[Lbsammills51]

Dusting the cobwebs off of this thread, perhaps for the last time (at least, for new purchases, anyways). I totally forgot to post pics of the last official Ultra-Act from a couple months back, and I opened the latest hybrid release today, so figured better late than never.

Pour one out for the last Ultra-Act (as far as we know) in Mebius Phoenix Brave.




It's...kind of boring. Not terrible, but if this is how the line ends, it's gone out with a bit of a whimper.

The suit, at least, is interesting, with the gold providing a nice departure from the usual silver/red suit for Ultras. Aside from the combo effect with Zoffy, he doesn't really come with much.




I'm glad it got made, but in hindsight if I had a choice between this and another Ultra character that never got a release previously (hello, Powered from that TN event many moons ago), I would've preferred they go in that direction. It is what it is, but it's still sad that the final Ultra-Act figure is one that leaves such a minimal impression that I completely forgot to post pics of it I took months ago.

Either way, this line did a lot of good things, so if this is really the end, and not just an odd dry spell, I'll be sad to see it go.



As for the latest U-A/SHF release, Ultraman Special, it's basically a nicer version of what we got the first time around.



The colors ARE slightly different, and noticeably brighter in-hand compared to the original retail release. The silver is brighter and red is lighter; even the white used for the eyes is, well, whiter and actually noticeable this time around.



Replacement forearm pieces make for the easiest parts-swapping ever for an Ultra-Act and its primary beam effect.




The flashy new pieces are the energy wave effects. They're much more attractive than the generic "tron" lightstick bars on the retail release. They lend themselves to dynamic posing very well. This figure does come with its own Tamashii Stage as well (though I didn't feel like taking it out of the bag it came in).

(Also, something this release made me realized that I didn't try out the first time around - this guy can balance decently on just a toe joint, as shown in the picture here. It's not rock-solid, but despite the long, slender clown feet, he can hold a pose without both feet needing to be flat and without the help of a Tamashii Stage.)



The other notable addition is the human head. Despite some improvements in head sculpts based on real people (SHF CW Cap, SW Mace Windu), Tamashii Nations has typically fared much better with anime style headsculpts over real life head sculpts, so it's probably for the best that this design is taken from a manga and not a TV show. The head here is fine, but the downside is we didn't get any optional faces or hair pieces. Maybe if we get an Ultraman Specialer Version down the road, we'll get additional display pieces then (and I'm not even being that sarcastic here).

He also comes with an additional left hand, which is shown in the instructions as a "helmet holding" hand. It doesn't really hold the helmet, it just rests on it a bit better than the other hands, I guess?



The original Ultraman Manga was already a nice figure, and this is a better version of that. I just wish we had either gotten this the first time around, or TN had opted for an upgrade/bonus parts set instead with the new goodies we got here, plus any other stuff. I doubt many others need to order this twice, and having to sell the original, "lesser" version after picking up this won't be fun for any that bothered. It's a good figure, but this could've been planned a bit better.