Tag Archives: Imports

#3598: Ultraman Geed Primitive

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ULTRAMAN GEED PRIMITIVE

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

Fun FiQ Fact #0077:  Ultraman Geed is one of the few Ultramen whose name is also a valid word in Scrabble!

You can’t keep me away from the Ultras for too long! …unless you’re my pending review pile following today’s review, I guess.  You know, ’cause there’s no more Ultramen in it.  Not yet anyway.  Well, I guess I’ll just have to really make this one count?  I don’t know, let’s give it a try.  While my primary exposure to Ultraman remains the dubbed version of the original series, I do still dabble in some of the newer entries.  I watched a fair bit of Mebius, as well as stray episodes of a few others, which did include the first few episodes of today’s focus Geed, which is noteworthy for being the only Ultra series I’ve watched while it was still coming out.  That’s pretty cool, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman Geed Primitive was released as part of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line in February of 2018, just two months after the first run of the show wrapped up. The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation. As his name implies, Geed is seen here in his “Primitive” form, which is his standardized look for the bulk of the. It’s purposefully designed to merge the classic Ultraman and Belial designs together, making it slightly more unique amongst the standard Ultras. The sculpt does a good job of recreating the look. It’s very sharply defined and clean, as well as being very accurate to the show. I was also really impressed by how the articulation was worked into the sculpt, as it’s pretty natural looking, while still maintaining a range of motion that’s better than many of the other Ultras. Geed’s color scheme sticks with the typical red and silver, with an extra dash of black thrown in. The application of the paint is all pretty clean; there’s some minor bleed over in some spots, but it’s generally solid. Geed is packed with four pairs of hands (fists, open gesture, relaxed, and flat), an hand with the Wrecking Burst effect attached, and a swappable color timer.

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THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Since Ginga broke on me, I went back to the Ultra well that was the massive collection still being processed at All Time.  I knew I wanted Orb, so I was initially just planning to grab him, but Geed here was also hanging around, and I felt myself called to him as well. He was just an along for the ride figure, but I find myself really liking this one a lot. He’s simple, but works very well.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3593: Ultraman Orb Spacium Zeperion

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ULTRAMAN ORB SPACIUM ZEPERION

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

Fun FiQ Fact #0072: Ultraman Orb is the 14th form-changing Ultraman in the franchise.

I’m gonna level with you guys: I’ve gotten back to Ultraman reviews, and I can’t kick the habit all that easily.  So, there’s gonna be more Ultraman reviews.  Not a ton, because, well, I have slightly more limited means of getting new Ultramen right at this moment, but still, there’s more Ultramen, and that’s always a great thing.  Alright, let’s look at an Ultraman Orb variant!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman Orb Spacium Zeperion was a December 2017 release for Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 40 points of articulation.  Thankfully, this time around, I didn’t have any instant breakage like I did with Ginga, so all of his articulation works the way it’s supposed to.  The articulation scheme isn’t bad, but it’s a little awkward around the hips.  I’m always amused by how often the hip joint construction changes for Figuarts.  Ultraman Orb makes use of a good number of different looks over the course of his series, each based on a fusion of two prior Ultras, with elements from Orb’s “Origin” look worked in.  Spacium Zeperion is a merging of Hayata and Tiga, and is one of Orb’s primary looks for the show, taking the place of his standard look while he works to regain his original powers.  The sculpt translates it well into figure form.  It’s very clean, and I dig how the complexities all work together.  Orb’s color work is fun; there’s a lot of color going on, and it leans more on black and purple, two more uncommon colors in the world of Ultra.  Orb is packed with 5 pairs of hands (in fists, open gesture, two styles of flat, and relaxed), two color timers, his Sparion Beam, and his Sparion Light Ring.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Following Ginga breaking on me, I was a little bummed, and felt like I was missing out on some of the Ultra-inspired joy in my life.  Thankfully, Ginga wasn’t the only Figuarts Ultra in the massive collection that is currently still being processed, and Orb in particular had really spoken to me.  He’s a lot of fun.  Definitely a different style of Ultra than Ginga, but I love having options.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3588: Ultraman Ginga

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ULTRAMAN GINGA

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

Fun FiQ Fact #0067: This marks my fifth Figuarts Ultra review since they ended Ultra-Act and switched over to SH Figuarts full-time, and only my second live-action Ultra in the style.

