Friday, July 26, 2013

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form Part 2

When silver outshines gold

After the introduction, this posting will focus on all the accessories and option parts included in this S.H. Figuarts set and more images of Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form to examine its details. ^^



All of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form's accessories and option parts.


The Zanvat Sword.


Front view of the sword.


Rear view of the sword.


The sword is 10cm in length.



Very nice paint work and detailing for Zanvat-bat and the hilt.



Evidently made of translucent material with silver paint added to the edge and stripes on the blade, the see-through property of Zanvat Sword is an amazing design. ^^


Two side pieces that are packaged separated from the figure's cape.


Gradient paint work to "force" the appearance of shadow on the cape. ^^


(Left) The peg holes to connect the cape pieces to the back of the figure.
(Right) The labels of "L2" and "R2" can be seen molded beneath the peg slots to indicate which side the cape pieces are on when they are attached onto the figure.


Ball-type joint on the outer edge of both existing cape pieces to hold the two extra slices shown above.


Front and rear views of the cape in full.
The entire cape, made up of four independently movable pieces now can be collapsed to give it a "disguised" one-piece look. ^^;


Three pairs of option hand units included.


A pair of open fists meant to hold the sword.


All the hand units have really nice sculpt work and accurate painting for the armor and fingers.


The Kamen Rider Kiva-style spread palms. ^^


A pair of more generic-looking spread palms.


The default pair of closed fist.


(Left) Identical connecting points for all the hand units.
(Right) Using one of the option hand units on the figure.

More images of Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form:










Closeups on the details:




[Head]





[Body]





[Back & cape]







[Arms]





[Legs]

This figure is a really accurate and well designed representation of Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form. ^^ The proportion, sculpt work, detail treatment and colors - pretty much everything are just spot-on. The grid pattern behind the goggles, metallic green jewels on the headgear and on the chest, molded crisscross patterns on various parts of the armors, Kivat-bat the 3rd, the entire Kivat Belt with all six Fuestles, Tatsulot on the left gauntlet and Zanvat Sword are all great details to look at on this figure. While it's obviously an S.H. Figuarts figure, the level of sculpt work put into realizing the elaborate molded details on all the armor components makes this figure as a worthy honorary entry in the S.I.C. series I believe. ^^

Apart from the sculpt work, the paint work on this figure is amazing. ^^ In comparison, the glossy gold used on majority of the armors is somewhat less impressive when you look at the detailed paint work applied to Kivat-bat the 3rd, the entire Kivat Belt, Tatsulot and Zanvat Sword. The outcome of the paint work showing silver lines on black wings with golden edges on tiny Kivat-bat the 3rd in the middle of the belt is just incredible. Also, a lighter shade of gold (light brass maybe) seems to be selected for this figure. It looks pretty good especially when coupled with the metallic orange stripes near the edge of all the golden armors. Its lighter shade helps to emphasize the existence of two metallic colors so to speak. Then again, I think either a darker shade of gold, or a higher level of glossiness applied onto the existing color would help to project a more shiny suit of armor on this figure. In terms of shininess, even the silver parts (knees, rear side of the shoulder spikes and greaves) seem more outstanding than the golden armors most of the time. ^^;

Anyhow, it would be impossible for the figure to completely replicate the look of the character in the TV series though, which has special effects deployed to bring its bling-bling feel to a blinding new level. XD

The cape looks a bit off from the back because of the clear split between the four pieces, but allowance must be given for its expansion gimmick, so I'm not too troubled by the split. ^^ It's only really visible from the back anyway, the figure looks absolutely fantastic, almost flawless from the from the front. ^^

Introduction of the figure's articulation design will be featured next.

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