Figma Kamen Rider Axe Part 4 [Final]

Surprise unnecessary bonus
More action poses of Figma Kamen Rider Axe after the previous posting. ^^


With the Final Vent card.




The default forearm of the figure is detached in order to equip it with the Dest Claw battle gauntlet.
A simple part-swapping it is. which feels a lot less troublesome than equipping Metal Horn onto Figma Kamen Rider Thrust. ^^;





The forearm part is not fixed to Dest Claw apparently. It can be separated from the weapon at wrist level.


The forearm part is exactly the same as the default one on the figure, to the extend of being compatible with all the hand units for its wrist joint. ^^
As shown in the right image, it's undetectable that the hand units are on the two "extra" forearm and not the default pair from the figure. ^^















Not shown in the previous posting, the figure can be shown in a very natural-looking kneeling pose. ^^








Rider Kick!
Not sure if he ever did it in the show, I just love having this pose on all my Kamen Rider action figures. XD






I really like this figure. ^^ Apart from the main reason of liking the Kamen Rider design itself, all the weapons it came with are a lot easier to adjust and pose on the figure. This is not to knock on Figma Kamen Rider Thrust though. I understand that the figure's design must be based on the Kamen Rider design itself, so there's absolutely no point giving it an extra weapon is he uses none in the show. However, I was hoping that instead of using just about the same mold to fit all the Kamen Rider characters from "Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight" into the Figma series, some figures really deserve special treatments. Figma Kamen Rider Thrust for example should probably have extra panels for its shoulder armors so that the plates on the both sides are movable and don't obstruct the upper arms' movement too much. Its chest plate should probably be larger to emphasize its characteristic thick armor, consistent with its animal motif.

I can understand that since there are many identical features on all the characters, the company (Max Factory) would like to reuse some of the parts on all the figures. It makes sense from an economical point of view, but if the figures must inherit some sort of weaknesses from such design pattern, then it's perhaps not the best way to do it in my opinion. Kamen Rider Thrust came out as the "unlucky" one for having fewer handheld weapon (less attractions) and some restriction for its shoulder armor (less articulation) because of its suit design from the show. Kamen Rider Axe on the other hand, seems a lot more impressive in the same figure series because of the opposite of the two features on his fellow Kamen Rider figures as mentioned above. ^^;

Speaking of different design, Kamen Rider Siren from this figure series benefits from being a female Kamen Rider to have her own unique outcomes despite using pretty much the same joint design. ^^ Comparing her with Kamen Riders Axe and Thrust, the two would seem somewhat bland in my opinion, especially the latter. ^^; Since I have her in my collection as well, some of her unique features will definitely be highlighted in future reviews. ^^

Anyway, I really like this figure (I said that already XD). ^^ The overall design is good, the color scheme is very cool and the figure itself has flexible articulation design to make good use of all the weapon accessories included for some fun poses.

And I love white tiger. ^^

Since it was mentioned over and over again in this review series, here are a few images showing the comparison of this figure with Figma Kamen Rider Thrust:





On a separate note, this isn't the last Kamen Rider Axe to be featured in its review on my blog. ^^ I do have the S.I.C. version (the Japanese Kamen Rider "Taiga" version (XD) bundled with Kamen Rider Zolda), which is a re-imagined design that is different from its depiction in the show (as with all S.I.C. releases). It would be interesting to examine how different the two versions are in future reviews. ^^

All reviews on Figma Kamen Rider Axe:
Part 1: Another white tiger
Part 2: Ax and claws
Part 3: The exact same formula
Part 4 [Final]: Surprise unnecessary bonus

View full gallery:
Figma Kamen Rider Axe

Figma Kamen Rider Axe Part 3

The exact same formula
A look at Figma Kamen Rider Axe's articulation design after the previous posting. ^^



Essentially, the articulation design is exactly the same as that of Kamen Rider Thrust. I suppose since all the Kamen Riders' designs are just about the same in "Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight", the same formula in terms of articulation design can be repeated for everyone. ^^


Horizontal tilt is not a problem at all for the head.


Tilting the head upward is a bit troublesome because of the neck joint's design, but that movement can be vaguely seen nonetheless.



Side-to-side and forward-backward bends are possible for the waist.


While the shoulder plates are fixed to the body armor, they are made of soft plastic that allow them to be bent very easily.



Standard articulation for the shoulders and arms.




Standard articulation range for the legs as well I would say.


Just like the same part on Kamen Rider Thrust, the layer of soft plastic on the hip hides the ball-type joints and give the thighs' movement a more realistic and human-like appearance. ^^



Standard articulation range for the ankle joint.
Some action poses of Figma Kamen Rider Axe after the introduction on its articulation design:










More action poses from this action figure, including those that feature his Strike Vent weapon coming up in the next posting, which will be the last one for this review series. ^^