Kiss my Astra

Every time I get my hands on a sweet Japanese vinyl figure I'm rocketed back to the first grade and the hours after school when I'd hang out with my friends Justin and Wayne, whose family would send them vinyl kaiju figures from Japan all the time. Crazy looking characters and monsters I didn't recognize from any media I was exposed to in colorful, lightweight vinyl and with limited articulation and so gorgeous and intriguing that I just couldn't resist them no matter how foreign and weird they were to me. I only lived in that neighborhood for a year or so, but I often wish I knew where Justin and Wayne are today and I pray they held on to their epic collection!

Anyways, I found this 1992 Bandai Ultraman character (who a quick Google search tells me is named Astra) at the flea market the other day and couldn't resist taking him home for a quarter.

Astra has a little paint wear but it's ok, his paint apps are so limited to begin with that I can either get over it or get a silver sharpie and fix him right up!