Sideshow Toys 1/6 Scale Star Wars - A New Hope - Garindan

Garindan

 

"I can tell you where to find them... for a price."

―Garindan

 

Garindan ezz Zavor, also called Long-Snoot, was a Kubaz who was considered to be the "greatest spy in Mos Eisley spaceport." was a male Kubaz who had been forced to work as a spy for the Galactic Empire. In private, Garindan loathed his Imperial overlords and sought to return to his clan and free his homeworld of Kubindi from Imperial rule. Prior to the Battle of Yavin, Garindan received news that his family was in danger. In an attempt to buy passage home, Garindan provided information about the location of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and R2-D2 to the Galactic Empire during a battle on the desert world of Tatooine. Despite the failure of that job, Garindan accepted another job to help Derrida the Ketton spy on the Rebel Alliance.

 

This is a 2nd entry of a 1/6 scale Garindan. The first being only the other 1/6 representation of this character from Hasbro's SAGA collection from 2003.

 

Macross Zantraedi Regult Scout - Hasegawa 1/72 Model Kit

Macross Wiki

Regult Tactical Scouts are Battle Pods featured in the Super Dimension Fortress Macross television series. Manufactured by Ectromelia, they were used by the Zentradi during Space War I.
A deadly addition to the Zentradi Regult mecha forces, the Tactical Scout is the reconnaissance variant of the standard Regult battle pod. Removing all weaponry, the Tactical Scout is equipped with many additional sensor clusters and long-range detection equipment.

Always found operating among other Regult mecha, the Scout is capable of early warning enemy detection as well as ECM/ECCM roles (Electronic Countermeasures/Electronic Counter-Countermeasures).

 

Medicom Stylish Collection - Lupin the 3rd : Pycal the Magician

 

Pycal first appear in the original television anime adaptation first series of Lupin the 3rd, Episode 2 "The Man They Called a Magician" in Oct 31, 1971. In this episode, Pycal perish in flames. But he came back seemingly alive in a dedicated Original Video Animation (OVA) in Apr 03 2002. in Recognition of the 30th anniversary of the manga's first television anime adaptation.
In the original TV series, Pycal wore a white suit with geen innershirt and a white tie. When he returned in 2002, he had a Lavendar coloured suit with a darker shade of purple innershirt and a white tie.
This figure of Pycal from Medicom were released in May 22 2000, it's design is hence per the OG TV series which is personally preferred.

 

Fansproject Lost Exo Realm LER-05 Comera (Dinobots Velociraptor)

Fansproject's Comera LER-05 combines robot, dinosaur (Velociraptor at it) and sleek fem fatale stature. Combines cold steel of a robot, mythical extinct prehistoric giant reptiles all formed nicely onto a supermodel toned body with tiny little waist and legs that runs forever. Arcee did not even come close. Yeah, such things do exist and you, me, and him can own it. So here she is.

There seem no back story about Comera and she is not canonized into mainstream Transformers (TF), it is a brainchild of Fansproject, a 3rd party TF manufacturer - non-licensed. But Fansproject and other 3rd party TF manufacturer (and designer) really gave collectors another dimension to add more variety to our TF collection.

There are of course purist who do not care about these. But never a bad thing to have variety.

 

Candy Toy - 仮面ライダーアマゾン Kamen Rider Amazon Diorama Scene

From Kamen Rider Wiki : 

Kamen Rider Amazon (仮面ライダーアマゾン, Kamen Raidā Amazon, "Masked Rider Amazon" in English) is a Japanese tokusatsu drama and the fourth installment of the Kamen Rider Series. It is the fourth series to debut in the Showa Era and aired from October 19, 1974 to March 29, 1975 on NET and the Mainichi Broadcasting System. With 24 episodes produced and aired, it is the shortest Kamen Rider series ever.

Story
A plane crashes in the Amazon rainforest, leaving young Amazon (Daisuke Yamamoto) stranded without his parents. Soon adopted by an Incan tribe, Amazon becomes a wild child, living off the land. However, Amazon's idyllic existence is cut short when Golgos, the Jyumenki, massacres his village, slaughtering everyone except himself in search for the powerful "GiGi Armlet", which gives the bearer fantastic power. Elder Bago, last of the Incas, gives the GiGi Armlet to Amazon for safekeeping while using his knowledge of Incan science and magic to perform a mystical "operation" on Daisuke, transforming him into the powerful "Kamen Rider Amazon" before he died. Arriving at Japan, Amazon battles Gedon without full knowledge of their reason of pursuing him. Befriending the nephew and niece of Professor Kousaka, Amazon learns the nature of the GiGi Armlet as he defeats Gedon and then the Garander Empire.

