber party when i was 10, Ponyo has become a dear favourite of mine and a friend went to a big effort to get me this for my 20th Birthday. It plays the theme song and moves."

2) Gold Turret by Aperture

"First ever blind box I didn't hate, and it was a rare Gold turret. I only recently played the Portal games and loved the turrets."

1) Gizmo Plush by Warner Brothers Movie World

"I can't remember how young I was when I got Gizmo, but it was young. I had a love-hate relationship with the movie as I thought Gremlins were under my bed after. But Gizmo was a favourite and on a family trip to Warner Brothers Movie World I begged for this plush and he's been close by ever since. Beside is a pop vinyl Gizmo for size comparison."

Top 5 Toys - Chris Blair

Chris is an avid collector from Cincinnati Ohio who hunts down toys like a Terminator.. Check out his Top 5 below!

5)Puppet Seijin by Elegab/Naritada Shintani

"This guy has hand attachments, is GID has bright colours and feels fantastic in hand! This is my favourite version and thanks to a friend from a toy message board I was able to snag this guy."

4) Guy Bot by Jetturre

"So this is supposed to be a Vampire cyborg mega machine! Scored from a recent festival in the land of the rising sun with the help of my agent. Totally fantastic and a great piece."

3) Popy Dog by Zollmen

"This toy is so fun! He appears to be a robot dog with a little guy controlling him from a spaceship/control centre on his head. Also the little guy can be placed inside the body for a brain wire metal stem appearance and he's hollow so you can store things inside!"

2) Sunshine Trooper by Atom A Amaresura

"This toy is flat out nuts! A supposed Ama pearl diver that met his/her fate with a squid and somehow in the process got an arm mutation! Hard to find toy that required the help from an agent in Japan to snag!"

1) Jimagon by Elegab

"Hunted for this fantastic volcano monster for months and months and months!! Finally in all his pink glory he has been added to my collection."

Top 5 Toys - saradoodah

saradoodah from Brisbane, Australia sent in her super cool feline filled (with a squeeze of lemon and a side of dinosaur) Top 5 list!!

5) Blue Doranekon by Gargamel

"This figure was from the 2014 Gargamel lucky bag. I'd seen so many people posting these online as the lucky bags rolled out and really hoped I would get one too! I ended up getting a green blank one which is pretty rad but still, I had to head online to get this little blue fella. His chopped-off tail makes me sad so I have to make sure to take extra special care of him."

4) Wool by Chima Group

"What's not to like about Wool?!? He's adorable. I'd grown up drawing little dinosaurs that look a lot like him and went through a phase where I'd make really simple versions out of fimo clay. Wool is much better than my dinosaurs, and even though he doesn't have a hat, he's got a pink scarf to keep him warm. He really is a nice toy. Simple, but awesome."

3) Lemon by Cleptomanicx

"Big time number one fan of Stefan Marx. Also have a soft spot for citrus.. and Lemongrab. So Lemon is kinda the perfect character! and to have him embodied in vinyl is awesome. Lemon just looks like a cool dude, without any worries or troubles at all... I've had this figure for a while, and still can't bear to take him out of his packaging/liberate him. The backing card is so perfect and I know it'll get ruined in the process... so for now I will keep him as he is. For the next few hours, anyway! As I'm writing this I just want to open him up and give him a big hug!"

2) Neko Oba-San by Dehara

"Neko is the newest addition to my collection. I'd seen her online before, and the moment I saw her I said THAT'S IT!! THAT'S THE BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. I'm a fan of Dehara's messed up, mangled creations... and I totally get behind people calling them creepy/terrifying etc, but Neko is so cool I'd almost call her cute? In a creepy way? Everything about her says "hand made" and that's becoming more difficult to find in a vinyl toy these days. I love that I can see where the clay has been hand moulded, there's a part at the back of her skirt where I swear I can see fingerprints... it reminds me of Le Merde's early resin toys and that's awesome! The fact that Neko isn't highly polished and smooth and perfect is what makes her one of my favourites. And she's a cat aunt! Super cool!"

1) Burgerbuns GID by Le Merde/Super7/Gargamel:

"Burgerbuns is my favourite Le Merde character. He's super cool and is the only toy on my bedside table. When I go to bed he turns into a night light, like Kuchi Kopi from Bob's Burgers.... very cool. He also wards off bad dreams and evil spirits."

Top 5 Toys - animator

David from Los Angeles, California sent in his toy photos with some great commentary! Take 5 with animator's Top 5!

5) Gamera by Toygraph

"Number 5 was the hardest to decide. I still had several Gargamel, M1, Bwana Spoons, and Tim Biskup toys I wanted to include. In the end, it came down to Toygraph making so many amazing Gamera toys. Gamera, probably because it's a turtle, is a favourite Kaiju of mine. These are all very much toys, stylized well, somewhat geometric but still very organic, a tiny bit cute, and painted incredible. The satin finish on the standard size has to be 1 of the best painted toys I own."

4) Tetsujin28 by M1

"I'll put out a disclaimer that I'll buy almost any T28 toy, but M1 makes the best. It looks the least like any Gigantor cartoon, it is super chunky, and the big version literally makes me feel kid sized when playing with it. The colours used on all of these are perfect and M1 vinyl always has this strange thick waxy feel to it, it's really the best. The character is really an icon that is captured perfectly in this toy."

3) Gacha Series by Gargamel

"Gargamel is arguably my favorite toy company. Every sculpt they make is incredible, including all the artists they collaborate with. I love Zagoran and Deathra, and I'm sure they will make a lot of top 5 lists, but these Gachas are just so fun. Different arm attachments, robot guts, and the perfect size you can really play with. It is the only sculpt that I am actively trying to be a completist with."

