Dennis' Top Ten Toys (TTT) 2024

1. Same spot share by Realxhead related Sofubi! Super delighted to receive this RealxHead black molding Eiriman or Aliman sofubi today… Finally able to obtain it after many mis-opportunities and regrets not getting much earlier. You can tell the design pay homage to Alien Xenomorph 🖤 In space no one can hear you scream… Very thankful to Yamadaorojii Atom.A.Amaresura x RealxHead for this awesome toy which I totally never expected to win the lottery. Solid proof that this lottery is legit on random pick and not just choosing those winners from inner circle. 

2. Same spot share by Quiccs x Punk Drunkers related Sofubi! My all time favorite Quiccs x Punk Drunkers PDS Bancho Aitsu TEQ63 🖤🤍... Absolutely highly sought especially for fans of both designers just like me. Aitsu revealing himself behind the mask of TEQ63 with the iconic black lips. Dressed in Japanese Showa gangster Bancho with Aitsu favourite arm blaster. 

Always nice to make new friends in the toy community 😉 A color variant of my all-time favorite Quiccs x Punk Drunkers PDS Bancho Aitsu TEQ63 in the way of the kabuki👺… Kabuki originates from a verb that was used to describe young samurai patrons, meaning “being weird” or “offbeat.” Befitting of Oyakata san’s style of Uncool is Cool… Face paint of Kabuki make up aka Kumadori with red eyeshadow symbolizes strength and passion and black lips representing fear and malevolence, often worn by villains and demons… Retro fashionable sense of Bancho, leader of juvenile delinquents in old school Japan 20th century… Love the PDS insignia printed on the rear of the jacket… Ready to zap 💥🔫 some aliens with his weapon of choice that’s strongly inspiration by Space Adventure Cobra’s Psychogun or some may also call it Mega Man aka Rockman’s iconic Mega Buster… Last but not least Quiccs’ fav Adidas Superstar...

3. My very first regular sized 蠑螈超獸 Geko kaiju spotted at the drain after rain 💦🦎 … Yet it’s flaming like Burning Godzilla 🔥… Was searching for it during my last Taipei trip but was to no avail. Glad to be able to find it locally and I like this color way a lot! Also welcome InToy for attending POP Toy Show Singapore annually.  

4.  If someone is to ask me which mecha best represents Philippines, I will definitely say it’s Voltes V! Its primary colors are somehow similar to Philippines flag and my upmost respect for their passion as well as the recent Voltes V live-action show. There are a lots of Voltes V inspired creations but the one that truly stole my heart is this exclusive Voltes V x Quiccs V63 released during Toycon Philippines 2022. I didn’t want to trouble my friend in Philippines but I’m glad to get it from a Filipino seller based here. Hefty price in secondary market and definitely one of the most expensive toy set in my collection. Totally worth it for these awesome Quiccs V63 in trio 3.5”, 7” & 14” made of resin. Moreover it’s an official collaboration with Voltes V, a cultural icon in the Philippines and one of the Japanese anime that the boss personally grew up with during the 80’s!

5. Kobe project Tetsujin 28-go (Gigantor) Monument… A project that contributed to the city's disaster recovery after earthquake. I visited Kobe two years back and had been looking for a Tetsujin 28 with the exact posing with the monument/statue which I took pics with. Finally found it and unexpectedly at a local toy shop. This figure has that sentiment value and brings back fond memories of my Japan trip! Kobe is the home of one of Japan’s most unique monuments, a 18 metre high 50 ton robot statue. The robot Ironman Tetsujin 28 go (or Gigantor as he was known outside Japan) has been the star of a popular manga anime since the late 1950’s and was created by Kobe born Mitsuteru Yokoyama. 

6. Rokudenashi Toys Powerful Robot Series by Mirock Toy (Yowohei Kaneko) Jizu / Jizo Armored Trooper Votoms Scopedog red shoulder 💚❤️colorway… The JMS-09-ST Scopedog is a robot of Armored Trooper VOTOMS and is a mass-produced Junior Mobile Suit... Love the details on the sofubi and those character wordings adding more soul to the figure A little dark as the head sculpt is based on Jizo statue which often relates to couples who have such statue in Japanese temple for prayers and remembrance of the miscarriage of their unborn child…

7.   Same spot share by BOUNCE related Sofubi! Mecha Bongzilla is definitely one of the biggest and most awesome toy I bought recently. Go Art BOUNCE Behemoth Mechanical Boom figure. A combination of graffiti artist, BOUNCE signature rabbit and Mecha Godzilla aka Kiryu from the widely known IP, King of Monsters - Godzilla… Massive toy that stands approximately 30cm and this figure features a removable head. There are 2 interchangeable heads (exclusive version) for normal or atomic blast… Remove the head to reveal BOUNCE rabbit pilot.

