I am sure new collectors of vintage Japanese Soft Vinyl toys believe that many classic characters might be out of their reach or price range due to high demand and a diminished supply of figures available. Rightfully so many of those high dollar figures are worth their value but there are quite of few high quality soft vinyl figures of classic characters still available for mere pocket change.

Gatchaman Mini Soft Vinyl by Leonardo Flores

I am sure new collectors of vintage Japanese Soft Vinyl toys believe that many classic characters might be out of their reach or price range due to high demand and a diminished supply of figures available. Rightfully so many of those high dollar figures are worth their value but there are quite of few high quality soft vinyl figures of classic characters still available for mere pocket change.

Take this original 1970's Popy produced mini soft vinyl figure of Gatchaman from Gatchaman II. These regularly appear on Y-Auctions between $5.00 and $15.00 with my example being purchased for 500yen.

As far as I know these figures were released in a set of five on a blister and card packaging and were released when the sequel to Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Gatchaman II was aired. I always believe that these figures were missing their capes but upon viewing a photo of a still sealed package of the figures the capes were never included. There are another set of mini soft vinyl Gatchaman figures but they are actually smaller than these later figures and they have a permanently stretched up arms although they do come with capes.

The figure itself is a great and classic representation of Gatchaman. I love the colors and sculpt all around and it is a fantastic period representations of this classic character with all its out of scale funkiness. Articulation consists of moveable waist and arms. I particular like the anime look of the face sculpt. Although these are mini-soft vinyl figures and are smaller than your average sized soft vinyl figure they still at a reasonable size and look great in the display case.

For around $10.00 how can you miss out in these? Keep in mind I am sure a sealed package of all five or trying to locate Jun the Swan or Ryu The Owl are more difficult to aquire and cost more but if you are like me and not particularly concerned with packaging for soft vinyl figures this is a great inexpensive purchase of an original Popy 70's produced figure of a classic anime character.

©2009 article and pictures Leonardo Flores and CollectionDX.

The saga of Saint Seiya continues and Bandai has new Saint Cloth Myth to show for it. I take a look at the first release from Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas. It's Pegasus Tenma.

Review sample provided by HobbyLink Japan.

Saint Seiya has a long and rich history and the main story is still not finished. While fans wait, for the stories of Heaven and Chronos to be told a prologue story was created under the supervision of the original creator Masami Kurumada and written and illustrated by Shiori Teshirogi.

The Lost Canvas takes place 250 years before the original Saint Seiya saga and tells the story of three orphans that grew up as children only to assume their roles in this cosmic battle of good and evil. It touches upon plot points and themes from the original series while chronicling the previous Holy War between Athena and Hades.

First up in Bandai's line of Saint Cloth Mythology line for The Lost Canvas is Pegasus Tenma, the series's main character and this generations Pegasus Saint. With the series being written and illustrated by a different artist the anime adapts this new look and Bandai took and ran with it. Creating a striking new look for the Saint Cloth Mythology line.

The packaging continues the look of previous Saint Cloth Myth, a book style package that opens to reveal the figure and all the armor parts and pieces neatly arranged.

The Tenma figure features an all new body type and a new “style” to the look of the head sculpt. I love how it captures the look of the new series yet fits in with previous SCM releases.

The body features over 40 points of articulation as well as interchangeable faces (for different expressions) as well as 8 interchangeable hands.

Also included is the flower bracelet Sasha (Athena) made for Tenma, Alone and her as children to signify their bond as children.

Each warrior wears an armor in the series. Athena's warriors wear “clothes” and are all named and designed after constellations in the night sky. So when the Cloth is not being worn be our heroes they form a statue or “Object” to be more accurate. Tenma's armor being the Pegasus saint turns into a Pegasus statue.

You may notice that the figures themselves are fairly spindly and thin but all that changes when you put the parts on for the armor. Everything sits and looks properly in proportion once on and looks stunning on the shelf.

Most of this release is die-cast metal with only the skirt plating and head-piece being made of plastic. There's not a lot for armor on the figure as this is how it appears early in the show before it's first repair/evolution.

