2011/12/23

2011/11/04

Appreciate the things you do!

iShop2go blog updates


Saint Seiya Myth Cloth EX Gemini Saga_picture

Saint Seiya Myth Cloth EX Gemini Saga Review

I remember when I was the one in the millions waiting to get the new EX series in my hand. From waiting for hours to see the ....



RG Aile Strike Review Part 2_picture


RG Aile Strike Review Part 2

Alright, Part 2 is here. As what I mentioned from the previous post, I will try to cover articulation, proportion, detail and other about this ....

2011/05/24

Saint Seiya Myth Cloth Black Phoenix Review

When I was little I never comprehended some parts of saint seiya until I was more of age, I remember the first time I saw the black saints fight the bronze ones when they were fighting in the mountain. At that point in life I liked some of the black saints more that when I saw the original ones. Sometimes I even confused them with others. But I was seven then, now twenty years have pass and I still remember that battle with the black saints here and there and Bandai has come out with some black saints as a line. Now this is great, now I can see and remember the great old days when this battle was the best in my mind.


So as I look at the box in my hand, I could tell it’s really well made. There is no animated form in the front only the whole cloth itself made and the object mode in the side. The box color is a solid black with some silver trim on it. As you look at the side of the box you could tell that this is a book style kind of package and very classic package for the saint seiya line. When you look at the back it has the most favorite feature they have added to the new myths, a picture black and white on the back of the figure saying black phoenix on the side. That is a classy look and then we see many poses for the figure and some features that it comes with. Great addition overall, as you open the box you see 2 window displays. On the sides you don’t see no words it’s just solid black and silver. It was time to open the box.




As I opened the box and saw the content inside, I first looked at plate A. It has most of the figure stuff and most of the myth cloth parts for the figure. As we look at plate B, you can see the wings, the skeleton of the object mode and the back feathers for the figure. Plate B, is the only one that is the most light. Most of the parts are plastic and very light to handle. The manual is no different as other manuals and the instructions are very easy to follow. It is numbered and on the object mode it has numbered in red. The instructions seem complicated but they are not. If you built myth cloth before you can do this very fast. It was time to make the object mode.




When I was finished making the object mode I was very happy. It was a very solid experience and very nice to make. The process was not that complicated and the figure was very solid. The only piece you don’t use on the object mode is the chest of the figure. But the skeleton of the object mode has a split chest for you don’t have to compromise on the chest piece. I thought that was a very good idea by Bandai. The wings look great, so elegant and big, and the object mode in black with blue and a bit of red looks great. The whole object mode looks super and the experience is great. Now it is time to make the figure itself.




When I was putting the figure together the first thing I saw was the face, it looked great and with the screaming one it looks even better. The sculpture of the figure looks super with great detail on the face, and the body itself, as I but the different hairs on the figure and the helmet, I can’t decide what to keep it on. It looks great in both aspects but in the end I decided to keep the helmet, which that’s the way I saw him in the anime. The figure comes with 2 extra hairs for you can put them behind the neck and it has a long one and a short one. Depending on your taste you have your preference. As I put the armor together I saw what a great figure it was. Most of the parts were die cast metal with only the helmet, chest piece, and part of the belt buckle was plastic. The figure has great articulation and very light weight and you can put him on dynamic poses no problem. The feet are a bit wider than other myth cloth and make him more balance to pose. You would think that because the armor is black it would blend with the body, but that is not the case. You can clearly see the armor parts and the body, and the body itself sometimes plays a role in the armors look. Like on the legs, the die cast metal parts only plays a small role over 50 percent of the leg, but the leg calf makes up for it, and it kind of looks like it was part of the armor itself. A great touch of Bandai. It has great sculpture and color painting. Everything is done to perfection and I totally love the figure.




From the box to the figure, this figure gets an automatic 10. It has great features and very well made. Great presentation and great articulation of the figure is a must and this figure pulled it off flawlessly. The sculpture and the color painting is great and the amount of flexibility you have with this figure is a lot. If you are thinking about getting this figure, I say you should not wait, it’s a great pick up and you should totally buy it.
Like always want to thank ishop2go for letting review this great figure and like I always say… GO OUT AND BUY IT!

2011/05/23

Bandai's S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider OOO Sagohzo combo figure


This Kamen Rider OOO: Sagohzo Combo Figure. This form uses the Gamel Core Medals: Sai, Gorilla, and Zou. The design is very simplistic and uses less clashing of color overall. It feels more unified with its almost B&W design. This form is used to out power his opponents with various attacks such as his shock wave chest pound, double arm rocket gauntlet attack, and his foot stomping tremor attack. His finishing scanning charge is the Sagohzo Impact. OOO jumps high into the air and performs a powerful stomp that traps his enemy into the ground. The enemy is also brought towards OOO like a vacum and when they are close enough, OOO's delivers a double arm and headbutt attack.


