Cute hardy plastics called Pinky:St

Ultimate Pinky:St originality check

2007-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Some website on the internet mentioned to check the shoe for marking: "Baby Sue Vance", other than "Made in China".
This however not always the case. Pinky:St WildArms have shoes with heel and the only marking printed on it is "Made in China". Even flat shoe of Range Murata collaboration does not have one.

Thus, where else can we check?

Some other website suggesting the head. Pinky:St is a modular design where you can change the hair. It take some effort to remove the hair especially the rear part, but you need to remove that. At the back of the head, notice that the original Pinky:St have hexagonal hole, and there will be at least a marking "©BABYsue - VANCE". If it is collaboration, the other collaborator will have their own copyright marking too. For Wild Arms, additionally, it will have "©SCEI" and for Range Murata, additionally, it will have "©RANGE MURATA - MAT".

I know it is not possible to do this with web auction all the time, but if the delivery method is meet-up, you could suggest this method of checking.

If the seller refuse as the packing is never opened, then it is your call. If you want original packing un-opened then there is no way to check the head for these markings.

However, if you do not mind to open it, you could pay 50% first to show that you are a genuine buyer, albeit a very cautious one. Pass the money (agreed percentage less than 100%), open the packaging and check the marking.

If the seller totally refuse or back-out from the deal, it is for your own good as his/hers may not be an original, and he/she know it.

Edit (23 Dec 2007):
Apparently this kind of testing is also not that accurate.

I bought a Pinky with Rabbit Scooter (collaboration with Choro-Q, May 2006 version). The packaging is all good, with copyright mark "©TAKARA CO.,LTD.2006 ©BABYsue - VANCE" exactly like that is shown here (http://pinky-st.skr.jp/choroq01.html) at the bottom, although there is no Vance logo there, like the one in the picture.

Before I exchange the money with the goods, I checked the mark underneath the shoe and I saw "MADE IN CHINA" on one side and "©BABYsue - VANCE" on another, so I guess it is pretty good chance it is original. When I opened the packaging, the head come off from the body very easily. I am not sure if that is due to the orange scarf. To my surprise, the pinky rear head, after detaching the hair, does not have any marking at all. There is no copyright marking at all. The Hex hole at the back of the head is not as noticeably hexagonal as the normal series release.

Searching further, the backing card of the packaging do unfold, and can be a playmat with road and pavement print (grey scale), and I found 2 mini promotional flyers from Takara Tomy and from Pinky:St (promoting Sweet and Bitter DVD version).

Is this the case of having everything original and the seller mixed up a fake pinky head with the real pinky head? I have no idea. Please enlighten me.

All Pinky:St releases

2007-12-21T05:09:00.000-08:00

I found this Japanese website listing all pinky street releases with front and back pictures. It is very valuable in terms of identifying real McPinky with the fake one.

From the same website, I found an extensive list of all pinky garage kit, including Vash from Trigun and a donkey cosplay suit which can be fitted with any pinky head. Kawaii....

I have seen Motoko Kusanagi garage kit as well offered on Japan's yahoo auction, but it is not on this list.

It also have extensive step-by-step plastic operations a.k.a Pinky Extreme Makeover (Modifications), with description and pictures too.

There are plenty of other pictures too, but I let you explore.

Can't read Japanese? Same here. Why not try altavista babel fish? Cut and paste the link. The translation's grammar may be a bit out but be flexible and you will be able to make out some, rather than none. :)

Pinky Motorcycle Test

2007-12-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Some informative video showing how the scooter from pinky collection made by TomyTec works. Need better lighting, and as such, the focus is very badly done too.

Made by emopalstrawberri

English dialog, the pinky described and demonstrated the scooter that "mommy" bought her. No music.

PinkyStreet Kirakira Music Hour

2007-12-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

This is a recording from a Nintendo DS screen, from "PinkyStreet Kirakira Music Hour". I never played any Nintendo game and do not own any Nintendo gaming hardware, so I can either speculate that this is a recording of a bonus scene, which is interactive, after you reach certain stage in the game.

It is cute where the pinky character move around following the touch pen, and responded like cat when the head was touched. Also at one time touching her back while she was walking away, kind of pushed her and she almost tipped over.

Recorded by SakioinPM

No dialog. In-game music.

Pinky St House 3D Studio

2007-12-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

Actually the only thing Pinky about this video is the title given by the maker. It is a 3D design video of a proposed Japanese style doll house which can house lots of Pinky. It is very nice. So now there is a design. Who is going to construct the real one?

Designed by SherylNag (I cannot say the regular made by as people might mistaken that the real house has been built).

No dialog. No music.

Pinky:st Animation

2007-12-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

A good attempt of stop motion animation using pinky, despite the fixed limb (no joints).

Made by hentaiosa (I wish she chose a different nickname.)

No dialog. Japanese pop rock music.

