DX Samurai Megazord: A Brief Review

Merry Christmas! Hohoho!



First Impressions

Surprisingly, Bandai America managed to surpass its own standards again. The Samurai Megazord was a marked improvement from the RPM DX Formula Megazords in terms of both plastic quality and joint structure. Despite the light weight, the whole Megazord was very solid and sturdy. In comparison, the RPM Megazords were kinda flimsy... (You may have noticed that at this point, I have yet to touch on the functionality aspect).

After all, the Samurai Megazord is manufactured in the same Thailand factory which is responsible for many quality Bandai Japan products. Again, the US$30 price point could have been a factor in the increased quality.

The paint applications were decent in the Megazord mode, but glaringly lacking in their individual Folding-Zord modes.

Design and Prototyping

A considerable amount of redesign was put into the Megazord torso and legs which resulted in a more streamlined outlook (highly consistent with Bandai America's methodology for Megazord aesthetics). This has its advantages in certain aspects; the Samurai Megazord was able to hold its own when displayed beside its Japanese counterpart, Shinken-Oh.

To fit the cheaper price point, 4 Folding-Zords lost their Emblem Modes (except for Turtle) and also had some drastic changes to the appearance and transformation mechanics.

The Lion Folding-Zord somewhat resembled the Shishi Origami despite the major retooling in the transformation mechanism. Unfortunately, the obvious missing paint applications hurt the overall presentation.

The Dragon Folding-Zord (or Puppy Folding-Zord) looked nothing like a dragon. It had the most drastic retooling in structure which gave it the crappy looking form, plus the missing paint applications didn't help at all. Like the Ryuu Origami, it can house the Megazord Helmet and as an added bonus, the Megazord Katana can be used as the tail?! How "impressive"!

The Turtle Folding-Zord is the only functional Zord which managed to make the 100% transition over: Emblem Mode and Full Paint Applications.

The Bear Folding-Zord was relatively decent but still had the same issues of missing paint applications.

The Ape Folding-Zord looked terrible with minimal paint applications. The stripping of the Emblem Mode would proved problematic for future combinations, notably DaikaiShinken-Oh and Samurai Ha-Oh.

Having said, the 5 individual Folding-Zords were rather unimpressive (or pathetic) but this shouldn't matter to kids who would mainly play with the Megazord mode. In terms of accessories, the Megazord Katana (Sword) was a little nice touch as the blade was sharper and both sides managed to retain the same calligraphy design. Noted that there was no Shield included with the Samurai Megazord which doesn't seem to make sense until... (the BeetleZord will act as the Shield)



Conclusion

The DX Samurai Megazord is a remarkable piece of toy for kids to connect with the popular Power Rangers Samurai series. It is unlikely that they would notice the lack of the Emblem Modes as well as some of the transformation functionalities. However, I don't foresee paying more than S$50.00 for it given its playability.

For collectors on a budget, the Samurai Megazord serves as a good display piece since it is more streamlined in the looks department. As long as they do not mind the lack of Emblem Modes, the Samurai Megazord can be considered as a decent representation of the in-show version. Another added bonus would be the ability to swap the arms and legs with the MMPR 2010 Dino Megazord (American-Exclusive).

At first, I was a little apprehensive towards getting the Samurai Megazord because of the uncertainty to combine into the Samurai "Ultrazord" (Samurai Ha-Oh). However, the good news is that Bandai America will release the Bull-Zord to enable that combination, so budget collectors who cannot afford the expensive Japanese Shinkenger Mecha can settle for the American version instead.

Compared to the RPM series, I would say that the Samurai Megazord isn't really an actual improvement (except for the plastic quality and joint designs) because I am very particular about core features which are the inaccurate transformations and Emblem Modes in this case. The 4 RPM Megazords still win in this regard. Therefore, the Samurai Megazord is really just for leisure playing.

For fans of Shinkenger, it is certainly more rewarding to get the Shinkenger Mecha especially when they offer more accurate functionalities and Bandai Asia is now re-issuing them at a cheaper price.

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 6) + X'Mas Mega Haul

The hunt continues, and I'm back in Orchard Road again.

My first stop was Tangs, but I forgot it doesn't sell toys at all! Hahah. After that, I went to Kinokuniya to look at other stuff and stumbled upon the Super Sentai 35th Anniversary Official Visual Book which I ended up buying.



In the end, I also didn't get why I bought the book in the first place. Granted that it has some nice photos of the various teams but that's all. Quite useless if you compared it to the 30th Anniversary Encyclopedia. Probably not really worth S$30.20. Retail therapy perhaps after hunting for ValveMax Megazord for so long without any luck?

The price was not the worst thing because I only discovered that some pages inside were torn and damaged after I opened it at home. It was not visible on the outside because it was all wrapped up. ~!@#$%^&*

My next stop was the Takashimaya Christmas Toy Fair at B2 where Power Rangers Samurai toys were at 20% off. It's a good marketing move to promote sales rather than waiting for them to warm the shelves and only clear them when the show ends. Furthermore, kids get to play with the Megazords at the booth which in fact did helped the sales by quite a lot.



Then one kid was like screaming "OctoZord!" at my face. LoL~ You can imagine his excitement. Anyway, I bought the DX Samurai Megazord with a $20 voucher from my friend on top of the 20% discount. It was a good S$35.96; can't beat that price even with the clearance later on. Had to be a little smarter after the RPM disaster.

The third, fourth and fifth stops were Paragon Metro, Toys 'R' Us and Robinsons which yielded nothing. Not surprising at all. Really at this point, to find any RPM toys in Orchard Road seems like a bonus!

Since I'm already in the vicinity, it made sense to go over to OG to look at the DX GokaiGun. By then, all the GokaiSabers were gone and only 2 GokaiGuns left. This was quite an obvious sign that I should get it before it's sold out which I did. Again, the 20% store-wide discount came in very handy and I ended up paying S$57.55.



No doubt that the main purpose was for the DX GokaiBlue Ranger Key, the GokaiGun was a decent toy on its own. One shortcoming when compared to the GokaiSaber was the lack of the flashing LED lights for the "Final Wave" finisher attack. It's a pity that the design and build was unable to support this feature.

Having said, this marks the end of my hunting journey with an expenditure of S$123.71.

Received Candy Key Series 05

Consistent! Took 10 days to reach Singapore via SAL as well.



As mentioned previously, all 5 Ranger Keys are relevant for collection since none of them have DX versions/or only have Gashapon versions. Nice to have more Ranger Keys from my favorite Sentai team - BoukenBlue!

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 5)

Just "so happened" that I was meeting a friend for dinner in Orchard, and had some time to do a little hunting after that.

I decided to try my luck at Isetan Shaw House because it was the first place where I managed to find the High Octane Megazord when it was sold out in most places. Unfortunately, as with all the rest of the departmental stores, there were no more RPM toys in sight.

