Storm Collectibles Ultra Street Fighter 2 Blanka

I've been loving the Ultra Street Fighter 2 series of figures from Storm Collectibles, and this latest Blanka figure is no exception. In fact, I think overall this has to be their best release yet! There's just so much to like about this figure.

Click through below to watch my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.

As always with the USF2 releases, this Blanka set comes packed to the brim with accessories. Of course it comes with his electric thunder, done very nicely in transluscent yellow plastic that captures the electricity very nicely. It also comes with 4 head sculpts in total, each of which are beautifully sculpted and painted. The expressions are very accurate to the game, and I absolutely love the loser expression that they always include with the USF2 figures.

The array of hands give you all the possible options to replicate his poses from the game. They also come nicely painted, with the reds at the base of the finger nails being a stand out detail. To round things off, the usual backdrop from the classic character stage is also included. 

The figure itself brings the best of everything that Storm has done before. The sculpting in the musculature is perfect, and the paint application brings it all to life. The shade of green is fantastic, and incredibly consistent across all parts of the figure.

The use of softer plastic or vinyl around the hips and groin area allow for the deep crouching poses. But I do worry that the area may tear if left stressed for long periods, so I would go for more static poses for long term display.

All head sculpts come with the same orange hair piece, that is made of a softer plastic. This way when posing with the head looking up, the hair is not so hard as to scratch the paint on the back or hinder the articulation. In fact, it's more the neck joint that hinders the figure looking even more upwards. That point of articulation is probably the only negative point that I would fault with the figure.

All other articulation points are the same as those from the previous best in Storm's range, such as Sagat, Balrog, and Fei Long. With the ankle rocking and stability in the joints, there's really no problem in getting him into a variety of poses that don't need stands to support.

The hardest pose is really the crouching, bent over pose to complement the electric thunder accessory. I had to do it at least once to capture a photo of his classic special move! The use of the additional ab crunch hinge helps getting him bent over more. But the ability to look more upwards would've sold the pose even more.

All in all, it's a fairly minor complaint against all the other positives of the figure. The sculpting, paint application, articulation, and general body proportions just perfectly fit into the series. His gorgeous orange and green bring some bright colour to the cast, and they just look sensational all displaye together. It's just pure 90s arcade nostalgia for me when I look at them on my shelf! Here's hoping Storm announce more USF2 figures for preorder very soon.

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter 6 Ryu

I've played Street Fighter since SF2 back in the early 90s, spending countless hours at the classic arcades. I even played some SFAlpha too, but cooled off the game until it came back with a vengeance in SF4. I didn't like SF5 at all, but then when SF5 came out, it felt like the perfect game.

It had the gameplay that I liked from SF4, with improved visuals. The new game mechanics were something that I learned and adapted to fairly well across a number of different characters too. As it turns out, I really do feel that it's the most complete and fun Street Fighter game since SF2.

As always, my go to characters is Ryu, and I love that they've balanced his gameplay to have really strong fundamentals, and he hits like a truck! Not the top tier in the game, but a character that you can learn and improve upon with time and practice.

I love the Storm Collectibles Ultra Street Fighter 2 series of figures for all the nostalgia they bring. And when I saw that they were also releasing Ryu from SF6, there was no way that I was going to pass on him! And I'm glad to say it's a fantastic figure release!

Click below to watch my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.

The set comes with a nice array of accessories, including a beautiful backdrop from the game. The softgoods cloak is a nice touch, but I prefer to display the figure without it. The fireball is a given, and the vast array of hands and head sculpts give you all the pose options you want to replicate his moves from the game.

The paint application is the usual high quality from Storm. The sculpt is perfectly proportioned, and the paint details bring out all the nuances in the musculature. The skin tone is really nice, and even the scarring on his body is sharply done. The dirt wash in his pants also nicely highlight the spotted detailing and folds in the sculpt.

The head sculpt too is a gorgeous rendition from the game. I've grown to like his bearded look and his character ages in the game. Add the scarring and the sandels, and his nomadic warrior persona really comes to the fore.

