Happy New Year, Welcome 2011

I'm ushering in the new year by declaring Jan 2011 Kamen Rider week. 1st two weeks will be dedicated to the Halloween-themed Kamen Rider Kiva and the last two weeks with Kamen Rider Kuuga. I have a special added bonus for KR fans, a toy that I haven't seen reviewed in Youtube.

Special message to my readers and viewers.

Toy Review: SH Figuarts Kamen Rider AccelTrial

A thing of beauty, and I'm glad I own it.

SH Figuarts AccelTrial is a simple blue-dominating figure from the Kamen Rider W series and probably one of my favorite riders in the Hsieh era.

The die-cast, metallic blue finish sets it apart from other SHFs. AccelTrial for your info, is an upgrade version of the ground form of Accel. This figure will capture the attention of non-aficionados even for those who have no clue what is a kamen rider.

To my delight, AccelTrial has more extra hand parts than the other exclusive releases. Other extra parts includes a separate Accel driver and a Trial memory for the added "umpf" which allows you to recreate a scene from the KR W show (may need to acquire SHF Weather Dopant). Lastly a similar-looking engine blade.

Since the toy is lean, unlike previous bulky figures, allows a free movement on its joints and the only thing that will hinder you is your imagination. Wheels are movable but still not let you to transform (sniff) into bike mode. Still, the details are superb. AccelTrial still sports the old design of the SHFs - the feet are hinges as oppose to the new design which displays ball joints.

I can't complain with this toy - simplicity is the best form of beauty. Find out more from my video review below.

Closed for the new years

Below are the list of my favorite stores that will be closed for the new years

CStoys announcement



Robo Robo - Closed Jan 2

Mikel'z - Closed Jan 2

Toy Review: SH Figuarts Kamen Rider G3

Finally my SH Figuarts Agito series is complete with the advent of G3. I got this online for the lowest possible price I could ever imagined. Its almost a giveaway. It took a long time because the seller was making all of the possible excuses shipping, customs blah blah blah. At least he came through, even it took me a month before finally having it.

G3 is the first masked rider to ever appear on the show (Agito). But the KR system is a failed attempt to create a similar fashion to Kuuga since the police force had success working with the first hsieh rider. You must watch the Kuuga and Agito to understand how these series is connected to each other.

I believe the SHF design will change in the next few months. Wait for my Kiva week to know the changes on the features. 

The figure features the latest SHF design, standard ball joints and hinges on the shoulder, arms and knees. What's new is the foot design, the whole foot doesn't move from left to right and instead of a ball joint it is replaced by hinges - from under the shins to the toes.

I like the toned down version of G3 -  simple blue and silver design and packed with great accessories. Accessories included are three pairs of hands, a grappling hook, two part riffle/grenade launcher and a folding sword/buzz saw.

In grenade launcher mode

hand gun mode

Buzz Saw/Sword/Blade

Grappling hook

Here is the rest of my toy review i posted recently on youtube. Enjoy.

DX Kamen Rider Birth Driver - a hit or a miss?

Yesterday I was watching the video stream from CSToys live in Matsuyama, Japan and as part of the routine unboxing and demostration, Regional Director Mr. S (Masaki Saeki) revealed the DX Kamen Rider Birth Driver. At first I was flabbergasted on how the Birth Driver looks. But slightly disappointed on how it works.

The aesthetically pleasing and almost an exact replica of the one you'll see in the show. (As of this post, I haven't seen the Birth Driver in action, I referenced these from the photos posted on the net). I never thought  green and gold comes together perfectly in one design. I guess its works well given the right amount of colors and where to place them. The belt comes with two cell medals - scorpion and crab cells. Insert one medal (any medal) and turn the golden knob which at first creates the transformation sound. Remove the medal and repeat the process will create 6 different sounds which depicts the added fire power for KR Birth. Insert two medals simultaneously will generate the final attack sound. LED lights changes for every transformation.6 henshin sounds and 1 final attack sound is ok but this one lacks variety. 

What I am disappointed about is that there is no difference whether you insert core medals or cell medals. The excitement stops there. I'm not sure how KR Birth will use the belt on the show but by the looks of it, what you see is what you get. Honestly, the Accel Driver has more variations and works well with other memories than Birth Driver's take on medals.

Will this belt be a hit or miss? Should the box say - for KR ultra-mega-ultimate die hard fans only?

Toy Review: SOTA Street Fighter Adon

Unlike Sota's version of M.Bison, Adon is short of impressive. Even with better articulation points than M.Bison, there are some minor annoyances.

The key to tight abs is to keep a sinister grin while doing crunches

Arms - it is difficult for the arms to clip towards his torso. Better to give him leg room when displaying this with other Street Fighter toys, or other figures. Yes, even as a figure, Adon is arrogant and obviously selfish. Sagat's attitude is more affable than Adon.

Legs - the legs are not well balanced, he tends to tilt on his right side. But (gasp), with the right pose, he can balance well on one leg.

I guess if I add maracas or rumba shakers, he go head to head with DeeJay

With my dismay despite being a huge Street Fighter fan, these Sota lines are susceptible to wear and tear because it doesn't have reusable box like other Japanese figures nowadays. The paint again flakes off after a weeks and when leaned on walls or sides of the shelves the figure tends to stick.

