Bandai Chogokin Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Aegis

For info on this character, click here. For pictures and video, see below.

While not exactly what I tend to collect, it makes a great addition to my wife's tiny collection AND it has Rocket Punch! So we had to welcome her into our home.

The box is small and feels light in hand.

The back of the box shows the different face options and accessories included.

The tray is neatly laid out with all the parts. Out back you can see the included stand which is nice that they included. She also has the ability to use the stand arm to create a "tripod" feature but Bandai took the extra step to include the base for more aggressive poses.

The figure is rather nice and hefty once in hand. Don't let the lightweight box fool you. While not HEAVY, you can tell there is metal. The metal is made up of the gold bits and joints. The plating of these parts is done real nice.

Up close she still retains sharp detailing.

Here she is with an alternate face and hands with open fingertips.

Yet another alternate face.

...and another slightly angrier one.

Here is a closeup of the said stand.

The stand allows you to get her into poses normally impossible without the stand.

Her forearms are interchangeable with weapon options. This here is the rifle.

This is a good look for her.

(Insert record scratch noise here.) What? is this a full blown Rocket punch?!! With actual rockets on it?!

This is just too cool. No way this was going to not become a piece in my collection.

It is actually spring loaded! I didn't realize this until it accidentally fired while doing the shoot. That little forearm piece contains the firing mechanism. Awesome job Bandai! She is officially the first female recruit into my Rocket Punch Army.

Here's the video. No words, just Aegis.

Music by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com)

Exclusive Human Alliance figures $8-$11 at Kmart

I was at Kmart the other day and I'm gonna be honest...I am not a big fan of that place for many reasons which I won't get into here. However they have some good toy clearance sales if you're lucky. I got some Godzilla vinyl and some Tron stuff reall cheap in the past. This time I happened to see some Kmart Exclusive Human Alliance figures. I saw a silver Bumblebee..forgot name and an Exclusive Sideswipe. The sale was for 50% off sticker price. I saw a sticker of $16..To me that means $8


Picked up the Sideswipe with Sergeant Chaos and Icepick since the Bumblebee looked rather small compared to the Sideswipe and well....it's Bumblebee (Who gave Bumblebee the right to take the spotlight over Optimus Prime anyhow?!). Took it to the register after getting into a who-was-in-line first dispute with a total idiot and it rang up $11 (still a good price but NOT 50%) I thought "Here we go again". The lady tried to explain that 50% off $22 is $11. I thanked her for the math lesson and proceeded to explain that 50% off $16 is $8 and all the 500 other HA figures were marked the same so it was not my problem. After 73 overrides and 32 calculations the $8 price was reached. I paid and left. Good riddance. If you find these and they ring up wrong and not in your favor, let it be known you want it and you're "NOT GONNA PAY A LOT FOR THIS MUFFLER!!"..it is not your fault they can't key in the correct amount on the sticker device.

It actually looks pretty cool but movie figs are not my thing. This will be traveling a long distance to it's new owner in Colombia sometime soon.

See that sticker on the upper left next to the Mechtech logo? It would look good with a big FAIL next to it. I guess after taking these promo shots they got a production version in hand and decided it couldn't hold it's weapon. Oh well.

Transformers Prime Arcee

I started to watch Transformers Prime but then I realized I'm not really big on watching cartoons..especially when the characters are too stylized. However the robot designs were semi cool for designs based on movie figures. One of the designs that stood out to me was Arcee. Finally, a new Arcee with two legs and a normal waist. The Movieverse Arcee was complete garbage...I honestly thought the design was a joke except it wasn't. Horrible toys were made and eventually they ended up in bargain stores with deep discounts...and even then they were peg warmers along with that Ice Cream figure.

