DSC_5129
Well, we're just over half way through December, with a bit over a week left before Santa starts dropping packages. Finally officially on break, and looking forward to some expectation free time so I'm able to finish up a few outstanding things, including some toy write ups. We start with a figure I've been eluding for a while - SH Figuarts Dragonball Z - Majin Vegeta.
If you've been paying attention to the Dragonball line, you're probably aware that at some point, they are literally going to make every character possible because lets face it, SOMEONE will buy it. So it's no surprise that Tamashi Nations has gone ahead and produced a pretty much every Vegeta that I can think of, including Majin Vegeta, a corrupted version of Vegeta that shows up in the last Dragonball Z arc, the Majin Buu saga, where he "accepts help" from Babadi, an evil wizard with, what else, aspirations of universal domination. A bit of a disclaimer: this is actually the second version of Vegeta I wanted from the Z line, with gold old Super Saiyan 2 from the Cell Saga being my top want list, but hey, when an opportunity shows up for a relatively cheap version of Majin Vegeta, I generally jump on it. Majin Vegeta is visually distinct from all other iterations with the slight addition of more mascara, and of course, that giant "M" on his forehead. Oh, and generally having more veins popping all over his body.
I don't think the armourless/sleeveless look is specific to Majin Vegeta.
Majn Vegeta comes with a surprising number of face plates, 5 in total, ranging from neutral to full on raging. There are only 5 additional hands, which will get you through most poses, but my most desired piece, the crossed arm, was not a part of this, which is unfortunate given that Vegeta and Picolo basically own that pose throughout the entire Dragonball Z series. Otherwise, yep, once again no flight stand and no energy effects.
Officially this is my first time picking up any Vegeta 2.0, but I do own the originally much sought after Premium Colour version of Vegeta. Even for back in the day, the likeness to Vegeta was always iffy at best, and sucked compared. The newer Vegetas feature wider faces, larger eyes, and a fuller set of hair (even on the non Super Saiyan scouter Vegeta version. It goes without saying that the overall silhouette is vastly improved and more resembles the on screen model, with better proportions and much better muscle definition on the body itself. Yes, the diaper on the newer figures are more visually distracting, but the trade off is a vastly improved posing game.
Speaking of posing, the joints gang is back in what is probably these most articulated body produced by Tamashi Nations. You have toe, ankles, double jointed knees, hips which are located such that you have a greater range of motion with additional plastic parts to fill in the gap, waist, mid toros, full motion shoulders with dedicated chest collapse joint, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrists, neck, and head. Overall, an impressive array of options, much like the recently looked at Joseph Joestar and the Medicos body, and very much like the vast majority of the Dragonball line in the 2.0 era. Combined with a flight stand and some energy effects, you should be able to do a great variety of battle actions and replicate your favourite scenes from the series or, if you're bored like, given Hentai Woody a hard time.
Paint wise, the amount of paint on the figure doesn't look particularly like a lot, but I suspect that's not actually the case. Looks to me like the fleshtones are painted as is most of the faces, the hair, the blue of the abdomen and pant legs, as well as the various white cuffs and the hands themselves. Not sure why the upper part of the torso blue is unpainted, and I suspect due to wear issues they didn't bother painting the pelvic area. In general, paint is pretty crisp and clean, with the exception of the eye sore that is the masking for the upper shirt area and the chest. Masking on the hair and eyes, thankfully, is on point because flaws there would be very apparent. Decal work is also sharp and crisp, and the facial expressions themselves are very Majin Vegeta and convey the character quite well.
No complaints from a build quality perspective, as expected. Joints are solid and will hold whatever pose you decide to put them in. No issues with poor tolerance on gaps, uneven limb length, or other things that make you cringe at the fact you just dropped $60 on an action figure. You're gonna find your typical assembly seams, though they are generally hidden from view and more importantly, look like they've had some sanding work done as to not stick out like a giant scar.
The Dragonball line of SH Figuarts is pretty much their flagship product offering, and it's good to see that unlike some other companies with a monopoly on their licenses, Tamashi Nations doesn't screw around. They've consistently delivered amazing figures that invoke memories of their on screen appearances which are able to look and act like their "real life counterparts". As always, my only real complaint is that I wish they came with more, specifically an energy effect and a flight stand. Otherwise, if the price is right, I never have qualms about blindly picking up one of these releases. I know some people are gonna have their reservations about joints and what not but considering what the figures can do, visible joints are well worth it.
