Philip Lee's TOP TEN TOYS OF 2020
"First off, I want to apologize to Andy and the readers of Toysrevil. This article is a few months late. I have been really busy, but there is really no excuse. But I still hope you enjoy my sharing.
Last year there has been no toy shows to attend or promote my brands. It obviously affected my choices of purchases. I am mainly an anime guy, and I buy designer toys when I am in toy shows. Without the toy shows, I did not really buy any designer toys." ~ shared PHILIP LEE, Designer, Founder of playsometoys.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #10 ~ afa annfa's Raindrop girl by How2work
PHILIP LEE: So this is my only art toy from last year. afa annfa is a very talented Hong Kong artist. She used to be in the advertising business and we worked in the same agency. I am very happy to see her getting successful as an artist. I got this limited vinyl from her exhibition. The figure looks great. It uses a matt finishing that is quite unusual for vinyl toys. I am still debating whether I should take it out from the bag. I am not the kind of collector that let the toy sit inside the packaging. But there is the artist autograph on the back card, and I don't want to destroy it by mistake. Anyway please check out afa's work on afaannfa.com.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #9 ~ Fate/stay Night HYPER Fate Collection Saber Alter by Enterbrain
As a toy designer, I understand the frustration a designer can face when the manufacturer messes up your design. Such was the case in this Saber Alter figure by Enterbrain. In recent years I have become a casual fan of the Fate series. One of my favorite characters is the alter version of the heroine Saber (Saber is Arturia, a gender-bent King Arthur). I found this 2007 toy, I was impressed by the more realistic rendition of the anime character. I also learned that it was sculpted by Andou Kenji, who is famous for his work on S.I.C Kamen Rider series. Andou Sensei is a very talented man, he also is a famous manga artist. So I decided to look for a new one. There was curiously few photos of it from toy collectors, and none of them have the face in close-up. After I got the toy I understood why. The paint job on the face was terrible. The rest of the figure was fine. The articulation was meh, but the sculpt was really good. I felt so sorry for Andou Sensei. So I decided to repaint the face. And I have to pat the back of myself, I did a pretty good job. Now it becomes one of my favorite figures and she is safeguarding my desk from then on.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #8 ~ Bandai Metal Build Gundam F91
I am a long-time Gundam fan. And I pretty much grew up with the franchise. The designer of the original Gundam, Kunio Okawara, is still my idol. I actually lined up in a con to get his autograph. He was really putting a lot of effort into signing. Not only did he ask my name, but he also drew a little Gundam head next to the autograph. It was a special day in my life. After the original Gundam, he went on to design many other mechas. Besides the original Gundam, my favorite is the Gundam F91. It combines two things that I love, a sports car and a Gundam. The vents and the sleek lines were inspired by sports cars. The design still looks fresh today. The Metal Build is the top-of-the-line figure from Bandai. I always wanted to buy one, but it was expensive, so I waited for a couple of years for the price to come down. I was not disappointed. Everything about this toy is top-notch.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #7 ~ Playmobil Astronaut Luca Parmitano
This is a limited-edition special Playmobil that celebrated a veteran Italian Astronaut Luca Parmitano. It is a really lovely figure. Well as for a limited edition, 25000 was made, so in the designer toy world, it is not limited at all. But I always want a Playmobil astronaut in this mold. It is really the cutest form out of all the Playmobils or even Lego Minifigs. So I am willing to pay a little extra for the limited edition.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #6 ~ Bootleg Juohmaru minifig
I seldom buy bootlegs, as I really want to respect and protect the owners of different IPs. But I cut myself some slack on this purchase. Juohmaru is the hero mecha from the once-popular series Plawres Sanshiro in the early '80s. The story revolved around a group of scale model builders who built and fight their mini robot wrestlers. Since I have always been a passionate modeler, this show really captured my imagination as a kid. The show went into oblivion. Only a toy here and there 5 or more years apart. So I was surprised someone made an effort to customize a Juohmaru minifig. And someone turning that customized figure into a product you can buy also surprised me. I am sure it is not something the IPs owner or Lego will ever make. So I think it is ok to buy it. The figure is very nice. The paint job is excellent.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #5 ~ Dominion tank vinyl model kit
Dominion Tank Police was another work from Shirow Masamune, the manga artist of Ghost in the Shell. It was a lighthearted manga about a police squad that used mini tanks as their patrol vehicles. The name of the tank is called Bonaparte. The manga was not a huge hit but still popular enough to be turned into OVA (original video animation, anime that sold as VHS) And there were very few toys ever made. So when I did my regular toy hunt in a small shop, I was really excited when I saw this tank model. The model kit only came in with a nondescriptive plastic bag. The owner who I trusted told me he forgot where he got the kit, as it had been many years since he got the kit. It could be from WonderFest. But for me, it does not really matters, as I am just happy to be able to build a Bonaparte. The sculpt is pretty good. I think the scale is around 1/48. I hope I can finish it and show you guys the result.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #4 ~ Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost In The Shell SAC_2045 by MegaHouse
So this figure from the latest Netflix show. Personally, I love the show. It has the same creators as the original SAC. But the new show is done with CG and I think it really takes some getting used to. And the first few episodes are a slow start. But once you get past it, it is a really solid show, worthy of the nameplate. This figure from MegaHouse is really good. I think they did a wonderful job. I love the pose, the sculpting of the jacket is full of details.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #3 ~ Ghost in the Shell Super Graphic Collection Cyberdelic Limited comic manga art
Did I tell you I indulged myself with GITS goodies? So here is the fourth one. Wait, these are not toys you say. Well, there is a box of puzzles within this jumbo GITS collector box. So technically it can be considered a toy. The main attraction of this collection box is the beautiful set of metallic posters. They all have super fancy printing effects. Absolutely stunning! It also has a limited edition certificate, some stickers, and file folders. What great is I got it from a second-hand book store for only 40 USD? It was a huge bargain. I want this for many years, I am a happy guy now.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #2 ~ Tachikoma from Robot Tamashi Series
This is the third GITS-related toy. This is the Tachikoma from the new Netflix show. For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, Tachikomas are a group of AI tactical vehicles that work with the Section 9 team (the public security team led by Major) They are quirky and fun, speak like a curious child. This particular Tachikoma is slightly updated for the show, with a sleeker and more angular look. It took me a while to get used to it. The toy is from the Robot Tamashi series by Bandai. They are all plastic mecha figures usually made use of color plastic with efficient paint job highlighting detail parts. The blue body has a nice satin finish to it. I think Bandai added a misty texture to the mold. So even the blue is unpainted there is still a quality feel to it. The toy is quite well articulated as what is expected from Bandai and this series.
#TOPTENTOYS2020: #1 ~ Figma Batou from Good Smile Company
So last year I really indulged myself with one of my favorite IPs, Ghost in the Shell. And I have been collecting Figmas for a while. For those who don't know, Figma is a line of action figures from Good Smile Company. They are 6 inches figures similar in size to Marvel Legends. They are really expensive for their sizes. But the quality is good. And being a GITS fan, I went straight to pre-order this Batou Figma the moment it was available. There had been not many high-quality Batou figures. There were prize figures (low to medium quality that act as giveaway prizes in game arcades in Japan) or small-scale figures here and there. But nothing really stood out. So This Figma Batou was a must for me. He does not disappoint. He is a hefty figure considers his height. Very well painted and well-articulated. And he looks great with my Figma Major. I even brought them out to take pictures. Being in Hong Kong, we live in a cyberpunk-looking city that looks like the one in the show. And the pictures turned out pretty good, even they were just taken with an iPhone.
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