I was returning some stuff the other day and happen to roll by the Transformers isle half expecting to see the usual wall of DOTM stuff when a nice blue packaging caught my eye...didn't flinch much until I said to myself...Oh wow, that must be the Prime figures!. I ran over only to find 5 packages of which 4 were Bumblebees and one was Arcee. I obviously grabbed Arcee. I left Bumblebee for a later time since he will obviously be the annoying figure that will litter the pegs when you try and go out to find new figures.

Immediately I noticed the higher end feel of the new packaging. The cardboard seemed to be thicker, the figure is displayed nicely and there is foil lettering on the packaging...almost as if it was meant to be collectible. And most likely it is because of the First Edition designation. Whether the First Edition means it's the first wave of figures or the first edition of the same future figure without the first edition packaging, I do not know.

Notice the foil "First Edition" running down the left side of the blister pack. See that "cool" stand? Yeah it's included. Don't get too excited, it's made out of cardboard. At least they cared to include it.

Although she comes out of the package in alternate mode, I wanted to show you guys robot mode first because I like robots. I have the arm blades on but they can be removed. I prefer to have them off myself.

She looks pretty good all around. I love how the front wheel hangs in the center out back. I also love how they got the rear wheel to split in two to make the back of the legs symmetrical.

Here is a side by side comparison with Animated Arcee.

Yoda: Adequate amounts of articulation she has, hmmmm?

I love motorcycles so I can appreciate the nice looking alternate mode.

From the back it looks a little strange to me, almost like the rear tire is too small or too far extended. What do you think?

Hot Toys Superman

Review and Pictures by Chachipower

OH...MY...GOD.

Seriously, this thing is BAD ASS. OK, I don't own many Superman figures. Maybe two. However I am a Superman fan. How is this? Well I realized I was a fan of the the one Christopher Reeve plays in the legendary 1978 film. I got my Hot Toys Superman last night and I was completely blown away. It has been literally years since I had a hard time putting down a figure. I could not stop staring at this or looking at it. On the one hand I wanted to fly it around and pose it but on the other, I knew it was delicate.

I was careful taking it out of the box. I made sure not to snag the cloth on anything. Then I started to examine the face sculpt when my heart sank...the was a mark on the forehead! It was a shiny spot from the clamshell rubbing on it. Then I look at the clamshell. There is a bump that has been purposely molded into it that holds the head back or something. Yes, Hot Toys wraps plastic around the forehead but the rubbing was hard enough to leave a shiny spot. Honestly this is ok if it was a $20 figure. It should be non-existent in a $200 figure. After reading about numerous complaints people have with this figure, I was starting to think that Hot Toys dropped the ball on this one. I also noticed the wire was poking out of the cape. That was an easy fix but still. It's sad because part of the proceeds from the sale of these goes to the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Hopefully this release doesn't end in failure.

Aside from that, like I said, it is BAD-ASS! The box is overkill in a good way. It comes in a diamond shaped box with Fortress of Solitude design stand.

This is the box and the included FOS stand. (This photo was not taken by me)

I was absolutely stunned by the sculpt and painted detail. It looks like real skin. These pictures DO NOT do it justice. Not by a long shot.

It's like looking at the real Christopher Reeve. Check out the freckled skin! The eyes look life-like.

The "S" is nicely done out of a rubbery material. The black outline of the "S" is actually raised. The suit material is quite nice but prone to snags. It is also a bit reflective under certain light.

The boots are really cool. There is very slight airbrushed shading along the bottom. The feet seem to be completely rubber and give it a lifelike feel.

The only piece that keeps it from looking absolutely real is the wrists. but the hand details are great. The set does come with alternate hands.

Some people say the muscular body is bigger than what was seen on screen, but I think it looks darn good.

The cape is line with a copper wire so that you can put is as you like depending on the pose you choose. It allows the cloth to drape realistically over the shoulders. The "S" on the back is also nicely done.

I was being absurdly conservative with my poses during this review. The True Type Hot Toys body used allows an incredible amount of poses. However his arms cannot come straight down against his sides. This is my favorite pose.

