KIDROBOT
TOKYO TOY FAIR REPORT day 1
by Gregory B
Tokyo,
May 9 2002
-- Greetings from Tokyo Toy Show 2002, the official Expo of
the Japan Trade association. As one can might gather from the
name of the sponsor, this convention is a biggie. It actually
fills half the halls of the Tokyo International Exhibition Center,
otherwise known as “Tokyo Big Sight.”
Those
of you who read my coverage of the Hong Kong Plug In Toys show
last month might remember that big-name manufacturers and designers
were noticeably missing from that expo. Conversely, the smaller
manufacturers and designers are pretty much absent from this
show. There is certainly a lot of cool stuff to see
here, but if you’re into HK/urban-style vinyl figures
(as you likely are if you are visiting this website), you might
be disappointed.
And
the fact that most of the exhibitors here forbid photography
further narrows the selection of dope new stuff I can share
with you. That
said, this is one of the biggest toy shows in the world and
there's still some pretty amazing stuff here.
The
show was really too big to cover in a single day, but I will
report the highlights of the Big Sight acreage I did have a
chance to explore. There were gigantic maze-like booth complexes
from the big names like Bandai, Tomy and Takara. Even without
the moving disco lights and scantily clad performers, there
was a lot to see in these booths. Every thing from purring,
seizing plush baby seals (think “Tickle me Elmo”)
to large-scale remote-control mobile suit models. From dancing
Barbie-like dolls to disturbingly realistic pellet guns. And
did I mention disco lights?
As a
child of the 70s, I was compelled to slow my pace in a section
of the Tomy Booth. Lots of Star Wars Stuff. There was
a sampling of upcoming Episode Two toys and a few from that
last one, but I really dug the classics. There was a totally
amazing Tatooine Cantina diorama (see pics) and an incredible
wall FILLED with hundreds of the 3-inch figures ranging from
Episode 1 and recent Power of the Force all the way back to
the original Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewy, Obi Wan,
R2, Greedo the Jawa, etc. They even had the the power droid
– one time object of my 9-year old toy lust. But I digress
(see pics if you like the digression).
Tomy
(Tomica) was also showing their newest Bit CharG super-tiny
R/C cars. If you aren’t familiar with this line, they
feature Hot Wheels-size cars and wallet size controller/charger.
These things are really fun, even if you have no traditional
interest in remote controlled vehicles. We have been driving
a few around the office over the last month, and have decided
to bring some onto the KR site. Keep your eyes open.
Tomy
was also putting real effort into showing off their Tomix
line of N-scale model railroad kits. The quality and detail
on the trains was pretty amazing considering the scale and the
fact that they are mass produced, and were available in a huge
variety of Japanese passenger and freight designs. They were
complemented by a new “Power & Sound Unit” that
did a good job of resembling the control panel of a subway or
commuter train. Along with speed regulating duties, it provides
an array of nice quality train sound samples: horns, wheel squeaks,
etc. Certain sounds can be programmed to go off when a train
passes a particular piece of track. Cool. Serious model RR enthusiasts
might find the components a bit too “pre-built,” however.
Tomy
was only one of at least a dozen companies showing R/C cars
and other vehicles. There was a huge range in quality and
scale, but it seems like a lot of folks are hoping to cash-in
on the micro-size R/C car craze here in Japan. Konami’s
DigiQ Micro IR line has expanded well beyond their original
speedy Infrared controlled cars (see the KidRobot website: http://www.kidrobot.com/coolstuff.html).
This season’s offerings include the DigiQ Train
(approx N-scale), Combat DigiQ (tiny tanks with treads),
and super-speedy DigiQFormula open-wheel race cars. I even saw
a DigiQ submarine in the Takara booth, but I’m
not sure how usable this guy would be since it needs to remain
in line-of-sight with the controller. Of course you could always
torment your guppies if you are feeling particularly bored and
sadistic.
In terms
of over-all R/C performance, the best I saw demonstrated was
Mtech’s 1/43 scale InDoor Racer. Although
about twice the size of the DigiQ/Bit CharG cars, it seemed
to handle well, was really fast and still darn small.
And
then there was the Bandai booth-maze-complex. Can you
say Gundam? Tons of the stuff, but unfortunately I’m not
the best guy to report on this stuff. I did see some remote-controlled
walking, pellet-shooting 16” (a guess) mobile suits that
were very cool. I think they were prototypes/proofs of concept,
but I bet they will make it to market in one form or another.
And
then there was Medicom. A tasteful, modest sized booth
with some really cool new products. Take a look at the photo
of the boot. Look really hard, because that’s all I can
show you at this point. PHOTOGRAPHY
PROHIBITED throughout.
I did take notes, so imagine if you will...
Let’s
start with Be@rbricks. Not too much to say here, but
series four looks like one of the most distinctive without being
too yet. The nine piece set includes a KAWS Mickey design.
The
real news was with the release of the B@wbrick: dogs
& cats in at least eight designs. Totally different body
design to allow 4 legged-standidng.
A new series called Nostalgic Future featured Planet
of the Apes (2001) figures in the form or wind-up tin toys.
Weird, but actually really successful. And more from the Tokyo
Tribe2: 4 Kubricks, 2 non-articulated “ultra detail”
six-inch figure, and “Stylish “ series.
And on to Kubricks. Graphic designer/block figure fans
rejoice! Kubricks are now available in a wide palette of official
Pantone colors. I counted forty, but there could be a
whole lot more. Star Wars Kubricks! Luke, Leia, R2-D2,
Chewbacca and the six bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back.
Nice detail, especially on the Bounty Hunters.
Some
continuations of our favorite series: Tofu Kubrick series
4 – still square and truly bizarre. Special Forces
Series Six including arctic gear special ops guys and a
hood with a panty hose mask. There was a Special Forces truck
with four SWAT-like figures, but I couldn’t be sure that
it wasn’t just a display. Enemy Posse Series Five,
and Disney Characters Series Three with Tinkerbell, Rocketman,
and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s walking broom.
Some totally new Kubricks (as far as I know): Lupin the Third,
Sesame Street Characters (five pieces), and Edward
Scissorhands Characters with 4 pieces. There were the Hanakuma
Factory (6 pieces) that have been advertised but not yet
released, Green Hornet and Kato and a boy and girl version of
Customize2 set with at least 14 accessories including
a handbag, snowboard, and the ubiquitous can of spray paint.
Can’t forget Trigun.
Some of my favorites were the seven-piece Gumby series, the
Marvel Series 2 with Spiderman (timely) and some X-men,
and a CCCP-orange suited Cosmonaut with an awesome space
capsule. The Monsters, Inc. Kubricks looked like they
may have been prototypes or production samples, but they were
on the good track.
And
Finally, quite possibly the coolest Kubrick of all time: the
KAWS Kubrick. It is a bus shelter set or rather, street
canvas) with nine Mickey/Companion figures. They are different
combination of 3 body types, three head types and several different
patterns.
Stay
tuned tomorrow, as there really are some more good things, for
example CUBE Co., Ltd. has expanded a few of their product
lines, and the results are dope.
