S.H. Figuarts Machine Decader

The Kamen Rider franchise has been a gold mine for Bandai Japan especially with the introduction of the S.H. Figuarts toyline. And to top that, there have been numerous exclusive limited releases as well.

Just so happened that this time round, it's one of the 2 Kamen Rider series that I collect: the Bike for Kamen Rider Decade - Machine Decader.



Out of so many bikes, why does it have to be this one? Hahah. Probably because Decade is the anniversary series. Sigh.

Was at CSC today but I totally didn't expect the price tag to be that high. I briefly recalled that a normal bike (e.g the Kamen Rider W Bike) would go for around S$65, so I was thinking around S$85-90 despite whether I was considering buying.



In the end, this one ended up with the price tag of S$125.00 in Ng's Collections. Just one and only one bike. Hahah, that is way out of my budget. So I can only whine about the lack of a bike for my Kamen Rider Figuarts. LoL.

Wonder Gosei-Great, Kourin!

Just for kicks, I took out DX Gosei-Wonder as well as the 4 required Gosei-Machine bodies.

Come to think of it, DX Gosei-Wonder is freaking expensive for 1 Body + 5 Headders (S$70.00) when DX Gosei-Great is S$90.00 for 5 Bodies + 5 Headders. Anyway, this is another mini-review...



This is the standard movie-debut mecha which will appear in the series at a much later time. In its traditional sense, it is usually a rehash (fans are used to calling them repaints) of the main robo in the series or additional gattai mecha. Some notable examples are Engine Daishogun (Go-Onger) and Bakurenoh (Abaranger).

Honestly, I was more disappointed in Gosei-Wonder than Gosei-Ultimate because of the plain laziness in the execution of the design concept. The idea itself wasn't too bad but the final result looked terrible.

Bandai probably saved alot of paint in the process because there are so little painted details which resulted in a very monotonous look. The Gosei-Bird is almost enirely lavender. Gosei-Dragon, on the other hand, looks terrific. And everyone got matching colors except for Pink who landed up with a brown Kabuto (Beetle) Headder. Quite a number of complaints from other collectors as well.



In the combined form, the additional helmet piece looked nice but the Crocodile Headder (fine in individual form) and Kabuto Headder are obviously out of place with the length and color.

Therefore, Wonder Gosei-Great pales in comparison with the Engine Daishogun, Bakurenoh or SaintKaiser among all the repaints.

If I were PLEX or Bandai, I might as well release the entire robo with all the bodies and headders (using the same design) but with different colors for all the mecha. In other words, it means that the Kabuto Headder can get a brown body and the Elephant Headder need not be yellow etc.

Gosei-Ultimate, Kourin!

You can call this a little review if you like.



Just feeling random, I decided to open up the DX Gosei-Ultimate one afternoon.

First of all, I should probably mention that Gosei-Ultimate as the last mecha of the Goseiger series is quite out of place for its concept and design. Well, it's like a spaceship or futuristic jet (with design elements of Megaranger's Delta Mega and Timeranger's Time Robo) in contrast to the rest of the animalized vehicle mecha like Gosei-Great and Gosei-Ground.

Ok, Datas Hyper was out of place as well for an arcade machine. However, that was just to constantly remind or trick the kids to play the Dice-O card game (like Animal Kaiser). So in conclusion, Gosei-Ultimate is still a odd design choice especially with the Master Head design in the chest area.

When I took it out of the box, I was frankly surprised that this toy was alot more heavier than I expected. The plastic is very solid and sturdy. Thumbs up for Bandai Japan! Not to mention that the chromed Miracle Gosei Headders really stand out, but scary and hard to maintain in the long run.

I got to admit... Prior to taking this out of the box, I was honestly unimpressed and regarded it more like a piece to complete the collection. And so with everything taken out, I started to transform it into the "spaceship" mode. *I always try to figure it out by myself and not look at the instructions.


Official Name: Gosei-Ultimate (Machine Mode)

Again, I was alittle surprised because I thought it was super simple from the show. The toy exactly required alittle more accurate turning of joints to fit into the respective correct positions. I kinda like that...

In its "spaceship" mode, the 5 Miracle Gosei Headders are prominently displayed in their chromed glory but weird in the design sense due to the 5 "holes" in the body.

Nothing much to mention about the Robo Mode, with the usual limited articulation points for all the Sentai Mecha.

It's just that after actually transforming and holding it do I gain more appreciation for Gosei-Ultimate. It is nice in its own regard and should not be treated as "just another piece of toy that completes the collection".

What A Joke!

Saw this advertisement on the MRT train sometime ago and in particular, noticed the following below:

Invasion! – An explosion of popular culture and toys In conjunction with Trans-Cool Tokyo exhibition
5 Dec, 10am – 6pm
Free Admission

"Come experience the magic and uniqueness of Japanese popular culture, with contemporary Japanese art from the Museum of Tokyo and colourful cosplay characters to interact with. This promises to be an incredible day of live music and art-based activities. You can also seize this chance to shop for unique Christmas gifts at the premiere toy carnival presenting the latest collectibles for young and old. This is one Japanese invasion you won’t want to miss!"



So, I was feeling rather down because of FYP and decided to check it out. Given the "hype" and the marketing gimmick, it does seems promising isn't it? But I was already mentally prepared; can't really expect much of such events...

While on my way, I was thinking like finishing looking around in around 30 minutes and end the short trip (which was also for some breather). Ok, that sounds bad right? Actually, it's just me unmotivated about FYP.

I pretty much got a shock when I reached there. The size of the whole event was only slightly larger than my living room! I am serious. It doesn't even take 5 minutes to walk the whole round?! Basically, it's 3 rows of tables selling some Star Wars, Transformers and the Soldier Dolls, with a little cosplayers in the center. The small booth selling STGCC 2010 doesn't count...

One word. PATHETIC.

I can't rationalise why the Museum Roundtable would include this as part of the highlights for this Explore Singapore event. That joke is not even an event per se, and what would tourists think if they happen to be there? It would be a disgrace in this case, and it certainly isn't the way to attract people (both Singaporeans and tourists) to visit museums.

Doesn't even look like they tried...

Coming Soon: Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger (2011)

Super Sentai 35th Anniversary:



(1). The Super Sentai Team Motif is "Pirates" inspired by popular anime "One Piece".

(2). The series will feature 200 past heroes from the past 34 series.

(3). The Goukaigers can transform into past sentai teams using "Ranger Keys" and their Henshin Mobile Phone Device, the "Mobairets".

(4). Weapons are swords "GoukaiKen" and guns "GoukaiGun".

(5). GoukaiRed's Pirate Ship Mecha is called the "GoukaiGalleon". By combining with the other Goukaigers' vehicles, they become the Gattai Robo "GoukaiOh".