This figure stands 5.5 inches tall made up quality plastic. Paint application is cleanly applied and the detail is impressively true to real-life suit design. You get 20+ points of articulation for a wide amount of great posing. It's accessories include 3 additional hand sets: 1 set open hands and 2 types of gripping hands, that's 6 hands total. Accessories include the O-scanner is included which can be attached to his belt. For additional play, this figure includes the Medajabular sword for slicing and dicing.

2011/05/19

Saint Seiya Myth Cloth Metal Plates


They make the plates in a really nice package with a presentation of a book style kind of package as well, and there are two kinds of metal plates. There are the Version 2 ones which have most chrome on the front of the package and there are Version 1 metal plates that have dark brown with a solid color in the package. The difference in the version 1 and the version 2 is that version 1 is a solid plate, it has no holes on the plate and it’s mostly for collector purpose.


On the new generation of plates or version 2, you could tell they are the new generation cause of the silver trim and they are very shiny. You see the picture of the figure in the middle and then you see it says “Saint Cloth Myth” and the name of the corresponding figure on the bottom. You also see the saint seiya logo on the front. On the back of the package you see the zodiac sign in the middle and the Bandai logo on the back. It also has some words and you can make out it says “For premium use only.” As you open the package inside you see a nice display of the figure in anime form and in the corner its says his name. Also inside you have some information about the figure, like birthplace, special ability’s, height, weight, and age and many more.


Inside as well is the plate, as you can see the plate has the zodiac sign in the middle and a circle with the zodiac sign as well. The circle is used on some bases to put on the front of the stand for you could easily recognize the figure. But as the stands have changed in the years, you see that some stands don’t have the circle anymore so Bandai put in the whole plate. The way you use the plate is you take the peg off the stand, alight the metal plate and the peg whole should be in the middle where the circle should be. And then put the peg on top of the plate. And there you go. As I said before, the version 1 plates don’t have any features and are just solid and just to collect. Version 2 is mostly for display purpose and for your stands in many ways. Hope you enjoy the product.

2011/05/16

1/144 HGAW Gundam X Divider Review



The 1/144 High Grade After War Gundam X Divider is the second of the HGAW line, following the Gundam X. Code named GX-9900-DV, this divider-equipped mobile suit is part of the Gundam X series, and is kit number 118 in the High Grade line.

Contents of the box includes:
-(Foil) sticker sheet
-Polycaps
-8 Runners (A, B, C1, C2, D, E, F, G)

This kit is basically the same as the Gundam X kit without the satellite cannon.

Additional weapons and accessories includes:
-Beam machine gun
-Large beam swords x2
-Hyper bazooka
-Divider shield with built in beam harmonica
-Closed fists x2, trigger hand, open palm

One thing that particularly stands out for the this Gundam X Divider is the color separation for the parts. In older high grade kits, painting is required to make the kit look good. But with the X Divider, there are 8 different colors separated individually. Only minor painting is required for the more detailed location such as the chest vulcans, panel lines, and details on the weapons and shield.


In terms of articulation, this kit is highly articulated. The head and neck utilizes a double ball joint, allowing the common chicken bobble movement. The shoulder has a ball joint, connected to the side of the body that has a hinge allowing extra extension of the arm to turn. The body sits on two ball joints, one in the middle section of the chest, and the other sitting towards the bottom of the chest. Each leg is connected by a ball joint at the crotch area which is capable of some left-right movement as well. The knee has two points of articulation, but the elbow only has one point of articulation. Each of the backpack's fuel tank is connected by a peg, and the divider shield can be opened up to reveal the beam harmonica, and can be attached to the backpack. With such great articulation, you can actually pull off some pretty impressive poses with the help of an Action Base 2.


Compared to the older 1/100 HG Gundam X Divider, which I personally feel was overdone for the panel lines, Bandai did a great job with the release of the HGAW line. The 1/144 kit looks proportionally better in that it is less bulky than the 1/100 scale. The color separation for each piece makes the kit look great even without painting, and if you do choose to paint, the separation makes it easier to paint due to minimal masking required.

In summary, I personally believe Bandai put in great engineering into this kit to provide it with detail, gimmicks, and great articulation. I highly recommend this kit as the build process was fun, and so was posing the kit with the different combination of weapons and accessories. My favorites are the beam swords with the gleaming glow of the florescent clear green, and the divider shield opened up to reveal the beam harmonica. I certainly look forward for Bandai to release more of the 1/144 High Grade After War line.


