[Den-O]

"I told you my name isn't Bike!"

Continuing my retrospective look back at the figures released for Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters we've got another gallery 2.0 for you. Last time we caught up with a look back at S.H. Figuarts Red Buster. Today we're taking a look at his robotic partner, his buddy, S.H. Figuarts Nick Cheeda!

Nick is of course the first of the 3 companion Buddyroids for the team. Uniquely of the 3 Buddyroids Nick is the only with the ability to transform, and also the only one to go out into the field regularly and face combat. While this figure can't transform into his bike mode it gets the point of Nick's fun loving directionless personality across perfectly. Read on below!

Packaging
As I mentioned last time, Go-Busters figuarts featured some really creative packaging. And I still think that's true. Nicks' box features all the same series hallmarks and logos as part of it's design that Red Buster did. Even that wonderful "shades" logo. The metallic reflective cardboard makes it feel premium, which in this case is beneficial as Nick was released as a Tamashii Web Exclusive. Stock photos don't offer much but frankly the figure demonstrates why, more on that below.

Obviously when it comes to Japanese names the family name is spoken first followed by the first name. So Nick's name is spoken as "Cheeda Nick" and is written that way on the box. However for the sake of ease when referring to the figure, and framing it in English, I'm just gonna stick to saying Nick Cheeda.

Main Figure
S.H. Figuarts Nick Cheeda is a brand new mold when compared to Red Buster. They share no similar parts at all. Most of the time when a figuarts subline begins you get several figures with similar design and new tooling. But because of how radically different each of the Buddyroids are, their molding is totally unique to them. This probably explains why all 3 became Web Exclusives, but then again so were Blue & Yellow Busters. In any case Nick is a refresher after Red Buster. However in much the same Red Buster suffered from design deficiencies so too does Nick.

For starters Nick has very odd legs. While the design of this figure is truly faithful, it doen't attempt to fix the design to work in toy form. The figure doesn't take into account how everything functions on a human wearing a suit as opposed to a toy with limited mobility. Nick has toes that curve upwards in their resting position. Meaning with the added weight on his back this makes for precarious posing, even for basic generic stances. The hips likewise have large silver/black protrusions that impact the waist and keep the legs from reaching a full range of motion. You can either get some pretty boring poses out of them or you have to work the protrusions past the waist for crazy leg splits. There's not much of an in-between. Add on top of this that the hips themselves are rather loose and you see the main problem with the figure.

Making up for this the torso components are actually really great. Again this is a faithful sculpt. Nick has a nice floating upper torso that can angle out pretty well, the black struts/shoulders don't really impact that. Surprisingly he has much better arm movement than Red Buster himself thanks to higned shoulder pads and improved elbow joints. The plastic tolerances seem to be greatly improved as well. The headsculpt is totally on point too. Nick's head & face is of course what becomes his motorcycle modes' handlebars & gauges. Now this figure can't transform into that mode but the detailing is present that would make you believe it could. Nick's eyes and forehead are actually painted then overlayed with translucent plastic to give the gauges an authentic look. And yes of course, as you can see below, Nick can reach up and 'rev' his own handlebars. On his back you'll also see sculpted in details that mimic the front wheel and nose of his motorcycle mode. Albeit in a mass shifted and slimmed down form. Though this is accurate to the show suit as well.

While Nick Cheeda is far from perfect, this figure winds up having a pretty deep personality. You can jut hear Nick shouting "Hiromu!" when posed running. A Tamashii Stage & some effect parts go a long way to complementing this figure. A quick comparison VS the old retail toy transforming MBAF Nick Cheeda, shows that S.H. Figuarts Nick Cheeda is indeed the winner. And Nick can ride himself (sort of).

Accessories
Nick includes just a few essential accessories:

2 - open "holding things" hands. Included to use the following weapons.

2 - Rear Wheel Guns. These weapons are rarely used by Nick in show but necessary for inclusion with this figure. They make up the missing mass lost in the transition from his bike to Buddyroid mode. When transforming in show Nick usually just uses some CGI magic to go from bike to complete robot without these guns showing up much. Technically they should always be present but oh well. The only difference between the two is that the left hand gun has a removable exhaust pipe that you'll need to pop off to get it in his hand. It plugs back on securely. They can be a little difficult to get into his fists but once there they're nice and secure. They're a little large and clunky but you can get some decent poses out of them. The only limitation is the design of Nick himself.

Honestly the Buddyroids didn't use many items or accessories in show. So I was never surprised by how little Nick came with. This figure predates the now semi-typical trend of transforming characters getting figuarts that actually can transform. Nick came out long before the like of Auto Vaijin or the soon to be release Dragranzer. So it's understandable he can't transform, but I would have gladly paid more for a figure that could.

Final Thoughts
As with Red Buster, even after all these years flaws & all, I'm still more than happy to own S.H. Figuarts Nick Cheeda. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is still one of my favorite shows ever so I'm happy to have these figures. Even knowing the team will never be completed. I'll be back in the near future with another Go-Busters 2.0 gallery in the form of S.H. Figuarts Blue Buster!

[Smozz]

I never did get around to buying Nick and Gorisaki, I should do that.

Oh man they're so cheap too. Eeeeeee.