Kaiju Korner: Real Head

Showing posts with label Real Head. Show all posts

Friday, November 2, 2012

Real x Head toys at Tokyu Hands

Indie toy makers are becoming very crafty at getting their figures into big box stores. Some months back, I reported on stumbling on toys from Gargamel and other makers at Kinokuniya, a fairly mainstream toy company with a multi-level complex in Akihabara. After that I came across a sizeable stash of indie toys in Ueno at Yamashiroya, a venerable staple of the mainstream toy scene.

Then yesterday, Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro started selling Real Head toys. (The gargantuan shop's new toy corner also has figures from Medicom and other outlets, which I'll get to down the line when I do a write up on the store.)

The Real Head offerings are not comprehensive - just some minis and regular sized Fortune Cats are represented - but the display is prominent and eye catching, and it's almost certain to turn more people onto the line. The question being, how will those people go from impulse buyer to interested collector, since there's no DM, literature, brochure, or other information posted to teach consumers about the line.

Anyway, marketing has always been a weak point of a lot of indie outfits, and it's likely there are restrictions placed by Tokyu Hands. But this would be the perfect case where going back to using header cards could yield massive dividends in educating consumers about the brand.

Here are more pics of the display:

More after the jump:

Real x Head Devilman tribute

A look at the finished Devilman tribute made by Real Head for the DZ40 show. The figure wasn't sold or displayed at the show, and no word yet on when/how it will be sold.

The figure features a new head sculpt on an older RxH adult body.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Akiba Daisuke Festival

Now this was something different. Tokyo has quite a few toy shows (though a lot fewer than in previous years). And there are shows for video games, idol shows, and other elements of geek culture. But it's rare for many of these elements to not only come together under one roof, but to do so in an atmosphere of fun, high energy, and comradery. That was my impression of the Akiba Daisuke Festival.

The weekend show was held, appropriately, in the worldwide center of the otakuverse: Akihabara.

A note about the naming of things. Akiba is short for Akihabara. "Daisuke" means "to like" in Japanese.

I went for the toys but had a great time checking out everything else. But we usually headline with the toys, so let's start with a look at the indie sofubi on hand.

Real Head

More after the jump:

New Medicom exclusives

Released today:

Real Head:

Frenzy:

Bullmark/M1 and Yamomark

Very classy day in the streets of Shibuya.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Atom A Armwrestler x Real Head spring 2012 show

Today at Real Heads in Tokyo, Atom A Armwrestler + Real Head teamed up to open a two-day, two-man show. On hand were standard and adult-sized Real Head figures, Atom minis, and a new Sunshine Trooper.

First up, the Real Head figures:

Next up, the Atom A Armwrestler offerings. They quickly sold out.

More after the jump:

New from Real Head (2.17.2012)

New releases:

GID

clear blue

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

More on Giant Real Head ChaoQ

Just a week or two ago, a new ChaoQ was revealed at Shinto Gangu. As it turns out, the new mashup was likely a one-time release. It's a fun new figure, so here's hoping RxH can make a couple more down the line.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to picture the new and original ChaoQs side by side to show the differences between the giant fellow and the standard ChaoQ.

The giant ChaoQ uses the adult Chaos head and a very soft cupee body.

Side by side you can see the huge size difference.

Chaos Evolution

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Mirock Toy Dragon Bodhisattva (ドラゴン菩薩)

Mirock Toy first made his mark with Real Head toys with his interpretation of classic figures like Chaos and Evil. Now he turns his prodigious sculpting skills to Real Head adult figures. The first of these is ドラゴン菩薩 (Dragon Bodhisattva), which through name and sculpt combines elements of religious imagery with a fantasy motife, spun together to form a new head and arm for the standard Real Head adult body.

Here are pics of an unpainted pink test shot:

The character's serene face is half covered by a menacing mask, which reminds one of the fierce 面頬 (menpo - faceplate) and 立物 (wakidate - crests) from suits of samurai armor.