I SPY AN ALIEN-MAN...

More info on ALIEN-MAN and other custom retro toy creations at SPYMOTOYS

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ROBOT WITH A ROCKET-FIRING CROTCH

One beautiful autumn afternoon whilst hunting for toys in Akihabara, I stumbled upon this rather curious and eye-catching box art on the upper floor of one of the toy shops that I rarely frequent. The box itself was roughly a foot tall and contained a plastic model-kit for a robot of sorts, identified as 'CHUKA-CANNON', manufactured in Japan by the Aoshima model-kit company and Soft Bank Publishing in 2002.

The awe-inspiring artwork of a retro-looking robot firing a rocket from it's crotch immediately grabbed my attention, as surely it would anyone. After taking a look at the price tag, I decided that it would be most ludicrous for me to pass up such a unique item. So I brought it to the checkout counter along with the various other items I had rounded up during my excursion at that particular shop.  

Upon taking it home, I did some research into it's origins and found out a few very interesting things. According to HobbyLink Japan, CHUKA-CANNON was sold exclusively through Net Runner magazine, a PC gaming publication. 'CHUKA-CANNON' literally translates as 'CHINESE CANNON' and the design was actually a spoof of the Chinese National University of  Defense Technology's actual functioning robot, 'Xianxingzhe'.

Xianxingzhe ('Forerunner'), made it's debut on November 29, 2000 becoming China's very first bipedal humanoid robot. It was considered a major technological breakthrough in China... 

...and a major joke in Japan.

(This is the actual Xianxingzhe robot... not the model-kit.)

Standing at just over 4 feet tall - with it's crude design, hilarious face and protruding phallus-like appendage, Xianxingzhe didn't take long to be made into a complete mockery by Japanese critics and their highly advanced robotics industry. Shortly after the Japanese website Samurai Damashii caught wind of China's attempt at 'advanced robotics', an explosion of ridicule was unleashed. One article from the site joked that Xianxingzhe, or Senkousha as it's known in Japanese, was actually a military weapon - stating, "Senkousha would first rattle the ground with it's feet to stir the energy resting on the ground, then do squats to harness that energy and transfer it into it's crotch cannon, then finally fire that energy as a massive white beam with a pelvic thrust."

Eventually 'Senkousha' became an internet phenomenon. Garnering meme status, it's very own theme song, video parodies and even bootleg video games where it battled the likes of Japan's finest robotic creations of the time period such as ASIMO. It was a cruel world for China's first major attempt at humanoid robotics... at least in Asia. 

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HUGO : MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES

As Halloween comes to an end and the Christmas season begins, the jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, ghosts and monsters will inevitably disappear into our attics and quickly be replaced with glistening snow, x-mas trees, eggnog and mall Santas...

...screaming children on the laps of costumed strangers is one of the hallmarks of the Christmas season after all... and Halloween too I suppose.  Too bad we can't just scare children for fun all year round.

But if you were a one of the unfortunate children of 1975 who had parents that didn't love them or were on some fucked up drugs, you could have continued the age old tradition of being terrorized during the holidays in your very own home, with... 

...HUGO : Man Of A Thousand Faces. 

"...yes Billy, the police will never find out who really murdered your family."

Released by Kenner in the 1970's before their success with the Star Wars action figure franchise, HUGO was a bald plastisol puppet with the cold stare of a serial killer. It's main feature was the ability to change into different disguises utilizing various face attachments such as facial hair, scars, warts, eye patches, fangs... you know, all the stuff normal people have on their faces.

The disguise attachments were applied using some kind of glue, which I'm sure was tons of fun to clean off after multiple uses. What child wouldn't want a soulless puppet with white goo on his face to play with alone in their bedrooms? Try not to make a mess kids!

HUGO hasn't glared at little children from toy store shelves for over forty years, but if you are a good little bastard, Satan... I mean Santa, just might track one down on eBay and drop it off at your miserable house so that you too can experience the terror for yourself.

Speaking of puppets and sticky white goo - did you know that HUGO helped Pee-wee Herman hypnotize women to take their clothes off on his live stand-up comedy show back in the 80's? No wonder Pee-wee's Playhouse was so fucking insane. Don't let the silly humor fool you. Under the guise of 'Dr. Mondo', HUGO has gained complete control over Pee-wee's child-like mind...

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WTF JAPAN? - TARAKO KEWPIE

Kewpie is a household name in Japan.  Having a naked baby with a mohawk as your mayonnaise mascot is strange enough... but when Japanese advertising agencies made this series of TV commercials for a spaghetti sauce starring hundreds of marching Kewpie toys dressed as cod fish, they really went head first into the twilight zone...

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THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS WERE FROM JAPAN

You may be aware that many iconic animated American TV shows have often been animated in South Korea, especially during the last few decades.  Some of those shows have included The Simpsons, Futurama, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Back in the 1980's, several popular animated American TV programs were still being animated in America, such as Masters of the Universe. However the ones that weren't being animated at home didn't outsource their animation work to Korea like they do today, they outsourced to Japan.

Japanese animation studios worked quickly, efficiently and produced high quality, slick animation at a very low cost. You can actually see a lot of Japanese handiwork in the opening sequences to many, if not most, 1980's animated TV shows.

One of my favorite animated television shows from that era not only had an opening sequence animated in Japan, the entire show itself was animated in Japan...  

That show was The Real Ghostbusters.

Fans of the animated series and even the films should definitely check out this fun documentary made in 1990 about the history and production of The Real Ghostbusters.  It follows the process of script writing, storyboarding and voice acting with the American production staff, then takes us to Japan where the animation itself is produced.  There are even interviews with the Ghosbusters' creators and actors, Dan Aykroyd (Ray) and Harold Ramis (Egon), discussing how the whole proposition of an animated Ghostbusters series came into fruition.