Sigh... The chances of finding a ValveMax Megazord at this point is really close to zero.

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 4)

As I was out-stationed in the West doing testing, it was very convenient to start the hunt in the areas nearby.

After the PaleoMax Megazord was sold out in Jurong Point, the last known information brought me to Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall in Choa Chu Kang. Almost as remote as Compass Point, I was caught by surprise when there was only 1 box of Mach Megazord left in the pile. At this point, it seems that the PaleoMax Megazord was following closely behind the ValveMax Megazord's footsteps.

Given the short evening, I only had time for one last stop at Causeway Point, Woodlands. Quite a reverse situation as Causeway Point has a considerable flow human traffic but the Kiddy Palace had a huge stack of RPM Megazords; probably the largest pile ever since the new mark-down pricing...

Apparently, my action of flipping through the stack attracted the attention of some parents and kids which also started thinking of getting them as Christmas presents. Luckily, I was able to pick out a decent PaleoMax Megazord out of the remaining 5-6 boxes.

With the new acquisition, it's now 3 down 1 to go!

DX PaleoMax Megazord: A Brief Review



Note: There are no individual names for the PaleoZord (collective term for the train mode), so I'm going to refer to them as PaleoMax Mammoth, PaleoMax T-Rex and PaleoMax Triceratops.

First Impressions

The PaleoMax Megazord was slightly heavier than the Mach Megazord first out of the box, but plastic quality and sturdiness were comparable. In other words, it was also suffering the same issues as the Mach Megazord.

Nothing much for the paint applications since there wasn't much in the first place. Color-wise, the PaleoMax Mammoth wasn't show accurate - the toy has a cherry tint instead of maroon.

Design and Prototyping

Other than the obvious down-scaling, the PaleoMax Megazord underwent a couple of retooling and proportion changes. Aesthetically, the PaleoMax Megazord looks sleeker and more streamlined than Kyouretsu-Oh.



Like the Mach Megazord, the PaleoMax Megazord went through approximately the same reduction required to fit the new price-point. In addition, some functions of the individual zords are stripped as well.

Again, the down-scaling came at a price. The PaleoMax Megazord was not a very well-engineered piece of toy because some parts did not lock very well in Megazord mode, especially the torso and body.

The PaleoMax Mammoth still looked significantly large after the down-scaling which was nice. However, the interior was actually quite hollow and the various parts were locked together only by the wheels/Megazord arms. The trunk do not work and is now molded-on instead.

Both the PaleoMax T-Rex and Triceratops lost their chubby-selves in the transition so as to give the PaleoMax Megazord more proportionate legs. I can understand if the Falcon Copter and Tiger Jet had no wheels because kids would simulate them as flying. However, these two are freaking trains with no real wheels! I can only rely on the PaleoMax Mammoth to pull and drag in the train mode. Also, the leg connectors were not well-designed because they were part of the Engine Cell compartments, when constantly pulled in the long run, will become very loose.

Despite not having the ValveMax Megazord on hand, I also tried out the RPM Ultrazord configuration and the very first thing that annoyed me was the "mouth-piece" for Lion Hauler. It kept dropping off because the connectors don't really fit. The other major complain would be the two extremely loose arms (T-Rex and Triceratops). Basically, they literally just "hanged" there by the connectors and pose-ability is practically zero.

Conclusion

In the end, I still have to give credit to Bandai America which attempted to make the RPM Ultrazord affordable and yet functional in spite of the several flaws which I pointed out. The end result was 4 functional Megazords relatively similar in size and more streamlined than their Japanese counterparts. Consider it as a compliment.

While this is the third year that Bandai America is producing its own version of Megazords, I feel that they should continue to work and improve on the combination aspect as evident in the poor connector-and-joint designs. Having said that, the sad truth is that the target market is still kids who don't give a shit about quality. As long as the toy remotely resembles the representation in the show, it's "good enough". Therefore, if Bandai America really improve over the years, it should be considered as a bonus given the above mentality.

If you ask me, the DX PaleoMax Megazord is at most worth S$30.00; nothing more.

And for now, it definitely looks like it's impossible to find the ValveMax Megazord now...

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 3)

Although nothing was mentioned in the forums about Power Rangers RPM, I decided to try my luck anyway...



Getting there wasn't exactly direct because it's located at the very "ulu" Ubi area. Something very embarrassing and probably the worst thing that could happened to anyone was that I was completely drenched in the sudden heavy downpour while not knowing that the entrance of the warehouse was one big round behind the bus stop with no other sheltered area.

I think the last time I was ever caught up in a heavy rain was during the army days when we were not allowed to carry umbrellas! Behave like a soldier!

The whole warehouse district was super rundown and the toilets were post WWII-like. There were really nothing much at the sale except the trashy RPM motorbikes if you are talking about Power Rangers. In the Sentai department, there's only the Magi and Bouken leftover candy toys going at S$3.00 for 2 boxes.

I tried to ask one of the staff there (which I'm not sure if he's the boss as he looked like he is) about the RPM Megazords but he was super rude. So basically, I was completely drenched and to get this type of reply really made my day. Wow!

This ends the third round of disappointment. Doesn't seem very worth it to go through so much right?

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 2)

Part 2 of the RPM Megazord Hunt saw me at Jurong Point where I was conveniently attending one of the University gatherings at a friend's house thereafter.

The first stop was, of course, Kiddy Palace. Being the weekend leading up to Christmas, the store was packed with people and I really underestimated Saturday because there were no more PaleoMax Megazords in sight. All that's left was 2 boxes of Mach Megazord which were also snatched up by kids in the short 20 minute interval.

Decided to check out NTUC Fairprice Extra and Popular since there's a slight chance of them carrying toys, but sadly no RPM Megazords at all.

Quite a disappointing trip considering that Kiddy Palace @ Jurong Point used to be the prime location for finding clearance toys that were sold out elsewhere. This is probably due to Kiddy Palace now being the main toy store left after Toys R Us closed down.

Hunt for the RPM Megazords (Part 1)

It certainly caught me by surprise when I saw the RPM DX Megazords marked down to S$20.00 from the stagnant S$49.95 last weekend. However, all I saw were Mach Megazords and that's not a good sign...

Was on half-day leave today, so I began my Operation RPM Megazord Hunt. The first stop was Compass Point @ Sengkang since it was considerably "remote and isolated". I checked out Metro first and no traces of any RPM toys left, which leaves just Kiddy Palace. Seems that the S$20.00 price-point was good enough to get parents to buy for their kids, as there were only 3 Mach Megazords and 2 PaleoMax Megazords remaining.

However, the box conditions left much to be desired. Therefore, I decided not to get the PaleoMax Megazord despite being seemingly rare at the moment. Not giving up any chances, I asked the sales assistant if there are any more stocks of the RPM Megazords and as expected, nothing more from the clearance.

