Big Size Riders

The "Big Size Sofubi" Bapresto game machine prize figures. They're sort of underappreciated gems, cuz while they don't do a whole lot but stand there and look cool, that's just it: they stand there and look really, really cool. And sometimes, that's really all I need.

I still tend to pass on them though because they're 1) mostly new characters I already have in a smaller, easier-to-display version and 2) they keep re-releasing the same characters with minor variations. For example, they usually come out two at a time every month, and so while we're getting Kiva Dogga Form and IXA Save Mode now, soon we'll get Kiva Kiva Form and IXA Burst Mode. Except the IXA's the same one, just with a new head. And Kiva uses parts from an earlier-released Kiva Form (and there's been a few) with new arms. It's all rather confusing without some guide to follow, but long story short I tend to pass on them or just get one or two if it looks really cool (for example, I picked up a neutral-pose Climax Form Den-O for cheap.) Or if they're like the Blade-era ones, which were VERY cool.

But, earlier this year they found a way to hook me for good: release some classic Riders! Starting earlier in the spring with the original triple Riders as well as their NEXTy counterparts, I got them all, and they look great. And now we've got a few more on the way:



October sees Stronger & Riderman released. January '09 will belong to BLACK & Skyrider (original costume), and March '09 will see the release of BLACK RX & Amazon. And hopefully more to follow.

What really sells these figures for me is that they're must better posed than most of the newer characters, who are usually fairly neutral. I mean, I've never seen a Skyrider figure in his pre-flight pose like that, so I'm excited. Of course, it's Skyrider, so I'd be excited any way you slice it.

While they're technically UFO Catcher game machine prizes (and nigh-impossible game machines at that), getting these guys at collector shops is usually easy, and HLJ tends to carry them as well.

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