Real x Head U.S.A.

TROOPERS ARE GO!

2011-09-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Chaos Troopers have been dispatched to their destinations. If you haven't already received yours - you should get them this week!

Thanks again!

Rotofugi

2011-07-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Looks like our friends over at Rotofugi have got their hands on a nice little selection of RxH micro-release figures. I would jump on these - no doubt supplies are limited!

The Storm has Past

2011-07-17T19:10:00.001-07:00

The Pre-order for the Chaos Troopers is now closed. Again allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

THANK YOU!

Chaos Trooper On-Demand Sale Ends Today

2011-07-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

We have had a very healthy response to the Chaos Trooper On-Demand release - you guys are the best! The window for the pre-order closes at 9pm EST this evening, so if you are still thinking about picking one up - better jump on it.

For anyone who will be in San Diego, please come by booth #4937 - there will be a small selection of Real x Head figures available on preview night.

A Storm has Come

2011-07-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the initial CHAOS TROOPER pre-order. This release follows the debut CHAOS TROOPER release in Japan and is an homage to everyone's favorite Cloned Trooper army. The painted releases come in Basic Black & White, Commander Cody Orange, Captain Scarlet Maroon, and Captain Dinosaur Blue. Each figure is hand-rubbed and wiped by Master Goto, so each one will be slightly unique.

Also on offer is a DIY white blank - each one will come with a random color doll eye.

The PRE-ORDER for CHAOS TROOPERS is open from July 10th 12pm EST until July 17th 9pm EST. There are no limits to the number of TROOPERS you can order. Prices include shipping worldwide via EMS from Japan. Please allow 6-8 weeks for Delivery. If you have questions or inquiries please contact us at realxhead (at) gmail (dotcom)

THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH SHINTO GANGU ONLINE!

BUILD YOUR ARMY

Chaos Troopers Invasion

2011-07-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

The most exciting figure released from Real x Head this year is hands-down the Chaos Trooper. Inspired by figures from the ground-breaking CHAOS INVASION Custom Corps by Matt Doughty of Onell Design, the figure incorporates many Glyos inspired references in the sculpt.

While Mori has been "working the mold" pretty hard with a slew of Micro-releases in Japan, the time has now come for an On-Demand release of the Chaos Trooper from RealxHead U.S.A. Once again the pre-order will be open for 1 week starting at 9pm PST July 10 and closing at 9pm July 17. This time around the figures will be priced to include shipping and will ship worldwide directly from Japan. More details to come tomorrow evening.

To celebrate the world-wide Chaos Trooper Invasion, we asked Wunderkind illustrator Ralph Niese to create this special work of art for us. Looks like the cover of a very cool comic.

Working the molds

2011-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

NEW!!

2011-06-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

ぬんぬーんっ!!!!!!☆

2011-05-28T23:35:00.000-07:00

Real Head Not! Preppy?

2011-05-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Marco! Polo!?
New Styling Polo shirts on sale at REALHEADS!

Mutant Clone Troopers

2011-05-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Wave 2 deployed this weekend. Chaos Sniper and Captain Dragon.

Also a Stealth Version in the works.

Coming Soon to the rest of the world!!!

CHAOS STORM

2011-05-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Realheads!

2011-05-17T22:54:00.001-07:00

Pro Wrestling collab T-shirt

2011-05-08T04:13:00.001-07:00

'Nuff said

Chaos Trooper

2011-05-03T08:26:00.001-07:00

P1030260, a photo by datadub on Flickr.

A new adult-size RealxHead figure has landed. The Chaos Trooper in full force!

2011-04-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

2011-04-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

Pheyaos Man Cometh!

2011-04-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

REALHEADS is OPEN!!!

2011-04-16T03:06:00.000-07:00

Shinto Gangu On Demand -- UPDATE! --

2011-04-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

A major Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown might slow us down but they wont stop us from delivering the goods. The figures made it safely to the States and the orders are all packed at the RxH U.S.A. HQ, and will be heading out to you good folks this week. Thank you so much for your patience and support through this difficult time.

JAPAN NOT! DEAD!

2011-04-05T09:54:00.001-07:00

RHNDS pt. 2 - RxH T-shirt History

2011-03-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Mori announced the re-scheduled opening date for the new REALHEADS shop. The shop will be opening this Sunday, April 3. So to celebrate let's continue the parade of Real x Head T-shirts of yesteryear.

First up is yet another collab with the Wunderkind of Weird - L'amour Supreme. Released as a collab set in 2007 that featured an original silk screen plexiglass painting of the legendary battle between Mutant Head and Clone Mutant Evil; a set of GID Head and Evil figures (available in blood-spattered or clean versions) and this funky T-shirt of Mutant Hands giving a "Gang Sign".

The summer of 2009 saw the "After School Event" which opened an new era of Real x Head collaborating with Japanese artists. While a lot of these collaborations have resulted in figures, in 2010 there were a few T-shirt collaborations as well.

At Superfestival in April 2010, two Tokyo-based design powerhouses - Art Denka and Goccodo - released a series of RxH collab T-shirts

Art Denka (L) & Goccodo (R)

Art Denka's "Here is the Hell of Mutant" Design

Goccodo's "Fortune Maria" design

Goccodo's "Fortune Drive" design

At the same event the Shibamata based boutique ALtr Tokyo released a new collab T-shirt design that has been released in a nice array of colors.

This past October there was a "Katsushika Nights" T-shirt release event at Shinto Gangu, a foreshadowing of the opening of the REALHEADS T-shirt shop.

