Actually, I was going for "champing" at the bit, but my AutoCorrect doesn't like that one for some reason!

Anyway, thanks for the tip on Mandarake, I'll give it a shot!

I got served that idiom on a silver platter. :lol

I just wish AmiAmi or HLJ would list Ultraseven 2.0 for preorder, so I can stop checking for it every half hour.

Is there a specific time I should check? AmiAmi seems to update with its new stuff around midnight U.S. Eastern time...

Speaking of, Ultraseven 2.0 has an official page now: http://tamashii.jp/item/10406/

Since the listing went up, should be Monday night our time.

Monday night... Going to be in the hospital with my wife... Might work, yes...

I thought it looked a bit odd how the mantle seems to be folding near the shoulder there. But maybe that's not that odd?

http://tamashii.jp/images/item/item_0000010406_01.jpg

http://tamashii.jp/images/item/item_0000010406_05.jpg

Sebun comes with an alternate chest armor piece that allows his arms to bend over his chest so articulation isn't hindered.

Ah...interesting. Is there an English site that lists the included accessories?

No, just a Japanese site you can easily translate to English. :P

The official Bandai page? My Google translation is a bit garbled:

That's odd that your translation looks that way. Mine is similar but a little less garbled.

Anyway, the "replacement protector" is the extra chest piece in question. It's not in this thread, but there's a magazine scan that shows the two chest armor pieces included, the default and the one bent inward to cup against the arms.

EDIT: Also, my apologies guys, if you were making a schedule around preorders. I meant Sunday night, not Monday. Came out that way because I'm EST and therefore the usual update time is in the morning locally, ie. Monday.

@ljacone, did you lock up Ultraseven?

RIDICULOUS. That I got an Ultraseven for under 3000 yen at all is a miracle.

He's still on HLJ but who knows how long.

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN980718/Act

^For about five minutes after your post; now it's at Order Stop.

Hopefully people were able to snag one from one of the sites tonight (HLJ hung around the longest by far).

EDIT:

Ultraseven's back up on AmiAmi right now.

EDIT II:

Damn, sold out again a few minutes later.

EDIT III:

As of 2:35 Pacific time, Ultraseven's back again on AmiAmi.

My friend managed to get me one from HLJ after wasting a lot of time on AmiAmi. Flashbacks to the worst days of Mattycollector.

Well, I missed him on Amiami and HLJ. Wish I was surprised! Oh well, if anyone is willing to sell me an Ultraseven please let me know, thanks!

What's the likelihood AmiAmi will open it up again?

Damn, that sucks dude. If I see a listing reopen I'll be sure to let you know.

Possible? Ace reopened the following day after initially selling out and is still available. Father of Ultra briefly reopened a couple weeks ago around the time of its release (though AmiAmi didn't list it as in-stock until closer to the end of May). Taro was also relisted multiple times before selling out on AmiAmi. In comparison, for non-Ultra-Act stuff, HLJ belatedly relisted Figuarts Sailor Moon and D-Arts Venusaur after initially selling out of each of those when first listed.

That said, Ultraseven was the one Tamashii release to consistently sell out early last night (I think the first, period? Not sure about the Saint Seiya or Gundam stuff...before the Figuarts Riders, either way) so I don't know if that's a good sign. If you want one, it may help to keep an eye on AmiAmi/HLJ and see if they reopen it, even briefly, especially come release time.

Also of note, for what it's worth, BBTS does not have a preorder up for Ultraseven, right now, despite putting up preorders for both Ace and Taro previously. Whether they can fill those preorders, or if they ever have/will for Jack or Father of Ultra is another story, but for right now they're not even listing Ultraseven.

I'm 100% certain BBTS will not get any of those Ultra-Acts in, so I'm not bothering.

A friend did get me one via HLJ, but he's in Australia and it's unclear whether he'll be able to change his address in the system to have it shipped directly to me. Fingers crossed that he can. I know you can change addresses in the system, but it might balk at changing countries.

Good thing I haven't canceled my Hobby Search Ultraseven order yet... ;)

How much you want for him? ;)

My AmiAmi order arrived with Ace Killer and Father of Ultra in tow. Chalk up two more excellent releases for the Ultra-Act line.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps17f6445d.jpg

Like Nexus Junis, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like Ace Killer. Though purchased under different circumstances (Nexus was something pretty I jumped at after seeing pics, Ace Killer was something I'd had an eye on but wanted to wait and add to an existing order), I'm very glad to have snagged one.

Plenty of accessories, including an extra effect part for Ace (I imagine part of the allure, a la sticking the extra effects part meant for Godzilla with Fire Rodan in the MonsterArts line).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1f30aef3.jpg

I'm still digging into the history of the all the Ultra series (I grew up with Great) so Ace Killer was an unexpected departure from my previous purchases. Not quite a kaiju, not quite a robot, not quite an Ultra in appearance, he's an odd looking combo of all three (in a good way, for me). Gold instead of silver also helps set him apart a bit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps1962daa7.jpg

Solid posability; only "negative" is that his head can't really look up much. His skirt pieces are made of soft plastic, so they don't inhibit posing the legs at all. Pretty stable on his own and his hands are very easy to pop on and off. His shoulder pads are on a ball joint that attaches to the top of the arm.