2011/05/06

Lizard Misty Review


I remember in the beginning of the series for saint seiya, one of my favorite battles before the 12 houses of the zodiac was the battle of Pegasus and Lizard Misty. I though Misty was a girl at that time and when I was old enough to understand he was a man I really didn’t like the character. But when it comes to collecting figure I could not wait to have my hands on him, maybe I could re-create the most epic scenes from saint seiya with this figure in my hand.

As most myth cloth boxes this box was a great silver color. This was a book style kind of package and the box art is great on this figure, it had the figure’s picture on the front as well with the animated form of the figure like on the anime. As you open the box from the middle you could see the great window box display on both sides and the first thing you could see was that it didn’t have a lot of parts like other myth cloth have. As always on the top of the box it would say Silver Saint, and on the bottom it said Misty, a great touch on Bandai. The back of the box was great, has many different poses you can put the figure in and they show you many ways to put this figure for display on your collection. But I was excited to open this figure so let’s dig in.



As you open the box the first thing I saw is that this figure has two body’s which is great for me. One is to represent him on the beach when he takes off his cloth after he thinks he defeated seiya, and the other one is for his normal cloth. The face drew my attention because one face it had the look of his black face when Pegasus defeats him in battle and the other face was very feminine you could say. For some reason the face didn’t feel right to me, it didn’t look like the anime representation of the figure and he had only panted lips. The characters face didn’t look anything alike and that was one major setback I had when I saw the face. But when I saw the armor, it all was worth it. The armor was very well made and the shoulders, arms, legs, and chest with part of the belt were die cast metal. Very small parts like the buckle for the belt, the chest plate, and the shin parts of the boots were plastic, but the armor was very well made as well. The hair on this figure is great, very nice sculpture on the hair and very dynamic. I was very impressed with the amount of detail it went on the armor itself. The colors of the cloth are made to perfection. From the silver in the cloth to the pink on the body, this figure was very well made. The manual of this figure is a very simple manual with color coded parts and numbers on the attachments so instructions were easy to follow.


When I put this figure on object mode, you could say it took around 15 to 20 minutes to make, some instructions on the manual are very unclear to make the object mode, so you have to base your building mostly on sight. But after it’s done the object mode is very well done, very beautiful and very nice to make, I would consider buying 2 just to have the object mode built.

As I put the figure together, I could see the figure come to life, yeah the face was not to my expectations but the armor was well worth it, this cloth looked so beautiful that in the end the face didn’t matter but one vital thing did matter. The cape on this figure was the most distinctive part of the figure, he is the only one that has a cape that has a pop collar on the figure, but when you feel the collar, its made of this paper material and it curls really nasty, the cape is not done well for the figure and the collar does not pop out as well as it should. It was a major flaw on the Bandai side of the figure, for most collectors they won’t put this figure with the cape; it takes the visual aspect of the figure away from its true beauty.


Overall, this figure is great. It has major points in color, style, cloth make and articulation of the figure. Some major flaws that I could see are the face, which you can pass cause it’s not that bad, but one major flaw is the cape, in no way or form a collector will put the cape on this figure and it’s not very visually appealing to you when you put it on. So one recommendation from me to you is, the cloth is great, just don’t put the cape on. On a scale of 1-10, I give this figure an 8. Due to the fact that the cape is a major part of this figure and Bandai messed it up, I think that is one major setback on this beautiful cloth. But if you don’t put the cape on him, I totally recommend him for your collection. It’s a well-made cloth and I can’t complain about it.

Thanks to ishop2go for letting me review this figure and hope you all enjoy your new purchased Lizard Misty. I know I did.

2011/05/03

Saint Cloth Myth Appendix Dragon Shiryu Plain Clothes Review


Since I first saw this little appendix I always wanted to have him. I have seen Dragon Shiryu in his cloth for some time now and I wanted something different and when the Saint Seiya Myth Cloth Appendix of Dragon Shiryu Plain Clothes came out I knew this was a good opportunity to get my hands on a figure that is not in armor.

This figure was made in 2007 and with great quality for its time. The box looks great and the classic look of Shiryu anime for and his figure picture as always are in the front of the box. When you turn the box to the side, you can tell this box is a bit bigger than what we are used to seeing in an appendix box, and with good reason, this is a full figure after all.


The back of the box is great with a great pose of the figure and showing his dragon tattoo in his back. None of the normal dragon myth cloths have this feature and that’s what makes people get this figure the most. They show you a lot of poses and the mini armor you get with this figure. They also show the Pandora’s Box that comes with the cloth that has the sign of dragon on the box. I was done looking at the box and now it’s time to take the figure out of the package.