BLOKEES - Defender Scale Constructicons Combiners DEVASTATOR

For all my (little) knowledge on Transformers (TF), the very very first combiners I came to know of is none other than the Devastator! Loyal to the Decepticons. For that moment, the bad guys has the upper hand with that big bad robot that are merged from 6 different Decepticons team that called themselves the Constructicons created by Shockwave, it consist of : Leader Scrapper, Right Leg | Hook, Upper Body | Bonecrusher, Left Arm | Long Haul, Lower Body | Mixmaster, Left Leg | Scavenger, Right Arm .
For all that hype, Devastator's combat ability is really not so devastating. Bad guys do not win - could be the mantra behind it.

Not a big TF toys collector and has just 1 shelf, out of 18, dedicated to my very small TF toys collection. But every TF collector however small time should have at least 1 combiners on the shelf. I made up that mind long ago and wanted 1 ultimate combiner which come in a form of Mastermind Creation's Ferel Rex aka Predacons which combines into Predaking! A full set costs a hefty $610. Fully combined returns a hefty weighted big bot and stood at least a good 35cm flat of the feet to the tip of the head. That means money spent well? That is 2014, many years ago.

Sideshow Toys 1/6 Scale Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back - Bounty Hunter Zuckuss

Star Wars Wookiepedia :

An insectoid being with compound eyes, Zuckuss was a Force-sensitive male Gand born on his species' homeworld of Gand as one of the planet's traditional findsmen. Using the findsmen's mystic traditions, dating back centuries, Zuckuss operated as a tireless tracker until the planet's findsman traditions began dying out. After failing to retrieve a T'karra flower from the nesting grounds of a charon, Zuckuss was deemed to have failed a traditional findsman rite and was cast out of his clan. He became one of the first such to leave the planet's thick and toxic atmosphere, and wore a respirator to breathe ammonia while operating in oxygen-rich atmospheres in the wider galaxy. He worked as a bounty hunter on lucrative jobs that made use of his particular talents as a highly sought-after hunter with renowned tracking skills, and he often paired up with 4-LOM on many occasions. Although Zuckuss's uncanny abilities made some uneasy, he and 4-LOM remained a formidable team. They flew aboard the Mist Hunter, which Zuckuss filled with gasses to remind him of his homeworld.

Sideshow Toys 1/6 Scale Star Wars Sandtrooper Sergeant (White Pouldron)

Except from the writings within the product box :

The Empire encompassed thousands of worlds, with countless climate and terrain challenges. Their stormtrooper ranks reflected this through specialized units trained and equipped to operate in specific environments. The sandtrooper is a desert terrain stormtrooper. Their armor consists of an 18-piece anti-blaster coccon shell with heat-reflective coating worn over a temperature-control body glove. The sandtrooper helmet features automatic polarized lensed, a built-in comlink and breathing filters. These stormtroopers are specifically designed for high temperature environments. Instead of depending on machinery that may not function in hostile environments, sandtroppers make use of local creatures for transportation. The stormtrooper detachment dispatched by Lord Vader to investigate a crashed escape pod on Tatooine just prior to the Battle of Yavin consisted of sandtroopers. They had heavy weapons, survivor gear, and shoulder pauldrons denoting rank.

Medicom Stylish Collection - Lupin the 3rd : Linda

Lupin III Wiki :

Originally a secretary for Dr. Heinlein, she underwent human experimentation with a rare flower called the Third Sun when forced by Stern's criminal syndicate Killer-in-Killers (aka Kirein-Killers), resulting in her transformation into a witch.

To get away from the syndicate, Linda drives off in a speedboat. While on a speedboat, Fujiko Mine shoots Linda while practicing using Lupin III's Walther P38. Her speedboat goes off course and goes up in flames. She managed to swim to safety by a rock with Lupin catching her attention. After Fujiko went off with the speedboat, Lupin III asks her name and compliments her. Shortly after, they were pursed by the Killer-in-Killers who were shooting at them. The boat exploded thanks to Daisuke Jigen saving them, but by the time Lupin wants to introduce her to him, she had already gone.

Lupin and Jigen managed to track her down on an island thanks to Lupin detecting the scent of "Pink Bed" and sees her by a Third Sun flower bed. Very quickly Lupin falls in love with her as he kisses her hand. She falls in love with him back smiling and playing tag with each other as they run around a tree. He then makes a promise to her as she can no longer survive without the flowers.

The plane sprays gasoline that then using what appears to be a rocket launcher, Lupin fires at the flower bed, forgetting that Linda needs the flowers to live. Lupin wants to save her, but Dr. Heilein shoots her.

Medicom Stylish Collection - Lupin the 3rd : Daisuke Jigen 次元 大介

 

Wikepedia :

Daisuke Jigen (Japanese: 次元 大介, Hepburn: Jigen Daisuke) is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his manga series Lupin III, which debuted in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967. Jigen is the marksman, aide-de-camp and best friend of Arsène Lupin III. Along with colleague Goemon Ishikawa XIII, he joins Lupin in pursuit of riches acquired typically by theft. Traveling across the globe, Jigen has garnered fame as a gunman with a wildly capable speed and accuracy.