Disappointed, I headed back to the Kiddy Palace @ Century Square, Tampines. Managed to dig up the Mach Megazord with the best box condition out of the pile and proceeded to the cashier. Since there was a long queue, I took the chance to approach one of the sales assistant to help me check if there were stocks of the ValveMax and PaleoMax Megazords at the other Kiddy Palace branches.

She was quite helpful because she really called out to the major branches to check for me. Unfortunately, the ValveMax Megazord seemed to have sold out at all the possible places. The PaleoMax Megazord, however, was still available at Jurong Point and Lot 1 so the sales assistant asked me if I wanted to reserve it. Being mindful of the box condition, I told her that I will check it out myself...

This concluded Part 1 of the RPM Megazord Hunt.

DX Mach Megazord: A Brief Review



First Impressions

Out of the box, the Mach Megazord was distinctively lacking in many aspects compared to the High Octane Megazord. For one, the whole Megazord felt so much lighter and hollow in the entire structure. While the plastic quality was roughly the same as the High Octane Megazord, it was less solid in both sturdiness and weight.

The paint applications were consistently neat, but sadly it was the only nice thing about the Mach Megazord.

Design and Prototyping

Aesthetically, the Mach Megazord is identical to its Japanese counterpart, Seikuu-Oh except that the size is down-scaled to fit the much lower price-point of the American market.



Looking at the various price-points should give you a good gauge of what to expect out of the Mach Megazord, while not forgetting you are exchanging the 3 Engine Souls for 1 piece of crappy plastic Engine Cell.

Individually, there's nothing much to complain about the Falcon Copter, Tiger Jet and Whale Zord except for one. There were no actual wheels; everything were molded-on details.

However, the designs didn't come off as well-engineered when it comes to megazord combinations. Both the Falcon Copter and Tiger Jet were particularly weak in the arm connectors as they were also part of the compartment covers for the Engine Cell. Also the tail fin of the Falcon Copter drops off easily because of poor design.

When it comes to Megazord combinations, the High Octane Megazord with the Falcon Copter was definitely not in the design consideration. Basically, the tail fin was obstructing the arm connector to the High Octane Megazord.

Since I do not have the ValveMax Megazord on hand, I tried out connecting the Whale Zord to the High Octane Megazord to simulate the SkyRev Megazord. Given that the G9 connectors were pretty weak, I didn't see any improvement in the Whale Zord's connectors as well. The plastic quality was horrible... At this point, I cannot gauge how the Croc Carrier is going to balance out the additional weight at the back but the whole design seems to be rather unstable. To make matter worse, the poor locking mechanism of the High Octane Megazord is back to haunt the SkyRev Megazord and subsequently, the RPM Ultrazord combinations.

Conclusion

On its own, the DX Mach Megazord is a rather decent piece of toy from Bandai America. The 3 Zords hold well together in this configuration, and even the Whale Zord got to retain its 10-sec attack burst configuration. For S$20.00, it is almost just worth as much for both parents and kids. I don't really foresee myself paying more than that for the overall quality that the Mach Megazord presented.

That being said, my main rationale for making the above sentence extends to the over-arching design as part of the RPM Ultrazord. That aspect of the Mach Megazord was quite disappointing, as opposed to the High Octane Megazord. The inability to hold all the pieces together certainly reminded me of the DriveMax Ultrazord where you couldn't even move it without pieces falling off.

Oh well, I shall still continue my hunt for the ValveMax and PaleoMax Megazords. Probably, I would be able to give a more objective review by then.

Another Weekend Mega Haul

Another round of Mega Haul with 4 items of a grand total of S$203.05!

[1] Gashapon Ranger Key Series 04



Despite the news of the DX Gaoranger Ranger Key Set releasing in 2012, I still have to buy this set for the 6 remaining Gashapon-exclusive Ranger Keys: TimeFire, MegaSilver, King Ranger, Kiba Ranger, Hime ShinkenRed and Miss America (Rare Key).

Since I'm already spending so much money on collecting the Ranger Keys, I'm definitely not taking any chances in case some keys are not covered in Bandai's consideration of 2012 releases.

Auntie gave me a S$10.00 discount (S$65.00 per set) since I'm getting two sets of Gashapon Keys from her.

[2] Gashapon Ranger Key Series 06



Currently, there are 10 Gashapon-exclusive Ranger Keys in this set with MagiMother being the Rare Key. At this moment, it is unknown if the Magiranger team is in the Ranger Key releases for 2012.

Based on the trend that both Sun Vulcan and Gaoranger are from RKS 01, my guess is that the next 3 set of Ranger Key Sets would be Magiranger, Dekaranger and Gekiranger since all of them are already covered in the Gashapon versions.

[3] S.H. Figuarts GokaiGreen with GokaiDarin



Collected it from La Tendo and really glad to see that my favorite character from Gokaiger has no paint QC issues. I decided to use up my membership points for cash rebates, so I only paid a total S$29.10 in the end.

[4] DX GokaiSaber



Luckily, there are still 2 boxes of DX GokaiSaber at OG Orchard. Otherwise, I would have to fork out a bomb to get it online for the GokaiYellow Ranger Key. Therefore, the 20% store-wide discount is very useful because it is only after the discount (S$63.95) that the amount I'm paying is closer to the 3800 retail yen price.

For now, I have managed to collect all the Gokaiger Ranger Keys with GokaiBlue in the Candy Toy version. Also realizing that I spent too much over the past 2 months, I will get the DX GokaiGun next time instead.

Sounds are pretty loud for the GokaiSaber because it is not a toy phone where kids would hold close to their ears, so it need not be soften like the Mobirates. Quite a cool toy overall, but not as close as the Mantan Gun somehow. Hahah.

Ranger Keys Continues Into 2012!

Bandai Japan will continue to release the Ranger Key series in 2012 due to the huge success of the popular collection gimmick for the 35th Super Sentai Anniversary - Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

Some 123 Ranger Keys have been released this year across the various DX, Candy Toy and Gashapon versions. With the release of new Ranger Key Sets, collectors can look forward to fulfilling the 199+ Ranger Keys featured in the show.



Two new sets of Ranger Keys are scheduled for release in January 2012 - Sun Vulcan and Gaoranger. The GoBuster Set will be released in March to coincide with the Legend Mobirates featuring the AkaRed Ranger Key and new sounds.

Based on the arrangement, the Sun Vulcan set will see a repeat of VulEagle in the DX version (RKS 01), VulShark in the Candy Toy (Series 05) and Gashapon versions (Series 05), and VulPanther in the Gashapon version (Series 05). [*] The Gaoranger set will also see a repeat of GaoRed in the DX version (RKS 01), and the rest of the team in Gashapon version (Series 04) with the exception of GaoSilver. [#]

[*] No. of Gashapon-exclusive Ranger Keys in Series 05 reduced from 8 to 7.
[#] No. of Gashapon-exclusive Ranger Keys in Series 04 reduced from 10 to 6.



