Cale arrived today. My review – took me longer to put him together compared to any of the bandai. There are one or two looser pieces. Leg armor is a bit awkward, biggest issue was the boots I think. They totally screwed up on sizing those. Even bandai has an issue or two like known hip joint issue so I know nothing is perfect. Pros- it is still a beautiful display piece, I really dig the soft cloak cape compared to the hard plastic alternative. Has a nice feature, the stand. The color scheme is awesome. Few tweaks and it’s up there. Overall rating, as a display piece I’d say 9…ease of putting together with patience…I’d say 5…so overall..7 out of 10.
So here’s my Anubis set that I just got yesterday. Opened it up and…well you’ll see. I’m going to be probably getting a refund on this…its sad I had such high hopes for this.
Bought the fabric cape too. Started off good until i heard something loose already.
Figure looked good at first…
Don’t care about the display stand at all. I just get these to display the armors on the black stand part…more on that in a second.
Ok, now I see why its cheaper than the Bandai ones, there’s not just some assembly required, there’s a LOT of assembly required and ZERO instructions for them.
The ONE PART I needed to work…falls apart completely the SECOND I TAKE IT OUT OF THE BOX!! Not to mention that the limbs are about to separate too…
The paint on the cape’s insides is incomplete and chipping out of the box.
Here’s the main reason this failed, there’s a missing pin on the back piece and the screws they used are for decoration only. They aren’t remotely long enough to connect with the back piece. Either finding the proper size screws could work or glueing it might work.
But, the leg armor doesn’t stay on the legs, they don’t line up with the feet at all and the spikes on the skirt armor is missing one. But I DO have one extra of the spikes that go on the chest armor. Not good enough.
The paint under the feet armor is unfinished and the horn on the helmet doesn’t sit flush with the helmet.
The piece that connects the top of the plastic cape to the rest of it is also missing too.
On the plus side, they put a ton of extra detail onto the sheath of the sword with kanji and other detail. It’s like that all they really cared about.
I did leave out some of his comments and pictures because there were no pics of it fully assembled and so this post wouldn’t be super long. Also Jeff likes to display the armor on the blank figure, not the main body, but he did say that the main body he received:
…slumps over and barely holds itself up. No to mention it feels like cheap playskool plastic
Sounds like it’s a bit of a gamble whether or not the figure arrives in “good” condition, but when it does, it seems to fit in well with the original, official, line. I’ve seen the figure on eBay, and the price isn’t too bad; but do note that they’re selling the cape separately from the figure for an extra cost, so be careful when making your purchase.
The sister store to the Nakano Broadway Gallery Exhibit, aka Hakaba WEST, is continuing the celebration of the 30th Anniversary with another exhibition of art and new merchandise! Goods sold at the original exhibition back in October 2018 at Nakano Broadway will make another appearance in the Osaka branch. The event runs from March 6th, 2019, to March 21st, 2019!
Top: a new t-shirt featuring Byakuen on the front, the logo on the back, and possibly the troopers’ insignias on the left sleeve!
Middle row, leftmost image: an acrylic figure featuring Arago and Kayura; this would match the previously released trooper and masho acrylic figure sheets.
Middle row, right two images: an acrylic diorama/backdrop where each of the figures from the acrylic sheets could be placed (Arago and Kayura are not included).
Bottom row left two images: ema with two different designs available.
Bottom row rightmost image: an eye mask!
Check out this lovely cup featuring the insignias of the troopers and masho!
On March 10th, 2019, there will also be a “special screening” of the most popular episodes, followed by a chat with Director Hamazu Mamoru and Okamoto Hideo, Armor Designer (cover artist of the 30th Anniversary Memorial Book). The screening is a ticketed event, and participants will be gifted with an exclusive “pen light” featuring their favorite trooper or the four masho:
I’m loving that the 30th Anniversary is still being celebrated!
The new merch is not yet available online, but some of the original merchandise from the Nakano Broadway exhibit are still available here (and I’m told the site does ship to the USA if the World Shopping interface is used).
Were you wishing for some of the exclusive Yoroiden Samurai Troopers goods that were sold at the gallery in Nakano Broadway? The time has come, and the goods have made their way to the gallery’s online store!
But wait, there’s more: new “info” about the mystery anniversary book… What could it be? Release will be on December 18th, 2018; preorders are now open via phone call…
“Secretly” released for sale also at the Nakano Broadway Gallery Exhibit, too many cute things–designs by GraffArt! It’s a “secret” because it’s only been announced via twitter so far and is not on the gallery’s site yet:
Do you remember the Tenku-no-Touma-themed sake that was inspired by the location in Amanohashidate? That same company is making a sake cup to go along with it!
And as a part of the blu-ray release, the cassette drama collection will be remastered and possibly be included, or at least sold alongside, the box set! The cassette dramas were side stories set during the tv series and are considered part of the show’s canon timeline by Sunrise. The voice actors spoke and interacted with each other as their characters to tell the story. It was like watching a tv episode but with your eyes closed. – source
Additionally, a new, mysterious book has been announced for release on December 18th, 2018, tentatively titled: Memorial Book. Fans in Japan are speculating if this could be a reprint of the original Memorials artbooks, or if it’s something brand new! There’s no cover image yet, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see! – source
Phew! I think that’s everything that’s come out of Japan so far! I wish they’d spread the news out so I could catch my breath!
The first set features each of the troopers individually; artwork drawn by: 西田亜沙子 (google translates to Ayako Nishida – I’ll try to find a link for them they are an animator with a twitter account). Here’s a preview of each scroll:
These trooper scrolls should be shipped out/possibly available for sale in December 2018, but they are limited to preorders issued at the store from October 27th to November 11th, 2018.
The same artwork is used on the 3rd set’s wall scroll, but it features all of the troopers gathered together. Here’s the preview:
This scroll should be shipped out/possibly available for sale in January 2019, but they are limited to preorders issued at the store from October 27th to November 11th, 2018.
The final, middle set shows two wall scrolls, one featuring the troopers all together, and the other featuring the masho all together. The new art is drawn by: ことぶきつかさ (google translates to “Buddy Tsukasa”, but I think it’s supposed to be Kotobuki Tsukasa – I’ll try to find a link to them they are an animator with a twitter account). The images of the troopers are the same artwork that’s been used on the blu-ray cover, and on the miniature character banners and clear files from the Sunrise Festival.
Here are the previews:
Our first look at how the masho could appear in a modern animation style:
This set should be shipped out/possibly available for sale in December 2018, but just like the others, they are limited to preorders issued at the store from October 27th to November 11th, 2018. I’m not sure how the preorder and fulfillment will work, but hopefully more details will be released soon.
What do you think of the modern interpretations of the characters? I’d be pretty happy to see a remake in either of these drawing styles! <3
Do you want the exhibit-only goods, but don’t want to buy a plane ticket to Japan? One of our fellow fans has suggested this site as an option: https://otsukai.manga.tokyo/
Disclaimer: I have never used that site or its services and am not affiliated with them in any way. Apparently you’ll need a paypal account to pay. (If you want the rascal-trooper cross-over goods, they have completely sold out at this time. The Gallery is hoping to get a new shipment soon!)
