S.H. Figuarts Antlar

Today’s box day brought the burrowing ant lion/beetle kaiju Antlar. He first appeared in episode 7 of the Ultraman series. I remember as a kid he was always one of my favorites, back then I always liked the bird/insect/crustacean kaiju most. He returned later for Ultraman Max, and has appeared regularly in Ultra series since then.

 

S.H. Figuarts did a great job with Antlar. They captured his look accurately, as well as the smaller details such as 2 pairs of antenna and his small beak-like mouth. The paint job is great as well, from the silver highlights of his giant mandibles, to the bluish spots on his back.

 

The articulation is just ok. Due to the body design, it’s limited and you won’t be able to get him into detailed, expressive poses like the more humanoid characters.

 

The head can move up and down a little, but turn around and side to side quite well. Also, the giant mandibles can open and close a fair amount, as well as adjust up and down a bit. The small sets of antennas can move around as well, as can his 2 stalk eyes a bit, and his beak-like mouth can open and close a bit. Those parts are all small, so you should be careful when moving them. The instructions also caution that they’re delicate.

 

 

The arms can move around and out quite a bit, the elbows can move in and out and around as well, though if you move them too far in they can pop out as they’re not double jointed. The upper waist can move around and side to side fairly well, and the lower waist also moves, though that can also pop off if moved to far forwards or backward. That does allow the top half to pop off easily to fit him into the sand mound that’s the only accessory he comes with.

 

Another thing to be aware of is that, due to the larger design of the head, standing him up can be a bit of a challenge, as the weight of the head can make it difficult to balance. When displaying him, especially if he’s up high on a shelf, you may want to have him lean against something or have his upper half in the mound accessory to avoid him toppling over and falling.

Overall, Antlar is a decent figure, I’d give it a 7 out of 10. The sculpt and paint are great, but since it’s a web exclusive, he’s pricier than others, and considering his sparce accessory count, and limited articulation, some fans might pass and just settle for the Bandai or B-Club releases, or even the very nice, detailed X-Plus. Honestly, for the price this figure is, they should’ve included more accessories, like a magnetic beam effect, maybe a small desert building, the blue stone that ultimately defeats him, or even a small statue of Ultraman that was featured in the episode. Here’s hoping that future Tamashii web exclusives come with larger accessory counts.