The Legend Mobirates is scheduled for release in March 2012 with the AkaRed Ranger Key as well as 68 new sounds or a total of 148 sounds. The GoBuster Ranger Key Set releasing in the same month will be compatible with the new Legend Mobirates.

It is not surprising to see that the Legend Mobirates (Japan version) will once again be in high demand, as Bandai Asia will be softening the sounds again in order to pass the Toy Safety Regulations effectively rendering the toy useless in terms of value and playability.

Chara Fortune Plus: Gokaiger Treasure Fortune

Collected both Chimi Mega Chara Fortune Plus - Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Treasure Fortune and the Blue GokaiDarin from La Tendo.



The set of 12 is so cute! Not so much for the price at S$91.80 which works out to be S$7.65 per figure...

La Tendo was nice enough to offer me the box packaging even though I only ordered 1 complete set; I really like things complete in this sense. :)

Received Candy Key Series 04

Nice! SAL took only 10 days to reach Singapore from Japan.



Candy Toy Ranger Key Series 04 is probably one of the more popular sets around because of the inclusion of the exclusive TriceraRanger. Other than Go-OnGold and SpadeAce which are available in DX, Go-OnSilver and GekiBlue are important additions to the Ranger Key Collection over their Gashapon versions.

PR Samurai - Meet & Greet @ Takashimaya

In conjunction with the event, there is a 20% discount promotion for all Power Rangers Samurai toys.



It's been a while since I watched this sort of roadshows. It's funny to see how the whole concept didn't change at all some 15 years ago. Basically, the "Rangers" will enter the stage with a short showcase of their "awesome" moves and then kids will get picked to come onto the stage to participate in some quizzes and games.

I couldn't see what exact prizes were given away but the packages sort of gave an indication of what they could have been. It's along those lines of either Action Figures or Morphers; nothing huge or expensive. I can still remember that the event was giving away the Deluxe Turbo Megazord during the Power Rangers Turbo era. That was really the highlight! Hahah.

Anyway, it's nice to see that Saban is really pushing the promotions around the world as opposed to when Disney was still holding the franchise.

A Weekend Mega Haul

Spent a grand total of S$311.42 for 6 items today!

[1] S.H. Figuarts GokaiBlue with GokaiDarin



Collected this from La Tendo without the GokaiDarin because the local Bandai agent missed out the bonus item during the delivery. So I will have make another trip down once the item arrives... Fortunately, there isn't any paint QC issues this time so it's pretty straight-forward with the choosing. Compared to GokaiRed, this is slightly cheaper at S$44.10.

[2] DX Engine Machalcon



The last piece to completing the Gokaiger Mecha Collection, and the most expensive item in the series. Granted it's big in size, but it's not massive compared to the likes of DX MogyuuDai-Oh or DX Saidai-Oh despite being similar in terms of pricing.

DX Engine Machalcon comes with 2 Engine Souls and the Go-OnGold Ranger Key. Way to go with the double gimmick stunt, Bandai! Interestingly, this is also the first time that Bandai did not fix a suggested retail price for the toy. Instead it was listed as an open price which means that retailers can sell for any amount they like!

Then again, it's probably more applicable to the Japanese retailers because they were offering at the range of 8000-9000 yen while Bandai's web store listed it as 11,000 yen (approx. S$183.12).

Anyway, I got it for S$140.00 for the Bandai Asia version.

[3] Ranger Key Set DX

Bought another set from Uncle at S$23.00 with decent paint. Happy :)

[4] Gashapon Ranger Key Series 05



Got this complete set of 13 for S$70.00 from Ng's Collections through their Japanese agent. It's kinda pricey because there is a rare key in each set (DekaMaster in this case) which has a packing ratio of 2 out of 50 per machine.

There are 8 Gashapon-exclusive Ranger Keys in Series 05: DekaBlue, DekaGreen, DekaYellow, DekaPink, DekaMaster, KabutoRaiger, KuwagaRaiger and VulPanther.

Still waiting for Auntie to revert on the status of the Gashapon Ranger Key Series 04.

[5] DX Samuraizer Morpher (ShodouPhone Bandai Asia Repackage)

Takashimaya-Exclusive.



Bought this for the packaging since Takashimaya is having a 20% off promotion for all Power Rangers Samurai toys.

The volume of the "DX Samuraizer" is pathetic because Bandai Asia had to soften the sounds in order to pass the new toy safety regulations set earlier this year. By comparison, it's even softer than the American Samuraizer!

I probably wouldn't have gotten it without the 20% discount.

[6] Power Rangers Samurai 4" Rita Repulsa



Although this release was meant to fit in with the rest of the 2010 MMPR Reversioned 4" Action Figure Toyline (which Singapore didn't get at all), I got her nonetheless.

Likewise, I bought her partly because of the 20% discount off the usual hefty S$17.95 price tag which came up to S$14.36. She seems to be rarer in the States compared to the local market, but I didn't want to take any chances with the clearance sales.

Speaking of which, what happened to the RPM Full Throttle Rangers during the clearance sales? I only managed to get the Gold and Silver Rangers!

Feeling rather tired after running 3 different places. Hahah.

Ordered Candy Key Series 04

Ordered the Candy Key Series 04 @ AmiAmi since the Candy Toy shop in CSC was uncertain about their stock availability the last time I asked.

The online price offered was not too bad; the total plus shipping came up to 2610 yen (approximately S$43.61). In fact, it was slightly cheaper than getting it locally which averages about S$50.00 for one box.

The only downside is that I will end up with 2 sets because it's only sold in a box of 10. Maybe I can take a shot at customizing with the extra keys later on. Hahah.

DX Gokai Tranger Box

Interesting Note: Think "Tranger" as "Treasure" for pronunciation.



The last piece to completing all the 35 Red Ranger Keys for Gokaiger.

When the Ranger Key Set SP was announced by Bandai earlier, people were wondering if Bandai Japan had forgot and left out DX Ninja Red... Of course not! There's always a reason why Bandai Japan chose to do things in a certain way.

And here we are with the DX Gokai Tranger Box which can hold approximately 70 Ranger Keys. Got it at S$50.00 from Ng's Collections. Unfortunately, there were no more Ranger Key Set DX because I was looking to get another one if the paint quality is decent.

Uncle was very nice and told me that he will get it from his Wheelock shop next week. Hahah.

Ranger Key Set DX

Finally received the SMS to collect the Ranger Key Set DX from La Tendo.



