PlayToy HK Gatchaman Soft Vinyl Figures

Hi all!

PlayToy HK has announced that they will be releasing a set of soft vinyl figures of the Science Ninja Team as part of their VinArt line of toys.



The figures are each 11 inches tall, except for the 9 inch tall Jinpei. All five figures come with removable helmets and their individual weapons.

It is unclear whether or not these figures have any amount of articulation, or if they are more or less soft vinyl statues. If they have any articulation at all, it would be at their hips, shoulders, and/or neck.

These toys are high-end collectible soft vinyl figures, and as you might expect, this mean they come with a high-end collectible price. The individual figures are selling for $798 Hong Kong dollars apiece, which is roughly $103 U.S. dollars each. They can also be bought as a five figure set, which sells for $3,840 Hong Kong dollars, which is roughly $495 U.S. dollars.



If you'd like to see more photos of the figures, including what they look like with their helmets removed, or would like to order any of the figures for yourself, this can be done at the PlayToy website here:

http://www.playtoy.com.hk/pages/home

James

Hi all!

I don't disagree with you on the ugly. They aren't going to be winning any beauty contests, that's for sure!

You hit the nail on the head that they're trying for an old school look. Soft vinyl toys in Japan during the 1960's, 1970's, and early 1980's tended toward exaggerated and strangely proportioned representations of the characters. At their best, they can be described as "cute." At their worst, they're just plain ol' ugly with a capitol "Ugh."

Since those vintage soft vinyl figures are the toys that many of the soft vinyl collectors grew up with, the modern day, high end soft vinyl market tries to replicate that type of design aesthetic in order to appeal to the nostalgia of their audience.

If we had played with the old Japanese soft vinyl toys as children, we'd probably think these looked great. Since we didn't, we lack the nostalgic resonance that they're aiming for, and find these figures unattractive. As long as their intended audience likes them, then I guess that is all that really matters.

James

Thanks for letting us know about this James. Those pictures look great! I guess I fall on the 'cute' side of the equation. Of course, I haven't seen their faces yet.

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Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken...

Uh oh, EW!

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Eagle Whisperer

Well, they could be worse.

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Eagle Whisperer

Bad case of helmet hair aside....

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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury