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Soul Caliber - Taki
Triad Toys

Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys

   "The following is a guest review.  The review and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the guest author."

Jeff Parker is back tonight with another cool sixth scale review. It looks like he needs to turn the thermostat up for his next photo shoot though...take it away, Jeff!

Thanks as always to the one man, reviewing machine that is Mr Michael Crawford!

Honestly, you don’t review a figure from a video game for years then two come along at once. No sooner have I finished my low-down on Chris Redfield from Resident Evil 5 than Taki from SoulCalibur 4 lands in my lap (c’mon, tell me you wouldn’t want THIS sitting on top of you).

Like Chris, she has been in her game (in this case the arcade classic SoulCalibur), since it’s very first outing, and along the way she even got the chance to take on Lord Vader and give him a bloody nose… if you had the skills to let her!

She’s one of the most enduring characters and is one of the few to have been a warrior choice in every single version of SoulCalibur released to date.

So if you’ve played the game, worn the T-shirt and… played the game again, will you want a 1/6th version of this buxom, nubile lovely staring down at you from your shelf… do I have to ask? 

Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys

Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys

Packaging ***
This is my third Triad figure so far, I’ve reviewed Lola and Josh Randall and both were very solid figures that incorporated nice compact boxes, and that trend continues here. This is a nice sturdy cardboard that feels like it could handle quite a bit of punishment if it were to take a smack down at any point, it’s the classic 5 panel, flap fronted design and bares a large SoulCalibur logo on its front above her character name set on a deep pink/red background, the back has another logo above a small synopsis of her role in the game and a brief bio of her character.

Being a licensed product this box benefits from some branding but still sits very comfortably with the other boxes from Triad. The front panel lifts open to show the fully assembled figure through a window on the right, whilst opposite a tray holds her twin swords and scabbards. Inside she lies in a clear plastic vac formed tray.

Sculpting- **1/2
Like a lot of game characters she seems pretty open to interpretation, she’s often depicted in a variety of styles, but she is always a woman of an incredible physique, so the artists at Triad, who sculpted this mega babe must have had a whale of a time bringing her to life.

In 2007 Toms Game’s http://www.tomsgames.com/ voted Taki as one of the top 50 female characters in video game history, so with a devout following, it was important not to let the fans down. That said there is no denying that this is an attractive sculpt bringing to mind some of the early Cool/Cy-girls from Bbi, but the features do perhaps look a little too soft and generic to me.

Having tracked down a few good screenshots I think her eyes should have been a little larger and her skin tone darker around them. I’d have also preferred a slightly more determined expression, though having said that her face is far from bland. But I do feel a bit more of a frown would have helped get more of her character across. Apart from those few slight misgivings this is a nice piece of work that certainly stays true to the essential look of Taki, while also managing to incorporate that very distinct Triad style.

Her hair is rooted rather than sculpted, and for many that will be the instant clincher as to whether they will buy this or not. But as I’ve stated many times before, variety is the spice of life, well for me anyway. I like to see as diverse a selection of styles and unique interpretations of characters as can be done. That said her hair is a difficult cut to pull off with rooted hair at this scale, as her fringe (sorry, ‘bangs’ in the US), are often shown in a very pointy Manga style. However when you look at pics like this you can actually see that though not perfect, this is a fair interpretation of the way it hangs. I do however think this is one occasion where the distinct nature of the way Taki’s hair looks could have been done more convincingly with a sculpted hairstyle instead. So I guess a few purists might be getting out the scissors and hair gel to do a little restyling… not me though, I can live with it!

Paint- ***
This is a nice clean job, though by recent standards it lacks a certain wow factor whilst still managing to look clean and precise. I was especially impressed by the eyes which achieve a much more natural look than on Lola, all the division lines are crisp and precise, and both the lips and eyebrows show some delicate hand painting where fine details have been flicked in.

My only problem is that the opaque paint does seem to float a bit on the translucent plastic that has been used to represent the flesh beneath. I liked the way this worked on Lola, but here on Taki it does seem like the base plastic has just a little too much transparency, especially when a strong light source is behind it.
 
