I might have to try that, though with how big this collection has gotten it'd take a lot of work to do it to all of them! Do you have any pictures of how they look after being treated?

Finished the Zi-O figures tonight, meaning all I have left is So-Do Chronicle. Three OOO forms and four Kuuga forms. Tomorrow I should finally be done. Not looking forward to Dragon form after hearing about what a pain that staff is, Die.

Took a pic of all the Zi-O boys together, forgot the Kashin reissue in the pic but whatever, he's not that exciting.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ee4ffe96...275ebbc9da.jpg

Also took a piccture of everybody from Zero-One in there forms at where I'm at in the show, almost caught up!
https://64.media.tumblr.com/feaae37e...0f719cd49a.jpg

Can't wait for the final forms next couple of waves. Shame that we're going to have to wait for Saber for Naki though

I mean, it's not that bad. It's not what I'd call fun, but it's not, like, Build Genius or anything. It's some thin stickers (and some tiny stickers) that are getting applied to what's basically a long toothpick. They really should've painted it, but they didn't, so here we are. You can always use the included metal pipe instead, and just forever have your Dragon Form in his Before pose!

Also, hey, great job on all of your Zero-Ones and Watch Mans!

It'd be awesome if they did some of the the less major stuff, Gaim has some great suit designs. I'm not super confident they'll do much movie stuff though. Den-O merch sells like hotcakes, and yet the only movie suit they did was New Den-O Strike Form and Nega Den-O, and that's just a redeco. Pretty much guarantee we'll get Bujin Gaim based off that though.

Thanks! I'm hoping you can get to a point where this is more enjoyable for you again too. You're gonna make me feel bad for my part in getting you into this obsession! I'll let you know what the rest of the Kuuga forms are like to sticker, I imagine the other forms should be more enjoyable, especially Mighty.

It's fun right now! That first Dragon Form box was... y'know, they ain't all winners, but I did the second box tonight and now I've got two tiny plastic Kuuga mans on a shelf. They look good together! (The other one is Mighty Form, who I did some months back when I got that Kuuga case. I think I did a post somewhere on this thread? He's light on stickers, relative to Dragon Form. I hope you dig him!) I'll probably do a random Build one next, just keep putting random mans together. I don't want anyone to think that SO-DO is some albatross, weighing me down. I got a bunch of stuff in over a period of time, it's a little stressful, but I'm taking steps to reduce that stress. Honestly, just starting to open boxes again is a huge improvement.

This is still a very fun hobby! I don't regret joining it! Except for maybe Build Genius! I maybe regret stickering that figure!

Yes, got the red card to pay import for AI09, but, No, that's another £13 out the window because they like stealing people's money.

Man, 09 really has something going for it. It's got six figures, first MotW in Zero-One and some of the coolest suits from Zero-One and Zi-O.

Zero-One's had some phenomenally strong waves lately -- Zero-One in general just doesn't have as many rider suits compared to the likes of Build or Zi-O despite the large number of riders, so SODO was really freed up to do a lot of cool things like more Zi-O stuff than was necessary and a surprising amount of Kaijin. I hope this trend keeps up for Saber!

Zero-Two, Ark-Zero and Ark-One were pretty much the only predictable reveals of wave 9 and 10. Everything else has been crazy. It's really exciting!

Tsukuyomi was rather predictable as well.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ef_ko4wUwAAFHGc?format=jpg

These look incredible. I really love that they've constantly been able to replicate the show's gimmicks with this line. It makes our previous budget lines look like a joke.

Yeah, uh, shit! I am definitely having some second thoughts about skipping this line. Those look like a lot of fun!

Ooh, those look pretty nice! Maybe I'll switch to collecting So-do figures instead of SHFs if I find myself getting into future Kamen Rider series after Zero One. It'll be cheaper and take up less space. lol.

Pre order for wave 4 have opened (not for wave 2 haha) and it is a 12box set.
This huge number of figure make me fear that we will see lot of forms and those will not be used so often in the show...