Again, the paint quality control is horrible which disgusted me. I had to choose the "best" one out of the 3 sets. At this point, I certainly can't comprehend the logic behind why La Tendo always seem to get all the bad stock allocation...

One particular thought that struck me was that I distinctively remembered that I pre-ordered the Bandai Japan version as listed by La Tendo but I was given the Bandai Asia version instead. In fact, I still have the e-mail in my inbox which I can counter-check. However, I chose not to make any noise but I felt that they were not very honest in this regard.

Then another ridiculous thing happened... One of the La Tendo staff wanted to charge me S$26.00 (should be S$13.40 in balance) for the item when I already paid a S$10 deposit during the pre-order window?! In the end, another more experienced guy had to step in to clear up the mess.

I think this was my worst experience at La Tendo so far...

Pre-Ordered Candy Key Series 05

Pre-Ordered Candy Key Series 05 Box @ AmiAmi since Yamakawa couldn't keep up with the game, and the shop at CSC selling Candy Toy stopped at Series 03.

Interestingly, this set consists of 3 new keys with 2 of them having Gashapon versions. So in fact, all 5 keys are very relevant to the Ranger Key collection since Gashapon versions are not prime choices for collection purposes.

Releasing in Mid-Dec.

Disappointing...

Went to CSC to take a look at the paint quality of the Ranger Key Set SP stocks and they turned out to be as shitty as the ones at La Tendo. So it's not an isolated issue... Yes, rebuying the set did cross my mind if I ever saw a decent one. The perfectionist mindset of a collector is scary right?

Quite a disappointment today since I didn't managed to get the stuff that I wanted.

At first, I wanted to make use of the OG 20% store-wide discount to get the DX Gokai Saber so I tried my luck by going to OG Albert @ Bugis. I have already checked out OG People's Park and they were sold out. When I reached, I didn't expect to see ZERO Gokaiger items there so I ended up empty handed.

Was lazy to reroute to OG Orchard, so I'll probably check it out at the next 20% store-wide discount.

Ng's Collections VS La Tendo

Just feel like doing a short writeup on this topic. Hahah.

It's funny to see how things have taken a turn somehow. I think I can be considered a long-time customer of Ng's Collections (since 2005). Year after year, Uncle Ng was the only main reliable source of Super Sentai toys in CSC itself, so it's very clear-cut for the small market of collectors.

This year was rather exceptional because of the celebration for 35 years of Super Sentai in the anniversary series, "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger". All of a sudden, you find that almost everyone starts to sell Super Sentai toys as well. The very same reason and increase in market demand led to a shortage of stock levels which also affected Ng's Collections. So for most parts during the beginning of the year, Uncle Ng either got in very limited stocks or very late stocks. Not to mention that the prices somewhat inflated, making them "collector-unfriendly"...

At the very same moment, I first became a member of La Tendo because of the S.H. Figuarts ShinkenBlue. During the times when Ng's Collections was having issues with shipment and less competitive pricing, securing via pre-orders instantly became very appealing. The problem compounded when Ng's Collections had to face issues relating to moving out of CSC or possible semi-retirement. Therefore, this was the time I started spamming pre-orders with La Tendo.

It was nice at first because of the convenience brought about by the service. Basically, one can just pay a deposit to pre-order an item and fork out the remaining when the item arrives which was informed via SMS. Members also get 10% discount for pre-orders and rebate points.

Coincidentally after an unexpected turn of events, Ng's Collections not only managed to remain at CSC but also managed to get in stocks on time and plentiful to go by. And this was where the tables started to turn... La Tendo for some weird reason recently kept receiving QC-failed shipment which pissed me to no end. Under such circumstances, I can only complete the transactions by choosing the "best" out of the available stocks. On the other hand, Ng's Collections more or less resumed its usual capacity which at times made me want to kick myself. Hahah.

At the end of the day, I just wanted to talk about the somewhat amusing switch of dynamics between Ng's Collections and La Tendo. It's not about comparing which is better; that being said - Ng's Collections would still be my main source of Super Sentai toys (at least mecha-wise) and La Tendo can offers more variety and alternatives whenever Ng's Collections is lacking.

Hopefully, the QC-failed cases would stop at just S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed and Ranger Key Set SP.

DX Ranger Key Set SP

Collected the Ranger Key Set SP from La Tendo. They didn't have enough of Ranger Key Set DX so I have to wait for the next shipment.



This time round, I also made sure to select the one with the best paint out of all the available stock. Unfortunately, there were only 2 sets so I could only pick the best out of the two. S$55.80 to complete the line of the remaining of the 34 Red Ranger Keys.

Again, I cannot express how disappointed I am in Bandai Japan's quality control!



As pictured, the paint for the black circuit design was a mess and Bandai was fine with the result and passed the quality assurance. Excellent!

I will have to check on the stocks at CSC next week to see if it's only La Tendo's shipment which is affected.

Complete Shinkenger Figuarts Team!

With the addition of ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow, the Shinkenger Figuarts team is now complete!



The full glory at a total expense of S$542.75. Oh my god! Even I'm shocked when I calculated the final figure.

S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow

Collected both S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow from Fujiya at CSC this afternoon. Dvillangelo (the owner) was a pretty nice guy, he even made sure that the buyer is satisfied with the conditions of the toys before completing the transaction.



By the way, they were S$85.00 each, the cheapest pre-orders offered locally.

I think I should also take the chance to talk about Bandai Japan's quality control which became kinda problematic recently. It is an issue because we are talking about toys of collector's grade.

A couple of people reported that the leg joints of their ShinkenPink were too tight and they simply snapped while trying to pose the figures. Scary! I took out my ShinkenPink and tried rotating the leg joint as well. Turns out that it was indeed very tight so I put it back into the box fearing that I would break it too.

The case for ShinkenYellow was a bit rarer but it still didn't make up for the fact that Bandai Japan did screw up. One guy on RB ended up received a ShinkenYellow with two left arms, so it's pretty much the WTF feeling after spending so much on an action figure and chances of replacement seem pretty low.

Luckily, I didn't experience any problems with ShinkenYellow and I just have to be very careful with ShinkenPink so it should be fine. Please buck up, Bandai Japan!

The Chronicles of Auntie!

I went to CSC today to get another set of Ranger Key Set 08 because my perfectionist devil kicked in. And I also wanted to take a look at the quality control (see previous post) of the other S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed stocks.

Turned out that the the stocks for S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed at CSC did not have any quality control issues (like La Tendo and Fujiya did) after walking around today, so the gold paint is all fine! Hmm, I felt kinda unlucky to pre-order at La Tendo, so I hope the same problem will not happen again for GokaiBlue and GokaiGreen...

Back to the RKS 08, I wanted to get another set because I wasn't satisfied with the paint quality of the GoseiRed I got from La Tendo (there was no choosing). At the end of the day, I can just give the extra set to my cousin. Hahah.

