Osaka Day 2 - Mandarake Umeda, redux Hero Gangu, Entertainment Zone Jungle and G-One Capsule

Wanted to visit Osaka Castle this morning.

However, the weather was bad. It was pouring heavily when I walked out of the hotel. So I went straight into the 7-11 and bought an umbrella. Came out, and the rain has stopped! What in the bizzare?!? The sky was bleak like a sad winter grump, so I decided that going to the Castle was going to be futile. Even if I could get there, I wouldnt be much to see in the bad weather.

Went for pancakes breakfast and then went to Umeda, then to Ikeba. Ikeba was interesting. I got something very special there for E.

Mandarake Umeda was ok. There were 1.5 glass cases of vintage G1 Transformers. I managed to pick up a couple of items for buddy collectors (photos below) -

1. MT-02 MIB unused
2. MT-06 MIB unused
3. C-313: Overbite MIB unused
4. G2 Go-bots Optimus Prime MOSC (Jap card, with special gift attached)
5. G2 Go-bots Megatron MOSC (Jap card, with special gift attached)
6. G2 Go-bots Soundwave MOSC (Jap card, with special gift attached)

Well, nothing for myself today, except, the pancakes breakfast!

I was back to Den Den Town area in the evening and walked around the same shops I visited yesterday. I saw all 6 Japanese exclusive Headmaster heads at this particular shop. Since all I had were these, I thought that I should "upgrade" them to the genuine articles. I checked them, and lo-and-behold, there were no Takara stamps on these!

This shop (not going to mention name) was selling repro Headmaster heads thinking they were the real thing!!! At the following prices, they must believe (and have confirmed this belief verbally) that they were genuine - Shuffler (31,500 yen), Lione (12,500 yen), Trizor (10,500 yen), Loafer, Kaku and Rodney (6,300 yen each). I have also seen KO USA boxed Cyclonus, Metroplexes, Defensors and Superions selling at other shops at prices which the "genuine" ones are supposed to go for.

THIS IS WORRYING.

I suspect that Japanese shop-owners here are not keeping up to date with the KO market and are selling KOs (not sure where they get them from) as the genuine articles, unwittingly, I hope.

I recommend that anyone who comes to Japan (I have seen the above trend in Tokyo as well) to shop for TFs to do their research on KOs first.

Knowledge is power.

*Update 5 June 2011*

I have decided to update my Osaka posts with pictures!

This was a Sunday and I do so love to begin my Sundays with pancakes. This I did at a cafe near the Namba station Takashimaya. I had these for breakfast...


The pancakes. Tastes wonderful by the way.


After breakfast, I took a trip into Ikeda (池田) via Umeda (梅田). There was a Nissin Ramen Museum in Ikeda where they allowed guests to custom make their own instant noodles (called 'instant ramen' there).

I was there on a secret mission to make a cup of customised instant ramen for E. This was where I queued up.


My ramen cup design (tell me it looks awesome or don't bother commenting).


Gigantic Ramen!


Mandarake Umeda, which I went to on the way back from Ikeda to Namba.


My loot for today. All bought on behalf of collector buddies.


My high tea after returning from Umeda/ Ikeda - awesome French Toast!


Walked around the Den Den Town toy shops for did not manage to buy anything more. Had wanted to go back to Hero Gangu at 7.30pm for a big rout but they closed at 7pm! Damn. Tomorrow then.

Dinner was good. Reminded me of Menya Mappen in Sydney.


Cycled around again tonight.

Osaka Day 1 - Hero Gangu, Jungle, G-One Capsule and Mandarake Shinsaibashi

Flew to Osaka from HK this morning on the tip off that there were dino-casettes for sale at Hero Gangu in Den Den Town Osaka. It was a good flight and an easy trip into the city.

Went to Hero Gangu which was just next to my hotel... to discover that all the dino-casettes that they had have been sold. Man, how heartbreaking.

I went to this other shop called Jungle and another one called G-One Capsule, at the recommendation of Kurdt the Goat. Then, took a long walk to Mandarake at Shinsaibashi and saw the Glico man on the way.

