DSC_2355
So I was browsing Facebook ads last week, as I always do, and came across this - the S.H. Figuarts Tuxedo Kamen figure from the Sailor Moon line. With the ladies completed (ish.. I mean, they're not technically complete due to the Super line but whatever) I had resigned myself to only getting the rest if they fell into my lap.
The universe does some time provide, as this was also located in an area I frequent even during COVID and best of all, it was a whopping $35 CAD, or roughly $25 USD at the time of this writing.
Clearly I wasn't about to say "No" to this.
For the uninitiated, Tuxedo Kamen is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity's lover, Endymion. I'm gonna go ahead and presume that this particular tidbit is about as shocking as finding out Santa Claus is really whoever had time to run to the toy store.
As a character, he features more predominately in the first two seasons of the 90s show, and as an actual fighter much more useful in the 90s show as compared to his abilities in Crystal which thus far have been effectively a Kamehameha (I've only seen up to Season 2). Tuxedo Kamen is also armed with razor sharp throwing roses, and extending cane, and of course, a Masters degree in Slam Poetry.
Lets find out if they were able to capture all this in figure form.
The set comes pretty well packed. Released in 2015 at a MSRP of 5,000 Yen, it was about 600 Yen or so more expensive than the ladies themselves. In the set you of get the figure, four total face plates (eyes closed, eyes open, mask on with eyes revealed, mask on with eyes covered over - for when he was still mysterious), a rose, that locket that featured promaninetly in Season One during his search for his past, his cane, various posing hands, and a posing stand.
Tuxedo Kamen looks pretty good, and doesn't have any of the issues with a disproportionate face or strange gaps on the side of the head. Sculptors, to me, focused on maintaining the lines of his tuxedo rather than maximizing articulation
Size wise, he scales fine with the original Sailor Moon, but I think if anything this figure shows that the Super version really was made too tall. Also, because of the non existent scaling standards, Tuxedo Kamen will undoubtedly look like Sagat next to most of your Figuarts.
Colour wise, I'm not sure what else needs overhauling. I say that in the sense that the recent "anime colour" reissues have brighter colours to make them more accurate to their screen counterparts. I mean, I guess you could make the white and skintone brighter, but honestly what can do you about the black.
Technically, Tuxedo Kamen has two head sculpts - with and without the top hat. In order to secure the hat to this head, that sculpt has giant plastic knob underneath it, which looks hilariously like a Fez.
The base, for.. reasons, is a repainted standard SHF rectangular piece. I get that it's black for the purposes of Tuxedo Kamen, but when everyone is transparent, it really doesn't fit in.
Oh yes.. can't forget about the cape. It's... mostly terrible. The whole thing sits on a frame that allows for some articulation but overall you're not going to be able to do some of the more classic poses involving the cape. Lets not forget the sheer weight and size of the cape making posing very difficult.. you're gonna want to use that stand if you're displaying with the cape on.
This poor bastard definitely needs a wired cloth cape.
Tuxedo Kamen has the same points of articulation as the ladies - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down function, waist, mid torso, shoulders with some collapse, single jointed elbows, wrists, neck, and head. Due to the design of the body, range of motion at the ankles and shoulders is severely limited, as is the mid torso joint.
Overall, you can get some elegant looking poses out of the figure, but there's zero chance you're getting anything dynamic looking.
Paint wise, due to the relative simplicity of Tuxedo Kamen, there les chance of messy or uneven paint apps. Yes, there is still some uneven masking along the blue parts, but it's not as distracting on the ladies. I will admit that the paint on the actual mask itself seems a bit haphazard, and colour matching between the waist piece and the rest of the outfit isn't quite perfect.
Decal work on the faces is well done.
Build quality is quite good, and feels superior to any of the Senshi, even at the hips. Joints are tight, limb sizes are correct, and there are no issues with tolerances. Finishes on the parts themselves are smooth, with seams generally well taken care of.
Alright.. I think that about sums it up. Stylish looking figure, terrible cape, above average posing options. It's really too bad the cape ended up the way it did, as it really is like Batman's in that it's part of the character design.
