SKREEONK!

I’ve become good friends with many’a collectors over the past year thanks to the great amount of fun I’ve had with this website, the Kaiju Fan Marketplace, and several groups on ol’ Facebook. It’s amazing to me just how important sharing experiences is in this fandom. I’ve been a Godzilla fan my entire life, and have always collected in some capacity. But now that I am able to share the experiences with so many other like-minded (and equally passionate/crazy/completely addicted) fans, the entire world of Toho has taken on a different meaning for me.

What am I getting at? Well… I’m not sure, really. One thing is for sure, though.

G-FEST is going to kick some kaiju asstail this year. And I’m excited.

One of the ways I’ve broadened my horizons with other collectors these past few years is in the title of this very article. Most of my collection, for many years, consisted of 6″ and 8″ Bandai figures, all of which were accurate in detail, sculpt, and paint scheme. If something was of an odd color or didn’t resemble the film counterpart, I wanted nothing to do with it. Pish posh, it was. Now I buy Bandais very sparingly and when I do, it’s usually a Theater Exclusive. I’ve really grown to appreciate the uniqueness and bright colors these figures exemplify. My love for these vinyls, however, spanned from…

Retro – Noir – Vintage – Ness!

Oh yes… and it feels good. I’m a sucker for anything Marmit, M1Go, Marusan, and any of the likes outside of the three big M’s. These figures have character, spunk, and boatloads of style that the ordinary gray/green/brownish/black standard vinyls just can’t capture. They have a style all their own. Now, don’t get me wrong – I still love all of my screen accurate Bandais, X-Plus figures, and so forth (and cant wait to move so I can dedicate a full room to all these guys, not just a wall in one room) but such a colorful world of science fiction deserves such wonderfully painted vinylness.

I’m still relatively new to stylized, vintage figures, considering I’ve made contacts who have been collecting now for well over 20 years, and in some cases close to 40 or more. But I’m a fast learner, and now my heart punches my wallet in the balls every time I see a new Gigabrain sculpt, or a reproduction of a vintage Bullmark sculpt. It is perhaps the most expensive hobby I’ve ever embarked into – far outweighing the Force FX Obi Wan Kenobi lightsabers I cherish, or the model boats I have assembled… even the mounds of Marvel Comics and original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise I have is dwarfed by the stacks of dollars it takes to collect these colorful wonders.

But I am so beyond OK with it that I’ve received three boxes in two days. And over 30 since the new year began.

Do I have a problem? Depends on your view of things. Or your sense of humor. But one thing is for sure,

One Man’s Life Savings is Another Man’s Kaiju Collection.

Quote that shit.

Jon @ UnCanny