Tales from the Toy Fair: Mini diorama of Tetsujin 28

It was during the last day of the 6th Toy Fair held at the SM Megamall that I was able to get me some nifty loot of goodies unlike last June during the ToyCon where I only got to bring home two items... nothing more, nothing less. Learning from that mistake, I made sure this time I'll be leaving the place with more than a handful of toys to be added to my collection... and I'd like to share one of them today.


I made it a point that I'd do a quick yet thorough scan on the goods from every participating stall that I came across within the confides of the Megatrade Hall 1, and it was at this particular toy stall that something caught my eye and I knew at that exact moment that this item had to be in my stash of goodies no matter what! And I'm talking about this miniature diorama of Tetsujin 28 (or more popularly known in the U.S. as Gigantor). It is somewhere around 3-inches high and it shows a plastic figure of Tetsujin 28 soaring up to the skies with its base part showing several miniature buildings with searchlight beams located at the back. It was only selling for Php 30.00 (roughly around $0.70) and without batting an eyelash, I took out my wallet and bought this baby right there and then.


This is just one of the several items I got from the Toy Fair and I'll be posting more of them very soon. But for now I have uploaded here several photos of the Tetsujin 28 diorama that I took a few days ago so I hope you like 'em ladies and gentlemen. 'Til next time, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Season's Greetings from Made in X...

Three days more to go before Christmas ladies and gentlemen, and I would like to thank all of you wonderful guys, wherever you are in the world, for taking time out in visiting my little nook in cyberspace! The mere fact of knowing that people from all four corners of the globe have already visited my blog, though not gargantuan in numbers, is enough to make my Christmas a real happy one.


Again, Made in X sends its heartfelt thanks to everyone and wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Cheers guys!

The 6th Christmas Toy Fair 2011/1st Philippines Diecast & Custom Car Show at the SM Megamall

The 6th Christmas Toy Fair and the 1st Philippines Diecast and Custom Car Show concluded it's successful three-day event yesterday and I was able to make my pilgrimage that morning to the Megatrade Hall 1 located on the 5th floor of the SM Megamall. Luckily I was able to reach my point of destination in no time since I left early to avoid the horrendous Yuletide traffic that has become a huge nightmare for commuters like me for ages! Though the organizers for Toy Fair & Diecast Car Show managed to get hold of just one hall for its venue, the number of participating toy shop owners wasn't, in a way, that many unlike during the annual ToyCon being held during the month of June, but somehow it was enough to satisfy all toy enthusiasts with their insatiable craving for bargain toys up for sale. I immediately went inside and began scouting the place to check what's in store for me and for the other attendees as well. I never got to take photos at first since I noticed that morning there was not even one individual holding a camera and taking snapshots inside, so I dashed my way to every stall that I could find and began rummaging on their stuff and got hold of some goodies that I'll be needing as backup, I can say that I was now able to have more than a handful of toys in tow unlike last June during the ToyCon where I only got two items from that event. It was only shortly before lunch when I got to see camera flashes ring out from one spot to another and so it was time to take out my camera and shoot me some photos for both my Made in X Facebook page and for this blog as well.


The build up of people flocking to the Toy Fair was somehow bearable and close to normal so I was able to move around freely and took photos of those stalls who were gracious and kind enough to let me... but unfortunately, there were some who turned us down (I've given a hint on our Facebook page so you guys might as well check it out ü), but nevertheless I was able to take a good number of photos both from the Toy Fair and the 1st Philippines Diecast & Custom Car Show which catered to all car enthusiasts with a fairly huge number of toy cars, big and small, diecast and scale model kits... name it, they have it on display. Aside from toys and cars, the regular folks from the cosplay world were there and from time to time the organizers held toy auctions to the delight of the crowd. My friend and Made in X admin member Adrian and his brother Bryan followed shortly to the event and since I'm done with my business there, I accompanied the two as they did some rounds in checking out the stalls. Though tired, exhausted and somewhat "broke", we had a grand time the entire day and we're now bracing ourselves for the next main event which will happen this coming June for the 2012 ToyCon.


I have posted here some of the photos I took yesterday and if you want to check out the rest of the album, please do find the time to visit our Facebook page by clicking here. 'Til next time folks, stay safe always!


Credits: BigBoy's Toy Shop, Akihabara, Randy, Sir Bong of Bong's Collectibles for being so nice and accommodating after granting me permission to take some snapshots of his stall.


