On 20 December 2012, the Shoguns were dropped on Bambaland for purchase. While there were 6 variations of the same figure dropped that day, only 3 were advertised prior to sales:
Shiho, which means "All Directions", sporting blue hues and a member of the 7 Bones crew,
Tsuki, which means "Thrust", with grey hues almost akin to a loper except with a normal skin tone, and
Gorei, which actually refers to the commands being shouted out in a dojo when sparring. He is the brightest of the 3 with an orange shirt on and fancy painted eyes on his helmet.
The other 3 variations are the DIY and Light & Shadow 2-pack that were dropped at random... Those so-called secret drops. I managed to pick up a DIY but sold it off shortly after... so I am left with the 3 that are reviewed herewith.
Adhering to the storyline that the TKs are actually clones, the Shoguns' faces are similar to the usual TKs, except that they are clean shaven with only a short pony tail left behind. This treatment of the head really makes them look like monks, and they almost always remind me of the protagonist in Avatar, The Last Airbender.
The Shoguns seem to be a blast from the past, as they sport outfit that are relatively more primitive to their TK brothers earlier released. The most striking feature in their get up is the left shoulder armour and apron that hangs waist down, on both the fronts and backs of the figures. The shoes are something new too... at least for me. They do remind me of those covered shoes that Crocs is famous for... Shirts with one long sleeve is not uncommon when it comes to 3A, but for once I felt that the design is justified: the long sleeve is on the left arm on which the armour is strapped on, so it could actually be in place to minimise abrasion. The armour is symmetrical and I have seen people flipping it to the right shoulder, but... following the argument of the long sleeve reducing friction it just doesn't make sense to me to do that.
The right arm sports a short sleeve and from the design (and promo pics), it is not hard to gather that this is the sword welding arm. The sleeve is actually longer than in the photographs here (covers the elbow hinge) but I felt that it will look nicer if it was shorter (yup don't care if the joint is exposed) so I flipped the trimming inwards to shorten it. A sword welding arm should be less encumbered, even by a sleeve, I thought...
The Shoguns carry only one weapon, which is a long sword. It is very, very long, but well proportioned in terms of width and handle length. I really like the narrow triangular section adopted for the blade, and coupled with a great paint app with gradation, it looks ready to slice someone's head clean off! I was surprised that the sword is pretty light to carry and faced no difficulty in posing them. The sword comes with a weathered sheath that hangs across the back of 'em Shoguns. I felt that the straps for the armour and sheath were kinda messy and overlapping right out of the box, so I took it apart and straightened them out... and in doing so I noticed that double rings were used where you would expect a buckle to be. It is a nice detail to use as it stays true to the archaic look of the figure.
The only modern feature on the figure are the two wires that run from the end of the sword handles. They attach on the other end onto what appears to be a compact battery pack... well... compact compared to what the Slicers are carrying. I like to think that the batteries only pack enough juice to charge their swords only once for the finishing move. I do, however, suggest not to insert the pegs at the ends of the wires into the corresponding holes on the battery pack. I did that for Gorei and the red wire got stuck... I did manage to remove it eventually but not after breaking... out in cold sweat. I swore the peg almost broke off and got stuck in the hole for eternity. Just tuck the wires into the same pouch used for the battery.
To sum things up, Tsuki is my favourite, followed by Gorei, and then Shiho... Unfortunately for me, the QC on the specimens I received are in the same order reversed. Gorei sports loose left knee, and Tsuki's left knee is really what i term near-dangling. It really limits the possibility if I can only keep him stable when his legs are straight, or when the left knee is bent to its maximum. It is that serious... Some people got their Shiho with off-centred goatee, and had to send them back to the hatchery for repairs. While 3A is A-list when it comes to remedying defects, I think they really should tighten QC further and avoid these issues altogether. Collectors will be surely be happier and I'm sure 3A will be glad to save all those time and money wasted on delivery and repairs.
I think the reason why I don't really like Shiho is because his skin tone churned up to be a pale bluish green, as though he is down with some serious food poisoning and has been throwing up all week. I bought him really just to complete the 7 Bones but at the time of writing this review, I'm really losing interest in this crew, and fast. Looks to me A. Wood's promise to complete the7 Bones within 2013 is another loada BS again...
It appears 3A has upped their game at the production front. The Shoguns were delivered within 7 months of order. They are still a couple months late but hey, they used to take 9 months for their shit to roll. I've just received Oroshi that was ordered in March, which makes 5 months, and surprisingly, they made it in time for 3rd Quarter! Frank, Nage and Pascha should be next as they were labelled as 3rd Quarter shipments too. WWRp Dropcloths, Blind Cowboy and EDOs will then follow suit and close off 2013. It's been a fairly good year... Looking forward to receiving these orders, especially Blind Cowboy!
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