KIDROBOT TOKYO TOY FAIR REPORT day 2 pt. 2
by Gregory B

Tokyo, May 10 2002 -- I ended up spending quit a bit of time at the CUBE Works booth. The name might be unfamiliar, but CUBE (Cast Unto the Bold Edge) Co. is responsible for bringing Pete Fowler’s fantastic Monsterism series to market. I was familiar with Monsterism and a few of their other products before, but I got a really good idea of what this company is all about after being guided through their well designed exhibits.

I must say that Cube Works is the most innovative “toy” company I have come across in recent memory. There seems to be no one one way to describe their products other than totally unique. Apparently, that is the mission of their president, Toshio Sakai, and the company has been clearly successful at meeting this goal.

First, Monsterism news. Series 1 and 1.5 were on exhibit, and it turns out that there might still be some stock left. I will do my best to see that KidRobot will have more Series 1 to sell if any are indeed left. Series 2 was announced and on display as well. Looking great! Very much stylistically similar to 1/1.5, but in totally new designs. Similar to the first series, the figures have interchangeable parts, and there are 6 standard designs in two paint schemes, with a seventh ultra-rare “chase” design in 2 color variants.

A pleasant surprise came in the form of the “BIG” Monstrooper figure. An approximately 8” rotocast vinyl (I think) version of the classic Monster. It is available in a mostly green color scheme, but there are plans to release 5 localized/crossover variants as follows: UK (gray), Tower Records (orange), Mr. Craft (brown), Satan Arbeit (purple), and Pook Et Koop (blue). Let’s hope there are more to come!

The centerpiece of the Cube Works booth was the CAM-08 Perpetual Human Model, a small biped R/C robot that actually walks on it’s two legs! Again, I wasn’t able to shoot this guy, but you can check their website at http://www.cam-system.jp for background, photos and movies. The robo walks forward and backward and makes sounds, all controlled by a palm-sized transmitter. The walking action is very sophisticated for a “toy,” controlled by 8 individual circular cams that spin at a constant speed via a single motor, all within the 10-inch plastic model. We have had one of these guys around the office for a couple of weeks, and although it falls down a bit and doesn’t do much more than walk and make electronic sounds, there is something incredibly compelling and endearing about it. Enough so that we will be selling some very shortly. Stay tuned.

Cube Works has been producing some clever and bizarre gadgets designed by Maywa Denki. Maywa has been making “nonsense machines” in the form of overly complex musical instruments for several years, and has recently worked with Cube Co. to produce some nonsense gadgets for the consumer. A few older products were on display with a few new editions. Knockman is a “cute windup toy that knocks his own head or a neighbors head,” and has been joined by two new knockman-like cousins. Bitman is a bright orange 8x8 pixel led device that features a stick figure that dances and responds to movement (turn the unit on a side and he will right himself). A few Bitman accessories were released Thursday, including orange and green covers and wrist straps. Bitman makes his direct-to-video debut via the “Video bulb,” an cylinder resembling a stick of lip balm with a RCA (video) jack on an end. Plug it into the video input of your TV, and a familiar 8x8 stick figures walks across and dances on the screen.

Some of Maywa’s marginally useful inventions include Sava-O Mint Dispenser (mints dispensed from the mouth of a 13-week-old embryo), Sava-O Strap (same embryo face with a strap and measuring tape) and Na series of cords and lanyards. All Na products assume the shape of a really long fish skeleton and serve as extension cords, bracelets, and neck straps for mobile phones (which are wildly popular in Japan and Hong Kong presently). Two new designs are a wrist watch and a TV remote controller. The watch has no display, but instead a rotary phone dial. If you need the time, just dial 711 (I think) which is the Japanese time service, and the watch will speak the current time – in Japanese. Now the Gachacon TV controller is the most distinctive, if least useful, I have seen since the mid-seventies. A true “clicker,” it features a large, retro-style dial with positive clicks for changing channels, and a smaller knob for adjusting volume. The best feature is that it is compatible with virtually ALL modern TVs! Who need Picture-in-Picture anyway?

Finally, Cube was displaying their recently expanded Pontiki line, now available in 3 shapes. Pontiki are small plastic shapes (cylinder, cone and egg), perforated with dozens of tiny holes. Each Pontiki contains a random selection of body parts and accessories that fit into the holes. Think of a tripped-out, pocket-sized, mutant Mr. Potato Head. Bandai has licensed the design and will be producing a twinkie-shaped Pontiki with six motorized accessory/body part mounts. The Bandai Pontiki will be able to roll or flail about depending on which part you stick into the mounts. Expect the Cube Pontiki on the KR site within a few weeks.

Stay tuned for another installment. I finally came across some action figures, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. The jet lag is killing me...