Not a lot of surprises with this release. Saint Cloth Mythology has been a top quality line from Bandai for many years now and Pegasus Tenma is an excellent start to The Lost Canvas line of figures and a good place to start if you;ve ever wanted to check one of these sharp looking figures. You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan.

On a side note, I have finally had a chance to see the 6 first episodes of the series, fan subbed. It's really well done and a bit more mature in tone that early Saint Seiya. It is an excellent place to start if you have ever been interested in the Saint Seiya Mythology but have been overwhelmed at the rich and long history of the series. It's an excellent beginning point without knowing a thing about the history.

“... the truth is... I am Iron Man.”

Review sample provided by Angolz.

Summary from package...

“While traveling overseas on business, Tony Stark is gravely injured after being ambushed and taken hostage. While in captivity, Stark is ordered to build a super-weapon capable of worldwide devastation. Instead, determined to escape and ultimately confront the demons of his past. Stark constructs a nearly invincible suit of armor equipped with powerful repulsion rays and high-altitude flight capability and escapes. Upon his return to America, he becomes the red-and-gold warrior Iron Man, vowing to don his powerful armor to protect the world.”

While I have always been a bit of a superhero fan, I was never that into Iron Man. Tony Stark never won me over or struck me as particularly admirable, but when the live-action movie came out it knocked my socks off. With the mix of Jon Favreau's direction and Robert Downey Junior's charm the character of Iron Man/Tony Stark won me over. The 2008 film was a critical and commercial success and Iron Man toys flooded the market. But none of them really struck me as great collector's pieces or great representations of the American designed power suit. Well it turns out Hong Kong toymaker, Hot Toys has made the quintessential Iron Man piece...

Hot Toys has been in the 1/6 scale poseable collectors market for a few years now and the reputation for quality and attention to detail has grown over the years. Well it's VERY much earned.

Let's start with the packaging. A box is a box right? Not really.

A nice package let's you know the manufacturer cares about what's inside. In this hobby very few things are “cheap” so it kind of sucks when you spend primo dollars for a piece and the package feels cheap or like an afterthought. With Hot Toys, that's not the case. Not only is the piece inside made with the utmost care and attention to detail, the box it comes in is equally as nice.

The box is made from a very thick, heavy-gauge cardboard that folds out in three panels. The outside panels of the box look like a close up of the Mk.III armor. When the box is opened it looks like the under carriage of the armor. The die cut hole for the Arc Reactor is a nice touch.

Inside is a window to see the figure and all the accessories neatly arranged and laid out with a brief explanation about the Mark III armor as well as credits for the toy design. It's very sharp and very classy. To bad it ends up in the closet stored away, it's almost a work of art itself.

Included in the box is...

• Iron Man Figure
• Tony Stark Head (Robert Downey Jr. likeness)
• 2 Closed Fists
• 2 Open Palm Hands (Flight/Repulsor Pose)
• 2 Open Blast hands ( Open Hand Blast)
• Display Stand

The figure itself is spectacular. There is no diecast metal on this piece, it is all plastic and PVC. The materials are however all top-notch and feel high quality. Nothing feels cheap here. The body and parts are primarily a hard plastic with parts near the hips made of softer PVC to ensure maximum poseability.

The figure stands just over 13 inches tall and features over 40 points of articulation, with an original build of the Iron Man suit from the ground up. It is not a 1/6 “doll” with an Iron Man costume strapped to him.

But highly poseable and well constructed isn't where it stops. The Iron Man suit is powered by a Tony Stark invention, the Arc Reactor.

Three separate light switches for three separate light-up functions are placed on the figure. Chest/Eyes, Right Palm, Left Palm. These are powered by a small stack of watch-sized batteries which can easily be removed and replaced when needed. These parts light-up brilliantly and the over all effect makes it look just like the suit in the movie.

While you can't remove the figure from the suit (not sure I'd want it too) you can swap out the helmeted head for an un-helmeted. The likeness to Robert Downey Jr. is uncanny. The sculptor,T.J. Cha is indeed a VERY talented artist.

Air-break/Opening Panels can be opened and deployed on the back and calves of the suit.

Rocket Launchers can be exposed on both the left and right fore-arms. The missile is sooooo tiny you will need a push pin (or the like) to get it to flip out.