Besides the gimmick, you know what got to me most here? I thought these were the RKFs for a second. This is such a massive, MASSIVE step-up in not just paint and details, but also in the general sculpt and how they hide the joints. So-Do's biggest problem to me has always been how very obvious and off-putting the elbows, knees and especially thigh joints were; though I accepted it fine enough because everything else was so good. Here though? This is a phenomenally large step-up, and it's still the cheap kid's candy toy line!

Those look amazing! Guess another detolf is in order, sigh. It's a shame they don't include a driver with the sword inserted but oh well. Although this year I'll probably paint the blades on the weapons before applying the stickers just fro the sake of convenience later on.

What Japanese sites other than Amiami and HLJ sell So-Do?

I'm so glad I don't really like Saber's design, because those look great and I'd probably have to order them. Pessimism wins once again!

God they look so good.

Wow how does that figure look so good?

Bandai also showed off the Converge version of Saber https://i.redd.it/t9g911dnrrh51.png

Thanks to his blade-horn I think hes officially the tallest lead rider.

The source of that SO-DO leak (along with a couple more pictures):
https://twitter.com/LeafAD/status/1297001400245788672

Yeah, it's absolutely insane. I'm a guy who has legitimately avoided So-Do for a long time because I thought they were just fucking candy toys with stickers that would just peel off if I touched them at all. After sealing them myself, they just feel so fucking amazing to handle and look awesome. I don't see myself ever craving Figuarts or RKF again. The worst thing about gimmick lines, before they died off, was that they were slowly getting more expensive, but losing playability. The RKF line helped alleviate that a bit, but then So-Do started to absolutely pop the fuck off.


I think the first time I genuinely became interested in So-Do was when RKF Horobi came out and he looked like absolute garbage compared to So-Do's release. Not gonna lie, I actually felt horrible for owning the figure lol. I honestly can't believe the RKF line is still going. I genuinely expect it to die out by the end of Saber. I just don't see its purpose anymore. If it were still pumping out Legend Riders as fast as it did when Zi-O was airing, RKF wouldn't be dead to me.

I think So-Do had a bit of a rough start. Looking back at the Ex-Aid line, I feel like the molds were absolute shit. Looking at the leaked Saber image, the mold is absolutely spot-on.

As someone whose stickers are peeling off their SO-DO, please explain your clear nail polish sealing process!

Just buy some base/top coat clear nail polish and generously apply it to the stickers. Any brand will do. They're sold in most places for only a dollar per bottle. You'll go through these bottles quicker than you realize, so buy plenty. Since most of these figures come with stands, it actually makes things SUPER convenient to do this. It takes around 15 minutes for the clear coat nail polish to completely dry, so don't make any contact with applied surfaces or it'll make an ugly imprint.

You only have to worry about 2 things. One, absolutely avoid getting any of the nail polish in the joints, or even near them. For stickers that are very close to the joints, I just disassemble the figure before applying the nail polish, since these figures are meant to be taken apart anyways.

Two, never brush the nail polish onto the stickers themselves. Nail polish is very abrasive, which means it'll completely EAT away at the details on the stickers themselves if you brush them. You want to apply the nail polish as if they're eyedrops. Give the edges of the stickers extra attention.


The absolute best thing about this method is that since you're using a top coat, it makes the stickers look gorgeous, with a glossy finish, on top of the fact you can now touch these guys without a care in the world. I'll get around to posting some pictures myself of the results.

Thanks! I... don't quite get it. Am I meant to be applying the nail polish in drops over the entire surface of the stickers? Is it something that pools over the figure after being dropped? Do I need to worry about thicker areas, dropping too much in one place?

Basically, you want to get some nail polish onto the surface of the stickers and the edges especially, without the brush actually making contact with the stickers themselves. The nail polish itself won't destroy the stickers, it's the brush making contact with them while the nail polish is still wet. You don't have to worry about applying too much; it's very difficult to do so. If you're afraid, you can take it slow.

It's not the end of the world if you make that mistake, though. I'm still getting the hang of it, myself. The little bits that look like scuffed paint in my photos is basically what happens when you brush the nail polish onto the stickers instead of applying them like eyedrops.

