Nabeyakan raises the alarm!　Unusual price hike of soft vinyl monster “30 million yen” and the darkness of “counterfeits” on the market

Showa-era monster soft vinyls have skyrocketed in price

• Takkong……410,000 yen
• Cactus Dahl……9 million yen
• Pegira……13.6 million yen

And,

Garamon……29.9 million yen

These were the winning bids for antique monster soft vinyl dolls at the Manrandare auction held in March of this year.

These are mainly soft vinyl dolls of monsters that appeared in the Ultra series released by Marusan Shokai and Brumaak toy makers in the 1960s. Each was priced at only a few hundred yen at the time, but the prices were soaring, with Garamon selling for as much as a second-hand apartment, sending shockwaves through the ranks of enthusiasts and collectors alike.

Vintage soft vinyl toys are often played with by children and have their names written on them, and because there are few of them in good condition, beautiful ones are always popular in the antique toy market. They are well-known as rare items that collectors would love to own someday. Many people may have learned of their existence through the treasure boom of the past.

The Garamon that reached the highest price this time is from the initial lot of Marusan’s “1st stage,” which was a popular item that had been priced in the several million yen range.

We interviewed Mr. Nabeyakan, a TV personality known as one of the world’s leading collectors, about the current state of the antique monster soft vinyl world.

Corona and SNS behind the price hike

The shelves in the collection room of Mr. Yakan’s home are filled with rare soft vinyl figures made by Bandai, Popy, and M1, as well as Ultra monsters made by Marusan and Blumaak that were sold during the Showa period and monster soft vinyl from Toho’s Godzilla series. It is a dreamlike space.

This Godzilla is about 1,000,000 yen. Mechagodzilla is about 1 million yen, and Kanegon is about 500,000 yen.

As one would expect, the items he pulls out from the shelves while protecting his dog are all rare soft vinyl figures. The casual manner in which he displayed these valuable items one after another almost paralyzed my senses.

According to Mr. Yakan, there was a period a few years ago when the market price of antique Marusan/Burumaak soft vinyl monsters temporarily dropped. This year ’26 is the 60th anniversary of the broadcast of “Ultra Q” and “Ultraman,” and as the real-time generation of that time has gradually passed away or is organizing their collections for their final days, valuable items are flowing into the market, and prices are expected to drop in the future. I had expected that prices would drop in the future,

The COVID-19 crisis changed everything.

The Corona disaster changed everything,” says Yakan.

The COVID-19 crisis caused people worldwide to refrain from going out, and I spent more time on the Internet. In the midst of all this, many people became aware of the “appeal” of soft vinyl through social networking sites, especially Instagram.

In addition to the indescribable charm of the products of the time, independent manufacturers released original soft vinyl models one after another with high design quality, incorporating the molding and painting techniques of Marusan and Brumaak at the time, and this led to the popularity of soft vinyl as a new genre of art. The “soft vinyl” is a new genre of art.

Elaborate forgeries proliferate on the market

As Mr. Kikan said, “art,” it is no exaggeration to say that vintage monster soft vinyls have reached the realm of antique art. Therefore, the number of cases in which these items are bought by outside buyers as speculative objects is on the rise. In addition, there are now forgeries so elaborate that even experts cannot easily distinguish them from each other.

In addition, there are also those that are repainted by the owner and then labeled as “rare colors” or “unreleased sample colors,” or that have been damaged with scratches or other damage to give the appearance of age-related deterioration, or that are made to look beautiful by combining parts in good condition, or even by writing their names on them with magic.

There are even cases of such products being sold at high prices through online auctions. In other words, the monster soft vinyls are now like antique works of art.

Rare soft vinyl figures made by Bulmaaq, which had been regarded as a mirage until now, began to appear on the market at once. Most of them were forgeries. Some were made domestically, while others were made exactly like them in China. The situation is similar for popular vintage toys other than monster soft vinyls such as Chogokin and Jumbo Machinder released by Popy.

What is more, over time since these forgeries began appearing on the market, a phenomenon has also begun to occur: even though they are forgeries, they have undergone changes over time.

The market is now blending in with those that have undergone changes over time. With online auctions becoming the mainstream and non-specialty recycle stores beginning to handle them, more and more are being handled by people who are unable to truly discern what they are really made of.

There are many things that you cannot tell from the pictures on the Internet, but sometimes these people are deceived and there are several forgeries lined up on the store shelves. For example, some of them are labeled with the phrase, ‘I don’t know the details, but it came out of an old family’s storeroom’ (laughs).

(Laughs.) Many overseas collectors have entered the market, creating a market with one more zero than before, and it has become a world where even we can’t afford to buy. At the moment, we still don’t know where the peak is.”

The number of people who know the characteristics of things and are able to discern them is gradually decreasing.

In another 10 years, there will be almost no one left who can truly identify the real thing,” Yakan says gloomily.

Mr. Kakan worries.

The appeal of modeling, not speculation

One of the most famous points among collectors is that the decisive difference between the items of those days and later ones is the “smell” that is unique to the items of those days due to the fact that the raw materials are no longer in use today. In fact, as soon as we opened the glass of the collection cabinet in Mr. Kettle’s room, that distinctive “smell” spread out. However,

I think that sometimes, if you put old things and new things together on a shelf, the smell of the old and new things gets infected,” he said, smiling wryly.

He laughs bitterly.

What is it about these vintage soft vinyl monsters that attracts Kikan and other collectors so much? Marusan and Blumaak’s monsters are moderately deformed and sometimes look adorable, rather than being sculpted realistically as they appear in the movie. This is one of the main attractions, he says.

The sculpting was done by a craftsman who used to make toys of animals and Disney characters for babies to play with. And the size of the figure, about 20 centimeters, gives it an indescribable sense of comfort.

In the world of soft vinyl monsters, where prices continue to soar, it is Kakan’s earnest wish that the stores and other retailers that carry them will hone their discerning eyes. He also offered the following advice to those who are interested in buying something.

He also offered this advice to those who are interested in buying something: “It’s okay if you are interested in it because of the great price. But I want you to buy something you like, whether it’s a reissue or a current item, because you think it’s cute, cool, or beautiful. I would be happy if people start liking them and feel the charm of the items from those days.

There is something about the aura that only the real thing gives off. If you have ever had a moment when you saw a vintage monster soft vinyl and felt that, it is probably because of fate, isn’t it?