This was my very first piece from Hot Toys but I can assure it, it will not be my last. Beautiful packaging, an even more stunning piece, exquisitely detailed and an impressive looking on the shelf. Not to mention fun to tinker with.

Now, the bad news. This bad boy has been sold,out for quite some time now. The good news however, is an updated “deluxe' version (with metallic paint, more gadgets and battle-damaged amor to swap out) is coming out soon and can still be ordered from our sponsor, Angolz. I think most of our readers would do well to add one to their collection while they can. I for one am very glad I did.

To celebrate international Soul of Soft Vinyl Week on CDX Leonardo Flores reviews release #36 Tackle from Kamen Rider Stronger. "Although I will say there is some nice Zettai Ryouiki action going on here!"

Tackle

I always admired the costume and character Denpa Ningen Tackle from 1975 Kamen Rider Stronger. One feature I like about 1970’s tokusatsu programs is many of the costumes and art design still had a huge 1960’s influence throughout. For me, Tackle has always been one the most rememberable of those 60’s style costumes due to her cute and colorful Lady Bug motif, Go-Go boots and miniskirt, and vintage European motorcycle style helmet mask and goggles.

When I discovered there was of SOSV version of Tackle I had to track one down for my collection, eventually locating one on Y-Auctions for 100yen! I was not disappointed when I finally received my Tackle in the mail from Japan.

Tackle includes: 1X Tackle figure, 1X white antenna, 1x hanger card. There are no options. Please note that while most SOSV figures do not include extra parts Tackle’s antenna is included loose in a plastic case connected to the hanger card. If the card is missing and there is no antenna I would pass on the item as most likely it has been misplaced. Accordingly the only assembly required is attaching the antenna to the helmet.

I am impressed with the beauty and detail the sculptor took when designing Tackle and all the minor details throughout when looking at closer inspection. For example the helmet is actually a clear piece that is painted to match the figure with floating eyes attached to the body. The result is a simple but very effective look of clear goggle on the helmet. I also like the fine details of the boots, from the zipper down the side, reinforcement leather panel seams and separately painted souls. With all these great small details I have no doubts that the sculptor had access to the original costume for reference.

The dress itself has a nice pitted texture to it with pleats and hemlines represented throughout. Personally I like the detail of the belt being folded behind itself on the back of the figure. Nice touch! The yellow flowing scarf also added a great visual to the figure and really represents an era when many tokusatsu characters wore scarves as part of their uniforms.

What is most important about this figure is the female representation in the figure itself. So easily Bandai could of sexualized this figure by heightening or blowing the proportions up but the sculptor choose to represent a very realistic sculpture of an average stocky Japanese female. This is rarely seen even in expensive dolls much less a $10.00 action figure. The result is you get a nice heartfelt tribute to the actor who played Tackle and kept the figure from becoming the typical generic female action figure.

My only real complaint is the lack of any real articulation, which is limited to turning the helmet, and arms, waist and boot pivot. This is an issue many collectors feel about Soul of Soft Vinyl figures but I feel this is a nice tribute to original soft vinyl toys from the 70’s as frustrating as it might be. But the pose is dynamic and really stands out on the shelf.

What I like about this figure was how the sculptor balanced the realism of Tackles costume of just being a stage prop on an actor during the daily grind of a film set and the fantasy of Tackle’s iconic henshin uniform fighting the evil armies of Black Satan. It all depends how you want to look at it. If you are an admire of 60’s and 70’s art design with a nice 1960’s Go-Go appeal or a fan of vintage tokusatsu programs the price should not keep you from purchasing this inexpensive figure but I am sure you will more than pleasantly surprised at this representation of Tackle as I was.

©2009 Article and photos Leonardo Flores Modcineaste & CollectionDX.

I finally round off the Surplice reviews of the resurrected Gold Saint with Aquarius Camus. HD Video included.

Review sample provided by Angolz.

Spoilers below if you have not reached the Hades Saga in the Saint Seiya series...

During The Hades Arc: Sanctuary of Saint Seiya, Aquarius Camus along with the 6 other Gold Saints who died earlier in the series are resurrected by Hades to lead an assault on Athena's Sanctuary and take her head.