Pinky st Animation 02 Nightmare

2007-12-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

The best stop motion pinky animation that I have ever seen so far.
Nothing objectional other than a pinky fall off and the head roll over, but an angel comes and fix it, or so it seems... twisted ending.

Made by hentaiosa (I wish she chose a different nickname.)

No dialog other than some screaming sound (with helium effect). Music: Bee Gees.

Pinky:st walks in the world

2007-12-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

A nice slideshow video made by takkrecords

No dialog. Rock music.

Pinky:st Movie for Megane Lovers

2007-12-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

A nice slideshow video made by takkrecords

No dialog. Nice pop rock music that sounds chinese but with many english words.

Pinky are in around the world now!

2007-12-19T21:47:00.000-08:00

A nice slideshow with some unique transitions, with a catchy music.
Made by takkrecords

No dialog. Music by Shonen Knife (English pop music sang by Japanese Pop Singer).

Yes! Pinky Street #1 and #02

2007-12-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

These are example of extremely amateurish video starring a pinky figurine. It uses some props but unfortunately the lighting could be better. You may decide that it is not worth watching at all but listening is good, the music, especially the first track is nice.

Made by fafanvenus95.

No dialog. Japanese pop music followed by another that is not japanese.
#1 is badly done, #2 is slightly better.

It could be made better with more appropriate choice of music (too fast paced) and need a lot of editing (stray hands in many scenes) and better lighting.

Yes! Pinky Street #01

Yes! Pinky Street #02

Pinky St Tribute

2007-12-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

Nice music, but this is simply a long photo slideshow of many pinky pictures, many of which are blur or pixelated due to over englargement.

Made by TayuyaFrosting13

No dialog. Japanese pop music.

Pinky Street Pop Art

2007-12-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing objectional. Nothing outstanding too. Made by deliksh

No music. No dialog. Silent video. Enjoy the sound of your PC fan.

Another Pinky:St Video

2007-12-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

Movie made of photo slideshow with transitions effect made by puuikibeach from his extensive pinky travel photo collection.

No dialog. Swing music, very nice choice.

One shot at the end shows one pinky lying on the floor possibly due to gravitational force acting on its oversized head, but the many cans of beers in the background could suggest otherwise.

Pinky Street Goth Band: Psycho

2007-12-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

MTV style music video using pinky made by puuikibeach from his extensive pinky photo collection.

Nothing objectional, so long as you like the music, which I find suits the theme a lot.
Good usage of panning and various screen transitions.

No dialog. Rock music.

Pinky Street Party

2007-12-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

A group of pinkies gone out to party in front of a dell LCD monitor (Yeah, is that considered advertising?). It started out funky with catching music but it turns out bad when they started drinking a dubious colourful beverage, one by one they passed out.
Also probably gambling was suggested to take place by the presence of a pair of dice on the table.

Made by deliksh

No dialog. Chinese pop music followed by pipe-organ music when things go awry.

Pinky Street Workshop

2007-12-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

This video utilise the wire tricks made famous by HongKong martial art movie, but the ending is not so suitable for younger viewer where one pinky got shot on the head, and fall down, and the head roll on the floor.

usgirl92

No dialog. Electronica music.

Pinky Street Lolang Makulit (in Tagalog)

2007-12-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have no idea. I do not speak Tagalog. Please, if anybody could translate, help me.
Made by deliksh

Dialog in dialog, apparently with only one voice actor. No music. Duration is long and can be quite boring if you do not understand the jokes.

Encourage children to play with Pinky

2007-12-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

Recent incidents of shooting worldwide (but mainly in America) involving young offenders has been quite alarming.

Virginia Tech massacre, perpetrated by Seung-Hui Cho (23 years old) with 8 victims followed by a suicide.
Westroads Mall shooting, perpetrated by Robert A. Hawkins (19 years old) with 8 victims followed by a suicide.
Las Vegas school-bus shooting, one of the suspect is 18 years old, arrested in Dever, injuring 6 victims, of which 2 with critical injury.

The above are just to mention a few in US. Some argue that the cause is due to loose gun control in US.

The gun is simply a tool. Yes, making it difficult to obtain helps to reduce the incident, but the perpetrator can still pick up another tool, be it a knife, a stick or stone, or a piece of string.

I am not trying to make a justification for loose gun control. On the contrary, I support tighter gun control. However, we cannot stop at tighter gun control.

In a shooting incident at Euro International school in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Akash Yadav (14 years old) and Vikas Yadav (13 years old) brought a gun to school and shot and killed Abhishek Tyagi, allegedly a school bully, inside a school bus. The gun control in India is very tight, yet it happened.

If someone really want to kill, one will do it regardless the tight control, either by using a gun, or by other means.

I believe the real cause of all these is that these children are indirectly educated and thus believe that violence is a solution to a problem. It does not happen in a short time. It happen gradually, where subliminal messages were picked up from watching movies or even news on TV, in newspapers and on the internet. They slowly learn to realise that gun could end an argument decisively.