Here's some of my stuff.
https://imgur.com/a/38cVpRr

Okay, neat, I think I understand. I've got a few SO-DO dupes I can try this out on. Thanks for the tips!

Someone did a video of using nail polish here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUyr1K0WY6E

*looks at all my sodo figures*
*looks at this brilliant nail polish technique*
Welp guess I'm doing this now.

The blog tonight went into a lot of detail on Saber's improvements -- the hips, neck and shoulders all have a much greater range of motion. One of the biggest things is that the arms are able to fold across the chest pretty easily. Hands are also on balljoints like Chronicle Gaim!

As for aesthetic improvements, I could talk about them.

Or I could just show this image, because oh my god.

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0822144718.png

Blog this week, in case people couldn't guess, is just going over Saber and Blades, and comparing their construction to Zero-One. It does give us the sticker sheet, which isnt awful!
https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0821035544.jpg
The box breakdown:
https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0821040038.jpg
https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0821040051.jpg

And gimickry!
https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0821040521.jpg

Another tip for you SODO collectors, you can buy these acrylic nail polish racks and assemble the shelves upside down to create a nice display.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...t_b_prod_image

https://i.imgur.com/VrhUoZS.jpg

These racks are much much cheaper than acrylic displays made for toys (clearly going after the funkpop and amiibo market).

I put my converge on this one, but SODO figures work great with or without the included stands. If you do the stands, opt for the slightly deeper shelves.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgEYmUGU...jpg&name=small

We finally have compound eyes...this line is really popping the fuck off. I don't have much interest in Saber at all, but the So-Do line has me absolutely sold. I love that they're constantly trying to innovate with this figures. The small amount of stickers is a nice plus, too. I'm also very fucking happy to see we finally have ball jointed hands.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgEXd4GV...pg&name=medium

And holy fuck, look at how much paint we have. Some of the RKF releases don't even have this much paint. I'm honestly blown away lol. They've taken so many strides to make these figures look fantastic. The crazy part, to me, as far as the blog states, is that there are a lot of things they have to be careful about and take into consideration because these toys have to be sold for people who are 3 years old and up. They don't have to make any strides or advancements, but they do anyways and I love it.

The best part of the stickers included for Saber Brave Dragon is the one for the dragon eye on his shoulder. Because it's a sticker, and not painted, you've got two options: As is, where it's powerful and angry; or angled back, where it's scared and surprised. The decision of how cowardly Saber's clothes are is in your hands!

Ooh, I'm happy to see both the improvements in articulation and the aesthetics of the joints really makes me excited for them. Both things that I was sort of disappointed with the So-do figures thus far. The only thing that's unfortunate is that they aren't doing complete box sets anymore and I'd have to deal with duplicates.

I'm so excited for So-Do Saber. I'm a little bothered by them going back to stickers for eyes, while it looks better than paint when aligned properly, I suck at putting eye stickers on symmetrically. The improvements to the sculpt are fantastic though, it's amazing that they're able to put so much in without increasing the price. This really is such an incredible line.

Just got my payment request for AI09, 10, and Kuuga 2. Just in time. I finished stickering everything Thursday night. Forgot to post about it till now. Here's all of Combo Change 2
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b5bedbb0...b676af49c3.jpg

And both OOO waves together
https://64.media.tumblr.com/db96b597...5ff9c0bda7.jpg

Here's all of Kuuga 1
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ad4fb35d...ece3d68806.jpg

And all the Beginning of and Era Riders
https://64.media.tumblr.com/77be4012...a8a7c9d699.jpg

Finally, a group shot of every single figure from the shipment!
https://64.media.tumblr.com/40e8471b...9f52b8e4fa.jpg

And the massive pile of boxes left over
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b27d453e...95423c5c34.jpg

Took me 10 days to work through 27 figures over 48 boxes. Wow. It'll be nice to go back to doing this monthly with Saber instead of a six month drought followed by an absolute flood. It was fun going though all these at once, but a little overwhelming. It's great to be back into actively collecting So-Do though!