If you buy one, keep a look out for shiny foreheads, crooked "S" on front or back, snags on the suit, copper wire broken/poking out of cape, rubs on necks etc. A must buy for Superman fans. The definitive version of this superhero for a long time to come.

There is an exclusive verison available from Sideshow collectibles with a metal Kryptonite necklace for the same price as the regular version, however the regular version has free shipping.

S.H. MonsterArts Godzilla figure

Holy cow, it's finally here! I've been waiting forever for this figure. Instead of going to the usual places like HLJ.com, amiami.com and BBTS, I got this from Amazon.com. I'm talking Amazon themselves, not some shady seller. Amazon gets these from the US Tamashii distributor Blue Fin so you can expect to pay fair prices instead of getting gouged by a reseller or waiting and paying for the trip from overseas. It also qulaified for free shipping. There was a bit of a delay in its release but it's here and I'm happy.

Box Front- The Godzilla head is glossy while the rest of the box has a soft matte finish.

Box Back

Box side

Box side with foil Godzilla lettering.

Amazing right out of the box. Pretty heavy too. A big chunk of PVC.

The detail is great. Each stroke of the sculptor's tool is captured to create an excellent piece.

The detailing of the mouth is very well done. Notice the texture of the tongue. Each individual tooth is detailed. While the eyes looked a tad off, they were very detailed.

This figure is highly articulated, look at how many seam lines are used for the neck alone. The base of the neck has another neck piece which can't be seen in this picture.

The scales are done well although depending on the pose, the scales may collide, so be careful when posing so no paint scuffing occurs.

Here he is in flight mode. I'm sure I could have done a better job at posing it in this fashion. Here you can see most of his articulaiton joints. Look at all those seam lines...especially the tail!

He comes with this effects piece which mimics him shooting from the mouth. The base has an icy look to it.

The effect is OK, but the stand deters from the look of it. When will invisibility technology catch up with toys? Overall an incredibly well done Godzilla. I was afraid the articulation points were going to ruin the look of Godzilla but Bandai managed to pull this off well.

Bandai GE-54 VF-25F Chogokin vs. GE-42

I have to admit that the GE-42 VF-25F (ver. 1.0) was an impulse buy because it was on sale. I bought it a few months back and only opened it to check if it was complete. Never transformed it. Then recently it was released again except it was heavily updated and with a GE-54 designation. It is known as the Renewal version or V 2.0. I decided that I would tackle the video for the new one and I went ahead and did a comparison video. I am SO glad I bought the renewal. Having the original really makes me appreciate just how well done the renewal is. I mean I thought the original was OK, but the new one is just right and makes the original look old-school with weird proportions.

GE-54 box (Ver.2.0)

GE-42 box (Ver.1.0)

 The following shows the 2 sets side by side with the GE-42 on the left and the GE-54 on the right.

Both come in a styro tray that is actually the same dimensions but different mold. The renewal is laid out on an angle.

Side by side they can be mistaken for the same set, but looking closer reveals many differences.

Gerwalk mode is OK on the GE-42, but not great, however the GE-54 is much better.

GE-42. Meh.

GE-54. Nice.
The GE-54's legs can be spread and angled out more than the GE-42. You kind of have to cheat with the GE-42 to make it look passable.

Never has the odd proportions of the GE-42 been more evident than when standing next to the new GE-54.

Stunning... now check out the video for more.

Super Robot Chogokin Dai Guard

I finally got the video review done for the SRC Dai Guard. There was some extensive editing since I wasn't really in review mode that night so I had to cut a bunch of stuff I feel wasn't up to par. I was planning to snap up some shots of it but now it's in storage. This thing is pretty bad-ass. Small and heavy without being a brick. Any robot who can rip off his arm and toss it rocket-punch style is cool in my book and still earns it's place in my Rocket Punch Army.

If you wanna check out the Rocket-Punch sequence, watch this video.