Another source of these undesirable subliminal message comes from the toy they play with when they are young. It is easy to give little boys toy gun or knife, and they love it, often imitating the heroes or villains from the movies they watched. They are given toy soldiers, and toy tanks, and wage their wars.

These toys does not encourage a good development of emotional quotient, which they need when they grow up. If they felt violated, depressed, what is the solution they can think of? If they are never been exposed to a constructive solution, they will reach to what they are familiar with: violence.

So what kind of toys available out there that can develop good emotional quotient? Pinky is one example.

First, the character design gives variety. They have various hair colours, from blond, brown, red, black, to unconventional blue, with various hair style from short to long, with locks, pigtail and ponytail. They have different colour eyes, and some wear glasses.

Most importantly, they have different facial expressions.

Some are happy, some are sad, some are muted, some are contented, some looks playful or mischevious, some with evil grin. Some looked tired or uninterested, or probably just feeling a bit cold? None of the constant happy smile of Barbie and friends, or Bratz. And you do not have to be concerned because none of the Pinky are overly sexy unlike Barbie and friends that comes with D+ breasts.

You could swap their clothes from mini skirt, long skirt, pants, blouse, t-shirt, jacket, trench-coat, school uniform and so on.

With all these variation you cannot stop at one. Soon there will be a group of pinky characters in your collection and they will form a community.

The children playing with these toys will be stimulated to tell a story using their pinky figurines. Why is this girl sad? Oh she lost her favorite book. Can her friend help her to find it? Or another story on the happy girl, whose father just bought her a new bicycle, and found out that one friend is jealous of her.

The kids who played and tell stories will be exposed to different emotions, arriving from daily problems and situations. Adults can supervise them and encourage them to arrive to a desirable solutions, which is civil and just. Enforced with repetition, throughout their growing-up years, these children will become a stable adults with high emotional quotient, and able to contribute constructively to the society.

Some may ask if these toys could encourage IQ growth too. Well, yes but not directly.

Pinky as a basic figurine do comes with some accessories like bags, pouch or handbags. Some comes with bamboo bench, fence and flowers, and others comes with a scooter. But these are not enough. You will be hard pressed to find mini furniture to accessorise the community. You can buy some of them, but you can also make them using paper, cardboard and glue. Those with more craft skill can even venture with other unconventional material like clay. When using paper and cardboard, the children need to translate a 2 dimensional material into a 3 dimensional item, enhancing their geometric skill, either by calculation or by trial and error.

For those who dream to be a fashion designer, they can use markers to draw different patterns on their pinky figurines.

There are two drawbacks of pinky figurines: Balance and Posability.

Their oversised head may throw them off balance sometimes. This, however, can be easily fixed with a small amount of gluetack to the bottom of their feet.

The posability is more challanging. Pinky figurines do not have articulated joins, so their limbs are stiff. You cannot make them sit, unless you replace their bottom half to one that is of sitting position. This drawbacks can be seen as a challenge for those with higher skill of craft. They could venture to the domain of plastic surgery, where modification can be done with the aid of sharp knife, hobby putty, and paints. Do not expect this to be done by children of age 13 and below. Older teens however may love this challenge and improve their patience and hand-eye co-ordination.

So you see, pinky figurines does have a lot of educational potentials in it, and not just looking cute and pretty.

How to identify a fake Pinky:st (aka Bootleg Pinky)

2007-12-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

The links below are for your own education to be able to distinguish between original Pinky:St and the fake pinky.

Why should you care? Well, first is the resale value. If you are buying for playing then you decide yourself. However, if you are buying for collecting and may be some day for selling, you don't have to think twice of owning an original. Afterall, how much is the resale value of fake painting? Not much once it is known as a fake.

So here are the links:
Pinky Freaks - Beware of Bootlegs! (so there are Korean copy too, not just Chinese.)
www.pinky-street.com : All About Bootlegs

Puuikibeach photo set in Flickr (Fakey Street) is probably the best source of some pinky releases, since he take a very good photo, very sharp, and he have the picture side by side and properly identified. Take a look and shop carefully.

And to familiarise yourself before you purchase any pinky, it is good to see the picture and probably print them too (if you shop in brick/mortar shop).
pinky-street.com probably has the most complete information for all releases but some does not have picture.
Vance Project website has only pictures of latest releases.
Hobby Link Japan has a list of Pinky:st releases which they sell (or had sold and now sold out) and they have picture albeit small.

Second post

2007-12-09T07:09:00.000-08:00

Well, to avoid no progress, even when I am busy, I am slowly building this blog.
I updated the layout and added links to informative Pinky:st links.

First Post

2007-12-02T05:51:00.000-08:00

It takes me one hour to get a good name. So many people are registering "pinky street" name variation and most of them are blank blogs. Bah! Well this one will be different! Stay tuned.