All of these places had G1 pieces but a lot less than I expected. They each only had one glass display cabinet full - thats even less impressive than Mandarake Akihabara. The prices were seriously insane (especially at Hero Gangu). I think TFs must have appreciate more than 500% in the last 5 years. The Transformers market is really going buck-fuck-crazy in terms of price. Good for people wanting to sell, but hell for people wanting to complete their collections.

I did manage to score a few good deals today, chief among them the Japanese box MIB Autobot Clones, stickers applied but otherwise 110% complete and damn minty - 8000yen! Not sure about others, but I consider that a steal.

Score another 3 items, but wont let the cat out of the bag for now.

Tomorrow, I am aiming to go to Osaka castle in the morning and then hit Mandarake Umeda, the last place that dino-casettes were sighted. Fingers crossed and crossed more.

PS - saw lots of Henkeis and United figures too. Wont bother with these unless I have excess space left after getting all the G1 stuff. =)

*Update 5 June 2011*

I have come back to this post to update it with relevant photos!

Sashimi on my business class flight to Osaka (arranged for me by the lovely E)... yum!



If staying in the Den Den Town area (ie: Namba), this is the train line to take - the Nankai line (as opposed to the JR line which is just next to it). Platform 2 will take you straight to Nankai Namba station which is about 40 minutes away. Nankai Namba station is about a 10 minutes walk to my hotel - Hotel Hillarys.


This is the hotel I stayed at - Hotel Hillarys. I highly recommend staying at this hotel if you are in Osaka for toy shopping and will explain why with the photos below. I stayed in a single room and it cost HKD$740 per night.


Hotel Hillarys is at the very start of the stretch of road that is Den Den Town. That means that if you walk in the one direction, you'd cover Den Den Town; but if you walk in the opposite direction, you'd be heading into Shinsaibashi, which has the famous Glico Man, lots of good food, lots of premium shopping (Daimaru, Takashimaya) and a Mandarake!

Here are some shots out of my hotel room window.

Here, you see "G-One Super Position Capsule", which is one of the shops that stock vintage Transformers.


This is looking the other way from my hotel window - you see Gunpla a 4-5 story Kotobukiya and Gundam model kit haven. Can't really see it from my window because of the angle but a little more to the left and you would see "Hero Gangu", which stocks a vast array of Transformers from G1 up till the latest lines.


Looking out of the Hotel Hillarys lobby and I'm looking directly at "Hero Gangu".


The above plus the fact that Entertainment Jungle, another place with a very sizable G1 stock-pile is just downstairs (yes, downstairs!) from Hotel Hillarys makes it the perfect base to toy hunt from in Osaka. It's like in the middle of the bermuda triangle of the 3 most G1-centric shops in Den Den Town.

Shots of the Shisaibashi area. Told you there is good food to be had.


Serene Shinsaibashi


The very famous "Glico Man" at Shisaibashi, just next to the bridge and river.


The outside of Mandarake Shinsaibashi. It's a little tough to find, but I will explain more in my post that will be dedicated to the toy shops.


This is me cycling at night after the toy shops are all closed. Bicycles can be loaned from Hotel Hillarys, free-of-charge. Another reason for staying in this great hotel!


Supper was this puff (something like Beard Papa) with creamy black sesame filling inside... yum!


My loot for the first day. Sadly, no dino-cassettes! Heartbroken!

1. Transformers Generations 2011 (vol 1)
2. C-112: Autobot Clones MIB, complete paperworks, C9.5 overall
3. Brave DX: Dug Base MIB, complete, complete paperworks, C9.5 all round
4. Vintage Headmasters Board Game featuring lots of great box art and bio-card like playing cards inside
5. Lots of Glico snacks (the Glico Man at Shinsabashi obviously worked)

A close up shot of Brave DX Dug Base MIB, C9.5 condition, bought for my buddy Fatbot from OTCA.


Vintage Transformers Headmasters boardgame with kick ass box art and very nice trading cards inside.

Autobot Architect - Grapple (C-47)

I bought this very minty Grapple figure when I was in Japan in February, before the terrible things that happened with the Tsunami. Just have not really gotten around to writing about it since I was so pre-occupied to properly cover this year's release of Generations and United.

