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04-04-2018, 03:12 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lexington, Ky
Posts: 16,328
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"Red Fight!"
One of the most violent and obscure heroes in history, Redman hails from his own short lived 1972 micro-series. Consisting of 138 5-minute "Battles", Redman would nearly always face off against re-used Kaiju suits from the Ultraman franchise. A few other odd monsters from other Tsuburaya productions would occasionally appear as well. But what Redman is so well known for, is the unceremoniously violent way in which he would attack, beat, and destroy these Kaiju. Each episode sees him viciously attack and ultimately kill his enemies, sometimes even just with the brute force of his kicks & punches alone. The series regained notoriety in 2016 thanks to Tsuburaya streaming it in it's entirety one episode at a time on their youtube page. Since then, Tamashii Nations expressed interest in producing a figure of the character back in October 2016, but more recently Evolution Toy has finally done so. Revitalizing their own defunct tokusatsu heroes collector line, Evolution has begun the Hero Action Figure (HAF) line. Though many figure prototypes have already been seen, and several been made available for pre-order, the first release in the line only came out about a week ago. So without further adieu we present this (brutally honest) gallery & review, of HAF Redman. Main Figure Alright. So this is not only the first figure in a brand new line, but also, the very first fully poseable figure of Redman ever. This obscure old psycho has never had this kind of collector treatment before. Vinyls are the primary extent of any Redman toys that existed prior to this release. So in one sense this figure needed to set the bar high to set a precedent for this new toyline. In another sense it needed to set the bar high because it's the first poseable/collector oriented figure this character has ever received. Sadly, and somewhat expectedly, this figure fails in most any sense. First, a brief history of Evolution Toy. This company has been around for quite some time, technically. A large chunk of their history comes from their time as the long gone company CM's Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in 2014. The company as it is now is mostly known for it's long running Dynamite Action line, which has made use of a system of magnet's allowing for fluid posing and interchangeability. In the waning days of CM's, quality control had already become somewhat suspect. One would think that a new company rising from this like Evolution Toy would potentially improve on this. However in recent years Evolution has also produced sub-standard figures. Macross collectors have experienced this with their lackluster VF-2SS release. Their recent Mospeada Legioss is similarly plagued with issues. Their older toku hero figures that predate HAF, like Zone Fighter & Iron King were some of the most disappointing 6" scale collector figures on the market for their time as well. My point is this company has had many many misses in it's time. My point in going over the troubled production history of this company has hopefully prepared you for what's to come. The HAF line is essentially an attempt to copy Bandai's now defunct Ultra-Act series of Ultraman releases, but instead focusing on the obscure Tsuburaya heroes that are largely (except Gridman) forgotten these days. Redman is a unique choice because of his cult status. And boy the figure itself is sure unique alright. The overall plastic quality of this release feels very, old? When I say Evolution was specifically going for Ultra-Act and not the newer S.H. Figuarts Ultras I meant it. The plastic feels like the same hard inflexible material old Ultra-Acts were made of, and the joints are the same kind of mixed bag. For starters, Redman actually has some really wide flat feet that can be useful for posing. Honestly they're too big though, looking more like clown shoes than anything. The ankles are actually on pretty free moving balljoints that allow the foot to move pretty far up and forward and back. This combined with tight toe bends give Redman a decent bit of stability, though the ankles are quite loose. The knees are where big problems begin. The can't even quite make a 90 degree angle. While jointed on both ends of the knee, there just isn't much room before the back of the leg impacts itself. So that's bad right? Well, the hip is in the exact same situation. You can pull the hip down and out ever so slightly, but even this part can barely hit 90 degrees. And the hips can't move out very widely either. This is a real detriment to getting Redman into any great dynamic poses that don't just look terrible. Redman was a crazy dynamic fighter. Because of the shows low budget, the titular character had to do a ton of hand to hand combat and got very active. The figures' inability to replicate even a fraction of that energy is saddening. While the legs are a mixed back, the torso is more disappointing. While clearly two pieces, the lower & upper torso hardly move. They may as well be one giant part. The lower half can't move at all, the upper body actually can, but it's on a dangerously tight joint. I'm fairly certain if I apply any more force it'll break. And even when you can get it to move, rather than staying where you put it, the whole thing just snaps back in place. Moving it makes a really nasty plastic scraping/squeaking noise as well, and plastic shavings have been falling out of the torso on mine after moving it. The takeaway here is that it's a poorly designed joint and using it will likely cause damage. If there was just some room to lean the upper body left or right and give him a more natural bend, then you could get some decent poses out of Redman. These are real issues this figure has, but by far the biggest let down of it is the arms. LITERALLY, as soon as I opened my Redman, his left arm fell apart entirely. Essentially the arm is held together with one peg in the bicep. It's supposed to plug into the bicep with a piece of shoulder armor around it from the shoulder joint. But my copy either has a peg that isn't thick enough, or a bicep hole that isn't tight enough. Either way, I can only get the arm to stay on temporarily as it continues to fall apart. It's the one thing that let's you know exactly who made this toys. It's that good old Evolution Toy QC. If not for this kind of issue, the arms would function pretty much fine. The shoulder are incredibly ugly, there's no question there. The combination of the shoulder pad, and the shoulder joint with cuff, makes it look like a busy mess. The shoulder pad impact the cuff around the shoulder joint itself as well, losing some range. The bicep swivel is obviously pointless on the left arm which falls apart, but on the right arm, the clearance between the bicep and shoulder armor is so little, you can't make use of it there either. The elbow joints work alright, though they have too much play backwards making them look unnatural. Finally the wrists will pull apart when you change the hands. You will either take half the joint as it pops apart, or pull the entire joint out of the wrist. The wrists, like the ankles, are also made of clear plastic. Making a joint that relies on stress to be used out of clear