New Japanese Blaster

[Rick Deckard]

If I only had 1550.00 bucks to spare...

[andy]

You have an extra kidney don't you?



Andy

[BeastMaster]

$1550?!! blimey! I thought that was the price in yen

still, I think these could be a good investment, mainly because of their limited release. I could see that price doubling in a few years.
_________________
"F*ck it, it's just a movie. Let him worry about it" Harrison Ford

[temponaut]

[andy]

Thank you Temponaut,

I really appreciate your help.
Andy

[Nexus6]

[andy]

That is what it sounds like. I had already heard from a few people including Coyle that Paul Allen had already bought it, but it sounds like he only made an offer on it. The auction catalog is not up yet, but I download them all.

I love the story about the metal box it was given to him in with the other stuff. If Paul Allen does get it that means it will probably end up at the Sci-Fi Museum in Seattle.

The one sad thing about that is that it will never be displayed at a convention again where fans will get to handle it and take hi-res close-ups of it.

Andy

[temponaut]

[andy]

OCD does have some advantages.

Andy

[phase pistol]

So I guess the time has finally come to reveal this never-before seen detail from my Worldcon photos...

[temponaut]

[temponaut]

[clutch]

Lol!

[panzerrune]

[temponaut]

[temponaut]

Back in December, I gathered together some of the questions asked by propsummit members about the Tomenosuke Blaster, and sent them to Tomenosuke Shoten. Very shortly thereafter, both the kit and the finished versions of the Blaster had completely sold out. I did get answers to the questions, but with no more Blasters available I felt a reduced sense of urgency to translate and post the responses, and I became preoccupied by other pressing matters.

Now, however, as noted recently in this thread, Tomenosuke Shoten has announced that a small number of finished Blasters will become available for purchase starting at 18:00 on Monday, January 26 (Japan time) at the Hollywood Collectors Gallery site (http://www.hollywood-japan.jp/shopdetail/038009000001/order/). These finished Blasters have become available because of order cancellations.

For those of you who may be thinking of ordering on Monday, for those of you who already ordered a kit back in December, and for those of you who are simply interested in the information, here are the questions and answers (translated roughly from Japanese):

---

Q1: Some parts that are metal on the real WorldCon Blaster have been reproduced in plastic on the Tomenosuke Blaster, including the right and left frames, the right and left cylinder covers, and the hammer. Why did Tomenosuke Shoten choose to use plastic for these parts instead of metal?[/color]

A: We have been extremely attentive to the materials used in the WorldCon Blaster, and have reproduced them faithfully.

However, the laws governing toy guns in Japan are very strict.

If the frame, cylinder, and hammer were made of metal, we would be breaking the replica gun laws and subject to punishment, even though the model does not fire live ammunition.

Please understand that the Tomenosuke Blaster has been made using as much metal as possible without breaking the law.

---

Q2: What type of plastic has been used to make the plastic parts of the Tomenosuke Blaster? And what type of process was used to make them (for example, casting, injection molding, etc.)? What about the cylinder, which appears to be made of a different type of plastic, and through a different process, than the other plastic parts?

A: The plastic parts of the Blaster are made of cast resin. The cylinder is also plastic, but in order to recreate this part cleanly, it was machine cut without concern for the cost.

---

Q3: When ordering a kit online from outside of Japan and paying via credit card through PayPal, is payment expected at the time of the order (for example, in December) or at the time the product is ready to ship (at the end of February)?

A: Kits being marketed by our shop will be sent out in order when they are ready. We have received many orders from overseas. All customers who receive a response from us saying, “We have received your order and will begin shipping from February 2009,” are guaranteed a Blaster kit.

Starting from February 2009, as kits become available to ship, we will send out PayPal invoices. After we have confirmed receipt of payment, we will ship the kits via EMS. The cost will be JPY 5,000 for EMS shipping to the United States and JPY 5,500 for EMS shipping to Europe, plus JPY 73,500 for the Blaster Kit itself.

Because of the great amount of time required to produce the kits, there is a possibility that they will not be ready (and buyers will not be billed) until March or later. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

---

Q4: On the “finished” version of the Tomenosuke Blaster, why did Tomenosuke Shoten decide not to wire the LEDs on the laser sight for illumination?

A: Because it is unconfirmed whether the laser sight was illuminated in the film, we did not wire it to light up.

Further, we judged the exposed white wires to be aesthetically unnecessary, and thus left them off the finished model.

However, we have included the white wire parts, as well as a hole in the laser sight to facilitate wiring, with both the finished and kit versions of the Blaster.

It is thus possible for each collector to finish the Blaster with these features, if so desired.

---

Q5: The Tomenosuke Blaster kit has now sold out. Will more kits be available in the future? If so, when do you anticipate that you will start taking orders again? What about the finished models? Will they be available again?

A: There will be no further production of either the kit or the finished model. Thank you very much for your understanding.

---

Many thanks to Enomoto-san at Tomenosuke Shoten for his responses to our questions.

As noted at the start of this post, a small number of orders for finished Blasters were received by Hollywood Collectors Gallery that were subsequently cancelled. Again, these finished Blasters will go on sale at the HCG online site starting at 18:00 on Monday, January 26 (Japan time).

Also, of course, the fact that the current incarnation of the Tomenosuke Blaster will not be produced again does not necessarily preclude the creation of another version in the future.

Good luck to those of you who would like to purchase!
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"Your old titles mean nothing here... Captain!"

[temponaut]

I just looked at the HCG ordering page and noted that the finished Blasters, scheduled to go on sale at 18:00 on Monday, January 26, are scheduled to ship starting at the end of February.

IMPORTANT

I just now recalled that, although Tomenosuke Shoten is shipping kits internationally, Hollywood Collectors Group is NOT shipping finished Blasters overseas. This is because of the complications arising from different import laws around the world for model guns.

Therefore, if you live outside of Japan, you'll need to find someone inside Japan to take delivery and then forward the model onward to you.
_________________
"Your old titles mean nothing here... Captain!"

[spinner 44]

Thank you so much Temponaut.


It is a privilege to have you on this board.

[joberg]

Excellent follow-up Temponaut. Always a pleasure to read your thorough updates.

[panzerrune]