Espadia

The Japanese have always been obsessed with fighting beetles, and it comes as no surprise that this obsession spills over into the realm of toys. Fighting beetles are popular toys on the shelf, and catching the live ones seems like a right of passage for Japanese youth. The beetle motif is all over Japanese robot toys as well, from Diaclone and Machinerobo toys to modern toys like Beetleborgs.

The Busou Shinki MMS Type Stag Beetle Espadia continues this legacy by incorporating the Japanese fighting beetle look into the figures battle armor.

The box is the typically nice Busou Shinki box, with a velcro-sealed window flap that opens to reveal the figure and its parts.

Inside the figure is packed in two translucent trays.

Busou Shinki figures are poseable female action figures that feature various kinds of attachable armor. Each armor set has a specific theme. In this case, this Espadia and the corresponding Beetle Lancamento are both Japanese fighting beetles.

The armor design was done by Tanimeso, famed for his illustration work for “Rumbling Angel,” “Zoids,” and original robots in the “Super Robot Wars” games.

The core figure is super poseable, with a unique hip joint that enables a variety of poses. This figure appears to have tighter joints than previous releases, and also the feet on this release has a more rubbery feel, giving some traction when trying to stand it freely.

All of that of course goes out the window with the armor on.

The feet of the armor are too narrow to support the bulky frame, making use of the included stand a necessity.

It takes a long time to get all the armor on, but once done the finished form looks pretty cool. Two large swords attach to the hips that can be held in either hand, or by the extendable arms on the armor.

Also included is a sword.

But wait, there’s more…

Like all Busou Shinki figures, the armor is meant to be customizable. Konami actually includes a few extra parts for even more creations. But this time Konami has designed the armor so that it can be transformed into a stag beetle!

The beetle can stand alone or be displayed on the stand.

But wait, there’s still more!

If you get the companion piece Lancamento you can combine both armors to create a robot called Hercules (which you will see in the Lancamento Review)