As the Hades saga unfolds Camus along with Capricorn Shura and Gemini Saga fights against Virgo Shaka. During the battle Virgo strips the resurrected Saints of their 5 senses leaving them deaf, blind and unable to speak. They end Shaka's life by performing the forbidden technique, Athena's Exclamation. A sin they repeat once again in the heart of Sanctuary against Aries Mu, Leo Aiolia and Scorpio Milo.

From Wikipedia:

“After fighting against Aries Mu, Leo Aiolia and Scorpio Milo it is revealed that they were attempting to fool Hades in order to warn Athena of his ambitions, as well as grant the goddess her Holy God Cloth and survive the upcoming Holy War.”

The package is the usual cardboard shadowbox that opens very much like a book. Even going so far as to decorate the spines like they where ancient manuscripts. Generally you will always save the boxes for these figures as you need somewhere to store the extra parts and pieces and storing the spine oput makes it easy to locate a part or piece when you want it.

Inside, clear plastic trays present the figure and all the parts and pieces neatly and sensibly.

The actual figure of Camus is an all plastic type-3 style with over 40 points of articulation. The feet on the figure are pose-able as well but are cast in die-cast metal to match the look of the Cloth (or armors if your new to Saint Seiya.)

While the figure looks spindly without the armor, that is OK as most collectors are looking to add the metal armor to the figure anyway. Being a bit thiner allows these figures to look “right” when the armor is attached to the figure.

Every Cloth in the Saint Seiya universe turns into a statue (called Objects in the series) of the constellation that Cloth is designed after. Aquarius is of course the Water Bearer (and my birth sign)

In Object mode the Cloth looks very nice. Basically you put the armor plates onto a “dummy statue” to make the object mode.

I will not be using this mode for my display but it's always nice Bandai makes sure you can do this even if you do not actually see a Cloth in this state in the actual series or manga. I'll be displaying mine doing the Athena's Exclamation!

Once the armor is on, Aquarius is good to go...

Bandai has added slightly more complicated hinging on the shoulders and hip armors for this series of Surplices allowing the figures to be posed in a wider range of motion while keeping the armor looking natural.

Paint detail is very good on my sample of Aquarius (I noticed some air bubbles on the previously reviewed Gemini after the fact...) and the metal content on this release is very high.

If your a fan you don't need me to tell you to get it. Now I just need to get my hands on a Scorpio Milo and I will be able to display that classic confrontation on my self and most fans would want to too; as for non SCM collectors, well if you like the design and dig metal armor the series is worth a look. Just find a design you like and give it a try.

Just know this really is a series of figures meant to be posed and displayed. There not really toys for kids as keeping track of the parts would/could be a nightmare. But I can tell you this. Every time someone looks at the collection that is my mish-mash of stuff. People's eyes always light up with curiosity when they see the Saint Cloth Myth shelves. They truly stand out in a collection.

HD video embedded below and I have also update the the reviews of Gemini Saga (Surplice Version) and Capricorn Shura (Surplice Version) with HD videos as well.

Review sample provided by Angolz.

"Here comes double trouble!"

A couple of months back I was on the road with time to kill. So I was stopping around at various stores near where I was, hitting the Dollar Trees looking for a cheap monster fix, and ultimately stopping in at a Toys R Us. Wandering aimlessly through the isles, I stumbled upon these dinosaur/monster toys on the end of an isle. They were near the really little kids area, like stuff for toddlers so naturally I'd not seen them before. Being a fan of large toys and monsters, one in particular caught my eye. This 21" inch tall two headed dragon was only $20.

Now, while I was in the store, I just couldn't make up my mind if it was the sort of thing I would want to add to my collection. It wasn't a vinyl, it's not really a classic monster and although it's big, it's certainly not a jumbo. But it seemed like a great value, so I thought I'd bring it home and see how it would fit in with what I already owned.

I've had it for awhile now and honestly, I'm still not sure if it fits. It's forward leaning stance is a little too dynamic to fit with classic vinyl toys and unfortunately, it's a fixed position so you can't adjust that. The paint on it is really great though. It really looks like it was made a long time ago, even though it's a new toy.

