S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Black RX's Ridoron Gallery
 

Just in time for the end of the year we have another behemoth Rider Machine to review! Not to be entirely outdone by Kamen Rider Drive's Tridoron, the late Showa classic Kamen Rider Black RX swoops in with this massive release to round out the year. S.H. Figuarts Ridoron!

Packaging
Much like the recently released Tridoron, the Ridoron is a behemoth, shipped in a gargantuan box. If anyone has experience with larger Bandai/Tamashii Nations releases then you know what to expect with this release. It's just massive. And really fantastic. This box does a great job of evoking the style of packaging set forth by the Kamen Rider Black & Black RX renewals. The vehicle itself is packaged much like Tridoron, in a giant plastic clam shell.

I have to point out that yes the box features the spelling of the name as "Ridelone". This is not an altogether inappropriate way to ramonize the name because of how R's & L's work in Japanese test translated to English. However it has been well established since Black RX originally aired on television that the name properly romanized is Ridoron. Numerous vintage products from that period and many since featured that official English spelling. This is the first use of the "Ridelone" spelling so for the sake of ease we will continue to spell it Ridoron.

Main Figure

Luckily S.H. figuarts Ridoron is basically ready to go straight out of the box. You need only attach the small ball jointed antennae that are included as separate pieces. These are in fact the only accessories included with this vehicle so that section won't be present below as usual.

As with the mighty Tridoron, which you just can't help but draw comparisons to, Ridoron is a huge vehicle. It just looks like the show prop rolled off set. Interestingly the actual physical Ridoron is based on a 1st gen Mazda RX7 whereas the Tridoron would eventually be based on a Honda NSX. Both sort of "super" cars for their times, and neither of the finalized show vehicles really look like their bases. I always find it intriguing how these shows can transform such mundane vehicles into such fantastic machines.

Much like it's namesake S.H. Figuarts Tridoron is far from mundane. The entire body is painted in a really gorgeous glossy red. It's very reflective of light but thankfully this helps make it seem more like real automotive paint. Unfortunately it also has a ton of scuffs on it straight from the factory. It'll be hard to see in the attached images but my Ridoron has several hot spots of scuffs. It looks like the car really should have been wrapped in plastic before being inserted into the tray. As most of the scuffs look like what would occur during shipping from the tray rubbing against the body of the vehicle. The scuffs match up with where the separation for the clam shell would be.

Moving down the exterior to the hood Ridoron features fully functioning mandibles that are spring mounted in the front bumper. A small button located just behind one of the ridges on the hood activates them. A really unique action feature for S.H. Figuarts. Much of the rest of the car exterior can be summed up just by saying it looks really great. This vehicle didn't have a ton of features or minute detailing. The paint present is crisp, the lines present are sharp, and the ridge/fin that extended from either end of the car is superbly sculpted. It's just a gorgeously detailed figure of this vehicle. Perhaps the one really incredible thing to note about the exterior is the moving turbines in the rear bumper! Calling back to toy days of old these turbines spin in time with the movement of the rear wheels. They make a rather loud noise when turned because of this but the effect is undeniably cool. The front axle is also connected to the steering wheel in the cockpit allowing them to have real turning action. A nice touch that wasn't present on the Tridoron because of it's removable cockpit display.

The interior of Ridoron is where the most lavish detail has been poured on. The gull wing doors pull up and back on a nice sturdy hinge allowing them to rotate completely vertically out of the way. While the interior of this vehicle was sparsely decorated, what is present is magnificent. More KITT than car the dash clearly takes inspiration from Knight Rider with various multi-colored switches and monitors all fully painted. Honestly it's an even more interesting dash than Tridoron because of this. And while we get a functioning steering wheel and front axle with this release, the trade off is that the gear shift & parking break do not function.

The cockpit is pretty spacious and should allow you to seat 2 S.H. Figuarts, or any other 1/12 scale figures, of your choosing pretty comfortably. Kamen Rider Black RX certainly feels right at home in the driver's seat as he should. All in all this release may not have all the bells and whistles of Tridoron, no LEDs and no accessories. But it does have rarely seen action features.

Final Thoughts
I'm more than happy with how S.H. Figuarts Ridoron turned out as a mass retail release, the difference in price between it and the Web Exclusive Tridoron is apparent, but the quality of the toy (paint scuffs aside) is still superb. If you want to complete a Kamen Rider Black/RX collection then I highly recommend picking up this affordable piece. As is I'm only missing a Roadsector to have all the Black & Rx releases in the line. But this gorgeous piece fits right in!

Oh man, as an owner of the Renewal Black RX this is something I would be tempted to buy. The only thing though is despite me enjoying Ridoron... I'd have absolutely no shelf space for the vehicle.

I managed to get the Masked Rider version of Ridoron for 10 bucks brand new. Love the thing. This version sounds well and away superior though.

Man, so Kotaro Minami definitly wins for 'most vehicles owned by one Rider", right?

Anyways this thing looks gorgeous, but not having watched Black/RX I'm not nearly as interested in it.