I will try to squeeze in one more post this week - featuring some of the upcoming REALHEADS T-shirt designs and we will have full coverage of the launch event.

Shinto Gangu On-Demand Update!

2011-03-16T03:32:00.000-07:00

All of us here in Tokyo are stilling fighting the good fight!

Just a heads up for those wonderful folks who ordered figures through last months On Demand program. Due to last weeks earthquake please allow a couple of more weeks for us to get the figures to you.
Thanks for your understanding.

Japan Not! Dead

Velocitron X RealxHead: Orghan Donation

2011-03-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Velocitron (aka Ricky Wilson) has a few custom Orghan Bats for sale. Besides being velocerifically beautiful all proceeds will be donated to the relief effort for Northern Japan.

Orghans are GONZO! Thanks everyone!

RHNDS! pt. 1

2011-03-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

I was actually in the middle of writing this blog post when the big one struck. While things are slowly coming back to normal here in Tokyo, the disaster up north continues to unfold. The new Real x Head shop was to open on this coming Sunday but this has been postponed. Mori and family are fine, he has been to the shop and things were in relatively good order. We will keep you posted on when the new shop opens and have full coverage of course.

You may have read rumors about a second Real x Head store out there on the internets - so its about time to address it hear. For about a year now Mori has been doing a local radio show (see previous post) The Katsushika Nights show has built a loyal local following. (Radio Not! Dead) So to cater to this new fan base that is not particularly interested in Kaiju as much as Mori's unique take on Japanese culture and iconography, Real x Head is opening a new shop called REALHEADS. Still in Aoto, this new shop will be aiming for more broad based appeal focusing on t-shirts, small soft vinyl figures and other knick-knacks.

~~We will have full coverage of the shop opening that will happen this Sunday at 1:30pm.~~ In the meantime I thought it would be cool to do a quick retrospective of past RxH t-shirts. Before jumping into the toy biz Mori ran a small T-shirt business - but the iconography seems to have been in place from day one.

from June 2004 - OLD SCHOOL!

The older shirts even came with Header Cards?
Hiro shows off a score at the Super7 store back in the day.

Scanned from the Kai-Zine RxH retrospective -
you can see the fronts and backs.

Kai-zine also offered up their own
exclusive RxH t-shirt in the same issue.

while not technically an official RxH shirt - several key characters feature prominently on this masterpiece by L'amour Supreme
for the 2008 Kaiju Invades NYC exhibition

L'amour Supreme having a bad head day...

Another L'amour creation was this Hone Borg bandanna
that also made it onto a few T-shirts as well.

who is that masked man???

Originally created as a piece of art for the 2007 RxH retrospective at Ichibanboshi, this Rock'n'Roll Over inspired design was featured on a t-shirt that came with a matching set of Mutant Minis from Toy Tokyo.

There are more T-shirts design to come so stay tuned!

Another Happy Customers...

2011-03-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

James and Elitsa made the long journey to Shinto Gangu from Toronto.

'Pheyaos Man' Limited edition Tshirt - PREORDER!

2011-03-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

Alexis and Ralph - the twisted minds over at Mondo Calvera - who gave us TUERTO and the 2491A.D. (A.K.A Mekano Turbo) Comic - now unleash the Pheyaos Man T-shirt.

Its available for pre-order here.

Google maps

2011-02-28T06:02:00.000-08:00

2011-02-24T19:25:00.001-08:00

2011-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

Real x Nibbler Launch Details

2011-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Real x Nibbler - Unpainted Wave will go up Friday 25th Feb - 7pm EST - 4pm PST(Midnight GMT)..

See you at Fishtank Castle !

Real x Nibbler by The Tarantulas

2011-02-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

If you have ever wondered what happens in the huddled corners of the San Diego Convention Center during Comic Con, here is a concrete manifestation of one those sweaty scrums. Real x Nibbler is a triple collab between Onell Design, Real x Head & The Tarantulas. The Nibbler is a character from the warped mind of Chris Burt - the man behind The Tarantulas, a London-based Toy Design Consultancy. The original design by Chris was interpreted into RxH style by Mori and sculpted / manufactured in Japan by Real x Head.

This is the first vinyl version of The Nibbler - the debut release being unpainted with vinyl cut eye decals. Real x Nibbler stands 10.5cm tall ( 4 1/4" ) and has articulated Head, Arms & Waist.. Colors in this wave are Molten Pink with White eyes ( Mutagenesis #1 ) & Anti-Matter Black with Mirror eyes ( Mutagenesis #2 ). Price will be £25 plus shipping.

This wave will be sold exclusively at The Tarantulas Big Cartel store - 'Fishtank Castle' - thetarantulas.bigcartel.com on Friday 25th February GMT PM - exact time TBC - check www.the-tarantulas.blogspot.com

Shinto Gangu On-demand

2011-02-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

So here is our new concept - we have dubbed it “Shinto Gangu On-demand” - it is basically a pre-order system for micro-releases. For this online retail experiment - Mori has selected these 4 recent colorways of the Chaosmen - 1 each of Chaosman #1 (Chaos), Chaosman #2 (Fly Guy), Chaosman #3 (The Owl) and the newest member Chaosman X . the base vinyl on all the figures is black.

You will have the opportunity to pre-order 1 of each figure. The pre-order will be open until Friday. Payment - including shipping from the U.S. - will be paid upfront via Paypal. Once the orders are in, Mori and Goto will immediately set to work and we will have these figures in your hot grubby hands via the RxH U.S.A. depot within 4 weeks. Some of these colorways have been on sale recently at Shinto Gangu and a few may have made it to U.S. retailers but they will not be offered again. Once the deadline has passed the release will be considered closed.