This is only toy line that I know that has Adon in their roster. So for any Street Fighter fan, despite some annoyances, this figure should be part of their collectors list. It is still game accurate and more articulation than M.Bison. It's up to you whether you want to take it out of the box to preserve its shelf life. (I know some avid collectors are very particular about it).

To each his own. As my fiancee said, what's the point of having toys if you are not able to play with it. :) Enough said.

Preparing for hadoken? U ZO!!!

Here is my video review of Adon from Street Fighter.

Kamen Rider OOO Core Medal Glitch

I've been bored out of my wits lately so I tried playing with my recently bought DX Kamen Rider OOO belt. While I was toying with the core medals, I accidentally placed one core medal on top of the other and used the OOOs scanner with the purpose of irritating my ear drums. At least that worked to shatter the deafening silence.

Surprisingly when you place one medal on top of the other and scanned it, together creates another core medal sound. I recently made a video on the results.



I might do the same with other core medals and hopefully to cell medals. But I think my limit would be on the 4th medal set since by then most of the core medals will be available.

I bought my DX Kamen Rider OOO belt from Mikel'z in Singapore

 

Now selling at CSToys Japan /12/28/2010

CSToys Japan recently announced that DX Kamen Rider Birth Buster, RHS Kamen Rider Birth, and Gorilla Candroid are now available in their Japan online store. Mr. S has announced these items live via Ustream and was upload in their Youtube channel after a few minutes. Below is the recent unboxing from CSToys international.

 

Online activations for new items usually occurs every Sunday 10:00 am JST. You may visit http://www.cstoysjapan.com/servlet/StoreFront to check out the store's other offerings.

S.I.C releases for 2011

Since I already posted the SH Figuarts Kamen Rider releases for 2011, I might as well include the SIC releases for 2011. Without further ado below is the SIC KR figures you want to keep in mind and save until they arrive. Again, I will update this list if there are new announcements from Bandai

S.I.C
Kamen Rider Diend April - 2011

Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker - Mar. 2011

S.I.C. Kiwami Tamashii (Ultimate Soul)
Kamen Rider Blade (Jack Form) - February 2011

S.I.C Special/Limited Editions

Tamashii Web exclusive Bandai SIC Kiwami Tamashii DenLiner DX Set - January 2011

SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Releases 2011

So far these are the releases of SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Releases for 2011. I will update them as soon as there are new announcements on releases.

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider W/Revolgarry TBA

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Accel Gunner TBA

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Auto Vaijin - TBA 2011

S.H.Figuarts - Kamen Rider Saga - TBA 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider OOO (RaTorahTah Combo) - April 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider OOO (SaGoZo Combo) - April 2011

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Den-O Strike Form Re-issue Trilogy Ver.  April 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Faiz Blaster - May 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Faiz Accel - May 2011

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Crystal Skull May 2011 (Price 3360yen)

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider OOO Takakiriba and Takatorata Sets May 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Faiz Blaster - May 2011 (Price TBA)

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Faiz Accel - May 2011 (Price TBA)

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Dragon & Rising Pegasus Set) April 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Double (CycloneJokerGoldXtreme) April 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Kuuga (Rising Titan) - March 2011

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider OOO Gatakiriba Combo (Price 3150yen) March 2011

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Joker February 2011 (3150yen)

S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Double (CycloneAccelXtreme) -February 2011 (3150 yen)

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider OOO Tatoba Combo (Price 3150yen) Release February 2011

Toy Review: SOTA Street Fighter M. Bison

I collected almost all SOTA Street Fighter figures almost three years ago before I moved to Singapore. I packed them with me a year ago after a quick business trip back home.

The last figure I purchased was M.Bison. For me, Street Fighter is not complete without the main antagonist. There are many versions of SOTA's M.Bison but I liked the original color and make.

It is disappointing to see that M.Bison is not as articulate as my previous SOTA SF figures since it is so bulky that most of the joints don't move as much as I hoped for. As a Street Fighter fan, it may come to a dismay if there is a need to display the toy and place it in a diorama hoping to recreate that stage in the game.

After a few years on the shelf, the paint tends to harden, and it is difficult to move the joints especially the hands and torso. I do recommend to place this on a fairly balanced temperature - a lesson I had to relearn. At my previous home, my shelf was near the windows and the tropic heat and cold monsoons has taken a toll on M.Bison.

With all those imperfections, SOTA's M.Bison is almost a near perfect representation of the Street Fighter Alpha's Psycho Power wielding Shadaloo Boss. Well, all the Street Fighter figures that SOTA released was taken from that SF Alpha Series anyway.

I still do recommend to get M.Bison to fully complete the series.

This is my youtube review of SOTA Street Fighter M.Bison.


I bought this from greattoysonline.com. Click on the link at my favorite toy store page for more info about the seller.

Looking forward to 2011

Hi there. I just started my first entry on my blog to support my toy reviews I made in youtube recently. I kick started my toy review channel with my teaser video I made right here





This my poor attempt of editing, since I don’t have the right software like I used to back in college. Anyway, I just have to make do with the things I have until I have the “professional” tools to make it better. Enjoy. More toy reviews to come.