Post by prozac on Dec 23, 2003 8:54:08 GMT -5
After months of kicking myself in the arse for not getting these when they were cheap I finally was able to get a set. I found a Japanese collector who was looking for some wave 8 GI Joes. I assume he had planned on buying from an online retailer that would ship overseas, but after online dealeres got thier orders cancelled, he was kinda left hanging. Turns out we were able to help each other out.
These figures are based off the Japanese PS2 game Tatsunoko Fight(I believe a Street Fighter type game). All the characters are from different Japanese anime...thier super heroes I guess.
Each of these figures come with 5 different sets of hands. I won't be counting them as accessories while doing reviews. Each figure also has the same base body, some with minor mods when needed. First up:
Volter
I'm not sure where this character eminates from. Probably the most boring of the 5 figures. I say he is boring cause he comes with no accessories at all. As poseable as these guys are I can live with that, plus I can always find something for him to use. He has small "fins" added to his body. 2 on his torso and 1 on each elbow. He is very colorful though....blue, red, yellow, white and turquoise.
Expectation ***
Reality ****
Polymer
Maybe the second most boring as far as accessories goes as he only sports a pair of "wings" that attach to his back much like a GI Joe backpack. He has an odd design on his chect that kinda looks like a "P", which i assume stands for Polymer. It also looks kinda like a bird of some sorts too. I dunno.
Expectation ***
Reality ****
Casshan the Robot Hunter
His name is pretty much the only thing i know about his character....he's a robot hunter. Rather bland as far as colors go. White with black lines yellow on his helmet, green on his color, and sporting a big red "C" on his chest. I would say he's my second favorite of the set. Casshan packs 2 pistols for hunting robots. They have small holes in them that can be attached to the 2 pegs on his waist. I don't know about anyone else, but if I was out hunting robots, I'd want more than 2 pistols :wink: The collar kinda limits his head movement, but not too bad. He also comes with an alternate head. Only difference is that it doesn't have the mask part that covers his face.
Expectation ****
Reality ****
Tekkaman Blade: Space Knight
OK...this is the figure I wanted most from this set. From the moment I laid eyes on him I was in love. Just something about this figure drew me to him immeadately. I was not disappointed when I got him. He is one bad ass mofo. This one has the most modifications to his body out of all of them. Shoulders, shins, forearms and spurs on his feet(I have no clue what they are for). The shoulder and shin mods limit some of his movement cause they are a bit bulkier, but I wouldn't give them up. The add to the bad ass look he has. Double bladed sword(?) is his weapon of chose with a handle in the middle of the blades(much like Dart Mauls double lightsaber) He also comes has 2 pegs on his waist for his holsters. The holsters hold extra sword handles. My assumption is he carries around extras and the blades come out of the handles, but they look like little blue billy clubs. I can see these being lost easily as they don't stay securely in his holsters. This figure was everything I was expecting and them some.
Expectation *****
Reality *****(*****)
I left out Gatchaman Ken cause he was available in the US and is fairly well known. The pictures are a little darker than I thought they were. I plan on taking some more(action) pics here in the next few days. I'll be sure and post them.
Also in this trade I was able to get a set of the Material Force figures that were a TRU Japan exclusive. They are blank figure for the intent of using for customs. I'm gonna leave mine in the boxes for now though since they are so hard to find...even in Japan. The guy said that TRU sold out of these within an hour of them going on sale. Retail for them was about $5 for each figure, but you're lucky to find them cheaper than $10...most for about $15-$20 each. Diamond Dist. Has an agreement with Takara to distribute Microman in the US, and after the success of the 2003 Microforce figures, they plan to get any future figures, including Material Force. They probably won't be able to get this set, but are trying for future sets and different colors too.
These guys own!
These figures are based off the Japanese PS2 game Tatsunoko Fight(I believe a Street Fighter type game). All the characters are from different Japanese anime...thier super heroes I guess.
Each of these figures come with 5 different sets of hands. I won't be counting them as accessories while doing reviews. Each figure also has the same base body, some with minor mods when needed. First up:
Volter
I'm not sure where this character eminates from. Probably the most boring of the 5 figures. I say he is boring cause he comes with no accessories at all. As poseable as these guys are I can live with that, plus I can always find something for him to use. He has small "fins" added to his body. 2 on his torso and 1 on each elbow. He is very colorful though....blue, red, yellow, white and turquoise.
Expectation ***
Reality ****
Polymer
Maybe the second most boring as far as accessories goes as he only sports a pair of "wings" that attach to his back much like a GI Joe backpack. He has an odd design on his chect that kinda looks like a "P", which i assume stands for Polymer. It also looks kinda like a bird of some sorts too. I dunno.
Expectation ***
Reality ****
Casshan the Robot Hunter
His name is pretty much the only thing i know about his character....he's a robot hunter. Rather bland as far as colors go. White with black lines yellow on his helmet, green on his color, and sporting a big red "C" on his chest. I would say he's my second favorite of the set. Casshan packs 2 pistols for hunting robots. They have small holes in them that can be attached to the 2 pegs on his waist. I don't know about anyone else, but if I was out hunting robots, I'd want more than 2 pistols :wink: The collar kinda limits his head movement, but not too bad. He also comes with an alternate head. Only difference is that it doesn't have the mask part that covers his face.
Expectation ****
Reality ****
Tekkaman Blade: Space Knight
OK...this is the figure I wanted most from this set. From the moment I laid eyes on him I was in love. Just something about this figure drew me to him immeadately. I was not disappointed when I got him. He is one bad ass mofo. This one has the most modifications to his body out of all of them. Shoulders, shins, forearms and spurs on his feet(I have no clue what they are for). The shoulder and shin mods limit some of his movement cause they are a bit bulkier, but I wouldn't give them up. The add to the bad ass look he has. Double bladed sword(?) is his weapon of chose with a handle in the middle of the blades(much like Dart Mauls double lightsaber) He also comes has 2 pegs on his waist for his holsters. The holsters hold extra sword handles. My assumption is he carries around extras and the blades come out of the handles, but they look like little blue billy clubs. I can see these being lost easily as they don't stay securely in his holsters. This figure was everything I was expecting and them some.
Expectation *****
Reality *****(*****)
I left out Gatchaman Ken cause he was available in the US and is fairly well known. The pictures are a little darker than I thought they were. I plan on taking some more(action) pics here in the next few days. I'll be sure and post them.
Also in this trade I was able to get a set of the Material Force figures that were a TRU Japan exclusive. They are blank figure for the intent of using for customs. I'm gonna leave mine in the boxes for now though since they are so hard to find...even in Japan. The guy said that TRU sold out of these within an hour of them going on sale. Retail for them was about $5 for each figure, but you're lucky to find them cheaper than $10...most for about $15-$20 each. Diamond Dist. Has an agreement with Takara to distribute Microman in the US, and after the success of the 2003 Microforce figures, they plan to get any future figures, including Material Force. They probably won't be able to get this set, but are trying for future sets and different colors too.
These guys own!
Ward