There were a bunch of different toys in the section, many of them just standard dinosaurs, but I decided I wanted to stick to just things that didn't really exist. I even managed to resist the urge to get one that could have easily passed for the Loch Ness Monsters, for as cool as dinosaurs are, I just didn't want to branch out into yet another collection. So, I stuck to just this and another smaller one that also has two heads and wings. Although they aren't exactly the same, you can sort of imagine this one as being the baby.

If I had kids, I would totally let them play with these and feel much more confident that it was a good decision to get them. But as a single adult collector, I'm less sure. So, what do you guys think? A good value and acceptable toy crack or total waste of space and money?

The Giant Foam Two Headed Dragon really needs a better name and came sold loose with a hang tag attached to one of the necks. The tag features a picture of the toy thinking the words "Here comes double trouble!". It is recommended for ages 3 and up.

Awwwwwww, Seiya broke his Cloth...

So when Ken from Angolz.com offered up the Broken version of Pegasus Seiya I initially thought I would pass on it as I already had the Appendix for the Pegasus Cloth (Final Version) which gave you pieces to display the cloth busted up. But Ken insisted I give it a try and I am glad I did. It turns out for the Saint Cloth Myth collector it really helps ties things together thematically.

This is the Pegasus Cloth from the end of the TV series and very beginning of the Hades Saga – Sanctuary Arc OAV's before being repaired.

Saint Seiya is basically an Eastern take on the Greek and Roman mythology. The story is original but uses the Greek/Roman pantheon of Gods to tell it's tale. Each god in the Saint Seiya universe has “Holy Warriors” that don mystic armor and fight on their behalf. Poseidon has his Marina Generals, Hades has his Specters and Athena has Saints.

Athena's Saints are tiered in three levels of strength; Bronze (the weakest), Silver and Gold (the strongest.) The shows main characters are 5 Bronze Saints (Pegasus Seiya, Cygnus Hyoga, Andromeda Shun, Phoenix Ikki and Dragon Shiryu) have their cloths damaged and then repaired early on in the series by more powerful Saints giving them an advantage every time they face odds that would normally be beyond their capabilities.

This cycle of damage and repair is one of the central plots of the series, ultimately evolving their Cloths to a Divine level, or God Cloths if you will. So as a collector who displays his SCM's thematically I found that Broken Seiya tied things together very nicely.

The box is the standard Saint Cloth Myth book style package. It's almost identical to the previous Pegasus Cloth release but it's a much darker gray color scheme instead of the lighter gray of previous Bronz Saint releases.

The figure itself is similar to a Type-3 body but appears to be a new sculpt (would that make it a Type-4 body?) with much more detail in the abdomen as well as torn clothing in the legs.

The body also appears to have had it's waste articulation limited a bit, which may actually be a good thing as some Saint Cloth Myth get really loose in the waist after posing a few times. Which can make standing up straight an issue for those with less armor around the torso.

Being the Pegasus Cloth the armor forms an object or Statue and this release does that just fine.

The Cloth itself is mainly plastic with just the main part of the chest plate and leg/knee armor being diecast metal and the rest of the outfit is all plastic.

They include 2 levels of damage. Level 1 and Level 2. Most of the pictures here feature the level 2 damage giving him the really busted up look.

I must say, once I got him out and set him up I kind of “got it” and saw how he thematically ties all the different Seiya releases together.

This was initially a Japanese magazine mail-in and included a metal plate for a display stand but sellers in Hong Kong are given the chance to sell the limited Japanese releases in small quantities or in this case without the metal plate.

For general collectors I'm of the opinion it's a pass as it's a bit too “inside baseball” so to speak. BUT, if you are a Saint Cloth Myth fan grab it while you can, it makes a nice addition to the collection and ties things together nicely. You can get yours while supplies last at Angolz.com.

HD video embedded below for your entertainment...

Hands down, the biggest of the Saint Cloth Myth releases and possibly the heaviest release to date. I take a look at an earlier Saint Cloth Myth release, Taurus Aldebaran. Includes HD VIDEO.

Review sample provided by Angolz.

