#TopTenToysof2019 by Philip Lee
"So this year I bought fewer designer toys. What I selected here is more otaku stuff. I hope you won't think I am less cool because of it. LOL. I just buy whatever I feel like and can afford it at the moment. I never care about the trend. Maybe next year it will be totally different. Did I tell you that I am also into cars and military models?" ~ shared Philip Lee.Bro, the only time I'll judge you "uncool" is of you buy collectible toys
#9: Core Fighter from Turn A Gundam
PHILIP SAYS: I love to go to a shop in Hong Kong called ToyZone. It is a huge place selling new or pre-owned vintage toys. This core fighter is a little treasure I got from there. Turn A Gundam was designed by the great Syd Mead. Since he just passed away a few months ago, it makes this purchase even more meaningful for me. Mead is my idol. Turn A may not fit the classical aesthetics of Gundam, but was a very innovative design, and these little toys show how interesting the design is.
#8: Special Armored Batallion Dorvack: EM Alloy 02: Generic Calibur
PHILIP SAYS: Another treasure from ToyZone, this unloved Chogokin was a bargain. I got it for around 25usd. Armored Batallion Dorvack is a rather obscure mecha show from the 80s. But it has its legacy. The transformable hero mecha was later absorbed into the Transformer series. I believe it was because it was also produced by Takara at that time. The Toy is pretty good, aside from a few loose accessories. Overall it is sturdy, well articulated. It looks very cool. As I said, it is a bargain.
#7: Lego Overwatch DVa
PHILIP SAYS: I am a gamer, but I never played Overwatch. However, that does not stop me from liking their character design. What you see here is a lego version of one of the heroine D.Va and her mecha Meka. The set actually includes another character Reinhardt and his huge armor. I have not built that yet as I am not too into that character. I think Meka talks to the mecha junkie in me. It got a cool Ghost in the Shell vibe. The Lego toy is a lot of fun to build and play with.
TOYSREVIL: Can you share with us, who you are and what you do?
PHILIP LEE: My name is Philip Lee I am the creator of toy brand Classicbot. I am also an advertising creative. I split half of my time doing freelancing for ad agencies, and half on my toy business. It is my goal to work on my toy full time.
TOYSREVIL: How long have you been buying (collectible) toys?
PHILIP LEE: I have been a toy collector since childhood. I started with giant robot toy from anime show, then I started to build and collect Gundams. I also like cars and so I spent a few years building car models and buying car models. I am quite eclectic in my toy collecting taste now. I would buy a couple Bearbricks here, another Sticky Monster Labs here. But I still lean towards anime mecha from the 80s and 90s.
#6: The Maxx figure
PHILIP SAYS: The Maxx is a comic book by Sam Keith published by Image during the 90s. The Maxx, a homeless man who believes he is a superhero. The Maxx shifts between the real world and a dream world, which he refers to as The Outback, which is just as real to him as the real world. This figure how he looks in the Outback. It is a nicely sculpted figure. I loved reading the Maxx. The Maxx has some cult following but is never a huge hit, so his figures are kinda rare. I am so glad I get hold of this.
#5: Overwatch Tracer by Figma
PHILIP SAYS: Ok, so I REALLY like Overwatch design. Here is Tracer in Figma action toy series by the company Good Smile. It is really a showcase of the quality of premium Japanese action figures. It is nicely sculpted, all the joints are tight. Painting and printing are almost flawless. It is not cheap. Compare to a similar figure by Hasbro, it is almost double in price. But I think if you really looking for the quality it is worth it. I also got Widowmaker which is also very nice and is now waiting for Mercy to arrive anytime soon.
TOYSREVIL: Where do you normally purchase your toys? Online? Offline from Stores? Events? Which do you prefer? And why?
PHILIP LEE: I guess both online and offline. As a Hong Konger, we are lucky to have a lot of cool toy shops and even malls dedicated to kidult toys. I usually do window shops in those malls and look for the best value online. Most of the online shops are operated by those brick and mortar shops. So in the end, I will go to a certain shop to pick up what I bought online.
TOYSREVIL: Do you have “toy-grails”? And did you manage to score a “toy-grail” this year (2019)?
PHILIP LEE: I would love to own the 400% Daft Punk Bearbrick. They are so cool. But it is so expensive. I adopt a Buddhist approach to toy collecting, meaning I would not try too hard to get what I am not supposed to get.
#4: Patlabor Tyrant 2000
PHILIP SAYS: Patlabor is an anime series that is fairly popular. This is a vinyl toy of one of the civilian mecha. It is pretty obscure. I think there may be only a handful of toys or model kits of this mecha. I have no idea who is the manufacturer of this toy. The shop owner told me it has been sitting on the shelf for almost ten years. He believed it may be one of the one-day license toys from C3 Japan. It is a really nice one. I would have bought it anyway.
#3: Vintage Dorvack "Halk Sovat" Powered Armor Kit by Gunze Sangyo
PHILIP SAYS: So Dorvack again. I really love the powered suit in this anime. Although it is regarded as a Ma.K (S.F. 3D) knock-off by many. I do think it has its own uniqueness. And its coolness was amplified by Makoto Kobayashi who customized and kitbashed a bunch of Dorvack powered suit model kits. Those really left an impression on me as a kid. (Makoto Kobayashi continued to churn out great design, he was later hired by Hollywood to design spaceship for Battlestar Galactica) I spent quite a bit of time working on this kit, customized it. I added a big ass sword and a bloody apron. It is my homage to Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill game series. So this piece has elements from a lot of my favorite geeky stuff.
TOYSREVIL: Any particular focus or toy-aims this year (2020)? Starting any new line?
PHILIP LEE: Yes! I am launching a Kickstarter for my new toy iBoy this year. I want to push Classicbot under the spotlight. I also have a couple of new ideas for toy lines that are totally different from Classicbot. I hope at least one will come to fruition this year.
TOYSREVIL: Do you belong to any particular or dedicated toy-groups (online or offline)? Do you have “toy-buying buddies”?
PHILIP LEE: I am a proud member of My Toy Hoard, a Facebook designer toy group. People are super friendly there.
#2: Work Dog 8" Soft Vinyl by Vincent Scala
PHILIP SAYS: What I really enjoy about making toys is you get a chance to meet all the cool people, and become friends with them. I first met Vincent online. I like his work. He had a cool Kickstarter project raising funds for his Work Dog vinyl figure. I really like it so I backed him, and we started chatting online. His campaign was a success. What you see here is the end result: a beautiful multi-colored vinyl toy. I met vincent in Designer Con last year. We had a great time catching up.
#1: 2B from Neir: Automata by Flare
PHILIP SAYS: Nier: Automata is my favorite game ever. I wrote about it last year. So understandably this 2B figure is my favorite toy last year. I know very little about premium anime statue. This is literally my first one. (Ok 2b is technically not from an anime, but you know what I mean). But a little research shows that Flare is one of the best manufacturers in this category. This statue is sculpted by Mitsumasa Yoshizawa who is master in this category. 2B looks stunning. I wish they will produce 9S (the male android), and A2 (another female android)/
TOYSREVIL: “Toy Buying these days is a solitary affair” = Do you agree with this? How do you feel about this?
PHILIP LEE: Actually not. I think with all the online groups, buying toys can be as social as you want. .Of course, you can keep it as solitary as you want too.
TOYSREVIL: Where can people go to see your collection?
PHILIP LEE: I don’t have anywhere that I consolidate all my toys photos. But I am making a post on Classicbot official account about me, so fans can see what I collect.