My biggest haul from Taiwan is this Bounce Mazinger crossover! The chest & cockpit have the signature Bounce eyes and its forearm added with speakers 🔊 as Bounce is the music 🎼 man! Those thick panel lines give the figure more details as well. Glad to grab this last piece at 哈玩具… Taiwanese graffiti artist BOUNCE brings his street style to Go Nagai’s iconic Mazinger Z with a new vinyl toy created in collaboration with Hobby Toy and Nagai’s Dynamic Planning. For his take on the giant robot, BOUNCE has incorporated his signature bunny character as the pilot in a removable command ship that sits at the top of Mazinger Z’s helmet and more subtly with the green eyes seen just below the robot’s red heat sinks. He’s also turned the iconic robot into a music machine by adding speakers—a frequent element of his designs—into the sculpt at the shoulders and arms. The Bounce x Mazinger Z vinyl art toy (12.6″).

8. Same spot share by Gyaromi related Sofubi! Took noticed of Gyaromi Cthulhuoid when I spinned for the VAG during my last visit to Japan… Was attracted by its strong street wear vibes and alien design that resembled the ones in ‘District 9’ movie 🎥… Maybe it the tentacles 🦑 The interest grew deep to know that Gyaromi collaborated with Devil Toys to become a half mecha half organic being… Or should I say Cthulhuoid removes its head hoodie to reveal those mechanical parts underneath its flesh. Giving that 2 in 1 look with Terminator T800 vibes… See the side views for the judgement… Awesome Gyaromi x Devil Toys exclusive at Taiwan Toy Festival TTF 2024…

Back to roaming the streets with the standard OG Gyaromi ever-popular piece Cthulhuoid in Puffer jacket… Alien design that resembled the ones in ‘District 9’ movie 🎥… Maybe it's the ocean or the tentacles 🦑 on face and right arm. Besides the organic parts, Cthulhuoid seems to have a mechanical left hand... Nice neon green and purple… Did you notice those pink pupil on the eyes…

9. Same spot share by Evangelion related Sofubi! It was sold out at the at Toy Soul Hong Kong 2023 so I had to find my means to get this Evangelion Unit-01 sofubi by Mechnoiz. Comes with a pretty cool progressive knife. One that I wanted a lot and had to pay secondary market price and have it shipped over. 

 Evangelion x Kaiyodo x Dehara ZOZO released certainly thrilled me with that more toned down purple that pay homage to the original anime TV series… Furthermore, the movie version colour way pricing had increased by folds and hardly attainable. ZOZO came at a right time like a saviour during my toy collection journey. Dehara sure give Unit-01 a more childish re-imagination with something organic in between the legs 😂 It's so ugly but I like category!

10. Same spot share by both mecha sofubi by Hong Kong toy artists! Dream on Studio No.210 Hunter獵殺者 - JingHai has discovered this unfinished robot when she cleaned up her brother WenAn’s relic. According to WenAn’s diary, she realized her brother built this robot to fight the tyrannical government. At the time she met Chiwen, JingHai reboot the robot, name it as No.210 (Feb,10th is WenAn’s commemoration day), and it turns to be the most powerful heavy weapon of Dream on organization. The design takes inspiration from super sentai robot like Five Robo, Bio Robo, Daidenjin or Dynaman Robot. It’s comforting from the artist who hint that we inevitably would go through some form of pain and suffering in our life. Hoping toy brings joy and comfort to adulthood and back to fun memories playing toys as a child.

Planet X -2020 UFO Warrior Atlantus (atlanger color)… I’m attracted to the old school super robot style design… The head especially resembles Grendizer… Nice chrome and metallic finish to some aparts. This mecha sofubi has a hefty size and drill weapon suggests its raw melee power. I can smell the vibes of Gurren Lagann in the air. Drill to the heavens and beyond. The forearm also reminded me of Mazinger Punch! The foot of the sofubi bears the production company trade mark and logo. I do not know the backstory of the toy yet I took a strong liking to it. 

Thoughts for 2024 

No toy No Life as I continue to do Top Ten Toys (TTT) this year and I pondered for a while. Bought a lot of toys this year so it's difficult to pick only ten toys. Hence this year TTT is certainly full of controversies like having two toys sharing same spot (by single artist or category). My bad ^_^

I feel that I had a smooth 2024 taking things easier slower. Being honest that I do not cope well under stress and my mental state is still tired. Won't mind doing meaningful things but getting triggered when pestered repeatedly to look in least important matters. I lost my cool and get really upset. I probably have undiagnosed ADHD. All of us have our challenges and life battles so try not to judge and be kind whenever possible.  

Sad news on the passing of a toy collector friend after he fought bravely against cancer and general news of fatal accidents after Christmas again reminded me that life is vulnerable so please treasure ourselves and our love ones. I am only human, I may do wrong to others without knowing. I cannot pleased everyone and to be human is to display all types of emotions be it positive or negative. Forgive others and forgive myself. Focus on make myself happy and I am very gratefully to my wife, parents and friends for good and bad times. 

Interesting hobby experiences visiting Osaka again this year to meet my Japanese friend, visiting Malaysia KL for Super Toy Festival, Johor Bahru Collector's Fleamarket, toy thrifting at Jalan Jalan Japan (KL & JB), boothing at Retro Revival Safra Mt Faber, attending POP Toy Show and Singapore Comic Con. 

Thank you all those who support me and take interest in what I am doing. Happy holidays and an even better year ahead. May the force me with you always!