Old School with new school engineering!

Man, Tridoron looks so cheesy and 90's.
...Wait...
OH! IT'S RIDORON!

But yeah, I love the design of the Ridoron. It does have a very...Strange look, but it's still pretty neat looking. Honestly, the only part of it's design that I'm not a fan of is the size of the spine(?) that moves down it being so large.
I love the little mandibles in front, and the turbines along the back. They're so cute :p

I'd so pick one up for my Black and RX if I had the dough~

Kamen rider black is old and I haven't bothered watching it

I remember seeing this in Masked Rider. I liked how it looked. Glad to see it!

Yeah, I guess it looks cool, in a cheesy sort of way. Though, the toy itself looks nice (although, Den-O can make anything look nice). I do hope the cars do well, because I'd like to have like a Figuarts scaled Camry or something. I really like the turbine gimmick, and that detail in the interior is amazing! I have a question, though. Are the tires rubber?

Wow, I need to pick this up at one point. I loved that growing up Masked Rider had his own "Batmobile" so to speak that could race against my TAS batmobile back then. Think if I ever do pick this up, its going next to my Batmobile display.

This looks like a pretty nice Ride(...oron). Nice size and a bunch of neat features and details. Not having seen the series it's from I managed to avoid being tempted, but it looks like a pretty good piece nonetheless.

That thing is very nice. The design if interesting and cool and the figure (?) turned out great. I definitely wouldn't have space for it but it looks very nicely done.

Wish I had some more connections with Black RX but regardless, this vehicle is still awesome. I prefer bikes and beasts but whatever. If it's nice it's nice.

So it's basically a Batmobile? Odd; the Tridoron never gave me that impression. I think it's the over-the-stop styling. The bug eyes. The antennae. Those fins!

I don't even know what to make of an action feature on a Figuarts vehicle. It's kinda keen!

Black RX appears to be so fondly-remembered, I'll probably need to watch it someday.

Cool gallery!

Ridelone is one of the dorkiest looking Toku cars, it's great.

Really dig the design. Agh. Another Rider show I need to add to my list of things to watch.

I miss Masked Rider. I Hope Shout gets it out on dvd one day.

The action features really caught me off guard. It looks a lot more fun than I was expecting.

Man, I love the design of this guy. SHame I'll almost never be able to afford it, but I can appreciate the gallery.

Action features on a Figuarts vehicle? If I had the money for this, then SOLD!

I was shocked how this was once a Mazda RX7; it certainly had lots of body work done for the show and the toy captures that spirit well. Ridoron is a fine choice to end the year on, it truly is a fine ride for RX.

You should check Youtube. I don't know if the whole series is there, but there's at least a few episodes. Not the greatest presentation, but beggars can't be choosers.

As for the Ridoron, it's impressive, to be sure. Sad to hear about the scuffs from packaging, though. It surprises me that the Figuarts team didn't cover that, since their presentation is usually so careful.

The car is a travesty! This was the 90's yes? Why didnt they go with an Acura NSX or Nissan 300z or even skyline? Its missing some 90's curb appeal for me. Cool addition to anyone's collection if you're into black I guess.

I still cannot get over the detail on some of these things. Another awesome set of wheels

Oh well, i was hoping Rideron would have LEDs since Bandai put much effort on Tridoron.

Still wondering whether or not Bandai would make that Benz SLS NEX Tridoron ver.

Now if only they give us other Showa vehicles to go with this one

Very nice looking this is. Again, like with Tridoron, it's one of the those things I can't really afford or properly display.

Love the action features, such a cool addition. Honestly I'm not really a fan of the car design itself, but this is an incredible looking representation of it. I really like the interior, the level of detail is really great. Thanks for another amazing gallery!

I'm not a huge fan of either RX or Saban's Masked Rider but I have to respect that deliciously cheesy sci-fi dashboard.

Wow. I wish they put this amount of work/ detail into some of the other Figuarts stuff. This looks amazing and compared to some of the bikes this looks to be on a whole different level.

Finally something I'm familiar with, lol. I'm surprised Saban hasn't tried to bring back Masked Rider.

If I had room for this car then I would totally buy it. The details inside of it look really cool. Overall amazing gallery as always.

Never really was a fan of this thing, but it does have a cool retro charm to it.

Why can't I afford this? Because Tridoron.

This is such a cool design, I'm continually impressed by the vehicles in Kamen Rider.

Rideron looks very nice and the detail on him is glorious. I like his design and he is just overall fantastic in this figuarts representation and he does with with the rest of the Black RX figuarts.

Not sure I like the big blade on top

I really wish I could afford this and Tridoron, for some reason I really like the Idea of cars scaled to fit the SH line

The trideron makes an awesome display piece that I'll never be able to buy

i love this car because its graphic!!!
red, with that white logo on the side?
makes me want to add a logo to my car.

i just wish these toys were made of plastic and 75 bucks. i cannot afford 250 for a car, but damn, if anyone is lucky enough to snag one, sooooooo lucky.