SH Figuarts Star Wars

[barrasco]

I never owned any Star Wars figures, except for some Micro Machines playsets. It seems that's about to change now:

http://www.yodasnews.com/bandai-reve...okyo-toy-show/

I expect BANDAI to give Hasbro a run for its money.

[_RZ_]

Not a fan of Figurearts myself. Scale issues, anime proportions, and QC problems. Too expensive for what they are. These look alright in the photo but they've got that anime thing again and as with anything in that line, it's best to wait and see the reviews before getting too excited.

[barrasco]

Here in Europe they are not that expensive, the price goes around what people are paying for MOTUC nowadays and these are proper adult collectible figures.

But yeah, in terms of overall quality the Figma ones are slightly ahead.

[_RZ_]

What makes them "proper"? That they're expensive? That the plastic is often fragile on anything other than the Riders? Or that they're Japanese? They're not any better really than anything else out there. A lot of the buzz on these is the fact that they're offering characters like 90's Godzilla or Kamen Rider, who haven't had cheap, posable toys at Japanese retail in decades, or characters that only Medicom or other high-end figure lines offered. Many of the characters offered are only available as vinyls in the 90's or 00's. They're a lot more expensive in Spain than they are in the US- they're over 50euro a piece, most of the time even more, and factor in customs... Personally just not a fan of those or Figma, or Revoltech. The original idea behind these toys was a cheap alternative to the $150+ 12-inch figures or chogokin they offer, of the same characters. Now they're almost as much, and the quality is just not there for what it is. They have a look that is too much "Anime" and not enough of the character they're representing; they look like a manga artist's interpretation of the character, rather than the version the public knows. When you have them in hand, they feel like a Toy BIz era Marvel Legend, with better paint and sculpts, but with the same quality and the double knees and elbows which warp over the years with soft plastic. And those were what, $10-15 a pop? Bandai does great work when it has metal involved. Or if its expensive. For the money, to me, better off saving up a bit and going bigger, with Medicom or Hot Toys. Or, go Hasbro if you need it 6-inch scale. The Black Series stuff looks pretty good for the price to me - if you like Gentle Giant's work. The 2008-2012 period for Star Wars 3.75" figures has been incredible, with tons of great figures released. I wouldn't put money down on any of these until english reviews come in.

[barrasco]

What makes them "proper"?

Lots of accessories, extra heads/faces, extra hands for lots of display value. Attention to detail on the paint apps which are pretty good. No need to follow safety standards for chidren toys which results in better sculpting details since they are directly aimed at the adult collector market. Absolutely no usage of such things as gummy plastic which simply ruins things like accessories.

That they're expensive?

SH Figuarts released directly for the Euro market go around for 20 EUR each. Figma Link, Samus or even the Cobra figures were (and some of them currently are) up for pre-order in Japan for around 20-30 EUR. Some are definitely more expensive like the Godzilla figures (though I can buy some of them for slight less than 40 EUR), but let's not forget the ridiculous amount of articulation and engineering that goes into those figures which have mostly unique molds - I would definitely put Godzilla figures on their own range since you've got things like Destoroyah or King Ghidorah for around 90 EUR.

Hot Toys go for around 150 or more EUR, how is that comparable to 20-40 EUR figures? Not even the scales or materials are comparable, but I'd go on and say that Figma or Figuarts are superior in terms of articulation and poseability.

That the plastic is often fragile on anything other than the Riders?

I own DBZ figuarts, Monsterarts and Figma figures and I see none of the fragile plastic you speak of, I swap parts frequently and I have no issues. Some of the plastic used on the figures not only looks good as it also feels like it. I have infinitely more issues with MOTUC figures in terms of plastic, paint and articulation. Some of the last MOTUC figures I bought came out completely deformed out of the package, something I have never experienced with japanese collector figures.

... double knees and elbows which warp over the years with soft plastic.

I doubt you have ever inspected a Figuarts joint piece because those are molded in hard plastic, I had to dismantle an arm the other day so I know that for a fact. All the joint connectors are made of hard plastic, even the double ball joints look just like the ones from Hot Toys. The joints are mostly the exact same used on those Kamen Rider figures I suppose you were referring to.

I wouldn't put money down on any of these until english reviews come in.

Well I could certainly agree with that, though for what I know and have experienced so far I'm willing to bet that these Star Wars figures from Tamashii will just blow away those Black Series figures. For what I've seen through pictures my opinion of the Black Series figures is that some of them look pretty awful, but that's just my opinion.

I get it if you don't like the style but I don't see it as a deal breaker, at least not to me.