Now, I can come back to those that I missed.

I bought C-47: Grapple MIB at Mandarake Nakano. It's just sitting quietly and not really calling out, unlike the Overlords, Scorponoks, Black Zaraks and what nots that were there. I bought it at a very decent price for its condition. The downside is that it does not come with any paperworks.

Here he is.

Pretty glorious huh?

A bit about Grapple, who is an Architect, how interesting *hint*

Name: Grapple

Function: Architect

First appearance: Transformers #14

"Beauty is in everything except war."

Profile: Back on Cybertron, Grapple's building designs were considered works of art. He realizes that now, in an alien environment on Earth, his ideas are limited by the necessities of war. Nevertheless, he still takes enormous pride in what he does and strives for beauty and quality in all his creations. His problem is that he cares too much; he often succumbs to severe depression should one of his constructions be destroyed in the course of battle.

Abilities: In vehicular mode, Grapple can lift up to 35 tons and position massive objects with uncanny precision and grace. In robot mode, he uses a high temperature arc-welder rifle that shoots a stream of concentrated infrared energy as it slices through and/or fuses its targets. He can launch explosive rockets a distance of 4.5 miles from the hand socket in each of his wrists.

Weaknesses: Grapple's extreme artistic sensitivity often results in moodiness and depression, diminishing his value to the other Autobots. He doesn't adapt well to his vehicle mode which often results in mechanical breakdowns.

One of the more memorable Grapple scenes in the G1 animated cartoon was from More Than Meets the Eye (Part 1) - this was when he was still known as "Hauler", ahem. It was the scene when Ratchet enlisted his help to rescue Hound - "Pull 'im up Hauler!"

Here...

This scene was so epic that even my Henkeis got into the act...

More shots of C-47: Grapple

Back of box. Unfortunately, the robot points has been cut.

The minty contents

"Let's see what you can see, Reflector"

More on the Reflector trio, from More Than Meets The Eye.

First, a more proper shot of Reflector...

I remember watching MTMTE back in 1984, and I remember a Reflector scene that was one of the most memorable scenes for me. This was shortly after the Decepticons were revived by the Ark. Megatron sent out Decepticon teams to scout for energy. Starscream was dispatched with Soundwave and Rumble; Thundercracker was dispatched with Reflector.

Reflector and Thundercracker ended up on a plateau, when in the distance, they saw dust clouds caused by an Earth vehicle. Deciding to get a closer look, Thundercracker said: "Ok, Reflector, let's see what you can see." Reflector transformed into a camera and dropped into the hands of Thundercracker. Thundercracker looked through the camera and snapped a photo of the Earth vehicle - an orange repair van.

Admittedly not the most interesting scene and perhaps not as interesting as what the other scouting team did with Rumble, but it was memorable to me nonetheless. Over the years, I still kept using the phrase "let's see what you can see". If it's any indication, the guys at TF Wiki appear to be quite fond of this phrase too as it is used as the caption for certain pages there.

Screen captures of the scene from More than Meets the Eye (Part 1)

"I can't believe the Autobots survived." - Reflector trio speaking simultaneously, commenting on Hound's rescue by Ratchet, Cliffjumper (and Grapple).

"Neither can Megatron. He'll blow a fuse when he finds out... Hey, what's that?" - Thundercracker to Reflector

 

"Let's find out" - Reflector trio replying to Thundercracker simultaneously.

  

"Ok, Reflector, let's see what you can see" - Thundercracker to Reflector

*Reflector transforms and shrinks into camera mode*

 

*snap* (wow, Reflector is a polaroid camera too!)

 

This is my favourite shot from the above scene.

Toy diorama trying to replicate that scene. As can be seen here, PE-Reflector's scale is actually quite on the money, even though it is tiny. (Note: for the eagle eye-ed photographers out there, I did something with the lighting to make Thundercracker look more light blue in the photo than the toy actually is, no post-editing, this is the raw photo!)

Close up shot of Reflector. My, these guys look really good.

Thundercracker trying to 'see what he can see'...