I got into smaller-scale imported figures, specifically Bandai’s Figuarts-style range, with Ultra-Act, the specifically Ultraman-themed line.  With the end of Ultra-Act, I stepped back on Ultras specifically, but I dipped my toes back into the waters with the Anime-based figures, before jumping in headfirst late last year with Ultraman Z.  And, since Ultraman’s like a hard narcotic to me, and I’m the recovering addict in this analogy, I find myself greatly in need of more live-action Ultramen.  Like, say, for instance, Ginga!  Yay Ginga!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman Ginga was added to Bandai’s SH Figuarts line in October of 2019.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Well, he’d have that articulation if mine weren’t defective.  Yeah, unfortunately, about 30 seconds after taking Ginga out of the box, his neck joint cracked, and the only option for repair was gluing it.  Real bummer there.  The articulation scheme is a little on the fiddlier side (which I think may have contributed to the breakage on mine), but it works well enough, and I especially like the range he gets on the shoulders, even with the extra armor.  Ginga is based on his standard starter design, which is a pretty fun one.  It goes for the traditional red and silver Ultra look, and then adds a bunch of transparent blue accents, which are totally fun.  His sculpt is a pretty good rendition of Ginga’s design.  It’s a little cleaned up, notably missing some of the folds from Ginga’s actual suit.  Ginga’s color work is pretty cleanly handled.  I especially like the translucent blue, and it adds some really fun pop to the figure.  He’s packed with four pairs of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, and open gesture), an additional hand with a Ginga Cross Shoot effect attached, the Ginga Spark Lance, and both versions of the color timer.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Ginga was one of the last Ultra-Act figures, and I came very, very close to buying one, but I knew the line was ending, and I just fell out of it all.  Since then, I’ve always wondered about the world where I got a Ginga…okay not really.  But I did still kinda want one.  The Figuart was in the big epic collection currently being processed at All Time Toys, and I was looking to snag him, when the owner Jason just handed him over, because he knows I like Ultraman.  I was bummed that he broke so quickly after I opened him, but, on the flip side, at least it happened on one I didn’t have anything into.  And, ultimately, he wasn’t beyond repair.  His neck’s gonna be a little stiffer than it’s supposed to be from now on, but it’s not the end of the world, and I do still really like the figure.

#3554: Ultraman Z – Original

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

ULTRAMAN Z — ORIGINAL

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

Fun FiQ Fact #0033: There’s a Tamashi Nations Store in New York where you can buy all sorts of Bandai things that are usually exclusively available overseas, which, in case your wondering, includes Ultraman stuff.  You know, if that’s your sort of thing.

My first introduction to pretty much anything import-related is almost always going to be Ultraman.  Since its primary focus is in Japan, as a kid my only options for the toys were what few items got imported in comic shops and the like.  Years later, it was Ultraman that got me into Bandai’s slightly higher end line with Ultra-Act.  When Ultra-Act was folded into S.H. Figuarts, I stepped back, since I wasn’t jumping up and down to re-buy everyone in a slightly different scale.  I’ve picked up a few of the anime/manga-based figures, but no live action releases…that is, until now!  Let’s look at Ultraman Z!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman Z Original is part of Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line, and he is a Tamashii Nations Store exclusive.  He’s a re-issue of the 2021 release of the character, with a stripped down selection of accessories at a lower price point. The figure stands just over 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 40 points of articulation.  Z has a decent selection of different looks over the course of his appearances, as he gains different fusions and power-ups, but this figure is, as you might expect from his name, his original, unmodified appearance.  It’s a pretty fun design, which borrows elements from prior Ultras, but leaves them in such a way that they still feel unique when placed together.  I particularly like the merging of an Ultraseven style fin with the more classic Hayata style face.  Z’s sculpt is a pretty impressive one, up to the usual standards of the usual Figuarts fare.  Compared to some of the other Ultras I’ve handled, his articulation feels a little less fiddly, and a little better on the range of motion.  The construction on this guy feels pretty solid, and his sculpt is nice and clean.  He’s a pretty spot-on match for the suit design from the show, which is certainly nice.  Z is unique amongst most Ultraman in that his predominant accent color is blue, rather than red.  I’m honestly always a fan of this change-up, and the end result reminds me a bit of Dyna’s Miracle Type design, which has always been a personal favorite.  The paint work here is solid.  It’s got a pretty clean application for the most part, but there’s some minor bleed over on some of the change-overs on the color work.  Z is packed with four sets of hands (in fists, flat, flying, and open gesture) and two different versions of his color timer.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