The pre-order is now open and will close Friday February 11th at 11pm EST. If you have any question or coments regarding this release - put them in the comments section of this post and we will answer them to the best of our ability.

--- UPDATE !! ---
Pre-order is now closed.
THANK YOU - THANK YOU - THANK YOU!!!!!

Real x Head Not! Dead

2011-02-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

Its been a few months now since we started this little experiment called Real x Head U.S.A. The Real x Head brand has been active since 2003 - coming up on 7 years now - and while a few months may seem like a blink in time to the seasoned collector it must feel like an eon to the more fevered mindset of newer collectors. Our intention has always been to have a centralized information source about the activities of the Real x Head brand and to occasionally bring some exclusive goodies to the international fans. RxH being based in Japan and having a shop on the outskirts of Tokyo - this means that a majority of this coverage of activities and figure releases would be Japan-centric - but we thought having an inside perspective on these activities would be of interest to the international fan-base. And while reception of the site has generally been positive - we are well aware of a rise in the level of “desire” for what can be perceived as ‘unattainable’ releases.

The indie soft vinyl figure market has been through a lot in these past seven years. When Mori first started, one factor that loomed large was Obitsu 100 figure minimum rule. With his first figure the Oni Head - he made 100 - and sold 2. Obviously this was not a winning strategy - so he went back to the drawing board. With his second figure - the Mutant Head - he still made 100 but took delivery of the figures unpainted. Since his hometown of Katsushika is ground zero for the old school Japanese toy-making industry, he knew there were a lot of cottage industry craftsman around that supported the larger companies like Obitsu. Approaching one of them directly he found a way to have his figures painted 10 at a time. And while still not selling out at the toy shows he was stuck with a lot less stock. In the early days of this scene, sales happened almost exclusively at toys shows - the circuit was pretty strong - there was usually an event every month. The market demanded makers release something new at every show - and while they would put out their back stock - the pressure was on to continually come up with novel releases. Real x Head was quite innovative with colors, inserts and new head sculpts that worked on the existing Mutant Zone body. The pressure was always on to maintain the fine balance between outlay costs and the demand for novelty to still turn a profit. While many of the indies makers were just hobbyist, Mori was determined to do it as a business.

A big break for the international scene came in late 2005 when Brian Flynn of Super7 purchased a batch of Mori’s back stock at a Toy show here in Tokyo. (you can see a pic of that legendary lot of figures at the top of this post.) Combined with the new burgeoning online community over at skullbrain.org and a surge in popularity here in Japan - 2006 thru 2008 were boom years for both the indie soft vinyl movement and Real x Head. Many collectors discovered Real x Head during these glory years when release runs were fairly large and there was usually a good mix of easier to obtain releases as well as a nice smattering of secrets and chases. But for every boom there is a bust. As the global economy slowed down so did the demand for expensive Japanese vinyl toys. Mori again has shown his ingenuity by diversifying his product line up, making smaller “nice price” items, cultivating new customer bases and more recently honing a more on-demand style micro-release work-flow. deja vu all over again!

Enough with history lesson - what does the future hold? While the volume and variety of product to the States has an ebb and flow, Lulubell Toys, Rotofugi and other fine retailers continue to carry new product. Mori always strives to keep prices down even with the strong yen, so these retailers have been able to offer lower prices on new RxH figures and have even marked down their back stock to be in line with the newer recession-style pricing.

We also have been brainstorming on ways to bring new RxH goodness to you all through this website and we have another experiment we are about to reveal. Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

Real x Head Not! Dead

The Eel Cat of Shiba Mata

2011-02-04T01:54:00.000-08:00

Altr. Tokyo is a small boutique in the sleepy time-slip neighborhood of Shibamata. Its 2 short stops from Aoto but feels like its a ride 50 years into Japan's Showa-era past. The area is famous as the locale for the long-running Tora-san series of films which spanned 48 installments (1969–95). The boutique's owner is Yuichi Hanzawa, a RxH Fortune cat collaborator since the historic RxH After School Event in June 2009 and who often has in-shop exclusive versions. His cats always have the characters 柴又 (Shibamata) on the coin.

Recently he unveiled an original figure - the Eel Cat. The same size as a fortune cat baby but mutated with a distinct caricature of the japanese eel - a popular creature in Japan. I am sure there is a nod and wink to the Eel Dog character from the manga work Tensai Bakabon by Fujio Akatsuka. The versions available at Altr. Tokyo will have 柴又 (Shibamata) on the coin and the versions available at Shinto Gangu wil have the characters 青砥 (Aoto) them.

Just in case you didn't have enough stuff to collect.

Mr. Katsura Mori

2011-02-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

This was spotted on the blog of “Ryu” AKASHI who is the president of Medicom Toy, purveyors of magical toys like Bearbricks, Kubricks and Real Action Heroes. What on earth can they be up to?...

Highly confidential meeting with Mr. Mori, big boss of REAL x HEAD.
Our project meeting after this photo-shooting just went so hyped-up.
Please stay tuned for a few more months to see the outcome.

2011-01-06T07:49:00.001-08:00

Ring in the New Year with Real x Head!

2010-12-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Our good buddies over at Rotofugi have decided to kick off 2011 with big Real x Head Sale! They have lowered prices across the board on their impressive stock of Real x Head figures and added a tasty $10 off offer.

