So it turns out that there are a few people who are into toys other than DCUC, Marvel and MOTUC on the Fwoosh! I know, I was shocked too. So I’m going to start doing a few reviews here and there on some of the japanese toys I import. For the most part, these will be new toys I have gotten recently, though I may do a few older ones if Pabs let’s me.
TEKKAMAN BLADE – Bandai, Armour Plus Figure 3.
Bandai has always been a powerhouse for the Japanese market. It produces anime and manga, does video games and for many years has made great toys and model kits. They have a wide variety of licenses and styles, so you often get a vast range of products out of them. Having been hooked on their Saint Seiya – Myth Cloth line for many years, I was psyched to hear they were moving into a new line called “Armor Plus” which would focus on a variety of armored characters. But that was nothing compared to how excited I was to find out their third release would be Tekkaman Blade; my favorite Mecha design of all time.
Western Audiences will probably know him a little different; as Teknoman, the lead character from the show of the same name in the early 90’s. Two dubs of the show exist, but the basic premise remains the same: In the year 2087, an alien race invades Earth. Using giant spider crabs, the aliens are led by a handful of armored warriors called ‘Tekkaman’s’ (Teknomans). A few years into the war, a mysterious Tekkaman falls to Earth with no memory of who he is, other than that he is called “Blade” and he is trying to save Earth. He changes into his armored form first using a Crystal, and eventually a giant robot. Hi-jinks ensue.
THE TOY:
Blade stands about 15/16cms tall. He has great range of motion using double jointed elbows and knees, and various ball sockets over his body to achieve almost any pose you like. The two main places articulation falls down are the head and hips. The head can’t tilt to look back, and the hips can’t move very far to the sides, both limitations because of the armor design. I haven’t found the hip issue to be a problem, but it DOES suck that he can’t look up, especially for flying poses. The base body is a sturdy plastic, though the pegs for the interchangeable hands and just below the knees is a little fragile. Paint is excellent, and I didn’t notice any chips or scratches on either the die cast or plastic parts. The armor is basically all Die cast metal. In fact of the outer armor, only the head, feet and upper leg armor is plastic, the rest is metal. When assembled, the figure has a nice heft to him, feeling solid and durable. And for the most part it is, though as I said; watch the hand pegs. If you are careful you should be fine, and any veteran of the Saint Seiya line will know how much force to apply (I’ve never had a hand peg break on any of my figures). The antenna on the head and the tips on his Tek-Lance are the other bits to watch; catch any on some cloth or if he falls the wrong way they could snap. If you are careful it wouldn’t be a problem, but this is definitely not a toy for kids.
As well as the basic armor, which features flip up “blasters” in the shoulders, the unit has a detachable arm shield, a wire whip/spear that can be posed off the shield, Blades Tec-Lance in its double end configuration, and the lance separated to hits sword halves. The weapons are all plastic, but the color is consistent between the shield and armor so you can’t tell the difference, and the spear has a great metallic silver finish to it. Blade also has 5 sets of hands: Fists, gripping the Tek-sword, gripping the Tek-Lance, relaxed and sharply pointed. The last gimmick is under the ribs; the vents there can open up (In the anime, Blade has ‘jets’ there which help him fly.
Overall, Im extremely pleased with the figure. So much so I have ordered the other Armor plus figures (Alto from Macross Frontier and Ryo from Samurai Troopers) just to have more of this quality toy line. The little details make the figure really stand out (Like his eyes glinting under the visor) and you really feel you get what you pay for with this figure. The prices vary depending on where you go, but I paid about $85 AUD shipped (About $60ish USD) and am happy with that. If you’re a Tekkaman or Teknoman fan and you are looking for a great figure, this is the one to get. And Bandai have just announced that Tekkaman Evil (Saber in the US version) is next on the list to bring out, so this could be the start of a great line.
