Review: Revoltech Danboard

Here's a short and sweet review of the ever so popular Revoltech Danboard. A quick Google Image search with the word "Danboard" or "Danbo" will yield pages and pages of photographs of this character. There is even a flickr group for Danbo - Danbo Love - that has over 14,000 entries!!! So why is this little guy so popular?

From what I understand, Danboard is from the Japanese manga "Yotsuba&!". He is basically a cardboard robot.

Even the packaging of this toy is some type of thin cardboard paper. The box design is simple and clean.



The top of the packaging is made to look like Danboard as well.



There's not a lot of accessories included in this figure. The extra head is Miura Hayasaka who is the little kid who dressed up as Danboard in the manga. The only other item is the display stand. The Revoltech joint is for the extra head.



Danboard is a very simple figure and that is why I think it is so popular. The figure expression-less, so it can be used in all types of photographs. The expression relies only on the setting on the photograph. For examples, check out the 365 days of Danboard project by Arielle Nadel.



Articulation-wise, it is very basic: Revoltech joints for the neck, shoulders, and legs. Five joints in total.



The "side skirts" are one piece with the torso, but the front and rear part of the skirt is hinged, allowing the legs to articulate back and forth slightly.



Another feature of this figure is...



Light-up eyes! I think this feature will be very useful in some dark and scary photographs...

Like Zombie Danbo!


But of course, we all know Danbo is just a costume for cute little Miura Hayasaka...



Or is it?



So in conclusion, I am just glad I was able to get my hands on one of these gems in the end (okay, more than one). I've been wanting one of these figures ever since I saw some amazing photographs with this figure as the subject. I don't really know what rating I can give it because there's not much to it really. There's basically only one color to it and there's only 5 joints in total on the whole figure. It's just one of those unique figures that makes toy photography so fun!

Photoshoot: Revoltech Black Ox

(Click pics for enlarge version)

Finally did a photoshoot for my new Revoltech Black Ox figure. This is one of my longer photoshoots, I had a total of 89 pictures from the shoot, but of course only a handful were usable. A majority of the time was spent posing and switching parts on the figure. Revoltechs are good for their poseability, but making them stand by themselves is sometimes a hard task.

First off, let's start off with the mandatory box shots.




Contents


I really like this figure because I have always liked simple designed robots.


There are not many details on the figure, he's just a sleek black machine.


The interesting difference between the Black Ox and T28 are at the hands. The hands on the T28 are attached via mini Revoltech joints. On Black Ox, the hands have pegs which goes into the hole on the wrists. This limits the wrist motion, but I like this way better because it makes switching the hands much easier.


Articulation wise, it is the same as T28 with the exception of the hand/wrist joint as stated above.


Black Ox is very strong...


Jet-pack power!


Can see how serious they look...






The following contents may contain violence and partial robot nudity. Parental discretion is advised.































K.O.!

Well that's the end of the shoot. This one had more violence than any other of my shoots. But all the exposed robotic pieces were just begging to be in the shoot too. The only one I didn't get to use was the leg piece on the Black Ox because I couldn't pull the Revoltech joint out of the original piece.

Anyways, this figure is a MUST-GET for those who already have T28 and is thinking about this one, or just anyone that likes the design of this robot!

You can check out my Revoltech Tetsujin-28 review here.

Review: Revoltech Optimus Prime Convoy

To start off...Happy Chinese New Years everyone!!!




First, I have to admit that I am addicted to Revoltechs. I just love the amazing amount of poseability these figures have. They are excellent for me because I love taking pictures of my toys. Today, I walked out of the hobby shop with this Optimus Prime plus 4 other Revoltechs on order. Hope I get them soon!

Another thing that I would like to comment on is the price of these figures. The Tetsujin-28 was $25cdn and the Prime was $27cdn. These prices are considered as a deal here because I've seen them go for $30+tax at other stores. But it has come to my attention that these figures sell for around $90-$100hkd in Hong Kong! I just knew about this tonight because my cousin's boyfriend collected these too. However, I can understand because HK is closer to Japan so they probably get their goods at a lower cost. It doesn't change much for me since I am not going to HK anytime soon. But when I do, for sure I will bring back a lot of toys! Until then, I will continue to support my LHS (local hobby shop)!

Ok let's start the review. It's going to be a brief one since I have tons of reports and assignments to do.

What is included in the box?
Optimus Prime, beam rifle, 3 variant hands, and the Matrix of Leadership. This figure did not include a stand which was disappointing.







Also got this notice in the box too, can anyone read Japanese???



First thing I noticed was the arm joint on his right shoulder was very loose. This limited the poseability because this is also the arm he holds his beam rifle with. I am pretty sure this is not a common case and just that I am unlucky to get a bad joint because his other arm is fine.



Detail-wise, I would give it a 4.5/5. Overall, the paint is really good, although a bit sloppy on the windshield on his chest.



One of the hands he comes with is for holding his beam rifle. Another hand looks like it was for holding the Matrix of Leadership. However, it doesn't hold onto it snuggly. In the picture the Matrix is just balanced onto his hand.







Overall, I would give this figure a 4.5/5. The main thing that reduce the experience is the loose shoulder joint. I would like it to include a display stand, but it stands fine by itself. I definitely recommend this to any Transformers fan out there, I don't think any other Convoy Optimus Prime has this much poseability. There are of course better quality ones such as the Masterpieces, but at a much higher price. IMO, at this price, the Revoltech is a MUST for all Transformers fans!

Revoltech Tetsujin-28 review

Ok let me write a little review on this figure because it is my first Revoltech! I don't know a whole lot about the background of this anime since it is way before my time, only thing I know is that this robot is basically a giant RC robot controlled by a little boy. I have always liked the design of this robot. It is simple, yet there is some subtle charm about it.

Anyways, onto the figure. First of all, the packaging is really attractive. Won't go into detail though, just check out the pics!




My first impression was that the joints on the figure were really stiff. This is a good thing since I rather them be stiff and loose. But being that this was my first Revoltech, I was slightly hesitant in using much force to manipulate the joints, afraid that I would break it. After messing around with it for a while, I got the hang of it and posing it was really fun!



The paint apps were okay, not excellent though. Tetsujin-28 has a dark metallic purple finishing. Although the paint looks smooth on most of the figure, there are some areas with rough finishing. However, you can only see these areas if you examine the figure at a close range.



The figure comes with a selection of exchangeble components and a display stand. For Tetsujin-28, we got 2 extra sets of hands, rocket flames, live wires, and an extra head with the evil red eyes. The fitting on these exchangeble parts are very tight, but they can be exchanged with some force. The only problem that I had was with the altenate head, just couldn't get the Revoltech joints to fit in the head. I didn't bother changing any hands for this shoot since this is the second time.

I like how they made the flames a solid color instead of making them translucent.





One neat feature is that there is a hole in the jetpack flame that attaches to the stand allowing for some neat in flight poses.









All in all, I've had a good experience with my first Revoltech and already have two more on order! I'll give you a hint, one of them has to do with this...



Oh and check out what I came upon...
Tetsujin-28 Movie coming soon...?