Well, this is a first, three reviews in one post!
The reason I am doing my reviews this way is that I received all three figures at once, and therefore it would make sense that I utilize one post for all the reviews.
The first figure that I will be reviewing today is the Ultra-Act Ultraman Belial.
Known as a shadow living in the Land of Light, Ultraman Belial is the first truly evil Ultraman. He was once good, but reckless, and fell into darkness when he attempted to acquire the Plasma Spark, the artificial sun of Planet Ultra, for himself. This act of treachery resulted in Belial's banishment from his home planet. The only other Ultra that came close to succombing to the same fate as Belial was Ultraman Zero, but thanks to his father's, Ultra Seven's, intervention, Zero was spared Belial's fate and would one day, after years of intense training, face Belial in battle.
Despite being an evil character, Ultraman Belial has one neat design. This figure of him stands at the standard six inch height. Almost all articulation is identical to the other Ultra-Acts except for the fact that Belial has a moveable jaw, revealing two rows of teeth - I didn't think that Ultraman had openable mouths!
Belial also comes with alternate hand gestures, and his primary weapon from Mega Monsters Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie - his Giga Battle Nizer, a device that allows him to hold and control 100 giant monsters. It's a neat item, and kind of gives Belial a Darth Maul kind-of vibe.
Overall, the Ultra-Act Ultraman Belial figure is pretty neat and certainly displays well next to his opponent, Ultraman Zero. Like Zero with his Ultimate Form, Belial also has a figure of his Kaiser form. Both of which I have no intention of buying since I already have figures for Zero and Belial.
The next figure I am reviewing is another Ultra-Act figure, Ultra-Act Alien Baltan.
Alien Baltan is a seijin, and giant monster that first appeared in the second episode of Ultraman The Original Series. The Baltan were and advanced race from a distant world, but when their planet was destroyed by their own nuclear testings, the surviving population made a grand exodus off their world and embarked on a search for a new one to colonize. The entire population shrunk themselves to microscopic proportions during their travel. However when their ship became damaged, they landed on Earth to repair it, only to realize that Earth itself is a suitable planet to call their home and proceeded to colonize it. The Baltans merged themselves into one giant entity and eventually battled Ultraman.
This Baltan figure is actually based on his second form, which appears later in the original series. It is a neat figure, but its articulation is limited compared with other Ultra-Act figures. The head and neck hardly move and the only areas that have a wider range of motion are his arms, elbows, claws, legs, knees, and feet. Despite this, Baltan comes with a flare effect that fires out of his claws, and various tinier Baltans.
Baltan is neat, and definitely a classic monster for the collection, however due to its limited articulation, I feel that it was not worth the amount I paid for it, and I wish I found it elsewhere for a lot cheaper.
Finally, the last figure on my review list, the Bandai Tokyo Vinyl MechaGodzilla.
This figure certainly took its sweet time in getting here! I ordered this shortly after I ordered the Tokyo Vinyl Godzilla figure - which was in mid-March. However, at least it's here so I can no longer complain. The MechaGodzilla figure, unlike the Godzilla figure, has a distinctive design, which is the original Showa incarnation from 1974's
Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla.
MechaGodzilla has a great deal of detail from the nuts and bolts to the shiny silver coating. It even has the design's evil-looking grin. The one complaint about this figure that I hear among a lot of collectors is its size. It stands at 5 inches tall instead of 6 inches, which is the size of the Godzilla figure. I understand why collectors may speak ill of this, but I for don't care about scale. As long as its close to the same size then I won't complain.
Overall, the Bandai Tokyo Vinyl MechaGodzilla is a neat display figure. I am actually hoping that Bandai USA produces more figures in their Tokyo Vinyl line - Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, King Ghidorah, Gigan? The list goes on!
