DSC_5956
WELCOME...TO THE FUTURE!
If you're reading this then congrats, you survived New Years Eve 2019, and have joined us on the other side in 2020. Great to see you, and I hope your New Year Eve activity went as planned.
To kick things off, here's a little something that I started working on right before the New Year, and finally sent it to the press as it were today. Presenting D-Arts Megaman X/Rockman X Zero Type 2.
Alrighty.. so Zero is a character that was introduced in the Megaman X/Rockman X series on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom, chronicling the adventures of "X", the perfected form of the original Mega Man in distant future of 200X. He encounters Zero, a veteran Maverick Hunter (protector of humans in this world) who goes on to become quite the supporting character (and playable character) in the X series. Provided with red amour, a mane of clearly 1980s blonde rocker hair, and his trademark weapons the Z-Saber and Zero Buster. Even if you've never played the X games, or any Mega Man game at all, there's a pretty good chance you've seen him, considering how many people were utilizing Zero in their MvC3 games.
Now, I can't dig anything up for some reason, but I BELIEVE that it was Megaman X2 where you run around collecting parts to rebuild Zero who was critically injured at the end of the original game. Couple of sidequests and scifi mumbo jumbo later, and you have the rebuilt Zero, aka Zero Type 2. This is the form he takes on for the rest of the X games, and I believe it's also what he uses in the aforementioned MvC3. Bandai/Tamashii Nations released figures for both Type 1 and Type 2 zero, along with one for Dark Zero, the clone of Zero Type 2 that you defeat in Megaman X2. Zero Type 2 was popular enough that the released him twice - one in 2012, and once in 2015.
As always, I lucked upon finding a second hand figure through good old Facebook Marketplace and purchased him for $40.
The box is of course, packed with goodies, though strangely it's the first D-Arts that I've purchased that does not come with a stand. There's the figure, three total faceplates (neutral, gritting teeth/eyes right, and open mouth attack), three total Z Sabers (one replicates a slashing effect, though I can't say I'm familiar as to why there is a point and unpointed blade.. but I suspect it has something to do with X3 where you can find the Z Saber as a secret weapon), an arm to replace the Zero Buster with, two tips to the Zero Buster (charged shot, no charge), and of course various hands for posing and holding weapons.
The overall figure looks great. Unlike their classic Mega Man release, their X stuff has always looked good in photos, and now that I have one in person i can confirm that from a colour, detailing, and proportions perspective, everything looks bang on all the promotional and supplementary Capcom art I've ever seen. Boxy shoulders. Giant lower legs. Cartoon ham fists. Tamashii Nations even included a holder behind his left shoulder for a Z Saber handle cause, well, that's where Zero normally keeps it.
From an articulation perspective, it's decent. You have ankles, double jointed knees, hips, waist, mid tors, shoulders with some chest collapse ability, single jointed elbows, and head with some articulation for his mane. Elbows and knees work quite well, and everything else, as mentioned isn't bad either, but comparing it to what you can do with the 4-inch Nel Mega Man figures, it's somewhat of a letdown. However, I do have to keep in mind this is a 2012 release, so perhaps if the figure was released to day some of that 4-inch Nel goodness (or even Figuarts general upgrades) might be present here to increase the range of motion. Off all the motion points, head articulation is probably to most restricted due to the older joint system and that giant poof of hair Zero has. Made of a stiff plastic, there is not give in the hair and it gets in the way of head movement. There is only some minor vertical and horizontal movement permitted due to the way the hair is connected to the back of head, so no "hair in the wind" poses or really anything that requires the hair to go past the shoulders.
From a paint perspective, Zero is provided with nice applications across the board. Masking is not a game changer across the board, even on areas of higher detailing such as the Zero Buster. Colours chosen are bright and lively, just as the source material requires. Various translucent plastic parts are perfect accents to this paint work, and looks far better than if they had simply used plastic painted in their respective colours.
Build quality is a bit of a mixed bag, which isn't really much of a surprise for figures from this era. Overall, Zero looks good.. but as always, the devil is in the details. Specifically, the work on the hair isn't greatest. There is some great hair sculpting, but the material used is relatively soft and results in a crude finish which unfortunately make the paint work look far worse than it actually is. Tolerance on assembly gaps wasn't the greatest, and then there is the surprisingly unhidden way one of the hair pieces connects together. For all the beautiful work on the body, they really dropped the ball on this hair. There are some unfinished edges on the fists, but at least those are within acceptable norm. Joints for the most part will do the job and hold poses, though there are some balance issues due to the weight of the hair on the neck joint.
As far as I can tell, if you want an action figure.. well any of the Zero iterations (up to Megaman Zero, even), you're pretty much going with a D-Arts, and more specifically, if you want a Type 2, well, this is it. As mentioned above, the figure shows it's age from an articulation perspective, but it's really the lacklustre work on the hair that disappoints me the greatest about this figure. Having said that, flaws and all, it's is still a very aesthetically pleasing figure, with decent articulation even by modern standards, though greater range of motion would have allowed for more dramatic Z Saber poses. Finally, there's the strange lack of an included stand, a first for D-Arts that I've handled.
It's still early in the year, but I've already got a decent lineup to start 2020 to work with, so as always, stay tuned.