However when it comes down to the actual quality of the paint application, then this is solid work, especially on the armoured elements of her outfit where the purples, silvers and gold show a great depth of colour and absolutely no slop what so ever. My only real problem is that the face looks too uniform in it’s colouration, I know the base plastic is supposed to do the work in this case, but it’s just not as convincing as I found it on Lola.

Articulation - ***
Lola came on an Otaku 1.0 base body, whereas Taki comes on an Otaku 1.2, and from what I can make out the only difference is the way the hips are constructed meaning Taki here has metal joints hidden away inside. This is, as I say not visible, but should give the figure a lot more intrinsic strength when posing her. Sadly the newly developed Alpha and EVA bodies still aren’t available yet, and knowing what an action girl Taki is, she could have benefited from a much more articulated base body.

However, that’s not to say that you wont get her in some good action poses, but the lack of mobility at the waist coupled with no double knee joints and limited movement at the hips means you might struggle to get any really deep stances or ‘Ninja’ squats.

Michael already gave a good low-down on the full range of this figures joints here and as you can see it’s a good looking base body, ideal for any number of bashes where the character is semi dressed, or dare I say it even naked, because the underlying body sculpt has all of her primary sexual characteristics sculpted to quite a high degree of detail.

And I have to warn you, this is all still very visible, as her skin tight, and I really mean SKIN TIGHT body suit leaves nothing to the imagination. If you’ve ever wondered what a 1/6th starter button for a JCB looks like, now you’ll know.

And down below… well, lets just say I’m going to have to be careful with my photography, knowing this is a ‘family friendly’ web site, but she’s definitely got all the requisite peaks and troughs, which does lead me nicely onto… 

Outfit ****
Like a lot of video game heroines, especially ones from ‘beat’em ups’ the female characters often seem to live by the idiom that less is more when it comes to clothing. But lets face it, if you’re going into an arena to fight for your life you’re not going want to be too bogged down in layers of restrictive clothing. Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a gladiator in a three-piece suit… exactly!
 
But it’s also worth remembering that just about the biggest demographic for these types of games are… you guessed it, adolescent males. So, if their character of choice isn’t a vaguely homoerotic muscle bound macho-man, you can bet they’ll choose a heavily armed, semi clothed, nubile Lolita in little more than a swimsuit, it ain’t rocket science!

So Taki comes in her trademark outfit from SoulCalibur 4, consisting of a cerise/red latex body-glove with fishnet side panels, well, I say fishnet, but Triad have actually constructed these panels of a soft rubbery plastic material that is stitched along its edge to the base leotard. This works surprisingly well, it doesn’t look exactly like ‘fabric’ fishnet, but the approximation is convincing for a ‘fantasy female’ if you catch my drift. Her arms are covered with real fishnet sleeves, these go from her bicep down to underneath the gauntlets on her forearms. That’s pretty much it for the fabric parts of her outfit as everything else is sculpted amour. She has layered armoured panels on her shins and forearms, there are some very nicely executed horned Chinese demons on her knees and shoulders, I needed to re-glue one of the horns on her knee guards and one of the shoulder guards had also come loose in transit. Both were an easy fix with a spot of super-glue. She even has small armoured panels to cover her hands and feet, the ones on her feet are attached to her Japanese style split toed sandals, which incorporate two metal magnetic panels set into the soles of each sandal. These are designed to work like the panels on Lola’s boots for those ‘bullet time’ poses, and whilst they are effective in helping maintain some stances on a magnetic/metallic surface, they don’t work quite as well as Lola’s did. But as hers were bigger and on fully supported knee high laced up boots as opposed to thin soled sandals held on by a few strategic sculpted strings that is hardly surprising. This meant that the magnets weren’t strong enough for any acute leaning angles, but they certainly helped for general standing poses. She also wears a sculpted belt that helps to lift and separate those imposing breasts; it sweeps around her back where it is laced to a steel coloured back panel. This has two pegs protruding from its reverse side that slot into metal rivets set into the back of her leotard. This helps hold the whole rig up and aids the fact that both the scabbards for her twin swords hang from it. One of the scabbards (the one without the leather collar) is tied to the two cords that hang from the bottom, whilst the one that does have the collar just slots over the top of the point on this steel coloured panel.

