Gacha titlecard

Gacha Figures! The word comes from Japan, but is generally used to refer to small, packaged figures dispensed either from a machine (most common) or some sort of display box in a store that dispenses from the bottom. They are almost always "Blind Boxed" (or blind bagged) so that you don't know what you're getting before you buy. This is supposed to promote trading, but generally ends up just being annoying as duplicates pile up. However, they are also usually inexpensive, and the lines usually have decent variety. This page is for gacha figures from ANY country, as sometimes they are not country-specific/multi area release. Release areas will be listed on the item listing.

Sonic Gear Main *

Here are the first 2 shots of the first 2 gacha collections by Tomy. At left is the Sonic Mini Figures collection, then at right is the Figures & vehicles collection. Figures has 6, vehicles has only 4.

Note: you have to assemble/snap together the figures.

With the figures, you can get Metal Sonic, Super Sonic, Werehog, Knuckles, Sonic & Shadow. With the cars, you can get Amy, Knuckles, Sonic & Shadow. Like the micro JW racers, these figures are stuck inside the vehicles, but they do roll. The figures can't be posed, but they are sort of rubbery plastic. Each figure is about 3 inches high. (meaning that the cars are larger than the Jazwares micro cars, but the figures are smaller than the 3.75 inch line. Above photos by: RaeLogan

Photos by RaeLogan &

As you'll notice with these close up shots, not all of the figures are painted exactly right. Super Sonic's buckles are not gold, Werehog is missing his shoe stripe (it's there, it's just not painted), Metal Sonic's steel areas are gray instead of silver-tone, and Shadow is missing a lot of the red he should have on his arms, glove cuffs and shoes. This is kind of typical to gacha items, they're small and cheap, so don't always have the best paint jobs. You can remedy this if it bothers you by painting in the details carefully at home. Left photo by KatAndSilver These have been seen at: USA Target stores - $5 each Australia at GAME stores - $5 each Europe- ??

This is a folded pamphlet for the Buildable Figures. It likely comes inside the ball, as an ad for you to see what else there is to collect. These types of pamphlets are typical among blindpacked items, so you know who you're missing without looking at a display. Photo & owned by TurboTheHedgehog

When it says "buildable figures" it means it. Each figure comes in about 4 parts and you have to snap it together. The long peg goes into the head, and the arms have bumps that fit into holes on the torso. This helps the figure fit into the ball, as seen at right. Right photo by Hali66, left by: KatAndSilver

When you see these in stores, it'll most likely look just like this. This is a gashapon ball dispensing box. It was seen at Target stores in the USA in fall 2011. Each ball should be priced at 3.99 Photo & info by: The balls have a shrink-plastic band around them with the logo that needs to be removed before the ball can be opened. Ball photo by SonicTheMainMain

With these turn-arounds, you can see the sculpting is pretty good. The bottoms of most of the characters' shoes are detailed well, & you can see

Metal Sonic's finger joints/textures. The paint needs help in areas (Sonic's mis matched eyes, faded ear, dropped details on shoes etc) but that's nothing one can't fix at home. The bottom of each shoe has the copyright info. Below at left, you can see how these

compare to the F4F / Jazwares 2 inch line collector classic pack release. Ironically, the 6-pack has better paint, arguably equal enough sculpting...and costs LESS per figure! Also, no risk of duplicates. It's very odd how it worked out. All turn arounds & compare shot in this section provided by: SonicToast

The latest thing to come from Tomy's line of blindbag Gacha type toys are...these "Danglers"! But what are they? They can be keychain charms, cell phone charms, or really any type of hanging decoration. They have a lead loop of tough cord so you can hang them almost anywhere.

