Catching Back Up With Bandai's Kinkeshi! Premium Vol. 7+8!

In the last blog update, in some tongue-in-cheek fashion, I dunked on a particular hobby for sharing customer space with keshi mini-figures, despite their presence having no impact on sales or popularity.  If someone told me keshi was out of fashion and on the decline, I would be hard-pressed to believe them.  At this moment, there are two enormous pillars of keshi power standing, spanning across the world, undaunted by opinion and sales trends.  In the west, you have Super 7, as well as an endless selection of talented independent artists.  In the east, and today's topic, there is Bandai and their revitalization of Kinkeshi.

It's almost been two years since I first covered Bandai's new project with the classic Kinnikuman Kinkeshi franchise, and who could have ever guessed it would continue this far so strongly?  At a time where things were caught in neutral gear for a bit, when keshi was concerned, westerners looked to the east just at the right time to see Bandai's announcement of re-sculpting classic 80's Kinkeshi mini-figures with a few new additions sprinkled here and there.  These premium sets instantly became the must-have items, with sales number something Super 7 must have looked at once or twice before they considered relaunching their versions of video game and movie MUSCLE.

Currently, Bandai is taking preorders in September for the 8th Premium set, which is a staggering number, even when you don't consider the number of new gatchapon sets that have released along side the celebrated volumes.  On one hand, who could have guessed Kinkeshi would be back in the driver's seat again, but when you look at the quality of the work within each set, it's not in the least bit surprising why it was so popular when it first debuted.

Despite my busy schedule off the blog, I am taking a look at Volume 7 and 8 now, and I have to say how much I regret not returning any sooner.  Volume 7 looks unbelievable, with maybe the most unique and bizarre line-up yet, with the newest set having a ton of favorites that I recognize from earliest keshi memories.

Absolutely knocking it out, still, years beyond their first announcement.  If you're interested in preordering a set for yourself, follow the link below.

http://p-bandai.jp/item/item-1000127785/

All Collectible Enamel Pins Are Trash and I Hate Them!

courtesy of kidrobot

Here's a thought that's been in my head for a while now, and I haven't really done a straight-up straight-shootin' opinion piece in a while, so here goes.  Ruined by the title, as soon as you visited the website, here are my thoughts on collectible enamel pins and why I think they are garbage.  Actually, those are my thoughts.  Here is my elaboration.

I am rather sure I was not in on the ground level for the great keshi resurgence some years ago.  I know this from reading forums and other blogs, telling almost the exact event or a couple that domino'ed the keshi format back into everyone's consciousness and wallets, years before it's growing tendrils drew me back in through a net of nostalgia.  Maybe there has always been some keshi interest from collectors and fans, dawning back to their creation in the 80's, but maybe it's nothing more than powerful toy trend now, rekindling everyone's fondness of childhood toys.  It certainly blew up a few years ago, that's for sure, especially when it comes from independent artists and bootleggers.  A couple years into the bursting reemergence of keshi figures, another trinket of 80s nostalgia began finding interest among the same crowd.

Although I was there to bare witness it's birth, in some sense, my absolute lack of interest leaves me clueless what festering chasm enamel pins were squirted from.  All I remember, is that pins started to be freebie items included with your main purchase, like a sticker pack at the bottom of a cereal box.  As time grew, people seemed more and more interested in them, sharing opinions of quality and design, while I couldn't be bothered to give a single crap.

Maybe it was Loot Crate.  They eventually replaced their monthly button pins with equally uninteresting enamel ones, and people loved it, or so the legend is told to my deaf ears.

Like keshi, I am sure, enamel pins were hitting a demographic that enjoyed them when they were much younger.  I just never had that experience or enjoyed it, I suppose.  Pins!  Great!  I can... pin them... to my clothes or other fabrics... or accidentally puncture my flesh with them!  Great times!  Yeah, I can't pull a single exciting memory out of my head about enamel pins.  I can't find a particular function now for myself now, unless this toy blogging gig stirs up the ladies into a spider-loving frenzy, wild enough I'll have to implore some enamel repellent.

Pins are dumb.  It's two dimensional art you hang up so others can gawk at, instead of yourself, unless you're the type to constantly look at your cool jean jacket from above for reasons.  Also, there are parts that can fall off, get lost, or just straight-up get mauled in the washing machine and dryer.

Pins are also dumb because they had the audacity to ride keshi's growing popularity like parasite and share it's admiration and spotlight from collectors.  That's probably what cheeses my taco the most.  Is keshi any less popular?  No, but they are unwelcome and should go bug sofubi or something.

Go home, enamel pins, nobody likes garbage like you.

Kaiju Big Battel Kickstarts Kaikeshi!

