Toy-Ventures: Popy World Heroes

This week's episode is all about the greatest toys you never had as a kid, unless you grew up in Japan that is. The Popy World Heroes are an amalgamation of the Kenner Star Wars figures with the greatest TV Superheroes Japan had to offer. I'm talking Power Rangers! I'm talking Ultra-Man and his many, many brothers and my personal favourite Kamen Rider and his arch enemies. Popy World Heroes are the kind of crazy the world needs. Discuss this with us at the Pod Stallions Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/podstallions/

Pod Stallions 77: Isolation Binge Watch

Greetings fellow shut-ins! Jason and Brain return for a bit of a departure episode in that we were so desperate to talk to each other that there really wasn't much planning.

Our subject this week is what we're watching to pass the time, not only from our physical media collections but from the various streaming services available in this wondrous age.

Topics range from Lee Marvin, Alec Baldwin's "The Shadow", Jim Henson, Roger Corman, Chopping Mall, weird movie commentaries, Sam Sherman, Dick Tracy, Ultraman, and Ultra Q and did you know Jason is a Star Trek character? It's freaking canon and everything!

Pod Stallions FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2226244254053126/

Please  give us spirited debate in our new Facebook group.

  Download the Show Here

Listen here

PODSTALLIONS ON ITUNES
PODSTALLIONS RSS FEED

Toy-Ventures 26: Infra-Man

This week we look at the merchandise made for the incredible 1975 Shaw Brothers masterpiece "Infra-Man" and talk about how we deserve way more than what is out there.

Subscribe to our channel for weekly Toy-Ventures:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYta3nz_7FAzPvP8FPSgpg

Toy-Ventures: Kamen Rider Mystery Figure

Bit of a departure this week as I'm talking about a figure I literally don't know anything about. This mysterious figure is from Portugal, appears to have been made in the late 1970s and is clearly based on the Kamen Rider tv series from Japan.

The big question is why? Why make a very nice unlicensed action figure of a character nobody in Europe has seen? Who released this? I really don't know if we'll ever find out.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Popy World Heroes Catalog 1980

I recently acquired the 1980 Popy Catalog and it's a "Treasury Edition" sized book that hates scanners, it's also delightful.

While I don't have the time to scan the whole thing, I thought it important to showcase one of my favourite toy lines the Popy World Heroes.

I honestly wonder if that middle carrying case exists...

Check out our Popy World Hero Gallery!

Spider-Man meets Kamen Rider V3

I'm packing up PlaidStallions HQ for an eventual move and this fluttered across my desk, it's a Japanese post card for the Toei Spider-Man series and for some reason, they included Kamen Rider V3. I prize it dearly.

I've had this card since highschool, it was gifted to me by fellow toy collector and friend John McGonagle (sadly no longer with us). He just threw it in a box as a surprise and it blew my mind, I called John to ask what it was and he said "It's the Japanese TV series of Spider-Man, I think the other guy is called The Fly"

That simple nicety set me off in a milllion directions, I wanted to know more about these characters, were there toys? How could I watch these shows? What else is out there? It was like he gave me a corner of a treasure map.

It's a hunger that's never satisfied but that's also because it's been a world of fun. So thank you John, for showing me how to not only be a good collector but also for being a friend to a teenage kid with a billion questions. 

This post card means a lot to me and will be on my desk in my next home, wherever that may be...

Mexican Aquaman

Tracked down a toy I've wanted for ages recently and it's certainly not the Aquaman, let alone a Shogun Warrior you're probably familiar with but I can explain some of this mystery after the jump. 

Popy World Hero Update!

When I first launched the Popy World Hero gallery, I had a few mysteries to solve like who certain characters were and the like. I'm happy to announce that the gallery attracted like minded folks who joined in and helped out, filling in a pile of gaps, like who was mystery figure 17?

I now know it was Pink Denjiman and I also discovered who figures 19-21 are.

This is what it's all about, people coming together in the spirit of cooperation and just sharing information to benefit others, right on.

Check out the rest of the new revelations at the revised Popy World Heroes Gallery.

Popy World Hero Figure Archive

The World Hero series was released in Japan in 1980, toy maker Popy had been distributing the 3 3/4" Kenner Star Wars figure in cool display boxes as opposed to the cards the rest of the world received.

Image Borrowed from Rebel Scum, they have a great article on Japanese Star Wars toys here.

With the success of this figure format, Popy sought to expand the 3 3/4" offering to more licenses, particularly the TV heroes of Japan.

What resulted is one of those wonderful bits of foreign toy magic, as a litany of popular Japanese heroes were released as if they were made and sold by Kenner. 

I have fallen completely in love with this line and wish I'd discovered them ten years ago.

Visit the Popy World Heroes Archive here.

This one is a work in progress and as always, I'd welcome help and information.

More Action Figure Archives at PlaidStallions

  

  

 

Podstallions 19: Japanese toys

Episode 19 sees Jason and Brian explain their deep affection for toys from the land of the rising sun.

Even though we both grew up in North America, our childhoods were made happier by the imports that did manage to hop across the Pacific leaving us with a thirst for more.

Japanese Toys tries to cover all the bases (but we're going need to do a part 2 sometime) including topics such as Shogun Warriors, Kamen Rider, Microman, Ultraman, Star Blazers, Mecha Kong, Japanese Spider-Man, Eidai Grip, Gerry Anderson, Jason's Tokyo mishaps and Brian's current addiction to Japanese auctions.

Episode 19 will have you finding a proxy bidding service.

PS don't buy us things.

Download the Show Here

Listen here

Show Links:

• The Japanese Spider-Man figure by Popy we discussed.
• The very first episode of Kamen Rider V3 sees his whole family murdered by a villain called Scissors Jaguar.
• The Ark diecast ad we discuss on the show that features Jason's beloved Baltan toy.
• How Star Wars figures were sold in Japan.
• The Captain Scarlet model kits Jason mention.
• Denys Fisher Cyborg toys based on Henshin Cyborg.
• A website devoted to the Shinsei UFO Commander toys.
• The Kamen Rider Henshin suit that keeps Brian up at night.
• Drool over the amazing Jumbo Machinders!

Plenty more content on the PodStallions Facebook page!



PODSTALLIONS ON ITUNES
PODSTALLIONS RSS FEED