DSC_5129
Well, we're just over half way through December, with a bit over a week left before Santa starts dropping packages. Finally officially on break, and looking forward to some expectation free time so I'm able to finish up a few outstanding things, including some toy write ups. We start with a figure I've been eluding for a while - SH Figuarts Dragonball Z - Majin Vegeta.
If you've been paying attention to the Dragonball line, you're probably aware that at some point, they are literally going to make every character possible because lets face it, SOMEONE will buy it. So it's no surprise that Tamashi Nations has gone ahead and produced a pretty much every Vegeta that I can think of, including Majin Vegeta, a corrupted version of Vegeta that shows up in the last Dragonball Z arc, the Majin Buu saga, where he "accepts help" from Babadi, an evil wizard with, what else, aspirations of universal domination. A bit of a disclaimer: this is actually the second version of Vegeta I wanted from the Z line, with gold old Super Saiyan 2 from the Cell Saga being my top want list, but hey, when an opportunity shows up for a relatively cheap version of Majin Vegeta, I generally jump on it. Majin Vegeta is visually distinct from all other iterations with the slight addition of more mascara, and of course, that giant "M" on his forehead. Oh, and generally having more veins popping all over his body.
I don't think the armourless/sleeveless look is specific to Majin Vegeta.
Majn Vegeta comes with a surprising number of face plates, 5 in total, ranging from neutral to full on raging. There are only 5 additional hands, which will get you through most poses, but my most desired piece, the crossed arm, was not a part of this, which is unfortunate given that Vegeta and Picolo basically own that pose throughout the entire Dragonball Z series. Otherwise, yep, once again no flight stand and no energy effects.
Officially this is my first time picking up any Vegeta 2.0, but I do own the originally much sought after Premium Colour version of Vegeta. Even for back in the day, the likeness to Vegeta was always iffy at best, and sucked compared. The newer Vegetas feature wider faces, larger eyes, and a fuller set of hair (even on the non Super Saiyan scouter Vegeta version. It goes without saying that the overall silhouette is vastly improved and more resembles the on screen model, with better proportions and much better muscle definition on the body itself. Yes, the diaper on the newer figures are more visually distracting, but the trade off is a vastly improved posing game.
Speaking of posing, the joints gang is back in what is probably these most articulated body produced by Tamashi Nations. You have toe, ankles, double jointed knees, hips which are located such that you have a greater range of motion with additional plastic parts to fill in the gap, waist, mid toros, full motion shoulders with dedicated chest collapse joint, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrists, neck, and head. Overall, an impressive array of options, much like the recently looked at Joseph Joestar and the Medicos body, and very much like the vast majority of the Dragonball line in the 2.0 era. Combined with a flight stand and some energy effects, you should be able to do a great variety of battle actions and replicate your favourite scenes from the series or, if you're bored like, given Hentai Woody a hard time.
Paint wise, the amount of paint on the figure doesn't look particularly like a lot, but I suspect that's not actually the case. Looks to me like the fleshtones are painted as is most of the faces, the hair, the blue of the abdomen and pant legs, as well as the various white cuffs and the hands themselves. Not sure why the upper part of the torso blue is unpainted, and I suspect due to wear issues they didn't bother painting the pelvic area. In general, paint is pretty crisp and clean, with the exception of the eye sore that is the masking for the upper shirt area and the chest. Masking on the hair and eyes, thankfully, is on point because flaws there would be very apparent. Decal work is also sharp and crisp, and the facial expressions themselves are very Majin Vegeta and convey the character quite well.
No complaints from a build quality perspective, as expected. Joints are solid and will hold whatever pose you decide to put them in. No issues with poor tolerance on gaps, uneven limb length, or other things that make you cringe at the fact you just dropped $60 on an action figure. You're gonna find your typical assembly seams, though they are generally hidden from view and more importantly, look like they've had some sanding work done as to not stick out like a giant scar.
The Dragonball line of SH Figuarts is pretty much their flagship product offering, and it's good to see that unlike some other companies with a monopoly on their licenses, Tamashi Nations doesn't screw around. They've consistently delivered amazing figures that invoke memories of their on screen appearances which are able to look and act like their "real life counterparts". As always, my only real complaint is that I wish they came with more, specifically an energy effect and a flight stand. Otherwise, if the price is right, I never have qualms about blindly picking up one of these releases. I know some people are gonna have their reservations about joints and what not but considering what the figures can do, visible joints are well worth it.