Ultraman

I don’t buy very many candy toys because some suck really bad and/or you buy a blind box and end up getting a character you don’t like. Plus the gum is made of old shoe rubber. Fortunately there happens to be a good amount of great toys to be found also. Some even let you pick the character/toy. In the case of the Ultraman Action Archive series, you get to pick from four releases. There is a VTOL and jet (01), gun with communicaton device (02), Beta Capsule (03) and Ultraman figure (04). Each one has their own gimmicks consisting of sounds or lights. The star of the show and the highlight of the four releases in my opinion is the Ultraman figure. It’s pretty sweet for a “cheap” throw-away toy. He comes in your standard full color glossy box with perforated top for easy opening. When you open the box, two items fall out. One is a piece of gum and the other is a baggy with Ultraman. Whats great is that you don’t have to put him together. The inside of the box is lined with detailed illustrated instructions.

I’m a bit surprised at how cool it is. Its well put together, it’s highly poseable, has great paint apps and is cheap. Here he is with CDX’s favorite size comparison tool.

Here is an up-close macro shot of the figure. Many figures end up looking horrible when photographed up close but this one seems to pass with flying colors.

You might not think this is a regular old candy toy if you found him loose somewhere. You can see the metal screws used in his construction.

Spacium Ray

Ultra Slash

Ready for Battle

I mentioned that this series had gimmicks. This figures gimmick is the Color Timer. It blinks on and off just like Ultraman does in his show when his solar energy is running low. Don’t let it run low or he will never rise again… (If you want to see an unedited shot of the gimmick, check out the album.)

To activate this gimmick you will need to remove a replaceable tab on the back of the figure to reveal the on/off switch. A nice touch for a low cost figure. Most toys have a throw-away clear plastic tab that is pulled out. Here you can replace the tab if you choose.

He has loads of articulation. Ball joints, swivels and hinges. His head, neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, thighs, knees, feet. However his hands and waist are not articulated. Check out his cool double-jointed knees which allow tons of movement. Unfortunately his hips don’t bend up higher.

I had to wait about 30 minutes in line to buy this. The Japanese supermarket was unusually busy today, but it was worth the wait and the cost($7.99US). It stands at 140mm so its a nice height. This could easily come in a blister pack and be sold on a rack like most regular toys and I would be happy paying regular toy prices for it because its cool. Thankfully its not that pricey. It’s a fun, articulated toy of a legendary character. It’s a poor man’s alternative to the Ultra-Act Ultraman. Oh, almost forgot the candy part of the toy. I don’t ever chew these anymore. According to Bandai, it’s Soda flavor.

Well, my color timer is going off, time to go… SHUWATCH!!