While Taurus Aldebaran was never a central character in the saga of Saint Seiya his few, brief appearances where always great. He was one of the few Gold Saints that realized early in the series that our heroes, the Bronze Saints did indeed serve the true incarnation of Athena and that the current Pope of Sanctuary was corrupt.

From Wikipedia

Aldebaran was first seen in the 12 Temples in the Sanctuary. At his Taurus temple, he faced the four Bronze Saints: Pegasus Seiya, Dragon Shiryu, Cygnus Hyoga, and Andromeda Shun. The four Bronze Saints were no match to Aldebaran since neither one of them had reached to the seventh sense. His battle stance (with crossed arms) allowed him to attack and defend at the same time; since he moves at the speed of light, he can launch his "Great Horn" and return to defense not being seen. Using his "Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken", Seiya reached to the seventh sense for the very first time, getting Aldebaran out of his stance and making possible for him to see his technique. In the end, he cuts Aldebaran's horn off his helmet. Aldebaran, who had told Seiya that he would let him pass the Temple of Taurus if he could break the horn, kept his promise. Before the four Bronze Saints left his temple, Aldebaran told them that without the seventh sense, they don't stand a chance against any of the gold saint. In order to reach to the seventh sense, they must burn their cosmo to the limit.

The package is the standard Saint Cloth Myth book style package. It opens to reveal all the parts and pieces neatly arranged. A nice thing about these boxes is they resemble books when stored spine out so even the packaging can be displayed neatly and you will most certainly want to save the packaging as keeping track of all the spare parts and pieces can be daunting.

The figure is a Type-1 body type giving the body a nice range of poseability with over 40 points of articulation. The body is a softer plastic, the hair is more of a harder ABS plastic and the feet are die cast metal.

Aldebaran was an early release in the series and because he is so uniquely huge in the series he has an original body sculpt not shared with any other character in the series.

The body is pretty basic and utilitarian looking but once you get the Cloth on him he looks stunning.

All armor's (in this case Cloth) in the Saint Seiya universe are aligned to some constellation in the sky and when not being worn form a statue of that constellation referred to just as an Object. In this case it's the Create Bull Hercules captured as one his Labors.

I had not originally planned on picking up the Taurus Gold Saint but I saw him on display in a shop window in New York and was immediately impressed with the way he towered over the other Saint Cloth Myth and I decided then and there to add one to my collection. Sadly the shop that had all these amazing Saint Cloth myth on display never seems to be open during normal business hours (three years in a row we have gone by this place while in New York and they NEVER are open.) Ah well, I turned to my usual Saint Cloth Myth supplier (Angolz) and luckily they still had a few in stock.

The Cloth is about 90% diecast metal with only the helmet and waist pieces being made of plastic. This sucker weighs over 2 pounds when fully assembled.

They do include an alternate and narrower chest plate allowing you to pose him with his arms in a crossed pose (His classic stance from the series.)

You can also replace one of the horns on his helmet with a broken one to display him after he has his encounter with the Bronze Saints.

Whether your a fan of the series or not Taurus here really stands out on the shelf, is loaded with heavy diecast metal and just looks really cool all around. Die hard fans of the anime and manga should consider this a no-brainer. Get him!

Be sure to check out the video below. I am now shooting in High Definition and this is the first S.C.M. in HD, enjoy!

Review sample provided by Angolz.

"Which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that Cylons are, in the final analysis, little more than toasters... with great looking legs."
-Dr. Gaius Baltar

“The world is over.
The fight has just begun.
The Cylons were created by Man.
They rebelled. They evolved.
They look and feel human. Some are programmed to think they are human.
There are many copies….and they have a plan.”
- BattleStar Galactica (2004 TV series)

To fans of the new series, those were the words that started the show. While many can debate which series was better, the campy feel of the 78 version or the sheer dramatic (and some say masochistic) grit of the 04 series. One should not debate that during the BattleStar Galactica pilot, when the femme fatale Six walked into the diplomat’s room, many of us were also captivated by the new Cylon Centurion. The spider like fingers, imposing stature, and robotic dimensions, that abandoned the guy in a plastic suit look of the 78 series, creating a figure both inspiring and nightmarish in its creation.

