Bazaar Items

Toy Line: Dr. Slump

Location: Yahoo! Japan

Vendor: Yk091114

Auction Number: k136876120

Collector's Note: There's not really much to be said about this "crappy" figure. Let's just hope it's not scented like the Arbito Mini Squishy figures. :D

Arbito Mini Squishy

Name of Toy Line: Mini Squishy
Production Company: Arbito
Distributor: Arbito
Years of Production: 2011
Countries/Regions Available: Worldwide via Internet
Size/Scale: 2"
Figure Trade Markings: Arbito
Approximate # of Figures: 4 sculpts, 3 colorways (but possibly more)

Details:

Arbito is an artist/​illustrator/​designer liv­ing in Seat­tle. Born and raised in Wash­ing­ton State, Arbito’s work has been exhib­ited glob­ally from Spain to Eng­land, Aus­tralia to New york. Cur­rently he’s exper­i­ment­ing with resin sculp­ture but is also rec­og­nized for his west coast proto-​​hippie style acrylic paint­ings and drawings. (Source: Arbito.com)

I don't know what prompted Arbito to create a line of mini figures, but I'm certainly glad he did. He chose four of his typically larger creations - Patty Power, Cosmic Hobo, Seeker, and Hobo's Van - and shrunk them into deliciously smelly (literally) and squishy minis. Indeed, each of the 3 colorways comes with a corresponding scent: Pink is Cherry scented, Yellow is Popcorn scented, and Green is Watermelon scented! It's a really fun concept and works really well.

Eraser Bouncing Bad Bad Ball

Name of Toy Line: Eraser Bouncing Bad Bad Ball
Production Company: D.V.S. (Made in Taiwan)
Distributor: Unknown
Years of Production: 1987
Countries/Regions Available: USA
Size/Scale: 1"
Figure Trade Markings: None
Approximate # of Figures: 8

Super special thanks to Blarghhhspot for introducing Toypedia to these wonderful items and for all the pictures in this entry! If you've never visited the blog you should do so. Now!

Details:

If you love Madballs (and who doesn't, right?) and you love mono-colored mini-figures (sure you do!), then you'll love Bad Bad Balls! These tiny balls combine the best of both worlds: They've got the awesomely round grossness of Madballs and the rubbery colored goodness of keshi!

They came packaged in a simple box with a pull out tray. There were eight of them in a range of pleasant pastel colors including pink, yellow and light green. On the package is text indicating that these pieces doubled as both high-bounce balls and pencil top erasers. Nice! Everyone loves a twofer.

The sculpts themselves are impressive considering the medium (a tiny round ball) and the source material (let's be honest, these are total Madball ripoffs). Come on, let's get up close and personal with these little dudes courtesy the Blarghhhspot.

Not much to say about this first dude other than he may want to invest in some veneers. Seriously though, it's a simple yet solid little sculpt.



Here's a look at one sculpt in two different colors. Seems to be only one of two double sculpts in the box. It leads me to believe there /may/ be other sets and figures - and maybe sculpts! Joy. As for the sculpt itself, meh.


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I love the color of this next guy. Yellow is always a favorite keshi color, but the light pastel hue is just buttery smooth; And the elephant trunk and tusks put this guy in the running for my fav of the bunch.



I'm not sure what's going on with this piece. Looks to be a normal, albeit goofy human, but there's something up with his/her hair. Is that a snake slithering around up there?


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Ah, toad eye. I've loved toad eye since I first laid eyes on him! He's got a toad on his eye! Toad eye.

And I noticed something whilst kicking around this Blarghhhspot post. Check out the Sad Ball pictured here below Toad Eye. It seems one sculpt influenced the other, or both are inspired by the same (unidentified) piece.





Group shot.


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And the packaging. Note that none of the figure drawlings appear to correspond to any of the actual sculpts. The drawing was probably completed preproduction or perhaps in isolation, but I choose to interpret this as proof that there are other sculpts and colorways out there!


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What a fun Western keshi toy line! Good luck findind these little guys. I've never come across one myself, but of course would love to. Super very good thanks to Blarghhh Spot for the great pics. Be sure to check there for more incredible coverage of Madballs and Madball knockoffs.

Related Websites:

Bad Bad Ball @ Blarghhh Spot

Figabulary

Toy Line: M.I.M.P.

Sculpt Name: Ganesha

Color: Green

Collector's Note: MIMP collectors call this color "Neon Lime."

Figabulary

Toy Line: Famicon | Mario Kart

Sculpt Name: Bowser and Kart

Color: Green and Yellow

Collector's Note: That's actually not the kart that belongs with Bowser.

Blackstar

Name of Toy Line: Blackstar
Production Company: Galoob
Distributor: Galoob
Years of Production: 1983-1985
Countries/Regions Available: USA and Europe
Size/Scale: Action Figures: 6" ; Companion Figures: 3"
Figure Trade Markings: Action Figures: © 1983 FILMATION ; Companion Figures: None
Approximate # of Figures: 15 Companion Figures

Details:

Blackstar began in 1981 as a fantasy sci-fi cartoon produced by Filmation. It has many similarities to its more popular successor, He-Man. Check out the show's opening for the premise.