As you take the figure out of the package you can tell the great attention to detail they did with this figure. His hair is well made and very nice flow to his hair. His face is made to perfection with no missing detail on the figures face as close as possible to the anime. One thing that really got my attention was his clothing; it felt really soft and very realistic. Most clothing on figures feels really outdated and very cheap but not this one. They feel kind of like silk and cotton at the same time. The glow on the clothing is great as well. It is great detail clothing and a very nice touch by Bandai. As we took the clothing off the figure, you can see the dragon on his back which like I stated before it’s a great selling point for this figure, looks great and the bottom of the figure has black pants and his feet are in the shape of the shoes he uses in the anime. This can create a perfect replica of him training on the waterfall like on the anime. The attention to detail on the back on the dragon and his clothing just took me away but there was more to the figure than just the figure itself.


As we keep inspecting the figure, you see the Pandora’s Box. Great detail with the zodiac sign of dragon on the box like the anime and it opens as well. The box has the ability to turn into a solid box just for display or to have it open and have the mini armor they supply you with this figure. The mini armor is nicely done. Not as big as the real cloth but it’s a great small replica of what the armor would be in that size. The colors are great and everything matches to the version one cloth we see of dragon in the beginning of the series. The straps you can put on the box of the cloth are kind of a cloth and leather fabric. These straps look skin color and very solid. Overall the package that comes with this figure it’s great. You can mount the box to the back of the figure but this would make him very top heavy and most often than not, this cloth would tip over. None the less, Bandai has put a special connector in the appendix to put on the box to connect to the special saint seiya stands supplied by Bandai if you display them in the bases. It is a great touch overall.


From the amount of hands you have to pose this figure, to the beautiful fabric used to make the clothing, this figure is a definite must buy. It was worth every penny of it to get it and I totally recommend this figure to saint seiya fans. The amount of detail and care and love on the work on this figure is just great. From the scale of 1-10 I give this figure a 9.5. it is a great figure overall and a must buy. Hope you get yours today.
Thanks again for ishop2go for letting me review this great figure. And remember, go out and buy it!

2011/04/11

Capricorn Shura Gold Review

When I first started collecting myth cloth I knew I was going to collect the gold saints when I started. But seeing some of the figures online, they were not convincing me to buy them. Most of the looked outdated and very different from the myth cloth today, but some look really good. Some of the gold saints were started to be produced in 2004 and there sculpting on Bandai was not up to par to what it is now. But I took my chances and I bought my first 2004 gold myth cloth and that is Capricorn Shura.


When I first got the box it was not very surprising to me, to box was very small compared to the standard of gold myth. It had a great shot of the figure in the front with an animated form as most myth cloth do now, and the box layout is the same. On the side of the box you can see it says “Saint Cloth Myth, Capricorn Cloth” with the zodiac sign of Capricorn there. Same book style of package but for some reason it felt really light, not as heavy as most myth cloth I have handled. As I open the box, I could see the were not many parts but then my attention went to the face of the figure, it looked very outdated and not the same as the Capricorn Shura Surplice edition of Saint Seiya. At this point you could tell this figure was a 2004 edition. None the less, I was very surprised at the color variation it had on the cloth, it looked very well made, and well I just had to take it out of the box after that.

When I opened the box my suspicions were correct. The box had very little parts and a very simple build. Not many small parts but only the hands were there as the small parts. The package came with side A, all the parts of the figure, and side B, most of the object mode. Still knowing this most of the parts in side B were not even the object mode, there were so few parts, I was worried it was not going to look good. The package also came with a manual with a very 2 page, very simple build. Again telling me this is going to be easy as cake. It also came with a cape for the Saint to wear, a very standard cape most gold saints have. So I put the object mode together.


Well my first impression was this object mode was very well made for a 2004 cloth. My worries about the cloth not looking good cause of the lack of parts were way off. The cloth looked great and it seemed natural to me. A very shiny look and all the parts were big on the cloth. When you pick the object mode up, you can feel the solidness of the cloth, most parts are die cast metal and only like 3 parts were plastic. A very solid and not very easy to move cloth none the less, but for me the real review starts with the figure and I could not wait to build it.