DSC_5956
WELCOME...TO THE FUTURE!
If you're reading this then congrats, you survived New Years Eve 2019, and have joined us on the other side in 2020. Great to see you, and I hope your New Year Eve activity went as planned.
To kick things off, here's a little something that I started working on right before the New Year, and finally sent it to the press as it were today. Presenting D-Arts Megaman X/Rockman X Zero Type 2.
Alrighty.. so Zero is a character that was introduced in the Megaman X/Rockman X series on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom, chronicling the adventures of "X", the perfected form of the original Mega Man in distant future of 200X. He encounters Zero, a veteran Maverick Hunter (protector of humans in this world) who goes on to become quite the supporting character (and playable character) in the X series. Provided with red amour, a mane of clearly 1980s blonde rocker hair, and his trademark weapons the Z-Saber and Zero Buster. Even if you've never played the X games, or any Mega Man game at all, there's a pretty good chance you've seen him, considering how many people were utilizing Zero in their MvC3 games.
Now, I can't dig anything up for some reason, but I BELIEVE that it was Megaman X2 where you run around collecting parts to rebuild Zero who was critically injured at the end of the original game. Couple of sidequests and scifi mumbo jumbo later, and you have the rebuilt Zero, aka Zero Type 2. This is the form he takes on for the rest of the X games, and I believe it's also what he uses in the aforementioned MvC3. Bandai/Tamashii Nations released figures for both Type 1 and Type 2 zero, along with one for Dark Zero, the clone of Zero Type 2 that you defeat in Megaman X2. Zero Type 2 was popular enough that the released him twice - one in 2012, and once in 2015.
As always, I lucked upon finding a second hand figure through good old Facebook Marketplace and purchased him for $40.
The box is of course, packed with goodies, though strangely it's the first D-Arts that I've purchased that does not come with a stand. There's the figure, three total faceplates (neutral, gritting teeth/eyes right, and open mouth attack), three total Z Sabers (one replicates a slashing effect, though I can't say I'm familiar as to why there is a point and unpointed blade.. but I suspect it has something to do with X3 where you can find the Z Saber as a secret weapon), an arm to replace the Zero Buster with, two tips to the Zero Buster (charged shot, no charge), and of course various hands for posing and holding weapons.
The overall figure looks great. Unlike their classic Mega Man release, their X stuff has always looked good in photos, and now that I have one in person i can confirm that from a colour, detailing, and proportions perspective, everything looks bang on all the promotional and supplementary Capcom art I've ever seen. Boxy shoulders. Giant lower legs. Cartoon ham fists. Tamashii Nations even included a holder behind his left shoulder for a Z Saber handle cause, well, that's where Zero normally keeps it.
From an articulation perspective, it's decent. You have ankles, double jointed knees, hips, waist, mid tors, shoulders with some chest collapse ability, single jointed elbows, and head with some articulation for his mane. Elbows and knees work quite well, and everything else, as mentioned isn't bad either, but comparing it to what you can do with the 4-inch Nel Mega Man figures, it's somewhat of a letdown. However, I do have to keep in mind this is a 2012 release, so perhaps if the figure was released to day some of that 4-inch Nel goodness (or even Figuarts general upgrades) might be present here to increase the range of motion. Off all the motion points, head articulation is probably to most restricted due to the older joint system and that giant poof of hair Zero has. Made of a stiff plastic, there is not give in the hair and it gets in the way of head movement. There is only some minor vertical and horizontal movement permitted due to the way the hair is connected to the back of head, so no "hair in the wind" poses or really anything that requires the hair to go past the shoulders.
From a paint perspective, Zero is provided with nice applications across the board. Masking is not a game changer across the board, even on areas of higher detailing such as the Zero Buster. Colours chosen are bright and lively, just as the source material requires. Various translucent plastic parts are perfect accents to this paint work, and looks far better than if they had simply used plastic painted in their respective colours.
Build quality is a bit of a mixed bag, which isn't really much of a surprise for figures from this era. Overall, Zero looks good.. but as always, the devil is in the details. Specifically, the work on the hair isn't greatest. There is some great hair sculpting, but the material used is relatively soft and results in a crude finish which unfortunately make the paint work look far worse than it actually is. Tolerance on assembly gaps wasn't the greatest, and then there is the surprisingly unhidden way one of the hair pieces connects together. For all the beautiful work on the body, they really dropped the ball on this hair. There are some unfinished edges on the fists, but at least those are within acceptable norm. Joints for the most part will do the job and hold poses, though there are some balance issues due to the weight of the hair on the neck joint.
As far as I can tell, if you want an action figure.. well any of the Zero iterations (up to Megaman Zero, even), you're pretty much going with a D-Arts, and more specifically, if you want a Type 2, well, this is it. As mentioned above, the figure shows it's age from an articulation perspective, but it's really the lacklustre work on the hair that disappoints me the greatest about this figure. Having said that, flaws and all, it's is still a very aesthetically pleasing figure, with decent articulation even by modern standards, though greater range of motion would have allowed for more dramatic Z Saber poses. Finally, there's the strange lack of an included stand, a first for D-Arts that I've handled.
It's still early in the year, but I've already got a decent lineup to start 2020 to work with, so as always, stay tuned.