The Uncle was quite restless today because I could tell that his business wasn't doing too well recently (probably due to the increase in competitors). So I went to the counter to pay for the item, and the Auntie wanted to charge me S$22.00?! How ridiculous of the Auntie to blindly quote me any price when the price tag was S$20.00! And I wasn't even trying to push down the price at all...

Best of all, the Auntie continued to pester me by reminding me that if I want any items from Japan, please go back to them because they can help to source. She specifically mentioned the S.H. Figuarts ShinkenPink and ShinkenYellow (both Tamashii Web-Exclusives) which I told her that I pre-ordered from somewhere else. Since she probed further to ask where, I just bluntly told her "Fujiya" the online store.

Gosh, I wonder how much more the Auntie wanted to make this more uncomfortable than ever. If something similar happens to other customers as well, I bet that it would potentially cause Uncle to lose more customers.

S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed with GokaiDarin

Good Job, Bandai Asia!

You just showed us upfront that you wanted money so badly that you are willing to compromise on the quality control of your own products.



Went down to collect the S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed with GokaiDarin (First-Press Bonus) at La Tendo today because I read about the online comments on the poor quality control for the gold paint. Honestly, I never had such a hard time trying to find a decent piece from the stock pile... *All the more reason to collect early so that there are more choices.*

It is common knowledge that the Bandai Asia's quality control isn't as good as its Japanese counterpart, but this time round is simply outrageous. All the 7 Figuarts were either not properly painted or had paint spills (particularly the gold paint applications). From the looks of it, I don't think there's any QC this time at all. I suspect Bandai Asia is just trying to fulfill the massive orders due to the popularity of Gokaiger.

Back to the story... At first, I managed to find one that was barely acceptable but then realized the box condition was the worst. Therefore, I had to choose another one with moderately less paint damage and a decent box... It's not like I can go to other places to look for better ones since I pre-ordered it.

Oh well, this one's S$50.40 and luckily the GokaiDarin was fine. In case you are wondering, the Japanese ones are not affected.

*Update: 16 Oct 2011*

I take back my words. Apparently the stocks for S.H. Figuarts GokaiRed at CSC do not have any quality control issues (like La Tendo and Fujiya did) after walking around today, so the gold paint is all good to go! Now, I feel unlucky to pre-order at La Tendo, I hope the same problem will not happen again for GokaiBlue and GokaiGreen.

The Go-On Wings Ranger Key

Bandai Japan once again triumphs!



In order to push the sales of the final DX Weapon - the GokaiGalleon Buster, consumers will receive the exclusive Go-On Wings Ranger Key as a First-Press Bonus. This is an extremely smart move to mitigate the lack of interest by the Metallic GokaiRed Ranger Key included which is also repeated in the Ranger Key Set DX.

I'm not interested in the weapon at all, so the only way to get the exclusive key would be to wait for it to pop up on eBay or Yahoo Auctions Japan. It's not going to cheap though...

Takashimaya 15th Craziest Toy Sale (Day 17)

Is it easier to interpret it as the second last day? Hahah.

Went over to take a look since I was in the area. As expected, there were nothing worth buying. Essentially the most disappointing clearance sale, except that it is worthy to mention that all of the Deluxe Jungle Pride Megazord (@ S$23.00) were sold out. Frankly, it's really a good bargain for casual collectors, parents and kids alike.

Sigh, now I still have to carry on the lookout for RPM Megazords clearance.

Shinkenger S.H. Figuarts In America!

A rather surprising development: Bandai America decided to import the Shinkenger Figuarts to ride on the popularity of Power Rangers Samurai.



As pictured, the packaging remains largely the same (warning labels are pasted over the existing Japanese ones at the back) and English instructions are provided.

Currently, only the Red and Gold Rangers are available at Toys R Us with a retail price of US$34.99. They do not come with Kurokos since they do not exist in Samurai. It is unknown at this point of time whether the exclusive Blue, Green, Pink and Yellow Rangers would be made available as well.

Before this, American fans had to spend approximately US$60 to import one such Figuarts. This was something to rejoice for collectors on a budget.

Arrived: Deformeister Petit Super Sentai Legend Series

Pre-ordered this a couple of months back.



*Not Pictured: GoseiKnight*

Received the payment and shipping confirmation on Sep 17th, and shipped out on the 20th via SAL (with tracking). In other words, I totally didn't expect it to arrive so soon simply because I waited close to 5 weeks for my DX Dekaranger Robo from HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) using SAL as well. Hence, this was a pleasant surprise because it only took 9 days!

The parcel was well-packed and the item arrived in good condition, so I'm very satisfied with AmiAmi and its prompt service. At the moment, I have no intention of opening up them simply because I have no space to display them yet.

Ended up paying S$65.91 for this set of 10 after a nice 27% discount off the retail price, as well as 10% off the grand total after shipping. Double discounts for the win!

Pretty busy month of releases and there's more to come.

DX FuuraiMaru + Candy Key Series 03

Specially made the trip down to CSC since the DX FuuraiMaru has been out for a while.



Today was slightly less crowded; the same goes for Ng's Collections. When I stepped in, it's just the Auntie and the Uncle was nowhere in sight. Nothing much after one round of browsing; the shocking thing was probably the S$50 price tag of the DX FuuraiMaru...

Frankly, I was kinda disgusted at the pricing because Fujiya was selling it at S$38 online and even La Tendo (which is sometimes known for ridiculous pricing) was selling for S$44. So, I inquired the price with the Auntie and she quoted me S$45, saying it's the "Uncle's price". I sort of hesitated after hearing the price, but at the same time, I don't wish to ruin the years of relationship with the Uncle over a few dollars... Am I being too money-conscious?

So, I hanged around for a little while longer to wait for the Uncle. Somehow when he showed up, my mind decided to get it even though it's S$45. I went up to the Uncle and he exclaimed, "You haven't got this meh?" and went on to joke that since I'm so late in getting it he would charge me higher! Surprisingly, the Uncle quoted me S$40.00 which instantly put the Auntie to shame. She immediately responded with a shout to the Uncle about quoting me S$45 earlier on and now he's giving me another S$5 "discount" on top of it. Oh my!

That makes it two unhappy incidents in a row!

I could understand the Auntie's perspective to make the profit margin, but at the same time, she might want to learn how to be more tactful in retaining customers because of the increase in competitors. Having said that, Uncle has been kind enough all these years and I will continue to support him within my means.



Bought the Candy Key Series 03 at Toy Realm (Candy Toy Shop at Level 1) for S$24.00. Reasonable enough within the market price and it's imported from Hong Kong because Yamakawa is slow as usual.