RotoKirby says:
Our friends at Real Head have lowered their prices a little bit over the past few months, so we've decided to go into our entire back stock of RxH figures and set new lower prices too! It's never been a better time to be a Real Head collector....plus, now through January 9, place an order for $60 or more worth of Real Head stuff and we'll knock an additional $10 off your total! Happy New Year! RHND! Shop Now

They have some really choice figures in the shop but stocks are limited so GO! GO! GO!.

Kirby - you're a Prince (Prince Amoeba that is...)

Good To the Last Drop

2010-12-30T23:01:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, December 29th, was the last day of business for 2010 at Shinto Gangu. Real x Head went out with a bang - something Old and something New - one last Chaos and one last Next Man.

Its been quite the year - and we are really excited for 2011. We have appreciated all the support you have shown for the new Real x Head U.S.A. site - its been baby steps as we have tried to integrate this site in with all the other busy activities that are already rolling along full steam. BIG BIG thanks to Matt and Marcus of the Onell Crew for working with us to get this project lined up on the rails and tinkering under the hood to make sure this hot rod rocket flies straight from here on out! Onward and upwards!

Poison (Shin) Apt. - Viper Villa (RECAP)

2010-12-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

(l-to-r) Skulltoys, Real x Head, Cord Viper, Atom A. Armwrestler

Today 4 fearless makers laid out the goods at Shinto Gangu. The event was devastating - the amount of vinyl goodness boggled the mind (and bashed the wallet). Skulltoys once again displayed his warm machine-like precision by creating a cadre of a hand-decorated Honesukes, as well as a few large electric fortune cats; Real x Head was in fine form with a bevy of old school chaos on clear vinyl; Cord Viper debuted the first mask painted version of Kamari paired with new versions of Zavelle and ZAT all in blood red vinyl; and Atom was on fire with hand-painted Chaos' of his own, and the piece-de-resistance - hand painted Adios Space Trains with a custom resin figure riding on top. This doesn't even cover everything that was available. You can get a good recap over at the Kaiju Korner blog and here is my Flickr set.

Poison (Shin) Apt. - Viper Villa

2010-12-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

Standing amidst the smoking rubble of the Poison Apartments of Viper Villa, clothed only in newspaper and fruit wrappers are our four defiant Makers.
Room 101 - The Lone Wolf from Cord Viper - Big Brother Kyuni.
Room 102 - The Stylish Skeleton Man from Skulltoys - Takeuchi
Room 103 - The Full Tilt Cat from Shigaraki - Atom A. (Armwrestler)
Room 104 - The Mohican Dude of Katsushika - Mori Katsura

This Sunday, December 26th, at noon a special event will be held at Shinto Gangu in Aoto.

Gathering together these 4 artists of the Shinto Tribe - all will be offering exclusive and exciting releases.

Stay tuned for updates!

Sincroid Sighting

2010-12-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Henshin launch is a GO over at the Glyos store.

2010-12-10T07:08:00.001-08:00

2010-12-10T06:50:00.001-08:00

2010-12-10T06:44:00.001-08:00

Somewhere...

2010-12-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

Thanks Everyone!

Rainbow Minis Are Go!

2010-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

In the store now! Refresh!

**UPDATE** We thought we had plenty of these to go around but you guys are animals. Still a few left but we have engaged the LOW STOCK protocol.

**UPDATE** Shef Minis are gone, thanks everyone! A few Fortune Cats remain!

Shef - "The Rainbow Master"

2010-12-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

Shef - who releases under the name "Cha-iro Brown" - has been literally dipping into the Soft Vinyl scene for the last couple of years. Known for his unbelievably even hand-dyed vinyl he has applied his craft to releases from the like of BlobPus, Itokin Park, Refreshment, Uamou and Real x Head. At last months Design Festa he had a tidy display of his handiwork to date and it was quite impressive. A personal favorite is his series of fortune cat babies with the Chinese character (夢) which means "dream" in silver. They look incredibly gorgeous all lined up - Shef's hand dyes are so clear and clean.

At the last Superfestival - Shef went gonzo on a large batch of Real x Head minis. Three different styles each of Mutant Head, Mutant Evil and Mutant Chaos that were sold blind bag.

And now (finally) is your chance to get your hands on some of these little jewel-like treasures. Like at the SuperFestival we will be selling them blind-bagged - and even though the yen is kicking our ass - we are offering them for $32 a piece (limit 2 per customer.)

These little beauties will be in the Shinto Gangu Online Store at 9pm Wednesday Night EST (heads-up - we will be using a paypal shopping cart this time.)

To see bigger versions of these pictures of the minis in front of a Tokyo sunset check out this post at Toybot Studios

Flashbacks

2010-12-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Where did the time go? Braaaa-aack... blame a vortex wormhole - that excuse always seemed to worked in Middle school.

The Shinjuku Battle Royal event at Kaiju Blue that ran for a full month between Ocotber and November was a big success - with Mori doing special instore events not once, not twice but 3 times which is a new record for a Kaiju Blue event by any artist. You can read a re-cap of what went down at the first one on this post Sunday Busy Sunday as well as the first of four instore events featuring the Katsushika Nights Radio Crew.

You may have also read about the second drop - The Halloween drop that featured the instant classic Mutant Dokurocks, Old Scholl Evils and Chaos, and the rarely seen Monster Mash-up that is Pop-oas Superman (good dudes all for Halloween I would say) at Squdblastrs excellent blog (what up Aaron!!)

