Vintage Discoveries #4: Kamen RIder keshi gomu gachapon daishi

Sometimes when I come across a cool vintage piece, I like to highlight it in a Vintage Discovery post. Been a while since I've done one. This week's VD (no, we're not talking about Veteran's Day - sheesh) is a gachapon daishi. I've written about daishi in the past - they're the display cards placed in a gachpon machine letting you know what's inside.

Most of the daishi you see are flat cards with photos or illustrations. But some have actual samples affixed to them. You can find them from time to time, but the subject matter isn't always the most interesting (rubber frogs, little gadgets - that sort of thing). So to find a daishi with samples from an interesting property is the bellissima trifecta.

This gachapon machine - from the late 70s or early 80s, had two sizes of Kamen Rider keshi gomu figures. There was a mix of heroes, including Amazon, V3, and X, as well as some villains.

Some closeups:

 More after the jump:

Star Wars Japanese keshi gomu (rubber eraser) figures

 

A bunch of Star Wars keshi gomu figures were made in Japan in the late 70's, after the first Star Wars movie came out. Most were released in gachapon machines or at little candy shops which also sold toys.

The above batch of figures were made by Takara. Here are some up-close pics:

A lot of the early Takara keshi are fairly godawful to look at, but I just darn plum lub em, I do!

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Gachapon Machine Display Backers aka Daishi (ガチャポン台紙)

 

Gachapon machines continue to be a mainstay of Japanese toy culture. For some 40 years, the little plastic balls have distributed everything from tiny plastic toys to pins to keshi gomu figures, and a lot more in between.

Modern gachapon machine

Of course you need to know what you're putting your money down for, and that's where backing board displays come in. Known as "gachapon daishi" (ガチャポン台紙) or just daishi for short, they give you a preview of what you might get with a turn of the wheel.

Collecting daishi is an established part of the gachapon collecting scene, though they aren't nearly as easy to find as the toys. Personally, I think they make a great complement to a set of figures, especially if you have the space to display them all together.

More after the jump:

1980s Bandai x Nintendo Donkey Kong keshi gomu set

In the 1970s - perhaps the Golden Age of Japanese toys - sofubi, chogokin, jumbos, and many other toys reigned the toy world. The 1980s saw the growth of another toy type: rubber eraser (aka keshi gomu) toys. The technique wasn't invented in the 80s, and there were certainly keshi toys before then, but the 80s were the heyday, when Kinnikuman figures (which became M.U.S.C.L.E. toys in the USA) and many series based on licensed properties were produced.

Bandai led the way, both with Kinkeshi (Kinnikuman + keshi gomu = Kinkeshi) and other lines based on Mario Bros, Kamen Rider, Makaimura, Zelda, and many more, including Nintendo's Donkey Kong.

There were 2 Donkey Kong keshi sets (that I'm familiar with). The one shown here was released in 1994. The 16 figures were sold in gachapon machines, with two figures per gacha. So it was a relatively small set. Here's a look at the figures in the set:

I lurv my Canon S120 the way DK lurvs the rhino.

So, these standard figures, which are about 1-1.5" tall, stand on their own no problem.

Or sit and contemplate you.

 More after the jump:

Vintage Keshi Gomu Packaging

Keshi gomu ("rubber eraser") figures are among the most popular toy collectibles in Japan. Maybe because of their size, or the instant nostalgia factor, or maybe the way they were distributed in so many outlets, people still love the little figures.

Keshi toys were sold in gachapon machines, as "candy/premium toys" (ex: buy a box of chocolate and get a little freebie figure), individually packaged with bags and headers, in sets, boxes, games...you get the picture.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the varieties of packaging for these remarkably detailed little figures.

Here are some Gegege no Kitaro figures in traditional bag/header card packaging.

Robo Hachan keshi set with backing board + clear plastic window

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Zooomth keshi gomu figures from WF 2013 (Summer): A closer look

Here's a closer look at two new keshi gomu one-day license figures released by Zoomoth at Wonder Festival 2013 (Summer):

First up, a figure from the 1986 Namco video game 源平討魔伝 (Genpei Toma Den - The Genji and Heike Tale of the Demon's Demise).

The figure came with a huge mace which fits pretty easily into the figure's hand..

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Makaimura/魔界村 (Ghosts'n Goblins) Zoomoth keshi gomu Arthur

Carrying on with our Makaimura kick, here's a look at the excellent keshi gomu Arthur, released by Zoomoth as a one-day license figure at Winter Wonder Festival 2013.

A look at the figure from the back and both sides:

The figure is around 1.5-2" tall

 More after the jump:

Makaimura/魔界村 (Ghosts'n Goblins) Keshi Gomu Set

I finally tracked down a complete Makaimura keshi set, which was put out by Bandai around 1986. Today, during a lazy afternoon in Shibuya, Tokyo, I snapped some pics, since I think it will be a cool reference for folks into keshi and/or Makaimura and/or creepy photos of toys perched on giant rabbit mannequins.

There are 21 figures in the set. Just a few are of Arthur (armored and nearly nekkid) and the princess (not nekkid), and the rest of the figure are baddies bent on Arthur's destruction and, if you were a child of the 80s, all of your quarters.

Today's rubbery malfeasance took place at a nice coffee shop/restaurant called Glorious. It's smoke free and reasonably priced. The nachos aren't bad, and the serving of fries, which come in a paper bag NYC Pomme Frites style, is huge by Japan standards.

The figures came in five different colors, and they're about 1" tall.

More after the jump:

Mechavirus Show at Rampage Studios

 A new show, featuring customs by Todd Robertson, opened today at Rampage Studios in Tokyo. It was a really fun show to cover - thanks Todd for making toys that are so fun to photograph!

Customs by Todd:

 More after the jump:

Coo Coo for Keshi?

We pause our WF coverage with this pic of keshi gone wild.

Just don't call these guys little rubber toys. With price tags like that, they come with Sky Tower sized Napoleonic complexes. Oi vey!

Please fill the comments box with knowledge about these Rubber Richie Riches and why they are so pricey.