Hello, I’m here to ruin your day!

https://i.imgur.com/1GSmaPQ.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ8F...ature=youtu.be

Everything about that was perfect, including and especially the one-second shot of chronicle gaim at the end where the guy just says "Gaim"

Am I the only one who thinks the child is actually holding nothing and they added the figure in post? Because if so tell me, I think I'm going insane trying to figure this out.

There's definitely some video trickery going on there.








or is there?

So, had a few minutes tonight, and I've also got a roommate who has clear coat nail polish, so I took a run at Chasing's sticker sealing approach. Here's how it came out:

https://challengerscomics.com/images...o/IMG_2834.jpg
https://challengerscomics.com/images...o/IMG_2837.jpg

In honor of the new The Batman trailer, and not just because I had an extra of this one that I could sticker up in under five minutes, it's NIGHT ROGUE. The original is on the right in both photos, the sealed version is on the left. I can tell them apart by one of my screw-ups, the tiny thumbprint on the sealed one's left pec. It honestly doesn't bother me at all, but is a notable error. Needed to brace the figure at one point, and accidentally gripped it in some drying nail polish.

I think it went okay? I'm happy with how the sealed one came out. The stickers for his piping lay pretty well flat, although one end peels ever so slightly in the back. There's just not a lot of adhesive on these old stickers, which will be a recurring problem in this post.

I started off trying to drip the polish on, as Chasing recommended, but it wasn't really working. I just couldn't seem to get enough polish on the brush to get anything decent to drip off. So, as this Night Rogue was a disposable test dummy, I just started slathering the polish on with the brush. I, uh, I didn't have any problems with it! Stickers all seem fine, no loss of detail or smudged paint that I can see. If it looks garish and wrong to you, please let me know. I think the brush ended up working out okay.

The thing is, there aren't really a lot of stickers to Night Rogue? He's a one-box figure, and he's only got five or six stickers. He was useful to make sure I wouldn't destroy a figure, but he wasn't great for telling me how much of an improvement this process would/could be. I did another dupe, Grease, but that one left me with the same questions. He came out just fine, no errors or damage, and I like how sturdy his stickers are, but it felt like a minimal (although visible!) improvement. I needed something that was in critical condition. "Luckily", I had just the subject:

https://challengerscomics.com/images...o/IMG_2839.jpg

Rocket Panda, and, hand-to-god, that's exactly what he looked like when I took him out of my display. This thing is... I don't know how every drop of adhesive vanished at once, but this thing is covered in stickers like a tree is covered in leaves at the start of autumn. Let's see if this nail polish trick can resurrect this, frankly, embarrassing and nearly-nude tiny man.

https://challengerscomics.com/images...o/IMG_2840.jpg
https://challengerscomics.com/images...o/IMG_2841.jpg

Very happy with the result!

It wasn't a hundred percent successful, but the patient was pretty far gone to begin with. Two of the white stickers on the back of the leg would not stay on long enough to be sealed. It was like trying to seal a warm breath. Tried gently moving them into place, tried cajoling them into position, but there was nothing to stick to the plastic. Sort-of the same thing with the blue sticker on the Rocket hand. In pressing it down while trying to seal it, it just became a soggy mess. The leg stickers aren't that big of deal since they're on the back of the figure, but the hand sticker is a bit of a bummer.

Still, the rest of the figure has literally never looked this good. The pauldron isn't immediately peeling off, the other leg stickers are tight to the figure (-ish, it's still stickers that were hanging on by a thread to start with), and it now has a rather nice sheen to it.

I'm not sure if I'm going to redo every figure I've got. The ones with solid stickers, I don't know if it's worth the hassle for a minor improvement. (Maybe it'll be worth it when I don't have a huge SO-DO backlog!) But for the handful of figures I have where the stickers were too old to stick properly, yes, absolutely worth it. Only took a few minutes to slather, then let 'em dry for a half-hour (while watching an episode of Blade, although you do you), and then they're fine to handle. Real pleased with how this process can rescue some not-great tiny mans.

Thanks again for the tips, Chasing!