Packaging - **1/2
Unlike the other Cosbaby figures which have been sold individually and blind boxed, these are all sold as window boxed double packs. So you’ll know exactly what you’re getting, and the selection is thus-

Set 1-  Goemon and Chacha
Set 2-  Goemon in Nomunanga’s Red Knight armour and Saizo Ninja outfit
Set 3-  Goemon Ninja outfit and Nomunanga in full red Knight armour.

The packaging here is pretty simple and consists of an oblong cardboard box with an oval acetate window. Inside the two figures lie in a vac formed transparent plastic tray alongside their accessories. All three are identical in design apart from differing stickers on the front, these obviously have the character names, but they are in Japanese. So if you plan or re-packaging them at any point it’s worth taking note of which set came out of which box, and as my Japanese is a little rusty… sorry, I mean non existent, I just  took photo’s of mine as an aide-mémoire!

The overall designs are nice, but by Hot Toys standards they are pretty unremarkable. However when you consider the main job of these boxes, in fact ‘any boxes’ is to get the contents to you undamaged and in one piece, then for that job they’re just fine!

Sculpting - ***
Those of you familiar with Cosbaby figures will already know that these are not about accurate face sculpts, instead they are just small cute figures with reasonably accurate, but stylised representations of their outfits. The faces are all virtually identical, even between genders. So the ‘differentiation’ comes from the hair styles, outfits and paint application.

Each of these three sets has one figure of Goemon Ishikawa plus one of the supporting cast. In set 1 he is in his ‘master thief’ outfit, the same one he wears on the 1/6th figure I already reviewed, he is partnered by Chacha dressed in her impressive, ornate red robe.
In set 2 he has a bloodied face and wears the red armour of his old master, Nobunaga, he comes packed with Saizo in his Ninja outfit, complete with face guard and swords.
Set 3 has Goemon in the same Ninja outfit as Saizo and is packed with Nobunanga in his full red armour, this time with the helmet on and a cape over his shoulders, both are again armed with their swords. All of the sets show some cute details, with great observation, especially on things like Nobunanga’s ornate armour and Chacha’s dress.  

So, another movie gets the ‘Cosbaby’ makeover, I know these aren’t for everyone, but if you did (or do in the future) enjoy the movie… or like me got drawn into the whole ‘Cosbaby’ world then these are definitely par for the course… very cute! 

Paint - ***
Like sculpting, Cosbaby paint apps follow their own unique style. All the heads (bar the helmeted knight) have jet black hair, and all the faces are the same flat flesh tone. All the Goemon’s have brown eyes and the knight version has cuts and streaks of blood on his face. Chacha has blue eyes while Saizo’s are a striking turquoise. The outfits have lots of details picked out, with both Chacha and Goemon in his ‘thief’ oufit being the most detailed. 

I guess the best description would be ‘serviceable’ rather than ‘outstanding’. However, considering these are pocket money collectables that can be picked up for $15 a set, then the paintwork is still well above average when compared to many of the figures you’ll find in your local Toys R Us for the same price.

Articulation - Chacha ** the rest ***
Cosbaby articulation is pretty simple, but offers just enough movement to let you inject just a little personality into your display. They have push on ball and cup joints, but just be careful how you stand them up, as those Cosbaby heads are pretty huge in relation to their bodies. Luckily their feet are also quite big, so with a little care they can all stand just fine. 

Chacha’s articulation is however pretty limited because of the nature of her hairstyle and ornate dress. Her arms can move freely, but her head and legs can barely move at all.

Oufit - N/A
This is all covered in sculpting, no elements are fabric!

Accessories - Set 1N/A, Sets 2+3 **1/2
For Cosbaby figures these actually come packing some impressive accessories. Now when I say that, I’m drawing my comparison against your ‘average’ Cosbaby, many of which come with nothing. That’s not to say a few extra goodies are unheard of, as the Predator figures came with a veritable abundance! But here, the set of Goemon and Chacha come wi’ nowt at all, where as all the others come with at least a weapon. In fact Goemon in the red armour has 2 swords and Nobunanga has a ‘Darth Maul’ double ended sword, all of which are held tightly. The two Ninja dressed figures also come with armoured masks in the Samurai style that cover the lower half of their faces, these just slide into position and stay in place pretty well.

Value - ***1/2
These are only available as twin packs, and can be found on eBay for between $14 to $16 a set. So with that equating to $7 or $8 per figure I think these are pretty good value. I have to admit I prefer this style of window packaging to the blind boxing and the selection of characters is good, but also manages to get away with quite a bit of ‘re-use’, with the Ninjas and Knights having identical body sculpts. But that’s been the case with most sets so far, and the majority of the time the figures end up looking pretty unique anyway because of the clever mix and matching.