[Den-O]

Juukou!

It's long overdue but I'm back with a brand new gallery and review! This time we're spotlighting the first figure in a new figuarts subline from Juukou B-Fighter. Today's subject is S.H. Figuarts Blue Beet!

Packaging
As you can see from the images below, S.H. Figuarts Blue Beet comes in a really nice box. Some really cool techno detailing lines the background of the stock shots on the box and we get a double whammy of shots on the front of Blue Beet himself. One with him holding his Stinger Blade in it's stock position. The other image, rather comically, shows him using the Stinger Drill and it appears as if this second Blue Beet is attacking the one in the foreground. "Ass drilling" has definitely been tossed around to describe it In any case this is a really cool box that benefits from the lack of windows that Tamashii Web exclusives often do.

Main Figure
At first glance you'll notice that S.H. Figuarts Blue Beet sets a new bar in terms of sculpt and paint for the line. It's a truly incredible looking figure. Starting from the ground up you get a sense of the awe inspiring detail on the figure. The most minute of details are sculpted precisely and cleanly. This incredible level of detailing honestly marks the entire body of Blue Beet, literally there's probably too much to point out. But I want to make mention of the INCREDIBLE chest details. Seriously Blue Beet's chest is easily the most intricate thing I've ever seen on a figure of this scale. But that head isn't too shabby either. Really the sculpt, again, knocks it way way out of the park.

Blue Beet has some of the most impressive (wait I'm getting to the bad stuff) articulation I've ever seen on a Figuart. The upper body is gloriously free. The waist and torso are on two separate floating joints with the belt sculpted into the abdominal piece in the middle. This double joint allows Blue beet to arch his back way back and get really dynamic. Likewise the arms are also very free. Not much in the way of elbow restriction, good bicep swivel, and honestly some shoulder pads that don't hinder much movement. I wish the shoulders could angle up a little further but they do a decent job. The head is likewise incredible. I've yet to see any other Figuart with a head that can pivot this much back forth and side to side, it's almost completely free of hindrance.

Now it's time for a reality check though. Everything below the waste for articulation, simply put, is garbage. Blue Beet has the absolute weakest set of hips ever. While I appreciate Bandai's readiness to save the sculpt of the figure by not giving it properly articulated (I.E. drop down) hips, the figure can barely move. You can rotate the hips around the weird mid-thigh joint. But they're forward & back movement is nearly non-existent, likewise they can't actually swing out side to side either. The knees work fine thankfully but they're ultimately pointless thanks to the hips and the feet. The Feet have some very funky sculpt to them that almost makes them seem curved. It's really difficult to get them in a position that makes them seem flat. And thanks to the unevenness of the hips it compounds the situation further. It's a freaking beautiful figure that's really hampered by some terrible choices for articulation.

Accessories

1 - Input Magnum. the signature sidearm of the 3 original B-Fighters, the Input Magnum is an interesting 90's take on a high tech pistol complete with a built in key pad. As far as this toy is concerned though the Magnum is pretty nice, aside from the crooked key pad on mine. It's a separate piece that's glued onto the main gun frame, mine was glued a bit sideways so that's an unfortunate knock I have against it. It fits perfectly into the built in hip holster as well, though much like many SHF's with holsters if you tilt the hip too far or handle it roughly it may fall out.

1 - Stinger Blade. Pre-assembled in the package the Stinger Blade is a gorgeous weapon. Simply exquisite. Great sculpt, lot's of paint apps both internally and externally, and it's totally functional. Though it's already assembled in the box it can be broken down into it's base components of the blade, handle section, and clear cover. I wish there was a way to sort of "snap" it onto Blue beet's forearm but the swinging handlebar used to hold it really is sturdy enough to get the job done.

1 - alternate cover for the Stinger Blade. As I mentioned the weapon can be disassembled. In order to more properly simulate the Beetle Break special attack where the clear cover on the sword slides down in show, this alternate piece is included. The tab used to connect it to Blade is mounted on the forward end so it pegs on nice and snugly on the far end exposing the interior detailing.

1 - Stinger Drill. As mentioned the Stinger Blade can be disassembled. To get a bit more out of it, the Stinger Drill has also been included. Just pop the Blade off and attach the drill in it's place then fold in the small arms on the rear end to hold it in place. Now you get another gorgeous weapon out of the same accessory! Seriously the Drill looks great but does add some weight to the arm that I'm not fond of. If you're Blue Beet has a weak shoulder this may not work great.

3 - full sets of hands. While Blue Beet certainly comes with numerous hands, I question the inclusion of some. He includes 2 generic splayed open hands for reaction shots but they're kind of bland. And he only has 1 right hand for holding the Magnum. The left counterpart is a "poking" hand to simulate using the key pad. So Blue Beet can't actually hold his magnum in his left hand. One right hand is included specifically to hold the Stinger Blade/Drill, but the accompanying left hand is a half hearted partially open hand that barely has a tight enough grip to hold the same weapon. I made it work, but anything he's holding will fall out of this hand if you aren't looking.

All in all Blue Beet comes with most of what he needs. QC on my Input Magnum aside it's an essential sidearm for him to have. And we know that his Pulsaber will be included in the G-Stage & Reddle 2-pack so there's no concern there either. Honestly my one big qualm is the odd hand selection.

Final Thoughts
Despite some pretty severely flawed articulation, S.H. Figuarts Blue Beet still manages to be one of the most gorgeous figures on your shelf. While it doesn't have the same leg range most modern releases in this line tend to, the personality of the sculpt and the wildly uninhibited upper body movement really make up for it. On top of the incredible sculpted details and a mostly great accessory selection, the Juukou B-Fighter subline for S.H. Figuarts is off to a pretty great start.