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Bio Fighter Collection Max - Guyver II |
| Series | Bio Fighter Collection Max |
|
| Title | Guyver II | |
| Release Date | April 2005 | |
| Manufacturer | Max Factory | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 4,800 | |
| Scale | 1/10 | |
| Height (cm) | 19.1 cm | |
| No. of Parts | 1 PVC Guyver II figure + 7 additional parts + 1 display stand | |
| My Rating | Excellent |
Related Items:
Story
Oscar
Risker (a.k.a. Guyver 2), identified himself to Sho,
"an inspector from Cronos HQ". Risker was in Japan
to supervise the transfer of the inactive Guyver
Units to Cronos HQ, and was considerably annoyed to
discover Makishima had managed to lose them. When
one damaged unit was recovered, he insisted on
looking at it and involuntarily became its host.
As the second known activated Unit, he was called Guyver II. A man vain of both looks and martial arts skills, he decided to take on the task of retrieving the Unit that Sho had bonded. His control medal, which was damaged when the Unit was initially lost, malfunctioned under the stress of combat. Sho takes chance of his weakened state and strikes the medal, shattering it, and the Guyver begins to absorb him; Sho kills him with a mega-smasher blast to put him out of his misery.
Packaging
After waiting painfully for a year, Max Factory
is finally releasing a second Guyver unit from the
anime / manga series of Bio-Boosted Armor Guyver.
The package is marked as “Bio Fighter Collection Max
Guyver II Series 04” denoting the fourth release in
this series.
This package includes a Guyver II figure, with his left mega-smasher cannon opened, painted in yellow ochre along with its accessories beautifully encased in a clear plastic box. Inside the clear plastic box, it has another layer of offset paper box decorated with logos and a large picture at the rear. The picture shows Guyver II in 3 interesting pose. There is no instruction manual is provided and the instruction is painted at small portion of the rear picture.
The contents are rested in 2 separate plastic tray inside the paper box. The following are the listing of its parts.
Upper
plastic tray
|
Lower
plastic tray
|
The following are the gimmicks for this package as listed on the box.
- Full action: Full body moves
- Mega-smasher: Open and shut
- High frequency sword: Long sword compatible
- Hand: palm / fist / hold
- Display base
Articulation
The
articulation is the a main selling point for this
Guyver II figure with over 30 point of articulations
making this easily one of the best action figures to
date.
Guyver II head turn 360 degree with a neck that moves up and down. Both chest panel swings open revealing a clear green mega-smasher cannon on each side. Its waist turns and complement by its moveable upper chest that move up and down and turn slightly sideway.
Both shoulders are ball-joint to the chest with shoulder pad wrapping on it. The hinged elbows folds at about 130 degree with both upper and lower arms rotate.
The hand is using Max Factory special pin joint. It is a single ball-joint embedded at the end of its lower arms with the other end left open as a pin that pokes into a hole provided in its hands. Both hands possess free movement this way. However, care be taken, as the pin looks fragile. Repeatedly use of hand swapping might loosen this joint.
Hips is special ball joint allow free movement of its leg whether it is moving forward and backward or spreading sideway. The flaps on both thighs extend all way up to its waist is made of soft rubber. The flaps are flexible and would not prohibit any leg movement even though both legs spread eagle. Both hinged knees fold inward at about 90 degree. The feet are ball-jointed to the leg with an articulation on its toes allowing the figure to tiptoe.
Aesthetic
One
might misinterpret that a highly articulated figure
might look like a Frankenstein with joints here and
there. Although Guyver II is highly articulated, all
joints are well hidden. SIC range of figures did try
to hide its joints especially from the front but
somehow the joint still exposed at a different
angle. Comparing to that, I inspect this Guyver II
figure from front, side and even flip it to the
back. None of these joints is easily spotted.
Guyver III is a dark figure and this release of Guyver II has a livelier paint application. It is figure beautifully painted with its exterior armor in yellow ochre and deeply shaded with dark gray providing a realistic 3D appearance. It has paint application somewhat alike a Gundam model applying the infamous Max-Technique painting method (Yup. Max Watanabe owns Max Factory anyway). As for the rest of the expose body under the armor are painted with dark brown. The control metal on the waists and head are painted with flat silver. The paint job is applied consistently.
The head sculpted in detail with a long spike extended out to the back. Three silver orb decorated the head on the forehead and on its both side. The eyes are of a transparent pink plastic on a silver background. The usual Guyver comes with 2 air vents on its mouth but this unit come with only one the right and the other side is painted with 2 dot of silver (Sonic Oscillators).
The chest opens into 2 independent panel that swing to the left and right. It reveals a pair of clear green crystal mega-masher cannon. Panel interior are detailed as well.
Unlike Guyver III, this unit has a striking color that comes with a price. There are some minor paint bleed spotted and it is obviously could be seen on some area. Seam lines found on lower arm and both kneecaps have a center divider line. The flaws on the arm is not too obvious as it is rather hidden and the kneecaps could not be said so.
Initially, the silver metal pin found expose on both chest panel and it is viewable from outside and inside. I could not believe that Max Factory is making such a big flop here. Later the problem solved by pushing the pins down deeper into the chest. I am somewhat relieved it is a minor QA issue. Another annoying fact about this figure is the smell. The paint job is excellent but annoyingly comes with an overpowering smell that fills up an entire section of my display shelf.
Accessories
The figure comes with a short High Frequency Blade
on its arm. It is swappable with a longer version
provided by detaching it from the pinhole. The
pinholes on each arm are articulated, allowing the
blade to move slightly inwards or outwards.
The figure also comes with 4 extra swappable hands, which give a total of 3 pair of hands. Each pair comes with a different pose, which are a pair each for grip, hold and fist.
A bio-armor in an inactive mode is included. It is triangular, colored in sky blue and dark brown with a silver orb in the middle. Although it is nicely crafted and painted but do not have any functionalities, provided just for the sake of novelty.
Although the figure comes with tight joints and more or less capable to stand on its own, Max Factory is considerate enough to provide a display base. This is unlike Bandai who will only provide stand for figures that could not stand on its own. The base is made of plastic, colored in black and has the Guyver Logo engraved onto it. A metal rod with clasp is inserted to the slot on the base and the clasp holds the figure by the waist securely on the base.
Conclusion
This figure featuring superb articulations that are
well hidden combining with its beautiful paint
applications making this a unique action figure on
its own. It comes in a livelier color scheme than
Guyver III and so do the minor imperfections
highlighted by it. These are a small price to pay
and easily overshadowed by its superb craftsmanship.
A release highly recommended for all action figure
collectors out there.
This kit is purchased via preorder online from Hobby Link Japan.
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Document Date : 2005-05-24 |
Responses to this page:
Hello...Im a huge guyver fan and Im wondering whether you can buy any of the 3 guyver figures in stores, or whether you have to buy them online...Would really appreciate your help! Thanks in advance.
You can check out your local store. If they do not have any in stock, you can try buying online.