The third and final drop took place on the 14th of Nov - and while I was not privy to make it - our man over Kadomium Tank stepped and got some awesome photos. More old school goodness to make your teeth hurt. Blasts right outta 2007. Kad's got tons more pics to goggle over and the hardcore can google his entry.

But no rest for the vinyl as the focus shifted to Parco for a group show of the whos who in the world of vinyl character goods. The theme of the show being LUCKY ITEMS and along with Real x Head, Pop Soda, Uamou, Mirock and Skulltoys - there were entries form Devilrobots, T9G, CHINO, MOGraphixx and more more more. Kadomium once again shows off his ability phase shift and be every where at once and has the photos to prove it on his fine blog. This short but sweet star-studded extravaganza finished on November 30.

Mori, Sasa and Shinpei recreate the poses
on the famous Katsushika Radio t-shirt design.

Then to keep everyone on their toes, on Sunday November 28th the lovely Sasa Handa and the Tenacious Shinpei held the second of four planned Katsushika Radio Night events at the Gangu. (Read about the first at Sunday Busy Sunday post previously menthioned.)

Sasa released the 田 (DA as in HANDA) version of her fortune cat baby series. Which is the second character in her name - the first release was the SA. By my reckoning there will be 2 more. Must not miss.

Of course on top of all these shinanegains there wihave been outstanding releases at the store - this wave of ChaosMan Next - is funky and fresh- reported for duty yesterday. Shout at to Mr. Andy at Kaiju Korner for this awesome pic!

The mystical phase-shifting Mr. Kadmomium tank has a great set of pic up from one of his recent away team mission in which he beamed down to Aoto to collect the scientific evidence. You can see his report over here - well worth a quick debrief.

Friday we took a break in our busy schedules to help with the Sneak opening of long-time Real x Head collaborator Ayako Takakagi and her brothers studio / gallery /cafe / restaurant called Studio Uamou / restaurant BOO! The space and the food were amazing, and the crowd was just right.

So as you can see we haven't been busy but we have been painfully aware the the RxH U.S.A blog needs more love! You guys need more love! You need Rainbows, unicorns and mutant minis in your life. There for we have prepared a special selections just for you all - the patient - the hungy - the Global Real Head crew. So we will make announcement tomorrow and thre will be some new goodies in the shop next Wednesday. Details to COME!

2010-11-16T09:40:00.001-08:00

2010-11-14T03:09:00.001-08:00

REAL X HEAD X CALLGRIM

2010-11-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

Available 11/11 at 8pm EST at blog.callgrim.com!

2010-11-08T09:01:00.000-08:00

2010-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

2010-11-08T08:57:00.001-08:00

Shinto Gangu Online Beta wave was a big success!

2010-10-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

Want to say a big thanks to everyone who took the time to participate on our Beta Launch over the weekend. Everyone seemed to follow the rules - there was no spamming or flim-flammery. We wish we could have accommodated everyones requests, but it shows for sure that you guys are hungry for the "Head" and there will be coming soon! Winners have been chosen and have been notified. There are still a couple of Mutant Heads and Mental Dental kitties remaining that will go back up in the store shortly. Thanks again!

THANK YOU!!!!

2010-10-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Store is now closed.
Wow - want to thank everyone who stopped by. Almost everything is sold out. The competition for Chaos and Fly Guy look pretty fierce. We will hunker down and get mails out to everyone who took the time to be a part of this. There will be a couple of items that will go back online once all the lottery fun.
Thanks again!!!!

Also we would love to hear any feedback you have about the shop and the sales mechanism. And Stay tuned - there is more on the way!

Shinto Gangu online is GO!

2010-10-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

The store is now closed.

If you are just tuning in - the shop will be open for one hour until 11PM EST. You can get all the details about how we're working the ordering here.
If you have any questions post them to the comments of this blog post - we will be monitoring in real time and are happy to help with any assistance you might need.
Happy Shopping. RHND!

Shinto Gangu Online

2010-10-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Alright you animals, we will be opening the Beta version of Shinto Gangu Online shortly. Mori has cooked up a pretty special bunch of figures for this initial offering.

After much deliberation and debate we have decided to use an e-mail application/lottery system for the initial offerings. Paypal and most other shopping carts are notoriously weak on handling bursts related with online figure releases (ask any Matty Online collector). By going this route we are hoping to provide a fair and democratic sales opportunity and avoid any major cluster-fudges of overselling or cart crashes. Any figures still remaining after the initial offering will be switched over to a Paypal shopping cart. Since we will be overwriting pages on the site when we launch make sure you refresh your browser.

The shop will open on Friday October 29th at 10pm EST.
That's 9pm Central, 8pm Mountain and 7pm pacific.
(and 2am in England in case anyone is wondering.)
No orders from Japan please (give the rest of the world a chance!)

You can apply to purchase 1 of each figure being offered but please put your applications in a single e-mail. Multiple requests for the same figure from the same user will be thrown out.

That's 1 application per e-mail address / household.

The initial offering will be open from 10:00 PM EST until 10:59 PM EST. That’s 1 hour, plenty of time. Any e-mail requests received before or after the time frame will be ineligible.

Once all the applications are in, Mori will draw the winners from the proverbial hat. There will be a separate drawing for each figure.

Qualified purchasers will be notified with Paypal instructions within 24 hours by e-mail. If anyone flakes we go back to the hat.

/////// HOW TO PURCHASE /////////////////////////////////////////

The e-mail address will be posted on the Blog and Shop pages at 10pm.

