Review of Ultraman
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Introduction

I was born in 1961. That means I was watching old school anime when it wasn't old school, and when it definitely wasn't cool. Every day when I came home from elementary school, I watched Kimba the White Lion, and on Saturdays there was usually an episode of Ultraman to check out.

Mezco's latest release is Ultraman, based on the 1960's television show. He just started shipping in the last couple weeks, and I suspect he's a figure a lot of people will sleep on - but really shouldn't. His initial price was $105, but you might be able to find some deals if you act sooner, rather than later.

Packaging - ***1/2
Mezco has improved on the packaging slightly by adding in a cardboard support on the inside. This ensures the outer box is less likely to get damaged. Of course, inside is the usual layers of plastic trays, each holding a variety of accessories as well as the figure itself. It's all collector friendly, as you'd expect.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Usually, One:12 Collective figures include two or more heads. But with the way the light feature is set up - inside the head - they went with two face plates, rather than two heads.

The standard face plate has the translucent eyes, and the shape and contours match the old show pretty well. It's a little large, but when you compare it to stock photos, you'll see it's accurate. The second plate has energy bolts shooting from the eyes, perfect for blasting any marauding kaiju. The two plates fit on small pegs, and they can be removed fairly easily.

The hands are sculpted for some very specific poses, and they are properly scaled. The rest of the costume is cloth, and without a human likeness to match, they did have it a bit easier this time. The figure is about 6 1/2" tall, pretty standard for the line.

Paint - ***
The paint work is mostly the silver metallic color on the face plates and hands, along with the basic details on the various accessories.

Overall the work is clean, especially the silver. It can be a tricky color to get an even coverage with, but they did a nice job.

My only complaint, and the reason for the slight deduction, is the translucent eyes. They have the yellow color when the light isn't lit, but once you turn it on, they color gets less consistent and even. There's still some of the color, but most of it is washed out by the bright LED light.

Articulation - ****
I was surprised by the articulation with this figure, assuming the costume and the helmet would make posing him difficult. That is not the case.

The elbows are double pin, allowing for plenty of bend, and that means you can manage the two handed clap pose with the energy disc in front of his body. The arms can reach across the body, or up to the ears, and you should have no trouble getting good poses with them.

The neck is less restricted by the helmeted head than I expected, and you can look up quite far. The torso crunches and bends, and you can break up most of the straight lines in the upper body, making the poses more natural.

The hips, and knees are a little restricted by the suit - he's not going to sit down easily - but he can bend at the knees better than I'd hoped, and the ankles work fantastic. The foot is a separate piece, and the suit does not extend over it. allowing it to move in any direction. You can keep the feet flat on the ground even in deep stances.

Accessories - ***1/2
As I mentioned, there's only two face plates, the standard and the one with the firing eyes. They swap pretty easily, and both work fine with the light feature.

There are six sets of hands included. He comes wearing fists, and there are several designed for holding the accessories, as well as specific fighting poses. They swap easily, but stayed attached while I was posing him.

There are three additional effects to go with the blasting eye face plate. There's the circular effect, as well as the spring-like blast that can go over either arm. Finally, there's one extra right hand with the effect permanently attached.

He also has his red cape, tailored nicely to fit the shoulders. I'll discuss that more in the Outfit section, but it does boost the Accessories score as well.

A very unique addition for this figure is the small buildings. There's five of them, each broken somewhere in the middle. It's a perfect way to create the destruction that often went with a visit from Ultraman.

Last but not least, there's the jet, which is nicely scaled and can fit perfectly in the palm of one of the additional right hands.

There's the usual display stand of course, with the nifty logo base and either the simple foot peg, or the more complex clear support rod you can use for flying or jumping poses.

Light Feature - ****
Often, light features are too hard to use, especially when the figure is posed on the shelf. That's not the case here.

The batteries - included - are inserted behind the face plate. Getting them in was easy peasy. Once inserted, you can turn off both the eyes and the chest piece by pressing a small button in the middle of the back. The button is easy to find and use, and both the eyes and chest light up brightly.

This is one of those times where the feature really does increase the value and fun of the figure. It's well engineered, with its operation in mind.

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit is clearly from the old show, hearkening back to the origins. It's nicely tailored, and is made from a stretchy material. It's not spandex, but it has more give than many pleather type suits.

The seams are decent, although the one up the back is a little thick where the two pieces come together. The printed red and silver colors look great, and I don't think they'll easily get damaged or wear out.

As I mentioned, there's also a very nice cloak, tailored to fit over the shoulders. There's a wire throughout the edge, including the collar, so you should be able to pose it in very dynamic ways.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
I hadn't expected much from this one, but it turned out to be a really fun figure to work with. The articulation works much better than I anticipated, and the accessories allow for some great displays and set ups. If you have some other handy Japanese creatures handy - you'll notice I subbed in a NECA Godzilla - you'll have a great time with setting him up on the shelf.

Value - **
When Mezco adds in light and sound features, the price tends to go up. At $105, he is one of the more expensive single figure releases recently, but at least this light feature is useful and well designed.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. When putting the face plates on, be careful with the small posts, but otherwise you should be good to go.

Overall - ***1/2
I suspect there weren't a lot of pre-orders on this one, and people are going to sleep on him. Even fans of the license may miss out, and ebay deals might be good...for awhile. Eventually though, the few they did produce will end up in the hands of fans and collectors, not dealers, and they'll dry up. If you're a big fan of Ultraman, you should give this guy a look.

The little buildings are a lot of fun too. Combine them with other characters like Godzilla or even Kong, and you'll have your own kaiju crushed city-scape.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ***1/2
Light Feature - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
This guy was originally available for $105 at the Mezco online store, where you can still get on the waiting list. Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $105. Use my link and get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This is my first review of any Ultraman related figure or collectible!

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