Tales from the Toy Fair: Kamen Rider Real Product Stage from Bandai

I'm back once again ladies and gentlemen for another toy feature this month of February and this time I would like to share to all of you this wonderful find I have purchased last December during the Christmas Toy Fair held at the SM Megamall... and what could be better than finding this awesome Kamen Rider Real Product Stage mini dioramas selling for only Php 100 (roughly around $2.30) in one of the participating stalls during the fair. It was a good thing I was able to find it along with its other variations among the heap of toys placed on their long table. Overall the Real Product Stage series from Bandai has around four variables consisting of other famous classic Kamen Rider characters, who pioneered the Henshin genre as early as the 1970's, depicting famous fight scenes through these well-made diorama sets. I would have wanted to complete all four sets if only I found them sooner... but fate has been a bit unkind that day and now I had to pick just one set that I really like the most.

(L) Riderman (Kamen Rider Yongo) and (R) Kamen Rider V3 finishing off their enemy

After a good number of minutes playing 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe' on the four Kamen Rider sets, I decided to pick this one where you get to see Kamen Rider V3 and Riderman (Kamen Rider Yongo) finishing off their enemy as it explodes in the background of the mini diorama. I knew that there's this big chance that I won't be able to find that store after the fair and chances are they will be selling the remaining sets back to its original price, so I settled for this one since you get two Kamen Rider characters in one diorama unlike the others where you have one Kamen Rider hero fighting one or two enemies and that's about it, but it would be nice to have them all if only I could've stretch my wallet and my budget to full capacity that day...


Around late this afternoon I decided to piece together the diorama and had a small photoshoot with it since it has been days since my last session and so here are some of the photos I took from my small tabletop studio earlier and you can also check the complete set on our Facebook page by clicking here. Thanks guys for your time and 'til next time, stay safe always!


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

Tales from the Toy Fair: Kamen Rider 2 gashapon

The legendary Kamen Rider 2

Happy New Year ladies and gentlemen! I hope all of you guys had a wonderful time doing a lot of merrymaking and partying as we kickstart 2012 with new hopes and dreams of a better and peaceful year despite the controversies surrounding the mystery behind the December 21 prediction for which we all strongly wish, hope and pray that it will never happen... But as they all say, "Live life to the fullest, do the things that you like the most and enjoy every single day as if it were your last." Anyways, I would like again to share to you this wonderful find I purchased last year during the 6th Christmas Toy Fair held at the SM Megamall, and this time, it's none other than a gashapon figure of Kamen Rider 2.


Kamen Rider 2 can be categorized as one of the most famous and legendary fictional characters ever to come out in the Japanese Tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider back in the early 1970's. The only difference between the first Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider 2 is the color scheme of their costumes for which it was modeled after a grasshopper (particularly the headgear that they're using.) Riding on those big, cool and classic motorcycles, these superheroes are out to stop the terror organization Shocker from dominating Japan and the entire world using their kick-ass fighting skills and martial arts until they deliver that final blow to the "enemy boss" using cinematic finishing moves at the end of every episode. It was with this and the other Kamen series of the 70's that brought forth a new generation of Super Sentai heroes that evolved over the decades which includes the likes of Bioman, Shaider, Power Rangers, Saban's Masked Rider and many others.


I happen to stumble upon this nice gashapon of Kamen Rider 2 at the stall of Akihabara Toys during the Toy Fair and it sure was nice to have one of these in my collection since Kamen Rider is all too familiar for someone like me who grew up in the 70's and 80's. I eventually did some low-light photography on the gashapon but I'm planning to come up with another set where you guys can get to see Kamen Rider 2 in full, clear detail. But for now I give you folks this small photo set and please do stay tuned for the others very soon. So until next time, stay safe always!


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