Bonus Post #1
#71 - Giant Yapool
Starting in mid-1994 Bandai decided to give the Ultramonster line a bit of a facelift. As mentioned in the introductory section of this overview, Bandai began updating sculpts and/or paint jobs on certain figures, replacing the old tags with a new design in the process. They continued to release new characters, although after a small handful of classic-era characters they would use the line for newer monsters from current series until 2000, when the entire toy line was totally refreshed. The 1994 release of Giant Yapool from
Ultraman Ace features a very solid mold and a simple but effective color combo of gold paint on bright orange. This figure has popped up several times since then. It's 2001 release features metallic paint on the head, while its 2009 release has so far been the only time the figure has been cast in matte vinyl. Its best release was easily for the
Ultraman Mebius line in 2007, standing out thanks to the yellow and green sprays on the legs.
#72 - Dodongo
These days it has become exceedingly rare for Bandai to release brand new figures based on more obscure classic-era characters unless they have a really good reason to do so. That makes figures like Gamakujira, Aribunta, King Crab and this guy so special. Essentially two men inside a silly, green, winged horse suit, Dodongo shares a cult status with monsters like Gyango, despite only ever appearing in one episode of the original
Ultraman show. Sure the figure is tiny, a little crude (the molding process has the head sticking straight up in the air) and simplistically painted. But how could someone not love this toy? The overall crudeness of such a late toy probably explains why we've never seen it again.
#73 - Alien Vira
Narse was a very different kind of toy, but this thing takes "different" to a whole 'nother level entirely. Another one of those early
Ultraseven foes that was just a big marionette, Vira doesn't have the kind of design that you'd think Bandai could really translate into figure form. But for one of the last old school monsters they would do until the end of the decade, Bandai decided to try something a little unique. Only the head of the toy is cast in traditional vinyl and painted the standard way. The rest of the body (aside from the feelers at the bottom, which are softer so they won't break) is made up of several hard plastic sections that are screwed together in the back. The figure looks like it'd be able to stand up on its own without support, but to add a little extra insurance, Bandai included a suction cup at the bottom of the toy. It's not the most necessary thing they could have done and after almost 20 years mine doesn't have the suction it used to in order to keep the figure standing, but I appreciate Bandai going the extra mile. While the figure was tagged, it was also encased in a plastic clamshell just to keep it a little safer. It's definitely THE most intriguing toys of entire history of this line, and it doesn't seem to be the most common these days either.
Comparison photo
1994 and 2009 Yapool figures