I used to see these "back in the day" for $2 to $4 all over the place.  Always thought to myself "gotta pick some up."  Well I finally did and its everything I thought it would be.

Moebius re-issues "Voyager" model kit from "Fantastic Voyage"

Now this is nice...Moebius has done a fantastic job of re-issuing what is considered one of the rarest and desirable Aurora model kit outside of the "Monster Scene's" series...the Voyager from the 1968 Filmation cartoon series "Fantastic Voyage."

This ship has always been a personal favorite of mine, along with the cartoon series it was featured in. I like the Proteus from the movie version, but it just wasn't as cool as the Voyager.

One thing I was not prepared for is how detailed the cockpit is...not unlike the Flying Sub from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" model kit or the Spindrift from "Land of the Giants." The cockpit in the Voyager kit is fairly detailed. But if you glued the top and bottom halves together, you would never see it!

I purchased mine at a local hobby shop, and according to Moebius' website, they are available everywhere. Next up from Moebius...a 39" Seaview model kit, with Flying Sub, Diving Bell, detailed interior AND the four window configuration on the front of the sub...should be cool!

Imai Monstrous Animal Series

The Imai Monstrous Animal Series was a collection of four monster kits released during any one of the early kaiju booms in Japan.

Each kit features some vivid artwork of the monster, though it did not present a good representation of the actual kit. The models were very much in that "mascot" mode of design...not super deformed, but their dimensions were exaggerated enough to be more toy than anything.

Interesting that Imai obviously planned that these would be sold overseas as well. The prominent English all over the box makes me think that this series probably did make it to our shores at hobby shops in larger cities in the US.

Does Anyone Want A Bandai Real Hobby Series Kit? Anybody?

Over the month of January, I am going to explore in detail Bandai's "Real Hobby" series from the early 80's. This will be a total de-construction of the entire series, that will hopefully elicit input from you, my fellow collectors, to determine why these kits, for all of their quality and innovation, are such underperformers in terms of resale value.

I have tracked sales of the entire series through 2007, and I think you will be suprised at some of the results. For instance, the collectors who currently prize these kits the most aren't even kaiju or model collectors....Do you know who they are? You won't believe it when I share that along with other tidbits in the next post.

Nitto Mirrorman Monster Zairasu ミラーマンの怪獣 ザイラス

Nitto sold its share of super hero models, along with Bullmark and Bandai in the Seventies.

The "Badge" series (so called because the model kit came with a metal badge, lithographed with the featured hero) included Mirrorman and Silver Kamen Giant, with a few of their monsters. These were "hashiru" or rolling models, so the hero or monster is mounted on what looks like a space ship with a pull-back motor beneath.

These still pop up on Yahoo Japan, but be ready to pay. They tend to be a pricey, and there are usually more than 2 or 3 bidders when these appear.

MAC Secret Base - マッキー秘密基地

I've been having fun with this kit...its a re-issue of Imai's Ultraman Leo MAC Secret Base from 1974. I don't know when this re-issue was made, but more than likely it was before 2002.

The base houses the MAC space headquarters, some fuel tanks and a radar dish. But it also has places for all 6 MAC vehicles. Every square inch is used to launch one of the outlandish MAC rides. Even the base is on wheels!

Over the years, these secret base kits were downsized from their former versions. For instance, Imai's "Thunderbirds" base was motorized (with two motors!) that operated a number of actions on the base. The more recent version, like this MAC base, seems to be 100% "imagination" powered now.

I picked up my MAC base kits from Yahoo Japan, for less than $20 each. They are fairly easy to find now, and I think they will definitely increase in value over the years.

Happy New Year!!!

Well it has been some time since I have posted to my blog. I am hoping to change that this year, now that things have slowed down a bit.

I have been adding to the collection to be sure, and look forward to posting more model kits from my collection. As I visit other sites dedicated to model kits, it makes me realize how fewer and fewer model kits are available. Far from a dying art or anything like that, its just a sign of our times. Bottom line there are so many more things to occupy your idle time than when a lot of the kits featured here were first sold. While I don't wish for a regression to the time where model kits were more prevelant, I do miss the variety and choice from that era.

It is my sincerest hope that you have a prosperous and joyful 2008. Please visit again soon, leave a note and tell me about your collection!

Mark