[ShiShiLeo]

I'm definitely a fan of Katsushi Murakami and his chunky mecha designs. Some designs can only logically transform with all that extra bulk and its really brilliant that the designers have taken that into account.

[MichaelStivic]

They looks cute

[ShiShiLeo]

Standing by... Complete!

Kamen Rider Faiz





Just in time for the series anniversary, Kamen Rider Faiz arrives in the SO-DO Chronicle line. The Faiz suit is just one of the all-time greats. It has aged so well in a way that early MCU suits are already looking extremely dated.

I wanted to hate this figure because of the amount of stickers but the finished product just looks so good. It is a testament to the clean lines and minimal colors of the suit's design.

For paint, Gundam EX Silver all over the body. The boots, ankles, belt, arms, writsts, and all the weapons and details. I used all the red stickers and I sure hope they stay on! I used the silver stickers on top of my silver paint job because most of them had other details. A little bit of black and metallic red in some detailed areas and the lines on all the gloves.

Like Kabuto, all of the hands are made from soft plastic. They are great, however they just don't hold paint as well. Just from putting the weapons in the hands for these images the silver paint on the finger tips have already begun to flake. I should mention that the two open hands are prepainted and that paint is more durable than my application.

The Faiz SO-DO has some unique ankle engineering, no doubt an attempt to help him create is iconic pose. And while he can do that to some degree, the joint ultimately limits the up and down movement so he can't make a pointed toe.



That's probably okay though because the Faiz accessory pack gives you an awesome little effects part. Speaking of accessories, the complete SO-DO figure comes with an abundance of parts to represent the many configurations of the Faiz gear. You have to do so much parts swapping for every weapon you want to deploy. I imagine this was an nightmare for the Bandai Candy toy engineers to do. Faiz Driver with phone, without phone, with phone without mission memory, with open phone, Faiz pointer, Faiz Pointer extended, Phone Gun, Phone Gun with Pointer, etc, etc. All these weapons yet there is no simple open Faiz Phone or phone-holding hand! I guess it's true Takumi really can't just call someone to solve his problems.




In the end, this is a fantastic looking figure, but I cannot recommend it to collectors or those who plan to handle it a lot. There are just too many delicate stickers. I don't think the expansion part set is super necessary so OOOs remains the most expensive SO-DO Chronicle figure as a 3 box base suit. Oh by the way, the instructions for this set are online https://www.bandai.co.jp/candy/pdf/g...0836902000.pdf



Alright bring on Fourze next!

[Eklas]

That's some wonderful custom paintjob !

Did you try varnishing the fiingertips after applying the paint ?

[ShiShiLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eklas

That's some wonderful custom paintjob !

Did you try varnishing the fiingertips after applying the paint ?

I have not tried it and I'm not sure it would work because its really soft plastic, but there are enough hands for me to feel comfortable experimenting. I don't play with these figures that much so I'm fine painting them and leaving them that way.

[Eklas]

I did varnish my Shodo Takeshi Hongo hands (with some brush-on matt varnish) and the paint didn't chip after that.

[ShiShiLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eklas

I did varnish my Shodo Takeshi Hongo hands (with some brush-on matt varnish) and the paint didn't chip after that.

Is there a particular brand you use?

[Eklas]

I used Vallejo Matt Varnish on skin color and Satin Varnish on metal color (I love the effect of matt varnish but on skin and softgoods, but the metal looks dull) Usually, I apply 2 thin layers or varnish for protection.

[MrWilliamGraham]

Beautiful work as always ShiShi

Lately I've been crushed with how sticker heavy the last two series have been. Stickers are just something I never really liked dealing with. Real shame because I thought the Chronicle line would be a great alternate to do full lineups without splurging on expensive or outdated larger figures

Cost cutting must be really extreme if they can't paint Faiz's very simple color scheme

[ShiShiLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrWilliamGraham

Beautiful work as always ShiShi

Lately I've been crushed with how sticker heavy the last two series have been. Stickers are just something I never really liked dealing with. Real shame because I thought the Chronicle line would be a great alternate to do full lineups without splurging on expensive or outdated larger figures

Cost cutting must be really extreme if they can't paint Faiz's very simple color scheme

I totally agree with you. Even as someone who paints, the stickers don't instill confidence in longevity. I forgot to mention it, but the silver sticker that goes on the back of Faiz's head is atrocious. It looks ugly and is hard to align.

However, I will say that SO-DO figures do in fact help me not splurge on expensive figures. I actually had the Seihou Faiz on pre-order and cancelled it after I finished this SO-DO. On the other hand, SO-DO Espada convinced me to pick up the SHF. So who knows!