To apply for purchase send an e-mail containing:

Your Full Name:

Your Internet Handle (optional):

Your Shipping Address: (for shipping charge calculation)

Figure Name(s):

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

The e-mail address will be posted on the Blog and Shop pages at 10pm.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Items will be shipped from within the USA via USPS priority mail within one week after receiving payment. no exceptions.

All payments must be made via Paypal. No exceptions.
No checks, money orders, galactic cubits or promissory notes.

Looking forward to a successful launch!

Q & A with Mori Katsura

2010-10-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

(thanks for all the questions - we didn't get to them all but we will do this again. - d'dub)

Why open a Real x Head U.S.A.website?
In the 2 and half years since, I opened my own store in Japan, I have come to really enjoy being able to meet and talk with my customers face-to-face. Many of my customers are now friends and some are even collaborators. Going to Comic-con this past couple of years, I have also enjoyed meeting my international fans and wanted a way to be able to bein touch more directly with them like I do my Japanese customers. I am hoping that the Real x Head U.S.A site will be one way to do that.

And even though my store is far away from central Tokyo, I have many regulars who come every week. Since people take the time to come I want to make sure that there is always a surprise, something new for them to buy. That has been the motivation behind the micro-runs of in-store exclusives. Its my way of showing appreciation for loyal customers. And in a similar way I want to do the same thing for the international Real x Head community. And though everyone is spread out all over the world I am hoping that the website will make this possible.

So the site will mostly offer “in-store” exclusives that can only be purchase at Shinto Gangu online. It is my way to show my appreciation for my international fans. Not everybody will always be able to buy everything but we hope to put up new figures often enough that everyone will get a chance to buy something unique. It will take some time to figure out the best way to replicate the in-store experience so bear with us.

blakewest said...Mori has that great big Daruma behind him in the store photo. What is Mori's goal or wish for the Daruma? Is he still working on it, or has the other eye been filled in since the picture was taken?

I have always loved Engimono (縁起物) - traditional Japanese lucky items - so that large daruma was a present from a customer when I opened the shop. Its thought that these objects make for a happy and inviting space. I doubt I will ever draw in the other eye as it is an ongoing endeavor to make shinto gangu a great store.

Abe Lincoln Jr. said...As far as the new full-size series what is it called? Is the new guy inspired by Kamen Rider? Are there new characters in the works besides him?

The large series is called the Chaosman Series. Its influenced by my love of classic Japanese heroes - my favorite of course being Kamen Rider and others created by Ishinomori. I am happy by how well the line has been received - I really enjoyed collaborating on the Crossover series figures released at Comic-con this year. I will keep making characters in the series, next up are some villains. I will also be making more new figures in the same size.

Robert said... Will you create a Mutant Zone 4 series?
Actually Next Man is the first figure in the Mutant Zone 4 series. More to come!

joe said... who did mutant head fight when he lost the top bit of his ear?
Mutant Head lost his ear in a fight with Mutant Clone Evil - who is a clone of Mutant Head created by Akro Kaizer to kill Mutant Head. Afer the battle they eventually became allies in the fight against Akro Kaizer. L’amour Supreme did and amazing painting of this fight a few years ago.

When will the store go online? : )
The first wave of figures will go online Friday, October 29 at 10pm EST. More details later today.

Whats with all the Mohawks?
Mohawks are cool!

2010-10-21T04:16:00.001-07:00

2010-10-21T01:29:00.001-07:00

Got a Question for Mori?

2010-10-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

Why open a Real x Head U.S.A.website? Whats with all the Mohawks? When will the store go online??? Got a burning question that you have always wanted to ask Mori Katsura the man behind Real x Head?

This Sunday we will have one our frequent site review meetings. Some genius (thats you Doughty!) thought this would be good opportunity to put out a request for questions. Just leave them in the comments section of this post. I am sure we won't get to them all (at least this round) but if it goes over well we may do it regularly.

Before you post a question you should first check out this recent interview by Onwi over at SQDBLSTR.

Sunday Busy Sunday

2010-10-20T02:20:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, October 17th was a very busy day in the world of Real x Head. After a long night of full-on preparation and little sleep, the day kicked off in Shinjuku at the boutique of Kaiju Blue. Kaiju Blue is located on the ground floor of Marui One Department Store in Shinjuku and has a small gallery space that hosts monthly exhibitions featuring the work of “Kaiju Artists”. The current show is called (SHIN)JUKU BATTLE ROYAL and features Real x Head, his second exhibition at the shop, which kicked off on October 14 and runs until November 17.

When the shopping center opened at 11:00am there was a blind bag sale of an amazing assortment of RxH figures that were representational of many of the collaborations and themes of RxH circa 2010. All 12 figures available were standard sized characters from the Mutant Zone Series most in old school style sprays with a couple of twists. ChaoQ (2 versions), Chaos, Chaos Fighter, Clone Mutant Evil, and Mutant Bigaro represented the old school with new Colorway Mashups of the Mutant Dokurocks crossover with Skulltoys, Oni Mutant crossover with Yamazakura and the debut Chaosman crossover with Mirock Toys. Rounding out the line-up were Rainbow specials of Kaizer Head and Fighter Chaos by Shef of Cha-iro Brown. The representative figures are still on display but a frown-inducing sold-out sign was added to the display around noon. The Kaiju Korner blog has some excellent pictures of the show online and there are more at this flickr set.