It's the story of John Blackstar, an astronaut from a future, technologically advanced Earth. He is sucked into a black-hole and finds himself on the planet Sagar, which is populated by a plethora of alien creatures. Blackstar aligns himself with the tiny Trobbit people in their battle against the evil Overlord. Action-packed high jinks ensue.

The toy line was released a few years later, beginning in 1983 and running to 1985. There were a total of three waves - one each year. The six-inch action figures came carded individually and also with a companion figure; The good guys came with a Trobbit figure and the bad guys came with a demon figure.

The Trobbit figures were also carded individually, but never the demon figures.

The action figures are made with mixed materials - both hard and soft plastic. The one example of an action figure I have has soft arms and legs and hard trunk and head. The figure is called Meuton; He's a baddy and appears to be a wasp-man. Creepy and cool!



Definitely would not want to stumble into that guy in a dark alley (or a well-lit one for that matter).

Of course here at Toypedia, the main attraction is not the 6" action figures but the diminutive 3" companion figures! There were a total of six Trobbit figures and nine demons. Both Trobbits and demons are made of a soft plastic.

The Trobbit characters are very reminiscent of Snow White's dwarves. They're tiny little guys with white hair, wearing purple, blue, and yellow garb. Unfortunately I only have the character Poulo in our possession at the moment. Let's take a close-up look at him.


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(The, uh, bit of plastic between Mr. Poulo's legs appears to be a nub of flashing left over from the casting process. I agree, it is a bit disturbing. I was tempted to edit it out, but chose to go el naturale instead.)



There were two types of demon companion figures. The first type was available in the first two waves. It consisted of a single sculpt cast in six different colors and paint schemes: Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Red, and Orange. The availability of the different colored demons varies with Green being by far the most common.

Let's take a look at a Green demon. Note the paint applications on the stomach, eyes, and eyebrows.


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Red and Blue demons arrived in the second wave.


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The two Blues I have appear to have slightly different paint application colors. The second figure appears to have stomach and eyebrow paint that is slightly more Purple.


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Three new demon figures were introduced in the third wave. Like the Trobbits, each new demon had a unique sculpt and a more complex paint scheme. The body of each demon is one single color however, and they are referred to by these colors. Thus, once again, there are Red, Green, and Yellow demons. I've got the Red and Green, so let's take a look at them.

Boo!


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Click to enlarge

It's a very fun, highly collectible toy line with several interesting figures, some harder to come by than others. Be sure to check the links below for more great pictures and information about this line.



Related Web Sites:

Blackstar @ Action Figure Archive

Blackstar @ Wikipedia

Gegege No Kitarō

Name of Toy Line: Gegege No Kitarō
Production Companies: Bandai & Marukoshi
Distributor: Bandai
Years of Production: 1985-1986, 1996
Countries/Regions Available: Japan
Size/Scale: 1.5"
Figure Trade Markings: Japanese Kanji / © / Circled capital letter B
Approximate # of Figures: 100+

Details: Like many Japanese keshi toy lines, Gegege No Kitaro began as a manga. It told the story of a spirit (Japanese Yōkai) named Kitaro and his family. Unlike other Yōkai, Kitaro sought to befriend the nature-destroying humans in an effort to make peace. The pages are filled with a number of quirky and interesting characters that translate beautifully into keshigomu figures. Let's have a look!





Figures released by Bandai and Marukoshi in the 80's were available in a nice assortment of colors such as peach, pink, yellow, dark blue, light blue, green, grey and orange. In the 90's, Bandai released them in semi-translucent glow-in-the-dark material. These figures were available in yellow, pink, and aqua blue/green (and possibly more colors).

The plastic is pretty much standard keshi material: flexible and squishy yet solid and firm. Let's look at some more figures.




The Lorax





Gegege No Kitaro were available via capsules containing three figures and a pamphlet, boxes containing 20 figures, and carded bags. The glow-in-the-dark, 1996 release figures were also available in 25-pack boxes. Marukoshi also released special sets packaged in clear plastic cylinders.










Marukoshi


Marukoshi


Marukoshi



Here's a look at some highly sought after Gegege No Kitaro figures as seen in an issue of Comp-REX, a magazine published by Mandarake, a large vendor in Japan dealing in all things manga, anime, and keshigomu related!

First, the Yokai Daimakyo set released in 1986. (Click on the image to enlarge.)


Yokai Daimakyo

And some truly interesting, extremely expensive pieces: The Tomb, Yokai Castle, Yokai Gate (all $600+) and the House of Sunakakebabaa ($1200). Hwhat!?



The Morinaga candy company also released a multi-part, multi-color collection of figures in the 80's. They look pretty nice. Check 'em out:







We'll have to beg forgiveness as we don't know the characters names. However, if you read Kanji, a number of characters and their names appear to be listed on the following Gegege No Kitaro toy line packaging.


Click to enlarge


Famicom!

Be sure to check back from time-to-time as we will surely update this entry as we learn more.

Related Web sites:

Gegege No Kitaro @ Wikipedia


Anime

Special thanks to rubbersamurai for supplying information and images!