Bandai S.H.Figuarts Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope - Princess Leia Organa

One of the main protagonist in the ever expanding Star Wars universe. Leia was the 2nd of it to appear in the first Star Wars movie [A New Hope] (ANH) (1977), right after Darth Vader (6 years later, we know he is also her father). This figure represented the same Leia in that scene.

There is no need for further elaboration of this character for even the most casual Star Wars fans knew enough of Leia Organa to spare further writings. Carrie Fisher was the actress portraying this character. She reprises the same role in its Sequel Trilogy ie [The Force Awakens] (2015), [The Last Jedi] (2017), [The Rise of Skywalker] (2019) as an aged Leia Orgna.

A digital (deepfake?) rendition of a young Leia Organa - pre-Stormtroopers invasion on Tantive IV - was added to the end scene in Star Wars, [Rogue One] (2016). Personally I think it is badly done and although share some resemblance but one can tell immediately it is not the real Princess. There is even more likeness to this figure's sculpt comparing to that digital clone.

BanDai S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Old No.2 Nigo【仮面ライダー 旧2号】& Modified Cyclone 【サイクロン号, Saikuron-gō】

Cyclone (サイクロン号, Saikuron-gō) is the original personal motorcycle of Kamen Rider 1 and 2.

In this post, S.H.Figuarts (SHF) Old Kamen Rider Nigo came packaged together with the Modified Cyclone.

Maximum Speed: 400 km/h (248 mph)

Jump Power: 30 m (40 m after alteration)

Engine: Nuclear Engine, 200 horsepower.

Designer: Professor Midorikawa; Tobee Tachibana (Kamen Rider)

Base Model: Honda SL350K1 (Remodelled Cyclone)

Usage of this Modified Cyclone version can be quite confusing. This YouTube video gave a fair explanation on its history. Note video is in Mandarin narration.

Kamen Rider TV series back in the 1970s were made with little consideration for smooth flow and logic. Within a single episode, the Kamen Rider can be seen riding on 2 or more different "Cyclones". A logical explanation is different snippets filmed on different times, were stitched together scenes. Recycled scenes were also used in different episodes on Kamen Rider riding his machine(s). Therefore Hongo was also seen riding this vehicle. As the series move on, it is quite clear Kamen Rider Old Nigo should be the rightful owner of it.

BanDai S.H.Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Old No.1 Ichigo【仮面ライダー 旧1号】& S.H.Figuarts Cyclone 【サイクロン号, Saikuron-gō】

Kamen Rider Wiki

Rider Statistics

    Rider Height: 180 cm

    Rider Weight: 70 kg

Rider Senses

    Eyesight: 15 km

    Hearing: 4 km

    Enemy Sensing: 100 m

Ability Parameters (Initial → Trained)

    Punching Power: 15 t

    Gripping Power: 10 ~ 15 times human

    Kicking Power: Approx. 11.3 t → 22.5 t

    Maximum Jump Height: 15.3 m

    Maximum Jump Distance: 48.7 m

    Maximum Running Speed: 100 m per 12 seconds

    Maximum Swimming Speed: Approx. 100 m per 9.7 seconds

Because he was meant to be Shocker’s greatest altered human, Kamen Rider 1's capabilities are far greater than a normal man. He has the ability to hear at distances up to 4 kilometers away. He can break a meter thick tree trunk or a metal rod 10 cm thick with his Rider Chop. His Rider Kick has enough power to bend steel supports of buildings. Even when he wasn't fully transformed, this form was strong enough to withstand a 50 thousand volt electric shock.

Unlike in his later forms, Takeshi can't transform automatically in this form, needing external wind to jump start the Typhoon's turbine and give him access to his suit and most of his fighting strength. That wind is generally generated by riding his bike, but it also can come from other sources, like an explosion that pushes hot wind towards the Typhoon belt. It is thinkable that becoming Kamen Rider 1 has granted him a degree of immortality and immunity to organic diseases, viruses, bacteria and poison due to becoming a cybernetic human.

Ultrasensitive Antenna: Sense the presence of enemies and incoming attacks

Cat's Eye: Allows infrared night vision

Signal O: A brainwave transmission device that can detect other cyborgs

Crusher: The face plate that can break chains

Artificial Lungs: Can recycle oxygen for two hours

Pulmonary Converter: Catches wind power to convert it to energy, also acts as a radiator

Power Converter: Capsules on the belt that store energy

Typhoon: Transformation belt which is an anemometer which measures the Rider's energy

Artificial Muscle: Gives the Rider the strength to jump like a giant grasshopper

Jump Shoes: The soles are elastic-like springs.