[_RZ_]

I own DBZ figuarts, Monsterarts and Figma figures and I see none of the fragile plastic you speak of, I swap parts frequently and I have no issues. Some of the plastic used on the figures not only looks good as it also feels like it. I have infinitely more issues with MOTUC figures in terms of plastic, paint and articulation. Some of the last MOTUC figures I bought came out completely deformed out of the package, something I have never experienced with japanese collector figures.

You're grouping a few different products by different companies at different prices there. I've had nothing but problems with all three of those lines, and got out fast. Monsterarts was hands down the worst. Some of those guys have oily or poor quality plastic. I'm not the only one who has had issues, which is why it's surprising you mention these lines. To me, especially when you compare the sculpt and plastic to older Bandai stuff from the last 20-30 years, they feel cheap. Obviously this is your scale and your thing, and your experience is different from mine.

I doubt you have ever inspected a Figuarts joint piece because those are molded in hard plastic, I had to dismantle an arm the other day so I know that for a fact. All the joint connectors are made of hard plastic, even the double ball joints look just like the ones from Hot Toys. The joints are mostly the exact same used on those Kamen Rider figures I suppose you were referring to.

Hold up there tiger. Don't doubt what I have and haven't done, because we don't see eye to eye on your favorite toy line. I've had tons of these things! They might look like HT but they aren't nearly as good, to me. Let's put it this way: Figurarts is not a "high end" line, especially in the Japanese market. It's a mid-range thing, and while it might have all the super sharp edges and hyper-detail in the sculpt, it's nowhere near the quality of other (more expensive) versions of these characters.

I've never ever seen one for below EUR$40 anywhere in Europe, I've seen mostly EUR$50 or above. BTSS has most of them above US$40, so not sure where you're getting them for EUR$20. Shops classify it as an import so they're pricy. I've only seen them for EUR$20 in Japan, and then you have to factor in shipping and customs. Send me a link to where you're getting them for EUR$20!

They're not the same scale, but then again they're not *really* in scale with anything, even each other. If your goal is sculpt, articulation, extra hands, and matching scale… Hot Toys and Medicom and the bigger scale stuff is the way to go. 50 is a lot for that size of figure. If I'm going to spend like 50 on a figure... then why not get the big guy instead? If it has to be 6"ish and it has to be super-articulated, then it's your only option. Otherwise, money much better spent going HT or other 12" scale.

These types of figures, you can't compare them to MOTUC. They're just different beasts. MOTUC is chunky and super mass-produced and uses a buck, and has it's own asthetic, and is somewhat kid friendly. Figurarts Figma Etc. are meant to represent different disparate characters from a variety of sources (movies, tv, anime, games, etc.) and more often than not, they take liberties with the source and make them "anime proportions" which doesn't work with the human characters and makes a mess of poor C3po and Vader.

At a certain point are these new Star Wars figures really going to be *that* much of a jump up from what is available with Black Series, versus the price? I've been collecting SW for decades now and honestly I'm not that impressed with anything Hasbro has done so far in 6". For me, they just feel like "in-betweeners"; like, they're not as nicely sculpted as the best of the 3.75" and they're not as detailed as the Sideshow/12" stuff. Don't get caught up on the "Tamashii" brand name, Kaiyodo is doing some too:

http://news.toyark.com/2014/07/29/ka...al-2014-134333

All of them just look too anime stylized for me to get into.

[barrasco]

You're grouping a few different products by different companies at different prices there. I've had nothing but problems with all three of those lines, and got out fast. Monsterarts was hands down the worst. Some of those guys have oily or poor quality plastic. I'm not the only one who has had issues, which is why it's surprising you mention these lines. To me, especially when you compare the sculpt and plastic to older Bandai stuff from the last 20-30 years, they feel cheap. Obviously this is your scale and your thing, and your experience is different from mine.

I still fail to see the "oily" and "poor quality" plastic you speak of, could you please tell me which specific figures use those materials so that I can inspect them myself (that is if I own any of them)? I also owned previous incarnations of Bandai DBZ lines, from 25-10 years ago, and they just don't hold up to today's DBZ Figuarts.

And this is not "my scale" or "my thing", I also own/owned various 1/6 figures from Medicom, Hot Toys or even Enterbay. In fact, I just bought the Medicom Link (I will also replace the crappy tunic Medicom decided to put him) and will probably end up selling the Figma version I own because I like what the Medicom has to offer better. Thought I can also state that regarding overall articulation and range of motion the Figma figure is a lot better than the Medicom one. The clothing hinders articulation and if I was looking for range of display options as my first concern then I would have no problem skipping Medicom Link and I would have only paid 20 EUR plus shipping (customs don't apply to this price range) instead of 120 EUR plus shipping and customs. Sometimes the pricing is also a concern, and the example I just gave you clearly shows that for the same exact character the prices don't even compare between lines.

