Ultra Act Ultraman Leo Renewal
“Ultraman Leo is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 7th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman Leo was aired between April 12, 1974, and March 28, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes.”
This is the Renewal, or (V2), version of the Ultra Act, Ultraman Leo. It comes with more acessories and effect parts than the original. Also, the renewal is taller, has a slightly thicker body, the head sculpt is sharper, and the eyes are superior.
He comes in the same silver/red box deco, with the windowed front that all the recent Ultra acts do.
Like the other figures in the line, he comes in a clear plastic tray with all his accessories, extra hands, color timer, etc. There is a extra tray in back for the umbrella and effects parts.
Here is a quick turnaround:
The figure has no noticeable paint flaws. Upon removing the protective plastic “bib” many Ultras seem to come with these days, I was stuck by how crisply his insignia and timer paint were done.
The face and eyes are really sharp.
He has the usual 2 back plugs, for stands/mantles. The biggest issues I had with this figure were strangely enough, the back plugs. The first problem was the bottom peg cover would not stay on. It fell off repeatedly while I was reviewing him, and eventually I just left it off until I was finished for fear of losing it.
The second issue, was that I could not insert the adapter plug for the stand into the hole. The little peg protrusion seemed too thick or long and I didn’t want to force it. Personally, I tend to use the claw grips on stands. I usually get better results from them anyway. So, it didn’t really bother me other than it was not functioning as it should.
He’s really sharp looking, and super pose-able like all the Ultra Act figures. Although, I do still hope that they can find a way to give this line the, “swivel arm battle grip”, elbow treatment at some point. I really like the “karate” hands that he comes with, not rigid chop hands but with the two fingers down in a “ready” stance. The first pic is my attempt at the Iconic pre-kick pose as seen on the box.
His joints stayed relatively tight, especially the legs, and he had no trouble standing on his own in a variety of poses.
Lets examine the effect parts. First up, the “Leo Kick” which is really good. The original kick and chop parts were 2 part clip-ons with opaque paint apps that looked more like traditional fire. In the renewal version, The kick comes as one piece of molded translucent red that snaps on the bottom of the foot.
It fit perfectly and the translucence was a great choice, catches the light nicely and is closer to the look of the
effect in the show.
Next up, the “Leo Chop”, which was a bit weird. Instead of a snap on like the foot it replaces the hand on the forearm peg.
It’s not as easy to attach as the kick effect and I can’t help but feel the arm looks a little stumpy with it on…still it does the job.
The next effect is the “Light Ball”. More red translucent plastic, this time molded onto a swap-able hand. It looks really nice but is very heavy, shortly after I took these pics the hand dropped down. You probably need a stand to hold it up if you want it posed this way on a shelf.
Not included, oddly, was his “Ultra Shooting Beam”, which is his Specium Ray equivalent.
He did however come with an impressive array of weapons and accessories beyond the effect parts. Being an Ultra mainly known for his martial arts fighting style, lets first look at my favorite accessory, the “Leo Nun-chucks” real chain version.
Nothing but awesome there, Next is the “fixed” chain version, which is new to the renewal release.
Mine came with a slight paint flaw, but I will just scrape that off with an Exact-o. The hand is not attached, but that was as far as I could get it on. It was a very tight fit. It’s a little limited on pose-ablity, but does make for a dynamic picture.
On to the “LeoBrella” (Ultra-Mant Defense Umbrella), the handle comes separately so you slide the hand over it then attach it to the top, works well stays attached, looks nice…
…for an umbrella.
He also comes with a pinwheel, I am not sure if this is a gag from a specific episode or one of his actual weapons, but suddenly that Umbrella is looking less silly.
He comes with the Obligatory red (low-power) color timer, you need to lift off the armor to change them. It has an extra thick long stem which I really like, especially after losing the (thinner stemmed) red timer for my Ultraman Taro.
Final accessory is the golden armband. Remove the hand, slip it on re-attach hand, It stays on well.
Size comparison line up:
And next to his brother Ace (Ultra Act) and his American Cousin, Ultraman Powered (vinyl).
A quick action shot against my Eleking Banpresto Store display version (1999)
Then on to a team-up!
It’s a Giant Cobra Kaiju!!!
We need to use the “Zero Double Flasher”!!! (which is an effect part that came with the first edition of the Ultraman Zero renewal figure)
With our heroes triumphant, I place them on their shelf homes in their display pose under a light which will illuminate the effect part for all to marvel at.
Elsewhere Leo stands ready with his brothers, (I have 2 Ultraman Leos)
Overall a really solid figure, well worth the retail price, the effect parts are good and the accessories are plentiful!
9 out of 10
