It was rumoured and I had it on good authority, that it is the new mecca of Transformers, since Tokyo and Osaka are nowadays picked clean collectors and scalpers alike.
So there I was. Day 01. Hit Mandarake Fukuoka rightaway with E.
Looked at the Diaclone section first. Only thing that caught my attention was a overpriced Wheeljack in a faded box...
... and a Powered Convoy in unknown condition for a hefty price.
This is what the rest of the Diaclone glass cabinet display looks like. Not impressive really.
On to the Macross / Mospeada display. This piece, I was actually quite impressed with - the Gakken VR-052F aka the Cyclone from Invid Invasion (for those Robotech fans). It was in very good condition and something for me to think about.
Since my buddy Maz is lately into Macross, I snapped some shots of the Macross stuff. Of note is the Bandai VF-1S Super Valkyrie giftset and... a VE-1: Elintseeker, in a super nice box, unused! Wow. If I collected Macross, I would be all over this rare piece.
A closer and better shot of the 2 pieces I mentioned above.
With the Macross shelves wrapped up, I proceeded to the Transformers shelves. There were 2 Fire Guts Ginrais, for a pretty good price. There was also a complete set of the 1987 individual Headmasters, where 4 of the 6 were boxed. Notably, there is a Shuffler in box - for 105,000yen no less. Whoa.
Some Beastformers.
This is a shot of the main Transformers shelve. There really was not anything much of interest to me.
At the end of this foray, I left Mandarake without a single purchase. E was slightly concerned.
Those Beastformers are Laser Beasts upon further inspection! Pending price, I'd been all over those. Years ago I could grabbed boxed specimens off Yahoo! Japan auctions for around 1000 yen. I'm sure the prices are much higher these days...
ReplyDeletehey buddy, ah, ok, had no idea those were Laserbeasts although now that you mention it, it's pretty obvious. The prices do seem high for what they are.
DeleteDamn, I didn't know you were into this, otherwise, I would have emailed you while I was still in Japan.
Whoa! the prices are really prohibitive nowadays :( . I haven't been to Japland, hoping one day I do but from the looks of it I have to have bags of cash if I'm going to buy any TF, sigh. Ooohh!! that Microx in a box, that's what my mum bought me! Knew I should've kept the box - and the styro inserts. oh well I still have the toy albeit beat up condition hehehe
ReplyDeletehey Liege, thanks for dropping by.
DeleteNowadays, the prices have really done mad. It's so expensive even compared with 2-3 years ago. And the condition of the stuff is getting worse too. Even if you have bags of cash, it'd be difficult to find nice pristine pieces anymore.
Should have kept the MicroX box and styro man....
That's not impressive?! Then again, if I had what you had, I probably wouldn't be impressed either. Guess this means I should go to a hobby store in Japan...
ReplyDeleteIt's not really impressive to be honest. Okay, I do have the pieces, but even if I didn't the lousy condition and high price point would deter me from getting most of the pieces I saw.
DeleteBut I guess, every TF fan should at some point visit Japan.... its birthed the TFs toys at least.
Hmm.. so Fukouka is the new mecca for Transformer vintages? Judging from your pics, it was pretty much a damp squib, H_D! Nevertheless, it was awesome and cool of you to share your new discovery with us. Your trip looked to be an awesome excursion, nonetheless! :D
ReplyDeletewell, someone told me that Fukuoka is the new mecca of TFs, I didn't say that though. It could have been I suppose, but maybe its been picked clean?
DeleteThe trip was very good and fun with E of course, whether there are TFs or not!