So, all in all a very nicely executed outfit that represents the character well in that inimitable Triad style. It’s a style that really fills it’s own space in 1/6th collecting, and you’ll probably either love it or hate it… I have to say that I like it a lot, and I’m impressed by the fact that you ‘know’ when you have a Triad product in your hand, it’s that distinctive!

Accessories - ***1/2
Taki comes armed with-
- Rekki-Maru- (her original weapon, a short sword/dagger)
- Mekki-Maru- (her bonus sword)
- Alternate hand.

Sometimes it may seem like you’re not getting much, but as Mick Jagger sang… ‘you get what you need’.

Taki’s weapons of choice are her twin daggers Rekki-Maru and Mekki-Maru, these are ninja weapons that look like small Katana’s, both come with scabbards that can be attached to her back. However, although two swords with scabbards might not seem like much it’s worth pointing out that both the blades are made of chromed metal, and both the sword grip hands hold them tightly. The extra hand is for when she is fighting in her single blade style, and is in the classic Taki pose of two forefingers pointing.

So you could hardly describe her as being laden with extras, but what little she does have are the essentials you need for this particular character, and they are put together very well.

I do however think a metal stand, just something like a die cut disk would have been cool to help utilise those magnetic feet, there is however one available to purchase separately.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention you also get a circular SoulCalibur window sticker in the vac formed tray behind the figure, not that useful for the figure I know, but still a cute little extra. It reminded me of the time I found the hidden posters and stickers in my old gatefold sleeve for my ‘Dark Side Of the Moon’ vinyl LP… those were the days (said in nostalgic, crusty old man voice as I stare off into the middle distance!).

Value for money - ***
You can pick her up directly from the Triad site for $99.99, that’s $25 more than Lola was, which at first I found a little puzzling.

However, this is obviously a licensed product, they’ve improve the base figure by strengthening the hips with metal, she comes with two real metal swords and her outfit is much more complex than Lola’s so I guess you can see where that extra money is being spent, but she still kind of feels more like an $70 to $80 figure, I guess it’s down to how much you’re into the character. But in a world where $100 to $150 is increasingly the norm, then the price is more understandable, particularly from a smaller company.

Fun Factor - ***
There’s no denying Taki looks good, but that limited articulation does mean you’ll have to be a little creative in your posing, but after familiarising yourself with it’s range you’ll coax some great action poses out of her just fine. But for obvious reasons this is most definitely not a figure for kids, not only is she overtly sexualized in her appearance, but those armoured spikes and twin metal swords would be a health and safety nightmare… I have the scars to prove it.

Overall - ***
I like Taki a lot and she’s grown on me more as I’ve played around with her during this review (no not like that, get your mind out of the gutter) and if she had been the same price as Lola I’d say she was a bargain. Hell, even if she had been $80 I’d have given her a full score. But a cool $100 does seem just a little high!
Perhaps if the head sculpt had screamed ‘Taki’ at me a little louder, and if the paint apps had blown me away just a little more I’d be pushing that final score up even higher, but as she stands, for the price she is, then she’s perfectly serviceable whilst being a little short of actually perfect.

My biggest gripe is with the base body, don’t get me wrong it’s a great base body… just not for Taki, she needs to be posed in some extreme fighting poses, and sadly the Otaku 1.2 just doesn’t let her do that.
However, I think the diehard Taki fans out there, who have been patiently waiting for a 1/6th representation of their curvaceous heroine will be pretty happy! 

Where to buy
You can get her direct from Triad for $99 or Big Bad Toy Store did offer her for $89.99 but have sold out. Other than that it’s probably time to hit eBay, where most are the same price as direct from Triad, but I’ve seen a few go for around $80, whilst other traders are really chancing their arm … can’t blame them for trying!
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys

Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys
Soul Caliber Taki sixth scale action figure from Triad Toys


This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Jeff Parker.

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