I'm gonna write a more elaborate post later, but holy crud, our first full wave of just Saber riders. Also our first one series wave sinve ai 07!

It's a really good wave, too -- the only repetition is Saber (which is still two different upgrades), otherwise this set contains five different riders, all in their strongest forms!

For anyone keeping count, this is us down to...

- Falchion
- Saber Emotional Dragon
- Saber Dragon Bremen
- Saber Dragon Arthur
- Ark-Horobi
- Saikou (?)

Fantastic looking wave, though I'm a bit surprised Ark-Scorpion isn't in it. Hopefully he'll be part of wave 5

Wow thats one nice set. I suspect it will become one of the more rare ones.

King Lion looks to be among the most plastic packed set I've ever seen.

So this set looks really good, but I just realized the back of Dragonic Knight seems to be unpainted which seems fine for the legs and back armor, but for the shoulders will be kind of jarring.

That's it there.

I put together a list of my top 10 candy toys 2020:
https://twitter.com/BladeGnome/statu...69964470231041

So, what's everyone's favorite candy toys of 2020?

SO-DO Gaim was definitely my favorite of the all the SO-DO releases. I'm not sure its quite fair to say its a $10 toy because it was premium set. For regular releases, Saber is definitely top notch. Compared to the first release for Zero-One, they feel like much different figures.

The Super Mini-pla line really came into full swing this year. The designs and mechanics were truly a marvel. They were some of the most impressive kits I built this year with the Kiramazin making me completely forego the DX release.

Converge series of figures continue to be excellent and slightly growing in quality, although it feels like the releases have slowed down. My favorites released this year were Auto Vajin, Build Hazard, and Kick Hopper.

For Gundam Converge we finally got one of my all time favorite suits, GM Sniper II; as well as a much improved re-release of V2 Gundam.

Actually looking back at the year, I didn't acquire nearly as many candy toys as I usually do. I usually picked them up at my local Japanese grocery stores but I didn't go to them this year. Also there were, some gashapon stuff I ordered from ebay at the start of the year before the pandemic and they just never showed up. Some stores refunded, some just never responded.

I'm thinking about collecting the candy toy versions of the Sentai Gears if there are no diecast options. I think the release said they'd only be like ¥200?

Just in case anyone was wondering, no updates last night, they're taking the week off along with Super-Hero Time itself. (Unless you like Gundam!)

I think this month or in February we’ll see a new SODO Chronicle revealed since I don’t think we have enough saber stuff to last 2 months. Also gaim wave 2 comes out around then.
I think the next wave might be 4 saber figs (Bremen, the movie forms and shadow light guy) then 2 zero one (ark scorpion and lucifer?)
I’m guessing we’ll also get previews of gaim 2 and the energy riders.
What do you think the next sodo chronicle wave will be? I’m guessing gaim 3

It's been a while since Gaim was first revealed so I think we'll see a brand new line sometime soon. Definitely feel Gaim wave 3 is coming though since they like to put the final form in the retail waves.

I guess they wanted to start the year off slowly, so for our only reveal tonight; here's Saber Dragon Bremen! Its parts can of course be used for Slash Bremen, and nicely we get confirmation that Buster, Kenzan and Slash can use each others' auxiliary form books freely like in the show!

A really nice surprise though is that it comes with some optional parts! Included are a sword handle for a more show-accurate appearance, and a right hand at a hilt like some of Gaim's figures for easier swordfighting poses!

No Slash Gun though, I figured this if anything would be the figure it'd be included with...

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0108162625.jpg

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0108162608.jpg

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0108163135.jpg

https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/image...0108163201.jpg

The new hand and hilt are nice, but now that you've pointed it out the lack of Gun-mode Suzune is really annoying, hopefully that's fixed in another figure or accessory pack soon...
On another note, would anyone be interested in the spare Riderman and accesory set if I bought the box from Amiami?

I could be depending on the price!

How much would you be willing to do for the pair?

I gotta find a way to get SO-DO Buster. I've mostly stopped collecting SO-DO but they are just so fun to assemble and paint up. I wish they still weren't so hard to get!

Cheapest I can find Buster ATM is 1400ish yen plus shipping, but I'm guessing the price might go down as we get closer to Book 4 and Book 3 gets more distributed.

Something around £10?

Seems about righr. No more than £15 I think. I'll still have to see exactly with all of this Brexit stuff.

Kamen Rider Grease Perfect Kingdom
 

My personal favorite in the Kamen Rider So-Do line so far is Kamen Rider Grease Perfect Kingdom: lotsa shiny and impressive body!
Even putting the stickers on was an easy thing ...

https://i.ibb.co/PDhNpcK/sodo-grease...tkingdom02.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Drcz0XH/sodo-grease...tkingdom01.jpg

He looks lovely in your photo!!

Thank you!

So-Do Chronicle Kamen Rider Gaim, Orange Arms
 

My newest addition is this So-Do Chronicle Kamen Rider Gaim, Orange Arms. The figure has a new body with better articulation and comes with four (!!) different pairs of hands.

https://i.ibb.co/qsG9Sts/sodo-gaim01.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/jL11BTy/sodo-gaim02.jpg

Not a fan of the show but, man, every single picture of this figure looks more and more beautiful. SO-DO have seriously upped their game; it can't be long till they close out the gap between it and SHODO

Kamen Rider Zio FourzeArmor
 

My first So-Do Kamen Rider: Kamen Rider Zio FourzeArmor

https://i.ibb.co/GtQ0v0C/sodo-zio-fourzearmor02.jpg

Kamen Rider Zio FourzeArmor came in three boxes you needed to purchase. The finished figure is not that colorful and looks quiet bulky, but has poseability and - it's Fourze. Yeah!

