Bullmark
Bullmark (ブルマァク Burumaaku) was a Japanese toy manufacturer famous for their stylized soft vinyl renditions of classic tokusatsu and kaiju characters, most notably those from the Godzilla and Ultraman franchises. The company was founded in 1969 by employees from the recently-defunct Marusan and released toys and games up until their bankruptcy in 1977.[1] Bullmark was known for its trademark bull stamp on the underside of their figures, which earned them the nickname of Bull by collectors.
In 2009, the company was relaunched by Bullmark co-founder Saburo Ishizuki in collaboration with M1-Go's Yuji Nishimura as a collector-focused brand.[2]
Figures
Bullmark's products followed suit from Marusan with stylized sculpts and wild colors. Many Marusan molds were acquired by Bullmark after the former's closure, some of which were planned for release but never materialized like Gabara. Due to the state's close proximity to Japan, many Bullmark figures were released overseas in Hawaii sporting drastically different colors from their Japanese counterparts.[3]
Standard Size
Bullmark's "standard" sized figures followed the same general scale as Marusan before them, standing around nine inches tall. Each was available in a basic assortment of colors with different paint spray variations, making each figure's paint job essentially unique.
Giant Size
Four different figures were released in a "giant" size, scaling around twelve inches tall. Each came with a small Tokyo Tower accessory.
Small Size
Bullmark released their kaiju line-up in smaller, four-to-six inch sizes with different sculpts from their standard-sized counterparts.
Tin Toys
Bullmark reissued two battery-operated tin toys of Godzilla and Baragon previously released by Marusan and produced a brand new figure of Gigan. These toys could be controlled by the wired remote attached to each and could walk, raise its limbs, roar, spew smoke, and light up its eyes and mouth.
Die-cast Figures
One of Bullmark's trademark lines was its "Zinclon" series of die-cast constructed robot figures. Each figure contained removable accessories and multiple jointed parts. Bullmark issued a select assortment of Toho monsters in this line.[4]
Other toys
Bullmark released three different spring-loaded missile-firing Mechagodzilla figures, each in a unique size.
Large-sized "Cyborg"
Medium-sized
Small-sized
Trivia
- In Godzilla vs. Hedorah, protagonist Ken Yano can be seen playing with both the standard-sized and giant-sized Godzilla figures. The giant-sized King Ghidorah and Baragon are also visible in the background of this scene.
- Bullmark is referenced in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #13 through Fake Godzilla, whose design in the comic is based on the giant-sized Godzilla figure.
- Japanese company Iwakura released a number of downscaled Bullmark figure reproductions in 2004 and 2005.
References
This is a list of references for Bullmark. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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