Articulation has always been a strong point for me with Storm. They have found a nice balance between a beautifully proportioned sculpt, with movement that has a great range of motion that doesn't have to break up that sculpt.

I always love their butterfly shoulder joints with the floating inner piece that fills gaps. The elbow and knee joints have also been perfected to still look great when deeply bent. The soft upper torso is icing on the cake, where it allows great forward, back, and sideways tilting to get those natural martial arts poses.

The different head sculpts complement the figure perfectly. You can pick whichever one you want to display to match one of his iconic poses from the game. I for one love the screaming head sculpt, which conveys the strength of his character so well.

All in all, I think this is another fantastic release from Storm. I am usually only an USF2 series collector, but am so glad that I also ordered this SF6 Ryu. If anything, I actually wish they would re-release an USF2 Ryu and Ken with this SF6 Ryu body proportions. That would make them fit in with the latest figures in a much more consistent way.

But either way, I hope Storm continue to release quality figures like this. Yes, their price range is high, but I feel you get the quality to go with that. With how much enjoyment I get just looking at this Ryu and others in my display cabinet, I really don't have anything to compain about. Here's hoping for more Street Fighter goodness in the not too distant future!

Storm Collectibles Fei Long from Ultra Street Fighter 2

It's always a great day when Storm finally release another Ultra Street Fighter 2 figure in their series. For 2024, it looks like only Fei Long and Blanka are on the schedule, but at least Fei Long has been released on time without any major delays.

And he's a pretty awesome release at that! Click the link below to watch my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a like, and also subscribe to the channel to stay tuned for the upcoming Blanka review when that arrives. Have a read further below for more photos and my thoughts.

The set comes with a great set of accessories, including Storm's typical set of swap out head sculpts. I love the loser head sculpt that is a unique aspect of this USF2 series. The paint application across the figure itself, head sculpts, and hands are all very nicely done and consistent.

The special move accessories are also a nice touch. The flaming leg is good for the odd photo, but I don't think it's very practical on display, unless you have a separate stand of some sort that can prop the figure in the air. The nunchucks round out the accessories, and it's good that they include a metal chain with it, as they should in this price range.

With all the various hands and the head sculpts, you can pretty much put him into any iconic pose, either from the game itself, or for Bruce Lee who he's obviously inspired by. The ankle joints are a little tight, as well as the top of the thighs where they join the hips. So just be careful when moving those areas in case anything snaps.

The musculature of the figure looks awesome. Storm have perfected the use of the soft, vinyl-like torso area, along with the butterfly shoulder assembly. You can get some really organic and realistic poses from the figure. The range of motion is not hindered by much at all, and the figure balances well when you spend a bit of time getting the figure in the right pose.

I didn't feel the need to heat up any joints or accessories to swap out, unlike many figures from Super7. The head sculpts here in particular swapped out very nicely, without feeling too loose or too tight. Sometimes there are concerns around paint rub or flaking when posing or swapping out hands and head sculpts, but this time I had no issues at all.

Together with the rest of the cast, they all look fantastic. He is a little leaner, especially when compared to the original Ryu and Ken. The scale seems a little on the smaller side, but only slightly. You can tell especially with the size of the head sculpts that are smaller than the others.

But in the original game, he did have a slightly smaller body, and it mostly aligns with his character profile in terms of his height and weight. Looking at Ryu and Ken, I really do wish Storm would re-issue them with the new body proportions that they've designed with their newer figures. Ryu and Ken still look too stocky, with legs that are too fat and short.

But in the scheme of things, I think they all look fantastic. As a long time SF2 player since the early 90s, the cast of figures just brings so much nostalgic awesomeness to my collection. I can't wait for Blanka to release, which should happen in August if all goes to plan. Stay tuned for that review!

Storm Collectibles Ultra Street Fighter 2 Balrog

Storm Collectibles continues to release some pretty awesome figures across several source media, from more recent games to classic arcades, manga, and cartoons. For me, I love their Ultra Street Fighter 2 series of figures, as that's the game that I grew up playing in the 90s through high school and university.

Storm are pretty slow at releasing figures in any particular series since they seem to now be invested in so many licences. Each time an USF2 character is announced and released, it's always a great day for me. They have done another fantastic job with this new Balrog.

