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".

Gosei-Completion

DX Gosei-Wonder + DX Gosei-Ultimate



Finally got these two today to round up the Goseiger DX Mecha Series.

These two actually arrived during the end of last month (according to the forum sighting), but I didn't have time to check them out. Since I ended my examination today at 3pm, I thought I might as well go down to CSC to settle them in one go, because it's the dreadful FYP after the examinations and by then they would be sold out.

Two sets of each left, and the Uncle was quick to recognise that I have not gotten them. LoL~ His memory is still pretty good!

Hahah, some advice from the Uncle: "Undergraduates nowadays are so common and working only earns you the little salary, so how about further studies or venturing out on your own? Come out with something innovative! Or how about buying over my shop? Hahah!"

And, it's S$185.00 for both.

Power Rangers RPM In Stores!

Power Rangers RPM Toys out in stores! Get In Gear!



Pretty excited about this toyline, especially the action figures this time round (compared to the shitty Sentai Hero Figures for Go-Onger). For once, Bandai America finally did something right after so many years!

The Power Rangers themselves are not on steroids, plus all the weapons and accessories are included with the figures! In other words, they are like the BEST set of complete action figures that Bandai America has released to date.

What more can I ask for? I totally didn't expect them to have nice quality plastic and paint as well! Saw them and the packages in person today, so I was really impressed by the quality control.

Guess what? They are retailing at S$16.95 each, back to the normal action figure pricing for recent years. The only anomaly was Jungle Fury's hyper inflation of S$24.95 for each figure and frankly that shocked everyone. Who in the world would pay that amount of money to buy an action figure?

Another worthy series of the toyline would be the Microzord Sets (similar to Bandai Japan's Candy Toy Kits) at S$24.95 each. For those on a budget, they can also form the RPM Ultrazord. I'm also looking forward to the DX Formula Megazords for RPM, currently retailing at S$69.95 each. RPM Ultrazord Formation!

On a related note, Jungle Fury is still having its clearance but have yet to reach its lowest price. I guess Sheng Tai Toys is trying to hold out as long as possible because the series hasn't been very positive due to the horrible price tags.

Power Rangers RPM premieres Nov 20, 2010 on OKTO!