But no time to rest. Back to the Shinto Gangu for the second event on the days agenda, an in-store event celebrating the Katsushika Night radio show that Mori takes part in. The show is on the local radio station Katsushika FM with a rotating cast of interesting characters from the Katsushika City area. Its hosted by talent announcer Shinpei and actress Sasa Handa, star of such of underground hits as Attack Girls' Swim Team Versus the Undead and Kekko Kamen, who were on hand for the event. The event started at 3pm - there were official t-shirts available and exclusive Fortune Cat Babies signed by Sasa. Well over 100 people came through the shop shattering the old one-day record of 26.

It made for a long and busy but exciting day... but it wasn't over yet. The Katsushika Night radio program is on every Sunday Night from 9 - 11pm. After closing the shop and biking over to the studio, Mori launched a new segment on the show entitled: 『リアルヘッドの２号店への道』. The more enquiring minds among you can run that through Google Translation.

All this sounds exhausting but there is still tons more coming up. There are 2 more release events at Kaiju Blue before the show finishes, an exhibition right after at Parco in Shibuya; and the grand opening of the Real x Head U.S.A online shop before the end of October.

Whew.

10.10.09 "I MAKE EYES"

2010-10-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

2010-10-02T07:46:00.001-07:00

Superfestival 54

2010-10-01T03:10:00.000-07:00

The Real x Head crew brought the heat to Superfestival 54. Mori got us an entire block of booths so you could go around and around and see all the new releases from the artists who part of the extended Shinto Gangu family. RxH had a blind bag lottery of OG Mutant Zone figures painted by Goto-san - the crush at the show opening reminded me of the Kaiju heydey of the mid-00’s - the bags sold out in minutes.

The Kaiju Korner has a great blog entry with a full run down of the event with tons of more pics.
(Welcome to Japan Andy!)

2010-09-30T06:48:00.001-07:00

2010-09-29T18:09:00.001-07:00

UPDATES

2010-09-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend some copper-y colored fiends dropped at Shinto Gangu. Perhaps we can call this the Evil Energizer Series?

We also figured out how Mori can post pictures directly to the blog! Straight out of Aoto indeed!

Matt from Onell Design will be in town from tomorrow. We will all be jamming madness for future insanity. Keep your eyes open!

Also we are on track to open the store during the first week of October. We will keep you posted!

2010-09-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

2010-09-19T04:06:00.001-07:00

Mirock Toys x Real x Head x Onell Design

2010-09-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Kirkland Jue - one of our favorite toy reporters - broke news of this exciting project on his blog a couple of days ago. Toybot Studios is a MUST READ blog for anyone who likes cool Japanese vinyl toys and wants the inside scoop.

Mirock Toys - which is run by world-class sculptor Yowohei Kaneko - has been collaborating with Real x Head since the beginning of this year. His versions of the classic Mutant Zone characters: Head, Evil and Chaosman - sculpted in wood then cast in vinyl - debuted at San Diego Comic-con and almost stole the show. He now turns his considerable talents to Pheyaos - the mutated crossover character that Mori created with Matt Doughty of Onell Design. A crazy melding of Chaos and Pheyden - now is getting one step crazier with this re-imagining by Mirock.

You can see more in process shots of this sculpt, his previous collaborations with RxH and his other projects on the Mirock Blog

Watch this space for further developments !

Taking it to the streets - Beat 3 in Asakusa

2010-09-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, on the sundrenched streets of the Asakusa historical district there was a small little festival called Beat 3. There was a small musical stage set up in a temple and art stalls on the street. The locals and tourists alike ogled at the strange vinyl monsters and other strange and crafty treasures on offer.

Nestled among the stalls with popular character artist UAMOU, a fresh young Akiba idol named Nemu-chan, and Ms. Ya-ko, a self proclaimed maker of Handmade dolls and Kitsch goods who looked like a doll herself; was our man Mori Katsura - always on the lookout for new markets and new customers. The regular Real x Head crew all came out and new fans were made as the day went on.

There was something for everyone inluding a fresh new batch of baby fortune cats that all looked resplendent in the summer sun; clear green vinyl with green sprays and multi-colored heavy lame plus 3 stylish dyed versions by "rainbow Master" Shef in traditional Japanese hues. There was also a new large sized Fortune Cat, and even a secret Chaos release.

As an added bonus there was the new Billiken-styled Angel and Devil finger puppets from Pop Soda, a freaky new Baby Eel Cat by Altr Tokyo and a bone-colored Honesuke from Gaikotsu Shokai (the new joint label by Real x Head and Skulltoys).

Lots more pictures over at the Flickr Set.

NEW Real x Head U.S.A. Forum

2010-09-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

BIG NEWS! The kind folks over at October Toys have given Real x Head U.S.A. our own little forum in their uber-friendly Toy Community. George and Ayleen the self-described "creative misfits" who own October Toys have a lifetime of experience collecting toys and two decades combined experience working in the toy industry. In addition to creating GWINS and the popular Z.O.M.B.I.E. line - their ground-breaking podcast Toy Break is Must See -TV

About the forum - there are 2 sections- the first is Real x Head toys - where ya'll can discuss the latest releases and pick the brains of RxH old-timers about the rich pantheon of Real x Head toys. See if you can stump Sigmund - the forum administrator and self-proclaimed RxH "know-it-all".

We are really excited about the second section which is called the Mutation Zone. We would love to see what all you creative folks out there come up with when you interact with the Real x Head universe. Customs of existing figures are of course are welcome in this category, but what we would really like to see is original art, concepts and stories. Everyone has a "universe" in their mind (some of you have a more than one I am sure). We have seen what Chaos looks like in the Glyo-verse and when cross-bred with Pheyden. What does Chaos look like in your universe??? What if Mutant Clone Evil fought Snake-Eyes??? What if Hone Borg really was one of the ST-TNG BORG? Go crazy! Play Nice!

