Revoltech Hokuto no Ken #021- Kenshiro Musou

When I finally thought that I have completed my Hokuto no Ken collection, Kaiyodo decided to give us a surprise by releasing Kenshiro in his Hokuto Musou or Ken's Rage incarnation. Ken's Rage, originally released in Japan as Hokuto Musou is a 3D beat 'em up for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Out-of-box content. An extra yelling head, 2 pairs of extra hand, a stand, a token, a accessory box and 3 effect part.

Kenshiro in his Musou outfit. Love the extra detail and pattern.

Front close up. The head sculpt is similar to the previous release.

Back view. The flame patterns makes the whole figure stand out from the previous release. Not to mention about the extra accessories dangling around the figure and the silver decoratives.

Enough talk! Time for some action.

Articulation on this figure is superb.

The extra effect part is fun to pose with. Here is a burning fist!

Shoryuken!!!

There is even an effect part for kicks.

Hiei Ken!

The selling point for this figure is the effect part for "Hyakurestu Ken". Atatatatatata!!!

Although it is just another Kenshiro but the extra effect part and updated attire makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Enter The Dragon

Twenty third of January 2012 mark the beginning of a New Lunar Year for Chinese all around the world. I saw this very comical ads a few days ago illustrating a dragon, booting the rabbit out which signaled the end of the year of the rabbit and the beginning of the year of the dragon. Here were some quick facts I found on the net regarding the dragon:

1. The dragon is usually illustrated as a four legged serpent with a long snout and a mane. There are multiple explanation on the origin of the dragon. Look up wiki if you are interested with it.

2. The dragon is the fifth animal in the 12-year cycle and the only mythical creature in the lunar calendar.

3. As of 2013, we are in the Water Phase of "Wu Xing" (Five Movements/Phases/Steps/Stages, commonly known as the Five Element) so this is the year of the Water Dragon. It will take approximately 60 years for us to revisit the Year of the Water Dragon which is in year 2073.

4. Chinese believed that it is good to have a baby born in the year of the dragon. Hence the increase in birth rate in the year of the dragon.

With that, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year.

Credit goes to Zid for this great illustration of Amatsu from the Monster Hunter series.

Revoltech Sci-Fi #020 Skeleton Army

Jason and The Argonauts was a movie about the titular hero, Jason on his quest to acquire the Golden Fleece.

Out-of-box content. Two pairs of extra hand, 2 shields, sword, pole, an extra limb, base and the compulsory token and accessory box.

Like most Greek heroes back in those days. Jason has to deal with all kind of monstrosity including a skeleton army. I am impressive by this figure.

Back view of the figure. The detail and tones managed to bring this figure to life. Not sure if its anatomically accurate though.

There is nothing threatening about a skeleton unless it is equipped with a sword and a shield.

Or a pole.

This figure has one of the best articulation among all the Revoltech figures I owned to-date. The Revol joints used were smaller but offered the same articulation to this figure.

My attempt to pose this figure in a fetal position.

On top of that. This figure comes with a sweet base. It depicts 2 skeleton crawling out of their grave to do battle with the hero.

The figure along with the base. Pretty wicked huh? I need to build myself a real skeleton army!

One of the best figure in the Revoltech line. I would not mind buying a few of this just to fill up my display shelf or to build up an epic scene for an undead army.

Saint Seiya Myth Cloth - Wyvern Rhadamanthys

Celestial Fierce Star, Wyvern Rhadamanthys is one of the infamous "3 Judges of Hell". Wyvern Rhadamanthys is, undoubtedly, one of the most respected warriors of Hades army. His skills and talents easily overcome those of Athena's Gold Saints and his reputation as a powerhouse is famous among the Specters of the Underworld. Along with Judges Garuda Aiacos and Gryphon Minos, Rhadamanthys has command over different sections of Hades' army.

Rhadamanthys with his Wyvern surplice. The picture shows the original head sculpt which looks awful.

The best way to deal with this issue is to get the appendix for this figure. Once you have this, you would not want to use the original head again.

Rhadamanthys with the head from the appendix. This, my friend IS Rhadamanthys, the cruel and relentless judge of the underworld.

