Vintage Ninja still has an open call out for what we call “Kosugi Kicks” — images of ninja in movie posters, VHS sleeves, toy packaging, advertising, whatever, that are cribbed from the iconic two-sword jump kick publicity shot Sho Kosugi … Continued
The collectors market for failed lines, knock-offs and forgotten oddities from 1980s toy shelves never seems to grow cold. These super rare offshoots of the Mel Appel “Weird Ball” mutations recently erupted on eBay. If that slanty, cross-eyed, buck-toothed head-shakingly … Continued
I just cannot get enough of illustrated and painted ninja art from 80s no-name ninja merch. Sometimes, well, lets be real… OFTEN… more time was spent on the package art than was on designing the crap under the blister card … Continued
One of my favorite long-gone toy manufacturers was Remco, who in 1984 gave us one of the craze’s most well-rounded figure lines — Secret of the Ninja. Remco of the 60’s was an aggressive licensor with all sorts of A-list … Continued
One of our first toy posts back in 2009 was of an artifact from my own craze-era collection, and a reader just sent me pics of one still on its card, so here’s an update for those of you who … Continued
Here’s some prime examples of 80s ninja craze merch lingering into the 1990s. Extreme sports were on the rise, the X-Games were on the horizon, but 80s-style ninja crap still sold in discount stores and blanket vendors outside subway terminals, so … Continued
Stumbled across this image on another site and recognized it right away! Devotees of the Toys & Statues category of VN might remember the below post from a few years ago. I’ve had this piece for decades now but this … Continued
Last year we put out an open call for images knocked-off from the iconic “Kosugi Kick” dual sword jump kick pose. Read the original post here. We got some nice entries, from comics to cheap merch to costume catalog photos. … Continued
Birthday gift to myself at the beginning of the month — this astounding 8″ sofubi statue done in the style of wooden Netsuke charms, called “Sushi Dokuro.” I know… right!?!?!? “Sushi Dokuro” was designed/sculpted by Osaka tattoo artist Mitomo Horihiro. … Continued
You people are lucky as hell that I’m kinda broke right now, cuz for once I’m actually sharing some gems I stumbled across on Evil-Bay… Check out this sofubi of what the seller describes as a “monster ninja” (I read … Continued