https://i.ibb.co/M8mtjB2/sodo-zio-fourzearmor01.jpg

I need some advice about what to focus on in collecting, and I figure this thread is a completely unbiased place in terms of what lines you'll recommend me to prioritize. That's sarcasm of course, but tbh the answer I expect to get here is kind of the one I'd prefer. I'm trying to decide between getting into Star Wars Black Series army building, buying a few Lego Star Wars ships I've had my eye on, or trying to hunt down some P-Bandai So-Do. I really don't have much room in my apartment, so tiny stuff like So-Do is much easier to collect, but I enjoy building Lego a good deal more than I enjoy stickering So-Do. Then there's Black Series, which requires no work, but I'm also probably the least interested in. Basically, if I had more space, it'd be Lego without a question, but with this small apartment, So-Do is easier to handle. There's also the fourth possibility of not buying any toys right now and instead investing in a bookshelf or something to use for displaying stuff, I've got a good bit of wall space between my desk and my bed that I should really do something with. Sorry for the ramble, and suggestions?

As someone who spent part of his day storing Transformers figures to make display room for Kamen Rider stuff (and just ordered his first non-primary Rider Figuarts), let me give you this piece of advice: you can always change your mind later, so don't stress.

I think... collecting is expensive, and we can sometimes view our collections as, if not literal investments, then as tied-up resources. We get this feeling sometimes like we need to have a roadmap for where we're going with our collecting, making sure we fit our boundaries, and I don't think that's very fun?

If you get a bunch of Lego stuff and decide you don't want it any more, sell it on eBay or in a forum. If you get Premium SO-DO and it's not doing it for you, same answer: sell 'em, and put the money towards something else. Think of it less like you spent money on something you didn't keep, and more like you paid a fraction of the cost to rent it. It's okay to move on from collecting stuff, so don't feel like you're committing to some lifelong project.

I'll admit that this is maybe not the advice you're looking for, but the very fact that you're looking for advice means you want to predict a future that's unknowable. The hard truth is that nearly any choice you make is going to have you wondering if you made the right one. The trick, then, is to make each choice in sequence. Try one thing, and keep in mind that you can always choose a different thing later.

(That said! I'll always suggest people put some money into display space. A good cabinet isn't even more expensive than a few import toys, and you can use it for years.)

What Die said, get a display cabinet before you start buyinf figures without room for them.

http://bandaicandy.hateblo.jp/entry/20210117_rider

Next SO-DO Gaim wave: Kiwami, Ryugen Yomi, and Lord Baron

The last two boxes are weapon packs.

Gaim, the series well-known for its wide cast of Riders, uses the exact same 4 riders for all three retail waves!

I mean, not to be too negative. It's extremely cool that we're seeing Lord Baron at all, and I never expected a Kaijin like him to be in a retail CHRONICLE wave! That's awesome! But...wow, oof. I don't think many would have complained if say, Gaim Jimber or Ryugen Emo were part of Premium Bandai sets in lieu of characters like Knuckle or Gridon. I'm especially surprised Kurokage wasn't part of one of these retail waves given that's an armybuilder!


More importantly though, we got the footsoldier from Saber

A colossal bummer, but hardly unexpected after seeing Wave 2's assortment. All those weapons in the Weapon Pack definitely make me think we are in for some W-level Premium Bandai boxsets to get everyone done up in stickers and plastic. Super psyched to potentially pay $20 for a figure of Gridon down the line.

Thank you, that's some good advice. I think I will go ahead and put some money into getting some display space set up before I buy anything else

Are the first 5 pics broken for anyone else?

I can definitely understand being disappointed with Chronicle Gaim post wave 1. I haven't watched the series, and from what I've heard about it's edginess, it's not really a priority for me, but in a series with such a large number of Riders it really is a bummer to just make what I assume are the main four. It's nice that they completed all of their major forms, but doing that sort of stuff as P-Bandai would be guaranteed to sell, while I worry that if all 20 or so other Riders are exclusives, they won't sell well enough to make all of them. Hell, from a show that prints money like Den-O, they only made Den-O, Zeronos, New Den-O and Nega Den-O. While stuff like mini Den-O or Pretty Den-O wss always a stretch, I'm really surprised they never made Gaoh, Yuuki or G Den-O

Sorry for the double post, but I've been working on my So-Do backlog the last few days, and finished the initial main four Saber and Gaim Riders tonight. The line has really come so far since I first got into it in 2017. It's amazing that the price has barely increased.
(Ignore my extremely messy desk background)
https://64.media.tumblr.com/5809c175...c2b09ac8e9.jpg

God, Espada was painful. If you managed to sticker him without any of those ultra-thin gold stickers ripping, I have the utmost respect for your mad skills. The rest of the set have been fun and easy though, it seems like he's an unavoidable one off rough patch

It really is such a beautiful line! SO-DO and SHODO alone make me constantly regret going for 6' figures :lol

Espada's cape on his left arm is way too straight and thick! It just looks weird even compared to similar "cloth" on Saber or Calibur

Thought about getting the Gaim 3 case but I don’t much care for the Baron and Ryugen figures. Maybe it will be cheaper getting all the Kiwami and weapon boxes off Mandarake afterwards?

I doubt you'll have any problems getting a Kiwami by itself as it's probably the extra in the case.

I just realised they've got two more 01 suits to catch up on in SO-DO Saber. So that brings us up to...

- Saber Dragon Arthur
- Saikou Shadow
- Falchion
- Saber Emotional Dragon
- Ark-Scorpion
- Lucifer
- ZAIA
- MBJR

Since they seem more willing to do monsters these days, I feel like there's a chance of them doing the Megid trios monster forms too