With the above photo, you can see they're really quite small! That's a Toy Island Giant Talkin' Tails, a Jazwares 3.75 line Tails & the Gacha Tails. Each one is fully 3D and is posed after a piece of the newer 2011 stock art. The figures you'll see with this batch are:

Knuckles, Tails, Eggman!, Shadow & 2 Sonics. (one of which won't stand up) None of their ear-interiors are painted (as seen here) and the Sonics will lack mouths in most cases. Each has a little tough card type logo tag (removable if you want) The package also contains that little folded paper, with anti choke warnings on the back in most languages. Some of the poses from the art don't translate all that well to 3D (look at Tails' awkward arm behind his back) and their tiny but extended limbs may make them not super durable. Hopefully this sees another line with Rouge/Amy/Metal Sonic/Super Sonic, instead of 2 Sonics, both of which are heavily added to all boxes. (so your chance of a duplicate of him is high, no matter what you do)

These ARE inexpensive, they should be only about 2.99 at Target & Fred Meyer stores. In summer 2012, if you can still find them, a price drop to 1.99. Look for these where you found the previous gacha dispensers for the above figures & racers. Anywhere that retails trading cards / rubberband bracelets may also pick these up. These can have paint flaws, as seen with Knuckles eye-white paint that doesn't go all the way down, or some nose paint on the face. Tails & package by photo RaeLogan Dangle Eggman figure photo by SonicTheMainMan

Here's a close up for dangle Knuckles...but you can see he's got a few problems. First off, his eyes are clearly blue when they should be purple. Then, he's missing that crescent white stripe on his chest. No one's shoe-soles are painted, but with him it stands out more than normal. Knuckles dangle photos by RaeLogan

Neither dangle Eggman or Dangle Shadow can stand, due to how they are posed with their heels lifted. Eggman fares really well on the paint, he's not missing anything obvious, they even got his shirt details. Shadow is missing the white f or his chest, & the yellow for his shoe bands. His glove cuffs are also without detail. Eggman is sturdy with his arms folded up. Photos by:

These heads are gacha style items, sold in 'blind bag' format where you can't tell what you're getting till you open it. The theme for this set is '3D decapitated character heads'.

In the CG mock up pamphlet you see up there, the idea looks ok in theory. The smooth CG with its good proportions and nice coloring could easily convince anyone that keychains of it could be a good idea. (look at that Eggman though! Like big blue glass orbs shoved in where his eyes should go...yikes)

In practice, however, they're a little strange. Having 3D heads, not just flat "art charms" of the heads gives off a slight "broken action figure" vibe, but add to that the mis-coloring problems and giant noses, & you've got a few more problems.

Yes they're gacha, yes they're cheap, but without Eggmans' collar, he has raw neck stump. (it should be black to help "isolate" the head) Then, Metal Sonic gets a black nose, nobody's ears get color (common for Tomy, but look...they're colored in the photo pamphlet) SS has smeared red from his eye, and Eggman has no teeth. (mouth is just pink) So while these have a better selection than the full-bodies above, they're...a little lacking in design. Interestingly, these turned up at Sainsbury's (a super market) but that's in England. They can also be found in a machine in Crystal Peaks near Sainsburys. Will Tomy distribute these everywhere? Photos by: & CG discovered by: VicLeeW

Tomy is making more Gacha stuff, this time in Australia. Will these appear elsewhere? Yes! England has been confirmed at Funky Monkeys Skating Rink. Each gacha item contains 5 character magnets, each with a different design. You can collect Silver (shown here), Metal Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Tails, Sonic, Eggman & even Super Sonic! While Silver has only the same pose for all of his items, the other characters are shown to have more than one pose. (see Shadow art differing on the flyer) These are only 2 dollars each, so its pretty reasonably priced too. Photo & owned by TJTheGreat, additional info by CrystalKitsune

More magnet details! At right you can see the full set of Tails magnets, because he is so popular he gets a different art for each shape. Below is the ever-popular Metal Sonic set, however, though he is a fan-favorite, he clearly only has one pose. The file-cabinet drawer front has been decorated with ALL the magnets, so by looking at that photo you can easily see what the complete set looks like. In the photo below you can see the paper that came with them.

If you get them out of a gacha ball, they won't be in the bag seen above. Each character gets a star, a swirl, a star-ring, a circle & a diecut shape.

Tails magnet photos by CrystalKitsune