In December, I took a trip to New York with the family, which of course largely saw me focus on getting things for everybody else as we visited all of the stores.  On our last day there, I spotted the Tamashii Nations Store, which I had actually forgotten had even been set-up there, and my wife encouraged me to stop in, since I’d not done much for me.  They had a nice selection of the exclusives, including a Kamen Rider that Max wanted me to pick up for him.  Since I was already stopping to buy something, I figured I might as well get something for me, and decided to snag this guy, because it’s been a bit since I bought myself an Ultraman.  He’s very fun, and now I feel the need to buy more, which seems to always happen when I buy myself an Ultraman.

#3498: Huntress

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HUNTRESS

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

A year and a half ago, I took a look at my first MAFEX figure, Hush.  I ended that review noting that I was really pulled in by the announcement of Nightwing, and that he was the figure I was really after.  So, for my *second* MAFEX review, I’m looking at….still not Nightwing.  Look, I gotta be patient.  In the mean time, I do have another one, and this one’s another Hush based one.  Let’s take a look at Huntress, why don’t we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Huntress is figure No. 170 in the MAFEX line-up, the eighth Batman: Hush figure to join the line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 38 points of articulation. Hush marked my first experience with the MAFEX set-up as a whole, and he was an interesting experience. Huntress has some similarities, but also some deviations, to work a little better with her particular design. The movement still has more of a smooth flow than a Figuarts figure, but she winds up a little bit restricted in a few spots, most notably at the neck and shoulders. The neck is pretty much unavoidable, due to the hair, but the shoulders are a bit of a bummer. Huntress has a unique sculpt which is, as expected, based on her Jim Lee-illustrated appearance from Hush…more or less.  There are some slight changes to the design to make it work a bit better in figure form, with the most evident being the change to longer shorts, so as to offset the placement of the thigh swivels.  Honestly, it’s a design change that I really don’t mind, so I can’t knock it.  As with Hush, it does a respectable job of translating Lee’s art into three dimensions.  It’s a very clean, very balanced translation.  There are two different heads, one calm and basic, the other a little angrier, with a more dynamic flow to the hair.  She gets a bit of mixed media, with a cloth cape; it’s a well tailored, and it’s even got a wire running along the bottom, so you can get some rather impressive poses out of it.  Huntress’s paint work is very sharp and very clean, with no notable slop or anything like that.  It definitely matches well with the printed colors from the book, and they even got the cape and the painted purples to match up okay.  Huntress doesn’t quite get the array of accessories that Hush did, but she still gets a fair bit.  There’s the extra head mentioned above, plus five pairs of hands (in fists, two styles of gripping, relaxed, and open gesture), her staff and a display stand.  The hands are notably a bit inconsistent on how well they stay on the wrist pegs on my copy, with some of they just falling right off.  It’s more than a little bit annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m still very patiently waiting on my MAFEX Nightwing, but given how much I enjoyed Hush, I decided to explore the line just a little bit further.  While I’m a little bit hit or miss on the Helena Bertineli version of Huntress in the comics, her appearances in Justice League Unlimited really solidified my love of the character.  Back in the DCUC days, I really wanted a good 6-inch version of her in this design, and…well, the DCUC one was a 6-inch version, but I struggle to call it a “good” one.  MAFEX gave me a better option, so this was the one I jumped in on.  She’s not perfect, but she’s close.  I really like her, and I’m happy to be able to replace the DCUC one with a far superior model.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’d like to see a video of her in action, I helped out on one for their YouTube channel here.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3289: Captain America – Tech-On Avengers