Star Wars Black Series 6" : Luke Skywalker with Yoda in Jedi Training (Dagobah)

The Rebels had their asses kicked in Hoth by a superior Galactic Empire forces. Number One task was to get their sorry asses out of the icy hell base that was overan by AT-ATs and Snowtroopers and a stomping huffing and puffing Darth Vader hot on the heels. While the rest of the Rebels buddies, that manages to take off, were still working on evading Imperial Destroyers and TIE fighters, our pal Luke Skywalker decide to divert himself (and R2-D2) to a swamp planet Dagobah seeking out a Jedi warrior, Yoda, to further his Jedi training becoming a Jedi Knight eventually. Seeing how his first teacher, Ben Kenobi, fell to the blade of badass Sith Lord Darth Vader, he reckon a much worthy teacher should be seeked. Same sentiments as Ben when he appear in Hoth egging a wampa-traumatize Luke on to Dagobah.

Yoda, he found. Training, he does. Hot headed, he is.

S.H.Figuarts Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン Urutorasebun)

Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン Urutorasebun) :
The third Ultra-being to come to Planet Earth (first and only in the spin-offs). He came to the planet after being sent to map the Milky Way, but this planet caught his attention and arrived here, he took the appearance of a brave man and renamed himself as Dan Moroboshi, and joined the UG. Ultraseven defended Earth from countless alien invasions for an extended period of time, until he went back to the Land of Light after sustaining serious injuries and fatigue.

BanDai S.H.Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider New No.2 【仮面ライダー 新2号】

Pictures in this product review posting are taken with a new camera Sony RX100 Mark IV for the first time on this blog. Although officially, Hokkaido Toy Run - 19 to 26 Dec 2022 is the very first one however it is not a product review posting.

 

Kamen Rider Wiki :

 

Rider Statistics
    Rider Height: 172 cm
    Rider Weight: 65 kg

Ability Parameters
    Punching Power: 25 t
    Kicking Power: 30 t
    Maximum Jump Height: 15.3 m

Originally created to best and kill the traitor Takeshi Hongo, Hayato was modified to be capable of transforming via stylish hand positions to absorb wind power as opposed to Takeshi's need for a outside source of wind power to charge him, becoming a more versatile fighter as a result. However, Hayato was rescued by Hongo before being brainwashed, and fights against Shocker during Takeshi's absence. Like Hongo, Ichimonji seems to require no food or water whatsoever.

The original manga gave an in-depth analysis of the entire schematics used by Hongo, Ichimonji, and the Shocker Riders.

    Ultrasensitive Antenna: a radar from the antenna
    Cat's Eye: allows infrared night vision
    Signal O: a brainwave transmission device that can detect other cyborgs
    Crusher: The face plate that can break chains
    Artificial Lungs: can recycle oxygen for two hours
    Pulmonary Converter: catches wind power to convert it to energy, also acts as a radiator
    Power Converter: capsules on the belt to store energy
    Typhoon: transformation belt which is an anemometer which measures the rider's energy
    Artificial Muscle: gives the rider the strength to jump like a giant grasshopper
    Jump Shoes: the soles are elastic-like springs.

 

Hokkaido Toy Run - 19 to 26 Dec 2022

Covid 19 pandemic has effectively halted any oversea traveling be it for work or for holiday. The world is gradually opening from up mid of this year when entry requirement to a country has been the most stringent. It has relaxed over the months to a state where it is right for restarting our holidaying abroad.

Hokkaido was a planned trip for year end 2020. We had that realized now, 2 years later. Going to the land of the rising Sun will undoubtedly have a toy list in the hope to be able to get at least 1 or 2. It is not Tokyo nonetheless and the expectation is to be much lower. Worst come to worst, a couple of Gashapon, at the airport, as consolation is already a successful endeavor I feel.

Ultimately, I hope to find S.H.Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou (SKC) Kamen Riders, any one from the Showa era, will be a big successful coup. (Picture here gives a very resounding successful operation eh?).

Details leading to each of the pictured items going into my pocket will be published scrolling down this posting.

Hasbro 2003 SAGA Collection 1/6 scale Star Wars Garindan

Garindan :

 

"I can tell you where to find them... for a price."

―Garindan

 

Garindan ezz Zavor, also called Long-Snoot, was a Kubaz who was considered to be the "greatest spy in Mos Eisley spaceport." was a male Kubaz who had been forced to work as a spy for the Galactic Empire. In private, Garindan loathed his Imperial overlords and sought to return to his clan and free his homeworld of Kubindi from Imperial rule. Prior to the Battle of Yavin, Garindan received news that his family was in danger. In an attempt to buy passage home, Garindan provided information about the location of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and R2-D2 to the Galactic Empire during a battle on the desert world of Tatooine. Despite the failure of that job, Garindan accepted another job to help Derrida the Ketton spy on the Rebel Alliance.