Mini-Reviews Vol. 1

In my evil scheme to slowly revive the Review Corner, every so often I'll take a little time to briefly talk about the newest goodies from Japan that have been added to my ever-expanding collection, which has grown to the point that some have even dubbed it "Bandai Museum West". Ironically, the real Bandai Museum closed earlier this year, but not before I got to go there! That's a tale for another time though. I

n the future, I'll probably put in a lot more of my own pictures too, but given that I'm short on time tonight (and don't have my camera charged up) this'll have to do for now:


Sôchaku-Henshin Kamen Rider BLACK

When this guy was first announced, pretty much everybody agreed that it would be a must-buy. I mean, it's a Sôchaku-Henshin figure of Kamen Rider BLACK! There's nothing in that sentence that I don't like. So when the actual figure hit the shelves in late October, the question on all our minds was this: Is it worth the wait?

By and large, I'd say yes, depending on how much of a stickler you are for accuracy. The Sôchaku-Henshin figures aren't exactly known for being 100% true-to-life, with their occassionally chunky armor and pea-brained human heads (although in recent years they've slimmed them down by making more of the armor already part of the figure's body, and for God's sake people, you're supposed to display them with those helmets on!)

So as you might expect, BLACK takes a few anatomical liberties, most likely (as major KRB-fan pal pointed out) so he can fit on the Sôchaku-Henshin EX Battle Hopper. His legs are a bit longer than previous figures, although I think that's not nearly as noticeable as the neck area. In a move that is both a step in the right direction and an experiment still in need of some fine-tuning, Bandai did away with the tiny heads on which the helmet parts sit, and instead just use a blank ball joint with two swappable heads, one of BLACK's helmet and one of Minami Kôtarô's mug. So in other words, you can display an "unmasked" BLACK, kinda.

The problem is that the actual "neck" piece doesn't move (since the real movement is done with the heads themselves, on the ball joint) so on closer inspection, it may look a little odd if that kind of stuff bugs you. However, as long as you position his head so he's looking slightly down (like the pics on the package) he should look pretty cool, and really, that's probably how I display him the most, in that iconic "fist-crunching" pose he does before delivering the Rider Punch/Rider Kick.

Beyond that, I can't really find any reason not to love this figure. He's not as armed-to-the-teeth as most of the later Riders who have already been done in this series, so don't expect much in the way of accessories. Aside from the interchangeable heads, he just has four pieces of armor to be put on/taken off; the shoulder pads, belt buckle, and the main chest armor, which uses an interesting new interlocking system. But if you liked the FIRSTy Double Riders, chances are you'll like this guy too. He can do pretty much any pose the real dude ever did, he's a must-get if you plan on getting the Battle Hopper/Acrobatter set or Shadow Moon, and come on, it's Kamen Rider BLACK!


Sôchaku-Henshin Kamen Rider BLACK RX

Recently released (I just got him the other day in the mail) there isn't a whole lot to say here that I didn't already cover with his prior incarnation, although RX does include accessories; two versions of Revolcane, silver & blue, which is a nice little touch, considering I was only expecting one when this guy was first announced. Also, I think the new neck joint idea works a little better here, since RX already has that high collar/weird head shape combo going on. Aside from that, he's basically just like BLACK, which in other words means he's great stuff.

Well, there is one other thing: the colors, man, the colors! A number of pictures have shown this figure to look more like Kamen Rider GREY RX. To be fair, I think the black on the real RX suit was slightly lighter than on BLACK's, but whatever the case may be, I'll say this: assuming you don't shine a spotlight on him, he should look pretty good. Yes, he is a lighter shade than the hardcore RX purists (do they even exist?) may like, but really, if you don't mind the usual Sôchaku-Henshin liberties, you should like this one just fine.


Sôchaku-Henshin EX Battle Hopper & Acrobatter

The first Sôchaku-Henshin-scale bikes in a loooooooooong time, and they don't disappoint. You get one bike frame with interchangeable coverings, so you can make either BLACK's beloved Battle Hopper or its RX incarnation, Acrobatter. Gonna buy the above two guys? Seeing as how the figures were made with the bikes in mind, and vice versa, you probably want to get this too. VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


Sôchaku-Henshin Kamen Rider Kabuto Hyper Form

Released alongside the SH BLACK, Kabuto's super-duper ultimate amazing best ever upgraded form is a good match to the his more spartan senior Rider, because this guy features accessories up the wazoo!

Seriously, in addition to all the armor (much of which can be adjusted to put him into Hyper Clock Up mode) he sports two versions of the Hyper Zecter (one with lever pulled down, just in case you wanted it), that big ol' sword which can be combined with the included TheBee, Drake and Sasword Zecters to make the Perfect Zecter (which itself can change modes, between sword and gun) and even an extra hand for making Kabuto's iconic "pointing towards the sky" pose, or just for having him point at your other figures. In short, you get pretty much everything you could probably want with a Hyper Kabuto figure. As mentioned, he has all the little bells and whistles (pull-out fins, moving chest armor, adjustable "wings") so he's almost like two figures in one, which is a great deal. If you've been collecting the other Kabuto Sôchaku-Henshin figures, you know the drill here, this is one to add to the list.

That's it for now. Kabuto #42 reviewed tomorrow, as well as a special bonus review!