S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Victory

My box day arrival this morning was S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Victory. He’s a pretty cool Ultraman with a unique head design (the shape of a V) who first appeared in the Ultraman Ginga show.

 

Victory is yet another Ultra figure that comes with a good amount of accessories. Included are  4 hands in total (fists, holding, karate chop and open/grabbing). He comes with a red color timer (shaped in a V), a sword called the Sheperdon Saber and an EX Red King Knuckle. The saber and Red King accessory are fun and allow him to display some of the abilities he had in the show, taking the power of one of the kaiju spark dolls and using it in the form of a weapon. I’m curious if Tamashii Nations will release future accessory packs with the other weapons he use from King Joe, Eleking, Sadora, etc.

 

The paint applications and sculpt are quite nice. He sports a nice black, red and silver color scheme, along with translucent yellow V-shaped crystals in his forehead, forearms and shins, and his V-shaped color timer is a translucent blue (and red for alternate). His larger, V-shaped head definitely makes him stand out from other Ultras with their more traditional oval shape.

 

As far as articulation, there are some issues with the arms. Due to the sculpt, the arm can’t move all the way up in a T formation because the pads on his shoulders get in the way. Also, there’s not much bicep swivel on the upper arm. If you want to get his arms in the classic L pose, the lower forearm swivels around at the joint, but not all the way around. That would be something to be wary of you as wouldn’t want to risk it snapping, or even if it did swivel in a circle, I’d be wary of that joint becoming worn over time.

 

The other thing to note is that to plug in the EX Red King knuckle, you have to pull out the right forearm. It does come out easily, but I have noticed that when posing the arms, if you put too much pressure on it, the forearm will pop off. That’s another joint that I’d be wary of getting loose over time and not staying on too well.

 

The rest of the figure has great articulation. The shoulders can rotate in a circle, there’s a good bend at the elbows, the head can move in most directions well, the upper torso and waist can crunch forward, backward, bend side to side and the upper torso can twist in either direction quite far. The thighs can move out to the sides quite far, forward, a bit backward, and decent range of knee bend. And there’s some range on the ankles, pivoting back and forth and a bit side to side. And finally a toe hinge.

 

The EX Red King knuckle doesn’t have much bend at the “elbow” area, just slightly. It is also quite heavy so it can weigh the arm down, so make sure the peg snaps in place to hold it in well. The Sheperdon Saber fits snugly in both holding hands.

 

 

I’d give this guy a 7.5 out of 10. The accessories and sculpt are nice, the price is decent, and the articulation is good, with the possible exception of the potential issues I listed above. I wish it had an upper bicep swivel and there was another way to plug in the EX Red King knuckle as I am concerned about those joints wearing over time and loosening their grip. But I guess only time will tell. I know that Bandai put out an Ultra Change version of Victory (similar to their Ultra Action line) and that one comes with 5 different kaiju arms to put on. But that is an older figure so it might be pricey by now. Either way, I’m happy with my FiguartsVictory.