[ljacone]

I got my first wave of Spark Dolls from HLJ yesterday: Ultraman Ginga, Ultraman, Thunder Daranbia, and Alien Godola. (I also got King Joe, but he is a gift for a friend of mine who is named... you guessed... Joe.) All of them have two tags on their peg hook, one of which is character specific, and the other of which details how to use the Ginga Spark with them. The Ginga Spark point is on each figure's left foot, and looks like a mix of a QR code and the standard Biohazard Warning symbol.

The two Ultra Heroes really look like regular Bandai sofubis which were shrunk down in the dryer. They're light, but are well detailed for the size. The paint apps are good. Ginga really looks nice, I hope we get an Ultra-Act or at least a full size vinyl of him in the near future.

The Ultra Kaiju are an interesting group. Thunder Daranbia looks cool, but I have not seen him in action yet. Interestingly, his tail is partly molded as part of his left leg. It looks like this is partly a compromise because of the size, but also I think to help him stand up. Details are very nice on him. A good looking monster.

I got Alien Godola because I have never seen him as a normal vinyl, and had just seen his Ultraseven episode. His slight figure makes him seem smaller than he is. Detail is pretty good, although his face could have been sharper. Still, a good likeness and well worth the money.

King Joe looks about the same as his larger counterpart except his arms are placed better, so he no longer has the "wave your hands in the air like you just don't care" pose going on.

Overall I was very impressed with these guys from a straight sofubi standpoint. So much so that I ordered about 10 more of them from the next two waves. Interesting point about the monsters -- I have to check this tonight but I think at 140mm they should be in scale to do battle with Super Robot Chogokins and Retrofire Megazords!