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

CAPTAIN AMERICA — TECH-ON AVENGERS

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

There’s something of an irony to the most recurrent character at the center of my S.H. Figuarts reviews for the last couple of years has been Captain America, but, well, here I am.  And you know what?  I’m gonna do it again.  In 2021, Marvel partnered with Bandai Namco for a Super Sentai-inspired Avengers series, Tech-On Avengers.  Marvel’s part was publishing a six issue tie-in miniseries, while Bandai’s part was releasing some Figuarts based on the designs seen in the comics.  The premise is pretty simple: the Avengers lose their powers due to shenanigans caused by the Red Skull, so they all have to be outfitted with Stark-designed armor, to become the Iron Avengers.  And I, being me, have the Captain America, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America — Tech-On Avengers is the second Tech-On Avengers release in Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line-up, following the Iron Man from earlier in 2022.  Cap started arriving domestically towards the end of the year, in that early to mid December area.  The figure stands right at 6 inches tall and he has 45 points of articulation.  The articulation on this guy is a little bit finicky; Figuarts often are, but they’ve been getting less so as of late.  This guy’s even more finicky than usual, especially when it comes to the pelvis area.  The waist folds inwards on itself, and the hips are just generally kind of a little tight, which is only made potentially worse by having the waist folded in too far.  There’s also a floating pelvis piece to contend with, which just further complicates movement.  You can still get a decent range out of the figure, but it can take some getting used to.  On the plus side, the way the shoulders are laid out is actually pretty intuitive, and gives him a solid range of motion.  Cap’s sculpt is an all-new one, based on his tech-ed up look.  It’s honestly a pretty fun look, and I kind of dig the Ultraman manga vibe going on here.  It’s a good merging of the Cap, Iron Man, and Sentai vibes, while still maintaining the classic Cap vibe through and through.  The sculpt is quite nicely detailed.  It’s very sharp and clean, and appropriately sleek.  The construction uses just a little bit of die cast metal, which appears to be confined to the feet.  Not sure exactly why, but I guess it at least makes him rather sure footed.  His color work is generally pretty classic Cap fare; red, white, and blue, or at least a close variation of it.  I dig the metallic blue and the varying shades of red, but I’m a bit less sold on the light grey in place of white.  It lacks some of the pop that it should have.  At the very least, the paint work is cleanly applied.  Cap gets an impressive selection of accessories, including five sets of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, and with pegs for use with the blast effects), a slightly more tech-y version of his usual shield, four different styles of straps for said shield (for mounting on his back, proper gripping, loose hanging, and one for throwing), a throwing effect, four different blast effects, and a display stand.  One of the gimmicks for Cap’s armor is the ability to use his shield as an extra armor-up feature.  To facilitate that, this guy gets an alternate larger set of hands, forearm guards, shoulder pads, front, back, and lower torso plates, a version of the shield that’s opening up for the armor up feature, and effects for the shield, the front of the torso, and his fist.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Overall, Tech-On is a concept that I don’t have much use for.  It’s a bunch of gimmicky variants of characters I have plenty of times over, and they’re all rather on the expensive side.  That being said, I’m a sucker for a fun Captain America variant, and that’s what this guy is.  He’s still perhaps a bit on the pricey side, but there’s plenty going on with this guy that makes him feel worthwhile.  And he’s even got fighting fists?  How can I not love a Cap that has fighting fists?

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3135: Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

