I'm skipping the rest of the S.I.C. Showa riders for the moment and let's head back to Hsieh era. I'm trying to do the SIC reviews in order so let's start with S.I.C. Kamen Rider Kuuga Vol. 13. Kuuga is one of my favorite riders to date and getting the S.I.C. version is a no-brainer. I'm hoping on this review that even if this volume was released about a decade ago, it will still amaze me and first time dwellers of SICs.
The box design screams Kuuga with Grongi marks all over and the title Masked Rider Kuuga on the face of box. I'm ok that it didn't mention other forms or else, how would you place them all in one box?
There are a total of three forms that Kamen Rider Kuuga has - Growing, Rising Mighty and Ultimate. Its default state is Rising Mighty showing off his die-cast shin guard and open splayed hands. If it is in any consolation, extra fists hands are included in this form. As a gimmick, the mouth opens and closes, just a note not to play with this too often as it becomes loose overtime. A problem common to with early Kamen Rider S.I.C.s.
Since this is one of the early S.I.Cs, the horns are shorter at this state and those eyes are quite pointed having an illusion of a violent state. His belt has a yellow jewel surrounded by a highly decorated Arcle.
His articulation is somewhat unpleasant and limited, this is more evident when his arms are spread in a winged position, this continues on with other forms. Most impressive part is the waist and ab movement that can be optimized almost to a 75 degree position, head tilt shares the same attribute on Growing and Ultimate form.
The hardest part throughout the transformation is exchanging the hands. Old S.I.C.s are on balljoints so you need to squeeze your way into the slot. Just be patient in doing this because old S.I.C.s tend to be very brittle. A trick is to deep this area in hot water in 5 mins and cool it in 2. I'm not really good at this so I followed the former. Patience is a virtue.
Growing form as expected is the dumb down version of the character. The armor is not your average squeaky clean white but there are airbrushed portions to stay true to the S.I.C theme. There is not much detail like Grongi characters all over, it's a decent look nonetheless.
Now changing into Ultimate form is something I haven't seen before. When the figure is entirely naked from the armor, muscular carves as revealed unlike today that is it sort of a plug-and-play type. The sharp armor parts slide in like sleeves and if placed correctly, you can't even tell which is the armor area.
Amongst all forms, this is the one I like since Kuuga looks meaner and it seems like everything is in proportion. Even the joints have more freedom to move. It is surprising that the sleeves don't fall off as I predicted it to be and the clamp up nicely on the body.
For something that was released almost a decade ago, the S.I.C. Kamen Rider Kuuga is amazing despite lacking upper biceps swivels. Too bad Bandai doesn't do this anymore.
4 comments:
Tell me please, if you can. How do the various SIC Kuuga figures compare to the FigureArts? I don't want to buy multiple Kuugas and there is an SIC on eBay for $100 that has all 4 forms interchangable. But if the SIC aren't as poseable or durable I'm willing to shell out the extra cash for a proper set.
Well SICs back then are more known for reimaginative sculpting rather than being poseable. If you are looking for design without thinking of being close to the show, SIC is for you. But if you are looking for more playability, you'd rather have SHFs instead. SICs in my opinion is not for all because of the style used.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I've watched many of your KR reviews on Youtube but as most of them were months old I thought this a better place to ask questions. This is the set I had my eye on:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BANDAI-S-I-C-SIC-Masked-Rider-Kuuga-Rising-Form-RARE-/160571884358?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item2562d48346
I recognize that they are not exactly show-accurate but...let's face it, Kuuga's costumes were cheap and these molds look more elaborately designed.
What I'm most concerned with is whether the transformation pieces become loose with repeated henshins or snap off easily or fall off during posing and such like that. Your review mentions the hands are the most difficult part but you don't mention much about durability. Perhaps in your other SIC Kuuga review, but I have not yet read that one all the way through.
I have this but haven't reviewed yet. What I can say to pre-empt my upcoming review of this is that the armor doesnt fall off that easily but you'll be taken back because these do not snap on, they are more like sleeves. The ball joints on the hand however are not durable so be careful during the exchange, same goes with his visor. These are most of the problems you'll encounter from figures that were released before SIC IXA and Dark Kiva.
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