[Review] S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form

Introduction

Advent... To the top...

Debut in Episode 24, Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form made an awfully brief appearance in Kamen Rider Den-O series. But of course, after going through the troubles to make a new suit for Den-O, Toei had made sure that the efforts didn't gone wasted by giving this Rider additional screen time in the subsequent Den-O movie productions, such as Saraba Den-O and Onigashima Warship.

On the other hand, our beloved Bandai also made sure that they've fully utilized this market opportunity by releasing SHF Masked Rider Den-O Wing Form (abbreviated as SHF Wing Form hereafter) in November 2014. It's a good news for me coz Wing Form has always been my favorite Den-O form. But the bad news is, SHF Wing Form is released as Tamashii Web Exclusive SHF - which means it's more expensive for overseas collectors like me to get hold of this beauty.

Anyway, here's the review for the SHF.

Product Information

Name	S.H.Figuarts Masked Rider Den-O Wing Form
Origin Series	Kamen Rider Den-O
Manufacturer	BANDAI
Product Line	S.H.Figuarts
Size	Around 14 cm
Price	4,860 JPY
Released Date	17-Nov-2014

Box Art

SHF Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form Box Art

Unlike previous SHF Den-O series, SHF Wing Form does not come in box with transparent window. Instead, an image of SHF Wing Form with a big Den-O logo as background is printed on the front box. Turning to the back, you'll find a big "ticking-clock" and a few boxes served as the frames for pictures of the figure in different action poses. Nothing new or element of surprise in this one, just the standard colorful box art you'll find in SHF nowadays.

Show Accuracy

Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form: Show (left) vs. SHF (right)

From the comparison, the most obvious show-inaccuracy is the size of the weapons: Both the Boomerang and Hand-axe of the SHF are oversized - especially the Handaxe. In addition, although it cannot be seen clearly from the picture above, there are some red & white paints missing from the SHF's DenGashers.

SHF Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form: Visor comparison

Next is the visors. Yes, the visors of SHF Wing Form are gorgeously beautiful, but it'd be perfect if it has a more reflective & matte-like surface (not sure how to describe it better) instead of a crystal-clear surface. If you zoom in the visors and compare, you'll find the pattern of the compound eyes were different too. Also, I got the feel that the SHF visor is slightly bigger than his show counterpart's.

Another inconsistency from the show is the Wing Buckle (the belt). The buckle strap should be greyish in color instead of black; and the round clear part of the Golden Wing Buckle should have a white-to-blue radial gradient instead of plain-dark-blue.

One last nitpicking complaint is the tip of the shoes should have been painted black. But it's just a minor mistake I can overlook.

Overall, the show accuracy wasn't that bad for a normal SHF. After all, it's not a Shinkocchu Seihou release so I can't really complain much :P

Accessories

Before we go into the details of the accessories, I must say that I'm kinda disappointed to find that SHF Wing Form does not come with the big wings which appeared in the Ore-Tanjou movie. Few years back, Bandai was generous enough to include a pair of majestic wings in the SIC Wing Form release (picture below), so it's kinda a let down to learn that the wings are not included in SHF.

SIC Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form

Content of SHF Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form

Anyway, SHF Wing Form comes with 6 extra interchangeable hand parts: 2 open hands, 2 weapon-holding hands, one (right) hand to hold Rider Pass, and one thumb-up right hand...

Yes, an ore-sanjou-thumb-up-hand for Wing Form =_=

Well, Wing Form is practically a recolored body mold of Sword Form, so it's no surprise that Bandai would just (blindly) recycle the accessories of SHF Sword Form. But still, if Bandai wanna put in extra stuff for this figure, I would still prefer the wings over the thumb-up hand :P

Then we have DenGasher in belt attachment mode and weapon mode, same like other Den-O releases:

DenGasher belt attachment mode

2 sides of DenGasher Boomerang mode & Handaxe mode

Also not to forget the Rider Pass.

Front & back view of Rider Pass

Mold & Sculpting

SHF Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form overview

The mold for all the released SHF Den-Os so far are decent, and SHF Wing Form continues to inherit the good points: balance body ratio, good articulation. However, using a recycled mold also means the defects in the previous mold were passed on to this newly released SHF (see pictures below).

SHF Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form factory flaws

I always wonder why they make a hole in the SHF butt and cover it back with another piece of round plastic. Apparently those holes are for attaching the figure to a Tamashii stage ^.^" (credit to one of the members of Komuniti S.H.Figuarts Malaysia for informing)

As for the sculpting, I would say that most SHF Den-O's sculpting are pretty accurate because of their simple designs. The sculpting of the Wing Buckle, although not perfect, is very detailed. I must give credit to Bandai for being able to cast such details onto a tiny piece of plastic.

Wing Form helmet details

Aura Armor details

Wing Buckle details

Sole details

Paint & Color

As mentioned before, the body of SHF Wing Form is the repainted version of SHF Sword Form. The Aura Armor is now white in color and the Aura Skin is golden instead of black. That being said, it took a great deal of paint job to convert SHF Sword Form to SHF Wing Form. Luckily, the paint job is generally good and no indication of paint chipping.

However, a minor paint defect can be found on the armor plate of my SHF Wing Form. I don't mind if it is indistinct but it's as obvious as a mole on Godai Yuusuke's face at certain angle:

Another minor issue is the color of the joints. Although understandable, the color of the plastic joints for SHF Wing Form is not matching the color of the suit. They're more like yellowish brown, rather than golden or golden yellow.

Color mismatch between joints and body

But I believed Bandai had tried their best to pick the best-matching color and I should be glad that they didn't use black joints like what they did to SHF W Cyclone Joker (^.^")

Joints & Articulation

The joints system for SHF Wing Form is pretty much the standard: 

1. Neck & Wrist: Ball-socket joints
2. Shoulders & Hips: Swivel ball joints 
3. Shoulder pads: Hinged onto the shoulders
4. Knees and Elbows: Double hinge joints
5. Ankle: Ball-socket joints

All the joints are tight enough and the articulations are basically good. No bulky armor that blocks the movements.

And SHF Wing Form can even perform Sword Form's signature "Ore Sanjou!" pose without problem :P (thanks Bandai for the "free" thumb-up hand)

Ore...

Sanjou!!!

 Other action poses:

Bow before my blades!

Boomerang attack!!

FULL CHARGE

*swoosh swoosh*

Eat this, destroyer of the world!

Conclusion

So now, here comes the questions for every review: Is this SHF worth to buy? Would I recommend it to the other collectors?

Well, personally I'm quite happy with this SHF set although it's a bit pricy. It's an enjoyable figure and I had a great time posing this figure with his signature poses. But, to be honest, I won't recommend this SHF to the other collectors, considering the current market price vs the content. After all, it still lacks the "wow element" (the wings XP) to offset the price.

So my final score for this action figure:

Box Art	★★★☆☆
Show Accuracy	★★★☆☆
Accessories	★★★☆☆
Mold & Sculpting	★★★★☆
Paint & Color	★★★★☆
Joints & Articulation	★★★★☆
Overall Score	★★★★☆

P/S: The scoring might be biased as I'm a fans of Wing Form :P