plastic is simply designing it to break. And that brings us to the head. By far the best looking thing about the figure, it kind of tries to strike a balance between the original low budget look of it from the show, and the more quality version of the head that exists these days. The eyes are a good approximation of the gold foil used on the original suit, and has a lot of nice detail to them. The silver trim around the top of the helmet is however very inconsistently applied, and the yellow centerpiece is glued on crookedly with excess glue splotched on the helmet. The antennae on the sides actually look pretty good, though I'm sure they are just as easily broken as they were on the actual show prop. So what does all of this taken together, as a complete package, mean for the figure? Well, it means what we've wound up with is a figure with an assortment of joints that are randomly loose or tight and fall apart. We have a figure with lankly elongated proportions that don't look natural or at all accurate. And we have yet another disappointment in Evolution Toy's long line of such things. This figure lacks the proper poseability to really capture the character's spirit, and is so poorly designed that it doesn't even really capture his appearance. Accessories While the figure itself is a hodgepodge of odd articulation choices and poor quality control, the accessories provided are pretty nice: 4.5 - sets of hands. 1 flat open hand set for posing, 1 splayed open pair for posing, 1 set for his knife, 1 set for his arrow, and single hand for holding with a thumb up. 1 - extra set of antennae. It was common in the Redman series for the antennae to break during battles and need to be replaced. The figure includes an extra set, I assume for this purpose as well. Though the molding is slightly different on these too, they're just a tad bit thicker. 1 - Red Knife. Redman's very iconic and brutal weapon of choice. It's definitely not your typical heroes weapon, but it gets the job done when you need to savagely attack a Kaiju. It has an odd square handle that one specific set of hands can accommodate. The paint is so thick on the handle however that it can be difficult to squeeze down into the hand. Some paint has already rubbed off the handle on mine. 1 - Red Arrow. This javelin like weapon is very similar in fashion to Ultraman Jack's own Ultra Cross. Though Obviously Redman uses his to much more deadly effect. It can only barely be held in his hand by way of a tiny ring around one end of it. That's a decent number of parts for accessories, really. But I can't help but wonder why there wasn't a Red Thunder effect part packed in. Redman is the after all the violent cousin of Ultraman, and Red Thunder is his equivalent of the Specium Ray. While this figure may be a functional disaster, I would have applauded that inclusion. It would have also made sense to included the smaller hand-held version of the Red Arrow, since it grew in size for fights. Final Thoughts So, I think it's safe to say that the HAF line has launched with a pretty big dud. Given how similar in design the next release in the line is (Fireman) it's safe to assume we can expect the same quality. I say if you're interested in these obscure characters, it can't hurt to try one of them. But once you throw down over $70 plus shipping, only to wind up with a complete piece of junk like this, you'll likely rethink doing it again. Tamashii Nations is very likely to have a Redman figure in production somewhere right now given their past interest. I cannot express enough how much I think you should wait for that product. Do not support the Evolution Toy release, it simply isn't worth your money. Until this company gets their act together, if ever, you should pass on this figure and this line. HAF Redman was something I was really excited for, and I am so so disappointed.
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04-04-2018, 03:12 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lexington, Ky
Posts: 16,328
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Part 2
- More Red Knife - Red Arrow - Red Fight
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Last edited by Den-O; 04-04-2018 at 03:16 PM.. |
04-04-2018, 03:32 PM | #3 |
Tokusatsu Hero
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 6,589
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My friend has something of this series. Can't remember if it was a movie or some episodes. Lol
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04-04-2018, 03:37 PM | #4 |
Devil from the Depths
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Airspace B7R
Posts: 7,728
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Man. I can't even say that thing looks okay. Something about the plastic gives off a really cheap-looking sheen.
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04-04-2018, 03:51 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lexington, Ky
Posts: 16,328
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There isn't a Redman movie, there were just the 138 5-minute episodes. If you meant he literally owns something physical that's pretty bizarre. The last time the show was released in any form on home video was Laser Disc in 1996. And the episodes we're only made available online around 2 years ago through Tsburaya's YouTube account.
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04-04-2018, 05:54 PM | #6 |
Tokusatsu Hero
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 6,589
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Quote:
There isn't a Redman movie, there were just the 138 5-minute episodes. If you meant he literally owns something physical that's pretty bizarre. The last time the show was released in any form on home video was Laser Disc in 1996. And the episodes we're only made available online around 2 years ago through Tsburaya's YouTube account.
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04-04-2018, 07:01 PM | #7 |
Dark Noir Black Schwarz
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 957
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I'm not so disappointed that I had to skip buying Redman now. I do hope that Tamashii Nations tease leads to something.
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04-04-2018, 09:52 PM | #8 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,474
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You put together a pretty solid gallery despite the figure's problems. And wow, you didn't overstate the limits to the leg articulation. I don't think the figure looks too bad - it kinda looks like an early Sentai SHF in terms of awkward joints. Sad to hear a $70 was such a dud.
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04-05-2018, 12:03 AM | #9 |
Avi by @CSarracenian
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 4,186
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Uhhhhhh Den-O why did you post these highly gorey images? Obviously the red colour is the blood of innocent monsters who did nothing wrong
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04-05-2018, 01:13 AM | #10 |
Kitty Robo
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Germany
Posts: 200
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I like how his mid-lower chest section is basically just a cylinder lol
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