Dollz Inc

Since I was in the area, I decided to drop by Dollz Inc at Wheelock Place since I haven't been visiting CSC either. Just so happened that Auntie was there, and she happened to ask me if I pre-ordered S.H. Figuarts GokaiPink already? I conveniently replied yes...

The conversation didn't end there, and now comes the most shocking part. She suddenly mentioned about the S.H. Figuarts ShinkenRed Kaoru Ver. (which I bought earlier) being quoted wrongly by their Japanese contact! In exact case, it should be around the price of S$99.90 as reflected on the other one for sale. The Auntie went further to elaborate that they explained to the Japanese contact that since it was sold, there was nothing they could do as well...

So I thought to myself, "Hmm... what's the implication that the Auntie was trying to draw anyway?" Could it be that the Auntie was a little sore about the mistake? Or was it a hint to remind me to patronise them more often since I kinda benefited from this incident? Oh well...

Then, she went on to ask about the DX Ranger Key Set 07 which they got in from Japan (Set 06 and 08 were sold). I probably stunned her when I said that I got all the 3 sets already. As the Bandai Asia stocks were not in yet, she immediately knew that I got the Japanese versions from either La Tendo or Robo Robo.

What an evening. The Auntie wondered why I did not wait on for the Bandai Asian versions which will cost around S$20-25, definitely cheaper than the Japanese versions. But I shocked her more when I replied that I ordered them from La Tendo because they are cheap - S$18 per set. At this moment, I really don't know how to work around the conversation up to this point which is why I was too blunt and honest.

"Oh, so you ordered them and not yet on hand?", she asked. I had to end the topic with, "Erm, I got them already last week..." effectively ending the whole conversation in silence.

I know I had to salvage the situation somehow, so I asked about the Gokaiger Gashapon Ranger Keys. Because the previous sets didn't sell, they stopped bringing in more from Japan plus they will be available locally later on. I went on to explain that the upcoming series will have more exclusive characters, so it might sell better as compared to the earlier sets (which the Red Rangers will all be available in Deluxe form).

Although I mentioned that I'm interested in the current Series 04 if the price remains around the same (S$55 per set), I could see that the Auntie was probably only half listening. Hmm, let's see how all this plays out in the future.

By the way, the currency exchange rate for Japanese Yen against the Singapore Dollar has become more and more unfavorable by the day due to the strengthening of the Japanese Yen. Therefore, the prices for the Japanese toys will be affected to a large extent. Expect any discrepancies to be carried over to the expense of the consumers - Bad Times for Collectors.

Takashimaya 15th Craziest Toy Sale (Day 8)

The ongoing sale continued to be pretty bland because there's no new stuff added to the current selection. Quite disappointing, I guess.

Speaking of which, the Deluxe Jungle Pride Megazord (@ S$23.00) was restocked and is probably the main reason why the RPM Megazords are not on clearance yet. There's just too many leftover stocks!

I also don't know why I just had to get something that sort of feeling. Hahah.



5" RPM Full Throttle Ranger Series Gold and Silver @ S$5.00 each. Actually, there's no other rangers available, so I only bought this pair.

Not sure if I should get the rest of the team because the Japanese S.H. Figuarts would be more superior if they moved on to Go-Onger in the future.

Power Rangers Samurai Toys In Full Launch

Power Rangers Samurai Toys are now available in all leading departmental stores.



Adding on to the initial post, the entire current 2011 toy line has been released locally.

4" Samurai Ranger Figures / S$17.95 each

Available in Red, Blue, Green, Gold including Mooger, Rita Repulsa and Deker.

I was quite surprised to see that we are finally getting villains again (none for Jungle Fury and RPM), especially Rita Repulsa which is highly sought after in the United States. Deker looks better in person than on photos because the paint used is exactly a silvery blend with white.

6" Switch Morphin Mega Rangers / S$29.95 each

Available in Red, Blue, Green and Gold.

10" Battlized Mega Ranger / S$24.95

Available in Red only.

6" Sword Morphin Samurai Rangers / S$29.95

Available in Red and Blue.

Shogun Battlized Ranger / S$49.95

10" Mega Ranger Fire with detachable armor pieces.

Deluxe Role-Play: Mega Blade / S$69.95

With electronic sounds.

The price is rather steep but I'm quite interested in this one because Bandai America has not made a decent weapon for a very long time. Not that I'm really into weapons but this one has a cool design; probably can wait for clearance.

Deluxe Samurai Clawzord / S$69.95

Combines with the DX Samurai Megazord to form the Claw Armor Megazord.

Takashimaya 15th Craziest Toy Sale (Day 4)

Updates on the new items:

[Power Rangers]

PR Jungle Fury DX Jungle Pride Megazord - SOLD OUT

PR RPM Repackaged Sentai Hero Figures - S$5.00 for 2
+ PR RPM Full Throttle Power Rangers - S$5.00 each

[Super Sentai]

Magiranger DX DialRod - SOLD OUT
Magiranger DX Magi Punch - S$15.00

Boukenger and GoGo Vehicle Set - S$5.00 each (Red, Black and Blue)

Spin Action Gekiranger - S$5.00 each (Red and Blue)

Go-Onger DX Toripter - S$20.00 (Price Increase)
Go-Onger DX JumboWhale - SOLD OUT
Go-Onger DX GoRoader GT - SOLD OUT
+ Go-Onger DX Birca - S$10.00
+ Go-Onger DX Jetras - S$5.00

Shinkenger SakanaMaru - ?
+ ShiShi Origami - ?
+ DX Kyouryuu Origami - ?

Goseiger GoseiMic - SOLD OUT
Goseiger DX LeonLaser - S$30.00
Goseiger DX GoseiWonder - S$25.00 (Price Decrease)
+ DX Landick Brother Set - S$10.00
+ DX Mystic Brother Set - S$20.00

Accurate as of 5:40pm

DX Ranger Key Sets 06-08

Nice! I didn't expect La Tendo to be this efficient because these were released in Japan only 1 week ago.



As pictured, Ranger Key Sets 06 to 08 are team releases of the recent 3 series which made sense since kids would be more likely to remember them. I like how the packaging is customised to reflect its original theme from their respective years, and not some recycled Gokaiger design.

Also, I know that a number of people has been complaining about the repeated releases of Go-OnRed, ShinkenRed and GoseiRed but I would like to point out that they are not exactly the same keys. The gold paint on the 3 Ranger Keys has been improved to provide a much better contrast in terms of details. This way, the whole team will also look more uniform and better together because of the new gold paint rather than with the old keys.

Having said, more DX Ranger Keys coming next month which would complete all 35 Red Rangers for Super Sentai.

Takashimaya 15th Craziest Toy Sale

Initially, I thought that there wouldn't be one this year since Takashimaya normally held it during July or August.



Anyway, the sale is on from 15 September to 02 October at the B2 Square.