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

First toy feature for the month of December: Bandai Chogokin Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Aegis

It's that most wonderful time of the year and yes ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is just around the corner and everyone's in a hustle and bustle mood preparing for this joyous occasion which will be happening in a week's time... And here on Made in X, we usher in the yuletide season with our very first toy feature this December and it's none other than that lovely PVC figure of Aegis (or spelled as "Aigis" for some) from the popular Playstation game 'Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3' manufactured by Bandai Chogokin.


I was very much aware of the Persona game made for the Playstation, in fact I remember getting so engrossed in playing with the very first Persona game on the Playstation 1 console many years ago and though the graphics and gameplay may not be that grand and mind-blowing unlike on the PS2 and PS3 platforms, but getting to kick your opponent's booty with some real nifty stuff like mixing and matching those elemental cards to concoct a spirit guardian (sorry folks I can't remember anymore the right terms used for that game) that you can summon to crush your enemy to smithereens... it was like playing Final Fantasy 8 with a touch of Final Fantasy Tactics on the side. Sadly I never got to play the other Persona series on the PS2 mainly I was focused on playing other game titles like Gran Turismo, Silent Hill and Resident Evil, I only learned about the new series when I eventually "retired" from playing the PS2 though I plan on doing some catching up on the game through its PSP version.


Last December 11, I was with my buddies and fellow toy enthusiasts Adrian and Francis and later that afternoon at Adrian's place, I had that rare experience in getting a closer look at this wonderful Chogokin figure of Aegis and as soon as it got unboxed and placed inside the lightbox, my camera clicked away and was very much satisfied with this beauty. I can truly say that this is a must-have for all Persona fans out there. I have other photo samples of Aegis posted on this article and if you guys would want to see the entire set, please do visit our Facebook page by clicking here and see why this lovely PVC figure is worth to have in your collection. 'Til next time guys, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

X-23 toy figure from Toy Biz (Marvel Legends): In a nutshell...

Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 from X-Men

Last November 26 I accompanied my friend and former co-worker to get her laptop from a service center located somewhere in Libis. It has been almost like two years since we last saw each other and so we decided to hangout in Eastwood after getting her beloved laptop named "Hades" and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with lost time with a good, lengthy conversation over cigarettes and Starbucks fraps. It was around 7 p.m. when we decided to call it a night since she lives in Las Piñas and she had to catch the shuttle in Makati going back to her place. After getting her a cab, I decided to hang around for awhile since it has been almost a year since I last went there and of course it was time for me to make another glorious pilgrimage to the 2Rats toy shop and check out some of their stuff that might catch my fancy. Surprisingly there weren't much anime gashapons on display unlike last year where you can get to choose a lot of varieties on display. I was supposed to get this cool-looking Bearbrick PVC figure for only Php 100 ($2.00++) but it was a good thing that I decided to stick around and searched thoroughly among their stuff... until I came across this loose figure of Laura Kinney or better known as Wolverine's teen female counterpart 'X-23' from the comic book series X-Men.

Full view of the X-23 toy figure

The shop had three X-23 loose figures, 2 of those are the ones that you see on the photos I've posted while the other one was a bit smaller and not too feminine in features, it kinda reminded me of a crossover between Lobo and members of KISS! Anyways, I decided to get the Marvel Legends from ToyBiz version since it has more feminine looks and its features, in a way, stayed true to the comic book character. Now for my personal assessment... Since purchasing it as a loose item, you are bound to experience flaws here and there on the item and I was ready for it, the figure's left arm was starting to loose up though with the right angle positions it is still poseable, but what I noticed was that her limbs, most especially with her jointed kneecaps, were quite stiff and using excessive force to bend it might damage the figure permanently. So as much as I wanted to make her do some action poses, I was limited to a few safe ones due to its stiff joints. And I always have to remind myself that this is just a loose item and rarely do you find second-hand toys in  tip-top condition. A few days later I found out from one dude who did a thorough review on this particular X-23 figure and from what I read, he seems to be totally dissatisfied with the figure as if everything was just a big joke, though his rants on his review are somewhat true and I can attest to the fact that it is not just pure hearsay.


Sculpting on the figure is just plain and dull, paint job not too fancy and lacking, the figure was made from "poor" plastic material, stability is not quite good and letting her stand on its own two feet is a balancing act and finally, articulation is quite bad on the neck, elbows and knees and one wrong move could mean permanent disaster on the toy. So I guess it was indeed a "joke" after all when Toy Biz released this X-23 Marvel Legends figure... too bad and they could have done a better job in making it look good instead of releasing it just for the sake of. But nonetheless I still wanted her since I couldn't afford to buy the Kotobukiya Bishoujo statue of her and I'll be using the lovely Laura Kinney as one of my upcoming characters in my existing web comics blog. Oh well, despite the flaws and all... I'm cool with it! 'Til next time folks!