Click through below to watch the full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbs-up and subscribe to the channel too!

The set comes with a decent array of accessories, similar to what was included in previous USF2 figures. This time, they did include not just the swap out head sculpts, but also a complete swap out torso without the shirt.

This was actually a great way for me to become more familiar with their body design, as taking out the arms and torso revealed aspects of the internal body that I would not typically see or worry about. The joints are very tight, so I won't be swapping them much at all, and will likely just stick with his iconic torn white shirt and blue singlet style.

The topless torso has great muscle detail, and has the same functions with the butterfly joints, soft upper torso for rotation and flex, and the lower abdomen area that rotates atop a tight ball joint. Either style looks fantastic, and coupled with the awesome head sculpts, the figure simply excudes charisma and shelf presence.

The paint application is a stand out for me, with a beautiful matte finish that reallys matches the classic arcade aesthetic. There's very little shiny plastic that makes the figure look too toyish, and this looks and feels like a high end toy.

Articulation has all the great points similar to other Storm figures, and the use of softer plastic where needed makes getting into action poses quite easy. The beefy arms can come forward enough to mimic the boxer stances, and you can replicate his moves from the game very well.

The gloves have a software plastic towards the wrist area, so be careful when rotating them there where they meet the forearm in case you get any splitting or cracking. The thighs have a bit of rotation where they meet the shorts, but it's tight and minimal so it's probably best to just use the hip rotation.

I love the use of the foot toe flex to help get into more boxing action, and using the dust accessory gives some nice photo opportunities to replicate the gaming special moves. He balances well too, and does not feel like he needs a stand to remain safe on the display shelf.

I love the unique aspect of the USF2 series of characters with their loser portraits. Storm have done a great job in replicating those portrait screens from the arcade. They make for a fun photo opportunity altogether, or with other figures from Storm.

I love the figures that have been released so far, and they give an awesome burst of collection into my otherwise pretty bland collection. I smile each time I look at them, and remember the endless hours I spent playing the Street Fighter games at arcades.

The new Balrog scales well with the others, fitting in nicely between the biggest with Sagat and Zangief, and the smallest with Ken and Ryu. That pretty much matches nicely with the game from my memory.

Here's to hoping Storm announce more characters in the series soon. I think we've seen teasers for Blanka and Fei Long which would be very interesting. But I'm also still holding out hope for Chun-Li and Cammy that they've made in the Street Fighter 5 series. Having these characters in the SF2 series would be fantastic.

BigBoysToysHK Street Fighter TNC-10 Sagat

After about 4 years since their previous character, BigBoysToysHK have finally released the next Street Fighter in their TNC series with TNC-10 Sagat. It has been an exceedingly frustrating wait for so long, but fortunately the sculpting and paint application quality is as high as it was over 4 years ago.

Now I just hope they don't wait another 4 years to complete the original cast, and announce Balrog and M.Bison soon!

Click through below for the full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel!

Storm Collectibles Ultra Street Fighter 2 Zangief

It takes Storm Collectibles seemingly ages to release any figures from their Ultra Street Fighter 2 series, so any eventual release is an absolute must-buy for me. They teases both Zangief and Balrog together perhaps almost 2 years ago now, and Zangief finally released earlier this year. There's still no sight of a Balrog prototype, let alone an actual release, so fans like me will just have to keep waiting.

But as always, the wait is typically worth it. This Zangief release is fantastic! Click the link below to watch my full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Remember to subscribe to stay tuned for upcoming reviews! 😀 

For those collecting the USF2 series, the contents will be familiar. I love the classic backdrop, which does seem to use a slightly sturdier card stock this time which avoids the creases. The special move accessories are also nicely done, in either the transluscent orange for his Double Lariat, or the green for his Banishing Flat.

I typically don't use those accessories in my display cabinet, but luckily they include a raft of swap out hands and head sculpts to give plenty of posing options. Unique to the USF2 series is the loser head sculpt, which I love. The various snarling and screaming sculpts also bring out the real character in Zangief too.