Pre-Transformers MC-05: "Reflector" giftset MIB

On the back of acquiring the very awesome Perfect Effect release of "Reflector", I thought I should publish this gem, which I obtained some months ago but did not post anywhere (you see, I had to grow back the arm that it cost me to buy this before I could type).

Introducing, the Pre-Transformers release of what would become the USA mail-away exclusive Reflector - MC-05 giftset. I'm just calling it a giftset because it contains more than one toy and is a team. That, and it sounds impressive. I have no idea whether each Reflector robot was released separately by Takara back in the day, but highly doubt it.

MC-05: Reflector giftset MIB

Individual specs. The robots were named "Micro Shutter", "Micro Finder" and "Micro Winder".

Close up of the camera box art - my buddy Botch would love this!

Notice that it says "Takara 1974" at the bottom. This toy is older than me...
*edit* Thanks to Microbry for pointing out that whilst the toy is stamped "1974", that was actually not the date of release for simply the date that Takara copyrighted Microman (which because MicroChange). Accordingly to Micro Forever.com, MC-05 was released around 1983.

Back of box

Robot 'box art' at the back of box. This was subsequently used as the box art for the Japanese boxed release of (D)21- Reflector in Japan. You can see it in its full glory over at Botch's Box Art Archive here.

X-ray view inside the camera and its mechanisms. They really knew how to do box art and packaging back then.

Feature of each robot

Out of box - for their age, these pieces are as minty as the day they rolled off the assembly line.

A comparison shot between MC-05 Reflector and the USA mail-away release of Reflector. Without going into detail here, I have to say that there are some pretty major molding differences between these releases.

PE-11: SFX Scouting Force (aka Reflector) and other acquisitions

It's been awhile since I updated with acquisitions. Truth be told, the lull is due to the TF3 movie's impending release - 99% of Hasbro of Takara's toy releases up till the movie and then some months after are going to be inevitably tied to or related to the movie. I have next to 0% interest in the movie toys. Unless they do something like "Revenge of the Fallen" Bludgeon, which is more a G1 homage than a "movie" toy, I don't see myself getting too excited in the upcoming months, Transformers toys-wise.

Here are some acquisitions I picked up in the last 2-3 weeks (yup, 4 toys in almost a month!).

1. Henkei Sunstreaker MOSC
2. Henkei Grimlock MOSC (my buddy Ultra Magnus is going to have a field day when he sees this one)
3. United Drift MOSC
4. Perfect Effect SFX Scouting Force MIB

Items (1) to (3) are all spares, so don't think I will open them.

Now, PE "Reflector", my, what a fan release. After 10 mediocre releases (ie: PE-01 to PE-10), Perfect Effect has finally nailed it. 

To my mind, this is by far the best release and a near perfect homage to G1 Reflector - in fact, its even better than G1 Reflector because the 'bots look like Reflector did in the cartoon. Spectro and Spyglass are also subtly coloured differently so that one can identify which is which. The set is just packed with accessories, all of which has a lot of play value. If the plastic quality is better, I could almost have mistaken this for a FansProject release, just based on the design and execution itself, and that is saying a lot about how far Perfect Effect has come.

Reflector

Reflector with Rumble and Frenzy which are almost the same size as Reflector

***

* Update 3 May 2011, 11:56pm *

Ok, I just transformed PE-Reflector. I am upgrading my assessment of this set from "very nice" to "awesome".

Seriously, hands down the very best release by PE so far. The transformation is great. There is no left-over kibble when its in camera mode and mounted on its tripod - all the parts, and there are a lot, fit somewhere (whether its inside the lens or at the base of the camera.

By all the parts, I mean: 3 x rifles, 1 x rifle scope, 1 x rifle extension, 3 x knifes, 3 x knife holders, 1 x flash (splits into missile launchers), 1 x lens (splits into various things), 1 x shield and tripod. Man, that is a lot of parts.

I gotta say this again, PE-Reflector is awesome.

I am holding it in my hand this very moment.

It's awesome.

G1 Reflector should have been this good (ah, sacrilegious!).

On that note, check out today's post *hint*