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Saint Cloth Myth - Pegasus Seiya Final Bronze |
| Series | Saint Cloth Myth |
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| Title | Pegasus Seiya Final Bronze | |
| Release Date | March 2005 | |
| Manufacturer | Bandai | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 3,000 | |
| Scale | 1/11 | |
| Height (cm) | approx. 16.0 cm | |
| No. of Parts | 1 Seiya figure + 29 armor parts + 1 6-pages color manual | |
| My Rating | Excellent |
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Comment
Bandai announces a completely new revised version of Pegasus Bronze Cloth for release in
April 2005 and this is not a minor revision either. The entire cloth is re-sculpted to look
like the Final Bronze cloth, which appears in Chapter Hades OVA. The figure is new and the
object is re-designed as well. With this release, Bandai also sculpted new head and body
with extended articulation. This also comes with an in scale statue of Athena.
Packaging
Pegasus Seiya Final Bronze comes packaged in a 'book-box'. It opens to reveal two window
boxes; in one window box is an improved figure of Seiya, along with some of his cloth parts
while the other half contains the rest of his Pegasus Cloth and parts to construct the
Pegasus Object. The following are the parts list. Items in bold are made of metal and
items in
bold underline are parts consist of a mixture of metal and plastic.
| Left Tray | Right Tray |
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The
package includes a 6-pages color manual with clear and concise pictorial instruction on how
to construct the Pegasus Object and putting on the armor part on the figure.
This is a Hong Kong Edition item pre-ordered from a local shop at Berjaya Times Square. In overall, Hong Kong Edition of Saint Cloth Myth figure is slightly cheaper in price but quality is lower than a Japanese release.
Object
The object has a much better over the prior version. The older version depicts a Pegasus
standing straight on four legs, which look like a child’s wooden horse. This Final Bronze
version comes with a livelier pose. It depicts a Pegasus object standing on both hind legs
with its front hoof lifted high in the air and a pair of wing spread out almost ready to
take off into the clear blue sky.
I thought this interesting pose might look complicated to construct, but it is rather simple and did not deviate much from the original Pegasus object. The same armor parts still put on at the same places. The magic I see here is the Pegasus frame itself. The redesign frame comes packaged in two separate portions and can further detach into 10 separate parts in total. The armors are put onto the frame as usual. The frame comes with grip surface and catch to hold the armor pieces firmly together. The hoofs come with a section that mimics Pegasus armor parts. The section will joint with armor pieces via a tiny catch into one continuous piece of armor on the Pegasus Object. It also comes with a round base for the hind hoofs to be pinned to it.
The result is an object, which is 100% better than the original. The pose is interesting and the object is solid with all parts are held firmly together. No more issue on armor part dropping out from the frame.
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| Pegasus object standing on both hind legs with its front hoof lifted high in the air and a pair of wing spread out ready to take off | ||
Figure
The object is beautiful but it is just the appetizer. The Seiya figure is the main here.
Saint Cloth Myth has been altogether 12 prior releases to date. All of them are using the
same PVC figure. While it is never a bad thing since the standard figure is sufficiently
articulated.
For this special Final Bronze, Bandai goes to the extreme challenging on their existing well-articulated body to recreate a better successor. This new body is not a mere upgrade but a complete overhaul. The result is surprisingly exceeded my expectation.
Let us talk about the articulation, which is obscenely superb.
First, the shoulders are improved with 3 articulation points each. It started with a cap connected to a ball joint and then hinged to the arm. The hands are eccentrically hinged and ball-jointed, that is 2 points of articulation there. The waist comes segmented in 3, with each section movable but limited side turning.
Secondly, all elbows and knees joints are improved with double-hinge joint allowing a crazy backward fold at 180 degrees. Hips are improved with a special ball-joint allowing both legs to spread open wide and clear.
The figure comes with a red body, tanner skin color and both upper arms banded in red. The body is made of a harder plastic compare to its previous version. There are 4 extra hands in different pose. All hands are gauntleted including the standard pair that comes with the figure. It is a practical move since no one really poses with the standard bare hand.
The head sculpt is re-done with a rounder face that looks even more alike the Seiya in anime. Seiya does have a sense of fashion now. A front section of his hair, the fringe, is removable and to be replace by not one, but two extra hair fringe. The first comes with all its fringes drooping down to match his Pegasus circlet. There are 2 design of Pegasus circlet to pair with his uncombed hair. It is either the Pegasus New Cloth circlet or the Final Bronze circlet. In order to don the Sagittarius circlet, Seiya has to match it with his second fringe, which has a left-most fringe stylishly curves up.
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| Behold my improved body! | No more bare hand! |
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Armored Figure
A super articulated Seiya donning his Pegasus armor is simply superb. The original
Pegasus Cloth is skimpy comparing to the Gold Saint whereas this Final Bronze version comes
in between the two extreme.
The armor is plated with flat silver and paneled with dark gray linings. At a glance, there might be no difference between the 2 version of Pegasus cloth. However at a closer inspection, it do seem like each armor parts is dissimilar between the two versions.
The circlet is different where a simpler crest is applied. The chest armor has a new pattern and comes with two longer and shaper shoulder armor extended from it. The shoulder armor is harder and fit securely to the larger depressed surface on the chest armor. The Pegasus wings connector is attached to the rear, locking the chest armor to the figure. This connector is folded in a triangle shape and can open to allow both Pegasus wing to attach to it. The belt has a different buckle, which is larger. The belt wrapped around the waist and attached to the figure via the catch holding at the figure back. This design is similar to Phoenix Ikki and it is unlike the original with its belt is flimsily secure with a small buckle. Another obvious difference will be the leg armor, which is now a full legging like those appears on the Gold Saints. Even the arm armor has a subtle difference.
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| Pegasus Ultimate Attack! Pegasus ... | ... Ryuseiken!!! |
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Conclusion
One might argue that, as a proud owner of Saint Cloth Myth Pegasus Seiya, one should not get
another Final Bronze version. I will say, believing in the company that sells you the same
Gundam repeatedly for over 2 decades, they do has some trick up their sleeves.
This comes with a livelier object, better armor design and a superb figure. No matter whether you own the first release of Saint Cloth Myth, this is another must have for a Saint Seiya fan.
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Document Date : 2005-05-11 |
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