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!

Ultraman Zero

I know little about Ultraman and other Japanese characters but I do know I love me some Japanese characters.

When I was in early Elementary School, I had a couple neighbor friends whose mother was Japanese, and their family would mail them so many cool vinyl action figures. They were essentially as basic as the then standard Star Wars 5-POA but were a little bit larger and represented so manny weird and wonderful looking aliens and robots. At the time I knew...Godzilla. And that was about it (besides other giant monsters appearing in Godzilla flicks.)

Anyways, now I am an adult but any time I see a toy that represents that basic Japanese vinyl aesthetic I flip and want it - especially when it costs less than a buck!

Other than some Japanese script, on the foot of this guy is written 'Bandai 2009' so I was able to discover he is 'Ultraman Zero.' I don't know what that means in the Ultraman universe and I don't care. He's awesome.

That's it.

Ultraman Jack be nimble

The third and final Japanese vinyl figure I swapped from the swap meet last weekend is the one and only Ultraman himself! The best part is that I scored all three (Bat Man, Bee Woman and Ultraman here) for $5! Aw yeah!

I think he's most correctly referred to as Ultraman Jack, but I couldn't tell you why. (EDIT: Soundwave810 says "As far as I know this Ultraman was just named New Ultraman but was given the name Ultraman Jack in 1984 due to licensing issues.")

This figure is different from the Bat Man and Bee Woman that I found with him. Standing at a whopping 5.5", Ultraman is taller than the others he was lumped in with for who knows how long at that swap meet vendor's booth. Ultraman is also ultra articulated (compared to his compatriots,) with neck, shoulder and hip articulation!

I just love the crazy designs and simple engineering of these Japanese vinyl toys. They're colorful and crazy and super simple, but tons of fun to look at and play with. Imagine being a kid in Japan in the seventies and eighties and having a ton of these toys all over your bedroom floor. What fun!

Here's what it says on the bottom of Ultraman's feet. Any help on interpreting this would be greatly appreciated. (EDIT: Again Soundwave810 saves the day: "...on his left it says (c) Tsuburaya Pro(ductions), Ultraman (I assume this was produced before 1984?) and on his right foot it says Bullmark..."

Thanks again Soundwave810!