The only figures I have from Storm Collectibles are those from their Ultra Street Fighter 2 series. But being a lover of 80s cartoons as well as Street Fighter, I couldn't resist when they announced their were doing figures from Gatchaman, also known as Battle of the Planets outside of Japan.
It was a bit of a wait, but the final result was pretty nice! Click the link below to watch my video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.
As always, Storm have included quite a few accessories with this release. The various cape options are decent, but I would have preferred a single wired fabric cape to be honest. The paint work is nice, but the red on the inside the cape rubs off excessively onto the shoulders and arms of the figure itself.
Luckily I was able to gently rub off the red marks on the figure without damaging the white paint. But it's a major problem when you can't even pose the figure without getting marks all over it. I understand that they wanted to give collectors the ability to replicate some of the iconic poses from the cartoon, but I think it could've been achieved just as well with a wired, fabric cape.
The larger capes are also far too heavy, and ride up on the neck, which causes the cape to hang in strange ways. I think they are good for the quick photo opportunity, but the default static cape is perhaps best for display in your cabinet. It looks nice too, but hides a lot of the figure's body. Again, a fabric cape would've allowed collectors to pose the cape in their own way, in a dynamic form such as flowing in the wind, without having to go over the top with an action pose on the figure.
The head sculpts are OK, with decent lining and minimal paint bleed. The details on the helmet could've been a little sharper, but I like the way they've designed it. The visor can be removed, but it should stay on for cartoon accuracy I think. The stoic head sculpt is the one I'll be going with, although the snarling face is decent for the action poses with the larger capes.
The range of hands give all the right posing options, and the little batarang is nicely done too. It fits in the belt nicely. The belt is on a flouting crotch piece that does get caught in the hip area, so you may need a little tool to pry it back out when the hips catch them. Aside from that, the articulation and range of motion of the figure itself is the usual high quality from Storm.
I heard that some collectors thought the figure was too thin, but I think the proportions are great. It really does remind me of the cartoon style, although the head sculpt likeness could be better. If you've had other Storm figures, I think you'll be very familiar with how the body moves and all the joints.
The only other Gatchaman figures I have are the older figures from Sentinel. They never completed the team, and so I am really hoping that Storm do us collectors right by releasing the rest of the team. I believe they have teased Jun the Swan (aka Princess), but there has been no formal preorder release.
At this rate, it'll be years before they get anywhere near completing the team, which is a real shame. In the end, I am glad to have another 80s cartoon character in the collection, so I'll just keep on hoping and wishing the others will come.