KRILLIN — EARTH’S STRONGEST MAN

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

It’s been a bit over a year since my last Dragon Ball Z review, and I’ve got to keep these infrequent stops back at that particular well going, right? Right. Honestly, it’s not even a conscious thing really. They just keep putting out one figure I want just every so often enough to keep me from completely falling out of it. Last year it was Piccolo. This year? We’re finally circling back around to my man Krillin. And I sure do love me some Krillin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man is a 2022 release for the DBZ subset of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line. He started showing up domestically in the last month or so. This is the third version of Krillin in the line, and the second to be specifically DBZ-based. As with Piccolo, it had been a while since that last DBZ Krillin, so another version was definitely due.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and has 43 points of articulation.  As I noted in my review of Piccolo last year, there have been some definite adjustments made to how Figuarts implements articulation on their figures, especially for this line in particular.  Krillin continues that trend, and, despite his smaller stature, he’s still notably sturdier than some of the earlier figures, which is a definite plus, and something that makes the figure a lot nicer to actually mess around with.  The legs are notably a lot less prone to getting all floppy in certain poses, and his arms have less pieces that just float around during posing.  You still want to be somewhat careful, as parts can still pop out of place (as his right shoulder did during my initial posing), but for the most part, it works a lot better.  Krillin’s sculpt is all-new, and aims to address some of the issues with the last DBZ Krillin.  The biggest of those, ironically, was the size of the original figure.  He was far too tall to be an accurately scaled Krillin to go with the rest of the line.  Given his supposed canon height is supposed to be 5 feet, this new figure’s scale seems to be more or less on the mark.  Beyond that, the new sculpt is just a solid match for Krillin’s animation model, as well as the overall style of the more recent figures.  In terms of sizing, design, and how the articulation is worked in, he’s just an overall better representation than the prior release.  There are four different heads included with this one, each with a different expression.  The standard, right out of the box one has a fairly basic intense looking stare, but there’s also a surprised one, a yelling one, and an angry one.  They’re all consistently sculpted, so they look like the same character, and they’re all a good match for the character as seen on the show.  I wouldn’t mind getting something with more of a friendly smile, but the ones we got are solid.  I myself am partial to the surprised head, because that just feels so very Krillin.  The color work on Krillin is generally pretty basic.  A lot of it is molded colors, but there’s enough paint to get all of the important details.  The application is all pretty sharp, and he looks appropriately the part.  Krillin is packed with six different sets of hands (pointing, two different styles of open palm, two different styles of open gesture, and fists), an extra left hand holding a bag of Senzu Beans, and a Destructo Disk effects piece.  Pretty much all of the essentials are covered here, and I can’t really think of a ton of other stuff you could give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first DBZ version of Krillin was released just enough before I got into the line that there was no way for me to get him at a reasonable price.  I’ve kept my eye out for other options in the scale pretty much ever since, and ultimately made do with the Dragon Ball version of him for a little bit.  That said, as soon as this one was announced, I was on board, and I eagerly awaited his release.  In hand, he’s a ton of fun, and very much worth the wait.  Given how much I like Krillin, I’m kinda glad I didn’t settle for the earlier version, and waited for what is definitely the best version of him out there.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3093: Shin Ultraman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SHIN ULTRAMAN

FIGZERO S (THREEZERO)

Holy crap, is this two Ultraman reviews, in under a month?  Can that be right?  I mean, yeah, it can.  It’s my site.  I do what I want.  And some times what I want is two Ultraman reviews in a month.  That’s just how I roll.  Today, I’m shifting focus ever so slightly, and delving into Shin Ultraman, a reboot of the Ultraman franchise which is, after a few delays, supposed to be released at the end of this week.  The film follows up Shin Godzilla, a similarly handled reboot of that particular franchise, both of them headed by Hideki Anno (creator of Evangelion, amongst other things) and Shinji Higuchi.  They will be followed by Shin Kamen Rider, and are all supposed to be taking place in a shared universe.  Shin Ultraman has gotten a modest merchandising push in the last year, as they’ve lead up to its actual release.  That includes some coverage from comparative new-comers on the Ultraman front, Threezero, who are expanding on their anime-inspired Ultras and giving us two different versions of the titular Shin Ultraman.  I’m looking at the smaller version today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shin Ultraman is the inaugural release in Threezero’s FigZero S line, which is a line of 6 inch figures, playing into the same market as the likes of Figuarts and MAFEX.  Notably, all three of the lines tackled this particular take on Ultraman, which I guess gives a good mark for comparison.  Not that I’d be crazy enough to buy the same design in similar figure styles three times over.  Right?  Right.  I’m not gonna do that.  I swear.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 40 points of articulation.  The movement on this guy is pretty solid.  I got to mess with the Figuarts release, and the movement, especially at the neck, was my real complaint.  This guy still has some restrictions, but he’s generally a little more posable.  He’s at the very least capable of the flying pose, and that’s a pretty key set-up, I feel.  The rest of the joints all offer a decent range as well; I quite like how the butterfly shoulders work.  I’m not too crazy about the knees, which, at least on mine, seem a little stuck on the lower potion, resulting in a range that’s just okay.  Shin Ultraman is based on his design from the film.  It’s a pretty straight forward update on the classic Hayata Ultraman design.  The fin no longer runs all the way down the back, and he’s no longer got the color timer, but otherwise he sticks pretty close.  I like the design, unsurprisingly, since I also really like the original design.  The sculpt does a good job of capturing the design, at least from what we’ve seen of it thus far.  The joints work into things alright, and he has a pretty slick feel overall, which certainly feels right for the character.  I also dig the skinnier, more alien design, which feels like an intriguing departure from prior looks for the character.  His paint work is fairly decently handled.  The silver is very shiny, which I really like.  The red seems a touch on the dark side, even when compared to shots from the movie, but it works well enough.  The application is a little bit spotty on some of the change overs, but it’s minor for the most part, and not terribly distracting given the scale.  Ultraman is packed with four sets of hands, in fists, flat, open gesture, and relaxed.  No effects pieces, though thus far none of the Shin Ultraman items have those, so it could be a license thing.  The extra hands do at least offer a nice variety of looks when posing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I love me some Ultraman, and I’m also growing to love me some Threezero.  I like the 12 inch figures I’ve gotten from them so far, and when this guy was shown off, I was definitely down.  It’s been a little bit of a wait to get him, but I’m glad I waited it.  He’s different from the Ultra-Act stuff I’ve gotten previously, but I can dig the changes, and I’m intrigued to see what else Threezero tries at this scale.  Until then, I’ve got this really cool Ultraman.  And who can knock that?