Compared to the previous years, last year was probably the best and this year probably the worst. It's also interesting to note that the arrangement of toys are slightly different this time; the Sentai/PR toys are no longer at the same spot.

For Sentai/PR collectors, there weren't much bargain items to choose from (just like I expected) since a lot of stuff were cleared last year and during the Compass Point sale this year.

Nonetheless, these are some of the stuff that I saw:

[Power Rangers]

PR Jungle Fury DX Jungle Pride Megazord - S$23.00

PR RPM Repackaged Sentai Hero Figures - S$5.00 for 2

[Super Sentai]

Magiranger DX DialRod - S$10.00
Magiranger DX Magi Punch - S$15.00

Boukenger and GoGo Vehicle Set - S$5.00 each (Red, Black and Blue)

Spin Action Gekiranger - S$5.00 each (Red and Blue)

Go-Onger DX Toripter - S$10.00
Go-Onger DX JumboWhale - ?
Go-onger DX GoRoader GT - S$20.00

Shinkenger SakanaMaru - ?

Goseiger GoseiMic - S$15.00
Goseiger DX LeonLaser - S$30.00
Goseiger DX GoseiWonder - S$35.00

Accurate as of 1:50pm

Popular Appeal of Power Rangers Samurai Toys

Even though "Power Rangers Samurai" has yet to air on TV, kids are already attracted by the new toys on the shelves - A phenomenon that was absent in the previous few series in the franchise.



I dropped by Toys R Us (Tampines Mall) on my way back home and was very surprised to see that about 1/3 of the toys for Power Rangers Samurai is already sold! There were no more Deluxe Samurai Megazords and among the popular items were the Disc Cycles and 4" Mega Rangers.

Despite having no promotions to speak of yet and the expensive price tags, Power Rangers Samurai Toys can be regarded as an astonishing start compared to the failing series under Disney. Ironic isn't it?

Is it just because Shinkenger was a very good source material to base on? Or could it be that Saban (together with Bandai America) knows how to handle the franchise better?

All in all, it's good news that Power Rangers is gaining back some popularity.

Pre-Ordered S.H. Figuarts GokaiPink

Apparently, Bandai Asia has recognized the market demand for Tamashii Nations releases and will be making more web-exclusives more accessible to collectors in South Asia.

The S.H. Figuarts GokaiPink is the second exclusive Super Sentai Figuarts to be offered the special pre-order campaign.



Similarly, this campaign is available at the following local hobby stores - Ng's Collections, Robo Robo, La Tendo and Movie Replica. The pre-order ends 21 October 2011.

Originally, I wanted to pre-order it at Uncle Ng's since I was his regular customer. However, I was shocked when he put the price at S$70.00 instead of S$65.00. Hmm... business must be really bad for him to do this, so I headed over to La Tendo instead. S$5.00 is really a huge difference...

Hopefully, Bandai Asia will continue to provide us with more affordable web-exclusives from Japan, otherwise it's really burning holes in the pocket.

Power Rangers Samurai Toys Out In Singapore!

Who would have thought that Saban really meant it when he planned to launch the latest incarnation "Power Rangers Samurai" World-Wide through a series of aggressive marketing and promotional tools... and here we are!

Not quite sure as to when will the show start airing on Okto but Power Rangers Samurai Toys are now available in Toys 'R' Us stores! You can call it a sneak exclusive launch because the other departmental stores are still clearing Power Rangers RPM!



When the Samurai Toys first launched in UK and selected parts of Europe, fans were a little astounded to see that Bandai UK "conveniently" converted the US prices to British Pounds as if it's 1:1. In other words, a typical American is paying US$6.99 for the same figure which would cost GBP7.00 in UK.

Fear not, they are definitely not the worst! In this regard, Singapore certainly is worse-off in terms of inflation.

Anyway, a short introduction on the available merchandise:

4" Mega Ranger Figures - S$17.95 each

All 6 including Gold are available; and for the first time seeing the 4-inch figures, I can't help but wonder why do US toy companies scale down their toys so much? Compared to the usual 5.5-inch we have gotten all these years, well they are really puny. Doesn't make sense that the new 4-inch is more expensive than the 5.5-inch last year (S$16.95 each) right?

Battle Gear: Samuraizer, Spin Sword and Samurai Morpher - S$29.95 each

Both Morphers are released together but it doesn't really make much difference because they are both similar and cheap at the same time. You get no lights, just some generic sounds from pressing one functional button! That's it.

The Spin Sword is pretty decent, as reviewed and compared against the ShinkenMaru. You only get the Lion Disc for now; the other discs will be available later in the training set.

Disc Cycles with Figures - S$39.95 each

Again, all 4 colors are out so kids get to choose their favorite color. Get two if you want to combine with the DX Samurai Megazord for roller skating action! *Sarcastic*

Zord Vehicles with Figures - S$32.95 each

All 4 auxiliary Zords including the OctoZord are out, so you can combine into the Samurai Battle Cannon straight away! Gosh, the TigerZord looks especially cheap and the price tag is insane. Even some of the Japanese Shinkenger DX Origamis are cheaper.

Deluxe Megazords - S$69.95 each

Currently, only the DX Samurai Megazord is out. It doesn't look that bad in Megazord form but we have know for a while that the individual forms are quite disappointing.

That's all for now! Go Go Samurai!

S.H. Figuarts ShinkenRed (Shiba Kaoru)

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Fujiya missed the ordering deadline and I didn't order from Yokatta Web (I couldn't even if I wanted to, because they closed it earlier as well). Otherwise, I would be forking out a lot more for this figure again (like ShinkenGreen last time).



S.H. Figuarts ShinkenRed (Shiba Kaoru) was released earlier this month on August 12th, and online prices are insane especially on Yahoo Auctions Japan.

Just so coincidental that last week while pre-ordering the S.H. Figuarts GokaiYellow, the Auntie was asking me if I bought the (restocked) ShinkenRed already. So, I replied yes and mentioned about the female version which was released in Japan as an store exclusive.

Surprisingly, she said that if I'm interested, she could get it from Japan because they got a close contact there. Nice! So, I confirmed and left my name and contact number and the Auntie will call me again.

I really have to hand it to the Auntie because she called me on Thursday saying that the figure has arrived and I can go down to CSC on Sunday to collect it. Efficient!

Anyway, my cheapest Figuarts exclusive at S$80.00. I'm quite contented! =)

Pre-Ordered Chime Mega Chara Fortune Plus Gokaiger

Can't pass these off since they are so cute.

Unlike the Chara Fortune Shinkenger last time, I do not need to get the whole box online and end up with 2 sets because La Tendo is offering them as 1 set.

Went ahead and pre-ordered with a deposit of S$40.00. The full set of 12 characters will retail for 4,788 yen (approx. S$75.25) with both civilian and ranger forms in late October.