Hold up there tiger. Don't doubt what I have and haven't done, because we don't see eye to eye on your favorite toy line. I've had tons of these things! They might look like HT but they aren't nearly as good, to me. Let's put it this way: Figurarts is not a "high end" line, especially in the Japanese market. It's a mid-range thing, and while it might have all the super sharp edges and hyper-detail in the sculpt, it's nowhere near the quality of other (more expensive) versions of these characters.

I only said that I doubted you had ever inspected a Figuarts joint because they are not made of the "soft plastic" you referred. I'm sorry if I did offend you in any way, it was never my intention, I merely tried to re-enforce a fact. I still would like to have more specification in regards to quality, because if we are going to echo what goes around the internet then I can also say that Hot Toys rubber bodies rot and Medicom bodies crack like crazy, and we can all forget about collecting figures because someday they will all end up turning themselves into ashes just like that. I'll give you a very specific example, if you remove a double ball-joint from SH Monsterarts Biollante's tendrils you will realize that it is the same kind of plastic and built than a Hot Toy's double ball-joint for instance.

In my way of evaluating, these action figure lines (Figuarts, Figma, etc...) possess certain characteristics that make them "proper adult collectible" items especially when in comparison with figure lines like MOTUC and, for what I've seen on the internet, Star Wars Black. Look, you even said it yourself:

MOTUC is chunky and super mass-produced and uses a buck, and has it's own asthetic, and is somewhat kid friendly.

That is all I was saying, and I only said that because there is a certain brand manager who likes to rub in our faces how difficult it is to run a "high end adult collectable" line. And since I pay the same for a MOTUC figure as for a Figma or Figuarts, and both lines are advertised as being for the adult collector, I think I'm allowed to compare those lines. It seems to me a way more fitting comparison than Medicom vs Figma for instance.

I've never ever seen one for below EUR$40 anywhere in Europe, I've seen mostly EUR$50 or above. BTSS has most of them above US$40, so not sure where you're getting them for EUR$20. Shops classify it as an import so they're pricy. I've only seen them for EUR$20 in Japan, and then you have to factor in shipping and customs. Send me a link to where you're getting them for EUR$20!

Here you have a few prices:

http://www.shen-comics.com/shen.php?...producto=27336
http://www.shen-comics.com/shen.php?...producto=26988
http://www.shen-comics.com/shen.php?...producto=26988
http://www.tiendasaintseiya.com/tien...agon-ball.html
http://www.tiendasaintseiya.com/tien...agon-ball.html

I can also get you prices from Japanese stores for Figma figures if you'd like. When I speak about pricing I'm obviously referring to when the figure is released, because as we know they tend to go up with time be it Figma, Hot Toys or MOTUC.

They're not the same scale, but then again they're not *really* in scale with anything, even each other. If your goal is sculpt, articulation, extra hands, and matching scale… Hot Toys and Medicom and the bigger scale stuff is the way to go. 50 is a lot for that size of figure. If I'm going to spend like 50 on a figure... then why not get the big guy instead? If it has to be 6"ish and it has to be super-articulated, then it's your only option. Otherwise, money much better spent going HT or other 12" scale.

The Godzilla Monsterarts line is mostly in scale within itself. I don't want to say it like I'm 100% sure but I really doubt that there ever was anything like it in regards to Godzilla. Also, there's no other line that can give me Godzilla figures like Monsterarts can, certainly not Hot Toys or Medicom.

Is there a 1/6 figure for Samus Aran from Hot Toys or Medicom? No.

Are there Megaman action figures from Hot Toys or Medicom? No.

And even when there is the prices are just not comparable. I can pay 25USD for a Figma Cobra. How much will I have to pay for a Medicom Cobra? I don't even know. And look, in that case I prefer the Figma version also because I can add a few more characters to the ranks.

Now, that's not true for Star Wars but maybe there are people who don't want to pay 150$ plus shipping and customs for each Star Wars figure and would rather have a smaller scale and nicer price alternative in Figuarts. I can certainly see myself in that boat, though I will obviously wait for them to come out.

At a certain point are these new Star Wars figures really going to be *that* much of a jump up from what is available with Black Series, versus the price? I've been collecting SW for decades now and honestly I'm not that impressed with anything Hasbro has done so far in 6". For me, they just feel like "in-betweeners"; like, they're not as nicely sculpted as the best of the 3.75" and they're not as detailed as the Sideshow/12" stuff. Don't get caught up on the "Tamashii" brand name, Kaiyodo is doing some too:

http://<a href="http://news.toyark.c...014-134333</a>

All of them just look too anime stylized for me to get into.

Well I guess we'll have to just wait and see. One thing is for sure, we both live Star Wars at a different pace. You are way more involved with the brand than I am, and maybe that "anime look" really doesn't appeal to you because of that.