Wonder Festival
Summer 2012 (Part 3)

Vault

Today’s our last day of WonderFest coverage.  The big companies are out of the way, and now the spot light is on all the talented individuals who create their own amazing toys, garage kits, figure add-ons, and accessories.  You’ll find a bit of everything in these last galleries.

This is by far my favorite part of Wonder Fest.  All these independent creators and artists getting the chance to show off their skills and products, selling things they’ve made themselves and even having the opportunity to produce licensed characters (even if it is with limited permission).  I would love to see a convention with similar opportunities here in the US.  I think it would really revolutionize the adult collectors market, and maybe even change the perception of toy collecting from a niche hobby into something even more mainstream.

But until then, we’ll just have to be amazed at what Japan brings to the table.

I want to thank Robert one last time for his excellent work at bringing us this coverage.  If you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask here in our articles or the thread on our forum.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed our coverage.

-Vault

 

Gallery A – Gallery 1

Gallery B – Gallery 2

Gallery C – Gallery 3

Gallery D – Gallery 4

Gallery E – Gallery 5

Gallery F – Gallery 6

Gallery A – Gallery 7

Gallery B – Gallery 8

Gallery C – Gallery 9

Gallery D – Gallery 10

Gallery E – Gallery 11

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

12 thoughts on “Wonder Festival
Summer 2012 (Part 3)”

  1. Man, that Godzilla-looking Shinki in gallery 2 is amazing. Too bad the ~$10 Shinki accessories they sell at WF end up being over fifty on Yahoo Japan Auctions.

  3. I think I’ve just had an attack of robot / monster / scantily-clad jailbait overdose. I’ve become utterly inured to all that stuff, and the most eye-catching thing for me in this gallery was the unpainted arapaima on Page 2.

    1. Like Vault pointed out: Wonderfest gives the opportunity for customizers to sell their unofficial product officially on this day without having to pay any license fees to the owner of that license. You can knock out any proberty that’s on the market and make your own thing with it. No company will sue you for that, but you can’t sell it officially after that day – then the lawyers will clean the floor with you.
      Though i just heard last week that Nintendo is taking away their license for the future WFs, which is sad since most coolest stuff have come from that.

    2. Yes, the opportunity, but not the promise to do so.

      People/companies that have a good relationship with a license holder may be able to get a one-day license directly, but this is very rare. Most licenses are aqcuired by Kaiyodo for the venders. You generally have to get the paperwork in motion at the end of one Wonder Festival in order to get your license in time for the next. Kaiyodo being one the the biggest toy manufacturers in Japan can get most licenses but there are a few that are considered “unacquireable”, and then there are the license holders that just don’t like Kaiyodo or want more money than anybody is willing to pay.

      There are actually a few smaller shows with items being sold using a limited permit, but these permits are usually acquired by the individual vender – which means there are a lot less of these items. Some of these smaller shows will allow you to sell whatever you want to, making it possible to buy bootleg products, but this is obviously illegal and on the rare occasion that the authorities make a visit, the seller and puchaser could both be held accountable.

      Wonder Festival has a very strict rule against bootleg products and if you’re caught selling any, you will no longer be welcome at any future Wonder Festivals. On occasion, there are unlisenced product on display, but these are often samples of previous work or a custom that someone just wants to show off.

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