On the Sci-Fi channel they sell some merchandise that coincides with its shows and Majestic Studios created this premium collectible figure. The Cylon Centurion is a 1/6 scale, which translates to 13 inches tall and 15 inches when on his stand. The packaging is flawed and awkward, and I was impressed that my collectible did not have any damage from transit (the heavy stand lies on top of the legs and never could figure out which way was bottom of tray or top).

The feel of the Cylon, while not diecast, has a metal feel…and parts I would swear are metal.

The figure is very tall (it won’t fit in my IKEA display case), like stated before around 13” inches.

The red eye is supposed to move by “a lenticular process. Allows eye moment without batteries.” (quoted from box)

However, I can not see any movement and every review online has the same complaint…you can barely see the red eye, let alone its movement (every time I stare at it...it does seems to be in a new spot…maybe hope is making it shift…however, I have never seen it move!).

The hands and guns switch. The closed hands go with the activated gun turret system and the open “spider” hands go with the retracted gun turret system.

The hands swivel and tilt with a tab system that locks into the wrist cleanly. The turret gun gauntlets click on top of the wrist well, but can pop off.

An online review complained about the gauntlets edges, but I think mine look clean, fine, and well crafted.

A surprising and impressive thing is the stand; it is solid metal and heavy, more like a paper weight than a stand. It has two pegs that lock into the feet. While they do the job and the Cylon does not slip out of them easily, no real lateral positions are possible.

The Centurion bends at the knees, wrist, elbows, and shoulders. While that may sound like a good amount, I found the figure frustratingly static and its biggest flaw.

It seems to me a major oversight that the waist, feet/ankle, and head do not move/tilt/shift. The head especially is annoying because if you look at the locked and fused joints…they scream for movement.

Also, the feet/ankle being fused really hurts creating stable and menacing poses.

Finally, the collectible’s movable parts only move forward or back…no side to side with this guy (the elbow joints don’t twist, even though the wrist do???).

Majestic Studios are known for nice collectibles and this is no exception. However, with just some minor tweaking (adding swiveling joints and head movement) this figure would have gone from good to incredible. Honestly, I have to force myself to be calm when I touch this thing; the head sooo looks like it should move…I come close to snapping it in order to turn the head every time I touch the figure.

The original listing on Sci-Fi called for 89.00 USD selling price. I got mine on EBay for 69.00 USD + shipping.

Overall Majestic Studios created an imposing, well crafted, and cool looking premium collectible figure for the redesigned BattleStar Galactica Cylon Centurion. If you are a big fan of the 2004 series or like a cool 13 inch robot in you collection…grab one… and just make sure its frozen waist, head, and feet will not drive you crazy.

So, this set is a mixed bag of tricks- I like the overall anime-style of the figure and line details, but some of the poseability is confusing & annoying.

Video review included!

This toy appears here courtesy of Bandai America.

. . .

"In the city of Turtle Cove, Wild Zords recruit five young heroes from the modern world and grant them the power to become Power Rangers. To aid the Power Rangers in their battle to save the Earth from the evil Orgs, the Wild Zords descend from their habitat in the sky when the Rangers need them most. With a virtual zoo of animals fighting by their side, the Power Rangers Wild Force prove that when animals and humans work together to save the planet, nothing can stop them."

--from inside the cover flap

The Wild Force Megazord was the first megazord in the Power Rangers saga to be made of actual living Earthly creatures rather than non-living machines imitating the shape & movement of animals. While each Wild Zord contributed a separate attack feature when combined in Megazord form, it also used the Blue Shark’s tail as its basic-use sword, and its final Mega Roar blast to finish off giant Org monsters. The unique quality of the Wild Zords, however, is their ability to share their bodies and powers with the Megazord, allowing it to take on those powers in the form of numerous special weapons & upgrades- some examples of this being the Wild Force Megazord Sword and Shield Mode, …Predator Mode, or …Spear and Knuckle Mode. When not being used, the Wild Zords all reside on the flying Animarium island hidden in the clouds above Turtle Cove, and are summoned when the Rangers use their Crystal Sabers.