THANKS Ayleen! THANK YOU GEORGE! OBEN!

2010-09-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

BattleGrip.com is one of the best toy review blogs out there. Phil Reed - the man behind it - writes thoughtful reviews of everything from commercial action figures to independent resin and vinyl toys with a smattering of old cereal commercials thrown in for good measure. We recommend you start everyday with a healthy bowl of Battlegrip!
Check out his in-depth reviews of Chaos Q Bean (review here), Pheyaos (review here and second review here), Pheyaos Man (review here), Mini-Pheyden (review here), Mini-Scar Pheyden (review here), and Mohican Hone-Borg (review here).

Lulubell Toy Bodega reduces pricing on Real x Head

2010-09-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

The good folks over at Lulubell Toy Bodega have permanently reduced pricing on Real x Head across the board to be more in line with Japanese retail!

Lulubell says: Mori has a true love & passion for his art. We have a special appreciation, gratitude and respect for Mori, and when we stand behind someone, it is because of that belief in the people behind the product, not solely the product itself. Yes, the product must be a high quality, but it is high quality people and ethics that make that possible. And by lowering prices, we hope to be able to give more people the ability to appreciate what we do about Real x Head. RHND!

Free shipping on orders over $100!

Check out their entire Real x Head line up!
These classic releases available now!

King Waru Bone Black
$50

Hone Borg Silver
$50

Evil Bat - Metallic Green Rub
$50

Mutant Zone Series 3
Kaizer Head
$50

Mini Jinja R
$20

Mini Mutant Head - Pink
$30

Mini Organ Bat - Pink
$30

Shonen Borg (Mini)
$30

Mutant Zone Series 1
Mutant Chaos - Brown Magic
$50

Mutant Zone Series 1
Mutant Bigaro - Pearl red
$50

Mutant Zone Series 1
Mutant Bigaro - Yellow/Blue
$50

BIGAROID
Clear w/ Red, Silver & Black
$60

Real x Head Series
Mutant Head - Bronze
$70

Chaosman Series
Chaosman #1 - Clear
$70

Chaosman Series Crossover Corps releases at Shinto Gangu

2010-09-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

The heat in Tokyo shows no signs of abating. At Shinto Gangu, the Crossover Corpsmen from the Chaosman Series keep on coming. Many of these are on GID vinyl - all of them are bad-ass.

I think I want this army on my side.

Biter Man - RxH x Paul Kaiju

Necromon - RxH x L'amour Supreme

Cy'Os - RxH x fig-lab

Callgrim - RxH x Rawshark Studios

Chaosman #2 - pure Real x Head

Devil-ish Necromon - RxH x L'amour Supreme

Welcome to the Official Real x Head U.S.A. website!

2010-09-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Real x Head is launching this website to reach out and connect with its fans in the States and all over the rest of the world. This website will be the place to find inside information, explore character stories from the Mutant Zone, preview exciting collaborations and pick-up exclusive web-only releases!

This is our way to try and say to all you old-timers - "Thank You for all your support over the years!" and as a way to initiate a new generation of fans - "Welcome Aboard!"

Big thanks to our pals at Onell Design who are helping out with logistics on the U.S. side of things. Matt and Marcus you guys are the best in more ways than we can enumerate. Also a special shout out to WTFunks for letting us slice and dice his beautiful photographs for the site header. Yo!

So much more to come!

What RxH did on his summer vacation...

2010-08-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

Returning from breezy San Diego as soon as we stepped off the plane in Narita , the hot humid air hit us like a wall of sweaty fudge. Summer had come to Japan in full effect in our short absence. This August has been one of the hottest and muggiest in recent memory. In Japan the traditional summer festival of O-Bon is when most people leave Tokyo to return to their hometown and honor their relatives. Business for most practical purposes grinds to a halt. Sales are slow. People stay in to beat the heat.... but not Real x Head. Heading out on his trusty bicycle to see the master painter Goto-san almost daily - Mori has been produced a cornucopia of old school style micro-releases with something new going on sale at Shinto Gangu - the Real x Head store in Aoto - almost every day this month. Pictures have been trickling out over twitter and flickr, but we wanted to gather together pix of many of these releases for this blog post and soon we will put a proper archive of this batch of timeless classics.

SDCC 2010 - the CROSSOVER - GFS2010

2010-07-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

San Diego Comic-con was a blast!!!! Big thanks once again to our brothers Matt Doughty from Onell Design and Jesse Moore at Rawshark Studios for letting us share their booth for the second year in a row. It was great to meet new fans and see familiar faces. We are already looking forward to next year. Real x Head debuted the new Chaosman Crossover Corps collaborating with L'amour Supreme, Paul Kaiju, Jesse Moore of Callgrim fame and Fig-lab's datadub. Also making their debut were the crazy re-imaginings of the classic Mutant Zone characters by new maker Mirock Toy.

If you have been hiding under a rock you can get the full reviews and tons of pics of the event at Toybot Studios & Kaiju Chronicle. Plus Vinyl Pulse has both preview night and first day reviews. Thanks for the awesome coverage guys!

The Crossover Crew in full effect

Takeuchi of Skull Toys, Mori of Real x Head, Hossy of Pop Soda

Mori meets one of his heros Kevin Eastman,
the creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The Real x Head After School Club

2009-06-20T01:50:00.000-07:00