RG Sinanju

A warning, I had the white balance issue again for this round of photos. Here's what I love about the RG series: the part count, the great detail, the stickers, and in this case the amount of metallic embellishments. The RG line does detail better than most MG kits. What I'm not entirely happy about the RG line: the inner frame, while great as an idea, seems to lend to a less stable kit than even the HG kits. This kit doesn't seem to be as stable as my MG version of the Sinanju, and the problem seems to be exasperated by the fact that the inner frame was not created for a mobile suit as big as the Sinanju (it's a Gundam Mk. II frame which means stretching the frame from 19m to 22m).

All that said, I really like this kit for exactly the reason everyone else was excited, the metallic gold "sleeves" embellishments. Bonus? The red is cast in a high gloss finish. I didn't need this kit to do anything but stand there and look badass. I feel like with a lot of patience he could be posed effectively.

So now, we're just waiting for a MG Sinanju 2.0 which brings in those metallic parts.

 

 

SH Figuarts -- Piccolo

So, first off, this is Piccolo in his Manga colors instead of his anime colors, which means yellow arm bulges and a red belt instead of pink arm bulges and a blue belt. That said, I'm a little torn on this figure. I think that perhaps, because the figure I bought was pre-owned, it might just be a little more beat up than most. Here's my reasons for disappointment which may have nothing to do with the actual figure design: His joints are all very loose. He comes apart too easily at the waist and the shoulders. For my figure, his arms have a hard time actually pegging into place, so they fall off pretty easily. Also, it's tough to change heads, because the ball joint on the neck just doesn't want to be pegged into the head. The shoulder pieces of his gi tend to fall off pretty easily as well. But that might all be from frequent over-use.

All that said, the detail is wonderful as usual. He's got great paint details on his shoes and ankles. One of his heads has bulging veins that look pretty great. His cape has two different front pieces, one normal and one with a cutout for his crossed-arms to fit over.

Assassin's Creed -- Jacob Frye

I really, really loved Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which was a relief after the disaster of AC Unity. A big part of the success of this particular game was the well written pair of protagonists, Jacob and Evie Frye. While I tended to enjoy Evie more as both a character and an assassin -- she has that great invisibility ability -- Jacob definitely was a fun character and I was always eager to see his reactions to different situations.

 As for the figure, I do love the giant coat and the blue shirt. He comes with a sword-cane and a pair of pistols. He does not come with a top hat, which is a goddamned shame. Also, his pistols don't have holsters, they just peg into Jacob's belt, which ends up looking a little weird.

 This lineup of Assassin's Creed figures did not include an Evie for some reason, and it seems doubtful that we'll get one in the next lineup. Hopefully we will, she's actually my favorite Assassin, after Ezio, of course.

Marvel Legends -- Sentry

Sentry is a character who is pretty simple and plain as an action figure, but who appeals to me based on his color palette and simplicity. He doesn't have any accessories, but is well articulated and will definitely benefit from having a figure stand to take a flying pose (I don't have a stand for any figures as of yet).

 As far as powers go, Sentry is credited with the power of "a million exploding suns," but lacks complete control over his power. Part of this is because of his long history with mental problems (amnesia, depression). He has, in the past, erased all memory of himself on the planet Earth in order to keep humanity safe.

Most Wanted: Update

So as an update, we've recently received new information regarding the gunpla being rolled out in 2017. As a review, we've now seen the Efreet Schneid released, albeit as a P-Bandai exclusive:

We've also now seen the Bawoo released (as well as the P-Bandai ReBawoo announced):

 And now, Bandai has announced the MG Providence Gundam to be released in Spring 2017. The Providence was just slightly edged by the Legend Gundam in my original most-wanted list, even though I felt the Providence was the more visually strinking mobile suit (the collector in me just wanted to have the full ZAFT team featuring Destiny and Impulse Gundams).

 And finally, it appears there has been an announcement, following a very definitive poll last summer, that there will be a ZZ Gundam ver Ka coming in 2017 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the ZZ Gundam series. The next year in Gunpla is shaping up to be pretty exciting.

Black Mask

So Black Mask is a character I had never even heard of until the Arkham series. Created in 1985, the character is the Crime Boss alter ego of Roman Sionis, a mentally ill former billionaire. It seems I've been seeing references to Black Mask pop up quite a bit since his appearance in the Arkham series, most recently in Gotham's season two where Richard Sionis is a character who breaks out of Arkham Asylum. It is unknown whether this character represented Roman Sionis' father or another Sionis.

The figure is not an espectially complex one. It lacks the amount of articulation from many other figures in the line. It was part of a four-pack, packaged with Batman, Deathstroke, and the Joker. Batman and Deathstroke have all of the points of articulation one would expect, Black Mask and the Joker do not. Black Mask does, however, come complete with his twin automatic pistols.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so here's a sneak peak at upcoming posts.