Den-O

And done! Lots more I could have worked on but I'm satisfied with how he turned out. Pretty fun and spontaneous project, anyone who wants to ask anything feel free to hit me up in the comments box!

More on the Kuuga soon. 

Quick Returns.

After a whole weekend of resting (I'll post what went on later) I got back to this guy, took me three hours to paint but I'm happy with the outcome. All it needs now is some topcoat and it's off for a pictorial! 

This was earlier tonight.

Head Start!

Finally putting that spare Den-O to use.

So on my visit to the local Japanese surplus store, (same store I bought a loose MRS Den-O) I was able to find and buy a few Soul of Hyper Figuration statues, one of them was Den-O. 

Turns out the statue is the perfect size for the MRS body and it has the compound eye look that I want, so I went ahead and chopped it off for transferring.

Now normally that would be enough, but I decided to tweak a few things on the MRS just slightly, like the shoulder armor and a bit of the belt. What I plan to do with this is to completely repaint it to look a bit more accurate, something that I'll base on the tiny statue since its paintjob is so pretty, but that's for next week because we'll be spending the weekend out of town. 

Now I mentioned I bought more than one statue, so which one was the other one?


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Kuuga. It ended up a tad more straightforward. 

Kuuga surprise!

Ah man, Been expecting this all week. Worked out a custom deal with a friend: I make him a Microlady Naomi for his Den-O figures, and I can trade it for some items. When I saw this bike and got Kuuga I really needed it. 

I really like it! One thing that amused me though is the fact that it's a mix between Beat chaser and Tri-chaser. The front part is from the Beat chaser, while the rest of it is Tri-chaser painted black.

I find it mildly funny. 

When Kuuga is riding it it seems a hair small, but it doesn't really bother me much so it's passable. 

The guy was so nice, he gave me two of these guys. Of course, the one that looks less banged up is the one Kuuga is riding. Might end up restoring the other one sometime though. 

On a related note: I recently bought myself an HDM kuuga, thinking I could harness some parts for the Motion Revive figure but it ended up too big. Still, it's a very nice statue. 

Those eyes and that belt really do it for me. Some paint flaws here and there but a really well made statue. 

These purchases made my day, and it only got better when I learned that SIC Kiwami Tamashii Kuuga Just got released in Japan.

Only a matter of time before I get mine.

If I'm motivated enough, expect a Rising Mighty, Amazing Mighty and Growing form repaints. 

NO FEAR! NO PAIN! : Motion Revive Kuuga Review

Ah, my favorite rider. You may recall (ah who am I kidding, no you don't) that last year I made a Microman Kuuga figure because I couldn't find the motion revive anywhere. Well fate smiled at me on my birthday and I found him. Along with the other guys I've been reviewing all week. 

Kuuga isn't the greatest figure in the entire line though but he's not terrible either. 

What do you give a guy whose base form is basically lacking in any remarkable accessory?

You give the guy alternate hands. And boy there are a lot. 

You can see about three pairs and one thumbs up hand (best of the lot) these are way more hands than any of the figures he was packaged with had and it really makes him a bit more expressive.  There are the henshin hands, his thumbs up hand, a pair of fists and some neutral open hands. The rising form version only had the henshin/chopping hands If I recall, which is what the normal Mighty Form has over it. 

The sculpted details on him are nice. Yes the look is very basic, but it's nice too see stuff like detailing on the belt and runes on the golden chest collar. The belt in particular was very fun to paint.

You definitely will not have a problem getting him into his signature poses, because since there is almost nothing to hinder the articulation on this guy. 

My complaint is something common with the rest of the riders in this line: the shoulders stick out a little. But that's a minor gripe with Kuuga here. 

He stands slightly taller than the others, just like Kiva.  And I'd say he has a good height for inter-toyline playability. 

One detail they could have included are the runes on the soles of his feet. something that might have completed his look. 

Overall, Kuuga is a great figure, definitely deserves to be in the Best Selection set, not only as the first heisei rider, but as a really fun figure. Glad to have finally found him and definitely never giving him away. 

And this concludes a week of Motion Revive Kamen Rider reviews! Thanks for sticking around for the thing, probably never did weekly things in my three years of doing this so it was very fun.

Also we're a day short. I'm thinking of what to review on Sunday, it'll either be the candy toy figures or the SIC KT Faiz Axel I got as a gift from a friend.

Cheers!

WAKE UP! : Motion Revive Kiva Review

I know next to nothing about Kiva, and stayed away from the series out of the advice of some friends. But when I first saw the rider design, I admit it was definitely something I liked.

