Now, many of you are probably thinking...big deal. And rightfully so...
However, this figure represents the end of a personal quest for me.
Let's set the way-back machine for round about 1999. Bored with my hobbies at the time I stumbled on some of the Japanese toy collecting sites that were starting to show up on the internet. Among them were this one and Sean Bonner's Jumbo Machinder site.
I ws just getting into Vinyl Kaiju at the time and I was already starting to realise that my primary interest seem to focus on the absurd. It was then that I stumbled upon Sean's Jumbo villains.
Now, most of the villains did nothing for me. I could pretty much care less about the lot of them. But, one stood out. It looked like a frog in jackboots and a belt wearing some weird backpack.
Fortunately Sean's description explained that kame translated into turtle and I realised he was a turtle and the thing I thought was a backpack was his shell...doh!
Then the full glory of what I had discovered hit me. Its a turtle in jackboots, a belt, with a Big Ol' Red-Neck looking belt buckle, with a giant gun attached to its shell. This was the most ridiculous Kaiju I'd EVER seen. I was instantly in love.
But, upon further study I realised that owning that Jumbo anytime in the near future (if ever) was extremely unlikely. It cost way too much and was way too rare. I was dissapointed, but not detered...
I knew enough about Kaiju toys to know that if someone made a great big figure out of this chsaracter, then someone else certainly made a small, affordable, version. It was just a matter of finding it.
Thus on and off I've been trying to find the small vinyl version of this character ever since. Not a hard piece to get in Japan, nor particularly valuable or expensive, it just never came up in my usual spots.
But, finally, I now own him! Muhahahaahaha!!!
Made in the standard Bandai "hero" size of 6 inches, he is posed in a slightly crouching/battle position. The only articulation is in the arms. The Bazooka is a seperate piece and technically can be removed, but probably shouldn't. Although it does make the figure into a interesting mini-storage device.
Molded in green vinyl the only paint details are on the front torso, belt, belt buckle, boots, and eyes. This makes him somewhat under-detailed compared to his Jumbo cousin. I might add some paint aps to this thing as it's my only real complaint about the figure.
But, in the end, for me this is pure, kaiju, bliss. The ultimate in toy absurdity, and brilliance of Japanese tokusatsu design.
Now, if you'll excuse me, Bazooka Turtle and Dino-Tank have to battle for prominant placement on my shelves and to determine the rightful king-ship of the most absurd of my collection. But, just between you and me, I'm thinking Kame has this one in the bag.
-Ray