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3084: Mechagodzilla

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

MECHAGODZILLA

S.H. MONSTERARTS (BANDAI)

Just over a year ago, Godzilla Vs Kong premiered on HBO Max for streaming…and was also in theatres, I guess, but I was still avoiding them, so, you know, I wasn’t tracking such things.  I really enjoyed the movie, though, since it delivered on pretty much everything I had hoped for in a movie called “Godzilla Vs Kong.”  It had Godzilla, it had Kong, they were versus-ing, and, more importantly, it also had Mechagodzilla, Godzilla’s robot doppelganger, and my second favorite thing about the Godzilla franchise.  I picked up Playmates’ movie-inspired version of the character last year, and was pretty happy with that one, but you can always use just a little bit more Mechagodzilla, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mechagodzilla was released as part of Bandai’s S.H. Monsterarts line, hitting retail domestically at the end of February of this year.  He’s the third figure in the Godzilla Vs Kong subset, joining the Kong and Godzilla figures released last year to more closely tie-in with the movie.  The figure stands about 7 1/4 inches tall and he has, like, so much articulation.  Just many articulations, you guys.  The tail is almost entirely segmented into individual joints, and the pistons on the hips are designed to work.  He’s got an articulated jaw, he’s got butterfly shoulders.  About the only things missing are finger and toe movement, but at this size, that’s far from an issue.  They’d probably be at risk of breakage anyway.  As it stands, the current articulation scheme gives this guy a pretty solid range of motion.  The elbows are notably a little restricted, but beyond that, it’s impressive, especially that tail.  Mechagodzilla sports an all-new sculpt, based on his appearance in the movie.  Obviously, at this price-point, the sculpt is a lot more involved than the Playmates equivalent.  Everything is much sharper, and I do mean that literally; you gotta be careful with that tail.  Everything is very crisp, and convincingly mechanical, and there’s a ton of really great detail work on the inner mechanics of everything.  He’s also got a little bit of diecast metal worked into the legs and feet, which not only gives him a little extra heft, but also makes him very stable on his feet.  Mechagodzilla’s paint work isn’t too terribly involved, at least in terms of coloring, but it’s at least consistent.  The silver is all painted, which looks quite nice, and the handful of red accents do a good job of breaking things up just a little bit.  Mechagodzilla is light on the extras, but not completely without.  He gets two different sets of hands, one set open, the other closed, in order to add some extra variety to his posing.  It might have been nice to get a blast effect for his atomic breath, or possibly even some damaged parts, but ultimately, it’s nice that we got anything at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Mechagodzilla a fair bit, but the nature of his release meant that I wasn’t expecting to have an easy time getting ahold of this one through my usual means.  I was also pretty content with the Playmates figure, which is surprisingly good for its price-point.  That said, when one of these rolled through All Time, and I was able to snag him for a pretty solid deal.  Coupled with a general slow down in what I’ve been picking up, he just felt like the right thing at the right time.  This figure’s really solid, but in like a subtle way.  There’s a lot going on with him, but he’s not overly showy.  He’s just a really cool figure, and I’m glad I picked him up.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3073: Hush