The 4” Megazord figure and its weapons are composed of mostly ABS and partially PVC plastics. Other than the sword, nothing on the figure is meant to come apart; the right fist and head can pop off if too much pressure is applied. While paint is minimal to keep things simple (rather than by BA being careless, inconsiderate, or cheap), it is rather lacking along the left arm and back of the figure... something I would have paid $1-2 more for to balance it out.

The point of having the Retrofire line is for both the alternate styling of the classic Megazord designs, and the action figure-like poseability which their larger Deluxe-sized equivalents cannot do. To allow a wider range of poses, an easy-to-assemble two-part silver ABS display stand is included in each set, the base of which is shaped like the Power Rangers’ trademark lightning bolt. Because the peg at the top of the stand is angled, the figure will never ‘stand’ upright vertically, only diagonally. (For some action poses, that is fine, but if you want more level poses, just take the figure off the stand.)

. . .

Other than the basic provided display stand, the Megazord has a PVC Shark Sword. The sword can only be gripped in the right fist. Due to the materials used for the right hand, you have to wedge the Blue Shark’s jaw open a little in order to get the sword in there; once in place, it grips very tightly.

For the Wild Force Megazord, none of the joints ratchet- all free-turn with no resistance other than friction. Its head is on a ball-&-socket joint, but sits so low on it that it can really only turn side-to-side. The waist can turn all the way around. The arms- unlike the other two Retrofire sets- behave in only a slightly different way from each other. While the right fist cannot twist at all, the left arm is different and the left fist can twist all the way around. Both shoulders only pitch up-and-down all the way around, but both elbows can only twist sideways! Clearly the arms were designed to achieve a few specific, on-screen-oriented poses with the weapons rather than act as a fully-capable action figure. The hips are also very poseable- able to swing both outwards, twist vertically, and pitch forward/backwards. The only restriction on the hips is on the skirt armor, which is PVC. The skirt armor is flexible to a certain degree, but it will break or wear out if pressed too hard and for too long. And really, this is the only restriction with the figure that may be unavoidable. However, in keeping with the design of the ‘real’ Wild Force Megazord, there is no skirt armor along the back of its hips since those joints were already exposed. (This allows a clear view of how the hip joints operate, compared to the other two Retrofire sets which have the same joints but are then completely covered.) And finally with the legs, the knees can also pitch backwards to 90-degrees, but both ankles cannot move. The feet of the Megazord, oddly, are angled slightly upwards, so getting it to stand upright on its own is sometimes a challenge!

The Retrofire line is an answer to one of my long-held protests, and that is having a poseable representation of a Megazord without having the toy be a Ranger with attachable armored sections or a static-pose 3” figure with just one-axis shoulders & maybe an action feature if we’re lucky. I can completely understand [now] why the Deluxe-sized Megazords can’t be posed beyond just the shoulders, and that is because their size and the complexity of such a design would be prohibitively expensive on a yearly basis. While I wish the Retrofire sets were about 1-2” taller and had slightly better paint apps, I am still quite satisfied with what we have here. Additionally, these sets are a reinterpretation of classic designs without being completely new or reboots or skewed by some random and pointless copyright infringement issues. If a Megazord were to appear in a Japanese anime series, I am confident that they would look just like this (as if jumping out from the screen) rather than big and bulky like their Deluxe-sized toy counterparts. They may not be transformable, but this is just as good- a true action figure of our favorite Megazord!

I have to say that, of the three Retrofire sets, this one is the most irritating. While the others have up-and-down motion in the head, this one does not. The arms are annoying too- only able to swing forward/backwards at the shoulders, and slide side-to-side at the elbows. While sculpted just fine, I don’t see how a lack of movement in these arm joints helps any- it’s very restricting, and I would say that the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord was more effective here! Similarly with the feet- I found that slight tilt on the bottom of them as completely unnecessary, despite the style of the figure overall. By contrast, what seems like an error I actually appreciated, and that is the exposed hips in back. While not exactly the same as its larger counterpart, it does make more sense to expose them than give it additional skirt armor because it’s emulating slightly how the transformation works. As was the case with the other two sets, this one could have done with a little more paint- notably on the left arm and the lower legs. So, the Retrofire Wild Force Megazord is a mixed bag of tricks- I like the overall anime-style of the figure and line details, but some of the poseability is confusing & annoying.