Bandai Tamanshii Nations Star Wars Movie Realization collection

Here's my crude attempt at a music video showcasing some of the awesome detail of the Bandai Tamashii Nations Star Wars Movie Realization figures. Set to the soundtrack of my favourite game, Ultra Street Fighter 4, this time using the Fei Long theme :)

Bandai Tamashii Nations Star Wars Movie Realization Teppo Ashigaru Sandtrooper

I've loved every single figure release so far in this Bandai Tamashii Nations Star Wars line. Based on the Japanese feudal costumes that originally inspired the iconic Star Wars designs, these figures have a fantastically unique look to them, and have great build quality to boot.

The most recent release is the Sandtrooper, which shares much of the same design as the original Stormtrooper, but with some nice little unique changes.

Click through below for my full video review of the Sandtrooper over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel! Make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe too! :)

The packaging is the same classy, very collector-friendly style of the earlier releases. Bandai simply know how to sell these with great artwork and photos on the box. All the accessories are packaged nicely, and have some great touches.

It comes with two large rifles to mimic the large rifles carried by Sandtroopers in the movie. It also comes with the standard katana and sheath that you attach to the belt. And then of course there is the amazingly detailed and painted backpack. The assortment of swap out hands all cater for holding the accessories and other poses, so all around a nice package.

The figure itself has some nice modifications specific to the Sandtrooper. The yellow pauldron replaces the right shoulder armour and is nicely painted. The armour, as with the other figures, is adjustable to support a wide range of articulation. The neck area also has some additional paint detail in the plastic strings that tie the armour pieces together.

The left armour is also slightly modified from the standard Stormtrooper, with a more rounded design. And of course there's the obligatory leather pouch across the front of the shoulder too. It's molded plastic, but looks nice with the molded detail and paint.

The backpack fits onto the body via a peg that slides in fairly easily and allows for a bit of rotation to align the backpack how you like. I really love the molded detail and dirty metal paint app on this piece. It's instantly recognisable as the Sandtrooper backpack, but has a great unique quality to it.

All posed up, the Sandtrooper looks amazing. I was going to get two, as I already have two Stormtroopers and have two Royal Guards on the way. But with other Stormtrooper variants on the way, I figures I'd save the money and get at least one of each trooper variant.

Here's the Sandtrooper side by side with the Stormtrooper. The larger of the two rifles does look slightly ridiculous being so damn big, but it's a comical effect that I don't really mind lol!! For a more realistic look, you can always go with the thinner rifle that is more aligned with the traditional smaller blaster. For me just for some pop on display and interesting conversation, I'll be sticking with the bloody big rifle :)

Together with the other figures, it really shows how unique this line of Star Wars figures really is! I get more questions on these figures than most others in my collection when friends and family come over to check it out. I love the designs, and can't wait to get my hands on the Royal Guards that are hopefully coming out in May! Stay tuned for that review :)

I get mine from Big Bad Toy Store, since many of these are Tamashii Store exclusives in Japan that are harder to get. Click the links below for all the BBTS order details! :)

Teppo Ashigaru Sandtrooper

Akazonae Royal Guard

Taikoyaku Stormtrooper

Samurai Taisho Darth Vader (Death Star Armor)

Ronin Boba Fett

Ashigaru Stormtrooper

Samurai Taisho Darth Vader

Hot Toys MMS295 Sandtrooper

The new Hot Toys Sandtrooper figure is another fantastic addition to their Star Wars line. A nice improvement over the previous Sideshow Deluxe Sandtrooper, particularly in the way it can actually stand up on its own without the need for support!

It was an absolute pain in the arse to get the back pack on though! Took forever, and I definitely prefer the magnet used by the Sideshow figure to add support. The Sideshow figure still holds up extremely well, so I wouldn't get rid of them just yet.

Here's my full video review that compares the new Hot Toys figure with the previous Sideshow Sandtrooper. Should give you enough of an idea on the differences to make up your mind if you want to get this!

Packaging is the usual Star Wars style, and it's amazing how many accessories they crammed into the clamshell!!

All set up the figure looks pretty damn awesome. I love the inclusion of the binoculars, but they did not include one of the larger rifles that came with the Sideshow Deluxe Sandtrooper.

Together with the previous Sandtrooper, you can see its weathering is much more subtle. The Sideshow version really does look like he's been walking through some Bantha shit! But overall, it still looks pretty nice next to the new one (despite what the anal collectors who inspect every minute detail will say lol!!)

