Introduction
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| Temporary cover art until I find myself the time to make one for GataKiriBa :P |
Yes indeed, SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo is an old SHF and it was
first released in March 2011. Why bother to do review on this figure now? Well, since this SHF is my very first SHF, I figured it would be best if my first figure review is based on it.
So, without further delay, let's get into the business.
So, without further delay, let's get into the business.
Box Art
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| SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo Box Art |
If not mistaken, OOO series was the first SHF series which comes with fully-colored box art. Previously, all SHF releases used the same desaturated-Rider-portrait pattern as the front cover. In addition, the letters on the both sides and the front part of the box were changed to silver foil instead of the conventional printed letters.
SHF GataKiriBa came with the box art design similar to SHF TaToBa. A GataKiriBa logo was printed on the transparent window of the box. On the left side of the front view, you'll find the triple OOO rings pattern, each with different shades of green. The color motif of the rings is pretty much obvious - each color represent the color of different Insect core medals, i.e. Kuwagata (Stag Beetle), Kamakiri (Praying Mantis) & Batta (Grasshopper). On the right side of the box, you can find a semi-transparent portrait of Kamen Rider OOO in GataKiriBa form.
At the back of the box, you'll see the images of SHF GataKiriBa with different action poses and different accessories. I must admit that I like the way Bandai emphasized the medal theme by putting 3 of the images in the round-medal frames.
Show Accuracy
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| Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo: Show (left) vs. SHF (right) |
Firstly,
the SHF's chest armor is too bulky and looks a little bit
over-designed. It should be smaller in size but I guess that is one of
the common traits of SHF figure: they are usually bulkier
than its show counterpart. If you have seen a SHF Kamen Rider Blade
King Form, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
Secondly,
the color of the Kuwagata head is not show-accurate. It should be more
"Forest-green" rather than the bluish "Teal-green".
In
addition, Bandai missed out the little green jewel / gem on the helmet
of the SHF GataKiriBa. Instead of placing an emerald, Bandai put a
transparent plastic on his forehead =_=
Accessories
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| Content of SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo |
SHF GataKiriBa comes with 7 interchangeable hand parts: 2 open hands, 2 hands to hold the Kamakiri Blades, 2 hands to hold the Medaljalibur sword, and one right hand to hold the OOO Scanner.
Next we have 3 sets of Kamakiri Blades:
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| From left: Default arm blade, extended arm blade, Kamakiri blade |
The first set of Kamakiri Blades were already attached to the main figure as his default arm blades. The second set is the extended version of the first set. It only appeared briefly in the show when GataKiriBa activate his arm blades and turn it into the Kamakiri Blades. Nevertheless, you can just change the default arm blades with the extended ones to make your GataKiriBa looks more badass. The third set is the Kamakiri Blades, the custom weapon of Kamen Rider OOO in GataKiriBa form.
Then we have Kamen Rider OOO's personal weapon, the Medajalibur.
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| 2 sides of the Medajalibur |
Similar to what was included in SHF TaToBa, Medajalibur has different painting on both sides of the sword. The 3 silver-painted-circles on one side is to represent the sword when 3 cell medals were inserted into the medal slots; while the other side without any silver painting represent Medajalibur with empty slots.
Last but not least, we have the OOO Scanner:
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| Front view and back view of OOO Scanner |
SHF GataKiriBa and SHF TaToba were the 2 earliest OOO SHF which came with poorly-made OOO Scanner. Fortunately the subsequent SHF OOO releases had a better OOO Scanner with better sculpt and paint job.
Overall, SHF GataKiriBa comes with sufficient accessories which enable you to
replicate almost all GataKiriBa action scenes from the show. The only complain I have is it didn't come with a custom stage to replicate his jumping action poses. But this is not a big problem as you can always use the custom stage from other SHF releases.
Mold & Sculpting
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| Different angle of SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo |
Nothing much can be said about SHF GataKiriBa's mold; it's pretty much the standard old SHF mold. Just to point out, some minor factory mold flaws can be found all over the body, especially on the the limbs. Luckily, the flaws aren't that obvious, so many would just overlook them.
