I love it when a whimsical plan comes together!

Only a few items arrived this week, and all of them related to the 'Figuarts Tuesday' plan.

And I guess I should give a mention to this seeing as it got me watching the movie version of Macross Plus one more time (despite the fact I just recently watched the thing), so I'll recommend you go check out Episode 5 of Shut Up and Watch This! (even if it's so you can hear my name dropped twice).


Thursday, hobby_store_asia, I received S.H.Figuarts Masked Rider Faiz.

Another of my 'Figuarts Tuesday' purchases, but one I bought mainly for nostalgia reasons. I have a lot of sentiment towards to Faiz because I probably wouldn't be the Kamen Rider fan I am today if it wasn't for my watching of Kamen Rider 555 all those years ago.


Friday, toy_and_game, I received...

• S.H.Figuarts Masked Rider Kuuga Ultimate Form
• S.H.Figuarts Masked Rider Decade Complete Form
  

Kuuga in his Ultimate Form is my favourite Form of Kuuga, and the only one I actually own as a Souchaku Henshin. But compared to that relic of a toy, this new S.H.Figuarts incarnation is a vast improvement in almost every conceivable way imaginable (except that he doesn't come with any weapons like the Souchaku Henshin one did).

I wanted Decade in his Complete Form cos they made it appear oh so fucking awesome in the show even though the actual design of it is kinda ridiculous with the cards on his head and chest armour.

Another Burden for the Masterpiece Hardest to Bear!

Another uneventful week has passed (although I did finally manage to watch both the OVA and Movie versions of Macross Plus), but there were some notable arrivals.

I'll also give a special mention in regards to Episode 2 of Shut Up and Watch This! (which was a fan commentary for Saban's Masked Rider if you haven't checked it out) for accurately predicting the actions of yours truly so well (you're damn right Nemmy was "screaming" at that point!).


Thursday, Frankie (a.k.a. toyspark), I received...

• Masterpiece MP-9 Rodimus Convoy gold coin
• Masterpiece MP-9 Rodimus Convoy
• Masterpiece MP-9 Rodimus Convoy display box
  

I was originally planning on only having the one Masterpiece Rodimus Convoy, but a slight oversight with my pre-orders has resulted in me now having two. However, unlike the Rodimus I received last week, this is the Hong Kong version which came with a coin and a pretty box for displaying him in (didn't get the big ass flame bag unfortunately) as additional extras.

And in case you're wondering, I will be keeping this Rodimus MISB as I see very little point in opening another.


Friday, kcmanhk and figure_house, I received...

• S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Double FangJoker
• S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Double CycloneJokerXtreme
• S.H.Figuarts One Piece Nami
  

The two Kamen Rider W S.H.Figuarts were purchased as part of my crazy 'Figuarts Tuesday' plan I started on a whim at the beginning of the month and would last throughout the course of February. I do have more on the way, but I'm currently waiting on their arrival.

As for Nami, I did have my reservations on female type S.H.Figuarts after opening my Cure Black and Cure White, but with Nami I didn't feel like I had to be as cautious in handling her as the aforementioned duo. Changing her hands was practically a breeze, and her face was only a tad trickier but still relatively easy.

The Burden of a Masterpiece Hardest to Bear!

I think I'll just cut to the chase as I have a bit to say on this week's arrivals.


Monday, supermart_usa, I received My-Otome 0~S.ifr~.

Another OVA like Mai-Otome Zwei, but this one is a prequel set in the days where Arika's mother, Lena, was an active serving Otome (just before she received the Blue Sky Sapphire Gem).

This also completes my collection of the entire Mai-HiME/Mai-Otome franchise on DVD (unless of course they decide bring out something else later down the line).


Tuesday, Fan2Fan, I received Masterpiece MP-9 Rodimus Convoy.

I've heard the horror stories of the experiences people have had with this guy be it from stress marks, broken tabs, snapped off shin panels, cocked-up foot springs and the trailer scraping the paint on the spoiler wing fins. I tried to not let that affect me once I got mine, I really did, but after handling him for a bit I can say I'm actually terrified of even attempting to transform him into vehicle mode in case something goes irreversibly wrong (just changing him from Hot Rodimus to Rodimus Convoy in robot mode made me feel somewhat nervous).

Then you have the issue with his guns which feel like they were made of cheap plastic and also can't be held properly in his hands (c'mon, even Masterpiece Convoy with his finicky hands can hold a gun better than this!).

I think the saddest part in all this is that I find myself liking the trailer more than the figure itself... Unlike the figure this is a sturdy piece of construction that'll no doubt stand the trails of prolonged fiddling.


Saturday, Amazon.co.uk and AmiAmi, I received...

• Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac
• Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II
• S.H.Figuarts Cure Black
• S.H.Figuarts Cure White
  

In truth, I only bought the Almanacs on a whim while browsing on Amazon the other day, but once I received them I was genuinely shocked at the quality that has been poured into these books.

Then we have the S.H.Figuarts of Cure Black and Cure White, the two that began the PreCure (a.k.a. Pretty Cure) franchise and also the two that led yours truly into watching other PreCure series such as PreCure Splash Star, Yes! PreCure 5, Fresh PreCure, HeartCatch PreCure and Suite PreCure.

The figures themselves put me more in mind of a figma in its design than your standard Figuart. If I was to bring up a bad point about them (apart from the stands), it would be those small fragile looking ball joints and wrist pegs (it makes trying to change the faces and hands more scary than it should be).

Trackers and Old Timers

Another quiet week in regards to arrivals, but I did manage to finish Quartett! (with added voice patch) in about two days (it was a short VN).

I also got to see the finale to HeartCatch PreCure, which is now the fourth PreCure series I've seen to completion.


Thursday, All The Cool Stuff, I received Generations Scourge and Generations Sergeant Kup.

Getting a Scourge that wasn't a underwhelming Titanium or an overpriced remould of Galaxy Force Noisemaze (not that I'd say no to owning either him or the Sweeps though) is a welcome addition to the collection.

His vehicle mode does look rather kinda silly, but being able to pop his head up as seen in the '86 movie is a neat little feature. The robot mode is lovely, but those wings do make him kinda back heavy. I think the only thing that could have made this guy even better is a proper Fracas Targetmaster.

Kup is also a nice toy, but that chest transformation scares me (I fear too much force here will cause breakage), and his elbow are awkward cos you can't bend it while holding the gun (using the higher swivel joint doesn't count).