Together, the original trilogy figures from both Sideshow and Hot Toys look simply amazing together. I can't wait to get more next year with the AT-AT driver. Hopefully one day they make the Royal Guard!

Bandai Tamashii Nations Ronin Boba Fett

It was a year ago in December 2014 that the Samurai Taisho Darth Vader was released, and was instantly one of my figures of the year. That was an incredible introduction to this new Star Wars Movie Realization line, and continued with the Ashigaru Stormtrooper in June 2015.

It's almost fitting that a year on from that initial release, Bandai Tamashii Nations have released another figure late in the year to be instantly one of my favourites of 2015! If you loved the detail, articulation, and style of the previous two figures, you are absolutely going to love this new Ronin Boba Fett!

Click below to head over to the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel for my full video review. You'll get an up-close look at the incredible details of this figure! Scroll further down too for more pics and my thoughts.

The detailing in the outfit on this Boba Fett is nothing short of amazing. It has all the nice artistic details as the previous figures, but the light green, orange, and grey paint application just seems to bring out the detail in everything!

The sculpting on the helmet is very nicely done, and the viewfinder can swing down in front of the visor. The tip of the viewfinder also has some nice sculpted detail that looks almost like a dragon, so it's those great little touches that really impress.

The rims on the rear of the helmet seem more tightly glued together this time, whereas the Vader and Stormtrooper had gaps between them. I don't mind this new approach as it's less prone to coming unglued, but still retains the overall awesome look of these helmets.

I think the shoulder pads are on ball joints like the previous figures, but it's not immediately obvious. Underneath the right you'll see the Wookies braids, and on the left you'll see the cape. These are pretty nicely done in softer plastic, with decent paint apps to being out the sculpted detail. The Wookie braids to tend to get stuck in the shoulder joint against the neck plate, so be careful of paint rub there.

The rocket pack is removeable, and simply pegs into a hole in the back of the suit. The overall design is pretty nice, but somehow looks more Indian than Japanese to me, especially the tips of the missile and side boosters. But still, with a nice metallic finish, it still looks pretty nice.

The sculpting on the rest of the outfit, from the chest and back plates to the skirt and pouches, are against very nicely done. The chest piece has some nice battle damage to reflect the iconic suit, and the pouches both on the belt and pants area give him that great Boba Fett style. Most of it is done in softer plastic to minimise impact on the articulation.

Overall the articulation is pretty good and on par with the previous figures. I was actually surprised at how high the arms could be move out the sides, but the legs are a little more constrained. Either way though, you can definitely still get the figure into the awesome museum poses as well as really dynamic flight poses.

I love that they included the accessories for his shin tools. Some do take a bit of effort to peg in there, but once done they really do look cool. I also like the knife that is attached to the forearm gauntlet in place of the flamethrower.

The sword sheath needs to be placed into the holster belt clip fairly carefully to avoid paint rub. I'm still uncertain as to whether it's meant to curve up or down, but either way it looks great against his belt. The sword itself is similar to those provided for the Stormtrooper.

I also love the little Japanese shoes that he's wearing, complete with the two small points on the tips of the feet. Articulation is still a little scary in the feet with the ball joints there, so be very careful not to snap the joint.

The main rifle is beautifully designed, with a rustic style to it and a great weathered paint app. Getting the hands to grip it takes effort, so I would definitely recommend heating up the hands first in some hot water. This should make them grab the rifle without stripping paint off.

I'll more than likely leave mine in the pose where he's simply standing there holding the rifle. It's a nice classic pose that shows off the best features of this figure.

Together with the earlier figures, it's clear to see that this Movie Realization line makes for an incredibly unique Star Wars collection. The build quality coupled with incredible sculpted details and paint application make these some of the best Star Wars figures in my collection.

The future looks incredibly bright for this line, with the alternate Darth Vader releasing later in Dec, and then the Royal Guard and Sandtrooper releasing in the March/April 2016 timeframe. We only just saw teased pics of the Jango Fett and drum-carrying Stormtrooper, so I definitely am looking forward to getting all the figures in this line! Most highly recommended!! :)

You can still preorder these awesome figures from Big Bad Toy Store! Click the links below for the order details! :)

- Ronin Boba Fett 

- Akazonae Royal Guard

- Ashigaru Sandtrooper

- Darth Vader (Death Star Armour)

Get them now before the prices start skyrocketing!! You won't regret it :)

Hot Toys Star Wars - cannot wait for these to come out!! :)

I'm a huge Star Wars fan, and I think 2015 and early 2016 will be a great time for 1/6th scale fans. Ever since I started collecting this larger scale, I've always wanted the core cast of the original Star Wars movie, and Hot Toys is now finally going to deliver! And they all look pretty spectacular!