The only downside to this documentary is that it's hosted by a convicted pedophile...

...who ya gonna call?

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WHICH X-MEN INTRO KICKS THE MOST ASS?

"Look, it's the wicked Japanese version of our show's intro!"

One of the best animated TV series of the 90's was Marvel's X-Men. It was just too damned awesome.  Today it is still one of the few animated TV shows that I watched growing up that is still enjoyable to watch as an adult.

Now the X-Men are a worldwide phenomenon with a new movie being released every other year, however 30 years ago your average kid didn't know who the X-Men were unless they had an older brother that had read the comics and happened to let them borrow some. But that was all about to change. 

In 1989, Marvel aired a TV pilot based on the X-Men for the very first time, it was called 'Pryde of the X-Men'. It was produced by the Japanese animation studio Toei, who at the time was working on the extremely popular Dragonball animated series. It aired rather infrequently before making it's way to VHS.  My first introduction to the X-Men was a copy of that VHS, and it was glorious. Unfortunately Marvel's budget for animation had dried up around that time so fans had to wait three years before they could gaze upon new animated adventures of the X-Men. Check out the VHS version of the pilot below.

The 1989 VHS version of 'Pryde of the X-Men' introduced a whole new audience to the X-Men, just as it had to me.  But if it weren't for the 1992 debut of the X-Men animated series, many kids would have never been properly introduced to those marvelous mutants, at least not as a staple of modern popular culture like they are today.

When the X-Men animated series was released internationally, naturally there were dubs of the dialogue, but for some reason the 1994 Japanese version not only dubbed the show's dialogue, it also presented two different opening animations as well as brand new theme songs. Although I've always loved the original 1992 US opening theme and animation, the first Japanese opening is an explosion of badassary with insane animation and a wicked power metal track to back it up.  It will truly blow you away if you've never experienced it before... however the second version is a bit of a boner-killer, especially after seeing the first one, but at least it does feature all new animation again. Check out both versions below.

Which intro was your favorite?

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THESE BOOTLEGS ARE KILLER...

Peter Goral is the creative genius behind Killer Bootlegs, an independent bootleg toy operation based in Rockford, Illinois.  His 're-imaginings' of classic toy lines often combine various body parts and accessories from a wide variety of vintage action figures, which are molded and then cast in resin. But these aren't just simply cheap rip-offs... they are highly refined pieces of art.

Vividly painted and oozing with nostalgia, the creations of Killer Bootlegs are extremely eye-catching, expertly crafted and ultra wicked.  

Upon discovering some of these gems, I had to find out more about the man behind their conception. Fortunately, I recently had the opportunity to ask Peter of Killer Bootlegs some questions...

What were your favorite toys and cartoons growing up?

My favorite toys as a child were GI Joe and Star Wars action figures. But, I played with anything 3.75" and could be mixed into play with my GI Joe and Star Wars figures. I really liked the odd knockoff figures made by companies Lanard and Remco. But, if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be Storm Shadow V2 (1988).  My favorite cartoons were, GI Joe, Thundercats, He-Man, X-Men, and Scooby Doo.

Which action figure series made the biggest impact on your childhood?

GI Joe: A Real American Hero and Star Wars POTF 2. It's all their fault!

   

When did you you decided to start making your own custom action figures?  

I decided to start making my own figures back in the fall of 2009. At the time, I was working a 1st shift job and my wife worked on 2nd shift. I would get off work and have a ton of time on my hands and be home alone most of the night. At first, they were just one-off kitbashed figures that were held together with Super Sculpy and super glue. I didn't get into the molding and casting aspect for maybe a year or two later.  

Did you find the processes of molding and casting difficult to learn?

I have to admit, it was a lot of trial and error. There really weren't any instructional videos online at the time. I didn't have customer reviews or anyone with past experience to tell me which products worked best for what I was attempting to do. It was difficult, but eventually I got a handle on what needed to be done and figured out what little tricks make the difference in the end. 

What was the first action figure that you created?

The first action figure that I created was called, Shifty Megatron. He was a one-off kitbash made with a vintage Star Wars Ewok lower body and Boba Fett torso, GI Joe Talking Battle Commander Overkill head and I think Jurassic Park Velociraptor arms. I repainted him a few times, before he was eventually mounted on a screen printed cardback, framed, and shipped to Australia where he now resides in a private collection.

Can you describe the process you go through?

I generally start with molding some of the action figure parts that I will use as my base to work off of. I have found that working with a resin casting is much easier than the actual part itself. I sculpt, cut, sand, and glue parts from other, toys, castings, and sometimes really random pieces of plastic together to achieve the desired look and feel of a vintage action figure. I make multiple molds, depending on the size of the run to speed up the casting process. Most times, I'm casting several hundred individual parts, which all need to have the vents/pour spouts trimmed off, be sanded/cleaned/polished, and then ultimately everything is painted. I like to have a blank canvas to start with when it comes to the paint application, so I cast everything in bright white resin. I apply washes, rubs, airbrush parts, and then hand paint all the details.  

Which action figure(s) are you the most proud of making?

I'm proud of everything I have made. But, some of my figures that instantly come to mind are...

Frankenfett

Phantom Starkiller

Draco Knuckleduster

Czarface

Ewoking Dead

and Star Warhol.

What are you cooking up now?

I've got quite a few things left up my sleeve for the second half of 2015. You guys will just have to wait and see.. 

Do you have any tips for aspiring action figure bootleggers and toy creators? 

Focus and have fun. They are only toys...

Make sure to visit Killer Bootlegs' official website for more info!

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