[Den-O]

In this latest installment of Toy Tuesdays, TokuNation is taking a look at some more recent releases that we've yet to cover, but definitely shouldn't be looked over. Today our focus is on a pair of releases from last year; S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Black Renewal & S.H. Figuarts Battle Hopper Renewal!

**Post #2 contains the Battle Hopper half of the gallery.

The original Kamen Rider Black & Battle Hooper SHF releases weren't necessarily bad, but when compared to more modern Figuarts engineering they were practically left in the dust by other figures. Black's Showa era brothers like X, Super-1, or Amazon wound up being much more impressive than Black's original figure was. In fact the original was severely lacking in accessories as well. Let's see how the Renewal rectified these issues.

Packaging
Though I no longer have my original S.H. Figuarts Black or Battle Hopper for comparison the packaging is hands down a winner with the Renewals. The original Black came out at a time when S.H. Figuarts were generally packed in plain grey boxes with black lettering and a shot of the character across the front. As the line has expanded so has it's creativity, so the boxes for Black & Battle Hooper Renewal both feature quite a bit nicer art and far more color than the originals did.

Main Figure (rider & bike)
To start let's look at Kamen Rider Black Renwal. The issues with the original figure that most people had were it's lack of accessories, but we'll get to that in a moment. Other issues were the original's wildly inaccurate proportions, sculpt, and less than perfect paint job. Though it was a decent figure for it's time, newer and better figuarts have since been released which put the lanky old ones to shame. The Renewal seeks to not only improve on the inherent design flaws of the original, but to seek the closest show accuracy possible for the toy.

With a detailed looked at Black Renewal, you can see Bandai went the extra mile, hell 10 extra miles in giving it the feel of a real suit with a person inside it. Across Black's entire body are intricately sculpted and molded in details such as folds and cracks in the "fabric" of the suit. Realizing in toy form for the first time the way these actual suits looked in show. Looking at the waist section alone is jaw dropping, the level of detail is astounding. It looks like the actual rubbery type material the suit was made from!

Bandai also sought to improve on the joints of the figure over the original. Here, for me at least, that's a mixed bag. While undeniably the engineering is more solid, the execution is poor. The joints are all placed properly and sculpted fine, but at least in some places they seem a bit off. Take for instance that for some reason 1 of the legs on my Black is seemingly longer than the other. The shoulders, while nice, don't sit flush at all with the main body. In fact that's the most irratating thing about this figure. While striving to look like a real suit down to the smallest detail, they've missed some rather glaring ones, like the said gap between shoulder and torso. When not in a dynamic pose this is really unappealing. And the shoulder pads tend to pop off easily and frequently.

And though the days of the metal feet are gone for SHF's, the original Black benefited from it. Though it had few accessories it was able to pull off some dynamic poses thanks to those feet. Black renewal has a bit harder time with his plastic feet.

Battle Hopper Renewal isn't as renewed as you might think by the name though. In fact it's merely a repaint of the original S.H. Figuarts Battle Hopper. But this is hardly an issue for concern. Though the original included a personalized Tamashii Stage that this one doesn't, the renewal does have a far far more accurate paint job. It truly captures the spirit of Black's faithful vehicular partner.

Accessories (rider & bike)
In the accessories department Kamen Rider Black Renewal definitely outshines the original, which had a mere 2 sets of hands, and none of which could interact properly with the original Battle Hopper. Black Renewal includes 4 new sets of hands for his iconic poses and to use with Battle Hopper Renewal. Though this exceeds what was included with the original, it's still a pretty poor selection of accessories. I'm not generally one to complain about effect parts needing to be included, but this is clearly a case where the figure would have benefited from it.

Battle Hopper Renewal as mentioned does not include the Tamashii Stage of his predecessor but instead opts for the small clear "wheel base" that all SHF bikes have included since Machine Decader. Its good for static poses but that's about it. Battle Hopper Renewal also includes a stage adapter which can grab onto the undercarriage of the bike and be used to execute a bike jump maneuver with an additional tamashii stage.

Final Thoughts
Bandai/Tamashii Nations has taken many many steps in recent years to bring their A-game with this line. Since S.H. Figuarts started 7 or so years ago it's evolved into the juggernaut black hole for collectors addicted to the line, such as myself. Black was the first of the rider renewals followed not long after by Kabuto which received a premium style treatment. Black received some decent upgrades over the original, though I still can't say this version is perfect. It's a great piece to display with your other riders and will look simply perfect riding Battle Hopper but I can't help but wonder if more could have been done.

Battle Hopper Renewal should be more underwhelming due to it's nature as a repaint. But it's actually really nice. It's a far better display piece than the original mostly for the color accuracy. It's a gorgeous bike that will be welcome among the ranks of your other rider machines.

I would recommend this set of Renewals over the original release if for no other reason than them being more accurate. The original Black release is dirt cheap these days and Battle Hopper has dropped significantly, so either the original releases or the renewals are completely accessible to general buyers. But the renewals definitely edge out the old ones.

We'll be back in two week, after our SDCC 2014 coverage next week, with a gallery of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Black RX & Acrobatter Renewal!

[Den-O]

Post #2

Battle Hopper Renewal images!

[Dr Kain]

I actually prefer the lack of metal feet. Great pics as always.

[Shin Henshin]

Yeah, haven't had any issues due to the lack of diecast feet on Renewal Black. Plus the shoulders aren't really bad at all. The gap is hardly even noticeable unless you look for it. Plus you can swivel the shoulders inward a bit to cover it up in neutral poses. Won't hinder the arms, either.

[Den-O]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Henshin

Yeah, haven't had any issues due to the lack of diecast feet on Renewal Black. Plus the shoulders aren't really bad at all. The gap is hardly even noticeable unless you look for it. Plus you can swivel the shoulders inward a bit to cover it up in neutral poses. Won't hinder the arms, either.

The shoulder design to me is a glaring oversight on the figure. They just aren't very good. And I'm not terribly excited by the prospect of making it look normal by trying to hide it. Shouldn't have to. I like the figure just fine, but both it and RX Renewal don't really wow me. I feel like they both have issues.

[KyoryuGreen]

Must have Black and Battle Hopper figuarts...Blast loving the show! lol

[Electric Turahk]

Isn't the "head" on the new Battle Hopper different as well?

[Den-O]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electric Turahk

Isn't the "head" on the new Battle Hopper different as well?

There is some slight remolding to it now that I examine the older one closer, it's been made a bit larger and the antennae are straighter. The small windshiled like visor is a bit larger and curved now as well.