The Stormtroopers have been out for a while now, but I have yet to receive my preorder here in Australia. The exclusive version is now on waitlist, but the regular version is widely available still I think. With the different heights, I'm sure they'll do a Luke/Han in disguise set once they get the core cast out the way. I love the little mouse droid, and the glossy finish on the armour is pure win for me :)

The Shadow Trooper was released not long after the Stormtrooper two-pack, and I was definitely glad to be able to get my hands on one. It's a fantastic figure! Again, the glossy finish adds a really nice premium feel to it, and the subtle weathering is nice too. It's sold out now, so your chances are limited I think unless you pay crazy prices in the aftermarket.

The next set to be released will be Han and Chewbacca, which can be ordered separately or as a combined two-pack. As with the Stormtrooper set, the two-pack is definitely the way to go since it gives additional accessories not provided if you order them separately. With Chewie being a full synthetic fur body, I reckon it will be the figure of the year! If they tweak the Han sculpt to look more like him, it'll be the perfect start to the core hero cast!

Next up is then Darth Vader, which is different to the Sideshow Deluxe figure in that it's the Ep4 costume not the Return of the Jedi costume. It also comes with the nice little Interrogator Droid accessory. I think this time Hot Toys will include a light up feature on the lightsaber, which I actually prefer to do without! I don't like little electronic gimmicks that I rarely use and tend to break! But still, definitely looking forward to posing this with the Obi-wan figure!

Before Obi-wan is released however, it looks like Hot Toys plans to release another trooper with their Spacetrooper. These troops were seen for only a few seconds in the scene where the Millenium Falcon is being brought into the Death Star. The external shot of the Falcon caught in the tractor beam is pretty iconic, but many miss the tiny little troopers in the foreground with their space gear.

Up next is Old Obi-wan, which to me looks absolutely fantastic! The head sculpt and detailing in the costume looks incredible, despite many collectors saying the sculpt is off. It looks like Alec Guiness to me, and the robe seems to fit and flow beautifully. Having this displayed in the cabinet with their Darth Vader will be perfect iconic awesomeness!

Hot Toys has just officially announced the Sandtrooper as well for an early release in 2016. I still think the old Sideshow Deluxe Sandtrooper holds up extremely well to this, and in fact has more accessories I think. Either way, having both side by side will be a great comparison, and will look awesome displayed together.

And finally, some teaser pics were posted recently from Japanese toy magazines showing the Death Star Leia and Tatooine Luke figures that we've all been waiting to see! The Leia figure even looks to have rooted hair for her buns, which hopefully they do well. I don't have too much experience with rooted hair so hopefully it doesn't need to much maintenance! The Luke figure looks nice and simplistic, but it'll all come down to the head sculpt on that one too.

The preorder for Luke and Leia isn't up yet, but hopefully official prototype pictures and preorder details will be up soon. For me, I'm just glad to finally get the chance to have the entire core cast from the original movie at Hot Toys quality! It'll be a day long remembered when they're all home :)

EDIT: I almost forgot about the 1/4 scale figures they're doing too, with ROTJ Boba Fett and ROTS Darth Vader. For me, I just can't afford these much larger figures, and the size and space they need to be displayed well. So I'll stick to the 1/6th scale figures :)

Star Wars 6" Black Series Imperial Shadow Squadron

The Imperial Shadow Squadron set in the 6" Black Series line was released in the USA as a Target exclusive. But I was lucky enough to have a fellow collector purchase a whole case of these, and was then willing to sell them onto other collectors as retail price!

A great example of a collector looking out for other collectors so that people didn't have to pay ridiculous scalper prices on ebay. And I'm definitely glad I was able to get my hands on this set cos the figures are pretty awesome with this black colour scheme.

Here's a link to my full video review of the set. Hope you can check it out, subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts on the Empire's finest :)

Bit of spare time , so some random action figure pics coming out this week :)

Still loving the Soundwave minions. Can't wait for Ratbat to come out in March with Soundblaster :)

Ravage on the hunt.

Now I reckon this would've been a pretty kool confrontation in the movie :)

Stay tuned over the next week for more random pics :)

Collection Summary - Sideshow Collectibles

Here are a few pics of my Sideshow Collectibles figures as of today! Next big one is the Deluxe Darth Vader figure!! Can't wait for that one!!!