Tuesday, December 20, 2011

So damn pointy:S.I.C. Kiwami Tamashii Wolf Orphnoch Review



Okay, I think I've played around with this guy long enough to form some opinions about him so here it goes.

Boy, I was excited, I was really excited. And now here he is and suddenly my enthusiasm becomes lukewarm. Not because of the figure itself, no it has a lot of strong points, it's just that after the Horse Orphnoch figure was previewed, suddenly (spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched the show) Takumi's figure didn't seem all that great.





For sure it's beautifully sculpted, even more than the regular rider figures, his look really does bring him closer to the Garo kiwamis though. But, as a design, there isn't really anywhere you can push in terms of making him look more SIC, since well... Orphnochs are pretty SIC already. What they just did was take the wolf orphnoch design and make it pointier. And it's really really pointy (probably why he's 95% soft pvc).


And despite these guys being absolutely boring in terms of color (every monster's palette is composed of varying shades of dull grays ), they did a great job with the colors, cutting up the predominant ash gray color with some worn silver/steel, a black detail wash, stark white eyes and if you look closely, gradients of rust. 


I'm only a little put off by how glossy the ink wash is, since it doesn't (for me at least) really add depth so much as scream WE ARE BREAKING UP THE GRAY. It does, however give the figure a certain "drawn" look, since the ink wash makes the detailing pop.


This is pretty much the extent of the figure's lateral movement, which is limited for obvious reasons, but hell, I've seen it happen so much on every  other release that I've almost stopped caring about it. The range is pretty believable though when you put the design into consideration. 


The way they were able to conceal the joints is pretty awesome though, and it shows especially on the knees, where the design isn't really broken up at all. I wish that joint was a bit dirtier though, as it is it's too clean and smooth.

The motion in the neck is pretty good as well, despite having a thick neck, the double ball post and sleeve design really makes it more flexible than it appears, which is crucial if you want to make him do a howling pose.

unfortunately here's the downside (and I'm hoping it's just a problem with mine), his joints go floppy real quick. He felt a bit loose out of the box and the more I played with it the quicker they got worse. But no worries, I just keep dripping pledge/ future finish into the joints to tighten them, though this shouldn't really be have to be something the buyer must fix themselves.


Here he is standing next to faiz, the dude is pretty tall with his legs straight but I prefer arching his knees in a more dog-like stance and hunching his torso to make him look more feral. And that way, he sees eye to eye with Faiz and Kaixa. Just to give you an idea how big he is,
 

Standing next to a Joe, he is monstrous



The only accessories he comes with is an extra pair of open hands which doesn't really do much (even if you have a vivid imagination).


It took me 20 minutes just to get him to balance for that.


Worth getting? Well at the price of  800 php (18 dollars) which is already at discount price, I can't really say.
Sure the design is great, paint apps are awesome though the color is outright dull, he doesn't have any other accessories, the amount of plastic used doesn't really feel like a lot, and he goes floppy fast. Buy at your leisure, but I'd suggest waiting until it goes for a good sale price, even if you are a 555 fan.

It really isn't justiΦed for now.

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