{"id":24348,"date":"2013-08-01T11:04:49","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T16:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24348"},"modified":"2013-08-08T21:26:12","modified_gmt":"2013-08-09T02:26:12","slug":"vault-review-s-h-figuarts-shocker-combatmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24348","title":{"rendered":"Vault Review: S.H.
Figuarts Shocker Combatmen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those of you who\u2019ve read my Kamen Rider reviews already know that I\u2019m not a huge fan of the series, but I really love the designs of the Showa era Riders.\u00a0 So I\u2019ve been picking them up here and there and setting up fun scenes at home with them all palling around.\u00a0 But now my Riders can finally see some real action with Bandai\u2019s release of the Shocker Combatman.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shocker was the Big Bad in the original Kamen Rider series.\u00a0 They were the typical evil organization bent on taking over the world, and their Combatmen were the grunts in the field who took the majority of the punches and kicks that the Riders would dish out.\u00a0 Some of these soldiers were humans who had been modified with technology, while others were simple automatons that obeyed every command.\u00a0 Either way, the job was always the same: Use your body to stop the Rider\u2019s fist.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been waiting for Bandai to do grunt soldiers like this for a long time.\u00a0 While I would have preferred seeing the Putty Patrol first, the Shocker Combatmen still have that great generic look that really makes a nice punching bag for any of my Figuarts.<\/p>\n

While the black jumpsuit costume is simple, there are still little sculpted details like wrinkles and muscle bulges, and the boots and gloves also have a similar design to what is seen on other Rider\/Sentai figures.\u00a0 His official Shocker belt is the most detailed element on the figure, and its sheer size would make any professional wrestler a bit envious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I really only have two problems with this figure.\u00a0 First is his expression.\u00a0 While the head sculpt portrays the classics luchador-like mask, the face itself is entirely boring.\u00a0 With the half open eyes and shut mouth, the Shocker troops look more sleepy than threatening.\u00a0 This figure really could have used a couple of alternate heads or face plates, especially since he\u2019s an army builder.\u00a0 Additional angry and \u201cI\u2019ve-just-been-Kamen-Rider-punched\u201d faces would have really made this figure exceptional.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The other issue I have with the figure is its size.\u00a0 When compared to their fellow Showa era figures, the Combatmen are noticeably taller.\u00a0 Even compared to the more modern styled Crystal Skull Figuarts, the Shocker troops still hover just above a normal height.\u00a0 I\u2019m not really sure why Bandai did this, but it doesn\u2019t seem right that these beat-\u2018em-up grunts look more imposing than the heroes.\u00a0 Continue to page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Paint job on the Combatmen is very simple.\u00a0 The entire figure is molded in black.\u00a0 There are silver highlights on the zippers and buckles, while his giant belt buckle was given a dark wash to show off the detail.\u00a0 His skeleton bones and face outline are done in white and the facial features are black.\u00a0 All pretty standard, except for those droopy eyes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shocker Troop comes with the standard assortment of alternate hands: fists, holding, open with splayed fingers, and palms open and flat for doing their Nazi style saluting.\u00a0 There’s also an extra right hand that’s holding a coin.\u00a0 I’m not really sure what that’s about though.<\/p>\n

As for weapons, they come with a large knife with a curved blade (I\u2019m sure this has a name?), and a baton with eagle heads on each end.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All around this is a pretty decent figure, especially if you\u2019ve been waiting on cannon fodder for your Riders.\u00a0 The height thing can kind of be dealt with by posing them in more crouching positions.\u00a0 The uninterested looking face is a bit more difficult, especially in action scenes.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing worse than grunts that are so used to being beaten that it just bores them now.<\/p>\n

-Vault<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/shcmFP.jpg?fit=480%2C195&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-6kI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25117,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=25117","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":0},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider V3","date":"October 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"krvt1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/krvt1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15758,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15758","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":1},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts\u2019 Kamen Rider 2","date":"December 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I preordered Masked Rider months ago as an impulse buy. Unfortunately for me (but mostly for my wallet), I didn\u2019t realize just how many of my preorders were going to be filled in the last month of the year! December\u2019s already been an expensive month, and we\u2019re only six days\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/mari1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23450,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23450","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":2},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider, Riderman","date":"May 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"If there\u2019s one line I collect for no discernable reason, it\u2019s definitely SH Figuarts Kamen Riders. \u00a0I\u2019ve never seen any of the series and know next to nothing about the characters, but for some reason I really love the Showa Era designs, especially with the amazing articulation of a Figuarts.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/rdrm1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18385,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18385","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":3},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts’ Kamen Rider Skyrider","date":"April 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With my glut of Transformers reviews over, I\u2019m going back to take a look at a few imports that I passed over.\u00a0 Today\u2019s figure was an impulse buy.\u00a0 I was itching to spend some money, so I took a chance on a couple of figures. I\u2019ve mentioned this in previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/skyr1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24781,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24781","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":4},"title":"Vault Review: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Amazon","date":"September 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"amaz1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/amaz1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21608,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=21608","url_meta":{"origin":24348,"position":5},"title":"Tamashii Nations 2012 Armchair Coverage","date":"October 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While convention season is pretty much over stateside, Japan had a big one up its sleeve with Tamashii Nations 2012!\u00a0 Bandai of Japan has been garnering a large portion of my collecting interest over the last couple years, and the 2013 reveals make it blatantly apparent that my wallet doesn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tamf3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24348"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24361,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24348\/revisions\/24361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}