The figure itself is nicely made. Mine did not have too many paint blemishes, and the overall skin tone is pretty consistent across all aspects of the figure. The use of softer plastic in the torso is similar to the previous figures, and allows for great articulation in the shoulders too.

The waist and hip joints are a little squeaky, but not so tight that I thought something was going to be damaged. The softer plastic in the underwear does get caught a little at the leg join, but that can be futzed to either remove the folds or hide gaps.

All the other points of articulation work as well as they always have in this series. So there are plenty of options to get him into his iconic wrestling and super moves. Posed up with the other characters from the series (barring E.Honda who is from SF5), he complements the cast very well. The scale is great, being of the right bulkiness and a height just a bit shorter than Sagat. And that classic gaming style and paint app just gives me all that arcade gaming nostalgic goodness!

As I mentioned before, the USF2 series does great with the loser head sculpts. I realised I'd never actually posed all of them beaten up that way, so here they all are after a beating from Chun-Li! 😂

This series so far has been fantastic, and I really do hope Storm gives a bit of focus to at least get Chun-Li a variant in this series, as well as Balrog and M.Bison. In fact, it would be so great if they could just do the original core cast! But in the mean time, we'll all just have to wait and enjoy what we have so far.

Pix Brix Street Fighter 2 puzzle sets

I stumbled across these Pix Brix sets over on the Big Bad Toy Store website. I'm a big Street Fighter fan since growing up playing the original Street Fighter 2 back in the days of actual arcade centres. These sets really spoke to my nostalgia of many things 80s and 90s. Being a brick building fan of Lego, these were pretty much a must-have for me!

Now the Pix Brix design of each individual piece is quite different to Lego, despite the very similar aesthetic on the packaging art! The build styles and technique are quite different too. You may get a better feel for this in some of the close up shots in my video reviews below over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can check them out, and scroll down further for more pics of the completed set.

It's great that each set comes with a character sheet with some decent artwork and character biography. The colour map to build each set is on the reverse side of each character sheet. I didn't recognise some of the artwork, but by all accounts they are orginal character art from the game.

Each set is 768 pieces, being 24 x 32 bricks in dimensions, taking the complete set to over 6000 pieces. At about USD$21 each, the price to piece count to pretty decent. Once completed and put together, the full size of the set really becomes apparent, and it simply looks fantastic.

Since they are brick built, the character portraits do look better when viewed from a small distance. But that's perfect for placing them on a book shelf, gaming desk, or in your display cabinet. I'm very much out of space these days, but will definitely need to find a spot to display this set.

For a bit more of a size comparison, here is the completed set with me on the couch! This set is perfect for Street Fighter fans, particularly those with fond memories of the original arcade game and core cast of characters. Highly recommended!

Storm Collectibles Street Fighter E.Honda

The Storm Collectibles Ultra Street Fighter 2 figures are some of my favourites in 1/12th scale. This new E.Honda isn't from USF2, but I couldn't resist getting it since it has his classic outfit. I do hope one day they release an E.Honda USF2 figure, but this will suffice for now.

Click the link below to watch my video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel! Also make sure to give the video a thumbs up and subscribe to stay tuned for more videos 😀

The set comes with a decent array of accessories, and the swap out head sculpts are the usual high quality sculpts and paint app. The biggest thing missing is of course an accessory depicting his iconic 100-hand slap move! I really hope they include that with a future USF2 version, which would come with the additional swap out loser head sculpt too.

Poseability wise, this thing does everything I expected a bulky character like this would do. The body torso is made of a softer almost vinyl type material that allows for a great range of motion. The shoulders have the usual nice articulation and butterfly movements. Even the legs and knees have good enough motion to get into some natural sumo poses.

Together with the other figures in this series, they certainly all look fantastic together. It just brings back so many great memories of me playing in the arcades in the 90s. I'm really looking forward to the USF2 Zangief, and hopefully they announce the teased Balrog soon too. If they go back and complete the rest of the core SF2 World Warrior cast, it'll be a dream come true for at least this particular SF2 fan!