DSC_2355
So I was browsing Facebook ads last week, as I always do, and came across this - the S.H. Figuarts Tuxedo Kamen figure from the Sailor Moon line. With the ladies completed (ish.. I mean, they're not technically complete due to the Super line but whatever) I had resigned myself to only getting the rest if they fell into my lap.
The universe does some time provide, as this was also located in an area I frequent even during COVID and best of all, it was a whopping $35 CAD, or roughly $25 USD at the time of this writing.
Clearly I wasn't about to say "No" to this.
For the uninitiated, Tuxedo Kamen is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity's lover, Endymion. I'm gonna go ahead and presume that this particular tidbit is about as shocking as finding out Santa Claus is really whoever had time to run to the toy store.
As a character, he features more predominately in the first two seasons of the 90s show, and as an actual fighter much more useful in the 90s show as compared to his abilities in Crystal which thus far have been effectively a Kamehameha (I've only seen up to Season 2). Tuxedo Kamen is also armed with razor sharp throwing roses, and extending cane, and of course, a Masters degree in Slam Poetry.
Lets find out if they were able to capture all this in figure form.
The set comes pretty well packed. Released in 2015 at a MSRP of 5,000 Yen, it was about 600 Yen or so more expensive than the ladies themselves. In the set you of get the figure, four total face plates (eyes closed, eyes open, mask on with eyes revealed, mask on with eyes covered over - for when he was still mysterious), a rose, that locket that featured promaninetly in Season One during his search for his past, his cane, various posing hands, and a posing stand.
Tuxedo Kamen looks pretty good, and doesn't have any of the issues with a disproportionate face or strange gaps on the side of the head. Sculptors, to me, focused on maintaining the lines of his tuxedo rather than maximizing articulation
Size wise, he scales fine with the original Sailor Moon, but I think if anything this figure shows that the Super version really was made too tall. Also, because of the non existent scaling standards, Tuxedo Kamen will undoubtedly look like Sagat next to most of your Figuarts.
Colour wise, I'm not sure what else needs overhauling. I say that in the sense that the recent "anime colour" reissues have brighter colours to make them more accurate to their screen counterparts. I mean, I guess you could make the white and skintone brighter, but honestly what can do you about the black.
Technically, Tuxedo Kamen has two head sculpts - with and without the top hat. In order to secure the hat to this head, that sculpt has giant plastic knob underneath it, which looks hilariously like a Fez.
The base, for.. reasons, is a repainted standard SHF rectangular piece. I get that it's black for the purposes of Tuxedo Kamen, but when everyone is transparent, it really doesn't fit in.
Oh yes.. can't forget about the cape. It's... mostly terrible. The whole thing sits on a frame that allows for some articulation but overall you're not going to be able to do some of the more classic poses involving the cape. Lets not forget the sheer weight and size of the cape making posing very difficult.. you're gonna want to use that stand if you're displaying with the cape on.
This poor bastard definitely needs a wired cloth cape.
Tuxedo Kamen has the same points of articulation as the ladies - ankles, single jointed knees, hips with pull down function, waist, mid torso, shoulders with some collapse, single jointed elbows, wrists, neck, and head. Due to the design of the body, range of motion at the ankles and shoulders is severely limited, as is the mid torso joint.
Overall, you can get some elegant looking poses out of the figure, but there's zero chance you're getting anything dynamic looking.
Paint wise, due to the relative simplicity of Tuxedo Kamen, there les chance of messy or uneven paint apps. Yes, there is still some uneven masking along the blue parts, but it's not as distracting on the ladies. I will admit that the paint on the actual mask itself seems a bit haphazard, and colour matching between the waist piece and the rest of the outfit isn't quite perfect.
Decal work on the faces is well done.
Build quality is quite good, and feels superior to any of the Senshi, even at the hips. Joints are tight, limb sizes are correct, and there are no issues with tolerances. Finishes on the parts themselves are smooth, with seams generally well taken care of.
Alright.. I think that about sums it up. Stylish looking figure, terrible cape, above average posing options. It's really too bad the cape ended up the way it did, as it really is like Batman's in that it's part of the character design.