Hobby Japan S.I.C Hero Saga Special: S.I.C Kamen Rider Den-O Wing Form

Greetings heroes/citizen. Kamen Rider Den-O series last aired on January 2008 but the popularity of the series didn’t stop there. In 2010 the name Kamen Rider Den-O is still going strong and with the latest movie- Red , Blue and Yellow. Hobby Japan pays tribute the the character by releasing a special edition “mook” (magazine + book) S.I.C Hero Saga Kamen Rider Den-O Special + Kamen Rider Wing Form action figure.

This set was produced in limited quantities and only available in some stores such as Hobby Search.The cover price for this set is 7429 Yen and it was released last month.

I love the way Hobby Japan present this set. It’s unusual but very creative. They put the magazine in front of the box and it acts as the flap cover. The first time I opened the plastic wrap, I went through the mook first,several times. There are many pictures of dioramas made specially for this mook using S.I.C Den-O series and some unreleased characters (custom made exclusive for the dioramas). All the articles are in Japanese though.

There are also complete profiles of the entire S.I.C Den-O series that was released before.
Also included in the mook are bios of the villains that was in the dioramas. They also published images of the upcoming Toei Hero Net Ltd S.I.C New Kamen Rider Den-O Strike Form.

The magazine can’t be removed from the box as it was glued on to the box. I really love the deco and most important thing about the packaging is- it’s BIB collector friendly.

Den-O Wing Form basically shares the same body frame from the previous Den-O, with major redesign for the armor. The body armor is a two pieces snap on armor. The shoulder armors were sandwiched between the front and back of the body armor by hard plastic peg for maneuverability. The silver wings on his chest is actually part of the shoulder armor.

This is in my personal view the most elegant, classy looking S.I.C. The sculpt is great with a lots of tiny details especially on the wings. Ando perfectly blends the elements of mecha and organic styles for the wings’ design. The wing span is huge, you need a stand once you attached the wings on Den-O. To attach the wings, you need to change the back body armor with the one included. It have 2 holes for the wings’ peg.

The lower parts of the body share the same design of previous body with changeable color plates on the thigh.

I don’t understand why Bandai refuse to use diecast for the holster (well, maybe they want to keep the cost to the minimum). The plastic for the holster feels so fragile. I can’t move the holster around because the peg was stuck.

Die cast metal parts are moderate on this figure. Die cast metal are only used for sheen guards, ankles,belt (buckle, not the SetTouch) and the wrist band.There is no visible die cast metal parts on the wings.

The mask is made of translucent plastic and I love the detail sculpt on the mask.

If you think that the large armor on his shoulder will hinder the movement. You are wrong! The articulations are awesome. You can pose Den-O almost anyways you want. There are 2 ball joints for the neck. Multiple joints (ball joints,swivel and hinged) for the shoulder so you can move it anyway you want. Swivel joint at the biceps you can rotate it 360 degree and double joints for the elbow. The wrists are hinged joint and you can rotate 360 degrees.

There is a joint at the upper abs , but it doesn’t give the torso a great articulation due to the body armor covering the abs. The ball joint waist keep the figure articulated while not affecting the looks.

The hip and legs were connected by ball joints. Each thigh have a swivel joint. Double jointed swivel knees and hinged ankles.

Since the wings need to be assembled from 2 parts (the gold wing) so, it have a swivel articulations at the connected points.

The color is not bad, but they can do better. I don’t have problem with the way they apply black wash on the details. But I really don’t like smudges and bleeding. It’s not bad actually but it still bugs me a little bit. There is a gold spot on the back of Den-O’s head and silver spatters on his shoulder (black part). Other than that, I have no problem with the paint apps. Actually I love it, the gold and white color really looks great on the figure. The wings have the best paint apps, and the DenGasher have the same paint scheme like previous DenGasher that came with other Den-O.

Out of the the box, the plastic tray is heavy. It have 3 trays, 2 trays are for the wings. This time there is a metal stand with plastic base included. Some parts of the wings need to be assembled, really minor task.

The DenGasher, is not the same design as the previous DenGasher, because this time it can combined to become boomerang and battle axe. Besides DenGasher, there is the Rider Pass and 4 extra palms/fist. Also included in the packaging is an extra (back) armor with holes so that you can attach the wings.

I was under the oath of not to buy anymore Den-O S.I.C since they were too many of them, but the first time I saw the pictures I know must get this one. I’m glad I bought it. The mook can give you a lot of ideas on how to make a diorama for your S.I.C. It have loads of colored pictures it was printed on thick glossy stock paper, a really worthy bonus. The action figure is super poseable, detail sculpt, nice paint apps and it comes with great accessories. Of course there is a minor slack on the paint jobe, but as a whole this is a very worthy set to buy. Right now you can still find this action figure from most stores. It still newly released so you might have a chance to get it at retail price. Trust me, after a few months this set will be very hard to find.

I give this set;

Packaging: 5/5

Design/sculpt: 5/5

Points of articulations: 5/5

Paint job: 4.5/5

Accessories: 5/5

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