Rhadamanthys commands a threatening aura. His lackey fears him while his opponent respects his tenacity in battle.

The appendix without the head piece.

I prefer to pose Rhadamanthys without the head piece. His blond hair is a good contrast to his surplice.

The Wyvern has but one known technique which he utilizes to destroy his opponent — the "Greatest Caution". Rhadamanthys charges his Cosmo to the highest point of power and unleashed it via his two opened palms. The blast produce by this technique is similar to a shock wave.

The Wyvern surplice is depicted as a 2-legged wyvern with bat-like wings. This surplice is an eye candy among the other cloth from the Myth Cloth line.

Rhadamanthys was the main antagonist in the first Hades arc. It actually took the life of a gold saint to finally defeat the wyvern.

Revoltech #56 Alexander Jagi

Masayuki Wada or Alexander Jagi is DMC's bassist and he is depicted as the most normal member in the band. Not much is known about Jagi except that he is actually from Saitama and he is quite popular among the ladies because of his good look. It was made known that he would like to leave DMC to perform in a visual kei band, but he was too afraid to confront the manager like the rest of the band.

Out-of-box content. Jagi was release back in those days when Revoltech was a new brand in the market. It does not come with a lot of accessories but it is cheap.

Due to the simplicity of the style used in the manga, it was easy to capture and sculpt the character into a figure. This IS the Jagi sama which we love and adore!

I can never get used to the attire for death metal band. I do not even know how to describe what is on Jagi here but it sure catches one's attention.

Articulation was somewhat limited due to the rigidness of the joints and the design of the attire. "Yeah, I cant do a lot of stuff. So what?"

Jagi provides extra entertainment by breathing fire. I do now know why he does that but I think it is a death metal thing to play with fire or something like that.

There is no denying it that he is very good with the guitar or else he will not be able keep it up with the rest of the band.

I do not recall Jagi ever took on a mike to sing but I guess that is part of his job to fill in for Krauser whenever it is necessary.

Despite being a coward and all, Jagi is an essential component in DMC. Fans noted that DMC would have fallen apart if Jagi sama was not around to keep the sanity of the band in check.

See ya 2011! Welcome 2012!

Time does fly. We are once again in the beginning of a new year and what better time than present to look back into 2011 for a little bit of reminiscence.

2011 was a busy year for me. I have managed to keep this blog alive by posting 31 entry which is an increase of around 55% compare to the previous year. If times permit, I will keep up with this achievement or even set a new record for year 2012. My new target is a new post for every week. That will translate to around 50 post by the end of the year.

Regrettably, I have been slacking in terms of my model kit production. As of the end of 2011, I have managed to complete only 2 kits, both of them VF-25 from the Macross Frontier series, leaving a bunch of half-build kits on pending status. I would have to revisit my backlog again this year. Not trying to be too ambitious so I will aim to complete at least 3 kits this year.

In terms of reading, I have managed to read at least 5 novels. Most of them were books which I have bought a few years back. Some were borrowed from a friend (Thanks Reuben!) of mine who share the same passion with me. At the moment, I have another 2 books which needs reading and I am still waiting for a book from bookdepository. Hope to keep up with this reading habits for this new year.

And as for spending on new collectibles or gadgets. All in all, I do not think I actually spend much on those this year. I have been restraining myself from buying any model kits lately but I have bought a number of figures such as the Jetwing Prime, Warmachine, X, Zero, Gaogaigar, and Shaina just to name a few. I think it was around 1 figure a month. As for gadgets, I have bought myself an Ipad 2. I have to agree that this is a piece of a neat technology. Still exploring the potential of this awesome gadget. I do not foresee myself buying a lot of figures (there are not a lot of future release which catches my attention) but I am actually looking forward to get myself a PS Vita. Still pondering about it but I will most likely made my decision before I leave for Hong Kong.

Last but not least. I have traveled to India in 2011. It was the most enjoyable outdoor trip to date. I will definitely write an entry on that trip soon.

Oh my, what have I done! I should excuse myself now before this gets too lengthy. So until then, Happy New Year to you all out there. :D