Super 7 and Secret Base Go Retro on Your Ass!!

In what could be one of the most anticipated Japanese vinyl releases of the year, Super 7 and Secret Base go Retro! Specifically back to the 80's when Masters of the Universe ruled Saturday mornings! From Super 7:

New Gargamel Translucent Mini Hedoran Bros!!!

This little gem of a set was just released at the Medicom 1/6 store in Shibuya last week. They are an exclusive set released for the Pachimon Summit in Japan. A few sets have been popping up and garbled up quickly on Yahoo Japan. I was lucky due to a head's up from Skullbrainer Locomoco and nabbed one the first night. Metallic paint on clear vinyl as you can see. Nothing could be sweeter!!! ok, maybe my daughter...but she's young and will grow out of that nonsense very soon.

Karas The Prophecy AMV with Oakenfold

I saw a little blurb on this Anime in the hip magazine Complex: Karas the Prophecy, and decided to give it a spin after reading some of the reviews on Amazon.com. I have to say it is one of the better Anime movies in my collection and I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend it to anyone who likes a lot of action in their anime. I won't bore you with a synopsis but the story isn't bad. However, buy it for the action which there is a-plenty. Go read a review by someone who isn't so lazy to write one here. Better yet, check it out for yourself to the techno-trance beats of Paul Oakenfold...

More Pics of Votoms Strikedog from Max Factory

I wanted to include these pics in my earlier post, but I got too impatient and couldn't wait. Tamim from Twin Moons Anime was gracious enough to send me these absolutely gorgeous pics which were taken and sent out by Max Factory. If you haven't been over to Twin Moons Anime, I highly suggest that you check it out. It's probably one of the trickest Japanese online stores on the web! I first discovered and wrote about Twin Moons earlier this year when I purchased a set of Evangelion Figurines of Rei and Asuka in Special Forces Outfits. To re-cap, Twin Moons holds a bevy of slick technology to keep even the most jaded online surfer piqued! A couple of standouts for me include the ability to hover over a pre-order item description and have a pop-up window show you a picture! No clicking to a new page! The second would be the ability to zoom in and out of a picture to see details of the figures...quality up close! In the case of Twin Moons which specializes in scantily clad anime heroines and villainesses armed with swords, big guns and large...chest armor, you can bet many hardcore collectors use the zoom feature quite often (probably with only one Otaku hand!)

anyyyyyyywaaaaaaaaaaays, not only is Twin Moons a trick site, Tamim offers some of the best service in the business! Rapid shipping, quick response, huge discounts for toy bloggers...etc, etc. Tamim also updates the site quite regularly with new items and pre-orders. This is key. Nothing is worse than a stale online store. So check Twin Moons Anime out and pre-order this Strikedog below. You won't regret it!!

Hot New Chinese Toy Designers Djebala 768Squad's Exhibition!!!

I love new talent. It's cool to see what the kids are coming up these days. While cruising Vinyl Pulse the other night, I saw an interesting new exhibit from these guys out of Taiwan 768Squad who are coming out with this new toy that seems to be some kind of monster-robot grenade figure. Very menacing as you can see below. Definitely looking forward to these figures. They kind of look like a Gorilla that has mutated into a robot-grenade... My only question would be: If you're a robot grenade going into a firefight and you pull the pin on yourself, would that be self defense or suicide???

from VinylPulse:

Djebala 768 Squad's "2050 Bombing is Back" Solo Exhibition opened on Saturday September 2nd @ da>SPACE in Shanghai and runs through October 8th. The show features original art and custom toys. It also doubles as the release event for a very limited (30 pieces) hand-customized edition of Djebala's upcoming G Robot Figure designed by Jukai and produced by adFunture Workshop. 768 Squad, formed by Jukai with four chinese artists: Alien, Gotunn, Lan and Mamax, has a fresh style featuring post-apocalyptic combat machines and warriors as seen on their blog. Missed the show? No worries, check out the great photos at da>SPACE.

Pics and Video from Super 7 Grand Opening Party!!

Well I have to say that the Super 7 Grand Opening party of their new store was a grand success! The store itself is a lot bigger than it's previous location right next door. With the downlights, it looks much more like a gallery than a retail spot. Our favorite Japanese Vinyl figures are nicely displayed in those Stainless Steel cabinets and the clothes can now be found hanging up. The backoffice where the real work is done is about 5x larger than the closet they used to have which is awesome. I really like the new space and will be spending a lot more time there especially in October when the the Super 7 Halloween Series gets released!!

Not only were there a ton of really cool, beautiful and geeky people present as you can see, but also the Pixar crew from Afterworks 2 signing autographs of their latest critically acclaimed anthology, as well as the Golden Gate Garrison of the 501st Legion: "Vader's Fist" providing tea and cookie service! Super 7 also introduced a new line of handmade plush dolls featuring the Seven Samurai and other Iconic Japanese Kaiju and Heroes.

Enough talk! Check out all the pics and make sure to watch Skullbrain TV featuring footage by Skullbrain Maestro Isaac Ramos!!