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| SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo factory flaws |
In addition, SHF GataKiriBa suffers the same problem of big shoulder gap like SHF TaToBa. It may not be prominent from the front view, but if you play around and look at it from different angles, the gap is painfully obvious. There's nothing much you can do about it; I've tried to push the arms closer to the torso but it didn't solve the problem.
The sculpting of the figure, especially the helmet and the chest logo were very detailed and accurate. The sculpting of the belt was also descent, but too bad Bandai didn't managed to paint or print the details of the 3 core medals (like what they did to SHF Gaim series' lockseeds). Also, it's glad to see Bandai always make sure that the SHF figures have their sole details. In this case, we can see the triple OOO ring perfectly carved at the sole of GataKiriBa.
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| Shoulder gaps noticeable when you look at the figure from side views |
On a side note, the material of the green parts of GataKiriBa's limbs feels rather rubber-ish and gummy. It lacks the solid feels. I just hope that it won't turn into some sticky rubber after a few years!
Paint Job
The paint job of SHF GataKiriba is... well... it's not too bad, but I can't say it's good either. Overall the painting looks good, but upon close inspection, you might find some minor "leaking paint" here and there. |
| SHF Kamen Rider OOO GataKiriBa Combo: Leaking paint |
Put that aside, the paint job on the chest logo improved since SHF TaToBa. I'm not sure about others, but my TaToBa came with blurry paint on the chest logo, especially at the Tora part:
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| Torso paint job: SHF TaToBa vs. SHF GataKiriBa |
Joints & Articulation
SHF GataKiriBa uses the standard joints similar to old SHF releases: ball-socket joints for the neck and the wrist; double hinge joints for the knees and the elbows; swivel ball joints for the shoulders and hips; and the shoulder pads are hinged onto the shoulders.
One thing which is different from the old SHF releases, is that Bandai replaced the tilt-joint of OOO's ankle (except Putotyra) with ball-socket joints, and the die-cast feet were replaced with a rubber one. I started my SHF hobby after TaToBa was released, but from what I've read, apparently the prototype of SHF TaToBa was seen to have the conventional die-cast feet with tilt joints, instead of the ball joint.
One thing which is different from the old SHF releases, is that Bandai replaced the tilt-joint of OOO's ankle (except Putotyra) with ball-socket joints, and the die-cast feet were replaced with a rubber one. I started my SHF hobby after TaToBa was released, but from what I've read, apparently the prototype of SHF TaToBa was seen to have the conventional die-cast feet with tilt joints, instead of the ball joint.
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| SHF Kamen Rider OOO TaToBa Combo prototype |
The motive behind the changes is still unclear, but the ball-joints-ankles and rubber feet did upset a lot of collectors, as it gives a lot of hard time to them to balance the figure.
On the other hand, the articulation of this figure is quite good, good enough for GataKiriBa to pose his signature Rider Kick, except that the big torso always get in the way when I wanna bend the figure.
Conclusion
| Box Art | ★★★★☆ |
| Show Accuracy | ★★★☆☆ |
| Accessories | ★★★★☆ |
| Mold & Sculpting | ★★★☆☆ |
| Paint Job | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Joints & Articulation | ★★★☆☆ |
| Overall Score | ★★★☆☆ |
In conclusion, I would say SHF
GataKiriBa is a figure that has equal good points and bad points
that offsetting each other - which eventually makes it an average figure. Is it worth to get this figure? Well, unless you can find this figure
at a price near to its release price, I don't think it's worth to get it
at the current market price.
Nevertheless,
if you're a hardcore fans of Kamen Rider OOO or a SHF completionist,
this figure is a MUST for you to recreate the OOO Combos gathering in
the Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful: The Shogun & the 21 Core Medals movie.
I'm inside both of the categories... So yea, here's my OOO collection:
SCANNING CHARGE!!!!
Like the reviewed action figure? Get your own here:
I'm inside both of the categories... So yea, here's my OOO collection:
SCANNING CHARGE!!!!
Like the reviewed action figure? Get your own here:
