Release Date: May 2025 RRP: 11,000 yen One of the greatest feelings one can experience as an S.H. Figuarts collector is when a figure revealed at a Tamashii Nations event finally escapes Bandai purgatory and gets an official release date. First revealed all the way back in 2019, S.H. Figuarts Alien Hipporit was never heard or seen from again until the lead up to the 2024 event, when it was announced that he would finally be released in 2025 as a Tamashii Web exclusive . First appearing in episodes 26 and 27 of Ultraman Ace , Alien Hipporit is notable for successfully capturing all five Ultra Brothers as well as even fighting Father of Ultra to a standstill - the latter only securing victory when he tore out his own Colour Timer to revive Ultraman Ace .

With Return of Ultraman proving to be a success, in late 1971 Tsuburaya Productions and TBS began work on a follow-up  Ultraman series. When coming up with an initial concept for the series, three screenwriters were tapped to offer their own individual proposals. Shinichi Ichikawa 's "Ultra Hunter" would see a man and woman join together to become an Ultraman born beyond gender boundaries, fighting against the invasion of the Andromeda Space Corps. Shozo Uehera 's "Ultra Fighter" saw a defence team member inherit the powers of an Ultraman from Nebula M78 battling against monsters created by a mad scientist. Finally Shigemitsu Taguchi 's "Ultra V" featured monsters manufactured by an alien force targeting the Earth. Rather that pick just one proposal, all three were amalgamated into what would become the fifth entry in the Ultra Series - Ultraman Ace . Premiering on April 7th 1972, Ultraman Ace ran for a total of 52 episodes and reflected the n...

Release Date: August 2024 RRP: 8250 yen The completion of the six main Ultra Brothers was a big milestone for the Ultraman S.H. Figuarts range, but there's still plenty of work for Bandai Tamashii Nations to do. What good are the Ultra Brothers without their leader, the top commander in the Inter Galactic Defence Force? To some he's known as Ultraman Ken , but these days he's better known as Father of Ultra . S.H. Figuarts Father of Ultra has been long overdue, and the fact he's also a retail release shows Bandai know the importance of this character to collectors as well. Despite Father of Ultra becoming a prominent figure in Ultraman franchise and making numerous reappearances over the years, this particular figure is based on his debut appearance in Ultraman Ace . 

Release Date: July 2020 RRP: 6050 yen Although Bandai Tamashii Nations took things a little off course when they skipped ahead to Ultraman Taro   last year, the immediate goal of the Showa era Ultraman S.H. Figuarts range has always been clear - complete the six Ultra Brothers . It's taken a while to get there, but that goal has finally been reached in 2020 with the release of S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Ace . Previously I'd expected this to be release to follow Ultraman Jack given that Bandai had been going in series order, but with the hype surrounding Ultraman Taiga last year it did make sense to jump ahead to Taro and then come back to round things off with Ace. It's been a pretty good year for Ultraman Ace in general given that the 1972 series was also released officially with English subtitles for the first time thanks to the continuing efforts of Tsuburaya Productions and Mill Creek Entertainment . While at the moment there doesn't seem to be any accompanying aliens ...