From the vested look to the chains, and the ever winning color combination of red and black, he looks pretty badass. (INB4 LOL EMO/MCR FAG)

And the toy looks seriously nice. Jointage is wekk hidden or integrated, the sculpt pops, the colors are sharp. It's a well made mini-Kiva. 

He only comes with one alternate hand and an open Hell's Gate leg but I think it's fine. Fists could have been nice but what he has, works. 

This is probably the most extensive use of that semi-chrome silver on any of the figures in this line. One thing that would have made it better is to use a duller silver for the chains. 

Kivat there could use some more color though. Again they used the gummy red paint that looks far too toyetic.  The overall sculpt of the chest though is wonderful. It's broad enough to not make the shoulders look like they stick out, and gives a really buff feel to the figure. 

His articulation is good where it counts and he can do most of his signature poses unhindered, which I definitely consider a strength for the figure.

That is a lot of red on the Hell's Gate leg, happily broken up by the inclusion of some metallic green and black, but again, maybe reduce the gloss on the red or use metallic read and it'll be pretty nice. 

Now this is a surprise. He's actually as tall as a modern Joe. It probably has to do with how big his legs are, or how high his torso sits. That's another plus for the figure right there. 

Kiva is a pretty awesome figure. Though his complimentary accessories are minimal, they're pretty sufficient for him.  Nicely applied paints, reasonably articulated body to boot.  If you find one, grab it. 

Gotta find a bike for this guy. 

Train, Everyday: Motion Revive Hibiki Review

Hello Day 4. Today we have Motion Revive Hibiki up for review.

Opening thoughts for this figure:

seemed better on paper.

Hibiki as a figure is a very nice rendition of our drum demon guy, retaining all those nice details, making it a good companion to the SIC Kiwami Tamashii. 

But, there are a few flaws with it, in my eyes. 

First of all the accessory count is very small. Aside from the parts that attach to his waist, all he comes with are his drumsticks (Ongekibou Rekka) and a completely silver Armed Saber.

It would have been nice if he came with alternate hands or at least one molded for his "salute" pose. 

He's probably the most detailed figure in this series and that works for him there's a lot of eyecandy, even if there are very basic paint apps. If they used a better shade of violet it might show better. 

Of course the chest and face details are the most extensively painted. Again you see that beautiful semi-chrome silver they've been using, and the dull gold for the oni crest. The red really stands out and helps to mark the borders of his face, which I find really nice. 

But being too detailed can be a bad thing. for one, the way his back and shoulders are sculpted it's impossible to get any good lateral movement on the shoulders. Another thing is that this figure suffers the same flaws as Kabuto: the arms are too long, and the neck seems too short. 

The Armed saber is well sculpted and it's surprising how much more solidly it can be gripped by the hands than the drumsticks themselves which is a shame, really. 

Height-wise, he's the same as Den-o or Momo. Maybe if the neck was longer the height would fare much better. 

 

Hibiki for me is the weakest in this wave, despite how good the toy looks overall. Articulation is a little hindered in places where it counts, and the unineteresting amount of gear he comes with only adds to the gripes I have. I'd stick with his SIC any day. 

Ore...Sanjou! Part 2: Motion Revive Momotaros review

Despite my bias to Kuuga, the star of the best selection wave is definitely Momotaros. And I have several reasons why. 

But first let me just say that there are a few things that might have made him better.

1.  Not having his Momotarosword permanently grafted to his hand.
2. Neutrally posed hands.

Other than that, Wow he's pretty amazing. the hands he does come with are pretty unique. There's a pointing hand with an open palm hand that complements it, A neutral open palm, his Momotarosword hand, and last but not least, his awesome "mug" hand. 

All these make for great and fun poses when you try them out. The Mug hand alone does it for me, and goddamn, I wish more figures had hands holding mugs for no for no good reason.

And that's something helped along by his unhindered articulation.

Momotaros here succeeds in being a well sculpted figure with reasonably nice proportions overall and still manage to be amusingly fun to pose! most of what you can put him in looks very natural and thanks to his armored look, the joints don't stick out too badly. 

He's just so fun!

Of course good joints and good accessories are only helped along with a great sculpt.

 Momo is very detailed and it shows. The design is really very intricate and it translated well in this form, and I can argue that momo is the most detailed figure next to Hibiki in this wave. 

The paint applications are flawless. Sure, it's a tad glossy but it's almost if not entirely complete. If there are some parts that were left out it's hardly noticeable. 

The height is... well at this point you already know. 

Great articulation, with good accessories, and a striking sculpt of a memorable character, Momotaros is  definitely worth looking for and getting. 

Best damn figure in the entire wave.