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S.H. Figuarts Alien Baltan Gallery
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The most classic enemy of the Ultras arrives in time for the 50th Anniversary of his adversaries. Today we take a look at the most prolific alien race in the entire Ultra franchise with S.H. Figuarts Alien Baltan!
Packaging Matching and complimenting the recent S.H. Figuarts Ultraman release, Baltan comes in an almost identical style of packaging, simply in blue rather than red. You'll notice that this box doesn't fit in with the nicer deluxe 50th Anniversary Ultraman, but pairs very well with the standard release. Perhaps a 50th Baltan set should have been made as well? In any case the box itself isn't terribly exciting, it even has a pretty noticeable shortage of stock photos. Main Figure Alien Baltan, you may recall, was one of the earliest releases way back in Bandai's now defunct Ultra-Act line. While not a terrible figure by the standards of it's time the original release did suffer from many of the same issues of it's Ultra-Act contemporaries. Mainly an odd jumble of incredibly tight & very gummy joints, inconsistent paint apps, and weird plastic tolerances. So it's actually quite surprising that it took this many years for some kind of alternative to present itself. So long in fact that Ultra-Act is no more & Baltan officially joins the S.H. Figuarts lineup! To start I have to point out that the original Baltan Ultra-Act actually represents a different, later, version of the character. Specifically Baltan II from episode 16 of the original TV series. The Baltan species has propagated for generations throughout the Ultra franchise so it stands to reason that there are just about as many variations of this species as there are Ultra's. This new SHF Baltan, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Ultraman franchise, is modeled upon Ultramans' classic & original Baltan nemesis from the 2nd episode of the original TV series. But more specifically it's a part for part recreation of the original Baltan suit used in the episode, right down to the asymmetry of it. Much like the 50th Anniversary Ultraman Figuart, Alien Baltan aims to be accurate to the suit used in the show first. It's a toy second. And much like SHF Ultraman, Baltan is a bit of a mixed bag. While it's certainly nothing to laugh at, much of the articulation this figure could have enjoyed is kind of neutered. Yes the legs have a pretty great range, but the hip skirt limits their full potential. Likewise the clown feet on this guy provide a mostly stable base for balancing poses, but the ankles are incredibly limited because the ankle joint actually has a cuff around it, the shins plug down through this cuff so one would think there wouldn't be an issue. Yet somehow the ankles on mine continuously lock in place, it seems to be a clearance issue created from bad design. The upper body is miraculous though. While Baltan may appear to be one giant mass of strange shapes it's actually 3 independently moving ball jointed sections. As you can see below this allows Baltan to arch his back, swing side to side and even rotate his head to a small degree I wouldn't have thought possible at first glance. The head itself is a magnificent sculpt that really puts his asymmetry on full display. For the first time ever an accurate representation of the show suit. Think of it like how Star Wars fans have often recalled the asymmetry of the original Darth Vader helmet, something that has very rarely ever been recreated in toy form. This is that level of achievement. And the head and upper body manage to look so much like the materials used in the creation of the original suit that it's uncanny. However the arms will probably disappoint. Again these parts share some unique molding, specifically in the shoulders, to replicate the suit. But the articulation is the issue. You can't quite straighten the shoulder joint out at a right angle like I'd like to be able to. It's almost there but not quite, the elbows have a fantastic range. But they're dynamism can't make up for the shoulders. The claws themselves also just feel like they should open much further. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like they just don't open wide enough at all. You can fit Ultramans' head in there and hold it, but their grip is very loose. And sadly the shoulders are quite weak so holding Ultraman up off the ground as I'd imagined doesn't quite pan out. Much like the molded in details the paint apps offer some variation on each half of the figure, really selling the faithfulness to the asymmetry of the original suit. The paint apps are executed wonderfully frankly. I don't really have any complaints to lodge there. Lastly on the topic of scale, this particular Baltan will seem to tower over your S.H. Figuarts Ultraman. But that's actually appropriate. Given that Baltan at their giant kaiju size are about 50 meters tall, Ultraman himself is only 40 meters tall in the original series (though he is 50 in later appearances). So the scale works. But honestly? I kind of like how baltan stands almost eye to eye with my older Ultra-Act Ultraman V2/Renewal. Not terribly accurate, but I like it. He's bit enough to just sneak into an Ultra-Act display and work. Now my biggest issue with Alien Blatan is the total lack of accessories. Baltan includes nothing. While taking the character into account I can almost understand why, but when you're celebrating 50 years of one of the biggest franchises in tokusatsu with a release like this, it should have come with something. The Baltan Ship included with the 50th Edition Ultraman should have been repacked here. Or effect parts to replicate the various abilities Baltan exhibited in his debut. Just anything would have made this better. Final Thoughts Ultimately this figure will appeal to collectors who wish to continue down the path of the shrunk down Ultraman line. But even if you're a collector of the old Ultra-Act scale then this release can still work for you. And if you want a pretty solid update from the iffy Ultra-Act Baltan, this could get the job done. If Baltan had included some accessories, it would have made up for the figures' functional shortcomings. But as is the lack of any accessories at all combined with his retail price (5940 yen) make this a more average release. S.H. Figuarts Alien Baltan should belong in the ultimate Ultra fans' collection, but I suggest waiting for a discount at one of your favorite online retailers first. |
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Looks pretty much perfect but the lack of accessorys of any kind really stings.
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It look pretty good, I love the claws on it.
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Baltan looks pretty good, it's a shame about the lack of accessories for that kind of price. I'd probably get it anyway since I enjoy high end figures of villains and monsters.
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Ultraman fans will love owning this piece of Ultra history. It has flaws, but what doesn't these days?