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

HUSH

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

Every so often, I like to jump into the world of imported toys, just to try out some of the finer things from time to time.  See how the other half lives, or something like that.  It’s a little tricky with some of them, given that the prices can get a bit insane on the domestic market, and things don’t always have a clear line of distribution.  A line that I’ve been intrigued by for some time is Medicom’s MAFEX line, their contribution to the 1/12 scale market.  Unfortunately for me, most of what I’ve been interested in has been of the Marvel persuasion, and those don’t have direct domestic distribution, making them pricier, and therefore less appealing.  I’ve been looking for a decent entry point, and I finally found a pretty good one.  That’s…not what I’m looking at today.  I’ll get to that.  What I *am* looking at today is Hush, based on his appearance in the self-titled arc from the comics.  I said don’t talk about it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hush is figure No. 133 in the MAFEX line-up, the fifth Batman: Hush figure, following the two color variations on Batman, Catwoman, and Superman.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 46 points of articulation.  Hush marks my first time messing with a MAFEX figure, so it’s the first time I’ve checked out the articulation scheme.  It’s a mix of a few different styles, most closely resembling Figuarts in how it’s laid out and implemented, but I found that the motion seemed a little more fluid, at least on this figure compared to the Figuarts I’ve picked up.  Also, in a rather amusing sort of a set-up, it should be noted that four of those points are on the pouches on his belt, which can be posed up, as if he’s mid-jump.  It’s such a minor thing, but it’s also kind of cool.  The only slightly weird thing is that it’s just the pouches on the belt proper, not the lower hanging ones.  Still, it’s a nice touch.  Otherwise, the range of motion is pretty impressive for the scale.  Hush’s sculpt is a totally unique one.  He’s based on his appearance in the comics, directly patterned on Jim Lee’s art from the books, much like the old DC Direct figures.  It does a really good job of capturing the Jim Lee stylings, and there’s a lot of really good small detail work.  The technical work is just really impressive.  Hush includes three different head sculpts.  Two of them are the full bandaged look, one with a calm expression, and the other an angrier look.  The heads are nicely detailed, and internally consistent in their detailing, as well as matching up pretty nicely with Lee’s illustrations of the character.  The third head, and by far my favorite, is a Jason Todd head, based on the famous reveal panel.  It’s a great sculpt, with a ton of character, and super well-suited to the body.  Given the bare neck, this was clearly the head that the body was sculpted specifically for, with the other two being more of a package deal.  Hush’s paint work is really nicely handled.  The application is really clean, and the colors are nice and bold.  There are no missing details, or any notable slop, and the whole thing just looks pretty slick.  Hush has an impressive selection of accessories, including the three previously mentioned heads, plus five pairs of hands (in fists, gripping, relaxed, open gesture, and blade holding), two handguns, a coin, a separate knife, two different insignias for the chest (one H and one R, depending on display option), as well as two different belts (again with the H and R set-ups), and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I touched on in the intro, this figure isn’t the one that broke me on MAFEX, though he did come rather close.  No, that would be the Hush Nightwing, which is just too cool to pass up, and will be added to my collection just as soon as I can get him.  Of course, right after Nightwing was announced and I got my order in for him, this guy got traded into All Time used, giving the opportunity to mess with a MAFEX in hand, and also a slightly cheaper option for getting this one to go with that Nightwing I’m already down for.  I mean, it’s not that crazy to have the two grown up Robins, both from a rather formative comic book storyline for me, right?  Right.  So, after much hemming and hawing, I brought this guy home.  Was it the right call?  Simply put, yes.  This is a really nice figure, who really feels worth the heightened price point.  I can’t really afford to go all-in on a set of them at this price point, but I’m definitely even more excited for that Nightwing, and I’ll probably be picking up one or two other figures, as they do characters I have more draw to.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.