Three different effects parts; the one that attaches to his head is a tight fit though the crustacean-like protusions on his face are also a bit of a softer plastic so you can just pry the two the piece slides between a bit with your fingers and lodge it in securely. The piece has some give to it, but it's not something I'd try to force by any means.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psdc91e3b4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psbf56a3e8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps4b95e2ae.jpg

Father of Ultra is a big beefy fucker with his own Mantle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps6cb5d244.jpg

Definitely the bulkiest of the Ultras. Posability's again solid; hands pop on and off fairly easily while the head & neck piece is a little harder to pop off but not difficult. He can look up though, unlike Ace Killer.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pse94c0781.jpg

(Iron Man "ground pound" pose with dumbbell.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps4865dded.jpg

As for the Mantle, this is my first experience with one (I have a Brothers Mantle as part of my June order). I didn't expect it to be made with hard plastic (I was expecting a softer plastic), but it's not bad. The actual cape pieces are in three sections and each is on a hinge or swivel joint of sorts; unfortunately that limits how the pieces can move (the center piece only back & forth/up & down and the side pieces can spread out side to side). I think I would've preferred ball joints, if that were possible. You do have to pop the head off to get the mantle on. Thankfully the piece on his upper back you need to pry off to slot the Mantle into came off easily enough on mine. He can stand on his own with the Mantle, but you'll need to adjust his legs a bit to get the right balance. It's probably ideal to have a Tamashii stage to help balance him to avoid falling, due to how back-heavy he is with the Mantle on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psd0f836fe.jpg

(Here's a comparison shot with Kaiser Belial, whose cape is made of a softer plastic.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps73f0b9d7.jpg

All in all, two releases that are worth getting your hands on if you haven't yet and can swing it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ps095a23a6.jpg

Thanks for the great pictures Lbsam! Both of them look great. Ace-Killer really looks dynamic with the red and gold, almost like a comic book super villain more than a tokusatsu character. The skirt pieces look really nice.

Father of Ultra looks as badass as he should be. The mantle is a nice addition as well and really adds to the regal look. I really like the very beefy muscular legs he is sporting.

On an unrelated note, still no luck on the Ultra Seven v.2 front but do have a lead on a decent price for Ultra Seven v.1. Seven seems to always command high prices in the secondary market, so I imagine once v.2 is out he'll be as expensive or more expensive than v.1 is now. But I wonder if v.1 will drop somewhat after v.2 is released?

Not sure, so for now just keeping an eye out for a good (read: "decent") price.

This isn't bad: http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Ultra-A...item2a2d7b2819

Mandarake has a MIB one for $80 plus shipping as well.

That's the one I am looking at, yes. Will have to look at Mandarake and see what I can see.

Thanks, yeah I do get the comic character vibe from Ace Killer, same with Father when he's wearing his mantle (like a random Marvel Cosmic character).

Also, and take this with a major grain of salt, but BBTS has belatedly put up an Ultraseven preorder. I've no idea if they can fulfill it, or if they do, then whether they fulfill all of them, but I suppose it's a "What the hell, why not?" option for some while looking for another, more definitive, alternative to secure one.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/p...34&mode=retail

Yeah, if Big Bad Backup Store doesn't fulfill the preorder, you don't get charged, so no loss. But I have no faith in it actually happening. Father is still listed as Preorder, for instance. I guess if he ever ships out, it could be taken as a sort of proof of concept for BBTS in this context.

BBTS will never get in Ultraseven (or Ultraman Jack for that matter). They never received my Ultraman Zoffy or Jack orders, either. These are already limited figures and the fact that Bluefin can't import them makes them even more difficult for BBTS to obtain. Basically, if there's any real demand for the figure at all, BBTS ain't gettin' 'em. I advise people to try something else, like Plamoya perhaps. (They seem to have great prices but I don't know how reputable they are.)

This is more of a PM conversation - otherwise I'm canceling my preorder before Hobby Search's window closes.

PM sent!

I just a MISB one for about $50 in Hong Kong

I don't know about that but I did just see the first v2 pop up on eBay for $95+$15 shipping, yeeesh!

Just an FYI, for anyone that missed out on Taro previously, he's available for order again on HLJ.

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN980717/Act

I do wish, since there's a good/likely chance BBTS will never get these in, that they'd put a disclaimer on these preorders they open up to let people know they may not get them in at all. Not everyone peruses message boards online or is aware of the licensing issues that get in the way of these releases being easily imported by retailers, so it'd be nice if they made that clear for the uninitiated.

Man, what is the deal with Taro? He's just super easy to get ahold of it seems. I still think that he was produced in very high numbers for whatever reason, between somewhat easy preordering and now availability once again.

Thanks for the info LB! Hopefully this means he will be In Stock soon!

Hopefully yeah there'll be enough that prices won't rise dramatically on the secondary market as they have with other (Showa) Ultras.

HLJ's listing has already gone back to Order Stop...perhaps it was just some people canceling orders that opened Taro back up again?

Here's hoping Ultraseven opens up again at some point, perhaps closer to the release date. (As I said, a friend of mine scored one on his own account for me, but I'd rather get my own order in on my account.)

Father of Ultra is BOSS. Love this figure.

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8465.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8466.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8467.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8468.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8469.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8471.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8473.jpg

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/TCrac...F/dscn8474.jpg

^Very nice!

Haven't posted anything new in a bit, however with Father's Day fast approaching, this has arrived appropriately! :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps4abd496e.jpg

I'll try to post more pics out of the box soon.

Father of Ultra looks so cool, he's very tempting! I'll just content myself waiting for Taro and the Brother's Mantle...

http://herotaku.com/blog/1/1513-shf-...ate-announced/

Ultra-Act Mother of Ultra is going to release in November but as a Tamashii Web exclusive.