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The figure looks amazing but the pricing of the new Ultraman figures has turned me off to collecting them.
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Definitely an awesome figure, so far the Ultra line has cranked out some pretty great monsters.
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Great Seijin with a great design and an even better evil laugh. Since an iconic character in the Ultraman franchise and this is probably the best articulated rendition of him currently.
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Aww, no clones?
I am not an Ultra fan, and I know little about the franchise, but I certainly remember Baltan's illusions :lol Anyway, it's a neat figure. He has one of my favorite designs. Dunno why, but he just has a certain charm to him that I really enjoy. The lack of accessories is a rather sore spot. I do agree that some sort of effects piece could've been given to him. I also wish the claws/pincers were more articulated. They seem to be oddly lacking... |
I know that not everything about these releases is great, not everyone is happy about Bandai redoing everything at the SHF scale and the figures themselves aren’t perfect either. But damn do they come close.
And the most important thing: I think most Ultraman fans will enjoy the current releases, they do so many monsters, and it’s awesome. Like, I’m not an Ultraman collector myself but I do see myself picking up some of those monsters down the line, like Gomora for example. And Baltan? He’s fantastic looking. It’s not my favorite monster design but the figure looks amazing. Especially paired with Ultraman himself and some of those building sets. And I do think the three pack they do through Premium Bandai will add a lot to this figure as well. My personal favorites of this gallery include Baltan rampaging through the city, great usage of the building and flame effect sets there, as well as the battle with Ultraman himself. For some reason the picture where Baltan uses his claw to hold up Ultraman by the head stands out to me the most, I love it. |
The asymmetry of the figure is really cool, honestly I am not sure I would have noticed if it wasn't pointed out to me though!
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I'm not an ultra fan, so I don't quite get the figure, but it looks nice enough. Very squid-y. And thanks for the history lesson :)
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The lack of accessories wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't then gone and included two beam effects with Zetton
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Great figure otherwise, just needed to come with some kind of effect part or something. |
I've only dipped my toes briefly into Ultraman: a couple of episodes of Ultra Seven X and the first episode of Ultraman Orb. In the latter, I was impressed by the dynamic physicality of Ultraman's battles compared to the Sentai and Rider I typically watch.
I was surprised to learn that collectors' habits are so different between toku properties. Ultra kaiju actually sell? Because Bandai seems to be reluctant to release villains for Rider or (dear, departed) Sentai. I suspect I'll understand the appeal once I start watching an Ultra series in earnest. Thanks for another fun gallery! For me, the star of the show is actually the buildings that came with the Ultraman release. My Sentai minipla are hungry for them. |
This is a great monster figure. The detail looks really spot on imho.
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It's a nice figure, but it's very barebones and the price doesn't seem worth it. I'm sure most casual fans would just be happy with the inexpensive 500 yen Ultra Monster series.
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I want one, and I'm not even that big of a fan of OG Ultraman.
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That's a really expensive figur for what you get. Not even saying it's bad, it certainly looks the parts, but no extras, not even token effect parts or anything is kind of unreasonable.
That said, seeing monsters released in SHF is pretty novel compared to other lines. That's just a super expensive novelty. |
The Ultraman enemies are always super cool!!! I think they deserve more recognition ie merchandise
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This is certainty a weird one for me but i can't ever say that the early toku designs ever lacked a certain charm
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I'm glad we're seeing more MOTWs in the figuarts line, but I'll be echoing a lot of other's sentiments: No accessories at all HURTS! Especially when you know that they've already got a baltan ship mold ready to go and everything.
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I love the Baltan design,but am kind of turned off of this figure because of the lack of even Effect parts.
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The villain Ultra Figuarts looked to me initially like they wouldn't really have much articulation at all. It's nice to see this one has a lot more range than I expected. Of course it's still restricted, but it is actually more than I expected. And the figure as a whole looks like a very impressive recreation of the suit.
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this dude is looking pretty slick. I actually really love the color balance on here more than on screen too. something about the plastic i guess.
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It's amazing how much Bandai will charge for so little.
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Baltan's design is so goofy, but I've seen it so many times that I love it. I really want to start getting Ultra man figures and Baltan would definitely be one of the first I would get.
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Well look at this now! Those colors, that design, DEM CLAWS! Lol! Looks great to display in fighting poses with Ultraman.
As I'm not too familiar with Ultraman it's cool to discover it through this gallery as I become more interested in it. |
Never really got into the classic ultraman stuff, still his suit always stood out to me, those big claw hands and his octopus like face were always unique.
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This this looks absolutely fantastic, I can't get over how accurate the detailing is.
That said, yeah, the price and lack of accessories really puts me off. I really don't understand why they couldn't throw in a piece from the lighting effects, or a PET piece with after images. Especially when you consider that Alien Metron retails for the same SRP and includes a table and pack of cigarettes. |
Really need to get into Ultraman! Wonderful gallery
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Glad for monster Figures, this one looks great.
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Yhe description of the Baltan species makes them sound like the Daleks of the Ultra series: recurring villains but with modifications here and there as story demands and special effects allows.
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Incoming reference: Baltan the biggest loser on the planet... what planet is Baltan from?
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I thought Baltan came from...Baltan
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It weird how popular ultraman villains are not even Kamen Rider villains get retail release.
I just feel the price is a rip-off for a figuart that has no effect piece and some what limited movement. |
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I almost got him just because I need to bolster my villains, but if they ever man the MANGA version of Baltan...oh lord money will be spent
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Love the details this figure have and the claws looks very interesting. I've never been a fan of Ultraman before but it's great to see its villains are also getting their own shine with these figures.
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