Japan Sonic the Hedgehog Keychains Page 2

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Keychains of Japan

Keychains are wonderful to collect. Small, usually not that expensive, and of course, covered with Sonic!
Japan thought so too, back in the day, and produced so many fun different versions. Because a Key Tag is so easy to make, they weren't afraid to turn out many groups of different kinds with several characters. These vintage key chains all appear to be good quality creations.

These interesting figural straps start things off with a well-designed bang!
These were originally VMU straps for your Dreamcast VMUs but they can also be used as cell phone straps or put on your key chains. Each one has the characters' name on the strap, and a fully 3D figure attached. You can see a close up of the Tails one on Keychains of Japan Page 1...but it is with a Chao figure as well. These appeared around the time of Sonic Adventure 1. If you look closely, the chao at the bottom is having different expressions. Photo by Alessandro

Here are 3 nice brass (or brass-look) key chains. Each one is a flat smooth oval with classic clip top. The designs are well done and detailed. Each one is etched on with a frosted effect to the metal. Look at cute Tails sitting down! It's not a design you see often. Sonic is jumping and so is Eggman. Each one says "SegaSonic" below it, with the characters' name. The bottom has the copyright.

Photo by Alessandro

Ovals too rounded?
Try some squares. These key tags have exactly the same design as the ones above, only the metal is square now instead of oval. It's the same color as well, but this time has 'bolts' in the corners and the tag itself is more 3D.
Photo by Alessandro

Red & Brass Relief Sonic Tails Egg Keychains

Now here's a quality trio of chains!
Just look at the detail here. A spring loaded hook, and a separate metal ring top them off. Each one features red leather (or leather-look material) with stitched border and rivet top to secure it to the clip. The characters are actual reliefs stamped into (likely) brass, which has been patina'ed and polished. The banner below them has their name. Eggman is difficult to see, but he's the same stock art as the two sets above, only this time slightly 3D.
You just don't see quality like this any more! What a fine (and rare) set to collect! Photo by: tyro@genion.de

Enamel keychains are pretty common, but these have an unusual twist: Two kinds of enamel (thick clear, and red) over a silghtly 3D design. Finger waving Sonic, Standing tails and the same leaping Eggman are on each of the 3 chains. The thick clear enamel covers the 3D-ness of the design, keeping it (and the red shiny enamel) safe from wear among keys. Photo by: Alessandro

This blue set is identical to the one above, except for the fact that here, the enamel is a dark, navy blue instead of red. Photo by: Alessandro

How curious these 3 key tags are...
They do something! Specifically, each one has the ability to rotate the part with the raised character design. The outer shape has "Segasonic the Hedgehog" written on it, regardless of who is on the chain. Tails is standing again, and Eggman is still in the very same pose as he has been throughout this page. These are a fun addition to your keychain collection! Photo by: Alessandro

This simple key chain is a rounded long shape of silver-tone metal with an engraved design of finger waving Sonic in the middle. The top simply says "Sega" in the classic font. Was this one of a set with other characters? Sets like those were common for the time, so it is likely. Photo by SegaFreak.

This is quite a nice little figural keychain.
Despite being so small, the sculpt is actually very good. The ruffles of her skirt, the details of her shoes and her spikes and bangs are all very good. Like the newer Sonic Adventure 1 Keychains, this one is on a little flat base with name plate. This Amy looks a bit shy. Photo by Rhia.

Now THIS is a cool keychain. If ever a keychain were to be 'tough' this one would be it!
An ultra rare, ultra interesting Metal Sonic keychain! And it's a completely 3D figural as well!
What makes this even better is the accuracy and the great job they did with it. The thing is spot-on! Check out the metallic silver and gold-tone paint, as well as the 3D details for the shoulder cuffs, engine well, and shoe bolts. What did they do with all the pointy fingers? Cleverly, they set the hands on the

legs so they wouldn't break or look dumb! Metal Sonic items could sometimes suffer from the odd eye position, but this one is once again, quite well made in that area. More impressive still is the size. Noting the chain and ring size, you can tell that this isn't even that big, and they've done that good of a job.
For such a fan-favorite it's a wonder more Metal Sonic doesn't show up. Still, this detailed keychain is sure to be a collector's highlight!
This keychain is likely part of a set that includes the Knuckles keychain with the same very thick wire loop seen here (it is on Keychains page 3). Notice it is somewhat "G" shaped with a point going inward. A Sonic, & Tails should also be on this set as well. Photo by Rhia

Here's a classy strap. This could be for a phone or keys. This is pretty sophisticated looking despite the age, with outline/border Sonic, and 'digital style' font used to write the "Welcome to the next level" slogan. It's all clear plastic with black ink, and the Sonic face (and hand) are on a flat plastic disk attached to the strap. The cord at the top likely has a clip of some sort on it so you can attach it. Photo discovered by: Rae_Logan

Here's an old Sonic keychain.
This one is in a sort of "Chibi" style, with no legs (!) and very small arms/hands and feet. The head is quite big, but the earys are extra small. However, the most curious feature (aside from the no legs, but feet) is the mouth is in the front, rather than off to one side. It looks pretty natural though, so they've done a good job. The combination of all these features gives it a rather oldskool /cartoony look. The chain and key-clip seem to be all plastic as well, which does not make it very sturdy. Probably good to collect, rather than to use.
Photo discovered by: SonicFanGuy.

Here's a little Amy Rose keychain.
This is with her older design, seen on Sonic CD where she has the ruffle skirt and purple shoes. For this little key chain, she's just standing there, though with how it's sculpted she looks somewhat worried.
The chain/clasp are gold-tone which is slightly unusual. However, what's really curious is that this little chain is almost identical (it is likely larger than) the Amy pencil topper which you can see in Japan School Supplies. Owned and photo'd by Calistine.

A Plush keychain of Sonic. It seems fairly well constructed for its small size, it's only about 4 inches, not including the plastic hanger top. The buckles are a bit mis-placed but the detail for his hands is pretty impressive on a plush of this size. This particular one was being sold by "Toys R Joy" over an Ebay Auction. They used to be fairly common, over ebay, after the time of SonicAdventure 1 had well passed, despite being from Japan.
With the right picture you can see his details are embroidered, and they did a pretty decent job with him proportions-wise. Over all, a good keychain to collect. Right-side photo discovered by Trogdorbad

Micro Classic Amy Rose Rosie Keychain Plush

This micro plush is actually a keychain!
This Amy seems to be even smaller than the previous very little plush Amy. She's in her classic Sonic CD clothing, which is farily well detailed despite being totally tiny. They clearly put in an effort for this keychain, it's rather too bad that it is so rare. (the smaller something is, the easier it is to lose, I guess) Photo provided by: Rhia.
Tiny Tails at right is likely from the same set. He is different from the one seen on Japan Keychains 1...and yes he does have ears. They're just folded back onto his head and the photo is poor (as they didn't stand them up

so he could look normal) Again, they've minded most of the details, even getting the bands on his socks in despite the size. His body is a tad big, but the whole thing is likely under 5 inches anyway. As you can see here, AnimeMate.com took the photo so they might have gotten a hold of a few of these in 2009, which may mean a chance to pick one up despite it not being common. Discovered by berzerker

If there's mini Amy & Tails, you know Mini Sonic had to exist too. Here's the tiny plush keychain version of Sonic. Like the others, he's pretty good too despite the tiny size. His shoes may be a bit big and have no buckles, but it still does look very Sonic-like. The spikes are likely to be flat fabric strips, like the figure's hands are in each of these mini keychains. AnimeMate got a hold of this one as well, but it is not common. Photo discovered by Techno1252