Have you ever wanted a blank action figure that you could buy to customize into anything that you want? If so, then Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts Body Chan and Kun are probably the figures for you. Meant as artist’s mannequins, these figures are the perfect fodder for your customizing needs.
“Body” refers to the blank body and “Kun” refers to male and “Chan” refers to female, in my oversimplified explanation. Each figure is designed as part of an artists blank, kinda like the wood mannequins that you can find at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Each package comes with a booklet explaining it all in Japanese. There are four different versions of these figures: male and female, one set in pale orange or flesh colored, and the other in primer grey. The difference is not only in color, but content. The primer grey figures have a lot more accessories and will be the subject of a future review, but, for now, let’s look at the pale orange.
Each of these figures is excellently sculpted — they look like males and females. The male figure is that of an average build, and it could represent just about any character out there. I was surprised by the amount of musculature sculpted on the figure. The female is a bit more of an odd choice; while she is excellently sculpted, she represents a much more teen look, where the male could figure for mature teen to average adult. The female, with her oversized head, looks young. She’s also very small, like you would expect for a teen female. As you can tell, I was expecting a more adult-sized female.
The articulation is top notch, S.H. Figuarts standard. Bandai went the extra mile with the male and female in trying to make the joints fit seamlessly with the sculpt. And it does pay off for the most part. All of the articulation works as designed and there are very few poses that I can’t get to work. The double hinge on the bicep should have more range of motion against the bicep, but the sculpt hinders further movement.
The accessories are light on this set, coming with only extra hands. I was disappointed that there were no gun or grip hands, but there are in the primer grey sets.
These are excellent figures and a ton of fun to play with. I’m eager to work on some customs and some ideas in mind, like the crew of the Yamato.
You can still pick these up at:
