Ahhh, sometimes it’s so great to have a few hours of weekend leisure to unbox a closet-worth of vintage toys that have not seen the light of day in over a decade! Let’s see what’s been ‘unearthed’ this time, shall we?

Several toys from my childhood that were made in other parts of the world seem to bare an inescapeable resemblance to Japanese Microman and Diaclone toys.

Below are some examples of this.

Bandai Beta-Midget

When I found out about the Japanese traditional ‘capsule’ toys sold via gashapon-style from gumball vending machines, I immediately wanted to buy a plane ticket to Japan … STAT!

Bandai let these unbelievably intricate put-together-yourself figures out on the market in 2002, which immediately gained insatiable appeal to fans of Takara’s legendary Microman line, to which there were numerous ‘echoes’ of a seemingly intentional ‘homage’, if you will, designed into the size, character and accessories of each ‘Midget’. They even have ‘silver-like’ heads.

Since Beta Midget was the brainchild of Mr. Y. Enari, a leading member of M.A.F.F. – a Microman fan group publishing Microman RPG source books as well as fan-made manga, it’s no coincidence that ‘Beta Midget’ is based on the science-fiction-infused fairy-tale world of Astro Midget created by Mr. Enari.  (‘Astro Midget’ – a cybernetic fairy-like creature with advanced scientific knowledge.)

Cool, I’m in (of course!).

Beta Midgets were sold unassembled in a capsule along with a “Jacket” which act as their ‘power up suit’. These figures, known as the first wave or ‘1.0’ were very fragile due to the brittle plastic used to make them. The Jackets and accessories were usually ok due to a different type of stronger plastic that was used. Later versions of these figures solved the brittle plastic problem, making the 1.0 Beta Midgets quite rare and highly collectable.

Read all about it here:
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http://www.microforever.com/betamidget/bmidgetindex.htm

Next, I’ll cover a bit more depth into Bandai’s Beta Midgets, the editions that were produced and which ones I don’t have in my collection! Should be a gas!

Thanks for visiting!
-John
Phantomoshop Blog