Shamshel

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Name Shamshel
Toy Line Soul of Soft Vinyl
Number
Manufacturer Bandai
Released 2008
Materials Soft vinyl
Scale
Category Character Toy
Series Neon Genesis Evangelion
Designer Yoshitoh Asari
Orig. Price $19.99
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Shamsel is an angel. Not just any angel, but a giant, super-powered monster angel.

Of course, when we are talking about Neon Genesis Evangelion, the term Angel takes on new connotations.

The Angels are the bad guys of the series, sent to the earth to steal panties from Japanese school girls. No, wait.. that's not right. But it would make more sense if it was.

Shamshel is the Fourth Angel (Fifth if we are talking Rebuild of Evangelion) and is one of many Angels that attack earth, more specifically, NerV headquarters.

Shamsel attacks Eva Unit 01, and the battle is fierce. Unit 01's power supply is severed in the attack and manages to kill Shamsel seconds before his power runs out.


If you haven't seen NGE, then this may be lost on you. Shame on you.

While there have been tons of toys of the EVA units, there have been very few of the Angels, and mostly we get Satchiel or something. But with Bandai's Soul of Sofubi line, they started to make vinyl toys of the Angels. Unfortunately, they stopped after only a few releases.

Shamshel is the last release in the line.

As a vinyl toy, it's not bad, but doesn't do much. Shamshel stands 22cm tall, and features two clear energy whips and a clear core. There's no articulation.

Shamshel comes loose on a hang tag with a card, and the energy whips are packaged in a plastic case. You need to attach the whips, and they are keyed to go in a specific way.

Because Shamshel is not bagged or anything, he's often found scuffed or damaged.

There you go - Shamshel. It exists.





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Prometheum5's picture
Submitted by Prometheum5 on 3 November, 2009 - 20:17.

I remember reading from one of the way in-depth NGE fan-sites that the Japanese term used for the bad guys really should have been translated as 'Apostles' rather than 'Angels', which I always thought sounded a bit cooler...

These Soul of Soft Vinyl releases always make me sad... it really WOULD be cool to have a full set of the Angels for your Evas to fight, and soft vinyl is the ideal medium for them. These guys were a good size and had solid detail, but the articulation always seemed to be lacking, even for a vinyl figure, and any time I've seen the few that came out, they were way too expensive. I always felt like these could/should have been $10 a pop like the Bandai Godzilla/Ultraman vinyls. The Angels all had vastly more simple designs than even the lamest of Ultra-kaiju, and don't seem that hard to make. For $20, this guy should have come with flexible whips, at least. It seems like if they'd priced them better or made them better, they would have sold well enough to warrant finishing the line. As it stands, my local comic shop has the first Angel (Saschiel?) and the two that split in half, all for $35 each, and they're going to sit there... forever.



repairtechjon's picture
Submitted by repairtechjon on 3 November, 2009 - 20:24.

Cool. These exist. At 22cm, I guess Clamshell, and the other Angels are roughly in scale to put with SOC Evas.



Modcineaste's picture
Submitted by Modcineaste on 4 November, 2009 - 12:46.

I LOVE this series of toys! It's sad they don't get the press or accolades like they should or deserve. Like SOC they seem to cover a lot of ground for a such simple release and Bandai does an excellent job with these releases. The Arashi I reviewed is just awesome and one of my favorites in my collection. I have another lined up for review from Kaman Rider Stronger. On Y-Auctions these toys are mostly very inexpensive and they can be had under 1000yen. I just hope they release vinyl figures of JAKQ soon as they have already released Goranger and I need to pick up the Kikaider figure soon.

If any CDX reviewers have any more Soul of Soft Vinyl in their collections please review them as I would like to see more!

Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau



EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Submitted by EVA_Unit_4A on 4 November, 2009 - 13:14.

I think the Israfel twins are sitting in the reviews cache now. Only they, Shamusial here, and Sachiel were released.
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CollectionDX Staff



EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Submitted by EVA_Unit_4A on 4 November, 2009 - 13:44.

The problem with most of the Angels is their massive scale differences and structural integrity.

Ignoring how much shelf space you have to spare, and assuming that they're all to scale with an SOC Evangelion Unit:

  • 1st Angel- Adam (pre-Second Impact): (could easily be made, maybe a glowing vinyl, Sanjeev!)
  • 2nd Angel- Lilith: could easily be covered
  • 5th Angel- Ramiel: over three city blocks to a side, easily has the most mass of all Angels (could be done, but would need to be hollow)
  • 6th Angel- Gaghiel: over a thousand feet long (could be done, but some-assembly would be needed out of the box for a vinyl-only design)
  • 8th Angel- Sandalphon: could easily be covered
  • 9th Angel- Matrael: its skinny legs are hundreds of feet tall (probably made out of mostly metal for structural integrity)
  • 10th Angel- Sahaquiel: another big one, easily a mile wide, but very narrow in cross-section (perhaps ABS for stability, as vinyl might distort over time)
  • 11th Angel- Iruel: no physical form since it was a virus (not viable)
  • 12th Angel- Leliel: also a viable option, about double the size of an EVA (perhaps hollow, or molded in to easy-to-assemble halves)
  • 13th Angel- Bardiel: (re: SOC Evangelion Unit-03)
  • 14th Angel- Zeruel: could easily be covered
  • 15th Angel- Arael: has a wingspan of hundreds of feet (might be applicable for a vinyl-only design, but I worry about the weight of those longer wings drooping over time; maybe an ABS or metal design for support)
  • 16th Angel- Armisael: a shape-shifting double helix (hard to recreate that in any material; perhaps a painted ABS or vinyl ring)
  • 17th Angel- Tabris: (already been done in several in-scale formats, so not needed)
  • ------------------------------
    CollectionDX Staff



Modcineaste's picture
Submitted by Modcineaste on 4 November, 2009 - 14:01.

Awesome! Looks like you've already thought about this, Eva!

Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau



EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Submitted by EVA_Unit_4A on 4 November, 2009 - 14:38.

A bit, a bit.

;)
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CollectionDX Staff



Lizardspock's picture
Submitted by Lizardspock on 4 November, 2009 - 15:52.

In the new movies they redesign some of the Angels. Shamsel is still there but has better details etc... he or it was never a favorite of mine. The scene where Shinji pulls his pals into the entry plug is the most unbelievable scene, since there supposed to be pressurized upon entry... but whatever. When he kills it with the knife in a rage is awesome. About the toy: kinda boring... for this EVA fan.