I NEEEEEEEEEED a bike!

Looks like the Gaim Orange Arms reissue sold out on Ami Ami as well. Seeing that he is going to be released by Bluefin, Bluefin should announce his release officially soon on Facebook.

Preordered Mach's bike on HLJ ahahah oh god I hope I get it.

So, let's say I'm a newbie collector. And let's say I would like to get a figuart. Where would you, the good people of tokunation, suggest I start?

What do you like? If you're going to take the plunge, it might as well be with a series you're fond of. :D

Blade, Gaim, Hibiki and ZO are pretty good figures to start with.

Anything thing from the Ryuki line. It's the most solid and best line of Figuarts in my honest opinion. However really if there's a Figuart of a character you really like, no matter the show or if it's an older SHF, just get that one. Nothing wrong with that.

You really can't go wrong with anything from the Ryuki line. Specifically, I would recommend Zolda. He looks cool, he's affordable compared to some of the other Ryuki figures, and he has a great set of accessories. The Blade and Gaim lines are excellent as well.

Pick a series/design you like and grab one from it. While older figures aren't as good as modern ones, most of them hold up really damn well with just a few minor issues. The only thing I would say outright avoid is Double CycloneJoker, as the big rumor is he'll be getting a renewal soon.

If you want a specific suggestion, then I'd say look at Hibiki or Renewal Kabuto. Both were special, even more premium releases that turned out beautifully. Still really want to grab both myself some day.

There are obvious variables that will affect what you're looking for, like if you have a favorite show or character already (or loathe others).

Speaking just to things like suit aesthetics & quality (my entrance to Figuarts...I still haven't watched many of the shows these figures come from, so my main focus is typically "Do I like this suit or not?"), the Ryuki Figuarts are close to the gold standard for Figuarts. They hold up excellently and are a series in no need of "renewal" versions. The only catch is many are farther from their initial release dates and most recent figures have been exclusives, so it won't be cheap to pick some up. Ryuki/Zolda/Knight/Odin, thanks to contract monsters and/or a shitton of accessories, help make the price you pay either worth it (for Zolda, Odin and Ryuki) or sort of worth it (Knight, who's shot up dramatically and is in dire need of a re-release).

Beyond that...the Gaim Figuarts are also almost uniformly excellent, but Bluefin has only now received the license to import them and even then it would only be figures released at retail anyways.

Blade's Figuarts are fun and excellent quality and it's a series where all the rider's main bikes have been released (two retail, two exclusive).

If you're into Showa Riders, they've released or announced a few two-packs containing a re-release of their previous (retail) release plus their bike. If you've missed one, it'd be helpful to track one of those two-packs down or wait for one to be announced (Super 1, ZX and others haven't had their bike two-packs go up for preorder yet).

The recent fancy-pants Shinkocchou Seihou part of the Figuarts line (Kabuto, Hibiki) are also top notch.