PCS 1/3 scale Street Fighter Cammy

I've loved playing Street Fighter ever since the early 90s in the good old arcade days. The Pop Culture Shock, now known as Premium Collectibles Studio or simply PCS, statues in their 1/4 scale have been well known and sought after pieces for many years. When their 1/3 scale series was launched, I just had to have some of my favourite characters in that scale.

I have the previous Ryu and Chun-Li statues in this series in their classic outfits. So when Cammy was announced, also with her classic outfit, there was no way I was going to pass on that! Her classic outfit is perhaps one of the most iconic in Street Fighter history!

Click through the link below to watch my video review of Cammy over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can also give the video a thumbs up, and subscribe too for more video reviews coming soon.

The box is the typical 1/3 scale size, with some great photography of the classic version with a couple of shots of the two other variants. Those lucky enough to get all three will have a fantastic series of statues showing the key evolutionary changes to her outfits in various Street Fighter games.

Unboxing these large scale statues is always a great experience, and Cammy was no exception. For the most part, I was simply glad that the key areas of the sculpt around the face, legs, and arms was mostly OK. There were a few minor scratches in the paint work where the light catches an angle and highlights areas of the paint that don't have that nice matte finish. But they're hard to see from most angles so it didn't bother me enough to ask for a replacement.

The other key area of concern for me was the fabric outfit. Luckily the stitching on mine was pretty much perfect. I had seen some others where the stitching had already frayed or come loose, which looks very untidy on a figure like this, so I was glad mine was OK. The material is not to delicate that touching it causes runs or tears, and mine was mostly OK with only a tiny run near the back shoulder that is not very visible. So I was OK to keep this particular piece and not run the risk of getting a replacement that is worse!

The classic outfit looks fantastic on display, and her bright colour definitely gives her a lot of shelf presense. Adjusting the fabric on her neck to securely fit over the head sculpt is a bit fiddly, but it certainly looks better that way than just placing her head on the joint with the fabric tucked underneath.

The fiddliest part of the assembly process did not turn out to be her ponytails, but the two small pieces for her fringe! I had to dip them in very hot water to soften the tip just slightly, which allowed for a better fit into the tiny slots in her forehead. I was glad that I was able to get them in properly without snapping anything.

Here's a bit of a cheeky shot of the new Lego Hubble Space telescope catching images of a new moon! 😁

Once all setup, she scales beautifully with the previous Ryu and Chun-Li. They looks absolutely fantastic displayed together. After playing these characters for so many years in the arcades, and then again more recently in Street Fighter 4, these statues certainly bring out the nostalgia each time I see them.

I'm slowing setting up the home theatre room now, and have found a spot for these three large statues behind my couch. They'll watch guard over us as we watch the latest 4k movies! Now all I need is for PCS to make a 1/3 scale Ken in his classic red gi outfit and I'll be set! Here's hoping they make that announcement soon!

S.H.Figuarts Street Fighter M.Bison and Vega

Here's my look at the Bandai S.H.Figuarts Street Fighter M.Bison and Vega figures over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can check out the videos 😃

Storm Collectibles Guile from Ultra Street Fighter 2

Just like the Sagat figure, this Guile is another fun figure in this Street Fighter 2 series by Storm Collectibles. The whole package I think is excellent, with lots of aspects that really bring back memories of the character in the arcade game.

Click through below to check out my full video review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.

The set is again jam-packed with accessories. The head sculpts are a stand out as usual, with fantastic paint application. The blood and the eyes are really nicely done. They suit the array of hands and fight move effects like the sonic boom and flash kick.

You'll need a different figure stand to hold the figure upside down if you want to use the flash kick accessory. But one of the Bandai action stands should do the trick. The two sonic boom effects are nicely molded too and look great posed with the figure.

Articulation is pretty good, although there is significant gappage in the torso area. The soft rubber upper torso tends to fold and get caught in the gap, which is unfortunate. Other than that, the other aspects of articulation are pretty good.

I love that they included the comb to get him into that classic combing hair victory pose. The colour and style of the figure just bring back so many great memories of the various Street Fighter 2 variants.

I really hope that Storm continue this SF2 series, and announce characters like E.Honda and Blanka. Here's hoping for announcements soon in 2020!