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{{short description|Toy Company}}

Founded in [[1969]] after the bankruptcy of pioneering toy manufacturer Marusan, '''Bullmark''' is a defunct [[Japan]]ese toy company that is most famous for selling PVC vinyl [[kaiju]] character toys in the [[1960]]s and [[1970]]s. The company was also known simply as '''Bull''' by many people due to their logo of a bull which was stamped on the bottoms of the feet of many of their toys. Bullmark's vinyl [[Godzilla]] and [[Ultraman]] toys are extremely popular among Japanese toy collectors; some currently retail for thousands of dollars. Bullmark's vinyl toys were produced in a variety of sizes from "mini" (3-4") to "standard" (8-9") to "giant," (usually 12" or more) and a small number were also re-painted for sale in Hawaii. These Hawaiian versions of the characters, which were produced in relatively small numbers, are often more garishly colored than their Japanese counterparts and are popular among collectors in Japan and abroad.

'''Bullmark''' (ブルマァク) is a Japanese toy company that is most famous for selling [[PVC]] [[kaiju]] character toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Founded in 1969 after the bankruptcy of pioneering toy manufacturer [[Marusan Shōten|Marusan]], the company was also known simply as '''Bull''' by many people as their logo of a bull was stamped on the bottoms of the feet of many of its toys.

==Products==

When the fad for soft-vinyl monsters began to fade in the early 1970s, Bullmark began re-thinking the concept and released a series of soft-vinyl toys containing missile launchers, magnets embedded in hands so figures could pick up cars, and other play gimmicks. These were sold under the brand "Meka Machine," among other names.

Founded in [[1969]] after the bankruptcy of pioneering toy manufacturer Marusan, '''Bullmark''' is a defuncts [[Japan]]ese toy company that is most famous for selling PVCPolyvinyl chloride|vinyl [[kaiju]] character toys in the [[1960]]s and [[1970]]s. The company was also known simply as '''Bull''' by many people due to their logo of a bull which was stamped on the bottoms of the feet of many of their toys. Bullmark's vinyl [[Godzilla]] and [[Ultraman]] toys are extremely popular among Japanese toy collectors; some currently retail for thousands of dollars. Bullmark's vinyl toys were produced in a variety of sizes from "mini" (3-4") to "standard" (8-9") to "giant," (usually 12" or more) andwith asmaller smallruns numberproduced werewith alsodifferent re-paintedcolorways for saleexport into Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. These so-called "Hawaiian" versions of the characters, which were produced in relatively small numbers, arefeature oftenbrighter more garishly coloredcolors than their Japanese counterparts, and therefore are popular among collectors both in Japan and abroad.

When the fad for soft-vinyl monsters began to fade in the early mid-1970s, despite gimmicks such as sparker figures and magnets embedded in their palms (each of which included a tin friction-motor car), Bullmark began re-thinking the concept and released a series of soft-vinyl toys containing missile launchers, magnets embedded in hands so figures could pick up cars, and other play gimmicks. These were sold under the brand "MekaMecha Machine," among other names.

In an attempt to compete in a changing toy marketplace, in [[1973]] Bullmark also branched out into die-cast toys, which were sold under the brand name of "Jinkuron." Perhaps most famous among these are a small line of diecast metal renditions of characters from the Godzilla films. Bullmark co-founder Saburo Ishizuki explained in the afterword to the book [[Super #1 Robot]] that the diecast Mekagodzilla toy was "so popular that I could hardly keep up with demand... [so] I updated the look of the [other] monster characters with more robotic appearances and incorporated all-new action features." The Jinkuron series would eventually incorporate a variety of giant robot characters as well as monsters.

In an attempt to compete in a changing toy marketplace, in [[1973]] Bullmark also branched out into [[die-cast toystoy]]s, which were sold under the brand name of "JinkuronZinclon." Perhaps most famous among these are a small line of diecast metal renditions of characters from the Godzilla films. Bullmark co-founder Saburo Ishizuki explained in the afterword to the book [[''Super #1 Robot]]'' that the diecast MekagodzillaMechagodzilla toy was "so popular that I could hardly keep up with demand... [so] I updated the look of the [other] monster characters with more robotic appearances and incorporated all-new action features." The JinkuronZinclon series would eventually incorporate a variety of giant robot characters as well as monsters.

Bullmark went out of business in [[1977]]. The same year, Ishizuki took Bullmark's sales and marketing subsidiary [[Ark (toy company)|Ark]] and turned it into a full-fledged toy manufacturer in its own right.

Bullmark closed shop in 1977. The same year, Saburo Ishizuki took Bullmark's sales and marketing subsidiary [[Ark (toy company)|Ark]] and turned it into a full-fledged toy manufacturer in its own right. During the 1990s, Ishizuki assisted the Japanese toy manufacturers M-1 (M-Ichigo) and [[Bandai]] in producing licensed reissues of many classic Bullmark vinyl toys, which proved to be exceedingly popular, from both the Godzilla and Ultraman lines.

Ishizuki officially revived the brand as an independent company once again, with manufacturing and consulting support from Yuji Nishimura of M-1, in 2009.

Saburo Ishizuki currently assists Japanese toy manufacturers M-1 and [[Bandai]] in producing licensed reissues of many classic Bullmark vinyl toys.

The Ultraman monster series of standard sized figures included

==See also==

*[[Chogokin]]

==External links==

*[http://www.bullmark.co.jp/ Bullmark Shop] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024201814/http://www.bullmark.co.jp/ |date=2013-10-24 }} (Official Japanese website)

*[http://toyboxdx.com/data/bullmark/bullmarkzinclon.htm Raging Bullmark]

*[http://www.timbriskoclubtokyo.comorg/super1/ Super #1Club RobotTokyo]

*[http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/bullmark/ Raging Bullmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621163731/http://www.toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/bullmark/ |date=2013-06-21 }}

*[http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Bullmark/ Bullmark diecast/chogokin]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070323075946/http://www.supernumber1robot.com/ Super #1 Robot]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070108053407/http://www.robot-japan.com/Gallery/Bullmark/ Bullmark diecast/chogokin]

[[Category:Toy companies of Japan]]

[[Category:Toy companies established in 1969]]

[[Category:Japanese companies established in 1969]]

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