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.

GokaiCellular and S.H. Figuarts GokaiYellow Pre-Order

I think there has never been so much problems for Bandai Asia before (or rather for collectors) like Gokaiger this year. Like the Ranger Key Set 04, I bought the GokaiCellular for S$65.00 from the same HWZ forum member who managed to import several pieces when online stores are all sold out. It's really nice for him to have a Japanese contact.

Brief Review:

Honestly, I don't really get toy safety regulations this time because unlike the Mobirates, the speaker is at the back of the device and sounds are not loud at all. No one is going to get deaf with this kind of volume...

Design / Personally, I'm not too fond of the wacky design and also I can't recall the times when I actually favored the 6th Ranger's changer. In other words, the Mobirates (like the rest of the main changers) is still a better choice if you would to choose between the two.

So this one is just for completion and the GokaiSilver Ranger Key.

Functions / The GokaiCellular does try to be innovative after so many years of mobile phone designs. The innovation can be found in the ability to alternate between two modes; other changers just relied on combinations of the keys.

The Henshin Mode allows the user to "Gokai Change" into one of the pre-determined Ranger on the keypad. Like-wise, the Phone Mode allows the user to summon GoJyuJin and also activates special phrases.

For comparison purposes, the Mobirates still win with the number of functions and sounds.

Toy Mechanics / Similar to the DX GoJyuJin, the GokaiCellular features the spring-loaded "scanner" which "scans" the Ranger Key when the user activate the changer. The mechanical action was notably loud which partly obscured the sounds when I tried to hear them. Also, I'm annoyed at the fact that the spring will become a liability for long-term collection.

More importantly, there is no way to bypass this step to hear the sounds at least from what I have explored. The mechanical function has to be triggered for the sounds to be activated which means less shelf life for the toy.

Ignoring all those, kids would probably enjoy the functions more and chucked them aside once they are sick of it or when the toy spoils...



I really can't handle more Japanese online exclusives at this rate if it continues to go on with one release every month.

However, Bandai Asia was kind enough to offer a similar pre-order campaign for S.H. Figuarts GokaiYellow at S$65.00 which was really lucky and beneficial for me. Normally, I would have to fork out an average of S$90.00 for an online exclusive Figuarts.

The campaign is available at most local hobby stores selling Japanese toys - Ng's Collections, Robo Robo and La Tendo etc. The pre-order ends 30 September 2011.

My First Custom Ranger Key!

Since I do have some spare Ranger Keys from the Gashapon Hunt, I took the ShinkenRed Key to custom into the Shiba Kaoru version (which will come out in Gashapon Series 04).



*Pictured: Original ShinkenRed (left) and Custom ShinkenRed Kaoru (right)*

The main difference was only the skirt portion, so I took the Hobby Thinner and removed the black paint on the legs. Granted that it wasn't perfect because I was more like trying out for fun. And I didn't like the original stickers for the Gashapon, so I printed my own version which was more suit-accurate and also added the black stripes on the hands.

LoL~ I'm quite satisfied with the outcome.

One Click Ranger Key Special Set

Bandai Japan is not only getting better at its game but also becoming smarter as it goes.



For those who have seen the Ranger Keys in Gokaiger, they are able to auto-flip during the henshin sequence unlike any of the Ranger Key toys we have gotten so far. So in order to push the limit, Bandai Japan is now giving us the chance to own them but at a trade-off. Instead of having them at the Deluxe quality (which is the perfect scenario), you now get them with the same Gashapon chest stickers... which I felt was a stupid move.

While there are no news of similar releases in the future, it might appeal to those who have yet gotten any Ranger Keys and can get them now instead. As pictured, this special set comprises of 16 Ranger Keys - inclusive of the whole Gokaiger Team and 10 Red Rangers as shown on the Mobirates Box.

However, this is a Bandai Japan web-store exclusive, so anyone interested has to pre-order and go through a middleman (or a local agent). The set itself is priced at 6,300 yen (approx. S$98.83) or 393.75 yen per Ranger Key which is almost double of the regular Ranger Key at 200 yen. Keep in mind that middleman fees and domestic + international shipping costs are not included.

For now, my interest is pretty low because the price is too steep and it's Gashapon quality... I'm gonna just stick to the Deluxe and Candy Toy versions as much as possible.

Gashapon Ranger Key Series 02

Gashapon Ranger Key Series 01 didn't manage to reach Singapore, but it didn't matter in the end since all of the characters will be available in the Deluxe version.

After numerous requests by fans and collectors (as seen on facebook), Sheng Tai Toys finally bucked up and managed to bring in the Gashapon Ranger Key Series 02 in July. However, it is very hard to know the location for the Ranger Keys since there are so many different Gashapon machines (all over the island) and I don't even know how they determine if a machine needs to be changed. Whenever it becomes empty?