I've been a huge fan of Kaiju Big Battel.  I remember years and years ago, back when I still lived with my parents, I would visit their forum and website almost daily to keep up to date with story lines and events.  At one point, I had almost won the dismembered arm of Mota Naru through an essay contest.  I was disqualified due to the exceedingly long length, a result that surprised no one.  Since then, I've dropped back in here and there, always surprised to see where and when it pops back up, whether it was the Xbox 360 Hanger Event or the Twitch Takeover last year, and now it's rearing close to it's 25th Anniversary.  It seems almost unreal.

To celebrate this monumental achievement, Kaiju Big Battel is creating MUSCLE/Kinkeshi inspired keshi mini-figures of their own absurd wrestlers.  It's named Kaikeshi, and it couldn't have been a more no-brainer for the brand to do.  The Kaiju Big Battel already heavily borrows from popular Japanese culture, from anime to video games to, of course, giant monster battles.  Taking it to one, if not the largest, if not the only, pro wrestling anime franchises in Japan is the most logical stomp for Kaiju Big Battel's marketing, one that first realized 15 years ago.

With the help of Onell, Kaiju Big Battel now has the hook-up for production.  It's just a matter of ponying up the clams to get the machines steaming and grinding.  That's where Kickstarter and our support comes in.

Currently at the time of this article, there is still time to make this a reality.  20 days are left, and if you're one to claim you're a Kaiju Big Battel enthusiast, now is a good time to get some one-of-a-kind items, as well as Kickstarter exclusives.  But equally interesting, I feel, is that everyone with the slightest interest can support this project and still leave with product.  As low as two bucks, you can get a random mini-figure cranked out the giant mechanical vending machine and shot into your mailbox.  You don't see that on Kickstarter.  It's usually thank you's until you're committed to buy the whole set.  For those who like Kaiju Big Battel, but maybe not the idea of eleven figures bopping around their desk, this is their alternative.  Cheapskates!  Collectors!  Completionists!  Hobo with a couple spare wrinkled dollars!  Literally anyone with a mailbox can find their own level of support!  Currently, it's two-thirds of the way to their 15k goal, but every dollar or pair of, counts, so follow the link below and bring some monster mayhem into your home.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1531565172/kaikeshi-kaiju-big-battel-mini-figures/description

From the Grave! New OMFG Ooze Colorway! ...What?!?

Courtesy of 1 Shot Toys on Instagram

It's been a good 18 months since we've had to say our good-byes to October Toys.  That's almost as long as my last blog post, am I right?!  And since it's demise, George and Ayleen still have been a presence in the toy world.  George did a great deal of episodes of the YouTube show Toy Geeks Behind the Counter, and re-branded his work into Double G Toys, while Ayleen transitioned to Lego and toy brick coverage and conventions.  Despite the split and the subjects abandoned in the middle of it, mainly OMFG and anything similar to it, I often wondered when one of them would go back to doing something with keshi-inspired mini-figures.  And hard pressed for an answer, I personally thought it wasn't a matter of 'if', but 'when', as the brand's legacy still has an ocean of supporters over social media, even now, and for good reason.  I'll tell you, although it wasn't always the smoothest ship, what October Toys did with artist submissions for OMFG and released monthly with OTMFG was magical.

Now that I've set that up completely in the wrong fashion, let me try to salvage this somehow and get down to business.  October Toys, at least as it stands right now, is still deader than dead, and neither George or Ayleen have officially threw their hat back into the mini-figure circle, but for surpassing an Instagram goal, The Minifigure Militia is releasing this never before released OMFG set with a figure never before released with OMFG.

The Minifigure Militia, for those who don't know, is an Instagram account run by Berserker Studios.  They do a great job sharing daily images of stuff brand new, much loved, and anywhere in between.  They also were the minds behind the Pugnacious mini-figure that made it into OMFG Series 3.  So despite their out-of-the-blue mention here, you can now understand how it all makes sense now.  Well, almost, and I'll get to that very soon.

On Sunday, August 5th at 9PM EST, The Minifigure Militia will be releasing their exclusive Series 3 Oozarian Set of OMFG figures, along with a never included before Zombie Pheyden from the OTMFG monthly release line.  The price is 12 American clams plus the price of a box and a mailman to drive it to your house.  You can find the link to the web-store below.  It's a storm of all sorts of first-time-evers and first-in-a-long-whiles, that I almost forgot my Zombie Pheyden collection just became incomplete.  Hmmmpf!

This is great news and an absolutely shocking announcement, with a knockout product that I am sure has a lot of October Toys fans mouths watering, but how?  How does this set even exist?  Was it hanging around when the company disbanded?  Were they privately purchased in bulk, hidden away for a couple years, and now seeing the light of day?  Were they produced recently for this colorway alone?  And which one gave the thumbs up, if not both, and does this mean MFM is doing more post-October Toys stuff or is October Toys crawling out of the grave in some regard.  I have so many questions, and absolutely zero answers!  I'm dying here!  But I'll tell you this, if this set sells out instantly, people will take notice.  Whether it's their original creators or someone looking to relaunch the series, if there is still demand, they just might make a comeback in some regard.

http://theminifiguremilitia.storenvy.com