My Shiny Toy Robots

I'm still not quite over Character Options ' decision to change the new series  Doctor Who figure scale from 5" to 3.75", but I'm getting there slowly. From a business point of view it makes perfect sense, but certain areas of my collection are now going to feel strange - particularly my Cyberman display. After amassing a collection of 5" Cybermen through the ages, the latest incarnation from Nightmare in Silver is a bit short standing next to its predecessors. But that aside, is it a good figure?   There's nothing particularly unique about the Cyberman's packaging, as its a uniform card for each figure in the wave. The front features a picture of the TARDIS and the time vortex, while the back features images of the latest Who figures on the shelves. The Cyberman also comes with a single accessory - the stand included with every other figure with the exception of the Dalek. Out of the package we have a bog-standard Cyber...

Villains are a bit of a rarity in the S.H. Figuarts line, particularly when it comes to Super Sentai . We've had plenty of heroes, but so far the only villains have been Juuzo from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger  and Basco/Sally from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger . Due to Gokaiger's  seemingly relentless popularity, we've just got another villain from the show - and the main one at that. Zangyack Prince Warz Gil  was released as a Tamashii Web Exclusive  back at the end of June, commanding a slightly higher price than the usual exclusive - 3990 yen rather than the usual 3675. Like Basco, Warz Gil comes oddly packaged in a non-window box. With Basco it felt a little more understandable since it was a bigger box since he also came with Sally, but here it seems more like just to keep a trend going with the Gokaiger  villains. Still, the box itself does look rather nice with the cosmic/royal blue colouring and Zangyack logos. The back features the figure in a (...

With Akibaranger done once again I've found myself with one less weekly series to watch, and decided to pick up something new. While I've always been aware of Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series and Ultraman , it's only recently something I've become interested in watching. While I'm currently watching Ultraman Nexus  as part of TokuNation.com's "Let's Watch Wednesday" , the arrival of the 50th anniversary Ultra Hero has also sparked my interest. Welcome to Ultraman Ginga ... All of the existing Ultramen and monsters have been turned into Spark Dolls (small vinyl toys) by an unknown evil force and scattered across Earth. A young man named Hikaru Raidou is told by the Ultraman Taro spark doll that he is the chosen one, and will be able to return the Ultramen to their original forms using an item known as the Ginga Spark. However the spark also gives Hikaru the power to turn into Ultraman Ginga, as well as become one with previous monst...

Despite other buyers complaining about his floppy waist and driver that just didn't want to stay on, I loved my Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style  figure. Since I'm not one to collect multiple Rider forms (at least not yet anyway), the multitude of different Wizard styles didn't interest me and I eagerly awaited the release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Beast in June. Well June has now past, and Beast is here in all his mayonaise covered ancient wizard glory. Here is the review. Much like with the other Kamen Rider Wizard  Figuarts, Bandai have really gone to town on the Beast packaging. Overlaying the dirty gold colour is a Kamen Rider Beast magic circle, which features his various mantle animals (Lion, Dolphin, Chameleon and Buffalo), as well as the Beast Symbol and a picture of the figure itself. The colourscheme isn't quite as striking as Flame Style's black and red combo, but the back of the box looks much nicer than the boxed off silver they used...

The last anime I plan to follow through the summer season is Gatchaman Crowds , a new sequelto /reimaginging/show based on the classic 1972 series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (also known as Battle of the Planets or G-Force in the West) from Tatsunoko . With such a big reputation behind Gatchaman , anticipation was running rather high for this series. But did the first episode deliver? In this first episode we are introduced to our main character, 16-year old highschool girl Hajime Ichinose. Chosen to become the latest member of the Gatchaman Crew (or G-Crew for short), she is quickly introduced to the rest of the team, including serious samurai boy Sugane, the quiet Jō, effeminate male O.D., bikini-clad lolicon Utsu-tsu and their leader - panda-like alien Paiman. The Gatchaman's mission is to protect the Earth from alien attacks, primarily from identities known as MESS. Using special notebooks called NOTEs, the G-Crew are able to transform into armoured fighters, using an ...

The Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts  were always going to popular to both Japanese and Western audiences because they also double as high-end Power Rangers figures, but this is the point where things are going to start getting really interesting. As usual the Akibaranger  merchandising onslaught has brought about a selection of official heroes, the first release being Dragon Ranger from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger . While in Zyuranger Burai is an excellent character and extremely notable for being the first full-time sixth ranger, Western fans are also champing at the bit for this one because the suit also represents the original Green Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers . Whether this figure will represent Tommy or Burai to you, here is the review! Dragon Ranger comes in a rather fetching box, which certainly evokes the ancient/fantasy Zyuranger aesthetic. In fact, I'd say it does that so well the the boxes advertising the Akibaranger parts on the back look a lit...