I purchased another 3rd party Ultra kaiju, none other than the funky beast Verokron. This was made by the same guy who did the Baraba and Vakishim figure. I really liked Baraba, but Vakishim was made with resin, which is a heavier material and caused much more paint rub and joints that were not as tight. This Verokron was made with ABS material, and the photos the seller displayed looked good, so I decided to purchase one. Having him in hand, he turned out better than I expected, with much smoother joints, good paint and way more articulation than I had anticipated.
The sculpt is highly detailed. This kaiju resembles a dinosaur with red coral-like appendages on his head and back. His body is dark blue, with yellow fingers, spikes on his foot and 2 snout horns, and yellow and red eyes. He also sports white markings that go down along his torso. While there is a tiny bit of paint scruff here and there, for the most part, his paint job is great and the final product accurately captures the unique appearance of this kaiju (or Choju, as they were called in Ultraman Ace).
The accessories he came with are a large wooden box that he can fit into, a wooden stand with a golden plate that has his name in Japanese, and an alternate lower jaw that sports silver rockets on the inside of the mouth (this was a feature he had when he appeared in Ultraman Mebius). He came wrapped in plastic bubble wrap, and it had a strong fresh paint smell, so I threw away the plastic. The box still had a lingering scent, but not as bad as the bubble wrap, so I just left the box open to air it out. I chose the simple figure with less extras, as it was cheaper. The other extras were wire rockets that shot from his back, and beam effect that shot from his fingers, with plastic capture beams that can wrap around an Ultra opponent. I’m happy with the figure as is.
Verokron’s articulation is much better than expected. His head can turn fully around, it can tilt back, forward and side to side, with a loose collar piece that moves along with the neck. The mouth opens and closes, the shoulders appear to be on ball joints, can be spread out 90 degrees, bend up, down and bend forward, the upper waist can twist a bit, the thighs are also on ball joints and can bend out, in, kick forward and backwards a bit, his elbows and knees can bend in pretty well, the wrists and ankles can bend in and out, the ankles can pivot well, and there’s also a toe joint. While some joints are a little loose, they can still hold a pose fairly well, much better than the Vakishim figure.
Another reason I purchased this figure, besides the promo photos looking nice, is that there are no highly articulated S.H. Figuarts kaiju from the Ultraman Ace series. We’ve gotten plenty from Ultraman and Ultraseven, and three from Return of Ultraman, but from Ace? Nada! Bandai did tease Alien Hipporito and Tyrant from Taro, but those have never dropped, so who knows if they will ever be released. Since Verokron is Ace’s first opponent, and he later made appearances in Mebius & Ultra Galaxy, this kaiju deserves an articulated figure. Luckily, this 3rd party release scratched that itch.
Final thoughts? This Verokron is very nice, and is the best figure done so far by this independent seller. He looks great, moves well, and it’s nice to have another Ace foe to add to the collection. I don’t know if Bandai Tamashii Nations will ever get around to giving Ace some co-stars, but as long as there are independent custom makers who are up to the task, then us collectors have options for getting some of these monsters.
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