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Saint Cloth Myth - Garuda Aiakos |
| Series | Saint Cloth Myth |
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| Title | Garuda Aiakos | |
| Release Date | May 2006 | |
| Manufacturer | Bandai | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 4,500 | |
| Scale | 1/11 | |
| Height (cm) |
Figure: 18.2 cm (approx) Object: 17 cm (approx) |
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| No. of Parts | 1 figure + 29 armor parts + 1 color instruction manual | |
| My Rating | Good |
Related Items:
Comment
Garuda Aikos is the second Hades Surplices in this Saint Cloth Myth series. He is name
base on one of the 3 judges of Hades. I have not watch Chapter Inferno thus I really could
tell much about him. From what I have seen in the second Saint Seiya 3D fighting video game
by Bandai, Garuda Aikos and Griffon Minos intervened the duel between Gemini Kanon and
Wyvern Rhadamanthys, in an attempt to protect Rhadamanthys from being defeated. It is an
unfair 3 on 1 fight until Phoenix Ikki appeared to save Kanon thus concluding the Chapter
Inferno OVA.
It has been 16 months and after a total of 15 myth cloth items being released since the first Hades Surplices, Wyvern Rhadamanthys. It is a long wait but then this item is not really a disappointment to the fans of Saint Seiya. It comes with slightly heavier price tag though, at 4500 yen, which is a bit higher than an average Gold Saint.
Packaging
The figure comes in a packaged in a book box where it opens to reveal two window boxes;
in one window box is a figure of Aikos, along with his cloth parts while the other half
contains the rest of his armor parts and accessories.
The package comes with a 6-pages color instruction manual tapered to the back of the
cardboard. Note that the entire armor is mostly made of metal except for its waist, helm,
wings and the flaps and horns on the shoulder armor. It comes with higher metal composition
than Wyvern Rhadamanthys and maybe more than most of the Gold Saints.
The following are the parts count and items in bold are of metal and bold underline are partially metal:
Left Tray
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Upper Right Tray
Lower Right Tray
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Object
Garuda (or Karura in Japanese) is an enormous, fire-breathing creature from Japanese
Hindu-Buddhist myth. It has the body of a human and the face or beak of an eagle. It is
based on the Hindu Garuda (literally mean Eagle in Sanskrit), which is the mount of Hindu
God Vishnu. Is this a Greek Mythology or Hinduism or Japanese Buddhism? I guess fan of Saint
Seiya could not care less about and will swallow anything Masami Kurumada push to us without
question.
Anyway, the object itself is beautiful. Constructing the object is not hard at all comparing to Wyvern Rhadamanthys. The object comes with a frame where all the armor parts are "dress" on to that frame.
The object depicts a Garuda standing on both feet. Initially, I am worried about the stability of the object as it might fall owing to its weight. Once the feet have been tweaked to the correct position, I am quite comfortable with its stability and should be able to display on shelf without worry.
Another point to note that, the paint job is similar with Wyvern Rhadamanthys. It comes with the glossy black and with the same greasy feel and smell. One improvement that I notice is the paint Bandai use now is not so susceptible to scratches.
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| The plain old object frame use to hold the armor pieces together as an object. |
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Figure Proportion wise, the figure looks odd with his extremely long leg. Moreover, Aikos boots are simply ugly without his armor. There are 2 hair fringe are provided to be don with the helm. The reason of for 2 of is to present him with his eye covered or not covered by his hair.
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Armored Figure
The armor is beautiful and the design is as seen in the anime. I really like the
improvement Bandai has made here where the catch on the shoulders armor and side skirt armor
is made of hard rubber like material. Unlike the conventional metal or PVC material which is
susceptible to loosen, I believe this new material for the catch is much more durable.
There are tons of hands to be swaps for various poses. However, the armor design itself is
restricting Aikos movement. Aikos is plagued with the same design issue where he lost the
waist articulation to his waist armor. The shoulders are restricted by the overly large
shoulder armor and the hips could not really bend outward owing to the side skirt armor.
As seen on the photos, there are not many poses I can do with this Garuda Aikos compare to my previous write-up in Cygnus Hyoga Final Bronze.
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| Galatica Illusion!!! |
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| Hair fringe where it cover the eyes. | Hair fringe where it does not cover the eyes. |
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| Side skirt is restricting the hips. |
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| Ugly boots. |
Conclusion
This is another beautiful Hades Surplices. Although it comes with a slightly higher
price than a normal Gold Saints, the generous metal composition should cover the higher
premium that you are paying. This item is recommended to those who already collected Wyvern
Rhadamanthys.
This item is a Hong Kong Edition and purchased locally at Berjaya Time Square.
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Document Date : 2006-09-26 |
Responses to this page:
good review, perhaps this caracter is not very famous, but his design is very ornate and conplicated, i like his wings the most.
It's excellent except for the colour. It should be dark maroon red. Bandai should re-release this item