When I put the figure together I could tell the parts were massive. This was a very solid figure with metal shoulders; chest, squirts, legs and arms, and the only plastic parts were his helmet and the waist. I was very impressed. The colors were beautiful and the cloth looked massive, it’s not as slim as the Capricorn Shura surplice, but none the less it looks great. The massive look looks great on this cloth and it feels heavy. When you build this cloth you have choices to put different hands and that’s were some problems can show. The hands were not the same color as the cloth so it takes away the beauty of it. They look like a mustard yellow instead of gold. So that was one major disappointment on the figure. Other than that, the figure comes with closed fists, hands that let you do the Excalibur move that Shura is famous for, and some open hands. Also the face stands out a lot due to how old the figure is, but when you but the full helmet on him, you can’t really tell the difference but only if you look at it closely. From far away, you can’t tell.


So even though this cloth has been out for almost 7 years it still has a great feel to it. The colors are great, the figure feels solid, and the look of the figure is just phenomenal. It is a very simple build that you will enjoy making, it will take you around 15 minutes to see the object mode and the figure, like I said, very easy build. There were a few setbacks like the hands and the face, but I believe in the future they will make and appendix for this figure and all will be fixed in my opinion. So I give this cloth a 9 out of 10. Just due to the fact of the hands and face, other than that, it is a perfect Capricorn Shura. Is it worth buying? I say yes, it is a great addition to your collection and you won’t regret buying it.

I would like to thank ishop2go again for letting me review this great figure. It was an honor, and don’t forget guys, go out and buy it!

2011/04/08

Gemini Gold Saga + Pope Review


I remember since the show started I was always wondering how the bad guy was in Saint Seiya. As the Story continued, I was that Gemini Saga was the man villain and one of my most favorite characters in the saint seiya universe. I was hooked and I needed to get a figure of Saga as soon as I could. I was seven at the time and the only saga I could get in 1992 was a very blocky looking figure and very heavy. I was not very impressed. So now many years later the most perfect cloth of Gemini Saga is in my hands and I have a lot to say about this figure.

The first thing I saw when I got this figure is the massive box. It was so big almost as twice the size of a normal gold myth cloth. With a beautiful gold color and the picture of saga cloth and the anime form in the front, you just can’t wait to open the figure. As most myth cloth boxes it was a box style kind of box and with great letters and the symbol of Gemini on the side as most myth cloth have. As you go to the back of the box you can see you are getting almost 3 figures and a thrown for the figure. It was a sight to see with so many variations of this figure; you just go wild on how many things you can do with him. I could not wait no more and I opened the box. As soon as you open the box you see saga and his other body with the gray hair saga as well. You can see the amount of detail the figure has on his head and hair, so dynamic and smooth and the cloth was perfect to see. It was time to open the box and put this object mode together


As I opened the box, you can see most of the armor of this cloth is die cast metal. There were very few plastic parts but this figure had a lot of hands as well. So many hands that u just don’t know what to do with so many. The color of the cloth is great with these hard and soft variations of gold, you could just see yourself almost in the armor. On side A, you have most of the figures parts and the cape for the cloth. But in the back as well the thrown for the figure is there as well. The thrown is made out of plastic and needs no major assembly for the thrown. On side B, you have most of the parts for the object mode and parts for the Pope and the Evil head with the gray hair. It was a sight to see and so much great color the pope has with his armor as well. In the back of side be you have most of the robes and capes for the pope, as well with some chains for his neck. It was time to put the object mode together.


When I put the object mode together it took a bit of time, but the outcome was great. So dynamic and big and the cloth used every part of the Gemini cloth, not even one part was left behind. It was beautiful. From the great detail on the hands and the great representation of the cloth, I knew I needed to buy another one just to have the object mode on display. The instructions to do the object mode was very obvious, but still took a good 30+ minutes to make. It was time to make the figure and the pope.

As I put the figure together it was easy as cake, it took less than 15 minutes to get all the parts in the figure, the pope has a lot of cloth parts of silk and cotton, it felt I was dressing a doll sometimes. When I was done with both figures and put the thrown together I was in Awww. The figures was a perfect replica of the anime, both of them were, the colors came out so great and the red and the gold shined so bright, sometimes getting glare in my eyes. They are beautiful and perfect, sagas head looked great and the pope was as perfect as they anime. The pope came with a dagger as well and the dagger is full die cast metal. I was surprised to see it was. It was a great pleasure to make this figure.


At the end of the day, I was very happy. From the perfection of the cloth, to the color of the armor, to the silk and cotton robes of the pope, all the way to the throne, it was perfect. I would totally recommend buying this figure. It is one of the best ones in the gold saints Saint Seiya line and Gemini is a great addition to your collection. And you can’t go wrong with 2 figures on the package. You may want to consider the appendix just to have alternative heads for the cloth but it looks great by itself. This is a 10 out of 10 cloth. And I hope you love it as well.

I want to thank ishop2go for letting me review this cloth. As always this was a pleasure.