Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Horobi Sting Scorpion

Release Date: June 2020

RRP: 6050 yen

Whenever there's a new Kamen Rider series with a multitude of Riders it's always fun to see how many of them receive general retail S.H. Figuarts before Bandai Tamashii Nations implement the Tamashii web exclusive curse, and in the case of Kamen Rider Zero-One the answer is two. Sure the titular Rider's other forms might make it to retail, but of the core six Riders the show only Zero-One and Vulcan managed to escape that fate. The first of the web exclusive Riders is S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Horobi Sting Scorpion, rogue Humagear and founder of the cyberterrorist group Metsuboujinrai.net. Dedicated to exterminating humanity so that his Humagear brothers and sisters could live freely, Horobi continuously clashed with Aruto Hiden – eventually becoming the first host of the rogue satellite Ark. Even after Ark's defeat Horobi continued his crusade to rid the world of human malice, culminating in a climactic showdown between the two Riders.

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Horobi comes in the same style white box as the previous Zero-One releases, however as a Tamashii web exclusive the front window has been removed and its place is a close-up shot of the figure itself. Whereas Zero-One and Vulcan had "Hiden Industries" and "A.I.M.S." printed on their boxes, this of course means Horobi has Metsuboujinrai.net (written in kanji) in their place. The affiliation logo itself is present on the back and spine of the box, both alongside images of the figure in various poses. There aren’t a great deal of pictures on here, but they're enough to tell you what the figure comes with and what it's capable of in terms of poseability. Inside, Horobi and his accessories are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray. As was the case with the other Zero-One Riders, the figure curiously has the open hands attached in-package rather than the usual closed fists.

Whereas both Zero-One and Vulcan both have very streamlined, modern tech designs, the Metsuboujinrai.net Riders all share a much more aggressive aesthetic. Covering Kamen Rider Horobi's metallic purple body suit is a barrage of metal armour in various shades of grey and silver, some of which have that distinct iron plate patterning. Given the size of these figures, it's rather impressive that Bandai were able to properly convey that immediately recognisable pattern without it blending too much. The bodysuit also has its own fair share of texture too, in addition to the numerous black straps that hold all the armour into place. Perhaps the shade of purple used on the body could be a touch darker, but it's hard to tell when the suit has that same metallic sheen onscreen so can look different depending on the light. My bigger concern here is the head, which I don't want to call inaccurate yet something just feels...off about it? It might just be that the details are all a little squished due to the scale (it's particularly noticeable in the area between the compound eyes) but it's enough to throw it off even slightly. Granted it's a very minor nitpick, but it's something I ended up fixating on. On the other hand, the compound eyes on this toy are fantastic - not only are they big enough that you can really make out the detail on them, but that yellow colouring positively illuminates in the right lighting. Other areas of note are the left arm, which features scorpion tail gauntlet (rather appropriately named the 'Acid Analyzer') that's suitably pointy. Thankfully it's precariously placed enough that you're likely to stab yourself on it whilst changing the hands out. Moving down the legs the only other item of note is how visible the ankle joints are since there's no armour surrounding them on the sides, but the same complaint could be said of Vulcan's ankles as well so it's not a problem unique to Horobi. Despite some minor gripes it's a great looking figure loaded with all sorts of texture and moulded detail, keeping up the high standard of quality Bandai have set for the Zero-One range.

The Forceriser belt is nicely detailed, and the flat yellow colouring really stands out on Horobi's metallic body. Although the piece itself doesn't have any moving parts the Sting Scorpion Progrise Key is removable, and like the keys included with previous Zero-One release minimally detailed and fixed in its unfolded form. The key has a purple back plate, a black front paint and a tiny Sting Scorpion decal, which is partly visible when the key is inserted into the Forceriser. The Progrise Keys are all the same size and shape, so are compatible with all the Zero-One Drivers and can be swapped around should you so wish. One thing I did note about the ForceRiser was that the key doesn't lock in quite as securely as it does on Zero-One or Vulcan, possibly because it's completely on show here rather than covered up. The key doesn't fall out, but it does tend to rock out of place – resulting in it sitting unevenly atop the Forceriser.