2) Mockbat by PaulKaiju

"I find myself collecting a lot of bat toys, and I've already mentioned my love of turtles, so this toy is pretty much perfect. It is my favourite toy made in the last 5 years. It is a really great mix of cute, evil, weird, and goofy. It has so much personality and expressiveness throughout a great sculpt. I'm sure all of Paul's toys will be spread through a lot of top 5 lists, Mockbat is the best though."

1) Pollard by Tim Biskup

"Tim Biskup's work got me into collecting vinyl toys, which lead me to Gargamel and everything else. All of his toys(and art) are great, I collect them all. Biskup's colour is mind blowing. It's so simple, but crazy and complex, and so effortless in application. The Big Pollard sculpt is my favourite though. It's so clean and linear but still very organic. Everything about it screams simplicity, yet it has so much personality and goofiness in it's proportions and stupid grin."

Top 5 Toys - Jesse Narens

Jesse Narens is a visual artist and musician from Portland. He has also recently released his first vinyl toy the "Stegoforest" which you can learn more about and order here. Here's some commentary by Jesse about his collecting habits and his Top 5 Toys below.

"When it comes to toys, and everything else in my life, I am very picky. I used to buy everything that I thought was cool, but quickly realized I have a contradicting personality.. I get that panicked, "I need this" collector mindset, but then when my shelves get full I get anxious about having too much stuff and want to get rid of everything. After a few different sell offs, I noticed that certain toys never left. I've narrowed my current collection down to under 20 toys, and now when I see something new I really think about it before getting it. I feel like the toys I look for are random, but when I take a moment to examine them, there are two common themes. Cute and crude. Sometimes a mix of the two. These elements can be created easily, but to do so with character and charm is difficult, and that's what I am drawn to."

5) Woo (first release) by Butanohana

"There was a moment when I thought I was going to try and collect all of the Butanohana toys, but after one anxious sell off, this was the only guy that remained. I still love everything Butanohana, but this guy with his doofus face and pee-snow paint job is my favourite. This might change if there's ever a regular size Zazahn released.."

4) Sametan by Cometdebris (first painted release)
3) Kappa Shonen by Cometdebris (first release)

"Sametan was the first toy that made me pay attention to Koji's stuff, but Kappa Shonen was the one that made me fall in love, and then start to want his earlier toys that I had previously looked over. I want to be this Kappa's best friend. The things that inspire Koji's toys really show through in his interpretations, giving them a vintage charm hiding within a current and unique character."

#2 Chou Cho (first release) by Grumble Toy
#1 Wormrah (first release) by Grumble Toy

"I almost lumped all 4 of the current Grumble Toy minis into one, but decided to play by the rules and just pick my favourite 2 to finish off this list. Grumble Toy does cute, crude and full of charm perfectly, and the first release of Wormrah has been my number 1 toy for a long time. I feel like nothing will ever top it. Chou-cho comes in a close 2nd. Their small size makes it easy to take them with me wherever I go, and they are very photogenic."

Top 5 Toys - Kenth Toy Works

Kentaro Komori is an illustrator and toy maker from Japan. Look out for his new Zombitron figure (a collaboration with Acolorfulmonster) which will be coming out soon in soft vinyl! Kentaro took some time out to share his Top 5 Toys with us..

5. Mini Sofubi Series by Bullmark

"I learned the goodness of original Sofubi from this reproduction of standard Kaiju Sofubi by Bullmark."

4) Reaction Figures Alien by Super 7

"Reaction figure is historical toy which makes "bootleg" to official figures. I saw the moment which changed the movement of toy world from this figures."

3) Jyujin by Geek!

"This is very interesting because Jyujin is created by "Unknown" sculptor Geek!. It might be legend in Sofubi world."

2) Space Black Robot Series - Governor General Galmayer by Star Case

"If you are Star Wars collector then you mush know the show called "Star Case." Galmayer is their original Star Wars Pachi Sofubi. I can see store owner's love of Star Wars and his playful mind."

1) Mighty Mashroom by Newter Vision

"I saw a toy which is made by Keshi and plastic parts but it is very nice idea that upper body and lower body are different materials. Hats off to character design to make imagination a free story."

Top 5 Toys - Chris Tianto

Chris is a designer & illustrator from Indonesia, working under the name pe-cu-liar. Get ready for some creepy but cute toys in his Top 5!

5) Germinal Goon by WKY

"I cant resist anything in purple, so I picked up this resin goodness by We Kill You. 4 eyes and 2 heads, it's ugly and it's lovely. Only 10 made in purple, too bad WKY has called it a day in doing resin figures."

4) Oi! Cthulhu by Daniel Yu

"Lovecraft and punk, great combos! In my opinion, the best Daniel Yu's resin figure so far! O mighty Oi! Cthulhu, thou shalt melt every cop's face that desecrate thy holy gig."

3) Mothman and Flatwood by Wonderwall

"Favourite David Horvath release I think? I really love anything related to urban legend, 'nuff said."

2) Greasebat and Friends by Unbox Industries

"I love Jeff Lamm's monsters, all of them! Greasebat and Friends is a fun and cheap way to collect them all, who doesn't want to eat those little kaijus!?"

1) Kubrick Universal Monsters by Medicom

"Gotta love Universal Monsters related toys! I'm not much a fan of block-style figures but Kubrick really did an awesome job with this series. I'm missing Frankenstein's bride and the doctor, but who the hell cares? The monsters are all here, and its a Mad Monster Party!"