Thanks to social media, Sheng Tai Toys managed to notify that the Gashapon Ranger Key Series 02 is available at Toys 'R' Us ViVo City. There are two machines when I reached but one is already empty. Fortunately, the other one is still half-filled.


*One Capsule for S$3.00*

As BoukenSilver is the only Gashapon-Exclusive Ranger Key in this series, my concern is of course getting it despite having to spend a lot of money and end up with duplicate Ranger Keys. In fact, this is the better option compared to eBay because one Ranger Key can go for US$15.00 with shipping.

As it turns out, it isn't too bad because I got BoukenSilver at the 7th try. Actually, I only spent S$18.00 in the end because my friend bought GokaiSilver from me for fun; I wanted to give him for free but he insisted on paying me. As for the other Ranger Keys, I don't mind them since I can make customs if I'm free.

Hopefully, Sheng Tai Toys will bring in all the later series because there are a lot of characters that are Gashapon-Exclusive.

Important Note: GokaiCellular

*Please click for larger image*

Latest Update: Ng's Collections

Due to contractual issues with the Central, Ng's Collections will not be moving to the Central as what the previous announcement said. The original tenant wasn't going to move out at the previously agreed date, so the Central offered Uncle Ng another smaller shop which pissed him off. In short, the management of the Central screwed up.

Instead, Uncle Ng will be moving out of China Square Central at the end of September. Although there are two more offers from two other shopping centers, Uncle Ng decided to go back to just Dollz Inc at Wheelock Place in semi-retirement.

So folks, if you guys are long-time customers, you will have to go to Orchard Road to find him.

DX GoJyuJin and DX Ranger Key Set 05

After several delays in shipment, the DX GoJyuJin and Ranger Key Set 05 have finally arrived at Ng's Collections. Just so happened that I'm outside with my family, so my mum decided to tag along to the "legendary" CSC! O_o

DX GoJyuJin



Ah, the Mecha for GokaiSilver as a tribute to Zyuranger, Timeranger and Abaranger. Essentially, a triple-mode transforming robo; I must applaud Bandai-Toei-PLEX for the design effort. The price for this one is rather steep at 6,800 yen which is more expensive than DX Gokai-Oh itself. Got it for S$100.00 which the Uncle gave me a S$5.00 discount off the price tag. Not a very competitive price since I did saw people selling for S$99.00 and S$95.00 after I bought mine.

Brief Review:

When I took it out of the box, I was a little disappointed. It felt a little flimsy, okay maybe not flimsy, just not as solid as I imagined. Perhaps, it was the inherent design because of more joints, connectors and articulation points.

Design / Honestly, I wasn't too fond of the overall design just like GokaiSilver himself, so this piece is more like to complete the collection and for future combinations. Color scheme-wise, the mixture of blue, silver and gold did managed to give a rather unique and interesting visual effect though I am not sure whether it's the best choice.

Both the Drill and Rex modes had nothing really special going on, and the Rex mode wasn't particularly impressive in the visual department. Like someone who reviewed it much earlier when it first came out, the GoJyuRex only looked cool from the bottom angle just like the box art.

Paint Applications / Again, I am not sure if this is a Bandai Asia quality control issue, but I did notice that the gold paint applications weren't as neat this time from several noticeable spots.

Toy Mechanics / While Bandai Japan is ingenious to think of a spinning mechanism without using of batteries, it probably translated to the high cost in the end. As a collector, I'm also concerned about the potential long-term durability since such special gimmicks are often fragile...

At first, I couldn't figure out how to activate the spinning gimmick so I had to refer to the instructions. Unfortunately, the pictures and my limited proficiency of the Japanese language didn't help, and I had to look up a YouTube video to learn that I have to wind the arms first to achieve the spinning action.

Maybe I was unlucky and picked the wrong box. Now, I don't even have to wait to know that the spinning mechanism has failed me (but not to the extent of completely spoil which can warrant an exchange). It's just that the drill arm cannot be wind for a lot of turns so the resulting spin is rather WEAK.

I was slightly annoyed and disturbed, so I took apart the arm to see if there is any problem...



Turned out that the mechanism was indeed small and intricate, but there's no way to fix it since the issue is probably the white gear box. Just had to put it back together without getting anything fixed. In the end, I can only accept what it is.

DX Ranger Key Set 05

As announced, Bandai Asia wasn't able to distribute DX Ranger Key Set 04 due to copyright restrictions, so Uncle didn't manage to get the mentioned stocks. Instead, he got a lot of RKS 05 on the shelf.



This set was intended for GokaiSilver with four 6th Ranger Keys and the Gold Anchor Key. I was surprised that it wasn't a flat piece of sticker on the Gold Anchor Key and was raised instead for every helmet - a huge win over the Candy Toy version. However, the hook piece is made of rubber which might become sticky in the long run given the humid weather in Singapore.

Also a S$5.00 discount from the price tag to S$20.00 in the end.