Horobi shares the same body as the previous Zero-One Figuarts, which has already shown itself to be one of the best Bandai are putting out in the main S.H. Figuarts range. Altogether the figure features the following;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist

- Double jointed shoulders with both ball joint and swivel hinge connections

- Swivel hinge ankles rockers

- Double hinged elbows and knees 

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

Despite an identically designed body, the armour placement does make Horobi feel a little different to his predecessors, and the lack of shoulder pads on this suit is definitely one to keep in mind when trying to keep the sculpt looking clean. The design isn’t flawed, but as there’s no shoulder pads to hide the joints when you pull the arms down they can come across as looking a bit dislocated at times. That said, you really can’t argue with the range they provide either. I was a little wary about that cable connecting the upper left arm to the stinger piece, but the plastic is pretty rigid and it doesn't feel like it's going to break even after bending the elbow fairly rigorously. These new style drop down hips aren't quite as polished as the fixed variety used on the Shinkocchou Seihou variety, they're still a big step up from what the standard S.H. Figuarts line were using before. There isn't a whole lot of drop down movement on Horobi's though, and what there is seems to be quite stiff. One thing I am beginning to question though is just how well these hips are going to hold up over time. While there’s nothing with either my Horobi or Vulcan at the moment, I pulled out my Zero-One for this gallery and the hips have really seized up despite having spent most of the time in his box. The hips still work, but they’re far stiffer than they were when I originally opened/reviewed him and the creak the joints make when you move the legs is a little concerning to say the least. As I say - not a problem on this figure and for all I know it may never be, but it’s something I’ll be keeping on eye on with the Zero-One figures over time.

Kamen Rider Horobi comes packaged with three additional pairs of hands (closed fists and two sets of gripping hands), the Attache Arrow and an alternate Draw Extender piece for it to simulate when the bow is drawn/charging an arrow. As Horobi's signature weapon it makes perfect sense that the Attache Arrow was included here, but it can be used by any of the Zero-One Riders and likewise Horobi is perfectly capable of wielding the Attache Sword and Attache Shotgun too. The weapon is very nicely moulded and coloured, and thanks to its bladed design looks great posed both as a melee and projectile weapon. However the hand selection here isn't great, particularly when it comes to holding the accessory. The pair intended for holding the bow aren't a perfect match on both sides, so while the figure can hold it in its right hand fairly comfortably it's a much tighter fit in the right. Since this is how Horobi fired it on the show it's less of an issue when used as a bow, but for melee poses it was a bit fiddly and the weapon had a habit of popping out of the grip. That's on top of these hands having extremely tight grips to begin with, so it will take some forcing to get the Arrow in there if you aren't applying some heat beforehand. It's a shame that his extended scorpion tail finisher move wasn't also included since Jin comes with his wings, but if it was a toss-up between that and the Attache Arrow then the latter was definitely the right choice to make. If you do want to give your S.H Figuarts Horobi a proper scorpion sting though, third party customiser SHF Upgrade have you covered.

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Horobi Sting Scorpion doesn’t have quite the same wow factor as the preceding Zero-One entries in the line, but even so this is still an extremely solid figure that continues to show that this current range of Figuarts is one not to miss out on. The cohesive yet wildly different aesthetics of the Zero-One Riders looks just as great in toy form as it does on screen, and even with a few minor nitpicks Horobi looks fantastic facing off against both Zero-One and Vulcan. Five (six if you count Thouser) is a fairly manageable number of Kamen Riders for a series all things considered, so if you are looking to complete the Zero-One cast be sure to jump on it quick. The aftermarket has not been kind to these web exclusives and it’s hard to say if that’s going to change any time soon.